(א) וירא אלהים את האור כי טוב ויבדל. אף בזה אנו צריכים לדברי אגדה: ראהו שאינו כדאי להשתמש בו רשעים, והבדילו לצדיקים לעתיד לבא. ולפי פשוטו כך פרשהו: ראהו כי טוב ואין נאה לו ולחשך שיהיו משתמשין בערבוביא, וקבע לזה תחומו ביום ולזה תחומו בלילה:
(1) And God saw the light that it was good, and He separated: Also here, we need the words of the aggadah: He saw it, [and saw] that it was not proper for the wicked to use it; so He separated it for the righteous in the future. And according to its simple meaning, explain it as follows: He saw it, that it was good, and it was unseemly that [light] and darkness should serve in a mishmash; so He established for this one its boundary by day, and for that one its boundary by night.
ואור ביום ראשון איבר? והכתיב: "ויתן אותם אלהים ברקיע השמים" וכתיב: "ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום רביעי." כדר' אלעזר,דא"ר אלעזר: אור שברא הקב"ה ביום ראשון אדם צופה בו מסוף העולם ועד סופו. כיון שנסתכל הקב"ה בדור המבול ובדור הפלגה וראה שמעשיהם מקולקלים עמד וגנזו מהן, שנאמר: (איוב לח, טו) "וימנע מרשעים אורם." ולמי גנזו לצדיקים לעתיד לבא, שנאמר: "וירא אלהים את האור כי טוב." ואין טוב אלא צדיק, שנאמר: (ישעיהו ג, י) "אמרו צדיק כי טוב." כיון שראה אור שגנזו לצדיקים, שמח, שנאמר: (משלי יג, ט) "אור צדיקים ישמח." כתנאי: אור שברא הקב"ה ביום ראשון, אדם צופה ומביט בו מסוף העולם ועד סופו. דברי רבי יעקב. וחכ"א: הן הן מאורות שנבראו ביום ראשון ולא נתלו עד יום רביעי.
Was light created on the first day? But it is written, (Genesis 1:17) "and God set them in the firmament of the heaven," and it is written, (Genesis 1:19) "and there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day." It is like R. Elazar. For R. Elazar said: The light which the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam saw through it from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One, blessed be He, peered at the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion, and saw that their actions were destructive, He stood up and hid it from them, as it is said, (Job 38:15) "And from the wicked their light is withheld." And for whom did He take it away? For the righteous of the time to come, as it is said, (Genesis 1:4) "And God saw the light, that it was good," and "good" only refers to the righteous, as it is said, (Isaiah 3:10) "Say of the righteous, that he is good." Once He saw the light He hid away for the righteous, He rejoiced, as it is said, (Proverbs 13:9) "He rejoices at the light of the righteous." Like [the following] Tannaic argument: The light which the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam observed and peered through it from one end of the world to the other. These are the words of R. Yaakov. And the sages say: These are the lights which were created on the first day, but were not hung up until the fourth day.
(20) But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall.
וְאִתְנְהִיר הַהוּא נְהוֹרָא דְזַמִּין לְאַנְהָרָא לְצַדִּיקַיָּא, דַהֲוָה קַמֵּיהּ גָּנִיז מִיּוֹמָא דְאִתְבְּרִי עָלְמָא, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (בראשית א ד) וַיַּרְא אלהי''ם אֶת הָאוֹר כִּי טוֹב, בֵּיהּ זָמִין קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְאַחָיָא מֵיתַיָּא, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (מלאכי ג כ) וְזָרְחָה לָכֶם יִרְאֵי שְׁמִי שֶׁמֶשׁ צְדָקָה וּמַרְפֵּא, וּכְדֵין יִתְגַּבַּר טוֹב בְּעָלְמָא, וְהַהוּא דְאִתְקְרֵי רָע יִתְעֲבַר מֵעָלְמָא, וּכְדֵין אִינוּן גּוּפִין קַדְמָאִין לִיהווּ כְלָא הֲווֹ.
