Genesis · Chapter 2

The heavens and the earth and all their hosts were completed.

AND ALL THE HOST OF THEM. “The host of the earth” are those which have been mentioned: beasts, creeping things, fish, and all growing things, and also man. “The host of the heavens” are the two luminaries and the stars, mentioned above, just as it is written: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven. It also includes the Separate Intelligences, See Rambam, Hilchoth Yesodei Hatorah 3:9. Also Moreh Nebuchim, I, 49: “The angels are likewise incorporeal; they are intelligences without matter, etc.” (Friedlander’s translation.) just as it is written: I saw the Eternal sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him; also, The Eternal will punish the host of the high heaven on high. It is here [in the expression, all the host of them], that He has hinted at the formation of the angels in the work of creation. Similarly, the souls of men are included in the host of heaven. This thought is clearly expressed in the other writings of Ramban. (See Ramban’s letter to Rabbeinu Yonah, Kithvei Haramban, Vol. I, 383. See also in same volume his Commentary to Job 38:21, p. 117).

"And were completed" — this is from the binyan that does not name its agent. Its pattern is like "and all the mountains were covered" (Gen. 7:19). Its meaning is: they were finished. The sea is included within the earth, for they form a single unity.

ויכלו, when all the phenomena intended to comprise the physical universe had materialised.

ויכלו השמים והארץ. Heaven and earth were completed. We are not sure what this verse is meant to teach us. It appears that we must understand it in the context of the saying of our sages that G'd is the מקומו של עולם, G'd is the place of His universe (and not vice versa). We also find statements to the effect that G'd fills the universe, such as Isaiah 6,3: "The whole earth if full of His glory." G'd's light surrounds the entire globe and it fills the globe itself. We need to understand why G'd has arranged things in this manner. I have heard from Torah scholars (who were my teachers) that the reason G'd made the earth spherical is to enable its various parts to endure with equal ease. The rabbis meant that of all the desires, urges and feelings of love in the universe nothing matches in intensity the urge of the spirit which has recognised the light of G'd and its desire to cleave to G'd's light. Every living soul which has been fortunate enough to recognise even a small amount of that light longs to behold visions of the pleasantness that is G'd. Know that G'd has endowed each category of His creatures with a two-tiered intelligence. One tier is the power to perceive, the other tier is the power to analyse. Human beings, i.e. creatures who are endowed with the power of speech, as well as all lower forms of life or even the inert part of nature, all received a degree of intelligence commensurate with their status in the universe which enables them to recognise their Creator. By means of this intelligence we know that the globe continues to exist without faltering. G'd has revealed some of this secret to those who revere Him and by means of these explanations these facts became translated to our senses [as opposed to merely abstract intelligence. Ed.] The force holding up the globe is G'd's beautiful and all-embracing light which surrounds the globe in equal measure. Every section of the revolving earth derives additional strength from the power of the fiery urge that burns within it urging it to cling to the manifestations of G'd's spirit. This is why the globe remains in its position in the universe. [I have abbreviated the author's treatise on what he terms spiritual motivations for keeping "earth on track." I have no way of knowing if the author was familiar with Newton's theories about centrifugal forces, gravitation, etc. Even assuming that he had heard of them, the chances are he would have preferred to account for these movements as having been inspired at least also by spiritual considerations rather than as being merely laws of physics. According to the author the reason for the Torah telling us something at this stage which seemed obvious is to explain the fact that spherical earth which is not propped up by a visible force could remain in place throughout the millenia. We are dealing then with gravitation, etc. as a spiritual force. Ed.] And it is possible that this is what our sages hinted at in Noam Amrei'hem (Chagigah 12a) when they said "and this is their language - that they are established but do not know on what they are established." The intention is that if the creatures were discerning this distinction and knew the exaltedness of the love for the Holy One and the yearning of the creatures for the hidden One, they would see how great is the hope and strengthening of this silence, which is the world that contracts in order to draw near and enjoy the light of the Mikveh, and does not act with weakness in any part of the revolving world. They will then take this lightly and know how much a person needs to do, for in it the discernment and intelligence increase. You should also know that since all creatures fill the entire world, wherever the vital spirit is, as our sages said (Yalkut Tehillim 159), "for no soul rests in its place, but rather it is to the side that it desires and yearns for the fullness of this world, so that the soul will not despise the flesh." And for this reason, the Lord illuminated His world from His glory, and His glory fills the entire world, and the world is found within the midst of its Creator, and the light of the Creator is within the entire world and revolves His world. And in this way, the world stood and was established through the yearning for existence, and this is what it means when it says "and the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their host." The meaning is that they were finished in the sense of yearning that is great until the part is completely exhausted into everything, and this is a great level of desire and yearning, and David hinted at it when he said "for it desires and also longs." This indicates that this level is greater than the preceding one, and through this level and its strengthening, the world exists. And this is the secret of the calling of "He who lives through the worlds" and "the Son," and this is the secret in the light of the King of Life's countenance.

ויכלו השמים והארץ וכל צבאם, “and the heaven and the earth and its host were completed.” The word ויכלו has been positioned by the Torah next to the word הששי, to hint at the Ineffable Name of G-d in the respective first letters of the words הששי, ויכלו השמים והארץ. The message is that although this name of G-d has not appeared in the text of the entire chapter dealing with the creation of heaven and earth and all that is in it, this attribute of G-d nevertheless was involved during the creation from start to finish. The reason that in the opening verse of chapter one where the creation of heaven and earth is reported the Torah made no reference to the word צבאם, “their hosts,” is that at that point the Torah inserted the word את both in conjunction with “heaven” and in conjunction with “earth.” The word את always includes something which has not been spelled out. Here, at the beginning of chapter two, where the Torah did not insert this word, the words וכל צבאם take the place of the word את in the previous chapter. The word צבאם in its various forms alludes to angels such as in Kings I 22,19. Another instance where the word צבא מרום clearly refers to the angels is in Isaiah 24,21 וכל צבא השמים. The reason that the Torah wrote the word in the singular, i.e. צבאם, instead of צבאותם, is that we have a tradition that each nation has a representative at the celestial court, an angel called שר. When G-d engages in destruction of the nation represented by such an angel, He does not proceed until He has first neutralized that angel. The source of this tradition goes back to Shir Hashirim Rabbah end of chapter eight. In other words, the Torah refers to these forces as individuals although they represent a multitude of people. The Torah did not mention the word ברא, “He created,” in connection with either the angels the human souls which had not yet been assigned bodies in order to teach us that all parts of the universe are interconnected. The entire universe consists of three parts 1) The world of the angels; 2) the world of the planetary constellations, “outer space,” in our language; 3) the atmosphere and earth, our habitat. The world of the angels acts as the soul of the planetary systems, whereas the planetary system exerts its impact on our terrestrial part of the universe. We have a clear verse in Hoseah 2,23 which spells this out. אענה נאום ה', אענה את השמים, והם יענו את הארץ. ”I will respond declares the Lord, I will respond to the heaven, and it shall respond to the earth.”

וכל צבאם, and all their hosts” The hosts of the earth, i.e. man and beast, as well as all the vegetation. It includes also the hosts of the heavens, so that we have here an indirect reference to the angels, i.e. that they had also been created during the six days of creation.

And Hashem completed on the seventh day His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.

ויכל אלהים ביום השביעי AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY GOD FINISHED — R. Simeon says: A human being (literally, flesh and blood) who cannot know exactly his times and moments (who cannot accurately determine the point of time that marks the division between one period and that which follows it) must needs add from the week-day and observe it as the holy day (the Sabbath), but the Holy One, blessed be He, who knows His times and moments, began it (the seventh day) to a very hair’s breadth (with extreme exactness) and it therefore appeared as though He had completed His work on that very day (Genesis Rabbah 10:9). Another explanation: What did the world lack? Rest! Sabbath came — Rest came; and the work was thus finished and completed (Genesis Rabbah 10:9)!

"And God completed on the seventh day" — Some say that the days themselves were created things, and that the work was finished precisely through the creation of the seventh day. But this interpretation is worthless. Others say that the prefix bet here carries the meaning of 'before,' as in "you shall not muzzle an ox while it is threshing" (Deut. 25:4), and "but on the first day you shall remove leaven" (Exod. 12:15). But why resort to such difficulty? The completion of work means no work was done — it is as if it said: He performed no act of labor. And so too the meaning of "He completed," and likewise "He rested": the sense of "His work which He had done" refers to the sixth day, before the Sabbath day. And the meaning of "He rested on the seventh day from all His work" is: from all the creations He had created.

ויכל אלוקים ביום השביעי, at the beginning of the seventh “day,” a moment which is indivisible from the time frame which follows, so that both the six previous “days” were an entity in themselves, and the seventh day was a totally self-contained entity. Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 10,9 describe G’d as knowing the precise moment between the sixth and seventh day and describe it as “thin as a hair’s breadth.” [I believe the problem confronting the sages was the statement that G’d had completed all His work in the six days, and yet the Torah speaks of Him completing, ויכל, His work on the ”seventh” day, something that appears to be a contradiction to the former statement. Ed.] וישבות ביום השביעי, G’d’s inactivity on the seventh day set it apart from the previous six days.

ויכל אלוקים ביום השביעי. G'd completed on the seventh day. The plain meaning of the verse is to tell us that G'd did not engage in creational activities that the Torah has not mentioned after that date. The term כלה, completed, includes anything that had been in G'd's mind to do. It also means that G'd did not only desist from work on that Sabbath, but that He did not resume activity on the following six days. We must pay close attention to the apparently superfluous words אשר עשה, "which He had done." We must also explore the meaning of the words ביום השביעי, "on the seventh day," which suggest that G'd did perform work on the seventh day but that "He completed it on that day." This was not so, but He had completed all His work already on the sixth day. Our sages already felt the need to correct the impression that G'd had still performed creational work on the seventh day. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, quoted by Rashi and Bereshit Rabbah 10,9, says that human beings who do not know time accurately commence their Sabbath a few minutes early in order not to desecrate it. G'd who is aware of precisely when the Sabbath starts, can afford to do His work until the last second. Even allowing for Rabbi Shimon's comment, the word ביום in that verse is not adequately explained. This word creates the impression that G'd ceased work on the seventh day. Actually, according to our sages the word ביום is justified. They claim that until the Sabbath the world was trembling and shaking until the advent of the Sabbath. On the seventh day G'd gave the earth מנוחה, tranquillity (compare Rashi's second comment on our verse). On the Sabbath G'd created the "soul" of the world, and that is the deeper meaning of the words וביום השביעי שבת וינפש, and on the seventh day He rested and retreated to His Essence. Although our sages have interpreted the word וינפש as a lament about the withdrawal of the additional soul G'd grants to the Jewish people on each Sabbath (Beytzah 17) this is merely homiletics. They base that on the unusual construction וינפש (passive or reflexive) instead of merely, ונפש (ordinary intransitive). The plain meaning is undoubtedly that שבת וינפש, because He rested on the Sabbath and with it the soul arrived. This means that all creatures were granted an abundance of vitality, something they had lacked previously. We find a similar idea in the Zohar-Tazria (page 13 Sullam edition) as to why the rite of circumcision cannot be performed before the eighth day, and why an animal is not fit to serve as a sacrifice until the eighth day of its life. In either case one has to wait until at least one Sabbath has passed so that each has attained a נפש, a soul full of vitality. Our verse then describes G'd as putting the finishing touch to His creation by bringing on the Sabbath, not by creating on the Sabbath. The reason the Torah repeats once more מכל מלאכתו אשר עשה, from all His work which He had done, is to emphasise that this work had been done previously, i.e. before the onset of the Sabbath. The word ויכל therefore refers to activity carried out previously. All that had been lacking was something that would give permanence to this universe of ours. The seventh day, i.e. the Sabbath, completed the cycle that provides this permanence. We are therefore entitled to view the Sabbath as one of the seven days of creation. The proof that we are correct may be the very fact that we do not find the usual: "it was evening it was morning the seventh day," meaning there was no בריאה on that day. וישבות ביום השביעי. He rested on the seventh day. Here too we must ask for the reason the Torah wrote these lines as they seem to contain the same message as the words immediately prior to them. Perhaps we have to explain these words in connection with Pessachim 54 according to which there were phenomena which were created at dusk on Friday afternoon but which could not be completed before the arrival of the Sabbath. According to our sages some of these phenomena became destructive agents in the universe as a result. This is an amazig statement in view of the tradition that G'd is able to create whole worlds in the time it takes to blink an eyelid! How can one suggest that the Creator ran out of time and was unable to complete His work?! We have explained already at the beginning of the פרשה that G'd created every part of the universe simultaneously. The words מכל מלאכתו suggest that G'd did not complete even such work as was already in progress. What our sages had in mind when they told us about these phenomena and the time they were created is that G'd wanted us to know something about the importance of the Sabbath and the way it is to be observed. Halachah distinguishes between the rules of what is allowed on Friday afternoon close to the Sabbath and what is not. If work has been under way and it awaits only completion there are certain categories of work which may be completed under such circumstances, especially if they are performed in honour of the Sabbath or if financial loss is suffered if one does not complete the work before the Sabbath. If such work has not even been commenced it may not be undertaken until after the Sabbath. In the example in Pessachim the sages taught us that G'd desisted from completing even work He had already begun while it was still the sixth day. This in spite of the fact that non-completion would result in grievous loss to the universe, a loss which was beyond retrieving. This is what the word וישבות alludes to after we had already heard ויכל, that G'd completed creating. Not only did G'd not undertake something new, He did not even complete something that was in the process of coming into being. The reason this word is repeated is also to tell us that it was not G'd's inability to complete an undertaking on time. One of the reasons G'd's activities on each day during the days of creation are always followed by the statement "it was evening, it was morning, etc.," is to mark the contrast with the Sabbath concerning which no such statement is recorded.

ויכל אלוקים ביום השביעי, “the Lord had completed on the seventh day;” at first glance this wording gives the impression as if G-d had still been working on the seventh day; seeing that on the sixth day it had not yet been known that this was the last day on which G-d performed creative activities, there is no contradiction. This became known only in retrospect on the seventh day through G-d’s abstaining from any such activity. השביעי, “The seventh;” this day too has the prefix ה, as it was a day reserved for rest from physical activity, something that is taboo on all the other days.

ויכל אלוקים ביום השביעי, “G-d completed on the seventh day etc.” The plain meaning of the verse is certainly not that G-d completed His work on the seventh day itself. If this were the meaning it would mean that G-d performed creative work on at least part of the Sabbath. The meaning of the words is that as soon as the Sabbath started G-d had already finished whatever He had been in the process of doing. An example of a similar construction can be found in Exodus 12,15 אך ביום הראשון תשביתו שאר מבתיכם, “but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses.” The intention in that verse is certainly not that we are to wait until the first day of Passover to remove the leaven. The intention is that we should ensure that when the first day of Passover commences we had already removed all our leaven. An homiletical approach to these words is offered by Rabbi Shimon in Bereshit Rabbah 10,10. He says that the wording of this verse teaches that whereas it is impossible for a human being to precisely know when Friday ends and the Sabbath begins, G-d who knows the times (He has created) with absolute precision need not therefore add extra minutes before the onset of the Sabbath and abstain from work during them, as there is no fear He would violate the commencement of the Sabbath. Seeing that G-d completes His work only at the precise moment the Sabbath commences, this might be viewed by man as if He had continued working into the Sabbath. A kabbalistic approach to our verse sees in these words an allusion to work G-d will complete during the seventh millennium, i.e. after the earth as we know it will have reverted to its primeval state at the end of the sixth millennium. This corresponds to what our sages have said in Rosh Hashanah 31 that this earth [commencing with the creation of Adam, Ed.] would endure for six thousand years which would be followed by one thousand years of destruction. וישבות ביום השביעי, “He rested on the seventh day.” The term שבת is applicable to anyone who rests temporarily and expects to resume his regular activities. on the following day. In this instance it means that G-d will resume creative activity after the seventh millennium. This is the reason the paragraph concludes with the word לעשות, i.e. “to do” or “to complete.”

ויכל אלוקים ביום השביעי, “G’d completed on the seventh day, etc.” Although G’d knows exactly when the sixth day ends and the seventh day commences, to the onlooker it might appear as if the seventh day had already started. According to the plain meaning of the text, the line means that whatever G’d did on the seventh day was the completion of the seven days of creation.

And Hashem blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work that Hashem had created to make.

ויברך … ויקדש AND GOD BLESSED … AND HE SANCTIFIED — He blessed it through the Manna, that on all other days of the week there should fall for them (the Israelites) an Omer for each person, whereas on the sixth day there should fall twice as much of that bread. So, too, He sanctified it through the Manna, that it should not fall at all on the Sabbath (Genesis Rabbah 11:2). This verse is written here with reference to what would happen in the future. אשר ברא אלהים לעשות WHICH GOD IN CREATING HAD MADE — The work which should have been done on the Sabbath He did in the double work which He executed on the sixth day, as it is explained in Genesis Rabbah 11:9.

AND G-D BLESSED THE SEVENTH DAY AND HE SANCTIFIED IT. He blessed it through the Manna. [On all other days of the week there fell one portion per person, whereas on the sixth day — the eve of the Sabbath — a double portion fell.] And He sanctified it through the Manna [by not having it fall on the Sabbath]. And the verse is written here with reference to the future. Thus are the words of Rabbeinu Shlomo [Rashi] as quoted from Bereshith Rabbah 1:2. In the name of the Gaon Rav Saadia they have said that the blessing and sanctification refer to those who observe the Sabbath, meaning that they will be blessed and sanctified. However, from the intimation of the verse it does not appear that it refers to something which will happen in the future. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the blessing signifies additional well-being, that on the seventh day there is a renewal of procreative strength in the body, and in the soul, a greater capacity in the functioning of the reasoning power. And He sanctified it by not working on it as He did on the other days. Now Ibn Ezra’s interpretation is correct to those who believe in it for this additional well-being he speaks of is not perceptible to human senses. The truth is that the blessing on the Sabbath day is the fountain of blessings and constitutes the foundation of the world. And He sanctified it that it draw its sanctity from the Sanctuary on high. If you will understand this comment of mine you will grasp what the Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah 1:9. concerning the Sabbath: [“Why did He bless the Sabbath? It is] because it has no partner,”244“Because it has no…” (l’phi sh’e) is a direct quote from the Midrash there. (See Theodore’s ed. of Bereshith Rabbah, p. 95, variants.) In the printed edition of the Midrash, the word l’phi (because) is missing. and that which they have further related [that G-d said to the Sabbath]: “The congregation of Israel will be thy partner.” And then you will comprehend that on the Sabbath there is truly an extra soul. WHICH G-D IN CREATING HAD MADE. The work which should have been done on the Sabbath, He did in the double work which He executed on the sixth day, as it is explained in Bereshith Rabbah 1:10. So says Rashi. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, however, explained simply that His work refers to the roots of all species to which He gave the power to make [i.e., to produce] after their own kind. [Thus the verse would translate: which G-d had created in order to make it.]To me, the explanation appears to be that He rested from all His work which He created out of nothing; to make from it all the works mentioned on the six days. Thus the verse is stating that G-d rested from creating and forming — from the creation He created on the first day, and from the formation He formed on the rest of the days. And it is possible that the word la’asoth (to make) is connected with the expression above in the verse, that in it He rested from all His work which He created from making, [thus making the word la’asoth to be understood as mila’asoth (from making)]. So also are the verses: Until he ceased ‘lispor’ (to count), which means milispor (until he left off counting); And they ceased ‘livnoth’ (to build) the city, which means milivnoth; Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount; Aloth (going up) should be understood as me’aloth (from going up). And they departed not ‘mitzvath’ (the commandment of the king, which should be understood as mimitzvath (from the commandment); and thus in many other cases. Know that in the word la’asoth (to make, to do) is also included a hint that the six days of creation represent all the days of the world, i.e., that its existence will be six thousand years. For this reason the Rabbis have said: It is noteworthy here that Ramban’s explanation of the history of the world in terms of the six days of Creation was regarded with approval by many later authors. Bachya ben Asher (see my edition, I, pp. 54-6) and Menachem Ricanti copied it verbatim. Surprisingly it found its way into Egypt, and was wholly incorporated into the Midrash Rabbi David Hanagid, (Book of Exodus, pp. 201-2, ed. by A. Katz), grandson of Maimonides. “A day of the Holy One, blessed be He, is a thousand years.” Thus on the first two days the world was all water, and nothing was perfected during them. They allude to the first two thousand years when there was no one to call on the name of the Eternal. And so the Rabbis said: “The first two thousand years there was desolation.” However, there was the creation of light on the first day corresponding to the thousand years of Adam who was the light of the world ” and who recognized his Creator. Perhaps Enosh did not worship idols until the death of the first man. On the second day G-d said, ‘Let there be a firmament… and let it divide,’ for on that “day” [i.e., the second thousand-year period] Noah and his sons — the righteous ones — were separated from the wicked, who were punished in water. On the third day, the dry land appeared; plants and trees began growing, and fruits ripened. This corresponds to the third thousand-year period which begins when Abraham was forty-eight years old, for then he began to call the name of the Eternal. A righteous shoot did then spring forth in the world for he attracted many people to know the Eternal, just as the Rabbis interpreted the verse: And the souls that they had gotten in Haran “These are the converts which they converted.” (Bereshith Rabbah 39:21.) — and he commanded his household and his children after him, and they shall keep the way of the Eternal, to do righteousness and judgment. This course continued until his descendants received the Torah on Sinai and the House of G-d was also built on that “day,” and then all commandments — which are “the fruits” of the world — were affirmed. Know that from the time twilight falls it is already considered as the following day. Therefore, the subject of every “day” begins somewhat before it, just as Abraham was born at the end of the second thousand years. And you will see similar examples for each and every day. On the fourth day the luminaries — the large and the small and the stars — were created. Its “day,” in the fourth thousand-year period, began seventy-two years after the First Sanctuary was built and continued until one hundred seventy-two years after the destruction of the Second Sanctuary. Now on this “day,” the children of Israel had light, for the glory of the Eternal filled the house of the Eternal, and the light of Israel became the fire upon the altar in the Sanctuary, resting there like a lion Maharsha explains there the symbolism of the lion and the dog, that the first Sanctuary was built by King Solomon who was of the tribe of Judah, likened to a lion (see Genesis 49:9), while the second Sanctuary was built by the government of the Persians, symbolized by the dog (see Rosh Hashanah 4 a). consuming the offerings. Afterwards their light diminished and they were exiled to Babylon just as the light of the moon disappears before the birth of the new moon. Then the moon shone for them all the days of the Second Sanctuary, and the fire upon the altar rested on it like a dog. Maharsha explains there the symbolism of the lion and the dog, that the first Sanctuary was built by King Solomon who was of the tribe of Judah, likened to a lion (see Genesis 49:9), while the second Sanctuary was built by the government of the Persians, symbolized by the dog (see Rosh Hashanah 4 a). And then the two luminaries disappeared towards eventide and the Sanctuary was destroyed. On the fifth day the waters swarmed with living creatures and fowl flying above the earth. This was a reference to the fifth thousand-year period which began one hundred seventy-two years after the destruction of the Second Sanctuary since, during this millennium, the nations will have dominion, and man will be made as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them; they take up all of them with the angle, catch them in their net and gather in their drag, and no one seeks the Eternal. On the sixth day in the morning, G-d said: ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.’ Their creation took place before sunrise, even as it is written, The sun ariseth, they withdraw, and crouch in their dens. Then man was created in the image of G-d, and this is the time of his dominion, as it is written, Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening. All this is an indication of the sixth thousand-year period in the beginning of which the “beasts,” symbolizing the kingdoms that knew not the Eternal, will rule, but after a tenth thereof — in the proportion of the time from the first sparklings of the sun to the beginning of the day — the redeemer will come, as it is said concerning him, And his throne is as the sun before Me. This is the son of David, who was formed in the image of G-d, as it is written, And behold, there came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient One of days, and he was brought near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom., This will take place one hundred eighteen years after the completion of five thousand years, E. See my biography of Ramban, p. 141, for further discussion of this matter. that the word of the Eternal by the mouth of Daniel might be accomplished: And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the detestable thing that causeth appalment set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Yamim here means “years.” Thus 172 years after the destruction of the Second Temple, the fifth millennium began. Add this to the 118 years after the beginning of the sixth millennium, and you have 1290 years, as mentioned in the verse. It would appear from the change of days — from the swarms of the waters and the fowl created on the fifth day to the beasts of the earth created on the sixth day — that in the beginning of the sixth thousand-year period a new ruling kingdom will arise, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly, Ramban refers here to rise of Islam. and approaching the truth more than the preceding ones. The seventh day which is the Sabbath alludes to the World to Come, “which will be wholly a Sabbath and will bring rest for life everlasting.” And may G-d guard us during all the days and set our portion with His servants, the blameless ones.

"And God blessed" — The meaning of blessing is an addition of goodness. On this day there is renewed in physical bodies a likeness of power in the realm of reproduction, and in souls, the power of necessity and intellect. "And He sanctified it" — in that no labor was performed on it, as was done on its companions. The meaning of "which God created to make" — these are the roots, in all the species, into which He placed the power to produce their likeness. As for one who interprets "to make" as equivalent to 'He made,' and likewise 'made' as equivalent to 'created,' in my view this is not so. The Gaon [Saadia] said that the blessing and sanctification of the day apply to those who observe it — that they shall be blessed and holy.

ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי, this refers not only to the first Sabbath but to all subsequent Sabbath days. G’d endowed every Sabbath with this blessing so that it would more readily accommodate the additional “soul” He grants Jews on that day. Job 33,30 describes this phenomenon as לאור באור החיים, “designed that he may bask in the light of life.” Our sages (Beytzah 16) state that the words שבת וינפש in Exodus 31,17 refer to the loss of this additional soul at the end of the Sabbath.

ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי. G'd blessed the seventh day. We need to know the exact nature of this blessing which the Torah does not spell out in this instance. Our sages (Mechilta Exodus 20,3) suggested that the blessing was the fact that while the Jewish people were in the desert an extra portion of manna descended on Fridays and they did not have to pick it up on the Sabbath. Such allusions are, of course, not the plain meaning of the verse. The plain meaning of the verse has nothing to do with isolated events two and half millenia in the future. The fact is that this present world can function only on the basis of an adequate supply of life-sustaining food and drink. All man's physical needs are attained only through toil and a great deal of effort on his part. Such activities are of a very mundane nature. Inasmuch as G'd wanted to sanctify the Sabbath, He first bestowed a blessing on that day so that it should not be devoid of anything. Although the amenities of this "lower" world are not normally attained through asceticism, withdrawal into the four walls of the Torah academy, etc., but through preocccupation with the profane and the mundane, G'd provided His blessing so that not only would there be no lack of the physical comforts but an abundance. This abundance is expressed by the halachah requiring us to have two whole loaves of bread when reciting the benediction over the Sabbath meal, to eat at least three meals on that day, and to enjoy delicacies not eaten on the days of the week. One might have expected the blessing to be of a purely spiritual nature. By not mentioning a spiritual kind of blessing, the Torah alludes to the Sabbath having been endowed by G'd with blessings of a physical nature. This is also what the Zohar meant when it speaks about the abundance of all the six days of creation being channelled into the Sabbath. כי בו שבת, for on it He rested, etc. Here too we must explore exactly what the Torah had in mind. We fall back on what we wrote earlier, that the world had lacked the ingredients which assured it of permanence until the Sabbath came into existence. Assuming that this was so, we must ask what had enabled the world to continue up until the Sabbath? Since the world obviously was able to carry on without the נפש it received on the Sabbath, why would its continued existence have been endangered only then? We find that G'd has revealed the answer to this question in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20,11) where the Torah writes: כי ששת ימים עשה השם את השמים ואת הארץ This means that at the time G'd created the universe He invested it with only enough power to endure six days for reasons known only to Himself and some kabbalists. G'd created one day which would be able to invest the world with staying power for another six days. If G'd had not created the Sabbath, the Tohu Vavohu preceding those six days would have returned and G'd would have had to start the process of creation ex nihilo all over again. Due to the infusion of the "soul" of the Sabbath the universe was placed on a more permanent basis, enabled to renew its batteries, so to speak. The words ובו שבת, mean that by means of this special day, the Sabbath, He was able to rest from all His work. The work referred to is that which only G'd could perform namely to create ex nihilo, something out of nothing. Had it not been for the Sabbath and its נפש, G'd would have had to repeat the process of בריאה, creation. The word עשה refers only to תיקון, improvement, repair. G'd rested from both aspects of creative activity. When viewed in this light we can understand the statement of our sages that by reciting the benediction over wine on the Sabbath one becomes a partner to G'd in His creation of the universe (Shabbat 119). At first glance these words appear very forced. Who has ever heard of man becoming a retroactive partner in G'd's handiwork, something that He had long since completed? Besides, the act of reciting this paragraph from the Torah does not appear to be such a world-shaking effort that it would qualify us to become G'd's "partners!" What is the source of the statement in the Talmud? If the sages meant that the reward for reciting Kiddush is so great, should it not be awarded in public such as longevity, wealth, and physical prowess being granted to Sabbath-observers? When we keep in mind my explanation thus far, it will be seen that the Talmud's statement is indeed most appropriate. In view of the fact that the Sabbath provides a secure existence for the six days following it after which another Sabbath repeats the same function, it follows that the very existence of the Sabbath equates with the existence of the universe. Unless there are people who observe the Sabbath there is no Sabbath, i.e. its existence has lost its meaning. Our rabbis have legislated that when one's life is in danger unless one desecrates a law of the Sabbath, one should desecrate a single Sabbath in order to remain alive and observe many subsequent Sabbaths. Assuming that there were no other Sabbath-observers at the time, what good would it do for the person whose life was in to skip the one Sabbath? The world would disintegrate before he would have a chance to observe another Sabbath! It follows that only Sabbath-observers keep the universe going. Therefore the Sabbath-observers have become G'd's "partners" by ensuring that G'd's universe survives for another six days. Observing the Sabbath means to preserve its holiness according to all its laws and customs. Ever since the creation of man the world did not lack at least one person who observed the Sabbath. Adam did so, his son Sheth, and many righteous people after him. Whenever one righteous person died, G'd had already arranged for another righteous person to be born. This chain of individual Sabbath-observers continued through Methusela, Noach, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., until the Jewish people introduced collective Sabbath-observance. According to our sages, The Israelites observed the Sabbath even while in exile in Egypt (Shemot Rabbah 1,32). The word בהבראם, when they were created, is the reminder that whatever the earth or the waters produced was possible only due to the act of creation G'd performed on the day they were created themselves. When we wrote earlier (2,1) that the spherical world is kept in balance and thus in existence due to the desire of the respective creatures to cleave to the light which surrounds this sphere provided by the Creator, this does not contradict what we have written. Were it not for the Sabbath, no creature would have had sufficient intelligence and desire to want to cleave to the Creator. On that day they were provided with the potential to produce what they produced subsequently.

ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי, “G-d blessed the seventh day.”[If I understand the author correctly, he does not understand the word ויברך here as in the immediate past, but as description of the state of the universe on that day as a result of its Creator having blessed it previously. Ed.] On this day the world was in a state of perfection full of everything positive, and fully satisfied. Compare Deuteronomy 5,14: אשר ברכך ה' אלוקיך תתן לו, “that the Lord your G-d has blessed you with, give him of it.” (the departing servant). This is also what we recite regularly in our prayers: “You have blessed it more than any other days.” ויקדש אותו “He sanctified it;” according to Rashi, this refers to the fact that the manna would not descend to earth on that day. [Maybe Rashi means that the Sabbath rest is observed also in the celestial regions. Ed.] If you were to counter that on festival days the manna did not descend either, as we read in Exodus 6,26: וביום השביעי לא יהיה בו, and our sages in the Mechilta, (according to Rashi) claim that this verse was written only in order to include the day of Atonement and the other Festivals as days on which no manna descended, we have to remember that the festivals are frequently also referred to as Sabbaths, so that there was no need for a special verse to include those days as days on which the manna would not descend. A different exegesis of these words: the meaning of “He sanctified it,” is that no creative activity was to be performed on that day, seeing that the Creator Himself had abstained from carrying out such an activity on that day. The idea that a day known as שבת must be sanctified even if it is not the seventh day of the week, is demonstrated when the Torah in Leviticus 23,3 calls that day שבת שבתון, before adding that this is the reason that no work may be performed on it. The day of Atonement is also called שבת שבתון (Leviticus 16,31) although most of the time it does not occur on the seventh day of the week. It makes sense therefore that because it is also a שבת שבתון, the rules about work prohibition are identical to those occurring every week on the seventh day. כי בו שבת, the word שבת when applied to G-d, cannot mean “He rested,” in the sense this term is commonly used, as we have it on the authority of Isaiah 40,28 that G-d never “grows faint or weary;” seeing that He did not have to exert Himself when creating the universe, why should He have been tired so that would have to “rest?” The word has to be understood as G-d having put a temporary stop to an activity. We find a similar term used when the regular descent on weekdays of the manna came to a halt after the Israelites had crossed the Jordan, (Joshua 5,12) before they commenced eating from the produce of the land of Canaan. Both events are reported there as having occurred on the same day. We also find the verb שבת used in the sense of an interruption Job 32,1 when Job’s friends interrupted their arguing with Job for three days out of their respect for his righteousness. An even better proof is Genesis 8,22, where G-d assures Noach after the deluge that the regular phenomenon of day and night following one another will never again be suspended, i.e. יום ולילה לא ישבתו, “day and night will occur without interruption.” Neither day nor night will take “a break from their routine.” מכל מלאכתו אשר עשה, “from all His work;” a reference to the functioning henceforth of the earth and its inhabitants, i.e. living creatures developing and multiplying, trees producing fruit, etc. An alternative exegesis of the phrase; the word: לעשות at the end of this verse refers to the continuity of this process for as long as earth would exist. This would be the Torah’s, i.e. G-d’s answer, to the heretics who claim that G-d performs His activities on the Sabbath seeing that He allows it to rain and bring about the growing and ripening of trees and crops on that day. This is utter nonsense, as these processes had all been part of the directive given by G-d when these phenomena or creatures were first created. The Torah here states categorically that G-d does nothing of the sort. Proof of this is that the fact that manna which, because G-d had not created it, i.e. it had not descended to earth during the first six days of the universe, was also not allowed to descend on the Sabbath, and it also had never been seen until after the Jewish people had left Egypt; all this refutes the theory that G-d “works” on the Sabbath. Yet another exegesis of our verse: the emphasis in our verse is on the expression אשר ברא לעשות, instead of אשר עשה; we are told here that the various types of destructive forces with which the earth seems to abound at time, were only “created,” i.e. were only made possible by G-d, but were not developed into finished products, i.e. powered by Him. G-d did not have time to completely fashion those destructive forces until dusk on the sixth day when it had already turned dark, as Midrash Tanchuma (ancient version) tells us on Bereshit 17. According to this exegesis our verse refers only to the constructive phenomena that G-d had created while it was still daylight on the sixth day. The reason that the Torah, at the end of its report on G-d’s “activity” on the seventh day does not conclude with the words: “it was evening it was morning,” is that there had been no evening; the entire Sabbath had been a day bathed in full light. (Bereshit Rabbah, 11,2.) [ "To do [on Friday] for in it [i.e. Shabbat] one refrains from all creative work."](Talmud Bavli, Shabbat, 118b)

ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי “G-d blessed the seventh day.” Rashi explains this by saying that the blessing consisted of the manna [which the Jewish people would not need to collect on the Sabbath during their wanderings in the desert, Ed.]. He also sees the word “He sanctified it,” as applying to the fact that manna did not fall on the Sabbath. With all due respect to his fame as a commentator, I do not believe that an interpretation which delays the effectiveness of a blessing for two thousand years into the future is what the Torah had in mind here. I believe that the blessing referred to a new phenomenon which became manifest on that day, namely that the light remained active throughout the twenty four hours of that day. On the Sabbath there was no visible difference between day and night and that is the reason we do not find the words “it was evening, it was morning,” in connection with that day. When the Torah added the words ויקדש אותו, “He sanctified it,” this means that G-d set the Sabbath apart, distinguished it from the other days. Whenever something is set apart from the norm the term “sanctified” is appropriate. When G-d instructed the Jewish people to be distinct, separate from the nations of the world (Leviticus 119,2), He used the phrase קדושים תהיו, “be holy,” i.e. be distinct, remain separate. Looking at our verse from a kabbalistic point of view, the words יום השביעי refer to the seventh emanation which is called עולם הנשמות, “world of the souls,” as it is the region in which the powers of the soul are rooted. This region therefore may aptly be described as the fountainhead of all blessings. During the six days of the week the soul may be compared to someone who is merely a guest without a home. On the Sabbath the soul is like a guest who has found a home. This is why the Torah used the word ויברך ה' את יום השביעי, “He conferred a blessing on that day,” i.e. the soul derives a blessing from its source on that day. As to the words ויקדש אותו, the meaning is that the blessing the Torah spoke of originated in a separate domain. אשר ברא אלוקים לעשות. “which G-d had created to do.” The word לעשות in this instance refers to work which G-d did on the sixth day though it had originally been meant to be done on the seventh day (based on Rashi). Nachmanides sees in the sequence of the words שבת מכל מלאכתו אשר ברא אלוקים לעשות a hint that as of that day G-d no longer engaged in either the kind of creative activity He had engaged in on the first day when He created ex nihilo, nor the kind of activity He continued with during the remainder of the six days when He converted original matter into more refined matter. It is also possible to explain the words אשר ברא אלוקים, as referring to G-d “sealing” the whole מעשה בראשית, seeing that the repetition of the word אלוקים here needs justification. The Torah repeated these words in order to ensure that the reader would attribute the entire work of the six days of creation to a single Creator. He who had started it also completed it. The word לעשות on the other hand, teaches that He who had originated matter now instructed the various parts of nature to continue His work in accordance with the rules He had laid down. We have already mentioned a kabbalistic view of the additional word לעשות when we spoke about the seventh millennium. King David also hinted at such future developments when he composed his hymn (Psalm 92) entitled מזמור שיר ליום השבת., “a song for the Sabbath day.” During the course of that hymn he speaks of “the righteous who will bloom like a date-palm, like the cedar tree in Lebanon.” Intelligent readers will understand the mystical meaning of these words. [a reference to developments after the seventh millennium. Ed.] In the 51st chapter of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer we read: “heaven and earth will undergo a metamorphosis and will reappear in a renewed version.” The verse in scripture from which this is derived is Isaiah 34,4 ונגולו כספר השמים, “and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll,” i.e. like man who reads a scroll and rolls it up when he has come to the end. Similarly, when the time comes, G-d will “roll up” the heavens like a book The prophet also speaks of a similar development occurring to earth when he said והארץ כבגד תבלה, “and the earth will become moldy like a garment” (Isaiah 51,6). The earth is compared to man who disrobes and folds up garments and then opens them and wears them again. G-d will perform something analogous to this with earth when the time comes. The root בלה is used in a number of scriptural verses to describe a process of destruction preceding a renewal. Rabbi Eliezer says specifically that this will be the process experienced by heaven and earth, and that just as we find in nature that a leaf will wither on the vine, or that the fruit will shrivel on the fig tree (Isaiah 34,4) only to be regenerated, so this will happen to the universe G-d has created. The lesson to be learned from such a phenomenon is that there is a G-d who causes disintegration but that He Himself is not subject to such disintegration. Thus far Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer. You must appreciate that the first seven days (including the Sabbath) of creation are intended to acquaint us both with what happened once and with what will happen again. They are symbolic of the six thousand years the universe will endure in its present form and the one thousand years during which it will undergo a total transformation. Bereshit Rabbah 8,2 states that in G-d’s calendar one day is equivalent to a thousand years in our calendar. This insight is based on Psalms 90,4 כי אלף שנים בעיניך כיום אתמול, “for one thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday.” It is clear that there is an allusion to something which will occur in the future in the millennium corresponding to the report of every single day of the creation as portrayed by the Torah. The first day on which light was created alludes to the first millennium during which Adam was alive. Adam was considered the light of the terrestrial world. When you consider that in the report of the first day the Torah mentions light five times and darkness only three times, you can understand that during this millennium light, i.e. goodness and peace, gradually asserted itself over darkness and the evil which darkness symbolises. The second day of creation, on the other hand, symbolises the second millennium during which the deluge occurred. This is the reason that the word טוב does not occur in the report of that day of the creative process. This is also why we do not find the words ויהי כן, “it remained thus,” until the end of verse seven instead of immediately after the directive in verse six that a heaven should become manifest. Our sages considered the absence of the mention ”it was good” on the second day as so serious that they discouraged people from commencing major undertakings on Mondays, the second day of the week. It is not appropriate for man to commence an enterprise on a day when G-d “lost” His world to the deluge. If you have been under the impression that our sages discouraged new undertakings on Mondays because they considered this a bad omen, please reconsider. The fact is that the evening of the second day (Sunday night) commences under the aegis of the horoscope צדק (Jupiter), whereas by day the second day of the week is under the aegis of the לבנה, the moon, both of which constellations are positive; these planets symbolise light and uprightness. It would therefore be appropriate to commence undertakings on such a day which seems to augur well for people. How then could the sages have forbidden such a thing except for man to commemorate G-d’s dismay at the need to have destroyed so many of His creatures? The third day corresponded to the third millennium; on that day the word כי טוב occurred twice. The first time the words occur they symbolise the cancellation of the decree to destroy the earth by means of a deluge; the second time these words refer to what occurred in the year 2448 when G-d revealed Himself to His people and gave them the Torah Just as G-d had given permission to earth on the third day to produce vegetation and that vegetation had remained hidden at the threshold of earth waiting to reveal itself until Adam the crown jewel of creation came into existence, so the third millennium was reserved for the Jewish people who are reported in Exodus 1,7 to have been fruitful and to have been multiplying in Egypt during that millennium. The sanctity and spiritual superiority of the Jewish people had remained hidden from the world until they received the Torah at Mount Sinai. The fourth day of creation corresponds to the fourth millennium, the period during which the Jewish people accumulated more wisdom than any other nation. The two great luminaries allude to the written and the oral Torah respectively. The “great luminary” symbolises the written Torah, whereas the “small(er) luminary”, the moon, symbolises the oral Torah. The stars which are always considered as part of the moon’s domain, represent those parts of the oral Torah which, though not necessarily the last word in halachah, nonetheless provide great moral lessons for the Jewish people. The fifth day symbolises the period during which the Jewish people were in exile amongst the nations of the world who have been compared to נפש החיה הרומשת על הארץ, ”the living creatures which crawl on earth.” This is the reason that the words ויהי כן, “it remained thus,” are absent at the conclusion of the Torah’s report of what transpired on that day. It is a hint that our exile will not go on forever, but that in the end we will experience redemption. The sixth day corresponds to the sixth millennium (which at the time of writing by our author was barely 50 years old). Just as the Torah reports at the beginning of its report of that day that the earth brought forth all manner of animals including those that creep, so the sixth millennium finds us in exile at its beginning. The various beasts were created before the “sun” shone on earth, a period when they reigned supreme on earth. This is the meaning of Psalms 104,22 תזרח השמש יאספון, “once the sun shines they will be gathered in.(to their dens). ”Adam was created after the sun had begun to shine as this was the time when he would rule. The psalmist in Psalms 104,23 again refers to this when he says יצא אדם לפעלו, “Adam will set out to do his work.” Just as Adam took control on the sixth day of creation, something alluded to in the words “let us make Adam,” so the Messiah will arrive and take control of the earth during the sixth millennium after a tenth of that millennium has passed, corresponding to the hour at which the sun rises in the morning. The reference is to the משיח בן דוד, the Messiah who is the descendant of David, the final Messiah. It has been written of this Messiah וכסאו כשמש נגדי, “and his throne is as the sun before Me.”(Psalms 89,37). It is he who is meant when the Torah spoke of Man as being made in the image of the Lord. Daniel 7,13 describes him as ארו עם ענני שמיא כבר אנש אתי הוה, “and behold! With the clouds of heaven, one like a man came.” This is presumed to occur 118 years into the sixth millennium if Daniel’s prediction in chapter 12,17 will prove accurate... [Seeing that the commentators obviously misunderstood Daniel’s calculation of when the Messiah would come, as the time has long passed, I have omitted explaining how our author believes that Daniel arrived at his calculation. Ed.]... The seventh day corresponds to the seventh millennium, which will be all Sabbath. All this will occur after the arrival of the Messiah and the resurrection of the dead will have been completed. All the people resurrected will participate in this “Sabbath,” and will enjoy indescribable physical and spiritual pleasures. I believe it is this period to which both Hillel and Shammai alluded when they said (Beytzah 16) מחד שביך לשביתך, “from the first day (of the week) prepare already for your Sabbath.” This statement did not only refer to the need to prepare superior food to honour the forthcoming Sabbath physically, but it also meant that we are to prepare ourselves spiritually at all times for the eventual Sabbath in that millennium. Although Hillel phrased this principle differently, both scholars alluded to the same thing. Our mental focus should not be restricted to the daily problems but we should prepare ourselves spiritually for the millennium which bears the name “Sabbath.”

Which God created to make. Since Shabbat demonstrates the creation of something from nothing [yesh me’ayin], and it was specifically from that type of creation that He rested. However, He did not rest from the creation of something from something existing [yesh mi’yesh], as many plants take root and grow on Shabbat, and all creatures that were created during the six days of creation were created in order to make from them something from something [yesh mi’yesh]. For they are all like raw material from which something is made, so too all creatures continue to make something from something from the six days of creation onward. Therefore it states which God created to make — meaning He created them in order to make from them something from something, each day in its time. From this we learn that Shabbat is specifically a sign of creation ex nihilo [something from nothing], for if not, what makes this day different from other days? And regarding why it doesn’t say “and it was evening and it was morning” concerning Shabbat: This is because on all [other] days, the night is a time for rest and the morning is a time for work, as it is said The sun rises… man goes out to his work (Psalms 104:22). However, the Sabbath day is either entirely rest or entirely work — therefore, there is no distinction between evening and morning, because from the perspective of regular work, it is entirely rest. And from the perspective of toiling in Torah, it is entirely for work, as the Sabbath was given to engage in Torah study, about which it is said You shall meditate on it day and night (Joshua 1:8). And as it appears in the Midrash (Tanna d’Bei Eliyahu Rabbah 1). And perhaps this is what is meant by for on it He ceased from all His work which God created — meaning regular work — to do — referring to the craftsmanship of the Tree of Life of Torah, and the craftsmanship of the stone tablets. And this is easily understood.

ויברך ויקדש, “He blessed and sanctified.” Rashi explains that the words ויברך ויקדש refer to the manna. During the weekdays one omer of manna per person fell from the heavens, and on the Sabbath eve twice the amount, so that the Sabbath was sanctified by no manna descending. Rav Saadyah gaon explains that the blessing and sanctity are granted to those who observe the Sabbath in accordance with halachah. Ibn Ezra explains the blessing bestowed on the Sabbath as additional strength granted to the bodies to enable them to procreate and the additional mental and spiritual dimension known as נשמה יתירה, “additional soul,” which Jews enjoy on that day. ויקדש אותו, “He sanctified it.” This day is not slated for work being performed as are the six working days. אשר ברא אלוקים לעשות, “which G’d had created to be developed further.” According to Rashi the meaning is that work (of a creative nature) originally intended to be carried out only on the seventh day, was moved forward so that G’d performed it already on the sixth day. According to Ibn Ezra the verse tells us that G’d enabled the various creatures, including plants, to be able to procreate and ensure their continued existence on earth Nachmanides holds that as of this day G’d desisted from any creative activity which was known as בריאה, i.e. creating matter out of no tangible raw material, יש מאין, “ex nihilo.” The meaning of the additional word לעשות, is that G’d did not even put finishing touches to phenomena He had already created in their primitive state. Nachmanides adds that we should know that the expression ששת ימים does not only refer to the six days of creation in a literal sense, but to the entire projected length of time this universe is to endure, i.e. 6000 years. This is why our sages described the length of a “day” in terms of G’d’s calendar as equivalent to 1000 years of our calendar. During the first two days the universe consisted completely of water. These “days” are an allusion to the 2000 years described by our sages a tohu, a degree of chaos, seeing that nothing had been completed during these two “days.” Seeing that during these 2000 years no one proclaimed the name of the Living G’d, our sages described this era as תהו. The first day during which light had been created is basically the period of close to 1000 years during which Adam lived, It is quite possible that even Enosh did not turn to idolatry until Adam had died. The second day which saw the creation of the heavens, etc. also produced a Noach who, with his sons, was righteous, whereas the rest of mankind was doomed to destruction during that millennium. Mankind was destroyed by water, another sign that this was the dominating influence during that era. The third day, i.e. also the third millennium, saw the emergence of an Avraham who was 48 years of age at the beginning of that millennium. Avraham was the first human being who succeeded in attracting many people to worship G’d as the only deity. He had begun converting people years before G’d told him to leave Charan and to move to what was then the land of Canaan. It was also the millennium during the middle of which Torah was revealed to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. It is important to remember that with the onset of dusk after sunset the following day has already begun. [Avraham’s being born in the year1952 after the creation of Adam is considered as if he had been born during dusk of the second “day,” a stage preparatory to the third day (millennium).] Observance of the commandments of the Torah is equivalent of “the World having produced its fruit.” The fourth day, (or millennium) during which the sun and moon were created also produced the first Temple which Solomon built in Jerusalem. (72 years into the third millennium). This millennium lasted until 172 years after the destruction of the first Temple. The day the Temple was consecrated was a day of light when heavenly fire descended to consume thousands of sacrifices. The glory of G’d filled the Temple and the heavenly fire was reposing on the altar as does a lion that has eaten his fill. In other words, Israel’s light shone forth at that time as did the sun when placed in orbit for the first time. From that time on Israel’s glory diminished fairly steadily culminating in exile of the people and the subsequent minor rally during which the second Temple was built, a period which can be best compared to the kind of night during which the moon is the only source of light available. The fifth day which produced most of the living creatures of the water and the birds of the sky, is symbolized by the fifth millennium, commencing 172 years after the destruction of the second Temple. This was an era to which the verse in Chabakuk 1,14-15 can be compared. The prophet there writes: ותעשה אדם כדגי הים כרמש לא מושל בו. כולה בחכה העלה יגורהו בחרמו ויאספהו במכמרתו עלכן ישמח ויגל. “You have made mankind like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler. He has fished them all up with a line, pulled them up in his trawl and gathered them in his net. That is why he rejoices and is glad.” [The prophet complains about the apparent absence of G’d’s providence during this millennium when human beings were treated as if they were fish in the sea with no value to their lives. Ed.] This era did not produce men of caliber who sought the nearness of their Creator. (Isaiah 31,1) On the morning of the sixth day the earth produced various land-based mammals, all of this occurring prior to sunrise as alluded to in Psalms 104, 22 תזרח השמש יאספון ואל מעונתם ירבצון, “by the time the sun rises they came home and crouch in their dens.” Following this, man was created in the image of G’d on the sixth day (sixth millennium) Then commenced the period of man’s dominance as described in the subsequent verse in Psalms 104,23 יצא אדם לפעלו ולעבודתו עדי ערב, “man then goes to his work, to his labour until the evening.” David describes the sixth millennium during the early part of which the “animals” roam the world more or less unimpeded. These “animals” are humans who do not know their Creator, and therefore are hardly better than animals. After man’s creation, described as part of sunrise, will come the redeemer, scion of the house of David, who has been made in the image of the Lord of whom it has been written: (Daniel 7,13) וארו עם ענני שמיא כבר אנש אתה הוא ועד עתיק יומיא מטה וקדמוהי הקרבוהי ולה יהיב שלטן ויקר ומלכו, “and behold with the clouds of heaven, one like a man came; he came up to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him before Him. He gave him dominion, glory and kingship, peoples nations and languages.” [although our author is quoting Nachmanides he has left out several sentences, perhaps he did not have the updated text that we have nowadays thanks to Rabbi Chavell.] It would seem from the Torah’s terminology which uses the same words to describe two different scenarios, i.e. days and millennia, that at the beginning of the sixth millennium an especially powerful and violent nation will emerge, a nation and religion which will be more monotheistic than previous ones. [reference to Islam. Ed.] The seventh day is the Sabbath, which in terms of millennia describes the future known as עולם הבא, an idyllic state involving מנוחה rest in a positive sense, something which the sages speak about. Some commentators see in the word לעשות the opposite of עשה, i.e. something G’d had done already, a reference to the spiritually negative forces in the universe, the מזיקים, the potential for which G’d had created. The phenomena have not been equipped with a body, hence the word לעשות describes them in their incomplete state. Still other commentators see in the word לעשות instructions to existing phenomena such as earth, water, etc., [in other words “nature” Ed.] to continue the process as it no longer involved anything basically new. From now on man would be the product of his parents, a reproduction of the ongoing process here called לעשות. In the Midrash the word לעשות is understood to refer to something G’d had deliberately omitted to create at the time, i.e. the רוח צפוני the north wind. This wind would be put to use when it is time to judge the idolaters in the future. G’d will challenge them by saying to them that if there is any substance to their deities, He challenges them to produce the north wind which He had left in reserve for their expertise. If they would prove unable to produce this north wind, they would be convicted of having worshipped totally useless phenomena as deities. The reason why the Torah does not conclude with the words ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר יום שביעי, “it was evening and morning the seventh day,” is that the Jewish people would honour the Sabbath by commencing it before the end of the sixth day, thus lending it an extra measure of sanctity.

These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, on the day that Hashem God made earth and heavens.

אלה THESE [ARE THE GENERATIONS] — “These” means those that are mentioned above. ‘תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם ביום עשות ה THESE ARE THE PRODUCTIONS OF THE HEAVEN AND OF THE EARTH WHEN THEY WERE CREATED, IN THE DAY THE LORD GOD MADE EARTH AND HEAVEN — The verse teaches you that all of them (the productions of heaven and earth) were created on the first day when God made earth and heaven. Another explanation of the word בהבראם: It may be divided as בה' בראם He created them with the letter ‘ה, as it is said, (Isaiah 26:4) כי ביה ה' צור עולמים “For in Jah, the Lord, is the rock of worlds”, which may be explained to mean (taking צור in sense of Former, Creator) “for by means of ב these two letters י ה of the Divine Name (יהוה) God formed the two worlds” (Menachot 29b), and this verse teaches that this world was created by means of the ‘ה — a suggestion that all created beings must descend to the nether world “to behold the pit” — the world being like this letter ‘ה, which is closed on all sides but open at the bottom, thus giving a way by which they must descend.

THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH WHEN THEY WERE CREATED. Scripture now relates the account of the heaven and the earth as regards rain and growth after they had been created and put in proper order, that the heavens shall give their dew and rain, and the ground shall give her increase, these making possible the existence of all living beings. And in the word b’hibaram (when they were created) — [which could be read as if it were two words: b’hei baram] — Scripture alludes to what the Rabbis have said:, “He created them with the letter hei” [which is the last of the four letters of the Tetragrammaton]. It is for this reason that Scripture until this point mentioned only the word Elokim. This is explained in the verse: For all these things hath My hand made; The last letter (hei) of the Tetragrammaton is in the Cabala considered the yad hashem (the hand of G-d). See my Hebrew commentary, p. 32. and so did Job say, Who knoweth not among all these, that the hand of the Eternal hath wrought this? This being so, the expression, in the day that the Eternal G-d made, refers covertly to the word bereshith (in the beginning).

"These are the generations" — the meaning is: these are the things they brought forth. "When they were created" — when the firmament came into being and the earth appeared. The word "on the day of making" is an idiomatic usage; the proof is: "and he hurried to make it" (Gen. 18:7), and similarly: "I created him," then "I formed him," then "I made him" (Isa. 43:7).

אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם. These are the plants and the living creatures which had been the potential derivatives of heaven and earth already at the time when heaven and earth were first created. The potential ability for heaven and earth to produce the inhabitants of their respective domains was inherent in their respective composition from the first moment of their existence. When the Torah, in its very first verse, wrote the words את השמים and את הארץ, this was already an allusion to the additional factors which had been created together with heaven and earth, i.e. their ability to produce their respective derivatives. ביום עשות ה' אלוקים ארץ ושמים, this potential was translated into an actual only on the day when G’d completed עשות, i.e. arranged in detail how these derivatives were to function and where and when. This occurred after the six “days” of creative activity. Only when that stage had been reached was G’d referred to in the Torah by His full name, i.e. ה' אלוקים.

2.4. אלה תולדות השמים והארץ. These are the developments of the heavens and the earth. Our sages have already explained this verse homiletically. However, the plain meaning of the verse is not known. It appears to me that the key lies in the fact that G'd had previously instructed the creatures i.e. heaven and earth respectively to also produce "offspring." The waters had been told to divide, to produce fish, etc, whereas the earth had been instructed to produce vegetation, mammals, etc. The Torah reiterates that what earth and heaven produce daily are only derivatives, תולדות, that there is nothing original about these phenomena so that we should not err and believe that both the waters and the earth possessed independent creative powers. Such an error would lead to heretic thoughts. The reason that the Torah mentions only heaven and earth in this connection and not the waters is simply because the waters are part of שמים. The word בהבראם may also be understood as בהם בראם, G'd created all these תולדות by employing heaven and earth as His agents.

אלה תולדות השמים והארץ וגו, “these are the derivatives of heaven and earth, etc.; seeing that in the first chapter the Torah had been extremely concise on a number of aspects of the story of creation, the Torah now fills in some of these gaps, by explaining more about the “how” of that period. We have a statement by Rabbi Abahu, quoted in Bereshit Rabbah 12,3, according to which every time in the Holy Scriptures when a paragraph commences with the word: אלה, this is meant to indicate that a state of affairs which had been described as in effect previously, is no longer valid. On the other hand, if a paragraph commences with the word: ואלה, this is meant to indicate that what follows is a continuation of a state of affairs that already been in existence. The state of affairs that the word אלה in our verse is to supersede is that of tohu vavohu, chaos and darkness, which the Torah had introduced in Genesis. 1,2. תולדות השמים. This is a reference to the luminaries and the stars as well as to all the phenomena that are part of the celestial regions, including fire (lightning) hail, tornados, etc.; However during the reign of King David, the latter succeeded in making most of these phenomena part of our terrestrial world. (Compare Talmud, Chagigah 12) והארץ, this is a reference to both living creatures, and all manner of vegetation on earth. ביום עשות, at the time when heaven and earth had first been created, i.e. on the first day. All of these phenomena mentioned already on the first day, G-d had completed during the following five “days.” ביום עשות ה' אלוקים, “on the day the Lord G-d had completed;” now that heaven and earth had been completely built up, the Torah for the first time reveals G-d’s full name in accordance with the principle we have learned from Proverbs 14,28 that ברב עם הדרת מלך “when there is a multitude the king’s real honour becomes manifest.” We find this principle invoked also in B’rachot 49 where the Talmud says: ”one does not invoke the tetragram when preparing to recite grace after a meal unless there are at least 10 adult males present.”The author quotes Rashi as commenting on our verse that G-d, now that there were free willed human beings on earth, coopted the attribute of mercy so that He would not automatically have to destroy His universe when man sinned. This has been hinted at in the prefix letter ו before the line: 'וה שמים עשה, “and the Lord (by contrast) completed the heaven.” [This quote is not found in our editions of Rashi on this verse. Ed.] ארץ ושמים, “earth and heaven.” Previously, in 1,1 the Torah had listed heaven before referring to earth. Midrash Tanchuma comments on this that when speaking of the creation of something out of nothing, i.e. the stage known as בריאה, heaven preceded earth chronologically, whereas when speaking of the completion of their coming into existence, earth was completed first.

