Psalmów 148:11 Midrasz: Bereshit Rabbah, Vayikra Rabbah & Midrash Tehillim

“And God said: Let us make Man in our image, in our likeness, and let them dominate over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26).
“And God said: Let us make Man in our image, in our likeness.” Rabbi Yoḥanan began: “Back and front [aḥor vakedem], You shaped me…” (Psalms 139:5) – Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If a person merits, he partakes of two worlds, as it is stated: “Back and front, You shaped me.”¹Aḥor vakedem can be translated “the end, and that which precedes it,” – an allusion to this world and the World to Come. But if not, he will come to give an accounting, as it is stated: “You placed Your palm on me” (Psalms 139:5).²The following line should be here instead of where it appears, later in the midrash: Just as it says: “Distance Your palm from me” (Job 13:21). This verse shows that God’s “palm” refers to His punishment of man (Matnot Kehuna).
Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him androgynous. That is what is written: “He created them male and female” (Genesis 5:2). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him with two faces,³That is, two conjoined bodies, male and female. and [subsequently] He sawed him in two⁴Separating the female part from the male part. and made [for] him two backs,⁵Where they had previously been joined together. a back here and a back there. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “He took one of his ribs [tzalotav] … [and the Lord God built the rib that He took from the man into a woman]”? (Genesis 2:21–22). He said to them: [It means that He took] one of his two sides, as it says: “And for the tzela of the Tabernacle” (Exodus 26:20), which we translate: “And for the side of the Tabernacle...”. Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Benaya and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him in an unformed state and he was situated from one end of the world to the other. That is what is written: “Your eyes saw my unformed parts...” (Psalms 139:16).
Rabbi Yehoshua bar Neḥemya and Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon in the name of Rabbi Elazar said: He created him filling the whole world. From east to west, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Back [aḥor] and front [kedem],⁶Aḥor and kedem can also mean “west” and “east.” You shaped me…” (Psalms 139:5). From north to south, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “[From the day God made Adam on the earth,] and from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens” (Deuteronomy 4:32). From where is it derived that he even filled the empty space of the world? It is as it is stated: “You placed Your palm on me” (Psalms 139:5) just as it says: “Distance Your palm from me” (Job 13: 21).⁷This line is misplaced here and belongs in section 1, as indicated there.
Rabbi Elazar said: [Adam was created] last [aḥor] among the acts of creation on the last⁸The Hebrew text says “first,” but Rashi emends the text. day, and first [kedem] among the acts of creation on the last day.⁹Adam’s spirit was created as the first act of the last day, and his body was created as its final act. This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, as Rabbi Elazar said: “Let the earth produce the spirit of living beings by their species” (Genesis 1:24) – this is the life spirit of Adam the first man.
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: [The creation of Adam was] last [aḥor] among the acts of creation on the last day, and first [kedem] among the acts of creation on the first day. This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “And the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the water” (Genesis 1:2) – this is the spirit of the messianic king, as it says: “The spirit of the Lord will rest upon him” (Isaiah 11:2). If a person is meritorious, it is said to him: ‘You preceded the ministering angels’; if not, it is said to him: ‘A fly preceded you, a gnat preceded you, this earthworm preceded you.’
Rav Naḥman said: [Adam was created] last [aḥor] of all the creations, but was first [kedem] for all punishments.¹⁰As it says regarding the Flood: “He obliterated all existence that was on the face of the earth, from man, to animal, to crawling creature, to birds of the heavens” (Genesis 7:23). Rabbi Shmuel said: Regarding praising [God] as well, he comes last. That is what is written: “Praise the Lord from the heavens…” (Psalms 148:1), and it says the rest of that passage. Then “praise the Lord from the earth, [sea creatures and all depths]” (Psalms 148:7), and it says the rest of that passage. Only after that it says: “Kings of the earth and all nations…” (Psalms 148:11), “young men and maidens” (Psalms 148:12).
