Yalkut Shimoni on Torah Reader

"Upon your belly you shall go" (Genesis 3:14). At the hour the Holy One, blessed be He, said this to the serpent, the ministering angels came down and cut off its hands and its feet, and its cry went from one end of the world to the other. The serpent thus came to teach about the downfall of Egypt, as it is said, "Her sound shall go like the serpent's" (Jeremiah 46:22), and it turned out itself to be the source from which we learn. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: you caused My creatures to walk on their bellies upon their dead, so you too "upon your belly you shall go." Even the curse of the Holy One, blessed be He, contains a blessing within it. Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not said to it "upon your belly you shall go," how would it have fled to a wall and been saved? "And dust you shall eat" (Genesis 3:14): not dust from every side, but it splits and burrows down until it reaches rock or virgin soil, and there it draws up the sinews of the earth and eats. In the time to come all will be healed except the serpent and the Gibeonites. The serpent, as it is written, "and the serpent, dust shall be its bread" (Isaiah 65:25). The Gibeonites, as it is written, "and those who serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel" (Ezekiel 48:19). "To the woman He said" (Genesis 3:16). Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: any woman who solicits her husband will have children the like of whom did not exist even in the generation of Moses. For in the generation of Moses it is written, "Provide for yourselves men, wise and known" (Deuteronomy 1:13), yet "understanding" men we do not find. But concerning Leah it is written, "To me you shall come in" (Genesis 30:16), and it is written, "of the sons of Issachar, those who knew understanding" (1 Chronicles 12:32). Is that so? But did not Rabbi Yitzchak say: with ten curses was Eve cursed, as it is written, "To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply" (Genesis 3:16), these are the two drops of blood, the blood of menstruation and the blood of virginity; "your toil," this is the trouble of raising children; "and your conception," this is the trouble of pregnancy; "in pain you shall bear children," as its plain sense; "and to your husband shall be your desire," this teaches that a woman longs for her husband at the hour he goes out on the road; "and he shall rule over you," this teaches that the woman demands in her heart while he demands openly, and this is a good trait in women. When I said [she solicits], I meant that she makes herself agreeable before him. These [other curses] number seven. When Rav Dimi came he said: she is wrapped like a mourner, and shut off from all people, and confined in prison. What is this? If you say because she is forbidden seclusion with men not her own, he too is forbidden seclusion with women not his own. Rather, that she is forbidden to two men [in marriage]. It was taught in a baraita: she grows her hair long like Lilith, sits and passes water like an animal, and becomes a bolster for her husband. And the other [tanna holds] these are a credit to her, as Rabbi Chiyya said: what is meant by "who teaches us from the beasts of the earth" (Job 35:11)? This is the mule, which kneels and passes water.

"I will greatly multiply your toil and your conception" (Genesis 3:16). Whatever is born at two hundred and twelve days lives. Rabbi Chanina said: that which is formed in nine and born in seven, and so on, as above. A woman never gives birth except at two hundred and seventy-one, or two hundred and seventy-two, or two hundred and seventy-three days, or at nine months they and their gestation. Chiyya bar Adda was sitting before Rav, who explained a matter to him but he did not grasp it. He said to him: why do you not understand? He said: because my she-donkey is about to give birth and I am afraid she will catch cold and die. He said to him: what concern is it of yours? Sometimes she falls short [of the term] and sometimes she goes over; she does not fall short of the days of the moon [twelve months] and does not exceed the days of the sun [a full solar year]. He said to him: but is it not written, "Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock give birth? Can you count the months they complete?" (Job 39:1-2). He said to him: there it speaks of a small animal, here of a large one. He said to him: but in the herd of Antoninus a cow was bred, and they bred from it for the herd of the house of Rabbi, and some of them gave birth at once and some gave birth after a time. He said to him: there it was a clean animal, here an unclean one. "Your toil," this is the trouble of pregnancy; "and your conception," this is the trouble of the delay [in conceiving]; "in pain," this is the trouble of miscarriages; "you shall bear," this is the trouble of the birth itself; "children," this is the trouble of raising children. Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon said: it is easier for a person to raise a whole legion of olive trees in the Galilee than to raise one child in the Land of Israel. Rabbi Yochanan said: a person's sustenance is twice as hard as childbirth, for of childbirth it is written, "in pain you shall bear children," while of sustenance it is written, "in toil you shall eat of it" (Genesis 3:17). Rabbi Levi said: a person's sustenance is harder than redemption, for of redemption it is written, "the angel who redeems me" (Genesis 48:16), a mere angel, while of sustenance it is written, "the God who shepherds me" (Genesis 48:15). For three transgressions women die at the hour of their childbirth. From here we learn that the Accuser brings charges only at the hour of danger. Rabbi Pinchas and Rabbi Yirmiyah in the name of Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba: "and he shall stand before Elazar the priest, who shall inquire for him" (Numbers 27:21). "By the order of the Urim" is not written here, but "by the judgment of the Urim," teaching that at the hour Israel goes out to war, the heavenly court sits in judgment over them whether to conquer or to be conquered. Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba said: it is written, "When a camp goes out against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing" (Deuteronomy 23:10), implying that if one does not go out, he needs no such guarding; from here that the Accuser charges only at the hour of danger. Rabbi Shimon bar Bisna in the name of Rabbi La: it is written, "a day of trouble, and rebuke, and contempt is this day" (Isaiah 37:3), implying this day and not another day; from here that the Accuser, and so on. Rabbi Acha bar Yaakov said: "and harm should befall him on the way" (Genesis 42:38), implying on the way and not at home; from here, and so on. Aibo bar Nagri said: "when he is judged, let the wicked go forth" is what is written there (Psalms 109:7), not "the righteous go forth"; from here, and so on. Rav said: one who dwells in a ramshackle house makes the Angel of Death his bandit-creditor, as it is said, "let death lend out upon them" (Psalms 55:16), like the expression, "when you lend your fellow any loan" (Deuteronomy 24:10). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: a plank stretched from roof to roof, however wide, it is forbidden to walk upon it; why? because the Accuser, and so on. Rabbi Levi said: in three places the Accuser is present to bring charges: against one who walks the road alone, against one who sleeps alone in a dark house, and against one who sails the great sea. Our Rabbis taught: for three transgressions women die in the hour of their childbirth, for not being careful in menstrual law, in separating challah, and in kindling the lamp. As that Galilean expounded before Rav Chisda: the Holy One, blessed be He, said: a measure of blood I placed in you, concerning matters of blood I warned you; "first" I called you [the dough-offering being called the first], concerning matters of the first I warned you; the soul I placed in you is called a lamp, concerning matters of the lamp I warned you. If you fulfill these, well and good; if not, I take your souls. And why specifically at the hour of childbirth? Rava said: when the ox has fallen, sharpen the knife. Abaye said: let the rebellious maidservant be struck with one blow. Rav Chisda said: leave the drunkard, he falls of himself. Mar Ukva said: the shepherd is lame and the goats run fast; at the gate of the pen come the words, and in the fold comes the reckoning. Rav Pappa said: at the door of the shops there are many brothers and many friends, at the door of disgrace there are neither brothers nor friends. And where are men examined? Reish Lakish said: at the hour they cross a bridge. Rava would not cross on a ferry that had a Samaritan in it; he said: perhaps judgment is decreed upon him and I would be caught up with him. Shmuel would cross only on a ferry that had a gentile in it; he said: the Accuser has no power over two nations at once. Rabbi Yannai would examine [the way] and then cross, for Rabbi Yannai said: a person should never stand in a place of danger and say a miracle will be done for him, lest no miracle be done for him; and if a miracle is done for him, it is deducted from his merits.

Rabbi Chanan said: what is the verse [for being unworthy of kindnesses]? "I have become small from all the kindnesses" (Genesis 32:11). Rabbi Zeira on a windy day would not go out among the palm trees [lest one fall]. Rav Yitzchak bar Rav Yehudah said: a person should always pray that he not fall ill, for if he falls ill they say to him: bring merit and be acquitted, as it is said, "for the one who falls may fall from it" (Deuteronomy 22:8), "from it" [meaning] he must bring proof [of his merit to be saved]. Why were these [three commandments] entrusted to the woman? She extinguished the lamp of the world, as it is written, "the lamp of the LORD is the soul of man" (Proverbs 20:27); therefore let her keep the commandment of the lamp. She defiled the dough-offering of the world, this is Adam the first man, as it is written, "and a mist went up from the earth" (Genesis 2:6), and adjacent to it, "and the LORD God formed the man" (Genesis 2:7), like a woman who kneads her dough with water and afterward takes the dough-offering; therefore let her keep the commandment of challah. She spilled the blood of Adam the first man, as it is written, "whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed" (Genesis 9:6); let her keep her menstrual laws, that it may be atoned for her. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: a man is obligated to visit his wife at the hour he goes out on a journey, as it is said, "and you shall know that your tent is at peace, and you shall visit your dwelling and not sin" (Job 5:24). Is this derived from there? It is derived from here: "and to your husband shall be your desire" (Genesis 3:16), teaching that the woman longs for her husband at the hour he goes out on the road. This was needed only for [the time] close to her menstrual period; and although the Rabbis said a man must separate from his wife close to her period, this applies to a voluntary act, but for the sake of a commandment it does not apply.

