The Rest of Creation

And the L-rd completed on the seventh day His work that He had done. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. (Sefer Beresheit 2:3)

I. The creation of rest

Hashem created the universe in six days. On the seventh day, He rested from creation. The above passage seems to conflict with this understanding. It states that Hashem completed creation on the seventh day. What was created on the seventh day? In response, Rashi cites Midrash Rabbah (10:9).

“What was lacking in the universe [after six days]? Rest. Shabbat came and rest came. The work [of creation] ended and was completed.” (Rashi, Sefer Beresheit 2:2)

According to Rashi, the passage means that the process of creation continued into the seventh day. Rest was created on this day. This is difficult to understand. The passage is telling us that there was an element of creation of the seventh day. What was that element? Rest from creation! How can the cessation of creation be characterized as an act of creation?[1]

Rashi’s message is that the rest of the seventh day was not merely the cessation of creative activity. It was a positive “activity”. How was rest an activity? Two important ideas are necessary to answer this question. The first is expressed in another passage in the creation account.

And the L-rd saw all He created and it was very good. And it was evening and it was morning – the sixth day. (Sefer Beresheit 1:31)

II. “Good” and “very good”

This passage concludes the narrative of the first six days. It is similar to the closing passage of other days. It differs in two respects. First, the passage describes Hashem pronouncing judgment over “all He had created”. Second, on other days, Hashem’s judged that the elements of the universe created on the day were good. In this passage, Hashem pronounces judgment over the entirety of creation. He judged that it was very good. Why are the elements created on the individual days good but the entirety of creation very good?

Rabbaynu Ovadia Sforno explains:

“The endpoint of [created] reality in its entirety was very good. More [good] than the endpoint of specific [components] that were intended for it.” (Sforno, Sefer Beresheit 1:31)

Sforno is explaining that the elements of the universe created during the six days were intended to function as components within a greater entity. With the emergence of this greater entity, its components achieved their highest perfection.

An example will illustrate Sforno’s interpretation of the passage. Consider an engine piston meticulously designed and engineered and then precisely manufactured. It is the perfect engine piston. The piston is then combined with other components, fashioned with the same care and precision to create the complete engine. The piston achieves its highest degree of perfection when it is combined with these other components within the engine. The piston is unaltered through its incorporation into the engine. However, its function is to serve as a component within the engine. Its greatest perfection is achieved as a component within the whole. Similarly, the creations of each day were perfect. However, their greatest perfection was achieved with the completion of the entire universe. With its completion, the individual components created each day assumed their roles as components within the entirety of the created universe.

In summary, the message of the above passage is that creation ended on the sixth day with the completion of the universe. The completed product was perfect. Nothing could be added or subtracted. Rashi’s comments are now even more difficult to understand. The universe was complete after the sixth day. If, as Rashi explains, rest was lacking and this was created on the seventh day, then Hashem should have declared His universe to be very good only after the seventh day!

He gives light to the land and to those who dwell on it with compassion. And in His goodness, He renews each day, continuously, the work of creation. (Morning benedictions accompanying the reciting of Shema)

III. Creation is ongoing

We now have two questions. In what sense was Hashem’s rest on the seventh day a creative process? Based on Sfrono, we have added a second question. At the end of the sixth day, Hashem declared the universe to be very good. If the universe lacked rest, then Hashem should have reserved His declaration for the end of the seventh day. To answer these questions, we must understand an additional idea.

Let us consider a strange phrase from our daily prayers. The Torah requires that recite the Shema twice each day. In the morning, the Shema is preceded by two benedictions and followed by a third benediction. The first of the benedictions includes the above phrase. We acknowledge that Hashem renews creation each day, continuously. The meaning of this phrase emerges from Maimonides’ – Rambam’s – comments in the opening chapter of his code of Torah law. He explains that the universe does not sustain itself. It is sustained by the will of Hashem. Hashem fashioned and created the universe and He sustains it every moment.

