Yalkut Shimoni on Torah Reader

In ten articles the world was created, and what is meant to be said, and in one article he could recover, but heal the wicked who destroy the world created in ten sayings and give good reward to the righteous who fulfill the world created in ten sayings....

Our Rabbis taught: these ten kingdoms [in the New Year liturgy] correspond to what? Rabbi Yochanan said: they correspond to the ten utterances by which the world was created. And what are they? If we should say they are the instances of "And [God] said," "And [God] said" in the account of creation, these are only nine. "In the beginning" is also an utterance, for it is written, "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made" (Psalms 33:6).

R. Yochanan said: "Against the ten commandments in which the world was created, and from May, Rabbi Akiva said these twenty-two letters in which all the Torah was given as a bride, and they were engraved with a flame pen on a terrible crown of the Holy One, blessed be He, and when He sought to create the world, they descended and stood before God. In the beginning, the Lord entered his presence and said to him, "Master of the Universe, that you will create in me the world in which you are going to give the Torah to Israel by Moses, as the Torah commanded us to do." The Holy One, blessed be He, replied, "I will make an impression on you, and. He immediately came out in front of him with his mind. And after that, all the signs were entered, and after all of them they entered Bet. The Master of the Universe said to him, "I want you to create in me the world in me, which I say every day, Blessed be the Lord, Amen and Amen." The Creator replied, "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, immediately received the Holy One, blessed be He, and created the world in him, A thousand said to him, "Why are you silent, and you do not say anything to me?" A thousand said to him, "Master of the Universe, because I have no strength to say before you that all the letters are calculated in a large number and I am in a small number. Two at three in the third with three and all in one. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him, "Do not be afraid that you are the head of all of them as a king. You are one, and I am one, and the Torah is one, which I will give you to the people of Israel, as it is said: I am the Lord your God:

And from where is "Aleph" called one, it is said, "How shall one rout one thousand?" And from where is the Holy One, blessed be He, called one as it is said "Hear O Israel the Lord our G-d the Lord is One". And from where is the Torah called one, as it is said, "One Torah will be for you." I am the head of all the pronouncements and "Aleph" is the head of all the letters:...

R. Yehuda bar Shalom said, "From before and from the beginning created Elokim is not written ere rather from the first, in the merit of Israel, which was called first, as it is written," The Holy of Israel is to God, the beginning of its crop. " As a metaphor, why does this resemble: a king of flesh and blood who did not have a son, and says, "Take him from Lenin and Kalmarin to Livni, and everyone would say, 'He has no son,' and he says: 'Take him out of Lenin and Kalmarin.' Rabbi Yehudah ben Pazi expounded why with "Bet": to tell you that there are two worlds, this world and the world to come.

Another interpretation: Why [does the Torah begin] with the letter bet? Because it is the language of blessing [berakhah]. And why not with alef? Because it is the language of cursing [arirah].

Another interpretation: Why not [begin] with alef? So as not to give an opening to the heretic to say, "How can the world endure when it was created in the language of cursing?" Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Behold, I am creating it in the language of blessing. Would that it may endure!

Another interpretation: Why (does the Torah begin) with the letter Bet? Because it is the language of blessing. And why (did it not begin) with the letter Alef? Because it is the language of cursing. Another reason why not in the first place is not to give an opening here to the Epicurean to say how the world can stand and it was created in the language of Arida, but God said: I create it in the language of blessing that I wish. Another thing is why in the house, according to the fact that she has two poles up and one below, behind him he says to the Creator, "Who created you in the world?". Rabbi Elazar bar Avina says 26 generations was a challenging challenge before God Almighty said before him, Master of the Universe I am the first of letters and you did not create your world in me God told him the world and its entirety were created only thanks to the Torah says God with wisdom founded I am destined to rest in the Sinai, and I will not open it except to you, as I say, I am the Lord your God. Bar Chunya said why his name is called Aleph that the Holy One, blessed be He, agrees to give the Torah to a thousand generations, as it is commanded by a thousand generations. Rabbi Hoshayah Rabbah I will be the master of the art of God, in the manner in which a king of flesh and blood builds Palatrin and does not build him from his own knowledge but from the knowledge of the artist and the artist does not build from his own knowledge, but rather he is hypocritical and has a knowledge of how he makes rooms And how does he do such a thing? The Holy One, blessed be He, looked at the Torah and created the world. And there is no beginning but Torah as to how the Lord said, "I will begin his journey." Rabbi Brachya says in the merit of Moses that the world was created, as it is stated in the beginning and the writing, and Rabbi Huna saw it first in the name of Rabbi Menahem because of three things the world was created in the merit of Challah and the merit of the tithes. And there is no beginning, but there is a certain portion that says the beginning of your cradles applies. And there is no beginning but a tenth of what you have said, the beginning of your fish. And there is no beginning but the firstborns. How many are the firstborn of your land? Tanna Debi Rabbi Yishmael Do not read Bereshit, but rather, by the beginning of Shitin from the six days of creation, it is said: "My thighs are like those wreaths that will flow from the hollow and descend to the abyss. Made by an artist The work of God's art: Shimon ben Azzai says and your answer is Rabbinic. Flesh and blood mentions his name and then praises Pelan Agusta flan fratata but God is not so but the needs of his world and then mentioned his name is said Genesis God then created:

