Yalkut Shimoni on Torah Reader

"And between the waters that were above the firmament; and it was so" (Genesis 1:7). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the wicked: I created the world, concerning which is written "and it was so [vayehi ken]," yet you say "it is not so [lo ken]." I say "it is not so" and you say "so." By your lives! "Not so [lo ken] are the wicked, but they are like chaff; therefore the wicked shall not stand [literally: rise, yakumu] in judgment" (Psalms 1:4-5). And is that good for them [that they shall not rise]? Rather, it is like a person who says, "So-and-so stood up in court [lost his case]," where he had no rising of the foot [i.e., the loser has no standing, no leg to stand on].

Rabbi Yehudah says: The world was created over six days, with each and every day's work, as it is written, "and it was so." But Rabbi Nechemyah says: From the first day the entire world was created, as it is said, "let the earth bring forth" (Genesis 1:24), a thing that had been prepared from the very beginning. A noble lady [matrona] asked Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta: In how many days did the Holy One, blessed be He, create His world? He said to her: From the first day. She said to him: From where do you know this? He said to her: Did you prepare a banquet? She said to him: Yes. He said to her: And how many kinds of dishes did you have? She said to him: Such and such. He said to him: And did you set them all before the guests at one time? She said to him: No; rather, I cooked all the dishes together, and I brought them in before the guests one by one. [So too God prepared all at the start and brought each forth in turn.] And all of this is from the verse, "for He is the Fashioner of all things" (Jeremiah 10:16).

(Genesis 1:9) "And God said: Let the waters be gathered [yikkavu]" — [meaning] let a measure [middah] be made for the waters, just as you say, "and a line [kav] shall be stretched over Jerusalem" (Zechariah 1:16).

Another interpretation: "Let the waters be gathered [yikkavu] to Me" — let them wait [from the sense of hoping/awaiting] for what I am destined to do with them. To what may the matter be compared? To a king who built a palace and settled in it mute tenants, who would rise early and inquire after the king's welfare by gesture, by finger, and by stooping. The king said: If these, who are mute, inquire after my welfare, how much more would clever ones! The king settled clever tenants within it. They arose and seized the palace, saying: This palace is not the king's; it is ours. The king said: Let the palace return to what it was. So too, from the beginning of the creation of the world, the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, ascended only from the waters, as it is written, "from the voices of many waters" (Psalms 93:4); and what did they say? "The LORD on high is mighty" (Psalms 93:4). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: If these, which have no mouth nor speech nor word, praise Me, how much more when I create human beings! The generation of Enosh arose and rebelled against Him, the generation of the Flood, and rebelled against Him. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let these depart and let those come. This is what is written, "and the rain was upon the earth" (Genesis 7:12) and so on. The whole world was water within water, yet you say "to one place"? A parable of ten swollen, inflated skins set down in a hall: the king needs their place, so he unties them, lets out their air, and clears them into one corner. So the Holy One, blessed be He, trod down all the waters of creation and cleared them into the Ocean, as it is written, "behold, He holds back the waters and they dry up" (Job 12:15), and it says, "and treads upon the high places of the sea" (Job 9:8).

Another interpretation: It is the way of the world that a person empties a full vessel into an empty vessel; does one ever empty into a full vessel? So the whole world was water within water, yet you say "to one place"? Rather, from here we learn that the little holds the much. And similarly: "And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock" (Numbers 20:10) — it was [only] as large as the opening of a small sieve, yet all Israel stood there; rather, from here we learn that the little holds the much. And similarly: "Take for yourselves handfuls" (Exodus 9:8) — now does the cupped hands [chofen] of Moses hold eight fistfuls [kemitzin]? The one who fills two cupped hands is not like the one who takes a single fistful, for the one who scoops with two hands holds double the one who takes one fistful; and it is written, "and Moses sprinkled it [threw it]" (Exodus 9:10). It turns out that the cupped hands of Moses held eight fistfuls — rather, from here we learn that the little held the much. And similarly: "And Joshua said: Come here and hear the words of the LORD" (Joshua 3:9) — he stood them between the two staves of the Ark.