And that light shined which was prepared for the righteous, which was hidden berfore Him from the day the world was created. This is what is written, 'God saw that the light was good.' Through it God was ready to resurrect the dead. This is what is written, "But unto you...healing," and then goodness will be victorious in the world, and that which is called evil will be uprooted from the world, and those earlier bodies will be like they had never been.
(23) For the commandment is a lamp, and the Torah is light, And reproofs of instruction are the way of life.
(1) Who is as the wise man, and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face is changed.
ומי יודע פשר דבר . כמו שמצינו בדניאל מתוך חכמתו שהיה חכם ביראת שמים נתגלו לו רזי פשרין, מי כמשה עושה פשרים בין ישראל לאביהם שבשמים:
Who knows the interpretation of a thing: As we find with Daniel that out of his wisdom, that he was wise with fear of heaven, the secrets of interpretation [or: mediations] were revealed to him. Who is like Moses, making mediations between Israel and their Father in heaven.
אמר רבי יצחק: הרוצה שיחכים ידרים, ושיעשיר יצפין. וסימניך שלחן בצפון ומנורה בדרום. ורבי יהושע בן לוי אמר: לעולם ידרים, שמתוך שמתחכם מתעשר, שנאמר: (משלי ג, טז) "אורך ימים בימינה בשמאלה עושר וכבוד." והא רבי יהושע בן לוי אמר: שכינה במערב? דמצדד אצדודי.
R. Isaac said: He who desires to become wise should turn to the south, and he who desires to become rich should turn to the north. The symbol [by which to remember this] is that the table [in the Tabernacle] was to the north of the altar and the menorah was to the south. R. Joshua b. Levi, however, said that he should always turn to the south, because through obtaining wisdom he will obtain wealth, as it says. length of days are in her [wisdom's] right hand, in her left hand are riches and honour. But was it not R. Joshuah b. Levi who said that the Shechinah is in the west? — [He means that] one should turn partly to the south.
מתני׳ תקוע אלפא לשמן.
גמ׳ (שמואל ב יד, ב) "וישלח יואב תקועה, ויקח משם אשה חכמה." מאי שנא תקועה? אמר רבי יוחנן: מתוך שרגילין בשמן זית חכמה מצויה בהן:
Mishna: Tekoa is the Best place for oil.
Gemara: And Joab sent to Tekoa and fetched thence a wise woman. (II Sam 14:2) Why to Tekoa? — R. Johanan said, Because they were accustomed to olive oil, wisdom could be found among them.
(ז) וְהִקְטִ֥יר עָלָ֛יו אַהֲרֹ֖ן קְטֹ֣רֶת סַמִּ֑ים בַּבֹּ֣קֶר בַּבֹּ֗קֶר בְּהֵיטִיב֛וֹ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹ֖ת יַקְטִירֶֽנָּה׃
(7) And Aaron shall burn thereon incense of sweet spices; every morning, when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn it.
Bney Yissachar, Kislev/Tevet #2: Torah is a Light
Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov (18-19c)
59b: Torah comes from Hochmah (wisdom, the ontological root of Torah), and the Greeks wanted to destroy the light of Torah, therefore the miracle was done with oil which symbolizes wisdom.
60b: At the end of the period of Greek reign, God shined a little bit of that light after prophecy had been cancelled, in order that that light would stand by us in this lightweight exile instead of prophecy, because "a person could look with this light from one end of the earth to the other," Therefore it is called the candle of 'Hanukkah,' the candle of education (hinuch) and accustoming to the infinite light in the future redemption, when the hidden light of which it was said "let there be light" will shine.
61b2: Every time a person sees a new light in the Torah, it comes from the hidden light. Therefore the Torah is called light- everyone according to their labor and exertion in Torah. And by means of the hidden light one can every time see secrets from the end of the world, something which is not true of a prophet.