"And to your husband shall be your desire" (Genesis 3:16). There are four desires. The desire of a woman is only for her husband. The desire of the evil inclination is only for Cain and his fellows, as it is said, "and to you shall be its desire" (Genesis 4:7). The desire of the rains is only for the earth, as it is said, "You have remembered the earth and made it desire [water]" (Psalms 65:10). And the desire of the Holy One, blessed be He, is only for Israel, as it is said, "and his desire is for me" (Song of Songs 7:11).

Another interpretation: "And to your husband shall be your desire" (Genesis 3:16). At the hour a woman sits on the birthstool, she says: I will no longer be bound to my husband from now on. And the Holy One, blessed be He, says to her: you shall return to your desire for your husband. Because she wavered in her heart, therefore let her bring her offering wavering [a humble offering], "and she shall take two turtledoves" (Leviticus 12:8). "And he shall rule over you" (Genesis 3:16). One might think rule from every side; the verse teaches, "he shall not take the lower or upper millstone in pledge" (Deuteronomy 24:6). There was an incident with a certain woman of the house of Turyanus who was married to a bandit; when she came before the Sages, she brought out before them a lamp of gold with an earthenware lamp upon it, to fulfill what is said, "and to your husband shall be your desire." "And to Adam He said: because you listened to the voice of your wife" (Genesis 3:17). There are four who listen. There is one who listens and loses, one who listens and gains, one who does not listen and loses, and one who does not listen and gains. One who listens and loses, this is Adam the first man: "because you listened to the voice of your wife"; and what did he lose? "for dust you are and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). One who listens and gains, this is Abraham our father: "all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice" (Genesis 21:12), and he gained, "for in Isaac shall your seed be called" (Genesis 21:12). One who does not listen and gains, this is Joseph: "and he did not listen to her to lie beside her" (Genesis 39:10), and what did he gain? "and Joseph was the ruler over the land" (Genesis 42:6). One who does not listen and loses, this is Israel: "and they did not listen to Me and did not incline their ear" (Jeremiah 17:23), and what did they lose? "those for death, to death" (Jeremiah 15:2).

"Because you listened to the voice of your wife" (Genesis 3:17). "To the words of your wife" is not written here, but "to the voice," [meaning] she began to wail over him: do you think I am dying [and you will take another], and so on, as above. "And you ate from the tree which I commanded you" to warn the wild beast and the cattle; and it was not enough that you did not warn them, but you even gave to them and they ate. "Cursed is the ground for your sake" (Genesis 3:17), that it should raise up for you cursed things such as gnats, fleas, and flies; and let it raise up a camel for him, in that too there is benefit, for he sells it and benefits from its price. "In toil you shall eat of it" (Genesis 3:17): sustenance is twice as hard as childbirth, and so on, as above. Rabbi Yitzchak said: to what may the matter be compared? To a king who said to his servant: do not taste the dish until I come from the bathhouse. His wife said to him: taste this dish, so that it not be lacking either salt or brine. The king came and found him tasting it with his lips. The king said to him: did you listen to my maidservant more than to me? So too the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Adam, "and from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat" (Genesis 2:17). What did Eve do? She fed it to him. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: did you listen to Eve more than to Me? Immediately he was driven out, "and He drove out the man" (Genesis 3:24). Three entered for judgment and four came out condemned: Adam, Eve, and the serpent entered for judgment, and the earth was cursed along with them, and so on, as above in section five. Reish Lakish said: at the hour the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Adam the first man, "thorns and thistles it shall sprout for you" (Genesis 3:18), his eyes shed tears. He said before Him: Master of the world, shall I and my donkey eat from one trough? But when He said to him, "by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread" (Genesis 3:19), his mind was set at ease. Reish Lakish said: happy are we if we had stood by the first [decree], and even now we have not escaped it, for we eat the grass of the field.

"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].

(Genesis 3:19) Six things are a good sign for one who is ill: sneezing, as it is written (Job 41:10), "His sneezings flash forth light"; sweat, as it is written, "By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread"; a loosening of the bowels, as it is written (Isaiah 51:14), "He who is bowed down shall speedily be released," and so forth; a seminal emission, as it is written, "He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days"; sleep, as it is written (Job 3:13), "Then I should have slept; then I should have been at rest"; and a dream, as it is written (Isaiah 38:16), "You will restore me to health and let me live." "Until you return to the ground" (Genesis 3:19). He said to him: The handful of dust from which you were created, is it not as a deposit in your hand and not a theft? "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). From here is a hint to the resurrection of the dead from the Torah, for it is not said "to dust you shall go," but "you shall return." There were certain gravediggers who were digging in the ground of Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak. Rav Achai bar Yoshiyah snorted at them. They came and told Rav Nachman: A man snorted at us. He came and said to him: Who is the master? He said to him: I am Achai bar Yoshiyah. He said to him: But did not Rav Mari say that the righteous are destined to become dust? He said to him: And who is Mari? I do not know him. He said to him: But is it not written (Ecclesiastes 12:7), "And the dust returns to the earth"? He said to him: The one who taught you Ecclesiastes did not teach you Proverbs, for it is written, "and envy is the rot of the bones" (Proverbs 14:30) [meaning] one who has envy in his heart, his bones rot, and one who has no envy in his heart, his bones do not rot. He felt him and found there was substance in him. He said to him: Let the master rise and come into the house. He said to him: You have revealed your mind that you have not even studied the Prophets, for it is written (Ezekiel 37:13), "And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves." He said to him: But is it not written, "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return"? He said to him: That refers to one hour before the resurrection of the dead.

(Genesis 3:20) "And the man called his wife's name Chavah (Eve)." She was given to him for his life (chiyut), and she counsels him like a serpent (chivya).

Another interpretation: She showed (chivah) her how many generations she had caused to be lost. Rabbi Acha said: The serpent is your serpent, and you are the serpent of Adam. "For she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: [Read] "with all the living" - it is taught: when he grew rich she rose with him; when he grew poor she did not descend with him. Rabbi Siman says: "mother of all living" - the mother of all the living. For Rabbi Siman said: All one hundred and thirty years that Eve was separated from Adam, the spirits of the males were aroused by her and she bore from them, and female spirits were aroused by Adam and bore from him. This is what is written, "When he sins I will chastise him with the rod of men and with the afflictions of human beings" (II Samuel 7:14) - the children of the first Adam. Rav Pappa said: Rava tested us. If she says to nurse and he says not to nurse, we listen to her, for the pain is hers. If he says to nurse and she says not to nurse, what then? Wherever it is not her way and not his way, what do we follow, his or hers? And we resolved it: she rises with him and does not descend with him. What is the verse? (Genesis 20:3) "And she is a man's wife" [literally, possessed by a husband] - in the husband's rising and not in the husband's descent. Rabbi Elazar said: from here - "For she was the mother of all living" - she was given for life and not given for pain. (Genesis 3:21) "And the LORD God made... garments of skin." Rav and Shmuel: one said, a thing that comes from skin; and one said, a thing from which the skin benefits. Rabbi Simlai expounded: The Torah begins with acts of loving-kindness and ends with acts of loving-kindness, as it is written (Deuteronomy 34:6), "And He buried him in the valley." Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said: What is the meaning of what is written, "After the LORD your God shall you walk" (Deuteronomy 13:5)? Is it possible for a person to walk after the Divine Presence? Has it not already been said (Deuteronomy 4:24), "He is a consuming fire"? Rather, walk after His attributes. The Holy One, blessed be He, clothed the naked, as it is said, "garments of skin, and He clothed them" - so too you clothe the naked. The Holy One, blessed be He, visited the sick, as it is written (Genesis 18:1), "And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre" - so too you visit the sick. The Holy One, blessed be He, comforted mourners, as it is written (Genesis 25:11), "And it was after the death of Abraham that God blessed Isaac his son" - so too you comfort mourners. The Holy One, blessed be He, buried the dead, as it is written, "And He buried him in the valley" - so too you bury the dead. This Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah expounded: "And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin" - this teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not make skin for a person unless he is first formed. Rabbi Yehoshua follows his own reasoning, for he said: One who miscarries a fetal sac that is not formed, even if it is clear fluid, his mother is impure with the impurity of childbirth. But the Sages say it is not a child, and the law does not follow Rabbi Yehoshua.

