The Chorus Of The Righteous

Rav Yehuda said: There are two firmaments, as it is said: "Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens and the heaven of heavens" (Deuteronomy 10:14). Reish Lakish said: There are seven, and these are they: Vilon, Rakia, Shehakim, Zevul, Maon, Makhon, and Aravot. Aravot is the one in which there are righteousness, justice, and charity, the treasuries of life and the treasuries of peace and the treasuries of blessing, and the souls of the righteous, and the spirits and souls that are destined to be created, and the dew with which the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future revive the dead. Righteousness and justice, as it is written: "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne" (Psalms 89:15). Charity, as it is written: "And He put on righteousness as a coat of mail" (Isaiah 59:17). The treasuries of life, as it is written: "For with You is the fountain of life" (Psalms 36:10). And the treasuries of peace, as it is written: "And he called it the LORD is peace" (Judges 6:24). And the treasuries of blessing, as it is written: "He shall receive a blessing from the LORD" (Psalms 24:5). The souls of the righteous, as it is written: "And the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD your God" (1 Samuel 25:29). The spirits and souls that are destined to be created, as it is written: "For the spirit that enwraps itself is from Me, and the souls I have made" (Isaiah 57:16). And the dew with which the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future revive the dead, as it is written: "A bountiful rain You poured down, O God; when Your inheritance was weary, You sustained it" (Psalms 68:10). There are the ophanim and the seraphim and the holy living creatures, and the ministering angels, and the Throne of Glory; the King, the living God, high and exalted, dwells over them in Aravot, as it is said: "Extol Him who rides upon the heavens, whose name is the LORD" (Psalms 68:5).