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. – 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." 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?
With ten Sayings God created the world, although a single Saying would have sufficed. God desired to make known how severe is the punishment to be meted out to the wicked, who destroy a world created with as many as ten Sayings, and how goodly the reward destined for the righteous, who preserve a world created with as many as ten Sayings. The world was made for man, though he was the last-comer among its creatures. This was design. He was to find all things ready for him. God was the host who prepared dainty dishes, set the table, and then led His guest to his seat. At the same time man's late appearance on earth is to convey an admonition to humility. Let him beware of being proud, lest he invite the retort that the gnat is older than he. The superiority of man to the other creatures is apparent in the very manner of his creation, altogether different from theirs. He is the only one who was created by the hand of God. The rest sprang from the word of God. The body of man is a microcosm, the whole world in miniature, and the world in turn is a reflex of man. The hair upon his head corresponds to the woods of the earth, his tears to a river, his mouth to the ocean. Also, the world resembles the ball of his eye: the ocean that encircles the earth is like unto the white of the eye, the dry land is the iris, Jerusalem the pupil, and the Temple the image mirrored in the pupil of the eye. But man is more than a mere image of this world. He unites both heavenly and earthly qualities within himself. In four he resembles the angels, in four the beasts. His power of speech, his discriminating intellect, his upright walk, the glance of his eye—they all make an angel of him. But, on the other hand, he eats and drinks, secretes the waste matter in his body, propagates his kind, and dies, like the beast of the field. Therefore God said before the creation of man: "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." God now bade all beings in heaven and on earth contribute to the creation of man, and He Himself took part in it. Thus they all will love man, and if he should sin, they will be interested in his preservation. The whole world naturally was created for the pious, the God-fearing man, whom Israel produces with the helpful guidance of the law of God revealed to him. It was, therefore, Israel who was taken into special consideration at the time man was made. All other creatures were instructed to change their nature, if Israel should ever need their help in the course of his history. The sea was ordered to divide before Moses, and the heavens to give ear to the words of the leader; the sun and the moon were bidden to stand still before Joshua, the ravens to feed Elijah, the fire to spare the three youths in the furnace, the lion to do no harm to Daniel, the fish to spew forth Jonah, and the heavens to open before Ezekiel. In His modesty, God took counsel with the angels, before the creation of the world, regarding His intention of making man. He said: "For the sake of Israel, I will create the world. As I shall make a division between light and darkness, so I will in time to come do for Israel in Egypt—thick darkness shall be over the land, and the children of Israel shall have light in their dwellings; as I shall make a separation between the waters under the firmament and the waters above the firmament, so I will do for Israel—I will divide the waters for him when he crosses the Red Sea; as on the third day I shall create plants, so I will do for Israel—I will bring forth manna for him in the wilderness; as I shall create luminaries to divide day from night, so I will do for Israel—I will go before him by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of fire; as I shall create the fowl of the air and the fishes of the sea, so I will do for Israel—I will bring quails for him from the sea; and as I shall breathe the breath of life into the nostrils of man, so I will do for Israel—I will give the Torah unto him, the tree of life." The angels marvelled that so much love should be lavished upon this people of Israel, and God told them: "On the first day of creation, I shall make the heavens and stretch them out; so will Israel raise up the Tabernacle as the dwelling-place of My glory. On the second day, I shall put a division between the terrestrial waters and the heavenly waters; so will he hang up a veil in the Tabernacle to divide the Holy Place and the Most Holy. On the third day, I shall make the earth put forth grass and herb; so will he, in obedience to My commands, eat herbs on the first night of the Passover, and prepare showbread for Me. On the fourth day, I shall make the luminaries; so will he make a golden candlestick for Me. On the fifth day, I shall create the birds; so will he fashion the cherubim with outstretched wings. On the sixth day, I shall create man; so will Israel set aside a man of the sons of Aaron as high priest for My service." Accordingly, the whole of creation was conditional. God said to the things He made on the first six days: "If Israel accepts the Torah, you will continue and endure; otherwise, I shall turn everything back into chaos again." The whole world was thus kept in suspense and dread until the day of the revelation on Sinai, when Israel received and accepted the Torah, and so fulfilled the condition made by God at the time when He created the universe.
