Les Psaumes 118:26 Midrash : Otzar Midrashim

2) We have found that before the universe was created, parchment skins were not found on which the Torah's script is written, for animals were not yet in existence. Rather, on what was it written? On the arm of the Holy Blessed One, in black fire upon white fire. And the Holy Blessed One took it and laid it out before Him, and would gaze at it. And when He desired to create the world, all the letters came in turn and each said before the Holy Blessed One: "Master of the Universe! May it be Your will that through me the world be created!" First, tav came before the Holy Blessed One and said to Him: "Master of the Universe! May it be Your will that through me the world be created, since Your Torah is named by me!" The Holy Blessed One answered her: I will not do as you wish, for inducements¹terumot begin with you, and it is written, "An inducement-taking man destroys" (Prov. 29:4). Afterwards, shin entered before the Holy Blessed One etc. "It shall not be as to your wish, since vanity²shav' and bribery³shohad begin with you, and it is not fitting that a letter without a base⁴The letter ש has only one point on its lowest level. be the one on which the universe is created." Afterwards, all the letters entered in reverse order, until bet. Finally, bet entered and said: "Master of the Universe! May it be Your will that through me the world be created, for your children will bless Your name by me! As it is said, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD" (Psalms 118:26), "Blessed is the LORD each day" (Psalms 68:20), "Blessed is the LORD, the God of Israel" (Psalms 41:14). He said to her, "Thus I will do. By you I will create my world. "As it is written, (Genesis 1:1) "In the beginning God created"⁵bereshit bara Elohim. When alef saw that the Holy Blessed One desired to create the world through bet, she stood to one side and was silent, until the Holy Blessed One called her and said to her: "Alef, why are you silent? Why do you not speak as your companions?" Alef answered and said before Him: "Master of the Universe! While my companions amount to much, I am of comparatively little value." The Holy Blessed One said to her: No wonder that you are the first of them all and the sovereign, since I am One and you are one! And since you have been humble, I will glorify you by making you a thousand⁶elef." And He also said to her, Be consoled that when I give the Torah, I will begin with you." Therefore the Holy Blessed One opened with anokhi when giving the Torah to Israel. [And why did the Holy Blessed One open with anokhi when giving the Torah to Israel?] For anokhi is an acronym: Ana nafshi katvit, yahavit⁷Aramaic: "My own soul wrote it, bestowed it!" and in reverse order yehiva, ketiva, ne'imim imreha⁸Hebrew: "A bestowing, a writing, pleasant are its statements!" Alternatively, why did the Holy Blessed One open with anokhi when giving the Torah to Israel? For anokhi is Egyptian⁹The Coptic word for "I" is ⲁⲛⲟⲕ anok, and in order to usethe language they used in Egypt He opened with anokhi. And the Holy Blessed One wanted to create the universe all at once, a width of a 500 years' walk and a length of a 500 years' walk, and the great sea surrounding all the universe like a dome atop a great column, and all the universe standing on the scales of the Leviathan standing in the abyssal waters to which is it compared to a small fish in the sea, and the abyssal waters stand upon the primordial waters, and the primordial waters upon the ocean's waters, and the ocean's waters upon the waters of Bokhim. And why are they called by the name Bokhim? For when the Holy Blessed One halved the waters, half He placed above and half He placed below, and the ones He placed below started crying⁹bokhim and saying "Woe is us, for we did not merit to be close to our Creator!" And they presumptuously souoght to ascend on high, until the Holy Blessed One rebuked them and crushed them under the sole of His feet. Thus they said before the Holy Blessed One, "It is well known before You that for Your glory's sake we did so!" The Holy Blessed One said, "Inasmuch as for my glory that You did so, know in truth that I will not give permission to the upper waters to say song before Me until they take permission from you!" As it it said, "From the voices of the many mighty waters, the wave's breakers, mighty on high is the LORD!" (Psalms 93:4)