Bereishit Rabbah

‫בראשית רבה‬
merged
https://www.sefaria.org/Bereishit_Rabbah
This file contains merged sections from the following text versions:
-Genesis translated by Rabbi Dr. H. Freedman, B.A., PhD (London & Bournemouth, Soncino
Press 1951)
-Midrash Rabbah Translated Under the Editorship of Rabbi Dr. H. Freedman, B.A., PhD and
Maurice Simon, M.A.
-Sefaria Community Translation
-https://www.sefaria.org
-Pashanut Salt of the Earth
-http://parshanut.com/post/171934748661/salt-of-the-earth-and-the-heavens-parshat
-Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology
-https://www.sefaria.org
-Classic translation
-Sex in the Texts by Paul Yedwab
-Midrash Rabbah - Portuguese [pt]
-https://www.sefaria.org
-Rabbi Dr. David Mevorach Seidenberg, from "Kabbalah and Ecology"
-http://www.amazon.com/Kabbalah-Ecology-Image-More-Than-Human-
World/dp/1107081335
-JTS
-http://www.jtsa.edu/Conservative_Judaism/JTS_Torah_Commentary/Va-
yishlah_Between_5772.xml?ss=print
-Wikisource
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vayishlach#cite_ref-77

Bereishit Rabbah

Chapter 1

The great Rabbi Hoshaya opened [with the verse (Mishlei 8:30),] "I [the Torah] was an amon
to Him and I was a plaything to Him every day." Amon means "pedagogue" (i.e. nanny). Amon
means "covered." Amon means "hidden." And there is one who says amon means "great." Amon
means "nanny," as in (Bamidbar 11:12) “As a nanny (omein) carries the suckling child." Amon
means "covered," as in (Eichah 4:5) "Those who were covered (emunim) in scarlet have embraced
refuse heaps." Amon means "hidden," as in (Esther 2:7) "He hid away (omein) Hadassah." Amon
means "great," as in (Nahum 3:8) "Are you better than No-amon [which dwells in the rivers]?"
which the Targum renders as, "Are you better than Alexandria the Great (amon), which dwells
between the rivers?" Alternatively, amon means "artisan." The Torah is saying, "I was the artisan's
tool of Hashem." In the way of the world, a king of flesh and blood who builds a castle does not do
so from his own knowledge, but rather from the knowledge of an architect, and the architect does
not build it from his own knowledge, but rather he has scrolls and books in order to know how to
make rooms and doorways. So too Hashem gazed into the Torah and created the world. Similarly
the Torah says, "Through the reishis Hashem created [the heavens and the earth]," and reishis
means Torah, as in "Hashem made me [the Torah] the beginning (reishis) of His way" (Mishlei
8:22).
Rabbi Yehoshua of Sichnin in the name of Rabbi Levi opened [with the verse (Tehillim
111:6),] "The power of His works he told to His people [Yisrael]." Why did Hashem reveal to Yisrael
that which was created on the first day, and the second day [and so forth]? Because of the
idolaters - so that they will not embitter Yisrael and say to them, "Are you not a nation of thieves?"
And Yisrael would reply to them, saying, "Aren't your own lands stolen? Didn't (Devarim 2:23) 'The
Caphtorim emerge from Caphtor and destroy [the Aviyim] and settle in their stead?'
[Furthermore,] the entire world belongs to Hashem; thus, when it pleased Him, He gave it to you,
and when it pleased Him, He took it from you and gave it to us." As it is written (Tehillim 111:6),
"[In order] to give them an inheritance of the nations," He told [Yisrael] all of the generations.
"In the beginning God created..." Rabbi Tanchuma opened [with the verse (Psalms 86:10),]
"For You are great, and you perform wonders...." Rabbi Tanchum said: with a pouch, if you
puncture a hole in its side with a pin, all its air comes out of it. Whereas the person is made with
all kinds of hollows and holes, and his air does not leave his body. Who could make such a thing?
"....You, God, alone."[the second half of the verse] When were the angels created? Rabbi
Yochanan said: the angels were created on the second day. Just as it says (in Psalms 104:4), "He
sets the rafters of the upper chambers in the water..." [creating the sky in the upper waters which
God does on the second day] and then it is written, "He makes the winds his messengers (or, 'his
angels')." Rabbi Chanina said: the angels were created on the fifth day, where it is written "and let
the bird fly (ye-ofef) across the earth," and (in Isaiah 6:2) it is written, "and with two [wings] he
(the Seraphic angel) would fly (ye-ofef)." Rabbi Luliana bar Tavrin said in the name of Rabbi
Yitzchak: whether according to the opinion of Rabbi Chanina, or whether according to the opinion
of Rabbi Yochanan, all agree that they were not created on the first day - so that they could not
say that the angl Michael stretched out the south end of the sky and Gabriel the north end, and
the Holy One, Blessed be He, measured out the middle. Rather, (as it says in Isaiah 44:24), "I am
God who makes all, and who alone stretches out the heavens...with only Myself (me-iti)" 'Mi iti'
(who, with me) is written, meaning, "WHO partnered WITH ME in the creation of the world?!?"
Another interpretation: "For You are great and You do wonders..." It is the way of the world that a
king of flesh and blood is praised in the land, and the great men of the land are praised with him,
for they carry his burden with him. But the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like this. Rather, He
alone created the world. He alone is praised in the world. He alone is glorified in his world. Rabbi
Tanchuma said: "For you are great and You do wonders..." Why? Because, "...You, God, alone."
You, alone, created the world.
"In the beginning of God's creating..." - Six things preceded the creation of the world; some
of them were created and some of them were decided to be created. The Torah and the Throne of
Glory were created. How do we know the Torah was? As it says (Proverbs 8:22): "God made me at
the beginning of his way." How do we know the Throne of Glory was? As it says (Psalms 93:2):
"Your throne is established as of old etc." The Patriarchs, Israel, the Temple, and the name of the
Messiah were decided to be created. How do we know the Patriarchs were? As it says (Hosea
9:10): "Like grapes in the wilderness etc." How do we know Israel was? As it says (Psalms 74:2):
"Remember your congregation, whom you purchased from old." How do we know the Temple
was? As it says (Jeremiah 17:12): "Your throne of glory, on high from the beginning etc." How do
we know the name of the Messiah was? As it says (Psalms 72:17): "May his name exist forever etc.
[his name shall be Yinnon as long as the sun]." Rabbi Ahavah said in the name of Rabbi Ze'ira: Even
repentance was, as it says (Psalms 90:2): "Before the mountains were birthed," and at the same
time (Psalms 90:3), "You turned man to contrition etc." However, I do not know which was first--if
the Torah preceded the Throne of Glory or the Throne of Glory preceded the Torah. Rabbi Abba
Bar Cahana said: The Torah preceded the Throne of Glory, as it says (Proverbs 8:22): "God made
me at the beginning of his way, the first of his works of old." This is before that of which it is
written (Psalms 93:2): "Your throne is established as of old." Rabbi Hunna and Rabbi Yirmiyah in
the name of Rabbi Shmuel the son of Rabbi Yitzchak said: The thought of Israel was before
everything. This is like a king who was married to a woman and did not have a son. One time the
king was in the market and said: "Take this ink and pen for my son." They said: "He does not have
a son." He replied: "Take them; the king must expect a son, because otherwise he would not
command that the ink and pen be taken." Similarly, if there was no expectation of Israel receiving
it after 26 generations, God would not have written in the Torah: "Command the children of Israel"
or "Speak to the children of Israel." Rabbi Bannai said: The world and its contents were only
created in the merit of the Torah, as it says (Proverbs 3:19): "God founded the world with wisdom
etc." Rabbi Berachiyah said: In the merit of Moses, as it says (Deuteronomy 33:21): "He saw a first
part for himself." Rabbi Hunna said in the name of Rabbi Matanah: The world was created in the
merit of three things--challah, tithes, and first fruits. The verse "In the beginning God created"
refers to challah, as it says (Numbers 15:20): "The beginning of your doughs." It also refers to
tithes, as it says (Deuteronomy 18:4): "The beginning of your grains." It also refers to first fruits, as
it says (Exodus 23:19): "The beginning of the fruits of the land."
Rabbi Hunna in the name of Bar Kafra opened with (Psalms 31:19): "Let the lying lips be
dumb, that speak against the righteous arrogantly with pride and contempt." Let them be bound,
made dumb, and silenced. "Let them be bound and made dumb"--as it says (Exodus 4:11): "Or
who made one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Was it not I, God?" and it says (Genesis 37:7):
"We were binding sheaves in the field, and my sheaf rose." (The word for 'sheaf' is similar to
'mute'.) "Let them be silenced"--as it sounds. "Which speak against the righteous"--the life of all
worlds (God). "Arrogantly"--[on matters] he has hidden from his creatures (The word for 'arrogant'
is similar to 'hidden'). "In pride"--to boast and say: "I can explain creation." "And contempt"--to
hold My glory in contempt. As Rabbi Yossi Bar Chanina said: One who honor's oneself at the
expense of one's friend has no share in the World to Come. How much more so with the honor of
God! And it says afterward (Psalms 31:20): "How abundant is Your goodness that you have laid up
for those who fear You." Those who fear You and not for those who hold Your awe in contempt.
When a king builds a palace in a place of sewers, dunghills, and garbage, everyone who says: "This
palace is built on sewers, dunghills, and garbage" discredits it. So too, everyone who says the
universe was created from nothingness discredits it. Rabbi Hunna in the name of Bar Kafra said: If
it were not written, it would be impossible to say it. "In the beginning God created" from what?
"And the earth was empty."
Rabbi Yehudah Bar Simon opened with (Daniel 2:22): "He reveals the deep and secret. He
knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him." "He reveals the deep"--this is Hell,
as it says (Proverbs 9:18): "He does not know there are spirits there," and it says (Isaiah 30:33):
"deep and large". "And secret"--this is Paradise, as it says (Isaiah 4:6): "for a cover and refuge from
storm and rain," and it says (Psalms 31:21): "You hide them in the cover of Your presence."
Alternatively, "he reveals the deep and secret"--these are the acts of the wicked, as it says (Isaiah
29:15): "Woe to the ones who seek deep from God to make their counsel secret." "And secret"--
these are the acts of the wicked, as the verse states. "He knows what is in the dark"--these are the
acts of the wicked, as it says in Isaiah: "Their acts are in the dark." "The light dwells with Him"--
these are the acts of the righteous, as it is written (Proverbs 4:18): "The path of the righteous is
like the light at dawn," and it says (Psalms 97:11): "Light is sown for the righteous." Rabbi Abba
Srungia said: "The light dwells with Him"--this is the Messiah, as it says (Isaiah 60:1): "Arise, shine,
for your light has come." Rabbi Yehudah Bar Simon said: From the beginning of the creation of the
world, "he revealed the dark and secret". "In the beginning God created the heavens," but it is not
explained. Where is it explained? Here (Isaiah 40:22): "He stretches out the heavens like a
curtain." "And the land," but it is not explained. Where is it explained? Here (Job 37:6): "For He
says to the snow: 'Fall on the earth.'" and (Job 38:38) "When the dust runs into a mass, and the
clods cleave together." "And God said: 'Let there be light,'" and it is not explained. Where is it
explained? (Psalms 104:2) "You cover Yourself with light like a garment."
Rabbi Yitzchak opened with (Psalms 119:160): "The beginning of Your word is truth, and
Your righteous law is forever." Rabbi Yitzchak said: From the beginning of the creation of the world
"the beginning of Your word is truth." "In the beginning God created"--(Jeremiah 10:10) "Your God
is true." "And Your righteous law is forever"--that for every restriction that you place on your
creations, they affirm the righteousness of your judgement and accept it with faith. No creation
can say that two powers created the world. It is not written: "the gods spoke", but rather: "God
spoke". It is not written: "the gods said", but rather: "God said". It is not written: "in the beginning
the gods created", but rather: "God created".
Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Six things are required for building--
water, dirt, wood, stone, rods, and iron. If you say he is rich, and does not need rods, he still needs
measuring rods, as it says (Ezekiel 40:3): "with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring rod". The
Torah preceded these with six--"the first", "of old", "forever", "from the start", and "from the first"
which is two, in the portion (Proverbs 8:22-23): "God made me as the beginning of His way, the
first of His works of old. I was set up forever, from the start, from the first of the Earth."
A philosopher once asked Rabbah Gamliel and said to him, ''Your God is only a great artist
because he found great materials that helped him: tohu and vohu, darkness, spirit, water, and the
depths." Rabbi Gamliel responded to him: "Your spirit should blow! Regarding all of them, the
term 'creation' is written: tohu and vohu, as it says (Isaiah 45:7), 'He makes peace and creates evil';
darkness, 'He fashions light and creates darkness'; water (Tehillim 148:5), 'Praise the heavens and
the waters' - why? - for 'He commanded and they were created'; spirit (Amos 4:13), 'For behold he
fashions mountains and creates spirit'; the depths (Mishlei 8:24), 'When there were no depths, I
was created.'"
Rabbi Yonah said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Why was the world created with a "bet"? Just as
a bet is closed on all sides and open in the front, so you are not permitted to say, "What is
beneath? What is above? What came before? What will come after?" Rather from the day the
world was created and after. Bar Kappara said: "You have but to inquire about bygone ages that
came before you [ever since God created humanity on earth]" (Deuteronomy 4:32). From the
moment God created them you may speculate, however you may not speculate on what was
before that. ["From one end of Heaven to the other"] on this you may speculate and investigate,
but you may not speculate and investigate 0n what was before. Rabbi Yehudah ben Pazzi
explained the Creation story according to Bar Kappara: Why was the world created with a "bet"?
To teach you there are two worlds: this world and the world-to-come. Another interpretation:
Why with a "bet"? Because it is an expression of "blessing." And why not with an "aleph"? Because
it is an expression of "cursing." Another interpretation: Why not with an "aleph"? So as not to give
an argument to the heretics, who would say 'how could the world endure since it was created with
an expression of curse?' Rather, the Holy One of Blessing said: 'behold I create it with an
expression of blessing, and hopefully it will endure.' Another interpretation: Why with a "bet"?
The bet has two points, one on its top and one behind it, they say to the "bet": 'who created you?'
and he points with his point on top, and says: 'the One Above created me'. 'And what is His name?'
and he shows with his point of behind, and says 'Hashem is His name.' Said Rabbi Eleazar Bar
Chanina in the name of Rabbi Acha: for 26 generations the "aleph" screamed 'injustice!' in front of
the throne of the Holy One of Blessing, saying to Him: 'Master of the Universe! I am the first of the
letters and You did not create the world with me!' The Holy One of Blessing said to her [the aleph]:
the world and all what it contains were only created due to the merit of Torah, as it is written: "Ad-
nai set the earth with wisdom [with understanding He established the heaven]" (Mishlei/Prov
3:19). Tomorrow I come to give Torah at Sinai and I am going to open at first instance only with
you, as it says Anochi 'I am Ad-nai your God' (Exodus/Shemot 20:2). Rabbi Hoshaya says: Why is its
name "aleph"? Because he agrees from the outset [aleph], as it says " the word which He
commanded to a thousand [eleph] generations."
R. Simon said in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi: Manzapak [ ‫ ]מנצפ"ך‬is a Mosaic halahhah
from Sinai. R, Jeremiah said in the name of R. Hiyya b. Abba: They are what the zofim [i.e.
prophets] instituted. It once happened on a stormy day that the Sages did not attend the House of
Assembly [i.e. the Academy]. Some children were there and they said, 'Come and let us make a
House of Assembly. Why are there written [two different forms when the following letters come in
the middle or end of a word respectively] mem [‫ ]מ‬mem [‫]ם‬, nun [‫ ]נ‬nun [‫]ן‬, tzadi [‫]צ‬, tzadi [‫]ץ‬, pai [
‫ ]פ‬pai [‫ ?]ף‬It teaches [that the Torah was transmitted] from utterance [‫ ]מאמר‬to utterance, from
Faithful [‫ ]נאמן‬to faithful, from Righteous [‫ ]צדיק‬to righteous, from mouth [‫ ]פה‬to mouth, and from
hand [‫ ]כף‬to hand. From utterance to utterance — from the utterance of the Holy One, blessed be
He, to the utterance of Moses. From Faithful to faithful— from theAlmighty, who is designated,
"God, faithful King," to Moses, who is designated faithful, as it is written, "He [Moses] is faithful in
all My house" (Numbers 12:7). From Righteous to righteous— from God, who is designated
righteous, as it is written, "The Lord is righteous in all His ways" (Psalms 145:17), to Moses who is
designated righteous, as it is written, "He executed the righteousness of the Lord" (Deuteronomy
33:21). From mouth to mouth — from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, to the mouth of
Moses. From hand to hand: from the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, to the hand of Moses.
They completed them and they grew to be great sages in Israel; some say that they were R.
Eliezer, R. Joshua and R. Akiba. They applied to them the verse, "Even a child is known by his
doings, etc." (Proverbs 20:11).
Rabbi Yudan in the name of Akilus said: for Him, it is appropriate to call Him God; according
to the custom in the world, a king of flesh and blood is honored in [his] domain, even at the point
when he has not established amenities at public expense for it, and even at the point when he has
not built amenities at private expense for it; first, he recites his name, and then his creation. But
for the Unique One of the universe, first He formed and then He was named. Shimon the son of
Azzai said (2 Samuel 22:36) "your condescension has made me great"; a flesh and blood [human]
recites his name and afterwards such-and-such his title, [i.e.] X the Augustalis, or X whatever his
title ( pro titulo ). But the Holy One, blessed be He does not act this way; only after He created the
necessities of his world, then He recites his name: [which is why] "In the beginning he created"
[comes first] and only afterwards "God".
The tana, Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai: From where [is it] that a man must not say "a burnt
offering ( olah ) to Hashem", "to Hashem as a meal-offering ( minchah )", "a peace offering
( shelamim ) to Hashem"? We have learned to say: [When any one of you brings] an offering
( qorban ) unto Hashem (Leviticus 1:2). See! The words are an a fortiori ( qal vechomer ) inference:
If when one is going to dedicate [an offering] the Torah says: he should not cause the name of
Heaven to be associated [with anything besides a qorban ], then they who revile and blaspheme
and engage in idolatry, how very greatly they will be erased from the world! The rabbis said: flesh
and blood builds a building, and when the building rises under his hand, he widens it as it rises,
and if not, he widens it from below and makes it narrow at the top. But the Holy One, blessed be
He does not act this way; rather [he created] "the heavens", heavens which rose by His thought,
"and the earth" which rose by his thought. Rav Huna in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi
Yose the Galilean said: "even those about which it is written: "Now behold, I create a new heaven"
(Isaiah 65:17); already these were created since the six days of creation. This is what is written:
"For as the new heavens and the new earth [which I will make, shall remain before Me] (Isaiah
66:22), here "new" ( hadashah ) is not written, but rather "the new" ( hachadashah ).
Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva and said to him "seeing as you served Nahum, the man
from Gamzu, twenty two years, [who teaches that] ach and raq are [hermeneutic tools for]
dimunition ( mi'ut ) and et and gam are [tools for] expansion ( ribuy ) what is your opinion on the
et written here; what is it?" and he said to him: "if it was said "in the beginning God created
heavens and earth" we would say that the heavens and the earth are divinities." He said to him
""for this is no empty thing for you" (Deuteronomy 32:47) and if it seems empty to you, then it is
because you do not know to interpret correctly when you are not careful with it "for it is your life"
(Deuteronomy 32:47). When is it your life? When you are careful with it." But, et the heavens,
[this et ] expands to include the sun and moon and zodiac signs, and et the earth, [this et ]
expands to include the trees and grass and the Garden of Eden. Rabbi Tanchuma from Rav Huna
said "And Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur from the tribe of Judah made what Moses commanded
him" (Exodus 38:22), does it not say " et all which Hashem commanded Moses", even the words
which he did not hear from the mouth of his master, he planned his judgment from what was
spoken to Moses on Sinai. Rabbi Chonya in the name of Rabbi said ""The Torah of truth was from
his mouth" (Malachi 2:6) these are the words which he heard from the mouth of his master". And
the rabbis said "For Hashem will be your confidence" (Proverbs 3:26), even though you are
confident in them, "He will guard your foot from being caught" (Proverbs 3:26)". Rabbi Dosai said
"from erroneous decisions". Rabbi Abbahu said "from sin". Rabbi Levi said "from harm". Said Rabbi
Avdimus "if you gave charity from your money, the Holy One, blessed be He, guards you from
tariffs and from fines, from head-taxes and from forced contributions".
Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel: Beit Shammai said the heavens were created first and after
that the earth was created. And Beit Hillel said the earth was created first and afterwards the
heavens. From one point of view the former had reason for their words, and from another point of
view the latter had reason for their words. According to the view of Beit Shammai in that they said
the heavens were created first and the earth later, was the parable of a king who made a throne
for himself, and then he made his footstool, as the Holy One, blessed be He said "The heavens are
my throne and the earth is the footstool of my feet" (Isaiah 46:1). According to the view of Beit
Hillel in that they said the earth was created first and the heavens created afterwards, was the
parable of a king who built a palace; after he built the lower portions then he built the upper
portions, thus "In the day that the Hashem God made earth and heaven" (Genesis 2:4). Rabbi
Judah bar Ilai said "this verse supports Beit Hillel "before you founded the earth" (Psalms 120:26)
and [the verse supporting] afterwards "and the heavens are the work of your hands" (Psalms
120:26)". Rabbi Chanin said "from the text that was cited supporting Beit Shammai, from there
Beit Hillel refute them: "and the earth was" (Genesis 1:2), the earth was already extant". Rabbi
Yochanan in the name of the sages said "regarding the creation the heavens were first, and
regarding completion the earth was first". Rabbi Tanchuma said "I will tell the reasons for this;
regarding creation the heavens were first, as it is said "In the beginning God created" (Genesis
1:1), and regarding completion the earth was first, as it is said "In the day that the Hashem God
made earth and heaven" (Genesis 2:4)". Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai said "I am amazed at how the
fathers of the world, Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, were divided on the creation of the heavens
and the earth, I would say to both of them that they were not created, but were like a stew pot
and like its lid, as it is said "I call unto them, they stood up together" (Isaiah 48: 13)"". Said Rabbi
Eliezer the son of Rabbi Shimon "if it is according to the opinion of my father, why in one place
does the earth precede the heavens and in the other place the heavens precede the earth? This
teaches that they both have weight on either side (are equal). In every place Abraham precedes
Isaac and Jacob, and in one place it says "and I will remember my covenant with Jacob" (Leviticus
26:42); this teaches that they both have weight on either side (are equal). In every place Moses
precedes Aaron, and it one place it says "That is Aaron and Moses" (Exodus 6:26); this teaches that
they both have weight on either side (are equal). In every place Joshua precedes Caleb, and in one
place it says "except for Caleb the son of Jephuneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun"
(Numbers 14:30); this teaches that they both have weight on either side (are equal). In every place
the turtle-dove precedes the young pigeons and in one place, it says "and a young pigeon, or a
turtle-dove for a sin offering" (Leviticus 12:6); this teaches that they both have weight on either
side (are equal). And in every place the respect for a father precedes that of a mother, and in one
place it says "You shall fear every man his mother, and his father" (Leviticus 19:3); this teaches
that they both have weight on either side (are equal)." But the sages said: "the father precedes the
mother because he and his mother are obliged to honor his father." In every place the creation of
the heaven precedes the earth, and in one place it says "In the day that the Hashem God made
earth and heaven" (Genesis 2:4); this tells us that they both have weight on either side (are equal).

Chapter 2

"And the Earth was formless and void ( tohu vavohu )" (Genesis 1:2); Rabbi Berachyah
began: "Even a child is known by his doings" (Proverbs 20:11). Rabbi Berachya said "While the
earth was in unripened youth, she produced thorns; and so the prophet would prophesy of her: "I
beheld the earth, and see, it was formless and void ( tohu vavohu )." (Jeremiah 4:23).
 Rabbi Abbahu and Rabbi Yehudah son of Simon: Rabbi Abbahu said there is a parable about
a king who bought for himself two male slaves, both of them on one bill of sale and for the same
price. He ordered that the first be cared for at public expense and the other, he ordered that the
second work hard for his food. The second one sat, shocked and confused ( tohʾe uvohʾe ), and he
said "both of us were on one bill of sale and for the same price; this one is supported at public
expense and I, if I do not work hard, I do not eat!". In this way the earth was shocked and confused
( tohʾe uvohʾe ) and it said "the upper ones and the lower ones were created in one moment, the
upper one are nourished by the radiance of the Shekhinah (divine presence), and the lower ones,
if they don’t struggle they don’t eat!". And Rabbi Yehudah son of Simon said "there is a parable
about a king who bought for himself two female slaves, and both of them were on the same bill of
sale and for the same price. The first he ordered not to leave the palace while for the second he
decreed banishment. The second female slave sat shocked and confused ( tohʾe uvohʾe ) in her
mind, and said "both of us were on the same bill of sale and for the same price, but she is not to
leave or go out from the palace and banishment is decreed for me!". In this way the earth was
shocked and confused ( tohʾe uvohʾe ) and it said "the upper ones and the lower ones were
created in one moment, the upper one are alive, and the lower ones are dead!"; therefore the
earth was formless and void ( tohu vavohu ). Rabbi Tanchuma said "Like the son of a king who was
sleeping in his cradle, but his nurse was shocked and confused ( tohʾe uvohʾe ). Why? Because she
knew that she was going to be punished under his hands. Thus, the earth saw that she was going
to be punished under the hands of man, as it is written "Cursed be the earth for your sake"
(Genesis 3:17). Therefore the earth was formless and void ( tohu vavohu )."
Rabbi Yehudah the son of Simon interpreted this reading as applying to generations: "and
the earth was formless and void" ( tohu vavohu ), this is Adam the first, since he was made made
entirely into nothing. "And void" ( vavohu ), this is Cain, who sought to return the world to
"formlessness and void". And "darkness" ( choshech ), this is the generation of Enosh, on whom
further [it says] "and their works were in darkness ( bemach'shach )" (Isaiah 29:15) and they said
"who is watching us and who will see us?". "On the face of the deep ( tehom )", this is the
generation of the flood, as it is said "On this day all the springs of the deep ( tehom ) were broken
open" (Genesis 7:11). "And the spirit ( ruach ) of God fluttered over the face of the waters" on
which it is further said "And God caused a wind ( ruach ) to pass over the earth" (Genesis 9:1). The
Holy One, blessed be He, said: "how long shall the universe accustom itself to deep darkness? Let
the light come!": "And Hashem said let there be light", this is Abraham. See! It is written "Who has
raised ( heʿir ) up one from the east, righteousness" (Isaiah 41:2); do not read "raised up ( heʿir
with an ayin), but rather "illuminate" ( heʾir with an alef). "And Hashem called the light 'day'", this
is Jacob. "And the darkness he called night", this is Esau. "And it was evening", this is Esau. "And it
was morning", this is Jacob. "And there was evening", the evening of Esau. "And there was
morning", the morning of Jacob. "One day ( yom echad )" as it is written "And there shall be one
day ( yom echad ) which shall be known as the Hashem's, not day, and not night" (Zechariah 14:7).
There is another issue with one day, that the Holy One, blessed be He, have him "one day", and
what is this? Yom Kippur.

