based on the teachings of The Lubavitcher Rebbe, ZT"L
by Rabbi Yisroel Rubin

On Simchas Torah, we renew the annual Torah-reading cycle. We celebrate the completion of the last book of Deuteronomy and start reading the Torah anew from Genesis. We begin with the story of Creation, where we read: “G-d said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” This was the first of the Divine utterances that triggered the orderly process of the six days of Creation.

We may ask why light came first in Creation. Light serves the purpose of illuminating other matter. With nothing else in existence, what was the need for light? Indeed, logically light should have been created on the sixth day, immediately before the animals, who can distinguish between light and darkness. Or one can reason that light should have been created on the third day, immediately before the plants, which utilize light in photosynthesis. The creation of light on the first day would seem to be out of order in an otherwise progressive creation.

The Hidden Light

Whereas light was created on the first day, one would have expected the Torah to discuss the sun’s creation then. And yet the creation of the sun is introduced only on the fourth day. How do we account for this discrepancy?

Obviously the light at the dawn of creation is of a very different nature than the light of the sun. Indeed, the Midrash comments that the light of the first day was so intense that it was stored away for the benefit of the righteous in the future. We are talking, then, of a unique light. Yet we are still, so to speak, in the dark. What was the nature of this cosmic light? Why was it created, and what purpose did it serve?

The mystical Book of the Zohar comments that the Hebrew words for light — ohr — and secret — raz — are numerically equivalent, signifying that the two are related. But this too is paradoxical.

Light, by definition, is revealing, not concealing. How can two opposites share a common form? Why was this light, whose purpose is to illuminate, hidden immediately after its creation, denying its raison d’etre?

Let us try to understand this by analyzing another Midrashic statement: “A king does not build a palace spontaneously; he first consults architectural plans. So did G-d first look into the Torah blueprint to create the world.”

When a builder embarks on a project, he begins with a vision of the completed work. The order in which man builds helps us understand the order of Creation. First the builder visualizes the finished product in his mind. Only after he has “seen” the eventual purpose and objective does he commence with the actual labor.

Similarly the purpose of Creation was to allow G-d’s pristine light to be revealed on earth. Whereas this Divine light is the ultimate purpose of creation, it was thus the first thing to be created.

This “light” is not merely another type of creation, like the mountains and valleys, trees and flowers, fish, fowl, and mammals. Rather, “light” is a metaphor that symbolizes the flow of spiritual energy. “Let there be light” is a declaration of purpose and intent for all of Creation, introducing the reason and goal for everything that followed. “Light” is the reason of Creation, preparing for the time when everything in our world will express the Torah’s Divine light.

Revelation and Fulfillment

This explains the relationship between “light” and “secret” and why this original light was hidden for use in the World to Come.

When a building is under construction, during the actual work all we see are piles of blocks and bricks, beams and pipes strewn about. The building’s final shape is not apparent during construction. The builders apologize for the inconvenience and ask us to pardon the appearance of the construction site. The ultimate form becomes apparent only after everything is set in the proper place and all the work is complete.

In the same way, only when the world will be complete, in the days of Mashiach, will the real purpose, the light, become revealed. Presently this light is hidden, but when the world eventually reaches perfection, this light will shine forth once again, as it did on the first day of Creation. This light is hidden in the Torah. For just as the architect’s drawings guide the hands of the laborers throughout construction, so does the Torah teach us how to bring the world to its fulfillment.

Without the Divine light, we grope around in ignorance and darkness, exposed to the dangers and pitfalls around us. Sometimes we may become overwhelmed by the oppressive darkness of a wayward world. But illuminating the darkness is easier than we think, for “a little light dispels much darkness” (Zohar). The mere presence of light forces darkness to retreat into the shadows.

A wise man said: “Instead of cursing the darkness, I lit a candle.” Judaism teaches that “a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light” (Proverbs 6:23). Israel and humanity, through Torah, turn darkness into Divine light, fulfilling Isaiah’s words (60:19): “The sun shall not be your light of day, and at night the moon shall not give light to you: for the L-rd shall be your everlasting light.”

Copyright by Rabbi Yisroel Rubin, Director, Chabad Outreach Centers, Albany, NY.