Мидраш к Берешит 3:24

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
There was a time for Adam the first man to enter the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “He placed him in the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 2:15). And there was a time to depart from there, as it is stated: “He banished the man…” (Genesis 3:24). There was a time for Noah to enter the ark, as it is stated: “Come…to the ark” (Genesis 7:1). And there was a time to emerge from there, as it is stated: “Emerge from the ark” (Genesis 8:16). There was a time for the [mitzva of] circumcision to be given to Abraham, as it is stated: “You shall observe My covenant” (Genesis 17:9). And there was a time for his descendants to be circumcised, [and for many] of them to be circumcised [at once. This occurred] in two places, once in Egypt and once in the wilderness, as it is stated: “All the people who departed were circumcised [and all the people born in the wilderness…were not circumcised]” (Joshua 5:5).¹Joshua saw to their circumcision.
“And a time for every purpose under the heavens” – there was a time for the Torah to be given to Israel. Rav Beivai said: It was time for a certain thing that was located above the heavens to now be given under the heavens. What is that? It is the Torah, as it is stated: “God spoke all these matters, saying” (Exodus 20:1).

1. And He drove (ויגרש) the Adom (Man) (Bereshis 3:24) - from here learn that The Holy One Blessed Be He gave to him (Adom) a divorce (גירושין) like a woman (that is like husband would give a divorce document to his wife whom he wishes to divorce). And He placed from the east (מקדם) of Gan Eden the Cheruvim (type of Angels) - from here learn that the Cheruvim came before (קדמו) of all of the Act of Creation. with a bright blade of a revolving sword - this is Gehinnom (Hell). to guard the way - this is Derech Eretz (literally the 'Way of the Land', different meanings, here Basic Human Decency, Proper Conduct or similar). of the Tree of Life - we learn that Derech Eretz comes before (i.e. has priority) over the Tree of Life. And there is no 'Tree of Life' except Torah, as is said it is a Tree of Life for all whose grasp on it (Mishlei 3:18).

“He stripped His shrine like a garden; He destroyed His place of assembly. The Lord caused festival and Shabbat to be forgotten in Zion and He scorned king and priest in His furious wrath” (Lamentations 2:6).
“He stripped His shrine [suko] like a garden.” Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: Like a garden whose spring was removed and its greenery turned white. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: Like Adam the first man, just as it says: “He banished the man…” (Genesis 3:24).⁹²Just as Adam was banished from the Garden of Eden, Israel was banished from the Temple (Yefe Anaf). Rabbi Abahu said: Suko is written with the letter sin;⁹³A left dotted shin is found in the text, rather than a samekh. Thus, the word suko is similar to the word assuaged [shakhakha]. once Israel was exiled, the fury of the Holy One blessed be He was assuaged.
“The Lord caused festival and Shabbat to be forgotten in Zion.” Is it possible that the Holy One blessed be He caused the festivals and Shabbatot of Israel to be forgotten? Rather, it is the festivals and sabbaths of Yerovam ben Nevat, that he fabricated for them. That is what is written: “In the month that he fabricated from his heart [milibo]” (I Kings 12:33). Milevad is written,⁹⁴The word in the verse in Kings is written milevad but pronounced milibo. just as it says: “Beside the [milevad] Sabbaths of the Lord” (Leviticus 23:38). “He scorned king and priest in His furious wrath.” “King,” this is Zedekiah. “And priest,” this is Seraya ben Maḥsaya.⁹⁵Zedekiah and Seraya were the king and High Priest, respectively, at the time of the destruction of the Temple. The destruction took place despite their personal piety (Yefe Anaf).

(Deut. 4:41:) THEN MOSES SET APART THREE CITIES <ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE JORDAN > TOWARD THE RISING OF THE SUN. All murderers flee eastward. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 3:24): AND AT THE EAST OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN HE POSTED <THE CHERUBIM>. Cain fled to eastward, as stated (in Gen. 4:16): AND CAIN WENT OUT FROM BEFORE THE LORD AND DWELT IN THE LAND OF NOD, EAST OF EDEN.

Rabbi Abbahu began: “But they, like men [ke’adam], have violated the covenant” (Hosea 6:7) – this is Adam the first man. The Holy One blessed be He said: I brought Adam the first man into the Garden of Eden, I commanded him, and he violated My command. I sentenced him to banishment and expulsion, and I lamented him with eikha. I brought him into the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “He placed him in the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 2:15). I commanded him, as it is stated: “The Lord God commanded the man saying.… [but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat]” (Genesis 2:16–17). He violated My command, as it is stated: “Have [you eaten] from the tree from which I commanded you [not to eat?]” (Genesis 3:11). I sentenced him to banishment, as it is stated: “He banished the man” (Genesis 3:24). I sentenced him to expulsion, as it is stated: “The Lord [God] sent him from the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23). I lamented him with eikha, as it is stated: “He said to him: Where are you [ayeka]” (Genesis 3:9); it is written eikha.¹¹Ayeka and eikha are each spelled alef, yod, kaf, heh. Thus, it is as though God used the word eikha, how, regarding Adam, as if to say: How did this come to be, just as the first word of Lamentations is how [eikha].
His descendants, too, I brought into the Land of Israel, as it is stated: “I brought you into a fruitful land” (Jeremiah 2:7). I commanded them, as it is stated: “Command the children of Israel” (Leviticus 24:2). They violated My command, as it is stated: “All Israel has violated your Torah” (Daniel 9:11). I sentenced them to banishment, as it is stated: “From My house I will banish them” (Hosea 9:15). I sentenced them to expulsion, as it is stated: “Send them from My presence and let them go” (Jeremiah 15:1). I lamented them with: “How does…sit solitary?” (Lamentations 1:1).

“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21).
“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return.” The congregation of Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, it is incumbent upon You to return us.’ He said to them: ‘It is incumbent upon you, as it is stated: “Return to Me and I will return to you, said the Lord” (Malachi 3:7).’ It said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, it is incumbent upon you, as it is stated: “Return us, God of our salvation” (Psalms 85:5).’ That is why it is stated: “Return us to You, Lord, and we will return.”
“Renew our days as of old [kekedem].” Like Adam the first man, just as it says: “He banished the man; He stationed…east [mikedem] of the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:24).²⁸Adam repented after being banished from Eden, and his repentance was accepted (Rabbi David Luria). Alternatively, “renew our days as of old.” Just as it says: “The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years” (Malachi 3:4). “As in the days of old,” this is Moses, as it is written: “He remembered the days of old, Moses, His people” (Isaiah 63:11). “And as in former years,” like the years of Solomon. Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] says: “As in the days [kimei] of old,” as in the days of Noah, as it is stated: “For, like the waters of [ki mei] Noah, this is for Me” (Isaiah 54:9). “And as in former years,” like the years of Abel, when there was not yet idolatry in the world.

