זוהר, בראשית י״טZohar, Bereshit 19

Segment 1א׳

אֵלֶּה תּ'וֹלְדוֹת הַ'שָּׁמַיִם וְ'הָאָרֶץ (ר"ת תה"ו) הָא אוּקְמוּהָ כָּל אֲתַר דִּכְתִיב אֵלֶּה פָּסַל אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים וְאִלֵּין תּוֹלָדִין דְּתֹהוּ דְּאִתְרְמִיזוּ בַּקְּרָא תִּנְיָינָא וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ. וְאִלֵּין אִנּוּן דְּאִתְּמָר דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא בְּרָא עָלְמִין וּמַחְרִיבָן. וּבְגִין דָּא אַרְעָא הֲוָה תּוֹהָה וּבוֹהָה.

THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. We have laid down that the expression “these are” denotes that those mentioned before are henceforth of no account. In this case what is referred to is the products of tohu (emptiness) hinted at in the second verse of the first chapter, “and the earth was tohu and bohu”. These it is of which we have learnt that “God created worlds and destroyed them”. On account of this the earth was “dazed” (tohah) and “bewildered” (bohah),

Segment 2ב׳

אֵיךְ בְּרָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא עָלְמִין לְחָרְבָא לוֹן. שַׁפִּיר הֲוָה דְּלָא לִבְרֵי לוֹן. אֶלָּא וַדַּאי הָכָא אִיכָּא רָזָא. מַאי אִיהוּ וּמַחֲרִיבָן. דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לָא יְשֵׁצֵי עוֹבְדֵי יְדוֹי. וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא דָּא שְׁמַיָיא אִתְּמָר בְּהוּ (ישעיהו נ״א:ו׳) כִּי שָׁמַיִם כְּעָשָׁן נִמְלָחוּ וְגו'. אִם כֵּן קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא עָבִיד וּמָחֵי.

as if to say, “How could God create worlds to destroy them? It were better not to create them.” Similarly it is said of the heavens, “the heavens have vanished like smoke” (Is. 51, 6). But in fact we have here an indication of what is meant by the expression “destroyed them” showing that God does not really destroy the works of His hands.

Segment 3ג׳

אֶלָּא רָזָא דְמִלָּה כְּדֵין הוּא דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא בְּרָא עָלְמָא וּבְרָיֵיהּ בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא כְּמָה דְּאוּקְמוּהָ בְּרִאשִׁית, דְּאִתְּמָר בָּהּ (משלי ח׳:כ״ב) יְיָ קָנָנִי רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ. וּבְהַאי רֵאשִׁית בְּרָא יָת שְׁמַיָא וְיָת אַרְעָא וְאִיהִי סָמִיךְ לוֹן בֵּיהּ. בְּגִין דִּבְרִית כְּתִיב בֵּיהּ בִּבְ'רֵ'א'שִׁ'י'ת. וְאִתְּמָר בֵּיהּ (ירמיהו ל״ג:כ״ה) אִם לא בְרִיתִי יוֹמָם וְלַיְלָה וְגו'. וְאִלֵּין אִנּוּן דְּאִתְּמָר בְּהוֹן (תהילים קט״ו:ט״ז) הַשָּׁמַיִם שָׁמַיִם לַיְיָ וְגו'. וְאִיהִי אֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים כְּלִילָא מִשְּׁבַע אַרְעִין דְּעֲלַיְיהוּ אָמַר דָּוִד מַלְכָּא (תהילים קט״ז:ט׳) אֶתְהַלֵּךְ לִפְנֵי יְיָ בְּאַרְצוֹת הַחַיִּים.

The explanation is this. God created the world by means of the Torah, that is to say, in so far as it is called Reshith. By this Reshith He created the heavens and the earth, and He supports them by it, because the word Bereshith contains the word brith (covenant); this covenant is referred to in the verse: “Were it not for my covenant with the day and night, I had not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth” (Jer. 33, 25). This heaven is that of which it is said “the heavens are the heavens of the Lord” (Ps. 115, 16), and this earth is the “land of the living” comprising seven lands of which David said: “I will walk before the Lord in the lands of the living” (Ibid. 116, 9).