Hashem made ten statements. With each one, a part of Creation emerged. With the tenth statement, the world was completed. What were these statements?
- "In the beginning G-d created..." (Bereishit 1:1) Heaven and earth were created by a pronouncement, as is said, "By the word of Hashem the heavens were made" (Tehillim 22:6)
- "A wind from G-d hovered over the surface of the waters" (1:2). This wind was a special creation and, therefore, a separate pronouncement.
- "And G-d said, 'Let there be light!'" (1:3)
- "And G-d said, 'Let there be a firmament!'" (1:6)
- "And G-d said, 'Let the waters gather!'" (1:9)
- "And G-d said, 'Let the earth be covered with grass!'" (1:11
- "And G-d said, 'Let there be luminaries'" (1:14)
- "And G-d said, 'Let the waters swarm abundantly!'" (1:20)
- "And G-d said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures!'"
- "And G-d said, 'Let us make man!'" (1:26)
According to Kabbalah, the idea of this is that G-d’s utterances are not merely “plans”. His words themselves were acts of creation. G-d’s “statements” are a creative force. At Bereishit they were actual projections of His will — and began a long process of concretizing spiritual intent into physical reality and the universe we know.
Source: Midrash Says; Torah.org