world, and dispenses darkness, and Bohu consists of stones in the
abyss, the producers of the waters. The light created at the very
beginning is not the same as the light emitted by the sun, the
moon, and the stars, which appeared only on the fourth day. The
light of the first day was of a sort that would have enabled man
to see the world at a glance from one end to the other.
Anticipating the wickedness of the sinful generations of the
deluge and the Tower of Babel, who were unworthy to enjoy the
blessing of such light, God concealed it, but in the world to
come it will appear to the pious in all its pristine glory.[19]

Several heavens were created,[20] seven in fact,[21] each to
serve a purpose of its own. The first, the one visible to man,
has no function except that of covering up the light during the
night time; therefore it disappears every morning. The planets
are fastened to the second of the heavens; in the third the manna
is made for the pious in the hereafter; the fourth contains the
celestial Jerusalem together with the Temple, in which Michael
ministers as high priest, and offers the souls of the pious as
sacrifices. In the fifth heaven, the angel hosts reside, and sing
the praise of God, though only during the night, for by day it is
the task of Israel on earth to give glory to God on high. The
sixth heaven is an uncanny spot; there originate most of the
trials and visitations ordained for the earth and its
inhabitants. Snow lies heaped up there and hail; there are lofts
full of noxious dew, magazines stocked with storms, and cellars
holding reserves of smoke. Doors of fire separate these celestial
chambers, which are under the supervision of the archangel
Metatron. Their pernicious contents defiled the heavens until
David's time. The pious king prayed God to purge His exalted