Chagigah 12a (יב.) — the Talmud in English

And we raise a difficulty:

Now, since it is derived

that we have learned

from “from one end of heaven to the other end of heaven”

that one may not ask about what lies outside these partitions, the following difficulty arises:

“From the day when God created man upon the earth”,

from which one learns that one may not ask what existed before the world was created –

why do I need this?!

Is that question not also a matter of what lies “outside the partition”?!

And we answer:

it is needed

[according to the text in the Bach]

for the teaching of Rabbi Elazar.

For Rabbi Elazar said: Adam the first

was as tall

as the distance from the earth to the firmament.

As it is stated: From the day when God created man “upon the earth and from one end of heaven

to the other end of heaven” [Bach]. Thus Adam stood upon the earth and reached the end of the heavens.

Once he sinned

[by eating from the Tree of Knowledge],

the Holy One, blessed be He, placed His hand upon him and diminished him, as it is stated: “Behind and before You fashioned me

[You fashioned me twice, first tall and afterward lowly, Rashi]

and You placed Your palm upon me.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Adam the first –

when he was lying down –

extended from one end of the world to the other

[his head was in the east and his feet touched the west].

As it is stated: From the day when God created man upon the earth “and from one end of heaven to the other end of heaven.”

Once he sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, placed His hands upon him and diminished him

as it is stated: “And You placed Your palm upon me.”

And we raise a difficulty:

If that is so, the verses contradict one another!

One verse indicates that he was as tall as the distance from the earth to the heavens, while another verse indicates that his height was the measure of the distance from one end of the world to the other?!

And we answer:

Both this and that –

they are one measure

[it is all one measure].

And Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Ten things were created on the first day

of the Work of Creation,

and these are they:

a–b:

Heaven and earth.

c–d:

Tohu and bohu,

as the Gemara will explain below.

e–f:

Light and darkness.

g–h:

Wind and water.

i–j:

The measure of day and the measure of night,

twenty-four hours between them [Rashi].

The Gemara explains the source for all of this:

Heaven and earth

were created on the first day,

as it is written

concerning the things created on the first day:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,”

and at the end of the passage it is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

Tohu and bohu

were created on the first day,

as it is written

concerning the creation of the first day:

“And the earth was tohu and bohu.”

Light and darkness

were created on the first day:

Darkness

was created on the first day,

as it is written

concerning the first day:

“And darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

Light

was created on the first day,

as it is written

concerning the first day:

“And God said: Let there be light.”

Wind and water

were created on the first day,

as it is written

concerning the first day:

“And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.”

The measure of day and the measure of night

were created on the first day,

as it is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

The tanna

in a beraita:

“Tohu” –

it is

a green line that surrounds the entire world, from which darkness emerged into the world

[Bach].

And from where is it known that the line of darkness surrounds the heavens?

As it is stated: “He made darkness His concealment all around Him.”

“Bohu” –

these are polished stones

[an expression of moisture, Rashi]

embedded in the deep, from which water emerges.

As it is stated: “And He shall stretch over it the line of tohu, and the stones of bohu,”

you have learned that “tohu” is a line and “bohu” is stones.

And we raise a difficulty:

And light –

was it created on the first day?!

Was light created on the first day?!

But it is written: “And God placed them

[the sun, moon, and stars, which are sources of light]

in the firmament of heaven.”

And it is written

that He placed them there on the fourth day:

“And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.”

Rather,

[Bach] it must be explained

in accordance with Rabbi Elazar:

For Rabbi Elazar said: The light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day enabled a person to see from one end of the world to the other.

Once the Holy One, blessed be He, looked at the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion and saw that their deeds were corrupt, He arose and concealed it from them.

As it is stated: “He withholds their light from the wicked.”

And for whom did He conceal it?

For the righteous in the future to come!

As it is stated: “And God saw the light, that it was ‘good’,”

and “good” means nothing other than the righteous.

As it is stated: “Say of the righteous that he is ‘good’.”

Once he saw

the

light that He had concealed

for

the righteous, immediately

[Bach]

he rejoiced.

As it is stated: “The light of the righteous rejoices.”

This question – when the light was created and when it began to serve –

is subject to a dispute between tannaim!

The tannaim disagreed about this:

For it was taught:

The light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day –

a person could see and gaze through it from one end of the world to the other, the words of Rabbi Yaakov.

And the Sages say:

That same light which the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day,

they themselves are

the

“luminaries”

mentioned on the fourth day,

which were created on the first day but were not suspended until the fourth day.

This is what the verse means: “Let there be” that light, which was created on the first day, “luminaries in the firmament of heaven”; and these are the two luminaries [Rabbeinu Hananel].

