Komentarz do Rodzaju 2:5

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).

AND EVERY SHRUB OF THE FIELD. In the opinion of our Rabbis in Bereshith Rabbah,²⁸¹See Bereshith Rabbah 12:4 for a similar text. 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 field²⁸²Exodus 23:16. and We will not pass through field or through vineyard.²⁸³Numbers 20:17. 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.

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,

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.

וכל שיח השדה, now the Torah fills in details of the report of G’d’s creative activity during the preceding days which had been omitted, including how man had spent the hours remaining on the sixth “day” after his creation. It refers to some aspects of the plants created already on the third “day,” as well as to the animals which had been created on the sixth “day” which share the same habitat as man, i.e. they live on dry land.
Seeing that the Torah would shortly have to refer to the vegetation in Gan Eden, including references to the trees of knowledge and the tree of life which are part of the vegetation on earth, the Torah first describes the fact that the shrubs, etc., had not yet been able to grow to their full maturity due to an absence of rain on earth. The fact that even shrubs are significant plants, is demonstrated in Genesis 21,15 where Hagar is described as abandoning her son Ishmael under one such shrub. At this point the Torah informs us that although in response to G’d’s directive on the third “day” that earth produce herbs, etc., and that in response to this directive the earth did indeed produce not only herbs but fruit-bearing trees, G’d had not yet decreed that rain fall on earth, seeing that man the beneficiary of such rain, had not been created as yet. Rain, by itself, without man working the soil does not accomplish a great deal.
This raises the question how the vegetation described as coming into existence on the third “day” managed to do so? The Torah answers this by describing vapours which rose from the surface of the waters at that time, and through whose influence all these plants were enabled to develop temporarily. There are numerous plants, shrubs included, which do not depend on man’s labour for their continued existence. The only plants which do require man’s input first and foremost, are the plants which serve as his food. David already referred to this in Psalms 104,14 where he describes that bread is produced from the earth and that rain is required to ensure that this will materialise. If the Torah, at the beginning of this verse, mentions that G’d had not let it rain, prior to mentioning that the vapour had risen (by itself, without G’d’s input, apparently) and had irrigated the earth, this was to inform us that rain is produced as a result of the vapours rising, forming clouds, etc, but that all of this needs to be initiated by G’d’s goodwill in the first place.
The gaon Rav Saadyah, in his commentary on this verse, writes that the letter ו in the word ואד means, that there had not been a vapour rising from the face of the earth which could have irrigated the plants either; in other words that this is a continuation of the statement that there had not been any rain as yet, neither had there been dew or vapour, or any of the types of moisture which we know promote growth. Up until that point G’d Himself had seen to it that these plants developed, until the laws of nature had become activated as they were needed for the sake of man. If the Torah bothered to tell us that just as G’d had not yet initiated rainfall, neither had He caused vapours to rise from the earth to form clouds, (which would have been all that we needed to know) this is a lesson in why no rain had fallen. Seeing that no vapours had risen from the earth, no clouds had formed which could discharge their water at the appropriate time.
In Bereshit Rabbah 13,1 the author addresses the apparent contradiction between our verse in which we are told that due to the absence of rain even grass had not yet grown properly, and verse 9 where G’d is described as having made every desirable tree grow in Gan Eden. Rabbi Chaninah there solves the problem by saying that the conditions that prevailed at that time in Gan Eden were different from those prevailing in the rest of the earth, hence trees could grow there. Rabbi Chiyah disagrees, saying that no growth had taken place at that time in either region. How then does he resolve the apparent contradiction? He finds no contradiction, seeing that man’s creation had also been reported already in chapter 1,27, and here it is reported again. At this point, the Torah simply fills in details it had omitted in its earlier report. Whereas the various creatures and phenomena created during the first six “days” had been fully developed, man, as distinct from the other living creatures, had not received its life-force, נפש, from the part of nature producing it, as had the fish or the mammals. Hence this point had to be described graphically, i.e. G’d blowing the soul into Adam’s nostrils.

