Chagigah 12a — the Talmud in English

And we challenge:

Now, since it emerges for him,

that we have learned

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

not to ask what is outside these partitions, raise an objection:

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

from which one should learn that one may not ask what existed before the world was created —

why do I need it!?

And behold, this question too is a matter of “outside the partition”?!

And we answer:

It is needed

for this verse [in the Bach]

for the teaching of Rabbi Elazar.

For Rabbi Elazar said: The first man

was as tall

as from the earth to the firmament.

As it is stated: From the day that God created man “upon the earth and from one end of the heavens” [in the Bach].

Behold, man was standing upon the earth and reached to the end of the heavens.

And once he sinned [he sinned with the Tree of Knowledge],

the Holy One, blessed be He,

the Holy One, blessed be He, placed His hand upon him and diminished him, as it is stated: “Behind and before You formed me” [You formed me twice, at first tall and at the end low, Rashi]

and You placed Your palm upon me.”

“and You placed Your palm upon me”.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: The first man

when he was lying down —

was from one end of the world to the other end [his head was toward the east and his feet touched the west].

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

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

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 challenge:

If so, the verses contradict one another!

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

And we answer:

This and that —

it is one measure [everything is 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 act of Creation,

and these are:

A–B:

heaven and earth.

C–D:

formlessness and void,

as is explained below in the Gemara.

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 the two [Rashi].

And the Gemara explains the source for all 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 matter it is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day”.

Formlessness and void

were created on the first day,

as it is written

concerning the creation of the first day:

“And the earth was formless and void”.

Light and darkness

were created on the first day:

Darkness

was created on the first day,

as it is written

on the first day:

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

Light

was created on the first day,

as it is written

on the first day:

“And God said, Let there be light”.

Wind and water

were created on the first day,

as it is written

on 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”.

A tanna

in a beraita:

“Formlessness” —

it is

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

[in the Bach].

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

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

“Void” —

these are polished stones

[an expression of moisture, Rashi]

sunken in the deep, from which water emerges.

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

behold you have learned: “formlessness” is a line, and “void” is stones.

And we ask:

And light —

was it created on the first day!?

But was light created on the first day?!

And it is written: “And God placed them

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

in the firmament of the heavens”.

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

[in the Bach], it can be answered

according to Rabbi Elazar:

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

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

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

And for whom did He conceal it?

For the righteous in the time to come!

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

and “good” means none other than the righteous.

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

Once he saw

the

light that He had concealed

the Holy One, blessed be He,

for the righteous, immediately

[in the Bach]

he rejoiced.

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

And this question — when the light was created and when the light began to serve —

is a dispute between tannaim!

The tannaim disputed the matter:

For it was taught:

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

a person could gaze and look through it from one end of the world to the other end, 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 are the very

the

“luminaries”

mentioned on the fourth day,

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

And this is what the verse said: Let that light, which was created on the first day, “be” “luminaries in the firmament of the heavens”; and they are the two luminaries [Rabbeinu Hananel].

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

With wisdom

[knowledge of things];

and with understanding

[understanding a new thing from a known thing];

and with knowledge

[settledness of mind];

and with strength

of the arm

; and with rebuke

[with reprimand, and he explains it below];

and with might

[might of the heart, Rashi];

with righteousness; and with justice; with kindness; and with compassion.

And the Gemara explains the source for all this:

With wisdom and with understanding

the world was created,

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

With knowledge

the world was created,

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

With strength and with might

the world was created,

as it is written: “He prepares mountains with His strength, He girds Himself

[with a belt, Metzudot]

with might”.

With rebuke

the world was created,

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

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

In righteousness and in justice

the world was created,

as it is written: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne”

[the preparation of Your throne is through righteousness and justice, Metzudot].

Through kindness and through mercy

the world was created,

as it is written: “Remember Your mercies, O Lord, and Your kindnesses, for they are from everlasting,”

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

And Rav Judah said in the name of Rav: At the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, it was

the world

expanding and continuing as

two

balls of

the threads of

the warp,

which expand and become wider at their middle.

Until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it and made it stand still

so that it would expand no further.

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

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

I am He who said to the world, ‘Enough.’

There are those who say

[Bach]

that Reish Lakish said: At the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, created the sea, it was expanding and continuing, 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.”

Tenu rabbanan:

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”;

therefore, 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”;

therefore, earth was first.

They said

to

Beit Hillel to Beit Shammai: According to your words,

that you say: heaven first and afterward earth, does

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

For

it

is stated

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

“He who builds His upper chambers in the heavens, and His band upon the earth He founded.”

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 stool for the feet]

and afterward make a chair?!

For first one must make the chair, and according to its height adjust the footstool to it.

As it is stated

concerning heaven, that it is called a throne, and concerning earth, that it is called a footstool:

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

And the Sages say: Both this and that

[heaven and earth]

were created as one.

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

“Let them stand”,

let heaven and earth be created,

together.”

And the other one

[Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel]

will say: What is “together” —

that they do not separate from one another

[they do not become detached from one another].

And we raise an objection:

In any event

[Bach]

the verses contradict one another

[the contradiction of the verses to one another is difficult], for in one verse it implies that heaven was created first, while in the second verse it implies that earth was created first?!

Said

he explained,

Reish Lakish: When they were created

heaven and earth,

He created heaven and afterward He created earth;

but when He spread out

heaven and earth —

He spread out earth and afterward He spread out heaven.

What is “heaven”?

Said

he explained,

Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina: “Heaven”

is an abbreviation:

“There is water.”

In the Matnita a tanna taught: “Heaven”

is an abbreviation:

“Fire and water.”

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

fire and water,

and mixed them

[blended them]

one with the other, and made a firmament from them.

Rabbi Ishmael asked Rabbi Akiva while they were walking on the road.

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

and it was known

that

Nahum of 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 would expound:

If it had been stated: “In the beginning God created

the heavens and the earth

heaven and earth,”

without “et,”

I would have said: Heaven and earth —

they are the names of the Holy One, blessed be He

[Bach].

But

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

you have learned:

“Heaven”

is

actual heaven,

and

“earth”

is

actual earth.