Tafsiran Kejadian 1:31: Tze'enah Ure'enah, Rashi, Bekhor Shor & Chizkuni

“The sixth day” [1:31]. The Torah wrote an extra “Heh” when the person was created. The Holy One stipulated that if Israel will study the Torah, which has five parts which includes, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, then the world will continue to exist. The extra “Heh” shows us this. The extra “Heh” further shows us that everything was created in fives. On the first day, five lights were created. On the second day, five heavens, and water is mentioned five times on the second day. On the third day five kinds of plants sprouted from the earth. On the fourth day,⁶⁰It says the fourth day, but actually refers to the fifth day. all living things that have five sorts of movement. Some that walk on two feet, some on four feet, some crawl on their stomach, some fly and some who swim. And on the fourth day, five types of lights, the sun and the moon and stars and the day which illumines and the constellations which also illumine. On the sixth day, the person was created whose soul has five names. It is called, Nefesh, Ruah, Neshamah, Hayah, Yehidah.⁶¹Bahya, Genesis, 1:31.

It is known that the person was created with something different from all other creatures. All other creatures have no conflict in their creation, but for the person, conflict is in his body. When he wants to perform a commandment, there is the evil inclination to oppose him. If he wants to commit a sin, the good inclination opposes him. Thus, he must have conflict all his life. Why did the Holy One create him so, with conflict, not with quietude? The Holy One did this to the person so that he will have honor, because he has the choice to do what he wants. However, the domestic and wild animals have no evil inclination and no good inclination. Their nature is that they must do evil to eat and drink and fulfill all of their desires. The angels also do not have the choice to do what they want because they have nothing but reason and a good inclination and they must always be good. Because no other creature in the world has free will, the Holy One wanted to create a creature that will have the choice to do what he wants. The person is like the Holy One in this respect. The Holy One has the choice to do what he wants. The person is the same in that the person can do what he wants. The person could do what he wanted before he ate from the apple. However, his nature was always good and not evil. As soon as he ate from the apple, he began to do evil and good. Therefore, the tree is called “the tree of knowledge of good and bad” [Genesis, 2:17]. This means, the one who eats from the tree has the understanding to do good and bad. Therefore, the Holy One did not say about any other creature, “let us make it in our image” [1:26]. This means, we will create a creature in our form, but concerning the person it is written, “let us make man in our image” [1:26]. This means, we will create man in our image. That is to say, he should have the choice to do everything I do and in his honor the Torah wrote concerning man, “And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him” [1:27]. Therefore the angels wanted to sing praises to Adam and wanted to worship him when the Holy One told them that man has the free will to do what he wants, like the Holy One. What did the Holy One do? He put the person to sleep.⁶²Genesis Rabbah, 8.10. That is to say, you angels are better than the person. Though the person has the choice to do what he wants, but when sleep comes upon him he can do neither good nor evil. However, you angels are awake all the time and fulfill your tasks. That is why the angels are called guardian angels, because they are always awake. Why were the domestic and wild animals created on the sixth day along with man? The reason is that when the person will be pious, he will be better than all of the domestic and wild animals. However, when he will be bad, he will be worse than all the animals because he has the understanding to do good, but he was evil.⁶³Toldot Yizhak, Genesis, 1:26–27.

יום הששי THE SIXTH DAY — The letter ה, the numerical value of which is 5, is added to the word ששי when the work of Creation was complete, to imply that He made a stipulation with them that it endures only upon condition that Israel should accept the five books of the Torah (Shabbat 88a). Another interpretation of יום הששי THE SIXTH DAY — The whole Creation (the Universe) stood in a state of suspense (moral imperfection) until the sixth day — that is, the sixth day of Sivan which was destined to be the day when the Torah would be given to Israel (Avodah Zara 3a).