R’ Abahu and R’ Chiya Raba. R’ Abahu said - from the beginning of the creation of the world
the Holy One saw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. This is what is written
“For the Lord knows the way of the righteous…” (Psalms 1:6) “Now the earth was astonishingly
empty…” (Genesis 1:2) these are the actions of the wicked, “And God said, Let there be light…”
(Genesis 1:3) these are the actions of the righteous. But I don’t know which one of them He
desired, the actions of these or the actions of those. Since it is written “And God saw the light that
it was good…” (Genesis 1:4). He desires the actions of the righteous and not the actions of the
wicked. R’ Chiya Raba said – from the beginning of the creation of the world the Holy One saw the
Holy Temple built, destroyed and built. “In the beginning of God's creation…” (Genesis 1:1) refers
to it built, this is what it says “…to plant the heavens and to found the earth…” (Isaiah 51:16) “Now
the earth was astonishingly empty…” refers to it destroyed, this is what it says “I saw the earth,
and behold, it was void and unformed…” (Jeremiah 4:23), “And God said, Let there be light…”
refers to it built and complete in the future to come, this is what it says “Arise, shine, for your light
has come, and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the
earth, and a gross darkness the kingdoms, and the Lord shall shine upon you, and His glory shall
appear over you.” (Isaiah 60:1-2)

Chapter 3

AND GOD SAID: LET THERE BE LIGHT. Rabbi Isaac opened with: The opening of Thy words
giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. Rabbi Judah and R Nabbiehemiah disagree.
Rabbi Judah maintains: The light was created first, this being comparable to a king who wished to
build a palace, but the site was a dark one. What did he do? He lit lamps and lanterns, to know
where to lay the foundations ; in like manner was the light created first. Rabbi Nehemiah said: The
world was created first, this being similar to the king who built a palace and then adorned it with
lights. Thus far did Rabbi Judan interpret. But Rabbi Phinehas and Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon
came, and Rabbi IJanin in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Rabbi Isaac,and preached :' The opening
of Thy words giveth light The opening of Thy mouth was light to us : A N D GOD SAID: LET THERE
BE LIGHT.
Rabbi Berchya said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon: "The Heavens were made at
the word of the Lord (Psalm 33:6)". Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon said: "not in toil, not in onerous
labor did the Holy One, blessed be He, create His universe; rather by the word of Hashem, and
immediately the heavens were made. So in this case "and light came into being" is not written, but
rather "and the light was", [this means] it existed instantaneously".
Rabbi Shimon the son of Yochai began: "A man has joy in the answer of his mouth, and a
word in season, how good it is (Proverbs 15:23)". "A man has joy", this is the Holy One, blessed be
He, as it is said: "Hashem is a man of war, Hashem is his name (Exodus 15:3)". "In the answer of his
mouth" [that corresponds to] "And Hashem said, let there be light." "And a word in season, how
good it is" [that corresponds to] "and Hashem saw the light that it was good."
Rabbi Shimeon Ben Yehotzadak asked Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman: Since I heard that you
are a master of agadot, tell me from where was the light created? He answered: [the text] teaches
that the Holy One of Blessing enveloped Himself [in it] as [one does with] a cloak, and made the
splendor of His glory shine from one end of the world to the other. He told him this agadah in a
whisper: he said to him - there is even a full verse [about it] 'He wears light as a cloak' (Ps. 104:2).
[Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman said] And you are telling this to me in a whisper? This is surprising! He
told him: Just as I heard it in a whisper, I'm telling you in a whisper. Said Rabbi Berachia in the
name of Rabbi Itzchak: The light was created from the place of the Beit Hamikdash, since it is
written 'And behold the glory of the God of Israel comes from the way of the East' (Ezekiel 43:2)
and there is no His glory except the Beit Hamikdash, as you say: 'A throne of glory, on high from
the beginning, the place of our sanctuary' (Jeremiah 17:12) etc.
Said Rabbi Simon: Light is written five times here, this corresponds to the five books of
Torah. 'God said, “Let there be light” - this corresponds to the book of 'in the beginning', in which
the Holy One of Blessing occupied Godself and created His world. 'and there was light' - this
corresponds to the book of 'and these are the names', in which Israel came from darkness to light.
'God saw that the light was good' corresponds to the book 'and He called' which is full of many
laws. 'And God separated the light from the darkness' corresponds to the book 'in a desert' which
makes a distinction between those who left Egypt and those who came into the Land. 'And God
called the light Day' corresponds to the book of Repetition of the Torah, which is full of many laws.
The group of colleagues challenged Rabbi Simon: and wasn't the Book of 'and He called' full of
many laws? He answered them: even He repeated things in it.
And God called the light day - Is it not day when there's light? This is surprising! It is taught:
the light that was created in the six days of Creation cannot illuminate during the day because it
dims the sun, and at night it cannot since it was only created to illuminate during the day. And
where is it? It is hidden,and is prepared for the righteous for the Future, as it says "and the light of
the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times like the light
of the seven days" (Isaiah 30:26). This is surprising! Seven? Aren't they three (days)? Weren't the
luminaries created on the fourth? Rather, it is like a person who says 'such and such way I order
for the seven days of my wedding feast.' Rabbi Nechemiah said: these are the seven days of
mourning for the righteous Metushelach, that the Holy One of Blessing gave to them light in
abundance. 'And God saw that the light was good' - Rabbi Ze'ira the son of Rabbi Abahu explained
in Cesarea: from where do we know that we do not say a blessing over the candle before its light is
established? From here: and He saw; and He separated. Rabbi Yehudah in the name of Rabbi
Simon said: He separated it for Himself. The rabbis say: He separated it for the righteous in the
Future. This is similar to a king who had a beautiful meal and separated it for his son. Said Rabbi
Berachiah: 'Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Shimeon ben Lakish, two great ones of the world, explained
this: 'and He separated' is a complete separation. This is similar to a king who had two
commanders, one to command during the day and one to command during the night, and the two
were disputing with one another, one saying 'I command during the day' and the other saying 'I
command during the day.' So the king called the first one and said: 'Ploni, the day will be your
charge.' And so to the second and said: 'Ploni, the night will be your charge.' Said Rabbi Yochanan:
'This is what the Holy One of Blessing said to Job: "Have you commanded the morning since your
days began, and caused the dawn to know its place?" (Job 38:12) Do you know your place? This is
surprising. Said Rabbi Tanchuma: 'I will say its reason: "Fashioner of Light and Creator of Darkness,
Maker of Peace" (Isaiah 45:7) From the moment of its creation, He makes peace. 'And God called
the light day' - said Rabbi Eleazar: The Holy One of Blessing never unites His name to evil, only to
goodness: it is not written 'and God called the light day; and the darkness God called night'; rather,
[it is written] 'and the darkness, called night.'
Rabbi Judah bar Simon said: it does not say, ‘It was evening,’ but ‘And it was
evening.’ Hence we derive that there was a time-system prior to this. Rabbi Abbahu said: This
teaches us that God created worlds and destroyed them, saying, ‘This one pleases me;
those did not please me.’ Rabbi Pinhas said, Rabbi Abbahu derives this from the verse,
‘And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good,’ as if to say, ‘This one pleases
me, those others did not please me.’
Rabbi Yannai said: "From the beginning of his creation of the universe the Holy One, blessed
be He, scrutinized the deeds of the righteous and the deeds of the wicked. "And the earth was
formless", these are the deeds of the wicked. "And God said, let there be light", these are the
deeds of the righteous. "And God separated between the light and the dark", [that is] between the
deeds of the righteous and the wicked. "And God called the light day", these are the deeds of the
righteous. "And the darkness he called night", these are the deeds of the wicked. "And there was
evening", these are the deeds of the wicked". "And there was morning", these are the deeds of
the righteous. "One day", which the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to them. And what is this
[day]? Yom Kippur. Rabbi Tanchuma the son of Jeremiah said: "on it [that day] four things were
created: mountains, heavens, and earth and light". Rabbi Yudan said: "on it [that day] the Holy
One, blessed be He, was unique and alone in his universe because there was nothing in his
universe except for him". This is in accord with Rabbi Yochanan, but this is not in accord with Rabbi
Chanina. Rabbi Yochanan said "on the second [day] the angels were created. See! It is written "He
lays the beams of his upper chambers in the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he walks
upon the wings of the wind (Psalm 104:3)" and it is written "he makes the winds his angels (Psalm
104:4)"". Rabbi Chanina said "on the fifth [day] the angels were created, as it is said: "and let fowl
fly above the earth (Genesis 1:20)" and it is written "and with two [wings] it flies (Isaiah 6:2)"".
Rabbi Lulyani the son of Tavrai in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak said: "Whether t is according to the
opinion of Rabbi Chanina or according to the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan, everyone agrees that
they were not created on the first day, so you cannot say that Michael stretched out the southern
section of the firmament, and Gabriel the northern section and the Holy One, blessed be He,
measured in the middle. Rather "I am Hashem, that makes all things; that stretched forth the
heavens alone; that spread abroad the earth by Myself ( meitti ). [Read this as if] "who is with me?
( mi itti ) is written: "who was joined with me in my creation of the universe?""
Said Rabbi Shmuel bar Ami - from the beginning of Creation the Holy One of Blessing desired
to have partnership with the beings in the lower realm. How can you say this? If it was just a
question of the accounting [of days] it only needed to say "one, two, three" OR "first, second,
third" - this is indeed surprising, since [the account of creation beginning with] one and then
second and third. When did the Holy One of Blessing solve this? In the setting up of the Mishkan,
as it says: "And the gifter, on the first day, his offering" - this is the first of the creation of the
world. Said the Holy One of Blessing: it is as if on that day I created My world. It is taught: twelve
tiaras [measures of beauty] that day received - it was first for the creation of the world, first for
kings, first for princes, first for the kohanim, first for the Shechinah, as it says (Ex. 25:8) 'And they
shall make Me a sanctuary", first for blessing, first for worship, first for forbidden animals, first for
laws of slaughtering on the north, first for lowering of fire, as it is said (Lev. 9:24): 'And a fire came
forth from God etc'

Chapter 4

And God said, "Let there be a firmament" - It is written (Psalms 104:3), "Who lays the beams
of his upper chambers in the waters." It is the custom of the world that a king of flesh and blood
constructs a palace and makes a roof for it out of stones and wood and dirt. But the Holy One
Blessed Be He made a roof for his world out of water, as it says "Who lays the beams of His upper
chambers in the waters."
"And God said 'let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters'". The rabbis said
regarding this in the name of Rabbi Chanina, but Rabbi Pinchas and Rabbi Jacob the son of Rabbi
Avin said this in the name of Rabbi Samuel son of Nachman: "when the Holy One, blessed be He,
said 'let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters', the middle liquid layer solidified, and the
lower heavens were formed, and the heavens above the heavens, the upper ones [were formed]".
Rab said "their works on the first day were liquid and on the second they were solid. "Let there be
a firmament" [means] let the firmament solidify". Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Simon said "['let
there be a firmament' means] let a thin plating be made for the firmament ( raqi'a ), just as you
see it said "and they beat thin ( vayeraq'u ) the plates of gold (Exodus 39:3)"". Rabbi Chanina said
"the fire came forth from above and dried the surface of the firmament [solidifying it]". Rabbi
Yochanan came to this conclusion with this verse: "By His breath [meaning fire] the heavens are
smoothed (Job 26:13)." He used to say: "Rabbi Chanina taught me well". Rabbi Yudan the son of
Rabbi Shimon said "the fire went forth from above and it made the surface of the firmament
gleam". R. Berakhyah, R. Yaakov bar R. Avina in the name of R. Abbah bar Kahana said: The work
of creation came to teach about the giving of the Torah, and the teaching was revealed through it:
"As when fire kindles the parts” (Isaiah 64:1)—its halves. When did the fire split between the
upper and lower [heavens], is it not when the Torah was given!? Thus it was at the creation of the
universe.Thus it was at the creation of the universe."
Rabbi Pinchas in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya said: "as the empty space that is between the
earth and the firmament, so there is an empty space between the firmament and the upper
waters. So "let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters" [means] between them and in the
middle of them". Rabbi Tanchuma said: "I will explain the reasoning. If it is said "and God made
the firmament and divided between the waters which were above the firmament" I would say that
the water is positioned on the very body of the firmament. But as it says "and between the waters
which are over the firmament", see!, the upper waters are hung upon the word". Rabbi Acha said:
"[it is] like the flickering of candles, and [its] fruits are the rain waters".
A certain Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir and said to him "Is it possible that the upper waters
are suspended on a word?" And he replied to him "yes". And Rabbi Meir said "bring me a
clepsydra (a water clock)" and the Samaritan brought a clepsydra and he placed upon it a gold
plate, but the water did not stand still [under the plate]. He placed a silver plate on it, but the
water did not stand still [under the plate]. But when he placed his finger on [the plate], the water
stood still [and the plate did not bob]. The Samaritan said to him "you are putting your finger on
it!" And Rabbi Meir responded "See how if my finger stills the water, and I am flesh and blood,
how much more does the finger of the Holy One, blessed be He [control the water]. Therefore, the
water is hung on a word." The Samaritan said to him "Is it possible that he himself, concerning
whom it is written "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth (Jeremiah 23:24)" was speaking with
Moses from between the poles of the ark?" Rabbi Meir responded: "bring to me large mirrors"
and he continued "look at yourself in what is brought; your reflection in large!" Meir said to him
"bring me small mirrors" and he brought small mirrors. Rabbi Meir said "look at yourself in what is
brought, your reflection is small!" Rabbi Meir said to him "See how if you can change yourself
whenever you want, and you are flesh and blood, how much more he who spoke and the universe
came into existence, blessed is He! And so when he wishes to be "Do I not fill the heavens and the
earth (Jeremiah 23:24)" he is and when he wishes he spoke with Moses from between the poles of
the ark. Rabbi Chanina the son of Isei said: "sometimes the universe and its fullness is not strong
enough for the glory of His divinity, and at other times He speaks with man from between the
hairs of his head. This is written: "Then Hashem answered Job out of the whirlwind ( se'arah ) (Job
38:1)" [but read instead] from between the hairs ( sha'arot ) of his head. And still further the
Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir "Is it possible that "the river of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10)"
from the six days of creation and has not all diminished? How strange!" And Rabbi Meir said to
him: "Go in and wash yourself and weigh yourself when you have not gone in and then after you
have gone in." As soon as the Samaritan left he weighed himself and his body weight was not at all
diminished. Rabbi Meir said "now all that sweat that comes out of you, did it not come out of
you?" And the Samaritan said "yes". Rabbi Meir responded "See how if you lost no fluid from your
body's spring of fluids, and you are flesh and blood, how much more is it [true regarding] the
spring of the Holy One, blessed be He, [that] "the river of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10)" and
from the six days of creation has not all diminished?" Rabbi Yochanan said: "The Holy One, blessed
be He, raised up all the waters of creation and set half of them in the firmament and half in the
Ocean; it is surprising! It is thus written "the river ( peleg ) of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10)"
[the word "river" ( peleg ) must be understood as the Aramaic word] half ( palg'a ).
The firmament is similar to a lake and above the lake is a covering. From the from the lake
heat condensation flows from the covering, and the condensation [as rain] descends to the midst
of the salt waters [of the sea] and the rain does not mix itself [with the salt water]. Rabbi Jonah
said "do not be amazed, as it is the case that the Jordan River passes through the Sea of Tiberias
(the Sea of Galilee) and it does not mix itself with it; this is a miraculous thing to say! A man sifting
wheat or chaff in a sieve, the grains have not descended two or three finger-breadths and they
have mixed together, but these [raindrops] have traveled and traveled year after year and have
not mixed themselves [with salt water]." Rabbi Yudan, son of Rabbi Shimon says "it is because he
sends them down by a measured deduction, as it is said "for He draws away ( yegara' ) the drops
of water (Job 36:27)". But see how it says "and an abatement shall be made ( venigra' ) from your
assessment (Leviticus 27:18)" [showing that the financial use of this root gr' proves that God sends
them down in a measured deduction]. The thickness of the earth is equal to the thickness of the
firmament, as it is said "He sits above the circle ( chug ) of the earth (Isaiah 40:22)" [and] "He
walked about the circle ( chug ) of the heavens (Job 22:14)". Since "circle" ( chug ) occurs in both
verses, they are a gezeira shavah [proving the earth and firmament have the same thickness].
Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rabbi Chanina: "This is like a metal plate". Rabbi Joshua, the son of
Rabbi Nehemiah, said: "They are about two or three finger-breadths". Rabbi Shimon the son of
Pazzi said: "The upper waters are greater than the lower waters by about thirty xestes (pints).
"Between the waters above the waters ( la-mayim )" [the lamed's gematria is] thirty [thus proving
his point that the waters above have thirty extra pints]. The rabbis said "they are half and half".
"And God made the firmament", this is one of the verses that Ben Zoma shook the world
with. He made - how remarkable! sure it [came into existence] at [God's] word, [as it is written],
"With the word of God the heavens were made and with the wind of His mouth all of their
armies". why doesn't it say "it was good" on the second day of creation?r yochanan taught in the
name of r yosi the son of r chalafta, because hell was created on the second day, as it says " the
topheth has been ready for him since yesterday, a day that has a yesterday but not three days ago.
another reason that it dose not say "it was good" on the second day, r channina says its because
division was created on the second day, as it says: "and it (the heavens) should separate between
the two body's of water". r tivyomi said if division that is for the sake of fixing the world does not
have good all the more so division that is to mix up the world doesn't have good. r shmuel says
because the creation of water wasnt finished, it was written on the third day "it was good" twice,
one for the creation of water and one for the days work. a noble woman asked r yosi, why dosen't
it say "and it was good on the second day? he answered her even so it was included in the end as
it says: "and god saw all that he did and it was very good" she said back to him this is analogous to
six people coming to you give each one a manna and to one of them you don't give anything, then
you go back and give one manna to everyone, is it not true that 5 of them have a mana and a 1/6
manna and the last one only has 1/6? he said to her like r shmuel says because the creation of
water wasnt finished, it was written on the third day "it was good" twice, one for the creation of
water and one for the days work. r levi in the name of r tanchum the son of r chnelyayi said, it
states in the verse:" he (god) tells the end in the beginning", from the beginning of creation god
saw Moses who is called "good" and was ultimately was going to be punished from an issue
regarding water and therefore did not write and it was good regarding the water. r simon in the
name of r levi said it is analogous to a king who had a bad legion, the king said since this legion is
no good my name shouldn't be called on it, so too god said, since these waters punished the
generation of the flood, dor enosh, and haflaga it should not be written regarding them "forit was
good"
"and god called the ferment heavens", rav says it means fire and water mixed together. r
abba the son of r chahna said in the name of rav, god took fire and water, joined them together
and made the heavens. another matter, the word ‫ שמים‬can be read as meaning "evaluation" for
the heavens evaluate the actions of people, if they merit than "the heavens will tell his
righteousness" and if he doesn't merit "the heavens will reveal his sin". another matter why is it
called shumiaim because people wonder about them are they water or fire?!!! r pinchas said he
came and revealed it "

Chapter 5

The waters now are not just jostling for high position. They are crying like a family being
torn apart. The lower waters long to go up in order to be reunited with their other half.

The Holy One had set preconditions (before creation) with the sea that it split before Israel,
as it is written "...at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state (eitano)..." (Exodus 14:27)
Meaning that it returned to the conditions (tano) that had been set for it. R' Yermiah ben Elazar
said: not with the sea alone did the Holy One set such conditions, but rather with everything
created during the six days of creation, as it is written "It was I who made the earth And created
man upon it; My own hands stretched out the heavens, And I commanded all their host." (Isaiah
45:12) I commanded the sea that it split before Israel, I commanded the heavens and earth to fall
silent before Moshe, as it says "Give ear, O heavens, let me speak; Let the earth hear the words I
utter!" (Deuteronomy 32:1) I commanded the sun and moon to stand still before Yehoshua, as it
says "Stand still, O sun, at Gibeon, O moon, in the Valley of Aijalon!" (Joshua 10:12) I commanded
the ravens to sustain Eliyahu, as it says "The ravens brought him bread and meat every morning
and every evening..." (I Kings 17:6) I commanded that the fire not harm Hananya, Mishael and
Azarya and I commanded the lions not hurt Daniel. I commanded the heavens to open at the voice
of Yechezkiel, as it says "...the heavens opened and I saw visions of God." (Ezekiel 1:1) I
commanded the fish to vomit out Jonah, as it says "The LORD spoke to the fish, and it spewed
Jonah out upon dry land." (Jonah 2:11)

The way of the world is that one pours a full vessel into an empty one. Perhaps you can pour
a full vessel into a full vessel?! All the world was water in water and you say “…into one place…”
(Genesis 1:9) Rather from here we learn that a little can hold a lot. Similarly - “Moses and Aaron
assembled the congregation in front of the rock…” (Numbers 20:10) R’ Chanina said: there was a
space the size of the mouth of a small sieve there, and all of Israel stood there? Rather from here
we learn that a little can hold a lot. Similarly – “The Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, "Take
yourselves handfuls (chofneichem) of furnace soot…” (Exodus 9:8) R’ Huna said: and could
Moshe’s handful hold eight handfuls (kamatzim)? That’s strange! Rather from here we learn that a
little can hold a lot. There is no comparison between what one takes in a cupped handful (chofan)
and what one takes in a closed handful (kamatz). A cupped handful is twice that of a closed and it
is written “…and Moses shall cast it heavenward…” (ibid.) therefore Moshe’s cupped hand held
eight closed handfuls. Rather from here we learn that a little can hold a lot. Similarly – R’ Yosi bar
Chalifta said: “The length of the courtyard shall be one hundred cubits and the width fifty by fifty
cubits,” (Exodus 27:18) and all of Israel stood there? That’s strange! Rather from here we learn
that a little can hold a lot. Similarly - “And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here…”
(Joshua 3:9) R’ Huna said: he stood them all up between the two poles of the ark. R’ Acha bar R’
Chanina said: he placed them between the two poles of the ark. The Rabbis said: he shrank them
between the two poles of the ark. Yehoshua said to them: from the fact that the two poles of the
ark could hold you, you know that Presence of the Holy One is among you. This is what is written
“By this you shall know that the living God is in your midst…” (Joshua 3:10) So too regarding
Jerusalem it is taught ‘they stood crowded together, but prostrated themselves with plenty of
space between them. R’ Shmuel bar R’ Chana said in the name of R’ Acha: each one had four
cubits, and a cubit of space to each side so that no one heard the prayer of his fellow. So too it will
be in the time to come, as it says “At that time, they will call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord…”
(Jeremiah 3:17) R’ Yochanan went up to visit R’ Chanina, he found him sitting and interpreting this
verse ‘At that time, they will call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord.’ He said to him: oh my teacher,
can Jerusalem really hold the throne of the Lord? He replied: The Holy One said to her ‘spread out
your length and breadth and receive your population.’ This is what is written “Widen the place of
your tent…” (Isaiah 54:2) Why? “For right and left shall you prevail…” (Isaiah 54:3)
‘And [God] called to the dry-place/yabashah, land/arets’ [Gn 1:10]— Why did He call her
name arets? Because she ran /rats’tah to do the will/ratson of her Possessor/qonah.

Chapter 6

"and god said there should be lights" ( ‫ יד‬,‫ )בראשית א‬r yochnan opened "he made the moon
for the holidays" (‫ יט‬,‫ )תהלים קד‬r yachnon says only the sun was created to give light, if so why
was the moon created, for the holidays, in order to use the moon to set the dates for the
beginning of the months and years. r shila of the town of tamar said in the name of r yochanan,
even though he made the moon for the the holidays, " the sun knows its coming, meaning that
from the sun we know the holidays coming, meaning that we only count by the moon once the
sun sets. yusti in the name of r barchya says, behold it says "and they left from ramsess in the first
month on the 15 of the month"
r

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

... Said R’ Yirmiyah ben Elazar: In the hour when the Holy One created the first human, He
created him [as] an androgyne/androginos, as it is said, “male and female He created them”. Said
R’ Shmuel bar Nachmani: In the hour when the Holy One created the first human, He created [for]
him a double-face/di-prosopon/ du-par’tsufin, and sawed him and made him backs, a back here
and a back [t]here, as it is said, “Back/achor and before/qedem You formed me” [Ps 139:5]. They
objected to him: But it says, “He took one of his ribs/ts’la`ot. .. ” [Gn 2:21]! He said to them: [It
means] “[one] of his sides/sit’rohi”, just as you would say, “And for the side/tsela` of the
Tabernacle/ mishkan” [Ex 26:20], which they translate [in Aramaic] “for the side/seter”. R’
Tanchuma in the name of R’ Banayah and R’ B’rakhyah in the name of R’ Elazar said: In the time
that the Holy One created Adam Harishon, [as] a golem He created him and he was set up from
[one] end of the world and unto its [other] end – that’s what is written: “Your eyes saw my golem”
[Ps 139:16]. R’ Yehoshua bar Nechemyah and R’ Yehudah bar Simon in R’ Elazar’s name said: He
created him filling the whole world. From where [do we know he extended] from the East to
West? That it’s said: “Back/achor (i.e., after, the place of sunset) and before/East/qedem You
formed/enclosed me /tsartani” [Ps 139:5]. From where [that he went] from North to South? That
it’s said: “and from the edge of the heavens and until the edge of the heavens” [Dt 4:32]. And from
where [that he filled] even the world’s hollow-space? That it’s said: “.. . and You laid Your palm
upon me” [Ps 139:5]...

Let us make a human”—with whom did He rule/nimlokh? R’ Yehoshua in the name of R’ Levi
said: With the work/m’la’khah of the heavens and the earth. .. R’ Shmuel bar Nachman said: With
the work/ma`aseh of each and every day...

R. Simon said: When the time came for the Holy Blessed One to make the first human being,
The Ministering Angels made themselves into competing counsels, with one group opposing the
other. Some of them said, “Don’t create humans,” and the others said “Create them.” So it is
written: (Ps. 85:11) “Kindness and Truth met against one another, Righteousness and Peace faced
each other.” The angel of Kindness said, “Create them, for they will do acts of loving kindness.”
Then the angel of Truth said, “Do not create them, for they will be full of lies.” The angel of
Righteousness said, “Create them, for they will establish justice.” The angel of Peace said, “Do not
create them, for they will be in constant strife!” What did the Holy Blessed one do, but grab up
Truth and hurl it to the earth, so it is written: (Daniel 8:12) “You hurled Truth to the earth.”
Whereupon the Ministering Angels said before the Holy Blessed One, “Ruler of all worlds, what
have You done? Why have You so chastised the chief of your court? Let Truth arise again from the
earth.” So it is written, (Ps. 85:12) “Truth springs up from the earth.” The Rabbis have said the
following in the name of R. Hanina bar Adai, and R. Pinchas and R. Hilkiah in the name of R. Simon
who said: “Very” [MeOD] is an anagram in reference to “Humans” [ADaM] so it is written: (Gen
1:31) “And God saw all that God had made, and found it very good.” Read it rather: “God found
Humans to be good.” R. Huna of Tzipori said: While the Ministering Angels were occupying one
another with litigation and debate, The Holy Blessed One created them and turned to the angels
saying, “What are you arguing about? Humans have already been created.”

... “if a great person. .. says, ‘Why do I need to take permission from one lesser than me?’. ..
they say to him: Learn from your Creator, for He created upper ones and lower ones, and when He
came to create the human, He ruled with the ministering angels.”
... [R’ Simlai] said to them: In the past Adam was created from the adamah and Chavah was
created from the adam. From here and onward, “in our image as our likeness”—not man without
woman and not woman without man, and not both of them without Shekhinah (God’s presence).
Said R’ Hosha`ya: In the moment that the Holy One created Adam Harishon, the first
Human, the ministering angels erred and sought to say ‘Holy/Qadosh’ before him (to worship
him). .. What did the Holy One do? ‘He cast upon him deep sleep’ [Gn 2:21] and all knew that he
was Adam.
... R’ Yehoshua barNechemyah in the name of R’ Chanina bar Yitshak and the rabbis in the
name of R’ Lazar (Elazar), say: He created in him four creations from above /mil’ma`lah and four
from below /mil’matah. From above – he stands like the ministering angels / mal’akhey hashareit,
and speaks like the ministering angels, and has knowledge in him like the ministering angels, and
sees like the ministering angels. .. From below – he eats and drinks like an animal /kab’heimah,
bears fruit and multiplies, leaves piles (excretes) and dies like an animal... Said the Holy One: If I
create him from the upper ones [alone] he lives and won’t die [in this world]; from the lower ones,
he dies [in this world] and won’t live [in the coming world].
“And dominate /ur’du the fish of the sea”—said R’ Chanina: If [a person] merited,
“dominate! /ur’du” [the animals]; and if not, “they will be dominated /yeiradu” [by the animals].
Said R’ Yaakov of K’far Chanan: The one that is “in our image as our likeness” – “dominate!
/ur’du”; the one that is not in our image and in our likeness – “they will be dominated /yeiradu”.

Chapter 9

... ‘And God saw everything that He had made’—R’ Yochanan said: A king of flesh and blood
who builds a palace, he looks upon the upper ones (i.e., stories) – one glance/r’iyah, and upon the
lower ones – one (separate) glance, but the Holy One looks upon the upper ones and upon the
lower ones – one glance [altogether].
 Rabbi Nahman said in Rabbi Samuel's name: 'Behold, it was good' refers to the Good Desire;
'And behold, it was very good' refers to the Evil Desire. (It only says 'very good' after man was
created with both the good and bad inclinations, in all other cases it only says 'and God saw that it
was good') Can then the Evil Desire be very good? That would be extraordinary! But without the
Evil Desire, however, no man would build a house, take a wife and beget children; and thus said
Solomon: 'Again, I considered all labour and all excelling in work, that it is a man's rivalry with his
neighbour.' (Ecclesiastes 4:4).

Chapter 10

Bar Sira said (Ben Sira 38:7-8), "God brings forth spices from the earth. With them the healer
heals the ailments, and with them the perfumer perfumes the perfumes." Said Rabbi Simon,
"There isn't a single herb or spice that doesn't have a constellation in the firmaments that smacks
it and tells it to grow." And behold, this is written in Job 38:33: "Do you know the laws of Heaven?
Can you place its authority (šiṭro) on Earth?" etc. The language is "šoṭer" (officer/regulator). "Can
you tie binds on the Pleiades, or the cords of Orion loosen?" (Job 38:31) Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa
and Rabbi Simon said, "The Pleiades binds the fruits, and Orion pulls from binding to binding." And
behold, this is written (Job 38:32) "Can you bring out the Zodiac in its season, Ursa Major with her
sons you can lead?" Rabbi Tanḥum bar Ḥiyya and Rabbi Simon said, "A constellation is 'Mazal'
because it stretches [m'mazzer] out the fruits."

Chapter 11

"And Elokim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it"- Rabbi Yishmael says: "He blessed it"
with manna "and sanctified it" with manna, He blessed it with manna-for all the days of the week
one omer [portion] fell [per person], on Friday two omer [portions] fell [per person]. He sanctified
it with manna [on Shabbat] it didn't fall at all. Rabbi Nosson says: He blessed it with manna and
sanctified it with blessing. Rabbi Yitzhak says: He blessed it with manna, and sanctified it with the
gatherer [of sticks]. "And He blessed it" with robing. Rav Huna says: [one] must change [one's
clothes]. R' Chiyya in the name of Rav Yochanon says: [one] must mingle [a garment along with his
weekday clothes for the honor of Shabbat]. Avin son of Chasdai says [one] must [let one's cloak]
hang. Rabbi Yermiah and R' Zeirah were walking together, and R' Yermiah's cloak was tucked up
and Rabbi Zeirah let it hang. This [reflects] what was said [that] one must lower [one's cloak]. R'
Elazar says: "He blessed it" with a candle and this occurred to me, one time I lit a candle on the eve
of Shabbat and I came and I found it [still] lit at the end of Shabbat and it wasn't diminished at all.
"He blessed it" with the light of the face of man, "He sanctified it" with the light of of the face of
man. The light of man's face throughout the week isn't comparable to [his face] on Shabbat. "He
blessed it" with luminaries, R' Shimon son of Yehuda the man of Acco says in the name of R'
Shimon: even though the luminaries were cursed from the Shabbat eve

...Bless it (the day) with delicacies. Rabbeinu (Rabbi Yehudah/Rebbi) made a feast for
Antoninus on the Shabbat. They brought before him prepared foods that were cold. He ate from
them and found them very tasty. He (Rebbi) made a feast for him (Antoninus) on a weekday and
brought before him steaming foods. He (Antoninus) said to him (Rebbi) those (the cold food on
Shabbat) tasted better to me than these (warm foods). He (Rebbi) explained that the warm
weekday food was missing a single spice. He (Antoninus) said to him, ‘and is there anything in the
king’s treasury that is lacking? He (Rebbi) said that the food was missing Shabbat, Do you have
Shabbat?

...A philosopher asked Rabbi Hoshayah: He said to him, if God so loves circumcision why did
he not give it to Adam. He said to him, why does that man (you) shave the corners of your head
and leave the corners of your beard? He said to him because it grew with me in folly. He said to
him: if so you should blind your eyes, lop off your hand, and sever you legs since they grew with in
follow. He said to him: To these words we have come wonder. He said to him: Anything created in
the first six days, needs further actions, for example mustard seeds need sweetening, peas needs
sweetening, wheat needs grinding, even humans need fixing.

Why did God bless Shabbat? Rabbi Berekiah says: "Because it has no partner. The first day
of the week has the second, the third has the fourth, the fifth has the sixth, but Shabbat has no
partner. Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman said: Because it cannot be postponed: a festival can be
postponed, as well as the Day of Atonement [because these are days which a beit din must declare
to be a new moon]. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai taught: Shabbat pleased with the Holy One, Blessed
be God saying: "Everyone else has a partner, but I have nothing!" God answered saying: "The
community of Israel will be your partner." God continued: "And when thy stood before Sinai, God
said to the Israelites: "Remember what I said to Shabbat, that the community of Israel is your
partner, [in the words of scripture] "Remember Shabbat and keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8)...

