Resources for Chagigah daf 12
1. The גמרא says that ten things were created on the first day and one of them is darkness. See the מהר"ץ חיות who asks the glaring question: how can darkness be considered a creation? Isn’t darkness just the absence of light? Part of the answer is that we know the light we are referring to here is not standard light but rather the אור הגנוז לצדיקים with which one can see מסוף העולם עד סופו. Therefore, it makes sense that the darkness here is not the average darkness at night but rather something special. See the הגהות יעב"ץ who goes with this מהלך and says that the חושך referred to in our גמרא is not the regular darkness at night but rather some super natural darkness like the kind that was in מכת חושך which according to the רמב"ן was a thick cloud of darkness. See the דרשות הר"ן in דרשה ג who says the word “בריאה” can be used figuratively as in the פּסוק of “יוצר אור ובורא חושך” which just means that Hashem causes darkness but it isn’t really a creation since it is just the lack of light. This is also the opinion of the מורה נבוכים. The חזקוני in the second פּסוק in בראשית says something in between these opinions—he says that darkness is a creation and before Hashem created the world there was no concept of darkness (or light). However, we can’t fully understand that since it is before the creation of the world and we aren’t able nor allowed to try to understand existence before the world was created. The רמב"ן in חומש on that פּסוק in בראשית says that חושך refers to the יסוד האש and not regular darkness.
2. The גמרא says that Hashem created the אור הגנוז. Once he saw the דור המבל ודור ההפלגה who were not fit to use it, he decided to hide it for the צדיקים. See the עיון יעקב who asks how can we suggest that Hashem changed his mind? Hashem doesn’t ח"ו make mistakes and change his mind! Rather, he suggests, Hashem did this so we should learn from him that when we humans make mistakes, we should be careful to correct them and not just leave them.
3. The גמרא says that the sun and moon are located in the heaven called “רקיע”. See the ערוך השולחן in או"ח סימן תכ"ו סעיף ג who asks that in קידוש לבנה we say אשר במאמרו ברא” שחקים”. The שחקים refers to the level of heaven where the moon is. However, our גמרא says that the sun and moon are not in שחקים but rather in רקיע?! He answers that our גמרא also says that רב יהודה says that there are only two heavens: שמים ושמי השמים. The גמרא in סנהדרין דף מ"ב quotes רב יהודה who said this מימרא of אשר במאמרו ברא שחקים. He is therefore לשיטתו and disagrees with the heavens being divided into seven names with the one having the moon being called רקיע. Rather, the ערוך השולחן explains that even though רב יהודה agrees there are seven heavens, he holds that they are all divided amongst the two heavens (שמים ושמי השמים ) which are called “רקיע” and “שחקים”. The reason those are the two names is that they are the only names of שמים we find in תנ"ך (the word שמים itself is just a generic name).
Rabbi Millman's Marei Mekomos Halacha
Rabbi Azriel Katz - Meforshim Overview
Rabbi Mordechai Papoff - English Topics
Rabbi Yaakov Blumenfeld - Shakla Vetarya
New Daf Hashavua newsletter - Shavua Matters