In the beginning, God spoke. And the first word He uttered was not power, not judgment, not even love. It was light. "Let there be light," and light blazed into existence, shattering the primordial darkness, establishing the rhythm of day and night, revealing the character of God as the One who brings order from chaos. But this was not the light of the sun—the sun would not be created until Day Four. This was something deeper, something older, something that the sages call the primordial light, the hidden light, the or ganuz. Drawing from Rashi's mystical teaching, Ramban's philosophical depth, Ibn Ezra's precision, the Talmud's cosmic secrets, and the Midrash's poetic vision, we explore why God's first creative word was light, what distinguished this light from the luminaries created later, why God called the light "good," how the separation of light from darkness established the foundation of all subsequent creation, and why the day begins with evening. This is the moment when God's Voice shattered silence and eternity began.
Sources & Further Study:
Rashi on Genesis 1:3-5
https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.1.3
Ramban (Nachmanides) on Genesis 1:3
https://www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Genesis.1.1.3
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 1:3
http://davidblumenthal.org/GenTradIbnEzraRamban.html
Talmud Chagigah 12a on the primordial light
https://www.sefaria.org/Chagigah.12a
Midrash Bereishit Rabbah on hidden light
https://www.sefaria.org/Bereishit_Rabbah
Sforno on Genesis 1:3
https://www.sefaria.org/Sforno_on_Genesis
Mishnah Pirkei Avot 5:1 on ten utterances
https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot.5.1
Psalm 33:6-9 on creation by divine word
https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.33.6-9
Rav Kook Torah, The Hidden Light of Creation
https://ravkooktorah.org/BREISHIT_67.htm
Aish.com, Let There Be Lights
Din Online, Two Creations of Light
https://dinonline.org/2021/06/13/two-creations-of-light-in-genesis-13-4-and-114-16/
The Hidden Orchard, The Hidden Light (Ohr haGanuz)
https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/the-hidden-light-ohr-haganuz/
Jan Lemke, Genesis Chapter 1 - In The Beginning
https://janlemke.com/genesis-chapter-1
Aish.com, Creation & The Big Bang
https://aish.com/creation-the-big-bang/
Zohar on primordial light
Abraham Isaac Kook, Orot HaKodesh
Sources:
[1] Ramban on Genesis 1:1:3 - Sefaria https://www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Genesis.1.1.3?lang=en
[2] Genesis: Traditional with Ibn Ezra and Ramban - David R. Blumenthal http://davidblumenthal.org/GenTradIbnEzraRamban.html
[3] Genesis – Chapter 1 – In The Beginning https://janlemke.com/genesis-chapter-1
[4] Examining Translations of Genesis 1:1 in relation to Genesis 1:1–3 ... https://winebrenner.edu/2019/05/02/examining-translations-of-genesis-11-in-relation-to-genesis-11-3-part-three/
[5] Let There Be Lights - Aish.com https://aish.com/48922892/
[6] Breishit: The Hidden Light of Creation - Rav Kook Torah https://ravkooktorah.org/BREISHIT_67.htm
[7] Creation & The Big Bang - Aish.com https://aish.com/creation-the-big-bang/
[8] Two creations of light in Genesis 1:3-4 and 1:14-16? - Din - Dinonline https://dinonline.org/2021/06/13/two-creations-of-light-in-genesis-13-4-and-114-16/
[9] The Hidden Light - The Ohr haGanuz https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/the-hidden-light-ohr-haganuz/
[10] Who was G‑d addressing when He said, "Let US create man in our ... https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/558595/jewish/Who-was-Gd-addressing-when-saying-Let-US-create-man.htm
Before light pierced the darkness, before order emerged from chaos, there was the deep, formless, void, shrouded in primordial darkness. Genesis 1:2 is not a casual description but a theological statement of profound depth: the world awaits God's ordering hand. Here we encounter tohu vavohu, the wilderness of unformed potential, the darkness that covered tehohm, the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovering with exquisite tenderness over the waters. Drawing from Rashi's bewilderment, Ramban's mystical theology, Ibn Ezra's precision, the Talmud's cosmic wisdom, and the Midrash's poetic insight, we explore what existed before creation was shaped, why darkness is not evil but mystery, how tehom differs from Tiamat, and why the Spirit's hovering reveals God's intimate, passionate involvement in every moment of creation. This is the moment before the first command, when chaos trembled beneath the wings of the Divine.
Sources & Further Study:
Rashi on Genesis 1:2
https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.1.2
Ramban (Nachmanides) on Genesis 1:2
https://www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Genesis.1.1.3
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 1:1-2
http://davidblumenthal.org/GenTradIbnEzraRamban.html
Midrash Bereishit Rabbah on the Spirit of Messiah
https://www.sefaria.org/Bereishit_Rabbah.2
Talmud Chagigah 12a on creation and the deep
https://www.sefaria.org/Chagigah.12a
Maharal, Gur Aryeh commentary on Rashi
https://www.sefaria.org/Gur_Aryeh_on_Genesis
Genesis 1:2 with classical commentaries
https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.1.2?with=all
Deuteronomy 32:11 (eagle hovering)
https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.32.11
Isaiah 11:2 (Spirit of Messiah)
https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.11.2
Jeremiah 4:23 (tohu vabohu in judgment context)
https://www.sefaria.org/Jeremiah.4.23
Isaiah 45:18 (God did not create tohu)
https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.45.18
Times of Israel, A Spirit of Creation and Commotion
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-spirit-of-creation-and-commotion/
Questioning Torah, Bereishit: Darkness First
https://mtorah.com/2025/10/13/bereishit-darkness-first/
Hebrew Union College, An Exploration of Tehom in Hebrew Bible
http://library.huc.edu/pdf/theses/Halpert_Rodis_Thalia_N-NY-Rab-2020_rdf.pdf
Merahefet (Genesis 1:2): The Dynamics of the Spirit
Before the first star blazed, before the first wave rolled, before the first breath was drawn, there was God. And then, the Voice. Genesis 1:1 is not a sentence, it is a thunderclap across eternity. Seven Hebrew words that demolished pagan mythology, established divine sovereignty, and laid the foundation stone of all reality. In this master-series episode, we descend into the mystery of the opening word that conceals infinite wisdom—exploring Rashi's grammatical wrestling, Ramban's mystical depths, Ibn Ezra's philosophical precision, and the Talmud's cosmic secrets. We examine the verb that shatters chaos without struggle, the Name that speaks justice into existence, and the totality of heaven and earth bowing before their Creator. This is not myth. This is the roar that began everything.
Sources & Further Study:
Rashi on Genesis 1:1
https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.1.1
Ramban (Nachmanides) on Genesis 1:1
https://www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Genesis.1.1
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 1:1
http://davidblumenthal.org/GenTradIbnEzraRamban.html
Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 1
https://www.sefaria.org/Bereishit_Rabbah.1
Midrash Tanchuma, Bereishit on the letter bet
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/137074/jewish/Bet-Vet.htm
Talmud Chagigah 12a on creation and expansion
https://www.sefaria.org/Chagigah.12a
Genesis Chapter 1 with classical commentaries
https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.1.1?with=all
Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu on Bereishit
https://beithashoavah.org/2025/08/bereishit-as-history/
Targum Onkelos on Genesis
https://www.sefaria.org/Onkelos_Genesis.1
Proverbs 8:22 (Torah as beginning)
https://www.sefaria.org/Proverbs.8.22
Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism (1955)
Oxford Chabad Society, Commentary on the Torah - Genesis
https://oxfordchabad.org/media/pdf/1248/oNmh12486853.pdf
Jewish Quarterly Review on Creation Theology