In the Torah scroll of Rabbi Meir they found written "garments of light" [katenot or, read with an aleph for the word meaning 'light' rather than 'skin']. These were the garments of the first Adam, which resembled a lantern, wide below and narrow above, smooth as a fingernail and fair as a pearl, like the fine linen vessels that come from Beit She'an. "Garments of skin" - because they clung to the skin, and in them the firstborn performed the service. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: they were of camel's wool and rabbit's wool. "Garments of skin" - because they came from skin. Rabbi Levi said: The Torah taught you proper conduct - eat according to your means. "From every tree of the garden you may eat" (Genesis 2:16), but dress less than what you eat, "And He made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin"; and spend on others more than you wear, for behold, two of them dwelt in the whole world entire.

Another interpretation of "garments of skin": Rabbi Elazar said, from the skin that the serpent shed, the Holy One, blessed be He, took and made garments of honor for Adam and for his helper. At twilight at the going-out of the Sabbath, Adam was thinking in his heart: Woe is me, perhaps the serpent that led me astray will come and bite me. And a pillar of fire was sent to him to give him light and to guard him from all evil. Adam saw it and rejoiced in his heart, and he stretched out his hands toward its light and said, "Blessed are You, O LORD, Creator of the lights of the fire." He said: Now I know that the holy day is distinguished from the weekday, for one must not kindle fire on the Sabbath day. And whoever recites the Havdalah at the going-out of the Sabbath, or hears it from the one who recites it, the Holy One, blessed be He, calls him holy and a treasured possession, and saves him from the trouble of the nations, as it is said, "And you shall be My treasured possession from among all the peoples" (Exodus 19:5). On the first day of the week Adam entered the waters of the upper Gichon until the water reached his neck, and he fasted seven weeks of days until his body became like a sieve. [Adam said:] While I am still alive let me build for myself a resting place for my repose. He said: If the tablets, because they are destined to be written by the finger of the Holy One, blessed be He, cause the waters of the Jordan to flee before them, then my body, which His two hands shaped and the breath of the spirit of His mouth that He breathed into my nostrils - how much more so. And after my death they will come and take my bones and make them into idolatry. Rather, I will sink my coffin deep down in the earth, a cave within a cave, and therefore it is called the Cave of Machpelah [the doubled cave].

(Genesis 3:22-24) "Behold, the man" - he was prepared for death. Rabbi Berekhiah said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to create the world, He began His creation with none other than Adam, and made him a shapeless mass (golem). When He came to cast a soul into him, He said: If I set him up now, they will say he became a partner with Me in the work of creation. Rather, I will leave him a golem until I have created everything. When He had finished everything, the ministering angels said to Him: Are You not going to make the man You spoke of? He said to them: I have already made him, and he lacks nothing but the casting in of a soul. And He set him up and included the whole world in him. With him He began and with him He concluded, as it is written (Psalms 139:5), "Behind and before You have formed me." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us" (Genesis 3:22).

Another interpretation: What is written above? "And the LORD God made garments of skin and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21). This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, made for him priestly garments, in the manner of what is said (Ezekiel 9:11), "And behold, the man clothed in linen," and it is written, "He shall put on the holy linen tunic" (Leviticus 16:4). From here you learn that the High Priest resembles an angel, "for he is a messenger [angel] of the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 2:7). To what may the matter be compared? To a king who saw a certain commoner and dressed him like the members of the palace court. The members of the court said to the king: Even that one who is a commoner is now like us. So too the angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Even Adam, who is a creature of dust, behold he is like us - "Behold, the man has become like one of us." To a king who loved his servant and made him a golden necklace; when the servant transgressed, he took it from him and put chains upon him. So the Holy One, blessed be He, made for Adam priestly garments, and when he sinned He removed them from him, as it is said (Genesis 3:7), "And they sewed fig leaves."

Another interpretation: To a king who had a household steward and gave him authority over all that he owned. Everyone began to say: he is the king's partner. What did the king do? He drove him out. So too, "And the LORD sent him out from the Garden of Eden" (Genesis 3:23).

Another interpretation. This is like a king who married a wife and made for her a necklace of pearls. When she behaved corruptly, he took it from her and wrote her a bill of divorce. So too the Holy One, blessed be He, settled Adam in the Garden of Eden and made for him ten bridal canopies. Once he sinned, He gave him a bill of divorce, as it is said, "and He sent him forth" (Genesis 3:23). And the word "sending forth" means nothing other than a bill of divorce, as it is said, "and he sends her out from his house" (Deuteronomy 24:1).

Rabbi Pappias expounded, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us" (Genesis 3:22) to mean like one of the ministering angels. Rabbi Akiva said to him: Enough, Pappias! Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, set before him two ways, and he abandoned the way of life and chose for himself the way of death. Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said: like the Unique One of the world, as it is said, "the LORD our God, the LORD is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The rabbis say: like Gabriel, as it is said, "and behold, one man clothed in linen" (Daniel 10:5). Resh Lakish said: like Jonah; just as that one flees, so this one flees. "And He drove out the man" (Genesis 3:24). This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a divorce like a woman. "And He stationed east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim": this teaches that the cherubim preceded all the work of creation. "And the flaming sword": this is Gehinnom. "To guard the way": this is the way of the world [proper conduct]; it teaches that proper conduct preceded the tree of life. And "tree" means nothing other than Torah, as it is said, "it is a tree of life" (Proverbs 3:18). Just as that one [Elijah] did not have his honor lodge with him, so this one did not have his honor lodge with him. Rabbi Berekhyah said: like Elijah; just as that one did not taste the taste of death, so this one was not fit to taste the taste of death. As long as Adam was alone he was "like one"; once his rib was taken from him he came to the knowledge of good and evil. "And now" (Genesis 3:22): this teaches that the LORD opened for him an opening of repentance, as you say, "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you" (Deuteronomy 10:12). "And He sent him forth." Rabbi Yehudah says: the sending forth from the Garden of Eden was in this world and in the world to come. Rabbi Nehemiah objected and said: He sent him from the Garden of Eden in this world but did not send him in the world to come. And this supports Rabbi Nehemiah: "As for me, in righteousness I shall behold Your face; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Your likeness" (Psalms 17:15) - when the one created in Your likeness awakes, at that hour I will declare him righteous, freeing him from that decree. "And the LORD God sent him forth." When He created him, He created him with the attribute of mercy and the attribute of justice, and when He banished him, He banished him with the attribute of mercy. "Behold, the man" - he could not stand by Your command even for a single hour, yet behold, his children wait for the fruit of the first three years, as it is said, "three years it shall be forbidden to you, it shall not be eaten" (Leviticus 19:23). "And He drove out the man." This is like a king who had three friends and would do nothing without their counsel. Once the king wished to do something without their counsel. He took the first and banished him, sending him outside his palace. The second he imprisoned and placed a guard over him. The third, who was especially dear to him, he said: I will do nothing without his counsel. So with Adam the first man, "And He drove out the man"; with Noah, "and the LORD shut him in" (Genesis 7:16); with Abraham, who was especially dear to Him, He said, I will do nothing without his counsel, as it is said, "And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham" (Genesis 18:17). "And He drove out" [vaygaresh]. He showed him the destruction of the Temple, as you say, "He has broken my teeth with gravel" [vayagres] (Lamentations 3:16). To the expelled-area of the Garden of Eden He banished him, and set guards over him to keep watch over him. "East" [from the east]. Rav said: in every place the eastern wind takes in. It took in Cain: "and he dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden" (Genesis 4:16). The murderer: "then Moses set apart three cities... toward the rising of the sun" (Deuteronomy 4:41).

Another interpretation. "East of the Garden of Eden" the angels were created, as it is written, "this is the living creature that I saw, and I knew that they were cherubim" (Ezekiel 10:20). "And the flaming sword": after the manner of, "His ministers a flaming fire" (Psalms 104:4). "That turns itself": for they turn themselves - sometimes men, sometimes women, sometimes spirits, sometimes angels.

