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IDOLATRY-5/ELKM/What Constitutes ‘Good’ in ELKM’S Eyes?
In our quest to comprehend ELKM’s Ways, we come across the tern “good” in His eyes. During the Six Day, ELKM judged each and every Day (besides the 2nd) whether or not it was “good.” Here His judgment was from the aspect of the “BUILDER, the All-Mighty JUDGE.” Since Mankind is still under His Scrutiny, it is important for us to understand the criteria of the Builder-Judge and His verdicts.
What exactly constitutes good (or not good) in His eyes? .
1: What Constitute ‘Good’ in ELoKiM’S eyes?
The Hebrew term for ‘good,’ tov,’ carries several connotations, relevant to Genesis story. . .
1. ‘Good’ simply means ‘feeling good.’ It refers GOD’S Feelings, Emotions. Of course, GOD – ELKM – is not human and He is beyond any human emotions, yet the Torah speaks in a language that we can understand. And the Torah wishes us to know that CREATION was done “to pease” the CREATOR.
From here comes the Kabbalah’s notion that we are made to give the CREATOR much nachat ruach , satisfaction. As a BUILDER, though, a good verdict means that the Floor pleased the CREATOR, that it complied by His demands. Hence the BUILDER had a Master Plan for the Six Floor BUILDING- Nature.
2. Good meant “as designed,” referring to the Master Plan.
Not all creatures complied and were deemed good. The trees, for instance, did not. They were ordered by ELKM to bring forth fruit, yet they also developed a skin, a coat, kelipa in Hebrew.
The trees would have been eliminated, had not ELKM allowed them to stay. The kelipa then developed into everything in the world that can rebel against ELKM. For instance- our evil inclinations in our hearts, it is a kelipa.
3. ‘Good’ means “winning the trial.’ It is a term used in connection to a trial. A passing Day was deemed ‘good’ if it won its trial. “Good” is a VERDICT (Maimonides) . ’
4: ‘Good’ means: viable, durable, healthy. For instance, the Daughter of Pharaoh saw the baby Moses in the ark “that he was good” meaning healthy, viable, enduring. (Exodus 2: 2.)
Thus when the BUILDER, the All-Mighty JUDGE ELKM deemed a Day as good, it meant that the Day and its creatures were viable to live into the next Day. In other words, if they would support another new Floor on top.
For instance, the Third Day was deemed ‘good’ since its Waters and Vegetation would support the following Day when Fish appeared in the waters. Thus
The Light, Energy and Water of the First Day were ‘good’ in ELoKiM’s eyes, since they could support the accumulation of waters on Earth during the next, Second Day.
The Dry Land of the Third Day seemed ‘good’ since it could support the Vegetation on top of it.
The Luminaries of the Fourth Day were good, since they could support the seasons.
The Fish of the Fifth Day were ‘good’ since they could serve the Birds that followed
The Birds were ‘good’ since they could support the Crocodiles that came nextThe Cattle were ‘good’ since they could support the Beasts that followed
The Cattle, Beasts and Crawling creatures were ‘good’ since they could support Adam.
5: ‘Good’ means approval to proceed with CREATION.
2: A creature’s trial depends on its position on the Ladder of CREATION
A good verdict means that the Day could support the following one.
Hence each creature’s trial depends on its position on the Ladder of CREATION.
This includes us too, Mankind was born on the Sixth Day – to support the Seventh, the Eternal Sabbath.
And there is another feature of Adam’s trial that sets us apart from all other creatures born before us.
While they need to be ‘good’ to stay alive,
Mankind needs to be Very Good in EeLoHiM’s eyes, to survive, as it says at the end of out Sixth Day-
“And ELKM saw everything that He had done and behold, it was Very Good…”
How can Adam be deemed Very Good in His eyes? On that we’ll study in due course.
Now let’s ask, since ELKM stands for the absolute Truth, is the story of creation truthful?
Read also: “Genesis Vs. Science, Can They Match?” By Zvi Aviner, at www.smashwords.com