R. Judah the Levite, the son of Shalum said: The vavs, which the other verses lack, correspond to the six things which the Holy One, blessed be He, took from Adam after he sinned.²²Vav has the numerical value of six which is also, according to tradition, the number of the things takenfrom Adam because of his sin They are as follows: his luster, his stature, his immortality, the fertility of the earth, the garden of Eden, the sun and the moon. Whence do we know about his luster? it is written : Changest his countenance and sendest him away (Job 14:20). Whence do we know of his stature? It is said: Thou hast hemmed me in from behind and before (Ps. 139:5). How do we know about his immortality? If Adam had been worthy, he would have merited living forever. Whence do we know of the fertility of the earth? It is written: Cursed be the ground for thy sake (Gen. 3:17). Whence do we know of his banishment from the Garden of Eden? It is written: He drove out the man (ibid., v. 24). Whence do we know of the sun and the moon? The sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine (Isa. 13:10).

(Numb. 35:9–11:) AND THE LORD SPOKE <UNTO MOSES, SAYING>: SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, <AND SAY UNTO THEM:> WHEN YOU CROSS <THE JORDAN TO THE LAND OF CANAAN, YOU SHALL PROVIDE YOURSELVES WITH CITIES TO BE CITIES OF REFUGE, WHERE A KILLER MAY FLEE WHO HAS TAKEN A LIFE BY MISTAKE>. This text is related (to Ps. 25:8): THE LORD IS GOOD AND STRAIGHTFORWARD; THEREFORE HE INSTRUCTS SINNERS IN THE WAY. (Ibid., vs. 6:) BE MINDFUL OF YOUR MERCIES, O LORD, AND OF YOUR STEADFAST LOVE…. David said to the Holy One, Sovereign of the Universe, were it not for your mercies, which took precedence for the first Adam, he would not have survived.³¹Tanh., Numb. 10:11; Numb. R. 23:13. Although you said to him (in Gen. 2:17): FOR ON THE DAY THAT YOU EAT FROM IT, YOU SHALL SURELY DIE, you did not act in that way. Instead you excluded him from the Garden of Eden, as stated (in Gen. 3:24): SO HE DROVE OUT THE HUMAN. So why was he driven out? Because he had brought death to <all future> generations, he should have died immediately; but because you were merciful to him, you <simply> drove him out. It is the same with one who kills by mistake, when he goes into exile into the cities of refuge. It is therefore stated (in Ps. 25:6): BE MINDFUL OF YOUR MERCIES, O LORD, AND OF YOUR STEADFAST LOVE,…. When Moses arose, the Holy One said to him (in Numb. 35:11): YOU SHALL PROVIDE YOURSELVES WITH CITIES <TO BE CITIES OF REFUGE>,…. Moses said: Sovereign of the Universe, when someone takes a life by mistake in the South or in the North, how will he know where the cities of refuge are, to which he should flee? He said to him (in Deut. 19:3): YOU YOURSELF SHALL PREPARE (rt.: TKN) THE ROAD (derekh). You yourself shall make the roads <to these cities> straight (rt.: TKN), so that <anyone fleeing to them> will not go astray for the blood avenger to find him and kill him, WHEN (according to vs. 6) HE DID NOT INCUR THE DEATH PENALTY. He said to him: How? He said to him: Erect road markers³²stelai; Lat.: stelae. directing (rt.: TKN) <such a refugee> to the cities of refuge, so that he will know how to go there; and on every marker inscribe: <Involuntary> killers to the cities of refuge, as stated (in Deut. 19:3): YOU YOURSELF SHALL PREPARE (rt.: TKN) THE ROAD (derekh)…. Thus David has said (in Ps. 25:8): THE LORD IS GOOD AND STRAIGHTFORWARD; THEREFORE HE INSTRUCTS SINNERS IN THE WAY (derekh). <Now> if for killers he has made a way and a road (derekh; rt.: DRK for them to flee and escape death), how much the more so in the case of the righteous. (Ps. 25:9:) HE LEADS (rt.: DRK) THE LOWLY IN THE RIGHT PATH.

