God drew up the blueprints for a world. They failed. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle compiled by Jerahmeel ben Solomon and first translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, the cosmos could not stand until God created one thing first: repentance.
Seven things existed before the world itself. The Torah. Repentance. The Throne of Glory. The Garden of Eden. Gehinnom (the place of spiritual purification after death). The site of the Temple. And the name of the Messiah. These were the foundations on which everything else would rest. Without them, creation had no architecture.
The heavens were made from the brilliance of God's own garment. He peeled it off like a covering and spread it out, and the heavens kept stretching until He said "Enough." The earth came from the snow beneath the Throne of Glory. He scattered it upon the waters, and the waters froze into dust.
Four winds emerged from four corners. Light from the east. Blessed dew from the south. Snow and rain from the west. But the north corner God left unfinished on purpose. "Whoever declares himself God," He said, "let him come finish this corner." That incomplete edge became the dwelling place of demons, earthquakes, and evil spirits.
Four bands of angels surround the divine throne. Michael on the right. Gabriel in front. Uriel on the left. Raphael behind. The throne itself is suspended in midair, half fire and half snow, with the Ineffable Name written across God's forehead. Two seraphim stand beside Him, each with six wings. Two wings cover their faces so they cannot gaze upon the Shekinah (שכינה), the Divine Presence. Two wings hide their feet to avoid recalling the sin of the golden calf. And with the remaining two, they fly, crying "Holy, holy, holy."
(1) With the help of God I commence to write this my book
without interruption. These are the generations of the
heavens and the earth when they were created on the day
when the Lord God made heaven and earth. E. Eliezer,
son of Hyrqanos, began his homily thus: ' Who can express
all the mighty acts of God ?' Is there anybody who can
possibly give utterance to the mighty deeds of God and pro-
claim all His praise ? Not even the ministering angels can
do this. It is only possible to recount part of His mighty
deeds, to explain what He has done and what He in future
wdll do, so that His great name may be exalted among the
creatures whom He has created from one end of the world
to the other, as it is said, ' Every generation shall praise
Thy works.' Before the world was created God and His
name alone existed. When it entered His mind to create the
world, He drew the plan of a world, but it would not stand.
This may be compared to the action of a man who wishes
to build a palace: unless he plans out its foundations, its
exits and its entrances, he cannot commence to build. Thus
God planned the world before Him, but it would not stand
until He created repentance. (2) Seven things were created
prior to the creation of the world, viz.: the Law, repentance,
the throne of glory, the Garden of Eden, Gehinnom, the
site of the temple, and the name of the Messiah, and for all
these things proof is to be found in the Scriptures.
(3) Eight things were created on the first day, viz., heaven
and earth, light and darkness, that which was without form
and void (Tohu va-Bohu), air and water; and the Spirit of
God hovered over the surface of the waters. Some say day
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and night were also included in the first day of the creation,
as it is said: ' And it was evening, and it was morning, one
day.' Eight things were also created on the second day:
The well (of Miriam), manna, the rod (of Moses), the rain-
bow, the letters and the writing, the clothes (of Adam and
Eve), and demons (Maziqim).
(4) Ten things were paramount in the thought of God at
the creation, viz.: Jerusalem, the spirits of the patriarchs,
the ways of the righteous, Gehinnom, the flood, the double
tables of stone, the Sabbath, the temple, the ark, and the
light of the future world. (5) Wherefrom were the heavens
created ? From the brilliancy of God's covering which He
took up and spread as a garment, and the heavens went on
extending until He said unto them, ' Be stayed,' and they
stopped. (6) Whence was the earth created ? From the snow
beneath the throne of glory. God took it up and scattered
it upon the waters, then the waters were congealed and
became the dust of the earth, as it is said, ' For He says
unto the snow. Become earth.' The boundaries of the
heavens touch the waters of the ocean, for the waters of
the ocean (Oqeanos) flow round the extremities of the
heavens and the earth, and the extremities of the heavens
are spread upon the waters of the ocean, as it is said, ' Who
layeth the foundation of His upper chambers in the
waters.' The heavens rise to an immense height in the
form of a tent that is spread out, and mortals stand beneath
it; its extremity is below, and its centre is above. This is
the form of the heavens, their extremity is below and their
centre above, so that all (God's) creatures, as it were, sit
beneath it as in a tent, as it is said, ' He spread them out
as a tent for dwelling therein.' (7) Four winds were created
in the world, viz., the winds coming from the east, south,
north, and west. From the eastern corner the light of the
world goeth forth; from the south, the dews of blessing
descend upon the world; from the west emanate the stores
of snow, hail, cold and heat, and rains for the benefit of the
world; the north corner of the world He created, but
did not complete, for He said: Whoever declares himself
to be God, let him come and finish this corner which I have
left, and then shall all know that he is a God. There the
demons, earthquakes, evil spirits, and Shiddim dwell, and
from there they come forth to the world, as it is said, ' Out
of the north evil shall break forth ' (Jer. i. 14).
