Chagigah 12: The Taboo Topic of Creation

Delving into "Ma'aseh Bereishit" - including the order of creation, heavens or earth first? It's debatable, by Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel: top down or bottom up? The later sages arrive at a resolution. And yet, the discussion of the Rakiya (firmament) is still rather beyond what we can make sense of. Also, a dispute between R. Yishmael [Who's Who] and R. Akiva, who have significantly different approaches in interpretation of the Torah. In this case, R. Akiva is presented as the student of Nachum Ish Gamzu, and the function of "et" to teach additional halakhah, or in this case, the discussion of the way of creation.