“Because you defied My directive” – this is what the verse said: “The Lord will not starve the soul of the righteous” (Proverbs 10:3) – this is Adam the first man, as all the righteous who will descend from him, death was decreed upon them. They do not pass away until they see the countenance of the Divine Presence and reprimand Adam the first man and say to him: ‘You caused death for us.’ He responds: ‘I have one sin attributed to me, but there is not one of you who does not have more than four iniquities.’
From where is it derived that they see the countenance of the Divine Presence and they reprimand Adam the first man? It is as it is stated: “I said: I will not see the Lord, the Lord in the land of the living; I will no longer behold a person [adam] among the inhabitants of the world” (Isaiah 38:11). The righteous are punished with death for minor transgressions,56Because the righteous are punished with death for their own transgressions, Adam the first man is not ensnared on the grounds that they died because of him. so Adam the first man will not be ensnared by them, as it is stated: “The Lord will not starve the soul of the righteous.”57As mentioned in the beginning of the paragraph, this verse refers to Adam and is interpreted here to mean that he will not suffer because of the death of the righteous. That is why it is stated: “Because you defied My directive.”