Midrasch zu Bereschit 2:14

And the Lord God took Adam and his wife and placed them into the garden of Eden, to till it ‎and watch over it.‎ And he commanded them and said unto them : From all the trees of the garden ye may freely ‎eat; but from the tree of know ledge of good and evil ye shall not eat; for on the day that ye ‎eat thereof ye shall surely die.‎ And after the Lord had blessed and instructed them, he withdrew from them ahigh, and Adam ‎and his wife dwelt in the midst of the garden according to the commandment of the Lord, ‎which he commanded them.‎ And the serpent which the Lord had created upon the earth, came unto them anxious to ‎mislead them to trespass upon the commandment of God which he had commanded them.‎ And he beguiled the woman and persuaded her to eat from the fruit of the tree of ‎knowledge.‎ And the woman hearkened unto the voice of the serpent.‎ And she transgressed the word of God and she took from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of ‎good and of evil and she ate, and she took thereof and gave to her husband also, and he ate.‎ And thus both, Adam and his wife, trespassed upon the commandment of God which he ‎commanded them, and God knew it, and his wrath kindled against them and he cursed them.‎ And the Lord God, on that very day, drove them away from the garden of Eden, to till the ‎ground whence they have been taken, and they went and dwelt on the east side of the ‎garden of Eden.‎

“If the serpent may bite without a spell, there is no advantage to the charmer” (Ecclesiastes 10:11).
“If the serpent may bite without a spell [laḥash]” – Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: A serpent bites only if it was whispered [nilḥash] to from above, and the lion devours only if it was whispered to from above, and a kingdom aggravates people only if it was whispered to from above.⁵⁶God determines whether one will be persecuted by the government.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: [If] they [would] say to the serpent: ‘Why does your tongue bite one limb, but all of them feel it and tremble,’ it [would] say to them: ‘You are speaking to me? Speak to the one with a tongue.’⁵⁷The verse states: “There is no advantage to the charmer [baal halashon].” The most literal translation of the phrase baal halashon is “one with a tongue.” The term serpent is used here as a reference to one who speaks slander, which causes widespread damage. [If the serpent would be asked:] ‘Why does your tongue slobber,’ [it would say:] ‘Because it caused me [to be punished].’⁵⁸The serpent slandered God in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis, chap. 3). [If it would be asked:] ‘Why is your body lacking,’ [it would say:] ‘My tongue caused it.’⁵⁹This is a punishment for my sin, by means of my tongue, which caused the sin. [If one asked it:] ‘Why does your tongue bite one limb, but all of them feel it and tremble,’ it [would] say to him: ‘You are speaking to me? Speak to the one with a [slanderous] tongue, as he speaks here and kills in Rome, or in Rome and he kills here or at the ends of the earth.’ [If it would be asked:] ‘Why are you found among the fences,’⁶⁰Fences were generally stone walls, which have crevices where serpents hide. [it would answer: ‘It is because I breached the fence of the world.’⁶¹I caused the first sin. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: The serpent breached the fence of the world; therefore, he became the executioner for all those who breach a fence.⁶²As in the verse: “One who breaches a fence, a serpent will bite him” (Ecclesiastes 10:8).
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish taught: When the Holy One blessed be He said to the serpent: “You shall go on your belly” (Genesis 3:14), the ministering angels descended and amputated its hands and its feet, and its voice resonated from one end of the earth to the other. The serpent came and taught about the downfall of Edom, as it is stated: “Its sound will go like the serpent’s” (Jeremiah 46:22).
The Rabbis liken it⁶³They liken the loud sound of the serpent to the loud sound of the Tigris River. to this verse: “The name of the third river is Tigris” (Genesis 2:14). [If] they [would] ask the Tigris: ‘Why is your sound heard,’ it [would] say to them: ‘If only it would be heard among the rivers.’⁶⁴If only I would stand out among the rivers. [If the rivers would] ask the Euphrates: ‘Why is your sound not heard like our voice is heard,’ it [would] say to them: ‘My actions speak for me. If a person sows vegetable seeds in me, it sprouts in three days; [if one] plants a sapling in me, it sprouts in thirty days.’

(Gen. 8:16:) GO FORTH FROM THE ARK. This text is related (to Ps. 142:8 [7]): BRING MY SOUL OUT OF PRISON.⁴²Tanh., Gen. 2:14; see Gen. R. 34:1. < The verse > is speaking about Noah when he was in the ark. Noah said to the Holy One: BRING MY SOUL OUT OF PRISON; for he had been imprisoned there. R. Levi said: The whole twelve months that Noah was in the ark, neither he nor his children tasted a bit of sleep because they were responsible for feeding the cattle and the wild animals. R. Abba bar Kahana said:⁴³Gen. R. 31:14. He brought branches for the elephants and glass for the ostriches into the ark to feed the cattle and the wild animals. Now some of them ate in the second hour of the night, and some of them ate in the third hour of the day. Hence you yourself know that Noah did not taste a bit of sleep. R. Johanan said in the name of R. Eleazar b. R. Jose the Galilean: One time, when Noah was late in feeding the lion, the lion bit him; and he went away limping. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 7:23): AND NOAH ONLY [SURVIVED]. R. Huna said in the name of R. Jose: When Noah went forth from the ark, he gave a heartfelt groan. He therefore said (according to Ps. 142:8 [7]): BRING MY SOUL OUT OF PRISON…. THROUGH ME SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS WEAR A CROWN, < i.e., > through me shall the righteous take up a crown in the world. For they said: What! If in the case of Noah, who was righteous [but not completely righteous], the Holy One so performed miracles for him—Thus it is stated (in Job 22:30): HE SHALL DELIVER THE ONE THAT IS NOT INNOCENT, AND HE SHALL BE DELIVERED [THROUGH THE PURITY OF YOUR HANDS], since he was innocent and not innocent. R. Hanina b. R. Aha said: Uncia⁴⁴Latin; cf. Gk.: ougkia. (i.e., a little) merit was in him.⁴⁵Cf. Gen. R. 29:1. < If God did miracles for Noah >, how much the more, in the case of one who { was } [is] completely righteous, would the Holy One perform miracles for him. Thus it says (in Ps. 142:8 [7]): THROUGH ME SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS WEAR A CROWN, FOR YOU SHALL REWARD ME.

(Gen. 9:20, cont.:) < NOW NOAH … WAS THE FIRST > TO PLANT A VINEYARD. This man was one of four mortals who were first in four things.⁶⁵Tanh., Gen.2:14. Noah was first with planting, with drunkenness, with cursing, and with slavery:
• {With slavery, as stated (in Gen. 9:25): A SLAVE OF SLAVES < SHALL HE BE TO HIS BROTHERS >.}
• [With planting, as stated (in Gen. 9:20): < NOW NOAH … WAS THE FIRST > TO PLANT A VINEYARD.]
• With drunkenness, as stated (in vs. 21): THEN HE DRANK OF THE WINE AND BECAME DRUNK.
• [With cursing, as stated (in vs. 25): CURSED BE CANAAN.]
[With slavery, as stated (ibid.): A SLAVE OF SLAVES < SHALL HE BE TO HIS BROTHERS >.]