Man came last – Ask the Rabbi
Q. When creating the world why did God make man last?
A. Little by little God’s creatures became more sophisticated and complicated. God started with simple things and moved on to the more complex.
The most complex creature is man who, according to Psalm 8, is “little lower than the angels”.
The rabbinic sages add that everything else was created before man in order to show that all was placed there to be at man’s service. Man in turn, though equipped with so many facilities and faculties, has to enhance the world, ruling but not ruining it.
Man has dominion over everything but he is warned bal tash’chit, not to destroy the riches God has placed in his hands.
