Light and darkness, separation of waters... But according to some fascinating rabbinic interpretations, there's a whole other layer to unpack.
Our story comes from Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Numbers. It homes in on this seemingly simple phrase, “On the first day.” But Rabbi Shmuel bar Abba asks a piercing question: What's so special about "the first day"?
He points out something subtle. Genesis doesn't say "the first day." It says "one day" (Genesis 1:5). Why not "two days," "three days" later on? The Zohar tells us that everything in the Torah has layers of meaning.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Abba proposes a beautiful idea: that God, from the very beginning, desired to dwell with creation, to be present in the lower realms. But...it didn't happen right away. As Bamidbar Rabbah emphasizes, that initial "one day" wasn't the day God actually dwelt in the world.
Think about that for a moment. The longing was there from the start, but the conditions weren't quite right. It's as if the cosmic house wasn't ready for its guest.
So, when did God's presence truly descend? It was with the erection of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. Only then, when the princes brought their offerings, did God essentially say, "Now, let it be written that on this day, the world was truly created."
But wait, there's more! Bamidbar Rabbah then asks, why does it say "on the first day" here, rather than "on the day the Tabernacle was erected?" The answer is that this "first" day connects to the creation of the world. It teaches us that it was Sunday.
And this Sunday, this "first day," was crowned with ten distinct honors, according to this Midrash. Ten! Can you imagine?
First, as we've already discussed, it's first in terms of the creation of the world. It’s also first for priesthood, for princedom, and – crucially – for the Divine Presence. This is tied to the verse "they shall craft a sanctuary for Me and I will dwell in their midst" (Exodus 25:8). God's presence finally had a home among the people.
Then there's first for service, referring to the Temple service; first for the Priestly Benediction, that powerful blessing we still recite today; first for the New Moons, marking the passage of time with sacred significance; first for the prohibition of improvised altars, ensuring proper worship; first for partaking of consecrated food, a symbol of communion with the Divine; and finally, first for the descent of the fire, as we read, "Fire emerged from before the Lord and consumed upon the altar…" (Leviticus 9:24). That's quite a list! Ten crowns for one special day!
According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, the rabbis saw this day as a culmination, a moment when the potential of creation was finally realized.
So, what does this all mean for us? Perhaps it's a reminder that creation isn't a one-time event. It's an ongoing process. And maybe, just maybe, it's an invitation to consider how we can help create spaces – both physical and spiritual – where the Divine Presence can dwell. How can we make every day a "first day" in that sense?