Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzḥak said: “Behold it was very good” – this is the angel of life; “and behold it was very good” – this is the angel of death. Is the angel of death, then, “very good”? This is a rhetorical question. Rather, it is analogous to a king who prepared a feast, invited the guests and brought before them a serving dish filled with all kinds of delicacies. He said: ‘Anyone who eats and blesses the king, let him eat and enjoy himself, but anyone who eats and does not bless the king, his head shall be severed with a sword.’ So, too, anyone who amasses mitzvot and good deeds, here is the angel of life, and anyone who does not amass mitzvot and good deeds, here is the angel of death.
Why Even Death Itself Was Declared Very Good
Bereshit Rabbah 9:10