Rabbi Samlai said: Just as his praising [of God] is only after the animals, the beasts, and the birds, so his creation was only after the animals, the beasts, and the birds. What is the source? It is as it is stated: “Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20), and then: “Let the earth produce…” (Genesis 1:24), and then: “And God said: Let us make Man in our image.”

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: When a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be impure seven days; like the days of her menstrual infirmity she shall be impure” (Leviticus 12:2).
“When a woman conceives” – that is what is written: “Back and front You shaped me” (Psalms 139:5). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If a person merits, he inherits two worlds, this one and the next. That is what is written: “Back and front You shaped me.” If not, he comes to present an accounting, as it is stated: “You placed Your hand upon me” (Psalms 139:5), as it is written: “Distance Your hand from me” (Job 13:21).¹This was stated by Job in light of his suffering, and indicates that the image of God’s hand upon a person is used in the context of suffering.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him androgynous. Reish Lakish said: When he was created, he was created with two faces.²There was a face and the front of a body on both sides. [God] sawed him, and two backs were formed, a back for the male and a back for the female. They raised an objection to him: “He took one of his ribs [mitzalotav]…[the Lord God built the rib that He took from the man into a woman]” (Genesis 2:21). He said to them: It was one of his sides, as it is written: “For the [second] side [ultzela] of the Tabernacle” (Exodus 26:20).
Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥelbo, and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him such that he filled the entire world from one end to the other. From where is it derived [that he filled the world] from east to west? As it is stated: “Back and front You shaped me.” From where is it derived [that he filled the world] from north to Ssouth? As it is stated: “From one end of the heavens to the other end” (Deuteronomy 4:32). And from where is it derived [that he filled] the entire space of the world?³From the earth to the heavens. As it is stated: “You placed Your hand upon me.”⁴“You placed [vatashet]” indicates that he was near to the Holy One blessed be He when He placed His hand upon him.
Rabbi Elazar said: “Back,” this is the first day, “and front,” this is the final day.⁵The reference here is to the first and final days of Creation. According to the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, [this is] as it is written: “God said: Let the earth produce living creatures in its kind” (Genesis 1:24); this is the spirit of Adam the first man.⁶Rabbi Elazar’s point is that Adam’s spirit was created on the sixth day before other creations that were created on that day, and his body was created last. Reish Lakish said: “Back” is the final day, “and front,” this is the first day. According to Reish Lakish, as it is written: “The spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water” (Genesis 1:2), this is the spirit of the messianic king. If a person merits, they say to him: ‘You preceded the entire act of Creation.’ If not, they say to him: ‘The gnat preceded you, the worm preceded you.’ Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Tanḥum said: “Back,” after all the creations, “front,” before all the punishments.⁷Man was created last but is the first to be punished, as in the Flood: “From Man to animal” (Genesis 7:23).
Even his praise came only last, as it is stated: “Beasts and all animals,⁸The term beast [ḥaya] implies animals generally undomesticated, and the term animal [behema] implies species that are generally domesticated. creeping animals, and birds of wing” (Psalms 148:10), and thereafter: “Kings of the earth and all nations” (Psalms 148:11). Rabbi Simlai said: Just as the creation of man was after animal, beast, and bird, so, his law is [written] after those of the animal, beast and bird. That is what is written: “This is the law of the animal” (Leviticus 11:46), and thereafter: “When a woman conceives.”