Another interpretation: He compressed them between the two poles of the Ark. Joshua said to them: From the fact that the two poles of the Ark held all of you, you know "that the living God is in your midst" (Joshua 3:10). So too with Jerusalem, as we have learned (Avot 5:7): They stood crowded together yet bowed with ample space, four cubits for each and every one, and a cubit on every side, so that none of them should hear the prayer of his fellow. So too in the time to come, as it is said: "They shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it" (Jeremiah 3:17). But can it hold them? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to her: Lengthen yourself, widen yourself, receive your multitudes, as it is said (Isaiah 54:2-3): "Enlarge the place of your tent, for you shall break forth to the right and to the left," and so on.

"And God called the dry land Earth" (Genesis 1:10) - which was eager to do the will of its Maker. Rabbi Yitzchak says: "I am El Shaddai" - I am the One who said to My world, Dai [Enough], for had I not done so, heaven and earth would still be stretching and extending on and on. "And the gathering of the waters He called Seas." But is it not a single sea? Rather, the fish that comes up from Acco and Sidon is not like the one that comes up from Spain.

On the third day the earth was a level plain like a valley, and the waters covered the whole face of the earth. When the word went forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, "Let the waters be gathered" - the mountains and hills spread apart over the whole face of the earth, and deep valleys were formed; the inner part of the earth rose up, and the waters rolled down and were gathered, as it is said: "And the gathering of the waters He called Seas." Immediately the waters swelled with pride and rose to cover the earth as at the beginning, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked them and subdued them and set them beneath the soles of His feet, and measured them in His handful, neither to diminish nor to add, and made the sand a fence for the sea, like a man who makes a fence for his vineyard; so that when they rise and see the sand before them, they turn back, as it is said (Jeremiah 5:22): "Do you not fear Me?" and so on.

All the seas are like a mikveh [a gathering of waters], as it is said: "And the gathering of the waters He called Seas" - these are the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: The Great Sea is like a mikveh, and it is not called "Seas" except because there are many kinds of seas within it.

Rabbi Yose says: All the seas purify by flowing water, but they are unfit for those with a flux and for lepers and for sanctifying with them the water of purification. "And the earth brought forth grass" (Genesis 1:11-12). It transgressed the command, for the Holy One, blessed be He, had said to it "a fruit tree making fruit" - just as the fruit is eaten, so should the tree be eaten. But it did not do so; rather "the earth brought forth grass, a tree making fruit" - the fruit is eaten but the tree is not eaten. Therefore it was cursed, "cursed is the ground because of you" (Genesis 3:17). Rabbi Pinchas says: It added to the command, relying on doing the will of its Creator: "a tree making fruit" - even barren trees produced fruits. And why then was it cursed? It is like a man who says, May the breasts that nursed this man be cursed.

It was taught: Rabbi Eliezer says: From where do we know that the world was created in Tishrei? As it is said, "And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed" - which is the month in which the earth is full of grasses and the trees are full of fruit? You must say it is Tishrei, and that season was the time of the early rains, and rains came down and they sprouted, as it is said, "and a mist went up from the earth." Rabbi Yehoshua says: From where do we know the world was created in Nisan? As it is said, "And the earth brought forth" - which is the month in which the earth is full of grasses? You must say it is Nisan, and that season is the time when beast and animal mate with one another, as it is said (Psalms 65:14): "The meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered with grain." And the other - is it not written "a fruit tree"? That refers to a blessing for the generations. And the other also - is it not written "and the earth brought forth grass"? That accords with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: all the works of creation were created in their full stature, created at their full size, created in their full beauty, as it is said (Genesis 2:1) "and all their host [tzeva'am]" - do not read it 'their host' but rather 'their beauty [tzivyonam].'

Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa expounded: What is the meaning of what is written (Psalms 104:31), "May the glory of the LORD endure forever"? This verse the Prince of the World said. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said "after its kind" regarding the trees, the grasses drew an a-fortiori inference for themselves. They said: If it is the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, for things to come forth jumbled together, why was it said "after its kind" regarding the trees? And further, an a-fortiori argument: if trees, whose way is not to come forth jumbled, the Holy One said of them "after its kind," how much more so for us. Immediately each and every one came forth after its kind. At that moment the Prince of the World opened and said, "May the glory of the LORD endure forever." Ravina asked: If one grafted two grasses one upon the other, according to Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa what is the law? Since "after its kind" is not written concerning them, is one not liable; or perhaps, since the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed to their action, it is as though it were written concerning them? Let it stand [unresolved]. Rav Asi raised a contradiction: it is written "and the earth brought forth grass" on the third day, and it is written "and no shrub of the field was yet" on the eve of Sabbath - this teaches that the grasses came forth and stood at the opening of the ground and did not sprout until Adam came and sought mercy for them, and rains came down and they sprouted, as it is said "and a mist went up from the earth," and so on - to teach you that the Holy One, blessed be He, longs for the prayer of the righteous. Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa had a garden; he cast seeds into it and they did not sprout; he prayed for mercy and they sprouted.

"And there was evening and there was morning, a third day" (Genesis 1:13) - on which mighty ones were created, as you say "captains and called men, all of them riding horses" (Ezekiel 23:23). When iron was created, the trees began to tremble. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: Let no tree of yours enter into it, and not one of you will be harmed.

(Genesis 1:14-15) "And God said, Let there be lights." Only the orb of the sun was created to give light, as it is said, "Let there be lights" [me'orot is written defectively, as if reading me'erat, a curse]. If so, why was the moon created? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that the nations of the world were destined to make them into deities. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: If, when they are two and contradict one another, the nations of the world still make them into deities, had there been but one, how much more so would they do this. Rabbi Berekhiah said in the name of Rabbi Sima: Both of them were created to give light, as it is said, "And let them be for lights, and God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light" (Genesis 1:15,17). "And let them be for signs" - these are the Sabbaths, as it is written, "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever" (Exodus 31:17). "And for appointed times" - these are the festivals, as it is written, "These are the appointed times of the LORD" (Leviticus 23:4). "And for days" - these are the new moons, as it is written, "for a month of days" (Numbers 11:20). "And years" - these are the new years.

(Genesis 1:16) "And God made the two great lights." After He called them great, He goes back and calls one of them "the lesser light." This was only because it entered the boundary of its fellow. In all the sacrifices it is written, "one goat for a sin offering," but concerning the new moon it is written, "for a sin offering to the LORD" (Numbers 28:15). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I caused it to enter the boundary of its fellow. And if this one, which entered by permission, was so diminished by the Holy One, blessed be He, then one who enters without permission, how much more so will he be punished.

Rabbi Shimon ben Azzai raised a contradiction: It is written, "And God made the two great lights," and it is written, "and the lesser light." The moon said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, is it possible for two kings to make use of one crown? He said to her: Go and diminish yourself. She said before Him: Master of the Universe, because I said a fitting thing before You, shall I go and diminish myself? He said to her: Go, and you shall rule by day and by night. She said before Him: Master of the Universe, what use is a lamp at noon? He said to her: Go, and Israel shall reckon by you the days and the years. She said: But it is impossible for the day not to be reckoned by it as well, as it is written, "and they shall be for signs and for appointed times." He said to her: Go, and the righteous shall be called by your name - Jacob the Small, Samuel the Small, David the Small. Still her mind was not settled. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Bring an atonement for Me, for having diminished the moon. And this is what Resh Lakish said: Why is the goat of the new moon different, that it is said of it "to the LORD" (Numbers 28:15)? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let this goat be an atonement for My having diminished the moon.

It is the way of the world: the great one reckons by the great, and the small one reckons by the small. Esau reckons by the sun, which is great. Just as the sun rules by day but does not rule by night, so Esau has a portion in this world but has no portion in the world to come. And Jacob reckons by the moon, which is small. Just as the moon rules by day and by night, so Israel has a portion in this world and in the world to come. As long as the light of the great one blazes in the world, the light of the small one is not noticed; once the light of the great one sets, the light of the small one becomes known. So too, as long as the light of Esau blazes in the world, the light of Jacob is not noticed; once the light of Esau sets, the light of Jacob becomes known. This is what is written, "Arise, shine, for your light has come... For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth" (Isaiah 60:1-2).

