Creation and Light + "Color and Light"

ByRachel K Finegold

Verses: Where Broadway and Torah Meet

בראשית א׳:א׳-ה׳

(א) בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ב) וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃ (ג) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר׃ (ד) וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָא֖וֹר כִּי־ט֑וֹב וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֔ים בֵּ֥ין הָא֖וֹר וּבֵ֥ין הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ (ה) וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לָאוֹר֙ י֔וֹם וְלַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ קָ֣רָא לָ֑יְלָה וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם אֶחָֽד׃ {פ}

Genesis 1:1-5

(1) When God began to create heaven and earth— (2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water— (3) God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (4) God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. (5) God called the light Day and called the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.

חגיגה י״ב א:ט׳-י״ב

כִּדְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר. דְּאָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: אוֹר שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן, אָדָם צוֹפֶה בּוֹ מִסּוֹף הָעוֹלָם וְעַד סוֹפוֹ. כֵּיוָן שֶׁנִּסְתַּכֵּל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּדוֹר הַמַּבּוּל וּבְדוֹר הַפְּלַגָּה וְרָאָה שֶׁמַּעֲשֵׂיהֶם מְקוּלְקָלִים — עָמַד וּגְנָזוֹ מֵהֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְיִמָּנַע מֵרְשָׁעִים אוֹרָם״. וּלְמִי גְּנָזוֹ — לַצַּדִּיקִים לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאוֹר כִּי טוֹב״, וְאֵין ״טוֹב״ אֶלָּא צַדִּיק, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אִמְרוּ צַדִּיק כִּי טוֹב״. כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה אוֹר שֶׁגְּנָזוֹ לַצַּדִּיקִים שָׂמַח, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אוֹר צַדִּיקִים יִשְׂמָח״. כְּתַנָּאֵי: אוֹר שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן, אָדָם צוֹפֶה וּמַבִּיט בּוֹ מִסּוֹף הָעוֹלָם וְעַד סוֹפוֹ, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי יַעֲקֹב. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים: הֵן הֵן מְאוֹרוֹת שֶׁנִּבְרְאוּ בְּיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן, וְלֹא נִתְלוּ עַד יוֹם רְבִיעִי.

Chagigah 12a:9-12

The Gemara answers: This should be understood in accordance with Rabbi Elazar, as Rabbi Elazar said: The light that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created on the first day was not that of the sun but a different kind of light, through which man could observe from one end of the world to the other. But when the Holy One, Blessed be He, looked upon the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion and saw that their ways were corrupt and that they might misuse this light for evil, He arose and concealed it from them, as it is stated: “And from the wicked their light is withheld” (Job 38:15). And for whom did He conceal it? For the righteous people in the future, as it is stated: “And God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4), and “good” is referring to none other than the righteous, as it is stated: “Say of the righteous that it shall be good for them, for they shall eat the fruit of their actions” (Isaiah 3:10). When the light saw that it had been concealed for the righteous, it rejoiced, as it is stated: “The light for the righteous shall rejoice” (Proverbs 13:9). The Gemara comments: This is like a dispute between tanna’im: The light that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created on the first day was so profound that man could observe through it from one end of the world to the other; this is the statement of Rabbi Ya’akov. And the Rabbis say: This light is the very same as the lights created on the first day, but they were not suspended in their designated places in the firmament until the fourth day.

בראשית רבה א׳:ט׳

פִּילוֹסוֹפִי אֶחָד שָׁאַל אֶת רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל, אֲמַר לֵיהּ צַיָּר גָּדוֹל הוּא אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֶלָּא שֶׁמָּצָא סַמְּמָנִים טוֹבִים שֶׁסִּיְּעוּ אוֹתוֹ, תֹּהוּ, וָבֹהוּ, וְחשֶׁךְ, וְרוּחַ, וּמַיִם, וּתְהוֹמוֹת. אֲמַר לֵיהּ תִּפַּח רוּחֵיהּ דְּהַהוּא גַּבְרָא, כּוּלְּהוֹן כְּתִיב בָּהֶן בְּרִיאָה, תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה מה, ז): עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא רָע. חשֶׁךְ (ישעיה מה, ז): יוֹצֵר אוֹר וגו', מַיִם (תהלים קמח, ד): הַלְּלוּהוּ שְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם וְהַמַּיִם, לָמָּה, שֶׁצִּוָּה וְנִבְרָאוּ. רוּחַ (עמוס ד, יג): כִּי הִנֵּה יוֹצֵר הָרִים וּבֹרֵא רוּחַ. תְּהוֹמוֹת (משלי ח, כד): בְּאֵין תְּהֹמוֹת חוֹלָלְתִּי.

