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כתנות עור GARMENTS FOR THE SKIN — There are Agadoth which say that they were smooth as fingernails, cleaving to their skin; whereas some say that they were made of material that comes from skin, as for example, the hair of hares which is soft and warm, and of this He made garments for them (Genesis Rabbah 20:12).

כתנות עור וילבישם, coats, long enough to cover the whole body.

ויעש ...כתנות עור, without any input by man, similar to a description of the Talmud of what the earth will produce without human input in idyllic times when ready made bread rolls will be produced by the earth (Shabbat 30)

ויעש ה' אלוקים לאדם ולאשתו כתנות עור, seeing that they had been naked, but had made themselves the aprons made from fig leaves, to cover only their genitals, G’d now provided them with protective clothing for their entire bodies, probably also having in mind different climatic conditions outside the garden. ולבישם, “He dressed them in those coats. There is no point in asking how G’d made these coats. Surely, by comparison to the entire universe which G’d had created, making leather coats was a very insignificant accomplishment by comparison.
When we find a sage saying in the Midrash (Torah Shleymah by Rabbi Menachem Kasher items 176,and 186 on our chapter) that these garments were made of skin, i.e. that man had consisted of bones and flesh without an outer layer of skin. G’d now provided the skin as a protective cover. (attributed to Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 20) [the Talmud Niddah 25, discussing when an aborted fetus is to be treated as a human being in some respects, states hat the fetus is not covered with a skin until it is fully formed inside the mother’s womb. Ed.] We do not understand how this solves any problem at all. They would have been worse off than before, even their genitals having remained exposed, as these too are covered by skin. Some scholars claim that the skin was skin of the serpent which G’d had removed from it and clothed Adam and Chavah in it. Yet other scholars claim that G’d commanded one or two of the larger mammals to remove their skin, and that Adam and Chavah then proceeded to dress themselves in those skins.
There is no need for all these fancy explanations, i.e. speculations. G’d simply issued a directive and the tunics came into existence, just as the material from which the first set of Tablets was made by G’d had to come into existence by miraculous means. Our sages (Sotah 14) record the opinions of the great scholars Rav and Shmuel, the former saying that the meaning of כתנות עור is “coats, tunics, made from material removed from skins.” Shmuel said it refers to raw material from which the skin (man’s) derives pleasure. To be specific, it refers to cotton. Our sages also say (Midrash hagadol on this verse) that these garments belonged to the things that were created in the twilight zone of the 6th day of creation, immediately before the onset of the Sabbath. Rabbi Simlai (Sotah) uses the opportunity to tell us that the Torah commenced with acts of personal kindness by G’d for His creatures, and ends in the same vein. Here, in Bereshit, we are told about G’d, personally, providing clothing for Adam and Chavah, whereas at the end of the Torah we read of G’d, personally, burying Moses. (Deut. 34,6)

Garments of skins and clothed them: The explanation of the verse is that the garments were not made in such a way that they would dress themselves. Rather the Holy One, blessed be He, dressed them. Meaning, they were made on their flesh, so that they would not come to revealing nakedness at the time that they were dressing themselves and would not be able to cover themselves among the leaves of the trees, as was the case at that time - as I wrote above (Haamek Davar on Genesis 3:8).

Smooth. חלקים is from the same root as חלוק, robe. In other words, cloaks of fingernail-like material cleaving to their skin.