The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: Do not read "In the beginning" [bereshit] but rather "He created six" [bara shit] — sixty [shitin, conduits] were created from the six days of creation, as it is said, "The curves of your thighs are like ornaments" (Song of Songs 7:2); these are the sixty hollow channels that descend down to the deep. "The work of a master craftsman's hands" — this is the craftsmanship of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Shimon ben Azzai says: "and Your humility makes me great" (Psalms 18:36). A mortal of flesh and blood mentions his own name first and afterward his titles of honor — "so-and-so Augustus," "so-and-so the Patrician." But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so. Rather, He first created the needs of His world, and only afterward mentioned His name, as it is said, "In the beginning created" [bereshit bara] — and only afterward "God" [Elohim].

Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai taught: From where do we learn that a person should not say "To the LORD a burnt-offering," "To the LORD a meal-offering," "To the LORD a peace-offering," but should rather say "A burnt-offering to the LORD," "A meal-offering to the LORD," "A peace-offering to the LORD"? The verse teaches, saying, "An offering to the LORD" (Leviticus 1:2). And are these matters not [derived by] an argument from the lighter to the heavier? If concerning one who is going to consecrate [an offering], the Torah said that the name of Heaven should not rest [upon the animal first] except [in connection] with bringing it as an offering — then one who is not going to consecrate anything at all, such as those who blaspheme and revile and worship idols, how much more so should they be blotted out from Heaven and from the world!

It happened with King Ptolemy that he gathered seventy-two elders and placed them in seventy-two separate houses, and did not reveal to them why he had brought them in. He went in to each and every one and said to him, "Write for me the Torah of Moses your teacher." The Holy One, blessed be He, put [wisdom] into the heart of each one, and their understanding agreed as one, and they wrote for him: "God created in the beginning" [reversing the order so none would say "In the beginning" was a separate divine power]; "I shall make man in image and likeness" [singular, not "Let us make"]; "And He finished on the sixth day and rested on the seventh day"; "male and female He created him"; "Come, let Me go down and there confound their language"; "And Sarah laughed among her relatives"; "for in their anger they slew an ox and in their wanton will they uprooted a stall"; "And Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them upon a carrier of human beings"; "And the dwelling of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt and in other lands was four hundred and thirty years"; "And he sent the youths of the children of Israel"; "And against the youths of the children of Israel He did not stretch out His hand"; "Not one precious thing of theirs have I taken"; "which the LORD your God apportioned to give light to all the peoples"; "and he went and served other gods which I did not command to be served." And they wrote for him "the short-legged one" and did not write for him "the hare" [arnevet], because the name of [Ptolemy's] wife was Arnevet — so that he should not say, "The Jews have mocked me and put my wife's name in the Torah."

Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva, saying to him: Since you served Nachum of Gam Zo for twenty-two years, [who taught] that "akh" and "rak" are limiting words and "et" and "gam" are amplifying words — this "et" that is written here [in "the heavens and the earth"], what is it? He said to him: Had it said "In the beginning God created heavens and earth," I would have said that the heavens and the earth are also divinities. He said to him: "For it is not an empty thing" (Deuteronomy 32:47) — and if it is empty, it is empty because of you ["from you"], because you do not know how to expound it. Rather, "the heavens" [with et] comes to include the sun and moon, the stars and constellations; "and the earth" [with et] comes to include the trees, the grasses, and the Garden of Eden. Rabbi Yitzchak said: From the very beginning of the creation of the world, "the beginning of Your word is truth" (Psalms 119:160), for it is written, "In the beginning God created" — and "God" is nothing other than truth, as it is said, "But the LORD God is truth" (Jeremiah 10:10). "And every one of Your righteous ordinances endures forever" (Psalms 119:160) — for every single decree that You decree upon Your creatures, they justify the judgment upon themselves and accept it with love. And let no creature be divided to say that two powers gave the Torah or that two powers created the world: it is not written here "And gods said" but "And God said" [singular]; it is not written here "they created" but "He created" [singular]. The letters of "truth" [emet] stand on two legs, while those of "falsehood" [sheker] stand on one leg: whatever does truth endures, and falsehood does not endure. The letters of "truth" are spread far apart from one another, while those of "falsehood" are crowded close together; truth is hard to do, while falsehood stands ready right behind the ear, as the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: One who comes to defile himself is given an opening, and one who comes to purify himself is helped.