"And the stars" - a parable of a king who had two governors, one ruling the city and one ruling the province. The king said: Since this one made himself small, to rule only the city, I decree concerning him that when he goes out, the council and the populace shall go out with him, and when he comes in, the council and the populace shall come in with him. So said the Holy One, blessed be He: Since the moon made herself small, to rule by night, I decree concerning her that when she goes out the stars shall go out with her, and when she comes in the stars shall come in with her. And like this: "and the name of his brother was Joktan" (Genesis 10:25), for he made himself and his affairs small [maktin]. And if the small one, who made his affairs small, merited to establish thirteen families, the great one who makes his affairs small, how much more so. And like this: "And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger" (Genesis 48:14). But do we not know from the genealogy that he was the younger? Rather, he made his affairs small [matzir], and therefore he merited the birthright.

(Genesis 1:17) "And God set them in the firmament of the heaven." The luminaries were given as a gift to the world; and so the Torah, "and He gave to Moses"; and so the rains, "and I will give your rains" (Leviticus 26:4); and so peace, "and I will give peace" (Leviticus 26:6); and so salvation, as it is written, "and You gave me the shield of Your salvation" (2 Samuel 22:36). Where are the sun and the moon set? In the second firmament, as it is said, "And God set them in the firmament of the heaven." The verse is explicit, and the Men of the Great Assembly explained it: "You made the heavens, the heaven of heavens, and all their host" (Nehemiah 9:6). Where is all their host placed? In the second firmament, which is above the heavens. It is written, "and the heavens declare His righteousness" (Psalms 50:6) - in the time to come the heavens will tell of the righteousness which the Holy One, blessed be He, did with His world, that He did not set them in the first firmament; for had He done so, no creature could endure because of the fire of the day. (Genesis 1:18) "And to rule by day and by night." If this concerns the luminaries, was it not already said, "the greater light for the dominion of the day"? Rather, these are the righteous, who rule over that which was created to give light by day and by night. This is what is written, "And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed... is this not written in the Book of Jashar?" (Joshua 10:13). It is derived from here: "and to rule by day and by night."

Rabbi Shmuel son of Rabbi Yitzchak derives it from the end of the book: "and his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations" (Genesis 48:19). Is this possible? Rather, this is Joshua, who arose from him, who made the sun and the moon stand still, which rule from one end of the world to the other. Rabbi Chanan derives it from the end of the Torah, as it is said, "the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples together, to the ends of the earth" (Deuteronomy 33:17). Is this possible? Rather, this is Joshua son of Nun. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said: The book of Deuteronomy was a standard for Joshua. When the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to him, He found him sitting with the book of Deuteronomy in his hand. He said to him: Be strong, Joshua, be courageous, Joshua, "this book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth" (Joshua 1:8). He took it and showed it to the orb of the sun and the moon. He said to them: Just as I did not fall silent from this, so you too be silent before me. Immediately, "the sun stood still and the moon stayed." He said to them: Wicked servant, did you not buy my father's silver? Did my father not see you in a dream, "and behold the sun and the moon and eleven stars" (Genesis 37:9)? Immediately, "the sun stood still and the moon stayed."

(Genesis 1:20) "And God said, Let the waters swarm." It is written, "There is none like You among the gods, O LORD, nor are there any deeds like Yours" (Psalms 86:8). In the way of the world, a king of flesh and blood forms a figure on dry land; can he form it in the water? But the Holy One, blessed be He, forms a figure in the water, as it is said, "Let the waters swarm." Jacob, a man of the village of Tzippori, ruled in Tyre that fish require ritual slaughter. Rabbi Chagai heard, and sent word: Come and be flogged. He said to him: Shall a man who spoke words of Torah be flogged? He said to him: And what are these words of Torah? He said: It is written, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and birds" - just as the bird requires slaughter, so the fish require slaughter. He said to him: You did not rule well. He said: And from where will you instruct me? He said: Lie down and I will instruct you. It is written, "Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, that it suffice them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered for them?" (Numbers 11:22). It does not say "shall be slaughtered" here, but "shall be gathered." He said to him: Strike me hard, for it is good for the teaching.

"And let birds fly" (Genesis 1:20). It is the way of the world that a king of flesh and blood builds a palace and settles dwellers in the upper stories and in the lower stories, but can he settle them in the open air? Yet the Holy One, blessed be He, settles dwellers in the open air, as it is said, "And let birds fly."