Rav Zutra bar Tuvya said in the name of Rav: The world was created through ten things:

Through wisdom

[knowledge of things];

through understanding

[understanding a new matter from a known matter];

through knowledge

[composure of mind];

through strength

of the arm

; through rebuke

[through reprimand, as the Gemara explains below];

through might

[strength of heart, Rashi];

through righteousness; through justice; through kindness; and through compassion.

The Gemara explains the source for all of this:

Through wisdom and understanding

the world was created,

as it is written: “The Lord founded the earth through wisdom; He established the heavens through understanding.”

Through knowledge

the world was created,

as it is written: “By His knowledge the depths were split open.”

Through strength and might

the world was created,

as it is written: “He prepares the mountains through His strength; He is girded

[with a belt, Metzudot]

with might.”

Through rebuke

the world was created,

as it is written: “The pillars of heaven tremble, and they are astonished at His rebuke”

[when the Omnipresent rebukes them, they settle in their place, like a person astonished by the rebuke of one who threatens him and remains standing in his place, Metzudot].

In justice and judgment

the world was created,

as it is written: “Justice and judgment are the foundation of Your throne” [

Your throne is prepared through justice and judgment, Metzudot].

Through kindness and compassion

the world was created,

as it is written: “Remember Your compassion, O Lord, and Your kindnesses, for they are eternal,”

and we expound: “for they are from the creation of the world” [Maharsha].

And Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, it was

the world

expanding like

two

spools of

warp

thread,

which expand and widen in their middle.

Until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it and held it in place,

so that it would expand no further.

As it is stated: “The pillars of heaven tremble, and they are astounded at His rebuke.”

And this is what Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “I am God Almighty” —

I am He who said to the world: Enough.

Some say [

the Bach]

that Reish Lakish said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the sea, it was expanding and widening, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it and dried it up.

As it is stated: “He rebukes the sea and dries it up, and He makes all the rivers desolate.”

The Sages taught:

Beit Shammai say: Heaven was created first, and afterward earth was created.

As it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,”

so heaven was first.

And Beit Hillel say: Earth was created first, and afterward heaven.

As it is stated: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven,”

so earth was first.

He said [

and]

to them, Beit Hillel to Beit Shammai: According to your words,

since you say that heaven came first and afterward earth,

does a person build an upper story and afterward build a house?!

For

it

is stated

that heaven is called an upper story, as it is written:

“Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens, and establishes His company upon the earth.”

Beit Shammai said to Beit Hillel: According to your words,

that earth was created first,

does a person make a footstool [

a small chair, a support for the feet]

and afterward make a chair?!

The chair must be made first, and the footstool then adjusted to its height.

As it is stated

that heaven is called a throne and earth is called a footstool:

“So said the Lord: The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool.”

And the Sages say: Both [

heaven and earth]

were created simultaneously.

As it is stated: “Indeed, My hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens.

I call to them [

to heaven and earth at the time of the creation of the world, so that they would be created] —

they shall stand,

the heavens and the earth shall be created,

together.”

And the other [

Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel] say to you:

What is the meaning of “together”? —

That they do not separate from one another [

they do not become detached from one another].

And we raise a difficulty:

In any event [

the Bach]

the verses contradict one another [

the contradiction between the verses is difficult], for one verse implies that heaven was created first, while the other verse implies that earth was created first?!

Reish Lakish said

in resolution:

When

heaven and earth

were created, He created heaven and afterward created earth;

but when He stretched out

heaven and earth,

He stretched out earth and afterward stretched out heaven.

What is the meaning of “heaven”?

Rabbi Yosei bar Hanina said

explaining: “Shamayim” is an acronym for

“there is water

there.”

“There is water.”

In a baraita it was taught: “Shamayim” is an acronym for

“fire and water.”

This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought them

to fire and water,

and mixed them [

blended them]

with one another and made the firmament from them.

Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva when they were walking along the road.

He said to him: You, who served Nahum Ish Gam Zu for twenty-two years,

and it was known

that

Nahum Ish Gam Zu

expounded every occurrence of “et” in the Torah —

do you know —

“et” the heavens and “et” the earth —

what did he expound concerning them?

He said to him

this is what he expounded:

Had it been stated: “In the beginning God created

heaven and earth,”

without “et,”

I would have said: “Heaven and earth” —

are the names of the Holy One, blessed be He [the Bach]

.

are names of the Holy One, blessed be He

[the Bach].

But

now that it is stated: “et” the heavens and “et” the earth,

you learn that:

“heaven”

is

actual heaven,

and

“earth”

is

actual earth.