The Torah concludes the story of Creation with the following verse: “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it for on it He rested from His work which God created to make” (Genesis 2:3). The Rabbis have noted that the infinitive “to make” appears to be redundant and somewhat contradictory: if the verse has just signified the end of creation with the words “God created,” what can it possibly mean by adding “to make”? Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, one of Kabbalah and Chassidut’s foremost contemporary exponents, explains that in this context “to make” means “to rectify;” God has made humanity His partner in the ongoing rectification of the world. The words “to make” imply an ongoing creative process, not one definitively finished at one point in time.
The Sages’ emphasize humanity’s partnership with God, thus demonstrating that this concept belongs to mainstream Jewish thought; however, when we think about this notion deeply, it is truly an amazing and awesome way for humanity to relate to the world and God.
The Arizal explains that this world is called Olam Hatikkun (the World of Rectification) for it is made up of a previous world’s broken vessels. These immature vessels were not strong enough to contain the primordial light so they broke in a cataclysmic event known as the “breaking of the vessels.” Humanity is charged with repairing the vessels and redeeming the light trapped in them.
This highly symbolic, yet entirely accurate, description of reality is alluded to in the words “to make” and is encompassed by Isaiah’s description of Israel’s role in the world – to be a light unto the nations (Isaiah 42:6). To accomplish this goal humanity, in general, and the Jewish people, in particular, need to search for, elevate, redeem, and heal those sparks of light hidden within the gross material garments of this world. In so doing, humanity fulfills its purpose of revealing the spiritual and Divine energy hidden in creation.