Let’s consider this idea more carefully. We imagine that a chair, once manufactured, sustains itself. Protected from the elements it will continue to exist indefinitely. But let us examine this conclusion. The chair is sustained by physical properties or, more specifically, properties of matter and the laws of nature. What sustains these laws and properties? Rambam’s position is that only Hashem is self-sustaining. Every element of the created universe – even the properties of energy and matter and the laws of nature must be sustained by Hashem. This is the meaning of the above phrase. Hashem renews creation every moment – through sustaining the universe.

IV. The transition between the sixth and seventh day

The meaning of Rashi’s comment now emerges. Creation did not end on the sixth day. It continues every moment – Hashem is sustaining His universe. However, there is a difference between the creation of the first six days and the creation that takes place each moment. During the first six days, the components of the universe were formed. This creative process – the emergence of new components – was completed with the sixth day. Hashem declared His completed universe was very good. After this sixth day, Hashem rested. This does not mean that the universe sustained itself. It cannot. It means His will was no longer expressed in the creation of new elements. His will was expressed in the sustaining of His created universe.

Let us review our questions and consider how they have been resolved:

1.          How can rest which is the cessation of creation be characterized as an act of creation? Hashem fashioned and put in place the elements of the universe in the first six days. He did not create new elements on the seventh day. Rest emerged on the seventh day. What is rest? It is the transition of the will of Hashem from creating new elements to sustaining the created universe. This transition was a new phenomenon that emerged on the seventh day.

2.          Rashi describes rest as an activity. How was it an activity? Rest does not mean that Hashem withdrew His will from the universe. It means that His will related to the universe in a new manner. It sustains creation. Hashem’s rest is not an absence of action; it is a transition from creating to sustaining.

3.          Rashi explains that after six days rest was lacking. It was created on the seventh day. Hashem should have declared His universe to be very good only after the seventh day! The components of the universe were created and put in place during the first six days. At this point, Hashem declared His universe to be very good. He did not create new components after the sixth day. On the seventh day, His will transitioned to sustaining His perfect universe.[2]

V. Laws of nature

It is fitting to add further clarification. It is sometimes argued that accepting the existence of physical laws is contrary to the Torah. Every event – the grandest to the most insignificant – should be regarded as an expression of providence. It should not be taken for granted that a blade of grass will grow or that the sun will rise.

First, it is incontestable that the Torah requires us to assume that nature will adhere to its pattern. If one acts with negligence and causes another harm or damage, one cannot excuse oneself from the responsibility to make restitution with the claim that the damage or injury was an “act of G-d”. We are required to assume that the outcomes of our action will adhere to the pattern of natural phenomena.

Second, this means that it is Hashem’s will that nature continuously operates according to the pattern He has established. This pattern is described by the properties of energy and matter, and the laws of nature identified by science. In other words, the Torah requires that we accept that natural phenomena follow a fixed pattern. The laws of nature are merely the description of this pattern. [3]

Third, recognizing that nature operates according to a fixed pattern should not diminish one’s appreciation of Hashem; it should enhance it. What sustains this immutable pattern? Why do energy and matter operate according to fixed laws? What sustains these laws? Only Hashem’s will!

[1] Rashi’s source seems to be Midrash Rabbah. However, his quotation of the midrash differs in wording from the version in Midrash Rabbah. Also, the version in Midrash Rabbah includes more material. “Genivah said: This is comparable to a king who prepared a bridal canopy and he embroidered it and drew designs upon it. What was it lacking? The bride who would enter into it. Similarly, what was the universe lacking? Shabbat. The Sages express it [thus]: This is comparable to a king for whom a ring was made. What was it lacking? The seal. Similarly, what was the universe lacking? Shabbat.” Rashi substitutes “rest” for “Shabbat”. Also, he cites only the fundamental message of the midrash without its allegories. These differences may be significant and suggest that Rashi’s version of the midrash differs from the Midrash Rabbah version and communicates a different message.

[2] I believe that I heard this explanation from my rebbe, Rav Yisroel Chait.

[3] One may argue that the laws do not exist but are only apparently operative. In reality, every event is an expression of the Divine will that matter and energy operate according to the pattern He has established. First, this is an abstract distinction of little significance. Second, it is questionable whether this is even a valid distinction.