Pemikiran Yahudi Kejadian 1:7: Derush Chiddushei HaLevanah

The concept that the moon underwent a diminishment is also reflected by the phrase, יהי מארת ברקיע השמים, “Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heaven.” It seems unnecessary for the verse to say ברקיע השמים, “in the expanse of the heaven.” However, this apparent redundancy alludes to the moon’s diminishment. The term rakia refers to the sphere in which the sun is located. This sphere is called rakia because it is in the middle of the seven heavens that are designated for the seven planets.¹⁵I.e., the sun is in the fourth orbit. Below the sun are the moon, Kochav (Mercury), and Nogah (Venus), and above the sun are Ma’adim (Mars), Tzedek (Jupiter), and Shabbetai (Saturn). Therefore, rakia is an appropriate term, for just as the rakia divided between the higher waters and the lower waters,¹⁶Bereishis 1:7. so too, the orbit of the sun divides between the three orbits of the planets closest to the earth and the three orbits furthest from it. The moon was created in this orbit before its diminishment. True, as explained above, God already planned to diminish the moon. Nevertheless, initially, God established both the sun and the moon in this middle orbit. Moreover, initially, it was God’s intent to only create these two luminaries and no others. Nevertheless, after God diminished the moon, He “increased its hosts,”¹⁷See Rashi’s commentary to Bereishis 1:16, based on Bereishis Rabbah 6:4. i.e., God also brought into being the stars, including the five nevuchim,¹⁸This term refers to the five planets, Kochav (Mercury), Nogah (Venus), Ma’adim (Mars), Tzedek (Jupiter), and Shabbetai (Saturn). They are called nevuchim, “perplexed,” because the mazelike nature of their orbits causes them to appear “perplexed” in their movements through the heavenly sphere (Shmuel ibn Tibbon). and all the stars in the orbit of the constellations. On this basis, it can be understood why initially, the purpose of the creation of the sun and the moon is described as being: “to make a distinction between the day and the night.” This was achieved through the creation of the sun and the moon alone. Hence, only the two major luminaries were mentioned in the Torah’s description of God’s initial intent. In contrast, the phrase “to radiate light” refers to all the other stars, for they also radiate light to the earth. For this reason, “to radiate light” was not mentioned in connection with the creation of the sun and moon, but only when the other stars came into being after the diminishment of the moon. Nevertheless, that diminishment was implicit in God’s initial intent, as explained above and as will be clarified further in the elucidation of the subsequent verses.