Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/56

 The Book of

38

The heavens

And

(icncsis

(Kclarc the glory of God,

showeth His handiwork.

the firnianicnt

ne fact should he realized at the outset, that this story

was hardly meant to be primarily an objective account of way in which creation was thought to have actually hap-

the

The author has merely taken

pened. tized

and adapted

its details,

jHirposes

was

to

show

it

the older myth, systema-

to his purposes.

he believed, the oldest religious institution lished

One

of these

Judaism w^as, so of mankind, estab-

that the Sabbath of

moment

by (jod at the very

of

creation.

In

other

words, not the details of the story are essential, or were essential,

even

in

the author's mind, but rather the

fact

of

the institution of the Sabbath as the day of rest and worship

of

and the

(jod.

climax to the six days of useful

fitting

labor, first proclaimed by Israel,

and learned from

Israel by

mankind.

civilized

Not only

this,

but the story reflects through and through

the uni(|ue Jewish outlook

upon the universe and upon

life.

The concluding words of the account of each day.'s creation, "And God saw that it was good", and the concluding words of the entire story, "And God saw everything that He had made, and, ])ehold, it was very good", express the fundamental Jewish belief in the goodness and wisdom of God, and in the goodness and wise purpose of this earth and of

human

Judaism has alvyays taught that this life here is worth living for its own sake, that God has created everything in wisdom and love, and has placed man here for a good and wise purpose, to live usefully and nol)ly in accordance with the divine will, as it is given him to know this. In contrast with many other religions, ancient and modworld

ern,

life

is

thereon.

good, and that

Judaism has never taught the absolute existence of evil On the contrary, Judaism has always

alongside of good. insisted that since

He

God

has created must

l)e

is

a

God

for good,

of good, everything which

and that the normal order