Pt1 Ma’aseh Bereishit (Creation and Cosmology) and Ma’aseh Merkava in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Chagigah 2:1)

This is the first part of a four-part series. The outline of the series is below.¹

Intro

Part 1

This sugya in Yerushalmi Ḥagigah 2:1 develops the Mishnah’s restrictions on esoteric teaching, especially the limits placed on expounding Creation and the Chariot. The sugya moves between cosmology, biblical exegesis, anecdotes about sages, warnings against speculative overreach, and symbolic readings of Hebrew letters. Its central concern is how knowledge of divine matters must be approached: with restraint, hierarchy, reverence, and awareness of the danger involved. It repeatedly warns that such inquiry must remain within limits, under discipline, and oriented toward divine honor rather than personal display.

The opening unit presents a cosmological teaching attributed to R’ Yehuda bar Pazi. He teaches that the world was originally “water in water,” based on Genesis 1:2, where the divine spirit hovers over the waters. God then transforms this primordial watery state into snow, and then into land. The structure of the world is then described as a chain of supports: land stands on water, water on mountains, mountains on wind, wind on storm, and storm is suspended beneath God’s arm. Each step is supported by a biblical verse, producing a layered cosmology in which the visible world rests on increasingly invisible and unstable foundations, until the whole structure is ultimately grounded in God.

This cosmology leads into a series of reflections on Amos 4:13, “Behold, He forms mountains and creates wind.” The verse is one of six verses that R’ Yehuda HaNasi would read and cry over. The sugya then turns to the episode of Saul raising Samuel from the dead. Samuel rebukes Saul for disturbing him and says that Saul has made him into an object of idolatrous use. Samuel also explains that he feared the event was the Day of Judgment. The passage draws an a fortiori inference: if Samuel, the master of the prophets, feared judgment, ordinary people should fear it all the more. This produces a moral reading of the cosmological verse: even non-sinful matters are recorded on a person’s tablet, and a person’s own breath testifies against him.

The sugya then develops the motif of “spirit” or “wind” through an anecdote involving Hadrian and Akylas the convert (=Onkelos). Hadrian asks whether the Jewish claim is true that the world rests on spirit. Akylas confirms, and demonstrates the point by having camels loaded and then strangled. Their bodies remain intact, but they can no longer stand or function. Nothing visible has been removed, but the “spirit” has departed. The anecdote converts cosmology into an empirical parable: invisible spirit is the condition of life and stability. The world, like the body, depends on what cannot be seen.

Part 2

From there the sugya turns directly to the Mishnah’s rule that the Chariot may not be expounded even to one person unless that person is wise and understands on his own. The passage states that this restriction is accepted by all, because a person must preserve the honor of his Maker. Rav’s rule is cited: one may not speak before one’s teacher unless one has seen or served. In the context of Chariot teaching, the teacher does not provide a full lecture. He merely opens with the heads of verses and summarizes. The student must understand independently. The form of instruction is therefore deliberately indirect.

The danger of unauthorized exposition is illustrated by the report that R’ Yehuda HaNasi had a skilled student who expounded a chapter of the Chariot without his approval and was punished with scabies. The sugya then gives a metaphor: this teaching is like walking between two paths, one of fire and one of snow. If a person veers to one side, he dies by fire; if he veers to the other, he dies by snow. The proper way is to walk in the middle. This metaphor defines esoteric teaching as a narrow path between opposite forms of failure.

The major positive model is the story of R’ Elazar ben Arakh and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai. R’ Elazar asks his teacher to instruct him in the Chariot. Rabban Yoḥanan refuses on the basis of the Mishnah’s rule. R’ Elazar then asks permission to speak before his teacher, and Rabban Yoḥanan allows it. When R’ Elazar begins, Rabban Yoḥanan descends from his donkey, saying that it is improper to hear the glory of his Creator while riding. They sit under a tree; fire descends from heaven; ministering angels dance before them like wedding guests; an angel from within the fire confirms that R’ Elazar’s exposition is correct; and the trees sing, in fulfillment of Psalms 96:12.