Rabbi Yehudah ben Simon says: from the very beginning of the world's creation the Holy One, blessed be He, is the One who 'reveals the deep and hidden things.' Scripture says, 'In the beginning God created the heavens' (Genesis 1:1), but it did not explain how. And where did it explain? Further on, as it is said, 'He who stretches out the heavens like a thin curtain' (Isaiah 40:22). 'And the earth' it did not explain; and where did it explain? Further on, as it is said, 'For to the snow He says, Become earth' (Job 37:6). 'And God said, Let there be light' (Genesis 1:3) it did not explain; and where did it explain? Further on, as it is said, 'He wraps Himself in light as in a garment' (Psalms 104:2). The Rabbis say: a creature of flesh and blood builds a structure; when the building succeeds in his hand he widens it as it rises, and if not, he widens it below and narrows it above. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so. Rather, 'the heavens' means the heavens that arose in His thought, and 'the earth' means the earth that arose in His thought. Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Eliezer in the name of Rabbi Yose the Galilean says: even those of which it is written, 'For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth' (Isaiah 65:17), are already created since the six days of creation. This is what is written, 'For just as the new heavens' (Isaiah 66:22); it does not write here 'just as new heavens,' but 'the new heavens' [the definite article showing they already exist]. Heavens (shamayim): fire (esh) and water (mayim) the Holy One, blessed be He, took and mingled them one with the other, and from them the heavens were made.

Another interpretation: they are called heavens (shamayim) because they make appalled (mashmim) the deeds of creatures. If people are worthy, then 'the heavens declare His righteousness' (Psalms 50:6); and if not, then 'the heavens shall reveal his iniquity' (Job 20:27).

Another interpretation: people are astonished (mishtomemin) as to what they are made of, whether of water or of fire. From what is written, 'who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters' (Psalms 104:3), it follows that they are of water.

Another interpretation: the waters, what are these waters? Some of them are red, some green, some white, some black. So too are the heavens: sometimes red, sometimes green, sometimes white, sometimes black.

Another interpretation: 'Lift up (se'u) the waters' means 'laden with water.' A parable: like milk placed in a bowl. So long as no drop of rennet has fallen into the bowl, it quivers; but once a drop of rennet falls into it, at once it congeals and stands firm. So too 'the pillars of heaven tremble' (Job 26:11), as in what Rav said: the heavens were moist on the first day, and on the second they congealed.

The School of Shammai and the School of Hillel: the School of Shammai says the heavens were created first and afterward the earth. A parable: like a king who made himself a throne, and once he had made it he made his footstool, as it is said, 'Thus says the LORD: The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool' (Isaiah 66:1). And the School of Hillel says: the earth was created first and afterward the heavens. A parable: like a king who built himself a palace; once he built the lower stories he then built the upper ones, as it is said, 'on the day that the LORD God made earth and heavens' (Genesis 2:4). Rabbi Yochanan says in the name of the Sages: in creation the heavens came first, as it is said, 'In the beginning He created' and so on; but in completion the earth came first, as it is said, 'on the day that the LORD God made earth and heavens.' Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: I am astonished that the fathers of the world, the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel, disputed over the creation of heaven and earth. Rather, both were created only like a pot and its lid, as it is said, 'I call to them, let them stand up together' (Isaiah 48:13). Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon said: if it is according to my father's view, why does Scripture sometimes put earth before heavens and sometimes heavens before earth? Rather, it teaches that the two of them are equal to one another.

Everywhere Scripture puts Abraham before Isaac and Isaac before Jacob, yet in one place it says, 'I will remember My covenant with Jacob' and so on (Leviticus 26:42, naming Jacob first). This teaches that the three of them are equal to one another. Everywhere Scripture puts Moses before Aaron, yet in one place it says, 'these are Aaron and Moses' (Exodus 6:26, naming Aaron first); this teaches that the two of them are equal to one another. Everywhere Scripture puts Joshua before Caleb, yet in one place it says, 'except Caleb son of Yefunneh and Joshua son of Nun' (Numbers 14:30, naming Caleb first); this teaches that the two of them are equal to one another. Everywhere Scripture puts honoring the father before the mother, yet in one place it says, 'A man shall revere his mother and his father' (Leviticus 19:3, naming the mother first); this declares that the two of them are equal to one another.