(Lev. 13:2), “When anyone has on the skin of his flesh.” This text is related (to Ps. 5:5), “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness. [This verse is] to teach you that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not delight in convicting a person, as stated (in Ezek. 33:11), “As I live, says the Lord, it is not My delight for the wicked to die.” In what does He delight? In vindicating (rt.: tsdq) His people. Thus it is stated (in Is. 42:21), “The Lord was delighted because of His [servant's] vindication (tsdq)…,”⁴⁰This is the interpretation of the midrash and of the new JPS translation. [i.e.] because of His people's vindication (tsdq)] and not [their] conviction. So also you find that in the case of the first Adam, when he created him, He set him in the Garden of Eden. Then He gave him a command and said to him, “Eat this, but do not eat from this, for (according to Gen. 2:17) ‘on the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.’” [When] he transgressed, he brought a sentence⁴¹Gk.: apophasis. upon himself. [And then] the Sabbath came, and He acquitted him.⁴²Heb.: pinnahu. This word means “removed him” as well as “acquitted him.” In other words, Adam’s acquittal meant that his sentence was reduced from death to removal from the Garden. So M. Pss. 92:3. He began to talk with him [about] whether he would repent. It is so stated (in Gen. 3:9), “The Lord God called unto Adam and said, ‘Where are you?’” [This means, “What is your state?”] The Lord can only mean the quality of mercy, as stated (in Exod. 34:6), “The Lord, the Lord is a merciful and gracious God.” For him He had the quality of mercy precede the quality of strict justice. Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness,” in that He does not delight in convicting a person. He began to talk with him, as stated (in Gen. 3:11-12), “Who told you that you were naked? Then the man said, ‘The woman….’” He left Adam alone and began to talk with the woman, as stated (in vs. 13), “Then the Lord God said to the woman….” But when He came to the serpent He did not talk with him. Instead He immediately gave him a sentence, as stated (in vss. 14–15), “So the Lord God said unto the serpent, ‘Because you have done this …. I will put enmity between you [and the woman]….’” [Then] He returned to the woman and said to her (in vs. 16), “I will greatly multiply your pain in pregnancy.” And when He returned to the man, He did not convict him. Rather He intimated to him that he should repent. Where is it shown? R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Levi, “When He said to him (in vs. 19), ‘By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread, [until you return …].’ ‘You return’ can only be mean repentance, since it is stated (in Hos. 14:2), ‘Return O Israel, to the Lord your God, as you have stumbled in your iniquity.’” When [Adam] did not repent, He expelled him from the Garden of Eden, as stated [(in Gen. 3:24), “And He drove out the man.” Ergo I would say (in Ps. 5:5), “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness.” What is the meaning of (ibid., cont.), “evil may not abide with You.” R. Tanhuma bar Hanila'i in the name of R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Johanan, “Before the Holy One, blessed be He, stand only angels of peace and angels of mercy, but the angels of wrath are far from Him. It is so stated (in Numb. 14:15), ‘the Lord, of long patience.’ Do we not already know that He is of long patience? But rather what is the meaning of He is ‘of long patience?’ That the angels of wrath are far from Him, as stated (in Is. 13:5), ‘They come from a far land from the end of the heavens, even the Lord and the weapons of his wrath.’” Another interpretation (of Ps. 5:5, cont.), “evil may not abide with You”: R. Johanan said, “If you do not pursue evil, evil will not pursue you, nor will it dwell with you. Ergo, (Ps. 5:5, cont.), ‘evil may not abide with You,’ as ‘abide with You,’ can only mean dwelling, as stated (Exodus 2:48), ‘And if a stranger dwells with you.’” Another interpretation (of Ps. 5:5, cont.), “evil may not abide with You”: R. Eleazar ben Pedat said in the name of R. Johanan, “The name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not mentioned in connection with evil but only in connection with good.” You know that it is so. When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the light and the darkness and gave them names, [Scripture] mentioned His name in connection with the light but did not mention His name in connection with the darkness.⁴³Gen. R. 1:6. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 1:5), “And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.” Behold, it mentioned His name with the light; but when it comes to the dark it doesn’t say, “and God called the darkness night,” but “He called [the darkness] night.” So also you find that, when He created Adam and Eve, [Scripture] mentioned His name in connection with them, as stated (in Gen. 1:28), “Then God blessed them…”; but when He cursed them, it did not mention His name in connection with them. [Thus it is stated] (in Gen. 3:16-17), “And unto the woman He said […]. And unto Adam He said.” Now if you say [that] behold, [Scripture] mentioned [His name] in connection with the serpent when He cursed him, since it is written (in Gen. 3:14), “So the Lord God said unto the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, more cursed shall you be’”; the sages have taught thus: The Holy One, blessed be He, has mentioned His name in connection with three things, even though they stood for evil: In connection with the inciter, i.e., the serpent, since he incited the woman and said (in Gen. 3:5), “’For God knows that on the day that you eat from it, your eyes shall be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,’ like Him. Just like He created His world, you [two] will be able to create worlds like Him. [But He doesn’t want this,] as every artisan hates his fellow [artisan].” So because he incited her and spoke slander, [Scripture] mentions His name in connection with [the serpent]. In connection with one who transgresses the words of the sages, as is stated (in Jer. 11:3), “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Cursed is the one who does not heed the words of this covenant.’” In connection with one who puts his trust in flesh and blood, as stated (in Jer. 17:5), “Thus says the Lord, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in a human being, who makes flesh his strength and whose heart turns from the Lord.’”
So also you find in the case of Noah, [that Scripture used (God’s) name] when he blessed his sons, as stated (in Gen. 9:26), “And he said, ‘blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem…;’” but when he cursed Canaan, [Scripture did not mention the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, in connection with him], as stated (in vs. 25), “And he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan….’” So also you find in the case of Elisha the prophet, that when the king of Aram came to fight against Israel, he consulted with his servants and made pits [to trap] them. He said, “When Israel comes to fight against us, they will fall into the pits,” as stated (in II Kings 6:8-9), “When the king of Aram was fighting against Israel, [he consulted with his servants, saying, ‘My camp shall be in such and such a place.’ But the man of God sent unto the king of Israel [saying], ‘Take care [not to pass this place, because the Aramaeans are camping there.]’” So the Holy One, blessed be He, does nothing (according to Amos 3:7) without having revealed His purpose unto His servants the prophets. When Israel passed by once and twice without falling in, the king of Aram took notice and said to his servants (in II Kings 6:11), “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” His servants said to him (in vs. 12-14), “’[It is because] Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words which you speak in your bedroom.’ So he said, ‘Go and see [where he is, so that I can send and seize him,’ and it was told to him, saying, ‘Behold he is in Dothan.’ Then he sent horses and chariots and a heavy force there.” Immediately Elisha’s youth rose and saw that horses, riders and a force encircled the city. Immediately he cried out (in vss. 15-16), “and said [unto him], ‘Alas, my Lord, what shall we do?’ Then he said, ‘Fear not, for there are more with us than with them.’” Immediately Elisha prayed and mentioned the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in vs. 17), “Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, please open his eyes and let him see’; so the Lord opened the eyes of the servant and he saw, and there was the hill full of fiery horses and chariots round about Elisha!” Immediately Elisha arose and cursed the Aramaeans (in vs. 18), and he said, “’Please smite this nation with a blinding light’; so He smote them with a blinding light according to the word of Elisha.” Now [Scripture] did not mention the name, but when [Elisha] prayed over them again for their eyes to be opened, he said (in vs. 20), “O Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see.” Ergo, the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is mentioned in connection with good, but not with evil. So also you find that when the prophet saw the four chariots that were compared to the four kingdoms (that would rule over Israel), [it states (in Zech. 6:1),] “and I lifted my eyes, and behold, four chariots were coming out between the two mountains….” But when it spoke about the redemption, [it states (in Zech. 2:3),] “Then the Lord showed me four smiths.” So also you find that when the five angels of destruction came to destroy Jerusalem, as stated (in Ezek. 9:2), “And here were six persons coming by way of the upper gate [which faces north, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand]”; Gabriel was sent with them, as it is written (in Ezek. 10:2), “Then He spoke unto the person clothed in linen and said, ‘Go in among the wheelwork.’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel, “Fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city,” as it is written (in Ezek. 10:2), “Then He spoke unto the person clothed in linen and said, ‘Go in among the wheelwork [under the cherub, and fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city].’”⁴⁴Cf. below, Lev. 8:5. Gabriel came and stood at the wheel. The cherub said to him, “What do you desire?” He said to him, “Thus and so has the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded me.” He said to him, “Take [them].” He said to him, “You put them in my hand.” Immediately (according to Ezek. 10:7), “Then the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim [unto the fire that was among the cherubim…].” R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon ben Johay, “If the coals had not been cooled off [while passing] from the hand of a cherub to the hand of Gabriel, there would not have remained of the enemies of Israel (a euphemism, meaning Israel) a [single] survivor or refugee.”⁴⁵Yoma 77a. For more details, see Lam. R. 1:13 (41). So the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to do what was evil, not by Himself, but through an angel. In the age to come, however, He will do what is good by Himself, as stated (in Ezek. 36:25), “I will sprinkle pure water upon you….” Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not abide with You.” What is the meaning of (Ps. 5:5) “and evil may not abide with You?” [It is] that [Scripture] does not cause the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, to rest upon evil, except for two [evil] sayings upon which the Holy One, blessed be He, did cause His name to rest. These are the following: (The first one is Dan. 9:14:) “So the Lord watched over evil and brought it upon us, because the Lord our God is righteous.” Was it because the Lord our God is righteous (tsaddik), that He brought the evil? It is simply that the Holy One, blessed be He, was charitable (tzekekah) to us when He first brought about the exile to Babylon of Jeconiah before the exile of Tsidikiyah. And what was charitable? That He first brought about the exile of Jeconiah to Babylon along with the artisans, the smiths, and all the valiant men. Now [those] descended to Babylon and they established a [framework] for Torah [study]. For if it had not happened like that, the Torah would have been forgotten in the exile. It is simply that those who believed in the words of Jeremiah went forth with the Torah. [They included (according to II Kings 24:16)] “a thousand artisans and smiths.” What is the meaning of “artisans (hrsh)?”⁴⁶Git. 88a; Sanh. 38a; Yalqut Shim‘oni, Dan., 1066. When they opened with words of Torah, all [present] became as those who are (deaf-)mute (hrsh). [And what is the meaning of] “smiths (rt.: sgr)?” After they closed (rt.: sgr) it, there was no one in all Israel who was able to open it. Ergo (in Dan. 9:14), “because the Lord our God is righteous.” So He acted justly during that exile in that He watched over it, and He still performed a great kindness for Israel [with reference to that exile]. How? In [the month of] Tebet they were scheduled to go into exile from Jerusalem, for so does [Scripture] say (in Ezek. 24:1-2), “[Then the word of the Lord came unto me in the ninth year of the tenth month on the tenth day of the month, saying,] ‘Son of man, write down the name of the day, [this very day;] on this very day [the king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem].’” What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He said, “If they go forth now in the cold, they will die.” What did He do for them? He waited for them and sent them into exile during the summer. This is what the prophet says (in Jer. 8:13), “I will utterly gather them, says the Lord.” "Gather" ('sp) can only mean "exile," since it is stated (in Micah 2:12), “I will gather Jacob, all of you.” Hence, this too was a great kindness. Now, the second [evil saying associated with the name of the Holy One, blessed be He] is (Ezek. 9:4:) “And the Lord said unto him, ‘Pass through the midst of the city, [through the midst of Jerusalem and mark (the letter) taw⁴⁷The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. For various interpretations of its meaning, see the parallel version in Shab. 55a. on the foreheads of those people who moan and groan over all the abominations] ….’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel, “Go and write an ink taw upon the foreheads of the righteous, so that the angels of destruction will have no dominion over them. Then upon the foreheads of the wicked write a blood taw so that the angels of destruction will have dominion over them.” [The] prosecution⁴⁸Gk.: kategoria, i.e., “accusation,” “charge.” Here the concept is hypostatized as a separate being. came in before the Holy One, blessed be He, [and said to him], “Master of the world, how do the former differ from the latter?” He said to it, “The former are completely righteous, and the latter are completely wicked.” It said to Him, “It was in their power to protest, but they did not protest.” He said to it, “It was revealed and known to Me that, if they had protested, [the sinners] would not have accepted their [protest].” It said to Him, “Master of the world, if it was revealed and known in front of You, was if revealed in front of them? Hence they should have protested against them and demeaned themselves for the sanctification of Your name and take beatings from Israel upon themselves, just as the prophets endured [them].” So look at how many woes Jeremiah suffered from Israel; also Isaiah, of whom it is written (in Is. 50:6), “I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to the tearers of hair.” And [so with] the rest of the prophets. Immediately (in Ezek. 9:6) He spoke again to the angels of destruction, “[Kill off] old folk, youth ….” This also was a kindness, in that the Holy One, blessed be He, mitigated His wrath [by striking out] against Jerusalem, as stated (in Lam. 4:11), “The Lord has completed (klh) His wrath.” For if He had not done so, all Israel would have received a verdict of destruction (klyh). Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “and evil may not abide with You,” because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not cause His name to rest upon evil. So also even in the case of the wicked of Israel, He allotted them glory and did not mention them for evil. When He came to the offerings, He said to Moses (in Lev. 1:2), “Speak unto the Children of Israel and say unto them, ‘When one of you presents an offering to the Lord,’” [i.e.] “from Israel” and not from the idolaters. However, when He came to mention leprosy spots, He said (in Lev. 13:2), “When anyone has,” only saying “anyone.” Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “and evil may not abide with you.”

