“Let There Be Light”: The Deeper Meaning of Creation’s First Light

“And Hashem said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Bereishit 1:3).

What was the light that Hashem created on the first day of Creation?

On this verse, Rabbenu Bachya explains that two types of light were created: a revealed light and a hidden light. While one illuminates the physical world we know, the other is a spiritual light reserved for the righteous in the future.

The Revealed Light and the Hidden Light

The revealed light is the light we use in this world, the physical light of the sun and moon. It is the familiar light that brightens our world and enables us to function within physical reality.

The hidden light, however, is of an entirely different nature. It is a spiritual light with a unique power that cannot be seen or used in this world. It is intended for the righteous in the future and is considered part of the World to Come.

Rabbenu Bachya explains that even the physical light we experience today emanates from this hidden light. In other words, the light familiar to us in this world is itself a reflection of the exalted spiritual light reserved for the righteous.

“‘Let there be light,’ and there was light’: According to the plain meaning, there were two lights. The first, the light used in this world, is the light of the sun and moon. The second is the light hidden away for the righteous in the future. It is known that the light used in this world emanates from the light hidden away for the righteous in the future.”

Chazal taught that the heavenly light was created from the sphere of the sun, hinting at the connection between spiritual light and the physical light we experience in this world.

This relationship between the hidden and revealed light is also reflected in Tehillim (31:20): “How abundant is Your goodness that You have hidden away for those who fear You.”

According to Rabbenu Bachya, the verse alludes to both forms of light. The “abundant goodness” that Hashem has hidden away represents the hidden light, while “You have bestowed upon those who take refuge in You” refers to the revealed light given to us in this world.

“This is what Chazal taught: the heavenly light was created from the sphere of the sun. These two lights, the hidden and the revealed, are alluded to in one verse, as it is written (Tehillim 31:20), ‘How abundant is Your goodness that You have hidden away...’ For the hidden ‘abundant goodness’ is the hidden light; ‘You have bestowed upon those who take refuge in You’ is the revealed light, meaning, from it You made revealed light for those who take refuge in the shade of Your protection in this world, and this is ‘before the eyes of mankind.’”

If the Sun Was Created on the Fourth Day, What Was the First Light?

This raises an obvious question. If the sun and moon were not created until the fourth day of Creation, how could there already have been light on the first day?

Rabbenu Bachya addresses this question by explaining that the light created on the first day did not yet reach the earth. At that stage, it existed only in the heavens. It was on the fourth day that Hashem decreed that the luminaries would shine down upon the earth.

“Do not be puzzled and say: But the luminaries were not created until the fourth day. For the statement on the fourth day was the decree that they should shine below upon the earth, as it says, ‘to shine upon the earth’; for on the first day, their light did not reach below, but only existed in the heavens.”

The Deeper Meaning of the Light of Creation

The first light described in Bereishit was therefore far more than the ordinary physical light we experience each day. According to Rabbenu Bachya, Creation contains both a revealed light that illuminates our physical world and a hidden, spiritual light reserved for the righteous in the future.

Even the sunlight that fills our world today ultimately emanates from that concealed source. The physical light we see is therefore connected to something far greater: the hidden light of Creation and the spiritual goodness Hashem has reserved for the World to Come.