How do we know that fish do not require ritual slaughter? Shall we say it is from what is written, "Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them to suffice them, or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered for them?" (Numbers 11:22), meaning by mere gathering? But then, from "and they gathered the quail" (Numbers 11:32), should we likewise say that quail require no slaughter? They reply: there [regarding quail] gathering is not written in place of the slaughter of other creatures, whereas here [regarding fish] gathering is written in place of the slaughter of other creatures. Over the Galilean expounded: a beast, which was created from the dry land, its fitness for eating is by two signs [the slaughter of windpipe and gullet]; fish, which were created from the water, their fitness is by nothing at all; a bird, which was created from the mud [the mixture of water and earth], its fitness is by one sign. Rav Shmuel of Cappadocia said: know this, for birds have scales on their legs like fish. He further questioned him: "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and birds" (Genesis 1:20) — evidently they were created from the water; yet it is written, "And the LORD God formed out of the ground every beast of the field and every bird" (Genesis 2:19) — evidently they were created from the earth. He said to him: they were created from the mud. He saw his students looking at one another. He said to them: Does it trouble you that I pushed off my adversary with a straw? They were created from the water — and why then were they brought to the man to give them names? And some say: in the first formulation he was speaking to his students, and in the latter formulation he was speaking to that governor, because it is written concerning "and He formed."

"And God created the great sea monsters" (Genesis 1:21) — these are the giant creatures of the sea. Rabbi Yochanan said: this is Leviathan the fleeing serpent and Leviathan the twisting serpent, as it is said, "On that day the LORD will punish with His harsh, great, and mighty sword Leviathan the fleeing serpent, and Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the monster that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1), and so forth (Bava Batra 74b), see there.

"Sea monsters" is written [in the singular spelling] — this is Leviathan, and Behemoth, who have no mates. Resh Lakish said: Behemoth has a mate, but it has no desire, as it is said, "The sinews of his thighs are knit together" (Job 40:17). "And let birds fly" — this hyena [the tzavua] comes from a drop of white, and it has three hundred sixty-five colors, like the number of days of the solar year. Rabbi Yirmiyah Kahana asked Resh Lakish: one who mates creatures of the sea together, what is the law? He said to him: of them too it is written "after its kind" — so then the prohibition of forbidden mixtures applies to them. But is not "after its kind" written concerning fish as well, and how would one transgress it? Rabbi Yonah said: I can establish a case under the heading of "driving" — I bring two fish, one black and one white, and I tie them with a reed and draw them along, for we have learned it is forbidden to plow, to draw, and to drive [diverse kinds together]. "And all winged birds" — this is the peacock. "Let the earth bring forth a living soul" (Genesis 1:24) — this is the spirit of the first man, and so it says, "and the man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). "And God made the beast of the earth after its kind" (Genesis 1:25) — this is the serpent. Concerning souls He says four [creatures], and concerning bodies He says three. These are the demons, whose souls the Holy One, blessed be He, created, and He was about to create their bodies, but the Sabbath was sanctified and He did not create them — to teach you proper conduct from the Torah: that if a person has in hand a fine object or a fine pearl on the eve of Sabbath at dusk, they say to him, cast it from your hand. For He who spoke and the world came to be was engaged in the creation of the world, and He created the souls of the demons and the Sabbath was sanctified and He did not create their bodies.

"And God said, Let us make man" (Genesis 1:26) — this is one of the things that they altered for King Ptolemy. (The rest of the passage is written above in Remez 3.)

Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: When the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to create the world, He created one company of ministering angels and said to them: Is it your desire that we make man? They said before Him, "What is man that You are mindful of him?" (Psalms 8:5). He stretched out His finger among them and burned them. So too the second company. The third company said before Him: The earlier ones who spoke before You, what did they accomplish? The whole world is Yours. Whatever You wish to do in Your world, do. When the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion arrived, whose deeds were corrupt, they said before Him: Did not the earlier ones speak well? He said to them, "Even to old age I am the same, and to gray hairs I will carry you" (Isaiah 46:4).