אלה תולדות השמים והארץ, “These are the products of heaven and earth.” It is well known that heaven and earth between them comprise all creatures which possess a body. According to the plain meaning of the text they are here described as תולדה, “product,” to remind us that they were “born” just like babies are born, i.e. they had parents, they were not eternal. The word is designed to deprive all those who believe in the eternal existence of the universe of a basis for their theories. From an homiletical point of view, (Shemot Rabbah 30,3) the critical word here is the word אלה, “these.” Whenever this word appears in the Torah it represents a break in continuity with what had been written prior to that word. This word is also the basis of the statement by our sages that G-d had been building and destroying a number of worlds prior to creating the present one. At that point, He had said דין הניין לי ודין לא הניין לי, “these please Me whereas the others do not please Me” (Bereshit Rabbah 3,9). The wording “He created and destroyed,” is not to be understood literally; it means that G-d looked at various plans of various universes He had contemplated creating and after finding them inadequate He went back “to the drawing board,” to plan an even better universe I have discussed the matter already in connection with the words יהי אור. Other comments in the Midrash there concentrate on the spelling of the word תולדות. First, the very word תולדות teaches that whereas previous plans by G-d had been shelved, the present world had been found worthwhile to translate into practice. There are only two instances where the word תולדות is spelled with both letters ו such as here The second instance is in Ruth 4,18 when the descendant of David, Peretz, the ancestor of the Messiah of davidic ancestry is mentioned. When that happens, G-d will banish death from earth. The spelling that we encounter in both these instances is that at the beginning of the word the letters ת-ו are in the reverse order of their appearance at the end of the same word, i.e. ו-ת. At the time G-d created the present world the angel of death had not been assigned any authority. After man sinned, the angel of death was given wide-ranging powers so that as of that moment all future “products,” תולדות, were spelled defective. With the birth of Peretz the son of Yehudah, the ancestor of the Messiah, a person had been born who would (through his descendant the Messiah) banish death once more from earth. This is hinted at by the spelling of the word תולדות in connection with mention of his eventual offspring The source for our tradition that death will be banished from earth at that time is Isaiah 25,8 בלע המות לנצח, “He will banish death forever.” From a rational, investigative point of view, the appearance of the two letters ת in our word where they appear as if facing one another, suggest that heaven and earth are in opposition to each other, the first letter ת referring to heaven, the second to earth. This concept is found in Proverbs 25, 3 where Solomon wrote השמים לרום והארץ לעומק. “As the heavens in their height, so the earth in its depth.” In order to ensure that we do not remain with the thought that earth is inferior to heaven by definition, the Torah reverses the order in which the names heaven and earth appear in the very next line by writing ארץ ושמים, in that order. All phenomena in the universe are the product of the same Creator; one part is not inferior or superior to the other. Heaven “faces” earth, i.e. is oriented towards earth, and earth faces heaven, i.e. is oriented towards heaven. It is even possible that this was what G-d had meant to tell Moses when He answered his question in Exodus 3,13-14 concerning which name of G-d he should mention to the Israelites when identifying himself as G-d’s messenger. At that time G-d described Himself as אהיה אשר אהיה, ”I shall be (remain) who I am.” He meant: “I will always respond in kind to whatever you (the Jewish people) will do. If you will give charity, as you are directed to by the Torah in Deut. 15,8, פתוח תפתח את ידך, ‘be sure to open your hand (to the needy),’ I shall distribute charity, as is written in Deut. 28,12 יפתח לך ה' את אוצרו הטוב, ‘G-d will open for you His good treasure.’” בהבראם, “when they were being created.” Our sages in Menachot 29, seizing on the fact that the letter ה in this word is written in smaller script, explain “He created them (heaven and earth) with the letter ה. Looking at the word as plain text, the meaning is that G-d did not experience strain or fatigue as a result of having created heaven and earth. Amongst all other letters in the Hebrew alphabet there is not a single one which does not require some form of exertion, i.e. moving the muscles of mouth, tongue or throat, in order for us to formulate it and say it audibly except the letter ה. This idea is hinted at in Psalms 33,6 בדבר ה' שמים נעשו וברוח פיו כל צבאם, “by the word “heh” the heaven was made and by the breath of His mouth all their hosts.” David meant that no exertion is needed in order to pronounce the letter ה; it suffices to exhale with the breath of one’s mouth, an involuntary “activity.” The message of the full verse in Psalms is that although the Torah describes that G-d performed many activities, i.e. ויעש, עשה, when He created the universe, it affected His state of being no more than the exhaling of the letter ה affects a human being’s fatigue. In other words, when G-d said “let us make נעשה אדם,” He exerted only as much energy as is needed to exhale with one’s mouth. Looking at the word בהבראם from an homiletical point of view, you will observe that the letters in that word are the same as in the name אברהם, although they are arranged differently. This prompted Rabbi Yudan to say in Bereshit Rabbah 12,8 that the universe was created for the sake of Avraham. Should you be perplexed at such an inference, I refer you to Psalms 89,3 עולם חסד יבנה, “the universe was built on loving kindness,” or Michah 7,20 חסד לאברהם. Both of these verses equate Avraham with loving kindness. What the sages of the Midrash meant therefore was that Avraham personified the very attribute G-d employed in creating mankind, i.e. the universe. We may therefore say without hesitation that the universe was created for Avraham, i.e. for the likes of him. A kabbalistic approach to the word בהבראם, understands it to mean that He (G-d), created it with the letter ה. This letter is the last letter in the Ineffable four-lettered name of G-d, and it is written in smaller than usual script in the Torah; it was emanated from the energy which is part of the attribute of אלוקים, and it was this part of G-d’s “energy” which created the universe On other occasions this part of G-d’s “energy” is called יד ה', “the hand of G-d,” such as in Isaiah 66,2 ואת כל אלה ידי עשתה, “and all of these (phenomena, the universe) My hand has made.” We find a verse with a similar meaning in Job 12, 9 מי לא ידע בכל אלה כי יד ה' עשתה זאת? “Who amongst all these does not know that the hand of G-d has made all this?” Whenever the word אלוקים is mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis, it refers to the emanation called תשובה, i.e. the first letter ה in G-d’s Ineffable Name. It is this letter and what it represents that we speak of in our prayers on New Year’s day which is the Day of Judgment, the anniversary of when the universe was completed. This emanation תשובה extends (presides) for the duration of the Ten Days of Penitence which are called עשרת ימי תשובה. This is why our sages have inserted a paragraph in the principal prayer עמידה during these days in which we acknowledge G-d as מי כמוך אב הרחמים, “who is like You father of mercy?” The reference is to the two letters ה, i.e. א, ב הרחמים which appear in the Ineffable Name. The letter ה is the letter which was added to Avraham’s name when it was changed from אברם to אברהם The addition of that letter enabled him to procreate [together with Sarah, seeing he had fathered Ishmael before that letter was added to his name. Ed.] Our sages have said (Bereshit Rabbah 44,12) “Avram could not produce viable sperm, Avraham could.” I will explain this further on Genesis 29, 32 in connection with the words והיה שמך אברהם in Genesis 17,5-6. Here the Torah simply drew attention to the fact that the very letter which was instrumental in creating the universe was the one added to Avram’s name in order to give him the ability to produce his son Yitzchak. He who had created the laws of nature is at liberty to change these laws when it suits Him. There is no power which is able to prevent Him from exercising His will. ביום עשות ה' אלוקים ארץ ושמים “on the day the Lord G-d created earth and heaven.” G-d’s Ineffable Name had not been mentioned up until now during all the events of the first six days. From a purely textural point of view, פשט, the name אלוקים is appropriate for matters connected with laws of nature, (the numerical value of the word =86, the same as the Hebrew word for nature, i.e. הטבע), and it testifies to G-d introducing some new element, whereas the Ineffable Name alludes to the fact that G-d is eternal and had never been preceded by any phenomenon. The Torah did not mention this name of G-d as it wanted to concentrate on the fact that new phenomena came into existence during the six days of creation. Had it been the intention of the Torah to inform us first and foremost on the fact that G-d preceded any phenomenon, it should have introduced G-d’s Ineffable Name as a reminder that He is the “Eternal.” Inasmuch as the Torah was primarily concerned with revealing that which G-d chose to reveal, it used only the name אלוקים during that stage of its report. The Midrash sees in the fact that the Torah chose to use only the name אלוקים during that part of its narrative, proof that originally G-d had planned to involve only His attribute of Justice, i.e. the מדת הדין, in the creation of the universe. When man was created and G-d realised that he could not survive if only the attribute of Justice were active in the world, G-d co-opted the attribute of mercy. From a rational, investigative point of view, we must remember that the universe is comprised of 26 different categories of phenomena. They are: 10 phenomena which are totally abstract, of a purely intellectual nature (the ten levels of angels mentioned by Maimonides in his Yesodey Hatorah) Then there are the nine planetary constellations. Add to these the four raw materials earth is made of. Add to these the נפשות, the three different levels of souls, i.e. נפש, רוח, נשמה, and you have a total of 26 basic phenomena. This number corresponds to the numerical value of the letters in the Ineffable name, i.e. י-ה-ו-ה. It is a known fact that these various parts which constitute the universe did not assume their final and completed format until the sixth day. As a result, it was not appropriate that G-d associate His name as the attribute י-ה-ו-ה with something defective and incomplete. You should appreciate further that the 26 parts of the universe we have mentioned are all included in what the four-lettered name of G-d stands for; in fact they are included in the three letters making up that name (each letter symbolising one of the three worlds, the world of the angels, the world of the planetary system, and our terrestrial universe), seeing that the letter ה appears twice in that name. A kabbalistic approach views the activity which resulted in the universe materialising as totally dependent on the Creator Who is both the labourer and the architect (referred to in Bereshit Rabbah 1,1). In that parable we had said that a king who builds a palace does not do so merely by relying on his own knowledge, but he employs experts to advise him. The architect in turn does not build without first having used his mental and intellectual faculties. This is the deeper meaning behind the words of Solomon in Kohelet 2,12 כי מה האדם שיבא אחרי המלך את אשר כבר עשוהו, “for what can man who comes after the king do? It has already been done.” The crucial word is עשוהו instead of עשהו. The plural is a reference to G-d together with His בית דינו, “His court of advisors” (compare Kohelet Rabbah 2,14).

These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created [behibaram, which could be read as when the letter hei created them]. Our Sages said in the Midrash (Menachot 29b) that they were created with the letter hei — meaning that this world was created with the letter hei and the World to Come was created with the letter yud. It appears that the intention of this Midrash is because all the songs of this world are expressed in feminine form — “shirah chadashah” [a new song] with the addition of a hei, since every hei indicates femininity as demonstrated by the hei in the word “ishah” [woman]. And since all joy in this world is mixed with pain and sorrow, like a female who experiences the pain of childbirth, similarly all matters of this world come about through the manner of birth or generation. However, the World to Come was created with a yud which is associated with the masculine that has no birth pains. Thus, in the World to Come, they will be like males who do not give birth, and there the joy is complete. Therefore, God’s name Yah is shared between man [ish] and woman [ishah], and in all instances, the yud is used for masculine and the hei for feminine. On the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. Earlier [in the text], heaven was placed before earth because, as our Sages taught (Rashi here 1:1, Bereishit Rabbah 12:15), the Holy One, Blessed be He, initially intended to create the world with the attribute of strict justice, but seeing that it could not endure, He combined it with the attribute of mercy. Now, God is not a man that He should change His mind, so what was His initial thinking? The truth is that the heavens and all their spiritual hosts are able to exist under the attribute of strict justice more than the lower beings whose foundation is in dust. Therefore, each term is placed next to what relates to it. Above, the name Elohim [signifying strict justice] was mentioned and placed next to “the heavens” which includes all their hosts, as they were created with the attribute of justice alone. Here, He mentioned the combination with mercy and placed it next to “earth” because it was for the sake of earth’s inhabitants that this combination was necessary. Regarding this combination, the Psalmist said (Psalms 62:12), God has spoken once, twice have I heard this… meaning that initially, God spoke once — referring to the one attribute mentioned with the name Elohim when it says In the beginning Elohim created. Afterwards, twice have I heard — referring to two attributes, when it says on the day that the Lord God made. There is an allusion to this: “twice [the word] this” [shetayim zo] has a numerical value of 26, equivalent to the numerical value of the name of mercy [the Tetragrammaton]. And it is divisible into two times 13, corresponding to the numerical value of “one” [echad] and “love” [ahavah], which are included in the name of mercy and appear adjacent to each other in the verse Hear O Israel… the Lord is one and You shall love… (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). He gives a reason why He didn’t create everything with the name Elohim alone: for strength belongs to Elohim — because all strength and power are associated with the name Elohim, and the earthly creatures have no ability to receive all His mighty and powerful acts at all. But unto You, O Lord, belongs mercy — because to the name of mercy, which is called by the name of Lordship [Adonut], belongs kindness and mercy, for the time will come when You will want to repay each person according to their deeds according to the capacity of the receiver and doer, not according to Your infinite power. The text uses the second person [“unto You”] when referring to the Lord [mercy] but third person regarding Elohim [“for strength belongs to God”] because when anger prevails and the attribute of justice rules the world, it appears as if God has hidden His face from creation, while in times of kindness and mercy, the Lord will make His face shine upon us. And it is simple to understand.

And all the trees of the field were not yet in the earth, and all the herbs of the field had not yet sprouted, for Hashem God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the soil.

טרם יהיה בארץ WAS NOT YET IN THE EARTH — Wherever טרם occurs in the Scriptures it means “not yet” and does not mean “before”. It cannot be made into a verbal form, saying הטרים as one says הקדים (verbal form of קדם) and this passage proves that this is the meaning and not "before" as well as another (Exodus 9:30), כי טרם תראון “that ye do not yet fear the Lord”. Therefore you must explain this verse also thus: “No plant of the field was yet in the earth” at the time when the creation of the world was completed on the sixth day before man was created, and וכל עשב השדה טרם יצמח means “and every herb of the field had not yet grown”. But as regards the third day of creation about which it is written “The earth brought forth etc.” this does not signify that they came forth above the ground but that they remained at the opening of the ground (i. e. just below the surface) until the sixth day (Chullin 60a). כי לא המטיר BECAUSE GOD HAD NOT CAUSED IT TO RAIN — And what is the reason that God had not caused it to rain? כי אדם אין לעבוד את האדמה BECAUSE THERE WAS NO MAN TO TILL THE GROUND, and there was, therefore, no one to recognize the utility of rain. When Adam came (was created), however, and he realised that it was necessary for the world, he prayed for it and it fell, so that trees and verdure sprang forth. ה' אלהים THE LORD GOD — The Lord (יהוה) is His Name, whereas אלהים signifies that He is Ruler and Judge over all. This, too, is its meaning, according to the plain sense, wherever it occurs: The Lord who is God (Ruler and Judge).

AND EVERY SHRUB OF THE FIELD. In the opinion of our Rabbis in Bereshith Rabbah, See also Rashi here. [every herb of the field created] on the third day [did not come forth above the ground but] they remained just below the surface of the earth, and on the sixth day they grew after He caused rain to fall on them. In my opinion, in accordance with the plain meaning of Scripture, on the third day the earth did bring forth the grass and the fruit trees in their full-grown stature and quality as He commanded concerning them. And now Scripture tells that there was no one to plant and sow them for future purposes, and the earth would not produce until a mist would come up from it and water it, and man was formed who would work it — to seed, to plant, and to guard. This is the meaning of the shrub of the field… had not yet grown. It does not say “the shrub of the ground” for only a place which is cultivated is called “field,” as in Which thou hast sown in the field and We will not pass through field or through vineyard. This is the course of the world that was to be following the six days of creation and forever after, that due to the mist the heavens will bring down rain, and due to the rains the earth will make the seeds that are sown in it to spring up.

"And every shrub" — this means a tree, as in "among the shrubs they bray" (Job 30:7). In my opinion it refers to a fruit tree, because man is compared to a tree. The synonyms for it are: si'ah, niv, sa'if, bad, amir, and sar'af.

טרם יהיה בארץ, these words emphasise that although all phenomena had been created, this referred to their potential, not to their functioning as they do nowadays. כל עשב השדה, had not yet sprouted, כי לא המטיר, for G’d had not yet made it rain in such a fashion that it enabled the latent power of these plants to fully develop.

וכל שיח השדה טרם יהיה בארץ. None of the plants of the fields existed as yet. This stresses again that until the Creator irrigated the earth by bringing on rain, none of the vegetation produced by earth was able to function, to grow. The verse also tells us that the living creatures on earth were G'd's creation as indicated by 2,19, that "G'd formed all the beasts of the field." Earth's contribution was to provide the golem-like body pending G'd's infusing these bodies with a breath of life. The same applied to the swarms of "living" creatures produced by the waters as well as the birds. Our sages have already stated that the birds are the result of co-operation by water and earth, i.e. swamps (Eyruvin 28). This is why the Torah described the birds as עוף השמים, birds of the heavens, in 2,19, although the directive had been issued to the waters in 1,20. Why did the Torah mention here that there was as yet no human being on earth who would work the land, and why is there a second report about the creation of man in the next verse, i.e. וייצר השם אלוקים את האדם? If the Torah only wanted to inform us that the raw material man is made of was the dust of the earth, it could have done so in 1,27 where man's creation by G'd is reported instead of repeating the whole story about man being created. I believe the answer lies in what our sages alluded to when they described אדם הראשון, original man, as the חלת העולם, earth's gift to G'd, i.e. a concept parallel to the priest's share of the dough (Eyruvin 18). Our sages therefore believed that just as the principle of donating the first of the dough to the priest in his capacity of G'd's representative on earth is a duty, creation itself is morally bound to "donate" to its Creator something similiar. We find the following passage in the tractate חלה 2,5: "If someone sets aside the quantity of חלה that he is obliged to set aside in the form of flour (instead of as part of the dough), it (this quantity of flour) is not considered sacred." In 3,1 of the same tractate we are told that until the dough (of wheat) has developed so that the meal and the water form one body, a non-priest may still eat of it on an ad hoc basis, even if חלה has not yet been set aside from it. If one eats from such dough subsequently (knowingly) one is guilty of the death penalty. The descent of rain on the vegetation of the earth is akin to the mixing (kneading) of a dough from which to make bread. This is why consumption of the proceeds of grain i.e. bread or cake, is prohibited until חלה has been set aside. It is equivalent to what the Mishnah Challah 3,1 called גלגול העיסה. Earth was unable to produce viable vegetation without G'd contributing the rain. It follows that it is prohibited to eat or otherwise enjoy any of earth's fruit until an appropriate gift to G'd has been set aside. The creation of man [from raw material made of all parts of the earth Ed.] was that gift, i.e. that חלה. Prior to man's creation the earth was טבל, untithed produce, forbidden, out of bounds to man. This is what our verse wanted to convey. Although earth produced the plants on the third day, G'd had not provided the rain at that time, not until immediately before He formed the human being. Creation of man, i.e. the חלה of the universe, enabled all the creatures to enjoy it henceforth. The Torah mentions that the entire surface of the earth was irrigated because if G'd had irrigated only parts of the earth, such an incomplete "dough" would not have freed the remainder from the requirement to contribute further amounts of חלה. It is important to realise that G'd took "dust from the earth" to create man, as opposed to soil from גן עדן. This point is repeated again in 3,24 when Adam is expelled from גן עדן "to till the soil he had been taken from." There was no need to give חלה from any of the trees of גן עדן seeing it was totally holy already. This is why the Torah says (2,8) "G'd had planted a garden in Eden already previously (מקדם)," i.e. prior to the creation of man. He had prepared this holy region for Adam who was holy, being the חלה of the universe.

וכל שיח השדה “and all the trees of the field, etc.” The Torah should really have written the words עצי השדה instead of שיח השדה, “shrubs of the field.” The reason the Torah chose the expression שיח is connected with Genesis 24,63 ויצא יצחק לשוח השדה, Yitzchak went out to the field to pray.” The expression שיח refers to prayer. The Torah hints by the use of this word that all the trees and plants pray to G-d, i.e. praise Him and acknowledge Him. Our sages have also based this on Psalms 65,14 יתרועעו אף ישירו, “they raise a shout and break out in song.” David had been speaking about pastureland in that Psalm. The “song” attributed to the plants is their praise of G-d. G-d had wanted that all is creatures including the plants praise Him.

וכל שיח השדה, “and all the greenery of the field, etc.” The vegetation which had begun to sprout forth on the third day had actually not broken through the surface of the soil until the sixth day when Adam prayed for rain to materialize. When the rain materialized all these plants surfaced above the earth. Nachmandes, explaining the literal meaning of our verse, the פשט, says that whereas on the third day all the plants mentioned materialized in their mature form, they did not develop as there was no one to tend them. The reason why the vegetation here is not described as שיח האדמה, the vegetation of the earth, but as שיח השדה, is that the word שדה is indicative of something subject to agriculture, ground that is being worked. This had not started until after the first rainfall.

And a cloud would rise from the earth and water the entire surface of the soil.

ואד יעלה AND A MIST WENT UP — This has reference to the creation of Adam: viz., He caused the deep to rise and filled the clouds with water to moisten the dust, and man was created. It is like a kneader of bread who first pours in water and afterwards kneads the dough — similarly here: He first watered the ground and afterwards He formed man (Genesis Rabbah 14:1).

"Ed" — meaning like smoke. Similarly: "the day of their calamity" (Deut. 32:35), for an evil day is called "a day of cloud and thick darkness" (Joel 2:2). The meaning is that a mist rose from the earth by the force of the celestial lights and watered the ground, causing it to sprout. The Gaon [Saadia] said that the meaning is: and no mist rose from the earth.

ואד יעלה מן הארץ, on the day they were completed, i.e. at the end of the sixth “day” a vapour rose from the earth equivalent to beneficial dew which irrigated the earth and enabled it to bring forth further vegetation without the help of rain or man’s labour.

ואד, “and a kind of mist;” the letter ו at the beginning off the word אד, appears to be superfluous; there are numerous such apparently superfluous prefixes ו in the Torah. As a result, in order not to have to consider that letter as superfluous, our author suggests that the meaning of the two verses 56 must be understood thus: “all the grasses etc. in the field were in a state of suspense after having been created, as only a kind of mist had been rising from the earth due to the influence of sun and moon, this being only sufficient to provide minimal moisture for these herbs. The section of the verse commencing with: for “G-d had not yet let it rain, nor had there been a human being to till the earth,” interrupts the story in order to provide us with the reason why none of these plants have been reported as growing. יעלה, “would rise;” the word must be understood as being in the past tense. Compare Genesis 8,20: ויעל עולות במזבח, “he (Noach) would offer burnt offerings on the altar.” (past tense).

ואד יעלה מן הארץ, “and a mist would rise from the earth.” The plain meaning is that these words refer to the steam which rises from the moisture of the various concentrations of water on earth. As they usually contain some solid particles from earth, the Torah called it אד “mist.” Seeing that the rain results from this moist mist and the clouds accept it, the cloud itself was called אד as we find in Job 36,27 יזוקו מטר לאדו, “which cluster into rain, from His mist.” An homiletical approach views these words as a reference to the ענני הכבוד, “the clouds of G-d’s glory” which were gathering strength and rising. According to the Midrash, the words מן הארץ which are mentioned in our verse first and the strengthening of the clouds of glory are an allusion to the great honour these clouds receive from G-d Himself. This is what our sages in Chulin 60 referred to when they said concerning the herbs, that at that time the angel in charge of the world opened his praise of the Lord with the words: יהי כבוד ה' לעולם ישמח ה' במעשיו “May the glory of G-d last forever and may He derive joy from His works” (Psalms 104,31). The angel said these words as a form of prayer, just as a similar expression in Kings I 8,57 when Solomon said יהי ה' אלוקינו עמנו, “let the Lord our G-d be with us.” The meaning of the words ישמח ה' is “so that He will have reason to rejoice.” והשקה את כל פני האדמה, “and it provided irrigation for the entire earth.” The reference is to the planetary system and all that is below it and exerts influence on life on earth. The additional word כל, “all,” is the reason the sages said in Sanhedrin 35 that the dust of the earth was collected from all four corners of the earth.

ואד יעלה מן הארץ, “vapour would rise from the earth, etc.” According to Rashi these words refer to the fashioning of man, G’d, so to speak, used the moisture called אד to make a kind of dough of the mixture of earth and these vapours, allowing Him to fashion and mould man in the shape He had intended for him. According to the plain meaning of the text it appears that seeing the Torah writes that at that time no rain had yet descended on earth, there was no point to rain descending until man had been created who would till the ground after the rain had fallen. The Torah therefore describes that vapours from the earth could keep the plants alive even in the temporary absence of man to tend to them.

And Hashem God created Adam, dust from the soil, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and it became in Adam a speaking spirit.

וייצר AND GOD FORMED — Here the letter yod is written twice to intimate that there were two formations — a formation of man for this world, and a formation of man for resurrection; in the case of animals, however, which will not stand after death for judgment before God the word referring to their formation— ויצר —(Genesis 2:19) is not written with two yods (Midrash Tanchuma, Tazria 1). עפר מן האדמה DUST OF THE EARTH — He gathered his dust (i. e. that from which he was made) from the entire earth — from its four corners — in order that wherever he might die, it should receive him for burial (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 3). Another explanation: He took his dust from that spot on which the Holy Temple with the altar of atonement was in later times to be built of which it is said, (Exodus 20:24) “An altar of earth thou shalt make for Me” saying, “Would that this sacred earth may be an expiation for him so that he may be able to endure” (Genesis Rabbah 14:8). ויפח באפיו AND BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS — He made him of both, of earthly and of heavenly matter: the body of the earthly, and the soul of the heavenly. For on the first day were created heaven and earth, on the second, He created the firmament for the heavenly beings, on the third He said, “Let the dry land appear” — for the earthly beings, on the fourth He created the lights for the heavenly beings, on the fifth He said, “Let the waters swarm…” — for the earthly beings. Consequently on the sixth there had to be created a being composed of both, of heavenly and of earthly matter, for otherwise there would have been envy (lack of harmony) among the works of Creation, in that there would have been devoted to one class of them one day more of the Creation than to the others (Genesis Rabbah 12:8). לנפש חיה A LIVING SOUL — Also cattle and beasts are called נפש חיה (1:20, 22, 24), but the נפש of man is the most highly developed of all of them, because to him was granted understanding and speech.

