The first parasha of Torah allows us to begin our understanding of how G-d brought the world into being, and possibly even a little bit of why. It's a story of kindness and sin, generosity and failure, all bound up in individual characters and one lineage. But it's not all bad news - the parasha ends as G-d finds hope that a good human migth truly exist. The haftarah from Isaiah gives us further insight into G-d's purpose for us and G-d's frustrations at how we routinely fail to meet those expectations. But, as always, G-d's love and commitment to us remains unbroken. It's a powerful way to begin our study.