Pensée juive sur La Genèse 1:20

G-d personally shaped the physical part, did not leave it to nature. That is why the Torah says "He fashioned," not as in other cases "Let the earth produce!" (Genesis 1,20 or 1,24). The word vayipach, He blew, refers to the original form, not to a self-supporting entity. Compare Genesis 7,22, "All who had the spirit of life in their nostrils, perished." Man then-- by his own efforts, not by having something blown into him by G-d-- completes the process of becoming a proper human being, converting potential achievements into actual accomplishments. The process is somewhat similar to the artist who makes a wax candle. He shapes the inert wax, inserts a wick (vegetable matter). Then along comes a man to light it and to illuminate the area around him, thus giving the candle its purpose.

Here likewise Scripture says, in accordance with what I said above, “And God called the firmament Heaven” (Gen. 1:8), in order to explain the homonymity of the term shamayim (heaven), and to show that shamayim in the first verse is not the firmament which is also called shamayim (heaven). The difference is more clearly expressed in the words, “In the open firmament of heaven” (ibid. 1:20); here it is shown that “firmament” (raki‘a) and “heaven” (shamayim), are two different things. In consequence of this homonymity of the term shamayim the term raki‘a (firmament) is also used of the true heaven, just as the real firmament is sometimes called shamayim (heaven); comp. “And God set them in the raki‘a (firmament) of the heaven” (ibid. 1:17).

So behold, the first three plagues, blood, frogs, and lice, are in the lower realms. As this is [the case] when the Nile turns into blood (Exodus 7:20); when the Nile swarms with frogs (Exodus 7:28), and the land with lice (Exodus 8:3). Whereas the plague of the mix of animals, the pestilence, and the boils were not at all in the lower realms, but rather with those that dwell on the earth’s surface. For example, the mix of animals dwells on the earth’s surface, as opposed to the frogs and lice which are in the water and the ground. But the mix of animals, which are dangerous wild animals, and the pestilence upon the domesticated animals (Exodus 9:3), and the boils upon man and domesticated animals (Exodus 9:9-10), were all upon animals which are on the earth’s surface. But this is not the case with the first ones, their habitat is not on the [its] surface. As the frogs only live in the water, and the lice only live in the ground, and not on the world’s surface. For swarming creatures that swarm upon the earth (alluding to Genesis 7:21) are not considered living on the earth’s surface; only animals and man, which are not from those which swarm on the earth. But even if the lice were considered as if they were on the Earth’s surface – which is not at all the case – it is inappropriate to call the plague of lice something on the earth’s surface. For behold, the plague was upon the ground, as it is written: Hold out your rod and strike the dust of the earth, etc. (Exodus 8:12)! And the next three are in the sky. For the hail is in the sky, as it is written in the verse (Exodus 9:23); the locusts are from those that surely fly (alluding to Genesis 1:20) in the firmament of the sky; and the darkness was so that the Egyptians could not use the luminaries of the sky. So you see that the next three plagues were in the sky. And afterwards was the plague of the firstborn, which was above everything. For behold, it was upon man’s supernal soul, and the soul has a greater value than the sky. Hence there is an order unique to the plagues of blood, frogs, and lices; an order unique to the plagues of the mix of animals, pestilence, and boils; and an order unique to the plagues of hail, locusts, darkness, and the firstborn.