Likkutei Sichos Vol. 10 – Bereishis 2
1. "And G‑d said, 'Let there be light'"[1] is the first utterance[2] of the utterances by which the world was created in the Six Days of Creation. That is, "light" is the first existence that G‑d created, on the first day, before all the other creations that were created on the other days of Creation.[3]
This needs explanation. Seemingly, light has no significance or value in its own existence; all its use and importance lie in other creations benefiting from it. Why, then, was "light" created before all the creations of Bereishis? What use is there in it at a time when those who will benefit from it have not yet been created?[4]
One cannot answer that light was created first so that it would be ready for the creations that were yet to be created — along the lines of what our Sages said,[5] that the reason the creation of all the world's creatures preceded the creation of man is so that he would find everything ready before him. For if that were the reason, light should have been created close to the time of the creation of the animals (which distinguish between light and darkness), or at least close to the creation of the plants (on whose growth, ripening and taste light acts and has an effect, as Rashi says on the verse[6] "with the bounty of the produce of the sun and with the bounty of the yield of the moons"). Why, then, was light created on the first day, when the first existence that benefits from it, the plants, was created on the third day?
2. Now, regarding this "light" that was created on the first day, our Sages said[7] that the Holy One, blessed be He, hid it away for the righteous in the Time to Come. Here too one can ask along the same lines: since the whole nature of light and the purpose of its creation is to illuminate, so that those who exist may receive the light and benefit from it, why was it hidden and concealed immediately after its creation[8] — the very opposite of its nature and purpose?
And although we find in the sayings of our Sages reasons why the light was hidden, it is still difficult to understand: these reasons were known to the Holy One, blessed be He, beforehand. The very fact that He created the light, although He knew He would hide it afterwards, proves that it serves an essential need in the creation of the world itself.[9]
3. We must also understand what the Zohar says,[10] that or ("light") is numerically equal to raz ("secret"). It is known that the numerical equivalences cited in Torah indicate an inner connection (likeness) of content between the two things, which is expressed in their having the same numerical value.[11]
This is understood from what is explained in Tanya:[12] "Through the vitality descending and being drawn down from level to lower level by means of … and numerical values, which are the calculations of the letters, until it can be contracted and clothed and a particular creature can come into being from it — and this is its name by which it is called in the Holy Tongue." And there: "The calculation indicates the diminution of the light and vitality … which is the aspect of the calculation and number of how many kinds of powers and levels are included in this light and vitality." It follows that words whose connection our Sages revealed through the numerical equivalence between them contain an inner matter that links them.
But accordingly it is not understood: "light" and "secret" not only have no connection to one another — on the contrary, the nature of the one is the opposite of the other. "Light" means revelation, while "secret" means concealment, the opposite of revelation.
4. All this will be understood by first quoting what our Sages said in the Midrash:[13] "In the way of the world, a king of flesh and blood who builds a palace does not build it from his own knowledge; rather, he has scrolls and ledgers, to know how he is to make it … So too the Holy One, blessed be He…" That is, the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the order and manner of creation was, as it were, in the same order customary (with a king of flesh and blood) below. In truth, of course, it is the reverse: what is "the way of the world" below follows such and such an order and manner only because that is the order above, in the world's G‑dly source and root — and from there it is drawn down and descends below.[14] But we, with our limited intellect, grasp and understand the matter from below to above: from the effect, which is below, to the cause, which is above, in the Supernal conduct.
In any case, it is understood from that saying of our Sages that "the way of the world" of man below is an example and parable for the orders and matters of creation by the Holy One, blessed be He.
Now, in the way of the world, when a person decides and prepares to do something that requires a certain action and arrangement, first and foremost he clarifies and fixes for himself what the purpose and goal of the thing he is preparing to do is; only then, once the goal is fixed for him, does he begin the action.
