Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
Before the world was created, there was none to praise God and know
Him. Therefore He created the angels and the holy Hayyot, the heavens
and their host, and Adam as well. They all were to praise and glorify
their Creator. During the week of creation, however, there was no
suitable time to proclaim the splendor and praise of the Lord. Only on
the Sabbath, when all creation rested, the beings on earth and in
heaven, all together, broke into song and adoration when God ascended
His throne and sate upon it.[100] It was the Throne of Joy upon which
He sate, and He had all the angels pass before Him—the angel of the
water, the angel of the rivers, the angel of the mountains, the angel
of the hills, the angel of the abysses, the angel of the deserts, the
angel of the sun, the angel of the moon, the angel of the Pleiades, the
angel of Orion, the angel of the herbs, the angel of Paradise, the
angel of Gehenna, the angel of the trees, the angel of the reptiles,
the angel of the wild beasts, the angel of the domestic animals, the
angel of the fishes, the angel of the locusts, the angel of the birds,
the chief angel of the angels, the angel of each heaven, the chief
angel of each division of the heavenly hosts, the chief angel of the
holy Hayyot, the chief angel of the cherubim, the chief angel of the
ofanim, and all the other splendid, terrible, and mighty angel chiefs.
They all appeared before God with great joy, laved in a stream of joy,
and they rejoiced and danced and sang, and extolled the Lord with many
praises and many instruments. The ministering angels began, "Let the
glory of the Lord endure forever!" And the rest of the angels took up
the song with the words, "Let the Lord rejoice in His works!" 'Arabot,
the seventh heaven, was filled with joy and glory, splendor and
strength, power and might and pride and magnificence and grandeur,
praise and jubilation, song and gladness, steadfastness and
righteousness, honor and adoration.
Then God bade the Angel of the Sabbath seat himself upon a throne of
glory, and He brought before him the chiefs of the angels of all the
heavens and all the abysses, and bade them dance and rejoice, saying,
"Sabbath it is unto the Lord!" and the exalted princes of the heavens
responded, "Unto the Lord it is Sabbath!" Even Adam was permitted to
ascend to the highest heaven, to take part in the rejoicing over the
Sabbath.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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