Midrash sur La Genèse 1:14

(Lev. 26:3:) “If [you walk] in My statutes (huqqim).” This text is related (to Job 14:5), “If his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have set limits (huqqim) that he shall not pass.” What is the meaning of “If his days are determined?” When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He determined the days of each and every one, as stated (in Gen. 1:14), “and let them be for signs, seasons, days, and years.” Now to whom did He give them? To Israel, as stated (in Ps. 147:19), “He declares His words to Jacob, His statutes (huqqim) and His ordinances to Israel.” (Job 14:5, cont.:) “The number of his months is with You; You have set his limits (huqqim) that he shall not pass.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel. “If you have carried out My statutes (huqqim), the adversary (Satan) shall not touch you, as stated, ‘that he shall not pass.’ But if you do not carry out My statutes, behold that the adversary will touch you, as stated (of death in Is. 28:19), ‘As often as he passes, he shall seize you.’¹In other words, Israel is safe from the death-dealing Adversary as long as the statutory limits (huqqim) remain intact through Israel’s observance of them. I said so to Solomon, when he asked for wisdom. And what did I say to him? (I Kings 3:13:) ‘I have also granted you what you did not ask, both riches and honor.’ So if you fulfill the Torah, the angel of death shall not touch you, as stated to him (in I Kings 3:14), ‘If you go in My ways to fulfill My statutes and My commandments as David your father did, [then I will lengthen your days].’” Ergo, (in Job 14:5) “You have set limits (huqqim) that he shall not pass….” If the first Adam had observed the Torah and the commandments that I gave him, he would not have died. Therefore, it is written (in Lev. 26:3) “If you walk in My statutes (huqqim)….”

(Lev. 26:3:) IF YOU WALK IN MY STATUTES (huqqim)…. This text is related (to Job 14:5): IF HIS DAYS ARE DETERMINED, [THE NUMBER OF HIS MONTHS IS WITH YOU; YOU HAVE SET LIMITS (huqqim) THAT HE SHALL NOT TRANSGRESS]. What is the meaning of IF HIS DAYS ARE DETERMINED?¹Tanh., Lev. 10:1. When the Holy One created the world, he determined the days of each and every one, as stated (in Gen. 1:14): AND LET THEM BE FOR SIGNS, SEASONS, [DAYS, AND YEARS]. Now to whom did he give them? To Israel, as stated (in Ps. 147:19): HE DECLARES HIS WORDS TO JACOB, [HIS STATUTES (huqqim) AND HIS ORDINANCES TO ISRAEL]. (Job 14:5, cont.:) THE NUMBER OF HIS MONTHS IS WITH YOU; YOU HAVE SET HIS LIMITS (huqqim). The Holy One said to Israel: If you have carried out {his} [my] statutes (huqqim), the Adversary (Satan) shall not touch you, although it is stated (of Death in Is. 28:19): AS OFTEN AS HE TRANSGRESSES, HE SHALL SEIZE YOU.²Buber has noted the amplified, more understandable parallel in Tanh., Lev. 10:1: The Holy One said to Israel: “If you have carried out my statutes (huqqim), the Adversary shall not touch you, as stated (in Job 14:5): THAT HE SHALL NOT TRANSGRESS. But if you do not carry out my statutes (huqqim), then the Adversary shall touch you, as stated (in Is. 28:19): AS OFTEN AS HE TRANSGRESSES, HE SHALL SEIZE YOU.” In other words, Israel is safe from the death-dealing Adversary as long as the statutory limits (huqqim) remain intact through Israel’s observance of them. (Job 14:5, cont.:) YOU HAVE SET HIS LIMITS (huqqim) THAT HE SHALL NOT TRANSGRESS. I said so to Solomon, when he asked for wisdom. And what did I say to him? (I Kings 3:13:) I HAVE ALSO GRANTED YOU WHAT YOU DID NOT ASK, BOTH RICHES AND HONOR. So if you fulfill the Torah, the angel of death shall not touch you, as stated to him (in I Kings 3:14): THEN I WILL LENGTHEN YOUR DAYS. (Job 14:5:) YOU HAVE SET LIMITS (huqqim) THAT HE SHALL NOT TRANSGRESS…. If the first Adam had observed the Torah, the ordinances that I gave him, he would not have died. Therefore, it is written (in Lev. 26:3:) IF YOU WALK IN MY STATUTES (huqqim)….

R. Jacob the son of Issi asked: Why does it say; I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth? Because the Tabernacle is equal to the creation of the world itself. How is that so? Concerning the first day, it is written: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1), and it is written elsewhere: Who stretched out the heavens like a curtain (Ps. 104:2), and concerning the Tabernacle it is written: And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair (Exod. 26:7). About the second day of creation it states: Let there be a firmament and divide between them, and let it divide the waters from the waters (Gen. 1:6). About the Tabernacle it is written: And the veil shall divide between you (Exod. 26:33). With regard to the third day it states: Let the waters under the heavens be gathered (Gen. 1:9). With reference to the Tabernacle it is written: Thou shalt also make a laver of brass … and thou shalt put water therein (Exod. 30:18). On the fourth day he created light, as is stated: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven (Gen. 1:14), and concerning the Tabernacle it is said: And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold (Exod. 25:31). On the fifth day He created birds, as it is said: Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let the fowl fly above the earth (Gen. 1:20), and with reference to the Tabernacle. He directed them to offer sacrifices of lambs and birds, and it says as well: And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high (Exod. 25:20). On the sixth day he created man, as it is said: And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him (Gen. 1:27), and about the Tabernacle it is written: A man who is a high priest who has been anointed to serve and to minister before God.³You write that this is not a direct quote from the Bible. On the seventh day The heaven and the earth were finished (Gen. 2:1), and with regard to the Tabernacle it is written: Thus was completed all the work of the Tabernacle (Exod. 39:32). Concerning the creation of the world it is written: And God blessed (Num. 2:3), and of the Tabernacle it is said: And Moses blessed them (Exod. 39:43); with regard to the creation it is said: And God finished (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle it is written: On that day Moses made an end (Num. 7:1); of creation it says: And hallowed it (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle: And had anointed it and sanctified it (Num. 7:1). Why is the Tabernacle equal to heaven and earth? Because even as heaven and earth bear witness concerning Israel, as it is written: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day (Deut. 30:19), so the Tabernacle bears witness in behalf of Israel, as is said: These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the testimony (Exod. 38:21). Hence it is said: Lord, I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth (Ps. 26:8).