Midrasch zu Bereschit 1:16

Unto the land that I will show you (Gen. 12:1). The Holy One, blessed be He, did not mention any specific place. This indicates that this was a trial within a trial, as in the case of a man who embarks upon a journey without being aware of his destination. What did Abraham do? He took his possessions and his wife and departed: And Abraham went, as the Lord had spoken to him (ibid., v. 4). And I will make of thee a great nation (ibid., v. 2). It is not written “I will establish you up as a great nation,” but I will make you a great nation; that is, I will create anew, as indicated by the verse And God made the firmament (ibid. 1:7); And God made the two great lights (ibid., v. 16). R. Phinehas the priest, the son of Hama said: When did the Holy One, blessed be He, make Abraham into a great nation? He did so when Israel accepted the Torah. Thus Moses proclaimed concerning them: For what great nation is there (Deut. 4:8).

(Ib. b) R. Simon b. Pazi raised the following contradiction: "The passage says (Gen. 1, 16), And God made the two great lights; and further it says, the greater light and the lesser light. The moon said before the Holy One, praised be He! 'Sovereign of the Universe, is it possible for two kings to use the same crown (to occupy an equal rank)?' Whereupon the Lord replied: Go and make thyself smaller (be reduced). 'Sovereign of the Universe,' pleaded the moon before the Lord, 'Is it because I said to you a worthy thing that I should make myself smaller?' 'Go and rule the day and the night,' said the Lord to her. The moon pleaded further: 'Of what avail will my light be; for a lamp at noon what good could it do?' The Lord said to her: 'Go [and be satisfied] for Israel will count their days [of the month] and years after thee (the lunar system).' 'The days are impossible to be counted unless it is after the solstice,' complained the moon; 'for the passage says (Gen. 1, 14) And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.' 'You can go [and be satisfied],' the Lord said to her, 'for the righteous will be called in your name: Jacob the little (Amos, 7); Samuel the little (I Sam. 17); David the little.' The Lord observed that the moon was not satisfied; He therefore said: 'Bring an atonement for Me because I caused the inferiority of the moon.' " This is meant by Resh Lakish; for Resh Lakish said: "What does the [strange] expression of the Torah in connection with the goat-offering of the new moon mean? For it says (Num. 28, 15) Unto God. The Holy One, praised be He! said: This goat-offering shall be an atonement for Me, because I caused the inferiority of the moon.' "

... …and the Holy One said to Israel, ‘my children – now take from me the cup of consolation.’ They replied to Him ‘Master of the World! You were angry with us and brought us out from within Your house and exiled us among the nations of the world [and that is like a vessel cast aside among the nations of the world] and now you’ve come to appease us?! He said to them, ‘I will give you an allegory, to what is this thing to be likened? To a man who married his sister’s daughter. He grew angry with her and sent her out of his house, and after some days came to appease her. She said to him ‘you were angry with me and threw me out of your house and now you’ve come to appease me?!’ He said to her, ‘you are are my sister’s daughter, maybe you will say in your heart that from the day that you went out of my house [another woman entered in, by your life] even I have not entered my house.’ Thus the Holy One said to Israel, ‘my children, from the day I destroyed My house below I have not gone up and sat in My house above. Rather, I sat in the dew and the rain. If you do not believe me place your hands in My head [and see the dew which is on My head, if it were not an explicit verse it would be impossible to say] as it says “…for my head is full of dew, my locks with the drops of the night.” (Shir HaShirim 5:2) And the Holy One clothed Zion with her strength, in reward for “The Eternal's strength and His vengeance were my salvation…” (Shemot 15:2) which they said at the sea, [and from where do we learn that the Holy One clothes her in her strength?] as it says “Awaken, awaken, put on your strength, O Zion…” (Yeshayahu 52:1)

THE PLANETS; THE COURSE OF THE SUN
ON the fourth day He connected together the two luminaries, of which one was not greater (in size) than the other. They were equal as regards their height, || qualities, and illuminating powers, as it is said, "And God made the two great lights" (Gen. 1:16). Rivalry ensued between them, one said to the other, I am bigger than thou art. The other rejoined, I am bigger than thou art.

What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do, so that there should be peace between them? He made the one larger and the other smaller, as it is said, "The greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night and the stars he also made" (ibid.).

R. Hiyya the son of Abba concluded from the verse Say unto wisdom: “Thou art my sister” (Prov. 7:4) that if the verdict is as clear to you as the fact that your sister is forbidden to you, announce it; but if it is not, do not announce it. R. Joshua the son of Levi said: If ten men sit in judgment, responsibility for the verdict rests upon the neck of each of them. And judge righteously (Deut. 1:16). R. Joshua the son of Levi interprets this verse to mean: One must confirm the justice of the decision before announcing it.

10 days, 21 hours, and 204 parts are the excess of the days of the solar year over the days of the lunar year; and the intercalation is introduced to equalize the days of the solar || year with the days of the lunar year. The sun and the moon begin (their courses) at the new moon of Nisan, the sun goes before the moon at its Teḳuphah; and Aries begins to serve before it by day, and all the constellations serve thereafter according to their order. The moon goes in the opposite direction and Aries begins to serve before it by night, and all the constellations serve thereafter according to their order, until the year of the small cycle, until the year of intercalation (comes round). (When) the intercalated month comes round it supersedes (or thrusts aside) the new moon (of Nisan) and remains at the new moon of Shebaṭ, and so on until the twelve intercalated months (come round) when the sun and the moon are equal (again) at the commencement of the eve of the fourth day in the hour of Saturn in the hour when they were created. Between each Molad (conjunction of the moon and sun) there are only 36 hours, 40 minutes, and 73 minims (parts).

