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Dan Ben Noah:
Shalom

muman613:
Dan,

I believe I can 'shed some light' on this topic...

First, the light created on the first day is not sunlight or any other kind of light which we know of today. The light created on the first day we call the Supernal light, the Kabbalistic light which was put away shortly after it was created to be saved for the righteous on the day of judgement. If this light is not sun-light or any other kind of light which we know, it cannot be the light which sustained the plants.

It is believed that the plants did not bloom till man was created because man must pray for rain in order for it to fall. I realize that this explanation does not fit well with our understanding of the order of creation according to science and I am not sure what the explanation for this discrepancy is. But I will continue to explain this concept...


http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/shiur.asp?id=4129

1. Creating and Sustaining
2. Were it Not for Man
3. "Until Adam Came and Prayed for Rain"

Creating and Sustaining
In what follows, we shall discuss an immutable triangle which exists in creation. What sort of associations does the word "triangle" trigger? For seafarers - the Bermuda Triangle; for engineers - a geometrical triangle; for residents of the Shomron region - the Arab Triangle. Presently, however, we shall discuss an immutable triangle which must by its nature be present everywhere in the universe.

We are all familiar with the triangle behind the creation of human life: man, woman, and the Almighty. Here, however, we shall consider a different, more general and all-encompassing triangle: man, earth, and rain. It would appear that a creative interdependence exists and is at work between these three forces.

When we speak about a triangle, what we mean to say is that regardless of which angle we put on top, we remain dependent upon the other two angles. We employ the concept of a triangle in order to express a relationship and interdependence which exists between all of the parts and ingredients involved, a relationship which transforms them into one complete unit.

The Midrash tells us that "just as the full Name [of God] is employed in connection with a full world, it is similarly employed in connection with the fall of rain" (Bereshit Rabba 13:3).

At the beginning of the Torah's account of the creation of heaven and earth, a single name of God appears: "Elohim." With creation's completion, two names appear: the ineffable name, "Hashem," and "Elohim." Similarly, in relation to rainfall, the Torah employs God's two names: "God (Hashem Elohim) had not brought rain on the earth" (Genesis 2:5).

In other words, sustaining the world via rain is no less important than the creation of the world itself. In the words of the Talmud, "The day when rain falls is as great as the day on which heaven and earth were created (Taanit 8b). Therefore, rain is equal in importance to heaven and earth, for without rain, creation could not exist. The laws of nature which preserve creation's existence are as valuable as the laws which bring creation into being and are to be seen as their equal.

Creation would wither and decay were it not for the water which infuses it with life. Rain allows for the actual realization of the potential which is hidden and concealed within the earth. Without rain, earth remains dense, raw material. Rain uncovers the potential which has been embedded in it since the six days of creation.

We we have considered the nature of the interdependence which exists between the earth and the rain, the mutual supplementation of the their roles. These are only two angles of the triangle; let us now consider the third.

Were it Not for Man

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: "Three things are equal in importance, viz., earth, man, and rain." Rabbi Levi ben Chiyata said: And these three each consist of three letters, to teach that without earth there would be no rain and without rain earth could not endure; while without either man could not exist" (Bereshit Rabba, ibid.).

We find, then, that the entire purpose of the existence of rain and earth is to aid man, to provide him with life in order that he be able to fulfill his role in the world - "Without either, man could not exist." On the other hand, the earth and the rain are immaterial without man, for without man they too lack purpose, as the Midrash teaches elsewhere: "Were it not for man, there would be no covenant with the land to have rain to fall upon it (ibid. 13:8).

In other words, if man does not exist, neither of these two elements has purpose. This is how we arrived at the conclusion that there is an interdependence between them. Perhaps this is what is meant by the addition, "And these three each consist of three letters." It is meant to underscore the mutual dependence and equality which the three of them create together.

This is the "triangle of creation"! Without rain, the earth would decay and the purpose of its existence would be lost. Life would not be able to subsist upon it. Without land, rain too lacks purpose. What good does it do for rains to fall in the desert or in the ocean, places where they are of no benefit. It is man who gives purpose to both the land and the rain, for without man, what are they worth; they are but, in the words of Job, "rain on a land where no man is; on the wilderness where there is no man" (38:26).