Another interpretation. "East of the Garden of Eden" Gehinnom was created. Gehinnom was created on the second day and the Garden of Eden on the third. "And the flaming sword": after the manner of, "and it shall set them aflame, the coming day" (Malachi 3:19). "That turns itself": for it turns itself upon a person and sets him aflame from his head to his feet and from his feet to his head. Adam said: Who will save my children from the flaming fire? This is the sword of circumcision, as it is said, "make for yourself knives [of flint]" (Joshua 5:2). The rabbis say: the sword of Torah, as it is said, "and a two-edged sword in their hand" (Psalms 149:6). And since Adam saw that his children were destined to be lost in Gehinnom, he held himself back from being fruitful and multiplying. But once he saw that after twenty-six generations his children were destined to receive the Torah, he engaged himself to raise up offspring. "And the man knew Eve his wife" (Genesis 4:1). "And He drove out the man." Adam went out and settled himself outside the Garden of Eden, on Mount Moriah, for the gates of the Garden of Eden are near Mount Moriah. From there he was taken and to there he was returned, as it is said, "to work the ground from which he was taken" (Genesis 3:23). Twenty-six generations did proper conduct precede the Torah, as it is said, "to guard the way of the tree of life" - "way," this is proper conduct, and afterward "the tree of life," this is Torah.

"And the man knew Eve his wife" (Genesis 4:1). No creature had relations before Adam the first man. It is not written here "and he knew," but rather "and the man knew" - he made known to all the way of the world [the manner of human relations]. Another interpretation. "He knew" from what tranquility he had been removed. He made known what the serpent had done to him.

"And the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain" (Genesis 4:1). Three wonders were done on that day: on that day they were created, on that day they had relations, on that day they brought forth offspring. Two went up to the bed and seven came down: Cain and his twin sister, Abel and his two twin sisters. "And she said, I have acquired a man with the LORD" - the woman saw children and said: behold, the acquisition of my husband is in my hand. Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva: since you served Nahum of Gam Zo twenty-two years, who taught that every "et" and "gam" are inclusions and every "akh" and "rak" are limitations, what is this "et" written here? He said to him: had it been written "I have acquired a man, the LORD," the matter would be hard; rather "with the LORD." He said to him: "for it is not an empty thing" (Deuteronomy 32:47), and if it is empty, it is empty from you, for you do not know how to expound. Rather, "with the LORD" refers to the past: Adam was created from the earth and Eve was created from Adam; from here onward "in Our image, after Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26) - not man without woman, and not woman without man, and not the two of them without the Divine Presence. Rabbi Meyasha said: Cain was born and his wife, his twin, with him; and Abel was born and his wife, his twin, with him. Rabbi says: Cain and Abel were twins, as it is said "and she conceived and bore Cain" - at that hour she was prepared to give birth - "and she continued to bear his brother" (Genesis 4:2): an addition to the birth but not an addition to the conception. "And Abel became a keeper of sheep." Three were burning [with desire] for the soil and no benefit was found in it: Cain was a tiller of the ground; Noah, "and Noah began, a man of the soil" (Genesis 9:20); Uzziah, "farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in Carmel, for he loved the soil" (II Chronicles 26:10). "And in the course of time" (Genesis 4:3). According to the one who says the world was created in Tishrei, Abel lasted from the Feast [of Tabernacles] until Hanukkah; according to the one who says the world was created in Nisan, Abel lasted from Passover until the Feast of Weeks; either way, Abel was not in the world more than fifty days. "And Cain brought from the fruit of the ground": from the inferior produce. This is like a wicked tenant who would eat the early fruits and honor the king with the late, poor ones. The festival eve of Passover arrived; Adam called to his sons and said: Israel are destined to offer their Passover sacrifices, so offer also yourselves before your Creator. Cain brought the leftover of his food, roasted flax seed, and Abel brought from the firstlings of his flock, lambs that had not been shorn. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korhah said: the Holy One, blessed be He, said: God forbid that the offering of Cain and that of Abel ever be mixed, even in the weaving of a garment, as it is said, "you shall not wear sha'atnez" (Deuteronomy 22:11), and even if it is embroidered it shall not come upon you (Leviticus 19:19). The House of Shammai say: two males; the House of Hillel say: a male and a female. What is the reasoning of the House of Shammai? They learn from Moses, of whom it is written "the sons of Moses, Gershom and Eliezer" (I Chronicles 23:15). And the House of Hillel learn from the creation of the world, Adam and Eve. And the House of Shammai: one does not derive the possible from the impossible. And the House of Hillel: let them too learn from Moses. Moses acted on his own reasoning. Rabbi Natan says: the House of Shammai say two males and two females, as it is written "and she continued to bear his brother Abel" - Abel and his sister, and Cain and his sister - and it is written "for God has appointed me another seed in place of Abel" (Genesis 4:25). And the rabbis: she was merely giving thanks. Another teaching: Rabbi Natan says the House of Shammai say a male and a female, and the House of Hillel say a male or a female, as it is written "He did not create it a waste, He formed it to be inhabited" (Isaiah 45:18), and he made it inhabited. "And Abel, he also brought from the firstlings of his flock." Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Yose bar Hanina: one said the Noahides offered peace offerings, as it is said "and Abel brought, he also, from the firstlings of his flock and from their fat" - what is something whose fat is offered but not all of it is offered? Say it is a peace offering. And one said they did not offer peace offerings, as it is written "Awake, north wind, and come, south" (Song of Songs 4:16): rouse yourself, O nation whose deeds are in the north, and let come the nation whose deeds are in the north and south. And the other, what of "and from their fat"? Their fattest ones. And the other, what of "Awake, north wind"? That is written about the ingathering of the exiles.

And is it not written, "And Moses said, You too shall give into our hands sacrifices and burnt offerings" (Exodus 10:25)? Sacrifices for eating and burnt offerings for offering up. And is it not written, "And Jethro the father-in-law of Moses took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God" (Exodus 18:12)? Jethro was after the giving of the Torah. And according to the one who says he was before the giving of the Torah, what is there to say? He holds that the Noahides did offer peace offerings.

Another teaching: Rabbi Elazar said the Noahides offered peace offerings, and Rabbi Yose bar Hanina said they offered burnt offerings. Rabbi Elazar objected: is it not written "and from their fat," from something whose fat is offered? How does Rabbi Yose bar Hanina handle this? From their fattest ones. Rabbi Elazar objected: "and he sent the young men of the children of Israel" (Exodus 24:5). How does Rabbi Yose handle it? Whole ones, without flaying and cutting into pieces. Rabbi Elazar objected: "and Jethro the father-in-law of Moses took" (Exodus 18:12), according to the one who says Jethro came after the giving of the Torah. And this supports Rabbi Yose: "Awake, north wind" (Song of Songs 4:16), this is the burnt offering that was slaughtered on the north side; and what is "Awake"? Something that was asleep and was roused. "And come, south," these are the peace offerings that are slaughtered on the south side; and what is "come"? Something new. This verse also supports him: "this is the law of the burnt offering, it is the burnt offering" (Leviticus 6:2), which the Noahides offered; and when it reaches the peace offerings, "and this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings" (Leviticus 7:11), it is not written "which they offered" but "which they shall offer," from here onward. "And the LORD turned to Abel" (Genesis 4:4): He was reconciled by him. "But to Cain and to his offering He did not turn": He was not reconciled by him. "And Cain was very angry, and his face fell": they became like fire. "Is it not so that if you do well, there is uplift": blessing; "and if you do not do well," uplift, a curse. Another interpretation: if you do well, I forgive your iniquities; and if not, the sin of that man is heaped up and overflowing. "Of David: Happy is he whose transgression is lifted" (Psalms 32:1): happy is the man who is higher than his transgression, and whose transgression is not higher than him. "Sin crouches at the door": it is not written "crouching" [feminine] here, but "crouching" [masculine]; at first it is weak like a female, and afterward it grows strong like a male. There are dogs in Rome that know how to entice. One goes and sits beside a baker's shop and pretends to doze, and while the shopkeeper dozes, the dog snatches a loaf from the ground, and by the time people gather, the dog has made off and is walking away with the loaf. Rabbi Abba said: this evil inclination is like a lurking bandit who would sit at the crossroads. To everyone who passed by he would say: hand over what you have. A clever man passed and saw there was no hope of robbing him of anything, and began to thrash him. So too for several generations the evil inclination destroyed: the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, the generation of the Dispersion. Once our father Abraham arose and saw there was no hope in it, he began to thrash it. This is what is written, "and I will beat down his foes before him" (Psalms 89:24).

