창세기 2:32의 탈무드

And make a fence around the Torah. And make a fence around your words, the way the Holy Blessed One made a fence around His words and Adam made a fence around his words. The Torah made [a fence] around its words. Moses made a fence around his words. Even Job, and even the Prophets and the sages – they all made a fence around their words.
What is the fence that the Holy Blessed One made around His words? It says (Deuteronomy 29:23), “All the nations will say: Why has the Eternal done such a thing to this land?” This teaches you that it was well known to the One who spoke and brought the world into being, that future generations would say this. Therefore, the Holy Blessed One said to Moses: Moses! Write this and place it in [the Torah] for future generations (Deuteronomy 29:24–25): “Then they will be told, because they forsook the covenant of the Eternal…and they went and served other gods and bowed down before them, gods that they did not know, and were not meant for them.” From here we learn that the Holy Blessed One made a fence around His words, and wrote after this what they would one day say. Because of this, He is able to take reward away from His creatures with no argument.
What is the fence that Adam made around his words? It says (Genesis 2:16–17), “The Eternal God commanded [Adam]: From every tree of the garden you may absolutely eat. But from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, do not eat. For on the day you eat from it, you will surely die.” Adam the first person did not want to tell Eve in same the way that the Holy Blessed One had told him. Instead, he said this to her (thus making a fence around his words, saying more than what the Holy Blessed One had said to him): God said not to eat from the tree that is in the midst of the garden, nor to touch it, lest you die. He wanted to keep himself and Eve from even touching the tree.
So then the snake said to himself: Since I cannot make Adam stumble, I will make Eve stumble. He went and sat beside her, and began chatting with her, and said to her: If you say the Holy Blessed One commanded us not to touch it, look, I will touch it and I will not die. And even you, if you touch it, you will not die. What did the wicked snake do then? He went up and touched the tree with his hands and feet, and shook it until its fruits fell to the ground. Some say that he did not touch it at all, for when the tree saw him, it screamed and said to him, Wicked one! Wicked one! Don’t touch me! as it says (Psalms 36:12), “Do not bring the foot of the arrogant upon me, nor let the hand of the wicked push me away.”

Rav Huna said that in the days of Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah they tried to include them⁸⁶To permit marriage with Gibeonites.. Rebbi Abbahu inverts the wording: In the days of Rebbi Eleazar they said, who could purify the altar’s part⁸⁷R. Eleazar ben Azariah vetoed the admission of Gibeonites into the Jewish marriage pool by arguing that Jos. 9:23,27 implies that Joshua made the Gibeonites Temple slaves, in addition to their being the people’s slaves by Jos. 9:21. Now the servitude to the people had certainly lapsed. The “dedicated ones” returned from Babylonia as free men and one had to assume that already in the time of the Judges they had regularly been manumitted in this respect. But nobody could manumit Temple slaves, and marriage with slaves was impossible. In this version, the exlusion of Gibeonites from the Jewish marriage pool is a legal necessity which cannot be changed.? That implies that Joshua excluded them. He excluded them only as disqualified for marriage. If you would say, disqualified (because of sins)⁸⁸It seems that one should read with the parallel in Ketubot 3:1 (27a 1. 59), Notes 16–19, עבדות “slavery” instead of עבירות “sins”. then the rapist of a Gibeonite girl should not have to pay the fine, but we have stated⁸⁹Implied by Mishnah Ketubot 3:1. The same Mishnah states that the statutory fine is not applicable to the rape of a virgin slave girl. If Gibeonites were excluded as Temple slaves, they should be classified with slaves in matters of the fine (and be excluded from marriage in all its forms.) Cf. Tosafot Yebamot 79a, s.v. ונתינים. It follows that R. Abbahu’s argument is rejected.: The rapist of a Gibeonite girl has to pay the fine.” Rebbi Eleazar said, he cursed them as a snake, as it is said: “But now you are cursed⁹⁰Jos. 9:23..” And it is written: “The people of Israel said to the Ḥiwwite.⁹¹Jos. 9:7.” But were they Ḥiwwites⁹²In 2S. 20:2, they are described as Emorites.? They acted like the snake⁹³In Amaraic חִוְיָא. The name of Eve, חַוָּה, instead of the Hebrew חַיָּה, hints at her relationship with the snake. which said, I know that the Holy One, praise to Him, did say “because on the day you eat from it, you will die a death⁹⁴Gen. 2:17..” I shall go and trick them so that they eat and will be punished and I shall inherit the earth for myself. So these people acted; they said, we know that the Holy One, praise to Him, said to Israel: “You shall certainly ban them, the Hittite, the Emorite, and the Perizite, as the Eternal, your God, has commanded you⁹⁵Misquoted from Deut. 20:17.” And it is written: “You shall not conclude a covenant with them.⁹⁶Deut. 7:2.” We shall go and trick them that they conclude a covenant with us. As you take it, if they kill us, they violate their oath. If they let us live, they violated the [divine] decision. In any case, they will be punished and we shall inherit the Land.

They [all] introduced [the same] thirteen alterations:¹⁶For a comparison of these variants with the Heb. text, cf. on Sof. I, 8. ‘God created in the beginning’; ‘I shall make a man in image and likeness’; ‘And He finished on the sixth [day] and rested on the seventh [day]’; ‘Male and female He created him’; ‘Come let Me go down’; ‘And Sarah laughed among her relatives, saying’; ‘For in their anger they slew oxen and in their self-will they digged up a stall’; ‘And Moses took his wife and his children and set them upon a carrier of men’; ‘Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt was four hundred and thirty years’; ‘I have not taken one desirable thing from them’; ‘And the [beast] with small legs’; ‘Which the Lord thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples to give light under the whole heaven’; ‘And they offer sacrifices to the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven which I commanded should not be served’.

