How does Rashi know that heaven was created from fire and water? Because the Hebrew for “heaven” is shamayim and the Hebrew word for “water” is mayim. The word for “water” is right there in “heaven.” Take the mayim (“water”) out of the shamayim (“heaven”) and you’re left with the consonantal sound sh, which is the sole consonantal component of the Hebrew eish, “fire.” “Heaven,” in Hebrew, is literally composed of “fire” and “water.”