(Lev. 13:2:) WHEN ANYONE HAS ON THE SKIN OF HIS FLESH…. This text is related (to Ps. 5:5 [4]): FOR YOU ARE NOT A GOD WHO DELIGHTS IN WICKEDNESS. < This verse is able > to teach you that the Holy One does not delight in convicting a person,⁵²Tanh., Lev. 4:9. as stated (in Ezek. 18:32): FOR I DO NOT DELIGHT IN THE DEATH OF ONE WHO DIES. In what does he delight? In vindicating (rt.: TsDQ) his people. [Thus it is stated (in Is. 42:21): THE LORD WAS DELIGHTED BECAUSE OF HIS < SERVANT'S > VINDICATION (TsDQ)…,⁵³This is the interpretation of the midrash and of the new JPS translation. < i.e. > because of his people's vindication (TsDQ)] and not < their > conviction. So also you find that in the case of the first Adam, when he created him, he set him in the Garden of Eden. Then he gave him a command and said to him: Eat this, but do not eat from this, FOR (according to Gen. 2:17) ON THE DAY THAT YOU EAT FROM IT, YOU SHALL SURELY DIE. < When > he transgressed, he brought a sentence⁵⁴Gk.: apophasis. upon himself. < Then > the Sabbath came, and he acquitted him.⁵⁵Heb.: pinnahu. This word means “removed him” as well as “acquitted him.” In other words, Adam’s acquittal meant that his sentence was reduced from death to removal from the Garden. So M. Pss. 92:3. He began to talk with him < about > whether he would repent? It is so stated (in Gen. 3:9): THE LORD GOD CALLED UNTO THE HUMAN. THE LORD can only mean the quality of mercy, as stated (in Exod. 34:6): THE LORD: THE LORD IS A MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS GOD. For him he had the quality of mercy precede the quality of strict justice. Ergo (in Ps. 5:5 [4]): FOR YOU ARE NOT A GOD WHO DELIGHTS IN WICKEDNESS, in that he does not delight in convicting a person. He began to talk (in Gen. 3:11–12): WHO TOLD YOU < THAT YOU WERE NAKED? DID YOU EAT FROM THE TREE >…? THEN THE MAN SAID: THE WOMAN…. He left Adam alone and began to talk with the woman, as stated (in vs. 13): THEN THE LORD GOD SAID TO THE WOMAN…. But when he came to the serpent he did not talk with him. Instead he immediately gave him a sentence, as stated (in vss. 14–15): SO THE LORD GOD SAID UNTO THE SERPENT: BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE THIS, < MORE CURSED SHALL YOU BE THAN ALL THE CATTLE, THAN ALL THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD >…. I WILL PUT ENMITY < BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN >…. < Then > he returned to the woman and said to her (in vs. 16): I WILL GREATLY MULTIPLY YOUR PAIN IN PREGNANCY. And when he returned to the man, he did not convict him. Rather he intimated to him that he should repent. Where is it shown? R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Levi that he said to him (in vs. 19): BY THE SWEAT OF YOUR BROW SHALL EAT BREAD, UNTIL YOU RETURN < … >. YOU RETURN can only be an expression for repentance, since it is stated (in Hos. 14:2 [1]): RETURN O ISRAEL, < TO THE LORD YOUR GOD >. When < Adam > did not repent, he expelled him from the Garden of Eden, as stated [(in Gen. 3:24): AND HE DROVE OUT THE MAN. Ergo] (in Ps. 5:5 [4]): FOR YOU ARE NOT A GOD WHO DELIGHTS IN WICKEDNESS. What is the meaning of (ibid., cont.): EVIL MAY NOT ABIDE WITH YOU. R. Tanhuma bar Hanila'i in the name of R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Johanan: Before the Holy One stand only angels of peace and angels of mercy, but the angels of wrath are far from him. It is so stated (in Is. 13:5): THEY COME FROM A FAR LAND FROM THE END OF THE HEAVENS, EVEN THE LORD AND THE WEAPONS OF HIS WRATH, TO RAVAGE THE WHOLE EARTH. [Another interpretation] (of Ps. 5:5 [4], cont.): EVIL MAY NOT ABIDE WITH YOU. R. Johanan said: If you do not pursue evil, evil will not pursue you, nor will it dwell with you.