It also happened that King Ptolemy assembled seventy-two elders and placed them in seventy-two [separate] rooms without telling them the reason for which he had assembled them. He then went to each one of them and said to him,¹⁷lit. ‘to them’. ‘Write for me [a translation of] the Torah of Moses your master’. The Omnipresent inspired them¹⁸lit. ‘put counsel in the heart of each one of them’. and the mind of all of them was identical, so that each on his own¹⁹So GRA. wrote the [same translation of the] Torah, introducing [the same] thirteen alterations²⁰Deviations from the traditional text. In the extant Versions of the Septuagint only some of these are found. as follows: ‘God created in the beginning’.²¹Instead of In the beginning God created (Gen. 1, 1) the Heb. of which might be misinterpreted to mean that a power named ‘Bereshith’ (in the beginning) created God. ‘And God said I shall make a man in image and likeness.’²²The Heb. text reads: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness (Gen. 1, 26). The plural us and our might erroneously suggest a plurality of deities. ‘And He finished on the sixth [day] and rested on the seventh [day].’²³For the Heb.: And He finished on the seventh day (Gen. 2, 2) which could be understood to imply that God did some work on the seventh day. ‘Male and female He created him.’²⁴Instead of created them (ibid. V, 2) from which it might be inferred that man and woman were, from the first, two separate beings, contrary to ibid. II, 21. ‘Come let Me go down and there confound their language.’²⁵Instead of let us go down (ibid. XI, 7). ‘And Sarah laughed among her relatives,²⁶i.e. she laughed in the presence of people and therefore incurred censure (ibid. XVIII, 12). The Heb. means ‘within herself’ as Abraham had done when he laughed … in his heart (ibid. XVII, 17) and had not been rebuked. saying.’ ‘For in their anger they slew oxen²⁷So GRA, H and M. V incorrectly ‘a man’. and in their self-will they digged up a stall.’²⁸Changing men (ibid. XLIX, 6) to ‘oxen’ and oxen to ‘stall’ in order to remove the stigma of murder from Jacob’s sons. ‘And Moses took his wife and his children and set them upon a carrier²⁹So M. V and H read ‘carriers of men’. of men.’³⁰i.e. an animal conformable with the dignity of Moses, instead of ass (Ex. 4, 20). ‘Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt and in the land of Canaan and in other lands³¹So M. V omits ‘and in other lands’. [The reading of the Septuagint is ‘in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt’.] was four hundred and thirty years.’³²Instead of the Heb. which omits ‘in the land of Canaan and in other lands’ (Ex. 12, 40), and implies that all the 430 years were spent in Egypt when, in fact, they could not have dwelt there more than 210 years (cf. Rashi to Meg. 9a). ‘And he sent the elect of the children of Israel.’³³So GRA and Meg. 9a but omitted in V. ‘Elect’ is substituted for young men (ibid. XXIV, 5), the former being regarded as more suitable persons for the service. ‘And upon the elect of the children of Israel He laid not His hand.’³⁴Here also ‘elect’ was substituted for the Heb. for nobles (ibid. 11). The alteration was not essential, but ‘elect’ which was mentioned earlier was preferred. It should be noted that in the total of thirteen alterations, this and the preceding are counted as one. ‘I have not taken one desirable thing³⁵A ‘desirable thing’ [which occurs in the Septuagint] for the Heb. ass (Num. 16, 15) to avoid the suggestion that Moses did not take an ass but more precious objects. from them.’ ‘The [beast] with small legs.’³⁶Instead of the Heb. for the hare (Lev. 11, 6) which is arnebeth, so as not to give offence to Ptolemy the name of whose queen was Arnebeth. ‘Which the Lord thy God hath allotted to give light unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.’³⁷The insertion ‘to give light’ (Deut. 4, 19) removes the possible misunderstanding that the heavenly bodies enumerated in the verse were intended by God to be objects of worship. ‘Which I commanded should not be served.’³⁸Deut. 17, 3 reads which I have commanded not. This might be taken to mean that God did not desire their existence and their creation was consequently due to a power beyond His control. It should be noted that the last two alterations are regarded as one in the enumeration because both deal with heavenly bodies as objects of worship.

Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira says: Adam was sitting in the Garden of Eden, and the angels who serve God stood there in the Garden attending to him. They grilled meat for him, and chilled wine for him. The snake came and saw all this, and took it as an affront to his own honor, and he became jealous.
How was Adam created? In the first hour, his dirt was gathered together. In the second hour, his form was formed. In the third hour, a torso was made. In the fourth hour, his limbs were attached. In the fifth hour, his orifices were opened. In the sixth hour, he was given breath. In the seventh hour, he stood up on his legs. In the eighth hour, he was paired with Eve. In the ninth hour, he was brought into the Garden of Eden. In the tenth hour, he was commanded [not to eat from the tree]. In the eleventh hour, he disgraced himself. In the twelfth hour, he was driven out and left, which fulfills the words of the verse (Psalms 49:13), “Man does not spend even one night in honor.”
What is recited on the first day? “The earth is the Eternal’s, in all its fullness; the world and those who dwell upon it” (Psalms 24). For He became Master of the World and will judge it. What is recited on the second day? “The Eternal is great, and praised tremendously in the city of our God” (Psalms 48). For He sets up all His works and becomes everything over His world. What is recited on the third day? “God stands in the divine congregation; amidst the powers He judges” (Psalms 82). For He created the sea and the land, and the land was folded into its place, and a space was cleared for His congregation. What is recited on the fourth day? “God of Vengeance, Lord! God of Vengeance, appear!” (Psalms 94). For He created the sun and the moon and the stars and the constellations, and they illuminate the world, and will one day be paid for their work. What is recited on the fifth day? “Sing joyously to the Eternal, our strength, shout out to the God of Jacob!” (Psalms 81). For He created birds and fish, and sea creatures, who all sing joyously in the world. What is recited on the sixth day? “The Eternal is king, He is dressed in dignity; the Eternal has dressed, and wrapped Himself in strength. The world is set in place; it will not fall” (Psalms 93). He finished all of His works, and then rose above them and sat up in the heights of the world. What is recited on the seventh day? “A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day” (Psalms 92). For on it, there is no eating or drinking, no buying or selling. The righteous just sit, with crowns on their heads, and bask in the radiance of the Divine Presence, as it says (Exodus 24:11), “And they beheld God, and they ate and drank,” like the angels who serve God.
(And why [was he created] so close [to the Sabbath]? So that he could enter into the Sabbath meal immediately.)
Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: I will give you a parable. What was Adam like? Like a man who married a convert, and would sit with her and give her orders. He said to her: Girl, do not eat bread while your hands are impure. And do not eat fruit that has not been tithed. And do not desecrate the Sabbath. And do not break your vows. And do not go around with other men. Now, if you break any one of these rules, you will die. (Then what did that man do?) He ate bread in front of her while his hands were impure, and he ate fruit that had not been tithed, and he desecrated the Sabbath, and he broke his vows. [And then he cast her out.] What did this convert say to herself? All the rules that my husband ordered me to follow are lies! She immediately went and broke them all.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says: I will give you a parable. What was the situation with Adam like? Like a man who had a woman in his house. What did he do? He went and brought a jar and put figs and nuts in it. Then he caught a scorpion, and put it near the mouth of the jar. And then he sealed the jar with a string and placed it in a corner. He said to her: Girl, everything I have in this house is for you to use, except for that jar, which you must not touch at all. What did the woman do? When her husband went out to the marketplace, she went and opened the jar, and stuck her hand inside, and the scorpion bit her. She went and fell on the bed. When her husband came back from the marketplace, he said to her: What happened? She said to him: I stuck my hand in the jar, and a scorpion bit me, and now I am dying! He said to her: Didn’t I tell you before? Everything I have in my house is for you to use, except for that jar, which you must not touch at all! He became very angry at her and cast her out. So it was with Adam. When the Holy Blessed One said to him (Genesis 2:16–17), “From every tree of the garden you may absolutely eat. But from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, do not eat. For on the day you eat from it, you will surely die.” Then when he ate from it, he was driven out, which fulfills the verse (Psalms 49:13), “Man does not spend even one night in honor. He is just like the beasts.”
(On that same day he was formed;) On that same day he was created; on that same day his form was formed; on that same day a torso was made; on that same day his limbs were attached and his orifices were opened; on that same day breath was given to him. On that same day he stood up on his legs; on that same day he was paired with Eve; on that same day he called [all the animals] names; on that same day he was brought into the Garden of Eden; on that same day he was commanded [not to eat from the tree]; on that same day he disgraced himself; on that same day he was driven out, which fulfills the words of the verse (Psalms 49:13), “Man does not spend even one night in honor.”
On that same day they went up into their bed as two and came down as four. Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira says: On that same day they went up into their bed as two and came down as six.¹This is according to the tradition that each son was born with a twin girl who would become his wife. On that same day Adam was given three new decrees, as it says (Genesis 3:17–18), “And to Adam [God] said: Because you heeded the voice of your wife…the ground will be cursed because of you. You will eat from it in distress…and it will sprout thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the grasses of the field.” When Adam heard that the Holy Blessed One said to him, “You will eat the grasses of the field,” immediately his limbs began to shake. He said before God: Master of the World! Will I and my animal eat from the same trough? The Holy Blessed One said: Since your limbs began to shake (nizdazu), therefore “by the sweat (zeiah) of your brow you will [be able to] eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). And just as Adam was given these three decrees, so, too, Eve was given three decrees, as it says (Genesis 3:16), “To the woman [God] said: I will increase and increase your pangs in childbearing; you will give birth to children in pain.” So when a woman has her menstrual bleeding, the beginning of her cycle is the most difficult for her. (“I will increase and increase”:) When a woman first has sexual relations, at the beginning intercourse is difficult for her. “Your pangs”: And when a woman becomes pregnant, her face becomes ugly and greenish for the first three months.
When evening began to descend, Adam looked toward the darkening horizon and said: Woe is me! Because I disgraced myself, the Holy Blessed one is bringing darkness upon my world. He did not know that this was simply the way of the world. In the morning, when he saw that the world began to brighten from the east, he felt an overwhelming sense of joy. So he went and built altars, and brought a bull whose horns had grown in before his hooves,²Unusual for a bull, but because the first bull grew up out of the ground, its top was formed before its legs. See Rashi, Hullin 60a. and he offered it up as a sacrifice, as it says (Tehillim 69:32), “It will be better to the Eternal than a bull with horns and hooves.”
The bull that Adam offered up on the altar, as well as the bull that Noah offered up, and the ram that Abraham our forefather offered up in place of his son, (all had horns that had grown in before their hooves), as it says (Genesis 22:13), “Abraham raised his eyes, and behold, a ram was caught [in the brambles by its horns].”
At that same hour, three groups of angels who serve God came down, and in their hands were lyres and harps and all kinds of instruments, and they sang with him, as it says (Psalms 92:1–2), “A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to thank the Eternal…and to speak of Your kindness in the morning, and Your faith through the night.” “To speak of your kindness in the morning” – that is the World to Come, which is compared to morning, as it says (Lamentations 3:23), “They are renewed in the morning; great is Your faith.” “And Your faith through the night” – that is this world, which is compared to night, as it says (Isaiah 21:11), “The burden of Dumah. Someone calls to me from Seir: Watchman, what will happen in the night? Watchman, what will happen in the night?”
At that same hour, the Holy Blessed One said: If I do not punish the snake, I will be found to have caused the destruction of the whole world! They will say, that one, whom I have crowned, and made king over the whole world, how can it be that he has ruined himself and eaten the fruits of that tree? Immediately, He turned to the snake and cursed it, as it says (Genesis 3:14), “Then the Eternal God said to the snake….” Thus, Rabbi Yosei said: If this verse had not (not) concluded with its curse, the whole world would have been destroyed.
When the Holy Blessed One created the first human being, He formed it facing both frontward and backward, as it says (Psalms 139:5), “You formed me after and before, and You placed Your hand upon me.” And the angels who serve God came down (to serve Him) [in order to destroy the first human being]. So the Holy Blessed One took it and placed it under His wings, as it says (Psalms 139:5), “You hedge me before and behind, and You placed Your hands upon me.”
Another interpretation of “And You placed Your hands upon me”: (When [Adam] disgraced himself, the Holy Blessed One took one of [His hands] away). From here we see that both the human being and the Sanctuary, when they were created, were created by God’s two hands. From where do we learn that the human being was created with God’s two hands? As it says (Psalms 119:73), “Your hands made me and fashioned me.” From where do we learn that the Sanctuary was created with God’s two hands? As it says (Exodus 15:17), “In the Sanctuary, God, which Your hands have established.” (And it says [Psalms 78:54]), “He brought them to the border of His Sanctuary, the mountain which His right hand had acquired.”
And it says (Exodus 15:19), “The Eternal will reign forever and ever.”