The next anecdotes show the mixed consequences of such teaching. R’ Yosef HaKohen and R’ Shimon ben Netanel also expound the Chariot after hearing of R’ Elazar. The earth trembles, a rainbow appears, and a heavenly voice announces that they and their students are prepared for the third group of the righteous in the future world. By contrast, Ben Zoma is portrayed as crossing a dangerous threshold. When R’ Yehoshua greets him, Ben Zoma does not answer. He says he was contemplating Creation and concludes that only a handbreadth separates the upper and lower waters, based on the analogy between the “hovering” in Genesis 1:2 and the eagle’s hovering in Deuteronomy 32:11. R’ Yehoshua tells his students that Ben Zoma is “outside,” and Ben Zoma soon dies. The sugya thus distinguishes between sanctioned insight and destabilizing speculation.

After this, the sugya shifts from stories of the Chariot to warnings against investigating what lies beyond permitted boundaries. R’ Elazar cites the book of Ben Sira: what is beyond a person should not be known, what is deeper than Sheol should not be investigated, and one should contemplate only what has been permitted. Rav interprets Psalms 31:19, “May lying lips be silenced,” as a curse against those who speak arrogantly about God’s hidden matters. Such people claim to expound Creation, thinking they are elevating themselves, but in fact they are degrading the subject. R’ Yose b. Ḥanina sharpens this warning: if one who honors himself through another person’s disgrace has no share in the World-to-Come, all the more so one who honors himself through the glory of the eternal God.

R’ Levi then formulates a boundary between what may and may not be investigated. Proverbs 25:2 says, “The glory of God is to hide a matter, and the glory of kings is to investigate a matter.” R’ Levi reads this as a temporal distinction. What preceded creation belongs to divine concealment. What follows creation belongs to legitimate human inquiry. Job 20:4 and Deuteronomy 4:32 are used to define the same limit: inquiry begins from the creation of humanity and from the created order, not before Creation, not above heaven, and not below the abyss. The sugya therefore permits investigation, but only within the boundaries of the world as created and revealed.

Part 3

This boundary is then symbolized through the Hebrew letter bet, the first letter of Genesis. R’ Yonah in the name of R’ Levi teaches that the world was created with bet because bet is closed on all sides and open only forward. Its shape teaches that one may not inquire what is above, below, before, or after, but only from the day the world was created onward. The letter itself becomes a diagram of epistemic restraint.

The sugya then extends the symbolism: bet points upward to its Creator and backward to God’s name. Another explanation says the world was created with bet because bet begins berakhah, “blessing,” while alef begins arirah, “curse.” Creation begins under the sign of blessing so that the world may endure.

A related letter-symbolism appears in the teaching of R’ Abbahu in the name of R’ Yoḥanan: two worlds were created with two letters, heh and yud, based on Isaiah 26:4. Genesis 2:4 is read to show that this world was created with heh and the World-to-Come with yud. The form of heh hints at descent to Sheol, ascent from that descent, and an opening for repentance. The curved yud teaches that all creatures must be bent or submissive.

The final major unit returns to the order of Creation and the dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. Beit Shammai say that heaven was created first and earth afterward, citing Genesis 1:1 and comparing heaven to a throne and earth to its footstool. Beit Hillel say that earth was created first and heaven afterward, citing Genesis 2:4 and comparing creation to a palace built from its lower structure upward. R’ Yehuda bar Pazi adds support for Beit Hillel from Psalms 102:26, and R’ Ḥanina says Beit Hillel can even refute Beit Shammai from Genesis 1:2, “and the earth was,” implying that the earth already existed.

