sYOM HASHISHI
RASHI'S OPENING MIDRASH
רש"י בראשית פרק א
בראשית ברא - אין המקרא הזה אומר אלא דרשני,ה כמו שדרשוהו רבותינו ז"ל בשביל התורה שנקראת (משלי ח כב) ראשית דרכו,ו ובשביל ישראל שנקראו (ירמיה ב ג) ראשית תבואתו.
[God created the world] for the sake of the Torah, which is called (Prov. 8:22): “the beginning of His way,” and for the sake of Israel, who are called (Jer. 2:3) “the first of His grain.”
The first midrash which Rashi cites:
בשביל התורה שנקראת ראשית דרכו...
articulates an approach to life which philosophers call essential (in contrast to existential). This means that values exist independently of the created world. God created the world, asserts this Midrash, to enable the realization of Torah values through Israel’s devotion to these values. Existence, therefore, is not self-justifying; rather it is the necessary means for the actualization of Divine values.
God, therefore, does not mandate His laws primarily because they serve to enhance and enable reality. Indeed, at times, a halachic mandate appears to be at odds with an alternative which appears to be more rational or utilitarian. Rather, God has created reality because only through the tangible world are His values able to actualize - become incarnate and real.
Perhaps the best known formulation of this concept is in the Zohar [Terumah p.161a]:
הסתכל באורייתא וברא עלמא [God] looked into the Torah and created the world.
This concept, that "essence" takes precedence to "existence" re-appears, implicitly, in Rashi's two midrashic comments to יום הששי [Bereshit 1:31].
The first interpretation:
הוֹסִיף ה' בַּשִּׁשִּׁי בִגְמַר מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית, לוֹמַר שֶׁהִתְנָה עִמָּהֶם, עַל מְנָת שֶׁיְּקַבְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם יִשְׂרָאֵל חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְּשֵׁי תוֹרָה
Scripture added a “hey” on the sixth [day], at the completion of the Creation, to tell us that He stipulated with them, [“you were created] on the condition that Israel accept the Five Books of the Torah.” [The numerical value of the “hey” is five.]
The second explanation:
דָּבָר אַחֵר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי, כֻּלָּם תְּלוּיִם וְעוֹמְדִים עַד יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי, הוּא ו' בְּסִיוָן הַמּוּכָן לְמַתַּן תּוֹרָה:
Another explanation for “the sixth day” : They [the works of creation] were all suspended until the “sixth day,” referring to the sixth day of Sivan, which was prepared for the giving of the Torah (Shab. 88a). [The“hey” is the definite article, alluding to the well-known sixth day, the sixth day of Sivan, when the Torah was given
The difference between these two derashot should be understood both technically, i.e., focusing on the function of the superfluous letter “hay” in hashishi, and conceptually/theologically:
From a technical, exegetical perspective, the difference between these two explanations may be as follows:
The first midrashic statement interprets the “hay-prefix” not as a prefix but, rather, as an independent expression, namely, as the symbol which represents the number “five,” alludeing to the five books of the Torah.
The second statement, in contrast, views that letter as a genuine prefix - the definite article which serves to transform a sixth day into the sixth day - alluding to a specific day, namely, the sixth day of Sivan, when the Torah was destined to be revealed.
The concepyual/theological distinction: Both Midrashim agree that the world anxiously awaits Israel's acceptance of the Torah and the resultant realization of Torah values. According to the first Midrash, the motivation for this concern is the world's fear of destruction; for God has stipulated that the world will not survive unless Torah values become incarnate. Creation’s desire that Israel accept the Torah, therefore, is motivated by an "outer-directed" concern, namely, the need for self-preservation in light of God’s stipulation.
The second midrash, in contrast, suggests that the yearning for values, for the realization of Torah ideals, is inherent to the world's very nature. Being without Divinely ordained purpose is devoid of meaning and ultimately "caves in" on itself.
The "controversy" between these two midrashim thus revolves around the question as to why we seek out Torah ideals. Is this due to anxiety and terror, in reaction to a Divine "voice from without" threatening us with annihilation if we persist in our worldly endeavors without Torah? Or, is our yearning for ideals inherent - intrinsic to our very make-up?