When we say something is good, we usually mean that we like it and it has our approval. But when God uses this term, He perceives something of greater value. In this penetrating analysis, Rabbi Paul Bloom looks more deeply into what we should understand when God describes His creations as "good".
Why,
then, does the Torah use this lofty term to describe the physical processes of
nature — the growth of vegetation, the shining of the sun, the movement of the
stars? And why, after all these six stages of “ki tov”, does the Torah conclude the chapter with a final,
elevated declaration:
וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, וְהִנֵּה-טוֹב מְאֹד
“And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good”.
What
changed between “tov” and “tov me’od”?
The Whole Greater Than
Its Parts
One
level of interpretation, offered by many classical commentators, is that “tov me’od” marks the moment when the entire creation came together as a
unified whole. Each element — the plants, the animals, the heavenly
bodies, the seas — was indeed good on its own. But when they began to function
together in perfect harmony, forming a complex, interdependent system, the
result was something greater than the sum
of its parts. This
interconnectedness — what we would now call the ecological balance of the universe — is what made creation not
merely good, but “tov me’od.”
The Kli Yakar: “Ki Tov”
as Future Potential
The
Kli Yakar, however, offers a
strikingly different and deeper insight. He notes that in Biblical Hebrew, the word “כי” (ki) often refers to a future event — something that will
happen, rather than something that already is.
For example: “כי תבוא אל האר” — “When you will come into
the Land,” or “כי תצא למלחמה” — “When you will go out to
war.”
Applying
this principle to “וַיַּרְא אֱלֹקים כִּי־טוֹב”, the Kli Yakar suggests: God saw that it would one day become good.
Each stage of creation contained within
it the potential for eternal
goodness, but that goodness had not yet been realized. The world at that point
was magnificent, awe-inspiring — but it lacked meaning. It awaited something,
or rather someone, who could perceive
and internalize its Divine source.
“Tov Me’od”: When
Humanity Awakens
The
Kli Yakar even finds a beautiful hint in the phrase “טוֹב מְאֹד”. Rearrange the letters of מְאֹד, he says, and it
spells “אָדָם” — man. It was Adam’s consciousness — the human
capacity to perceive and declare “מָה רַבּוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ’” (How great are Your works, Hashem) — that
transformed creation from merely good
to very good. Humanity conferred
meaning on the world.
Becoming Partners with
the Creator
This
insight resonates deeply with the teaching of Chazal in Masechet
Shabbat (119b):
“Anyone who recites Kiddush on Friday night becomes a partner with the
Holy One, blessed be He, in the work of Creation.”
How
can a human being be a partner in creation? We cannot form matter from nothing;
we cannot shape galaxies or call forth life. Yet, in a profound sense, we complete creation — not physically, but
spiritually. God created the physical universe, but it was human awareness that gave it meaning.
When a person stands on Friday night and declares “ויכלו השמים והארץ” — “Thus were completed the heavens and the earth” — he affirms that the
world has a purpose and a Creator. At that moment, he invests the cosmos with
spiritual significance.
In
that sense, man is indeed a shutaf
laKadosh Baruch Hu — a partner with God. The universe was waiting
for beings who could look upon it and see “Kevod Shamayim” — the glory of Heaven — reflected in every element of nature.
“Vayechulu”: The
World as a Vessel
The
Sfas Emes adds a beautiful layer
to this idea. The Torah says:
“וַיְכֻלוּ
הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ”
“The heavens and the earth were completed.”
The word “ויכלו” shares its root with “כֵּלִי” — a vessel or instrument. When
Shabbat entered, and Adam and Chavah recognized their Creator, the entire world became a single great vessel
— a kli through which the Divine
Presence could dwell and be revealed. Thus, “ויכלו” means more than completion;
it means transformation. The
universe became a receptacle for holiness, a medium for the Divine will.
Creation was not just finished — it was fulfilled.
The Eternal “Ki Tov”
in Our Lives
On
Shabbat, when we cease our own creative work and simply recognize God’s world,
we achieve the highest human calling: to be a partner with the Creator, seeing His light in every corner of
existence.
וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, וְהִנֵּה-טוֹב מְאֹד
When man recognizes the Divine within creation — only then is the world truly very good.