Chapter 12

These are the generations of heaven and earth as they were created (Genesis 2:4) - it is
written "These are but glimpses of His ways" [the mere whisper that we perceive of Him; who can
understand the thunder of His mighty deeds?] (Job 26:14). Rav Huna said: everything you see are
but glimpses of the ways of the Holy One of Blessing. And what are "the mere whisper that we
perceive of Him; who can understand the thunder of His mighty deeds?" Rav Huna said when this
thunder comes out as completed, no creature can withstand it, it's not written "we understand"
rather, "he understand" - [the singular masculine applies to] the ones who are able to understand
His hints and His logic. Said Rav Huna: If you can't withstand His order of the thunder, all the more
so [it is the case] with the order of the world. This is surprising! And if a person tells you that they
can withstand the order of the world, tell them: You can't withstand the presence of a king of flesh
and blood, you tell me that you can withstand the presence of the King of Kings, the Holy One of
Blessing? This is surprising!Said Rav Nachman, it is similar to a thicket of reeds, which no one could
enter into because whoever would enter into it would lose their way. What did a smart person?
He cut and enter, cut and enter. He entered through the cut way and exited through the way that
was cut. Rav Nachman said:, this is similar to a great palace with many doors, in which whoever
entered got lot. What did a smart person do? He took a clue of rope and tied it to the entrance,
unwind it, entered in the way of the rope and came out by the way of the rope. All began to enter
and come out by the way of the rope. Said Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai: this is similar to a king of
flesh and blood that build a palace and his subjects came in and said: Oh, if the support beams
were higher it would be nice. Oh, if the walls were taller it would be nice. Oh, if the roof was
higher it would be nice. Lest a person will come and say: Oh, if I had three eyes, if I had three legs
it would be good for me, this is surprising! "That was made long ago" is not written, rather "[My
thoughts also turned to appraising wisdom and madness and folly. For what will the man be like
who will come in front of the King] that made him long ago?" as if it were, the King of Kings the
Holy One of Blessing, and His judging court every single limb of yours, and set you in your palace
[mechon], as it says "Do you pay Ad-nai back, O dull and witless people? Is He not the Father who
created you, who fashioned you and made you endure [yechonen]?" (Deut. 32:6) Said Rabbi Levi
Bar Chayeta: A king of flesh and blood, when he builds a palace, if he puts its water spout in its
entrance, it is not pleasant. But the Holy One of Blessing, created the human being, put a water
spout on his entrance and he is pleasant, and it is his/His praise. Said Rabbi Yitzchak Bar Merion: it
is written "And E-lohim formed the Human" (Gen. 2:4) and why does the text say "created"? The
Holy One, as it were, felt pride about His world, and says 'come see the creature I created, and the
form I made'. Said Rabbi Yitzchak bar Merion: it is written "these are the generations of the
heaven and the land in their creation" - their Creator praises them, and who is going to defend
them? Their Creator exalts them, and who will find blemish on them? Rather, they are pleasant
and they are praised, as it is written "these are the generations of the heavens and the land, as
they were created, on the day that Ad-nai E-lohim made land and heaven.

... 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...

All that you see, they are generations of heavens and earth, as it is said: “In beginning,
Elohim created heavens and earth” [Gn 1:1]. On the second [day] He created from the upper
ones / min ha`elyonim, as it is said: “And Elohim said: Let there be a firmament” On the third He
created from the lower ones / min hatachtonim: “And Elohim said: Let the earth sprout”. On the
fourth He created from the upper ones: “Let there be lights” On the fifth He created from the
lower ones: “Let the waters swarm” On the sixth He came to create Adam. He said: If I create him
from the upper ones, then the upper ones will be greater than the lower ones by one creation,
and there won’t be peace in the world; and if I create him from the lower ones, then the lower
ones will be greater than the upper ones by one creation, and there won’t be peace in the world.
Rather, here am I [going to] create him from the upper ones and the lower ones, for the sake of
peace / bish’vil shalom... ‘And YHVH Elohim formed him dirt from the ground’—from the lower
ones; ‘and He blew in his nostrils life’s breath / nishmat chayyim’ [Gn 2:7]—from the upper ones.

... the Holy One created the upper ones and the lower ones in one [act of] creation.

Chapter 13

“The LORD God caused it to rain upon the earth, though no man was there to till it”: It is
stated, ‘no man’ [thus] a covenant has been made with the earth to rain upon it, as it says, To
cause it to rain on a land where no man is, on the wilderness, wherein is no man (Job 38. 26).
And every growth/si’ach of the field” [Gn 2:5]—All the trees as it were /k’ilu are
conversing/m’sichin, these with these. All the trees as it were are conversing with the creatures /
`im hab’riyot.All the treeswere createdtogivepleasure tothe creatures. .. All the conversations of
the creatures are about nothing except the land. .. and all the prayers of the creatures are about
nothing except the land. .. All the prayers of Israel are about nothing except the Temple/ beyt
hamiqdash.

... from the upper ones, as it is said, ‘from the rain of the heavens she (the land) will drink
water’ [Dt 11:11]

... receive us /qablunu, you are the creation of the Holy One and we are his messengers.
Immediately they receive them – that’s what is written, ‘the land will open’ [Is 45:8], like this
female who opens for the male.

Chapter 14

... Said the Holy One: If I create him from the upper ones [alone] he lives and won’t die [in
this world]; from the lower ones, he dies [in this world] and won’t live [in the coming world].
Wayyiyzer: two formations, the good and the evil. For if an animal possessed two [such]
formations, it would die of fright on seeing a man holding a knife to kill it. But surely a man does
possess these two faculties! Said R. Hanina (rjinena) b. Idi: He bound up the spirit of man within
him (Zechariah 12:1); for if that were not so, whenever a trouble came upon him he would remove
and cast it from him.
 ... dirt from the ground / afar min ha’adamah,[ explains]: ‘Afar’—male, ‘adamah’—female...
... ‘And He blew into his nostrils’—This teaches that He stood him up as a golem stretching
from earth to the firmament and then threw breath/n’shamah into him.
By five names is the soul/nefesh called: nefesh, ru’ach, n’shamah, chayah (living one),
y’chidah (unique one). Nefesh – this is the blood. .. Ru’ach – for she rises and falls, [as in:] “Who
knows if the ru’ach of human beings goes upward?” [Ec 3:21]. N’shamah – this is the
visage/character/ofah.. . Chayah – that all the limbs die and (i.e., unless) she lives in the body.
Y’chidah – that all the limbs are two by two [but] she is singular in the body.

Chapter 15

... R’ Yochanan said: The world was not worthy to make use of the cedars, for they were not
created except for the needs of the Beyt Hamiqdash (the Temple).

What was the tree, from which Adam and Eve ate? Rabbi Meir said, it was wheat. When a
person lacks knowledge people say "That person has not eaten bread made from wheat even a
day." Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzhak asked before Rabbi Zeira and said to him "Is it possible that
it is wheat?" He said to him, "Yes!" He said to him, "But isn't it written, 'tree'" He said to him, "It
rose like the ceders of Lebanon" Rabbi Yaakov Bar Aha said: Rabbi Nechemiah and the Rabbis
disagree. Rabbi Nechemiah said, "[When we bless our bread we should say]...'the one who brings
bread from the earth', since bread already came from the earth." But the Rabbis say, "'who is
bringing bread from the earth' since in the future he will bring bread from the earth, as it is said,
'There will be a abundant grain in the land.' (Psalm 72:16). What does the word lefet mean? Two
[scholars] disagree. They are Rabbi Hanina son of Yitzhak and Rabbi Shmuel Bar Ami. One says:
lefet means there was no bread and the other says lefet means there will be no bread in the
future. Rabbi Jeremiah recited the blessing before Rabbi Zeira as "The one who brings bread from
the earth" and he praised him. But does that mean we hold like Rabbi Nehemiah? Rather we say it
so we don't mix up the letters.

Chapter 16

“The name of one is Pishon…” (Bereshit 2:11) This is Migdal Pishtan and its waters flow
abundantly. “…that is the one that encompasses all the land of Havilah…” (ibid.) There was not yet
a place called Havilah, and it says that the river encompasses it? That is strange! Rather, “tell the
end from the beginning…” (Yeshayahu 46:10) “…where there is gold,” (Bereshit 2:11) gold there
certainly was. “And the gold of that land is good…” (Bereshit 2:12) R’ Yitzchak said ‘happy is he in
whose house it is, happy is he in whose company it is.’ R’ Abahu said ‘the Holy One gave a great
good to His world – a man breaks a gold piece into smaller pieces, and he can buy many things
with it.’ Resh Lakish said ‘the world was not fit to use gold, why was it created? For the Holy
Temple, as it says “And the gold of that land is good…” like that which it says “…this good
mountain and the Lebanon.” (Devarim 3:25) “…there is the crystal and the onyx stone.” (Bereshit
2:12) R’ Ibo said ‘you think this is referring to the crystal of apothecaries? Let another verse clarify
it for you “…and its appearance was like the appearance of crystal.” (Bamidbar 11:7) Just as this
refers to a precious stone, so too that refers to a precious stone.’

Chapter 17

Not good[, the adam being alone]” (Gen 2:18) - Taught Rabbi Yaakov: Anyone (man) that has
no woman lives without good, without help, without happiness, without blessing, without
atonement. Without good: "Not good for the human to be alone." Without help: "I'll make a him
helpmate"(Gen 2:18). Without happiness: "And you and your house will be happy"(Deut. 14:26).
Without atonement: "And he will atone for himself and for his house" (Lev. 16:11). Without
blessing: "To attach blessing to your house" (Ez. 44:30). Rabbi Simon in the name of R’ Yehoshua
ben Levi said: Even without peace, as it is written "And for you peace, and for your house, peace"
(I Sam. 25:6). Rabbi Yehoshua of Sichnin in the name of Rabbi Levi said: Even without life, as it is
written "See life with the woman you love" (Eccl. 9:9) Rabbi Chiya bar Gamdi said: He is not even a
whole human / adam shalem, for it says: “And He blessed them and called their name Adam”.
(Gen 5:2) - the two together are called Adam. And there are those who say: he even diminishes
the Image, as it is written "Because in the Image of E-lohim, He made Adam" (Gen. 9:6), what is
written afterwards? "And you, be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 9:7)

... Said R’ Acha: In the hour that the Holy One came to create the human, He ruled
[together] with the ministering angels. He said to them: “Let us make a human [in our image]”.
They said to him: This one, what good is he? He said: His wisdom is greater than yours. He (God)
brought before them beast and animal and bird. He said to them:
This one, what is his name? and they didn’t know. He made them pass before Adam. He said
to him: This one, what is his name? [Adam] said: This is ox/shor, and this is donkey/chamor and
this is horse/sus and this is camel/gamal. And you, [He said], what is your name? [Adam] said to
him: I? It would be right/yafeh to be called Adam, since I was created from the ground/adamah.
And I, [God said], what is my name? He said to him: It would be right for you to be called my
Lord /Adonai, since you are lord/adon to all the creatures.

Chapter 18

"And God built [out of] the rib" - Rabbi Eliezer said in the name of Rabbi Yossi the son of
Zimra: woman was endowed with more understanding than man. As it is taught: at eleven years
and one day, her vows stick; at twelve years and one day her vows apply; and all twelve-year-olds
are checked. But for males, at twelve years and one day his vows stick; at thirteen years they
apply, and all thirteen-year-olds are checked. Rabbi Yirmiya said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar
Yitzchak: there are those that say the opposite, as the way of a woman is to sit in her home, and
the way of a many is to go out to the marketplace and learn understanding from others. Rabbi
Aybu said, and some attribute it to the name of Rabbi Benaya, and it is [also] taught in the name of
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai: [God] adorned her [Eve] like a bride, and afterwards brought her to him
[Adam]. In some places they call 'kil'ata' [braids] 'bin'yata' [net-works]. Rabbi Hamma bar Chanina
said: you think that she was brought to him under a carob or sycamore tree, rather she was
adorned with twenty four kinds of finery, and then brought to him, as it says: "In Eden, the garden
of God you were, and all precious stones were your covering: the carnelian, the topaz..." (Ezekiel
28:13). The Rabbis and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish; the Rabbis said: ten, and Rabbi Shimon said:
eleven. Rabbi Hamma bar Chanina and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish both said: a general rule followed
by a specific; follow the general rule by adding the specific, and it is all in the general rule - "every
precious stone is your covering" is a general rule. "Carnelian, topaz, emerald, beryl..." are the
specifics. Follow the general rule - "every precious stone is your covering." Rabbi Levi and Rabbi
Simon: one said nine, and one said ten. The one who said ten is like the Rabbis, and the one who
said nine argues that the "gold" mentioned in the verse surely does not refer to a canopy. Rabbi
Acha bar Chanina said: he made walls of gold and coverings of precious stones and pearls. Rabbi
Eleazar bar Bisna said in the name of Rabbi Aha: He even made him hooks of gold.
Rabbi Yehoshua of Sichnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: "And He built" is written; He
contemplated from where to create her. He said: I will not create her from the head, lest she be
haughty; I will not create her from the eye, lest she be coquettish; I will not create her from the
ear, lest she be an eavesdropper; I will not create her from the mouth, lest she be a chatter-box; I
will not create her from the heart, lest she be jealous; I will not create her from the hand, lest she
be a thief; I will not create her from the leg, lest she be a run-about; rather, I will create create her
from the most modest place on a person, as even when a person stands naked this place is
covered. And as He created each and every limb of the woman, He would say to her: be a modest
woman, be a modest woman! Nevertheless, "And they have disregarded all of my counsel"
(Proverbs 1:25). I did not create her from the head, and yet she is haughty, as it says: "And they
walk with stretched-forth necks" (Isaiah 3:16). And not from the eye, yet she is coquettish, as it
says: "and with wanton eyes" (ibid.). And not from the ear, and yet she is an eavesdropper, as it
says: "And Sarah listened from the entrance of the tent" (Genesis 18:10). And not from the heart,
and yet she is jealous, as it says: "And Rachel was jealous of her sister" (Genesis 30:1). And not
from the hand, and yet she is a thief, as it says: "And Rachel stole the idols" (Genesis 31:19). And
not from the leg, and yet she is a run-about, as it says: "And Dinah went out..." (Genesis 34:1).
Rav Hisda said: He built her an extra store-room [womb] more than the man, wider at the
bottom and narrower at the top, so that it could receive fetuses. "And He brought her to the man"
- Rabbi Avin said: happy is the townsperson, who has the King as a friend.
"And Adam said: this is now..." Rabbi Yehuda bar Rebbi said: In the beginning He created
her, and [Adam] saw that she was full of secretions and blood and separated her from him, and He
returned and created her a second time. As it says: "this is now" this is the woman this time. This is
now for me the one who will be my partner in the future. As it says: "A golden bell (pa'amon) and
a pomegranate" (Exodus 28:34). "This is now" - this is she that perturbed me all night. It was asked
before Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: why was Adam not tired from all his dreams, but was tired from
this one [Eve]? He said to them: because at the beginning of her creation she was just a dream, as
it says: "bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh." Rabbi Tanhuma said: if a man marries a relative, of
him it is written: "bone of my bones." "This one shall be called 'woman' because she was taken
from man." From here we learn that Torah was given in Hebrew. Rabbi Pinchas and Rabbi Hilkiya
in the name of Rabbi Simon said: just as the Torah was given in Hebrew, so too the world was
created in Hebrew. You have heard it said: 'man' and 'woman' [in other languages as distinct
words, unrelated to each other], so why ish and isha [the words for 'man' and 'woman' in Hebrew,
which are related to each other]? Because this word falls from this word [and, hence, the
grammatical inconsistency is explained if the Torah was given in Hebrew].
"Therefore a man will abandon." It was taught: a convert that converted and was married to
his sister, whether from the mother or the father - it is acceptable, according to Rabbi Meir. The
Sages say: from the mother it is acceptable, from the father, it must be established that he does
not worship idols. A refutation arose: does it not say: "And moreover, she is my sister, the
daughter of my father..." (Genesis 20:12)! He said to them: reply to them by their own reasoning.
Rabbi Meir refuted: "Therefore a man will abandon his father and his mother" (Genesis 2:24).
Rabbi Yochanan said: they explained this verse "therefore a man will abandon his father and his
mother" the one who supports his father, the one who supports his mother. Rabbi Abahu refuted:
does it not say: "And Amram took Yocheved his cousin" (Exodus 6:20)! Rabbi Shimon the son of
Rabbi Abahu said: from here would we learn that at the time of the children of Noah, Israel acted
differently, before the giving of the Torah!? Rabbi Levi said: we explain the verse "therefore a man
will abandon..." the one who is supported by his father, or by his mother. Rabbi Abahu in the
name of Rabbi Yochanan said: the children of Noah, in matters of marriage are obligated, in
matters of engagement are not. Rabbi Yonah in the name of Rabbi Shmuel said: if a whore is in the
marketplace, and two men come to her, the first is exempt and the second is liable, because he
was sleeping with a married woman. Did the first one intend to acquire her [as a wife]?! It is said:
intercourse at the time of the children of Noah acquires, even not in the way of [later] Judaism.
And how do we know that they did not divorce? Rabbi Yehuda in the name of Rabbi Simon and
Rabbi Chanin in the name of Rabbi Yochanan said: they did not divorce, or they both divorced each
other. Rabbi Yochanan said: his wife divorced him and gave him a bill of divorce. Rabbi Hiyya
taught: an idol-worshipper that divorced his wife, and she went and married someone else, and
then they both went and converted to Judaism, I do not apply to them the verse "The first
husband that sent her away cannot..." (Deuteronomy 24:4). Rabbi Aha in the name of Rabbi
Hanina bar Pappa said: in the whole book of Malachi it is written 'Hashem, Lord of Hosts' but here
it is written 'the God of Israel' as it says: "For I hate sending away, said Hashem, God of Israel"
(Malachi 2:16) - as if to say, God's name only rests on Israel. Rabbi Haggai said: When Israel was
exiled, the women's faces were blackened from the sun, and they were left and the men went and
married Amonite women. They went and circled the altar, crying, as Malachi says: "And this do a
second time" (Malachi 2:13) - a second time in relation to Shittim. "Cover with tears the altar of
Hashem with wailing and sighing" (ibid.), the Holy One Blessed be He said: who will accept these
tears and wailing, since you stole and did violence to and took it's beauty from her, now you will
send her away? And how do we know that they were fastidious about sexual impropriety like
Israel? As it says: "And he cleaved to his wife" (Genesis 2:24) and not the wife of his friend, or
another man, or an animal. Rabbi Shmuel and Rabbi Abahu and Rabbi Eleazar in the name of Rabbi
Hanina said: a child of Noah who comes to his wife unnaturally is liable for the death penalty.
Rabbi Assi said: every crime written about the children of Noah is not judged on the metric of
positive and negative commandments; rather, they all require the death penalty. How do we know
this? "And he cleaved to his wife and they became as one flesh" (ibid.).
 "And they were both naked." Rabbi Eleazar said: there were three who did not wait for their
contentment even six hours, and these are they: Adam, and Israel, and Sisra. Adam, as it says:
"and they were not embarrassed" (Genesis 2:25) - six hours had not passed, and he was content.
Israel, as it says: "And the nation saw that Moses delayed" (Exodus 32:1), when six hours had
passed and Moses had not appeared. Sisra, as it says: "Why does his chariot delay in coming?"
(Judges 5:28) - every day he would come in three or four hours, and today six hours have past and
he is not here - these are all cases related to "and they were not embarrassed." "And the snake
was crafty" (Genesis 3:1) - the text only needed to continue with "And Hashem God made for
Adam and his wife..." (Genesis 3:21). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karchah said: to teach you which
temptation the snake sprung on them - he saw them engaged in the way of the world, and desired
here. Rabbi Yaakov of the village of Hannin said: to not pause the story of the snake.

Chapter 19

“Eichah/How [Adam] could you have done such a thing?

But the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You shall neither eat of it
nor touch it, or you will die!" (Genesis 3:3). Thus it is written, "Do not add onto God's words, or
God will punish you, as you will be a liar" (Proverbs 30:6). Rabbi Chiyya taught: That means that
you must not make the fence more than the principal thing, lest it fall and destroy the plants.
Thus, the Holy One, blessed be, has said, "But of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, you must
not eat, for on the day you partake of it, you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17). Eve did not say this,
but rather, "You shall neither eat of it nor touch it" (Genesis 3:3). When the serpent saw her
exaggerating in this manner, he grabbed her and pushed her against the tree. "So, have you died?"
he asked her. "Just as you were not stricken when you touched it, so will you not die when you eat
from it."
... R’ Yehudah bar Simon said: Everything that was created after its fellow rules/shalit over
its fellow. .. And Adam was created after all to rule over all.

... the root/essence of Shekhinah/God’s presence was in the lower ones / `iqar sh’khinah
batachtonim haytah.

Chapter 20

... three have intercourse face-to-face, because the Shekhinah speaks with them.

... [The snake was created] “ruler over beast and animal / melekh `al hab’heimah v`al
hachayah” [and] “erect like Adam / qom’miyut k’adam”
 "And the Lord God made for the human and for his woman clothing of skin, and dressed
them" (Gen 3:21). In the Torah of Rabbi Meir we find written "clothing of light" - these garments of
the primordial human resembled a torch: narrow at the top and wide and the bottom. Rabbi
Yitzchak the Greater says: This clothing was like fingernails, effulgent like pearl. Rabbi Yitzchak
says: Like garments of the finest linen, like the kind that comes from Beit Sh'an. "Garments of skin"
- because they clung to the skin.

Chapter 21

...R’ Yehoshua bar Nechemyah and R’ Yehudah bar Simon in R’ Elazar’s name said: He
created him filling the whole world. From where [do we know he extended] from the East to
West? That it’s said: “Back/achor (i.e., after, the place of sunset) and before/East/qedem You
formed/enclosed me /tsartani” [Ps 139:5]. From where [that he went] from North to South? That
it’s said: “and from the edge of the heavens and until the edge of the heavens” [Dt 4:32]. And from
where [that he filled] even the world’s hollow-space? That it’s said: “.. . and You laid Your palm
upon me” [Ps 139:5].

And now lest he send his hand: Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said, "It teaches that the Holy One,
blessed be He, opened an opening of repentance for him: 'and now' - and 'and now' is always
[referring to] repentance, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:12), 'And now Israel, what does the
Lord, your God, etc.' And it states, 'lest'; and 'lest' is always [meaning], no (such that Adam refused
to repent). The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'He will also send his hand and eat from the Tree of
life - it is a wonder; if he will eat, he will live forever!' Therefore, 'And the Lord God sent him out of
the Garden of Eden.' Once He sent him away, He began to lament, 'Behold, man.'"

Chapter 22

And Adam knew Chava his woman etc. (Gen. 4:1) - "Remember Your mercies, Ad-nai, and
Your lovingkindnesses, because they are for ever" (Ps. 25:6): not from being judged, rather, from
the outset. Said Rabbi Yehoshua bar Nechemiah with them You dealt with the First Human, since
You said this to him: "because in the day that you eat from it, you will certainly die" (Gen. 2:17) -
and had You not given him one of Your days, which is a thousand years, how would he have
survived and even have descendants?
Now the man knew his woman Chava, etc. Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yaakov the son of Rabbi
Avin, in the name of Rabbi Aba bar Kahana said: Before the man, the creations had never had
sexual relations, behold here it is not written "and he knows" rather, and it is written "and he
knew", that is, he made known the way of the land to all. Another interpretation: And Adam knew
- he knew from what bliss he was expelled; he knew what Chava did to him. Said Rav Acha:
Chivyiah [the snake] is your snake, and you are the snake of Adam. 'And she conceived and gave
birth to Kayin' - Said Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryiah three wonders happened on that day:on that day
they were created, on that day they had relations, on that day they had children. Said Rabbi
Yehoshua ben Korcha: two went up to the bed and seven descended, Kayin and his female twin,
Hevel and his two female twins. 'And she said: I acquired a man with God' - the woman sees
herself with a baby and says 'behold the acquiring of my husband [is definitely] in my hand.'Rabbi
Ishmael asked Rabbi Akiva: since you have served Nachum Ish Gam Zu for twenty two years, and
[he taught that] every 'ach' and every 'rak' make for exclusion and every 'et' and every 'gam' make
for inclusion, in this verse what is 'et' doing here? He [Akiva] answered: if it were written 'I
acquired a man of God [w/o the 'et']' that would be a difficult thing, rather it says 'I acquired a
man with God'. He said to him: 'Because this is not an empty thing for you' (Devarim 32:47), and if
it was empty, it is because of you, because you cannot LIDROSH, rather 'with God' [means] that in
the past Adam was created from the adamah and Chavah was created from the adam. From here
and onward, “in our image as our likeness”—not man without woman and not woman without
man, and not both of them without Shekhinah [God’s presence].
And she then bore his brother, Hevel (Gen. 4:2) - this helps Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha,
who said: "Two went up to the bed, and seven came down from it." [It is written] 'she then bore',
and not 'and she conceived and bore.' Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of
the soil - there were three who were excited about the land to no benefit: Kayin, tiller of the soil,
Noach [and King Uziahu/Uzziah]. [Noach] Noah, the tiller of the soil [was the first to plant a
vineyard.](Gen 9:20); Uziahu: [He built towers in the wilderness and hewed out many cisterns, for
he had much cattle,] and farmers in the foothills and on the plain, and vine dressers in the
mountains and on the fertile lands, for he loved the soil (II Chron. 26:10).
And after a few days (Gen. 4:3) - Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. Rabbi Eliezer said: the
world was created on Tishrei. Rabbi Yehoshua said: In Nisan the world was created. The one who
said the world was created on Tishrei [sees] Hevel, Kayin [happen] from the Festival [Sukkot] until
Chanukah. The one who says in Nisan the world was created [sees] Hevel, Kayin [happen] from
Pesach until Atzeret. Whether one [accepts] these words, whether one [accepts] those words,
everyone agrees that Hevel did not stay in the world more than fifty days.
And Kayin brought from the fruit of the land an offering [mincha] to God (Gen. 4:3) - from
the leftovers, [similar to] the evil tenant that eats the first fruits and gives to the owner of the field
the stunted ones. "And Hevel brought, also he, from the first born of his sheep, and their fat"
(Gen. 4:4) - Rabbi Eleazar and Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina. Rabbi Eleazar said: the children of Noach
brought peace offerings [shelamim]; and Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina said: they brought burnt-offerings
[olot]. Rabbi Eleazar responded to Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina: And behold, it is written "And Hevel
brought, also he, from the first born of his sheep, and their fat" - this is something with which its
fat is offered! How did Rabbbi Yosi understand [work] that verse? He understood it as shemanim
[the fat that drips]...
'And Ad-nai paid heed to Hevel and his offering' (Gen. 4:4) - He was pacified because of him.
'And to Kayin and his offering He did not pay heed' - He was not pacified because of him. 'And
Kayin was very angry, and his face fell' (Gen. 4:5) - his face became dark/repulsive/like fire. 'And
Ad-nai said to Kayin: why are you so angry, and why is your face fallen? (Gen. 4:7) is it not that,
when you do good, you rise up [se'et]? [this is] blessing, just as you say 'and Aharon lift [vayisa'] up
his hands to the people and blessed them' (Lev. 9:22). 'And if you don't do good, lift' [this is] curse,
as it is written 'and cause them to carry [lift on shoulders] the iniquity of guilt' (Lev. 22:16).
Another interpretation: if you do goof I forgive all your sins, and if not, the sin of that same man is
heaped to excess. Rabbi Berachia in the name of Rabbi Shime'on the son of Ami said: Of David, a
maskil, happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned.' (Ps. 22:1) - Happy is
the person who is higher/greater from his sin, and whose sin is not higher/greater than him,as it
says 'sin crouches at the door'. It is not written here 'she crouches' [chatat is feminine] but 'he
crouches' - in the beginning the sin is weak like a lady, and after it strengthens as a male. Said
rabbi Akiva: in the beginning it looks like a thread of a spider, and at the end it becomes like the
rope of a boat, since it is written: 'Oy to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and as the
ropes of a cart, sin' (Isaiah 5:18). Said Rabbi Itzchak: at first it makes itself a guest, and later
becomes the master of the house, since it is written: '[And there came a traveler to the rich man]
and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man' - here
is the guest - 'that had come to him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that
had come to him. '(II Sam. 12:4) - this is the master of the house. Rabbi Tanchum bar Merion said:
there are dogs in Rome that know how to insinuate themselves, [the dog] goes and sits in front of
a shop, and he pretends to take a nap, and the shopkeeper takes a nap, and the dog lets a bread
roll fall near the ground, and and as onlookers are collecting [the scattered pile] the dog gets a
bread roll for himself. Said Rabbi Aba: this impulse is similar to robbers, [such as] a person bent
over, who was sitting at crossroads who would say to to everyone who passed 'give me what you
have!' A smart one passed and saw that there was nothing he could do to rob him, and began to
hit him. So too, the impulse for evil [yetzer hara] destroyed a few generations, the generation of
Enosh, and the generation of the tower [dor haplagah] and the generation of the flood, when
Avraham Avinu stood up and saw that [the yetzer hara] had nothing, began hitting him, since it is
written 'And I will beat to pieces his adversaries before him, and smite them that hate him.' (Ps.
89:24). Said Rabbi Ami: The yetzer hara does not walk by the sides, rather, he walks by the middle
of the square, and the moment he sees a man rolling his eyes, fixing his hair, and lifting his heel, he
says: 'this one is mine!' What is the reason? 'Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? Sin has hope
in him' (Prov. 26:12). Said Rabbi Avin: whoever indulges his yetzer [impulse to evil] in his youth, his
end will be to be to managed by him. Rabbi Chanina bar Papa said: if your yetzer came to tempt
you [lit. to make you desire] send him away with words of Torah, if you do so I rise you up as if you
created peace itself, as it says: 'The yetzer near you, go out in battle of perfect peace [shalom
shalom]' (Isaiah 26:3) if you do so I rise you up as if you created peace itself since not only peace is
written here, but peace, peace. And if you say that it is not in your power to do so, the text says:
'because in you/You He/he trusts' (Isaiah 26:3). And I already told [lit. honored] you through
Torah, 'Its urge is toward you, yet you can be its master.' (Gen. 4:7)
(7) “And Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field…”
(Genesis 4:8) What were they arguing about? They said: come let’s divide up the world, one will
take the land and one will take the moveable property. This one said: the ground you are standing
on is mine. The other one said: what you are wearing is mine. This one said: take it off! The other
one said: fly! Because of this “…Cain rose against his brother Abel and killed him.” (ibid.) R’
Yehoshua of Sakhnin said in the name of R’ Levi: they both took the land and the moveable
property. What were they arguing about? One said: the Holy Temple will be built in my boundary.
The other said: the Holy Temple will be built in my boundary. As it says “…when they were in the
field…” (ibid.) and the field only refers to the Holy Temple. This is what it says “…Zion shall be
plowed as a field…” (Micah 3:12) Because of this “…Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew
him.” Yehudah bar Ami said: they were arguing about the first Eve. R’ Ibo said: the first Eve
returned to the dust. Then what were they arguing about? R’ Huna said: an extra twin sister was
born with Abel. This one said: I will take her because I am the first born. The other one said: I will
take her because she was born with me. Because of this “…Cain rose up against Abel his brother
and slew him.”