Rabbi Shimon says: lambs precede goats everywhere. One might think this is because they are choicer; therefore the verse teaches, '[And if his offering be a goat] and if he brings a lamb as his offering' [showing the lamb mentioned alongside the goat], which teaches that the two of them are equal. Turtledoves precede young pigeons everywhere. One might think this is because they are choicer; therefore the verse teaches, 'and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering' (naming the pigeon first), which teaches that the two of them are equal.

It was taught: The House of Hillel said to the House of Shammai, According to your words a person builds an upper story and only afterward builds the house, as it says (Amos 9:6), He who builds His upper chambers in the heavens and has founded His vault upon the earth. The House of Shammai said to the House of Hillel, According to your words a person makes a footstool and only afterward a throne, as it says (Isaiah 66:1), The heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. And the Sages say, This one and that one were created as one, as it says (Isaiah 48:13), My own hand founded the earth and My right hand spread out the heavens; I call to them, they stand together. And the other one [explains], This word together means that they do not separate from one another. Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: Ten things were created on the first day: heaven, and earth, formlessness [tohu], and void [bohu], wind, water, light, darkness, the measure of day, and the measure of night. Heaven and earth, as it is written, In the beginning created, and so on. Formlessness and void, as it is written, And the earth was formlessness and void, and so on. Light, as it is written (verse 5), And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Formlessness [tohu] is the green line that surrounds the whole world, from which darkness comes forth. Void [bohu] is the slimy stones sunk in the deep, from which water comes forth. And light was created on the first day but set in place on the fourth day, as it says, And God placed them in the firmament of the heaven, and it is written (verse 19), And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. Rabbi Elazar said: The light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam would gaze and look by it from one end of the world to the other. But when He looked upon the wicked whose deeds are corrupt, He arose and hid it away, as it says (Job 38:15), And from the wicked their light is withheld. And for whom did He hide it? For the righteous in the time to come, as it says, And God saw the light, that it was good, and good means only the righteous one, as it says, Say of the righteous one that it is good, and it is written (Psalms 97:11), Light is sown for the righteous (Proverbs 13:9), and the light of the righteous rejoices.

It was taught in another teaching: Eight things were created on the first day: heaven, and earth, light, darkness, formlessness, and void, wind, water, as it says, And the spirit of God hovered over, and so on. And some say, Also day and night, as it says (verse 5), And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Ten things did Alexander of Macedon ask the elders of the South. He said to them: Is it farther from the heavens to the earth, or from east to west? They said to him: From east to west is farther. Know this, for when the sun is in the east all can look at it, and when the sun is in the west all can look at it, but when the sun is in the middle of the firmament none can look at it. But the Sages say: This distance and that distance are equal, as it is said, "For as the heavens are high above the earth" (Psalms 103:11), and it is written (there, verse 12), "As far as the east is from the west." And if one were greater, let Scripture write both as the greater one. Rather, what is the reason that none can look at the sun in the middle of the firmament? Because it stands fully exposed and nothing covers it. He said to them: Were the heavens created first or the earth? They said to him: The heavens were created first, as it is written, "In the beginning [God created the heavens and the earth]" (Genesis 1:1), and so forth. He said to them: Was light created first or darkness? They said to him: This matter has no resolution. (And why did they not say to him: Darkness was created first, as it is written, "And the earth was unformed and void, and darkness" (Genesis 1:2), and afterward, "And God said: Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3)? Because they thought: perhaps he has come to inquire into what is above, what is below, what is before, what is behind. If so, about the heavens too they should not have answered him at first! At first they thought he was asking by chance; once they saw that he kept asking, they thought: let us not answer him, lest he is coming to inquire what is above and what is below.) He said to them: Who is called wise? They said to him: He who foresees what will come to be. He said to them: Who is called mighty? He who conquers [his impulse], and so forth. He said to them: Who is called rich? He who is content with his portion. What shall a person do and live? Let him slay himself [make himself humble]. What shall a person do and die? Let him keep himself alive [indulge himself]. What shall a person do and be accepted by people? Let him hate kingship and rule. He said to them: My answer is better than yours: let him love kingship and rule, yet do kindness with human beings. He said to them: Is it better to dwell on the sea or on the dry land? They said to him: On the dry land, for all who go down to the sea are not settled in mind until they come up to the land. Which of you is wiser? They said to him: We are all equal, for as one we have answered you. He said to them: Why have you set yourselves against me? They said to him: The Accuser has prevailed. He said to them: I will kill you by royal decree. They said to him: Power is in the hand of the king, but it does not befit a king to lie. Immediately he clothed them in purple and placed a golden chain upon their necks.

(Genesis 1:2) And the earth was formlessness. Now since Scripture opened with the heaven first, what is the reason it explains the matters of the earth first? A parable: to what is the matter comparable? To a king of flesh and blood who said to his servants, Rise early and come to my gate. He rose early and found men and women there. Whom does he praise? The one whose custom it is not to rise early, and yet rose early.

