The stories we have paint a pretty vivid picture. According to some traditions, on the very day of his creation, Adam saw the sun begin to dip below the horizon. And what was his reaction? Sheer, utter terror. He turned to Eve and said, "Because we have sinned" – remember, they’d already taken a bite of that forbidden fruit – "the world around us is growing dark! Soon the universe will become void and without form, as it was before God brought it into being. This must mean that we have been sentenced to death!"
Can you feel that primal fear? Darkness descending, a sense of cosmic undoing? Adam and Eve, understandably freaked out, spent the entire night weeping and fasting. Talk about a rough first 24 hours!
But then, dawn broke. The sun peeked over the horizon, painting the sky with light once more. Relief washed over Adam. "There must be a course that the sun follows," he declared. According to Genesis Rabbah 12:6, Adam then, in an act of profound gratitude for their spared lives, put on priestly garments and offered a bullock as a sacrifice. These weren't just any clothes, mind you. These were special garments, later passed down to his son Seth. We even see mention of these special garments in Genesis 3:21, where God makes garments of skins for Adam and Eve.
Now, there are variations on this story, of course. Some say Adam's fear stemmed from a belief that the serpent, the one who tricked them in the first place, would now have the upper hand in the darkness. Other versions place this first experience of darkness after the end of the Sabbath. Regardless, the core feeling remains: a deep, instinctive dread of the unknown, of the encroaching night. It's a universal fear, isn't it?
Interestingly, this story also gives us a glimpse into the origins of the Havdalah ceremony. Havdalah (separation) is the ritual we perform at the end of Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, to mark the distinction between the holy day and the rest of the week. As Tree of Souls notes, this myth provides a foundation for that tradition. We find echoes of this in B. Avodah Zarah 8a, Numbers Rabbah 4:8, and Pesikta Rabbati 23:6.
And here's another twist: While the Bible identifies Moses' brother Aaron as the first High Priest, here, Adam takes on that role, passing the priestly garments to Seth. It's a fascinating variation, isn't it? According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Adam taking on the priestly role highlights his unique position as humanity's first representative before God.
So, the next time you watch a sunset, maybe take a moment to remember Adam's first experience. Remember that primal fear, that sense of relief, and the dawn that followed. It's a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there's always the promise of a new beginning, a new day. And perhaps, it's also a reminder to appreciate the simple cycles of life, the rhythms that connect us to something far greater than ourselves.