Rabbi Yochanan said: In every place where the heretics found grounds for unbelief, their refutation stands beside them. "Let us make man" (Genesis 1:26) — and immediately, "And God created man" (Genesis 1:27, in the singular). "Come, let us go down and there confound their language" (Genesis 11:7) — and "And the LORD came down to see the city" (Genesis 11:5, in the singular). "For there God was revealed to him" (Genesis 35:7, in the plural form) — "the God who answers me in the day of my distress" (Genesis 35:3, in the singular). "For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God whenever we call upon Him" (Deuteronomy 4:7). "Whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people" (2 Samuel 7:23). "Until thrones were set in place and the Ancient of Days took His seat" (Daniel 7:9).

Another taught: "The holy blessed one said to the Torah: 'Let us make the human...' She [Torah] replied, 'This human will be short of days, full of conflict, and fall into the hands of sin. And even if you are patient with it, it will be as if it never came into the world.' God replied, 'Is it for naught that I am called 'slow to anger and full of compassion?' God gathered the dust [of the first human] from the four corners of the world - red, black, white and green. Red is the blood, black is the entrails and green for the body. Why from the four corners of the earth? So that if one comes from the east to the west and arrives at the end of his life as he neared departing from the world, the land will not say to him, "The dust of your body isn't mine. Go back to where you were created." Rather, every place a person goes, a part of him is from there and a part of him is returning there.

Another interpretation: "And God said, Let us make man." With whom did He take counsel? With the work of heaven and earth — like a king who had two counselors and did nothing apart from their opinion. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: With the work of each and every day He took counsel — like a king who had a counselor and did nothing apart from his opinion. Rabbi Ami said: He took counsel with His own heart — like a king who built a palace by means of an architect, saw it, and was not pleased with it; with whom should he be vexed, if not the architect? Thus, "and He was grieved to His heart" (Genesis 6:6). Rabbi Berekhiah said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, came to create the first man, He foresaw righteous and wicked arising from him. What did He do? He set aside the way of the wicked from before His face, joined the attribute of mercy to Himself, and created him. This is the meaning of "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish" (Psalms 1:6) — He made it perish from before His face. Rabbi Chanina said: Not so, but when He came to create him He took counsel with the ministering angels. They said to Him: What is his nature? He said to them: Righteous ones will arise from him. Rabbi Simon said: The ministering angels formed themselves into companies and groups. Some said he should be created and some said he should not. This is the meaning of "Mercy and truth met together; righteousness and peace kissed" (Psalms 85:11). Mercy said, Let him be created, for he performs acts of mercy. Truth said, Let him not be created, for he is all falsehood. Righteousness said, Let him be created, for he performs acts of charity. Peace said, Let him not be created, for he is all strife. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He took Truth and cast it to the ground, and while the angels were still arguing with one another He created him, and said to them: Why are you arguing? Man is already made. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: When Moses was writing the Torah, he wrote the work of each day. When he reached the verse "Let us make man," he said before Him: Master of the universe, why do You give an opening to the heretics? He said to him: Write, and let the one who wishes to err, err. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: This man whom I create, great and small I raise up from him, so that if the great one does not come to take permission from the small one, I will say to him, learn from your Creator, who, when He came to create man, took counsel with the ministering angels.

