Who came first?

An architect, a doctor and a lawyer are arguing about who came first.
The architect makes his pitch: “Well, I came first; after all, when Noah built the ark, who was there to help design and construct it? Obviously, there was one of mine on the scene.
The doctor pushes the architect to the side. “What are you talking about?” he dismisses him with a haughty look. Don’t you realize that already on the sixth day of creation G-d operated on Adam and made a woman out of him? That’s complicated surgery! In order to create Eve, G-d must have had a surgeon on premises to help out.”
The lawyer smirks and pulls the winning argument out of his hat: “Ha! In the second verse, the Torah states that before the creation there was ” tohu vavohu” (void and confusion.) Now who could create tohu vavohu if not a lawyer?”
* * *
This week, we start all over again from the beginning, as if we have never heard the fascinating account of the creation of the world, feeling amazed yet again at how, already on the first day of his creation, man made the biggest mistake in world history, with repercussions for all time.
The kaleidoscope of events in our Parsha spans over a millennium, yet the most prominent event of all is, of course, the first one. So let’s discuss the beginning:
What did G-d create on the first day of creation?
Light!
For whom exactly did G-d create light if there were not yet any creatures, or, for that matter, any existence which could enjoy the light? In our world, first one builds a house, and then he installs the light bulbs; not vice versa. Not only is that most practical, it’s the only possible way of doing things! So why, with this first, monumental building project, did everything work backwards?
In the answer lies the secret of the world, the purpose of all existence. Before starting on a project, we outline our goals and plans. So too, before creating His world, G-d laid out his blueprint for creation.
What’s the plan?
The plan is to imbue this seemingly mundane physical world, with light, life and vitality. The goal is that created beings, namely each and every one of us, will reveal holiness and spirituality in this black and dark universe, lighting up the surroundings.
And so the first thing G-d created was that blueprint – the light. We aren’t talking about physical light; the sun and moon were created on the fourth day. Here the Torah refers to spiritual radiance – the holy revelation which we must constantly strive to reveal.
And that is what we have been doing all this time. Every Mitzvah performed, every time Torah is learnt, more of that light is revealed. Now, the construction work is about to end. Hold tight; the clouds are here…