The apparent meaning of this verse relates to the field as the source of sustenance for the world. As it says in Kohelet (5:8) "Even the King is subservient to the field," meaning even the king worries about the produce of the field. According to this explanation, we don't understand the message of the verse. But there is a deeper meaning to the word siach (bushes) based on the gemara Avoda Zara(7b), "Siach means prayer as the Torah says (Bereshit 24:63) 'And Isaac went forth to pray (lasuach) in the field'". Tosafot adds that it means fixed prayer also known as avoda shebalev (service of the heart). From the very start of creation God established that earning one's livelihood in the normal way of the world is involved with entreating God for His Providence by prayer or by sacrifices where possible. Both of these are called avoda (service), more than other mitzvot (commandments) of the Torah. Based on the verse (Mishlei 12:11) "He who tills (oved) his soil will be sated with bread" we may explain that all of man's activities can be performed to earn a livelihood or for some other purpose, but tilling the soil is done only to earn one's livelihood. And such is the difference between the avoda of performing other mitzvot and the avoda of prayer or sacrifices. The reward for observing other mitzvot is given in olam haba (the world to come) and also in olam haze (this world) one may receive rewards of wealth or honor, measure-for-measure. The reward for prayer and sacrifices, however, is primarily livelihood, as seen in gemara Ketubot (10b) which interprets the word mizbeach (altar) as being related to nourishment (see also H.D. Bamidbar xx:xx) and also in gemara Shabat (10a) which states that fixed prayer sustains life. (See also Harchev Davar Bereshit 48:22.) The blessings recited over each type food also promote the abundance of that type as seen in gemara Berachot (35b) which considers someone who eats without reciting the blessing to be stealing from God and from the people of Israel and to be as evil as Yeravam ben Navat .(Based on Mishlei 28:24 " He who robs his father or his mother and says, "This is not a sin," is the companion of a destroyer.") The explanation is that by not reciting the blessing one denies God the pleasure of providing an abundance of that food, in effect stealing from Him and from the people of Israel. And such a person is a companion of Yeravam who prevented the people from bringing sacrifices, thus denying them livelihood. (See Melachim I chapter 12.)

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.

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.

It means ‘not yet.’ I.e., it stands in place of the two words עדיין לא.

Der vorhergehende Vers war die Einleitung zur Geschichte des Menschen, und hat uns die Weiterentwickelung der Erdwelt von dem Dasein und Verhalten des Menschen bedingt gezeigt. Es greift daher mit diesem Verse die Erzählung wieder zurück, führt uns den Moment vor, in welchem die Schöpfung ihrer Vollendung durch den ihre Weiterentwickelung bedingenden Menschen entgegenharrte, in welchem zugleich die im vorigen Verse ausgesprochene allgemeine Wahrheit sich sofort beim Eintritt des Menschen in die Erdwelt bethätigte, und offenbart uns zugleich speziellere Seiten über die Bildung des Menschen, die uns einen tiefen Einblick in sein Wesen und ein Verständnis seiner Natur in Beziehung zu der hohen Stellung und Bestimmung gewähren, die bereits oben bei seiner Schöpfung in der Reihe der übrigen Schöpfungen ausgesprochen waren.

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.

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.

Based on this introduction we may explain this verse to mean that prayer had not yet been introduced on earth because there was as yet no man to pray.

And cannot form a verb. I.e., it is a noun that does not take the form of a verb.

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.

Die Worte שדה und אדמה, denen wir hier zuerst begegnen, zeigen sofort, dass wir uns im Menschenkreise befinden. Bisher war nur immer allgemein von ארץ die Rede. שדה aber ist der von dem Menschen für seine Nahrungszwecke in Anspruch genommene Teil der Erde: das Feld. Verwandt dürfte שדה mit שדה, der Wurzel von שד der Mutterbrust, sein, in welcher ja ebenfalls aus den allgemeinen Säften und Kräften des Körpers ein gesonderter Teil der Ernährung eines anderen Wesens zufließt, andererseits mit צדה, gleichbedeutend mit ציד ,צוד: auf künstlichem Wege (צ) die Erlangung eines Gegenstandes erstreben. Für die Nüancen der Künstlichkeit (צ) bildet den Begriff Feld das ש, welches die Mitte zwischen ש, dem Laute der völligen Natürlichkeit, und צ, dem der völligen Künstlichkeit hält. אדמה ist ja ohnehin schon die Erde nicht als kosmischer Weltkörper, sondern als die dem Adam vermählte, ihm zum Bereiche seiner Wirksamkeit hingegebene Erde. — שיח ist der allgemeine Name für Wachstum. Daher auch für das geistige Wachsen des Menschen (vergl. מלה ,שעיף ,חרש (rad. ,(מלל עץ — עצה. Ebenso auch צוץ — שוש ,צמח — שמח). Nach der Auffassung der Weisen insbesondere: beten. Beten ist nach dieser Anschauung nichts als Trinken aus der Quelle alles geistigen Lebens, damit alle Fibern und Fasern unseres inneren Wesens zu tränken, um neue Blüten zu erzeugen. — שיח heißt nun zwar sonst in der Regel das Gewächs selbst, hier aber kann es nicht das Gewächs bedeuten; diese waren ja bereits am sechsten Tage, dem Schöpfungstage des Menschen, vorhanden. Es dürfte vielmehr hier nur die Tätigkeit des Wachsens selbst, das Wachstum bezeichnen können. Die Pflanzen waren schon seit dem dritten Tage vorhanden; allein sie waren noch nicht fortgeschritten, noch nicht gewachsen, es fehlte der Regen, den Gott nicht der physischen Welt, sondern dem Menschen, den er nicht als ׳אלקי, sondern als ׳ד׳ אלקי spendet, und der Mensch war noch nicht da, für dessen sittliches Walten auf Erden Gott, sein Herr, die Weiterentwickelung der Erdwelt fördert.