(Genesis 1:27) Heretics asked Rabbi Simlai: How many divine powers created the world? He said to them: I and you, let us inquire of the first days, as it is written, "For ask now of the former days that were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth" (Deuteronomy 4:32). It does not say here "the gods created" but "God created." They came back and asked: What is the meaning of what is written, "Let us make man"? He said to them: Read what comes after it. It does not say here "And the gods created man in their image" but "And God created man in His image" (Genesis 1:27). Thus, in every place where the heretics have rebelled with words, you find their refutation at their side. When they had gone out, his disciples said to him: Rabbi, these you pushed off with a reed; to us what do you answer? He said to them: At first Adam was created from the earth, and Eve from Adam; from here onward it is "in our image, after our likeness" (Genesis 1:26), no man without woman and no woman without man, and neither of them without the Divine Presence. Just as His praise comes only at the end, as it is written, "Praise the LORD from the earth" (Psalms 148:7), and at the last "kings of the earth and all peoples," so his creation is only after every beast, animal, and bird. First (Genesis 1:24) "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature," and afterward "Let us make man." And likewise his Torah: first (Leviticus 11:46) "This is the law of the beast and of the bird and of every living creature," and at the last "If a woman conceives and bears a male child" (Leviticus 12:2). Four traits He created in him from above: he stands, speaks, understands, and sees like the ministering angels; and a beast does not see but turns its face aside, while this one does not turn his face aside. And four from below: he eats, drinks, is fruitful and multiplies, casts off dung, and dies like a beast. The upper beings were created in image and likeness and do not reproduce; the lower ones reproduce and were not created in image and likeness. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Behold, I will create him in image and likeness like the upper beings, yet fruitful and multiplying like the lower beings. Rabbi Tifdai said in the name of Rabbi Acha: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: If I create him from the upper beings he will live and not die, and if I create him from the lower beings he will die and not live; rather, behold, I will create him from the upper and from the lower: if he [sins] he will die, and if he [is meritorious] he will live.

(Genesis 1:27-29) "And have dominion over the fish of the sea": if they merit it, "have dominion" [u-redu], and if not, "let them be brought down" [yeradu]. The one who is in our image and after our likeness, "have dominion"; and the one who is not in our image and after our likeness, "let them be brought down."

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: The first man was not permitted meat for eating, as it is said, "to you it shall be for food, and to every beast of the earth" (Genesis 1:29-30); the beast of the earth is not given to you. But when the sons of Noah came, it was permitted to them, as it is said, "as the green herb I have given you everything" (Genesis 9:3). They raised an objection: "And have dominion over the fish of the sea", is this not for eating? No, for labor. And are fish suited for labor? Yes, as Rachavah asked: One who drives a plow with a goat and a shibbuta fish, what is the law? They raised an objection: "And over the birds of the heaven", is this not for eating? No, for labor, as Rabbah bar Rav Huna asked: One who threshes with geese and chickens, according to Rabbi Yosi son of Rabbi Yehuda, what is the law? They raised an objection: "And over every living thing that creeps", that is the serpent, as it was taught: Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya says: Alas for a great servant the world has lost. For had the serpent not been cursed, every single Israelite would have had two fine serpents at his disposal, sending one to the north and one to the south to bring him fine carbuncles, precious stones, and pearls; and not only that, but it would fasten a strap beneath its tail and carry out earth for his garden and his ruin. They raised an objection: Rabbi Yehuda used to say: The first man would recline in the Garden of Eden, and the ministering angels would roast meat for him and cool wine for him. The serpent peered at him, saw him in his glory, and grew jealous of him. There it was meat that comes down from heaven, as in the case of Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta, who was walking on the road when these lions met him and roared at him. He said, "The young lions roar after their prey" (Psalms 104:21); two thighs descended to him; one they ate and one they left. He took it and came to the study hall and inquired about it: Is this a clean thing or unclean? They said to him: Nothing unclean comes down from heaven. Rabbi Zeira inquired of Rabbi Abbahu: If the likeness of a donkey came down, what is the law? He said to him: You foolish chatterer, they have already said that nothing unclean comes down from heaven.

"And God created man in His image" (Genesis 1:27). Rabbi Banaah was marking out the caves of the rabbis. When he reached the cave of Abraham, he found Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, standing before the gate. He said to him: What is Abraham doing? He said to him: He is sleeping in the arms of Sarah, and she is gazing upon his head. He said to him: Go, tell him Banaah stands at the gate. He said to him: Let him enter, for it is known that there is no evil inclination in this world. He entered, marked it, and went out. When he reached the cave of the first man, a heavenly voice went out and said to him: You have gazed upon the likeness of My image; upon My image itself do not gaze. But I need to mark the cave! As the measure of the outer one, so the measure of the inner one. And according to the one who says there were two chambers, one above the other, He said to him: As the measure of the upper, so the measure of the lower. Rabbi Banaah said: I gazed upon the two heels of the first man, and they were like two orbs of the sun. Compared to Sarah, all others are like an ape before a man; Sarah before Eve is like an ape before a man; the beauty of Rav Kahana is a glimmer of the beauty of Rav; that of Rav a glimmer of that of Rabbi Abbahu; that of Rabbi Abbahu a glimmer of that of Jacob our father; that of Jacob our father a glimmer of that of the first man; and that of the first man a glimmer of the Divine Presence.

