At the outset of Creation, He removed all light. And that is the source of all that ever goes wrong.

Why did He remove the light? Why did He choose that things could go wrong?

Sometimes we say He wanted darkness as a black velvet setting, an empty space in which to shine a new light and make a world of light. The darkness, we say, is there for the sake of light, as pain exists for the sake of healing.

But this could not be the entire answer.

Why? Because darkness for the purpose of light is not complete darkness. In our world, we find evil that defies explanation, shirks all answers, offers no place for light to shine.

The entire answer must be that in Light alone, G‑d cannot be found. For He is beyond dark and light, presence and absence, being and not being.

And so, just as darkness exists for the sake of light, so light exists for the sake of darkness—to reveal its true purpose, to allow knowledge of a wholly transcendent G‑d to enter His world.

What we accomplish when we withstand the challenge of darkness. When we choose light.

Maamar Bati Legani 5731.