... The voice of your brother’s bloods [are] screaming to me from [the surface of] the
ground” [Gn 4:10]—[this means that] she (the voice of Hevel’s blood) could not go up
above/l’ma`lah, for as yet no soul/n’shamah had gone up to there; and below/l’matah she could
not stand (i.e., stay or sink into the ground), for as yet no adam had been buried there, and [so]
“his blood was cast upon the trees and the stones.

Chapter 23

"And Cain knew his wife..." "Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue
forever" (Psalms 39:12), Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Pinchas, Rabbi Yudan said: why did the wicked
believe that "their houses would continue forever" (ibid.)? "they called their lands after their own
names" (ibid.) - Tiberias after the name Tiberius; Alexandira after the name Alexander; Antochia
after the name Antiochus. Rabbi Pinchas said: "their inward thought is that their houses shall
continue forever," tomorrow their houses will become their graves "their dwelling places for all
generations" (ibid.), because their are not living and not judged - and not only that, but they called
their lands after their own names. "And he built a city, and he called the name of the city, like the
name of his son, Enoch" (Genesis 4:17)
"And Enoch begat Erad..." Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: They all refer to rebellion. Erad - I
will drive him out from the world. Mechuya'el - I will erase him from the world. Metusha'el - I will
weaken him from the world. Lemech - What do I need with Lemech and his descendents? "And
Lemech took for himself two wives, one was named Adah and the second was named Tzilah"
(Genesis 4:19). Rabbi Azariah said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon: this is what the men
of the generation of the Flood would do: each of them would take two wives, one for procreation
and one for pleasure. The one who was for procreation would sit as if she was a widow in her own
lifetime (in the lifetime of her husband), and the one that was for pleasure would drink a cup for
sterility so that she did not bear [children], and would sit by him adorned like a prostitute. As it is
written: "He devours the barren that do not conceive, and does not do good to the widow" (Job
24:21). Know that among them the best was Lemech, and he took two wives, as it says "And
Lemech took for himself two wives, one was named Adah" - because she became pregnant [adah]
"and the second was named Tzilah" - because she sat in his shade [tzel].
..."Tubal-Cain": R. Yehoshua of Sakhnin said in the name of R. Levi, "This one sweetened
(literally, spiced) Cain's sin (some have the variant, 'Cain's work') - Cain would kill, but he did not
have with what to kill; but this one 'forged every cutting instrument of copper and iron.'" And the
sister of Tubal-Cain was Na’amah. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Na’amah was Noah’s wife. Why
was she called Na’amah? Because all of her deeds were pleasant (ne’imim). The Rabbis said this is
a different Na’amah. Why was she called Na’amah? Because she beat on a drum to draw people to
idol worship.
 Chapter 24

... R’ Tanchuma in the name of R’ Banayah and R’ B’rakhyah in the name of R’ Elazar said: In
the time that the Holy One created Adam Harishon, [as] a golem He created him and he was set up
from [one] end of the world and unto its [other] end – that’s what is written: “Your eyes saw my
golem”

Rabbi Tanchuma said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Menachem in the name of Rav
said... Ben Azzai said: “These are the generations of Adam" is a great principle in the Torah. Rabbi
Akiva said: This is a great principle of the Torah: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev.
19:18). Thus, one should not say, “Since I am scorned, I should scorn my fellow as well; since I have
been cursed, I will curse my fellow as well.” Rabbi Tanchumah said, if you act thus, realize who it is
that you are willing to have humiliated - "the one who was made in the likeness of God." Rabbi
Tanchuma says, “If you do so, you should know who are you scorning — ‘in the likeness of God He
created him.’”

Chapter 25

And he called his name Noach - Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish dispute.
Rabbi Yochanan said: "The midrash is not the name, and the name is not the midrash. Rather, the
verse only needed to say "Noach, this one will comfort us", or "Nachman, this one will comfort
us". Rather, in the hour that the Holy One created Adam HaRishon (the First Human), He made
him rule over all, the cow would listen to the plowman and the furrow would listen to the
plowman. Since Adam sinned they rebelled against him, the cow would not listen to the plowman
and the furrow would not listen to the plowman. When Noach stood/was established, they rested
(nachu). And from where do we have this? Here we have the expression of rest (nichah), and there
we have the expression of rest: "so that your ox and your donkey will rest (yanuach)" (Ex. 23:12).
Just as in that case the expression has to do with the ox resting, so too here. Rabbi Shimeon Ben
Lakish said: "The midrash is not the name, and the name is not the midrash. Rather, the verse only
needed to say "Noach, this one will comfort us", or "Nachman, this one will comfort us". Rather,
until the moment Noach stood the waters would not cease to come up and flood them inside their
graves. Twice, as it is written: "Who summons the waters of the sea [and pours them out upon the
earth— His name is Ad-nai!]" (Amos 5:8) this is regarding the two times [per day] that the waters
come up and flood them inside their graves, once in Shacharit (morning) and once in Arvit (night),
since it is written: "[abandoned among the dead,] like corpses lying in the grave [of whom You are
mindful no more], and who are cut off from Your care." Their "bodies lying in the grave" were
"abandoned corpses" - and when Noach stood up, they found rest. Here we have the expression of
rest (nichah), and there we have the expression of rest: "Yet they shall come to peace, they shall
have rest on their resting place, [the ones who walked straightforward]." (Isaiah 57:2). Just as in
that case the expression has to do with the resting in the grave, so too here. Rabbi Eliezer said:
Noach was named after his sacrifice (korban) as it is written: "And Ad-nai smelled the pleasing
[hanichoach] odor" (Gen. 8:21). Rabbi Yosi bar Rabbi Chanina said: He was named after the resting
of the ark, as it says "and the ark rested [tanach]" (Gen. 8:4). Rabbi Yochanan said: the celestial
spheres did not move that entire twelve months. Rabbi Yonatan said to him: they did move, but
their movements were not marked. "(So long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold
and heat, summer and winter, day and night) shall not cease" (Gen 8:22) - Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbu
Yehoshua dispute. Rabbi Eliezer said: shall not cease, from here [we infer] that they did not cease.
And Rabbi Yehoshua: shall not cease, from here [we infer] that they did cease.

Chapter 26

"And Noach was 500 years old." - It is written (Psalms 1:1) "Fortunate is the man who does
not walk in the counsel of the wicked." "Fortunate is the man", that's Noach. "who in the counsel
of the wicked he does not walk, and in the ways of sinners he does not stand [and in the company
of mockers he does not sit]." Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Nechemia [disagreed]. Rabbi Yehudah said:
[the three parts of the verse] refer to three generations - the generation of Enosh, the generation
of the Flood, and the generation of the Division [i.e., of the Tower of Babel]; Rabbi Nechemia said:
[They refer to] the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Division, but the generation
of Enosh was small. According to Rabbi Yehudah's opinion: "Fortunate is the man who does not
walk in the counsel of the wicked", that's the generation of Enosh. "and in the ways of the sinner
he does not stand," that's the generation of the Flood. "and the company of mockers he does not
sit," that's the generation of the Division. "Rather, in God's Torah is his desire" (Psalms 1:2), that is
[i.e., refers to] the seven commandments he was commanded. "and in his Torah he meditates day
and night" - he comprehended one matter implied by [lit. "from within"] another matter: he
[Noach] said [to himself], "What is the reason the Torah increased [the number of] ritually pure
[beasts], more than the [number of] ritually impure [beasts]? Was it not because He wants [me] to
sacrifice from them?" Immediately, "and he took from all the ritually pure beasts..." (Genesis
8:20). "and he shall be like a tree planted by water brooks" (Psalms 1:3) = G-d planted him in the
ark. "which gives its fruit at the proper time" - that is [i.e., refers to] Shem, "its leaves shall not
wither" = that is Ham, "and all that it does shall prosper" - that is Yefet.

Noah sired three sons, Shem, Ham, and Yafet. And was not Yafet the oldest? Rather, at first
you seek the one who was righteous (Shem), and was circumcised when he was born, and who
had his name singled out by the Holy-One-Blessed-Be-He, that Avraham would come from his
lineage in the future, as would the one who would serve as High Priest, and the Beit Hamikdash
would be built in his region. Shimon bar Huta said, "(Because of) the numerical value of his letters,
the Holy-One-Blessed-Be-He suspended for the generations of the flood until the (generation of)
scattering, three hundred and forty years (the value of Shem's name in gematria)."
And it was, when men begun (Gen. 6:1) - said Rabbi Simon: In three places this language is
used, and it means rebellion. "[And to Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named him Enosh;] it
was then that men began [to invoke Ad-nai by name.]" (Gen. 4:26); "[Cush also begot Nimrod,] he
began to be [a man of might on earth.] (Gen. 10:8). They answered back to him: behold, it is
written "[and Ad-nai said, 'If, as one people with one language for all] this is how they have begun
to act, [then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach.] (Gen. 11:6) - he
answered to them: here the Holy One bent the head of Nimrod and said: ""this" [one] will make
them rebel against Me." "To increase on Earth" - that they were spilling their seed on the trees
and the stones, and because they were associating in depravity He increased the females for
them, as it is written "and daughters were born for them" (Gen. 6:1). he wife of Rabbi Shimeon Bar
Ami gave birth to a girl. His father-in-law Rabbi Chia Rabbah said to him: The Holy One of Blessing
began to bless you! He asked: From where [do you derive this?] He said: "And it was, when men
begun to increase, daughters were born for them". [Rabbi Shimeon] went to his father, who said
to him: The Babylonian made you happy. He said: Yes, and this he said to me. The father said to
him: Even so, there is need for wine and there is need for vinegar, the need for wine is greater
than the need for vinegar; there is need for wheat and there is need for barley, the need for wheat
is greater than the need for barley. From the moment a man marries his daughter away, and
brings out his belongings, he says to her: 'may you never long for here [home]' Rabban Gamliel
married his daughter off, she said to him: Dad, bless me. He answered: 'may you never long for
here [home].' A son was born to her, she said: Dad, bless me. He said "may the word 'vay' never
cease from your lips". She said to him: Dad, two happy moments I had and you gave me curses! He
said to her: Both of them are blessings, if you feel content in your home you wll not long for here,
and if your son lives 'vay' will not cease from your lips: 'Vay, my son does not drink enough!' 'Vay,
my son does not eat enough!' 'Vay, today my son didn't go to the synagogue!'

Chapter 27

"and god saw the evil of man was great" it says: there is a person who's fortune is with
wisdom and knowledge and skill, r yudan says the ability of the prophets is great for they compare
a creation to its creator, as it says: i heard the voice of a man from inside the river. r yehuda the
son of simon says i have a verse which is more logical than this as it says: and on the shape of a
chair was the shape of a man standing above it. we expound on the verse above, that his fortune
was with wisdom,this refers to the verse "and god made the earth with wisdom"

Chapter 28

" Hashem said, “I will blot out from the earth the men (Genesis 6:7)": "Truly, He knows their
deeds; Night is over, and they are crushed (Job 34:25)". Rabbi Chanina asked Rabbi Yonatan, and
said to him: "Why is it written: "Truly, He knows their deeds""? Rabbi Yonatan answered him: "The
Holy One, blessed be He, did not collect from the wicked up to the one calling out verdicts down
upon them, and after that he punished them, that the Holy One, blessed be He, transform day into
"night" and he prepared them for punishment, and after that he punished them. So, in the
beginning: " Hashem saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth (Genesis 6:5)" and after this: "
And Hashem regretted that He had made man on earth (Genesis 6:6)" and only after this " Hashem
said, “I will blot out from the earth the men which I created ".
Rabbi Berachya in the name of Rabbi Beivai: "" Let the water below the sky be gathered
( yiqqavu ) (Genesis 1:9)": a limit was placed for the water. Similarly it is said: "The measuring line (
qav ) is being applied to Jerusalem (Zechariah 1:14)"". Rabbi Abba son of Kahana in the name of
Rabbi Levi said: " Let the water below the sky be gathered "; what was he going to do with them?
It is comparable to a prince who built a palace and settled in it mutes as tenants. and they rose
and asked about the prince's health with sign language and with fingers and with cloths. The
prince said: "How these people rise and asked about my health with sign language and with
fingers; if they were people who had their faculties, how much more they would!" The prince
settled in it tenants who had their faculties, and they stood and overcame the palace, and they
said: "The palace does not belong to the prince but to us!" The prince said: "Return the palace to
the way it was". Thus from the beginning, the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, arose except
from the waters. See! It is written: "Above the thunder of the mighty waters (Psalms 93:4)", and
what did they say? "Hashem, majestic on high (Psalms 93:4)". The Holt One, blessed be He said:
"How these who have no ability to speak or articulate, see how they praise me! How much more if
man were created! And a generation of Enosh arose and rebelled against him, the generation of
the flood and rebelled against him, the generation of the dispersal and rebelled against him. The
Holy One, blessed be He said: "Remove these and return those". See! It is written: " Hashem said,
“I will blot out from the earth the men which I created ": "What do they suppose? I need
assembled armies? Did I not with a word create the world? I with a word will bring them out and
destroy them from the world"". Rabbi Berechya said: "All that I created, it is nothing but dust.
What wipes off dust? Water".

Chapter 29

" But Noah found favor with Hashem (Genesis 6:8)". It is written: "He will deliver the guilty;
He will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands (Job 22:30)". Rabbi Chanina said: "Noah
had less than an 'unqiya in his hand. So why was he saved? Rather "through the cleanness of your
hands". This agress with that which Rabbi Abba son of Kahana said, that " I regret that I made
them " and Noah, except Noah was left from the, and he was not deserving, but rather because "
he found favor with Hashem ". Thus it is said: " But Noah found favor with Hashem ".
Rabbi Simon began: "Thus said Hashem: As, when new wine is present in the cluster, One
says, “Don’t destroy it; there’s good in it,” So will I do for the sake of My servants, And not destroy
everything (Isaiah 65:8)". A certain pious man went out from his vineyard on Shabbat and saw one
cluster of grapes and said a blessing upon it. He said: "This cluster is deserving", and so he was
blessed by it. Thus is said: ""Thus said Hashem: As, when new wine is present in the cluster".
Rabbi Simon said: "Three times the Holy One, blessed be He, found favor. Abraham, as it is
written: "Finding his heart true to You (Nehemiah 9:8)"; David, as it is written: "I have found David,
My servant; anointed him with My sacred oil (Psalm 89:21)"; Israel, as it is written: "I found Israel
[as pleasing] As grapes in the wilderness (Hosea 9:10)". His friends objected to Rabbi Simon: "But
see! It is written: " But Noah found favor with Hashem "". He replied to them: "The Holy One,
blessed be He, did not find favor with him. See! It is written: "Thus said Hashem: The people
escaped from the sword, Found favor in the wilderness (Jeremiah 31:2)": from the merit of the
generation of the wilderness "finding his heart true to You".
Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Pinchas:

Chapter 30
 Outra interpretação: “Estas são as gerações de Noah”...está escrito: “Que eles sejam
espuma (lit. leves) sobre a superfície das águas, que a parte deles na terra seja amaldiçoada, que
ninguém ande pelos caminhos das suas vinhas...(Ióv 24: 18) a expressão: “que eles sejam espuma
sobre a superfície das águas” refere-se ao decreto de destruição pela água [O Mabul/Inundação].
A expressão: “que a parte deles na terra seja amaldiçoada” – é como se fosse dizer: Aquele que fez
pagar a geração do dilúvio, retribuirá a quem não guarda sua palavra. Por quê? Conforme a
citação “...que ninguém ande pelos caminhos das suas vinhas”...isto é, eles não tinham a intenção
de plantar videiras (eufemismo para procriação)... por outro lado; Noah pretendia frutificar,
multiplicar-se no mundo...tal como foi dito: “estas são as gerações de Noah...”

... And one who acquires souls is wise”—this is Noach, who acquired souls, and was
nourishing them and feeding them. .. The twelve months that Noach did in the ark, he did not
taste the taste of sleep, not in the day and not in the night, for he was busy feeding the souls that
were with him, so “one who acquires souls”, this is Noach.
... For one hundred and twenty years Noach planted cedars and cut them down

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

God is good to all and His mercies are upon all of His works (Psalms 145:9): Rabbi Levi said,
"'God is good to all,' upon all, that He is their maker." Rabbi Shmuel said, "'God is good to all and
His mercies' - upon all that are His traits, He has mercy.” Rabbi Yehoshua of Sakhnin said in the
name of Rabbi Levi, "'God is good to all' and His merciful ones He give to His creatures." Rabbi
Tanchuma and Rabbi Abba bar Avin [said] in the name of Rav Acha, “Tomorrow a famine will arrive
and the creatures will have mercy, these upon those, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will be
filled with mercy on them.” In the days of Rabbi Tanchuma, Israel required a fast (to bring about
rain). They came to [Rabbi Tanchuma and] said to him, “Rabbi, decree a fast.” [So] he decreed a
fast on the first day, on the second day, on the third day and rain did not fall. He got up and
expounded to them. He said to them, "My children, have mercy, these upon those, and the Holy
One, blessed be He, will be filled with mercy on you." While they were still distributing charity to
the poor, they saw a man giving money to his ex-wife. They came to [Rabbi Tanchuma] and said to
him, "Rabbi, how are we sitting here [while] there is a sin here." He said [back] to them, "What did
you see?" They said to him, "We saw Mr. x give money to his ex-wife." They sent for them and
they brought them in front of the community. [Rabbi Tanchuma] said to him, "What is she to
you?" He said [back] to him, "She is my ex-wife." He said to him, "Why did you give her money?"
He said to him, "Rabbi, I saw her in distress and I was filled with mercy on her." At that time, Rabbi
Tanchuma lifted his head towards above and said, "Master over the worlds, just like this one that
does not have an obligation to sustain [her] saw her in distress and he was filled with mercy for
her, all the more so, You, that it is written about You, 'Compassionate and Merciful' and we are the
children of Your friends, Avraham, Yitschak and Yaakov, will You be filled with mercy on us."
Immediately, rains fell and the world was irrigated. Our rabbi (Yehuda Hanassi) was sitting,
involved in Torah in front of the synagogue of the Babylonian [Jews] in Tzippori [when] a calf
passed in front of him [and] was going to be slaughtered and started to yell out as if to say, "Save
me." He said to it, "And what can I do for you? That is what you were created for." [As a result,
Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi] had toothaches for thirteen years. Rabbi Yoss bar Avin said, "[During] those
entire thirteen years that [he] had toothaches, no pregnant woman had a miscarriage in the Land
of Israel and no birthing mother had pain. After some time, a crawling animal passed in front of his
daughter and she wanted to kill it. He said to her, "My daughter, let it go, as it is written, "and His
mercies are upon all of his works." Our rabbi had great modesty and said, "I will do anything that
people tell me except what the sons of Batira did to my forefather - that they came down from
their greatness (office) and brought him up; and [even] if Rabbi Huna, the Exilarch, came here, I
would get up in front of him. Why? As he is from [the tribe of] Yehuda and I am from Binyamin,
and he is from the males of Yehuda and I am from the females." Rabbi Chiya the Great said to him,
"And behold, he is [waiting] outside." [Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi]'s face changed colors. And when he
saw that his face changed colors, [Rabbi Chiya] said to him, "It is [Rabbi Huna]'s coffin." He said
[back] to [Rabbi Chiya], "Go out and see who needs you outside." He went out and did not find a
person and he knew that he was excommunicated - and there is no excommunication less than
thirty days. Rabbi Yossi bar Avin said, "[During] the entire thirty days that Rabbi Chiya the Great
was excommunicated from our rabbi, he taught Rav, the son of his sister, the principles of the
Torah." And what are the principles of the Torah? They are the laws of the Babylonians. At the end
of thirty days, Eliyahu - may he be remembered for good - came in the likeness of Rabbi Chiya the
Great to our rabbi and put his hand on his teeth and he became healed. When Rabbi Chiya the
Great came to our rabbi, he said to him, "What did you do to your teeth?" He said [back] to him,
"From the time that you put your hand on them, they became better. He said, "I do not know what
this is." When he heard this, he began to treat him with respect and he brought close the students
and brought up [Rabbi Chiya] to the top. Rabbi Yishmael bar Yose said, "And [should he] come
closer than I?" He said [back] to him, "God forbid, such should not be done in Israel." Our rabbi
was teaching the praises of Rabbi Chiya the Great in front of Rabbi Yishmael bar Yose - he said, "He
is a great man, he is a holy man." One time, [Rabbi Yishmael bar Yose] saw [Rabbi Chiya] in the
bathhouse and [the latter] did not humble himself before him. He said to [Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi],
"Is this your student that you have been praising? I saw him in the bathhouse and he did not
humble himself before me." He said to him, "Why did you not humble yourself before him?" Rabbi
Chiya said [back], I was looking at the homilies (aggadot) of Psalms." Once [Rabbi Yehudah
Hanassi] heard this, he gave him two students to go with him to the dark places, that he not get
confounded and lose himself. Another explanation: "God is good to all, etc." "And God
remembered Noach, etc." - Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said, "Woe to the evildoers who switch
the [Divine] trait of mercy to the [Divine] trait of [strict] justice. In every place that it states 'the
Lord,' it is the trait of mercy: 'The Lord, the Lord, merciful and compassionate God' (Exodus 34:6).
And [yet] it is written (Genesis 6:5-6), 'And the Lord saw that the evil of man on the earth was very
great[...] And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and the Lord said, "I will
erase, etc."' Happy are the righteous who switch the trait of [Divine] justice to the [divine] trait of
mercy. In every place that it states ' Elohim,' it is the trait of mercy: 'Judges ( Elohim ) you shall not
curse' (Exodus 22:27); 'to the judges ( elohim ) the matter of both of them will come' (Exodus
22:8). And [yet] it is written (Exodus 2:24), 'And God heard their cries and God remembered His
covenant'; '(Genesis 30:22), 'And God remembered Rachel'; 'And God remembered Noach.' And
what memory did He remember for him? That he fed and sustained them all of the twelve months
in the ark." "And God remembered Noach" - and justice requires it, from the merit of the pure
ones that he brought with him into the ark. Rabbi Eliezer says, "[Noach] was named corresponding
to his sacrifice, as it states, 'And the Lord smelled the pleasant ( nichoach ) fragrance.'" Rabbi Yose
bar Chaninah [says], "He was named corresponding to the resting of the ark, as it states, 'And the
ark rested ( tanach ) on the seventh month, etc.'" Rabbi Yehoshua says, "'Will not cease' (Genesis
8:22) implies that they ceased."

And again [Noach] sent forth the dove out of the ark. .. And the dove came in at evening,
and here, an olive leaf torn off in her mouth” [Gn 8:11]. “An olive leaf torn off in her mouth”—
From where did she bring it? R’ Bibi said: The gates of Gan Eden were opened for her, and from
there she brought it. Said R’ Abahu: Had she brought it from Gan Eden, couldn’t she bring
something special, cinnamon or balsam? But she gave [Noach] a hint, and said to Noach: Better is
bitterness from this and not sweetness from beneath your hand.

Chapter 34

And God spoke to Noah, saying: Go forth from the Ark, etc. (Gen 8:15). It is written, 'Bring
my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks unto Your name; the righteous shall crown
themselves because of me; for You will deal bountifully with me' (Ps. 142:8). 'Bring my soul out of
prison' this is Noah, who was imprisoned twelve months in the Ark; 'That I may give thanks to Your
name' to give thanks to Your [awe-inspiring] name; 'The righteous shall crown themselves because
of me': the righteous shall glory in me. 'For You will deal bountifully with me': You did deal
bountifully with me and said to me: Go forth from the Ark.
Ad-nai tests the righteous, etc. (Ps. 11:5). R. Yonatan said: A potter does not test defective
vessels, because he cannot give them a single blow without breaking them. Similarly, the Holy
One, blessed be He, does not test the wicked but only the righteous, so too Ad-nai tests [only] the
righteous. R. Yose said: When a flax worker knows that his flax is of good quality, the more he
beats it the more it improves and the more it glistens; but if it is of inferior quality, he cannot give
it one knock but it splits. Similarly, the Holy One does not test the wicked but only the righteous,
as it says: ‘Ad-nai tests the righteous.’ Rabbi Eleazar said: When a man possesses two cows, one
strong and the other weak, upon which does he put the yoke? Surely upon the strong one. So too
Ad-nai tests only the righteous; as it is written 'Ad-nai tests the righteous.' Another interpretation:
'Ad-nai tests the righteous' [note the singular form] applies to Noah [who stayed in the Ark until
God said to him]: Go forth from the Ark.

Another opinion: 'To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose (Eccl. 3:1):
there was a time for Noah to enter the ark, as it is written: 'come you and all your house into the
ark (Gen. 7:1), and a time for him to leave it: Go forth from the Ark. This may be compared to an
administrator/parnas who departed for a certain spot, putting someone in his place. When he
returned, he said to the other, ‘Leave your position.’ This may be compared to a scribe/sofer who
departed for a certain spot, putting someone in his place. When he returned, he said to the other,
‘Leave your position.’ So too Noach: 'go forth from the ark'. But he [Noach] did not accept the
order to go out, saying, ‘Am I to go out and be fruitful and multiply for a curse?’ Until the Holy
One, blessed be He, swore to him that He would not bring another flood upon the world, as it
says, 'For this is the waters of Noach to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noach should
no more go over the earth (Isa. 54:9)'
'You, and your wife, etc.' (Gen. 8:16) Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Simon, and Rabbi Yochanan in
the name of Rabbi Shmuel ben Rabbi Itzchak said: As soon as Noach entered the Ark, cohabitation
was forbidden to him, that's why it is written: 'And you shall come into the ark, you, and your sons'
(Gen. 6:18) - apart; 'and your wife, and your sons’ wives' - apart. When he went out, God
permitted it to him, as it is written: 'Go forth from the Ark, you and your wife'. Rabbi Aivu said:
'They are lonely in want and famine' (Job 30:3) - when want and famine visit the world, regard
your wife as though she were lonely [i.e. monstrous]. R. Huna said: it is written 'and to Yosef were
born two sons' (Gen. 41:50) - when? 'Before the year of famine came' (Gen. 41:50).
Bring forth (hayetze) with you every living thing that is with you…that they may swarm in
the earth (Gen. 8:18). R. Yudan said: havtze is written, but it is read hayetze: that they may swarm
in the earth - but not in the Ark. And be fruitful and multiply upon the earth - but not in the Ark.
'Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, whatsoever moves (kol romes) upon the earth
(Gen 8:19). R. Aivu said: Kol romes is written fully [with a vav] - it excludes kilayim [mixing species].
After their families: this excludes emasculation. The children of Noah were enjoined concerning
seven tings: Idolatry, incest, murder, cursing the Divine Name [blasphemy], civil law, and a limb
torn from a living animal. Rabbi Chanina ben Gamliel says: also concerning blood from a living
animal. Rabbi Eleazar says: also against mixing species. Rabbi Shime'on ben Yochai says: also
against witchcraft. Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroka says: also against emasculation. Rabbi Assi said:
The children of Noah were ordered regarding everything stated in the sentence: 'There shall not
be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, etc.'
(Deut. 18:10) and afterwards 'because it is an abomination for Ad-nai all that do this.' (Deut. 18:12)

And Ad-nai said to his heart (Gen. 8:21) - The wicked are under control of their heart: 'The
fool has said in his heart' (Ps. 14:1); 'And Esav said in his heart' (Gen.27:41); 'And Yerovoam said in
his heart' (I Kings 12:25); 'Now Haman said in his heart' (Est. 6:6). But the righteous have their
hearts under their control since it is written 'Now Hannah, she spoke at her heart' (I Sam. 1:13);
'And David said to his heart' (I Sam. 27:1); 'But Daniel put to his heart' (Dan. 1:8); [so too] 'And the
Lord said to his heart: I will not again/add curse to the ground' (Gen. 8:21): He did not add to it,
and let that indeed suffice. The Rabbis interpreted: I will not add [curse] to the children of Noah; I
will not add [curse] to future generations. 'Because the devisings of man's heart [yetzer lev] is evil'.
Rabbi Hiyya the Elder said: How terrible must be the dough when the baker himself testifies it to
be bad! 'Because the inclination of man's heart [yetzer lev] is evil from his youth' Abba Jose the
potter said: How terrible must be the leaven when he who created it testifies that it is bad, as it is
written 'For He knows our inclinations, it is remembered that we are dust' (Ps. 103:14). The Rabbis
said: How terrible must be the plant when the planter himself testifies that it is bad as it is written
'For the Lord of hosts, that planted you, has spoken evil of you (Jer. 1:17). Antoninus asked our
teacher: ‘When is the evil inclination placed in a person, from the moment one comes out of the
womb of one's mother or before one comes out of the womb of one's mother?’ ‘Before one
comes out of the womb of one's mother’ he replied. [Antoninus] replied ‘It can't be, if [the yetzer]
is put before one comes out from the womb, one would dig through the womb and emerge! Rabbi
agreed with him, because his view corresponds with that of Scripture: 'Because the inclination of
man's heart [yetzer lev] is evil from his youth [mine'urav]'. Rabbi Yudan said: This is written
mine'urav (from his awakening), which means, from when he awakes [nin'ar] to the world.
Antoninus asked our Teacher further: “When is the soul [neshama] put in a person, from the
moment one comes out of the womb of one's mother or before one comes out of the womb of
one's mother?’ He answered: ‘When one comes out of the womb of one's mother.’ [Antoninus]
replied ‘It can't be! This is comparable to meat left without salt for three days - will it not putrefy?'
Our Teacher agreed with him, for Scripture supports him: 'You bestowed on me life and care; Your
providence watched over my spirit[ruach].' (Job 10:12) - hence, when did You place the spirit in
me? When You gave me Your providence.

... Anyone who makes void (neglects) bearing fruit and multiplying, [it is] as if he diminished
the likeness. What is the reason? “For in Elohim’s image He made the human” [Gn 9:6] and it’s
written after, “and you, bear fruit and multiply” [Gn 9:7].