AND HE BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS THE BREATH OF LIFE. This alludes to the superiority of the soul, its foundation and secret, since it mentions in connection with it the full Divine Name. And the verse says that He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life in order to inform us that the soul did not come to man from the elements, as He intimated concerning the soul of moving things, nor was it an evolvement from the Separate Intelligences. See Rambam, Hilchoth Yesodei Hatorah 3:9. Also Moreh Nebuchim, I, 49: “The angels are likewise incorporeal; they are intelligences without matter, etc.” (Friedlander’s translation.) Rather, it was the spirit of the Great G-d: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and discernment. For he who breathes into the nostrils of another person gives into him something from his own soul. It is this which Scripture says, And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding, since the soul is from the foundation of binah (understanding) by way of truth and faith. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 33. This corresponds to the saying of the Rabbis in the Sifre: “Vows are like swearing ‘by the life of the King:’ oaths are like swearing ‘by the King Himself.’ Although there is no proof for it in Scripture, there is an allusion to it: By the living G-d, and by the life of your soul.” Here in the verse where an oath is being expressed, it says, by the living G-d. It does not say “by the life of G-d,” which would indicate that His life is independent of Him; rather it says, by the living G-d, thus indicating that life is His very essence. (The correctness of this translation is indicated by the patach under the word chai, which is not in the construct state, and therefore means “the living G-d.”) See my Hebrew commentary, p. 33, for further elucidation of this point. Thus there is an allusion here to the teaching of the Sifre that “an oath is like swearing ‘by the King Himself,’” since in this verse quoted, where an oath is being given, it says, by the living G-d. This is an oath “by the King Himself.” In the case of a person, however, it says “by the life of your soul,” thus indicating that in a human being his life and his soul are two independent things. This explains the tzere under the word chei, which indicates a construct state combining two independent nouns. Thus there is an allusion to “Vows are like swearing ‘by the life of the King.’” See also Note 293. And in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah we find: See above, Note 42. “What is the meaning of the word vayinafash (and He rested)? It teaches us that the day of the Sabbath preserves all souls, for it is vayinafash” [i.e., from the word nefesh, soul]. It is from here that you will understand the expression, speaking the oath of G-d. This denotes that an oath is like swearing “by G-d Himself.” See Note 290 above. The person learned in the mysteries of the Torah will understand. Know that those who engage in research have differed concerning man. Some say that man has three souls. One is the soul of growth, like that in a plant; or you may call this “the force of growth.” Then there is also a soul of movement in him, which Scripture mentioned concerning fish, animals, and everything that creeps upon the earth. The third is the rational soul. And there are some philosophers who say that this soul in man which comes from the Most High comprises these three forces while the soul is but one. Ibn Ezra (Ecclesiastes 3:7) writes at length to prove that the soul in man consists of three parts. He quotes Saadia Gaon to be of the same opinion. The poet-philosopher Solomon ibn Gabirol (M’kor Chayim 5:20) also held this theory. Rambam, however, in his Sh’monah P’rakim, Chapter 1, holds that man’s soul is but one. This verse in its plain meaning so indicates for it states that G-d formed man of the dust of the ground, but he lay there lifeless like a dumb stone, and the Holy One, blessed be He, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and then man became a living soul, able to move about by virtue of this soul, just like the animals and the fish, concerning which He said: ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures,’ and ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature.’ This is the meaning of the expression here, ‘lenefesh chayah’ (into a living soul) man was made, meaning man turned into a soul in which there is life, after having been as a potsherd with the potsherds of the earth. For the letter lamed in the word lenefesh indicates the opposite, [namely, that from being a potsherd he became a living soul]. And so it is in the verses, And the water shall turn ‘ledam’ (into blood) upon the dry land; And it turned ‘lenachash’ (into a snake); And He made the sea ‘lecharavah’ (into dry land). Onkelos, however, said: “And it became a speaking soul in man.” From this it would appear that his opinion coincides with those who say that man has various souls and that this rational soul which G-d breathed into his nostrils became a speaking soul. It appears to me that this also is the opinion of our Rabbis, as we may deduce from what they said: “Rava created a man. He sent him to Rabbi Zeira who spoke to him but he did not answer. Said Rabbi Zeira to him: ‘You are created by one of the colleagues; return to your dust.’” And in Midrash Vayikra Rabbah we find written:2. “Said Rabbi Avin: When a man sleeps, the body tells the neshamah (the moving spirit), and the neshamah tells the nefesh (the rational soul), and the nefesh tells the angel.” At the same time it is obvious from this Midrash that the Rabbis are of the opinion that there are various souls in man. So also the verse, He gathers unto Himself his spirit and his breath, indicates, according to its plain meaning, that his spirit and breath are two distinct things. That being so, the verse, And the Eternal G-d formed man, states the formation of movement, that man was formed into a creature capable of movement since “formation” denotes life and perception by virtue of which he is a man and not a kneaded mass of dust, just as it is said, And the Eternal G-d formed out of the ground every beast of the field, and He brought them unto the man. And after He formed him with the power of perception, He breathed into his nostrils a living soul from the Most High, this soul being in addition to the formation mentioned, and the whole man became a living soul since by virtue of this soul he understands and speaks and does all his deeds and all other souls and their powers in man are subject to it. The letter lamed in the word lenefesh is thus the lamed indicating possession, just as in the following verses: My lord, O king, ‘lecha ani’ (I am thine), and all that I have; ‘lakoneh’ (to him that bought) it, throughout his generations;, ‘lecha ani’ (I am thine), save me. Or, it may be that the verse is stating that man wholly became a living soul and was transformed into another man, as all His formations were, from now on, directed towards this soul.

"And He formed" — by the power of the celestial lights. "Vayitzer" belongs to the class of verbs whose first root-letter is yod, conjugated in the simple binyan, like "and Noah awoke" (Gen. 9:24). The meaning of "into his nostrils" — by them man lives, for they expel the warm air from the heat of the heart and draw in fresh air. The meaning of "a living soul" — that he immediately moved about like the living creatures, and not like infants.

וייצר ה' אלוקים, the animals had not rated involvement of both attributes of G’d in their creation and formation. Not only that, but in order to create man G’d had used עפר מן האדמה, the choicest of the dust available on earth. Moreover, ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים, G’d personally blew a soul of life into man, a life force which had been readied to absorb what was previously called צלם אלוקים, “the image of G’d.” This has been attested to in Job 32,8 ונשמת שדי תבינם,”by means of the breath of the attribute of Shaddai You endowed them with understanding.” At any rate, ויהי האדם לנפש חיה, man had remained a living creature (similar to the animals) until You equipped him with a divine-like tzelem and demut.

. וייצר ה' אלוקים את האדם, “G-d shaped the human being;” seeing that the Torah wished to write that G-d placed man inside the garden, it repeated part of the process by which man was created, [showing that G-d was active in his creation beyond the initial stages. Ed.] The words: ויטע, “He planted,” and ויצמח, “He made grow,” were written in order to lead up to the story of the tree of knowledge, and the commandment forbidding man to eat from that tree. ויפח באפיו נשמת חימם, “He blew into his nostrils a living soul.” G-d personally blew the breath of life into the human being, something He had not done for any of His other creatures. Why was all this necessary? This was in order to enable man to have the wisdom, i.e. holy spirit, to enable him when viewing all the animals to name them correctly after having discerned how each was different from the other. נשמת חיים, “an immortal soul,” surviving the death of the body it inhabits.

וייצר ה' אלוקים את האדם עפר מן האדמה. “G-d formed Adam from the dust of the earth.” After the Torah mentioned the creation of Adam already in its report of what was created on the sixth day, it now returns to the subject and fill in details about how he was created. The Torah detailed the first stage of Adam’s creation when it wrote in Genesis 1,27 “G-d created Adam in His image.” That first stage of man’s creation consisted of using dust from the earth. Now the Torah describes a further stage in Adam’s coming into being by describing this process as וייצר, “He formed him,” i.e. He made him into a Golem, a man-like form lacking vital statistics G-d blew a soul of life into Adam’s nostrils from His own Holy Spirit. The reason that the Torah had not mentioned this detail in its narrative of events of the sixth day is because the Torah did not want to interrupt the report of the creation of physical matter by introducing the creation of spiritual and therefore abstract matter at that time."Basically, the entire narrative concerned itself with matters of a physical nature. Even the blessings bestowed on the creatures including man referred to matters that are physical such as procreation, populating the earth, and the blessing that man was to exercise dominion over the other creatures in nature and to conquer the hidden treasures of nature concerned matters material, not matters which are of a spiritual character. The soul, נפש, i.e. man’s lowest abstract life-force, is involved in all these matters only inasmuch as it has been provided by G-d with a natural urge to accomplish certain things. This urge, by itself, is not something spiritual. It dies when man’s body dies. It is the life-force which man shares with the animals. It would have been inappropriate to mention an eternal soul side by side with phenomena which are destined to die, as was anything created during the six days. These six days could be described as the days destined to end in death. Only the Sabbath elevated man to the level of נצחיות, “infinity.” The soul which distinguishes man from all the other creatures in the terrestrial universe was not mentioned until after the Sabbath was mentioned as it was the Sabbath which infused man with this potential of “infinity.” This is why the Sabbath is also known as “the day of life. (we pointed this out in connection with our discussion of the seventh millennium on verse 3) A kabbalistic view of our verse couples the words וייצר ה' אלוקים את האדם and ויטע ה' אלוקים גן בעדן in the next verse together It would be similar to Chronicles I 4,23 המה היוצרים ויושבי נטעים, “they were the potters, who dwelt at Netaim, etc.” The word היוצרים in that verse corresponds to the word וייצר in our verse, whereas the word נטעים corresponds to the word ויטע. You need to do a little research to understand what was meant in Chronicles where the verse concluded with the statement עם המלך במלאכתו ישבו שם " ”with the king to help him with his work they dwelt there.” Consider that in chapter one the Torah had written in connection with man’s creation “let Us make a human being in Our image,” and had continued: “G-d created man in His image.” At that time the word עפר, “dust,” had not been mentioned at all. G-d had never said: “let Us make man out of dust. or out of the soil.” The reason was that everything connected with the creation of man contains both revealed and hidden aspects. That which impacts on the creatures in the “lower” world has been revealed. That which impacts only on the beings in the “higher” worlds has remained hidden. This is why we are forced to arrive at our knowledge of what the text has seen fit to conceal by careful study of what the text has seen fit to reveal. When we are told in our chapter ויטע ה' אלוקים followed by the statement that man was placed in the garden the Torah speaks of, this means that man has a residence in celestial regions also. Obviously, in that connection we do not expect the Torah to mention things which exist only on earth such as soil and dust. In chapter five, however, where the Torah again reports the creation of man and even says that he was created to resemble G-d, בדמות אלוקים עשה אותו, this refers to the word ויצמח in verse 9 of our chapter here where the Torah speaks of earth and dust, i.e. refers to man’s terrestrial habitat. It is quite easy to understand then that the verse which speaks of planting man in his celestial habitat mentions neither trees nor garden. This is reserved for verse 9 where the expression used by the Torah is ויצמח. What we learn from all this is that the whole of the story of creation is one that played on two levels, so that what have been described as the products of heaven and earth at the beginning of our chapter are inseparably interwoven with one another. עפר מן האדמה, “dust from the earth.” During the first hour of the sixth day the earth and dust from the various parts of the world were assembled. During the second hour this earth was made into some form of dough, kneaded. During the third hour the various parts of the body were structured and textured. During the fourth hour a living soul was breathed into Adam. During the fifth hour he stood on his legs. During the sixth hour he named the various animals. During the seventh hour he was presented with his wife Chavah. During the eighth hour Adam and Chavah performed marital intercourse on a bed and when they had completed this act of procreation four of them got up from the bed. [Chavah had given birth to Cain and Hevel. Ed.] During the ninth hour Adam was commanded not to eat from the tree of knowledge. During the tenth hour, both Chavah and Adam sinned by eating from that tree. During the eleventh hour they were judged (they were told their punishment). During the twelfth hour he was expelled and left Gan Eden. This is what is meant by Psalms 49,13: אדם ביקר בל ילין, נמשל כבהמות נדמו, “man did not spend a night in honour; he is like the beasts that perish.” This is how the verse was interpreted in Sanhedrin 38, and also in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 11. What we are to learn from this paragraph in the Talmud is that the hours of the day allocated to the creation of and progress of Adam, the first human being, corresponded to the progress of the creation of the universe during the six days. When the Midrash speaks about the raw material of man, dust, being assembled during the first hour of the sixth day, this corresponded to G-d’s directive on the first day “let there be light.” At that time, abstract concepts, אצילות, had not yet been separated from matters material. There had not been any kind of separation of any of the potential forces of energy in the universe from one another. During the second hour, when some limits had been imposed and some separation had been decreed, man’s body was separated through “kneading” his raw material into where his head, his legs, his arms, etc. were to be. [Interestingly enough the Hebrew word for kneading has the same root as the Hebrew word for “limit,” “frontier,” etc, i.e. גבל. Ed.] This corresponded to G-d’s directive on the second day “let there be a firmament in the sky so that it separates one kind of water from another kind of water.” The third hour, when Adam was assigned different organs corresponded to the third day on which different parts of earth became visible. The fourth hour when Adam was given his soul corresponded to the fourth day of creation when the luminaries became operational After all, what the sun is to earth, the soul is to the human body. The fifth hour, the hour when man was finally able to stand on his feet, corresponded to the fifth day, the day the angels were created. We have it on the authority of the prophet Zachariah (Zachariah 3,7) that angels are considered as “merely standing.” [they cannot progress spiritually. Ed.] The sixth hour when Adam named the animals corresponded to the sixth day when he came into being. The seventh hour when Adam was given his mate, Chavah, corresponded to the Sabbath who is Man’s “queen” in a spiritual sense. Bereshit Rabbah 14,7 addresses the repetitive wording עפר מן האדמה by saying that this is to tell us that earth is composed of male and female matter. The male matter is known as עפר, the female matter as אדמה. Not only earth, but all phenomena on earth, be they inert vegetable matter or animals, are composed of male and female parts. Another reason cited by the Midrash for the repetition of the word עפר, i.e. the addition of the word אדמה, is that this word refers to a special earth, the earth from the site of the Holy Temple. This is important as it reminds us that G-d created us from the source of our eventual atonement, the Temple being the source of our atonement. The Torah in Deut. 32,43 specifically mentions that the earth of that site brings atonement, וכפר אדמתו עמו, “its earth will bring atonement for His people.” Another allusion to this atonement is the fact that the Jewish people were commanded in Exodus 20,24 to construct their altar out of earth, אדמה, to drive home the point that the altar which is the instrument of our atonement was capable of doing this thanks to it being constructed out of אדמה. Adam was to remember where exactly he originated from and to where he would return to if he became sinful and would be expelled from Gan Eden. This is the meaning of 3,29 “to work the earth that he had been taken from.” Here the Torah already previewed man’s descendants and their habitat when it wrote quoting Cain in Genesis 4,14 הן גרשת אותי היום מעל פני האדמה, “here You have expelled me this day from the face of the earth.” Cain added ומפניך אסתר, “and I have to hide from Your benevolent presence.” He was referring to G-d’s presence, the שכינה. We find similar expressions for that meaning of “G-d’s presence [as opposed to “hiding” from G-d, something already Adam had found to be impossible. Ed.] in Psalms 24,6 מבקשי פניך, “the ones who seek out Your benevolent presence.” Another similar construction is found in Psalms 27,8 את פניך אבקש, “I will seek out Your benevolent presence.” This is also what is meant in Genesis 4,16 ויצא קין מלפני ה', ”Cain left the benevolent presence of G-d.” We find another verse telling us something similar when the prophet Jonah with whom G-d had communicated tried to escape this closeness to G-d. The Book of Jonah 1,3 describes his behaviour in these words ויקם יונה לברוח תרשישה מלפני ה', ”Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the benevolent presence of G-d.” It was Jonah’s intent to escape the very part of the land of Israel where G-d’s benevolent presence is manifest. Once he would accomplish this he was confident that G-d would not communicate with him further and he could abort the mission G-d wanted him to undertake. ויפח באפיו נשמת רוח חיים, “He blew in his nostrils a living soul.” You should know that the nose is an instrument of the soul. The soul enters man by way of his nose and it leaves him by the same route. This is why the sages in Yuma 85 have stated that if someone takes a fall that one has to examine him including his nose. This is based on Genesis 7,22 כל אשר נשמת חיים באפיו... מתו “all who had the spirit of a living soul in their nose... died.” It is one of the wondrous phenomena of the creation of man that you find the letter ש associated with this instrument (organ) [the fact that the nose is divided makes it appear like a letter ש.] This is an allusion to the name of G-d שדי which in this manner is engraved on the body of every human being who has been circumcised. This is the mystical meaning of Job 32,8 ונשמת שדי תבינם “the breath of Shaddai that gives them understanding.” We know that the nose is the organ by means of which we smell and that the soul derives pleasure from certain fragrances. This is the reason the Talmud Berachot 51 prohibits us from even smelling incense or other fragrances intended for idolatrous purposes. The smell of any fragrance leaves behind a memory. We have it on the authority of the Torah in connection with the sacrificial offerings Leviticus 6,8 that smell acts as a reminder. ריח ניחוח אזכרתה לה', “its pleasant fragrance is a memorial (portion) unto G-d.” [The person in whose name this frankincense has been offered will be remembered by G-d as having accumulated a merit. Ed.] You should so be aware that the scientists are divided in their views about the nature of the soul. They have written innumerable volumes about this subject. Some of them [Maimonides in his introduction to Pirke Avot, chapter 1] claim that the soul is a single force which however has three sub-categories. 1) the category which houses our desires, something we have in common with all the animals. 2) the source of growth, something possessed both by animals and all manner of plants. 3) the ability to think coherently, the soul of wisdom. All these functions are part of a single soul. Other scientists-philosophers [Avraham Ibn Ezra in his commentary on Kohelet 7,3] claim that there are three distinct souls operating within man all of which are distinct from one another. The intelligent soul is an entity of its own, the potential to grow is an independent force. The animal kind of soul, which is the seat of all desires, i.e. the desire to eat, drink, procreate or simply indulge in sex, as well as the desire to sleep, are all part of the animalistic soul in man and constitute a separate soul. They are a part of what man has in common with the animal kingdom. The seat of that particular soul is the liver. This “soul” is called on occasion נפש, and on occasion רוח Its seat is in the liver. In Deut. 12,20 it is called נפש when the Torah writes כי תאוה נפשך לאכול בשר, “when your “soul” desires to eat meat, etc.” On the other hand, we find that Solomon writes in Kohelet 7,9 אל תבהל ברוחך לכעוס, “do not let your spirit be eager to become angry.” He also wrote in Proverbs 29,11 כל רוחו יוציא כסיל, “a fool vents all his feelings.” The נפש הצומחת is the force that enables man to grow physically. He shares such a force with all the trees, etc. Just as trees possess such built-in powers, man too possesses such a growth potential. As distinct from the seat of all desire which is presumed to be in the liver, this force does not have a specific location but is present in all parts of man‘s body. It remains active until a certain point in is life. The soul of intelligence is something exclusive to man, something he shares with beings in the higher worlds, beings which live forever in their sacred domains The seat of this soul is in man’s brain, and it is generally referred to as נשמה. This is what the Torah described in our verse as the נשמת חיים which G-d “blew” into Adam’s nostrils. We also have a verse in Isaiah 42,5 נותן נשמה לעם עליה, “He gives a soul to the people on it (earth).” There are numerous similar verses throughout the Bible. According to the view of the philosophers who believe that each person has three separate souls, we find support for our sages in Sanhedrin 65 who report that the famous teacher Rava created a human being. When he brought this creature before Rabbi Zeyra, Rabbi Zeyra spoke to him whereas the creature could not answer back. Thereupon Rabbi Zeyra said to that creature (Golem): “you are man-made; go back to the dust you have been made of.” This passage in the Talmud is proof that man has three distinct souls. Rava, who was familiar with Kabbalah, and had studied the Sefer Yetzirah, had infused this creature with the “soul” which governs motion. He was unable, however, to provide his creature with the power of speech. The power of speech stems from the soul called חכמה. However, our verse here is proof that there is only one overall soul, but that it contains three different potentials without these different abilities having different origins. The reason is that Adam, as distinct from subsequent human beings, was merely a clod of earth; this is why the Torah went on record in Genesis 2,7 וייצר ה' אלוקים את האדם עפר מן האדמה, “G-d fashioned man dust from the earth;” as soon as Adam’s form had materialised G-d “blew” into him this soul of which it is said ויהי האדם לנפש חיה, “man then became a living creature,” i.e. he became able to move. just as the fish and the animals of which the Torah had said that they had become שרץ נפש חיה, “a swarm of living creatures.” This is the meaning of the word חיה, that thanks to this “soul” Adam became a living creature whereas originally he had been inert unable to move, just like a stone. Regardless of which view one has of the soul, all Jewish sages and philosophers are agreed that the part of the soul which survives physical death is the נפש החכמה, “the soul which is rooted in the emanation חכמה.” Many philosophers have cited various proofs for this. I will quote only two from a large selection of such proofs. The first miraculous aspect of that soul is the fact that it is able to know many things which transpire in the universe, be it in the atmosphere, on earth or in the waters, without the benefit of eyesight, a sense of hearing or any other sensory organs to guide it. The five sensory organs or abilities are something which serve only the physical part of creatures such as the animals.or even human beings. They are like tools in the hands of an artisan. Whereas the physical eye perceives that the sun is high in the sky, the “eye” of the נפש החכמה, the spiritual soul, recognises that the sun is 170 times the size of our globe as the great scholar Rabbi Moses ben Maimon has written at the beginning of the third chapter of his Sefer Hamada. Whereas the physical eye sees many shapes inside the water, the “eye” of the spiritual soul is well aware that the true appearance of these shapes in the water is quite different from how they appear to the physical eye of a beholder. If the five senses had been intended to serve our spiritual soul to perceive and define the phenomena in this world, then whatever is at the periphery of the universe would be devoid of meaning and useless as none of the five senses with which living creatures have been equipped would be able to perceive and evaluate such phenomena (compare Jeremiah 16,19). The spiritual soul of man as a tool of perception does not deceive him, neither is it limited in its ability to deliver a true picture of things as they are. The function of the spiritual soul within man’s body is simlilar to that of the sailor (or captain) on board of a ship. When such a captain leaves the boat, he does not cease to be a captain. Similarly, when the spiritual soul departs from man’s body when the body dies, it lives on. On the other hand, the so-called soul which is merely נפש חיה in the language of the Torah, is unable to exist on its own once the body it has inhabited has died. One of the reasons for this is that the five sensory organs contain elements of physical matter and it is impossible for such phenomena to be active unless they are within their “habitat,” i.e. a body made up of similar matter. The spiritual soul, on the other hand, is not subject to such limitations as it originates in an abstract world, a world in which physical matter is not needed. It possesses insights both into celestial matters as well as into matters which are earthly in nature. It is able to do all this only because it is of a purely spiritual character. When this spiritual soul is interested in acquiring knowledge about earthly matters, it uses man’s five senses in order to acquire such knowledge. When the same soul is desirous of expanding its knowledge about supra-terrestrial matters it employs its intelligence and its wisdom. Once this spiritual soul leaves the body it has inhabited until the death of that body it can no longer use the terrestrial “soul” i.e. its five senses to perceive matters that pertain to the terrestrial universe. seeing that it has lost touch with these senses which have expired together with the body they inhabited. All of this is proof that the spiritual soul of man survives after the death of its body. The second remarkable phenomenon is this: When a child is small it knows absolutely nothing. As the child grows up it is able to absorb progressively more knowledge and wisdom from its spiritual soul. Whatever such an individual acquires from its spiritual soul will not escape from any of the three parts he is composed of, neither from his body, nor from his נפש חיה, (a combined form of body and primitive life-force) nor from his spiritual soul. He does not have a fourth part. By rights, a person ought to acquire more and more intelligence and knowledge in proportion to his physical growth and good health, seeing that this appeared to have been the process by which he matured for the first 2 decades of his life. By the same token we could reason that a person who has a weak body must necessarily lag behind in intellectual and spiritual achievements. In practice, however, we frequently observe the very reverse to be the case. Frequently we notice that people who suffer physical afflictions do not simultaneously lose their intellectual and spiritual powers. They remain mentally and spiritually at their best until the day the body dies. This proves conclusively that the acquisition of wisdom and knowledge, i.e. abstract forms of values, is quite independent of the body or even the נפש חיה of a person combined with his physical prowess. If this is so, this is proof positive that man’s mental and spiritual capacities are due to a higher form of soul, that which we have called the נפש החכמה, the spiritual soul. The body has absolutely no share in the mental and spiritual development of a person except that it serves as the vessel, the container within which such mental and spiritual forces are able to function and to make it the base of their operations. Dead people do not possess any mental or spiritual energy. The existence of such mental and spiritual energy is exclusively due to the living. It is clear then that what we have called נפש, or נפש חיה, is a phenomenon that lives only within what we call “nature,” for it is certainly true that this “natural soul” is able to absorb חכמות, wisdoms of a variety of degrees. When the body dies it dies as part of “nature,” and “nature” is unable to receive any input from such a dead body (i.e. the wisdoms it used to possess). We have therefore established two remarkable principles: 1) man is composed of two major components or essences. Part of man’s essences lives as an integral part of “nature,” in fact due to the existence of “nature.” Without nature that part of man simply could not exist. 2) The second part of man’s essence dies through the very fact that it is bound to “nature.” This second part is the body. The reason both the soul and the body share such experiences is that they have been joined together so that (to a limited degree) each one has to share the experiences of the other. The body gets an inkling of what life’s potential is all about because it has become joined to the soul. The soul experiences what death is all about because it has become tied to the mortal body. Death may be considered as a punishment for the soul who has allowed itself to be misled by the body. It follows that essentially the soul is supposed to live forever; its death is incidental. The reverse is true of the body which essentially is mortal but lives temporarily by merit of the soul it hosts. Once body and soul part company, each one resumes its natural destiny, i.e. the body dies and the soul lives on forever. In both cases this separation means that a temporary, unnatural union or partnership has been broken up, each partner returning to its essential habitat. Although we have indulged in quoting philosophers and a few of their arguments concerning the nature of the soul, and we have even cited some of their more impressive arguments to prove their theories, the major foundation of our beliefs remains our holy Torah which is the source of our life. All true philosophers derive their wisdom only from the Torah. True wisdom is always the fruit, i.e. the product of profound Torah-study. The matter of the survival of the soul after the death of the body is made plain by the very fact that the soul G-d infused in Adam was called נשמת חיים, “a soul of life.” This means that the soul was “hewn” from the very source of life. The reason is that we know that the soul is derived from the source of wisdom, the emanation חכמה. The word חיים when part of the term נשמת חיים, reminds us of Job 32, 7-8 אמרתי ימים ידברו, ורוב שנים יודיעו חכמה.אכן רוח-היא באנו. “I thought: “let age speak; let advanced years declare wise things. But, truly it is the spirit in men.” We find that in Job the words חכמה and רוח appear side by side. The author is trying to tell us that רוח, “the spirit, the soul,” is the source of חכמה, wisdom. If our verse saw fit to call the soul נשמת חיים, this is an allusion to Kohelet 7,12 והחכמה תחיה בעליה, “and wisdom (the emanation of wisdom) preserves the life of those who possess it.” This is also what G-d assured the prophet of when He told him to promise the High Priest Yehoshua that his soul would be in the company of the angels if he would observe G-d’s commandments (Zachariah 3,7) The wording is ונתתי לך מהלכים בין העומדים האלה, “and I shall enable you to be able to walk amongst these who are stationary.” We have explained repeatedly that the angels are spiritually stationary as they do not possess an evil urge the defeat of which would enable them to make spiritual progress. If you correctly understand the verse in Kohelet which Solomon said in his great wisdom you will also understand the lofty spiritual plateau, its foundation and its mystical significance. Although at first glance the verse ומותר האדם מן הבהמה אין, “man’s advantage over the beasts is nil,” in Kohelet 3,19 sounds rather banal, it contains deep insights. What Solomon meant was that the very advantage that man enjoys over the animals is derived from a domain called אין. The advantage of man over the beasts derives from the intelligent soul man possesses which derives from חכמה which symbolises the letter י which combines with the letter א and which in turn symbolises the uniqueness of the Creator, i.e. the רצון, “the Will” of the Creator. The words ויפח באפיו, “He blew into Adam’s nostrils,” are to alert us to the fact that this soul was not part of the basic four elements the terrestrial universe is made of [although רוח, “wind or spirit” is one of those four elements. Ed.]. Man’s soul shares five characteristics with G-d (compare Berachot 10). It is similar to G-d in all its virtues, at the same time being superior to the soul of the angels. The reason is that the soul of man was created on the first day of creation as compared to the angels who were created only on the second day. It is an accepted rule that phenomena which were created sooner are superior to those which were created later. We have an explicit statement in Sanhedrin 93 that the righteous are superior to the angels. To sum up: whatever man’s mouth can tell about the attributes (virtues) of G-d to the extent that he is the Creator is possible only because the soul of man is a direct creation of this Creator. A famous unnamed scholar has said: ”know your souls so that you may gain knowledge about your G-d.” ויהי האדם לנפש חיה,”man became a living creature.” During the entire report about the creation you will not find that the word ויהי was applied directly to something which had been created, except to light and to man. In both these instances the Torah wrote ויהי אור, or ויהי האדם respectively. The message is that man’s soul will endure forever just as the original light will endure forever as both had been created on the first day. This fact inspired the liturgical poet Rabbi Yehudah Halevi in a poem commencing with the words ברכי נפשי את ה' to write תקן נשמות עם האור הראשון תחלת דבר ה' “G-d established the souls together with the original light, the first of G-d’s creative activities.” The meaning of the whole verse is: “the main purpose of the existence of human beings is on account of their spiritual soul.”

And He blew into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living being. Rashi explains that although animals also have a living soul, this one [human] is the most alive of them all, as knowledge and speech were added to him. However, his interpretation is forced since the verse doesn’t specify that this being is more alive than all others. The Akeidat Yitzchak explains that this “soul of life” refers to the vital spirit that exists in humans fundamentally and primarily, and through this, man becomes a living being when the second and third levels of perfection are added, following the pattern of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah. The rabbi thought that Rashi agreed with him, but this interpretation is also not appropriate to accept, as it refers to “living being” as the final level of perfection, when this term is also used for animals and beasts of the field. Therefore, my heart imagines differently, rather interpreting the opposite of their words entirely. The “soul of life” is the eternal intellectual soul — go and learn who is the One who breathes, and you will find this speaks of the divine portion from above. The verse is saying that although God breathed into man an intellectual soul of life, nevertheless man was initially in his creation just a simple living being like other animals, for man is born a wild donkey’s colt (Job 11:12). The main perfection depends on his diligent effort and good choices when he opens his eyes of intellect as he matures. But at the beginning of his creation, even though the soul-breath of life was already blown into him, nevertheless the soul is not within him in actuality, only in potential. If he does not gird his loins with zeal to go out at the head of the vanguard to fight God’s war, he remains in his animal nature and is comparable to a beast. However, when an ox or sheep or goat is born, on that same day it is created with all its perfection and has no additional perfection to attain. The verse reveals this to us so that man should not err about himself, saying that without effort and toil he will achieve his perfection which was already created with him, relying on this advantage found in his creation. For this is not so — rather, everything depends on the work of his hands, as he always has the ability to exchange and convert nature to intellect and intellect to nature. For this reason, it does not say in man’s creation and God saw that it was good, because at his creation it was not yet apparent what his goodness and beauty would be.

And Hashem God planted a garden in Eden from the beginning, and He placed there Adam whom He had created.

מקדם EASTWARD — In the east of Eden He planted the garden. Should you say, however, it is already written, (1:27) “and He created the man etc.”, then I say that I have seen the Baraitha of R. Eliezer the son of R. José the Galilean, dealing with the thirty two rules of interpretation according to which the Torah (Agada) can be interpreted, and the following is one of them: when a general statement of an action is followed by a detailed account of it, the latter is a particularisation of the former: — “And He created the man” is a general statement, but it does not explicitly state whence he was created and what God did unto him. Now it repeats it and explains these things: “And the Lord God formed man”, “and He made to grow for him the garden of Eden”, and He caused a deep sleep to fall upon him.” He who hears this might think that it is a different account entirely, whereas it is nothing else but the details of the former general statement. Similarly with reference to the cattle the creation of which has been mentioned above (1:27). it resumes and writes, (2:19) “and out of the ground the Lord [God] formed every beast of the field etc.”, for the purpose of explaining “and He brought them unto the man to give them names”, and also to state that the fowls were created from the swamps.

