This verse from the second chapter of Genesis became in the mystical tradition a metaphor for the process of creation. The river is understood to be the flow of the Divine, which proceeded in stages. God created the world with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which preceded the world and are divine in origin. The river turned to ice (stopped flowing) until the six directions were established (east, west, north, south, up and down) and then started to flow again to create the world with ten sayings: "And God said, 'Let there be light'" and so on. Shown are the twenty-two letters and the ten sayings of creation.
Arnold Schwarzbart
One of five related works on creation that the studio called the Five Easy Pieces, with "As Above, So Below," "He Is Helped from Above," "Take Your Shoes from off Your Feet," and the first omer counter, "The Time Til Sinai." This one remained with Mary Linda Schwarzbart.
The text
ויאמר אלהים. יהי אור. יהי רקיע. יקוו המים. תדשא הארץ דשא. יהי מארת. ישרצו המים שרץ. תוצא הארץ נפש חיה. נעשה אדם בצלמנו. הנה נתתי לכם את כל עשב.
And God said. Let there be light. Let there be a firmament. Let the waters be gathered. Let the earth sprout grass. Let there be lights. Let the waters swarm with living creatures. Let the earth bring forth living souls. Let us make man in our image. Behold, I have given you every herb.
The ten utterances of creation, Genesis 1
אבגד הוזחט יכלמנ סעפצק רשת
The twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, with which, in the tradition, the world was created.
The tablet at the left
Studio of Arnold Schwarzbart
Arnold Schwarzbart ז״ל · 1942 – 2015 · Knoxville, Tennessee