Tomorrow morning, God willing, we will start rereading the Tora from the beginning: BERESHIT. Genesis.
After writing my first book, “Awesome Creation”, which deals with the first three verses of Genesis, which narrate the creation of our planet, I started my new book. What did God create on the Fifth Day? The name of my new book is: “Dinosaurs in the Bible”, which I have not yet published in English (see the Portuguese version here).
In the following lines, I will share with the readers of Halakha of the Day a text from the introduction of my new book. In this introduction, I briefly describe the process of creation, which is fully discernible to man and contemporary science. I chose to share some ideas about the Fourth Day of Creation because I think it is the least understood. In kindergarten, we are taught that God “created” the Sun, the Moon, and the stars on the Fourth Day. But this prevalent idea does not follow the opinion of the vast majority of Jewish Sages, especially those like Rashi, or Radaq, who specializes in the textual and grammatical part (peshat), that is, in the non-mystical interpretation of the Tora.
Besides, it would be a great intellectual challenge to suppose that the plants created on the Third Day could have existed without sunlight or that the Earth’s atmosphere created on the Second Day did not depend on the sun. Or even the day/night transition of the First Day did not occur through the sun. Today we know that the existence of a planet depends on the star around which it orbits and that all the planets we know exist, obviously, within a solar system.
This issue will be clarified in the following lines, Although I am sure that many readers will be surprised because it will be the first time they read this. I apologize that the text I will copy is a bit longer than usual. Still, I hope it will help you better understand the Creation text and appreciate that the more we know the science, the more we admire the exquisite precision of our Tora.
Genesis 1:14
And God said (on the Fourth Day): Let there be lights in the heavenly sky, and separate the day from the night; and let them be signs of the times, the days, and the years.
1. Jewish tradition holds that the luminaries—the sun, the Moon, and the planets of our solar system—were not “created” on the Fourth Day, but on the First Day of Creation. To be more precise, God created the sun, the Moon, and the universe during the first Act of Creation (Genesis 1:1). On the Fourth Day, then, God established the final positioning of the Sun and the Moon in their respective celestial orbits (requia’ hashamayim). This is not a minor detail. The temperature of our planet, which allows the existence of water in a liquid state, or the evaporation/precipitation cycle that produces fresh water, etc., depends on the fine-tuned distance between our planet and the sun. Our verse says: “Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens”, but in reality, we should understand it in this way: “let the luminaries be positioned/ relocated in [their precise place in] the expanse of the heavens”. The Divine order does not refer to the creation of the luminaries but to their relocation “in the expanse of the heavens”, that is, in their definitive celestial orbit. This is the opinion of the majority of the rabbis of the Talmud. According to our Sages, Rashi (Gen. 1:14), this verse indicates what the final and definitive location of the luminaries will be. Rashi explicitly quotes the expression of the Sages: teliyat hameorot , “the suspension of the luminaries” in their respective orbits) and not their creation. To better appreciate that this verse does not refer to the “creation” of the luminaries, notice the absence of the verb bara, which is used in the Tora to describe an act of creation from nothing. In this verse, the Biblical text does not use the word “bara” but the Hebrew word “yehí”.
In the formation of the atmosphere (Genesis 1:6), for example, there was no act of creation from nothing, and the Tora uses the word “yehi”, not the expression “bara” to describe the establishment of a new mechanism, produced from something previously created.
2. Next, our text announces the mission of the luminaries. Once relocated in their final orbits, they will no longer be limited to the exclusive task of determining the transition between day and night, as they have been doing until now. From their new delicately calibrated orbits, the luminaries will also indicate other more complex time units, such as months, seasons, and years. However, the cycle of “the week” (Shabbat) is independent of any astronomical reference and will be established directly by the Creator.
Genesis 1:15
and that they act as luminaries from the celestial sky to illuminate the Earth. So it was.
