There was once a certain matron⁵. who asked R. Jose ben Halafta: In how many days did the Holy One create his world? He said to her: He did it on the first day. She said to him: How do you teach me that? He said to her: Have you never made a {drinking} banquet?⁶. She said to him: Yes. And how many missus {i.e., kinds of food}⁷ did you have? She said to him: Thus and so. He said to her: Did you set all of them before them simultaneously? She said to him: No, I cooked all the foods simultaneously, but only brought them in before them missus by missus. And all of them⁸ are from a single scripture, as stated (in Jer. 10:16): FOR HE IS THE ONE WHO FORMS THE ALL….

footnotes: ⁵ Lat.: matrona ⁶ Gk.: ariston ⁷ The Latin word means “dinner courses.” ⁸ I. e., the courses which represent the parts of the creation.