⁸⁶Gen. rabba 12(9). Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Johanan: With two letters two worlds were created, this world and the Future World. [One by He and one by Yud.] What is the reason? For in Yah, the Eternal is the Rock of Worlds⁸⁷Is. 26:4.. However, we did not know which one was created by He and which one by Yud. But from what is written, these are the outcomes of Heaven and Earth in their being created⁸⁸Gen. 2:4., He created them by He. This implies that this world was created by He, and the Future World was created by Yud. ⁸⁹Babli Menaḥot 29b. Since He is (missing) [open] below, it is a hint for all creatures that they will descend to the pit. Since He has a point on top, from the moment they descend they ascend. Since He is open from all sides, so He opens a door to all who repent. Since Yud is curved, so all creatures should be bent. All faces turned yellow⁹⁰Jer. 30:6.. When David saw this, he started to acclaim by two letters, praise Yah, praise, the servants of the Eternal, praise the Name of the Eternal⁹¹Ps. 113:1..

⁹⁷Gen. rabba 1(21), Lev. rabba 36(1), Midrash Samuel 5[1]. The Midrashim seem to be the original source since they apply R. Eleazar ben R. Simeon’s final statement to other pairs of notions. The House of Shammai are saying, heaven was created first and afterwards earth. But the House of Hillel are saying, earth was created first and afterwards heaven. These are bringing proof for their assertion, and those are bringing proof for their assertion. What is the reason of the House of Shammai? In the Beginning God created heaven and earth⁹⁸Gen. 1:1.. {A parable} of a king who made a chair. After he had made it he made its footstool⁹⁹Greek ‘υποπόδιον.: the Heavens are My throne and the Earth My footstool¹⁰⁰Is. 66:1.. What is the reason of the House of Hillel? On the day of the Eternal’s, God’s, making of earth and heaven¹⁰¹Gen. 2:4. {A parable} of a king who made a palace. After he built the foundations he built the upper structure: also My left hand founded the Earth and My right hand tended the Heavens¹⁰²Is. 48:13.. Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi said, also the following supports the House of Hillel: in earlier times You founded the Earth, and the Heavens are the work of Your hands¹⁰³Ps. 102:26.. Rebbi Ḥanina said, from the place from where the House of Shammai prove their assertion, from there the House of Hillel remove them. What is the reason of the House of Shammai? In the Beginning God created heaven and earth. From there the House of Hillel remove them: and the earth was¹⁰⁴Gen. 1:2., it already was. Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of the Sages: As for creation, the heaven preceded. As for perfecting, the earth preceded. As for creation, the heaven preceded, in the Beginning God created. As for perfecting, the earth preceded, on the day of the Eternal’s, God’s, making of earth and heaven. According to the House of Shammai, the heaven after the First waited three days, First, Second, Third, to have offspring. On the Fourth, there shall be lights¹⁰⁵Gen. 1:14.. According to the House of Shammai, the sea after the Second waited three days, Second, Third, Fourth, to have offspring. On the Fifth, the waters shall teem¹⁰⁶Gen. 1:20.. According to the House of Shammai, the earth after the Third waited three days, Third, Fourth, Fifth, to have offspring. On the Sixth, the earth shall produce¹⁰⁷Gen. 1:24.. According to the House of Hillel, the earth after the First waited two days, First and Second, to have offspring. On the Third, the earth shall be covered with grass. According to the House of Hillel, the sea after the Third waited two days, Third and Fourth, to have offspring. On the Fifth, the waters shall teem. Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai said, I am wondering how the fathers of the world could disagree about the creation of the world. Heaven and earth were only created like a pan¹⁰⁸Greek λοπάς. and its cover. What is the reason? Also My left hand founded the Earth and My right hand tended the Heavens¹⁰⁹The argument is from the end of the verse, not quoted: I am calling to them, they shall stand together.. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon said, following this, my father’s opinion, sometimes heaven precedes earth, sometimes earth precedes heaven, which teaches that they are equivalent one to another.