Wir sehen hier zum zweiten Male Kleidung als letzten Gruß aus dem Paradiese und zwar in vollendeterer Weise. Früher bloß חגורה, Bedeckung des Unterkörpers. Inzwischen war ein Ausspruch ergangen, der das Bedürfnis der Kleidung gesteigert, denn ארורה האדמה, die Natur war rauher geworden, und das Kleid erhält hier die doppelte Bedeutung, als Bedürfnis der Scham und als Schutz gegen die rauhe Natur. Indem aber dem Menschen das Kleid aus Gottes, ׳ד׳א, Händen wird, gewinnt es eine heilige Bedeutung, und steht in seiner doppelten Beziehung im Dienst der Erziehung des Menschen zur Wiedergewinnung des ursprünglichen Zustandes. Als Ver- hüllung der tierischen Blöße erinnert es an die höhere als tierische Bestimmung des Menschen, eine Erinnerung, die um so notwendiger geworden, als der Geist selbst jetzt in den Dienst der Bedürfnisse des Leibes getreten, בזעת אפך תאכל לחם. Als Schutz gegen den Einfluss der rauheren Natur erinnert es ebenfalls den Menschen, dass er nicht mehr und noch nicht wieder das ist, was er ursprünglich sein soll. Ohne Hülle geschaffen, sollte die ihn umgebende Natur ihm paradiesisch zulächeln, und so lange er der Kleidung bedarf, ist sie ihm Mahnung, dass wir noch nicht im Paradiese leben und der Fluch von der Erde nicht weicht, so lange wir uns des Tieres in uns noch zu schämen haben. Von diesem Standpunkte aus dürfte es begreiflich sein, wie ב׳ר כי) ר׳ מאיר) dieses Gewand כתנות אור "Lichtgewand" nennen konnte, und es von anderen als ein "priesterliches Gewand" bezeichnet wird, שעשה לו הב"ה בגדי כהונה, eben wegen der erleuchtenden und heiligenden Bestimmung des Kleides. Begreiflich ferner, wie der Begriff Kleid in der Sprache des תנ"ך so bedeutungsvoll, מעיל צרקה, בגדי ישע und sonst, und symbolisch werden konnte wie in den בגדי כהונה. Ferner, wie gerade מצות ציצת, diejenige מצוה, die uns erinnern soll, den Schlangeneinflüsterungen unserer sinnlichen Spekulation: "Gott hat dir ja selbst Lichter und Leiter gegeben: Auge und Herz!" nicht zu folgen, an das Gewand geknüpft ist. Vergl. ותרא האשה כי טוב העץ למאכל וכי תאוה וגו׳ und ׳ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם וגו. "Sagt dir das Kleid. dass du Mensch bist und nicht das Tier in dir herrschen soll, sagt es dir, dass die Welt um dich, trotz aller Erfindungen noch nicht wieder zum Paradiese geworden ist: nun so lasse ציץ, die Blüte deines Gewandes das heilige jüdische Leben sein, das das Göttlichmenschliche in dir herauskehrt, und die Welt wieder dem Paradiese näher bringt." Also dürfte das Ziezithgewand in seinem offenbaren Zusammenhange mit dem hier vorliegenden Ursprunge des Kleides sich aussprechen. — Die Weisen erinnern ferner an dieser Stelle, wie hier die erste Spur von גמילות חסד hervortritt, wie Gott hier גמילות הסד, die tätige Menschenliebe geübt. Die תורה beginnt und schließt mit von Gott geübter תחלתה וסופה ג״ח ,גמילות הסד, sie zeigt uns im Anbeginn, wie Gott den ersten nackten Menschen bekleidet, und zeigt uns am Schlusse, wie Gott den edelsten Menschen begraben, קבורת מתים — מלביש ערומים. Wenn wir bis jetzt das getrübte Verhältnis der Natur zum Menschen als einen gesunkenen Zustand, und mit Recht, betrachtet, so hat dieser Zustand doch auch eine andere Seite. Gerade diese Erniedrigung ist auf anderer Seite der Boden geworden, auf welchem der Mensch sich am gottähnlichsten zeigen kann. Alles, was, wenn für uns geübt, selbstsüchtig, erniedrigend ist, wird göttlich groß, wenn es für andere geschieht. בזעת אפו die Kräfte anstrengen, um Brot und Heil für andere zu schaffen, ist nach jüdischem Begriffe die größte Ebenbildlichkeit Gottes. "Wie Gott dir gezeigt, dass er den Nackten kleidet, die Kranken heilt, den Leidtragenden tröstet, den Toten begräbt, so kleide auch du die Nackten, heile die Kranken, tröste die Leidtragenden, begrabe die Todten usw.", das ist Begriff und Grundsatz der jüdischen Menschenliebe, der jüdischen גמילות הסדים, und dieser Gedanke hat zum ältesten Verein für die Menschlichkeit, zum ältesten Kongreß für die Wohlthätigkeit, der seine Mitglieder über die weite Erde hin zählt, den jüdischen Kreis gemacht. So ist die Hülfsbedürftigkeit des Menschen der Boden, auf dem sich jeder, der will, zur gottähnlichsten Höhe erheben kann, und dass die Übung dieser uneigennützigen, aufopferungsvollen, persönlichen Dahingebung der eigenen Kräfte für das Wohl anderer, dass die Übung dieser jüdischen Menschenliebe so viele opferfreudige Gemüter gefunden und findet, ist die sprechendste Widerlegung jener trübseligen Lüge, als sei mit der ersten Sünde der Fluch über den Menschen gekommen und habe ihn der Göttlichkeit seines reinen Wesens für alle Folgegeschlechter beraubt. Es ist daher eine tiefe Weisheit unserer Weisen, die eben hier an den Ausgang aus dem Paradiese die hohe n׳a-Lehre knüpfen, da ohne die damit beginnende Hülfsbedürftigkeit des Menschen wir kaum wüssten, wo zur Ausübung der ג"ח Gelegenheit wäre.