"Until Adam Came and Prayed for Rain"
Therefore, at the inception of creation, so long as man had not entered his place and his position, rain did not appear, for "God had not brought rain on the earth, and there was no man to work the ground" (Genesis 2:5).

Indeed, the sages of the Talmud point to a contradiction:
"One verse says: 'And the earth brought forth grass,' referring to the third day, whereas another verse when speaking of the sixth day says: 'No shrub of the field was yet in the earth.' This teaches us that the plants commenced to grow but stopped just as they were about to break through the soil, until Adam came and prayed for rain for them; and when rain fell they sprouted forth" (Chullin 60b).

Based upon the above source, Maharal provides us with a descriptive portrayal of man's place between the upper and lower worlds:
"Therefore, the plants stopped just as they were about to break through the soil, and there was no rain from above or below. For there was no bond between the lower and upper realms allowing the upper realm to provide rain below, until finally, man, who existed between the upper and lower worlds, caused the rain to be brought from above to below via the prayer which he offered from below to his blessed Creator. It is at this point, and no sooner, that the upper realm and the lower realm unite, and rain comes from the upper realm to the lower realm," (Maharal, Chidushei Aggadot, on ibid.).

Here, the plants stop just as they are about to break through the soil. They do not develop and grow. They are waiting for rain, yet the rain does not come! Why? Because man had not yet prayed. And, on the other end, though the rain is in the heavens, waiting to fall upon the earth, it does not receive the order to fall. What is it waiting for? For man's prayer. This is what is meant by the words "and there was no man to work the ground." There was no human to pray for rainfall! The earth faces the heavens and nothing happens, everything waits . . .

But the moment that man's prayer is heard, a wonderful event will take place in creation! Man's prayer will create a bond between heaven and earth: rain for the plants, plants for the rain. Therefore the sages say, "This teaches you that the Almighty longs for the prayers of the righteous" (ibid.). Only man appreciated the importance of rain! "When man came, however, and he realized that it was necessary for the world, he prayed for it and it fell, causing trees and plants to spring forth" (Rashi on Bereshit 2:3). It turns out that it is man who is the conductor of the orchestra of creation, and he unites and joins the heavens and earth.

We have now gained an awareness of the triangular covenant which exists between the earth, the rain, and man, and of the key which opens the gates and creates the bond between them - the prayer of man. Therefore, we may arrange the triangle in such a manner that the top angle is man's prayer, and it rests upon the foundation of the two other angles: earth and rain.

Noteworthy is the fact that it is none other than Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who informs us of this covenant. It is possible that he was referring to all of humankind as being included in this covenant, "And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks" (Isaiah 61:5). This promise is fulfilled when Israel merits it (see Berakhot 35b). It is also possible that Rabbi Shimon said what he did when he left the cave for the second time (see Shabbat 33b), after having learned that contributing to the inhabitation of the world has value when carried out by Israel, those who love the commandments.
---
The translated Talmudic and Midrashic sources in the above article come from, or are based upon, the Soncino Judaic Classics Library (CD-Rom).

muman613:
Regarding the light of creation:

http://www.aish.com/jl/etb/48944581.html

The stories of the Bible contain ancient, timeless secrets for living an empowered life. From the very first words, we are inspired to connect with the light.

    In the beginning, when God began to create heaven and earth, the earth was unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water. (Genesis 1:1-2)

This image is one of desolation and despair. It makes you shiver. It feels cold, dark, and lonely. It brings to mind those moments of despair when you have felt lost, could not see any order in the chaos of life, and felt as if you couldn't go on. Perhaps in those darkest of moments, the most appealing answer was death. And that is clearly the image that is meant to be conveyed here.

But the story continues:

    God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)

Light -- the answer to darkness. Yet could God really be creating light the way we understand it -- as a source of illumination? That doesn't make much sense, since it's not until 13 sentences later, on the fourth day, that we are told that God created the sun, the moon, and the stars. But here we are on the first day -- and obviously, there is no electricity -- so where is this light coming from? It's a light that is coming not from the sun or the moon or the stars. It is not simple illumination. It is something more.