(8) On the second day He created the firmament, the
angels, the heat of the living bodies, and the heat of
Gehinnom. But were not the heavens created on the first
day? as it is said, 'In the beginning God created the
heavens.' What, then, is this heaven which was created on
the second day ? E. Eliezer says: That firmament which
is above the heads of the four holy creatures, as it is said, ' In
the likeness of a firmament above the holy creatures.' It
appears like unto hoar-frost, consisting of precious stones
and pearls; it lights up the whole heavens as the light which
lights up the house, and as the sun which lights up the world
at noon, as it is said, ' And light dwells with Him.' Simi-
larly the righteous are destined in the future to enlighten
the world, as it is said, ' And the wise will shine as the
brightness of the firmament.' And if the firmament had
not been created on the second day, the whole world would
have been drowned by the waters from above, but the
firmament now separates the upper from the lower waters.
These angels, which were created on the second day, when
sent by God, become winds, as it is said: ' He made His
angels winds.' When they minister before Him, they
become like fire, as it is said, ' His ministering angels are
a flaming fire.' (9) Four bands of angels minister unto
God, the first band, under Michael, on His right, the second,
under Gabriel, in front of Him, the third, under Uriel, on
His left, and the fourth, under Eaphael, behind Him.
The Divine presence of God sits in the centre on a high
and exalted throne, which is exceedingly majestic, and is
suspended above in the air, and the appearance of its glory
is like unto a carbuncle, one half is as fire, and the other
half is as snow; a resplendent crown of glory rests upon
His head, and upon His forehead is written the ineffable
name of ' God.' His eyes overlook the whole earth; on
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His right is life, on His left death; a sceptre of fire is in
His hand; a curtain is spread out before Him, (10) and
the seven angels which ^Yere created first minister before
Him within the curtain. His footstool is like fire and
hail, and beneath the throne of glory, it has the appear-
ance of sapphires; fire plays round about it; righteous-
ness and justice are the supports of His throne; clouds
of glory surround it, and the wheel, the ophan, the
cherub, and the holy creatures sing praises unto Him.
The throne is like sapphire; it stands upon four legs,
and four holy creatures are attached to it; on each side
are four faces and four wings, as it is said: ' There were
four faces, which were four angels.' (11) When He
speaks from the east, from between the two cherubim,
He speaks in the direction of the face of man; when
He speaks from the south. He speaks in the direction of
the face of the lion; when from the west. He speaks in
the direction of the oxen; when from the north, in the
direction of the eagle; and opposite Him are the ophanim
and the wheels of the chariot. When He sits upon the
throne, high and exalted, and looks round the earth. His
chariot being upon wheels, through the noise caused by
the wheels of the chariot, lightnings and earthquakes are
caused in the world. But when He traverses the heavens,
He rides upon a swift cherub, as it is said, ' And He rode
upon a swift cherub.' When He hastens to do a thing.
He flies upon the wings of the wind, as it is said, ' And
He flew upon the wings of the wind." (12) Two seraphim
stand near Him, one on His right side and another on
His left, each of which has six wings; with two each of
them covers his face to prevent them gazing upon the
Shekinah, and with two they each hide their legs so as
not to remember the sin of the golden calf, and with two
they fly, exulting in, and sanctifying. His great name.
One answers while another proclaims, and one proclaims
while the other answers, and they say, ' Holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord of Hosts.' (13) The holy creatures stand with
reverence and awe, with trembling and quaking, lest they
be consumed by the fire of the angels; and from then* faces
streams down a fiery river, as it is said, ' And a river of
fire flows before Him;' and the holy creatures do not know
the place of His glory, but answer and exclaim wherever
His glory be, ' Blessed is the glory of the Lord in His
place.'