Part 4

The dispute is then mediated. R’ Yoḥanan in the name of the sages distinguishes between initial creation and completion: with respect to creation, heaven came first; with respect to perfecting, earth came first. The sugya then presents a second structural dispute about the relation between the first three days of Creation and the last three days. According to Beit Shammai, heaven, sea, and earth each wait three days before producing their offspring: heaven produces luminaries on the fourth day, sea produces sea creatures on the fifth, and earth produces land creatures on the sixth. According to Beit Hillel, earth, heaven, and sea each wait two days before producing theirs: earth produces vegetation on the third day, heaven produces luminaries on the fourth, and sea produces sea creatures on the fifth.

The closing opinions resist making priority into hierarchy. R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai says that heaven and earth were created simultaneously, like a pan and its lid. His son R’ Elazar b. Shimon adds that the Bible sometimes mentions heaven first and sometimes earth first, indicating that the two are equivalent.

Outline

Intro

The Passage

1. R’ Yehuda bar Pazi - Originally the world was “water in water”; God transformed it into snow, then land; land stands on water, water on mountains, mountains on wind, wind on storm, and storm is suspended under God’s arm - Genesis 1:2; Psalms 147:17, 104:6, 136:6, 148:8; Job 37:6; Amos 4:13; Deuteronomy 33:27 (#3)

2. Six verses would make R’ Yehuda HaNasi cry, including the verse about God forming mountains and creating wind - Amos 4:13, 5:15; Zephaniah 2:3; Lamentations 3:29; Ecclesiastes 12:14; I Samuel 28:15 (#4)

3. Samuel’s critique of Saul (when he was raised from the dead)

   1. Samuel thought it was Judgment Day, and was afraid

4. Even non-sinful matters are recorded for a person; one’s own breath testifies about him - Amos 4:13

5. R’ Ḥaggai citing R’ Ya’avetz - “Chaos” (tohu) refers to darkness and murkiness - Amos 4:13; Genesis 1:2

6. R’ Yehuda bar Pazi citing R’ Yose b. Yehuda - anecdote re dialogue between the Roman emperor Hadrian and Akylas the convert (#5)

   1. Hadrian asks Akylas whether the world rests on spirit

   2. Akylas confirms, and demonstrates with strangled camels that the invisible “spirit” sustains life

Part 2

1. The rule not to expound the Chariot to one is accepted by all, so that a person preserves the honor of his Maker (#6)

2. Rav - One may not state a matter before his teacher unless he has seen or served; in Chariot teaching, the teacher only opens with headings of verses and summarizes

3. R’ Ḥiyya citing R’ Yoḥanan - R’ Yehuda HaNasi had a skilled student who expounded a chapter of the Chariot without R’ Yehuda HaNasi’s approval, and was afflicted with scabies

4. Chariot teaching is like walking between fire and snow: veering either way is fatal; one must walk in the middle

5. Anecdote re Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai and R’ Elazar ben Arakh (#7)

   1. R’ Elazar b Arakh asks to teach Chariot before his teacher Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai

   2. When R’ Elazar b Arakh begins, fire descends, angels dance, and trees sing

   3. An angel confirms R’ Elazar b Arakh’s teaching - Psalms 96:12

   4. Rabban Yoḥanan praises R’ Elazar b Arakh as both a proper expounder and practitioner

6. Anecdote re R’ Yosef Hakohen and R’ Shimon ben Netanel

   1. After hearing of R’ Elazar b Arakh, R’ Yosef Hakohen and R’ Shimon ben Netanel also expound the Chariot; the earth trembles, a rainbow appears

   2. A bat kol assigns them and their students to the third group of the righteous - Psalms 16:11

7. Anecdote re R’ Yehoshua and Ben Zoma (#8)

   1. Ben Zoma interprets that the upper and lower waters are separated only by a handbreadth

   2. ... deriving “hovering” in Genesis 1:2 from the eagle hovering in Deuteronomy 32:11

   3. R’ Yehoshua says Ben Zoma is “outside,” and Ben Zoma soon dies

8. R’ Yehuda bar Pazi citing R’ Yose b. Yehuda - Three sages successfully “lectured their Torah” before their teachers: R’ Yehoshua before Rabban Yoḥanan b. Zakkai; R’ Akiva before R’ Yehoshua; Ḥananiah b Ḥakhinai before R’ Akiva; After this point, “their mind was not pure” (#9)

