In this article we will focus on the intrinsic connection between Creation and the Ten Commandments in general, and specifically, on how the Kabbalistic concept of tzimtzum, or contraction of God’s light, i.e., His revelation, plays a crucial role in both.
We begin with a profound Rashi that links Creation with the Ten Commandments. At the conclusion of the sixth day of creation, the Torah writes, “And it was evening and it was morning the sixth day.” At the conclusion of the account of what happened on each of the other days of Creation, the Torah also declares that “it was evening and it was morning” and mentions that it was the “second,” “third,” “fourth,” or “fifth” day, respectively. But on none of the other days is the definite article “the” used. Rashi explains the unique use of the definite article only on the sixth day of Creation by citing the sages’ explanation that “the sixth day” is a reference to the well-known sixth day, i.e., the sixth day of the month of Sivan, the day on which God gave the Torah on Mt. Sinai. More importantly, this was also the day the Israelites agreed to receive the Torah by committing to follow its commandments. The sages use this explanation to reveal that when God created reality, He made its continued existence contingent on the Jewish people’s acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai on that sixth day of Sivan. On that day, Creation was validated and given justification, for the Torah and man fulfilling its commandments, reflecting God’s will, are the true purpose of Creation.
But the connection between Creation and the Ten Commandments is multidimensional. It is also reflected in the structure of the Torah verses introducing each. The Torah’s first verse, “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth” (בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ), is regarded as an introductory verse. Rashi writes that we should read it as if says, “In the beginning, when God created the Heavens and the earth.” The Ten Commandments, as they are in parashat Yitro have a clear introductory verse, “God spoke all these things, saying” (וידבר אלקים את כל הדברים האלה לאמר). Structurally, both verses have 28 letters and 7 words.
Contraction and Revelation
What the two verses also have in common is the Name of God, Elokim, that appears in them, and which is the Name used exclusively throughout the initial account of Creation. It is surprising that the Torah would use the Name so strongly associated with Creation...
