Siman - Chagigah Daf 12
The majority of this Daf discusses Ma’aseh Bereishis, the creation of the heavens and the earth.
- The light of the first day was hidden for the tzadikim in the future
Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: עשרה דברים נבראו ביום ראשון ואלו הן – Ten things were created on the first day, and they are: שמים וארץ תהו ובהו אור וחשך רוח ומים מדת יום ומדת לילה – Heaven and earth, chaos and void, light and darkness, wind and water, the length of a day and the length of a night. The Gemara asks if light was created on the first day, since the sun and moon were created on the fourth day, and answers that the Baraisa is going according to Rebbe Elazar who said: Regarding the light that Hakadosh, Boruch Hu created on the first day, אדם צופה בו מסוף העולם ועד סופו – Man could perceive from one end of the world to the other end. When Hakadosh, Boruch Hu looked at the Dor HaMabul and the Dor Haphlagah, וראה שמעשיהם מקולקלים – and saw that their deeds were destructive, He hid it from them. ולמי גנזו – For whom did he hide it? לצדיקים לעתיד לבא – For the tzadikim in the future. When the light saw that it was hidden for the tzadikim, the light was happy, for the passuk states, "אור צדיקים ישמח" – The light of the tzadikim is happy.
- The meaning of קל שקי
Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: בשעה שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא את העולם היה מרחיב והולך כשתי פקעיות על שתי – When Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world, it was expanding continuously, like the thread of two unraveling balls of a warp, עד שגער בו הקדוש ברוך הוא והעמידו – until Hakadosh Boruch Hu rebuked the world and made it stand still, as it says in the passuk, "עמודי שמים ירופפו ויתמהו מגערתו" – The pillars of the heaven tremble and are astonished from His rebuke. And this relates to what Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of "אני קל שקי" – I am Kel Shakkai? אני הוא שאמרתי לעולם די – I am the One Who (sha) told the world, “Enough (dai).”
- The seven heavens
Rav Yehudah said: שני רקיעים הן – There are two heavens, as the passuk says, "הן לה' אלקיך השמים ושמי השמים" – Behold! To Hashem, your G-d, are the heavens and the heavens of the heavens. Reish Lakish said that there are seven heavens, and they are: וילון רקיע שחקים זבול מעון מכון ערבות – Curtain, Sky, Mills, Residence, Abode, Arsenal, Plains. Reish Lakish proceeds to explain what each heaven is for and the source for it. שחקים – שבו רחיים עומדות וטוחנות מן לצדיקים – Mills, is the third heaven, in which there are millstones that grind mann for the tzadikim. Zevul – Residence, is the fourth heaven, in which are the heavenly Yerushalayim, Beis Hamikdash and mizbeyach, ומיכאל השר הגדול עומד ומקריב עליו קרבן – and Michael, the great prince, stands and offers up an offering. ערבות – Plains, is the seventh heaven, in which are tzedek, mishpat, tzedakah, גנזי חיים וגנזי שלום וגנזי ברכה – the treasuries of life, peace and berachah, the neshamos of tzadikim, the spirits and neshamos of people that are destined to be created, וטל שעתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להחיות בו מתים – and the dew that Hakadosh, Boruch Hu, is destined to use to resurrect the dead.
