Thorns and Thistles and the Bread That Eased Adam's Grief

"Thorn" (Genesis 3:18), this is the kundas plant. "And thistle," this is the akavyot; and some reverse them. [It is called dardar] because it is made in rows upon rows. "And you shall eat the grass of the field" (Genesis 3:18): had you been worthy, I would have raised up for you produce from all the trees of the Garden of Eden; now "thorns and thistles it shall sprout for you." Had you been worthy, you would have taken herbs from within the Garden of Eden and tasted in them the flavor of every delicacy in the world; now "and you shall eat the grass of the field." Concerning these generations He speaks, that a person reaps his field [while green] and eats it while it is still grass. When Adam the first man heard this, his face broke out in sweat. He said: shall I be tied to the trough like an animal? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: since your face has sweated, you shall eat bread. Rabbi Levi said: it would have been better for Adam had he remained under his first curse ["by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread," rather than the harsher decree of eating grass].