Jewish tradition offers a powerful, poetic answer: it was all for us, for humankind.
But there’s a twist. According to Legends of the Jews, Ginzberg retells a fascinating idea: God created the world with ten Sayings, ten distinct acts of creation. Now, one Saying would have been enough. So why ten? To emphasize the immense value of the world, and how terrible it is to destroy something made with such care. Think about that – the responsibility we carry, knowing the world was brought into being with such intention.
The world was made for humanity, even though we arrived last on the scene. Imagine a host preparing a magnificent feast, setting the table perfectly before inviting the guest to sit. That’s us! Everything was ready for us. But this lateness also carries a crucial message: humility. Don’t get too proud, tradition warns, lest someone remind you that even a gnat is older than you are!
What makes us so special? We weren't just spoken into existence like the rest of creation. We are formed by God’s own hand. Tradition teaches that the body of man is a microcosm, a miniature world, and the world itself is a reflection of man. The hair on our head? The woods of the earth. Our tears? Rivers. Our mouth? The vast ocean. Even more specifically, the ocean encircling the earth is like the white of the eye, the dry land the iris, Jerusalem the pupil, and the Temple the very image mirrored in that pupil.
But we’re not just reflections of the earth. We’re a blend of heavenly and earthly qualities. We’re part angel, part beast. We speak, we reason, we stand upright – angelic qualities. Yet, we eat, eliminate waste, procreate, and die – just like the animals. Before creating us, God said, "The celestials are not propagated, but they are immortal; the beings on earth are propagated, but they die. I will create man to be the union of the two, so that when he sins, when he behaves like a beast, death shall overtake him; but if he refrains from sin, he shall live forever."
Think about that tension – the potential for both greatness and baseness within each of us.
According to Legends of the Jews, God then invited all beings, celestial and terrestrial, to contribute to our creation. This way, everyone would have a stake in our well-being. If we sin, they would be invested in our preservation.
Ultimately, the world was created for the pious, the God-fearing – for Israel, guided by God's law. It was Israel that was especially in God's mind when humankind was made. And here’s where it gets really interesting: all other creatures were instructed to alter their very nature if Israel needed help. The sea was ordered to part for Moses, the heavens to listen to him. The sun and moon stood still for Joshua. Ravens fed Elijah. Fire spared the three youths, the lion didn't harm Daniel, the fish spewed out Jonah, and the heavens opened for Ezekiel.
In a display of what's described as modesty, God even consulted with the angels about creating humans! He said, "For the sake of Israel, I will create the world." And then God laid out a series of parallels, as we find in Midrash Rabbah. Just as God would separate light from darkness, so too would God provide light for Israel in Egypt while darkness reigned elsewhere. As God divided the waters above and below, so too would God divide the Red Sea for Israel. As God created plants on the third day, so too would God provide manna for Israel in the wilderness. And so on, drawing connection after connection between creation itself and God's relationship with Israel.
The angels were astonished at this outpouring of love. God explained: the creation itself mirrored the future Tabernacle. The heavens stretched out like the Tabernacle's raised walls. The division of waters mirrored the veil separating the Holy Place. The plants prefigured the herbs of Passover and the showbread. The luminaries foreshadowed the golden candlestick. The birds, the cherubim. And man? The high priest, serving in the Temple.
According to Legends of the Jews, the whole creation was conditional. God told everything He created: "If Israel accepts the Torah, you will continue and endure; otherwise, I shall turn everything back into chaos again." The world held its breath until the revelation at Sinai, when Israel accepted the Torah, fulfilling the condition upon which creation itself rested.
So, what does this all mean for us today? It's a reminder of our immense potential, our responsibility to care for this world, and the profound connection between humanity and the divine. The world wasn't just made for us; it was made with us in mind, our actions shaping its very destiny. What will we do with that knowledge?