AND THE ETERNAL G-D PLANTED A GARDEN ‘MIKEDEM’ (EASTWARD) IN EDEN. Rashi explained that “in the east of Eden He planted the garden.” But Onkelos translated mikedem to mean “previously,” [that is, before man was created]. And so have the Rabbis said in Bereshith Rabbah,31015:4. and this is the correct explanation. The meaning of vayita (and He planted) is not that He brought the trees from another place and planted them here for it was from that place that He caused them to grow, just as it is said, And out of the ground the Eternal G-d caused to grow every tree. But the purport of the expression, and the Eternal G-d planted, is to state that it was the planting of the Eternal, for before He decreed upon the earth, Let the earth put forth grass, He had already decreed that in that place there be a garden, and He further said: “Here shall be this tree, and here that tree,” like the rows of planters. It was unlike the rest of the places on the earth concerning which He said, Let the earth put forth grass… and fruit-tree, and it then grew without order. Now concerning the trees of the garden of Eden He decreed that they grow branches and bear fruit forever, the root thereof was never to wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof was never to die in the ground. These trees were not to need any one to tend and prune them. For if they were in need of cultivation, who tended them after man was driven therefrom? This also is the meaning of the expression, And the Eternal G-d planted, that they were His plantings, the work of His hands, and existing forever, even as it is said, Its leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail … because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary. If so, what then is the meaning of the verse: And He put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it? He put him [man] there so that he should sow for himself wheat and all kinds of produce, and every herb bearing seed, and rows of spices, reaping and plucking and eating at his will. This also is the meaning of to cultivate it and to keep it — to cultivate the ground of the garden by the rows he [man] would make there, for the part of the garden where the trees were was not to be cultivated. It is possible that [in the words le’ovdah uleshomrah — literally, to cultivate her and to keep her,] He refers to the garden in the feminine gender, just as in the verses: And as the garden causeth the things that are sown in her to spring forth; And plant gardens. Ganoth (gardens) is here in the feminine gender. Our Rabbis noted this use of the feminine gender, saying in Bereshith Rabbah:8. “Le’ovdah uleshomrah (to cultivate her and to keep her) — these words refer to the sacrifices, as it is said, ‘Ta’avdun’ (Ye shall serve) G-d upon this mountain. It is this which Scripture says, ‘Tishm’ru’ (Ye shall keep) to offer unto Me in its appointed season.” The intent of the Rabbis in this interpretation is that plants and all living beings are in need of primary forces from which they derive the power of growth and that through the sacrifices there is an extension of the blessing to the higher powers. From them it flows to the plants of the garden of Eden, and from them it comes and exists in the world in the form of “rain of goodwill and blessing,” through which they will grow. This conforms to what the Rabbis have said: “The trees of the Eternal have their fill, the cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted. Rabbi Chanina said: Their life shall have its fill; their waters shall have their fill; their plantings shall have their fill.” “Their life” refers to their higher foundations; “their waters” refer to His good treasure which brings down the rain; and “their plantings” refer to their force in heaven, just as the Rabbis have said: This text is also quoted above 1:11 (Notes 135-6). “There is not a single blade of grass below that does not have a constellation in heaven that smites it and says to it, ‘Grow.’ It is this which Scripture says, Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish ‘mishtara’ (the dominion thereof) in the earth — [mishtara being derived from the root] shoter (executive officer).”

"And He planted" — He had already planted a garden in the place called Eden on the eastern side, and now He placed the man there. The meaning of "a garden in Eden" is: a garden of God — the bet serves both itself and another word that accompanies it: "in Eden, in the garden of God." Similarly: "from the God of your father, and He will help you" (Gen. 49:25), and many others like it. The heh of "ha-adam" (the man) carries a deeper significance. We also find: "shevet ha-Menashe" (Deut. 3:13) and "ha-Arunah" (2 Sam. 24:16). It is also possible that it functions as it does because it is a name — hewn from the soil — and thus it serves as both a proper noun and a common noun.

אשר יצר, after G’d had created man in a manner appropriate to his superior status on earth, He placed him in Gan Eden, a location which was suitable to equip him with the צלם אלוקים, the divine image, enabling him to also fulfill the intellectual tasks involving the air and food in the garden.

ויטע השם אלוקים. The Lord G'd planted. The reason the Torah interrupts the sequence of G'd's planting all kinds of trees in that garden (verses 8 and 9 respectively) by mentioning that G'd placed Adam in גן עדן, is to make it clear that גן עדן had been created specifically in Adam's honour, in order to place him there. After having given us this information the Torah continues and tells us that G'd made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, that these trees looked attractive and were good as food, that G'd made rivers and the function of those rivers which emanated from גן עדן. The Torah then resumes its narrative about man in verse 15, telling us that G'd placed Adam there and assigned a function to him. The Torah repeats that G'd placed man in גן עדן only to confirm that the first time this was mentioned it was only to tell us that G'd had planted גן עדן in man's honour. Had this fact been mentioned only once we would have thought that G'd intended this garden also for other creatures, such as His angels, and that man was placed there temporarily. We would have thought that after man's expulsion, the garden would have remained as be a home for other creatures and for holy spirits. The Torah therefore is at pains to make us understand that the garden was planted exclusively for man's sake and awaits man's return at a suitable time in the future and that no other creature inhabits it in the meantime.

וישם שם את האדם, “He placed Adam inside it.” When Adam had been created he did not find himself in the garden, for if he had been created in the garden he would have thought that the entire earth is such a garden. G-d deliberately created him outside the garden in order to show him that the rest of the earth was overgrown with thorns and thistles. His transfer to the garden, it was hoped, would make him grateful for having been placed in such a superior environment. ויטע, this has to be understood as “He had planted.” The same applies to the statement: ויצמח, “He had made it grow.” The plants had preceded the creation of man (Rabbi Shmuel son of Nachmeni, in Bereshit Rabbah, 15,3) is on record as saying that if we thought Gan Eden had preceded the creation of the universe this is an error. It only preceded the creation of Adam. [This is a reference to the word: מקדם, “previously;” Ed] When the Talmud stated in Pessachim 54 that one of the phenomena that were created before “the world,” was גן עדן, the meaning is: “before the universe had been completed, i.e. on the third “day”.

ויטע ה' אלוקים גן בעדן. “The Lord G-d planted a garden in Eden.” According to the plain meaning פשט, the Torah attributed the planting of this garden to G-d Himself, personally. He did not bring a variety of trees from different parts of the globe and placed them in this garden, but the very trees were His handiwork, designed to glorify Him. Accordingly, David referred to these trees as עצי ה', “trees of the Lord,” in his Psalm 104,16 where he wrote ישבעו עצי ה' ארזי לבנון אשר נטע, “The trees of the Lord drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon, His own planting.” Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 15,1 interpreted these words to mean that G-d gave these trees the ability to endure indefinitely and never to become victims of decay. These trees did not need irrigation nor did they have to be pruned. Had this not been so, who would have tended them after Adam was expelled from that garden? They were the personification of what is written in Ezekiel 47,12: לא יבול עלהו ולא יתום פריו לחדשיו יבכר כי מימיו מן המקדש המה יוצאים, “its leaf will not wither nor will its fruit give out, every month it will yield new fruit, for its waters emanate from the Sanctuary. Our verse provides a further detail concerning this garden by writing מקדם, ‘from an easterly location.” This word supports our long held belief of the beneficial effect of winds originating in the east. of the earth seeing that Paradise had been planted in that part of the globe. It is a well known fact that the best fruits grow in the East. This knowledge has been implanted in us by the Torah when Moses in his blessing to the tribe of Joseph wrote in Deut. 33,14 וממגד תבואות שמש, “and with the bounty of the sun’s crops.” Seeing that all crops depend on the sun, Moses must have had in mind the area where the sun rises, i.e. the Eastern part of the land of Israel. Our sages (Yuma 21?) may have referred to this phenomenon when they said that the east wind has a beneficial effect on the minds of men, providing a sense of mental equilibrium, a sense of energy, etc. It brings with it a better kind of air. For these reasons וישם שם את האדם אשר יצר “G-d placed man whom He had fashioned in there.” A kabbalistic approach to our verse understands the meaning as follows: The words ויטע ה' אלוקים גן בעדן מקדם refer to a planting which had taken place a long time ago, hence the word מקדם, “since primeval times.” Had G-d planted the garden at the time described in the story, He would simply have had to give a directive such as He did during the reports of creation in chapter one. The fact that the Torah does not do this but describes G-d as “having planted it”, rather than as having commanded it to come into existence is proof that the garden preceded the creation of the universe. In fact, this “planting” had already been alluded to in the very first word of the Torah, the word בראשית. Keeping in mind that this garden dated back to an era preceding that described in the Torah in chapter one, the words “He placed there the human being whom He had fashioned,” must have a different connotation. The words אשר יצר are a reference to the source of man, i.e. his soul. We have already explained that man’s soul originated in the emanation חכמה. We can now appreciate that the refined souls originate in the East. This is the meaning of the statement we find in the Sefer Habahir (by Rabbi Nechunyah ben Hakanah) that the זרע of Israel, i.e. its descendants originated in the Eastern parts of the universe because the marrow in the spinal cord comes directly from the brain from which it is transmitted to the male organ and converted into semen. We find proof of this in Isaiah 43,5 כי ממזרח אביא זרעך וממערב אקבצך, “for from the East will I bring your seed (descendants) and from the West will I gather you in.” The prophet tells us that when Israel will be good, will perform G-d’s commandments, their souls will (once again) originate in that Eastern region. If, however, they will fail to live up to G-d’s expectations, their seed, i.e. the seed, (the souls of their children) will be gathered up from the Western part of the universe. [according to Rabbi Chavell this is an assurance that the original light, though hidden from mankind after the sin, has never been removed from earth but has only been stored in areas inaccessible to us.] When we read in Kohelet 1,4, דור הולך ודור בא, “a generation goes and a generation comes,” this means that all the souls have already been assigned to this world and until each one has been hosted by a body the redeemer cannot come. What did the prophet mean in the second half of his verse when he said ממערב אקבצך, “I will gather you in from the West?” It means that Israel will be gathered in, “protected” from the very attribute which always displays a tendency to be attracted by the West. Why is it called “West?” Because there all the seeds intermingle. [I believe this is a way of saying that sanctity is being compromised by intermingling with souls who originate in spiritually negative areas. Ed.] The attribute described as “East,” is a reference to the emanation תפארת, “harmony,” the central line (of the emanations). [Rabbi Chavell refers the reader to the commentary of Levush on Recanati 8,1 for a more profound appreciation of the author’s comments.] From that region the souls travel to the foundation of the universe, a region known as ברית, “covenant.” This is why the author of the Sefer Habahir wrote that the seed comes to the Israelites by means of the spinal cord which gets its input from the brain travelling down to the male member. The attribute called West is the עטרה, ‘crown,” may be the reason why our sages in Baba Batra 25 said that the שכינה, “the presence of G-d’s supervisory attribute,” is in the West. Just as the seed travels from the brain through the spinal cord to the male member, so the soul wends its way from the region known as תשובה via the קו האמצאי,“central line,” which is the Eastern part of the universe and it arrives by way of the West. I believe that the prophet Isaiah alluded to this when he said in Isaiah 48,1 שמעו זאת בית יעקב הנקראים בשם ישראל, וממי יהודה יצאו, “listen to this O house of Yaakov who bear the name Israel and who have emanated from the waters of Yehudah.” The expression “who have emanated from the waters of Yehudah,” means “from the seed of Yehudah.” The reason the prophet called Israel “Yehudah,” is because the flag of Yehudah represented the Eastern part of the encampment of the Israelites in the desert.

ויטע ה' אלוקים גן בעדן מקדם, “The Lord G’d planted a garden in Eden, in the east.” He planted the garden to the east of an area known as Eden. Some commentators believe that the country was called “Eden,” as in Kings II Onkelos understands the word מקדם as מלקדמין, as of ancient times, which Nachmanides equates with G’d not transplanting the trees in that garden from another location, but making them grow from the very roots, as indicated by the words ויצמח ה' אלוקים, the Lord G’d made grow, etc.” In other words, the directive for these trees to grow was given long before G’d instructed the earth on the third day to produce vegetation. G’d had decreed already at that early stage of creation that this spot would become the site of גן עדן. He had even selected the precise spot for each tree in that garden, personally. The earth had not had any leeway in the matter as it had elsewhere on the globe. As to the Torah writing that G’d placed Adam in that garden in order to work it and preserve it, this means that Adam was to sow and make additional rows of trees, etc. If the trees of the original garden had required tending, who would have done this after Adam had been expelled?

And Hashem God caused to grow from the ground every tree desirable to look upon and good to eat, and the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of which those who eat its fruits become wise between good and evil.

ויצמח AND HE CAUSED TO GROW — The verse speaks here only with reference to the garden (Genesis Rabbah 13:1) בתוך הגן IN THE MIDST OF THE GARDEN — means in the very centre of the garden.

AND THE TREE OF LIFE IN THE MIDST OF THE GARDEN AND THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL. Since Scripture says, And the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and does not say “in the garden,” and, moreover, since it says, But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G-d hath said: ‘Ye shall not eat of it,’ and does not mention it or refer to it by another name, we must say, according to the simple meaning of Scripture, that it was a known place in the garden which was “in the midst” thereof. This is why Onkelos translated: “in the middle of the garden.” Thus according to Onkelos the tree of life and the tree of knowledge were both in the middle of the garden. And if so, we must say that in the middle of the garden there was the likeness of an enclosed garden-bed made which contained these two trees. This “middle” means near its middle for with respect to the exact middle, they have already said His intent may, however, be general. If so, the source may be found in Berachoth 3b, where it is stated that the exact point of midnight is known only to G-d. that no one knows the true central point except G-d alone. And the tree of life. This was a tree the fruit of which gave those who ate it long life. And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The commentators ” have said that the fruit thereof caused those who ate it to have a desire for sexual intercourse, and therefore Adam and Eve covered their nakedness after they ate of it [the fruit]. They quote a similar expression [where “good and evil” refers to such desire], the saying of Barzilai the Gileadite: Can I distinguish between good and bad? — meaning that this sexual desire was already removed from him. But in my opinion this interpretation is not correct since the serpent said, And ye shall be as ‘Elohim,’ knowing good and evil. And if you will say that the serpent lied to her, now [Scripture itself attests to the truth of his statement in the verse], And the Eternal G-d said, ‘Behold man has become like one of us knowing good and evil.’ And the Rabbis have already said: See my Hebrew commentary, p. 36, Note 84, for variants. “Three stated the truth and perished from the world, and these are: the serpent, the spies, Sanhedrin 108a. and Doeg the Edomite. Sanhedrin 90a. The Hebrew text here also contains an additional word, “the Beerothite.” See II Samuel, Chapter 4. Ramban’s general thought is clear: the saying of the Rabbis proves that the serpent spoke the truth. Hence the serpent’s statement, And ye shall be as ‘Elohim,’ knowing good and evil, was true. Now since sexual desire is not spoken of in connection with the angels, the expression knowing good and evil cannot refer to such desire. The proper interpretation appears to me to be that man’s original nature was such that he did whatever was proper for him to do naturally, just as the heavens and all their hosts do, “faithful workers See, however, Tosafoth there which mentions a variant reading, “A faithful Worker,” which refers to G-d. Our version of this benediction in the Prayer Book is based on this reading. whose work is truth, and who do not change from their prescribed course,” and in whose deeds there is no love or hatred. Now it was the fruit of this tree that gave rise to will and desire, that those who ate it should choose a thing or its opposite, for good or for evil. This is why it was called ‘etz hada’ath’ (the tree of the knowledge) of good and evil, for da’ath in our language is used to express will. Thus in the language of the Rabbis: “They have taught this only with regards to one sheda’ato (whose will) is to return;” If his will (or wish) is to return to his house during the days of Passover, then he must search his house for leaven before leaving his house even if he leaves more than 30 days before Passover. and “his will is to clear” [the produce in the store-room in his house before Passover]. And in the language of Scripture, Eternal, what is man ‘vateida’ehu,’ meaning that “Thou shouldst desire and want him;” yedaticha beshem, Literally, I know thee by name. meaning “I have chosen thee of all people.” Similarly, Barzilai’s expression, Ha’eda (Can I distinguish) between good and bad, means that he lost the power of thought, no longer choosing a thing or loathing it, and he would eat without feeling taste and hear singing without enjoying it. Now at that time sexual intercourse between Adam and his wife was not a matter of desire; instead, at the time of begetting offspring they came together and propagated. Therefore all the limbs were, in their eyes, as the face and hands, and they were not ashamed of them. But after he ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, he possessed the power of choice; he could now willingly do evil or good to himself or to others. This, on the one hand, is a godlike attribute; but as far as man is concerned, it is bad because through it, he has a will and desire. It is possible that Scripture intended to allude to this matter when it said, That G-d made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions. The “uprightness” is that man should keep to one right path, and the “seeking out of many inventions” is man’s search for deeds which change according to his choice. Now when the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Adam concerning the tree, that he should not eat of its fruit, He did not inform him that it has this quality. He told him without any qualification, But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, that is to say, the one that is known by its central position, thou shalt not eat thereof. And this was what the woman said to the serpent. And the verse which states, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, mentions it to us by its true name.

"And He caused to grow" — at the time He caused every tree to grow from the ground, so too He caused growth in the garden, and moreover placed two particular trees in its midst. "And the tree of knowledge" — in my view, one must supply the word 'knowledge' so it reads: 'and the tree of knowledge — knowledge of good and evil'; for how can it be in the construct state when the word that follows has the definite sense? Similarly: "the ark of the covenant" (Josh. 3:14), and "the prophecy of Oded the prophet" (2 Chron. 15:8), and many such examples.

ויצמח, G‘d made the food necessary for Adam sprout forth. The verse illustrates with what ease Adam could secure his requirements in Gan Eden. נחמד למראה, looking at these trees resulted In the viewer experiencing intellectual stimulation both of his heart and his brain. He would thus be capable of “digesting” the additional intellectual insights granted him by G’d. Compare Kings II 3,15 ותהי עליו יד ה', “Elisha had now been endowed by G’d’s generosity.” [a reference to the additional spiritual insights he had asked from his mentor Elijah prior to the latter ascending to heaven. Ed.] ועץ הדעת, a tree whose fruit results in those who eat from it gaining greater understanding of the relationship of good and evil. The word דעת, which appears here for the first time, helps us understand Genesis 4,1 והאדם ידע את חוה אשתו. Without this verse we would have been puzzled by the Torah telling us something that was so obvious. Who does not “know” his wife, especially when he had described her as “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!” (2,23) In our verse we are told that the words ידע, דעת do not primarily refer to factual knowledge but to conceptual knowledge. This also helps us to understand why relatives, as in Ruth 2,1 are referred to as מודע לאישה, “someone whom her late husband had been intimate with, had been related to by blood.” It is normal for blood relations to be concerned with the physical and emotional needs of their kin. (compare Proverbs 17,17.) טוב ורע, to choose that which appeared as appealing to the senses even though it would prove harmful, and to despise anything which did not appeal to his senses although he knew it to be useful to him.

"and the tree of knowledge of good and bad:" as its (Onkelos) translation (explains) - the tree which the one who eats it(s fruit) knows good and bad.

ויצמח ה' אלוקים מן האדמה, “The Lord G-d made grow from the earth, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text these words prove that there is such a thing as Paradise on earth and that it contains a tree of knowledge as well as a tree of life. The fruit of the tree of life causes those who eat it to enjoy long life, whereas the fruit of the tree of knowledge instills in those who consume it willpower and freedom of choice. to do either good or evil both in matters physical as well as in matters spiritual. Our sages in Pessachim 6 said concerning this “לא שנו אלא שדעתו לחזור, the ruling applies only to someone who had resolved to return to his home during the festival of Passover.” [The author uses the word דעתו in the Talmud where it refers to someone making a voluntary decision as proof that here in our verse too the term עץ הדעת, does not mean “the tree of knowledge,” but means ‘the tree permitting man a choice.” Ed.] We find support for this meaning of the word דעת in Psalms 144,3 מה אדם ותדעהו, “what is man that You should have granted him grace?” In other words: “why have You extended Your goodwill, Your love to man?” The meaning of the term עץ הדעת then is the tree which causes G-d to relate to man with either favour or disfavour.” Originally, G-d had withheld this kind of choice from Adam as he had been ‘programmed” in his deeds prior to his sin. This does not mean that he was not free to sin but that his actions were guided exclusively by his intellect thus practically excluding sin as he had not been subject to temptation from within. Once man had sinned, i.e. had eaten from the fruit of that tree, he became possessed of an independent will, i.e. obedience to G-d’s will was no longer automatic, dictated by his intellect. The new-found “independent will” meant that he had acquired an attribute reserved for G-d, an attribute that he could handle only at great potential cost to himself. ועץ החיים בתוך הגן, “and a tree of life in the midst of the garden.” The Torah made a point of describing the location of this tree as “in the midst of the garden,” as opposed to the precise location of the tree of “desire,” which has not been spelled out. A closer examination of the text which placed the two words בתוך הגן exactly between the words עץ החיים and עץ הדעת טוב ורע, makes it clear that both these trees stood next to one another. Although there were two trees, and it is physically impossible for both trees to be precisely in the centre of the garden, we must assume that they had a single trunk and that the two trees branched out at a certain point above the ground, one side becoming the עץ החיים, the other the עץ הדעת. The Torah continues by describing rivers which originated in that garden, describing their parameters and the countries which surrounded the garden. There were a total of four rivers which were all branches of a single river which flowed out of Eden. As long as that river was a single river its function was to irrigate the garden. Subsequently, this river split into what the Torah called ארבעה ראשים, “four headwaters.” You are aware already that though the Torah describes a scenery on earth when describing Gan Eden and what is related to it, the manifestations described by the Torah are metaphors for phenomena in the celestial regions. A Midrashic, homiletical view of our verse sees in the four rivers a reference to four kingdoms: The river Pishon is a reference to the king of Babylon, seeing that we have a verse in Chabakuk 1,8 ופשו פרשיו, “describing the riders of the army of the Chaldeans (Babylonians). The land of Chavilah which our verse describes as being surrounded by the river Pishon is none other than the land of Israel, a land which the king of Babylon will ascend, and across which he and his army will spread out. This is based on Bereshit Rabbah explaining Psalms 42,6 הוחילי לאלוקים כי עוד אודנו, “Have hope in G-d for I will yet praise Him for His saving presence.” אשר שם הזהב, “where the gold is.” The “gold” referred to here are the words of Torah which have been extolled as הנחמדים מזהב ומפז רב, “more desirable than gold, than much fine gold.” (Psalms 19,11). We are taught by this verse that the quality of Torah studied in the land of Israel is superior to Torah studied elsewhere as is the wisdom acquired in the land of Israel. שם הבדולח ואבן השהם, “there can be found the bedolach and the shoham stone.” These are names of gems and they symbolise different disciplines of Torah study such as מקרא, משנה, תלמוד, הלכות, תוספות ואגדות, “Holy Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud, Halachot, interpretations and aggadic material.” ושם הנהר השני גיחון, “and the name of the second river is Gichon.” This is a reference to the kingdom of the Medes, whereas the third river חידקל is a reference to the kingdom of Greece which imposed a particularly draconian rule on the Jewish people in Israel. The fourth river, the river Euphratus, represents the Roman Empire which oppressed the Jewish people inordinately. The word פרת is equated by the Midrash with the word הפרה, “breach (of trust).” Alternately, the name of the river symbolises the final destiny of the Roman Empire as alluded to by Isaiah 63,3 פורה דרכתי לבדי, “I trod out a vintage alone.” [The prophet describes the red-stained clothing of Israel returning from defeating the kingdom of Edom (Rome)]. A kabbalistic approach to Gan Eden. The tree of life and the tree of knowledge of the celestial regions are the emanations תפארת and עטרת, and man’s sin consisted of a sinful deed as well as a sinful design. His sin in deed consisted of eating from the tree and what it represented. When Adam sinned this was not a denial of the supremacy of G-d, an heretical act. Even though he had seen the tree of life next to the tree of knowledge, he did not consider the tree of life as essential but he considered the tree of knowledge the key to his existence. Inasmuch as the tree of knowledge provided the key to all opposites in the universe and enabled those who had consumed its fruit to perform all kinds of activities both in the terrestrial as well as in the celestial regions, this is what he considered as essential. This is why the verses describing the tree of knowledge and its allure (3.2-6) spoke of its fruit, whereas no mention of fruit is made in connection with the tree of life. Adam’s sin consisted of קצץ בנטיעות, “pursued alien philosophies” (the expression applied to the heresy of Elisha ben Avuyah in Chagigah 14). Literally, the expression means that Adam “curtailed the beneficial influence of saplings G-d Himself had planted and which had been imbued with a unique divine potential.” Adam’s “cutting” this sapling was the cause that this potential contained in the sapling “withered and it dried out and perished.” As a result it was appropriate that the sapling in question revenge itself on Adam. This explains that the fitting punishment for Adam was death, i.e. that he himself would wither and dry out. Death meant that his soul and body would become separated, just as he had separated the divine part of the tree of knowledge from its earthly part. There have been several people whose sin has been described in similar terms by our sages. When Nadav and Avihu entered the Holy of Holies carrying man-made fire and offering incense they had not been bidden to offer, the Torah (Leviticus 10,2) records that “a fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed them.” Their death consisted of their bodies remaining intact but their souls being not being “burned” by the fire which entered through their nostrils separating their souls from their bodies. [Our author there makes a point of insisting that the souls could not have been burned seeing that even after their deaths they have been described by the Torah as “intimates of G-d.” Ed.] According to Chagigah 15, Elisha ben Avuyah (better known as Acher) was guilty of the same type of sin as Adam. (compare Chagigah 15) His mistake was that he thought he had proof that there were separate origins of celestial authority. On the other hand, the sin of the generation which built the Tower was of a different dimension. Those people literally denied celestial authority altogether. This is why they were punished as testified by the Torah in Genesis 11,5 “G-d descended to look... and He confused their language, and dispersed them.” They were not punished in the same way as Adam who had קצץ בנטיעה, as it would have been inappropriate to avenge G-d Who could not have been harmed by their actions. I will explain this further at the appropriate place. When Adam repented and saw that G-d receives the penitents with His attribute שמאל, “ he sacrificed an ox corresponding to that attribute of G-d, i.e. source of his sin. [G-d had after all, placed within man the theoretical ability to sin already when he created him. This theoretical ability to commit a sin was due to an input of the “left side” of the diagram depicting the various emanations. Ed.] ונהר, “and a river, etc.” According to the Targum the Hebrew word אור, “light,” equivalent to the aramaic נהורא, “light.” [The kabbalists consider the letter ו at the beginning of the word ונהר as part of the noun and not as a preposition such as “and.” Ed.] The Torah therefore tells us that a “light” comes forth from Eden, and that this light originates in the region known as אין סוף, “G’’d’s Essence.” The meaning of the word מעדן is that it emanates from regions which are not bounded by any boundaries, or which defy further definition by man. The region has been so named by our sages because they cannot define it. It is beyond the outermost boundaries of our understanding. We do find allusions to this such as in Job 25,5 “even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His sight.” [Bildad, the speaker in this verse, describes “light” as we know it as far inferior to light in the celestial regions. Ed.] The words ולא יאהיל in that verse refer to G-d’s ability to withhold the light of the moon. It is contrasted with the light emanating in אין סוף which is never withheld and this is why the word describing whence this light emanates is in the present tense, i.e. יוצא, “it comes forth,” instead of the past tense יצא, “it came forth,” which is what we would have expected. להשקות את הגן, “to irrigate the garden.” This task would be performed by the emanation עטרת. [In more modern descriptions of the emanations this emanation is called מלכות, compare Rabbi Moshe Cordovero chapter 23 of his פרדס רמונים. Ed.] You are aware that for practical purposes all the emanations are unified, there is no division within them. However, starting with the emanation עטרת, or מלכות “downwards,” i.e. into the realm of the physical universe including the disembodied creatures such as the angels, “separations” are the order of the day. This is what the Torah means when it states that משם, i.e. from there on the “light” was divided into four categories. This is a reference to four separate “camps.” These “camps” provide “energy” for the four “rivers” or “lights” of Gan Eden. Thence this energy or different forms of energies are channeled to the four kingdoms on earth. May the Lord continue to enlighten us with the light of His Torah.

And the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden. Its translation [in Aramaic] is “And the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden, and the tree whose fruits give knowledge between good and evil.” Through this, it seeks to explain why the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not warn Adam about both trees together — not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and from the Tree of Life. This is because the Tree of Life had the natural property that one who ate from the tree itself would live forever, as it had no fruit at all, and the taste of the tree itself was like the taste of fruit. However, the Tree of Knowledge had fruit that was pleasing to the eye, and all who ate from it would become guilty of knowing between good and evil more than necessary. Therefore, before he ate from the Tree of Knowledge, there was no need to warn him about the Tree of Life because it was not pleasing to the eye, and he did not yet have the knowledge to discern the benefit of eating from that tree, as it was just a plain tree, and typically an animal does not eat a tree unless it is something pleasing to the eye that bears fruit. But after he ate from the Tree of Knowledge, there was concern that he would use his intellect to recognize the benefit of the Tree of Life and eat from it in order to live forever; therefore he was expelled from there.