Issi ben Yehudah says: There are five passages in the Torah whose syntax has no decisive resolution, and these are they: "lifting up" (se'et), "cursed" (arur), "tomorrow" (machar), "shaped like almonds" (meshukadim), and "and he will rise" (ve-kam). "Lifting up": is it "if you do well, lifting up" or "lifting up, if you do not do well"? (Genesis 49:6-7) "And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox; cursed be their anger": does "cursed" attach to the ox or to the anger? "Go out and do battle with Amalek tomorrow," or "tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill"? (the matter at Genesis 25:34) "And on the lampstand, four cups shaped like almonds," or "shaped like almonds, its knobs and its flowers"? (Deuteronomy 31:16) "Behold, you are about to lie with your fathers, and he will rise," or "and this people will rise and go astray"? Rabbi Tanchuma adds one more: "And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard," or "when they heard, and the men were grieved." The Rabbis taught: (Deuteronomy 11:18) "And you shall set [ve-samtem] these words of Mine" [read as sam tam, a perfect remedy]. Why is the Torah compared to a drug of life? A parable of a man who struck his son a great blow and laid a bandage upon his wound and said to him: My son, as long as this bandage is on your wound, eat what pleases you and drink what pleases you and bathe in hot water or cold, and you need not fear; but if you remove it, the wound will fester. So said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: My children, I created the evil inclination, and I created the Torah as its seasoning. If you occupy yourselves with the Torah, you will not be handed over to it, as it is said, "Is it not so that if you do well there is lifting up?" And if you do not occupy yourselves with the Torah, you are handed over to it, as it is said, "Sin crouches at the door." And not only that, but all its dealings are about you, and its desire is toward you; yet if you wish, you may rule over it, as it is said, "And you shall rule over it." Rabbi Meir says: Any condition that is not framed like the condition of the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben is no condition, as it is said, (Numbers 32:29-30) "And Moses said to them, if they cross over... and if they do not cross over..." Rabbi Hanina ben Gamliel says: The matter still needed to be stated, for otherwise it could be understood that they would not inherit even in the land of Canaan. According to Rabbi Meir this fits what is written, "Is it not so that if you do well there is lifting up, and if you do not do well, sin crouches at the door." But according to Rabbi Hanina, why is it needed? You might have supposed there would be neither reward nor suffering; therefore it teaches us otherwise.

Samuel said: The evil inclination is like a grain of wheat that crouches upon the entryways of the heart, as it is said, "Sin crouches at the door." While the child is still in its mother's womb, they teach it the whole Torah entirely, as it is said, (Proverbs 4:4) "And he taught me and said to me, let your heart hold fast my words." And once it comes out into the air of the world, an angel comes and strikes it upon its mouth and makes it forget the whole Torah, as it is said, "Sin crouches at the door." Antoninus said to Rabbi: From when is the evil inclination placed within a person, from the moment of emergence or from the moment of formation? He said to him: From the moment of formation. He said to him: If so, it would kick within its mother's womb and come out; rather, it is from the moment of emergence. Rabbi said: This thing Antoninus taught me, and Scripture supports him, as it is said, "Sin crouches at the door." Antoninus said to Rabbi: From when is the soul given to a person, from the moment of formation or from the moment of visitation? He said to him: From the moment of formation. He said to him: Is it possible for a piece of meat to keep three days without salt and not rot? Rather, from the moment of visitation. Rabbi said: This thing Antoninus taught me, and Scripture supports him, as it is said, "You have granted me life and steadfast love, and Your visitation has guarded my spirit."

(Genesis 4:8) "And Cain said to Abel his brother." Over what were they disputing? They said: Come, let us divide the world. One took the land, and one took the movable property. This one said, "The ground you stand on is mine," and that one said, "What you wear is mine." This one said, "Strip it off," and that one said, "Fly away." Out of this, "And Cain rose up," and so forth. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi said: Both took the land and both took the movable property, so over what were they disputing? This one said, "In my territory the Temple will be built," and that one said, "In my territory it will be built," as it is said, "And it came to pass when they were in the field," and "field" means nothing but the Temple, as you say, (Micah 3:12) "Zion shall be plowed as a field." Rabbi Yehudah says: They disputed over the first Eve. Rabbi Abahu said: The first Eve had returned to her dust, so over what were they disputing? Rabbi Huna said: Over an extra twin sister born with Abel. This one said, "I will take her, for I am the firstborn," and that one said, "I will take her, for she was born with me." Out of this, "And Cain rose up." Rabbi Yohanan said: Abel was stronger than Cain, for Scripture need not say "and he rose up" except to teach that Cain had been pinned beneath him. Abel said to him, "We two are in the world; what will you go and say to our father?" Cain was filled with mercy toward him; immediately he stood over him and killed him. From there people say, "Do no good to the wicked, and evil will not reach you." "And he killed him." With what did he kill him? Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: With a reed he killed him, as it is written, "and a child for my bruising," something that makes a bruise. The Rabbis say: With a stone he killed him, as it is said, "for I have slain a man for my wounding," something that makes wounds. And some say: Cain studied closely how his father had slaughtered the bull, as it is said, (Psalms 69:32) "and it shall please the LORD more than an ox, a bull," and from there he killed him, from the neck, the place of the slaughtering signs. And who buried Abel? Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat said: The birds of heaven and the pure beasts buried him, and the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them their reward in two blessings that are recited over them, one for slaughtering and one for covering the blood. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi said: It is written, "The wicked have drawn the sword" and so forth. "The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow," this is Cain; "to cast down the poor and needy, to slay the upright in way," this is Abel; "their sword shall enter their own heart," and so forth. (further, verse 12) "A fugitive and a wanderer you shall be in the earth." "Where is Abel your brother," and so forth. A parable of a prefect who was walking in the middle of the avenue. He found one slain man and another standing over him. He said to him, "Who killed him?" He said to him, "What is this, you seek him from me and I seek him from you?" He said to him, "You have said nothing." It is like one who entered a garden and gathered mulberries and ate, and the owner of the garden ran after him and said, "What is in your hand?" He said, "Nothing is in my hand." He said, "But your hands are stained." So Cain said to the Holy One, blessed be He, "Am I my brother's keeper?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "O wicked one, the voice of your brother's bloods cry out to Me from the ground." A parable of one who entered a pasture and snatched a kid and slung it behind him, and the owner of the pasture ran after him and said, "What is in your hand?" He said, "Nothing is in my hand." He said, "But it is bleating after you." So "the voice of your brother's bloods." (The rest of this section is written above in remez 28.) "The voice of your brother's bloods." Capital cases are unlike monetary cases: in monetary cases a person gives money and is atoned, but in capital cases his blood and the blood of his descendants hang upon the killer until the end of the world, for so we find concerning Cain who killed his brother, as it is said, "the voice of your brother's bloods." It does not say "your brother's blood" but "your brother's bloods," his blood and the blood of his descendants. Another interpretation: "your brother's bloods," that his blood was scattered upon the trees and upon the stones. Rav Yehudah son of Rabbi Hiyya said: This teaches that Cain inflicted on Abel his brother wound upon wound and bruise upon bruise, for he did not know from where the soul departs, until he reached his neck. And from the day the earth opened and received the blood of Abel it never opened again, as it is said, (Isaiah 24:16) "From the wing of the earth we have heard songs," from the wing of the earth and not from the mouth of the earth. Hezekiah his brother raised an objection: (Numbers 16:32) "And the earth opened its mouth." He said to him: For evil it opened; for good it did not open. Rav Yehudah son of Rabbi Hiyya said: Exile atones for half. At first it is written, "a fugitive and a wanderer," and in the end it is written, "and he dwelt in the land of Nod." Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: Exile atones for three things, as it is said, (Jeremiah 38:2) "Thus says the LORD, he who dwells in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence." Rabbi Yohanan said: Exile atones for everything, as it is said, "Write this man childless," and after he was exiled it is written, (1 Chronicles 3:17) "and the sons of Jeconiah, Assir, Shealtiel his son."

Rabbi Yudan said: "His blood and the blood of his descendants." (2 Kings 9:26) It is not written here "the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons," but rather "the bloods of Naboth and the bloods of his sons," his blood and the blood of his descendants. The Rabbis say: It is not written "and he died for the blood of the son of Jehoiada," but rather "for the bloods of the son of Jehoiada," his blood and the blood of his descendants. "They cry out to Me." Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai said: The matter is hard to express and the mouth cannot fully explain it. A parable of two athletes who were standing and wrestling before the king. Had the king wished, he could have separated them, but the king did not wish to separate them. One overpowered his fellow and killed him, and the dying man cried out and said, "Who will plead my case before the king?" So "the voice of your brother's bloods," and so forth. To ascend above the blood could not, for the soul had not yet gone up there; and below it could not remain, for no man had yet been buried there; and so his blood was scattered upon the trees and upon the stones. (Genesis 4:11) "And now you are cursed." Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: In three places the Scriptures spoke in abbreviated language: "And now you are cursed"; (Numbers 16:30) "But if the LORD creates a creation"; (Judges 1:35) "And I opened my mouth to the LORD." (verse 12) "When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you." Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Yose bar Hanina differed. Rabbi Elazar said: To you it does not give, but to another it gives. Rabbi Yose bar Hanina said: Neither to you nor to another. Similarly, "the field shall bring forth abundant seed," Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Nehemiah differed. Rabbi Yehudah says: One sows a se'ah and gathers a se'ah. Rabbi Nehemiah said: If so, where is sustenance to come from? Rather, that which was fit to produce twenty produces sixteen. (Genesis 4:13-15) "My iniquity is greater than I can bear." To the upper worlds and the lower worlds You bear, yet my transgression You will not bear? Another interpretation: "My iniquity is greater than I can bear," my father, my father, transgressed a light commandment and was banished from the Garden of Eden; this which is a grave transgression, the shedding of blood, how much more so. "Behold, You have driven me out." Yesterday You drove out my father, and now You drive me out; perhaps from before You I shall be hidden.