9. R’ Elazar citing the book of Ben Sirah - One should not investigate what is beyond or hidden; one should contemplate only what is permitted (#11)

10. Rav - “May lying lips be silenced” means may they become dumb, crushed, and silenced - Psalms 31:19

    1. Prooftexts - Exodus 4:11; Genesis 37:7

    2. ... Psalms 31:19 targets those who speak arrogantly about God’s hidden matters

    3. ... and claim to expound Creation

11. R’ Yose b. Ḥanina - If one who honors himself through another’s disgrace has no share in the World-to-Come, all the more so one who honors himself through God’s glory - Psalms 31:20 (#12)

12. R’ Levi - “The glory of God is to hide a matter” refers to before Creation; “the glory of kings is to investigate a matter” refers to after Creation - Proverbs 25:2

13. R’ Levi - Inquiry is limited to the time after humanity was placed on earth, not to what preceded Creation - Job 20:4

14. R’ Yonah citing R’ Abba - inquiry permitted only into the days of Creation and the created world, not before Creation or beyond heaven and the abyss - Deuteronomy 4:32 (#13)

15. Bar Kappara - “From the day” supports limiting inquiry to the created order; this aligns R’ Yehuda bar Pazi with Bar Kappara and R’ Ḥiyya with R’ Abba - Deuteronomy 4:32

Part 3

1. R’ Yonah citing R’ Levi - The world was created with the Hebrew letter bet, which is closed on all sides and open only forward, teaching that one may not inquire above, below, before, or after, only from Creation onward - Genesis 1:1 (#14)

2. The letter bet indicates its Creator by its form and points to God’s name

3. The world was created with the letter bet because bet begins the word for “blessing”, not alef, which begins the word for “curse”

4. R’ Abbahu citing R’ Yoḥanan - Two worlds were created with two letters, heh and yud: this world with heh, the World-to-Come with yud - Isaiah 26:4; Genesis 2:4 (#15)

5. The form of heh hints at descent to Sheol, ascent, and repentance; the curved yud hints that all creatures must be bent/submissive

6. David praised God with the two-letter divine name Yah (YH) when he saw this structure - Jeremiah 30:6; Psalms 113:1

7. R’ Yudan the Patriarch asking R’ Shmuel b. Naḥman - R’ Shmuel b. Naḥman explains “His name is YH” as meaning every place has an appointee over its life, and God is appointed over all life - Psalms 68:5 (#16)

8. R’ Elazar - R’ Shmuel b. Naḥman’s teacher did not explain that way; rather, saying “originally the world was water in water” detracts from God, like saying a palace was built on sewers

   1. One may look at the king’s orchard, not touch it

9. Dispute of Beit Shammai vs. Beit Hillel - which was created first, Earth or Heaven? (#17)

10. Beit Shammai prooftext that Heaven was created first, then earth - Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 66:1

11. Beit Hillel prooftext that Earth was created first, then heaven - Genesis 2:4; Isaiah 48:13

12. R’ Yehuda bar Pazi - Another verse supports Beit Hillel: earth is founded first, then heaven is the work of God’s hands - Psalms 102:26

13. R’ Ḥanina - Beit Hillel refute Beit Shammai from Beit Shammai’s own verse: “and the earth was” implies earth already existed - Genesis 1:1–2

14. R’ Yoḥanan citing the rabbis - For initial creation, heaven preceded; for completion/perfection, earth preceded

    1. Prooftexts - Genesis 1:1; Genesis 2:4

Part 4

1. Beit Shammai vs. Beit Hillel re the relationship of Creation days 1-3 to days 4-6 - 2 vs 3 days

2. According to Beit Shammai, heaven, sea, and earth each wait three days before producing their offspring - Genesis 1

   1. Heaven - Day 1

   2. Sea - Day 2

   3. Earth - Day 3

3. According to Beit Hillel, earth, heaven, and sea each wait two days before producing theirs - Genesis 1

   1. Earth - Day 1

   2. Heaven - Day 2

   3. Sea - Day 3

4. R’ Shimon b. Yoḥai - Heaven and earth were created simultaneously, like a pot and its lid - Isaiah 48:13

5. R’ Elazar b. Shimon - Since the Bible sometimes mentions heaven first and sometimes earth first, the two are equal in rank