ועץ החיים בתוך הגן. “and the tree of life in the center of the garden.” The meaning of the words: “the tree of life was in the center of the garden,” is that the location and function of this tree was known. This is why the Torah describes it as “at the center” of the garden and not simply as ”in the garden.” Onkelos also translates the word בתוך as meaning “at the center.” This is also what Chavah answered the serpent when she said: “G’d has said not to eat from the tree in the center of the garden,” without mentioning the name of that tree. Seeing that she had mentioned the location of the tree, it was as if she had identified it by name. Seeing that this was so, it is difficult to understand how both the tree of life and the tree of knowledge were in the center of the garden? Nachmanides explains that this is no problem. There was an ערוגה, “furrow,” in the center of the garden and both these trees grew out of this furrow. The entire furrow is described by the Torah as “the center, אמצע, of the garden. [although the Torah never used this word, only בתוך, which does not have to mean precisely the center. Ed.] There are still other commentators who state that the tree of life was precisely at the center of the garden, whereas the tree of knowledge surrounded it with its foliage. In this manner both trees were located in the center of the garden, the tree of life in the more narrow sense of the word. This would also explain why G’d was not concerned that man would eat from the fruit of the tree of life immediately before he would eat from the tree of knowledge having already assured himself of eternal life. Seeing that the tree of life was difficult to get at due to it being surrounded by the branches of the tree of knowledge, it did not present a challenge until man had become mortal. Rabbi Joseph Kimchi explains that the tree of knowledge and the tree of life were one and the same tree. As to the Torah once speaking of the “tree of life,” and once of the “tree of knowledge,” this is no different from our describing a certain person once as very intelligent, and once as being righteous. These two characteristics are not mutually exclusive. The tree in question also possessed several characteristics. This is also plausible when we consider the woman’s answer to the serpent when she said (in the same breath) “from the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat whereas G’d said not to eat from the tree in the centre of the garden.” According to Chavah only a single tree had been placed out of bounds to man. I cannot understand what Rabbi Joseph Kimchi does with verse 23 in chapter 3 where G’d expresses His concern about man now wanting to eat from the tree of life. According to the worthy Rabbi they had already eaten from that tree!

And a river was going out from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became four heads of rivers.

"And a river" — before man was created, the river was watering the garden on every side. The alef of the word roshim (heads/branches) is a root letter, as is evident in the word "me-roshoteikhem" (Jer. 13:18), which means: from the honor of the head.

ונהר יוצא מעדן, the Torah explains that Adam’s work did not entail anything strenuous, such as carrying pails of water, or such as getting wet in the rain.

The name of the one is Pishon — it is the one that winds around the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

פישון PISHON — This is the Nile, the River of Egypt. Because its waters grow plentiful and rise and water the land, it is called Pishon, the name being of the same root as the verb in (Habakkuk 1:8) ופשו פרשיו “and their horsemen increased”; another interpretation of the name Pishon is: it is so called because it grows flax (פשתן) (Genesis Rabbah 16:2) for it is said with reference to Egypt (Isaiah 19:9) “Moreover they that work in combed flax, shall be ashamed.”

THE LAND OF HAVILAH, WHERE THERE IS GOLD. This is to explain that it is not the Havilah of Egypt, concerning which it is said, And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, for this one [referred to here] is in the extreme east. The verse mentions also, There is the bdellium, in praise of the river, that in the sand that is in it and on its bank there is found that good gold, the bdellium and the onyx stone. For these things are found in rivers; in some, silver can be found. Similarly, the bdellium and precious stones are found mostly in rivers. In the opinion of former scholars, Pishon is the Nile of Egypt; it compasses this entire land of Havilah, and comes from there and passes the whole land of Egypt until it falls into the great sea at Alexandria in Egypt.

"The name of the first" — The Gaon [Saadia] said that Pishon is the Nile of Egypt. But it is known that Gihon is near the Land of Israel, for it is written: "bring him down to the Gihon" (1 Kings 1:33), and it flows from the southeast; so too the Euphrates, which forms the far eastern boundary of the Land. Commentators have said that the Hiddekel is the second river flowing past Baghdad alongside the Euphrates, in which case all three of them flow eastward. But the Nile of Egypt rises from the Mountain of Frankincense, far south of the equator — the proof being that it floods in summer. Now we know that the Garden of Eden lies beneath the equator, where the days neither lengthen nor shorten throughout the year. Shallow minds have wondered how this can be; but there are conclusive proofs for it without any doubt. Accordingly, the Pishon would descend to the southwest, and then curve back northward. There is no proof that Pishon is the Nile, only that the Gaon translated 'Havilah' according to his own need, for he had no received tradition about it — and so he did likewise with tribes, provinces, animals, birds, and stones. Perhaps he saw it in a dream; and indeed he erred in some of them, as I will explain in its place. We cannot therefore lean upon his dreams. Perhaps he did so for the honor of Hashem, because he translated the Torah into the Arabic language and script, so that people should not say that there are words in the Torah that he did not know. He mentioned the gold in order to honor the river issuing from the Garden.

שם אחד פישון, [The Torah] informed us of the praise of the river that irrigates the garden that is not known to us by informing us of the rivers that branch off from it that are known by their praised size and the goodness of their water and the goodness of their fruit.

אשר שם הזהב The word: חוילה, occurs in the Torah twice more, once in Genesis 10,7, and once in verse 29 of that chapter. Therefore the Torah wished to indicate that the gold mentioned here is that which used to be brought from Ophir.

And the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and onyx stones.

"And the gold" — The Gaon [Saadia] said that bedolah refers to small round pebbles that emerge from water, being fine and delicate, and that the manna was compared to them. But the verse speaks only of the appearance of the manna in isolation. He also said that the shoham is a white precious stone, bright and clear. But we do not know.

וזהב הארץ ההיא טוב, “and the gold originating from that area is good.” What is meant is that it lends itself to amalgamation with copper, without losing its appearance as gold. Actually, this is no more than logical; if the gold found in the rivers emanating from Gan Eden was “good,” the gold inside the garden surely must be good.

And the name of the second river is Gihon — it is the one that winds around the entire land of Cush.

גיחון GICHON — It is so called because it flows on with a roar, its roaring being very noisy,—similar in meaning to (Exodus 21:28) וכי יגח “And if an [ox] gore” — for when it gores it rushes on roaring (Berakhot 59b.).

And the name of the third river is Tigris — it is the one that flows to the east of Assyria. And the fourth river, that is the Euphrates.

חדקל TIGRIS — It is called חדקל because its waters are pungent in taste (חד) and light in weight (קל) (Berakhot 59b). פרת EUPHRATES — It is called פרת because its waters grow (פרה) and increase and make men healthy (Berakhot 59b). כוש ואשור CUSH AND ASHUR did not then exist as countries, but Scripture writes with reference to the names which those districts would bear in the future (Ketubot 10b; Genesis Rabbah 16). קדמת אשור means AT THE EAST OF ASHUR. הוא פרת IS THE EUPHRATES — the most important of all, being mentioned in connection with the Land of Israel (Genesis Rabbah 16:3). Este é Prat.

"The meaning of 'east of Assyria'" — the tav of kidmat stands in place of the heh. The difference between it and kedem is that the heh of kedmah replaces the preposition el, opened with a patah katan; similarly: "and Abram went down to Egypt" (Gen. 12:10), which means 'toward Egypt.' Thus kidmat Ashur means: toward the east of Assyria. Know also that from the first verse until the word "to make," Scripture uses the name Elohim, and afterward the glorious and awesome Name appears alongside it. How precious are the words of our early sages, of blessed memory, who said: the full Name was pronounced over a full world — for there was not yet a recipient capable of bearing that Name. In the parashah "These are the names" [Exodus], I will explain the secret of the Name and whether it is in the construct form, if Hashem will help me. Know further that the place of the soil from which Adam was formed is close to the Garden of Eden — for some say that this soil is the Land of Israel. But they have forgotten: "And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east" (Gen. 11:2).

קדמת אשור, the letter ת at the end of the word: קדמת is in lieu of the letter ה, as in קדמה. Sometimes the Torah also uses the letter ה as a suffix instead of the letter ל as a prefix as in למזרח אשור “east of Ashur.” הוא פרת, “known to the Israelites at the time when the Torah was given as the river Euphrates.” It borders the larger land of Israel, as in G-d’s promise to Avraham in Genesis 15,18. Seeing that this river was well known, the Torah only needed to write “הוא פרת,” the one known as Euphrates. More details had to be given about the other three rivers as the reader would not have known which rivers were meant.

And Hashem God took Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden to till it and to tend it.

ויקח AND HE TOOK — He took him with kind words and induced him to enter (Genesis Rabbah 16:5).

"Garden" — a word of both masculine and feminine gender; accordingly it forms the plurals gannim and gannot. As for those who say that "to work it and to guard it" refers back to the earth, how is it possible to work and guard a large space by means of a small one? And besides, after he sinned and was expelled to work the earth, had he not already been working the earth? Rather, the meaning of "to work it" refers to the garden — that he would eat from its fruit. After he sinned, he was reduced to eating the herbs of the field, which is the bread. The meaning of "to work it" is: to water the garden. "To guard it" — from all the animals, so that they would not enter and defile it. Some say the meaning is: to observe His commandments — but a commandment is not something one works.

לעבדה, a reference to perfecting his own personality, that which was supplied by G’d in an as yet unrefined state, the one called נשמת חיים. [the author searched to justify the use of the feminine mode in the word לעבדה and related it to נשמה, soul, a noun which is feminine and requires further refinement, just like שיר and שירה which both mean song, the latter, in the feminine mode being unrefined when compared to the former. Compare its use in the haggadah shel Pessach. Ed.] ולשמרה, eating the fruit of the garden would ensure that man’s natural juices would not dry up. Man is equipped with natural heat, and if not supplied with the proper kind of nourishment he may dehydrate. The excellent fruit of the trees of the garden would replenish loss of moisture through evaporation on the skin in the heat of the sun.

ויקח השם אלוקים….לעבדה ולשמרה. G'd took man…to work it and to guard it. The plain meaning of the verse appears to be that the garden was in need of someone to work it and to guard it, whereas the truth is that this was not the case. Why would it need a guard? Who was there to steal from it? Also, if the garden needed someone to work it, who has done this chore during the almost 6000 years that the garden has been unattended? What exactly was the nature of the work which had to be performed? Know therefore that the entire description of the גן עדן is to serve as an example of a spiritual environment. The Torah wanted to illustrate that just as a physical environment such as earth requires a) toil, planting, irrigation, etc. in order to produce man's food supply, and b) protection against harmful substances that damage the plants, the same applies to an environment described as גן עדן. Nowadays גן עדן is the "soil," i.e. the environment for disembodied souls, seeing the bodies have been expelled. Even as such it requires both work and protection against negative influences. The specific work required in גן עדן consists of Torah study. The Torah demonstrates the validity of such illustrative figures of speech when Moses described his speech in Deut. 32,2 in these words: "May my discourse come down as the rain, my speech distil as the dew, like showers on young growth and like droplets on the grass." The "young growth" is a simile for the positive commandments. The author cites a number of examples where G'd is described as "planting" man's good deeds. The protective activity the Torah describes as לשמרה, refers to the observance of the negative commandments. Non-observance of the negative commandments of the Torah is apt to destroy the fabric of the spiritual environment represented by גן עדן. Our sages in Sotah 2 already tell us that sin, i.e. transgression of a negative commandment, extinguishes מצות though it does not extinguish the Torah. This latter statement does not mean that it is not within the power of such a sin to harm Torah at all, it only means that a single עבירה cannot accomplish that. Sustained sinful activity could certainly undermine the Torah absolutely. At any rate the use of such terms as "to work it and to protect it" in connection with גן עדן is perfectly justified. At the time when G'd placed Adam in גן עדן, Adam was able to see how his positive actions contributed to the well-being of the garden. Once he had been expelled he was denied the ability to see the results of his activities. His spiritual part, however, was not denied the chance to accumulate good deeds and to eventually "see" the results in the Hereafter.

לעבדה, “to irrigate it;” ולשמרה, “and to protect it against animals that would trample it.” The Torah speaks of a period prior to when the angels with drawn swords would prevent entry into Gan Eden. An alternate exegesis of these two words: the word לעבדה, is to be understood as in Exodus 20,8, i.e. ששת ימים תעבוד, “during the six days you are to work, etc;” and the word: לשמרה, is to be understood as in Deuteronomy 5,12: שמור את יום השבת, “observe the Sabbath,” in other words, G-d commanded Adam already at that time to observe the seventh day of the week as we observe the Sabbath after the Torah had been given, by not performing work on it.

לעבדה ולשמרה, “to work it and to preserve it.” The plain meaning of this phrase is that seeing that G-d had already assigned to man what he was to eat, i.e. vegetables and fruit, He now placed him in the garden so that he would practice the art of gardening and plant all manner of crops therein. He was also encouraged to plant all kinds of fruit (trees). He had been placed in that garden in order to enjoy it and to experiment therein at will. His daily food consisted of the fruit provided by the trees in that garden. He would drink from the rivers traversing Eden, whereas he would use the ענני הכבוד, “divine clouds of glory,” as his clothing. His position in that garden was most distinguished. His primary preoccupation was with spiritual delights whereas he spent relatively little time engaged in pleasurable physical pursuits. He enjoyed a most serene state of mind as both his mind and his body cooperated fully in being servants of the Lord. The reason that G-d had withheld from him the fruit of the עץ הדעת, was to spare him the mental and physical tension which he would experience once he experienced lust, greed, etc., all phenomena which are part and parcel of a true freedom of choice, בחירה. At that point, prior to Adam experiencing the need to eat from the tree of life, G-d had not had any reason to deny that tree to him as he was not going to die even if he did not eat from that tree. Once he had sinned, the fact that he had eaten from the forbidden fruit caused him to become far more preoccupied with concerns of the body at the expense of his pursuit of spiritual values. In short, he experienced the same limitations and handicaps when pursuing spiritual pursuits which we are familiar with nowadays. Seeing that he had reversed the order of priorities G-d had assigned to him as his purpose in life, G-d now reversed the order of what He had ordained for him so that his lifespan was reduced and the angel of death attained authority over him. You should know that in the future, after the resurrection of people who deserve to be resurrected, these people will once again experience the idyllic conditions which prevailed in Gan Eden. At that time man will once again be occupied primarily with spiritual pursuits and will devote only relatively little energy to matters pertaining to his body. At that time man will resume either very long life, or never-ending life, as the universe will then revert to its original state of perfection. The words לעבדה ולשמרה, “to work it and to preserve it,” refer to the soil of the garden. [The word אדמה, soil is feminine, hence the feminine endings in לעבדה ולשמרה.] Viewed from an homiletical point of view, you might well ask what possible “work” there was in such a perfect garden in which all the trees had already grown and produced fruit without any input by man? Moreover, G-d had even provided irrigation by means of rivers so that man certainly did not have to perform any “labour,” something always associated with the word לעבד? We therefore need to understand the word לעבדה as a reference to Torah study and the word לשמרה as a reference to observance of the Torah’s commandments. This is why such observance is referred to in Genesis 3,24 as לשמור את דרך עץ החיים, “to guard the path of the tree of life.” We have other verses in Scripture which refer to Torah and the observance of its statutes as the “tree of life,” such as Proverbs 3,18 עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה, “she is a tree of life for those who take hold of it.” Another Midrashic explanation sees in the words לעבדה ולשמרה, a reference to the Sabbath, seeing that the Torah described the six weekdays as days on which we are to work; (compare Exodus 20,9 ששת ימים תעבד, “for six days you will work, etc.”). Still another Midrashic explanation sees in the words of our verse a reference to the sacrifices The word לעבדה paraphrases Exodus 3,12 תעבדון את האלוקים על ההר הזה, “you will offer sacrifices to G-d on this Mountain.” The word ולשמרה is also a reference to certain sacrificial rituals as it paraphrases Numbers 28,2 תשמרו להקריב לי במועדו, “you will guard it to sacrifice for Me at its appointed season.” A kabbalistic approach to our verse: We need to understand why the Torah used the letter ה each time at the end of these words. The normal grammar would have required the letter ו each time, i.e. לעבדו ולשמרו, seeing the words refer to the garden which is masculine in Hebrew. Actually, both the letters ה in this instance are an allusion to the two letters ה which are part of the four-lettered ineffable name of Gd. Concerning such considerations, the Torah wrote in Exodus 23,21 השמר מפניו, “take heed on account of the letters ו which have been replaced by he letters ה. The intelligent reader will understand to what I refer. [according to תורת חיים, the word in Exodus should be read מפני-ו, “on account of the ו.]

And Hashem God commanded Adam, saying: Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat.

"And He commanded" — the word tzivvuy with the preposition al expresses a negative commandment, as in: "over the clouds I will command" (Isa. 5:6). The meaning is: although I have permitted you the fruit of every tree of the garden, you shall not eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge.

מכל עץ הגן, depending on which tree’s fruit was in season. Each season required nutrients appropriate to the prevailing climate, and the fruit ripening during the various seasons would provide man with these nutrients. The prophet Ezekiel 47,12 expresses this thought in the words לחדשיו יבכר “in its appropriate month it will yield new fruit.”

ויצו השם אלוקים על האדם. The Lord G'd commanded Adam. The Torah added the word לאמור, to say, and repeated the word for "to eat," by saying אכול תאכל. The Torah also repeated that violating the command would result in death by saying: i.e. מות תמות, instead of merely תמות. The reason is 1) that Adam should command Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge either; b) that the penalty would apply to her just as much as to Adam himself (who had heard the commandment from G'd directly). The repetition of these words also constitutes both a warning and a spelling out of the penalty, something that halachah demands when capital punishment is involved. Another meaning of the repetition of the words מות תמות may be simply to give notice to Adam that should he eat from that tree he would cause his own mortality as well as the mortality of all those who would be descended from him in the future. This is, of course, what happened, and as a result we are all mortal until the day in the future when the pollution of the original serpent will have dissipated completely and G'd will banish death from earth (Isaiah 25,8).

ויצו ה' אלוקים על האדם; “the Lord G-d issued a command to Adam, etc.” This is not to be considered as a test which G-d wanted to subject Adam to, seeing that He knows all that was, is, and will be. He commanded Adam not to eat from the tree in order to demonstrate to the angels who had appealed for G-d’s mercy on his behalf, that this Adam to whom they had looked with that much respect and almost awe, did not even have the power to resist the only temptation to which G-d had subjected him. Our sages in Sanhedrin 56b derive from this verse that G-d issued the seven universal commandments for mankind at this time. Each of them is hinted at in the words of this verse. ויצו, a reference to establishing courts and judges to deal with disputes and violations of G-d’s commandments. The Torah refers to this again in Genesis 18,19 when explaining why G-d discusses the imminent destruction of the Sodomites with Avraham. ה, a reference to G-d’s “honour,” i.e. a hint that blasphemers must be punished. (Compare Leviticus 24,16) אלוקים, a hint not to practice paganism, as spelled out in Exodus 20,3, “you must not have other deities.” על האדם, a hint forbidding the shedding of human blood, (murder). This has been spelled out in greater detail in Genesis 9,6. לאמור, this is a hint not to commit incest and other forbidden forms of gratifying one’s libido. It is spelled out clearly in Jeremiah 3,1, where the prophet condemns legal maneuvers by “divorcing” a wife so she can legally sleep with another partner, all the while intending to take her back. מכל עץ הגן, an allusion to not commit robbery, i.e. unless we have permission from the Creator to enjoy what He placed on earth for that person it is considered as if we had robbed Him. אכל תאכל, a hint not to eat flesh from an animal that is still alive. During Avraham’s time G-d added another command (for his descendants only) circumcision of the males. During Yaakov’s lifetime another prohibition was added, (by him?) namely, not to eat the גיד הנשה, the thigh muscle near the hip. During the lifetime of Yaakov’ son Yehudah, the law for a surviving brother, under certain circumstances to marry the widow of his deceased brother, was added. This law is known as yibbum. The Israelites added the commandment to honour father and mother. This commandment preceded the Ten Commandments, and was apparently introduced as part of the commandments mentioned when the people were encamped around a place called marah where the bitter waters had been made sweet. (Exodus 15,25). על האדם, the commandment applied not only to the first human being, but to all subsequent generations; this is implied in the prefix ה, as it would be unnecessary otherwise; after all there was as yet only one human being. Or, if the command applied only to this first human being, the Torah should have written: את האדם, instead of על האדם, an expression that includes the entire human species. מכל עץ הגן אכל תאכל, “you are encouraged to eat of the fruit of every tree in the garden;” if that were literally so, we might think that man was allowed to eat also of the tree of life? You would be wrong. The tree of life did not present a challenge to Adam as he was as yet immortal, and could not understand the purpose of such a tree. Moreover, according to tradition, Adam spent an entire 3 hours of his life in that garden. (Compare Sanhedrin 38) If you were to say that during those three hours Adam had indeed eaten from the fruit of that tree, so how could death have been decreed for him after that? If that were so the tree of knowledge would have been misnamed and should have been named the “tree of death,” as its fruit brought about man’s mortality. Alternately, it is possible that eating from the tree of life would serve as an antidote for people who had eaten from the tree of knowledge. This would explain why G-d became concerned about Adam eating from the tree of life only after he had eaten from the tree of knowledge, Alternately, if he were to eat from the tree of life a second time, he might become immortal as a result. Another exegesis of the whole verse: The words: “you may surely eat from all the trees of the garden,” did not include eating from the tree of life, as G-d forbade eating from the tree in the middle of the garden (3,3 and 3,9) Onkelos also translates 2,9 that the tree of knowledge was located in the center of the garden; it may well be that both the tree of life and the tree of knowledge were in fact in the middle of the garden, the tree of knowledge surrounding the tree of life from all sides. This is why the warning had to be issued only concerning the tree of knowledge. As long as man had not eaten from that tree, the tree beyond had not even been a challenge. It was only after they had become aware of the difference between good and evil that eating from the tree of life had become of special interest. Anyone who is immortal by definition was not interested in eating from a tree of life which promised no more than what he already possessed. Seeing that the concept of sinning, i.e. deliberately disobeying G-d’s instruction, came into existence only after he had eaten from the tree of knowledge, the most that could have happened would have been that he had inadvertently eaten from the fruit of the tree of life, something that hardly qualified for a penalty. After having eaten from the tree of knowledge, eating from the tree of life became a deliberate sin, and would bring in its wake the appropriate punishment. It was therefore preferable for man to have eaten from the tree of knowledge to his having eaten from the tree of life, as the penalty for eating from the latter would have been harsher.

ויצו ה' אלוקים על האדם לאמר מכל עץ הגן אכל תאכל, “the Lord G-d commanded Adam: “you may surely eat from every tree of the garden.” According to the plain meaning of the text, Adam was commanded two separate commandments here, a positive as well as a negative commandment. The positive commandment was spelled out in the words “you shall eat from all the trees of the garden.” The negative commandment was contained in the words ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו, ”but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you must not eat” (verse 17). From an homiletical point of view these verses contain what are known as the seven Noachide laws, i.e. seven laws applicable to all mankind. [These seven commandments are enumerated in Sanhedrin 56]. They are: “the prohibition of idolatry, bloodshed (murder) incestuous sexual relations of certain categories; blasphemy; robbery; consumption of living tissue of an animal, and the institution of a judiciary to deal with violators of these commandments. These laws are alluded to in our text and are derived as follows: The word ויצו refers to idolatry as we have a verse in Hoseah 5,11 where the word צו is synonymous with idolatry, viz: כי הואיל הלך אחרי צו, “because he has gone after futility.” The word השם alludes to blasphemy; the Torah states in Leviticus 24,16 ונוקב שם ה' מות יומת, “and he who curses the name of the Lord shall be put to death.” The word אלוקים in our verse refers to the establishment of a judiciary system. The parallel verse in Exodus 22,27 says: אלוהים לא תקלל, “you shall not curse a judge.” The words על האדם, are an allusion to the prohibition of bloodshed, murder. The parallel verse is found in Genesis 9,6 שופך דם האדם באדם דמו ישפך, “he who spills the blood of a human being shall have his own blood spilled by a human being.” The word לאמר alludes to forbidden sexual relations. The inference is based on Jeremiah 3,1 לאמר הן ישלח איש את אשתו והלכה מאתו והיתה לאיש אחר הישוב אליה עוד הלא חנוף תחנף הארץ ההיא?, “to say: if a man divorces his wife, and she leaves him and marries another man, can he ever go back to her? Would not such land be defiled?” The words מכל עץ הגן אכל תאכל, “from every tree of the garden you shall surely eat,” is an allusion to the prohibition of robbery, i.e. man requires G-d’s express permission to partake of matters in this world. Finally, the words ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו, “but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil” are an allusion not to eat a living animal’s tissue. The lesson derived from the words of our verse is: “from a certain object you must not eat part thereof.” So you see that the basic seven Noachide laws are all alluded to in some form or other in our two verses.

מכל עץ הגן אכל תאכל. “You may eat from all the trees of the garden.” Bereshit Rabbah 16,6 sees in these words a warning not to eat even a minute amount of live tissue from any animal. This seems hard to understand in view of meat having remained forbidden to man until after the deluge. (Genesis 9,3-4) Rabbeinu Nissim explains that the prohibition to eat meat concerned only the killing of an animal in order to eat its meat. The meat of animals which died of natural causes had not been forbidden at all. Living tissue, even if it had fallen off the animal, was prohibited, however.

But of the tree of which those who eat its fruits become wise between good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for on the day you eat of it you shall surely die.

THOU SHALT NOT EAT OF IT. He admonishes him against eating the fruit, for the tree itself is not edible. And so it says further on: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden. Similarly, And eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree [means “of the fruit of his vine and of the fruit of his fig-tree].” Likewise, In toil shalt thou eat it means “eat its fruit.” IN THE DAY THOU EATEST THEREOF THOU SHALT SURELY DIE. At the time you eat of it, you will be condemned to die. Similarly, we find: On the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, thou shalt surely die. Said by Solomon to Shimi, that on the day he goes outside of the limits of Jerusalem he shall surely die. This does not mean that he [Shimi] is to die immediately on that day; nor does it refer to his mere knowledge thereof, namely that he is to know that he will die eventually for all the living know that they shall die. But it does mean that at the time he [Shimi] goes forth from Jerusalem, he is liable to death at the hand of the king, and he will slay him when he pleases. [Similarly, in the verses:] But they shall not go in to see the holy things as they are being covered, lest they die; And they shall not bear sin for it, and die thereby. Their intent is [not that those who transgress against these prohibitions will die immediately], but only that they will be liable to death and will die on account of this sin of theirs. Now in the opinion of men versed in the sciences of nature, man was destined to die from the beginning of his formation, on account of his being a composite [of the four elements, and everything that is composite must revert to its original components]. But now He decreed that if he will sin he will die on account of his sin, like those who are liable to death at the hands of Heaven for such sins as a non-priest eating the Heave-offering, or a priest who has drunk wine or who does not wear the [required number of priestly] garments when performing the Service in the Sanctuary, and other cases. There the intent is that they will die prematurely on account of their sin. This is why in stating the punishment [after Adam ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge] He said, Till thou return to the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return, by your nature. In the beginning before he sinned, Adam also ate of the fruit of the tree and of the seeds of the earth; and if so, there was bound to be depletion in his body, and he was subject to the cause of existence and destruction. [Thus the opinion of the men of science.]But in the opinion of our Rabbis, if Adam had not sinned he would have never died, since the higher soul bestows life forever, and the Will of G-d which is in him at the time of his formation would always cleave to him and he would exist forever, as I have explained in the verse, And G-d saw that it was good. Know that composition indicates destruction only in the opinion of those wanting in faith, who hold that creation came by necessity. But in the opinion of men of faith who say that the world was created by the simple Will of G-d, its existence will also continue forever as long as it is His desire. This is clear truth. That being so, In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die means that then you will be condemned to die since you will no longer exist forever by My Will. And the matter of eating [from the other trees] was to Adam at first only a source of enjoyment. And it is possible that the fruits of the garden of Eden were absorbed in his limbs as the Manna, and they sustain those that eat them. But when He decreed upon him, And thou shalt eat the herb of the field and with the sweat of his face he shall eat bread of the earth, this [the food] became a cause for decomposition since he is dust, and dust he eats, and unto dust he shall return.

After it was already said "from the tree of knowledge you shall not eat," what need is there for the word "from it"? It was added as a further clarification — similarly: "and she opened it and saw him, the child" (Exod. 2:6). Or its meaning is: not even a small amount from it. The precise grammatical analysis of mimenu may be found in the Sefer ha-Yesod. Know that Adam was filled with knowledge, for Hashem does not issue commands to one who lacks understanding. Only "knowledge of good and evil" — in one particular matter alone he was not yet knowing. Do you not see that he gave names to all the animals and birds according to the nature of each? He was therefore a man of great wisdom. Had this not been so, Hashem would not have brought His creatures to him to see what he would call them, knowing him to be an ignoramus. Moreover, Hashem showed him the tree of knowledge — for his wife knew that it was in the midst of the garden.

ומעץ הדעת, the tree in the middle of the garden, in close proximity to the tree of life mentioned previously (verse 9) The meaning of חיים in connection with that tree is equivalent to the meaning of the words in Deuteronomy 30:19 החיים והמות נתתי לפניך, “I have placed life and death (to choose) before you.” [we may understand this to mean that the tree of life, if its fruit were eaten, would result in life of infinite duration, whereas eating from the tree next to it would result in life being shortened. Ed.]