When we look at the original Hebrew text, the answer becomes even more clear, because the Hebrew word used to denote light in this passage is Ohr. And when we consider how the word Ohr is used in other places in the Bible, we begin to understand that it doesn't mean an ordinary light, but a supernatural light. I would call it a "life force," specifically a divine life force.

    Ohr doesn't mean an ordinary light, but a supernatural light.

So the first thing God created was life.

This life didn't take on the character of any being at first -- not an insect, not an animal, not a human. It was metaphysical, divine life energy that permeated the whole world. So there was only one thing that existed before the world was created, and that was darkness which is a form of death. The first act of creation brought into being its opposite -- life. The life force.

THE WAY OF THE WORLD

This ancient passage is telling us from its very opening lines that this is the way of the world. There will always be darkness and chaos and confusion. We will feel the void of death all around us and lapse into despair. But the Bible is also saying that if we want to help one another we must -- like God -- bring the light of our life force to that darkness.

How does one begin?

There are two approaches: one is symbolic -- because symbols can be very powerful and have a creative and healing energy of their own; the other is through specific, concrete action.

One rabbinical student took upon himself as a special project to offer Shabbat candles to all the patients in the hospital where I am chaplain. He understood that candlelight represents the life force, and to light a candle in the room of a sick person is a life-affirming act. These patients are mostly in contact with the death force, the destructiveness of illness.

    While lighting candles is a symbolic act, it can have concrete positive consequences.

While lighting candles is a symbolic act, it can have concrete positive consequences. For example, several nurses have reported to me that quite often, after a candle has been lit, the sickest of patients appear to be calmer and enjoy a few hours of respite from pain.

I am also reminded of a particular patient, an elderly Romanian Jew, whom I encountered early in my chaplaincy career. He was gravely ill and had decided to be listed as "no code," meaning he did not desire high-tech interventions that might extend his life. But despite that decision, as death neared, he asked to be placed on a ventilator that would assist him with his breathing.

The hospital personnel, feeling his request was a panic reaction to approaching death, were reluctant to prolong this harrowing process, and they asked me to talk him out of it. But while speaking with him, I felt something more was going on, and as a result of my intervention, the patient was placed on a ventilator. To everyone's amazement, he felt much better after a few days and asked to be taken down to the chapel.

As it happened, this was the first day of Chanukah, and he participated in the special candle-lighting ceremony that is such an important part of the Festival of Lights. Only then did I realize the meaning of everything that had happened.

This man, as he neared death, needed to connect with the light, and he knew somewhere in the depths of his being that he would have to hold out until Chanukah to do so. He died in peace.

...

muman613:

--- Quote from: Dan ben Noah on November 30, 2009, 06:02:35 PM ---So if the light created on the first day was this special Kabbalistic light, what distinguished between evening and morning before the sun was created?

--- End quote ---

It is not a simple question... Day and Night in the case of Day One are related to the concept of Day and Night, not the physical day and night which we know today. The Kabbalistic concept of light and dark refer to the aspect of G-dliness and the lack of G-dliness.... Darkness is nothing other than the absence of Hashems light.

Here is some more information from a Jewish site:

http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/sheshet.htm


Judaism 101
A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and Concepts

Sheshet Yemai Bereshit

"Sheshet Yemai Bereshit" - the "Six Days of Creation," which were followed by the "Seventh Day," the "Yom HaShabbat," the "Day" of "Rest." On these six "Days," the Universe and all that is in it was brought into being by "E-lohim," G-d, as described in Bereshit (1:1 - 2:3).

Each "Day" may have been much longer than 24 hours, and could describe an eon or an epoch, but would refer to a unique and separate phase of activity and influence upon the World by the Creator.

In the descriptions of the "Days," the highly poetic Biblical language and terms are used, and one must appreciate that given our perspective, it is really impossible for us to know what the words refer to precisely. The "Midrash", and the great Commentators, such as RASHI, whose genius included the selecting of appropriate Midrashim, and the RAMBAN help a lot, but much mystery remains.