"Hallelujah, sing to the Lord a new song," says Isaiah (Isaiah 43:18-19), "Do not remember the former things." (Isaiah 43:18-19) "The wild beasts will honor Me" (Isaiah 43:20). "This people have I formed for Myself" (Isaiah 43:21). The Almighty says: Just as I have made all things new, so shall you sing a new song to Me, as it is said: "Sing unto the Lord a new song." (Psalm 149:1) And who are these pious ones? They are the people of Israel. As it is written, "He raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David...to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father." (Psalms 148:14) Whenever Israel sees the Almighty, they become pious. They became pious when they saw Him at the Red Sea and sang a song, as it is said, "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord." (Exodus 15:1) They became righteous when they saw Him at Sinai, as it is said, "He stores up sound wisdom for the upright." (Proverbs 2:7) And what does it say there? "He kissed me," etc. They became righteous when they saw Him at the Tent of Meeting, as it is said, "And Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." (Leviticus 9:23-24) As it is said, "Rejoice, O ye righteous," etc. When they see Him in the world to come, they become pious, as it is said, "Let the praises of God be in the congregation of the pious." (Psalm 149:1) And they rejoice and are exceedingly glad in His presence, in the fire, hail, snow, and smoke, as it is said, "Praise the Lord from the earth," etc. (Psalm 148:7-14) From here we learn that there is nothing evil in heaven, neither fire, hail, snow, nor smoke, but they are from the earth, as it is said, "Praise the Lord from the earth." (Psalm 148:7) And so it is said, "No evil shall befall you." (Psalm 91:10) There is no evil in His presence. All evil is on earth. But if so, why does it say, "And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven?" (Genesis 19:24) The Almighty said, a decree shall come from the heavens and below it shall be done with fire. A stormy wind does his bidding, and even the hills and all the high places tremble. David said, the mountains will be weighed down by him who knows their weight." As it says (Isaiah 40:12), "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens with a span." And so it says (Psalm 147:4), "He counts the number of the stars, He calls them all by their names." Therefore it is said, "The heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1), to teach that God created everything. David said, "Everything praises God." If a person does not want to give thanks and praise to his Creator, even a crawling creature or a bird with wings thanks Him, and it is not fitting for him. And so it says (Isaiah 43:20), "The beasts of the field shall honor Me." Therefore it is said, "The wild beasts and all cattle" (Psalm 148:10). The kings of the earth and all nations, princes, and all judges of the earth should have said, "The dragons and all deeps" (Psalm 148:7) first, and afterward, "Kings of the earth and all people" (Psalm 148:11), up to "Young men and maidens" (Psalm 148:12). What are "young men"? They are the same as "young" and "youth." But the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "The elders who are youthful." As it says (Psalm 103:5), "Your youth is renewed like the eagle's," and (Isaiah 40:31), "But they that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles." Therefore it says, "The elders with the young" (Psalm 148:12). "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted" (Psalm 148:13). But haven't we already said, "Let them praise the name of the Lord"? In the custom of the world, when a mortal king sits enthroned, he has chamberlains who accompany him in the procession of his reign, and when they sing, they also honor him. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like this; He has no chamberlains or ministers. As it says (Deuteronomy 3:24), "Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" None other than He performs His work; He alone suspends the earth. As it says (Isaiah 44:24), "I, the Lord, am He that makes all things, that stretches forth the heavens alone, that spreads abroad the earth by Myself." Therefore He praises Himself alone, as it says, "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted." As it is written, "He has raised up a horn for his people... Sing to the Lord a new song." And it says in the giving of the Torah (Psalm 138:4), "All the kings of the earth will praise you, Lord, when they hear what you have decreed." Did they really hear and want to accept your Torah? No. Until Michah the Morashtite came and explained, as it says (Michah 5:14), "And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations that have not hearkened." This teaches that they heard but did not accept. Then David came and gave thanks, as it says (Psalm 136:15), "You are the God who performs wonders..." David said, "I give thanks to you for the wonders you have done in the world, by making your Torah known to all the nations in the world, even though they did not want to accept it." This verse does not refer to strength, but to the Torah, as it says (Exodus 15:2), "The Lord is my strength and my song." Rabbi Abbahu said that it was revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He, that the nations of the world would not accept the Torah. So why did He offer it to them? This is God's way: He offers His creations what they cannot accept, and only then removes it from them. For the Holy One, blessed be He, does not come into conflict with His creations. Therefore it is said, "For high is His name alone is exalted."