Appendix - Homilies on the letters Yod and Heh (Menachot 28b-30a)

1. Rava - Seven letters require three crowns: שעטנ״ז ג״ץ

2. Rav Ashi - Exacting scribes of Rav’s study hall added a stroke to the roof of ḥet and suspended the leg of heh

3. The ḥet-stroke signifies that God lives “in the height of the world”

4. R’ Yehuda Nesia asking R’ Ami; R’ Ami responding - One who trusts in God has refuge in this world and the World-to-Come - Isaiah 26:4

5. R’ Yehuda b. Elai - the two worlds were created with the letters yod and heh

   1. This world was created with heh, as “be-hibare’am” is read as “with heh He created them” - Genesis 2:4

6. This world was created with heh because it resembles an open portico: whoever wants to leave may leave

   1. The suspended leg allows return through repentance

7. The crown of the heh signifies that if a sinner returns, God ties a crown for him

8. The World-to-Come was created with yod because the righteous in it are few

9. The bent head of the yod reflects the righteous bowing their heads because their deeds differ in rank

The Passage

yerushalmi/Chagigah/2.1#3 thru the end (#17)

R’ Yehuda bar Pazi - Originally the world was “water in water”; God transformed it into snow, then land; land stands on water, water on mountains, mountains on wind, wind on storm, and storm is suspended under God’s arm - Genesis 1:2; Psalms 147:17, 104:6, 136:6, 148:8; Job 37:6; Amos 4:13; Deuteronomy 33:27 (#3)

#3

דרש רבי יודה בר פזי:

1. בתחילה היה העולם מים במים.

   1. מה טעם? ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים.

2. חזר ועשאו שלג.

   1. משליך קרחו כפיתים.

3. חזר ועשאו ארץ.

   1. כי לשלג יאמר הוה ארץ.

4. והארץ עומדת על מים.

   1. לרוקע הארץ על המים.

5. והמים עומדים על הרים.

   1. על הרים יעמדו מים.

6. וההרים עומדין על רוח.

   1. כי הנה יוצר הרים ובורא רוח.

7. והרוח תלויה בסערה.

   1. רוח סערה עושה דברו.

8. וסערה עשאה הקדוש ברוך הוא כמין קמיע ותלייה בזרועו

   1. שנאמר: ומתחת זרועות עולם.

R’ Yehuda bar Pazi preached:²

1. Originally the world was water in water.

   1. What is the reason? God’s wind was hovering over the water (Genesis 1:2)

2. Then He turned it into snow,

   1. He throws his ice like small breads (Psalms 147:17)

3. Then He turned it into land,

   1. for He will tell the snow, be land (Job 37:6)

4. And the land stands on water,

   1. to Him Who spreads the earth over the water (Psalms 136:6)

5. And the water stands on mountains,

   1. on mountains shall the water stand (Psalms 104:6)

6. And the mountains stand on wind,

   1. behold the Maker of mountains and Creator of wind (Amos 4:13)

7. And the wind depends on storm,

   1. the wind storm executes His word (Psalms 148:8)

8. And God turned storm into a kind of amulet and hung it on His arm,

   1. as it is said: and below eternal arms (Deuteronomy 33:27)

Six verses would make R’ Yehuda HaNasi cry, including the verse about God forming mountains and creating wind - Amos 4:13, 5:15; Zephaniah 2:3; Lamentations 3:29; Ecclesiastes 12:14; I Samuel 28:15 (#4)

#4

כי הנה יוצר הרים וגו׳.

