Boker tov! And if I don’t see ya, tzaharayim tovim, erev tov, and layla tov!
That go over your head? No? Tov.
This prompt got me wondering: when does “boker tov” appear first in the Torah?
Answer: never. “Boker tov” wasn’t used until at least “Good morning” became a cultural norm, circa 1450 AD.
So, when does any old greeting first appear in the Torah?
Answer: not immediately! There aren’t many “Hayadoin’s” in the Torah. There actually aren’t many conversations in the way we currently experience them. The first item I found in the sense of a conversational greeting is in Melachim, 6:23. An angel tells Gideon, “Shalom to you, do not fear, you shall not die.”
Morbid, no? Interestingly, the first time the word “Shalom” appears at all in the Torah is also related to death! Bereishis 15:15. Hashem tells Abraham “You shall go to your fathers in shalom, you will be buried at a good old age.”
But wait, isn’t offering greetings a Torah value? Yes, but the first such instruction finally appears in Avos 4:20: “Be first in greeting every man. Better a tail among lions than a head of foxes,” Rabbi Matyah ben Cheresh said. I’ve digressed, so let’s settle on where “Boker” first appears. Easy, and early! Bereishis 1:5. And “Tov”? Earlier! 1:4! They’re just not together.
Reminds me of a famous Nathan Birnbaum vort: “The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and having the two as close together as possible.”
Boker Or!