Is has been stated: The Tree of Life is wide a parcourse of 500 years. Rebbi Yehudah ben Rebbi Ilaï⁷⁸He is Rebbi Yehudah quoted in both Talmudim without his father’s name. said: not only its crown but even its stem.All the splitting of primeval waters splits under it since (Ps. 1:3) “He shall be like a tree planted on split waters⁷⁹Taken as an allusion to paradise. It is clear from the text that the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life are not earthly creations..” It has been stated: The Tree of Life is one sixtieth of the Garden. (Gen. 2:10) “And a river originated in Eden to irrigate the Garden.” The remainder of a kur is a triple qab, a sixtieth⁸⁰From here on there is a parallel in Babli Taänit 10a. Rashi explains there that with what remains in watering vessels used for a kur of grain one can still irrigate three qab. (A kur is 180 qab.). The remainder of Africa is Egypt, a sixtieth. We find that it is said that Egypt can be traversed in 40 days⁸¹Egypt is defined as the country between the Mediterranean and Aswan (Syene). The distance was determined by the Alexandrian astronomer Eratosthenes to be approximately 5000 stadia. The length of the Greek stadion is no better defined than the Jewish mil. The distance is in the order of magnitude of 1000 km or about 650 miles.. Black Africa can be traversed in slightly more than seven years⁸²All commentators are at a loss here since it should say “slightly less than seven years” (2400 days) but there is no manuscript evidence for such a reading.. But the teachers say [the sky is determined] by the days of the patriarchs (Deut. 11:21) “like the days of the sky over the earth.”⁸³The full verse reads: “that your days and the days of your descendants should increase on the Land that the Eternal had sworn to your forefathers to give to them, like the days of the sky over the earth.” The days of the forefathers were 175 years for Abraham, 180 for Isaac, and 147 for Jacob, together 502 years. The time when Abraham recognized God as the Creator is a matter of controversy in midrashic sources; our source here seems to side with the opinion that Abraham recognized the futility of idol worship at age 3; then his years as the Lord’s servant were 173 and the sum is 500. And just as the sky over the earth is at a distance of a way of 500 years so between one sky and the next is a way of 500 years and its thickness is a way of 500 years. Why did you see fit to say the thickness of the sky is a way of 500 years?⁸⁴I.e., to take the part of R. Yehudah against the anonymous Sages who had earlier defined the thickness of the sky as the equivalent of 50 years. The question remains unanswered. Rebbi Abun said⁸⁵This section is given in greater detail in Bereshit rabba 4(1). There we read: “The rabbis say in the names of R. Ḥanina, R. Pinḥas, R. Jacob bar Abun, in the name of R. Shemuel bar Naḥman: When the Holy One, praise to Him, said: ‘there should be a spread’, the middle drop jelled and separated upper and lower waters.” After that the opinion of Rav is quoted.
The opinion of R. Yehudah ben Pazi is given there by R. Yehudah bar Simon (the full name is R. Yehudah ben R. Simon ben Pazi where either “ben Pazi” is a family name or Pazi is one of R. Ḥiyya’s twin daughters, Pazi and Martha). So possibly R. Abun here is the father of R. Jacob bar Abun in the second generation of Amoraïm and not the late R. Abun. (Gen. 1:6): “There shall exist a spread-sky within the water.” The spread-sky shall be in the middle. Rav said: the sky was wet on the first day and jelled on the second day. Rav said: “There shall exist a spread-sky”: the sky shall strengthen, the sky shall jell, the sky shall solidify, the sky shall be spread. Rebbi Yehudah ben Pazi said: The sky (רקיע) shall be made like a piece of cloth, just as it is said (Ex. 39:3) “They stretched (וירקעו) out the gold sheets.”

Rebbi Yoḥanan and Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish⁸⁹The brother-in-law and, according to Babylonian tradition, student of R. Yoḥanan. They both elaborate on the verse from Job treated by R. Yoḥanan’s teacher R. Ḥanina.. Rebbi Yoḥanan said: Usually when someone stretches the ropes of a tent, in time the ropes will loosen. But here (Is. 40:22) “He stretched them like a tent to sit in,” and it said (Job 37:18): “they are strong.” Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said: “Usually if someone casts a vessel, in time it will rust. But here “like a cast mirror,” all the time they look like newly cast. Rebbi Azariah⁹⁰One of the teachers of the fifth generation of Galilean Amoraïm. In Bereshit rabba 12, R. Azariah explicitly objects to the opinion that everything that has generations will wilt and die, including sky and earth. His statement here seems to say that the generations of the sky are the astronomical periods and that nevertheless everything is as on the day when sky and earth were created. comments on the remark of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish (Gen. 2:1–3) “The sky and the earth and all their hosts were completed. God finished on the Seventh Day … and God blessed the Seventh Day.” What is written after that? (Gen. 2:4) “These are the generations of the skies.” What has one to do with the other? Only that a day comes and goes, a week comes and goes, a month comes and goes, a year comes and goes⁹¹The use of masculine forms for both masculine and feminine is not uncommon in the Yerushalmi.. And it is written (Gen. 2:4) “These are the generations of the skies and the earth when they were created, on the day that the Eternal, God, created earth and heaven.”

Rebbi Yoḥanan and Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish⁸⁹The brother-in-law and, according to Babylonian tradition, student of R. Yoḥanan. They both elaborate on the verse from Job treated by R. Yoḥanan’s teacher R. Ḥanina.. Rebbi Yoḥanan said: Usually when someone stretches the ropes of a tent, in time the ropes will loosen. But here (Is. 40:22) “He stretched them like a tent to sit in,” and it said (Job 37:18): “they are strong.” Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said: “Usually if someone casts a vessel, in time it will rust. But here “like a cast mirror,” all the time they look like newly cast. Rebbi Azariah⁹⁰One of the teachers of the fifth generation of Galilean Amoraïm. In Bereshit rabba 12, R. Azariah explicitly objects to the opinion that everything that has generations will wilt and die, including sky and earth. His statement here seems to say that the generations of the sky are the astronomical periods and that nevertheless everything is as on the day when sky and earth were created. comments on the remark of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish (Gen. 2:1–3) “The sky and the earth and all their hosts were completed. God finished on the Seventh Day … and God blessed the Seventh Day.” What is written after that? (Gen. 2:4) “These are the generations of the skies.” What has one to do with the other? Only that a day comes and goes, a week comes and goes, a month comes and goes, a year comes and goes⁹¹The use of masculine forms for both masculine and feminine is not uncommon in the Yerushalmi.. And it is written (Gen. 2:4) “These are the generations of the skies and the earth when they were created, on the day that the Eternal, God, created earth and heaven.”