כי ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות, “for on the day youwould eat from it you would surely become mortal.” Man had not been created as a mortal body, but after having sinned he was punished by becoming mortal. G-d’s warning did not mean that he would die immediately. He only had warned him that he would lose his entitlement to infinite life. At some time in the future he would not be able to escape the need to die. This is why he had to be separated from proximity to the tree of life, so that he could not regain the immortality that he had now lost.

מות תמות, “you will surely die.” The words in this verse do not mean that Adam (or anyone else) would die immediately on the very day he would eat from that tree; rather the meaning is that as soon as he would eat from that tree man would become mortal, would forfeit his right to live on earth indefinitely. According to our sages in Shabbat 55 man had been meant to live forever just like the angels. Philosophers, on the other hand, believe that man was destined to die a natural death. They believe that it is axiomatic that any creature which is a composite of a number of raw materials is bound to disintegrate sooner or later and to break up into its constituent parts. According to the view of these philosophers-scientists the repeated מות תמות is a reference to the natural death that most people die from. They mean that even without the sin man would have died sooner or later. As a result of man’s sin, premature death was decreed for him, i.e. death at the instigation of heaven instead of as a result of natural forces governing our terrestrial universe, whenever man would become guilty of specific sins which carry such a penalty. The reason the Torah repeats the reference to death, i.e. מות תמות is to tell us that from that moment on man would be subject to two kinds of natural death. We have a clear verse in Scripture detailing this. In Samuel I 26,10 we read: כי אם ה' יגפנו או יומו יבא ומת או במלחמה ירד ונספה, “and the Lord Himself will strike him down, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go down in battle and will perish.” When David spoke of “or his day will come,” he referred to natural death. Seeing that death had now been decreed upon Adam (man), G-d had to prevent him from attaining an unlimited lifespan by means of his eating from the fruit of the tree of life. The tree was called “tree of life,” because eating from its fruit conferred freedom from death upon those who ate from it until their bodies would disintegrate through natural causes such as we have described. It did not protect the person who ate from it against natural forces in the universe, only against death from other than natural causes. If the Torah speaks in Genesis 3,22 of “man living לעולם, forever,” if he were to eat from that tree, this does not refer to infinite, eternal life. The word’s meaning is similar to Exodus 21,6 ועבדו לעולם, “he will serve him permanently,” where the word לעולם obviously also cannot mean literally “forever.” Another example where the word לעולם clearly does not mean “forever,” is found in Samuel I 1,22 where Chanah speaks about her son living in Shiloh under the guidance of the High Priest Eli לעולם. According to the view of these philosophers-scientists, if G-d had already denied the fruit of the tree of life to Adam originally, and he had ignored that prohibition and had eaten from it, how could G-d have warned Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge on pain of death if he had already granted him an infinite lifespan through his having eaten from the tree of life? These philosophers claim to have proofs to support their opinions. I would have recorded two or three of their “proofs” were it not for the fact that their approach to the text is totally different from that of our sages, and it is not appropriate for us even to consider an approach which is diametrically opposed to the view of our sages as the latter base their views directly on the pronouncements of our prophets (Avodah Zarah 5). Our sages state unequivocally that if Adam had not sinned he would have lived forever. This view is supported by Psalms 82,6 אני אמרתי אלוקים אתם ובני עליון כלכם, “I (G-d) said that you are divine beings and that all of you are sons of the Most High.” The remarkable thing in that Psalm is that Assaph did not quote G-d as saying: “you are like a divine being,” or like the sons of the Most High.” He referred to an actual divine quality possessed by Man (Adam) i.e. his immortality. Scripture contains many other verses along the same lines. According to the plain meaning of the text the words מות תמות, i.e. the repetition of the death threat, is nothing more than something stylistic. We find such apparent duplications throughout the Bible. Our sages have explained this when they said that “the Torah employs a syntax which is similar to that of human beings” (Bereshit Rabbah 19,8). When people want to emphasize something they repeat it. Viewed from a homiletical approach, the Torah emphasizes the word ביום. It is meant to refer to a day in G-d’s calendar, i.e. 1000 years in terms of our calendar. In order that G-d’s word when He created Adam should not have been wasted, He granted Adam a “day” of His own calendar, and Adam lived close to 1000 years. He was only 70 years short of G-d’s day when he died, but in terms of our lives nowadays these 70 years represented a whole lifetime, so that he died on the day he ate, i.e. being deprived of a life span. A kabbalistic approach to our verse concentrates on the repeated appearance of the word “death” when the Torah spoke of מות תמות. It is understood as the warning of two deaths, a physical death of the body and a spiritual death of the soul. We find a repetition of the word “died,” when the Torah reported the death of the two older sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu in Leviticus 16, 1 אחרי מות שני בני אהרן וימותו. We find a similar repetition (implication) of the word “death” when Moses prayed for Reuven in his final blessing (Deut. 33,6) and said יחי ראובן ואל ימות, especially when you consider the translation of that verse by Onkelos. He translates: ומותא תנינא לא ימות, “let him not die a second death.” You may also view Avraham’s life and death as fulfillment of the warning מות תמות, “you will die twice.” Avraham is viewed by some of our sages as the reincarnation of Adam who bequeathed him 70 years of his life. He resembled Adam in that G-d called him אב המון גויים, “father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17,5), and, just like Adam he has been described in Joshua 14,15 as האדם הגדול, “the great human being.” He resembled Adam spiritually in that he spent the early years of his life as an idolater whereas he became a penitent just like his ancestor Adam. This is an alternative view to that of the Midrash (Yalkut Tehillim item 843) according to which Adam had bequeathed 70 years of his life expectancy to David whom G-d had shown him as destined to die at birth.

לא תאכל ממנו, “you must not eat thereof.” A reference to the fruit of the tree, as the trunk itself was inedible and man therefore had not been cautioned against eating it. כי ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות, “for on the day you eat from it you will surely become mortal.” This is not a warning of immediate death [as it would have been equivalent to the dying out of the human species. Ed.] but a warning not to forfeit eternal life on earth. There are some commentators who hold that prior to eating from the fruit of the tree of knowledge even other sins would not have resulted in a death penalty, seeing man would have lacked the knowledge of good and evil which he had only acquired as a result of eating from the fruit of that tree. The meaning of מות תמות then would be that after eating from the tree of knowledge and acquiring the knowledge of good and evil, any subsequent sins were liable to be considered capital sins, with death as their punishment. Nachmanides wrote that according to the scientists of his time, man was a mortal creature already before he ate from the tree of knowledge due to the fact that he was composed of a number of different (4) raw materials and all these amalgams ultimately disintegrate. What then was the difference that occurred after Adam ate from the tree? Had he not eaten from the tree, death, when it would eventually occur, would not be as a form of punishment for a sin committed. His death would be of the same category as that of people who knowingly ate תרומה, although not being priests or members of a priest’s household, and similar examples of what are known as מיתה בידי שמים, execution at the hands of heavenly forces. Our sages, ignoring the opinion of scientists, hold that thanks to his divine soul, man would have lived on indefinitely, his soul counteracting the inherent weakness of any creature consisting of four raw materials. His sin neutralized the power of his soul to protect him from death. Actually, the belief in the mortality (eventual metamorphosis) of all phenomena which consist of more than one raw material, is held only by people who lack in true faith and believe that the existence of the universe is not due to G’d’s free will, but was the result of an immutable law of nature, long preceding the existence of any G’d. For true believers who know in their deepest heart that the universe is the result of the will of a totally free Creator, the continued existence of anything this Creator has initiated, does not pose a problem. The only thing that would put an end to the absolute life expectancy of man was the fact that he violated the commandment and ignored the warning of what would follow. It is possible that all the fruit of the various trees of the גן עדן, barring those of the tree of knowledge, were completely assimilated by the human body, as was the manna later on, and therefore did not represent a foreign body, something that undermined man’s health, resulting in his eventual death. Having eaten from the forbidden fruit, Adam once more became –in the words of his Creator- “dust you are, and to dust you must return.”

And Hashem God said: It is not fitting for Adam to be alone; I will make for him a support corresponding to him.

'לא טוב היות וגו IT IS NOT GOOD etc. — I shall make an help meet for him in order that people may not say that there are two Deities, the Holy One, blessed be He, the only One among the celestial Beings without a mate, and this one (Adam), the only one among the terrestrial beings, without a mate (Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer 12). עזר כנגדו A HELP MEET FOR HIM — (כנגדו literally, opposite, opposed to him) If he is worthy she shall be a help to him; if he is unworthy she shall be opposed to him, to fight him (Yevamot 63a).

IT IS NOT GOOD THAT THE MAN SHOULD BE ALONE. It does not appear likely that man was created to be alone in the world and not beget children since all created beings — male and female of all flesh — were created to raise seed. The herb and trees also have their seed in them. But it is possible to say that it was in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbi who says: The name of the Rabbi is Yirmeyahu the son of Rabbi Elazar. “Adam was created with two faces [i.e., male and female persons combined],” and they were so made that there should be in them an impulse causing the organs of generation to produce a generative force from male to female, or you may say “seed,” in accordance with the known controversy concerning pregnancy, and the second face was a help to the first in the procreative process. And the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that it is good that “the help” stand facing him, and that he should see and be separated from it or joined to it at his will. This is the meaning of what He said in the verse, I will make him a helper opposite him. The meaning of the expression, it is not good, is that it cannot be said of man that “it is good” when he is alone for he will not be able to so exist. In the work of creation, “the good” means existence, as I have explained on the text, And G-d saw that it was good.

"And He said" — The reason for "it is not good for man" with regard to a helper is analogous to: "two are better than one" (Eccles. 4:9).

לא טוב היות האדם לבדו, the purpose of the human species on earth will not be achieved while man who is supposed to reflect the divine image will be left to personally carry out all the menial tasks of daily life on earth by being solitary. עזר כנגדו, a helpmate who will be equal to him, also reflecting the divine image. This is essential for him if he is to know what precisely his needs are and so that he can meet them in time. The reason why the Torah added the word כנגדו is that whenever one confronts someone of equal power, moral and ethical weight, such a confrontation is termed נגד. It is a head-on collision of will. When the two parties disagreeing are not of equal power, or moral/ethical weight, the confrontation is termed as one being עולה or יורד one of the adversaries either prevailing or losing in such an encounter. It is in this sense that we have to understand such statements as משה שקול כנגד כל ישראל, “that Moses was the equal of the entire Jewish people.” (Mechilta Yitro 1) However, the Torah did not mean for woman to be 100% equal to man, else how could the man expect her to perform household chores for him, etc.? Hence the letter כ at the beginning of the word כנגדו somewhat tones down this equality.

ויאמר השם אלוקים לא טוב. The Lord G'd said: "It is not good for man to be alone, etc." This is difficult since G'd had mentioned already on the day He created man that the species had been created male and female (1,27). Another problem in the text is the expression אעשה, "I shall make for him a helpmate." The Torah then immediately proceeds to describe that the mammals and the birds were formed, i.e. ויצר השם אלוקים (2,19). This gives the impression that G'd intended one of these animals to be man's helpmate. Such a thought is not only extremely strange, but if true it would also result in one of those animals being deprived of its own mate! Besides, why did G'd have to put Adam to sleep and to remove part of his body? Could He not have formed woman as dust from the earth as He had formed man himself, especially since He formed Eve on the very same day He formed Adam (5,2) זכר ונקבה בראם? Our sages have given many homiletical explanations in answer to these questions, but they have not provided us with פשט, straightforward answers that justify the text as it stands. We may have to fall back on the opinions expressed in Berachot 61 that originally man was created with two faces in one body. The Talmud there offers two opinions as to what was removed from Adam, a tail or a face, respectively. This is a reasonable explanation because it justifies G'd's blessing or command to Adam to be fruitful and to multiply (1,28) at a time when woman had not yet been reported as a separate entity. It is in keeping with G'd's propensity for preparing everything good ahead of time, and providing many more opportunities for man to do good than evil. However, we must ask why He separated the two bodies enabling Eve to fall victim to the temptation by the serpent? This leads us to examine the cause of Adam's (Eve) sin, what happened to him and all of mankind as a result. We have found that woman became the cause of all that the world lost because the serpent prevailed over her in a match of wits. This occurred because Adam was not at her side at the time of Eve's encounter with the serpent. He was asleep as a result of having had marital relations with his wife (Bereshit Rabbah 19,3). Another version in the Midrash there suggests that G'd had taken him on a tour of the earth. As a result the serpent encountered Eve on her own and succeeded in seducing her. If the Torah had reported man's creation and the subsequent separation of Eve's body sequentially, without interposing Adam's experiences on earth in the interval, many people would have argued that what happened was all G'd's fault. They would have said that if G'd had not separated her body from that of her husband, thereby making a drastic change in what He had created originally, the serpent would never have had a chance to seduce Eve. In order to forestall such an argument the Torah tells us first the reason that G'd separated Eve's body from Adam's, i.e. in answer to Adam's own request. His observations of how the animals lived, male and female as separate bodies, had made him desirous of a similar arrangement. G'd had only the best of intentions, as usual. This is also the reason the Torah told us already at the outset that man was equipped to procreate from the moment he was created. Being one and the same body obviously had some of the same disadvantages as being a Siamese twin. G'd therefore decided it would be better for man's helpmate to be כנגדו, an appropriate complement, rather than the other half of his body. In this way she could be a help to him at all times instead of being a hindrance on occasion. Eve's being a separate body was not dictated by Adam's need to procreate. Seeing that the separation of her body served only to please Adam we must ask why none of the other creatures could have been trained to perform that task for Adam while leaving Eve in the state she had been created. The Torah therefore describes in verses 19 and 20 that Adam did indeed search for a suitable helpmate amongst all the other creatures but did not find one that was acceptable to him. Naming the animals, i.e. identifying their essence, was part of that search for a suitable helpmate. Eve's existence as a separate body from Adam had therefore become mandatory from Adam's point of view. It is totally incorrect to blame G'd for subsequent developments, such as Eve finding herself temporarily alone, facing an evil influence whose existence she had been quite unaware of. The Torah's report about both Adam's and Eve's innocence, i.e. their lack of shame at being nude, are all facts the Torah supplies to enable us to better understand the causes that led to the sin. Human relationships are based on people facing each other, i.e. כנגדו. The Torah describes Adam's profound joy when he finally beheld the partner who up until then had been hidden from him, i.e. had faced backwards. From G'd's point of view the original arrangement was perfectly acceptable, He had not created an imperfect human species. Any change was entirely in response to Adam's frame of mind, to accomodate him. Our sages have supplied us with numerous reasons why G'd did not create an entirely new human being to serve as Adam's helpmate. When Solomon told us in Kohelet (4,9) טובים השנים מן האחד, that two are better than one, that they can help each other, this has nothing to do with G'd having created man's form in such a way that he could have impregnated the wife which was part of him but facing backwards. Perhaps the objective reason G'd had created the human species as a pair in a single body was to distinguish between the functions of the bodies of the animals and the functions of the human body. Animals mate indiscriminately, i.e. a male will mate with any female available to him, the act of mating being merely a response to biological urges. The fact that the Torah on occasion stresses the זכר ונקבה element when mentioning animals as pairs such as when they entered Noach's ark, does not mean that they have exclusive partners. The average animal does not recognise a female of its species as specifically "his" female. This is not the way G'd wanted man to relate to the subject of mating. It would have been impossible for Adam to describe his wife as בשר מבשרי, flesh of my own, were it not for the fact that Eve had been part of his own body previously. The whole idea that man's זווג is arranged in heaven would have been impossible to understand but for the fact that the female of the species is considered man's "other half." This consideration may also be the reason that when the Torah legislated forbidden sexual relations (Leviticus 18) the subject is always the male. It is forbidden to engage in sexual intercourse with certain women as they could not possibly be your missing "half."

לא טוב היות האדם לבדו, “it is not good for Adam to remain solitary;” this was not a new idea that G-d had; He had planned for it all the time; He did not want to impose a partner on Adam, and that is why He gave him a chance to name the animals and to find that all of them had suitable mates, something that he now felt he lacked. G-d therefore responded to a wish of Adam that he had not even voiced as yet. If the mate was provided in response to his longing he would appreciate his wife more.

לא טוב היות האדם לבדו, “it is not good for man to be by himself, etc.” Up until this point, the Torah had mentioned each time “it was good,” seeing that the “good” in question referred to the continued existence of the various species G-d had created. In the case of Adam, who was unable to procreate seeing he did not have a mate, the Torah had to describe his state of being as לא טוב, “not good.” The meaning of the verse is: “it is not good that man and woman remain attached to each other like Siamese twins”, i.e. one body with two faces (heads) This is what the sages meant when they said in Berachot 61 that the human species was created as a body with two heads seeing that the Torah testified that G-d had created them זכר ונקבה, “male and female” (5,2). Their body was so constructed that it possessed both male and female genitals. The second head assisted the first head in achieving the act of procreation. This is the reason that when G-d separated the bodies, He referred to the new body as the one which had previously been an automatic עזר, “helpmate,” to become עזר כנגדו, “a helpmate which corresponded to him (the male), i.e. an independent person with independent willpower. [The author’s description of this passage thus far is based completely on the commentary of Nachmanides. Rabbi Chavell]. If we are to accept this interpretation (by Nachmanides), we would have to attribute to G-d a complete change of mind from what He had planned originally when He created Adam. It is quite unacceptable to attribute such a change of mind to G-d. The fact is that the words: “it is not good that Adam be alone,” reported in our verse were not “spoken” by G-d after He had created Adam, but already prior to G-d actually having created Adam when the plan to create man had been conceived by G-d. As soon as G-d entertained that thought He added that it was not suitable that man should be the only type of inhabitant of earth just as the angels are the only inhabitants of the celestial regions. Rather, just as the other creatures in our terrestrial universe were created in pairs and reproduced themselves, so Adam (man) too should have a partner and he and she would reproduce and be subject to death as are all the other creatures in our” lower world. At this point in the narrative the Torah reports on the creation of woman, the fact that her raw material was identical to that of Adam as G-d took one of Adam’s sides to construct her body. There is no question of reconsideration by G-d of His original design in planning man. In Berachot 61 Rabbi Avuhu addressed the apparent contradiction by the words “male and female He created them,” whereas in Genesis 1,27 the Torah reported “He created him.” The meaning is that originally G-d had planned to create man and woman separately whereas upon further reflection He created them with a single body. The fact is that we observe that ultimately G-d carried out His original plan of creating two separate human bodies, a male and a female one. This gives the impression as if Rabbi Avuhu thought hat G-d did indeed reconsider and change His desire. My wise teacher Rabbi Shlomoh Aderet, may his soul rest in peace, wrote that this matter has to be approached from two separate aspects each one of which is true and accurate. When Rabbi Avuhu said that originally G-d planned to create man as two separate bodies, male and female, just like the animals, this must not be taken at face value. All allegorical statements were never expected to be taken at face value but were meant to help us understand abstract matters by explaining them in terms of phenomena we are familiar with. Rabbi Avuhu wanted to illustrate that G-d planned to create the species of man in the most perfect manner possible and this is why he spoke about G-d entertaining different thoughts at different times in order for the eventual translation of those thoughts into creative action to reflect that man’s creation had been well planned down to the last detail. When he spoke about G-d “originally” planning to create two separate human beings, he wanted to explain to us that G-d wanted both man and woman to be independent personalities who would at the same time draw on each other for support. He meant for us to picture the function of the male and the female of the species to be similar to the relationship between sun and moon, for instance. Having given due consideration to these factors, G-d decided that it was not good that man, the crown jewel of His creation, should be the only active factor in the universe whereas the woman should be no more than a receptacle, a servant, just like the moon which only acts as a receptacle for the sun’s rays. This is why Rabbi Avuhu said that on further consideration G-d decided to create man with a single body, i.e. the male. However, although the female eventually was separated from him and they became two bodies, the female is not considered as having been a separate act of creation as she was formed from matter which was peripheral to Adam seeing that he survived as an entity although the part woman was made of was removed from him. This is why some sages (Berachot 61) have described woman as having been made out of man’s ”tail.” Another interpretation of Rabbi Avuhu’s statement goes as follows: When G-d contemplated creating man and woman as two separate bodies, His concern was that they should be male and female just like all the other animals. On the other hand, [what is termed as His “later” consideration], it was important to G-d that woman should be perceived as being made of the very same raw material as her husband, thus creating a natural affinity between man and wife [not like the animals]. As a result, woman would be viewed by her husband as if she were one of his very own limbs [and he would treat her with the same consideration as he treats his own organs. This may be why in Jewish law we have a saying אשתו כגופו, that even in legal terms very often “the wife is considered an extension of her husband’s body.” Ed.] Thus far the words of my revered teacher.

It is not good for man to be alone. This is because wherever there is variation and division, goodness cannot be found there. This is the reason why that it was good was not said on the second day [of creation], for on it division was created, as any number that is two contains division and separation. Therefore, if each human had been created from separate material, they would have been two divided bodies, and goodness would not have adhered to them, as they would have lacked love and unity, and would have been prone to separation and quarrel, creating space between those who should be connected. Humans are social by nature and need love and unity more than any other living creature. Therefore, He said it would not be good if man were created from one material and woman from another material. Thus, I will make him a helper — when they are from the same material, then each one will be a help and benefit to the other, and they will be opposite each other, facing one another, for this indicates love, as it is written I have set the Lord opposite me always (Psalms 16:8). The word opposite me here does not mean opposition in terms of quarrel, but rather an opposition of love, like a reflection in water. This is in contrast to times of quarrel, when each person turns their back, not their face, to the other. Therefore it says, I will make him a helper opposite him. And there are those who say [regarding] “not good”: that a person is not called one who does good in fulfilling God’s commandments when he is alone and has no opposition pulling him towards evil. Therefore, I will make for him a helper against him, because when his wife will be against him to entice him towards evil, and he does not listen to her and overcomes her — then he is called one who does good. For there is no righteous person on earth [who is considered righteous merely] when he does good out of necessity and inability to sin, but rather [he is righteous] when he has the possibility to sin yet saves himself [from sinning].

לא טוב היות האדם לבדו, “it is not good for man to remain solitary.” Clearly it had not been G’d’s intention already at the time He created Adam that he should remain single, seeing that all other creatures were created in pairs, male and female specimen. Even trees and herbs contain seed to enable them to “mate” and to reproduce their kind. However, it is possible to argue that man was created with two faces and that between them (within a single body) they possessed the ingredients necessary to reproduce so that the second “face” enabled Adam to help him to reproduce. G’d saw, however, that it would be better that man’s עזר, assistant, should stand independently, facing him, so that he could see her having the choice to separate from her or to closely associate with her in accordance with his wishes. This is the meaning of the words: עזר כנגדו.

And Hashem God created from the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call each one; and whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

ויצר מן האדמה NOW OUT OF THE GROUND THE ETERNAL GOD HAD FORMED — The formation spoken of here is the creation mentioned above (1:25) “And God made the beast of the earth etc.” and this statement comes (is repeated) here to point out that the fowls were created from the swamps; for above it is said that they were created from the waters and here it states that they were created from the earth. Furthermore it teaches you here that when they were created, immediately — on the very same day — He brought them to Adam to give them names (Chullin 27b); and in the statement of the Agada (Genesis Rabbah 17:4) we are told that this expression יצירה means domination and subjugation, like (Deuteronomy 20:19) כי תצור אל עיר “when thou shalt besiege a city", for He subjugated them under the power of Adam. וכל אשר יקרא לו האדם נפש חיה וגו — Invert it (the phrases of the sentence) and then explain it thus: every living creature to which Adam should give a name — that should remain its name forever.

AND WHATSOEVER ‘YIKRA LO HA’ADAM NEFESH CHAYAH’ (THE MAN WOULD CALL EVERY LIVING CREATURE). Rashi comments: “Invert [the phrasing of the sentence] and explain it thus: and every living creature to which Adam would give a name, that should remain its name forever.” And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the letter lamed of the phrase, that the man called ‘lo’ (it), is carried forward [to the word nefesh, making it lenefesh (to the creature), thus]: and whatever the man called to every living creature, that was to be its name. It is possible that the phrase be explained in connection with the matter of “the help” that G-d gave to Adam, and the meaning is that ha’adam nefesh chayah (man is a living soul), as it is said, And man became a living soul, and it is as I have explained it there. And He brought before him all species so that every one of them unto which Adam would give a name and say that it is a living soul like himself, that would remain its name and be a help to him. So Adam gave names to all, but as for himself he found no help which he would be able to call “a living soul” like his own name.

The lamed of "whatever the man would call it" — carries itself and what follows along with it; thus it reads: "whatever the man would call it, that was the living soul's name" — for this involves an added explanation, as in: "and she opened it and saw him" (Exod. 2:6), and many others like it.

ויצר ה' אלוקים מן האדמה כל חית השדה, G’d now provided these creatures with their final shape, putting the “finishing touches” on them, so to speak. At that stage of the earth’s condition, the original product which the earth had produced, not based on seed which contains all the genetic material in microscopic form, was not adequate to produce the final product without input by G’d, personally. ויבא אל האדם, in order for man to realise there was a need for an additional phenomenon, seeing that amongst the existing ones none met his need for a partner. לראות מה יקרא לו, so that he would see which name would be appropriate for each creature, based on the specific tasks they performed in the universe. נפש חיה הוא שמו, its name would provide all of us with a clue as to its function in G’d’s scheme of things. The essence of each animal, נפש, would be revealed by its activity on earth.

וייצר ה' אלוקים, “The Lord G-d fashioned, etc.” In one verse we have read that G-d created the birds from the water (1,21), here it states that the birds were the product that G-d fashioned from the earth. How are we to understand this? We have to consider that some birds make their habitat in water, (geese, ducks, swans) and whereas others are unable to survive in water, for instance, chicken and turkeys, to name only a few. ויבא אל האדם, “He brought to Adam;” G-d did not bring the fish as they are water bound and cannot survive on dry land. As a result of this, man does not enjoy authority over the fish. He did not bring domesticated mammals to him either, as Adam was already familiar with them. G-d did not have to bring them. לראות מה יקרא לו, “to find out how he would name it;” (the species). G-d wanted to find out how Adam reacted to the living soul He had blown into his nostrils i.e. if he would be able to correctly name the various species that fitted their nature. This is what is meant when the Torah wrote: הוא שמו “which is its appropriate name.” [The name G-d would have given these creatures if Adam had not named them. Ed.] וכל אשר יקרא לו וגו, “and whatever name Adam would give that species, etc.” The reason that Adam named each species was so that whenever he needed one of them he knew how to call for it, i.e. by its name. If G-d Himself had named each species and Adam would have had to ask Him for its name, it would have been a cumbersome procedure. This way he himself remembered the name of each species.

וכל אשר יקרא לו האדם נפש חיה הוא שמו, “and whatever the man called each living creature that remained its name.” According to the narrative in Bereshit Rabbah 17,4 G-d paraded the various animals before Adam and he gave each one a name after he had studied their respective characteristics. By means of this ability to characterize each creature, he demonstrated his superior wisdom, i.e. that he was indeed a creature who had been created directly by G-d Himself, i.e. בצלם אלוקים. In light of this Midrash it is clear to me that the wisdom of Adam was reflected in the names he gave to the animals, each name alluding to its outstanding characteristic, that which made it different from other creatures. Every single letter Adam chose in naming these animals reflected a special meaning. When the Midrash said: “due to his wisdom Adam recognised the nature of the lion, אריה,” this means that he was aware that the lion was the king of the animals due to its fearless posture. This concept was carried so far that eventually some of our prophets describe the greatness and fearlessness of G-d Himself in terms of a creature whose essence we understand, i.e. in terms of the lion (compare Hoseah 11,10) אחרי ה' ילכו, כאריה ישאג, “they will follow the Lord because He shouts like a lion.” The letters א-ר-י-ה which Adam selected when he named the lion were chosen by him as all these letters represent spiritual values. The letters א-ה-י are all letters which appear in one or the other names of G-d. or even in a single name of G-d such as the name א-ה-י-ה. The letter ר represents רוח, “spirit, i.e. “Holy Spirit.” So you will note that the prophet was not being irreverent when he drew a comparison between G-d and a lion, or vice-versa. A similar consideration prompted Adam to name the eagle נשר, as he recognised that the eagle amongst the birds was what the lion is amongst the mammals on earth. The eagle’s ability to fly higher than any other bird makes it the king amongst the birds. We have a tradition that when an eagle completes his tenth year he flies so high that he approaches the planet which is the source of fire. Due to the excessive heat in that region he dives into the sea having already lost his feathers. Subsequently the eagle renews itself as before. This process repeats itself once every ten years until the hundredth year. At that point, the eagle flies even closer to the source of the fire and as a result drops into the sea and dies. This is what Rav Saadyah Gaon wrote (in connection with Psalms 103 5). At any rate, Adam, who was aware of the nature of that bird, named it נשר, the letter ש representing the word אש, “fire,” the letter ר symbolising רוח, “Holy Spirit, and the letter נ symbolising נפילה, the fact that it “falls” into the sea. The eagle’s name in Hebrew therefore alludes to its role in history and its eventual demise; this is also what Adam is reported as having said (according to the Midrash we quoted) לזה נאה לקרותו נשר, “this creature would appropriately be called נשר.” The reason why the Midrash quotes Adam as saying נאה לקרות, is that the word נאה is understood to mean נאות וראוי, “suitable.” When it came to naming the donkey, Adam called it חמור. Adam had recognised that that animal was extremely dull-witted, more foolish than all the other animals. This is why he chose a name which is closely related to the word חומר, i.e. “matter, material.” An additional reason for that name is the fact that the donkey is a beast of burden employed to carry sacks of grain. Grain is measured in terms of a weight called חומר, as we find in Hoseah 3,2 חומר שעורים “a chomer of barley.” When Adam had concluded naming the animals, G-d asked Adam: “what is My Name?” Adam replied: א-ד-נ-י. When G-d asked him what had made him decide on that name, Adam said: “because You are the overlord of all creatures.” This is what is meant when Isaiah 42, 8 writes: אני ה' הוא שמי “I am the Lord; that is My name.” The repetition of the words “that is my name,” is a reference to the time that Adam had “named” G-d. If you were to ask where we find that Adam applied the four-lettered name י-ה-ו-ה to G-d, you will find it by removing the ח [According to תורת חיים our author means that you only have to deduct the letter ח from the word חיה, and you are left with the letters י-ה. When you write these letters as words, i.e. יוד הא, the numerical value (26) equals that of the four-lettered name of G-d.]

