Daber el Bnei Yisrael leimor isha ki tazria veyaldah zachar, vetamah shivat yamim kimei nidat dotah titmah
“Speak to the B’nei Yisroel saying: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be impure for a seven-day period, as during the days of her niddah flow, she shall be impure.” It says in Vayikra Rabbah: “Im zachah adam omrim lo atah kadamta lechol ma’aseh bereishis, ve’im lav, omrim lo yitush kadamcha shilshul kadamcha” – “If a man is worthy, the Malachim say to him: ‘You preceded all the work of Creation.’ But if one is not worthy, they say to him: ‘The gnat preceded you, the earthworm preceded you.’” If, in fact, the gnat and the earthworm came before man, how can the Malachim possibly say that he preceded all the work of Creation?
The Alshich explains that Hashem put chiyus, a life source, into the world for the six days of Creation, which would not extend past those six days. The koach of shemiras Shabbos then gives life to Shabbos and to the following six days. Every day of the week has its life source from the previous Shabbos. If not for the koach shemiras Shabbos at any time, there would no longer be a world.
A Yid is full of potential. If a Yid heeds Shabbos Kodesh properly, he becomes a partner with the Melech Malchei Hamlachim, Hakodosh Boruch Hu in the Creation of the world. People assume that the world was created years ago and that same world keeps going. However, this is incorrect, for in fact, Hakodosh Boruch Hu has to constantly infuse life into this world in order for it to keep going. The world is not on autopilot; rather, it is constantly being run. Hashem put things into place in this world, and the world can only have a kiyum through Shabbos being kept, as well as the Torah and mitzvos. Hashem tells us that if we heed Shabbos Kodesh properly, and if we keep the Torah and mitzvos, He will make us a partner in the Creation of the world. Thus, if we in fact are “zoche,” we become partners in the current world we live in. If we are in fact partners in the Creation of the world, that means that we came before everything in this world.
While in the initial Creation of the world, man was created last – after the gnat – however, this is a new world, with a new life source, and in this world, he came first. However, if one is chas v’sholom not zoche, he does not heed Shabbos Kodesh or perform the mitzvos properly, he has no connection to being a partner in the new world we live in. Rather, in regards to him, we reference the beginning of Creation and tell him that, in fact, he was created even after the gnat. This is to make him remain humble and, hopefully, turn towards Hashem so that he, too, can become a partner with Hashem in the Creation of the world. May we all be zoche to become partners with Hakodosh Boruch Hu in the Creation of the world.
RABBI YAKOV YOSEF SCHECHTER
