the leaves on the trees of Paradise, and their vibration is
communicated to the angels and the holy Hayyot, to the other
plants, and also to the trees and plants on earth, and to all the
beings on earth and in heaven. It is the signal for them all to
cast their eyes upward. As soon as they see the Ineffable Name,
which is engraved in the sun, they raise their voices in songs of
praise to God. At the same moment a heavenly voice is heard to
say, "Woe to the sons of men that consider not the honor of God
like unto these creatures whose voices now rise aloft in
adoration."[106] These words, naturally, are not heard by men; as
little as they perceive the grating of the sun against the wheel
to which all the celestial bodies are attached, although the
noise it makes is extraordinarily loud.[107] This friction of the
sun and the wheel produces the motes dancing about in the
sunbeams. They are the carriers of healing to the sick,[108] the
only health-giving creations of the fourth day, on the whole an
unfortunate day, especially for children, afflicting them with
disease.[109] When God punished the envious moon by diminishing
her light and splendor, so that she ceased to be the equal of the
sun as she had been originally,[110] she fell,[111] and tiny
threads were loosed from her body. These are the stars.[112]


THE FIFTH DAY

On the fifth day of creation God took fire[118] and water, and
out of these two elements He made the fishes of the sea.[114] The
animals in the water are much more numerous than those on land.
For every species on land, excepting only the weasel, there is a
corresponding species in the water, and, besides, there are many