The Good Life

Rabbi Maury Grebenau

According to the author Douglas Adams, the answer to the meaning of life is the
number 42. What he leaves the reader to figure out is the question. The Maharal (a 16th
century Torah giant in Prague) has a more spiritual approach. The meaning of life and the
point of existence is the human journey towards perfection. The entire world exists so
that each of us as individuals can steadily better ourselves on our road to maximizing our
potential.

The Maharal sees this in the very words of the creation narrative. One of the
refrains that saturate the narrative is “and G-d saw that it was good.” We are constantly
told of G-d’s stamp of approval being placed on each step of the creative process. One of
the times when this pronouncement is conspicuously absent is after the creation of man.
After humankind is created there is no announcement that G-d saw that it was good. Also
of note is the fact that at the end of the 6th day when G-d surveys all of creation He uses
the term “very good” in His declaration.

The Maharal points to a Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 9:12), that seeks to explain
this noteworthy omission. The Midrash says that even though the word good was left out
of the creation of man, the goodness of man is hinted to in the “very good” at the
summation of all of creation. How so? The Hebrew word “very” is “Meod” which
rearranged are the letter of Adam, man. The Maharal is able to excavate a deeper
meaning under this puzzling word play.

The adjective “good”, the Maharal explains, means that something is a

functioning part of creation. All that G-d does is good since it furthers His will. The
modifier “good” can be applied to most of creation since most of creation does its “job.”
A tree provides shade and fruit, so it is “good.” The sun provides warmth, energy and
light, so it is “good.” Like a fine tuned machine, the universe and all that it contains each
function properly to produce the world that we live in. Man is a little bit different.

Most of creation does its job whether it likes it or not. A tree cannot withhold its
shade. Nor can the sun decide to stop shining. They do their job well but they do not
choose to do so. Man is the only creation who has free choice. Free choice is a two sided
coin. Potentially we can be at the very pinnacle of creation; we can choose to do our job.
On the other hand we can choose to ignore our calling and use our life and time fro our
own pursuits. Man has the potential to be “very good” but it up to us to bring this
potential to fruition. Man is not automatically described as good since man has the ability
to ignore his function and not do his “job.” However, when we do our job we are more
than the standard good. The fact that we have the choice to do otherwise means that we
are “very good.”

Our unique position in this world means that we can be at the very zenith of
creation. Alternatively we can fall to the lowest nadir. The choice is in our hands. As we
depart from the holidays and begin the Torah anew, let us pay special attention to the
instruction manual of life that is the Torah. Let’s maximize our potential, and be worthy
of the accolades of “very good” and all they imply.