(Exod. 12:2:) THIS MONTH (i.e. THIS MOON) SHALL BE FOR YOU. You reckon by months (i.e. by moons), but the nations of the world reckon by days. R. Abbin the Levite said: It is a universal custom for the great (gadol) to reckon by the great and for the small, by the small. Esau, who is older (gadol), as stated (in Gen. 27:15): HER OLDER SON <ESAU>, reckons by the sun, which is the greater <light>, as stated (in Gen. 1:16): THE GREATER (gadol) LIGHT <TO RULE THE DAY>. Jacob, who is called younger (qatan), as stated (in Gen. 27:15): HER YOUNGER SON <JACOB> reckons by the lesser (qatan), <i.e.,> by the moon, as stated (in Gen. 1:16): AND THE LESSER LIGHT <TO RULE THE NIGHT >. Ergo (in Exod. 12:2): THIS MONTH [SHALL BE FOR YOU].

"Command the Children of Israel and they shall take olive oil to you, etc." (Leviticus 24:2). This is [the understating of] "Your charity O God is until the heavens." Rabbi Ami asked Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman: He said to him, "Because I have heard about you that you are a master of aggadah (homiletics), what is [the understanding of] 'Your charity O God is until the heavens' (Psalms 71:19)?" He said to him, "Just as the lower beings require charity one from the other, so [too] do the upper beings require charity from one another." This is [the understanding of] that which is written (Ezekiel 71:18), "He spoke to the man clothed in linen, etc." And all of [this] opening is [found] in the beginning of Parshat Emor el Hakohanim. "Who has done great things" (Psalms 71:19) - these are [referring to] the two great luminaries, as it is stated (Genesis 1:16), "the two great luminaries." "O God, who is like You" (Psalms 71:19) - Who is like You among the upper beings and who is like You among the lower beings? Who is like You, that You suppress Your attribute of (strict) justice. You give light to the upper beings and to the lower beings; You give light to all who come to the world. And [yet] You desire the light of Israel. This is [the understanding of] that which is written (Leviticus 24:2), "Command the Children of Israel."

(Gen. 21:6:) SARAH SAID: GOD MADE LAUGHTER FOR ME; < EVERYONE WHO HEARS WILL LAUGH FOR ME >. The verse teaches how in the hour that Isaac was born, the sick were healed, the deaf regained their hearing, and the blind began to see.¹³⁵Gen. R. 53:8; PRK 22:1; cf. PR 42:4. It therefore says: GOD MADE LAUGHTER FOR ME. R. Berekhyah the Priest said: What is the meaning of EVERYONE WHO HEARS WILL LAUGH FOR ME? Surely not that everyone heard! But what is the meaning of EVERYONE WHO HEARS? That the Holy One increased the light of the sun and the moon. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 1:16): AND GOD MADE THE TWO LIGHTS THE GREATER ONES. Therefore: EVERYONE WHO HEARS WILL LAUGH FOR ME.¹³⁶See Gen. R. 53:8 and PRK 22:1, according to which, just as in Gen. 1:16 the word MADE speaks of God giving light to the world, so in Gen. 21:6 MADE implies the addition of more light for the world.

Rabbi Zechariah said: After (the words) "the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year" (ibid.), what is written? "And one he-goat for a sin offering unto the Lord" (Num. 28:15). For what purpose was the sin offering? When the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, He created two great luminaries, as it is said, "And God made the two great lights" (Gen. 1:16). The one He made larger and the other smaller, and the moon obstinately refused to do the will of its Creator so as to be made smaller; therefore Israel offered on its behalf the he-goat for a sin offering heavenwards as one of the burnt offerings of the New Moon, as it is said, "And one he-goat for a sin offering unto the Lord" (Num. 28:15). What is the meaning of "unto the Lord"? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: This he-goat shall be an atonement for Me, because I have diminished the (size of the) moon.

AND SARAH SAID: GOD HAS MADE JOY FOR ME; EVERY ONE THAT HEARS WILL REJOICE WITH ME (Gen. 21:6). R. Berekiah, R. Judah b. R. Simon, and R. Hanan in the name of R. Samuel b. R. Isaac said: If Reuben has cause to rejoice, what does it matter to Simeon? Similarly, if Sarah was remembered, what did it matter to others? But when the matriarch Sarah was remembered [gave birth], many other barren women were remembered with her; many deaf gained their hearing; many blind had their eyes opened, many insane became sane. For ‘making’ [HAS MADE] is mentioned here, and also elsewhere, viz. And he made a release to the provinces (Est. II, 18). As the making mentioned there means that a gift was granted to the world,l so the making mentioned here means that a gift was granted to the world. R. Levi said: She increased the light of the luminaries: ‘making’ is mentioned here, viz. GOD HAS MADE FOR ME, while elsewhere it says, And God made the two lights (Gen. I, 16).