HALAKHAH: “The categories of work are 39.” From where that the categories⁹⁶A hint that exactly 39 categories of work should be forbidden on the Sabbath (i. e., that a maximum of 39 sacrifices would be required for unintentional violations of the Sabbath rest.) of work are from the Torah? Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: Corresponding to the thirty-nine occurrences of מלאכה in the Torah⁹⁷The count works out if one counts all occurrences of מְלָאכָה together with its suffixed forms מְלַאכְתּוֹ, etc., but omitting all construct states מְלֶאכֶת.. They asked before Rebbi Aḥa, everywhere where מלאכות is written it should count for two! Rebbi Ashian said, Rebbi Aḥa checked by eye the entire Torah and did not find this word written⁹⁸The plural מְלָאכוֹת is not found in the Pentateuch. Therefore each occurrence of the word counts as one.. The following is necessary: He came into the house to do his work⁹⁹Gen. 39:11. It must be counted even though the word is in suffixed form and does not refer to the Sabbath. is with them. God completed on the Seventh Day His work which He did¹⁰⁰Gen. 2:2., is with them. Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai stated: Six days you shall eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day you should not do work¹⁰¹Deut. 16:8, the last occurrence of the word in the Torah. comes to complete the 39 “works” written in the Torah.

From where the two creations? Rebbi Ze‘ira in the name of Rebbi Huna: “He created⁶⁸Gen. 2:7. In the creation of Man, it is written וייצר, in that of the animals, 2:19, only ויצר. The two letters י symbolize the two creations. A more detailed exposition of this sermon is in Gen. rabba 14(2).”, a creation for seven and a creation for eight. If he was created for seven but born at eight, he lives; so much more if [born] by nine. If he was created for nine and born at eight, he does not live. If he was created for nine and born at seven? Come and see, if he does not live at eight, so much less at seven! They⁶⁹Some Greek speakers. asked before Rebbi Abbahu. From where that a seven-month baby lives? he said to them, from yours I am giving to you: ζῇ τὰ ἑπτὰ, ζῇ τὰ ἑπτὰ⁷⁰“It lives at seven, it lives at seven”. In all other sources, Gen. rabba14(2), 20(13), Tanḥuma Bemidbar 18, Tanḥuma Buber Bemidbar 21, Bemidbar rabba 4(3), the reading seems to be זיטא אפטא איטא אוכטא for the interpretation of which S. Lieberman (יוונית ויוונות בארץ ישׂראל, Jerusalem 1962, p. 209) prefers the reading of A. Crusius: ζῇ τὰ ἑπτὰ <μᾶλλον> ἤ τὰ ὀκτώ “the life-expectancy of that of seven [is better than] that of eight,” a medical maxim. The formulation is a pun on the Hellenistic numeral values of letters, zetaζʼ = 7, eta η’ = 8..

A Gentile has to separate from his sister, whether paternal or maternal, the words of Rebbi Meïr. Rebbi Jehudah says, he must separate from his maternal halfsister; a paternal halfsister he may keep. He must separate from his mother’s sister but may keep his father’s sister, the words of Rebbi Meïr. Rebbi Jehudah says, he must separate from his mother’s maternal halfsister but may keep his mother’s paternal halfsister⁸⁶The rules for Gentiles living under Jewish law are identical to those valid for converts; in the Babli they are given in Sanhedrin 58a, identical to the rules given for converts in Yebamot98b.. Rav Ḥanin said, he⁸⁷This must be Rav, Rav Ḥanin’s teacher and father-in-law. explained us the words of Rebbi Meïr simply: “Therefore, a man has to abandon his father and his mother⁸⁸Gen. 2:24. The common interpretation of the verse as basis of a “natural law” of incest prohibitions is in the sources [Babli Sanhedrin 58a, Gen. rabba 18(8)]: “Therefore, a man leaves his father (the father’s wife who might not be his mother) and his mother and clings to his wife (marriage is effected by intercourse, but after the first intercourse of a woman all sex acts with other people are adulterous since there is no divorce; male homosexual activity is also forbidden) and they will be one flesh (only vaginal intercourse is counted as such).” All other incest prohibitions of Lev. are for Jews only. (A minority opinion, that of R. Eliezer in the Babli, identifies the “father” as the father’s sisters.).” What is close to him from his father’s side, what is close to him from his mother’s side. Rebbi Vivian asked: Then his father’s sister should be forbidden because she is close to his father! His mother’s sister should be forbidden because she is close to his mother⁸⁹This shows that the opinion of R. Eliezer, quoted in the Babli (see the preceding note) was unknown to the editors of the Yerushalmi.! Rebbi Simeon, the son of Rebbi Ayvo objected: “Amram took his aunt Yokhebed as wife⁹⁰Ex. 6:20. According to the rules promulgated by him, Moses was a bastard. This proves (a) that the incest prohibitions of Lev. 18 are introduced because of the holiness of the Land or as prohibition of idolatrous practices and (b) the paternal aunt is permitted to a Gentile..” Does that mean that the Israelites did not even behave as descendants of Noah? Rebbi Hila said, what is close to him from his father’s side, what is close to him from his mother’s side⁹¹Only the father’s wives and the mother.. They objected to Rebbi Meïr: “And truly she is my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s.⁹²Gen. 20:12. According to Philo (Special Laws III, 22–25), the practice of marrying halfsisters was recognized in Greece and that of marrying full sisters in Egypt.” He said to them: Is a proof from there? Not “she became my wife”⁹³I am at a loss to understand the argument. The expedient chosen by the talmudic sources, that Sarah was not Abraham’s sister but his niece, should be excluded out of respect for the biblical text (Cf. Chapter 10, Note 210). This cannot be a general Jewish tradition since Sadducee (Karaite) traditions prohibit the niece to the uncle because the text prohibits the nephew to the aunt.?