So too, as it were, above, regarding the creation of the world through the Ten Utterances: at the very beginning of creation, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, fixed the goal of all of creation; only after that, when the goal was already arranged and fixed, does the order of creation of the world and its creatures begin. (This is along the lines of "last in deed, first in thought"[15] — "the end of the deed," that is, its purpose and goal, is "first in thought.") It is known that the main intent and purpose in the creation of the world — the world (olam, from he'elem, concealment), which conceals and hides the G‑dly light that gives it life and sustains it, and is the place of darkness and the kelipos — is to refine the world and transform it into G‑dly light. That is, light is itself the initial goal: for the purpose and fulfillment of the intent in the creation of the world and of man is to make for Him, blessed be He, a dwelling place (in the revelation of the light that has been transformed from darkness) in the lower realms (in this lowly world).[16]
With this we can understand why light was created on the first day, before all the other creations: light is the goal that the Holy One, blessed be He, fixed at the outset of the creation of the worlds, in His first utterance — "Let there be light" — meaning that all of creation that was to come, the world with all its details and creatures, would all be transformed and become light.
5. This still needs explanation, however. We find that of each part of creation (created on its own particular day of the Six Days of Creation) the passage says at its conclusion:[17] "And G‑d saw that it was good." It is known that "good" refers to "light," as it is written:[18] "And G‑d saw the light, that it was good" — that is, "good" means "light." Accordingly, the "light" in the work of Creation is not only a "goal" set beforehand, for it comes and is drawn into the work of Creation itself, each and every day. We must explain how this fits with the above (and also with what was cited earlier, that the Holy One, blessed be He, hid the light created on the first day — from which it follows that it is not revealed and does not come into creation).
The explanation: the goal of an action (in the analogy, in a person below) is expressed in two ways:
a) As it comes into revelation as the main and all-embracing goal in the thought and intent of the one acting — before the action and at its start;
b) As the goal of the action is felt by the person during the action, in each and every detail he does, so that all of them should suit their purpose and goal — meaning that the goal is not then drawn down, during the action, in all its revelation and scope as before the action.
So too we can understand the Supernal goal of all of creation — the light "that was created on the first day" — that it has two levels: a) the level of the essence of the light, (which the Torah states explicitly) "And G‑d saw the light, that it was good" — "the light" (itself) as it is revealed on the first day and in the first utterance, before all the creatures of the world came into being, as their goal and purpose; b) a glow and reflection of the "light," drawn into each utterance and each particular creature. This G‑dly light is what gives the creatures the strength and the possibility to suit their goal — to be transformed into light. Of this "light" and goal it says "And G‑d saw that it was good" — meaning "light," but not in actual revelation (only in allusion, concealed) as on the first day.
6. In light of the above — that the light of the first day has two levels, as it is before the creatures came into being and as it shines within the creatures — the two opinions[19] on the "light of the first day" are well explained: that it is a) the level of Kesser (Crown), or b) the level of Chesed (Kindness).
This is from the difference between Kesser and Chesed. Kesser is above the whole order of the chain of worlds — and that is the light of the first day as it is holy and above the whole order of creation. But the level of Chesed, which is the beginning of the chain of worlds and the first of the seven days of building, is "the day that goes along with all the days"[20] (that is, the whole of coming-into-being is from the sefirah of Chesed) — and that is also the level of the glow (and the goal) of the light of the first day that is drawn down and draws "light, that it was good" (Chesed) into every creature of the Six Days of Creation.
7. With this we can understand the Zohar's statement that or ("light") is numerically equal to raz ("secret"), and the connection between them is explained. As it is with a person: the goal he fixed before the action is then revealed only in the thought and intent of the one acting, and the main revelation of the goal in actual deed and in all its fullness comes only at the conclusion and completion of the action; throughout the action itself, it is in him in concealment and in limited measure[21] (only as much as is needed to direct the action to its purpose).
So too above: since the goal and purpose of creation is "light," the "light" is not revealed in all its essence until the time when creation reaches its purpose — at the conclusion of the order of the avodah of refinement, at the end of the six thousand years that the world exists. Until that appointed time, although the "light" (the goal) is present in creation (and also acts in it), it is there only as a "secret" and mystery — in concealment, until it will be revealed in the Time to Come.