The Rabbis taught: Three came with a complaint of injustice: Cain, Esau, and Manasseh. Cain, as it is written, "My iniquity is greater than I can bear." Esau, as it is written, (Genesis 27:38) "Have you but one blessing, my father?" Manasseh, who at first called upon many gods and in the end called upon the God of his fathers. Once a person's end has arrived, all gain mastery over him, as it is said, "and it shall be that whoever finds me will slay me." Rava said: From this verse, "For Your judgments they stand this day, for all are Your servants." Rabbi Tzadok says: Great hatred entered Cain's heart over his offering, which had been rejected. And not only that, but Abel's twin sister was the fairest of women, and he desired her in his heart, as it is said, (above, verse 8) "And it came to pass when they were in the field," this refers to a woman, who is likened to a field. Rabbi Yohanan said: Cain did not know that hidden things are revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He, and he took Abel's corpse and hid it in the field. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said before Him, "Master of the universe, You made me a keeper of field and vineyard; am I my brother's keeper?" Cain said, "My iniquity is greater than I can bear, and not only that, but now some righteous one will arise in the earth and invoke Your great name against me and kill me." What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He took one letter from the twenty-two letters of the Torah and set it upon Cain's arm so that he would not be killed, as it is said, "And the LORD set a sign for Cain." The dog that had guarded Abel's flock now guarded his corpse from every beast and every bird of heaven. And Adam and his helpmate sat weeping and mourning over him, and they did not know what to do. One raven whose companion had died said, "I will teach this man what to do." It took its companion and dug in the earth before their eyes and buried it. Adam said, "Let us do as this raven does." He took Abel's corpse and buried it in the earth. And the Holy One, blessed be He, paid a good reward to the ravens in this world: when they give birth to their young and see them white, they flee from them, supposing they are the children of a serpent, yet God gives them their food without lack, as it is said, (Job 38:41) "Who provides for the raven its prey?" And not only that, but they call out for rain to fall upon the earth, and the Holy One, blessed be He, answers them, as it is said, "He gives to the beast its food," and so forth.

"Therefore whoever slays Cain." Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Nehemiah differed. Rabbi Yehudah says: The beasts, the wild animals, and the birds gathered to demand the blood of Abel. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, "Therefore I say, whoever slays Cain shall be slain." Rav Levi said: The primeval serpent came to demand judgment for Abel. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Therefore I say, whoever slays Cain shall be slain." Cain's judgment is unlike the judgment of murderers: Cain killed but had no one from whom to learn; from here onward, whoever slays Cain shall be slain. "And the LORD set a sign for Cain." Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Nehemiah differed. Rabbi Yehudah says: He caused the orb of the sun to shine for him. Rav Nehemiah said: For that wicked one the Holy One, blessed be He, would make the sun's orb shine? Rather, it teaches that He made leprosy break out upon him, as you say, (Exodus 4:8) "and they will believe the voice of the latter sign." Rav said: He gave him a dog. Another interpretation: He made a horn grow upon him. Another interpretation: He made him a sign for murderers. Another interpretation: He made him a sign for the penitent. And some say: He suspended him in a loose state, and the Flood came and washed him away. (Genesis 4:16) "And Cain went out from before the LORD." From where did he go out? He cast the matter behind him and went out like one who deceives the Higher Mind. Another interpretation: He went out like one who is cunning and deceitful toward his Creator. Another interpretation: He went out rejoicing, as you say, (Exodus 4:14) "behold, he comes out to meet you." Adam met him and said, "What was done in your judgment?" He said, "I repented and reached a settlement." Adam began to strike his face and said, "Such is the power of repentance, and I did not know!" Immediately Adam arose and said, (Psalms 92:1-2) "A psalm, a song for the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the LORD." Rav Levi said: Adam said this psalm, and it was forgotten in his generation, and Moses came and restored it in his own name, "A psalm, a song for the Sabbath day, it is good to give thanks." "Hear my voice." Because they were withdrawing from him from marital relations, since he had killed Cain and Tubal-cain. For Lamech was blind, and Tubal-cain saw Cain and he appeared to him like a beast, and he told his father to draw the bow, and he killed him. And once he knew it was Cain his ancestor, he struck palm against palm and clapped his son between them and killed him. And his wives withdrew from him, and he was appeasing them: "And was it a man whom I killed, and did I wound him deliberately, that the wound should be called by my name? And a child whom I killed for my bruising, was killed; surely I was unintentional. If Cain who killed deliberately was given a respite of seven generations, I who killed unintentionally, how much more so."

(Genesis 4:17) "And he was building a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch." This is what Scripture says, (Psalms 49:12) "They call lands by their own names." (Genesis 4:18) "And to Enoch was born Irad," and so forth. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: All of them are expressions of rebellion. Irad: "I will tear them out [ored] of the world." Mehujael: "I will blot them out [moheh] of the world." Methushael: "I will wear them down [matishan] out of the world." Lamech: "What have I to do with Lamech and his offspring?" (Genesis 4:19) "And Lamech took for himself two wives," and so forth. Rav Azariah said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon: So the men of the generation of the Flood used to do. Each one of them would take two wives, one for childbearing and one for relations. The one for childbearing would sit as though she were a widow in her own lifetime, and the one for relations he would make drink a cup of sterilizing root so that she would not bear, and she would sit beside him adorned like a harlot, as it is written, "he shepherds the barren who does not bear, and does no good to the widow." Know that this is so, for the choicest among them was Lamech, and he went and took two wives, as it is written, "And Lamech took for himself two wives. The name of one was Adah," for she was removed [adah] from him; "and the name of the second was Tzillah," for she sat in his shadow [tzel]. (Genesis 4:20) "Dwelling in tents and herding cattle." In the past they were zealous [mekanin] for the Holy One, blessed be He, in hidden ways; they turned to provoke Him to jealousy [mekanin] in the open, as it is written, (Ezekiel 8:3) "there was the seat of the image of jealousy that provokes to jealousy." (Genesis 4:21-22) "All who handle the lyre and pipe." Builders and weavers. Tubal-cain: he seasoned the craft of Cain. Cain killed but had nothing with which to kill, but this one sharpened every craftsman of bronze and iron. Naamah was the wife of Noah, and why was she called Naamah? Because her deeds were pleasing and sweet [na'im]. The Rabbis say: Naamah was another woman, and why was she called Naamah? Because she made sweet [man'emet] sounds with a drum for idolatry. (Genesis 4:23-24) "And Lamech said to his wives," and so forth. He demanded relations of them. They said, "Tomorrow the Flood comes, and shall we be fruitful and multiply for a curse?" He said to them, "For I have slain a man for my wounding, that wounds should come upon me on his account, and a child for my bruising, that bruises should come upon me on his account, I wonder! Cain killed and was given a respite of seven generations; I who did not kill, is it not right that I be given a respite of seventy-seven generations?" Rabbi says: This is an argument from the lesser to the greater that is itself in the dark; if so, from where does the Holy One, blessed be He, collect the bond of His debt? If a man, why a child, and if a child, why a man? "A man" for the limbs and "a child" for the years. They said to him, "Come, let us go to Adam." They went to Adam. He said to them, "Do your part, and the Holy One, blessed be He, does His." They said to him, "Physician, heal your own limp; have you not separated from Eve a hundred and thirty years only so as not to beget a son from her?" When he heard this, he set himself to raise offspring.

