This window is
centered on the creation of light as it is related in the first chapter in the
book of Genesis. It reads as follows: " In the beginning, when God created
the heavens and earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered
the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, "Let
there be light," and there was light. God saw how good the light was. God
then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the
darkness night. Thus evening came and morning followed - the first day. The
first thing to noticed in this creation story is that the first thing God
created was light and that he created it by his word. The word of God is often
associated in scripture as light (Psalm 119:105 your words o Lord are a lamp
unto my feet and a light to my path) and God himself is often referred to as
the light. This is the beginning of the creation story and show how God brought
order and beauty to the primordial chaos culminating in the creation of man.
The phrase a mighty
wind means literally "a wind of God" or the spirit of God. This
spirit of God is mention in many other places in scripture as in 1 Samuel 16:
13 (Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his
brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David). The dove above the
central image symbolizes this spirit of the Lord that swept over the waters.
Below the central image is an image of the Torah from which this story of the
creation of the light is taken. The Torah is flanked by two lit lamps that
symbolize the grace (light) that God gives us to understand and live out the
scriptures in our lives.