Jewish tradition has something fascinating to say about that very idea. It's a notion that the very foundations, the shoresh – the roots – of absolutely everything were established during those pivotal six days of Creation.
Think about it: “There is nothing new under the sun,” as we read in Ecclesiastes (1:9). Does that mean we’re just going in circles? Not exactly. Instead, imagine the six days of Creation as the ultimate blueprint. The plans were drawn, the components were created, and the stage was set for everything that would follow.
The text in Tree of Souls (Schwartz, 25:30) beautifully captures this. It tells us that God surveyed all of Creation before it even existed in its fullness. God prepared absolutely everything during those six days. Then, crucially, God blessed it.
This is more than just a nice story. It’s a powerful statement about the nature of reality. It echoes, remarkably, a concept that the ancient Greek philosopher Plato would have understood: the idea of an archetype. In this case, the six days act as the primordial archetype.
But here’s the kicker. It's not just that God created everything then. The blessing God bestowed upon Creation isn’t a one-time thing. It's continuous. It's still happening.
We see this echoed in the verses from Genesis (1:22, 1:28, 5:2): "And God blessed them." That blessing, that divine sustenance, is what keeps the world going today. It's what allows us to flourish, to grow, to even be.
So, the next time you're facing a challenge, or celebrating a triumph, remember those first six days. Remember that the seeds of possibility were planted long ago, and that we are still living within the embrace of that original, powerful blessing. What does it mean for us to live our lives aware of this blessing, and to participate in its ongoing unfolding? That's something worth pondering.