Before every human birth, an angel named Lailah (לילה) receives a direct order from God. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle compiled by Jerahmeel ben Solomon, God tells Lailah, "Tonight a child will be conceived. Take this seed and break it into 365 particles." The angel obeys, then returns to God and asks, "What shall become of it?" God decrees everything: strong or weak, male or female, rich or poor, tall or short.
God then summons a specific soul from the Garden of Eden. The soul protests. "I am holy and pure. I am satisfied with my world. Do not make me enter this impure vessel." God overrules the objection: "The world I am sending you into is better than the one you have known. I created you for exactly this purpose." The soul enters the embryo against its will.
A supernatural light shines above the unborn child's head, illuminating the entire world from end to end. Each morning the angel carries the soul into the Garden of Eden and shows it the righteous sitting in glory with crowns on their heads. Each evening the angel takes it to Gehinnom (the place of spiritual purification after death) and shows it the wicked being beaten with fiery staves. "These had the same humble origins as you," the angel explains. "They went into the world and disobeyed."
When nine months pass, the angel returns and says, "Time to go." The soul refuses again: "Now I am comfortable here. Why move me?" The angel replies, "Against your will you were formed. Against your will you will be born." Then the angel strikes the child, extinguishes the miraculous light, and forces it out into the world. The baby cries because it has lost everything it knew.
Seven stages of life await. In the first year, the child is treated like a king. By forty, burdens weigh on it like a loaded donkey. In old age, everyone in the household wishes for its death. When the final hour arrives, the same angel returns and asks, "What is your name?" The dying person weeps. Only the rooster can hear the sound.