Midrash su Genesi 3:21

R. Chama b. Chanina said further: "What is the meaning of the passage (Deut. 13, 5) Before the Lord thy God shall ye walk. How is it possible that a man should walk after the Shechina, behold, it is said (Ib. 4, 24) For the Lord thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. We must therefore say that this means walk after the standard habits of the Holy One, praised be He. Just as He clothed the naked; as it is written (Gen. 3, 21) And the Lord God made unto Adam and to his wife coats of skin and clothed them, so also shall you clothe the naked; just as the Holy One, praised be He, visits the sick, as it is written (Ib. 18, 1) And the Lord appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre, so also shalt thou visit the sick. The Holy One, praised be He, buries the dead, as it is written (Deut. 34, 6) And he buried him in the valley, so also shalt thou bury the dead. The Holy One, praised be He, comes to console the mourner, as it is written (Gen. 25, 11) And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac, his son, so also shall thou comfort the mourners. (Ib. 3, 21) And the Lord God made unto Adam and to his wife coats of skins and clothed them. Rab and Samuel differ in the explanation of the above passage, one explains it that the coats were made of a thing that came from skin [wool] and the other says: "This means a thing which a man's body relishes when worn closely to the skin [linens]." R. Samlai lectured: "The Torah begins with meritorious deeds and ends with meritorious deeds; it begins with meritorious deeds, as it is written (Ib. 3, 21) And the Lord God made unto Adam and to his wife coats of skins and clothed them. And it ends with meritorious deeds, as it is written (Deut. 34, 6) And He buried him in the valley."

It is written: “The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). We have found that the Holy One blessed be He performs acts of kindness: He adorns brides, blesses grooms, visits the ill, buries the dead, and comforts the mourners. He adorns brides, as it is written: “The Lord God built [the rib that he took from the man into a woman, and He brought her to the man]” (Genesis 2:22). Rabbi Yoḥanan says: He built her, adorned her, and showed her to him [Adam]. Rabbi Abbahu said: Perhaps you will say that He showed her to him from behind a carob tree or from behind a sycamore tree; rather, He adorned her with twenty-four types of jewelry and then He showed her to him, as it is stated: “And He brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:22).³¹Although she was made from his rib, and would naturally have been right next to him, the verse states that God brought her to him. This implies that He took her to another location to adorn her and then brought her to Adam (Midrash HaMevo’ar). He blesses grooms, as it is stated: “God blessed them” (Genesis 1:28). He visits the ill, as it is stated: “The Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre” (Genesis 18:1). He buries the dead, as it is written: “He buried him in the valley” (Deuteronomy 34:6). He comforts the mourners, as it is written: “He called its name Alon Bakhut” (Genesis 35:8). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: What is Alon Bakhut? While he was observing the mourning for Deborah, his nursemaid, tidings reached him that his mother Rebecca had died, and he wept two weepings [bekhiyot]; that is why it is stated [that Jacob called that place] Alon Bakhut. And [the verse] states regarding Jacob: “[And God appeared to Jacob again…] and blessed [him]” (Genesis 35:9) – He blessed him with the blessing of the mourners.

Deeds of loving-kindness are mentioned at the beginning of the Torah, in its middle, and at its conclusion. At the beginning of the Torah, the naked are clothed, as it is said: The Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and He clothed them (Gen. 3:21); in the middle of the Torah, the ailing are visited, as it is said: And God appeared unto him in the grove of Mamre (ibid. 18:1); and at the conclusion of the Torah, the dead are buried, as is said: And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab (Deut. 34:6). In this way you must walk in the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He.