(Numb. 35:9–11:) “And the Lord spoke [unto Moses, saying], ‘Speak unto the Children of Israel, and say unto them, “When you cross the Jordan to the Land of Canaan, you shall provide yourselves with cities [to be cities of refuge, where a killer may flee who has taken a life by mistake].”’” This text is related (to Ps. 25:8), “The Lord is good and straightforward; therefore He instructs sinners in the way.” (Ibid., vs. 6:) “Be mindful of Your mercies, O Lord, and of Your steadfast love.” David said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, were it not for Your mercies, which took precedence for the first Adam, he would not have survived.³¹Numb. R. 23:13. Although You said to him (in Gen. 2:17), ‘For on the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die,’ You did not act in that way. Instead You excluded him from the Garden of Eden, as stated (in Gen. 3:24), ‘So he drove out the man.’ So why was he driven out? Because he had brought death to [all future] generations. He should have died immediately; but because You were merciful to him, You [simply] drove him out. It is the same with one who kills by mistake, when he goes into exile into the cities of refuge.” It is therefore stated (in Ps. 25:6), “Be mindful of Your mercies, O Lord, and of Your steadfast love….” When Moses arose, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to [him] (in Numb. 35:11), “You shall provide yourselves with cities [to be cities of refuge].” Moses said, “Master of the world, when someone takes a life by mistake in the south or in the north, how will he know where the cities of refuge are, that he should flee to it?” He said to him (in Deut. 19:3), “’You yourself shall prepare (rt.: tkn) the road (derekh).’ You yourself shall make the roads [to these cities] straight (rt.: tkn), so that [anyone fleeing to them] will not go astray for the blood avenger to find him and kill him, when (according to Deut 19:6) ‘he did not incur the death penalty.’” He said to him, “How?” He said to him, “Erect road markers³²stelai; Lat.: stelae. directing (rt.: tkn) [such a refugee] to the cities of refuge, so that he will know how to go there; and on every marker inscribe, ‘[Involuntary] killers to the cities of refuge,’ as stated (in Deut. 19:3), ‘You yourself shall prepare (rt.: tkn) the road (derekh).’” Thus David has said (in Ps. 25:8), “The Lord is good and straightforward; therefore He instructs sinners in the way (derekh).” [Now] if for killers He has made a way and a road (derekh; rt.: drk), for them to flee and escape death), how much the more so in the case of the righteous. (Ps. 25:9:) “He leads (rt.: drk) the lowly in justice.”

And the shepherds came and drove them away (ibid., v. 17). If he had been a great and powerful priest of Midian, would they have dared drive them away? This teaches us that they oppressed him and drove his daughters away just as a divorced woman is driven away, as Scripture states: So he drove out the man (Gen. 3:24). But Moses stood up and saved them (Exod. 3:17). You learn from this that the shepherds were about to attack them, as is stated in the verse: The betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her (Deut. 22:27). And when they came to Reuel, their father … they said: “An Egyptian saved us” (Exod. 2:18).

The day had twelve hours; in the first hour He collected the dust for (the body of) Adam, in the second (hour) He formed it into a mass, in the third (hour) He gave it its shape, in the fourth (hour) He endowed || it with breath, in the fifth (hour) he stood on his feet, in the sixth (hour) he called the (animals by their) names, in the seventh (hour) Eve was joined to him (in wedlock), in the eighth (hour) they were commanded concerning the fruits of the tree, in the ninth (hour) they went up to (their) couch as two and descended as four, in the tenth (hour) they transgressed His commandment, in the eleventh (hour) they were judged, in the twelfth (hour) they were driven forth, as it is said, "So he drove out the man" (Gen. 3:24).

What then is the meaning of this expression: "to dress it and to keep it"? (The text) does not say "to dress it and to keep it" except (in the sense) of being occupied with the words of the Torah and keeping all its commandments, as it is said, "to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen. 3:24). But the "tree of life" signifies only the Torah, as it is said, "It is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon it" (Prov. 3:18).