Chapter 35

" And God said to Noah and to his sons with him "I now establish My covenant with you and
your offspring to come" (Genesis 9:8-9)": Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nehemiah: Rabbi Judah said:
"Because he transgressed my command and because of that was despised". And Rabbi Nehemiah
said: "He added to my command and acted in holiness. Because of that he and his sons obtained
the speech: " And God said to Noah and to his sons with him ".
" God further said, “This is the sign that I set for the covenant between Me and you, and
every living creature with you, for all ages to come (Genesis 9:12)": Rabbi Yudan said " for
generations " is written, he specifies two generations, the generation of Hezekiah and the
generation of the men of the Great Assembly". Rabbi Hezekiah took out the generation of the men
of the Great Assembly and introduced the generation of Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai. Elijah,
remembered for good, and Rabbi Joshua son of Levi were reclining and studying together and they
arrived at an opinion from Shimon son of Yochai and they said: "Look the author of this opinion is
here and we will ask him about it". Elijah, remembered for good, went with him, and Shimon said
to Elijah: "Who was with you?". And he said: "The great one of this generation, Rabbi Joshua son
of Levi". He said to him: "Did a rainbow appear in his days?" And he said to him: "Yes". He said: "If
a rainbow has appeared in his days he is not sufficient to meet with my face". Rabbi Hezekiah in
the name of Rabbi Jeremiah said: "So spoke Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai: "Valley, valley be filled
with dinars of gold" and it was filled". Rabbi Hezekiah in the name of Rabbi Jeremiah said: "So
spoke Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai: "If Abraham can intercede from his generation to my
generation, and I can intercede from my generation to the King Messiah. And if not, let Ahijah the
Silonite join with me and we will intercede from Abraham to the King Messiah"". Rabbi Hezekiah in
the name of Rabbi Jeremiah said: "So spoke Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai: "The world is not able to
stand except by thirty men righteous like Abraham our father. If thirty, I and my son are two from
them. If twenty, I and my son are two from them. If ten, I and my son are two from them. If five, I
and my son are two from them. If two, I and my son are they. If one, I am he"".
" I have set My bow [ qeshet ] (Genesis 9:13)": my appearance [ qishuti ], a thing that is
similar to me. Really? Rather as straw is like grain. " When I bring clouds over the earth (Genesis
9:14)": Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yudan son of Simon: "Like one who was holding in his
hand boiling flour, he seeks to give it to his son, and his son to his servant". " When the bow is in
the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God (Genesis 9:15): this is
the measure of judgment above, " and all living creatures, all flesh that is on earth ": Rabbi
Yitzchak and Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Yudan Giyori were walking to hear the Torah from Rabbi
Shimon son of Yochai, some say on parasha Nedarim, others on parashah Nesakhim, and they
received farewells but stayed there one more day, and they said "We must receive farewells a
second time". One of them interpreted and said to them: "So it is written: "Then Joshua blessed
them and dismissed them, and they went to their homes (Joshua 22:6)". Teaching what does it
say: "Furthermore, when Joshua sent them off to their homes, he blessed them (Joshua 22:7)"?
Rather at the time when Israel was conquering and dividing the land the tribe of Reuben and Gad
were with them and did that for fourteen years and they received farewells from Joshua to go "to
their tents". And they were there several days further and they repeated the receiving of farewells
from him for a second time, and so it is said: " Furthermore, when Joshua sent them". Rabbi Yudan
said: "The tribe of Reuben and Gad were the attendants of Joshua and joined with him at the
Jordan, and when they saw that his attendants were lessened they returned and joined up with
him until his house. The later blessing was greater than the first; see! It is written: "and said to
them, “Return to your homes with great wealth—with very much livestock, with silver and gold,
with copper and iron, and with a great quantity of clothing. Share the spoil of your enemies with
your kinsmen (Joshua 22:8)"". And another interpreted that thus it is written: "On the eighth day
he let the people go. They bade the king good-bye (1 Kings 8:66)". Teaching what does it say: "On
the twenty-third day of the seventh month he dismissed the people to their homes. They bade the
king goodbye (2 Chronicles 7:10)"? Rather they received a farewell from him, and they stayed
there several days afterward and they repeated the receiving of farewells a second time, and thus
is it said: "On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he dismissed the people". Rabbi Levi
said: "It is written: "They observed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the Feast seven days
(2 Chronicles 7:9)": do you not have seven days before the festival which had among them
Shabbat and Yom Kippur, and Israel was drinking, eating, rejoicing, and lighting lights for seven
days? And finally they returned and felt upset about the matter. They said: "You will say that in our
hands is a sin because we desecrated Shabbat and did not fast on Yom Kippur". And so to pacify
them that the Holy One, blessed be He, was pleased with their deeds, he emitted a divine voice
that said to them: "All of you are from the children of the World to Come", and the later blessing
was greater than the first, as it is said: "and went to their homes, joyful and glad of heart (1 Kings
8:66)". Rabbi Yitzchak said: ""Joyful" because they found their wives pure, and "glad of heart"
because they became pregnant with males". Rabbi Levi said: "He emitted a divine voice that said
to them: "All of you are from the children of the World to Come"". And another interpreted that
thus it is written: "She went away (2 Kings 4:5)". Teaching what does it say: "She came and told the
man of God (2 Kings 4:7)"? Rather "and the oil stopped (2 Kings 4:6)" because the oil was more
valuable, and she came to ask if she should sell or not sell. The later blessing was greater than the
first: "And you and your children can live on the rest (2 Kings 4:7)": until the dead live. And when
Shimon son of Yochai saw them that they were people of refinement, he sent with them one
companion of the scholars to know what they were interpreting on the road and one of them
interpreted: "As it is written: "The angel of God, who had been going ahead of the Israelite army,
now moved and followed behind them (Exodus 14:19)". Teaching what does it say: "And the pillar
of cloud shifted from in front of them and took up a place behind them"? Rather this is the
measure of judgment because it was threatening Israel the Holy One, blessed be He, turned it
around and it threatened the Egyptians". And another interpreted: "It is written: " When the bow
is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living
creatures, all flesh that is on earth (Genesis 9:15): " between God ": this is the measure of
judgment above, " and all living creatures, all flesh that is on earth ": this is the measure of
judgment below. The measure of judgment about is hard, and the measure of judgment below is
bendable". And one from them interpreted: "Wisdom is better than rubies; no goods can equal
her (Proverbs 8:11)" and in another place it says: "She is more precious than rubies; all of your
goods cannot equal her (Proverbs 3:15)". "Your goods": these are the commandments and good
deeds. "Your goods": these are gemstones and pearls". Rabbi Acha in the name of Rabbi
Tanchuma son of Rabbi Chiyya: "My goods and your goods cannot equal her "For only in this
should one glory: In his earnest devotion to Me. For I Hashem act with kindness, Justice, and
equity in the world; For in these I delight —declares the Hashem (Jeremiah 9:23)". The Parthian
King Artaban sent to Rabbi Judah a priceless pearl and he said to him: "Send to me something of a
value like the value of this". So Rabbi sent to him a mezuzah. He sent and said to him: "I sent to
you an item of great value and you sent to me an item whose value is one polar!" He said to him:
"My goods and your goods cannot equal her". And further you sent me something that it is
necessary for me to protect, but I sent you something which is full of knowledge and will protect
you, as it is said: "When you walk it will lead you; When you lie down it will watch over you; And
when you are awake it will talk with you (Proverbs 6:22)": "When you walk it will lead you" in this
world. "When you lie down it will watch over you": in the time of death. "And when you are awake
it will talk with you": in the future to come".

Chapter 36

" The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Genesis 9:18)":
"When He is silent, who will condemn? If He hides His face, who will see Him, Be it nation or man?
(Job 34:29)". Rabbi Meir interpreted: ""He is silent" from his world, and "He hides his face" from
his world, like a judge whom a curtain stretches in front of his face and he does not know what is
being done beyond it. Likewise they said about the generation of the Flood: "The clouds screen
Him so He cannot see as He moves about the circuit of heaven (Job 22:14)"". They said to him:
"That is enough for you, Meir". He said to them: "But why is it written: "When He is silent, who will
condemn?"? He said: "Did he not give contentment to the generation of the Flood? And who came
to reproach them. What contentment did he give them? "Their children are with them always
[ nakhon ], And they see their children’s children (Job 21:8)", "They let their infants run loose like
sheep, And their children skip about (Job 28:11)". Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis: Rabbi Levi said: "For
three days one's wife was pregnant, as it is said elsewhere using the word nakhon "Be ready
[ nakhon ] for the third day: do not go near a woman (Exodus 19:15)". As nakhon is said here to
mean for three days, so nakhon is there for three days". And the Rabbis said: "For one day one's
wife was pregnant and gave birth, as nakhon is said there and here: "Be ready [ nakhon ] by
morning (Exodus 34:2)". As nakhon is said here to mean for one day, so nakhon is there for one
day". "And they see": they were looking at their children and their children's children. "They let
their infants [ 'avileihem ] run loose like sheep": Rabbi Levi said: "In Arabia they call a child an
avilah ". "And their children skip [ yeraqqedun ] about": like demons, which is why it says: "And
there shall satyrs dance [ yeraqqedu ] (Isaiah 13:21)". One of these women gave birth during the
day, and she said to her son: "Go and bring me a flint to detach your umbilical cord". And at night
she said to her son: "Go and light a lamp for me to detach your umbilical cord". There was a time
when one gave birth at night and said to her son: "Go and light a lamp for me to detach your
umbilical cord" and her son went and met with the demon Asmodeus. Asmodeus said to him: "Go
and tell you mother that the rooster has crowed, and if the rooster had not crowed I would have
harmed you". The boy said to him: "Go and tell you mother that my mother has not detached my
umbilical cord, and if she had I would have struck and killed you." See! It is written: "Their homes
are secure, without fear (Job 21:9)": from destroyers/demons. "They do not feel the rod of God
(Job 21:9)": because of a lack of chastisement. Why did he hide his face from them? Because he
brought to them the Flood. See! It is written: " All existence on earth was blotted out (Genesis
7:23)". "Be it nation or man together". "Be it nation": this is the generation of the Flood". "Or
man": this is Noah. "Together": because from him the world was established, and it is possible for
him to set up the world from a nation alone and from one man, as it is said: " The sons of Noah
who came out of the ark ".
"He shatters [ yaro'a ] mighty men without number and sets others in their place (Job
34:24)". The men of the generation of the Flood did evil [ here'u ] in their evil deeds. "Without
number": there was no number in their evil deeds. "And sets others in their place": these were the
sons of Noah: " The sons of Noah...were Shem, Ham, and Japheth ". "Ever since day was, I am He;
None can deliver from My hand (Isaiah 43:13)": the nations of the world. "When I act, who can
reverse it? (Isaiah 43:13)": all the deeds and thoughts which I did with the generation of the Flood,
who said to me: "You did not act appropriately"? But Noah was brought in in peace and went out
in peace: " The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were ". " Ham being the father of Canaan ":
the source of the decline. " These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole world
branched out [ naftzah ] (Genesis 9:19)": to what is this verse like? To a great fish who spawned
[ naftzah ] eggs and filled the earth.
" Noah, the tiller of the soil, was the first [ vayyachel ] to plant a vineyard (Genesis 9:20)": he
was disgraced [ nitchallel ] and made debased [ chullin ]. Why? " To plant a vineyard ". Should he
not have planted something else to repair the world, a tree sapling or a tree cutting? Instead " To
plant a vineyard "; from where did he acquire it? Rabbi Abba son of Kahana said: "He gathered to
him planting vine shoots and saplings of figs, and cuttings of olives, and see! It is written: " For
your part, take of everything that is eaten and store it away, to serve as food for you and for them
(Genesis 6:21)": a man does not gather anything unless it is necessary for himself". " The tiller of
the soil ": there were three of them who were excited about the land to no benefit, and these are
they: Cain, Noah, and Uzziah. Cain, " tiller of the soil (Genesis 4:2)", Noah " tiller of the soil ",
Uzziah: "and vine dressers in the mountains and on the fertile lands, for he loved the soil (2
Chronicles 26:10)". " The tiller of the soil ": who made the face of the ground, and because of him
the ground was preserved and by whom the entire face of the ground was filled. " The tiller of the
soil ": a stationed soldier, burgarius, is called by the name of his station, burg. Rabbi Berechya said:
"Moses was favored for than Noah. Noah was called " a righteous man (Genesis 6:9)", he was
called " the tiller of the soil ", but Moses was called "an Egyptian (Exodus 2:19)", he was called "a
man of God (Deuteronomy 33:1)". " To plant a vineyard ": While he was walking " to plant a
vineyard " the demon Asmodeus appeared to him and said to him: "Join with me! Though watch
out that you not enter my side of the vineyard. If you enter into my side, I will hurt you".
" And he drank of the wine, and was drunken (Gen. 9:21)". He drank without measure and
was shamed. Rabbi Hiyya bar Aba said: in the same day he planted, became drunk was humiliated.
And he was uncovered ( vait'gal ) inside his tent. Rabbi Yehudah said that R. Chanin said, in the
name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Itzchak: Vaigal [he was uncovered] is not written but vait'gal : he
brought exile [ galut ] for himself and the generations. The ten tribes were exiled only because of
wine, as it is written 'Woe to them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong
drink' (Isa. 5:2). The Tribes of Yehudah and Beniamin were exiled only because of wine, as it is
written, 'But these also erred through wine (Isaiah 28:7). "Inside his tent ( 'aholoh )": this is written
'aholah (with a hey, "her tent"), inside his wife’s tent. Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi
Eliezer, the son of Rabbi Yosi Hagelili: When Noah was leaving the Ark a lion struck and mutilated
him, and when he went to use the bed, his semen was scattered and he was humiliated. Rabbi
Yochanan said: Always beware of being excited for wine, because in the passage on wine [this one]
is written with a vav fourteen times, as it is written: " And Noah the husbandman began
( vayahel ), and planted ( vayita ) a vineyard, And he drank ( vayesht ) of the wine, and was
drunken ( vayishkar ); and he was uncovered ( vayit'gal ). And Ham saw ( vayar )… and told
( vayaged ) his two brethren, and Shem and Japheth took ( vayikach ) a garment, and laid it
( vayasimu ) upon both their shoulders, and went ( vayelechu ) backward, and covered ( vayechasu
)…And Noah awoke ( vayiketz )…and knew ( vayeda ) what his youngest son had done unto him.
And he said ( vayomer ): Cursed be Canaan (Gen. 9:20-25)". [ ‫ וָו ִי"ן‬vavs, are a symbol for ‫ווי‬, vey, in
English woe].
" And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw and told his two brethren outside (Genesis 9:22)". He
said to them and he told them: He said to his brethren: Adam had but two sons, yet one arose and
slew his brother; and this man [Noah] has three sons and yet he wants four! He talked to them,
and persuaded them. Rabbi Yaakov bar Zavdi said: Why does a slave go free for the loss of a tooth
or an eye? It follows from this: " And … he saw, and told ".
" And Shem and Yafet took a garment (Gen. 9:23)". R. Yochanan said: Shem began the
mitzvah, then Yafet came and listened to him. Therefore Shem was granted a tallit and Yafet a
phallium [circumcision]. ' And laid it upon both their shoulders and went backwards and covered
their father's nakedness ' but since it is written ' went backwards ' don't we [already] know that
they did not see their father’s nakedness? This comes to teach that they covered their faces with
their hands and walked backwards, giving him the respect due from a son to a father. Said the
Holy One of Blessing to Shem: ‘You covered your father’s nakedness! By your life [I swear that] I
will reward you 'When these men are bound in their cloaks ( be-sarbelehon ),’ etc. (Dan. 3:21).
Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Huna disagree [on what ‘ be-sarbelehon ’ means]: Rabbi Yudan said: It
means in their prayer cloaks; Rabbi Huna said: It means in their robes of state. The Holy One of
Blessing said to Yafet: ‘You covered your father’s nakedness! By your life [I swear that] I will
reward you 'for it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give to Gog a place fit for burial in Israel’
(Ezek. 39:11) The Holy One of Blessing said to Ham: ‘You brought your father’s nakedness to
disgrace: By your life [I swear that] I will punish you: 'So shall the king of Assyria lead away the
captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks
uncovered to the shame of Egypt’ (Isa. 22:4).
" And Noah awoke from his wine (Gen 9:24)": he was sobered from his wine. ' And knew
what his youngest [ qatan ] son had done to him.' Here [youngest] means, his worthless son, as
you read, 'Because the brazen altar that was before Ad-nai was too small [ qatan ] to receive the
bunt-offering, etc.' (I Kings 8:64). And He said: Cursed be Canaan (Genesis 9:25): Ham disagreed.
Rabbi Yehudah said: Since it is written, ' And God blessed Noah and his sons ' (Gen. 9:1), while
there cannot be a curse where a blessing has been given, consequently. He said: Cursed be
Canaan. Rabbi Nehemiah explained: It was Canaan who saw it [in the first place] and informed
them, therefore the curse is attached to him who did wrong. Rabbi Berekiah said: Noah grieved
very much in the Ark that he had no young son to wait on him, and declared, ‘When I go out I will
beget a young son to do this for me.’ But when Ham acted thus to him, he exclaimed, ‘You have
prevented me from begetting a young son to serve me, therefore that man [your son] will be a
servant to his brethren!’ Rabbi Huna said in Rabbi Yosef’s name: [Noah declared], ‘You have
prevented me from begetting a fourth son, therefore I curse your fourth son,’ Rabbi Huna also said
in Rabbi Yosef’s name: You have prevented me from doing something that is done in the dark,
therefore your seed will be ugly and dark-skinned. Rabbi Hiya said: Ham and the dog copulated in
the ark, therefore Ham came forth black-skinned while the dog publicly exposes its copulation.
Rabbi Levi said: This may be compared to one who minted his own coinage in the very palace of
the king, whereupon the king ordered: I decree that his effigy be defaced and his coinage
cancelled. Similarly, Ham and the dog copulated in the Ark and were punished.
" And he said, “Blessed be Hashem, the God of Shem; let Canaan be a slave to them
(Genesis 9:26)": Reish Lakish said: "Yet from Japheth they stood in the tents of Shem". " And he
said, “Blessed be Hashem, the God of Shem; Let Canaan be ", " May God enlarge Japheth (Genesis
9:27)": this is Cyrus who decreed the rebuilding of the Temple. " And let him dwell [ veyishkon ] in
the tents of Shem ": the shekhinah does not rest except " in the tents of Shem ". Bar Kappara said:
"Let the words of the Torah be spoken in the [Greek] language of Japheth in the midst of the "
tents of Shem ". Rabbi Yudan said: "This applies to a translation of the Torah. See! It is written:
"They read from the scroll of the Teaching of God" (Nehemiah 8:8)": this is the Torah reading.
"Translating it": this is the translation. "And giving the sense": these are the accents. "So they
understood the reading": these are the beginnings of the verses". Rabbi Huna son of Lollianus
says: "These are the grammatical constructions and pieces of evidence". The Rabbis of Caesarea
said: "A reference to the vocalic tradition". Rabbi Zeira and Rabbi Chananel in the name of Rabbi:
"Even if a man is knowledgeable in the Torah like Ezra, if there was no scroll of Esther there, he
does not read it or write it". There they say: "He wrote two scrolls: he hid the first and published
the second".

Chapter 37

" The descendants of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan (Genesis 10:2)": Rabbi Samuel
son of Ammi said: "This is Africa, Germania, Media, Macedonia Isania". " And Tiras ": Rabbi Simon
said: "This is Persia". The Rabbis said: "Thrace". " The descendants of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath,
and Togarmah (Genesis 10:3)": Asia, Adiabene, and Germania. Rabbi Berechya said: "Germanica".
" The descendants of Javan: Elishah and Tarshish (Genesis 10:4)": Hellas, Italia, Dardania. One
verse says: " the Dodanim " and a different verse says "the Rodanim (1 Chronicles 1:7)". Rabbi
Simon and Rabbi Chanin: Rabbi Simon said: " Dodanim " because they are the children of the
uncles [ dodin ] of Israel, Rodanim because they went and attack [ rodin ] them". Rabbi Chanina
said: "When Israel was placed in a high position they came and said to them, we are the children
of your uncle [ dod-khen ], and when they are placed in a low position they come and attack
[ rodin ] them".

Chapter 38

And all of the land was one language (Genesis 11:1)": Elazar son of Yose bar Zimra began:
"Do not kill them lest my people be unmindful: with your power make wanderers of them: (Psalm
59:12)". The rabbis interpret this verse as referring to Doeg and Ahitophel. David said: "Do not kill"
Doeg and Ahitophel, "my people be unmindful"--lest the generations that follow forget. "With
your power make wanderers of them" -- carry them away. "And bring them down"--bring them
down from their greatness. And what will He do for us? "O our shield, the Lord." "Because of their
sinful mouths, the words on their lips (Psalm 59:13)": this one allowed illicit sex and bloodshed
and that one allowed illicit sex and bloodshed. This one allowed illicit sex and bloodshed, as it is
said: "Have intercourse with your father’s concubines (2 Samuel 16:21)". "I will come upon him
when he is weary and disheartened, and I will throw him into a panic (2 Samuel 17:2)". And this
one allowed illicit sex and the spilling of blood. Nachman son of Samuel said: "He removed the
citizenship from him [David] and made him a persona non grata and he was like a dead person, so
his blood was allowed and his wife was allowed". Rabbi Eleazar in the name of Rabbi Jose son of
Zimra began with the generation of the dispersion. Israel said: "Do not kill" the generation of the
dispersion, "lest my people be unmindful"--lest the generations that follow forget. "With your
power make wanderers of them" -- carry them away. "And bring them down"--bring them down
from their greatness. And what will He do for us? "O our shield, the Lord." "Because of their sinful
mouths": because of the sin which they sent forth from their mouths. They said: "One time for
every 1,656 years the firmament totters, so rather let us go and let us make pillars, one from the
north, and one from the south, and one from the west, and this will serve as the support from the
east". "The words on their lips": " And all of the land was one language

Chapter 39
 (1) YHVH said to Abram, "Go you forth from your land…" … Rabbi Yitzchak said: this may be
compared to a man who was traveling from place to place when he saw a bira doleket/castle
aglow/lit up (full of light/in flames). He said, "Is it possible that this castle lacks a person to look
after it? The owner of the building looked out and said, “I am the owner of the castle.” Similarly,
because Abraham our father said, “Is it possible that this castle has no guide, no one to look after
it?," the Holy Blessed One looked out and said to him, “I am the Master of the Universe.” … Hence,
God said to Avraham, Lech Lecha.
(2) "Adonai said to Avram." (Gen. 12:1) R' B'rechia opened: "Your ointments yield a sweet
fragrance, Your name is like finest oil," (Song 1:3). Said R' B'rechia, "To what was Avraham
analogized? To a flask of balsam liquid with a closely fitting lid, resting in a corner, and whose
aroma was not wafted; once it was moved, its aroma was wafted. Thus said the Holy One, Blessed
be He, to Avraham: Move yourself from one place to another, and your name will be enlarged in
the world. "

(5) R' Azaria opened: "We tried to cure Babylon But she was incurable. Let us leave her and
go, Each to his own land" (Jer. 51:9). "We tried to cure Babylon" -- in the generation of Enosh. "But
she was incurable" -- in the generation of the flood. "Let us leave her and go" -- in the generation
of the dispersion. "Each to his own land" -- "Adonai said to Avram, 'Go forth.'"

Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nehemia [disagreed]. Rabbi Yehuda said: "Get yourself out" (Gen.
12:1) ['lech' is written] twice, once from Aram Naharayim and once from Aram Nachor. Rabbi
Nehemia said: "Get yourself out" ['lech' is written twice, once from Aram Naharayim and from
Aram Nachor and once because God flew him [Abraham] from the between the Pieces and
brought him to Haran, as it is written: "Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your
warfare" (Psalms 110:3), I was with you when you were in my service going down to the fiery
furnace. "In the day of your warfare" at the time when you gathered for me all of the soldiers and
the inhabitants. "In adornments of holiness" (ibid.) from the adornments of the world I sanctified
You. "From the womb of the dawn" (ibid.) from the womb of the world You free me to [serve] You.
"Yours is the dew of your youth" (ibid.) since Abraham our Father was afraid, and said: 'Suppose
that there is sin in me, since I worshiped idols all those years.' The Holy Blessed One replied:
"Yours is the dew of your youth," just as the dew evaporates, so do your sins; just as the dew is a
symbol of blessing forever, so are you a symbol of blessing forever, as it is written: "And I said: 'Oh
that I had wings like a dove! Then would I fly away, and be at rest." (Psalms 55:7) Why "like a
dove"? Rabbi Azariah in the name of Rabbi Yudan said: Because all of the flyers, when they tire
they rest on rocks or on trees, but this dove, when it flies and tires, it jumps with one of its wings
and flies with the other. "Lo, then would I wander far off" (Psalms 55:8), wanderings, movement
after movement. "I would lodge in the wilderness Selah" (ibid.), it is better to lodge in the
wilderness of the Land of Israel and not to lodge in the castles of outside Israel, and if you wish to
say that Abraham was not glad about the word of God [and therefore did not leave for Israel
immediately], but why did he not leave? Because he had not yet inherited. Once he had inherited
"And Abraham went just as God has spoken to him, and Lot went with him" (Gen. 12:4). Rabbi Levi
said: at the time that Abraham was walking about Aram Naharayim and Aram Nahor, he saw
[people] eating and drinking and lazing about. He said: if only I have no portion of this land. Once
he arrived at the promontory of Tyre, he saw [people] engaged in hoeing at hoeing time and
weeding at weeding time. He said: if only I have a portion in this land. The Blessed Holy One said
to him: "To your offspring I will give this land." (Gen. 12:7)

“And the souls that they had made in Haran.” Said Rabbi Elazar ben Zimra: Even if every
creature on earth conspired to create (out of nothing) even one mosquito, they could not give it a
soul--and you say “the souls that they had made.” Therefore (they must be) they must be those
who lived with them and converted. And it it meant “converted” why did it say “made?” In order
to teach you that each one who brings an idol worshipper and converts him, it is as though he
created him. And why did it say “that they made” rather than “that he made?” Said Rav Huna:
Abraham would convert the men, and Sarah would convert the women.

Chapter 40

R. Phinehas said in the name of R. Reuben: Two people were principal actors and yet made
themselves subordinate, viz. Abraham and Barak. Barak, as it is written, And she sent and called
Barak. .. And Barak said unto her : If thou wilt go with me, then I will go ; but if thou wilt not go
with me, I will not go (Judg. iv, 6 ff.). R. Judah explained : If thou wilt go with me to Kadesh, 3 I will
go with thee against Hazor 4 ; whilst if thou wilt not go with me to Kadesh, I will not go with thee
against Hazor. R. Nehemiah explained it: If thou wilt go with me in Song, 5 I will go with thee to
battle; but if thou wilt not go with me in Song, I will not go with thee to battle. And she said; I will
surely go with thee, notwithstanding (efes) the journey that thou takest shall not be for thy
honour (ib. 9). R. Reuben said: [Efes] is a Greek word, as though to say hafes (let alone).* Said she
to him: 'What thinkest thou? that the glory for the Song shall be given to thee alone!* He retired
into the second place, as it is written, Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam, etc. (ib, v,
i). 2 [Translation 1939 Freedman and Simon, Soncino Press]

Chapter 41

... R’ Shimon bar Aba said in the name of R’ Yochanan: any where that it says ‘and it was’
(vayehi) it indicates distress and joy. If it is distress there is no distress like it and if it is joy there is
no joy like it. R’ Shmuel ben Nachmani came and split the teaching in half. Anywhere that it says
‘and it was’ (vayehi) indicates distress, ‘and it will be’ (v’haya) indicates joy…The brought a
challenge from this verse “…and he was [there] (v’haya) when Jerusalem was taken.” (Jeremiah
38:28) He said to them: this is still a cause of joy because on that very day Israel received full
payment for their sins. As R’ Shmuel ben Nachmani said: Israel received full payment for their sins
on the day the Holy Temple was destroyed, as it says “Your iniquity is finished, O daughter of
Zion…” (Lamentations 4:22)

Chapter 42

“Avram the Hebrew was told.” Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Nechemyah, and the sages [disagree].
Rabbi Yehudah says: the entire world is on one side and he is on the other side [the word for
“side” in Hebrew is ‫מעבר‬, which stems from the same root ‫] עבר‬. Rabbi Nechemyah says: Because
he is of the descendants of Ever [the son of Shem, the son of Noah]. The sages say: he is from the
other side of the river and that he speaks in the Hebrew tongue.