וייצר ה' אלוקים מן האדמה, “the Lord G’d fashioned out of the earth, etc. Rabbi Joseph Kimchi explains the word וייצר, as meaning: “He gathered together.” This word appears in a similar meaning as יוצר גובאי where it means gathering. [I have not found the source. Ed.]

And Adam gave names to all the livestock and to the birds of the sky and to all the beasts of the field, but for Adam he did not find a support corresponding to him.

ולאדם לא מצא עזר… ויפל ה' אלהים תרדמה FOR THE MAN HE HAD NOT FOUND A HELP MEET FOR HIM … AND THE ETERNAL GOD CAUSED AN OVERPOWERING SLEEP TO FALL — When He brought them, He brought them before him male and female of each and every kind. Thereupon he said: all these have a mate, but I have no mate! Immediately He caused to fall [an overpowering sleep upon him] (Genesis Rabbah 17:4).

BUT FOR ADAM THERE WAS NOT FOUND A HELP MEET FOR HIM. Rashi comments: “When He brought them, He brought them before him as male and female. Thereupon Adam said, ‘All of them have a mate, and I have no mate!’ Immediately, the Eternal G-d caused a deep sleep to fall upon him.” Rashi explained it well for by Scripture’s bringing the verses concerning “the calling of names” into the matter of “the help” that G-d gave Adam, it proves that this interpretation mentioned above is correct.“The calling of names,” in the opinion of the commentators, is to be understood in its plain sense, namely, that everyone should have a name for himself so that they be known and recognized in their progeny by the names Adam would call them, names which would be valid forever. Now when the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to make “the help” for Adam He brought all species before him since He had to bring them before him in pairs so that he should also give a name to the females of the species; for in some [species, both male and female] are called by one name, and in others they differ, such as bull and cow, tayish (he-goat) and eiz (she-goat), sheep and ewe, and others. When Adam saw them mating with each other, he had a desire for them, but as he found among them no help for himself, he was saddened and fell asleep. G-d then caused a deep sleep to fall upon him so that he should not feel the removal of a rib from his body. In my opinion, however, “the calling of the names” is identical with “the help” [as I explained in the above verse], and the purport thereof is as follows: the Holy One, blessed be He, brought before Adam all the beasts of the field and all the fowl of the heavens, and he, recognizing their nature, called them names, that is, names appropriate to them. By the names it was made clear who is fit to be the help for another, meaning, fit to procreate with one another. Even if we are to believe that names are merely a matter of consensus and not of nature, [i.e., that they do not reflect the essence of the object bearing the name], we can say that “the calling of the names” means the division of the species as — male and female — they passed before Adam and he contemplated their nature as to which of them would be a help to each other in procreation so that they should beget offspring. Thus he called the large creatures by one name and the beasts by another so they would not beget offspring from one another, and so on for all species. And among them all he did not find a natural help for himself so that it could be called by his name for “the calling of the names” signifies the division of the species and the separation of their powers from each other, as I have explained above. Now it does not mean that it was in Adam’s power to find a help for himself among them since they were all created with natures [different from that of man]. But it means that if Adam was to find satisfaction with one of the species and he would choose it for his help, the Holy One, blessed be He, would adapt its nature to him, as He did with the rib, and He would not have found it necessary to build “a new structure.”365“A new structure” is a reference to the explanation of the Rabbis: “Vayiven (And He built… the rib) — this teaches us that He built Eve after the fashion of a store-house.” (Eruvin 18a.) This is the meaning of the verse, And whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was its name; that is to say, that was to be its name, for the Holy One, blessed be He, would so preserve it along the lines which I have explained. In my opinion it is correct to say that it was His will, blessed be He, not to take Adam’s rib from him to make him a wife until he himself would know that among the created beings there is no help suitable for him and until he would crave to have a help suitable for him like her. This was why it was necessary to take one of his ribs from him. This is the meaning of the verse, But for Adam there was not found a help meet for him; that is to say, but for the name Adam (man), he found no help suited to be opposite him and to be called by his name so that he should beget children from that “help”. We need not resort here, therefore, to the words of the commentators who say that the name “Adam” comes here in place of the reflexive pronoun [“himself.” The verse would thus read: “But for himself] he found no help meet for him,” just as, Ye wives of Lemech, [which should read, “my wives”]; And Jephthah, and Samuel, The words were spoken by Samuel. [which should read, “and Jephthah and myself”]. This is the meaning of Adam’s saying: This is now bone of my bones; that is to say, “This time I have found a help for me which I did not find till now among the other species, for she is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh, and is fit to be actually called by my name for we shall propagate together.”In the word zoth (this, this time) there is a secret; it will be made known from our words in the section Vezoth habracha, ” if my Rock will bless me, enabling me reach thereto. This is why Adam repeats, because ‘zoth’ (this) was taken out of man. [Delve into it] and understand.

The expression "for all the cattle" — it too carries itself and what follows along with it, for the meaning includes 'and for every bird of the sky.' Similarly: "and let his men be few in number" (Deut. 33:6), and similarly "I have not learned wisdom" (Prov. 30:3), and many such cases. The meaning of "but for the man no helper was found" — that is, for his soul no helper was found, for such is the idiom of the Holy Language, as in: "and Hashem sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel" (1 Sam. 12:11). It seems far-fetched to me that the reference here would go back to Hashem. Here it says that the bird was formed from the earth, whereas above it says from the waters — for it was formed from both.

ולאדם לא מצא עזר, “but Adam had not found a suitable partner for himself;” why did G-d not create Chavah at the same time as He had created Adam? G-d had known that the time would come when her husband would blame her for his own sin. (3,12) This is why He delayed creating her until Adam had expressed a wish for her explicitly. (Compare Bereshit Rabbah 17,4) As soon as Adam had expressed his wish for a suitable partner, G-d put him to sleep and proceeded to fashion Chavah from him. כנגדו, from raw material which matched that which had had been made of both in substance and in appearance. (See Targum Yerushalmi). This is why when the mammals had been paraded before him, the Torah had written that he had not found עזר כנגדו “a mate that would match him.” He had found numerous animals that could have served him as helpers for one purpose or another, but none that would have been suitable all round.

ולאדם לא מצא עזר כנגדו, ”and for Adam he had not found a suitable helpmate.” Rabbi Joseph Kimchi views Adam as the subject in this verse, i.e. Adam had been unable to find a suitable helpmate for himself. This was because the Lord had not presented him with such a choice, had not introduced a candidate to him. G’d knew that none of the existing creatures would be a suitable helpmate for Adam. The word ולאדם is therefore to be understood as a metaphor, a pronoun, the line meaning: “and for himself, personally, He had not found a suitable helpmate.” We find a similar construction in Genesis 4,23 when Lemech addresses his wives Adah and Tzilah, saying: שמען קולי נשי למך וגו' “listen to what I have to say, oh wives of Lemech.” [who else had he been speaking to that he had to insert his own name? Ed.] Nachmanides explains the words וכל אשר יקרא לו נפש חיה הוא שמו, as applying to the subject of a suitable helpmate for himself. Rashi had already stated that the verse is truncated, and the correct sequence should have been וכל נפש חיה אשר יקרא לו האדם הוא שמו, “and whatever name Adam bestowed on any of the living creatures became its permanent name.” Seeing that Adam himself had been described at the very beginning of his existence as נפש חיה, Adam in his quest for a mate, proceeded to screen all the other creatures known as נפש חיה. As soon as he had bestowed the title נפש חיה on any of them, a title which remained permanent, he hoped that such an animal would qualify as his own helpmate, only to find himself disappointed again and again. Also, in recognizing the distinct characteristics of the animals he classified them into groups such as בהמה גסה and בהמה דקה, large cattle and small cattle. The word עזר is used in a wider sense, including the ability to mate with one another and produce offspring. The common denominator of small cattle, such as sheep and goats, is that they are able to mate with one another and produce offspring, whereas the common denominator of large cattle is that they cannot mate with one another successfully. Clearly, it had not been within the power of Adam to change the natural characteristics of any of these animals which had been created with their specific tendencies. However, if Adam had found among any of the beasts any that appealed to him in an extraordinary manner, he would have prayed to G’d to adapt the characteristics of such an animal so that it would be suitable as his mate. However, in the event, he found none that even remotely interested him in this regard. We do find that G’d reassigned the functions and appearance of one of Adam’s “ribs” in order to provide him with a more suitable mate. The meaning of the words הוא שמו, is that G’d agreed with the name, i.e. characterization Adam had given to each animal, and He henceforth referred to such creature by the name Adam had given them. The truth is that G’d had not wanted to remove a “rib” from Adam until the latter had asked for an as yet non existent creature to become his helpmate, his partner. When, finally, he found such a partner after awakening from his sleep, he named this partner suitably, i.e. אישה as she represented the same components as איש, i.e. himself. Some commentators feel that the emphasis in this verse is on the words זאת הפעם, “(only) on this occasion.” Henceforth, woman as well as man would not be direct creations by their Creator, but they would be born by woman, similar to the procreative process common to all mammals. This is another aspect of the words אשר ברא אלוקים לעשות, in 2,3 at the end of the report about the creation. Up until then, G’d had practiced the art of בריאה, creation, in the literal sense. Henceforth new phenomena would only be reproductions of existing phenomena, hence לעשות, to complete, to ensure that what had been created originally would not be lost.

And Hashem God cast a sleep upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and filled flesh in its place.

מצלעותיו OF HIS RIBS — The word means of his sides, similar to (Exodus 26:20) ולצלע המשכן “and for the second side of the tabernacle”; this has a bearing upon what they (the Sages) say, (Eruvin 18a): They were created with two faces (sides). ויסגור AND HE CLOSED UP the place where it was cut (Berakhot 61b). ויישן ויקח AND HE SLEPT AND then HE TOOK in order that he should not see the piece of flesh out of which she was created, for she might be despised by him (Sanhedrin 39a).

"And He caused to fall" — from the intensive-causative binyan (binyan kaved ha-nosaf), as in: "and Abram drove them away" (Gen. 15:11). Tardema means deep sleep — more than ordinary sleep, and ordinary sleep is more than a doze. The tav is an added letter. "One of his ribs" — there were two sides, as in "and for the second side of the tabernacle" (Exod. 26:20). The word tzela is feminine in gender, and its meaning is: a side. "In its place" (tahtennah) — meaning: in its place. It is singular in form, and the nun is an added letter. "Tahteyha" (Lev. 13:23 and elsewhere) is a plural form. Similarly "tahtani" (2 Sam. 22:37 and elsewhere), and also "tahtai" (Ps. 18:37 and elsewhere).

.ויפל תרדמה על האדם, according to the plain meaning of the text, the meaning of this phrase is that “G-d cast a deep sleep over Adam;” this was so that the surgery He performed on him should not cause him any pain. He made him unconscious. וישן ויקח אחת מצלעותיו, “and while he was asleep, He took one of his ribs;” Samuel, in Breshit Rabbah 17,6 says that He took one rib from between other ribs, and that this justifies the word תחתנה, which is in the plural mode. ויסגר בשר תחתנה, “He closed up that spot with flesh.” The Torah did not write: תחתה which would have meant that He replaced the area of the incision with flesh instead; ויסגור בשר; until the creation of woman the letter ס had not appeared in the Torah; this is to teach us that Satan had not found an entrance into the world until woman had been created. A different exegesis: the appearance of the letter ס is to remind us that a wife is always close to her husband. Concerning the query raised in Bereshit Rabbah that the letter ס had already appeared in the word: הסובב in verse 11 of our chapter, we must answer that the subjects in that verse are two rivers, not a human being. בשר תחתנה, a reference to the flesh of man’s buttocks. (Compare Bereshit Rabbah 17,6.)

ויסגר בשר תחתנה, “He filled in flesh in its place.” With reference to the letter ס in the word ויסגר, Bereshit Rabbah 17,6 writes that as soon as Chavah was created Satan was created alongside her. We did not find the letter ס which symbolises Satan [the סיטרא אחרא, “the spiritually negative section of the emanations in kabbalistic language, Ed.] until we came to this word in the Torah. If you were to point out that the letter ס already appeared in 2,13 where the Torah speaks of the rivers flowing around the whole land of Cush, סובב את כל הארץ כוש, the letter was used there only in connection with the rivers, not in connection with the creation of either man or woman and their fates.

And He closed up the flesh in its place. The Midrash states (Bereishit Rabbah 17:6) that the letter samekh does not appear in the Torah until the creation of woman, because Satan was created along with her. One can provide a reason why specifically the samekh was chosen over other letters like tet or nun: because samekh relates to the word “support” [semikhah], indicating that because of woman, man needs support, as God supports his hand so that he does not fall into her trap, as it is written A prudent wife is from the Lord (Proverbs 19:14). He also supports his hand so that man does not fall prey to his evil inclination, as our Sages said (Kiddushin 30b): “If not for the Holy One, blessed be He, helping him, he would not be able to overcome it.” This support is alluded to in the verse And He closed up the flesh in its place, meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, closes up [protects] around him so that he does not stumble because of her, similar to the phrase “And God closed in around him,” which refers to protective closure. And regarding what is written And the Lord God built the rib, the language of “building” is used to indicate that this union is necessary only for the world to be built and not destroyed, as it is written I too shall be built up through her (Genesis 30:3). Through children, a person is considered “built,” and similarly, the word “son” [ben] is derived from the word “building” [binyan], as Rashi explains later regarding the verse and he begot a son (Genesis 5:28).

And Hashem God built the rib that He had taken from Adam into a woman, and He brought her to Adam.

ויבן AND HE FORMED (literally, He built) — as a structure, wide below and narrower above for bearing the child, just as a wheat-store is wide below and narrower above so that its weight should not strain the walls (Berakhot 61a). ויבן את הצלע לאשה AND HE MADE THE RIB INTO A WOMAN — לאשה means that is should become a woman, like (Judges 8:21) “and Gideon made it לאפוד ” i. e., that it should become an ephod.

"And He built" — from both the intensive binyan and the simple binyan, like "and he turned" (Exod. 2:12) and "and he awoke" (Judg. 16:20). "And He brought her" — Adam thought when he awoke and saw her that she had been brought to him just as the animals had been brought, and Scripture spoke according to his thought; similarly: "but the men pursued after them" (Josh. 2:7). Alternatively, she was built outside the garden and only afterward brought to him. And when he examined her carefully, he knew that she had been severed from him, for his one side with its flesh was missing, and he sensed that different flesh had been brought to fill it.

ויבן ה' אלוקים את הצלע לאשה, it was someone possessing the features of a human being, much like those of a man. She would be different from man only in some external physical features. She would possess the same ability to perfect her personality as did man.

ויביאה אל האדם; “He brought her to Adam.” Where did He bring her from? After all she had been part of her husband’s ribs before, i.e. right next to him? The Torah here describes how her sudden appearance next to him was viewed by Adam when he awoke from his deep sleep. He thought that G-d had brought her to him, just as He had brought the animals to him to be named. It was only after he noticed that now one of his ribs was missing, that he realised that she had formerly been part of his own flesh; this is why he exclaimed: “bone from my own bones, etc.” If we were to look for a similar formulation in the Holy Scriptures, we can find it in Joshua 2,7: והאנשים רדפו אחריהם, “and the men had chased after them” (the spies). Actually, they were only under the impression that they pursued them, as they never found them. Some commentators claim that our verse means that Adam thought that G-d had performed the operation beyond the borders of the garden, and this is why the Torah wrote: “He brought her to Adam.”

ויבן ה' אלוקים את הצלע, “the Lord G-d built up the side, etc.” Both names of G-d are used to show that now the world was complete. When the Torah describes the creation of man in detail we also find the words וייצר ה' אלוקים את האדם. This was justified as Adam already incorporated within himself all the potential of the female of the species except that this potential had not become manifest. The potential capability of woman is hidden within the male, whereas the manifestation of man’s potential comes to the fore within woman. This is what is meant when the Torah wrote in Genesis 46,15 אלה בני לאה אשר ילדה ליעקב, “these are the sons of Leah which she bore for Yaakov.” In that verse the sons are attributed to Leah. Immediately following that statement the Torah adds: ואת דינה בתו, “and Dinah his daughter.” We see that the female children are attributed to the father. You will note that the Torah employs similar language in Leviticus 12,2 אשה כי תזריע וילדה זכר, “when a woman fertilizes semen she will give birth to a male.” On the other hand, the Torah continues there ואם נקבה תלד וגו'. “and if she gives birth to a female, etc.” When you review the creation of man you will find that two of the ten directives (when you exclude the word בראשית as a directive) G-d issued when creating the universe pertained to the creation of man, i.e. the male and the female. The first directive is ויאמר אלוקים נעשה אדם. G-d said: “let us make Adam.” The second directive is ויאמר ה' אלוקים לא טוב היות האדם לבדו, אעשה לו עזר כנגדו, “it is not good for Adam to remain solitary, I shall make him a helpmate who corresponds to him.” Please remember that the tenth of the directives involving the creation of the universe was the directive to create Chavah. There are sages who count the 10 directives according to the following sequence: five directives were issued on the first three days of creation; another five were issued during the next three days. If so, then they could not have included the directive in 1,29: ”here I have assigned to you all the grass which produces seed... as food for you.” As far as we are concerned, the word בראשית itself is one of the ten directives whereas the directive “let us make Adam,” is the ninth directive and the directive “it is not good for Adam to be solitary, etc.” is the tenth directive. I do not consider either of the statements: ”be fruitful and multiply,” or the statement: “here I have assigned to you as food, etc.,” as one of the directives which form part of the ten directives which brought the universe into being.

And Adam said: This time — bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh! This one shall be called woman, for from her husband this one was taken.

זאת הפעם THIS NOW — This teaches that Adam endeavoured to find a companion among all cattle and beasts, but found no satisfaction except in Eve (Yevamot 63a). לזאת יקרא אשה כי מאיש וגו THIS SHALL BE CALLED WOMAN, BECAUSE THIS WAS TAKEN OUT OF MAN — Here we have a kind of play upon words (the words אשה and איש sounding similar): hence we may learn that the language used at the time of the Creation was the Holy Tongue (Hebrew) (Genesis Rabbah 18:4).

"And he said" — then he said: this time I have found a helper like myself and corresponding to me, for she came from me. The matter of Lilith is a midrashic interpretation. "For this" (le-zot) — meaning: on account of this; similarly: "say of me, he is my brother" (Gen. 20:13). The dagesh in the shin of ishah is in place of the quiescent yod hidden within ish. It is also possible that the reason ishah is pronounced with a dagesh rather than a rafe is so it not be confused with ishahh, meaning her husband, since the final heh is sometimes dropped. "Nashim" comes from enosh and anashim. The reason for "shall be called" — because of the name. The kof of lokkhah zot ("she was taken") is not doubled with a dagesh, for ease of pronunciation. It is from the intensive binyan, even though this form is not found elsewhere. The meaning of "and they shall become one flesh" is: as though they are; or, they shall be like as they once were. Some say that it means they will produce another person — but this seems far-fetched.

זאת, this female הפעם הזאת, finally, this time עצם מעצמי ובשר מבשרי, only this time, seeing that all females of the future will not be fashioned by the male undergoing such type of surgery. לזאת יקרא אשה, all other female human beings in the future will be known as אשה, even though they will not, like this time, be literally part of the flesh of their husbands. כי מאיש לוקחה זאת, “this one,” the first woman ever.

זאת הפעם, “this time;” he meant that this time the male’s partner was made of his own flesh. But he realised that this was a one time occurrence and would not repeat itself. Henceforth, instead of woman emanating from man, man would emanate from woman. (her womb). זאת הפעם עצם מעצמי; Rashi claims that Adam had already attempted carnal relations with each female of the species and had found such mating unsatisfactory. (The source appears to be the Talmud in Yevamot 63, as well as Rabbi Saadyah, Gaon) We would have to assume that each of these species had become pregnant from such relations before Adam had had relations with them. If we were not to assume this they would have become sterile after mating with a human being. (Compare Avodah Zarah, 22). עצם מעצמי, “bone from my bone;” Adam realised that this new creature was basically different from all the others that he had become familiar with, so that he concluded it could only be due to the fact that she shared the same raw material with him. The reason why G-d may have arranged this so was in order for the human being to be encouraged to set up a home only with its own species when leaving their parents’ home. This would encourage them in the words of the Torah: והיו לבשר אחד “to become one flesh.” (a body composed of uniform human raw material) None of the other creatures pursue females in order to set up “house” with them. The reason is that they do not miss the “missing rib” which G-d had taken from Adam and had given it to his wife. לזאת יקרא אשה, “this person must be called “אשה,” as it had been taken from “איש.” Compare the words: נער and נערה, for “boy” and “girl,” and ילד and ילדה. The author was troubled why the Torah uses the expression: נערה בתולה, instead of אשה בתולה, for an adult virgin כי מאיש לקחה, “for she emanated from the human species.” He meant that the female of the human species is reserved for a single male partner, as distinct from the beasts. Seeing that the females of the various animals did not originate from their male counterparts, the names they are known by reflect this. Example: תישים for male goats, as opposed to עזים, for the female of the species. [What about פר and פרה, for the male and the female of the species respectively? Ed.] When the Torah writes in verse 24: ודבק באשתו, that there is a special bond between man and his wife, Rabbi Akiva in Sotah 17, explains this as follows: when a man and his wife are loyal to one another, forsaking the temptation to commit adultery, G-d Himself will be a constant companion of them, seeing that each of them has a letter of His name in their respective names, i.e. the letter י in the word איש, and the letter ה in the word אשה. If they conduct themselves in an unworthy manner, giving in to the temptation to engage in forbidden carnal relationships, G-d withdraws from them leaving only the letters אש, “fire,” burning lust, in their respective names. This fire will consume them. This “fire” will burn more fiercely in woman than in man, so that she will experience its destructive effect sooner than her erstwhile loyal partner, as the letter of G-d’s name was only a suffix in the word אשה, where in the name איש it is central to that word.

זאת הפעם, “this time, etc.” The plain meaning of these words is: “this is the only time bone is being taken from my bone.” From now on it will not be necessary to remove part of man’s bone or flesh to provide him with a mate. Henceforth regular procreation will provide a supply of males and females in the world. This is Rashi’s comment on our verse. [not in our editions of Rashi. Ed.] From an homiletical aspect the words עצם מעצמי may refer to Adam having the feeling that the bones of his wife were harder than his own i.e. “her bones are more bony than mine.” The reason for this would be that they had been constructed out of bones whereas his own bones had been constructed out of the dust of the earth. This may also be the reason that the Torah wrote וייצר, when describing the formation of Adam as the word is similar to יוצר, “a potter,” someone who uses soft clay as his raw material. When the woman was formed however, the Torah used the expression ויבן, “He built,” instead of וייצר, “He shaped like a potter.” The term ויבן reminds us of a builder who builds a solid structure, something made of hard materials, not of clay. Perhaps this is the reason that the psalmist in Psalms 103,13 speaks of G-d being merciful to His בנים, “sons” as a father is merciful, whereas when describing toughness, Proverbs 31,1 speaks of משא אשר יסרתו אמו, “a rebuke administered by his mother.” The mother, being made of sterner stuff, admonishes instead of displaying pity. This paragraph made it clear that Chavah was created within Gan Eden and that it was there that Adam’s side was taken from him. He himself had been created outside the garden and had been transplanted there by G-d.

Therefore a man shall leave the bed-chamber of his father and his mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.

על כן יעזב איש THEREFORE A MAN LEAVETH — The Divine Spirit says this, thus prohibiting immoral relationship to the “Sons of Noah” also (Sanhedrin 57b). לבשר אחד ONE FLESH — Both parents are united in the child.

THEREFORE SHALL A MAN LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE TO HIS WIFE. The Divine Spirit says this, thus prohibiting immoral relationships to “the sons of Noah.” AND THEY SHALL BE ONE FLESH. The child is created by both parents, and there in the child, their flesh is united into one. Thus the words of Rashi. But there is no point to this since in beast and cattle too, their flesh is united into one in their offspring. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that in cattle and beast the males have no attachment to their females. Rather, the male mates with any female he finds, and then they go their separate ways. It is for this reason that Scripture states that because the female of man was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, he therefore cleaves to her and she nestles in his bosom as his own flesh, and he desires to be with her always. And just as it was with Adam, so was his nature transmitted to his offspring, that the males among them should cleave to their women, leaving their fathers and their mothers, and considering their wives as if they are one flesh with them. A similar sense is found in the verses: For he is our brother, our flesh; to any that is near of his flesh. Those who are close members of the family are called sh’eir basar (near of flesh). Thus man will leave “the flesh” of his father and his mother and their kin and will see that his wife is nearer to him than they.

על כן, seeing that on this first occasion G’d had aimed to make Adam’s wife as much part of him as possible, so that he even used Adam’s personal body as Chavah’s basic skeleton, יעזוב איש את אביו ואת אמו ודבק באשתו, it is appropriate that a man leave the home of his parents in order to acquire a wife who is compatible with him, and who is a suitable mate for him to live with on a permanent basis. The Torah teaches here also that the expression דיבוק, “cleaving,” being in a state of true union, is not possible between two people who are not alike in their common purpose in life. Parents and children do not have the same tasks and challenges. Man and his wife do have to master the same challenges, hence the word “union” can be applied to their union, whereas the same word would be inappropriate for describing the relationship between father and son, or mother and son. By living together they will become of one mind on how to deal with their lives’ challenges. והיו לבשר אחד, they are to work together in such close union as if there were in fact only one of them. (This had been the idea behind creating man as both male and female in the first place.)

.והיו לבשר אחד, “they will each have marital relations only with their legal partner.”

ודבק באשתו והיו לבשר אחד, “he will cleave to his wife so that they will unite to become one flesh.” This is not a commandment, but means that man will be inherently designed to cleave to his wife for the purpose of founding a family, etc. It does not mean that he has been programmed.

And they were both naked, Adam and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

ולא יתבוששו AND THEY WERE NOT ASHAMED — for they did not know what modestly meant, so as to distinguish between good and evil. Although he (Adam) had been endowed with knowledge to give names to all creatures, yet the evil inclination did not become an active principle in him until he had eaten of the tree, when it entered into him and he became aware of the difference between good and evil.

"Naked" (arumim) — this is an adjective; similarly: "you strip the garments of the naked" (Job 22:6). Some say that also "a prudent man sees trouble and hides" (Prov. 27:12) is of the same type, its meaning being that his spirit is naked without covering, like the appearance of the eye. "Yitboshashu" (they were ashamed) — from boshet, and it is one of those words which have a quiescent nun concealed within them, with the final letter doubled, like "yitbonen" (Job 11:11; 26:14). The shin is voweled with a kamatz because it falls at the end of the verse.

And they were not ashamed. They used their limbs solely for the service of their Maker, not the pursuit of base pleasures. Therefore they considered marital relations no different than eating and drinking and their reproductive organs no different than their mouth or hands.

ויהיו שניהם ערומים האדם ואשתו ולא יתבששו. Man and his wife were both nude and did not experience a feeling of shame. Before the sin the upper "face" and the lower "face" were equally holy. The element of evil which attached itself to man after the sin concentrates on the lower part of his body. This is the reason that the holy covenant between man and G'd, i.e. circumcision, has to be performed on his sexual organ. The foreskin, ערלה, is the symbol of what kabbalists call the קליפה, the shell or peel which makes penetration to the holy essence difficult. This is why G'd commanded its removal. Inasmuch as all adulterers are victims of the sexual urges burning within them, G'd ordered that this part of man, the source of these abominations, be hidden from view, be covered. Our sages have added the prohibition not to touch that part of one's body (unnecessarily). אורח חיים, ב, א even tells us to avoid having to look at these parts of our body when we get up and get dressed. The Talmud Shabbat 108 coined the phrase יד לאמה תיקצץ, that the hand which touches the male organ deserves to be cut off. This is because the touch of the hand on the male organ causes sexual arousal, or אש זרה in the language of our sages, something that was not the case before the sin. Henceforth man would expose himself to the danger of that alien fire consuming him if he touched those parts. Let us look for a moment at what Abraham commanded Eliezer before he sent him on the mission to find a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24,2). He instructed his servant: שים נא ידך תחת ירכי, "place your hand under my thigh." At first glance the instruction for Eliezer to place his hand on Abraham's male organ seems incompatible with what we have just explained. Our sages explain that Abraham was not comparable to his peers in this respect. The touch of a hand on this part of his body did not cause arousal. The act of circumcision he had performed on himself on that organ at an advanced age had made him far more resistant to the evil urge than others. His whole body could be considered as almost pure. The same applies to our verse, that prior to the sin the body was not subject to this אש זרה, the burning passion of sexual arousal. Another meaning is based on the use of the future tense by the Torah. We would have expected ולא נתביישו, "they were not ashamed," instead of "they will not be ashamed." The Torah teaches us then that notwithstanding the fact that Adam and Eve were both nude they had no reason to become ashamed as a result. The Torah mentioned this so that we would know who caused the subsequent division between man's upper and lower body respectively.