From its new and carefully calculated distance from Earth, what modern scientists call “the galactic habitable zone,” sunlight will benefit future Earth dwellers, living things that need a very precise temperature. The Sun will have a special mission, explicitly mentioned in this verse: lehair ‘al haarets. That is: radiating the energy and heat necessary for life from a distance that does not cause too much or not enough heat/radiation. The Earth’s average temperature, 14 degrees Celsius, is incredibly stable and falls within a very narrow and privileged range. This delicately balanced temperature does not allow the oceans to freeze as they would if the Earth had the temperature of Mars or Jupiter, nor that they evaporate, as would happen in the case of Venus or Mercury. The water of the terrestrial oceans will be able to remain in a stable liquid state, and the climatic system will continue to produce rain as necessary, thanks to the temperature, exquisitely tuned by the Creator, which results from the ideal positioning of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. This is the habitability zone necessary for the appearance on the Fifth Day of this phenomenon so delicate and fragile that we call: “life”.
Genesis 1:16
And God made the two great luminaries. The greater luminary to rule during the day, and the smaller luminary to rule during the night, and the stars.…the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun but 400 times closer to Earth than the Sun. The Moon is located at an exact distance from Earth, from which it exerts enough gravity to keep our planet aligned in the habitable zone. Maintaining the Earth’s axial tilt and elliptical orbit that produces the four seasons and the sea tides are responsible for stable temperatures and life in the oceans.
Genesis 1:17
And God placed them in the celestial sky to illuminate the Earth.
Biblical commentators explained that the words: “leha-or ‘al ha-arets”, which literally means: “to illuminate the earth”, should be understood as: “for the benefit of the Earth”. In his commentary, Rashi analyzes the Biblical text and suggests understanding the word -arets, “earth”, as ‘olam “world”. In Hebrew and English, “earth” refers exclusively to our planet. In contrast, the expression “world” can also refer to the “inhabitants of the earth.” Sifté Chachamim, a commentary on Rashi’s commentary, explains that Rashi indicated that from the Fourth Day on, the luminaries were relocated for the benefit of the inhabitants of the world (‘olam), and not just for the benefit of the physical planet ( erets), which does not need such delicately balanced solar energy. This view is consistent with the idea that during the Second and Third Days of Creation, a more powerful sunlight was operated by the Creator to modify the surface of our planet. But from the Fourth Day, the Sun was relocated to its new orbit to support life, benefiting the animals and people living on Earth. This concept was beautifully developed by the biblical commentator Seforno (Italy, 1475-1550), in his explanation of the verse in Genesis 1:15: “Now [on the Fourth Day] light with a balanced temperature (or memuzag) will come from the luminaries in the proper measure for the inhabitants of the earth.”
To summarize: our text seemingly reports two actions that took place on the Fourth Day (Genesis 1:16 – 1:17). But based on the rabbis’ words, these two actions must be seen as one action. Genesis 1:16 and 1:17 should be understood as a continuum: (Gen. 1:16) «God made [=modified] the sun (Gen. 1:17), relocating it at reqia’ haShamayim, at the distance from which it will radiate a light fit for life and the inhabitants of the Earth.”
Genesis 1:18
…to rule over the day and the night and to separate the light from the dark
And God saw that it was good.
The steps from the creation of our planet to its adjustment to support life were masterfully illustrated by R. Menashe Ben Israel (1604-1657). The following text is based on his words. “The Creator is our world’s architect, builder, and interior designer. His project, Planet Earth, resembles the construction of a house. First, God creates the most basic materials: the skeleton of the house and its walls (Genesis 1:1-2). During the Second Day (Genesis 1:6-7), God builds the roof and the plumbing mechanism that guarantees a permanent drinking water supply to this house’s future inhabitants. On the Third Day (Genesis 1:9-14), the Creator builds the floor of the house and a sophisticated bio-engineering system to produce a constant supply of food and oxygen: the plants. On the Fourth Day (Genesis 1:16-19), once everything else is in place, the Creator sets up the house’s electrical system: lighting, air conditioning, and heating. The house is now habitable. The walls, ceiling, floor, and all essential systems are in place and working perfectly. And the food is prepared on the table, waiting for the guest of honor: humans”.
Genesis 1:19
AND IT WAS EVENING, AND IT WAS MORNING. FOURTH DAY
And on the Fifth Day, God created life.
