By Rabbi David Cohen: In several places in our parshah, Rashi sees discontinuity in the process of Creation. Some things begin, pause, and are continued later. The waters that were created on the first day were congealed and separated by the rakia/firmament on the second. The luminaries, he tells us, were created on the first day as well. But they were not set into place until the fourth day. Indeed, Rashi posits, everything was created on the first day, and then modified or emplaced on a later day.
Why was this? Hashem could have just as easily created everything fully developed and operational. Why did He stop short of that, and leave things waiting for further tinkering and tweaking before they stepped into their planned roles?
Hashem did so deliberately, to teach that greatness and accomplishment do not come in an instant. Understanding this is an antidote to the despair some people feel when their plans are beset with unexpected obstacles and delays.
This, then, is one of the ideas inherent in the very notion of “The beginning.†Beginning implies a middle and an end. All of the heavens and earth began with something that later developed. Nothing received its full importance and function in an instant.
We should bare this in mind when implementing the kabbalot we accepted upon ourselves during the Yomim Noraim. It will take time until we see the desired results, but IMY”H it will take effect.
Shabbat Shalom