Garments of skins: That is to say, garments for the skin of their flesh; as no beast had yet been flayed. And likewise did Onkelos translate [it].

כתנות עור, according to Rashi, “tunics made of skin/leather.” This “leather” was smooth as nails, no hair ever having been on it. Rashi contradicts commentators who explained the term as referring to the skins of hares which are completely covered with hair. (Compare B’reshit Rabbah 20,20)

וילבישם, in order that He would not have to expel them from Gan Eden while they were naked. Not only that, but if they would dress themselves in these coats after having been expelled, they might delude themselves that they had improved on G’d’s handiwork.

כתנות עור, the term כתונת is familiar to us from the outer garment made for Joseph by his father, and the linen tunic worn by the High Priest, was intended to cover their bodies and their flesh, as described in Job 5,5, the extremities of their bodies, as opposed to the torso. The point is that the material was not taken from the body of a large mammal that had died, as there had not been time as yet for such skin to have been stretched to make it into leather. Compare Onkelos. According to some opinions the material stemmed from the Leviathan, the female of which G-d had killed and whose meat had been salted away by G-d for use to serve to the righteous in the future.

וילבישם, “He dressed them.” First Adam and Chavah had made some kind of aprons that could be tied around their loins.(3,7) Now their entire bodies were covered by these tunics.

The paragraph begins with ויקח ה' אלוקים את האדם ויניחהו בגן עדן לעבדה ולשמרה. “G-d took Adam and placed him in Gan Eden in order to work it and to preserve it.” The words גן עדן are an allusion to the Torah. Just as the garden had its origin in Eden, so the Torah has is origin in the regions of celestial wisdom which is called Eden. The principal reason man was created was in order to preoccupy himself with Torah, i.e. to study it and to observe it.

It follows that the two trees in the centre of the garden, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge, refer to the positive and the negative commandments which are rooted in the Torah. The word האדם is an allusion to intellect an abstract part of man. G-d did not consider it good for this intellect to be alone as it needed an instrument by means of which its achievements could become manifest and which would be his assistant when performing the commandments of the Torah. This instrument would be matter rather than something abstract like the intellect. Seeing that man had been created as a combination of body and spirit it needed a partner in order to ensure the continuity of the species by means of offspring. This is similar to the body being a partner to the intellect in matters pertaining to intellectual pursuits. The helpmate in question was woman. The very name of woman contains an allusion to גוף, body. Solomon compared matter to woman when he said in Proverbs 2,16 להצילך מאשה זרה, “to save you from the alien woman.” He meant that matter by definition is not part of the intellect, but it is necessary in order to become the receptacle of the intellect’s activity. Woman is such an instrument. Matter reflects the form and accepts the shapes the intellect dictates to it. The serpent i.e. נחש, represents an allusion to the evil urge, as we find the word מ-נחש which expresses an attempt to seduce and to put man to a test. The serpent began the dialogue with the woman, i.e. it addressed itself to חומר, matter. It began with the word אף, anger, seeing that anger and wrath are derivatives of the power of Satan.
Now to explain what it was exactly that the serpent was saying: אף כי אמר אלוקים לא תאכלו מכל עץ הגן, “if G-d has said that you must not eat from any of the trees of the garden, this is equivalent to denying you any physical gratification at all. You would not benefit from all the good things to be found in the world. How could G-d have commanded something like this?” This was typical of the tactics of seduction employed by the evil urge, by Satan. The reason that he serpent spoke with woman and not with man is simply that the evil urge always addresses the physical side of man, i.e. the חומר, the material. It never tries to match wits with the power of the שכל, man’s reason.

Woman said to the serpent: “we may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden.” This was the reply of the material side of man to its potential seducer; in other words: “we have not been denied gratification of the body by means of the senses when this gratification serves the purpose of maintaining our health by eating and drinking.” She continued: “however, G-d warned us concerning some specific gratification which we are to indulge in only in order to assure the continuity of the species. If we were to transgress that commandment both our body and our soul would die.”