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).

Rav Assi in the gemara (Hulin 60) cited by Rashi, resolves the contradiction between this verse and Bereshit 1:12 "And the earth gave forth vegetation" by saying that the vegetation was created on the third day but waited below the surface of the earth until man was created and prayed for rain. He learns from this that God yearns for the prayers of the righteous. The gemara continues with the story of Rabbi Hanina Bar-Papa who planted his garden with all kinds of seeds but nothing grew. Then he prayed for mercy and the rains came and the seeds grew, proving the statement of Rav Assi. According to this gemara, vegetation and fruits appeared on the earth only on the sixth day, after man sinned, was banished from Gan Eden, began to work the land and prayed for rain. Rav Assi's statement, attributing special qualities to the prayers of the righteous for sustenance, seems to be disputed by Medrash Rabbah (Vayikra 31) which says the prayers of all men are accepted by God equally in matters of livelihood and only in other cases of misfortune, God forbid, are the prayers of the righteous more effective. The medrash cites the examples of Sarah, Rivka, and Rachel whom God made barren so that their righteous husbands would pray for them. The answer is that Rav Assi's statement relates to a special case of livelihood, one in which sustenance is provided by a miraculous change in nature. The story of Rabbi Hanina Bar-Papa must be understood to refer to a situation in which all the other gardens grew normally and only Rabbi Hanina's did not, against the laws of nature, until he prayed. Rav Assi applied this lesson to our verse as well, since God Himself created the vegetation so it certainly should have grown. God changed nature so the vegetation would not grow because He yearned to hear the prayers of the righteous. All this is the opinion of Rav Assi, but that is not the plain meaning of the verse. The Ramban writes that all the vegetation appeared on the earth on the third day, but did not begin to produce new plants until man was created and began to pray. One may add also that the vegetation was created on the third day in its full height and beauty, and only after man prayed did it begin to grow gradually larger.

This verse proves this. Because if it means “before,” it would be connected to the words יהיה and יצמח written after it [thus forming an incomplete statement], and would not explain why Hashem had not brought rain. And if it is connected to the [implied but] omitted word “this,” as if it said: “Before this, all the plants were upon the earth, and before this, all the vegetation sprouted,” then it does not fit with: “For Adonoy Elohim had not brought rain.” (Re’m)

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.