Another [understanding]: And it was in the days of Amrafel: Rabbi Tanchuma in the name of
Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Berakhiya in the name of Rabbi Elazar [all] said, "This midrash came up to
our hands from the exile - 'Any place that it is stated, "and it was in the days of," it is nothing but a
term of grief.'" "And it was in the days of Amrafel" (Genesis 14:1): What grief was there over
there? They made a war. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Natan, "And there
are five": (1) [It is comparable] to a dear friend of a king who entered a province, and on his
account was the king [concerned] about that whole province. [Then] barbarians came and
grappled with him. And when he wanted to leave, they all said to him, "Woe that the king will no
longer be concerned about the province as he was": So [too,] was Avraham a dear friend of the
Holy One, blessed be He - as it is written about him (Isaiah 41:8), "the seed of Avraham, My dear
one"; and it is written (Genesis 12:3), "and through you shall all the families of the world be
blessed." And when the barbarians came and grappled with him, they all said, "Woe that the Holy
One, blessed be He, will not be concerned with the world as He was; since He was concerned with
the world for his sake." This is [the meaning of] that which the verse stated (Genesis 14:7), "And
they came to Ein Mishpat (which can be understand as the eye of justice)" - Rabbi Acha said, "They
sought to grapple with no less than the eyeball of the world." They said, "They sought to blind the
eye that [suppressed] the trait of [strict] judgment in the world." [The verse continues -] "It ( hee )
is Kadesh," [but] it is written, "he ( hu ) is Kadesh"; meaning to say, he sanctified ( hu kidesh ) the
name of the Holy One, blessed be He and went down to the fiery furnace. When they saw that the
things were like this, they cried out. (2) "And it was in the days of Achaz the son of Yoshiah, King of
Yehudah" (Isaiah 7:1). What grief was there over there? "It is what is stated by the verse (Isaiah
9:11), "Aram is in front and the Philistines are behind, etc." [It is comparable] to a king that gave
his son over to a mentor, and the mentor hated him. He said, "If I kill him, I will become liable for
death. Rather, I will take away his nourishment from him and he will die on his own": So did the
evil Achaz say, "If there are no goats, there will be no rams; if there is no flock, there will be no
shepherd, [and] where will the world be?" So did he say, "If there are no masters, there will be no
students; if there are no students, there will be no sages; if there is no Torah, there will be no
synagogues and study halls." What did he do? He passed all the synagogues and study halls and
sealed them. And this [is the meaning of] that which the verse states (Isaiah 8:16), "Bind up the
message; seal the instruction with My disciples.".... And when they saw that the things were like
this, they all started to cried out, "Woe that the world is being destroyed" - when [study of] the
Torah was negated, that was in the days of Achaz. (3) "And it was in the days of Yehoyakim the son
of Yoshiyahu" (Jeremiah 1:3). What grief was there over there? "I looked at the earth, and behold
it was empty and void; at the heavens and their light was not" (Jeremiah 4:23), [It is comparable]
to edicts of the kings that were were brought to the province. What did the people of the province
do? They tore them up and burned them. This is what the verse stated (Jeremiah 36:23), "And it
was when Yehudi would read three columns or four" - meaning to say, he read four verses - and in
the fifth verse, he read, "And her tormentors became the head" (Lamentations 1:5) - and it is is
written (Jeremiah 36:23), "he would tear it with a scribe's blade and throw it into the fire until the
end of all of the scroll." And when they saw this, everyone began to cry out, "Woe for the decree
that is hanging over us." (4) "And it was in the days when the judges ruled" (Ruth 1:1) - there was
famine there. [And to what is the matter comparable?] To a province that was liable a tax to the
king. [So] he sent collectors to collect it. The people of the province rose and smote the collectors
and hung them. The judgment that they were liable - as they appointed other judges for
themselves - they did to the collectors. So did they do at that time.... (5) "And it was in the days of
Achashverosh" (Esther 1:1). What grief was there over there? [It is comparable] to a king that had
a vineyard, and he had three enemies. What did they do? One cut the small berries, the second
ripped the clusters and the third uprooted the vines: So did Pharaoh began with the small berries,
as it is stated (Exodus 1:22), "Any son that is born, throw him into the river." Nevukhadnetsar
[ripped the clusters,] as it is stated (Jeremiah 29:2), "the craftsmen and the smiths".... Haman
[then] came [to] uproot the vines, as it is stated (Esther 3:13), "to annihilate, to kill and to
destroy." Everyone began to cry out, "Woe." Rabbi Shimon ben Abba said in the name of Rabbi
Yochanan, "Any place that it is stated, 'and it was ( vayehi ),' it is used for grief and it is used for
joy. And when for grief, there is no grief like it, and when for joy, there is no joy like it." Rabbi
Shmuel bar Nachman came and divided it, "Any place that it is stated 'it will be,' it is used for joy;
[but] 'and it was' [is for] grief." The Sages responded, "Behold 'And God said, " Vayehi (here used
as a command form, and not past tense) light"' [is] joy!" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as
the world did not merit to use that light. As so did Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon say, '[Regarding] the
light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam [could] look and observe
from [one] end of the world to the [other] end. [But] since the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the
deeds of the generation of Enosh and the generation of the flood, He arose and hid it from them.
That is [the meaning of] what the verse states (Job 38:15), "From the wicked is their light
withheld." And to where is it hidden? [It is] in the Garden of Eden, for the righteous ones, as it is
stated (Psalms 97:11), "Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the straight-hearted."'" They
responded to him further, "It states, 'And it was evening and it was morning, one day.'" He said to
them, "On that day too, it is not of joy, as all the acts of the first day are destined to wither, as it is
stated (Isaiah 51:6), 'when the heavens melt away like smoke and the earth wither like a
garment.'" They responded to him, "Behold, the [acts of] the second day, the third day, the fourth
day, the fifth day, the sixth day." He said to them, "They too are not of joy, as all the acts of the six
days of creation require further action - for example, wheat needs to be ground; mustard needs to
be mellowed; lupine need to be mellowed." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it
was that the Lord was with Yosef and he was a successful man' (Genesis 39:7)?" He said to them,
"It too is not of joy, as that 'bear' chanced upon him from this, as it is stated in the verse, 'after' -
'And it was after these things, and the wife of his master raised, etc.' (Genesis 39:7)...." They
responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yehoshua, and his
reputation was in all the land' (Joshua 6:27)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as he had to
rend his garments." They responded to him, "And is it not written (I Samuel 18:14), 'And it was
that David was successful in all of his ways and the Lord was with him'?" He said to them, "It too is
not of joy, as enmity descended into the heart of Shaul from this, as it is stated (I Samuel 18:9),
'And it was that Shaul eyed David.'" They responded to him, "And is it not written (II Samuel 7:1),
'And it was when the king sat in his house and the Lord allowed him rest from all of his enemies'?"
He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as on that same day, Natan the prophet came to David and
said to him, 'However you will not build the House' (I Kings 8:19)." They said to him, "Behold, we
have said what is ours; [now] say what is yours - that 'and it will be' is joy." He said to them, "'And
it will be on that day that the mountains will drip with nectar' (Joel 4:18), that will be in the days of
the messiah, and there will be great joy for Israel. And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that a
man shall save alive a heifer of the herd and two sheep' (Isaiah 7:21). And so [too,] 'And it will be
on that day that living waters will come out from Jerusalem' (Zechariah 14:8). And so [too,] 'And
he will be like a tree planted over streams of water' (Psalms 1:3). And so [too,] 'And the remnant
of Yaakov will be among many nations' (Micah 5:6)." They said to him, "But behold, it is written
(Jeremiah 38:28), ' vahaya (here used in the past tense, and not like the other examples) when
Jerusalem was captured'!" He said to them, "It too is not of grief, as on that day was the verdict of
Israel for their sins taken; as so is it written (Lamentations 4:22), 'Your sin has been completed,
Daughter of Zion, He will not again exile you.'"

‫" אל עמק שוה‬To the Valley of Shaveh": Rabbi Berachia and Rabbi Chanina said in the name
of Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman: [It was called that] because all of the idolaters became unanimous
[‫]השוו‬, cut down cedars and built a great stage, and brought [Avraham] there to rise him up, and
they said praises before him, saying [Bereishit 23:6]: "Hear us, my lord, [you are a prince of God in
our midst,]" etc. They said to him, "You are our king! You are our prince! You are our god!" He said
to them: "The world does not lack its King, nor does it lack its God."

Chapter 43

And Malchitzedek king of Shalem – This is what is written “And the daughter of Tyre shall
seek your presence with tribute, those who are the richest of the people.” (Tehillim 45:13)
‘Malchitzedek the king of Shalem’, this place makes its inhabitants righteous (matzdik) –
Malchitzedek, Adonitzedek (Yehoshua 10:1). Jerusalem is called righteousness as it says, “…in
which righteousness would lodge…” (Isaiah 1:21) ‘king of Shalem’ R’ Yitzchak the Bavli says (he is
called this) because he was born circumcised. "brought out bread and wine, and he was a priest to
the Most High God" (Bereshit 14:18) R’ Shmuel bar Nachmani and the Rabbanan argue, R’ Shmuel
said that the laws of the High Priesthood were revealed to him – ‘bread’ is the show bread, ‘wine’
are the libations. The Rabbanan say that Torah was revealed to him as it says, “"Come, partake of
my bread and drink of the wine I have mingled.” (Mishle 9:5) ‘and he was a priest to the Most High
God’ R’ Aba bar Kahana said every mention of wine written in the Torah makes an impact except
for this, R’ Levi said that even this we did not escape, because from there He called upon him “…
and they will enslave them and oppress them, for four hundred years.” (Bereshit 15:13)

Chapter 44

After these things the word of Hashem came to Abram in a vision, saying, etc. (Psalms
18:31) "As for God — His ways are perfect; the Word of Hashem is tried; a shield is He for all who
take refuge in Him." If His way is perfect, how much more is He Himself! Rav said: Were not the
mitzvot given so that man might be refined by them?. Do you really think that The Holy One of
Blessing cares if an animal is slaughtered by front or by the back of the neck? Therefore, mitzvot
were only given to make humans better.

Chapter 45

...2. "And Sarai said to Abram, 'Look, the Lord has kept me from bearing' (Gen.16:2) as
follows: "Said she, I know the source of my affliction: It is not as people say [of a barren woman],
'she needs a talisman, she needs a charm', but Look, the Lord has kept me from bearing.'"
,
...Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai said Hagar was Pharaoh's daughter. When he saw the deeds on
behalf of Sarah in his house, he took his daughter and gave her to him, saying, 'better that my
daughter by a maidservant in this house than a mistress in another house.' This is what is written:
"She had an Egyptian handmaid whose name was Hagar." [In other words:] ha agrikh: 'This is your
reward.'

And he went into Hagar and she conceived (Gen. 16:4). Rabbi Levi bar Hayta said: She
became pregnant at the first intimacy. Said Rabbi Eleazar: A woman never conceives by the first
intimacy. An objection is raised: surely it is written, So both of Lot's daughters got pregnant by
their father (Gen. 19:36)? Said R. Tanhuma: By an effort of will power they brought forth their
virginity, and conceived at the second “act of intercourse”. [The first act is what they did to
themselves. Said Rabbi Chanina ben Pazi: Thorns are neither weeded nor sown, but they grow and
spring up on their own. But how much suffering and effort for wheat to grow! Why were the
matriarchs barren? Rabbi Levi said in Rabbi Shila’s name and Rabbi Chelbo in R. Yochanan’s name:
Because the Holy One of Blessing yearns for their prayers and supplications, as it is written 'O my
dove, you on the clefts of the rock let Me see your face, let Me hear your voice' (Song of Songs
2:14): Why did I make you barren? In order to 'see your face... hear your voice'. Rabbi ‘Azariah said
in the name of Rabbi Yochanan bar Papa: So that their husbands might cling to them in their
beauty. Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Hiya bar Abba said: So that they might pass the greater
part of their life without hard work. Rabbi Huna and R. Avun in the name of Rabbi Meir: So that
their husbands might derive pleasure from them, for when a woman is with child she is disfigured
and does not care for her appearance. The ninety years that Sarah did not bear she was like a
bride in her canopy. Ladies would come to ask how she was, and she would say to them, 'Go and
ask about the welfare of this wretched woman [Hagar]!'’ Hagar would tell them: 'My mistress Sarai
is not inside what she is outside: she appears to be righteous but she is not righteous, had she
been a righteous woman, see how many years have passed without her conceiving, whereas I
conceived in one night!' Said Sarah: 'Am I going to argue with this woman?! I should argue with
her master!...

'And Avram said to Sarai: do it her what is good in your eyes!' (Gen. 19:6) He said to her:
"what do I care about her well being or her harm? [But] It is written: 'You will not deal with her as
a slave since you humbled her' (Deuteronomy 21:14), and this one, after we made her suffer, we
will enslave her? I don't care about her well being or her harm. [But] It is written 'he shall not have
the right to sell her to foreigners, since he broke faith with her' (Exodus 21:8) and this one, after
we made her a master we will make her a slave? I don't care about her well being or her harm."
'Then Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from her.' Rabbi Aba bar Kahana said: she
forbade her from having sexual relations. Rabbi Berachia said: she slapped her face with a slipper.
Rabbi Berachia in the name of Rabbi Aba Bar Kahana said: She made her carry water buckets and
bath towels to the baths.
And she called the name of Ad-nai who talked to her 'You are El-Roi' (Gen. 16:13) Rabbi
Yehuda bar Simon and Rabbi Yochanan said, in the name of Rabbi Eleazar Bar Shimeon: The Holy
One of Blessing did not grant speaking with women, with the exception of that righteous one
[Sarah], and even that had a particular reason. Rabbi Aba said, in the name of Rabbi Beiri: How
many roundabouts He did in order to talk to her! 'He said: 'no, you did laugh!'' (Gen. 18:16) But it
is written: 'and she called the name of Ad-nai who talked to her 'You are El-Roi''! Rabbi Yehoshua
Bar Nechemiah said: it was through an angel. But it is written: 'And God said to her'(Gen. 25:23)!
Said Rabbi Levi, in the name of Rabbi Eleazar, in the name of Rabbi Yosi ben Zimra: it was through
a name. 'You are El Roi' - said Rabbi Aivu: You are the one who sees the sufferings of the
persecuted. 'Since she said: also, here [halom], I have seen after the One Who sees me.' She said:
Not only I was granted a talk, but even royalty, as it is written: 'You that brought me this far
[halom] (II Sam. 7:18). Not only I was granted to see with my mistress, but even if my mistress
were with me right now she would not have seen. Another interpretation: Not only I was granted
to see with my mistress, but now even when I am alone! Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman said: this is
similar to a lady to whom the king said 'pass before me'. She passed before him but was relying on
her slave, and hiding her face, and she did not see the king - but the slave did.

Chapter 46

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, etc. It is written, To everything there is a
season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Eccl. 3:1). There was a season when
circumcision should be given to Abraham In the self same day was Abraham circumcised (Gen.
17:26); there was a season when his descendants were to neglect it as it is written, For all the
people that came out were circumcised; but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the
way as they came forth out of Egypt, had not been circumcised (Josh, 5:5). Why should he not
have circumcised himself at the age of forty-eight, when he recognised his Creator? In order not to
discourage proselytes. Then why not be circumcised at the age of eighty-five, when [God] spoke
with him between the pieces? In order that Isaac might issue from a holy source. Then let him be
circumcised at the age of eighty-six, when Ishmael was born? Said R. Simeon b. Lakish : [God said] :
' I will set up a cinnamon tree in the world: just as the cinnamon tree yields fruit as long as you
manure and hoe around it, so [shall Abraham be] even when his blood runs sluggishly and his
passions and desires have ceased.

(5) R' Yishmael and R' Akiva: R' Yishmael says, Avraham was a High Priest, as it says (Ps.
110:4), "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever, etc.'" and it says
elsewhere (Gen. 17:11), "You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin." From where should he be
circumcised? If he is circumcised from the ear, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. From the mouth, he
is not fit to offer sacrifices. From the heart, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. Where should he be
circumcised so that he will be fit to offer sacrifices? You must say it is the foreskin of the body. R'
Akiva says, there are four foreskins. Foreskin is said with regard to the ear (Jer. 6:10): "Their ears
are blocked." Foreskin is said with regard to the mouth (Exod. 6:12): "me, a man of impeded lips."
Foreskin is said with regard to the heart (Jer. 9:25): "but all the House of Israel are uncircumcised
of heart." Foreskin is said with regard to the body (Gen. 17:14): "male who is uncircumcised [one
who is uncircumcised in his maleness]." It was said to him, (Gen. 17:1): "Walk in My ways and be
blameless/whole." If he is circumcised from the ear, he is not whole; from the mouth, he is not
whole; from the heart, he is not whole. From where should he be circumcised so that he will be
whole? You must say it is the foreskin of the body. Scripture says (Gen. 17:11-12), "[You shall
circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and
you.] And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of
eight days." If he is circumcised from the ear, he cannot hear; from the mouth, he cannot speak;
from the heart, he cannot think. From where should he be circumcised so that he can think? This is
the foreskin of the body. R' Tanhuma said, tis Scripture makes sense (Gen. 17:14): "male who is
uncircumcised [one who is uncircumcised in his maleness]." And does there exist one who is
uncircumcised in femaleness? Rather, from the place where it is recognized whether male or
female -- from there we circumcise him.

...Bar Kappara said, "Anyone who calls Abraham, 'Abram,' transgresses a negative
commandment." R. Levi said, "[Both] a positive commandment and a negative commandment:
'Neither shall your name any more be called Abram,' is with a negative commandment; 'but thy
name shall be Abraham,' is with a positive commandment." But behold the men of the Great
Assembly called him Abram - "You are the Lord, God, who chose Abram" (Nehemiah 9:7)!?

Chapter 47

"God said..., 'Sarai your wife...'" In Proverbs (12:4), it is written, "A woman of valor is a
crown to her husband." Rabbi Aha said, "Her husband was crowned through her, but she was not
crowned through her husband." Our rabbis taught that she ruled over her husband. In all places,
the man gives orders, but here (Genesis 21:12), "In all that Sarah orders you, listen to her voice."
Said Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Korcha: 'The Yud that the Holy One of Blessing took from Sarai was given
half to Sarah, and half to Avraham. Said Rabbi Shime'on Bar Yochai: The Yud that the Holy One of
Blessing took from Sarai flew and posted itself in front of the Throne of the Holy One, and said:
'Master of the Universe! Because I am the smallest letter You took me out of the name of Sarai the
Righteous!! The Holy One said: In the past you were in the name of a woman, and in the end of
the name! Now I will put you in the name of a man, and on the beginning of the name, as it is
written 'And Moshe called Hosea Bin Nun Yehoshua' (Numbers 13:16). Said Rabbi Mana: Sarai was
just [a princess] for herself, now she will be a princess for all the world.

Chapter 48

"At the opening of the tent" (Gen. 18:1). You have made a good opening for passersby. You
have made a good opening for strangers/converts. For were it not for you, I would not have
created heaven and earth, as it is said (Isa. 40:22]), "Stretched them out like a tent to dwell in." For
were it not for you, I would not have made the orb of the sun, as it is said (Ps. 19:5), "He placed in
them a tent for the sun." For were it not for you, I would not have made the moon, as it is said
(Job 25:5), "Even the moon is not bright [ya'ahil]." R' Levi said, In the future, Avraham will be
sitting at the entrance to Gehinnom, and he will not allow a circumcised Jew to go down into it.
And those who have sinned too much, what does he/He do to them? He removes the foreskin
from babies who have died before they were circumcised, places it on them, and causes them to
go down to Gehinnom. Thus it is said (Ps. 55:21), "He harmed his ally, he broke his pact." "In the
heat of the day" (Gen. 18:1). When that day comes about which is written (Mal. 3:19), "For lo!
That day is at hand, burning like an oven." "In the heat of the day." R' Yishmael taught, "In the heat
of the day," this refers to six hours of the day [noon]. So then how do I interpret (Ex. 16:21), "when
the sun grew hot, it would melt"? To four hours. You say four hours; might it not be six hours?
When it says, "In the heat of the day," this refers to six hours. Or maybe it's the reverse -- "In the
heat of the day" to four hours, and "when the sun grew hot" to six hours. You would say, how can
you interpret "In the heat of the day" as four hours? Isn't it the case that, at four hours, there is
heat only in a spot where the sun shines. At four hours, in the shade it is cool, and in the sun it is
hot; at six hours, in the shade and the sun alike are hot. Thus you should not go by the latter
version, but rather by the former: "In the heat of the day" is six hours, and "when the sun grew
hot" is four hours, and only in a spot where the sun shone would it melt. R' Tanhuma said, at a
time when people do not have shadows underneath [Yerush: omits "underneath"; Maharzu
emends to "except underneath"]. R' Yanai said, He opened a fissure from Gehinnom and boiled
the entire world, and its inhabitants to boot, for a brief moment; the Holy One, Blessed be He,
said, the righteous ones are in distress, and the world is at ease? [From] this you say that heat is
good for wounds.
 "And he said, "My lords, if only I have found favor in your eyes..." (Bereshit 18:3) R' Chiyah
taught: he said this to the greatest of them, Michael. "Please let a little water be taken..." (Bereshit
18:4) R' Eliezer said in the name of R' Simai: the Holy One said to Avraham "you said 'let a little
water be taken.' By your life! I will recompense your children in the wilderness, in the settled lands
and in the time to come. This is what is written "Then Israel sang this song: "'Ascend, O well,' sing
to it!" (Bamidbar 21:17) This is in the wilderness. Where do we learn in the land of Canaan? "... a
land with brooks of water, fountains and depths, that emerge in valleys and mountains," (Devarim
8:7) From where do we learn in the time to come? "And it shall come to pass on that day that
spring water shall come forth from Jerusalem..." (Zechariah 14:8)

Chapter 49

"and god said am i hiding from Abraham" r yitzchak opened " the reminder of the righteous
shall be blessed and the name of the wicked shall rot" r yitzchak said: anyone who mentions a
righteous man and doesn't bless him transgress a positive commandment, what is the reason "the
reminder of the righteous shall be blessed". and anyone who mentions the name of the wicked
and dosent curse him also transgress a positive commandment, why " the name of the wicked
shall rot". r shmuel the son of nachman says the names of the wicked are similar to valuable
garments while you use them they last, as soon as you put them down, have you heard somebody
called pharo, sisra, sancheriv!! rather abraham, issac, jacob, rubin, shimon. r berchya and r chelbo
say in the name of r shmuel the son of nachman and r yonsan, when he got to this verse that was
exiled from jeruslam with the exile" he would say nevuchadnetzar crushed bones (curse)" and why
didn't he curse him when he read jerimia because all the times that he is mentioned in jerimia he
was alive, here he was dead. rav, when he god to humun on purim, he said, cursed is humun and
cursed are his sons, to fulfill what it says "and the name of the wicked shall rot". r pinchas said
charvona is remembered for good. r shmuel the son of nachman says we find that god mentions
the name of the jews and blesses them as it says: the lord who remembers us will bless. r huna in
the name of r acha says i only know that god blesses 600,000 Jews, how do we know that god
mentions and blesses every individual jew as well? as it says:and god said am i hiding from
Abraham what i am going to do, but Abraham will become a great nation, all the verse needed to
say was " i heard the screams of sedom and amora for they are great" rather god said: i mentioned
a tzadik and i wont bless him!! and abraham will be a great nation.

"And the men turned (faced) from there" (Gen. 18:22) - this proves that angels do not have
a back [of the head] (i.e. they went one way but could still face the other). "And they went
towards Sodom but Abraham remained standing before Hashem" Rabbi Simon said: "This is a
correction of the scribes [rather than saying] that the Shechinah (Divine Presence) would wait for
Abraham."
 "Far be it from You." R' Yudan said, "It is far from You"; "It is outside for You." R' Aha said,
"Halila" "Halila" twice. There is a desecration of the name of Heaven in the matter. R' Aba said, It
does not say "to do this thing"; rather, it says "to do a thing like this." Not it, nor anything like it,
nor anything less than it. R' Levi said, Two individuals said the same thing, Avraham and Iyov.
Avraham: "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the
guilty" Iyov: "It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys the blameless and the guilty.'" Avraham
received a reward for it, and Iyov was punished for it. Avraham spoke well-ripened thoughts; Iyov
spoke hastily and angrily: "It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys the blameless and the guilty.'"
R' Hiyya bar Aba said, There is a confusion of questions here. Avraham said,"Far be it from You to
do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty," and the Holy One Blessed
be He says, "so that innocent and guilty fare alike." Would He suspend [judgment] against the
wicked for the sake of the righteous? Oh that they were righteous, but they are only righteous
men of an inferior quality, as R' Yohanan said, All tzaddikim mentioned in connection with S'dom
are written "tzaddikam." This is the opinion of R' Yohanan, as R' Yohanan said, "So our elders and
all the inhabitants of our country instructed us" -- it is written "z'kananu" -- uncultured old men,
i.e., shameful old men. R' Yehoshua ben Levi said, Annex my deeds and they will increase the total
to 50. R' Yehuda ben R' Simon said, Aren't You the Righteous One of the world? Annex Your deeds
and they will increase the total to 50. R' Yehuda ben R' Simon said, This is what Avraham said to
Him: With a flesh-and-blood king, one can take an appeal from a duke's decision to a provincial
governor, and from a provincial governor to a military governor. But with You, because there is no
one to take an appeal to, won't You do justice? R' Yehuda ben R' Simon said, When You sought to
judge Your world, You gave it over to two, Remus and Romulus, so that if one of them wanted to
do something, the other could stay the first one's hand. But You, with respect to Whom there is no
one to stay Your hand, won't You do justice? R' Ada said, You swore that You would not bring a
flood to the world, and now You are weaseling out of the oath -- a flood of water You are not
bringing, but a flood of fire You are bringing. If so, You have not fulfilled Your oath. R' Levi said,...

Chapter 50

"But He is at one with Himself, and who can turn him? And what His soul desireth, even that
He doeth." (Job 23:13) It was taught: One angel does not carry out two commissions, and two
angels do not carry out one commission. And you say "two"!? (Genesis 19:1) Rather, Michael said
his tidings and departed, Gabriel was sent to overthrow Sodom, and Raphael to rescue Lot.

Chapter 51

His wife looked behind her - Rabbi Isaac said, for she sinned with salt. That night when the
angels came to Lot, what was she doing? Going to all her neighbors and saying to them, give e salt,
because we have guests. And her intention was that the men of the city would come to know of
them. Therefore "she became a pillar of salt."
......

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

AND SARAH SAID: GOD HAS MADE JOY FOR ME; EVERY ONE THAT HEARS WILL REJOICE
WITH ME (Gen. 21:6). R. Berekiah, R. Judah b. R. Simon, and R. Hanan in the name of R. Samuel b.
R. Isaac said: If Reuben has cause to rejoice, what does it matter to Simeon? Similarly, if Sarah was
remembered, what did it matter to others? But when the matriarch Sarah was remembered [gave
birth], many other barren women were remembered with her; many deaf gained their hearing;
many blind had their eyes opened, many insane became sane. For ‘making’ [HAS MADE] is
mentioned here, and also elsewhere, viz. And he made a release to the provinces (Est. II, 18). As
the making mentioned there means that a gift was granted to the world,l so the making
mentioned here means that a gift was granted to the world. R. Levi said: She increased the light of
the luminaries: ‘making’ is mentioned here, viz. GOD HAS MADE FOR ME, while elsewhere it says,
And God made the two lights (Gen. I, 16).

AND SARAH SAW THE SON OF HAGAR THE EGYPTIAN etc - Rabbi Shimeon bar Yohai said:
Rabbi Akiva used to interpret this to his [Ishmael’s] shame, Rabbi Akiba lectured: AND SARAH SAW
[THE SON OF HAGAR THE EGYPTIAN, WHOM SHE HAD BORNE TO AVRAHAM, MAKING SPORT.]
Now 'making sport' refers to nothing else but sexual immorality, as in the verse, "The Hebrew
servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to make sport of me. (Gen. 39:17). This teaches
that Sarah saw Ishmael ravish maidens, seduced married women and dishonored them. R. Ishmael
taught: This term 'making sport' refers to idolatry, as in the verse, "And the people sat to eat and
drink and got up to make sport' (Exodus 32:6). This teaches that Sarah saw Ishmael build altars,
catch locusts, and sacrifice them. R. Eleazar said: The term 'making sport' refers to bloodshed, as in
the verse, "Let the young men, please, arise and make sport before us" (II Sam. 2:14) Rabbi Azariah
said in Rabbi Levi’s name: Ishmael said to Isaac: 'Let us go and see our pieces in the field' and he
would pick up the bow and shoot arrows, aiming in Itzchak's direction, while pretending to be
playing (making sport), as it is written: "as a madman who casts fire-brands, arrows, and death; so
is the man that deceives his neighbor, and said: 'I am just joking (making sport)'. And I [Rabbi
Shimon bar Yochai] say that this is to be interpreted to the praise [of Ishmael]. This expression of
making sport is only used as 'inheritance'. In the moment that Itzchak our father was born all were
happy. Ishmael said to them: are you dumb? I am the first-born, I am going to receive double
portion [of the inheritance], that from the answer of Sarah our mother to Avraham 'because the
son of this maidservant will not inherit with my son, with Itzchak' you learn that he would not
inherit 'with my son' - even if he wasn't Itzchak - and 'with Itzchak' - even if he wasn't my son. All
the more so [this is true] 'with my son, with Itzchak'.

Chapter 54

And Abraham rebuked Avimelech: R. Yosi ben R. Hanina said: Rebuke leads to love, as it
says, rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Such indeed is R. Yosi ben Hanina’s view, for he said:
Love unaccompanied by rebuke is not love. Resh Lakish said: Rebuke leads to peace; hence, ‘And
Abrhaman reproved Avimelech’. Such is his view, for he said: Peace unaccompanied by rebuke is
not peace.

Chapter 55

And it came to pass after these things, that God tested [nisah] Avraham (Gen. 21:1). It is
written, “You have given a nes (flag, banner) to those who fear You, that it may be displayed
[lehithnoses] because of truth [koshet], selah” (Ps. 60:6): this means, trial after trial, greatness
after greatness, in order to test them in the world and exalt them in the world like a ship’s flag.
And why all this? ‘Because of truth, selah’: so that the attribute of justice [din] may be verified
[titkashet] in the world. Thus, if one says: ‘Whom God wishes to enrich, God enriches; to
impoverish, God impoverishes; whom God desires God makes into a king; when God wished, God
made Avraham wealthy, and when God wished God made him a king!’ Then you can answer that
person and say, ‘Can you do what Avraham did?’ And the person would ask: 'What did he do?' and
you say: "Avraham was a hundred years old, when his son Itzchak was born to him" (Gen. 21:5);
yet after all this pain it was said to him: "Take, please, your son, your only son" (22:2), yet he did
not refuse. This is ‘You have given a flag to those who fear You, that it may be displayed’.
Ad-nai tries the righteous; and His soul hates the evil ones and those who love violence (Ps.
11: 5). Rabbi Yonatan said: When a flax worker knows that his flax is of good quality, the more he
beats it the more it improves and the more it glistens; but if it is of inferior quality, he cannot give
it one knock without it splitting. Similarly, Ad-nai does not test the wicked - why? Because they
cannot withstand it, as it is written "And the evil ones He expels like the sea" (Isaiah 57:20) and
who does God test? The righteous, as it says "Ad-nai tries the righteous." "And it was, after these
things, his master’s wife cast [tisah] [her eyes upon Yosef and said, “Lie with me."(Gen. 39:7)"
"And it was, after these things" - Rabbi Yonatan said: A potter does not test defective vessels,
because he cannot give them a single blow without breaking them. What then does he test? Only
strong vessels, for he will not break them even with many blows. Similarly, the Holy One of
Blessing does not test the wicked but the righteous, as it says, ‘Ad-nai tries the righteous.’ Rabbi
Eleazar said: When a man possesses two cows, one strong and the other weak, on which one he
puts the yoke? Surely on the strong one Similarly, God tests only the righteous, as it says, ‘Ad-nai
tries the righteous.’
 Another opinion: “The Lord tests the righteous.” – This is Abraham – “Sometime after these
things, God tested Abraham.” R. Avin expounded: (Ecclesiastes 8:4) “Since a king's word is
supreme, who can say to him: ‘What are you doing?’” – R. Avin said: [This may be compared] to a
teacher who commands his student, saying to him: (Deuteronomy 16:19) “You shall not judge
unfairly,” but [the teacher himself] judges unfairly; (Deuteronomy 16:19) “Do not take a bribe,”
but [the teacher himself] takes a bribe; Do not lend on interest, but [the teacher himself] lends on
interest. His student said to him: Rabbi, you said to me: Do not lend on interest, but you lend on
interest? [Is it] permitted to you but forbidden to me? [The teacher] said to him: I said to you: Do
not lend on interest to a Jew, but you may lend on interest to an idol worshipper, as it is written:
(Deuteronomy 23:21) “You may lend on interest to a foreigner, but you may not lend on interest
to your brother [Israelite].” Thus Israel said before The Holy One Blessed be He: Master of the
Universe, you wrote in your Torah: (Leviticus 19:18) “You shall not take vengeance or bear a
grudge,” but you take vengeance and bear a grudge, as it is said: (Nahum 1:2) “The Lord is
vengeful and fierce in wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on His enemies.” The Holy One Blessed be
He said to them: I wrote in the Torah: (Leviticus 19:18) “You shall not take vengeance or bear a
grudge against your countrymen,” but I take vengeance against idol worshippers – (Numbers 31:2)
“Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites.” It is written: (Deuteronomy 6:16) “Do not test the
Lord” – [but] “God tested Abraham.”
After these things — misgivings were experienced on that occasion. Who then had
misgivings? Avraham, saying to himself: ‘I have rejoiced and made all others rejoice, yet I did not
set aside a single bullock or ram for the Holy One of Blessing.’ Said the Holy One of Blessing to him:
‘I know that even if you were commanded to offer your only son to Me, you would not refuse.’ -
this is according to Rabbi Eleazar who said that the employment of va-e-lohim where E-lohim
would suffice, implies both God and God’s Court. It was the ministering angels who spoke thus:
‘This Avraham rejoiced and made all others rejoice, yet did not set aside for the Holy One of
Blessing a single bullock or ram.’ Said the Holy One of Blessing to them: ‘Even if we tell him to offer
his own son, he will not refuse.’ Itzchak and Ishmael were engaged in a dispute: the latter argued,
‘I am more beloved than you, because I was circumcised at the age of thirteen’; while the other
retorted, ‘I am more beloved than you, because I was circumcised at eight days.’ Said Ishmael to
him: ‘I am more beloved, because I could have protested, yet I did not.’ At that moment Itzchak
exclaimed: ‘O that God would appear to me and bid me cut off one of my limbs! then I would not
refuse.’ Said God: ‘Even if I bid you sacrifice yourself, you will not refuse.’ [Another version: Said
Ishmael to him: ‘I am more beloved than you, since I as circumcised at the age of thirteen, but you
were circumcised as a baby and could not refuse.’ Itzchak retorted: ‘All that you did lend to the
Holy One of Blessing was three drops of blood. But look, I am now thirty-seven years old, yet if
God desired of me that I be slaughtered, I would not refuse.’ Said the Holy One of Blessing ‘This is
the moment!’ Straightway, “God tested Avraham”.]

