23. Bereshit — Abarbanel on the Torah, Section 23

The Unity Behind the Name “Shamayim”

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The third of these opinions is that of Ramban and the Kabbalists. Ramban writes that the shamayim mentioned in the first verse are the upper heavens, which are not included among the celestial spheres, but exist above the Chariot¹, as in the verse: “And there was a likeness over the heads of the living beings, of an expanse like the color of the severe frost…” (Ezekiel 1:22).

From these heavens the Holy One, blessed be He, is called “the Rider of the heavens.” Scripture does not describe their creation in detail, just as it does not mention the creation of the angels or the living beings of the divine Chariot, and indeed of anything that does not possess a body. It merely states that these heavens were created, in order to declare that their eternity is nothing. Ramban expands upon this idea with words of profound wisdom.

At the conclusion of his discussion he writes that concerning these heavens the Sages said: “in order that one accept upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.” His intention is clear: the shamayim mentioned in the first verse of the Torah are not the air, as Ibn Ezra explained, nor the celestial bodies, as the author of the Guide explained, but rather a name for the separate intellects that surround the Throne of Glory. Among them there are different ranks, one higher than another, and those who sit closest in the kingdom are called shamayim in this verse.

Similarly it is written in the Sefer HaBahir²: “How do we know that ‘heavens’ refers to the Holy One, blessed be He? For it is said: ‘And You shall hear in heaven.’ Does Solomon pray to the heavens that they should hear his prayer? Rather, their name is called by Your Name.”³

And I say that support for this opinion can indeed be found in Scripture, from what Eliphaz said: “Behold, He puts no trust even in His holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in His eyes”⁴ (Job 15:15). He repeats the same idea elsewhere: “Behold, He puts no trust in His servants, and in His angels He finds fault” (Job 4:18).

The author of the Guide writes in chapter 13 of the third part that the statement “in His angels He finds fault” is identical in meaning to “the heavens are not pure in His eyes.” From this it follows that the word shamayim there refers to the angels.

But according to this interpretation a great difficulty arises: why would Scripture call the separate intellects (sechalim nivdalim) shamayim, when they are not bodies? They possess neither motion nor rest, neither change of position nor poles. Another difficulty is that Scripture would then mention the angels and the earth in the account of creation, but omit the celestial bodies, even though they precede the earth in every kind of priority.

Therefore my own opinion on this matter is the following. Although the opinion of the author of the Guide is not correct when taken by itself, and the opinion of Ramban is likewise not correct when taken by itself, both become correct when they are combined.

This is so if we say that the word shamayim in this first verse refers both to the first sphere that encompasses all things and to the separate intellects as well, so that the expression “God created the heavens” includes all the upper realities, both spiritual and corporeal. The separate intellects are thus included together with the highest body under a single name.

This may be explained either because those separate intellects are the forms of the celestial spheres, according to the view of Aristotle, or because they are the movers of those spheres. Since they are connected with them in the matter of motion, they are all designated together by the same term, shamayim. In this way the words of both masters are reconciled when joined together.

The truth of this opinion is also suggested by what the Sages said in Bereshit Rabbah: “‘Shamayim’ – Rav said: fire and water. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rav: the Holy One, blessed be He, took fire and water and mingled them together, and from them the heavens were made.”

Would any wise and discerning person imagine that these perfect sages intended to say that the incorruptible heavens are literally composed of the elemental fire and water, which are opposites and change rapidly?

Rather, Rav held that the name shamayim refers jointly to the celestial spheres and to the separate intellects (sechalim nivdalim). Because the conception of the separate intellects is difficult for the human mind to grasp, Scripture described the angels by the name “fire,” as in the verses: “His ministers are a burning fire” (Psalms 104:4); “Seraphim stood above Him” (Isaiah 6:2); and “A river of fire was flowing and emerging from before Him” (Daniel 7:10). All these verses designate the spiritual angels by the name “fire.”

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana, however, explained why the celestial bodies and the separate intellects are called together by the single name shamayim. He said it is because of their relationship: the separate intellect is the form of the sphere and its mover. Thus when the Midrash says that the Holy One “combined them together,” it means that they were mixed and became shamayim—that is, the substance of the heavens is the sphere, while its form is the separate intellect. For this reason the two were united under the single name shamayim.

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