Good, Good

A friend mentioned this morning that today was Tuesday, the day on which the Torah twice says כי טוב, that it was good, during the story of Creation. It got me wondering what was so good about that Tuesday.

I thought of the following.

Two things occurred on that day. The first was causing all the waters to gather in one place leaving room for dry land. God then declared that it was good. Subsequently, he ordered the earth to bring forth plants. When it did so, He declared it good again.

Water is often a metaphor for Chesed, God's infinite kindness. There is one major drawback to infinite kindness. We can't deal with it. We need the means to limit it, to contain it, and then we can benefit from it. Infinity would overwhelm us into oblivion.

The first act on that day was to constrict the realm of the waters. That is an act of Gevurah, of constriction. But it is the act of Gevurah which enables us to utilize the Chesed, the water.  The first act of Gevurah was good.

Then came the fulfillment of the purpose of that act. It was not merely to constrict the water, but that the area now devoid of water should be able to flourish in its own right. It should make use of the Chesed and build something with it.

The earth then filled it with plants.

It, too, was good.