בראשית

עוד כל ימי הארץ. לשון זה יורה שיש לעולם תכלית זמן קצוב. ואע"פ שהוא חסר וא"ו, עד כתיב, ויכלול ההפך, הקריאה עקר. זרע וקציר, אלו נולדים ואלו מתים, וע"י מה ע"י קור וחום. וטעם הכתוב יבאר ששה ענינים שהם סדרי עולם, שאינן שובתין ביום ובלילה.

עוד כל ימי הארץ , “Furthermore, as long as the earth will continue to exist, etc.” The wording of this verse [Rabbi Chavell sees in the word כל an allusion to כלה, “something finite”] indicates that there will come a time when the earth will no longer exist. Even though the word עוד is spelled defective without the letter ו, and this would allude to the very reverse, i.e. the infinite existence of earth based on the word עד being similar to ועד, “forever,” we must give precedence to the reading of the word over its spelling. זרע וקציר, “seedtime and harvest;” the ones (being seeded) are going to be born, whereas the others are going to die (harvested). The verse goes on to explain the cause of such birth and death respectively, i.e. קר וחם, “cold and heat.” Basically, this verse intends to acquaint us with six regular phenomena which will recur at regular intervals as do day and night.