The "Days" are:

"Yom Echad" - (m.); the First "Day of Creation," described in Bereshit 1:1-5

In the beginning, "E-lohim," G-d created the "Heaven" and the "Earth." And the "Earth" was formless and void, and the Divine Presence hovered over the "waters."

G-d said "Let there be 'light' " - and there was "light." And "E-lohim," G-d saw the "light," that it was good and separated between the "light" and the "dark." And G-d called the "light," "Day" and the "darkness," "Night."

An "Evening" and a "Morning" passed, completing One Day.

Note that a different term is used for "Sunday," the first day of the week, using the ordinal number, "first" rather than the cardinal number "One;" namely, "Yom Rishon." Whereas, the first "Day of Creation" is called the "Day of the One," to emphasize that G-d alone created the Universe and all that is in it.

"Yom Sheni" - (m.); the Second "Day of Creation," described in Bereshit 1:6-8

And "E-lohim," G-d said, "Let there be a 'Rakia,' a 'firmament, in the midst of the waters and let it divide between the upper "waters" and the lower "waters." He called the "Rakia" "Shamayim," "Heaven."

An "Evening" and a "Morning" passed, completing the Second Day.

"Yom Shelishi" - (m.); the Third "Day of Creation," described in Bereshit 1:9-13

"E-lohim," G-d said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together, and let the dry land be seen;" and it was so. And "E-lohim," called the dry land "Yabasha," and the collections of waters he called "Yamim;" and he saw that this was good.

And G-d said, "Let the land bring forth vegetation, grass bearing reproductive capability, and fruit-bearing trees capable of producing fruit of the same type season after season." And it was so. And the land brought forth vegetation and fruit-bearing trees produced fruit-bearing trees of the same type; and G-d saw that it was good.

And there was Evening and there was Morning, completing the Third Day.

"Yom Revii" - (m.); the Fourth "Day of Creation," described in Bereshit 1:14-19

And G-d said, "Let there be light-producing heavenly bodies, to divide between the Day and the Night, and to be markers for special times, and for days and for nights. And they should also come to be illuminating bodies in space, to provide light for the Earth. And it was so.

And G-d created the two Great Lights, the Great Light to rule during the Day, and the Smaller Light to rule during the Night, and the Stars.

RASHI cites a Midrash on the above verse, which contains an apparent contradiction. First the verse speaks of two Great Lights. Then it speaks of the Sun as the Great Light and the Moon as the Smaller Light!? Were they equal or unequal? The Midrash comes to teach a moral lesson, that originally the Sun and the Moon were of equal size, but the Moon complained, "Two Kings cannot wear one crown! Both the Sun and I cannot both be Kings!" G-d said, "You're right; go reduce yourself to be the smaller light."

Another resolution of the apparent contradiction, with a scientific bent, obtained from "In the Beginning," by Professor Aviezer, is that the Moon was always much smaller, but it was created by G-d in just the right way that it had the same "apparent size" as the sun. Such that in a solar eclipse, the moon was just the right size and just the right distance away from the Earth to completely block the rays of the sun.

An Evening and a Morning passed, completing the Fourth Day.

"Yom Chamishi" - (m.);the Fifth "Day of Creation," described in Bereshit 1:20-23

G-d said, "Let the waters swarm with living creatures and the air be filled with winged creatures flying over the Earth. And G-d created the great amphibians (dinosaurs?) and all the living beings that creep that came from the water according to their type, and all the flying birds, according to their type. And G-d saw that it was good. And G-d blessed them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas and let the birds fill the land.

An "Evening" and a "Morning" passed, completing the Fifth Day.

"Yom HaShishi" - (m.); the Sixth "Day of Creation," described in Bereshit 1:24-31

And "E-lohim," G-d said, "Let the Earth produce living souls: cattle, swarming things and wild beasts, according to their type. And so it was. And G-d made the beasts of the land, and the cattle and the swarming things, each according to their type; and "E-lohim," G-d saw that it was good.

And G-d said, "Let us make man in our image (RASHI immediately comments on the unexpected usage of 'us' and 'our,' which gives unbelievers a place to inject their false ideas, and says that here G-d is teaching human beings courtesy, that one should always consult with one's subordinates (in this case, the Angels, heavenly creations of G-d) before taking action. Even though when it came to the actual creation of the human being, it was only G-d Who was involved, as the verse says 'And He Created,' not 'And they created'). And let him rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over the cattle and over all of the land, and over everything that swarms from the land."

