Creation of the World

The Creation

The word of G-d brought everything into being: heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, and every living thing. In the beginning, G-d called into existence the heaven and earth. Within six days He shaped a world of order and beauty.

The First Day

On the first day, G-d said, “Let there be Light” -- and there was Light.

The Second Day

On the second day G-d made the sky, and called it Heaven.

The Third Day

On the third day, G-d put the earth into good shape. At His command the waters of the earth gathered together at certain places. The waters formed seas and oceans, lakes and rivers, so that in other parts, the dry land became visible.

At G-d’s further command, the earth was made to produce all kinds of plants, grass, and trees, shrubs and flowers. Each contained its own seed for further growth and reproduction.

The Fourth Day

On the fourth day, G-d made the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, to shed light upon the earth. And so He set a time for day and a time for night, a time for the week, the month, and the year, and a time for each of the four seasons.

The Fifth Day

On the fifth day, G-d filled the seas with fishes and other water animals. In to the air above the earth He put many birds of all kinds and colors and sizes.

The Sixth Day

On the sixth day, were created all the other animals, large and small, those that walk and those that creep or crawl on the earth. And towards the end of the sixth day, G-d put a divine soul into a body which He made of earth and clay. This was the human.

To the human G-d granted high mental ability that one could think and reach one’s own conclusions. G-d also gave the human the power of speech and He made humans superior to all other creatures of the earth.

G-d placed all the creatures of the earth and the powers of nature in the control of the human.

The Seventh Day

By the seventh day, everything was created and put into shape and order. And G-d rested on the seventh day and He glorified it as a day of rest. Therefore we should work for six days and rest on the Seventh day, Shabbat, which G-d blessed and sanctified for all time to come. By observing the Shabbat day, we show that we believe in G-d as the Creator of the world.