The transition from the hidden reality of God to the visible, physical world unfolds through the very first acts of creation. These initial moments are compared to the simple human actions of putting on a cloak and pitching a tent. God's first revelation in the world happens through light and the heavens. Together, they serve a dual purpose: they act as a brilliant display of His power while simultaneously functioning as a screen that conceals His true essence.
When considering the imagery of light as a wrapping or outer garment, commentators offer different perspectives on exactly what is being covered. One approach suggests that God wraps and clothes the entire world in light, much like a garment covers a human body [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, מאירי, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective maintains that God, as it were, wraps Himself, making light the only visible part of His divine clothing [אבן עזרא]. In this view, the clothing acts as a deliberate concealment. Just as a wide, loose garment hides the actual dimensions of a person's body, the physical light masks the supreme, hidden Creator [מלבי״ם]. On a deeper spiritual level, this garment is understood to be the Throne of Glory, serving as a partition that separates the highest divine realms from the lower worlds [אלשיך]. The primary approach among commentators is that this covering is not standard sunlight, but rather the original, hidden light brought into existence on the very first day of creation, long before the sun and stars were set in the sky.
The creation process continues with the spreading of the heavens, which is compared to unfolding a large curtain or pitching a spacious tent to sit under [מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא]. While the emergence of light corresponds to the first day of creation, the stretching of the heavens refers to the second day, when the dividing firmament was established [אבן עזרא, רד״ק, מאירי]. This firmament does not refer to the distant, hidden celestial spheres that were created earlier, but rather to the immediate atmosphere close to the earth, where vapors rise and clouds and rain are formed [רד״ק, מלבי״ם].
A profound cause and effect relationship connects these two stages of creation, operating on both physical and spiritual levels. Physically, the intense light created on the first day warmed the earthly waters, causing vapors to rise and naturally form the atmosphere and clouds of the second day [מאירי, מלבי״ם]. Spiritually, after God wrapped Himself in the light of the Throne of Glory, the realm of angels began to shine from that very same light. This angelic realm was then stretched out like the heavens, acting as an additional partition in the gradual descent of spiritual worlds down to the physical earth [אלשיך].