Another interpretation: The heaven and the earth, and the earth was formlessness. To what is the matter comparable? To a king who had two attendants, and one began to sing while the other wept. The king said, Why are you weeping? Have I not made the two of you equal? He said to him, My lord, my companion dwells beside you and enjoys your table; it is right that he should sing. But I, whom you have set far off and made my food depend on the hands of others, for this I weep. So too the Holy One, blessed be He: heaven and earth are equal before Him, as it is written, I call to them, they stand together. The heavens sing, as it says (Psalms 19:2), The heavens declare the glory of God, but the earth weeps. She said before Him, Master of the world, the heavens and all that is upon them enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence, and the angel of death has no dominion over them, therefore they sing. But I, whose food You have made depend on another's hand, and over all that is upon me the angel of death has dominion, therefore I weep. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her, Do not fear, you too are destined to sing, as it says (Psalms 97:1), The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice, and it is written, From the end of the earth we have heard songs.

Rabbi Berekhyah said, (Proverbs 20:11) Even by his doings a child makes himself known. While she was still unripe she put forth a thorn. This is what the prophet was destined to prophesy about her in the end (Jeremiah 4:23), I saw the earth, and behold, it was formlessness and void. And the earth was formlessness. Rabbi Abbahu says, A parable: to a king who bought two slaves, both at one price and on one bill of sale. Concerning one he decreed that he should eat from the treasury, and concerning the other he decreed that he should toil and eat. The one decreed to toil and eat sat dismayed and astonished [tohe and bohe], saying, The two of us were bought at one price and one bill, yet this one is fed from the treasury, and I, if I do not toil, I do not eat. So too the earth sat dismayed and astonished, saying, The upper and lower beings were created as one; the upper ones are fed from the radiance of the Divine Presence, while the lower ones, if they do not toil, do not eat. Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon says, A parable: to a king who bought two maidservants at one price and one bill. Concerning one he decreed that she not stir from the palace, and concerning the other he decreed banishment. She sat banished, dismayed and astonished, saying, The two of us were bought at one price and one bill; this one does not stir from the palace, and over me he decreed banishment. So too the earth sat dismayed and astonished, saying, The upper beings live and the lower beings die; therefore the earth was formlessness. Rabbi Tanchuma said, A parable to a prince who was sleeping upon his cradle while his nurse sat dismayed and astonished, for she knew that she was destined to take her due from his hand [her wages, or that he would die]. So too the earth waited to take her due from the hand of Adam, as it says (Genesis 3:17), Cursed is the ground because of you; therefore the earth was formlessness and void. Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon interpreted the verse concerning the generations. And the earth was formlessness, this is Adam the first man, who was reduced to nothing. And void, this is Cain, who sought to return the whole world to void. And darkness, this is the generation of Enosh, as it says, And their deeds shall be in darkness. Over the face of the deep, this is the generation of the flood, as it says (Genesis 7:11), All the fountains of the deep burst forth. And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters, on account of, And God made a wind pass over the earth. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, How long shall the world be conducted in gloom? Let light come. And God said, Let there be light, this is Abraham, as it says (Isaiah 41:2), Who has roused one from the east. And God called the light day, this is Jacob. And to the darkness He called night, this is Esau. And there was evening, this is Esau. And there was morning, this is Jacob. One day, that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him one day, and which is it? The Day of Atonement. Resh Lakish interpreted the verse concerning the kingdoms. And the earth was formlessness, this is Babylon, as it is written (Jeremiah 4:23), I saw the earth, and behold, it was formlessness. And void, this is Haman [Media], as it is written (Esther 6:14), And they hurried to bring Haman. And darkness, this is Greece, which darkened the eyes of Israel with its decrees, for it would say to them, Write on the horn of the ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel. Over the face of the deep, this is the wicked kingdom [Rome], which has no fathoming, like this deep that has no fathoming. And the spirit of God hovered, this is the spirit of the Messiah, as it is written (Isaiah 11:2), And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him. By what merit does it come and draw near? By the merit of repentance, which is likened to water, as it says, Pour out your heart like water.