A certain heretic said to Rabbi Yishmael son of Rabbi Yose: It is written, (Genesis 19:24) "And the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD"; it should have said "from Himself." A certain launderer said: Leave him, for I will answer him. "And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Tzillah, hear my voice, you wives of Lamech"; it should have said "my wives." Rather, Scripture speaks in this manner. Here too Scripture speaks in this manner. He said to him: From where do you have this? He said to him: I heard it from the lecture of Rabbi Meir, for Rabbi Yohanan said: When Rabbi Meir would expound in his lecture, he would expound a third law, a third aggadah, a third parables. We find in the Torah, in the Prophets, and in the Writings that a commoner mentions his own name twice in a single verse. In the Torah, "And Lamech said to his wives." In the Prophets, "And the king said to them, take the servants of your lord and set Solomon my son riding." In the Writings, (Esther 8:8) "for a writing that is written in the name of the king." And you wonder that the Holy One, blessed be He, mentions His name twice in a single verse? (Genesis 4:25) "And Adam knew his wife again." Desire was added to him upon his desire. In the past, if he did not see, he did not desire; now, whether he sees or does not see, he desires. A hint to those who travel the seas, that they should be remembered to their households and come at once. "And she called his name Seth, for God has set for me another seed," and so forth. Rabbi Tanchuma in the name of Rabbi Shmuel said: She looked toward that seed who rises from another place. And who is this? The King Messiah. "In place of Abel, for Cain slew him." From the sin of Abel, Cain was slain. Like two trees standing near each other: the wind broke one of them, and it fell upon its fellow and broke it. So "in place of Abel, for Cain slew him," from the sin of Abel, Cain was slain. (Genesis 4:26) "And to Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh." They asked before Abba Kohen Bardela: Adam, Seth, Enosh, and then silence? He said to them: Until here in image and likeness; from here onward the generations were corrupted, and centaurs were created. Kenan: "contentious ones." Four things changed in the days of Enosh son of Seth: the mountains became hard rock, the dead began to swarm, their faces became like apes, and they became vulnerable to demons. Rabbi Yitzhak said: They themselves caused themselves to be vulnerable to demons, and what caused it for them? That they were saying, "What difference is there between one who bows to an image and one who bows to a man?" "Then it was begun to call on the name of the LORD." Rabbi Simon said: In three places this expression is used as language of rebellion: "then it was begun [huchal] to call on the name of the LORD"; (Genesis 6:1) "and it came to pass when man began [hechel]"; (Genesis 10:8) "he began [hechel] to be a mighty one." They objected: but it is written, "and this is what they began [hachilam] to do"? He said to them: God struck the head of Nimrod and said, "This one incited them in rebellion against Me." Rabbi Levi said: A parable of a woman who said to her husband, "I saw in my dream that you were divorcing me." He said to her, "And why in a dream? Surely plainly." So the Holy One, blessed be He, said: You made yourselves into idolatry and called by your own names; I too will call to the waters of the sea by My name and wipe out those people from the world. Rabbi Abahu expounded: The ocean is higher than all the world. Rabbi Elazar ben Menahem said: Is it not an explicit verse, (Amos 5:8) "who calls to the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth, the LORD is His name"? I wonder! Like one pouring from above downward. Twice it is written "who calls to the waters of the sea," corresponding to the two times the sea rose and flooded the world. And how far did it rise the first time, and how far the second? Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Abahu and Rabbi Elazar in the name of Rabbi Hanina: The first time it rose as far as Acco and Jaffa, and the second time it rose as far as the cliffs of Barbary. Rabbi Hananiah and Rabbi Aha in the name of Rabbi Hanina: The first time it rose as far as the cliffs of Barbary, and the second time as far as Acco and Jaffa. This is what is written, "And I said, thus far shall you come and no further, and here shall your proud waves be stayed," "thus far shall you come and no further" as far as Acco, "and here shall your proud waves be set" at Jaffa. Rabbi Elazar in the name of Rabbi Hanina said: The first time it rose as far as Calabria, and the second time it rose as far as the cliffs of Barbary.

(Genesis 5:1) "This is the book of the generations of Adam." Rav Yehudah bar Simon said: While the first Adam was still lying before the One who spoke and the world came to be, He showed him generation after generation with its sages, generation after generation with its scribes, generation after generation with its providers, generation after generation with its leaders. This is the meaning of what is written (Psalms 139:16), "Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and on Your book they were all recorded." "This is the book of the generations of Adam." The first Adam was worthy that the Torah should be given through him. And what is the reason? "This is the book of the generations of Adam." The Holy One, blessed be He, said: He is the work of My hands, yet I will not give it to him. The Holy One, blessed be He, reconsidered and said: Six commandments I gave him, and so forth; six hundred thirteen commandments, all the more so. And He said: I will not give them to Adam himself, but to his children, as it is said, "This is the book of the generations of Adam." The first Adam was worthy that twelve tribes should arise from him. What is the reason? "This is the book of the generations of Adam" [zeh], for the numerical value of zeh [is twelve]. The Holy One, blessed be He, reconsidered and said: Two sons I gave him, and one rose against his fellow and killed him; how then shall I give him twelve? And He said: I will not give them to Adam himself, but to his children, as it is said, "This is the book of the generations of Adam" [zeh], whose numerical value is twelve. "This is the book of the generations of Adam." These are generations, but the earlier ones were not generations. And what were they? They sought to ask about divinity before Abba Kohen Bardela, and so forth. The earlier ones were not generations but only spirits, since for every hundred and thirty years that he separated from Eve, and so forth. These are generations and the earlier ones were not generations; why? Because they perished in the waters. Every craft in the world the first Adam learned. What is the reason? (Isaiah 44:11), "The craftsmen, they are but men" [me'adam]; from the first Adam. Even the ruling of a scroll the first Adam learned, as it is said, "This is the book" and its ruling. "The generations of Adam, in the day they were created" [be'yom hibaram]. This supports that teaching: three wonders were done on that day; on that very day they were created, and so forth. Ben Azzai says: "This is the book of the generations of Adam" is a great principle in the Torah. Rabbi Akiva says: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" is a great principle in the Torah, so that you should not say, "Since I have been shamed, let my fellow be shamed along with me; since I have been cursed, let my fellow be cursed along with me." If you act so, know whom you are shaming: "In the likeness of God He made him."

Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: The first Adam spoke in the Aramaic tongue, as it is said (Psalms 139:17), "How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God." And this accords with what Resh Lakish said: What is the meaning of what is written, "This is the book of the generations of Adam"? It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed the first Adam generation after generation and its expounders, and so forth. When he reached the generation of Rabbi Akiva, he rejoiced in his Torah and was grieved by his death, as it is said, "How precious to me are Your thoughts [re'echa], O God."

Another thing, the Book of Adam's Descendants was passed before him. He saw David's portion of life would be three hours. He said, "Master of the world, this should not be decreed! A thought has come to me." He [Adam] said to him, "How many are my years?" God said, "1,000 years." Adam said, "Can I give some as a gift?" God said, "Yes." Adam said, "I will give him 70 years to be his fate." What did Adam do? He brought a contract and wrote on it a contract of gift; and it was executed by God, Metatron, and Adam. Adam said, "Master of the World, good looks are his, kingship, and songs of praise have I given him in my gift of 70 years of his life; and he will sing before you. And this is written where it says "behold I have come" in the book I have written [Tehillim 92].

Another interpretation: "This is the book." The Holy One, blessed be He, intercalated the year and afterward handed it to the first Adam, as it is said, "This is the book of the generations of Adam." The first Adam handed it to Enoch, who entered into the secret of the intercalation and intercalated the year, as it is said (Genesis 5:24), "And Enoch walked with God." Enoch handed it to Noah, who intercalated the year, as it is said, "As long as the earth endures," and so forth. Noah handed it to Shem, who intercalated the year and was called a priest, as it is said (Psalms 110:4), "The LORD has sworn and will not relent: You are a priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek," and "Melchizedek king of Salem," and so forth. Was he then a priest? Rather, because he was a firstborn and served his God by day and by night, he was called a priest. Shem handed it to Abraham, who intercalated the year and was called a priest, as it is said, "And he was a priest of God Most High." Abraham handed it to Isaac, who intercalated the year after the death of Abraham, as it is said (Genesis 25:11), "And it came to pass after the death of Abraham that God blessed Isaac"; because he entered into the secret of intercalation, He blessed him with an everlasting blessing. Isaac handed it to Jacob. Jacob went outside the Land and sought to intercalate the year. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob: It is not yours to intercalate; behold, Isaac your father will intercalate the year in the Land, as it is said, "And God appeared to Jacob again." Why "again"? Because the first time He appeared to him and prevented him from intercalating the year outside the Land, and when he came to the Land, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, Arise and intercalate the year; and because he entered into the secret of intercalation, He blessed him with an everlasting blessing. Jacob handed it to Joseph and his brothers, and they intercalated the year in the land of Egypt. When Joseph and his brothers died, the intercalations diminished; and so they are destined to diminish at the end of the fourth kingdom. And just as the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to Moses and Aaron, so is He destined to reveal Himself to the King Messiah.