This is also the meaning of our Sages' saying that the light of the first day was hidden away for the Time to Come — that is, it was concealed as a "secret" until the Time to Come. But "hidden away" means that it exists and is present in the place where it is hidden; and, as said above, a reflection of the concealed "light" is drawn into creation and also gives it strength and power to reach the goal. And where was "the light hidden," from which it acts in creation? Our Sages said that the Holy One, blessed be He, hid it in the Torah.[22] The explanation:
In every action, it is understood, the goal is concealed and hidden (until the action is completed) within the action itself; that is, it is embedded in those parts of the action through which it directs the action to its purpose. So it is too with the "light" of the first day, which is the goal and purpose of the whole of creation:
The revelation of this "light" in the Time to Come comes about through the avodah of now[23] — in Torah study and the fulfillment of the mitzvos. That is, in them and through them creation will reach its goal and purpose. It is understood, then, that the goal is hidden in them and nowhere else. And since the whole avodah of fulfilling the mitzvos comes from the Torah and its study — as our Sages said,[24] "Study is great, for it leads to deed" — it follows that the main hiding place of the "light" is in the Torah.
8. The lesson from all the above for avodah is clear and simple for everyone:
"Let there be light" — this is the very goal and purpose of the whole avodah of the creatures: that a person refine his portion in the world until it is transformed into "light." As long as he has not illuminated the world with the light of Torah and mitzvos — even if he has succeeded in his avodah in driving the "darkness" and evil out of his world (along the lines of "one who sat and did not commit a sin"[25]), but it has not yet been transformed by him into light and good (through "do good") — he has not fulfilled his task and has not completed the intent and goal of creation.
For the purpose of the intent of creation as a whole, and the purpose of the creation of man in particular and above all, is not only the avodah of "turn away from evil" — bringing about the absence and prevention of darkness — but also (and mainly) the avodah of "do good": to make and transform the world into light and good.
And just as the order in the creation of the world by the Holy One, blessed be He, is:
a) that immediately at the beginning of creation, on the first day and in the first utterance, the Holy One, blessed be He, fixed its goal, and after that created the world with all its creatures;
b) that, on the other hand, of all the creatures it says "good" — meaning that the "light" and goal of creation was drawn into and shone in every utterance and every particular creation, so that they would suit the intent —
so must the order be in man's avodah:
a) As soon as he wakes from his sleep (in general in the morning, and likewise at every hour[26]) and becomes "a new creature"[27] (like the first day of creation[28]), the first thing is to fix the goal — it must be fixed and settled in him (engraved and laid down) that the goal of all his actions is "Let there be light";[29] only then, after this has been settled and decided, can he approach the details of his doings and actions;
b) Beyond this there must be a special effort that the goal of "Let there be light" be felt afterwards too, at every hour and in every detail of his affairs and deeds throughout the day.
9. Now, just as with the whole of creation, whose purpose is "light," so it is also with the particular creation of darkness itself (the existence of darkness[30]): the intended goal of its creation is [not only to make it possible for man to choose good — for without the existence of "darkness" (and evil), choosing light would not apply, and by this view the existence of darkness is not a purpose in its own right but a means through which the goal is attained; rather, in darkness itself there is also a purpose[31]] "to transform darkness into light": that a person, through his avodah, transform the darkness itself into light.[32]
10. And so that a person should not think to himself: "How can I make the world, which is 'formless and void, and darkness,' be transformed and become light — let alone transform darkness itself into light?" — for this, before that, it says "Bereishis": "for the sake of Israel, who are called 'first,' and for the sake of the Torah, which is called 'first.'"[33] The intent of the world's (and darkness's) coming into being is, from the outset,[34] for the sake of Israel and for the sake of the Torah — that Israel, through the Torah, should transform them into light. And this intent is itself the help and the granting of strength to succeed in this avodah.
And through the avodah of the six thousand years, illuminating the world with the light of Torah and mitzvos, we will merit the revelation of the Time to Come, when the light that was created on the first day will be revealed, until "the sun shall no longer be your light by day … and G‑d shall be for you an everlasting light,"[35] with the coming of Moshiach, our righteous redeemer, very soon indeed.
(From a talk on the night of Simchas Torah, 5726)