Es ist tief bezeichnend, dass die den Erdboden beherrschende Tätigkeit des Menschen עבודה, iDienst, genannt wird. עבד (verwandt mit) אבר ist ja das völlige Aufgehen in die Zwecke eines Andern. Bei der Herrschaft des Menschen über die Erde steht er selbst direkt im Dienste Gottes, indirekt im Dienste der Erde, deren Zwecken Gott den Menschen dienstbar gemacht. Indem der Mensch die Kräfte der Erde für seine von Gott ihm angewiesenen Zwecke in Anspruch nimmt und sie für diese Zwecke umwandelt, verliert die Erde nicht ihre Bestimmung, sondern erreicht sie vielmehr. Der Mensch hebt die physische Natur durch seine Tätigkeit in das Bereich der sittlichen Weltzwecke. Die Herrschaft des wahren "Adam" über die Erde ist daher in Wahrheit: עבודת האדמה, eine dienende Förderung ihrer Bestimmung. Und für diesen Dienst des Menschen an der Erde giebt ד׳ אלקים den Regen. Die Regenbildung selbst gehört der physischen von אלקי׳ geschaffenen Ordnung der Dinge an. Allein dass der Regen sich bilde, wann und wo und wie er sich bilde, dass er לברכה und nicht לקללה komme, das hat Gott seiner sittlichen Weltwaltung vorbehalten, die von dem Namen ׳ה getragen ist. שאלו מד׳ מטר בעת מלקוש, ruft der Prophet (Secharja 10, 1) seinen Zeitgenossen zu, "erbittet euch von Gott Regen zur Zeit des Frühregens", ד׳ עושה חזיזים ומטר גשם יתן להם לאיש עשב בשדה וגו׳, "Gott bildet die Wolken und die Sendung des Regens gibt Er ihnen, für einen einzigen Mann, für ein einziges Kraut auf dem Felde. Denn die Naturvergötterungen haben von einer herrenlosen Kraft gesprochen, die Naturbewältiger haben Lügen erschaut und sprechen nun Träume der Nichtigkeit aus, sie wissen nur mit Vergänglichkeit zu trösten. Darum ziehen die Menschen wie Schafe dahin, sprechen, dass es keinen Hirten gebe!" (das.) "היה אם שמוע תשמעו wenn ihr gehorchen werdet", spricht Gott in seinem Gesetze (5. B. M. 11.) "בעתו ,ונתתי מטי ארעצכם, gebe ich den Regen eures Landes in seiner Zeit, wenn aber euer Herz sich bethört von Gott abwendet, so ועצר את השמים, so schließt Gott den Himmel, und es wird kein Regen kommen. Diese dem jüdischen Volke und dem jüdischen Lande, dem Boden der תורה, dem Boden des göttlichen Sittengesetzes angewiesene Stellung ist somit keine Ausnahmsstellung, keine unnatürliche; sie ist vielmehr die ursprüngliche, der Menschenwelt und ihrer Erde bestimmte, zu der einst beide wiederkehren werden, wenn die Gesamtmenschheit einst dem göttlichen Sittengesetze sich huldigend unterordnen wird. Hier ist somit die Wahrheit ausgesprochen, die die Weisen in dem Satze ausdrücken, dass die Regenspende eines der Dinge sei, deren "Schlüssel Gott nicht einem שליח, einem Boten überantwortet hat". Alle die als Gottes Boten in der Natur wirkenden Kräfte, לא יסבו בלכתן, gehen unverändert ihren geraden, unabänderlichen Gang. So z. B. die Sonne, dieser große Faktor für die Entwickelung und Blüte des irdischen Lebens. Auf mathematischen Gesetzen ruht ihre Bahn, לא יסבו בלכתן da giebt׳s keine Abweichung, keine das Erfordernis des wechselnden Erziehungsbedürfnisses des Menschen berücksichtigende Veränderlichkeit. Die Natur geht ihren Gang. Allein nicht Alles ist in die Hand dieses natürlichen Ganges gelegt. Die Regenspende, die ganze Gestaltung des atmosphärischen Niederschlags und die dadurch bedingte Gestaltung der Erdatmosphäre selbst, die wiederum die Wirkung des Sonnenstrahls für die Erde so wesentlich modifiziert und veränderlich erscheinen lässt, מפתח של גשמים, hat Gott der sittlichen Weltordnung seines Waltens über den Menschen und für den Menschen vorbehalten. "ירעם אל בקולו נפלאות, donnert Gott mit seiner Stimme Wunder, übt er auch Großes, wo wir nicht es merken, spricht auch zum Schnee: werde der Erde, und Regen ist seine Sendung, ja Regen sind die mannigfaltigen Sendungen seiner Macht. Sein Siegel legt er damit an jedes Menschen Hand, alle Männer seines Werkes zu überwachen." (Job. 37, 5.) — Also weil der Mensch noch nicht da war, fehlte auch der Regen, und die Pflanzenwelt harrte noch der ersten Entwicklung entgegen.

That is why there was none of the usual plant growth.

And another [proof]. Meaning, there is another proof for this point.

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.

Because there was no man to engage in avoda (work/service) meaning prayer.

This verse, too, should be explained thus. Re’m wrote at length on this, but Maharshal explained that Rashi means that it is impossible to explain the verse any other way, for if we say that טרם means before, how can the future tense verb תיראון be applicable to it?

When man appeared. Rashi means as follows: Hashem, who surely desires the prayers of tzaddikim, knew that man would appreciate the rain — and pray for it. See Chulin 60b.

Adonoy is His Name. His actual Name is יהוה, as it has the letters of היה הוה ויהיה (He was, He is, and He will be), and that is His Name. An alternative explanation: It is the Name signifying His essence, whereas the other names each describe one of His traits. Rashi did not explain this earlier, when it is written (v. 4): “On the day when Adonoy Elohim made...” because there it was necessary to say “Adonoy Elohim,” as Rashi explained earlier (1:1 ד"ה ברא).

That He is Ruler and Judge. I.e., Elohim means that He is All-Powerful, as it says, “The powerful ones (אילי) of the land” (Melachim II, 24:15).