Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Genesis 1:7/רמב"ן על בראשית א׳:ז׳
אוַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָרָקִיעַ לְשׁוֹן עֲשִׂיָּה בְּכָל מָקוֹם תִּקּוּן הַדָּבָר עַל מַתְכֻּנְתּוֹ:
1AND G-D MADE THE FIRMAMENT. The word asi’yah (doing) always means adjusting something to its required proportion.
בוַיְהִי-כֵן הִכְתִּיב בָּרִאשׁוֹן "וַיְהִי אוֹר" אַחַר "וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר", אַחַר הָאֲמִירָה פֵּרֵשׁ שֶׁיָּצָא אֶל הַפֹּעַל וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר נִגְזַר, אֲבָל בְּכָאן אַחַר אֲמִירַת "יְהִי רָקִיעַ" כָּתוּב "וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָרָקִיעַ וַיַּבְדֵּל", וְלָמָּה הוֹסִיף "וַיְהִי-כֵן". אֲבָל הוּא לוֹמַר שֶׁהָיָה כֵּן תָּמִיד כָּל יְמֵי עוֹלָם. וְרַבִּי אַבְרָהָם פֵּרֵשׁ כִּי הוּא דָּבֵק עִם הַבָּא אַחֲרָיו, כַּאֲשֶׁר הָיָה כֵּן קָרָא לָרָקִיעַ שָׁמַיִם, וְאֵינוֹ נָכוֹן. וּבִבְרֵאשִׁית רַבָּה (בראשית רבה ד':ו') אָמְרוּ, וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָרָקִיעַ, זוֹ אֶחָד מִן הַמִּקְרָאוֹת שֶׁהִרְעִישׁ בֶּן זוֹמָא אֶת הָעוֹלָם, וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים וְכוּ', וַהֲלֹא בְּמַאֲמַר בִּדְבַר ה' שָׁמַיִם נַעֲשׂוּ (תהלים לג ו). וְאֵין הַהַרְעָשָׁה הַזּוֹ מִלְּשׁוֹן "וַיַּעַשׂ" לְבַדּוֹ, שֶׁהֲרֵי בָּרְבִיעִי וּבַשִּׁשִּׁי כָּתוּב "וַיַּעַשׂ", אֲבָל הָיָה מִזֶּה שֶׁאָמַרְתִּי, בַּעֲבוּר כִּי בִּשְׁאָר הַיָּמִים כָּתוּב אַחַר הָאֲמִירָה "וַיְהִי-כֵן" לוֹמַר שֶׁנִּהְיָה כֵן מִיָּד תֵּכֶף אַחַר הָאֲמִירָה, אֲבָל כָּאן אַחַר "וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים" כָּתוּב "וַיַּעַשׂ", זוֹ הִיא קֻשְׁיָתוֹ, וְאוּלַי הָיָה לוֹ פֵּרוּשׁ נִסְתָּר לֹא רָצָה לְגַלּוֹת סוֹדוֹ, וְזֶה עִנְיַן הָרַעַשׁ:
2AND IT WAS SO. On the first day, And there was light is written after And G-d said, ‘Let there be light,’ in order to explain that after the command of G-d, it [the light] came forth into actuality and was as He decreed it to be. But here, after the command, Let there be a firmament, it is written, And G-d made the firmament, and divided, etc.; why then has Scripture added here, And it was so? It is to tell us that it was to be ever so, for all times.But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the expression and it was so is attached to the verse which follows, meaning when it was so, G-d called the firmament Heaven. That is not correct.In Bereshith Rabbah99 the Rabbis have said: “And G-d made the firmament. This is one of the verses which Ben Zoma100 found difficult:101 And G-d made, etc. But was not [the world created] by command, as it is written, By word of the Eternal were the heavens made?”102 Now Ben Zoma’s difficulty was not only on account of the word vaya’as (And He made), since on the fourth,103 fifth,104 is not found; only vayibra (and He created). and sixth day,105 vaya’as is also written. Rather, his difficulty was, as I have said, that on the other days, immediately after G-d’s command, it is written, And it was so, indicating that it came into being immediately after the command, but here on the second day, after it says, And G-d said — vaya’as (And He made) is written! This was his question. Perhaps Ben Zoma had some secret interpretation which he did not want to reveal. This is the explanation of the cause of his difficulty.