Bereshith: good

 Bereshith: good

וַיַּ֧רְא אֱ אֶת־הָא֖וֹר כִּי־ט֑וֹב וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל אֱ בֵּ֥ין הָא֖וֹר וּבֵ֥ין הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃  

God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1

וְרָאִ֣יתִי אָ֔נִי שֶׁיֵּ֥שׁ יִתְר֛וֹן לַֽחׇכְמָ֖ה מִן־הַסִּכְל֑וּת כִּֽיתְר֥וֹן הָא֖וֹר מִן־הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ 

I found that
Wisdom is superior to folly
As light is superior to darkness; 

Ecclesiastes 2, read last week on Shmini Atzereth

Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow

Bob Dylan, My Back Pages  verse 6 ( the last)

The declaration of good and,  its separation from the alternative,  has evolved. Genesis, this week's parsha is an opportunity to look at a this process. 

Light is the alternative to darkness, light allows vision,  the ability to sense at a distance.  It is an incomparable knowledge, a great enabler. The creation of light leads to the invention of good.  The discovery of good reveals bad. This is the forerunner to  eating from the tree of knowledge. 

וַתֵּ֣רֶא הָֽאִשָּׁ֡ה כִּ֣י טוֹב֩ הָעֵ֨ץ לְמַאֲכָ֜ל  

When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes

It gets all mixed up. Does this good mean the same thing as the first good, the good that Gd declares about the newly created light?  This good that the woman saw leads to the violation of the only rule, the death sentence, and expulsion from Eden. It seems to be a bad good.  But it is only because of the light , and its accompanying concept of good that sin occurs.  How much of this drama is  inevitable?

This good and bad operate in the next great drama: 

In the course of time, Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil;

and Abel, for his part, brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. The LORD paid heed to Abel and his offering,

but to Cain and his offering He paid no heed. Cain was much distressed and his face fell.

And the LORD said to Cain,
“Why are you distressed,
And why is your face fallen?

הֲל֤וֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת וְאִם֙ לֹ֣א תֵיטִ֔יב לַפֶּ֖תַח חַטָּ֣את רֹבֵ֑ץ וְאֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָת֔וֹ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּמְשׇׁל־בּֽוֹ׃

.Surely, if you do right,
There is uplift.
But if you do not do right
Sin couches at the door;
Its urge is toward you,
Yet you can be its master.”

Now we have the idea of improvement, moving toward the good. 

This passage reminds me of a story Allen Mansfield told me when we were  about 11.  Allen shared many stories, this one stuck with me: 

The Vilna Gaon said that the greatest sin is not  as a sin at all.  It is ...

and now I cannot remember the Hebrew word accurately.

  It may either be עַצְבוּת (atzvuth) sadness or עַצלָנוּת (atzluth) laziness. Both work. In the story of Cain, it is his sadness that brings him to murder. Failure to follow Gd's advice is the origin of laziness.  If I do not strive to always improve, sin crouches at my door. 

The humans learned to control light. They made fire which shed light in the darkness. They made light from electricity (Edison)  and electricity from light ( the photoelectric effect [Einstein's Nobel Prize]) Knowledge had brought great gain ( יִתְר֛וֹן).  Knowledge brought light. 

The darkness has a role. It is a time to rest and it is romantic. In high school I wrote a poem for our magazine.  I remember only two lines

    The light makes us see clearly

    that which is so beautiful in the night. 

The ambivalence sticks with me. Lighting makes a difference and ,maybe, it is not always for the best. 

In our age, the cynical lines of Bob Dylan prevail. It is all relative. there is no clarity, no absolute light, no absolute darkness. How can one ( or many) judge. We do not understand  ( or stand under?) Gd's judgement anymore. 

It is all good.