ותפקחנה עיני שניהם, “The eyes of both of them were opened, etc.” The Torah simply describes a customary process, involving the intellectual faculties of man, i.e. that after body and soul have sinned they become aware of the wrong they have done, that because of the wrong they have done they have lost stature. They realize that they have allowed their cravings to dominate them. This is the process described here as “their eyes were opened.” This “opening” does not refer to their gaining of additional insights. On the contrary, they now became aware of a failing. When their eyes were “opened,” they realized that they had actually lost something, that instead of achieving something new they had lost something they had previously possessed. They realized how fortunate they had been when they were not enslaved by various physical desires, whereas now they had to struggle to become free of these cravings which had become as indispensable for them as clothing. This is the deeper meaning of the word וידעו, they were drawing on the powers of the עץ הדעת, “the tree which communicated this intimacy with good and evil.” A wealthy man usually does not appreciate all the advantages he enjoys but he takes them for granted. It is only when he is deprived of them that he realizes in retrospect how fortunate he had been while he possessed what is now lost to him. This is precisely what happened to Adam and Chavah. Their “eyes were opened,” they now appreciated what great stature they had possessed prior to their sin.
כי ערומים הם, “that they were naked.” The very power of desire which now “clothed them,” made them condemn a certain state which previously they had not seen fit to condemn. As a result of their sin both their bodies as well as their intellects felt exposed, bereft of the protective cover provided by knowledge that one has lived meritoriously.
At that point they understood that G-d’s warnings had been justified and they felt ashamed for having transgressed it. Their feelings of shame were like those of a thief who has been found out (compare Jeremiah 2,26).Their feeling of shame and embarrassment included the fact that they had not observed the prohibition of the Torah’s commandments, seeing the Torah was comparable to a garden. This is the meaning of “they heard the sound of the Lord G-d moving about in garden in the breeze of the day; and man and his wife hid himself on account of the Lord G-d.”
The word האדם here refers to man’s intellectual powers. The “sound of the voice of the Lord G-d” which the Torah mentions here is a reference to the heavenly tribunal to which all creatures will have to answer after death when they are ordered to appear before the King of Kings. This is the meaning of G-d asking in this verse איכה, “where are you?” G-d referred to the moral level which man had sunk to. In the future, when examining man after his death on earth, He will want to know to what level of Torah study and observance man had risen to during his life on earth. The additional letter ה at the end of the word איכה, is an allusion to the five Books of Moses. We find a similar construction in Psalms 139,8 ואציעה שאול הנך, “and when I descend to Sheol You are there too. The extra letter ה at the end of the word ואציע is a hint that man will be examined for how he related to the five Books of Moses.

When the Torah reports Adam (man) responding את קולך שמעתי בגן, “I have heard the sound of Your voice in the garden,” this was a response by man’s intellectual faculties and is to be understood as if he said “I have understood Your intention when You called out my name and I have heard the warnings which are written in the Torah.” The word ואירא, “I was afraid,” refers to the fear of the Day of Judgment. When Adam added כי עירום אנכי, “for I am naked,” this was an admission that he felt inadequate, had not fulfilled the Torah’s commandments. He had neither Torah study nor Torah-observance which he could cite in defense of his actions. This is the deeper meaning of why he said אנכי instead of אני. [The word is a reference to the first word in the Ten Commandments.] When he added ואחבא, “I hid myself,” it means “I was ashamed.” It is natural for a person who is ashamed of something to hide from the one he is ashamed of. מי הגיד לך
, “who has told you?” G-d wanted to know who was the cause that he felt exposed, bereft of merits.
המן העץ אשר ציויתיך, “Did you by chance eat from the tree which I commanded you?" Did you violate My commandment and did what I prohibited you to do?

Adam answered: “the woman that You have given me, etc.” Adam’s intellectual faculties responded to the question saying: “indeed I did violate Your commandment. As to he reason? It was the woman You gave me, i.e. the חמר, the material part of me which violated Your commandment.” She was supposed to be my helpmate and instead Your intention was foiled. She (the חומר, the material part), is the cause that I have experienced this terrible pain.” The reason the Torah added the letter ה at the end of the word נתתה, “You have given,” is an allusion to the five senses which comprise the perceptive powers of the physical part of man, the חומר. In other words, Adam (man) blamed the addition of powerful physical material for his failure. He (his wife, also part of “man,”) added further that the serpent had seduced him (her, respectively). This simply meant that Adam and Chavah blamed the seductive powers of Satan for having been seduced. Their argument was that חומר, physical material, without the addition of the seductive powers of Satan would not be something harmful at all.
Thereupon G-d first of all cursed the serpent, read “evil urge,” condemning it to henceforth crawl on its belly; this was a tremendous demotion as up until then the serpent (read Satan) had conducted itself like a king, and even Solomon referred to him a מלך גדול in Kohelet 9,14. It is a mark of a king that he walks upright holding his head erect. The serpent now lost this ability. This brought in its wake a greatly reduced ability of the serpent (read evil urge) to seduce man as it could no longer give itself airs fooling man about its true nature.