Another interpretation: And the spirit of God, this is the spirit of Adam the first man, as it is written (Psalms 139:5), Behind and before You have formed me, behind, for the work of the last day, and before, for the work of the first day. Rabbi Chaggai in the name of Rabbi Pedat says, And the spirit of God hovered, a covenant was made with the waters, that even in the hour of scorching heat a wind blows gently. And already Rabbi Shimon ben Zoma was standing and lost in wonder. Rabbi Yehoshua passed by and greeted him once and twice, and he did not answer. The third time he answered him in haste. He said to him, What is this, Ben Zoma? From where do the feet come [where are you]? He said to him, I was contemplating. He said to him, I call heaven and earth to witness against me that I shall not stir from here until you tell me from where the feet come. He said to him, I was gazing into the work of creation, and there is between the upper waters and the lower waters only three fingerbreadths, as it says, And the spirit of God hovered. It is not written here blowing but hovering, like this bird that flutters with its wings, touching and not touching, as it is written, He hovers over his fledglings. Rabbi Yehoshua turned and said to his disciples, Ben Zoma is gone. And not many days passed, and Ben Zoma was no longer in the world. Now this verse, And the spirit of God hovered, when is it written? On the first day. But the separation of the waters was on the second day, as it is written (verse 6), Let it divide between water and water. Rabbi Abbahu said, From the beginning of the world's creation the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw the deeds of the righteous and the deeds of the wicked. And the earth was formlessness, these are the deeds of the wicked. And God said, Let there be light, these are the deeds of the righteous. But I do not know in which of them He delights. From what is written, And God saw the light, that it was good, it follows that He delights in the deeds of the righteous and does not delight in the deeds of the wicked. Rabbi Chiyya the Great says, From the beginning of the world's creation the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw the Temple built and destroyed and rebuilt. In the beginning God created, and so on, behold it is built, as you say (Isaiah 51:16), To plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth. And the earth was formlessness, behold it is destroyed, as you say, I saw the earth, and behold, it was formlessness. And God said, Let there be light, built and perfected in the time to come, as you say (Isaiah 60:1), Arise, shine, for your light has come.

(Genesis 1:3-5) And God said, Let there be light. Rabbi Yehudah says, The light was created first. A parable: to a king who wished to build a palace, and the place was dark. What did he do? He lit lamps and entered, to know how to set the foundations. Rabbi Nechemyah says, Heaven and earth were created first. A parable: to a king who built a palace and adorned it with lamps. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak said, (Psalms 119:130) The opening of Your words gives light. From the opening of Your mouth there was light for us, And God said, Let there be light. Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon said, (Psalms 33:6) By the word of the LORD the heavens were made. Not with labor and not with toil did the Holy One, blessed be He, create His world, but by the word of the LORD. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak asked Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani. He said to him, Because I have heard about you that you are a master of aggadah, from where was the light created? He said to him, This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, wrapped Himself in a white garment and the radiance of His splendor shone from one end of the world to the other. And he said it to him in a whisper. He said to him, It is an explicit verse, He wraps Himself in light as in a garment, and you say it to me in a whisper? He said to him, Just as I heard it in a whisper, so I have told it in a whisper. And were it not an established teaching, it would not be permitted to say it. Before this, what would they say? That it was created from the place of the Temple, as it says, And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and so on, and the earth shone from His glory, and glory means only the Temple, as it says (Jeremiah 17:12), A throne of glory on high from the first, the place of our sanctuary. Rabbi Simon said, Five times the word light is written here, corresponding to the five books of the Torah. Let there be light, corresponding to the book of Genesis, in which the Holy One, blessed be He, occupied Himself and created His world. And there was light, corresponding to the book of And these are the names [Exodus], in which Israel went out from gloom to light. And God saw the light, that it was good, corresponding to the book of And He called [Leviticus], which is full of many laws. And God divided between the light, corresponding to the book of And He spoke [Numbers], which divides between those who went out of Egypt and those who entered the land. And God called the light day, corresponding to Deuteronomy, which is full of many laws. They objected to him, But is not the book of Leviticus full of many laws? He said to them, That book too repeats matters in it. And God saw the light. From where do we learn that one does not bless over a lamp until one benefits from its light? From here, And God saw the light, and He divided.

Rabbi Eleazar said: Even for the sake of a single righteous person the world was created, as it is said, "And God saw the light, that it was good" (Genesis 1:4). And "good" means nothing other than the righteous one, as it is said, "Say of the righteous one that it shall be good" (Isaiah 3:10).

"And God divided" (Genesis 1:4). Rabbi Judah bar Simon said: He set it apart for Himself. The Rabbis say: He set it apart for the righteous in the time to come. A parable: like a king who had a fine portion and set it apart for his son. "And He divided" means a real division. A parable: like a king who had two commanders, one who ruled the city and one who ruled the province, and the two of them quarreled with one another. This one said, "By day I rule," and that one said, "By day I rule." The king called the first and said, "Day shall be your domain," and likewise to the second, "Night shall be your domain." This is what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Job, "Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, caused the dawn to know its place?" (Job 38:12), as you say, "who forms light and creates darkness" (Isaiah 45:7). "He makes peace in His heights" (Job 25:2): when He created them, He made peace between them. "And God called the light Day." It is not the light, and it is not the day. It was taught: the light that was created in the six days of creation cannot give light by day, for it would dim the orb of the sun, and it cannot give light by night, for it was created only to give light by day. And where is it hidden away and prepared? For the righteous in the time to come, as it is said, "And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun" and so forth (Isaiah 30:26). Nor were the luminaries hung in place on the fourth day, but it is like a person who says, "Such and such I will pay back on the seventh day of my wedding feast." "And God called the light Day": the Holy One, blessed be He, does not attach His name to evil, only to good; and "and the darkness He called Night" is not written here, but rather "and to the darkness He called Night."

