13. Bereshit — Abarbanel on the Torah, Section 13

The Debate of the Sages on the Six Days

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Moreover, numerous statements of the Sages confirm this interpretation, supporting the plain meaning of the Torah ! For instance, in Bereshit Rabbah they said: “The Holy One, Blessed be He, created three things on each day.” This is the statement I mentioned earlier. They also said there: For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth—these three things form the very foundation of the covenant of the world, and they each took three days before producing three types of offspring. The earth on the first day (according to Beit Hillel), and it waited three days before bringing forth trees, grasses, and the Garden of Eden. The firmament on the second day, and it waited three days before bringing forth the sun, the moon, and the constellations. The sea on the third day, and it waited three days before bringing forth birds, fish, and the Leviathan.

However, Rabbi Azariah disagreed, saying: “Rather, ‘on the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens’ (Genesis 2:4)—these two things are the foundation of the covenant of the world.” According to him: the heavens were created on the first day, as Beit Shammai maintains, and they waited three days until their work was completed on the fourth day with the luminaries. The earth was primarily created on the third day, as it is written: “And the earth gave forth...” (Genesis 1:12)¹, and it waited three days until its creation was completed on the sixth day with man, as it is written: “I have made the earth, and upon it I have created man...” (Isaiah 45:12)². Thus far.

See, and see again, how this statement clearly explains the distinction between the days, their number, and the differentiation of the creations made within them, without any dispute against it. Even the passages cited by Maimonides, which I myself have also brought as support for his view, when carefully examined, do not truly contradict this interpretation. For when the Sages said: “All things created in the Six Days of Creation were created in their full stature and in their ideal form,” this does not mean that they were all created at once. Rather, it means that when each thing was created in its designated day, it was created in its complete and perfected form. Similarly, when the Sages said: “These are the luminaries that were created on the first day but were not placed in the firmament until the fourth day,” this explicitly acknowledges that there was a progression across the days and distinct actions taken within them. Thus, the luminaries were created on the first day but were not set in place in the firmament until the fourth day.

Likewise, when they said: “The heavens and the earth were created together,” they did not mean that the heavens, the earth, and all their offspring were created at the same time. Rather, they meant that both were created simultaneously on the first day, but that all other things were formed over the following days.

Now, regarding the dispute between the Sages—which I mentioned earlier—about whether everything was created at once or whether each thing was created on its respective day, I will now explain the root of their disagreement. It was the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda that the heavens, the earth, and all other things created during the Six Days of Creation were each brought into existence from absolute nonexistence (yesh me’ayin) on the very day they were created. Accordingly, on each of the six days, a new act of creation ex nihilo took place. But Rabbi Nechemia held that only on the first day was there absolute creation from nothing (ex nihilo), when God created the heavens out of absolute nothingness. On that first day, God instilled within creation the potential to generate all its future offspring—for example, the luminaries, which emerged on the fourth day as a result of this initial act. Likewise, the earth was also created from nothing on the first day, and God placed within it the power to bring forth its offspring—meaning vegetation, animals, and man—on their respective days. Thus, according to Rabbi Nechemia, the only true act of creation ex nihilo took place on the first day, and all subsequent creations emerged from that initial act, rather than being created from absolute nothingness on their respective days.

This is the meaning of the seeds mentioned by the Sages: these seeds already existed in actuality from the beginning, and the planter placed them in the ground so that they would bring forth their offspring in the following days. Thus, not everything was created on the first day, but rather the initial foundations were created in actuality, while their offspring existed only in potential. This concept is reflected in what Rabbi Akiva taught in the name of Nachum Ish Gamzu: “[The verse says]‘The heavens’—to include their offspring, or to include the sun, moon, and constellations.” “‘The earth’—to include grasses, trees, and the Garden of Eden.” The expansion (ribui) mentioned here refers to the potential within these primordial foundations, but does not deny that their actual emergence took place over the subsequent days.

A similar idea is expressed by Rabbi Eliezer the Great: “Everything that belongs to the heavens was created from the heavens, and everything that belongs to the earth was created from the earth.” Likewise, the passage from Midrash Tanchuma that I previously mentioned aligns with this idea. None of these sources can be used to deny the multiplicity of days in creation, nor the distinction between the various things created on different days. For this reason, Ramban wrote with sincerity and intellectual integrity: “Know that the days mentioned in the account of creation were actual days, composed of hours and moments, and that they were truly six days, as is plainly stated in the Torah.” To this I respond: “May my soul die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like his” (Numbers 23:10)³.

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