And He said: Take, please, your son, etc. (22:2). Said God to him: ‘Take, I beg you" — please
—Your son.’ ‘Which son? I have two sons’ he said. ‘Your only son,’ replied He. ‘This one is the only
one of his mother, and this one is the only one of his mother.’ "The one you love"—‘Is there a limit
to the affections?’ "Itzchak" said He. And why did God not reveal it to him without delay? In order
to make him [Itzchak] even more beloved in his eyes and reward him for each and every word
spoken. This agrees with the opinion of Rabbi Yohanan, who said: "Get out of your country" (Gen.
12:1) means from your province; “And from your kindred” (Gen. 12:1)—from your neighborhood;
“And from your father’s house"(Gen. 12:1)—literally your father’s house. “To the land that I will
show you” (Gen. 12:1). Why did He not reveal it to him there and then? In order to make it more
beloved in his eyes and to reward him for each and every word said, and for each and every step
taken. Rabbi Levi b. Hayata said: ‘Get you’ is written twice, and we do not know which was more
precious [in the eyes of God] the first or the second. But when it is written, “And get you to the
land of Moriah” (22:2) it follows that the second occasion was more precious than the first. "And
go yourself to the land of Moriah" Rabbi Chiya Raba and Rabbi Yanai [disagree]: one says to the
place from which instruction (hora’ah) goes out to the world, and the other says to the place from
which awe (yirah) goes out to the world. Similarly regarding the Holy of Holies (devir), Rabbi Chiya
and Rabbi Yanai [disagree]: one says from the place from which the commandments (dibra’ot) go
out to the world, and one says from the place from which speech (dibur) goes out to the world.
Similarly regarding the ark (aron), Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Yanai [disagree]: one says to the place
from which the light (ha’orah) goes out to the world, and one says to the place where awe (yirah)
goes out to the world. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that from there the Holy One instructs
[mor'eh] the nations of the world and brings them down [moridam] to Gehinnom. Rabbi Shimon
bar Yochai said, to the place which is aligned [ra'ui] with the Holy Temple above. Rabbi Yudan said,
to the place where there will be an appearance [mar'eh] to you. Rabbi Pinchas said, to the place of
the Master [marvatah] of the World. The Rabbis said, to the place where the incense is offered –
this is what it says “…I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.” (Shir
HaShirim 4:6) "And offer Him there as a burnt-offering (Gen. 22:2). Rabbi Yudan bar Simon said: He
[Avraham] said to Him: ‘Master of the Universe! Can there be a sacrifice without a priest?’ The
Holy One of Blessing replied ‘I have already appointed you to be a priest’ as it is written, ‘You are a
priest for ever’ (Ps. 110:4). "On one of the mountains which I will tell you of (Gen. 22:2). Rabbi
Huna said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili: The Holy One of Blessing
first places the righteous in doubt and suspense, and then reveals to them the real meaning of the
matter, as it is written "to the land that I will show you (Gen. 12:1); "On one of the mountains
which I will tell you"; "And make to it the proclamation that I bid you (Jonah 3:2); similarly, "Arise,
go out into the plain and I will there speak with you (Ezek. 3:22).
...And Avraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey (Genesis 22:3). Rabbi
Simeon b. Yohai said: Love upsets the natural order, and hate upsets the natural order. Love
upsets the natural order: "And Avraham rose early in the morning, etc".: surely he had plenty of
slaves? But the reason was that love upset the natural order. Hate upsets the natural order: "And
Bilam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey" (Num. 22:21): surely he had plenty of
slaves? Hate, however, upsets the natural order. Love upsets the natural order: "And Yosef made
ready his chariot, etc." (Gen. 46:29): yet surely Yosef had plenty of slaves? But love upsets the
natural order. Hate upsets the natural order: "And he made ready his chariot" (Ex. 14:6); yet surely
he had plenty of slaves? Thus hate upsets the natural order. Rabbi Simeon b. Yohai said: Let
saddling counteract saddling. Let the saddling done by our father Avraham in order to go and fulfill
the will of the One at whose word the world came into existence counteract the saddling done by
Bilam in order to go and curse Israel. Let preparing counteract preparing. Let Yosef’s preparing [of
his chariot] to meet his father counteract Pharaoh’s preparing to go and pursue Israel. Rabbi
Ishmael taught: Let the sword of the hand counteract the sword of the hand. Let the sword taken
in the hand of our father Avraham, as it says, "And Avraham stretched forth his hand, and took the
knife to slay his son" (Gen. 22:10), come and counteract the sword grasped by Pharaoh’s hand
when he said, "I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them" (Ex. 15:9). "And took two of his
young men with him, and Itzchak his son." (Gen. 22:3) Rabbi Abbahu said: Two people behaved
with derech eretz (decency), Avraham and Saul: Avraham, as it says, "And took two of his young
men with him"; Saul, as it says, "And Saul … went, he and two men with him" (I Sam. 28:8). "And
he cleaved the wood for the burnt-offering," (Gen. 22:3) Rabbi Hiyya b. Rabbi Yosei said in the
name of Rabbi Meyasha, and it was also repeated in the name of Rabbi Benaiah: As a reward for
the two cleavings with which our father Avraham cleaved the wood of the burnt-offering, he
earned that God should cleave [divide] the Sea before his descendants, as it says, And the waters
were divided (Ex. 14:21). Said Rabbi Levi: Enough of this! In truth Avraham acted according to his
powers an the Holy One of Blessing according to His powers. "And he rose up, and went to the
place." (Gen. 22:3) Avraham was rewarded for rising up and for going.

Chapter 56

“On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes…” (Genesis 22:4) It is written “He will revive us
from the two days, on the third day He will set us up, and we will live before Him.” (Hoshea 6:2)
On the third day of the tribes it is written “On the third day, Joseph said to them…” (Genesis 42:18)
On the third day of the spies, as it says “…and hide yourselves there three days…” (Joshua 2:16) On
the third day of the giving of the Torah, as it says “It came to pass on the third day…” (Exodus
19:16) On the third day of Jonah, as it is written “…and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three
days and three nights.” (Jonah 2:1) On the third day of those who came up from exile, as it is
written “…and stayed there three days.” (Ezra 8:32) On the third day of the resurrection of the
dead, as it is written “He will revive us from the two days, on the third day He will set us up, and
we will live before Him.” (Hoshea 6:2) On Esther’s third day “Now it came to pass on the third day,
that Esther clothed herself regally…” (Esther 5:1) The royalty of her father’s house. In what merit?
This is an argument of the Rabbis and Rabbi Levi. The Rabbis say: in the merit of the third day of
the giving of the Torah, as it says “It came to pass on the third day when it was morning…” (Exodus
19:16) Rabbi Levi said: in the merit of the third day of our father Avraham, as it says "On the third
day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.” (Genesis 22:4) What did he see? He
saw a cloud attached to the mountain. He said: it appears that this is the place where the Holy One
told me to offer up my son.
He then said to him [Itzchak]: ‘Itzchak, my son do you what I see?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied. He said
to his two servants: ‘Do you see what I see?’ ‘No,’ they answered. ‘Since you do not see it, “stay
here with the donkey,” (Gen. 22:5), he bade them, because you are like the donkey, it follows that
slaves are like cattle. The Rabbis proved [it from this verse spoken at] the Revelation: Six days you
shall labor, and do all your work … you, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-
servant, nor your cattle (Ex. 20:10). R. Itzchak said: This place shall one day be alienated from its
Owner. For ever? [No], for it is stated, “This is My resting-place forever; here will I dwell for I have
desired it” (Ps. 132:14) — when he comes of whom it is written, “Lowly, and riding upon a donkey”
(Zech. 1:9). “And I and the lad will go just there” — Ad Koh. Said R. Joshua b. Levi: We will go and
see what is to be the eventual outcome of Koh. “And we will worship, and we will come back to
you.” He informed him [through these words] that he [Itzchak] would return safely from Mount
Moriah. R. Itzchak said: Everything happened as a reward for worshipping. Abraham returned in
peace from Mount Moriah only as a reward for worshipping. “And we will worship, and we will
come back to you.” Israel were redeemed only as a reward for worshipping: “And the people
believed … then they bowed their heads and worshipped” (Ex. 4:31). The Torah was given only as a
reward for worshipping: “And worship y’all afar off” (Ex. 24:1). Hannah was remembered only as a
reward for worshipping: “And they worshipped before the Lord” (I Sam. 1:19). The exiles will be
reassembled only as a reward for worshipping: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great
horn shall be blown; and they shall come that were lost … and that were dispersed … and they
shall worship Ad-nai in the holy mountain at Jerusalem” (Isa. 27:13). The Temple was built only as
a reward for worshipping: “Exalt y’all Ad-nai our God, and worship at His holy mountain” (Ps.
99:9). The dead will come to life again only as a reward for worshipping: “O come, let us worship
and bend the knee; let us kneel before Ad-nai our Maker (Ps 95:6).
And Avraham took the wood of the burnt-offering (Gen. 22:6) — like one who carries his
own stake [to be impaled] on his shoulder. "And he took in his hand the fire and the knife
(Ma’akheleth)" (Gen. 22:6). R. Hanina said: Why is a knife called ma’akheleth? Because it makes
food (okhlim) fit to be eaten. While the Rabbis said: All eating (akhiloth) which Israel enjoy in this
world, they enjoy only in the merit of that ma’akheleth (knife). "And they went both of them
together (Gen. 22:6): one to bind and the other to be bound, one to slaughter and the other to be
slaughtered.
“And Itzchak spoke to Avraham his father, and said: My father” (Gen. 22:7). Samael went to
the our father Avraham and said: “Old man, old man! Have you lost your mind [lit. have you lost
your heart]? You are going to slay a son given to you at the age of a hundred!’ ‘Even this I do,’
replied he. [Samael said:] ‘And if He sets you an even greater test, can you stand it?!’ [as it is
written] “If a thing be put to you as a trial, will you be wearied” (Job 4:2)? ‘Even more than this,’ he
replied. [Samael said:] ‘Tomorrow He will say to you, “You are guilty of murder, you murdered
your son!” He replied: ‘Still I go’. Seeing that he could achieve nothing with him, he approached
Itzchak and said: ‘Son of an unhappy mother! He is going to slay you!’ He replied: ‘Still I go’.
Samael said: ‘If so, all those fine tunics which your mother made be a legacy for Ishmael, the hated
of her house, and you don't care [lit. don't let it enter your heart]?’ If a word is not completely
effective, it may yet be effective in part, that’s why it is written, “And Itzchak spoke to Avraham his
father, and said: My father”: why [his] father, [my] father twice? So that he should be filled with
compassion for him. "And he said: Behold, the fire and the wood. Avraham said to him: ‘May that
man who has thus seduced him be drowned! Any way, “God will provide himself the lamb, my
son”; and if not you are “the lamb for the burnt-offering my son.” So "they went both of them
together" (Gen. 22:8) — one to slaughter and the other to be slaughtered.
"And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Avraham built the altar there"
(Gen. 22:9). And where was Itzchak? Said Rabbi Levi: he had taken and hidden him, saying, 'Lest he
who sought to seduce him throw a stone at him and disqualify him from being a sacrifice.' "And
Avraham built the altar there etc and bound Itzchak his son". Rabbi Hanina bar Itzchak said: As our
father Avraham was binding his son Itzchak below, so the Holy One of Blessing was binding the
[angel] princes of the heathens above. Yet they did not remain [bound]. For when Israel separated
themselves in the days of Jeremiah the Holy One of Blessing said to them: ‘What do you think: that
those fetters still exist?’ as it says, "For shall they be like tangled thorns (sirim)" (Nahum 1:10),
which means: For are the Princes (sarim) to be tangled [i.e. bound] forever? No; for when they
[the Israelites] are “drunken according to their drink” (Nahum 1:10), their fetters are broken, for it
is written, "They shall be devoured as stubble fully dry" (Nahum 1:10). When our father Avraham
stretched forth his hand to take the knife to slay his son, the angels wept, as it says, “Behold, their
valiant ones [the angels] cry without — hutzah” (Isa. 33:7). What does ‘hutzah’ mean? R. ‘Azariah
said: It is unnatural. It is unnatural that he should slay his son with his own hand. And what did
they say? The highways lie wasted? (Isa. 33:8) — does not Avraham show hospitality to travelers?
The wayfaring man ceased — shavat (Isa. 33:8) — as in the verse, It had ceased (hadal) for Sarah
(Gen. 18:2). "He has broken the covenant" (Isa. 33:8), [similar to] “But My covenant will I establish
with Itzchak” (Gen. 17:21). “He has despised the cities (Isa. 33:8), “And [Avraham] dwelt between
Kadesh and Shur” (Gen. 20:1). He regards not man (Isa. 33:8) — has Avraham no merit in his
favor? This is surprising! And who says that this verse does not refer to the angels? — Here it says,
“Upon (MI-MA’AL) the wood”, while in another passage it says, “above (mi-ma’al) Him stood the
seraphim” (Isa. 6:2).
And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife (Gen. 22:10). Rav asked R. Hiyya
the Elder: How do we know that ritual slaughtering must be with a movable object? From here:
"And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife" — he said: if he told you this from a
Haggadah, he might retract; and if he stated it as a tradition, he cannot not retract from it, since
Levi taught: If they [sharp flints] were attached [to the ground or rocks] from the very beginning,
they are unfit; but if they had been originally detached but subsequently fixed in the ground, they
are fit, since we learned: "If one slaughters with a hand-sickle, a harvest sickle, a flint, or a reed,
the slaughtering is fit." Said Rabbi Yosei: Five things were said of a reed stalk: You may not
slaughter, circumcise, cut meat, wipe your hands, nor pick your teeth with it, because an evil spirit
rests upon it.
"And the angel of Ad-nai called to him out of heaven, and said: Abraham, Abraham" (Gen.
22:11). Rabbi Hiya taught: This is an expression of love, this is an expression of urging. Rabbi
Eliezer ben Yaakov said: He spoke to him and to future generations, there is no generation which
does not contain people like Avraham, and there is no generation which does not contain people
like Yaakov, Moshe, and Shmuel. And he said: "Do not lay your hand etc." (Gen. 22:12) Where was
the knife? Three tears had fallen from the angels of service and the knife dissolved. Avraham said:
‘I will strangle him,’ He said: ‘Do not lay your hand upon the lad.’ [Avraham] said ‘I will take a drop
of blood from him’ - He said to him: ‘Neither do anything [me'uma] to him’ [meaning] inflict no
blemish [muma] upon him. "Because now I know" [meaning] I have made it known to all that you
love Me, "and you have not withheld, etc". And do not say that all ills that do not affect one’s own
body are not ills, rather I ascribe merit to you as though I had told to you to sacrifice yourself and
you did not refuse.
Another explanation: Rabbi Itzchak said, "At the time that Avraham sought to bind Itzchak,
his son, [the latter] said to him, 'Father, I am a young man and I am concerned lest my body shake
from fear of the knife and I will trouble you, and lest the slaughtering will be invalid and it will not
be considered a sacrifice for you. Rather, tie me very well.' Immediately, ‘and he bound Itzchak.'
Could he really tie up a man of thirty-seven (a different version: of twenty six years)? Rather, it was
with his agreement. Immediately. 'And Avraham sent his hand.' He sends his hand to take the
knife and his eyes brings down tears and the tears fall onto the eyes of Itzchak from the mercy of
his father. And nonetheless, the heart was happy to do the will of his Maker. And the angels
gathered in many groups above them. What did they yell out? 'The ways have become desolate,
the wayfarer has ceased; He has rescinded His covenant; He has become disgusted with the cities'
(Isaiah 33:7) – He does not desire Jerusalem and the Temple that he had in mind to bequeath to
the children of Itzchak. 'He did not consider a man' – merit did not stand Avraham well: 'No
creation has importance in front of Me.'" Rabbi Acha said, "Avraham started to wonder, 'These
words are only words of wonder. Yesterday, you told me (Genesis 21:12), "Because in Itzchak will
your seed be called." And [then] you went back and said, "Please take your son." And now You say
to me, "Do not send your hand to the youth." It is a wonder!' The Holy One, blessed be He, said,
'Avraham, "I will not profane My covenant and the utterances of My lips, I will not change" (Psalms
89:35) – When I said, "Please take your son," I did not say, "slaughter him," but rather, "and bring
him up." For the sake of love did I say [it] to you: I said to you, "Bring him up," and you have
fulfilled My words. And now, bring him down.’ [A different version: They said a parable about a
king that said to his friend, 'Bring up your son to my table.' His friend brought him up and his knife
was in his hand. The king said, 'And did I say to you, "Bring him up to eat him?" I said to you, "Bring
him up"' – [and this was] because of [the king's] love.) This is [the meaning of] what is written
(Jeremiah 19:5), 'it did not come up on My heart' – that is Itzchak."]
"And Avraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold another (achar) ram (Gen. 22:13)".
What does ahar mean? Said Rabbi Yudan: After (achar) all that happened, Israel still fall into the
clutches of sin and be the victims of persecution; yet they will be ultimately redeemed by the
ram’s horn, as it says, “[And Ad-nai will manifest Himself to them, and His arrows shall flash like
lightning,] Ad-nai E-lohim shall sound the ram’s horn [and advance in a stormy tempest]” (Zech.
9:14). Rabbi Yehudah bar Rabbi Simon: After [achar] all generations Israel will fall into the clutches
of sin and be the victims of persecution; but their end is to be redeemed by the ram’s horn, as it
says, ‘And Ad-nai E-lohim will blow the horn,’ etc. Rabbi Hanina b. R. Isaac said: All days of the year
Israel are in sin’s clutches and are victims of prosecutions, but on New Year they take the shofar
and blow on it, and are remembered by the Holy One of Blessing and He forgives them, and their
end is to be redeemed by the ram’s horn, and it says, "And Ad-nai E-lohim will blow the horn."
Rabbi Levi said: Because Avraham our Father saw the ram extricate himself from one thicket and
go and become entangled in another, the Holy Oneof Blessing said to him: ‘So is the future of your
children to be entangled in reigns, from Babylon to Media, from Media to Greece, and from
Greece to Edom; and their end will be to be redeemed by the ram’s horn,’ as it is written, “And Ad-
nai E-lohim will blow the horn.” “And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a
burnt-offering in the stead of his son (Gen.22:13). Rabbi Banai said: he said in front of Him:
‘Sovereign of the Universe! Look upon the blood of this ram as though it were the blood of my son
Itzchak; its lambs as though they were my son’s lambs(descendants),’ even as we learned: When a
man declares: This animal be instead of this one, in exchange for that, or a substitute for this, it is
a valid exchange. Rabbi Pinchas said: he said in front of Him: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Regard it
as tough I had sacrificed my son Itzchak first and achar (after) this ram in the stead of him, as in
the verse, “And Iotam his son reigned in his stead” (II Kings 15:7). It is even as we learned; "[When
one declares 'I vow a sacrifice] like the lamb or like the animals of the Temple stalls” (Nedarim
10b, Mishnah Nedarim 1:3) - R. Yochanan said: he meant, like the lamb of the daily burnt-offering;
Resh Lakish said: he meant, like Itzchak’s ram. There [in Babylon] they say: Like the off-spring of a
sin-offering. Bar Kappara taught: He meant like the lamb which has never given suck.
"And Avraham called the name of the place "Ad-nai Yireh" [Ad-nai will see] (Gen. 22:14).
Rabbi Yochanan said "he said to Him: 'Master of Worlds, at the hour that you said to me "Take
please your son, your only son" (Gen. 22:2), I had what to respond. Yesterday You said "For
through Itzchak [will I make your line great]" (Gen. 21:22) but now "Take please your son"!? And
God forbid that I don't do as you've asked me; instead, I conquered my mercy to do Your will. May
it be your will, Ad-nai our God, that in the hour when the sons of Itzchak come to do
transgressions and bad deeds, that this very Binding [Akeidah] be remembered for them, and may
You be filled with Mercy on them!' Avraham called it "Yireh", as it says "and Avraham called the
name of the place Ad-nai Yireh." Shem called it Shalem, as it says "And Malchitzedek, the king of
Shalem..."(Genesis 14:18) The Holy One of Blessing said "If I call it Yireh, as Avraham called it, then
Shem, who was a righteous man, will become angry; and if I call it Shalem, Abraham, who was a
righteous man, will be angry. Instead, I call it Yerushalayim [Jerusalem], as they called it together:
Yireh Shalem. Jerusalem. Rabbi Berechiah said in Rabbi Helbo’s name: While it was Shalem, the
Holy One of Blessing made for Godself a sukkah [booth] and prayed in it, since it says "In Shalem is
set His tabernacle, and His dwelling-place in Tzion" (Psalms 76:3). And what did He say? ‘May it
happen that I see the building of My house." Another interpretation: It [this verse] teaches that
the Holy One of Blessing showed him the Temple destroyed and built, destroyed and build [a
second time], since it says: "the name of that place Ad-nai Yireh" (Ad-nai sees): this is it built, as
you say [the verse] "Three times in a year shall all your males be seen [yira'eh] (Deut. 16:16). "As it
is said to this day in the Mountain of Ad-nai [is seen, Heb. yira'eh]" (Gen.22:14) This is it destroyed,
as in the verse "on the mountain of Tzion, which is desolate" (Lam. 5:18). "Ad-nai is seen" this is it
built and perfected in the future to come as the topic [in the verse] that is said: "When Ad-nai built
Tzion, He will be seen in His glory" (Psalms 102:17).
"And the angel of Ad-nai called to Avraham a second time from heaven, and said: 'By Myself
I have sworn" (Gen. 22:15-16). Why was this oath needed? He [Avraham] said to Him: ‘Swear to
me not to test me ever again, nor my son Itzchak.’ This is similar to one who was saving his basin
from being swallowed by the river, and his son jumped into it with him. Another interpretation:
why was this oath needed? Rabbi Chama ben Rabbi Chanina said: He said to Him ‘swear to me not
to test me ever again’ This is similar to a king who was married to a noble lady, she gave birth to
her first son and he divorced her; [he remarried her and then she gave birth to] a second son, and
he divorced her; a third son, and he divorced her; and when she gave birth to the tenth son, they
all assembled and demanded of him: ‘Swear to us not to divorce our mother ever again.’ So too
when our father Avraham was tested the tenth time, he said to Him: ‘Swear to me that You will
not to test me ever again.’ Rabbi Chanin said: "Because you have done [asita] this thing" (Gen.
22:17) — it was the tenth [asiri] trial, and you say "because you have done this thing!" Rather, this
is the last test, which was as weighty as all the rest together, and if he had not accepted to [do] it,
all would have been lost. [A different version: all that he did would have been lost.] "I will verily
bless you, etc." (Gen. 22:17) a blessing for the father and a blessing for the son. "And I will verily
multiply"(Gen. 22:17) : increase for the father and increase for the son. "And your seed shall
inherit the gate of his enemies"(Gen. 22:17). Rabbi said: This is Tadmor, happy is anyone who sees
the downfall of Tadmor which took part in both destructions. Rabbi Yudan and R. Chanina — one
of them said 'at the destruction of the first Temple it supplied eighty thousand archers.[A different
version: truth tellers (?)] and in the second destruction it supplied eight thousand archers. "And
Avraham returned to his young men (Gen. 22:19) And where was Itzchak? Rabbi Berechiah said in
the name of the Rabbis from there: he sent him to Shem to study Torah. This is similar to a woman
who became wealthy through her spindle, she said: ‘Since I have become wealthy through this
spindle, it will never leave my hand.’ So too Avraham said: ‘All that has happened to me is only
because I engaged in Torah and mitzvot; so I do not want it to ever depart from my seed.’ Rabbi
Chanina said: He sent him [home] at night, for fear of the [evil] eye, because from the moment
that Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah came out unscathed from the fiery furnace they aren't
mentioned anymore, and where did they go? Rabbi Eleazar said: They died through the spittle.
Rabbi Yosei said: They died through an [evil] eye. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: They changed
their place and went to Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak to study Torah, since it is written "Hear now,
Yehoshua the high priest, you, and your companions that sit before you [for they are men that are
a sign] (Zech. 3:8). Rabbi Chanina said: For this Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah went down to the
fiery furnace, that a sign should be done through them.

Chapter 57

R. Abba b. Kahana said: Dina was the wife of Job

Chapter 58

..."The sun rises and goes down" (Ecclesiastics 1:5). Rabbi Aba bar Kahana said: Don't we
know that the sun rises and goes down? Rather (this is what it means): When the Holy One of
Blessing causes the sun of a righteous person to set, he causes the sun of his fellow to shine forth.
The day that Rabbi Akiba died, our rabbi (Judah the Prince) was born and it was written about him
"The sun rises and the sun goes down." On the day that our rabbi died Rabbi Ada Bar Ahava was
born and it was written about him "The sun rises and the sun goes down." On the day that Rabbi
Ada Bar Ahava died, Rabbi Avin was born and it was written about him "The sun rises and the sun
goes down." On the day that Rabbi Avin died, his son Rabbi Avin was born. The day that Rabbi Avin
died, Aba Hoshaya from Traya was born. The day that Aba Hoshaya died Rabbi Hoshaya was born
and it was written about him "The sun rises and the sun goes down." Before the sun of Moses set
the sun of Joshua shone forth as it is written, "God said to Moses, take Joshua Son of Nun"
(Numbers 27:18). Before the sun of Joshua set the sun of Itaniel son of Kenaz shone forth as it is
said, "Itaniel son of Kenaz took it" (Judges 1:13). Before the sun of Eli the priest set, the sun of
Samuel shone forth, "the lamp of God had not yet gone out and Samuel lay on the sanctuary of
God" (1 Sam 3:3). Rabbi Yochanan said, "like a perfect calf." Before the God causes the sun of
Sarah to set, he causes the sun of Rebecca to shine forth. For first it says "Behold Malkah also bore
children" (Gen 22:20) and after "and the life Sarah was one hundred years..."
Rabbi Akiva was once sitting and lecturing, and the community [his students] was falling
asleep. To arouse them, he said: How could Esther rule over one hundred and twenty seven
provinces? It should be that Esther, a descendant of Sarah who lived to one hundred and twenty
seven, to rule over one hundred and twenty seven provinces.

And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah-From where did he come? Rabbi levi said: He came to
Sarah from the burial of Terach. Rabbi Yossi said to him: And did not the burial of Terach precede
the burial of Sarah by two years?! Rather, from where did he come? From Mount Moriah.
 Chapter 59

...

... David is the shepherd of Israel, as it says “You shall shepherd My people Israel…” (Divre
HaYamim I 11:2) And who shepherded David? The Holy One, as it says “The Lord is my shepherd; I
shall not want.” (Tehillim 23:1) Jerusalem is the light of the world, as it says “And nations shall go
by your light…” (Yeshayahu 60:3) And who is the light of Jerusalem? The Holy One, as it is written
“…but the Lord shall be to you for an everlasting light…” (Yeshayahu 60:19)

..."and I will make you swear by Adonai, the God of heaven [and the God of earth], etc.
Rabbi Pinchas said: Before I made the One known to his creatures [humanity], he was "the God of
heaven," but now that I have made God known to his creatures, the One is also "God of the
earth."...

Chapter 60

And it was that before he had finished speaking etc. (Bereishis 24:15). Rabbi Shimon Bar
Yochai taught," three were answered with the prayer in his mouth. Eliezer the servant of
Abraham, Moses, and Solomon. Eleazar as it states and before he finished and behold Rebecca
had come out". Moses as it is written"And it was that as he was speaking all these words that the
earth had opened up from under them and Solomon as is written" and when Solomon had
completed praying to the Lord and I fired descended from having

"And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother-" All the days that Sarah was alive,
a cloud was connected (lit. tied) to the entrance of her tent. When she died, the cloud stopped
[resting at her tent.] And when Rebecca came, the cloud returned. All the days that Sarah was
alive, the doors were open wide. When she died, the wideness stopped. And when Rebecca came,
the wideness returned. And all the days that Sarah was alive, there was a blessing in her dough,
and when Sarah died, that blessing ended. When Rebecca came, [the blessing] returned. All the
days that Sarah was alive, there was a candle that would burn from Sabbath Eve to [the next]
Sabbath Eve, and when she died, the candle stopped [burning for so long]. And when Rebecca
came, [the week-long flame of the candle] returned. And as soon as [Isaac] saw her, that she did
the deeds of his mother, separating her challah in purity and separating her dough in purity, he
brought her into the tent. Rabbi Yudan said, "The Torah teaches you, that if a man has grown-up
sons, he should marry them off first and then he should marry. Who do you learn [this teaching]
from? From Abraham: first, "And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother," and
afterwards, "And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah."

