How Sleep the Evil Urge and Gehinnom Are All Very Good

"And behold, very good" refers to sleep. But is sleep very good? Have we not learned, "Wine and sleep for the wicked are a benefit to them and a benefit to the world, while for the righteous it is bad for them and bad for the world"? Rather, because a person sleeps a little, he rises and labors much in Torah. "And behold, good" refers to the good inclination; "very" refers to the evil inclination. But is the evil inclination very good? Rather, were it not for the evil inclination, a man would not build a house, nor marry a wife, nor beget a child, nor engage in trade. And so Solomon says, "It is a man's rivalry with his neighbor" (Ecclesiastes 4:4). "And behold, good" refers to the measure of goodness; "very" refers to the measure of sufferings, through which creatures come to the life of the world to come, as it is said, "and the way of life is the reproof of discipline" (Proverbs 6:23). "And behold, good" refers to the Garden of Eden; "very" refers to Gehinnom. This is like a king who had an orchard and brought workers into it and built a storehouse at its entrance. He said, "Whoever proves fit in the work of the orchard shall enter the storehouse, and whoever does not prove fit shall not enter." So too, whoever stores up commandments and good deeds shall enter the Garden of Eden, and if not, then Gehinnom awaits. "And behold, good" refers to the angel of life; "very" refers to the angel of death. This is like a king who made a banquet and invited guests and said, "Whoever eats and blesses the king, let him eat and may it please him, and if not, his head will be struck off with a sword." "And behold, good" refers to the measure of goodness; "very" refers to the measure of punishment. And is the measure of punishment good? Rather, He is vigilant over the punishment, how to bring it. All the measures have ceased, but measure for measure has not ceased. "And behold, very good" refers to man; the lots of this one are like the lots of that one. "And behold, good" refers to the kingdom of heaven; "very" refers to the kingdom of earth, which exacts justice from creatures, as it is said, "I made the earth and created man upon it" (Isaiah 45:12). "And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31): this is the hour in which one adds from the profane to the holy, and in it the work of the world was completed. As Rabbi Siman said, therefore it is written "the sixth" [with the definite article]: until here we count for the creation of the world; from here onward we count by another reckoning.