וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה ו הנה טוב מאד ויהי ערב וי ה י בקר יום הששי
“And G-d saw all that He made, and behold it was very good; and there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” (Bereishis 1:31)
At the time of Berias HaOlam, after many of the creations in the world were complete, the Torah states, “Vayar Elokim ki tov — And Hashem saw that it was good.” Only at the conclusion of creation does the Torah modify the description to “very good.”
If we take a quick look at various aspects of creation during those days, we may conclude that some things are not good at all, as many creations did not follow Hashem’s precise instructions. On the third day of creation, Hashem commanded that the trees appear with bark that tasted like their fruits; instead, the trees emerged with inedible bark (Rashi, v. 11). Additionally, the sun and the moon were initially of equal size and power; as a result of the moon’s objections, though, Hashem diminished its size and removed its power (Rashi, v. 16).
While of course there is a reason that Hashem allowed parts of creation to deviate from His plan, Rav Pam would say that there is a valuable takeaway here. From the very beginning of creation, the Torah wants to teach us that not everything has to be perfect in order for us to be satisfied with it. Even though the world did not emerge precisely as Hashem had commanded, Hashem still considered it “very good.”
Despite their expectations, very few people live a “perfect” life. Most people do not have a “perfect” house, “perfect” children, or a “perfect” job. Many people, however, are blessed with “very good” lives: with “very good” homes, children, and jobs. Just as Hashem could look upon the “imperfect” creation and appreciate just how “very good” it was, so must we learn to look upon our own lives and feel content with all that is “very good,” even if there are seeming imperfections.
The parsha ends off with a genealogical description of the children of Adam until Noach and his three sons, concluding with a depiction of the wicked generation that was to be obliterated by the Flood. The section begins with the words, “Zeh sefer toldos Adam — This is the account of the descendants of Adam” (5:1). Perhaps we can connect this pasuk to our theme of being satisfied even when things are not perfect. If we look at the leadup to the verse of “Zeh sefer toldos Adam,” we find a big catastrophe juxtaposed with the positive events that followed. After telling us about how Kayin killed Hevel, the Torah goes on to describe how Kayin built cities, had other children, and continued to live his life. Even more, the Torah tells us how Adam and Chavah had a child who was essentially a replacement for Hevel.
The ability to pick oneself up and dust oneself off is the greatest manifestation of “Zeh sefer toldos Adam.” Indeed, this is the account of man. At one time or another, we all face sad realities in life, yet we must take a lesson from Kayin and his parents and keep going. Kayin did something wrong, yet he did not give up. He did teshuvah and moved on. Adam and Chavah lost a child, but they went on and had another. The history of man is replete with accounts of downfall and recovery, of failure and success, of tragedy and renewal.
Another example of focusing on the positive and moving toward the future despite setbacks would be the story of Adam and Chavah, their sin, and the events that followed. After Chavah ate from the Eitz HaDaas and gave to her husband to eat, the trajectory of mankind changed for the worse. All sorts of suffering — from physical affliction and distress to disease and death — became a part of our very existence. Nonetheless, after detailing their fate and the curses to mankind pronounced by Hashem, the Torah, which had stopped in middle of the narrative of Chavah’s creation, now picks up where it left off, informing us that Adam called his wife Chavah. Why? “Ki hi haysah eim kol chai — Because she had become the mother of all the living” (Bereishis 3:20; also see Rashi).
Why did the Torah choose to record the events in this order? After describing how Chavah brought death to all humanity, why does the Torah tell us that Adam called her the mother of all living? Perhaps the Torah is teaching us the yesod [foundation] discussed earlier. Adam had a choice: He could continue blaming Chavah for enticing him, or he could look at the incident as a slip-up. He chose the latter. “I’m going to go on and build from here; I’m going to look at the positive. Chavah is the mother of all humanity, and she will be the one with whom to re stock and rebuild. And that is where my focus will be.” (R’ Avraham Bukspan, Classics and Beyond 2)