Rebbi Jehudah ben Pazi said, the Holy One, praise to Him, took a spoonful from the place of the altar and created Adam from it. He said, he shall have been created from the place of the altar so that he should be able to stand up¹⁰¹Gen. rabba 14(9), R. Berekhiah and R. Ḥelbo in the name of R. Samuel ben Naḥman. The altar, with definite article, is the altar in the Temple courtyard in Jerusalem which by tradition [Gen. rabba 34(8)] is the altar used by Adam, Noah, and Abraham.. That is what is written: “The Eternal Omnipotent formed Adam the first of dust from the earth¹⁰²Gen. 2:7.”, and it is written: “You shall build for me an altar of earth¹⁰³Ex. 20:24..” Since “earth” there means an altar, here also [it means] an altar. “His days should be a hundred and twenty years.¹⁰⁴Gen. 6:3.” Adam the first lived close to a thousand years and you say, “his days should be a hundred and twenty years”! But after 120 years he returns to be a spoonful of decay. That is difficult. For Og, the king of Bashan, 120 years, and for a newborn baby 120 years? Og [becomes] a spoonful of decay, and a newborn baby becomes a spoonful of decay. “¹⁰⁵Tosephta Ahilut 2:2; Kelim Baba Meṣi‘a 7:1, as legal principle independent of the story of 120 years. Quoted in the Babli, 50b, but there the rabbis derive the decay from the body of the hand, without the fingers. The spoonful of decay which they mentioned is from his finger joints and upwards, the words of Rebbi Meïr, but the Sages say, from a fully developed hand.” Rebbi Ze‘ira, Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi was illustrating that of Rebbi Meïr one way, that of the rabbis in another way.

Rebbi Ḥanina the son of Rebbi Abbahu said, Rebbi Meïr’s reason is that “shaping” is written for them as for humans⁴⁰In the Babli, 22b, this is attributed to Rav Jehudah in the name of Samuel.. “The Eternal God shaped man as dust from the earth.⁴¹Gen. 2:7.” Rebbi Immi asked, because “shaping” is written for them as for animals, “the Eternal God shaped from the earth all animals of the field and the birds of the sky⁴²Gen. 2:19. The masoretic text is slightly different from the text quoted.”? But is it not written “for behold the Shaper of mountains and Creator of wind⁴³Am. 4: 13. The same question is asked in the Babli, 23a.”? Then, if she has a miscarriage in the shape of a mountain, she should be impure because of birth! There is a difference, for shaping is not written for them in the Creation story. Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Because they look forward as humans do. Abba bar bar Ḥana said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Because they walk forward as humans do⁴⁴In the Babli, 23a, Rabba bar bar Ḥana in the name of R. Joḥanan gives the explanation attributed here to R. Yasa.. Rebbi Abun bar Ḥiyya objected: Did we not state, “if his eyeball is round like that of a human,” is that not a defect⁴⁵Mishnah Bekhorot 6:8. A firstling whose eyes look human is not acceptable as sacrifice.? Rebbi Yose said, did we not state, look forward; did we not state, walk⁴⁶R. Joḥanan only spoke about functions, not about looks. (But human eyes are forward looking as eyes of predators; the eyes of kosher animals are sideways looking eyes of prey. In the Babli, 23a, Abbai restricts the rule of R. Meïr about birds to owls who have forward-looking quasi-human eyes.)? What about it⁴⁷Which features make animal eyes a bodily defect by being like human eyes?? Human eyeballs are round, animal eyeballs are elongated. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, human eyes have more white than black, animal eyes have more black than white.

Rebbi Ḥanina the son of Rebbi Abbahu said, Rebbi Meïr’s reason is that “shaping” is written for them as for humans⁴⁰In the Babli, 22b, this is attributed to Rav Jehudah in the name of Samuel.. “The Eternal God shaped man as dust from the earth.⁴¹Gen. 2:7.” Rebbi Immi asked, because “shaping” is written for them as for animals, “the Eternal God shaped from the earth all animals of the field and the birds of the sky⁴²Gen. 2:19. The masoretic text is slightly different from the text quoted.”? But is it not written “for behold the Shaper of mountains and Creator of wind⁴³Am. 4: 13. The same question is asked in the Babli, 23a.”? Then, if she has a miscarriage in the shape of a mountain, she should be impure because of birth! There is a difference, for shaping is not written for them in the Creation story. Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Because they look forward as humans do. Abba bar bar Ḥana said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Because they walk forward as humans do⁴⁴In the Babli, 23a, Rabba bar bar Ḥana in the name of R. Joḥanan gives the explanation attributed here to R. Yasa.. Rebbi Abun bar Ḥiyya objected: Did we not state, “if his eyeball is round like that of a human,” is that not a defect⁴⁵Mishnah Bekhorot 6:8. A firstling whose eyes look human is not acceptable as sacrifice.? Rebbi Yose said, did we not state, look forward; did we not state, walk⁴⁶R. Joḥanan only spoke about functions, not about looks. (But human eyes are forward looking as eyes of predators; the eyes of kosher animals are sideways looking eyes of prey. In the Babli, 23a, Abbai restricts the rule of R. Meïr about birds to owls who have forward-looking quasi-human eyes.)? What about it⁴⁷Which features make animal eyes a bodily defect by being like human eyes?? Human eyeballs are round, animal eyeballs are elongated. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, human eyes have more white than black, animal eyes have more black than white.

³¹Gen. rabba13(11). It is called by five names: fog, canopy, cloud, prince, and storm-cloud. From where “fog”? And fog rose from the earth³²Gen. 2:6.. “Thick cloud,” [which thickens the sky]³³Corrector’s addition from Gen. rabba., behold, I shall come to you in a canopy of cloud³⁴Ex. 19:9.. “Cloud”, because it makes people meek with one another. “Prince” because it turns owners of houses into princes: He raises rain-clouds from the ends of the earth³⁵Ps. 135:7.. “Storm-clouds” because it turns the sky into multiple visions³⁶Deriving the unexplained word as pilpel form of חזה “to have a vision”.: The Eternal makes storm clouds³⁷Sach. 10:1..

There was another story of Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Elai, who was sitting and teaching his students, and a bride passed by and he said: What is this? And they said to him: A bride is passing. He said to them: My children, stand and attend to the bride, for thus we find that the Holy Blessed One attended to a bride (as it says [Genesis 2:22], “The Eternal God built the rib”). If God attended to a bride – then I, all the more so! And where do we find that the Holy Blessed One attended to a bride? As it says, “The Eternal God built the rib” – and this is what they call braiding in seaside towns: “building.” From here we learn that the Holy Blessed One prepared Eve and made her up as a bride and brought her before Adam, as it says (Genesis 2:22), “And He brought her to Adam.” Once upon a time, the Holy Blessed One acted as a companion to Adam; from that point forward, Adam had acquired a companion of his own (as it says [Genesis 2:23], “Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh”). Eve was taken from [the rib of] Adam once;¹Meaning, creating a man’s mate this way happened only once. from that point forward, a person marries his fellow’s daughter.

There was another story of Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Elai, who was sitting and teaching his students, and a bride passed by and he said: What is this? And they said to him: A bride is passing. He said to them: My children, stand and attend to the bride, for thus we find that the Holy Blessed One attended to a bride (as it says [Genesis 2:22], “The Eternal God built the rib”). If God attended to a bride – then I, all the more so! And where do we find that the Holy Blessed One attended to a bride? As it says, “The Eternal God built the rib” – and this is what they call braiding in seaside towns: “building.” From here we learn that the Holy Blessed One prepared Eve and made her up as a bride and brought her before Adam, as it says (Genesis 2:22), “And He brought her to Adam.” Once upon a time, the Holy Blessed One acted as a companion to Adam; from that point forward, Adam had acquired a companion of his own (as it says [Genesis 2:23], “Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh”). Eve was taken from [the rib of] Adam once;¹Meaning, creating a man’s mate this way happened only once. from that point forward, a person marries his fellow’s daughter.

