בראשית א:ג-ד
גוַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹקים יְהִי־א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר:
דוַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹקים אֶת־הָא֖וֹר כִּי־ט֑וֹב וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל אֱלֹקים בֵּ֥ין הָא֖וֹר וּבֵ֥ין הַחֽשֶׁךְ:
3And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated between the light and between the darkness.
In the beginning of creation there is a description of the creation of light. The Torah tells us that Hashem saw the light and it was "good". What does it mean for the light to be "good"? What is "good" about this light? What does the word "טוב" mean in the Torah?
Rashi notes that "good" here has to do with Tzadikim and that this light is not light like we think of that illuminates dark, but a deeper special "light" that has to do with Olam Haba.
What are other approaches?
Sforno says that the light was good because Hashem created the light. I think this is a really interesting answer because Hashem created everything, so what makes this specific light good? Leora Brasch
ReplyDeleteRashi says, that Hashem saw that the light was good and that darkness wasn’t suited for it. So Hashem separated them and made one for day and one for night.
ReplyDeleteI really like what Rashi says here because Hashem doesn’t say that darkness was bad so it was separated, rather Hashem just said it wasn’t suited for light so it was separated. Therefore making day and night.
Eliana Goldman
Chabbad.org
Batsheva Houpt
ReplyDeleteEitz Yosef(R’Chanoch Zundel Ben Yosef) states that hashem says that the light was good because he realized that there will be people that can see light in darkness. Although there only may be a few, there are riotous people who see the good. But what about the people who can’t see the good/don’t focus on the positive?
Shira Pollack
ReplyDeleteQuestion #1 Bereshit Perek 1 Pesukim 3-4
Jerome A. Chanes explains his idea of what the word “good” means when describing light in these pesukim. He thinks that the word “good” really means “well-crafted.” I really like this opinion because it shows that not only was the creation of light very important to Hashem to give the world, but it also shows how Hashem plans everything perfectly and precisely and creates everything with positive intentions.