world would have fallen to ruin. Finally, in spite of reminding
one of Gadol, great, Gimel would not do, because Gemul,
retribution, starts with it.

After the claims of all these letters had been disposed of, Bet
stepped before the Holy One, blessed be He, and pleaded before
Him: "O Lord of the world! May it be Thy will to create Thy world
through me, seeing that all the dwellers in the world give praise
daily unto Thee through me, as it is said, 'Blessed be the Lord
forever. Amen, and Amen.' " The Holy One, blessed be He, at once
granted the petition of Bet. He said, "Blessed be he that cometh
in the name of the Lord." And He created His world through Bet,
as it is said, "Bereshit God created the heaven and the earth."
The only letter that had refrained from urging its claims was the
modest Alef, and God rewarded it later for its humility by giving
it the first place in the Decalogue.[12]


THE FIRST DAY

On the first day of creation God produced ten things:[13] the
heavens and the earth, Tohu and Bohu, light and darkness, wind
and water, the duration of the day[14] and the duration of the
night.[15]

Though the heavens and the earth consist of entirely different
elements,[16] they were yet created as a unit, "like the pot and
its cover."[17] The heavens were fashioned from the light of
God's garment, and the earth from the snow under the Divine
Throne.[18] Tohu is a green band which encompasses the whole