⁹⁸Babli 44b, Midrash Hazita (Shir rabba) 3(17) on 3:9, Num. rabba 12. There are seven kinds of gold: good gold ⁹⁹Gen.2:12., pure gold¹⁰⁰Ex. 24:11,24; 25:17,32,36,37; 37:2,6, closed gold¹⁰¹IK. 7:50., Mufaz gold¹⁰²Dan. 10:5., refined gold¹⁰³“Refined” is found in the Bible only applied to silver, see the Halakhah., drawn gold¹⁰⁴1K. 10:10, 17, 2Chr. 9:15, 16., Parwayim gold¹⁰⁵2Chr. 3:6..

Rebbi Joḥanan said, when you collect from your threshing floor and your wine press¹⁴⁹Deut. 16:13.. From the waste of the threshing floor and the wine press you make your thatching¹⁵⁰The verse in Deut. describes the festival of Tabernacles which, as the name indicates, is characterized by the obligation to dwell in a sukkah. The verse hints at the rule of the Mishnah that the roof of the sukkah has to be made from agricultural waste (which is grown from the earth but as waste is not subject to impurity even if cut and wetted. It is possible that R. Joḥanan reads אספ like Arabic “to have regret” to have waste rather than usable produce.) Babli 12a.. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, and mist rose from the earth¹⁵¹Gen. 2:6. This refers to the standard interpretation of Lev. 23:43 that the Children of Israel dwelt in huts in the desert, when in reality they dwelt in tents. Therefore the ‘huts” are taken as the Divine cloud cover which shielded the encampment (as spelled out in the Targumim to Lev. 23:43), which R. Simeon ben Laqish takes as formed by mist from the earth; thatching has to imitate the cloud cover arising from the earth. Babli 11b.. Rebbi Tanḥuma said, each of them follows his own opinion. Rebbi Joḥanan who said that the clouds were above infers it from when you collect. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish who said that the clouds were below infers it from the clouds. Rebbi Abbin said, each of them follows his own opinion. Rebbi Joḥanan compares it to one who sends to another an amphora and its pitcher. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish compares it to one who says to another, bring your box and take wheat for yourself¹⁵²R. Joḥanan also agrees that the roof of the sukkah has to symbolize clouds. He does not agree that clouds are generated by mist from the earth but are sent by God to give rain to the farmers. R. Simeon ben Laqish is presumed to think that clouds are generated by the earth and then filled with rain by God. Both agree that the sukkah is a charm to assure abundant rain in the coming wet season. Detailed argument Gen. rabba13(10)..

Mishnah. “Because they are not careful with Niddah²⁰All the rules governing her period; in particular informing her husband that she is forbidden to his sexual attentions. He has to depend on the information she gives him., and ḥallah²¹The gift to the Cohen to be given from bread dough; cf. Introduction to Tractate Ḥallah. Here also the husband is dependent on the information given by his wife that he may eat the bread baked by her., and candle lighting²²Preparing lighting for the Friday evening meal is the duty of the wife (Babli 25b) and should not be delegated to a servant. Since this is an obligation tied to a fixed time it cannot be a biblical commandment as women are not subject to positive commandments tied to fixed times. But in the Halakhah to Mishnah 6 (Note 214) the obligation of the wife to light Sabbath candles is called a (rabbinic) commandment. Cf. Maimonides, Hilkhot Šabbat 3:1..” ²¹²A related homily in the Babli, 31a/32b. The First Man was the blood of the world, as is written²¹³Gen. 2:6., mist would arise from the land. Eve caused him death, therefore they handed the commandment of Niddah to the woman.

“And ḥallah²¹The gift to the Cohen to be given from bread dough; cf. Introduction to Tractate Ḥallah. Here also the husband is dependent on the information given by his wife that he may eat the bread baked by her..” The First Man was the pure ḥallah of the world, as is written²¹⁴Gen. 2:7., the Eternal, God, created man, dust from the earth. This comes as Rebbi Yose ben Qasarta said, when the woman agitates her dough in water she lifts her ḥallah. Eve caused him death, therefore they handed the commandment of ḥallah to the woman.

Thirteen things they changed for King Ptolemy. They wrote for him, “God created the beginning³⁷⁶Gen. 1:1; change not found in LXX..” “I shall make man in stature and form³⁷⁷Gen. 1:26; change not found in LXX..” “Male and his openings He created them³⁷⁸Gen. 1:27; change not found in LXX..” “He finished on the Sixth and rested on the Seventh³⁷⁹Gen. 2:2; change found in LXX.” “Now I shall descend³⁸⁰Gen. 11:7; change found in LXX..” “Sarah laughed in her surroundings, saying.³⁸¹Gen. 18:12; LXX: “in herself”.” “For in their rage they slew a bull and in their will uprooted a trough³⁸²Gen. 49:6; change not found in LXX..” “Moses took his wife and his sons and let them ride on people-carriers³⁸³Ex. 4:20. LXX: “beast of burden”..” “The dwelling of the Children of Israel, which they dwelled in Egypt and other lands, was 430 years.³⁸⁴Ex. 12:40. LXX: “In the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan.”” And the hare³⁸⁵Lev. 11:6 (in LXX 11:5). LXX: “rough-foot”, a designation of the hare., “and the young of foot.” King Ptolemy’s mother was called “hare³⁸⁶The dynasty of the Ptolemies was called the Lagides, after an ancestor Lagos “hare”.”. “Not one precious thing I took from them³⁸⁷Num. 16:15; change found in LXX.” “Which the Eternal, your God, distributed them to give light to all peoples under all the heavens.³⁸⁸Deut. 4:19; change not found in LXX.” “Which I did not command peoples to worship them.³⁸⁹Deut. 17:3; change not found in LXX.
The comparisons with the LXX text was done on the basis of Rahlfs’s edition; the history of the text between the time of the Jewish translation in Alexandria and its adaptation by Christian editors in the Roman Empire is unknown. The same list is in the Babli 9a.”

