In his commentary on Parashat Bereshit, Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk (the Noam Elimelech) asks a deceptively simple question: why does the Torah begin with the word "beginning"? Rashi explains that creation happened "for the sake of Israel, who are called 'beginning,' and for the sake of Torah, which is called 'beginning.'" A midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) adds: "for the sake of the first fruits offering, also called 'beginning.'"
These three opinions are not arguing. They are describing three pillars. The Mishnah (the earliest code of rabbinic law) in Pirkei Avot (1:2) states: "On three things the world stands—on Torah, on Service, and on Acts of Loving Kindness." Another mishnah (Avot 1:18) says: "On Judgment, Truth, and Peace." Rebbe Elimelech insists both are describing the same reality from different angles.
The first pillar is Torah study for its own sake—lishmah. The sages permitted studying Torah even with impure motives (Pesachim 50b), because a person cannot leap to selfless study overnight. It requires enormous inner work. The second pillar is Prayer, which the Talmud (Taanit 2a) identifies as "service of the heart." The word tefilah itself comes from the root meaning "connection"—the worshiper ties their consciousness to the Creator. The third pillar is good deeds, particularly resisting the evil inclination.
Here is Rebbe Elimelech's radical insight. He reads (Genesis 6:5)—"God saw that the evil of humans on earth was great"—not as a condemnation but as a consolation. God recognized that the very struggle against evil is what makes human service meaningful. "Were it not for three verses," the Talmud says (Sukkah 52b), we might think God was cruel for creating the evil inclination. But the struggle is the point.