Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: It is not written here "Let there be evening," but rather "And there was evening" (Genesis 1:5). From this we learn that an order of times existed before this. Rabbi Abbahu said: this teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, would create worlds and destroy them, until He created these, and He said: These please Me; those did not please Me. Rabbi Pinhas said: the reasoning of Rabbi Abbahu is from "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31), as if to say: These please Me; those did not please Me.
Prior Worlds
Bereshit Rabbah 3:7
אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר סִימוֹן, יְהִי עֶרֶב אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא וַיְהִי עֶרֶב, מִכָּאן שֶׁהָיָה סֵדֶר זְמַנִּים קֹדֶם לָכֵן. אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיָה בּוֹרֵא עוֹלָמוֹת וּמַחֲרִיבָן, עַד שֶׁבָּרָא אֶת אֵלּוּ, אָמַר דֵּין הַנְיָן לִי, יַתְהוֹן לָא הַנְיָן לִי. אָמַר רַבִּי פִּנְחָס טַעְמֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי אַבָּהוּ וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה טוֹב מְאֹד, דֵּין הַנְיָין לִי יַתְהוֹן לָא הַנְיָין לִי.
Themes
Original Sources
- Genesis Rabbah 3:7, 9:2, 28:4, 33:3
- Exodus Rabbah 1:2, 30:3
- B. Hagigah 13b
- Midrash Tehillim 90:13
- Midrash Aleph Bet 5:5
- Eliyahu Rabbah 2:9
- Zohar 1:24, 1:154a, 1:262b, 3:135a-135b
- Idra Rabbah
- Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 3
- Sefer ha-'Iyyun Ms. Hebrew University 8330
- Zohar Hadash
- Sefer ha-Zikhronot 1:1
- Rashi on B. Shabbat 88b
- No'am Elimelekh, Bo 36b
- Kedushat Levi
- Or ha-Hayim 1:12
- Esh Kadosh
- Otzrot Rabbi Yitzhak Eizik Haver