Pt1 Talmudic Cosmology (Ma'aseh Bereshit): Earth's Foundations, the Seven Heavens, and Cosmic Dimensions (Chagigah 12b-13a)

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

Meaning of “Ma'aseh Bereshit”

The Mishnah and Talmud refer to cosmology as Ma'aseh Bereshit, meaning “the work of Creation“. See Hebrew Wikipedia, “Ma'aseh Bereshit“ (מעשה בראשית), my translation:

Ma'aseh Bereshit refers to esoteric literature connected to Jewish mystical tradition. It addresses topics related to what God created at the beginning of the world, the nature of the heavens, or the forces of nature. This literature often appears alongside Ma'aseh Merkavah (מעשה מרכבה - “The Work of the Chariot”).

Its first mention is found in the Tannaitic period, and it is generally considered part of Pardes (פרדס) literature and Jewish mystical teachings […]

In the Bible

Unlike Ma'aseh Merkavah, Ma'aseh Bereshit is not always characterized biblically. However, its clearest association is with the creation chapters in the Book of Genesis. Typically, chapters 1–4 are classified as part of Ma'aseh Bereshit, though some include chapter 5 as well. These chapters deal with the creation of the world and humanity, as well as their initial stages. The earliest reference to Ma'aseh Bereshit appears in the Mishnah, Chagigah 2:1.

The Study of Ma'aseh Bereshit

The Mishnah dictates that Ma'aseh Bereshit may only be taught to one student at a time and prohibits teaching it to multiple students simultaneously. It is considered less secretive than Ma'aseh Merkavah but more sensitive than discussions of forbidden sexual relationships (עריות - arayot).

The Talmud (Chagigah 14b) connects Ma'aseh Bereshit to esoteric wisdom, although pardes is more specifically associated with Ma'aseh Merkavah. Still, both are seen as integral parts of Jewish mystical tradition.

Mishnah, Chagigah 2:1

See Mishnah, Chagigah 2:1 (which our sugya launches on):

אין דורשין בעריות בשלשה.

ולא במעשה בראשית בשנים.

ולא במרכבה ביחיד,

אלא אם כן היה חכם ומבין מדעתו.

כל המסתכל בארבעה דברים, ראוי לו כאלו לא בא לעולם:

1. מה למעלה,

2. מה למטה,

3. מה לפנים,

4. ומה לאחור.

וכל שלא חס על כבוד קונו —

ראוי לו שלא בא לעולם:

One may not expound the topic of forbidden sexual relations (עריות) before three or more individuals;

nor may one expound the act of Creation (מעשה בראשית) and the secrets of the beginning of the world before two or more individuals;

nor may one expound by oneself the Design of the Divine Chariot (מרכבה), a mystical teaching with regard to the ways God conducts the world,

unless he is wise and understands most matters on his own.

The mishna continues in the same vein: Whoever looks at four matters, it would have been better for him had he never entered the world:

1. Anyone who reflects upon what is above (למעלה) the firmament

2. and what is below (למטה) the earth,

3. what was before (לפנים) Creation,

4. and what will be after (לאחור) the end of the world.

And anyone who has no concern for the honor of his Maker (קונו), who inquires into and deals with matters not permitted to him,

deserves to have never come to the world.

Outline

1. Meaning of “Ma'aseh Bereshit”

2. Mishnah, Chagigah 2:1

3. The Foundations of the Earth (Chagigah 12b, sections #2-3)

   1. R' Yosei - Earth Stands on Layers: Pillars, Water, Mountains, Wind, Storm, and the Arm of God

   2. Three Additional Views on the Foundations of the Earth: Twelve Pillars, Seven Pillars, or a Single Pillar

4. The Seven Heavens (Chagigah 12b, sections #5-7,10-14)

   1. Heaven 1 - Vilon (Isaiah 40:22): appears in the morning and departs at night

   2. Heaven 2 - Rakia (Genesis 1:17): sun, moon, stars, and zodiac signs

   3. Heaven 3 - Sheḥakim (Psalms 78:23–24): mills that grind manna for the righteous

   4. Heaven 4 - Zevul (Isaiah 63:15): Jerusalem, Temple, Altar, and Michael

   5. Heaven 5 - Ma’on (Deuteronomy 26:15): ministering angels who sing at night

   6. Heaven 6 - Makhon (I Kings 8:39): storehouses for snow, hail, harmful dews, storms, and mist

   7. Heaven 7 - Aravot (Psalms 68:5)

      1. Part 1: righteousness, justice, charity, treasuries of life, peace, and blessing, the souls of the righteous, spirits yet to be created, and the dew for reviving the dead

      2. Part 2: Prooftexts for the The Spiritual Treasures of Aravot: Divine Justice, Life, and Resurrection in the Highest Firmament

      3. Part 3: the Ophanim, Seraphim, Holy Living Creatures (Ḥayyot), ministering angels, and the Throne of Glory

      4. Part 4: God

      5. Part 5: The designation of Aravot as "heaven"

5. Cosmic Dimensions: Measurements of the Firmaments, The Holy Living Creatures (Ḥayyot), and the Throne of Glory (Chagigah 13a, sections #3-4)

   1. Measurements: Earth to the Firmament, Firmament Thickness, and Distances Between Firmaments

   2. The Holy Living Creatures (Ḥayyot) and Their Measurements: The Nine Body Parts

   3. The Throne of Glory and Its Measurements

The Foundations of the Earth (Chagigah 12b, sections #2-3)

Chagigah.12b.2-3

R' Yosei - Earth Stands on Layers: Pillars, Water, Mountains, Wind, Storm, and the Arm of God

In a baraita, R' Yosei laments humanity’s lack of awareness regarding basic cosmology.²

He explains that the earth is upheld in a layered structure, proving each with a biblical prooftext:³

1. The earth rests on pillars (עמודים - Job 9:6).

2. These pillars stand on water (Psalms 136:6).

3. The water rests on mountains (Psalms 104:6).

4. The mountains are supported by wind (Amos 4:13).

5. The wind is upheld by a storm (סערה - Psalms 148:8).

6. The storm is sustained by the arm (זרועו) of God (Deuteronomy 33:27).⁴

תניא:

רבי יוסי אומר:

אוי להם לבריות!