"And God called the light Day" (Genesis 1:5): He called that which goes on giving light "Day." If so, then "and to the darkness He called Night" means He called that which goes on growing dark "Night." But we hold that until the stars come out it is not yet night. Rather, the Merciful One called the light into being and charged it with the duty of the daytime; the Merciful One called the darkness into being and charged it with the duty of the nighttime.

"And there was evening and there was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5). They are not cut off from one another. What does it say? Day and night are one day. "Let there be evening" is not written here, but "and there was evening," which tells that an order of times existed before this. "One day": on it four things were created, mountains, heaven, and earth, and light. Rabbi Yudan said: on it the Holy One, blessed be He, was alone in His world. This accords with Rabbi Yochanan, who said the angels were created on the second day, as it is written, "who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters" (Psalms 104:3), and it is written, "who makes His angels of winds" (Psalms 104:4). It does not accord with Rabbi Chanina, who said they were created on the fifth, as it is said, "and let birds fly above the earth" (Genesis 1:20), and it is written, "and with two it would fly" (Isaiah 6:2). All agree that no angels were created on the first day, so that one should not say Michael was stretching out the south of the firmament and Gabriel its north while the Holy One, blessed be He, measured the middle. Rather, "I am the LORD who makes all, who stretches out the heavens alone, who spreads out the earth by Myself" (Isaiah 44:24). "Who was with Me" is written: who was a partner with Me in the creation of the world? From the beginning of the creation of the world the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to make a partnership with the lower beings. Consider it either way: if the verse means to count, it need not say "one, two, three" or "first, second, third"; perhaps "one, second, third." When did the Holy One, blessed be He, repay them? At the raising of the Tabernacle, as it is said, "And the one who brought his offering on the first day" (Numbers 7:12), first to the creation of the world.

(Genesis 1:6) "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters." On the second day He created the firmament, and the angels, and the fire of flesh and blood, and the fire of Gehinnom. But were not the heavens created on the first day? Then which firmament was created on the second day? The firmament that is over the heads of the living creatures, as it is said, "and the likeness over the heads of the living creature was a firmament, like the color of the awesome ice" (Ezekiel 1:22). What is "like the color of the awesome ice"? It is of precious stones and pearls, and like the sun that shines at noon, as it is said, "and the light dwells with Him" (Daniel 2:22). And by that light the righteous are destined to shine in the time to come, as it is said, "and the wise shall shine like the radiance of the firmament" (Daniel 12:3).

