Q&A: Creation ex nihilo
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Creation ex nihilo
Question
Hello Rabbi, does the Rabbi happen to know what the source is for creation ex nihilo? I looked around a bit online but didn’t find anything. Also, it might be worth adding a Haggadah category to the categories.
Thank you very much, and have a peaceful and blessed Sabbath
Answer
Who says there is a source (beyond tradition)? Maimonides and Nachmanides cite a midrash from Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer that creation was something from something—that is, from preexisting matter (“From where were the heavens created? From the snow beneath His throne of glory”). Philosophically, it seems that creation began from some thing, and then that itself is creation ex nihilo.