And Jewish tradition, with its rich tapestry of stories and interpretations, offers some fascinating answers.

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an early medieval collection of biblical narratives and expansions, dives headfirst into this very question. It proposes that seven things were created before the world as we know it. Think about that for a moment. Before the stars, before the mountains, before even the concept of "before" had any real meaning. What could possibly predate all of that?

According to Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, these seven primordial entities are: The Torah, Gehinnom (hell), the Garden of Eden, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, Repentance, and—perhaps most surprisingly—the Name of the Messiah.

Let's unpack that a little. The text itself doesn’t just make these claims, it backs them up with verses from the Hebrew Bible. Take the Torah, for example. The verse from Proverbs 8:22 states, "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old." The phrase "of old," the text argues, signifies before the creation of the world. The Torah, in this view, isn't just a book; it's the very blueprint of creation.

And what about the Garden of Eden? Genesis 2:8 tells us, "And the Lord God planted a garden of old." Again, that phrase "of old" suggests a time before time, a primordial state.

The Throne of Glory is similarly situated. Psalm 93:2 declares, "Thy throne is established of old." This isn’t just any throne; it’s the seat of divine authority, existing even before the universe itself.

Then there’s Repentance. This one’s particularly interesting. Psalm 90:2-3 states, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world… Thou turnest man to contrition." The connection drawn here is powerful: even before the physical world existed, the possibility for humans to turn back to God was already present.

The Temple, too, is presented as a pre-creation concept. Jeremiah 17:12 calls it "A glorious throne, set on high from the beginning… the place of our sanctuary." It wasn't just a building in Jerusalem; it was a concept, a divine dwelling place, existing from the very beginning.

And finally, we arrive at the Name of the Messiah. Psalm 72:17 states, "His name shall endure for ever; before the sun Yinnon was his name." Yinnon, the text asserts, existed even before the sun, before the cosmos. Micah 5:2 further reinforces this idea, speaking of the ruler of Israel "whose ancestry belongs to the past, even to the days of old."

What does it all mean? It's easy to get lost in the poetic language and the ancient interpretations. But perhaps the core idea is this: that certain fundamental principles, certain divine attributes, existed prior to physical creation. These aren't just things that God created for the world; they're aspects of God's very being that were present from the ultimate beginning.

Think about it. The Torah as the blueprint for creation, the Garden of Eden as the ideal state, the Throne of Glory as divine authority, Repentance as the inherent possibility for redemption, the Temple as the divine dwelling place, and the Messiah as the ultimate hope – all existing before time itself. It’s a powerful and profound idea that invites us to consider the very nature of existence and the divine plan for humanity. What do you think it means?