It is written, "who roofs His upper chambers with water" (Psalms 104:3). In the way of the world, a king of flesh and blood builds his palace and roofs it with wood, with stones, and with earth; does he roof it with water? But the Holy One, blessed be He, roofed His world only with water, as it is written, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters." The middle drop froze and the lower heavens and the heaven of heavens above were made. Rav said: the heavens were moist on the first day, and on the second they congealed. "Let there be a firmament" means let the firmament grow firm. Had it said "and He divided between the waters that are upon the firmament," I would have said the water is set upon the body of the firmament; but since it says "between the waters that are above the firmament," you must say the upper waters are suspended by command, like this lamp, and their fruit is the rains. A certain Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir: Is it possible that the upper waters are suspended by command? He said to him: Bring me a funnel. He brought it. He placed a plate of gold upon it and the water did not stay; a plate of silver, and the water did not stay; when he placed his finger upon it, the water stayed. He said to him: Are you putting your finger on it? He said: If I, who am flesh and blood, can hold up water with my finger, how much more the finger of the Holy One, blessed be He. Thus you must say the upper waters are suspended by command. He said to him: Is it possible that the One of whom it is written, "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" (Jeremiah 23:24), was speaking with Moses from between the poles of the ark? He said to him: Bring me large mirrors. He brought them. He said: Look at your reflection. He saw it large. He said: Bring me small mirrors. He brought them. He said: Look at your reflection. He saw it small. He said to him: If you, who are flesh and blood, can change your appearance to whatever you wish, then the One who spoke and the world came to be, how much more so. Sometimes the world and its fullness cannot contain His divinity; sometimes He speaks with a person from between the hairs of his head, as it is written, "And the LORD answered Job out of the storm" (Job 38:1), from between the hairs of his head. And again he asked him: Is it possible that "the channel of God is full of water" (Psalms 65:10) since the six days of creation and lacks nothing? He said to him: Go into the bathhouse and wash yourself and weigh yourself before you enter, and weigh yourself after you enter. He went and did so and lacked nothing. He said to him: All the sweat that came out, was it not from you? He said: Yes. He said to him: If you, flesh and blood, and your spring lacked nothing, how much more the spring of the Holy One, blessed be He. Rabbi Yochanan said: the Holy One, blessed be He, took all the waters of creation and placed half in the firmament and half in the ocean, as it is written, "the channel of God," half. The firmament resembles a pool, and above the pool is a dome, and it sweats thick drops, and they descend into the salt water and do not mix. Do not be astonished: this Jordan passes through the sea of Tiberias and does not mix with it. A man sifts wheat or straw in a sieve, and before they descend two or three fingers they mingle, yet these travel a journey of many years and do not mix. Every single drop that the Holy One, blessed be He, brings down to us He diminishes one from the other, as you say, "for He draws up the drops of water" (Job 36:27), and it is written, "and it shall be diminished from your valuation" (Leviticus 27:18). And He brings them down by measure, as it is said, "and He metes out the waters by measure" (Job 28:25). As the thickness of the earth, so is all the thickness of the firmament, as it is said, "who sits upon the circle of the earth" (Isaiah 40:22), and it is written, "and He walks on the circle of heaven" (Job 22:14): "circle" and "circle" by a verbal analogy [the matching word teaches a matching measure]. Rabbi Acha said: like this plate. Rabbi Yehoshua bar Nachmani said: two or three fingers. Rabbi Shimon ben Pazzi said: the upper waters exceed the lower by about thirty measures, for between "water" and "water" the letter lamed [whose numerical value is thirty] occurs. The Rabbis say: half and half. (Genesis 1:7) "And God made the firmament": this is one of the verses with which Ben Zoma shook the world. "And He made"? How astonishing, was it not by speech? as it is written, "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made" (Psalms 33:6). Why is "that it was good" not written on the second day? Because Gehinnom was created on it, as it is said, "for Tophet is set in order from yesterday" (Isaiah 30:33), a day that has a yesterday but not a day before. Rabbi Chanina says: because division was created on it, as it is said, "and let it divide between waters and waters." And if division that is for the order and settling of the world has "that it was good" not written of it, division for the confounding of the world how much more so.

Another interpretation: because the work of the waters was not completed. Therefore it wrote "that it was good" twice on the third day, one for the work of the waters and one for the work of the day. A certain noblewoman asked Rabbi Yose: Why is "that it was good" not written on the second day? He said to her: Even so, He went back and included them all at the end, as it is said, "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). She said to him: A parable. Six people come to you, and you give each one a portion, but to one you do not give; then you go back and give all of them a portion. It turns out each one has a portion and a sixth, and one has only a sixth. He turned back and said to her: Because the work of the waters was not completed, and so forth.

Rabbi Bannaah said: Why was "that it was good" not said on the second day? Because the fire of Gehinnom was created on it, and the hollow of Gehinnom was created before the world was created. And our own fire arose in thought to be created on Sabbath eve but was not created until the going out of the Sabbath. As it was taught: two things arose in thought to be created on Sabbath eve but were not created until the going out of the Sabbath. And at the going out of the Sabbath the Holy One, blessed be He, placed understanding into Adam, the first man, resembling a pattern from above, and he brought two stones and ground them one against the other and fire came out of them; and he brought two animals and mated one with the other and a mule came out of them.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: There was a mule already in the days of Anah, as it is said, "This is Anah who found the yemim [mules] in the wilderness" (Genesis 36:24). The expounders of difficult matters say: Anah himself was of unfit birth, and he brought unfitness into the world. For it is said, "These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan and Shoval and Tzivon and Anah" (Genesis 36:20), and it is written, "And these are the sons of Tzivon: both Aiah and Anah; this is the Anah" (Genesis 36:24) and so on. This teaches that Tzivon came in upon his own mother and fathered Anah from her [so that Anah was at once Tzivon's son and his brother]. But perhaps there were two men named Anah? [No,] "this is the Anah" [means] the Anah from the very start [the same one named earlier].

Another interpretation: The Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that Moses would be called "good" and was destined to be taken from the world by means of water. Therefore He did not write concerning the waters "that it was good."

Another interpretation: A parable of a king who had a harsh legion. The king said: Since this legion is harsh, let my name not be inscribed upon it. So too the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Since by these waters the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion are destined to be punished, therefore let "that it was good" not be written concerning them.