And "E-lohim," G-d created Man in His image, in the image of "E-lohim," did He Create him, male and female did He create them.

And "E-lohim," G-d blessed them, and "E-lohim" said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land, and conquer it; and rule over the fish of the sea and the beats of the land, and the birds of the skies, and over all life that creeps upon the ground."

And G-d said, "I have given to you all the vegetation of the earth, and all the fruit of the trees, for you to eat."

"And I have given to every form of life that moves on the Earth or flies in the air, I have given all vegetation to eat."

And it was so.

And "E-lohim," G-d saw all that He had done, and behold it was VERY GOOD; and there was an "Evening" and a "Morning," completing the Sixth Day.


http://www.meaningfullife.com/torah/parsha/bereishit/bereishit/The_Creation_of_Light.php


The Creation of Light

G-d said: “Let there be light.” And there was light. G-d saw the light, that it was good; and G-d divided between the light and the darkness.  G-d called the light “day” and the darkness He called “night.” It was evening and it was mourning, one day.

Genesis 1:3-5

Light. The first creation. Indeed, the sole creation of the First Day.

But light, by definition, is not an entity in its own right. It is the link between two other entities, the communication from its emitter to an observer or recipient. Light would have no function unless it is expressing the former and influencing the latter. So what sense is there in light as a first creation? Why create light on the first day if the first sighted creatures were not created until the fifth, the first beneficiaries of light (plants) were not created until the third, and the first luminary bodies in the universe were created only on the fourth day of creation?

Hidden Revelation

Indeed, our sages describe the light created on the first day as something that is not part of our present-day natural reality. “The light which G-d created on the first day,” says the Talmud's Rabbi Elazar, “a man could see with it from one end of the world to the other.”[1] “It cannot shine by day,” says the Midrash Rabba, “it would dim the sun. It cannot shine at night - for it was created only for the day. So where is it? It was hidden.  It is preserved for the righteous in the World to Come.”[2] “Where did He hide it?” asks the Zohar, and replies: “In the Torah.”[3]

Again we ask: Why create something that has no immediate function? We might ask this about any creation, but certainly about light. For what is light, if not illumination and revelation? Are not the words “hidden light” a contradiction in terms?

And yet, these two antithetical concepts are more closely related than one might think.  The Zohar[4] points out that the Hebrew words ohr (“light”) and roz (“secret”) share the same gamatria, or numerical value (207). According to Jewish tradition, a gamatrial concurrence between two words implies that they are intrinsically related to each other. As Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi explains in his Tanya, the soul of an object or phenomenon is expressed by its name in the Holy Tongue; and when the names for two entities have a common numerical value, this means that they are, in fact, two incarnations of the same essence.[5]

So “secret” and “revelation” are two sides of the same coin. And the very first creation was a secret revelation - a light destined to remain in the dark for millennia on end. An infinitely brilliant flash which illuminated the void of the First Day, only to retreat into its alter ego, secret, for the whole of contemporary history. So though light may be the primary element of creation, ours is a world of secrets: a world in which life means grappling with darkness and wrestling with the unknown, a world in which light is reserved for the “World to Come” - the fulfillment and culmination of our present-day struggles.

Kahane-Was-Right BT:

--- Quote from: Dan ben Noah on November 30, 2009, 05:18:19 PM ---On Ask JTF, Dr. Dan asked a question about how plants could survive if they were created on the third day when the sun wasn't created until the fourth day.  Chaim said he didn't know and that it was possibly symbolic.  Here is my guess from a literal perspective:  Light was created on the first day, and there was evening and morning every day, so the plants would not be without light.  The sun, moon and stars weren't put into place until later but light still existed.  Second, even if there hadn't been any light, I would assume plants could survive for one day without light.

--- End quote ---

The rishonim dealt with these types of kashiyas.   Even more striking, how could there be morning and evening (first day second day etc) when the sun wasn't created yet until day 4?   What comes out from this is that the story is not literal.   

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