The Open Portico of Repentance and the Mingling of Justice and Mercy

For what reason was the world created with the letter heh? Because it resembles a portico [open hall], so that whoever wishes to leave may leave. Why is its leg suspended [not joined to the roof]? Because if one returns in repentance, he is brought back in [through the upper gap]. And let him be brought back in through that same [lower opening through which he left]? The matter does not assist him, in keeping with Resh Lakish: "one who comes to be purified [is assisted]" [and so a new opening is provided]. And this is what is written, "if it concerns the scorners, He scorns them" (Proverbs 3:34). Why does it [the heh] have a crownlet? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: if he returns, I tie a crown for him like My own. The world to come [was made] with the letter yod, because the righteous in it are few; and its head is bent because the righteous bow their heads, since their deeds are not alike one to another. "When they were created" [be-hibaram]: "by the word of the LORD" and already "the heavens were made" (Psalms 33:6). A parable of a king who rebuked his servant, and the servant stood astonished; so "the pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at His rebuke" (Job 26:11). It is written, "for in it He rested from all His work which God created to make" (Genesis 2:3); "these are the generations of the heaven": rather, a day enters and a day departs, a Sabbath departs and a Sabbath enters, a month departs and a month enters, a year departs and a year enters, "when they were created." Rabbi Yitzchak and Resh Lakish: Rabbi Yitzchak says, a mortal of flesh and blood stretches a tent of necessity, and over time it sags a little; but here, "can you spread out the skies with Him?" (Job 37:18), and lest you say they are slack, the verse teaches, "strong as a molten mirror" (Job 37:18). Resh Lakish said: a mortal of flesh and blood pours out vessels of necessity, and over time they raise rust; but here, "strong as a molten mirror," they appear as at the hour of their casting, like a firm dome. "On the day the LORD God made earth and heaven" (Genesis 2:4). The House of Shammai say: the thought by night and the deed by day. And the House of Hillel say: the thought and the deed by day. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said: I am astonished how the fathers of the world, the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel, disagreed over the creation of heaven and earth; rather, the thought was both by day and by night, and the deed at the dimming of the sun. "The LORD God" [two names, mercy and justice]. A parable of a king who had empty cups. He said: if I pour hot liquid into them, they crack; cold, they freeze [and shatter]. What did he do? He mixed hot with cold, and they held. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said: if I create the world with the attribute of justice, how can the world endure; with the attribute of mercy [alone], sins would multiply. Rather, behold, I will create it with the attribute of justice and the attribute of mercy, and may it endure. "Earth and heaven" [earth named first]: a parable of a legion that crowned the king first. The king said: since this legion crowned me first, behold, I grant it a privilege that shall never be removed from it. This is what is written, "He founded the earth upon its foundations, that it should not be moved forever and ever" (Psalms 104:5).