Bereshit Rabbah 1:9

A philosopher once asked Rabbah Gamliel and said to him, ''Your God is only a great artist because he found great materials that helped him: tohu and vohu, darkness, spirit, water, and the depths." Rabbi Gamliel responded to him: "Your spirit should blow! Regarding all of them, the term 'creation' is written: tohu and vohu, as it says (Isaiah 45:7), 'He makes peace and creates evil'; darkness, 'He fashions light and creates darkness'; water (Tehillim 148:5), 'Praise the heavens and the waters' - why? - for 'He commanded and they were created'; spirit (Amos 4:13), 'For behold he fashions mountains and creates spirit'; the depths (Mishlei 8:24), 'When there were no depths, I was created.'"

God created even the raw materials!

משנה אבות ה׳:ו׳

(ו) עֲשָׂרָה דְבָרִים נִבְרְאוּ בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, וּפִי הַבְּאֵר, וּפִי הָאָתוֹן, וְהַקֶּשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר, וְהַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף הַמַּזִּיקִין, וּקְבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל משֶׁה, וְאֵילוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף צְבָת בִּצְבָת עֲשׂוּיָה:

Pirkei Avot 5:6

(6) Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs.

The potential for human creativity (the initial tongs for the creation of human tongs) is embedded within the creation of the world.

Color and Light (From Sunday in the Park with George)

by Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin

Order
Design
Composition
Tone
Form
Symmetry
Balance

More red
And a little more red
Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue
Even, even
Good
Bum bum bum
Bum bum bum bum bum bum

More red!
More blue!
More beer!

More light!

Color and light
There's only color and light
Yellow and white
Just blue and yellow and white
Look at the air, miss-
See what I mean?
No, look over there, miss
That's done with green
Conjoined with orange

Nothing seems to fit me right
The less I wear the more comfortable I feel
More rouge
George is very special
Maybe I am just not special enough for him
If my legs were longer
If my bust was smaller
If my hands were graceful
If my waist was thinner
If my hips were flatter
If my voice was warm
If I could concentrate

I'd be in the Follies!
I'd be in the cabaret!
Hey!
Gentlemen in tall silk hats
And linen spats
Would wait with flowers
I could make them wait for hours
Giddy young aristocrats
With fancy flats
Would drink my health
And I would be as hard as nails!
And they'd only want me more!
If I was a folly girl
Nah, I wouldn't like it much
Married men and stupid boys and too much smoke
And all that noise
And all that color and light!

Aren't you proper today, miss?
Your parasol so properly cocked
Your bustle so perfectly upright
And you, sir
Your hat so black
So black to you, perhaps
So red to me
None of the others worked at night
So composed for a Sunday
How do you work without the right
Bright
White
Light?
How do you fathom, George?

Red, red, red, red
Red, red, orange
Red, red, orange
Orange pick up blue
Pick up red
Pick up orange
From the blue-green, blue-green
Blue-green circle
On the violet diagonal
Di-ag-ag-ag-ag-ag-o-nal-nal
Yellow, comma, yellow, comma
Num, num, num
Num, num, num, num, num, num
Blue, blue, blue, blue
Blue still sitting
Red that perfume
Blue all night
Blue-green the window shut
Dut, dut, dut
Dot, Dot sitting
Dot, Dot waiting
Dot, Dot getting fat, fat, fat
More yellow
Dot, Dot waiting to go
Out, out, out
No, no, no, George
Finish the hat, finish the hat
Have to finish the hat first
Hat, hat, hat, hat
Hot, hot, hot, it's hot in here
Sunday!

Color and light!
But how George looks, he could look forever
There's only color and light!
As if he sees you and he doesn't all at once
Purple and white
What is he thinking when he looks like that?
And red and purple and white!
What does he see? Sometimes not even blinking.
Look at this glade, girls
Your cool blue spot
His eyes. So dark and shiny
No, stay in the shade, girls
It's getting hot
Some think cold and black
It's getting orange
But it's warm inside his eyes
Hotter
And it's soft inside his eyes
And he burns you with his eyes
Look at her looking
And you're studied like the light
Forever with that mirror. What does she see?
And you look inside the eyes
The pink lips, the red cheeks
And you catch him here and there.
The wide eyes studying the round face, the tiny pout
But he's never really there
Seeing all of the parts and none of the whole
So you want him even more
But the way she catches light
And you drown inside the eyes
And the color of her hair
I could look at him (her) forever

It's going well
Should I wear my red dress or blue?
Red
Aren't you going to clean up?
Why?
The follies, George
I have to finish the hat

Damn!
The follies
Will she yell or stay silent?
Go without me or sulk in the corner?
Will she be in the bed when the hat and the grass and the parasol
Have finally found their way?
Too green
Do I care?
Too blue
Yes
Too soft
What should I do?
Well
Red