... seven things were taken away from Adam Harishon after he ate from the tree of knowing, including among them] his brilliance, his life, and his stature / zivo v’chayyav v’qomato...

(Gen. 2:4:) THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS (toledot) OF HEAVEN AND EARTH WHEN THEY WERE CREATED. R. Berekhyah and R. Helbo said in the name of R. Samuel bar Nahman:⁴⁵Sanh. 38b; Gen. R. 12:6; Exod. R. 30:3; Numb. R. 13:12; PR 46:2; Tanh., Gen. 1:6; Hasarot wlterot, fol. 37. Every toledot which is in the Torah lacks < a vowel letter > apart from two which are spelled in full. < The two are > (Ruth 4:18): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS (toledot) OF PEREZ < and > (Gen. 1:4): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF HEAVEN. Both of them are spelled in full. R. Judah bar Shallum the Levite said: Those < which lack a vowel letter number > six. R. Pinhas said in the name of R. Reuben: They correspond to the six things which < the Holy One > took away from the first Adam, and these are the following: (1) His facial luster, (2) his stature, (3) his life (i.e., his immortality), (4) the fruits of the earth, (5) the Garden of Eden, and (6) sun and moon. Where is it shown about his facial luster? Where it is stated (in Job 14:20): YOU CHANGE HIS FACE AND SEND HIM AWAY. Where is it shown about his stature?⁴⁶Hag. 12a; cf. Gen. R. 19:8; Cant. R. 3:7:5; PRK 1:1; 5:3; PR 15:3. Where it is stated (in Ps. 139:5): YOU HAVE < RE > FORMED ME BEHIND AND BEFORE. Where is it shown about his life? Where death was decreed over him (in Gen. 2:17); [for, if he had been worthy], he would have remained alive forever. Where is it shown about the fruits of the earth? Where it is stated (in Gen. 3:17): CURSED IS THE LAND BECAUSE OF YOU. Where is it shown about the Garden of Eden? Where it is stated (in Gen. 3:24): AND HE DROVE OUT THE MAN. Where is it shown about sun and moon? Where it is stated (in Is. 13:10): THE SUN SHALL BE DARK AT ITS RISING AND THE MOON SHALL NOT CAUSE ITS LIGHT TO SHINE. In the world to come, however, the Holy One will restore {to him} [them]. [Where is it shown] about facial luster? Where it is stated (in Is. 61:9): ALL WHO SEE THEM SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE THEM, < THAT THEY ARE THE SEED WHICH THE LORD HAS BLESSED >. And where is it shown about his stature? Where it is stated (in Lev. 26:13):⁴⁷Sifra, ad loc.; Sanh. 100a. AND I MADE YOU WALK WITH STATURE. R. Judah says: What is the meaning of STATURE? The time will come when each and every {upright} one [from Israel] will be a hundred cubits tall. R. Simeon ben Johay says: two hundred cubits, as stated (here): STATURE (qomemiyyut): Qom < ahmeans one stature of > a hundred; miyyut (read as me'ot, i.e., "hundreds") < implies another > hundred.⁴⁸Cf. Gen. R. 8:1). Ergo: two hundred. {And they would live forever?} [And where is it shown about his life?] Where it is stated (in Is. 65:22): AS LONG AS THE DAYS OF A TREE SHALL BE THE DAYS OF MY PEOPLE…. And where is it shown about the fruits of the earth?⁴⁹See ySheq. 6:2 (50a); yTaan. 1:2 (64a). Where it is stated (in Ezek. 47:12): AND BY THE RIVER UPON ITS BANK ON BOTH SIDES [SHALL GROW EVERY TREE FOR FOOD. THEIR LEAF SHALL NOT WITHER, NEITHER SHALL THEIR FRUIT FAIL. THEY SHALL BRING FORTH NEW FRUIT EVERY MONTH]. Where is it shown about the Garden of Eden? Where it is stated (in Hos. 14:8 [7]): THOSE WHO DWELL IN HIS SHADOW SHALL BE TRANSFORMED. THEY SHALL GROW GRAIN AND BLOSSOM LIKE A VINE. Where is it shown about sun and moon? Where it is stated (in Is. 30:26): MOREOVER, THE LIGHT OF THE MOON SHALL BE AS THE LIGHT OF THE SUN, AND THE LIGHT OF THE SUN SHALL BE SEVENFOLD, AS THE LIGHT OF THE SEVEN DAYS. R. Aha said in the name of R. Hanina: The wound from the blow to the world will heal.

ADAM'S PENITENCE
"So he drove out the man" (Gen. 3:24). Driving out (i.e.) and he went forth outside the garden of Eden (and he abode) on Mount Moriah, for the gate of the garden of Eden is nigh unto Mount Moriah. Thence He took him and thither He made him return to the place whence he was taken, as it is said, "To till the ground from whence he was taken" (Gen. 3:23).

