“God set them in the firmament of the heavens” (Genesis 1:17) – how do the orbs of the sun and the moon set in the firmament? Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai and the Rabbis, the Rabbis say: They go behind the Dome and below.26Circling the earth underneath it, reaching the east at sunrise. Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai said: They go behind the Dome and above.27Circling back to east high above the Dome, which blocks out their light.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The statement of Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, who said: Behind the Dome and above, seems more correct during the summer, when the whole world is boiling and yet the springs are cold; and the statement of the Rabbis, who say: Behind the Dome and below, during the rainy season, when the entire world is cold and yet the springs are tepid.28The springs are warmed up by the sun, which circles under the earth at night.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: We do not know if they fly through the air, or if they move smoothly in the firmament, or if they follow their predetermined path. The matter is very difficult and it is impossible for people to ascertain it.