Commentary for Genesis 1:16

המאורות הגדולים THE GREAT LUMINARIES — They were created of equal size, but that of the moon was diminished because she complained and said, “It is impossible for two kings to make use of one crown” (Chullin 60b).

הקטן, the smaller of the two.

ויעש...ויתן...להאיר...ולמשול..ולהבדיל..כי טוב, all of these expressions refer to the luminaries and the other stars. The Torah first writes: ויעש, seeing that up until that point sun and moon had simply been part of all the other celestial bodies which had been created on the second day, or of “heaven,” whose creation had already been reported in verse 1. This is the reason why at this stage the Torah does not call the development of these luminaries an act of creation, ויברא or something similar, but merely writes ויעש, which describes the completion of a process that had already been begun previously. At this stage, G’d singled out these two luminaries from among all the planets and assigned them their function

And He made: [This is] the explanation of "and it was so."

The large luminary to rule the day: He made it to be appointed over that which is in their nature to grow by day, and also [over] the many precious stones and metals that are made during the day.

AND G-D MADE. 17. AND G-D SET THEM. This teaches us that these lights were not made from the body of the firmament, rather, they were bodies set into it.

And God made, etc.: And the reason that it did not suffice with that which it said earlier, "and it was so" upon all that is stated, is because the [act] here is a new act. Since, after the moon was reduced - as it is stated in their words (Chullin 60b) - God refined and fixed a new act [of creation]; since He fixed the rule of the moon by night - as it does not have rulership during the day in front of the light of the sun - and had the stars accompany it. And this is not in contradiction to that which God stated in the beginning of his words, since he already hinted to the end of [His] word at its beginning, as I [showed] by being precise, in its stating, "let there be" (in the singular to show that only one luminary would be great). And even if we explained it in a different way, [the text] supports two explanations.

ויעש, “He completed making;” now the Torah reports how G’d arranged that the luminaries give their light onto the surface of the earth. Each luminary had a certain period assigned to it during which it would function.

ויעש אלוקים, “G’d made completely, etc.” seeing that the Torah says immediately afterwards that ויתן אותם אלוקים ברקיע השמים, “G’d positioned them in the sky of the heaven”, it is clear that these celestial bodies were not part of the celestial bodies themselves but were separate entities in their own right.

They were created equal. Rashi is answering the question: At first it is written, “The two great lights.” Why does it then say, “The large light... and the small light”?

the two great luminaries: The explanation is that they are both great, nonetheless one is greater than its fellow, as it is written [concerning the sun], "the great luminary." And the rabbis interpreted midrashically [that] in the beginning, they were created equally, but [when] the moon attacked [the sun], it was reduced; and the sun retained its great size, because it heard its abuse and didn't answer. Which is like we say (Yoma 23a), "those that are insulted but do not insult, listen to their abuse and do not answer..., about them the verse is speaking [when it says] (Judges 5:31), 'and those that love Him are like the sun when it goes out in its strength,'" [meaning that they are] like the sun that heard its abuse and didn't answer, and became great through it. And also in the yotzer [prayer] on Shabbat, some have the version, "and He reduced the shape of the moon," and this is its explanation; God, may He be blessed, saw that it attacked [the sun] and He reduced it [to punish it for this]. And for those that have the version, "He saw and formed [the shape of the moon], the explanation is this; God, may He be blessed, saw that in the future, the nations of the world would make the mistake of following the sun and making it into idol worship; [and so] He stood and formed the shape of the moon [after forming the sun], to show them that the sun is not a god; since, behold, there is another sun, fitting and fine [just] like it.

המאורות הגדולים, “the large luminaries;” according to Rashi this means that they were originally of equal size and strength. Other commentators say that the meaning of the word גדולים is that they remained as large as they had been created. Rashi also states that the moon was downsized as it had claimed that it is impossible for two queens to rule side by side with equal powers as this would lead to jealousy and friction between them. G-d agreed and suggested that the moon downsize itself in order for harmony to continue. Some commentators claim that the moon downsized itself at the beginning of each monthly orbit.