(Genesis 5:2) "Male and female He created them." Rabbi Elazar said: Any man who has no wife is not a man, as it is said, "Male and female He created them," and so forth. (Genesis 5:3) Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: During all those years that the first Adam was under the ban, he begot demons, spirits, and night-demons, as it is said, "And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years and begot a son in his likeness, after his image" — which implies that until now he did not beget in his image. They raised an objection: Rabbi Meir used to say, the first Adam was a great pious man; once he saw that death had been decreed because of him, he arose and sat in fasting for a hundred and thirty years, and raised growths of fig leaves upon his flesh, and separated from his wife. We speak here of the seed that issued from him against his will. "And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years and begot in his likeness, after his image." From here you learn that Cain was not of his seed, nor of his likeness, nor of his image, until Seth was born. Rabbi Shimon says: From Seth arose and were traced all the generations of the righteous, and so forth. Rabbi Meir says: it was the uncovering of the flesh of nakedness; they walked about like beasts, and so forth. Rabbi Yehoshua says: the angel is a flaming fire, yet the fire enters into intercourse with flesh and blood and does not burn the body; only from the hour that they fell from their place of holiness, their strength and their stature became like that of human beings, and their garments a clod of earth. Rabbi Tzadok says: from them the giants were born, "the Nephilim were in the earth" (Genesis 6:4). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korchah says: Israel are called sons of God, "You are sons" (Deuteronomy 14:1), and the angels are called sons of God, as it is said (Job 38:7), "When the morning stars sang together," and so forth; and these, while they were in their place of holiness, were called sons of God. "And he begot in his likeness." This teaches that he was born circumcised.

(Genesis 5:24) "And Enoch walked." He does not enter within the register of the righteous, but within the register of the wicked. Rabbi Aibu said: Enoch was a hypocrite, sometimes righteous, sometimes wicked. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: While he is in his righteousness, let Me remove him. He judged him on Rosh Hashanah, at the hour when He judges all who come into the world. The heretics asked Rabbi Abbahu: We do not find death stated of Enoch. He said to them: Why? They said to him: "Taking" is stated here, and "taking" is stated elsewhere, "For the LORD will take your master from over your head" (2 Kings 2:3). He said to them: If you reason from "taking," then "taking" is stated here and "taking" is stated elsewhere (Ezekiel 24:16), "Behold, I am taking from you the delight of your eyes by a plague." Rav Tanchum said: Rabbi Abbahu answered them well. A noblewoman asked Rabbi Yosi: We do not find death stated of Enoch. He said to her: Had it said, "And Enoch walked," and fallen silent, I would say as you say; but since it says, "and he was no more, for God took him," he was no more in the world, for [God] took him, and so forth. From Adam to the flood was one thousand six hundred fifty-six years. Enoch buried Adam and lived fifty-eight years after him. Methuselah carried his years until the flood. Jacob served Abraham our father fifteen years and Shem fifty-eight years; Shem served Methuselah ninety-eight years; Methuselah served the first Adam two hundred forty-three years. You find then that four men spanned twenty-two generations. Seven there are who folded up the whole world: the first Adam, Methuselah, Shem, Jacob, Amram, Achiyah the Shilonite, and Elijah, who is still alive. Nine entered the Garden of Eden in their lifetime, and these are they: Enoch, the Messiah, Elijah, Eliezer servant of Abraham, the Cushite servant-king, Hiram king of Tyre, Yaavetz son of Rabbi Yehudah the Prince, Serach daughter of Asher, and Bithiah daughter of Pharaoh. And some say: Hiram was taken out and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi entered in his place. (Genesis 5:27) "And all the days of Methuselah were." They said: Methuselah was a wholly righteous man, and with every single word that issued from his mouth he composed two hundred thirty parables in praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, and he studied nine hundred orders of Mishnah. When he died, they heard a sound of trembling in the firmament, for they were making a eulogy for him, and tears fell from the eyes of the celestial beasts upon the place of his passing. When they saw this, they made a eulogy for him below. And the Holy One, blessed be He, set for them time after time for the generation of the flood, as a reward because they eulogized him seven days.

(Genesis 5:28-29) "And he called his name Noah, saying, This one shall comfort us." The name is not the exposition and the exposition is not the name; the verse should have said only "Noah [Noach], this one shall give us rest [yanichenu]," or "Nachman, this one shall comfort us [yenachamenu]." Rather, when the Holy One, blessed be He, created the first Adam, He gave him dominion over everything: the cow would obey him to plow, the furrow would obey to be plowed. But on the day he sinned, they rebelled against him and rested. When Noah arose, he gave them rest. "Rest" is stated here and "rest" is stated elsewhere, "so that your ox may rest"; just as the rest there is the rest of an ox, so the rest stated here is the rest of an ox. Resh Lakish said: the name is not the exposition, and so forth. Rather, before Noah arose the waters would rise and flood them in their graves twice, as it is written (Amos 5:8; 9:6), "He who summons the waters of the sea," once in the morning and once in the evening. This is the meaning of what is written (Psalms 88:6), "like the slain who lie in the grave" — their lying down was that of the slain; and when Noah arose, they found rest. "Rest" is stated here and "rest" is stated elsewhere, "He shall enter into peace, they shall rest on their beds"; just as the rest stated there is the rest of the grave, so the rest stated here is the rest of the grave. Rabbi Eliezer said: he was called for his offering, (Genesis 8:21) "And the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma [hanichoach]." Rabbi Yosi says: he was called for the resting of the ark, as it is said (8:4), "And the ark rested." "And he begot a son." Why did he not state it by his name as with Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, and Enoch? This teaches that Methuselah was a great sage and warned his father not to call him by his name, for the men of the flood generation were sorcerers, lest they kill him by sorcery. When he was born, he called him Noah, but to his father he said, Call him Menachem, for he comforts his generation. They said, This one will comfort us from our deeds. He said to them: If you return in repentance, he will comfort you.

Another interpretation: "And he begot a son" — for from him the world would be rebuilt: "this one shall comfort us." Was Lamech then a prophet? Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak said: there was a tradition in Adam's hands. When it was said to him (Genesis 3:17), "Cursed is the ground because of you," he said before Him: Master of the world, how long? He said to him: Until a man is born already circumcised from his mother's womb. And when [Noah] was born circumcised, [Lamech] said, "This one shall comfort us." Our Rabbis taught: when a wicked man comes into the world, evil comes into the world, as it is said, "When the wicked comes, contempt also comes" (Proverbs 18:3). When a wicked man perishes from the world, good comes into the world, as it is said (Proverbs 11:10), "And when the wicked perish, there is glad song." When a righteous man departs from the world, evil comes into the world, as it is said, "The righteous one perishes, and no man takes it to heart," and so forth. When a righteous man comes into the world, good comes into the world, as it is said, "This one shall comfort us from our deeds."

"From the ground which the LORD has cursed." Ten kinds of famine came into the world. One in the days of the first Adam, (Genesis 3:17) "Cursed is the ground because of you." One in the days of Lamech, "from the ground which the LORD has cursed." One in the days of Abraham, (Genesis 12:10) "And there was a famine in the land." One in the days of Isaac, "And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine." One in the days of Jacob, (Genesis 45:6) "For these two years the famine." One in the days when the judges judged, (Ruth 1:1) "And there was a famine in the land." One in the days of David, (2 Samuel 21:1) "And there was a famine in the days of David three years." One in the days of Elijah, "If there shall be these years dew or rain." One in the days of Elisha, (2 Kings 6:25) "And there was a great famine in Samaria." One that comes rolling in by stages. And one in the time to come, "Not a famine for bread nor a thirst for water, but to hear the words of the LORD." Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak said: its main onset should have been in the days of Saul and not David, but because Saul was a sprig of the sycamore (and some say: a small sapling) and could not withstand it, the Holy One, blessed be He, shifted it and brought it in the days of David. The proverb says: Shila sins and Yochana is punished. Therefore [the famines] did not come in the days of weak men but in the days of mighty men who could withstand them. A parable of a glassblower who held a basket full of cups and fine glassware: when he wishes to hang up his basket, he brings a peg and drives it in and hangs himself upon it first, and only afterward hangs his basket. Rabbi Berechyah would read concerning them, "He gives strength to the weary." (Genesis 5:32) Noah perceived that they were provoking the Holy One, blessed be He. He said: Why should I trouble myself with being fruitful and multiplying? Therefore he did not beget until five hundred years; and afterward he said, Let that man die without children. But the Holy One, blessed be He, said (Genesis 1:28), "Be fruitful and multiply"; immediately he engaged in being fruitful and multiplying.