(Gen. 3:22:) AND THE LORD GOD SAID: BEHOLD, THE HUMAN HAS BECOME LIKE ONE OF US. Let our master instruct us: What is the rule about saving the scroll case⁵⁴Gk.: deche. along with the scroll from fire on the Sabbath? Thus have our masters taught (in Shab. 16:1): ONE MAY SAVE THE SCROLL CASE ALONG WITH THE SCROLL AND THE PHYLACTERY CASE ALONG WITH THE PHYLACTERIES. See, our masters have taught (ibid.): ALL SACRED SCRIPTURES MAY BE SAVED FROM FIRE. Why? So that the words of Torah not be burned. Then why does one save the scroll case so that it will not burn? Are the words of Torah written on it? < The case > deserves to be saved with < the scroll > because < the case > is joined to the scroll. Solomon said (in Prov. 13:20): ONE WHO WALKS WITH THE WISE < BECOMES WISE: BUT THE COMPANION OF FOOLS SHALL SUFFER HARM >. Woe to the wicked and those joined with them, but blessed are the righteous and those joined to them. What is written about the generation of the flood (in Gen. 7:23)? AND HE WIPED OUT ALL LIVING THINGS. If people sinned, how had cattle sinned? < The principle applies >: Woe to the wicked and those joined < with them >, since they pronounce themselves guilty by being joined to them. R. Judah bar Idi said:⁵⁵Gen. R. 26:5; Lev. R. 23:9. The decree against the generation of the flood was not sealed until they had written a nuptial hymn⁵⁶Gk.: gamiskon. for < the union of > human and cattle. Therefore (ibid., cont.): BOTH HUMAN AND CATTLE. Woe to the wicked and those joined with them; but blessed are the righteous and those joined with them, as stated (in Gen. 13:5): AND LOT ALSO, <WHO WENT WITH ABRAM, HAD FLOCKS >…. Ergo: Blessed are the righteous, and blessed are those joined with them. But woe to the wicked and those joined with them. You find that when Korah separated himself, two hundred and fifty heads of the Sanhedrin went with him in the dissension. In addition their wealth went with them. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 16:32): AND THE EARTH OPENED < ITS MOUTH AND SWALLOWED THEM, THEIR HOUSEHOLDS, EVERY PERSON THAT BELONGED TO KORAH, AND THEIR PROPERTY >. If they had sinned, how had their property sinned? < The principle applies >: Woe to the wicked and to those joined with them; but blessed are the righteous, and blessed are those joined with them. See what is written about Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (in Dan. 3:21): THEN WERE THESE MEN BOUND IN THEIR MANTLES [THEIR TUNICS, THEIR HATS, AND THEIR OUTER GARMENTS; AND THEY WERE CAST INTO THE BURNING FIERY FURNACE]. And when they came out from the fiery furnace, this is written about them (in vs. 27): THEY SAW THOSE MEN, THAT THE FIRE HAD NO POWER OVER THEIR BODIES, [THAT THE HAIR OF THEIR HEAD WAS NOT SINGED, NOR WERE THEIR MANTLES ALTERED]. Why were their mantles not altered? Because they were joined to them. Ergo: Blessed are the righteous and blessed are those joined to them. The Holy One said Adam heeded his wife, was joined to her, and was driven out, as stated (in Gen. 3:24): AND HE DROVE OUT THE MAN. If he had heeded and been joined to me, he would have been like me. Just as I remain alive, so he would have remained alive forever. Where is it shown? From what {is stated} [we have read] on the matter (in Gen. 3:22): AND THE LORD GOD SAID: BEHOLD, THE HUMAN < HAS BECOME LIKE ONE OF US >.

"And you shall provide yourselves with cities" (Numbers 35:11), this is what the verse says, "Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He shows sinners the way." (Psalms 25:8) "Remember Your mercy, O God, and your lovingkindness." (Psalms 25:6). David said, Master of the Universe, were it not for the fact that Your lovingkindness preceded the First Man, he would not have been able to stand, as it says "For the day you eat of it [the tree of knowledge of good and evil] you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17). And You did not do this; rather, You brought him out from the Garden of Eden and he lived for 930 years(!) and only after that did he die. Why did you do that to him, to drive him out from the Garden of Eden, as it says (Genesis 3:24) "and He drove out the man"? Why was he driven out, since he brought death upon the generations, and he was sentenced to immediate death? Rather, You had mercy upon him and drove him off, just as the accidental killer is exiled to a city of refuge. Thus it says, "Remember Your mercy, O God, and Your lovingkindness, etc." Once Moshe stood and the Holy Blessed One told him, "Provide yourselves with cities...", Moshe said "Master of the Universe, this one killed by accident in the south or the north; how will he know where the city of refuge is, that he may flee to it?" God replied, "'Set for yourselves the path... [i.e. to the cities of refuge]' (Deuteronomy 19:3), orient for yourselves the path so that you will not be mistaken and find the blood avenger and he will kill you "and there will be for him no death penalty" (Deuteronomy 19:6)." He [Moshe] said again, "How?" He [God] said to him, set up for yourselves signs [istlayot] pointing to the cities of refuge, that they will know where to travel. And on every sign write "Killer to the city of refuge", as it says "prepare for yourselves the way". Thus said David, "Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He shows sinners the way." If for killers He makes a path and a road for them to flee by and be saved, all the more so for righteous! "He guides the humble in justice, and teaches the humble His way" (Psalms 25:9). "And the killer shall flee there who has killed a soul by accident" -- but not on purpose. If he kills on purpose and he says "I accidentally killed" and flees to the cities of refuge, the Holy Blessed One says, even if he flees and enters to My altar, you shall kill him, as it says (Exodus 21:14) "And if a person schemes, etc [against another, and kills him treacherously, you shall take him from My very altar to be put to death]". And who was it who fled to the altar and was killed? Yoav, as it says (I Kings 2:28) "When the news reached Joab, he fled to the Tent of the LORD [and grasped the horns of the altar]...". And it says (II Samuel 23:8) "Tahchemonite, the chief officer" -- he did not know that it is written in the Torah "And if a person schemes, etc" that he went and grasped the horns of the altar. Rather it says "Those killed by the court are not buried in the graves of their fathers, rather they alone; it is better for me that I die here and be buried in the graves of my fathers". (I Kings 3:30-31) "Benaiah reported back to the king that Joab had answered thus and thus, and the king said, 'Do just as he said; strike him down and bury him, and remove guilt from me and my father’s house for the blood of the innocent that Joab has shed.'" And why was he killed? For so David his [Shlomo's] father had commanded him -- "Further, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s forces, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether: he killed them" (I Kings 2:5). What did he do to him...

[(Gen. 3:24:) SO HE DROVE OUT THE HUMAN. R. Judah said:⁶⁹See Sanh. 38b; ARN, A, 1; B, 1, 42; Lev. R. 29:1; PRK 23:1; PR 46:2; Tanh., Lev. 3:8; Tanh. (Buber), Lev. 3:13; M. Pss. 46; 92:3. For a comparison of the various versions, see T. Y. Saldarini, The Fathers according to Rabbi Nathan, Version B (Leiden: Brill, 1975), pp. 303—305. The first hour he conceived the plan. The second he consulted with the ministering angels. In the third he gathered his dust. In the fourth he kneaded him. In the fifth he shaped him. In the sixth he made him into a golem (i.e., a lifeless body). In the seventh he breathed the breath of life into him. In the eighth he brought him into the Garden of Eden. In the ninth he gave him the commandment. In the tenth he sinned. In the eleventh he was sentenced. In the twelfth he drove him out, as stated (in Gen. 3:24): SO HE DROVE OUT THE HUMAN. What is the meaning of SO HE DROVE OUT? That he drove him out in afflictions.

(Gen. 3:24, cont.:) AND AT THE EAST OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN HE POSTED THE CHERUBIM. They were called cherubim, therefore, because they were many (rabbim). Resh Laqish said:⁷¹Cf. Numb. R. 13:3; PR 7:2. Adam did not leave the Garden of Eden until he had cursed and blasphemed.⁷²See Numb. R. 13:3. Here (in Gen. 3:24) cherubim are mentioned. It is also stated (in II Kings 19:15, part of the passage) concerning Sennacherib: O LORD {OF HOSTS} [GOD OF ISRAEL], WHO SITS UPON THE CHERUBIM. Just as the cherubim mentioned there < appear in the context of > curses and blasphemies (vs. 22; cf. vss. 16, 23); so also here (in Gen. 3:24) < the cherubim imply > curses and blasphemies.