Shemaya and Avatalyon received from them. Shemaya would say: Love work, hate power, and do not become too familiar with the authorities.
Love work.” How so? This teaches us that a person should love work, and not hate work. For just as the Torah was given in a covenant, so work was given in a covenant, as it says (Exodus 20:10), “For six days you shall labor and do all your work, and the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Eternal your God.” Rabbi Akiva would say: Sometimes a person labors and escapes death, and sometimes a person does not labor and becomes liable for death from Heaven. How so? Say a person sat around all week and did no labor, and then on the eve of the Sabbath he had nothing to eat. But he had money that had been designated [to the Temple] in his house. So he took from this and ate, and thus became liable to death from Heaven. However, if he had labored on the building of the Temple, then even though they paid him in money designated for the Temple and he took that money and used it for food, he would still escape the death penalty.
Rabbi Dostai would say: How do we know that if someone did no work all six days, he will end up doing work on the seventh? For, see, if he sat all the days of the week and did no work, and then on the eve of the Sabbath he had nothing to eat, he would then go out looking, and end up seized by conscription officers, who would grab him by the collar and force him to do on the Sabbath all the work that he did not do for six days.
Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar would say: Even Adam did not taste anything until he worked, as it says (Genesis 2:15–16), “And God placed him in the garden, to work it and guard it”; and then [it says (verse 17)], “From every tree of the garden you may certainly eat.”
Rabbi Tarfon would say: Even the Holy Blessed One did not rest His presence upon Israel until they had done work, as it says (Exodus 25:5), “Make Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell among them.”
Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira would say: If someone who has no work to do, what should he do? If he has a dilapidated yard or field, he should go and work on them, as it says (Exodus 20:10), “Six days you shall labor and do all your work.” What do we learn from the phrase, “do all your work”? That even someone who has dilapidated yards or fields should work on them.
Rabbi Yosei HaGalili would say: A person dies only because of idleness, as it says (Genesis 49:33), “And he expired [or: exhausted himself], and so was gathered to his people.”¹It does not say that Jacob “died,” only that he was “gathered to his people.” Rabbi Yosei is reading that as a reward for “exhausting himself,” i.e., not being idle. And see, if someone is pushed and falls over on his own craftwork and dies, we know his death was because of idleness. And if he was standing on the top of the roof, the top of a palace, or the top of any building, or at the edge of the river, and he fell and died, we know his death was because of idleness.
All this we know to be true for men. And how do we know it is also true for women? For it says (Exodus 36:6), “Let no man or woman do any more work for the donations to the Sanctuary.” And how do we know it is true also for children? For it says (there), “So the people stopped bringing.”
Rabbi Natan said: When Moses was carrying out the work of the Tabernacle, he did not want to take direction from the chiefs of Israel. So the chiefs of Israel sat there quietly and said: Perhaps now Moses will need our help. When they heard the announcement in the camp that said enough work had been done, they said: Alas, we have not participated at all in the work of the Tabernacle! So they got up and added a great thing by themselves, as it says (Exodus 35:27), “And the chiefs brought the shoham stones [for the breastplate of the high priest].”

Rabbi Nehemiah would say: Where do we learn that one person is considered as important as the entire work of Creation? Because it says (Genesis 5:1), “This is the book of the generations of humanity,” and prior to that it said (Genesis 2:4), “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.” Just as previously there was creating and making, so too here there is creating and making. [This] teaches that the Holy Blessed One showed [Adam] all the generations that would come from him, as if they rose up (and played) before him. And some say that he was shown only his righteous descendants, as it says (Isaiah 4:1), “All who were inscribed for life in Jerusalem.”
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karha would say: See, it says (Psalms 139:16), “Your eyes see my unformed substance, they were [all recorded] in your book.” This teaches that the Holy Blessed One showed [Adam] the first person every generation and its preachers, community servants, leaders, prophets, warriors, sinners, and saints, and said to him, “In this generation this one will be a king. In that generation this one will be a scholar.”
Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yosei HaGalili would say: Nine hundred and seventy-four generations before the world was created, the Torah was written and placed on the bosom of the Holy Blessed One, and it sang a song with the angels who serve God, as it says (Proverbs 8:30), “I was raised with Him, a source of delight to Him every day…rejoicing before Him on the face of His earth.” They gave a parable: To what can this be compared? [It can be compared] to someone who took a piece of wood and wanted to carve lots of figures into it. But there was not enough room on the wood, and so he was sad. But then he began drawing pictures on the ground, and kept walking and drew many, many pictures. So, too, the Holy Blessed One – may His great name be blessed forever and ever – in His wisdom and insight, created the whole world, with the heavens and the earth, above and below. And He fashioned within the human being everything that He created in His world. He created forests in the world, and He created forests on human beings – that is, their hair. He created evil beasts in the world, and He created evil beasts in human beings – that is, (the intestines) of a person. (He created thorns in the world, and He created thorns on human beings – that is, their ears.) He created scent in the world, and He created scent in human beings – that is, in their noses. He created a sun in the world, and He created a sun in human beings – that is, a person’s light. Putrid waters in the world and putrid waters in human beings – that is the water that drips from their noses. Salty waters in the world and salty waters in human beings – that is, the tears in their eyes. Rivers in the world and rivers in human beings – that is, their tears. Walls in the world, and walls in human beings – that is, a person’s lips. Doors in the world, and doors in human beings – that is, a person’s teeth. (Skies in the world, and skies in human beings – that is, a person’s tongue.) Sweet waters in the world, and sweet waters in human beings – that is, a person’s spit. Chiseled stones in the world and chiseled stones in human beings – that is, a person’s jaws. Towers in the world, and towers in human beings – that is, a person’s neck. Sail-yards in the world, and sail-yards on human beings – that is, a person’s arms. Spikes in the world, and spikes on human beings – that is, a person’s fingers. A king in the world, and a king in the human being – that is, his head. (Clusters in the world, and clusters in human beings – that is, in their blood.) Advisers in the world, and advisers in human beings – that is, their kidneys. Millstones in the world, and millstones in human beings – that is, their stomachs. Grinding mills in the world, and grinding mills in human beings – that is, their spleens. Garbage heaps in the world, and garbage heaps in human beings – that is, a person’s bowels. Pits in the world, and pits in human beings – that is, a person’s navel. Running waters in the world, and running waters in human beings – that is, a person’s (urine. Life in the world, and life in human beings – that is, a person’s) blood. Trees in the world, and trees in human beings – that is, a person’s bones. Hills in the world, and hills on human beings – that is, a person’s buttocks. Mortars and pestles in the world, and mortars and pestles in human beings – that is, their knees and knee-sockets. Horses in the world, and horses in human beings – that is, a person’s thighs. (An angel of death in the world, and an angel of death in human beings – that is, a person’s heels.) Mountains and valleys in the world, and mountains and valleys in human beings – when they stand, they are like a mountain, and when they fall, they are like a valley. Now you have seen that everything the Holy Blessed One created in His world, He created also in human beings.

Ten entities are considered truly “alive.” 1. The Holy Blessed One, as it says (Jeremiah 10:10), “The Eternal is truly God; He is a living God.” 2. The Torah is called a Living Torah, as it says (Proverbs 3:18), “It is a Tree of Life for those who hold fast to it, and all its supporters are happy.” 3. Israel are called Alive, as it says (Deuteronomy 4:41), “And you, who cling to the Eternal your God, you are all alive today.” 4. A righteous person is called Life, as it says (Proverbs 11:30), “The fruit of the righteous is the Tree of Life.” 5. The Garden of Eden is called Living, ([as it says (Psalms 116:9), “I will walk before the Eternal in the land of the living.” 6. One of the trees in the Garden was called the Tree of Life,]) as it says (Genesis 2:9), “and the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden. 7. The Land of Israel is called the Land of the Living, as it says (Ezekiel 26:20), “I will place radiance in the land of the living.” (Jerusalem is called Living, as it says [Psalms 116:9)], “I will walk before the Eternal in the land of the living.”) 8. Acts of kindness are called Life, as it says (Psalms 63:4), “For Your kindness is better than life; my lips will praise You.” 9. A wise person is called Life, as it says (Proverbs 13:14), “The Torah of the wise is the source of life.” 10. Water is called Living, as it says (Zechariah 14:8), “On that day, living waters will come forth from Jerusalem.”