Rabbi Yirmiyah ben Elazar said: The first human was created with two countenances, as it says- You have formed (surrounded) me from before and from behind.
§ Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi raises a contradiction. It is written: “And God made the two great lights” (Genesis 1:16), and it is also written in the same verse: “The greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night,”
The moon said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, is it possible for two kings to serve with one crown? God therefore said to her go and diminish yourself. She said before Him: Master of the Universe, since I said a correct observation before You, must I diminish myself? God said to her: go and rule both during the day and during the night. She said to Him: What do I gain? What use is a candle in the middle of the day? God said to her: Go; The Jewish people will count the days and years with you. She said to Him: But the sun as well, it is impossible that they will not count seasons with it, as it is written: “And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years” (Genesis 1:14). God said to her: Go; righteous men will be named after you. Ya’akov HaKatan, (see Amos 7:2), Shmuel HaKatan, and David HaKatan, (see I Samuel 17:14). God saw that the moon was not comforted. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Bring atonement for me, since I diminished the moon. And this is what Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: What is different about the goat offering of the New Moon, that it is stated with regard to it: “For the Lord” (Numbers 28:15)? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: This goat shall be an atonement for Me for having diminished the moon.