“A river emerged from Eden to water the garden; and from there it parted and became four headwaters” (Genesis 2:10). “A river emerged from Eden to water the garden” – Rabbi Simon began: “You grant him power [titkefehu] forever, and he went; You alter his countenance and send him away” (Job 14:20) – the power [tokef] that the Holy One blessed be He gave to Adam the first man “forever” should have been for all time.
“And he went” – because he forsook the directive of the Holy One blessed be He and went after the directive of the serpent, “You alter his countenance and send him away.” Rabbi Simon said: “Wisdom and might with Him” (Job 12:13)1Two verses later: “Behold, He halts the water and it dries; He releases it, and they overturn the earth” (Job 12:15). – when he [Adam] was still innocent vis-a-vis his Creator,2Before having sinned, when he was “with Him.” he could unleash the water of four riverheads with a single spade.3So great was his “wisdom and might.”
These are the four riverheads: “A river emerged from Eden to water the garden [and from there it parted and became four headwaters, etc.].”