זה אחד מששה מקריות שהיה רבי קורא אותן ובוכה:

1. בקשו את יי כל ענוי הארץ וגו׳.

2. שנאו רע ואהבו טוב וגו׳.

3. יתן בעפר פיהו וגו׳.

4. כי את כל המעשה וגו׳.

5. ויאמר שמואל אל שאול למה הרגזתני וגו׳.

Behold the Maker of mountains and Creator of wind, etc.

This is one of 6 verses which R’ [Yehuda HaNasi] would read and cry. [The additional 5 verses are:]

1. Implore YHWH, all the meek of the Land, etc. (Zephaniah 2:3)

2. Hate evil and love goodness, etc. (Amos 5:15)

3. He shall put dust in his mouth, etc. (Lamentations 3:29)

4. For all deeds, etc. (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

5. Samuel said to Saul: why did you irritate me, etc. (I Samuel 28:15)

Samuel’s critique of Saul (when he was raised from the dead)

אמר לו:

לא היה לך להרגיז את בוראך אלא בי.

עשיתני עבודה זרה שלך.

אין את יודע.

כשם שנפרעין מן העובד

כך נפרעין מן הנעבד.

[Samuel] said to [Saul]:

you should not have angered your Creator by me.

You made me your idol.

Do you not know that

just as the worshipper is punished,

the worshipped is punished?!

Samuel thought it was Judgment Day, and was afraid

ולא עוד אלא:

שהייתי סבור שהוא יום הדין,

ונתייראתי.

Not only this but:

I [=Samuel] was thinking that this was the Day of Judgment (i.e. because Saul raised him up from the dead) ,

and I was afraid.

והרי דברים קל וחומר:

• מה אם שמואל

  • רבן שלנביאים, שכתוב בו וידע כל ישראל מדן ועד באר שבע וגו׳.

    • נתיירא מיום הדין.

• אנו

  • על אחת כמה וכמה.

And is that not a kal ve-homer:

• if Samuel,

  • the teacher of the Prophets, about whom it is written, all of Israel knew, from Dan to Beer Sheva, etc.,

    • was afraid of the Day of Judgment,

• we

  • so much more!

Even non-sinful matters are recorded for a person; one’s own breath testifies about him - Amos 4:13

והדין כי הנה יוצר הרים ובורא רוח וגו׳.

אפילו דברים שאין בהן חט —

נכתבין לאדם על פינקסו.

And this behold the Maker of mountains and Creator of wind (Amos 4:13)

even matters which are not sinful —

are written for everybody on his writing tablet.³

ומי מגיד לאדם?

הבל היוצא מפיו.

And who tells to a person?⁴

The breath of his mouth.

R’ Ḥaggai citing R’ Ya’avetz - “Chaos” (tohu) refers to darkness and murkiness - Amos 4:13; Genesis 1:2

רבי חגיי בשם רבי יעבץ.

יוצר הרים ובורא רוח.

רבי חגיי בשם רבי יעבץ:

אילין ציפאריי.

תוהו --

חושך ואפילה.

R’ Ḥaggai in the name of R’ Ya’avetz:

The Maker of mountains and Creator of wind (Amos 4:13)

R’ Ḥaggai in the name of R’ Ya’avetz:

those Sepphoreans,

“chaos”⁵ --

is darkness and murkiness (אפילה)

R’ Yehuda bar Pazi citing R’ Yose b. Yehuda - anecdote re dialogue between the Roman emperor Hadrian and Akylas the convert (#5)

#5

Hadrian asks Akylas whether the world rests on spirit

רבי יודה בר פזי, בשם רבי יוסי בירבי יודה:

אדריינוס שאל לעקילס הגר:

קושטין אתון אמרין דהין עלמא קיים על רוחא?

אמר ליה: אין.

R’ Yehuda bar Pazi in the name of R’ Yose ben R’ Yehuda:

Hadrian asked Akylas the proselyte: is it true that you are saying that this world rest on the spirit?⁶

He told him: yes.

