Creation By The Torah

There was a blueprint, a guide, an artisan involved: The Torah.

Yes, the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the very text we read and study, was, according to some traditions, instrumental in the act of creation itself. Think about that for a moment.

The Tree of Souls tells us that the Torah was among the seven things created before the world. It wasn't just a text to be revealed later; it was a pre-existing cosmic guide. And, as we learn from Genesis Rabbah, God consulted the Torah like a king consults sketches when building a palace.

But why? Why consult anything? Well, imagine creating an entire universe. It's a pretty big project! The Torah, in this view, acted as God's advisor.

But it goes deeper than just advice. The text suggests the Torah wasn't just consulted; it was used in the creation process. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, when it came time to create humanity, the Torah even cautioned God! It essentially said, "Are you sure about this? Humans will be flawed, prone to anger and sin. If you won’t be patient, maybe it's better not to create them.” God, however, reassured the Torah, saying, "It's not for nothing that I'm called Merciful."

So how did it all work, practically speaking? Some say God looked into the Torah and, seeing the word "heavens," created the heavens. Seeing "light," He created light. Each word became a building block.

Midrash Konen offers a more mystical vision. It says God opened the Torah and took a hidden name, a name not given to any creature. Three drops of that name fell into the sea, filling it with water and the Ruach Hakodesh, the Holy Spirit. The Shekhinah, the divine presence, was there. Then, God took three drops of light: one for this world (Olam ha-Zeh), one for the World to Come (Olam ha-Ba), and one for the light of the Torah itself.

And then, fire. Three drops of fire, heating the whole world. God saw fire on His right, light on His left, and water beneath Him. He mixed them, creating heaven from fire and water, a tent of darkness and Clouds of Glory from water and light, and holy beasts from fire and light.

The Zohar tells us that there's a holy light hidden within the Torah, and to find it, we need to delve deeply into its teachings. One day, that light will shine forth. Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav even believed this light could be found within the very stories of the Torah.

Now, it’s important to note that not everyone agrees on the Torah's active role. Rabbi Hayim of Volozhin believed that the Torah illuminated the universe from afar, giving it life, but the world remained unsettled until the giving of the Torah at Sinai.

But here’s the really powerful idea that connects all these views: The world was created for the sake of the Torah. God declared that as long as the Jewish people engage with the Torah, the world will continue to exist. But, as we learn from Jeremiah, if we abandon it, God could return creation to chaos. Heavy stuff, right?

It's a powerful thought: our connection to the Torah isn't just about personal growth or religious observance, it's about the very sustenance of the universe. Food for thought, isn’t it?

Commentary

So too did God declare, at the time of man's creation, that the world was created only for the sake of the Torah, and that as long as the Jewish people occupy themselves with the Torah, the world will continue to exist. But if the Jewish people abandon the Torah, God will return all of creation to a state of chaos. God is able to consult the Torah because it is one of the seven things created before the creation. See "Seven Things Created before the Creation," p. 74. A parable is given to explain God's use of the Torah to create the world: "When a king wishes to build a palace, he does not build it himself but brings in an artisan. Nor does the artisan build it himself. He uses sketches and notebooks. So too did God look into the Torah and create the world." ( Genesis Rabbah 1:1). Here the Torah is presented as an "artisan," not simply as a text to be consulted, while God is the architect, that is, an active, creating force. Here the Torah seems to participate in the creation in much the same way as the angels are said to have done in other rabbinic sources. See "Creation by Angels," p. 116. In the second example of God creating the world from the Torah, found in Midrash Konen, God takes a name out of the Torah and transforms it into drops of water, light, and fire, the elements with which God creates the world. This myth provides the origin of the primordial elements with which God was able to create the world, having them find their origin in a name found in the Torah. Such a name or names, usually the name of an angel, is used to invoke various kinds of spells in the Jewish magical tradition. It makes the creation of those elements itself a step in the creation process, thus making it a part of God's overall plan. In this scenario, God created the Torah, which, in turn, was used to create the elements, which were used to create the world. This tradition probably emerged in response to the Gnostic view that the primordial elements— darkness, light, water, and fire— already existed when God decided to proceed with creation. Philo also offers the metaphor of God having used a blueprint in the creation of the world, but he does not identify this blueprint with the Torah, but rather with a blueprint in an architect's mind. Three types of light are reported to have been created in this myth: the light of this world (Olam ha-Zeh), the light of the World to Come (Olam ha-Ba), and the light of the Torah. Each one is created out of a word of the Torah, one that was not the name of any creature. The Zohar and later the Ba'al Shem Tov linked the light of the first day, known as the hidden light (or ha-ganuz), with the light of the Torah. Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, the greatest Jewish storyteller, added to this interpretation his view that the light could be found in the stories of the Torah. See "The Light of the First Day," p. 83, and "Light from the Temple," p. 411. According to Rabbi Hayim of Volozhin, the Torah did not actively participate in Creation, but nevertheless played an essential role: "At the time of Creation, the Torah illuminated the universe from a remote distance to give it life and sustain it. Still, the world remained unsettled until the giving of the Torah 2000 years later" (Nefesh ha-Hayim 4:1). The basis for the assertion that God will destroy the world if the Jewish people abandon the Torah is Jeremiah 33:25: "If not for My Covenant , I would not have set day and night and the bounds of heaven and earth."

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