שרואות, ואינן יודעות מה רואות.

עומדות, ואין יודעות על מה הן עומדות.

1. הארץ על מה עומדת — על העמודים,

   1. שנאמר: ״המרגיז ארץ ממקומה, ועמודיה יתפלצון״.

2. עמודים, על המים —

   1. שנאמר: ״לרוקע הארץ על המים״.

3. מים, על ההרים —

   1. שנאמר: ״על הרים יעמדו מים״.

4. הרים, ברוח —

   1. שנאמר: ״כי הנה יוצר הרים, ובורא רוח״.

5. רוח, בסערה —

   1. שנאמר: ״רוח סערה עושה דברו״.

6. סערה, תלויה בזרועו של הקדוש ברוך הוא —

   1. שנאמר: ״ומתחת זרועות עולם״.

It is taught in a baraita:

R' Yosei says:

Woe to them, the creations,

who see and know not what they see;

who stand and know not upon what they stand.

He clarifies:

1. Upon what does the earth stand? Upon pillars,

   1. as it is stated: “Who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble” (Job 9:6).

2. These pillars are positioned upon water,

   1. as it is stated: “To Him Who spread forth the earth over the waters” (Psalms 136:6).

3. These waters stand upon mountains,

   1. as it is stated: “The waters stood above the mountains” (Psalms 104:6).

4. The mountains are upon the wind,

   1. as it is stated: “For behold He forms the mountains and creates the wind” (Amos 4:13).

5. The wind is upon a storm,

   1. as it is stated: “Stormy wind, fulfilling His word” (Psalms 148:8).

6. The storm hangs upon the arm of the Holy One, Blessed be He,

   1. as it is stated: “And underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27), which demonstrates that the entire world rests upon the arms of the Holy One, Blessed be He.

Three Additional Views on the Foundations of the Earth: Twelve Pillars, Seven Pillars, or a Single Pillar

The consensus Rabbis (חכמים) state a different account: The earth stands on twelve pillars (corresponding to the Twelve Tribes of Israel; based on Deuteronomy 32:8).⁵

“Some say” (יש אומרים) it stands on seven pillars, as referenced in Proverbs 9:1.

R' Elazar ben Shammua claims the earth rests on a single pillar, called “Tzadik”,⁶ as stated in Proverbs 10:25.

וחכמים אומרים:

על שנים עשר עמודים עומדת,

שנאמר:

״יצב גבולות עמים,

למספר בני ישראל״.

ויש אומרים:

שבעה עמודים,

שנאמר: ״חצבה עמודיה שבעה״.

רבי אלעזר בן שמוע אומר:

על עמוד אחד, וצדיק שמו,

שנאמר: ״וצדיק יסוד עולם״.

And the Rabbis say:

The earth stands on twelve pillars,

as it is stated:

“He set the borders of the nations

according to the number of the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 32:8).

Just as the children of Israel, i.e., the sons of Jacob, are twelve in number, so does the world rest on twelve pillars.

And some say:

There are seven pillars,

as it is stated: “She has hewn out her seven pillars” (Proverbs 9:1).

R' Elazar ben Shammua says:

The earth rests on one pillar and a righteous person is its name,

as it is stated: “But a righteous person is the foundation of the world” (Proverbs 10:25).

1. See also my previous two series related to talmudic cosmology:

• “King David, the Altar Drainpipes, and the Tehom: The Dramatic Tale of How He Nearly Unleashed a Global Flood but Successfully Averted It (Sukkah 49a; 53a-b)”, final part here.

• “Celestial Phenomena: Comets and Constellations in the Talmud (Mishnah Berakhot 9:2; Berakhot 58b-59a)”, final part here.

See also my piece here, section “Tales of Ben Zoma (Chagigah 14b-15a)“, sub-sections “The Story of the Four Tannaitic Sages Who Entered the "Pardes"“ and “R' Yehoshua Ben Ḥananya, Ben Zoma and the Limits of Esoteric Comprehension: An Account of Cosmological Interpretation on the Temple Mount“. (That sugya is part of our larger sugya, on the Mishnah that I quote later in this footnote.)

2. Poetically declaring:

“They see, [but] don’t know what they see;

They stand, [but] don’t know upon what they stand”

3. Compare the Wikipedia category “World-bearing animals”.

4. Compare Wikipedia, “With a strong hand and an outstretched arm“, and “Hand of God (art)“. See also my piece “Some Notes on the Anthropomorphization of God in the Talmud“.

5. Apparently, interpreting יצב גבולות עמים as referring to the foundational supports of the world, rendering it as: "He set (יצב—literally: 'he made stand,' in a transitive sense) the [foundational] boundaries of nations." Understanding it to refer to cosmic or metaphysical supports of the entire physical world, rather than the more straightforward understanding of the verse as referring to God setting up the physical borders between nations.

6. צדיק - “righteous”.