(Gen. 3:24, cont.:) AND THE FLAME OF THE EVER-TURNING SWORD. This < flame > is Gehinnom, which is ever turning from hot to cold and from cold to hot over the wicked. R. Hezekiah the son of R. Hiyya said: Now where < do we find that > they deliver themselves to the cold?⁷³On the wording, see L. Gruenhut, Midrash Shir haShirim, 2nd edition by J. Ch. Wertheimer (Jerusalem: Ktav Yad Sefer Inst., 1981), p. 60 on Cant. 2:12. Where it is stated (In Ps. 68:15 [14]): IT SNOWED IN ZALMON.⁷⁴Zalmon is a name for Gehinnom. And who will be delivered from the judgment of Gehinnom? One who is busy in the Torah. (Gen. 3:24:) AND THE FLAME OF THE EVER-TURNING SWORD: SWORD can only be Torah, since it is stated (in Ps. 149:6 concerning Israel's saints): < LET THE HIGH PRAISES OF GOD BE IN THEIR MOUTH >, AND A TWO-EDGED SWORD IN THEIR HAND.

(Gen. 3:24, cont.:) TO KEEP THE WAY [TO THE TREE OF LIFE. R. Samuel bar Nahman said: TO KEEP THE WAY] comes before THE TREE OF LIFE. The Holy One said to < Adam >: I put you in the Garden of Eden so that you would labor in the Torah⁷⁵PRE 12. and eat from the tree of life; but now that you have sinned, what are you doing here? Get out! So he drove out the human. The Holy One said to him: You should have uttered songs before me about how I created you and about what I did with you, but you did not speak. Here I was talking to myself, as stated (in Is. 5:1): LET ME SING TO MY BELOVED….⁷⁶In the biblical context both the singer and the beloved are God. What did the Holy One do? He drove him from this world, as stated (in Job 14:19): ITS TORRENTS WASH AWAY THE DUST OF THE EARTH.⁷⁷According to Gen. 2:7; 3:19, Adam is dust. R. Simon said: Even the first Adam was washed away in water.⁷⁸Cf. Gen. R. 28:3. R. Simeon ben Judah the man of Kefar 'Akko said in the name of R. Simeon ben Johay: The radiance of the first Adam's face was unchanged, and < its > lights were not eclipsed until the Sabbath ended; for when he had judged him, he kept the Sabbath holy. Therefore, he utters (according to Ps. 92:1): A PSALM, A SONG FOR THE SABBATH DAY.⁷⁹Cf. Gen. R. 22:13. You find that when Cain killed Abel, the Holy One appeared to him and said to him (in Gen. 4:9): WHERE IS YOUR BROTHER ABEL? He sought to deceive the one above. The Holy One said to him (in Gen. 4:10): WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? YOUR BROTHER'S BLOOD CRIES OUT UNTO ME. When Cain heard < that >, he began to make a fraudulent repentance, as stated (in Gen. 4:13): AND CAIN SAID TO THE LORD: MY SIN IS GREATER THAN I CAN BEAR. He said to him: Sovereign of the World, since you bear with the heavenly and the earthly ones, can you not bear my sin?

Rav Naḥman began: “Oh, Ariel, Ariel” (Isaiah 29:1) – lion, mighty lion.¹¹⁰He understands the term Ariel to mean mighty lion [ari el]. “The city where David encamped” (Isaiah 29:1) – the city in which David encamped, a city in which no one other than David encamped,¹¹¹The city became the everlasting capital city of the Davidic kingdom. the city that David made his royal fortress. “Add year to year, festivals [ḥagim] will come around [yinkofu]” (Isaiah 29:1) – a year began and a year departed, but they did not ascend on the pilgrimage festivals. The roads were growing thorn bushes [higim]. That is what is written: “Ḥagim yinkofu.”¹¹²Ḥagim yinkofu is expounded to mean that travelers would have to remove the thorns [yinkofu higim]. “I will distress Ariel” (Isaiah 29:2) – Rabbi Nisa of Caesarea said: From here, that it had been a place of contentment for Israel. “There will be mourning and moaning” (Isaiah 29:2) – mortification upon mortification. “It will be for Me like Ariel” (Isaiah 29:2) – the second destruction will be like the first destruction. When they sinned they were exiled. When they were exiled, Jeremiah began lamenting over them, eikha.

Rabbi Pinḥas began: “If after these you will not heed Me…” (Leviticus 26:18). Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua: Rabbi Eliezer says: The Holy One blessed be He does not bring punishment upon Israel until He first warns them. That is what is written: “If after these.” Rabbi Yehoshua says: So Israel would not say: The blows have ceased; He has no others to bring upon us, the verse states: “If after these [ad],” if there are more [od] of these, He has other [punishments] and more like these to bring [upon you]. “I will punish you further, seven ways for your sins” (Leviticus 26:18) – You violated seven transgressions before Me; come and accept upon yourselves seven punishments. You violated seven transgressions before Me, so Jeremiah comes to recite lamentations over you which are seven alphabetic [acrostics], eikha.¹¹³The book of Lamentations contains three alphabetical acrostics, in chapters 1,2, and 4, each beginning with the word eikha. Additionally, chapter 3 contains a triple alphabetical acrostic. Chapter 5 is not written in an acrostic, but since it has twenty-two verses, which are the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, the midrash refers to this too as alphabetical in the sense that it corresponds to the number of letters in the alphabet (Matnot Kehuna).

R. Eliezer says: A scroll and a sword descended intertwined from heaven. He said to them: If you observe the Torah written in the one, you will be saved from the other; if not, you will be smitten by it. And where is this articulated — (Bereshith 3:24) "And He drove the man out (of Eden), and He posted east of Eden the cherubs and the flash of the revolving sword to guard the way of the tree of life."

...Rabbi Berechya, Rabbi Chiya, and the Rabbis "from there" [Babylonia] stated in the name of Rabbi Yehudah: Not a day passes that the Holy and Blessed One does not innovate some halacha in the heavenly court. What is the reason [prooftext]? As it is written: "Listen, listen to the roar of His voice, to the sound (hegeh) that issues from His mouth" (Job 37:2). And hegeh is none other than Torah, as it is written "meditate (v'hegita) on it day and night" (Joshua 1:8). And even these halachot was known by our father Abraham.