"And God created man" (Genesis 1:27). Therefore the man was created alone, to teach you that whoever destroys a single soul of Israel, Scripture accounts it to him as though he destroyed a whole world, and whoever sustains a single soul of Israel, Scripture accounts it to him as though he sustained a whole world. And for the sake of peace among the creatures, so that a person should not say to his fellow, My father is greater than your father; and so that the heretics should not say, There are two powers in heaven. And to declare the greatness of the King of kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He: for a person stamps many coins with a single seal, and they all resemble one another, but the Holy One, blessed be He, stamps every person with the seal of the first man, and not one of them resembles his fellow. Therefore each one is obligated to say, For my sake the world was created. It was taught: The man was created alone for the sake of the righteous, so that they should not say, We are children of the righteous, and the wicked, We are children of the wicked.

Another explanation: for the sake of the families, that they should not quarrel one with another. And if now, when he was created alone, they quarrel, had two been created, how much more so. Another explanation: and if now, when he was created alone, they rob and steal, had two been created, how much more so. And why are their faces not alike one to another? So that a man should not see a beautiful woman or a beautiful dwelling belonging to his fellow and say, It is mine, as it is said, "And from the wicked their light is withheld" (Job 38:15). Rabbi Meir used to say: In three things a person differs from his fellow: in voice, in appearance, and in mind. In voice and in appearance, because of unchastity; and in mind, because of robbers and the violent. The rabbis taught: The man was created on the eve of the Sabbath, so that the heretics should not say, He was a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the work of creation.

Another explanation: that if his mind should grow haughty over him, they say to him, The gnat preceded you.

Another explanation: so that he should enter at once into a commandment. Another explanation: so that he should enter at once into a feast. A parable: like a king of flesh and blood who built a palace and prepared a banquet and afterward brought in the guests, as it is said, "Wisdom has built her house" (Proverbs 9:1). Rabbi Acha bar Chanina said: The day was twelve hours. In the first hour his dust was gathered. In the second he was made a shapeless mass. In the third his limbs were stretched out. In the fourth a soul was cast into him. In the fifth he stood on his feet. In the sixth he called names. In the seventh Eve was joined to him. In the eighth two went up to the bed and four came down. In the ninth he was commanded. In the tenth he transgressed. In the eleventh he was judged. In the twelfth he was driven out and went his way, as it is written, "But man does not abide in honor" (Psalms 49:13).

The first man, Adam, was created circumcised, as it is said, "And God created the man in His image" (Genesis 1:27). And likewise Job, "a man whole and upright" (Job 1:1). And likewise Seth, of whom it is written (Genesis 5:3), "and he begot in his own likeness, after his image." And likewise Noah (Genesis 6:9), "a righteous man, whole [perfect]." And likewise Shem, "and Malchizedek king of Salem [Shalem, the whole one]" (Genesis 14:18). And likewise Jacob (Genesis 25:27), "a whole man." And likewise Joseph, "these are the generations of Jacob: Joseph" (Genesis 37:2). And likewise Moses (Exodus 2:2), "and she saw him, that he was good." And likewise Balaam, "the saying of him who hears the words of God" (Numbers 24:4). And likewise Samuel (1 Samuel 2:26), "and the boy Samuel grew on, and was good." And likewise David, "a michtam of David" (Psalms 16:1). And likewise Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5), "before I formed you in the belly I knew you." And likewise Zerubbabel (Haggai 2:23), "in that day, says the LORD, I will take you, Zerubbabel."

"Male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27). Rabbi Yitzchak said: When a male comes into the world, peace comes into the world. "Male" [zachar] is like "loaf" [kar], as it is written, "send a lamb [kar]" and so on (Isaiah 16:1); once a male comes, his loaf comes with him. "Male" [zachar] is like "provision" [kar], as it is written (2 Kings 6:23), "and he prepared for them a great provision [kerah]." But a female has nothing with her: a female comes empty [clean of provision], and gets nothing until she asks for her food.