Akylas confirms, and demonstrates with strangled camels that the invisible “spirit” sustains life

אמר ליה: מן הן את מודע לי?

אמר ליה: אייתי לי הוגנין.

He said to him: how can you show this to me?

He told him: bring me noble camels (הוגנין).

אייתי ליה הוגנין.

אטעונונון טעוניהון.

אקימון וארבעון.

נסתון וחנקון.

He brought him noble camels.

He loaded them with their loads,

let them stand up and lie down,

lifted them and strangulated them.

אמר ליה:

הא לך,

אקימון!

אמר ליה: מן דחנקתון?!

אמר ליה:

כלום חסרתנון

לא רוחא היא דנפקת מינהון?!

He told him:

here they are,

raise them!

He said to him: after you strangulated them?!

He told him:

I did not remove anything from them,

is it not the spirit which left them?!

1. Note that in this series, I elide the story of Pardes, and Aher, which I plan to discuss separately.

And compare my pieces on these sugyas in the Bavli (note that there are a large number of parallels, some of which I’ll point out in notes):

• Talmudic Cosmology (Ma’aseh Bereshit): Earth’s Foundations, the Seven Heavens, and Cosmic Dimensions (Chagigah 12b-13a), final part: Pt3

• “Ma’aseh Merkava”: The Nature of God, Angels, and Heaven in Ezekiel 1 (Chagigah 13a-14a), final part: Pt3

• Annotated List of Talmudic Figures Known as ‘Ben X’ or ‘Bar X,’ and Stories of Ben Zoma (Chagigah 14b-15a)

• [Appendix 1 - The Survival of R’ Akiva in the Pardes (Chagigah 15b-16a)]

As an aside, note new Yerushalmi Hebrew text conversions at ChavrutAI, as documented in the Changelog page:

Yerushalmi Hebrew: Phrase-Level Punctuation Cues:

• Common dialogue and discourse phrases now use clearer punctuation in the Hebrew column, mirroring how the Mishnah Hebrew is already styled

• Period → colon for speech and quotation introducers: אמר., אמר ליה., אמר לו., אמרו לו., ואמרו לו., אמר לון., אמרין ליה., אמרין., ויש אומרים., דבר אחר., ולא כן כתיב.

• Period → colon for additional speech / teaching markers, including variants with an optional ו / ד / ה prefix (e.g. תני. / ותני. / דתני. / התני.): תני., תנינן., בעי., בעא., תימר., אומר., אומרים.

• Period → colon for fixed introductory phrases: כמאן דמר., מאן דמר., אין תימר., אלא כן אנן קיימין., וכתוב., מן הדא., הדא אמרה.

• Period → colon for multi-word attributions where a rabbi name (1–6 words, both רבי and רב) sits between fixed markers: אמר רבי [x]., תני רבי [x]., תנא רבי [x]., דרש רבי [x]., רבי [x] אומר., רבי [x] בעי., רבי [x] בשם [x]., רבי [x] בשם [x] בשם [x].

• Period → question mark for rhetorical openers: מה עבד., מה טעם., ומה פליגין., מהו., למה., מאי כדון., מיי כדון., מה אנן קיימין., מה יעשה., היך עבידא., מני אמרו לו., מנו אמרו לו.

• Period → exclamation for the vocative: רבי., רבותיי.

2. See a somewhat similar passage at the beginning of the Bavli sugya, in my “Pt1 Talmudic Cosmology (Ma’aseh Bereshit): Earth’s Foundations, the Seven Heavens, and Cosmic Dimensions (Chagigah 12b-13a)“, section “R’ Yosei - Earth Stands on Layers: Pillars, Water, Mountains, Wind, Storm, and the Arm of God“.

3. פינקסו - from Greek.

4. Likely meaning: “who informs on a person”, meaning, to heaven, for the person’s divinely meted punishment. The Bavli has a similar discussion.

5. תוהו - tohu - Genesis 1:2.

6. רוחא - literally: “wind”.