ואת הכוכבים AND THE STARS — Because He diminished the moon, He increased its attendant hosts to mollify it (Genesis Rabbah 6:4).

The word כי טוב, “that it was good,” describes G’d’s impression after He had removed these luminaries from their original place in the universe, given them spherical shape so that they can orbit, and function as luminaries.

The two great luminaries: The sun and the moon, since both of them shine upon the earth more than [do] the other stars. And from this perspective - for which they are called luminaries (meaning that the emphasis is on the effect of their light, not the light itself) - they are greater than the other ones like them. And even though the moon, in terms of the size of its mass is smaller than other stars, and even though the moon does not have any light of its own at all, the Torah did not speak except from the perspective of people; and behold, we receive much light from the moon and, hence, it is a great luminary.

And the small luminary to rule the night: Over that which grows, and the metals and the stones, the nature of which is to be made at night.

הגדולים, the Torah did not write גדולים which would have described their physical size, seeing that all the planets with the possible exception of נגה, Venus, are larger than the moon. According to our astronomers they are further removed from earth, and this is why they appear to be smaller. The Torah speaks of the relative strength of the light provided by sun and moon respectively. The reason that both luminaries are referred to as הגדולים, is simply because they both appear larger than the fixed stars. Of these two, however, the sun is larger than the moon, as pointed out when the Torah says that the larger one is to shine by day. This also appears to us to be the case when we look at these two luminaries. According to the astronomers the sun is 170 times the size of the moon. The moon, being basically black, does not produce any light of its own but merely reflects the light of the sun, as a mirror reflects light. This accounts for the fact that its light varies in intensity depending on the day of the month, and on its position vis-à-vis the sun on such a day. The Torah therefore describes it as המאור הקטן, the small luminary.

את שני המאורות הגדולים, “the two large luminaries;” according to our sages in Chulin 60, both luminaries were originally of equal size, the moon having been downsized. According to the grammarian Rabbi Joseph Kimchi, the meaning of the word גדולים for both luminaries reflects merely the fact that both appear so much larger than the stars.[and need not mean that one was downsized. Ed.]

Because He diminished. This explains why it is not written, “Let there be stars,” or, “And He made the stars.” (Nachalas Yaakov)

הגדולים, “the term is used to describe how the sun and moon appear to us when compared to the stars.

The great luminary and the small luminary: Even though the light of [both of] them is greater than that of the other stars, they are different from each other: as the light of one is greater than the light of the other. And one is big and one is small from the perspective of light that we receive from them.

And the stars They too rule, each one, over a specific thing, as is known.

ואת הכוכבים, for they too function at night, providing some light both when the moon is shining and when it is not on the horizon. The sun, on the other hand, does not shine at all during the night, seeing it is beneath the earth at that time. [the earth being perceived as flat at that time. Ed.] The moon and stars do not shine by day as the light of the sun, which is so much stronger, outshines them. When the Torah speaks of ממשלה in connection with these luminaries, it refers to the commanding influence the light of these luminaries have during the periods when they are functioning as providers of light.

לממשלת היום, “to rule by day;” to enable the fruit to ripen due to receiving the sun’s warmth.

To rule the day... to rule the night: Not that it should have rulership over the lowly beings, but [rather] that the day should be under the rulership of the sun and the night under the rulership of the moon, [meaning] that the light of the day be from the sun and the light of the night from the moon. And this requires further study. And what also requires further study is that it would have been fit for the etnach (a cantillation mark indicating a slight pause) to be under [the word,] the night (my student, Yitzchak Yehuda Kleinaberger). And see below, verse 18.

לממשלת הלילה, to rule by night in order to cool off the plants so that they would not generate worms. The light created on the first “day,” could not be described as “ruling,” as it did not generate any fruit, or otherwise demonstrate tangible benefits to man.