From: krulwich@zowie.ils.nwu.edu (Bruce Krulwich)
Subject: Dvar Torah -- Rabbi Levitansky -- Bereshis
Organization: The Institute for the Learning Sciences, Evanston, IL
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 17:45:29 GMT



		  Dvar Torah -- Rabbi Levitansky -- Bereshis

"And G-d finished on the seventh day His work which He had done, and He rested
on the seventh day from all His work which He had done" (Gen. 2:2).

What is meant by "finished on the seventh day?"  This implies that there was
work done on the seventh day.  Yet the posuk clearly states that G-d rested on
the seventh day!  How can we explain this apparent contradiction?  Rashi,
commenting on this posuk, quotes Rabbi Shimon as saying that a human being
cannot define the exact instant where one day ends and another begins and so
must bring in Shabbat early so as not to risk bringing it in late.  G-d, on
the other hand, who knows exactly when one day ends and another begins,
continued His creation until the final instant of the sixth day.  Thus it
appeared (from a human perspective) that G-d actually worked into the seventh
day.

There's an obvious problem with this explanation.  The posuk says that "G-d
finished on the seventh day," not that He "apparently finished on the seventh
day."  Why would the Torah describe an incorrect perception as something which
actually happened?

Rashi continues his comment with a second explanation. At the end of the sixth
day the world lacked only one thing: Menuchah (rest).  With the comming of
Shabbat came Menuchah, and at that point the creation was completed.

Clearly the Menuchah that Rashi is discussing is not merely the cessation of
work.  If it were, the posuk would not imply that it required an act of
creation.  However, the nature of that creation must have been very different
from the rest of creation.  The other things described as being created, the
earth, the sky, even light, are all things which had to be physically made.
The creation of an abstract state like Menucha would have to be of a different
nature.

We can get an idea of the nature of the creation of Menucha by looking at the
Midrash's explanation of G-d's name "Kail Shakai."  The Midrash explains the
name as meaning "the G-d who said to His world `enough!'"  As G-d was creating
the world it was expanding and growing and evolving until G-d said "enough,"
at which point its boundaries were defined.  Defining the extent of creation,
how far it would Become before reaching a state of Being, constitutes an act
of creation.  This is what Rashi means by the creation of Menuchah.  After the
six days of creation the world had everything which it required and the time
had come for G-d to define it as complete.  This act created the concept of
Menuchah.  Now we also understand Rabbi Shimon's comment about the creation
ending exactly at the instant that Shabbat began.  The six days of creation
constituted the expansion, growth, and evolution of the world, [and G-d took
full advantage (so to speak) of this time in creating the world].  At the last
possible instant of the sixth day the creation reached the required state and
G-d defined it as complete.  The next instant, the beginning of the seventh
day, introduced Menuchah into creation.

We can see this further in the Torah when the commandment to keep Shabbat is
presented.  The posuk says "Six days shall you labor and do all of your work"
(Ex. 20:9).  What does it mean by "do all of your work?"  Can the Torah
possibly be commanding us to do all of our work every six days?  Would this
imply a prohibition against beginning a project which can't be completed
within the same week?  Obviously something else is intended.  Rashi explains
by saying "When the Shabbat comes you should consider all of your work as
though it were finished, so that you will not think about work."  Each week
represents an opportunity to accomplish whatever we can, but this opportunity
ends with the commencement of Shabbat.  When Shabbat starts the opportunity is
gone and is no longer an active concern.  It's over, and we must actively
remove ourselves from our concern with the work we were doing.  As an analogy,
consider the idea of a fiscal year.  During that period we are presented with
many opportunities and we can work as hard as possible to take advantage of
them, but as of midnight July 1st it's over.  Either we fit our budget or we
didn't.  Either we shipped the products or we didn't.  The opportunities have
passed, we have accomplished what we could, and we can't go back.  The posuk
is saying that with the commencement of Shabbat our work week is over and we
must actively disassociate ourselves from our week's activity.  This act of
saying "it's over" makes what we did complete and creates Menuchah.

How does one come to feel that everything is completed before Shabbat??  The
Or HaChaim explains that when the world was created it was intended to last
only six days.  This notion can be seen in the posuk "for six days G-d made
the heaven and earth..." (Ex.  20:11), where we can interpret this to say that
the world was made to exist for six days only.  Every week the world is
recreated (at the same point where the previous week left off) for another six
days.  ChaZaL (our sages of blessed memory) say that any Jew who makes Shabbat
holy, by saying Kiddush on Shabbat and in general by observing the laws of
Shabbat, becomes a partner in the creation of the world.  Through this
partnership, between G-d who is recreating the world and each Jew who is
keeping Shabbat, the world gets the ability to last another six days.

                                 Rabbi Ahron Levitansky, Yeshiva Migdal Torah
                                      Parshas Bereshis 5750, October 28, 1989
				 Transcribed by Moshe Handel and Dov Krulwich