Chapter 61

And her name was Keturah: Rav said, "She is Hagar." Rabbi Nechemiah said to him, "And is it
not written, 'he added.'" He said to him, "[That signifies that] he [now] married her according to
the [Divine] word; like that which you say (Isaiah 8), 'And the Lord added to speak to me more.'"
He said to him, "And is it not written, 'And her name was Keturah?'" He said to him, "[It is] since
she was fragrant ( mekuteret ) with commandments and good deeds." He said to him, "And is it
not written, 'And to the sons of the concubines that Avraham had?'" He said, "It is [actually]
written, 'concubine' (in the singular, such that there only be one concubine - Hagar)." "While he
was still alive ( chai )" - [this is a reference to] the one that sat by the well and said to the Life ( chai
) of the worlds, "Look at my embarrassment!" Rabbi Berakhia said, "Even though you say (Genesis
21:14), 'and she went and strayed in the wilderness, etc., [such that] you would say that she was
suspected with any [other man]; hence we learn to say, 'And her name was Keturah' - like a type
of knot ( ketur ) like this, [with which] he seals a storehouse and opens it with a seal, [that is] tied
and sealed." Bar Kapra said, "The addition of the Holy One, blessed be He, is greater than the main
part: Kayin was was the main part and as a result of Hevel being the addition - as it is is written
(Genesis 4:2), 'And she added to give birth' - he and his two twins were born; Yosef was the main
part, and as a result of it being written, addition, with Binyamin, he established ten [children], as it
is written (Genesis 46:21), ' And the children of Binyamin were Bela and Becher, etc.'; Er was the
main part, and as a result of Shelah being [born] with the language of addition, he established ten
[courts], behold, it is written in I Chronicles 4:21, 'And the sons of Shelah the son of Yehudah were
Er, the father (a term that is also used for the head of a court) of Lecha, and Ladah, the father of
Maresha, and the families of the house Avodat HaButs of the house of Ashbea'; the main part of
the years of Iyov were only seventy years, [and] one hundred and forty years were added to him,
as it is written (Job 42:16), 'And Iyov lived after this one hundred and forty years'; the main part of
the reign of Chizkiyahu was only fourteen years, and fifteen years were added to him, as it states
(Isaiah 38:), 'behold, I will add fifteen years to your days; Yishmael is the main part, and as a result
of the children of Keturah being [born] with the language of addition, 'And she gave birth for him
to Zimran, etc.'"
 And to the sons of the concubines, etc.: In the days of Alexander the Macedonian (the
Great), the Yishmaelites came to appeal against Israel about the birthright - and with them came
two evil families: the Canaanites and the Egyptians. They [the Israelites] said, "Who will go and
litigate with them?" G'vi'ah ben Kosem said, "I will go and litigate with them." They said to him,
"Be careful that you not ensure the land for them." He said, "I will go and deliberate with them. If I
win, so much the better. And, if not, you will say, 'What is this inferior one, that he should stand
himself up for us?'" He went and litigated with them. Alexander the Macedonian said to them,
"Who is claiming against whom?" The Yishmaelites said, "We are claiming against them, and from
their Torah do we come against them: It is written (Deuteronomy 21:17), 'But he will recognize the
firstborn the son of the disliked wife.' And by right Yishmael should take a double portion!" G'vi'ah
ben Kosem said, "My lord king, may a man not do what he wants for his children?" He said to him,
"Yes." And [G'vi'ah] said [back] to him, "And is it not written, 'And Avraham gave all that he had to
Yitzhak!'" They said to him, "And where is the deed of sending away, that [proves that] he
distributed [from his assets] to [the rest of ] his children?" He said to him, "'And to the sons of
Avraham's concubines, Avraham gave gifts.'" And [the Yishmaelites] left from there shamefaced.
The Canaanites said, "From their Torah do we come against them. In every place [there], it is
written, 'to the Land of Canaan,' 'the Land of Canaan'; they should give us our land!" G'vi'ah ben
Kosem said to [Alexander], "My master, the king, does a man not do to his slave what he wants?"
He said to him, "Yes." [G'vi'ah] said [back], "What is written? 'Cursed is Canaan, the slave of slaves,
etc.' (Genesis 9:25) - behold the land is ours and they are slaves to my lord king!" And [the
Canaanites] left from there shamefaced. Egypt said, "From their Torah do we come against them.
Sixty multitudes went out from us laden with vessels of silver and vessels of gold, as it is written
(Exodus 12:36), 'and they despoiled Egypt'; they should give us our silver and our gold!" G'vi'ah
ben Kosem said to him, "My lord king, sixty myriad persons [worked] for them for 210 years -
among them were silversmiths and among them were goldsmiths who take for their wage, a dinar
a day!" The philosophers (wise men) sat and calculated and did not get to a hundred years before
the Land of Egypt [was forfeited] to the treasury [to repay its debt]. And [the Egyptians] left from
there shamefaced. [Alexander] sought to go up to Jerusalem. Cuthites went and said to him, "Be
careful, as they do not allow you to go into their House of the Holy of Holies (the inner sanctum of
the Temple)." And when G'vi'ah ben Kosem realized [this], he made [Alexander] two felt shoes and
put on them two jewels worth 20,000 silver [coins]. And once they reached the Temple Mount,
[G'vi'ah] said to him, "My master, the king, "Take off your shoe, and shod yourself with two [felt]
shoes, since the floor [here] is smooth, so that your feet not slip." And once they reached the Holy
of Holies room, [the sages] said to [Alexander], "Thus far we have the right to enter; from here on,
we do not have the right to enter." [Alexander] said to [G'vi'ah], "When I leave, I will flatten your
forehead [meaning, make him stand upright, as G'vi'ah was a hunchback] (alt. version: your
hump)!": He said [back] to him, "If you do that, you will be called an expert physician and take
much remuneration!" and he sent them away from Yitzhak, his son: [Avraham] said to [the sons of
the concubines], "As far as you can go to the East, go to the East, so that you not get burned by
the coal of Yitzhak." But [in the case of] Esav, since he came and grappled with Yaakov, [Esav] took
what was [coming to him as a punishment] from under his hand - this is what is written (Isaiah
23:7-8), "Is this your joyous one; in the early days, in its antiquity, its legs brought it to tarry far
away. Who advised this on Tsur (Tyre), the crowning, etc." Rabbi Eliezer said, "All times that Tsur is
written in Scripture fully (with all of its letters), the verse is speaking about the city-state of Tsur;
when it is incomplete (without the letter, vav, as it is here), the verse is speaking about Rome
(which is associated with Esav)." "The crowning" - Rabbi Abba said, "They surrounded it in [the
formation of] a crown." And Rabbi Yannai said in the name of Rabbi Shimon, the son of Rabbi
Yannai, "They surrounded it like a type of [fence made of] thornbushes."

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

And she said, “if so why this me?” Rabbi Yitzhak said the verse teaches that our mother
Rivkah went around door to door of the women and said to them, “did this suffering arrive to you
in your days?” If all of this is happening I wish I wasn’t pregnant.

“And her days to give birth were completed…” (Genesis 25:24) Below they were lacking,
here they were full. Below where the word twins is written full, with the letter aleph, Peretz and
Zerach were both righteous. Here it is written without an aleph, Yaakov was righteous and Esau
was wicked. “And the first one emerged ruddy…” (Genesis 25:25) R’ Chaggai said in the name of R’
Yitzchak: in the merit of “And you shall take for yourselves on the first day…” (Leviticus 23:40) I will
be revealed to you first, as it says “I am first and I am last” (Isaiah 44:6) and I will exact retribution
on your behalf from the first who is Esau, as it is written “And the first one emerged” and I will
build the first for you, which is the Holy Temple of which it is written “As a Throne of Glory, exalted
from the beginning…” (Jeremiah 17:12) and I will bring for you the first who is the King Messiah of
whom it is written “The first one to Zion, behold, behold them…” (Isaiah 41:27)

Chapter 64

“Because Avraham hearkened to My voice…” (Bereshit 26:5) R’ Yochanan and R’ Chanina

both said - Avraham came to consciousness of his Creator at age forty-eight. Resh Lakish said -
Avraham came to consciousness of his Creator at age three. From where did they learn this?
‘Because (ekev, also meaning heel) Abraham hearkened to the voice of his Creator, “and kept My
charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My instructions." (Bereshit 26:5) R’ Yonatan said in
the name of R’ Yochanan – even the laws of mixing courtyards were known to Avraham, ‘My
instructions (torati)’, Avraham kept two torahs, even the simple commandments of the oral law. R’
Simon said – even the new name which the Holy One would call Jerusalem in the future was
known to Avraham, as it is written “And Avraham named that place, The Lord will see…” (Bereshit
22:14), and it is written “…and the name of the city from that day will be ‘The Lord is There.’”
(Yechezkiel 48:35), and it is written “At that time, they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the
Lord’…” (Yermiyahu 3:17) R’ Berachia said in the name of R’ Yehudah: there is no day on which the
Holy One does not innovate law in the heavenly court. What is his proof? “Hear attentively the
noise of His voice and the sound (hegeh) that emanates from His mouth.” (Iyov 37:2) Hegeh only
refers to Torah, as it says “…you shall meditate (hegita) therein day and night..” (Yehoshua 1:8)

... In the days of R. Yehoshua ben Chananiah the evil kingdom (Rome) decreed to rebuild the
Temple. Papos and Lulianos (two brothers who were later martyred in Lod) set up tables from
Akko to Antioch and supplied the pilgrims from the diaspora with silver, gold and all of their needs.
Some Kuthites went [to the emperor] and said, "The king should know that if this rebellious city is
built and its walls fortified, 'they will not pay tribute, poll-tax, or land-tax.'" He said to them, "What
should I do, I have already made the decree?" They said to him, "Send to say to them [that] they
either change the place of the Temple or add or remove five ells from it and they will recant on
their own." And all of the [Jewish] people was gathered in Beit Rimon. When the king's edict
arrived, they began to cry. They sought to rebel against the king. [The sages] said, "Let a wise man
go up to quiet the assembled." They said, "Let R. Yehoshua ben Chananiah go up, as he is learned
in the Torah." R. Yehoshua ben Chananiah went up and expounded, "A lion was devouring prey
[and] a bone got stuck in its throat. It said, 'I will give a reward to anyone who comes and removes
it.' An Egyptian heron with a long beak put his beak into the mouth of the lion and extracted the
bone. It said to the lion, 'Give me my reward.' The lion said to it, 'Go and praise yourself, "I went
into the mouth of the lion in peace and I came out in peace" - and there is no greater reward than
that.' So too, it is enough for us that we entered into this nation in peace and came out in peace"...

Chapter 65

Thus it is written: "When the wicked rise, men hide themselves" (Prov. 28:28). Hence it was
said: He who raises a wicked son or a wicked disciple eventually suffers dimness of sight. As for a
wicked disciple, that follows from Ahijah the Shilonite, for he raised Jeroboam and his eyes grew
dim, as it says: "Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were set by reason of age" (I Kings 14:4) –
because he had raised up Jeroboam, a wicked disciple. As for a wicked son, that follows from
Isaac.

Chapter 66

... Another explanation. “…of the dew of the heavens…” (Genesis 27:28) this refers to Zion,
as it says “As the dew of Hermon which runs down on the mountains of Zion…” (133:3) “…and of
the fatness of the earth…” (Genesis 27:28) refers to the offerings, “grain” refers to the first-fruits,
“wine” to the libations…

Chapter 67

And Itzhak feared a great fear. It is written (Proverbs 29:25) "Man's fear will be a trap but
the one who trusts G-d will be raised". Fear, the one that Ruth frightened Boaz, at it is said (Ruth
3:8) "the man was startled, and turned himself". "Will be a trap": In truth, he should have cursed
her, but "the one who trusts G-d will be raised". He gave in his heart and blessed her, and said:
"Blessed are you to G-d, my daughter". Fear, the one that Yaakov frightened Itzhak, as it is said:
"And Itzhak feared a very great fear. "Will be a trap": he should have cursed him, but "the one
who trusts G-d will be raised". And he said: "He will also be blessed".
And Itzhak feared a great fear etc. - Rabbi Hama bar Hanina: very, more than the fear he
feared on the altar. Said: Who is this done broker between me and the place, so that Yaacov will
take the blessings, to Rivka they said. Rabbi Yochanan said: When one has two sons, one went out
and one came in, will he fear?! But, when Esav entered to his father, hell entered with him. Rabbi
Acha said: The walls of the house started to shake/boil. this what he said: "Who, where", who is it
that will be baked here, me, or my son, Yaakov? Said God: Not you, nor your son, but is the one
hunting game. Hunting game: Said Rabbi Elazar Bar Shimon: Hunter, how were you hunted, door-
builder, how is your own door broken?! This is what it said (Proverbs 12): "The slothful man shall
not hunt his prey" The rabbis said: G-d will not be late and will not prolong for the liar and his pray.
Rabbi Eliezer the son of R. Jose says: What is not scorch? Will not extend God a liar and a side?! As
R. Yehoshua ben Levi whole day was made a party to deer and languages, and an angel came and
permissiveness, and poultry and troublemaker, and an angel came and Mfrihn. And why?
(Proverbs L): human capital expensive and laborious, to Sheba Jacob it happen in heaven, and will
take the world's main blessings diligent him. Rabbi Hanina ben Pappa Ask the Rabbi Acha, said to
him: What is written, utterly precious human capital? He said, the hand of the righteous is a hard-
working, not taking from Vikram's time to come in this world. And food from Rabbi Judah and
Rabbi Nehemiah, Rabbi Yehuda says: all that was created during the six days of creation. Rabbi
Nehemiah says: all good, he revised in the future. Said: Essentially what Hacillach? Said: I do not
know, but I was tasting bread taste, flavor meat, fish flavor, taste grasshoppers, taste all the
delicacies in the world. Rabbi knees: because flesh mentioned, immediately cried. Said: I am one
bowl of lentil fed them dainty and took his birthright, you Shacillach meat more so! Rabbi Levi
said: According to our father was Isaac not be afraid to say: I did not say well, I did not broken the
reactor?! Because he said his birthright taken, said my good health:
Rabbi Isaac said: He [Isaac] was going to curse him [Jacob], but the Holy One, blessed be He,
cautioned: "Beware, for if you curse him, you curse your own soul, for you said: 'Cursed be they
who curse you' (Genesis 27:29)." Rabbi Levi said: six things serve a human - three are under one's
control, and three are not under one's control. The eye, the ear and the nose are not under one's
control, as one sees what is not wished for, one hears what is not desired, and one smells what is
not wanted. The mouth, the hand, and the foot are under one's control. If one wishes to, one
studies Torah, while if one wants to one speaks badly, and if one wants to one blasphemes and
reviles. Regarding the hand, if one wishes one can offer charity, while if one wants one can rob,
and if one desires one can murder. Regarding the feet, if one wishes one can go to the houses of
theatre and the houses of circus, while if one wants one can go to the houses of assembly
[synagogues] and the houses of study. And in the moment that one merits, the Holy One, blessed
be He, makes those which one usually controls, no longer in one's control. The hand: "but the
hand that [Jeroboam] stretched out against him withered" (Kings 13:4); The mouth: "now he
[Jacob] must remain blessed" (Genesis 27:33); The foot: "My son, do not set out with them...for
their feet run to evil" (Proverbs 1:15-6).

Chapter 68

[The following dialogue, one of many, is reported in the name of R. Yosi ben Halafta, one of
the Mishnah’s most prominent sages, and an unnamed Roman woman of rank.] Rabbi Yehudah
bar Simon began: "God returns the solitary ones homeward" (Psalms 58:7). A Roman Matron
asked Rabbi Yosi ben Halafta, "In how many days did God create the world?" He said, "In six, as it
is said, 'Since six days God made...' (Exodus 20:11) "And since then," she asked, "what has God
been doing?" "God sits [on the Heavenly Throne] and makes matches: the daughter of this one to
that one, the wife [i.e. widow] of this one to that one, the money of this one to that one,"
responded R. Yosi. "And for merely this you believe in Him!" she said. "Even I can do that. I have
many slaves, both male and female. In no time at all, I can match them for marriage." R. Yosi,
"Though this may be an easy thing for you to do, for God it is as difficult as splitting the Sea of
Reeds." Whereupon, Rabbi Yosi took his leave. What did she do? The Matron lined up a thousand
male and a thousand female slaves and paired them off before nightfall. The morning after, her
estate resembled a battlefield. One slave had his head bashed in, another had lost an eye, while a
third hobbled because of a broken leg. She said to them: "What do we have here?" and they each
said to her: "I don't want this one" [with whom you matched me." Immediately, she summoned R.
Yosi and she brought him to her and said: "Your God is not like our god, and your Torah is true,
pleasing and praiseworthy. You spoke wisely."...

...And he took stones of the place - R. Judah and R. Nehemiah, and the Rabbis. Rabbi Yehuda
said he took 12 Stones. God decreed that he establish twelve tribes. Jacob said; Abraham did not
establish them, Isaac did not establish them, if the twelve stones join together, I know that I will
merit twelve tribes. Once they did he knew he was going to merit establishing the twelve tribes.
Rabbi Nehemiah said he took 3 stones. Jacob took three stones and said : God placed his name on
Abraham, and on Isaac. I, if the stones join together, I know that God is the unifying name for me.
And since joined, he knew that God would unify his names with Jacob. The Rabbis said that the
minimum of the plural of stones is 2. Abraham produced negative attributes/waste- Ishmael and
the sons of Keturah. And Isaac produced Esau and his generals. I, if you join these 2 stones
together, I know that I will not produce any negative attributes in my descendants.
...And he dreamed and behold there was a ladder -- Rabbi Abuhu said: The words of dreams
do not ascend and do not descend. Once a man went before Rabbi Yossi bar Halafta. He said: I saw
in my dream, they said to me, "?????" He [Rabbi Yossi] said: "????". He said to him: "No! He said
to him: "..." He said to him: "I don't have 20!" He said to him: "And if you don't have 20, count
from their heads to their tails, and from...".... Bar Kapra taught: There is no dream that does not
have an interpretation. Behold a ladder, this is a sheep. Placed on the earth, that is the altar
(Exodus 20), Make me an altar of earth. And it's head reaches the heavens, those are the offerings,
whose scent rises to the heavens. And behold the angels of God, those are the high priests. Rising
and descending on it, that rise and descend with a sheep. And behold God is standing on it, (Amos
9): I have seen God standing on the altar. The rabbis interpret it as Sinai: He dreamed and behold
there was a ladder, that is Sinai. Resting on the ground, (Exodus 19) and they stood at the bottom
of the mountain. And its head reached the heavens, (Deuteronomy 4) And the mountain burned
with fire unto the heart of heavens.....

Chapter 69

Rabbi Chama Bar Chanina opened with the following verse: Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs
27:17). Rabbi Chama Bar Chanina said: A knife will only become sharpened only at the side of
another. So too, a Torah scholar can only become sharpened by a friend. "Iron sharpens iron and a
person sharpens the face of his neighbor." This is referring to Jacob. When our father Jacob stood
together (play on sharpened) with his friend, the Shekinah attached itself (or sharpened) to him.
As it says "Behold Adonai stood upon him" (Genesis 38:13).
...... Rabbi Yochanan said: The wicked, their existence depends on their gods. As it says "And
Pharaoh dreamt; and he was standing upon the river" (Genesis 41:1). But the righteous, their G-d's
existence depends on them. As it says "Behold G-d stood upon him" (Genesis 38:13). Rabbi
Shimon ben Lakish said: The patriarchs they themselves were the Divine Chariot, As it says "And G-
d ascended from upon Abraham" (Genesis 17:22). "And G-d ascended from upon him" and
"Behold G-d stood upon him".

Chapter 70

“And he looked, and behold! a well in the field…” (Genesis 29:2) R. Chama bar Chaninah
opened it with six lines (six interpretations): “And he looked, and behold! a well in the field…”
(Genesis 29:2) This refers to the well. “…and behold! three flocks of sheep…” (ibid.) This refers to
Moses, Aaron and Miriam. “…because from that well they would water the flocks…” (ibid.)
Because from there each and every one would draw water for his tribe and for his family. “…and a
huge rock…” (ibid.) R. Chanina said: This is to say that there was like the mouthful of a small
sieve in it. “And all the flocks would gather there and they would roll…” (Genesis 29:3) At the time
of the encampments. “…and then they would return the rock onto the mouth of the well, to its
place.” (ibid.) At the time of the journeys it would return to its great strength.  Another
explanation. “And he looked, and behold! a well in the field…” (Genesis 29:2) This refers to Zion.
“…and behold! three flocks of sheep…” (ibid.) This refers to the three pilgrimage festivals. “…
because from that well they would water the flocks…” (ibid.) Because from there they would draw
the holy spirit. “…and a huge rock…” (ibid.) This refers to the celebration of the water drawing
(simchat bet hashoevah). (R. Hoshaya said: why did they call it the celebration of the water
drawing? Because from there they would draw the holy spirit.) “And all the flocks would gather
there…” (Genesis 29:3) They would come all the way from Mevo Chamat to the stream of Egypt.
“…and they would roll the rock off the mouth of the well and water the sheep…” (ibid.) Because
from there they would draw the holy spirit. “…and then they would return the rock onto the
mouth of the well, to its place.” (ibid) Left to rest for the next pilgrimage festival...

R. Yose bar Chanina explained the verse about the exile, “And Jacob said tho them... and
they said we are from Charan” (Genesis 29:4) We are running away from the rage of (charono) of
the Holy One, blessed be He. “He said to them, 'Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?'…” (Genesis
29:5) Do you know who is going to whiten (lelaven) your iniquities like snow in the future? "And
they said, 'we know'" (- as they never lost their hope). "And he said, 'Is there peace with him'; and
they said, 'there is peace.'" In the merit of what? "And behold his daughter, Rachel, is coming with
the flock." This is [the meaning of] that which is written (Jeremiah 31:15-17), "Rachel weeps for
her children... Restrain your eyes form weeping... And there is hope for your future."

...Why did he weep? He said, "At the time that Eliezer brought Rebecca, what is written
about it? 'And the servant took ten camels, etc.' But I did not take a single nose-ring, nor a single
bracelet." Another explanation: Why did he weep? As he saw that she would not be buried with
him. This is [the meaning of] that which is written that she said [to Leah] (Genesis 30:15), "Hence
he will lay with you tonight" - it is with you that he will die, it is not with me that he will die.
Another explanation: Why did he weep? As he saw people whispering to one another because he
kissed her, "Why is this one coming to introduce a new matter of licentiousness?" As from the
time that the world was struck during the generation of the flood, the nations of the world took a
stand to forbid themselves licentiousness.

Chapter 71

Another answer: (op. cit. 145) "God supports all those who have fallen" - these are the
barren, whose [status] have "fallen" within their households. And "straightens the bent" - when
the Holy One, Blessed be He rewards them with children, they straighten up [in joy.] Similarly,
Leah was hated by her household, and when the Holy One, Blessed be He visited her [and gave her
pregnancy], she was straightened. That is the same concept by "And God saw that Leah was
hated" - "that Leah was hated" - that she behaved in the manner of the "hated", since she was
supposed to marry "the hater" [, Esav] (other mss. read "Assessed by the hater") since that was
the custom, the firstborn [Esav] marry the firstborn [Esav] and the younger one [Ya'akov] marry
the younger one [Rachel]. Therefore Leah cried and said: "May it be your will, God, that I do not
become the possession of an evildoer." R' Huna said: Davening is a strong force, that it annulled
the decree, and not only that, but that it made her come before her sister [for marriage. Because
of this] everyone would mock her: The unemployed people mocked her, the travelers mocked her,
and even the ladies behind their backs mocked her, saying, "This Leah, her inside is not like her
outside; she appears righteous but is not really righteous. For if she were righteous she would not
have cheated her sister [and would have let her marry first.] Rabbi Chanin in the name of Rabbi
Shmuel son of Rabbi Yitzchak said: When Yaakov our Forefather saw matters, that Leah had
"cheated" her sister, he made up his mind to divorce her, but when she was blessed with children,
he said: "To the mother of these I am divorcing?" And in the end he admitted he was wrong, and
that is the meaning of the verse: (Genesis 47) "And Yisrael [Yaakov] bowed low at the head of the
bed," [and head of the bed is a euphemism for Leah, as she was the first one of his conjugal bed.]
"And Rachel was barren," said Rabbi Yitzchak, Rachel was the main part of the household, as it
says, "And Rachel was barren (akarah) " - It's main part (ikrah) was Rachel. Said Rabbi Abba son of
Cahana, since most of the diners [at Ya'akov's table] were Leah's [progeny, as a courtesy] they
named Rachel as the main part, as it says, "And Rachel was barren (akarah) " - It's main part (ikrah)
was Rachel. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: Since all these matters [i.e. helping Leah cheat the
system] were done by Rachel, therefore the Children of Israel were called by her name, (Jeremiah
31): "Rachel cries for her children," and there was no end to her name, as her children's names
lived on, as it says in (Amos 5): "Perhaps the Lord of Hosts will have compassion on the remnant of
Joseph [a son of Rachel]" - now her son's name was recalled. And her son's name did not die out
either, as it says (Jeremiah 31) "How precious is my son Ephraim [, Joseph's son and Rachel's
grandson."
"

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74
 God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream that night – What is the difference between the
prophets of idol worshippers and the prophets of Israel? Rabbi Chema Bar Chanina and Rabbi
Yissachar of Kfar Megdi answered: Rabbi Chema Bar Chanina said, "The Holy One Blessed Be He
appears to the prophets of idol worshippers only in half-speech, as it says, 'God chanced upon
Bilaam' (Bamidbar 23)." Rabbi Yissachar of Kfar Megdi said, "This language of 'chanced upon
(vayiKaR)' connotes impurity, as it is used, 'If there will be amongst you a man who is not clean
[because of a] nocturnal emission (miK'Reh lilah)' (Devarim 23)." But to the prophets of Israel, God
speaks in full-speech, in language of affection, in holy language, in language that the ministering
angels praise, calling to one another and saying, "Holy". Rabbi Yossi Bar Chanina said, "The Holy
One Blessed Be He only appears to the prophets of idol worshippers at times when it is typical for
people to be alone, as it is written (Iyov 4), 'In the thoughts of visions at night, when sleep falls on
people... a word was secretly conveyed to me etc.'" Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi
Menachem, "(Mishlei 15) 'God is far from the wicked' – these are the prophets of idol
worshippers. 'And the prayer of the righteous He will hear' – these are the prophets of Israel.
What is the difference between the prophets of idol worshippers and the prophets of Israel? Rabbi
Chanina Bar Papa and Rabbi Si'mon answered: Rabbi Chanina Bar Papa said, "Like a king and his
beloved that are in a parlor. Each time the [King] requests, he speaks with his beloved. (Alternative
version: Like a king and his beloved that are in a parlor, with a curtain between them. Each time he
requests to speak with his beloved, he folds the curtain and speaks with his beloved.)" Rabbi
Si'mon said, "Like a king that has a wife and a concubine. When he wants to visit his wife, he
comes in public. When he wants to visit his concubine, he comes in secret. Similarly, The Holy One
Blessed be He only reveals himself to idol worshippers at night: 'God came to Bilaam at night.';
'God came to Avimelech in a dream at night'; 'God came to Laban in a dream at night. He said to
him, "Watch yourself"-even if you say things for [Yaakov's] benefit, he will think they are bad'.
'Watch yourself, speaking to Yaakov good or bad.'"

Chapter 75

"And Jacob sent messengers." Rabbi Huna applied the verse: "He that passeth by and
meddleth with strife not his own is like one that taketh a dog by the ears." Said the Holy One
blessed be He: He was going his own way, and you despatch a delegation to his saying: "Thus saith
thy servant Jacob?!"

Judah haNasi once directed Rabbi Afes to write a letter in Judah’s name to Emperor
Antoninus. Rabbi Afes wrote: “From Judah the Prince to our Sovereign the Emperor Antoninus.”
Judah read the letter, tore it up, and wrote: “From your servant Judah to our Sovereign the
Emperor Antoninus.” Rabbi Afes remonstrated that Judah treated his honor too lightly. Judah
replied that he was not better than his ancestor, who in Genesis 32:5 sent a message saying: “Thus
says your servant Jacob.”

Chapter 76
 And Jacob became very frightened and distressed (Genesis 32,8). Rabbi Pinchos says in the
name of Rabbi Re'uven that there were two people that Hashem promised them and nevetheless
they were afraid. The chosen of the patriarchs and the chosen of the prophets. The chosen of the
patriarchs is Jacob as it states (Psalms 135,4) "For Jacob, Y-H chose for Him" and and Hashem said
to him (Genesis 28,15) "And behold I am with you" and at the end, he became frightened as it says
"And Jacob became frightened". The chosen of the prophets is Moshe as it says (Psalms 106,23)
"Were it not for Moshe His chosen one" and Hashem said to him "For I will be with you" and in the
end he became frightened as it says (Numbers 21:34) "And Hashem said to Moshe, don't fear him"
Hashem would only say "Don't fear him" to someone who has become afraid. Rabbi Brechiah and
Rabbi Chelbo recited in the name of Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman who recited in the name of Rabbi
Nassan "The Jewish people were worthy of being destroyed in the days of Haman, were it not that
they relied on the knowledge of the parents' elder. They said "If Yaacov our patriarch, who was
promised security by Hashem and Hashem told hi "And behold I will be with you" and HE became
frigthened. How much moreso US. It is this that the prophet accuses Israel of and says to them
(Isaiah 51,13) "And you forgot Hashem your maker the one who spread the heavens and founded
earth." He said to those people what he would say to you (Jeremiah 31,36) "So said Hashem: If the
heavens from above will be measured" if you see that the heavens quake and that the earth
quakes, from the inclination of the heavens and earth you wouldn't learn anything other than
(Isaiah 51,13) "And you are afraid all your days"

Chapter 77

"Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him" (Genesis 32:25). "O Jeshurun, there is
none like God, Riding through the heavens to help you" (Deutronomy 32:25), Rabbi Berakhyah
quoted Rabbi Yehudah, son of Rabbi Simon: "There is none like God," and who is like God?
Jeshurun, the most pleasant and praiseworthy among you. You find that all that the Holy Blessed
One will do in the coming future, [God] preemptively did through the righteous in this world. The
Holy Blessed One revives the dead, and Elijah revives the dead. The Holy Blessed One stops the
rain, and Elijah stops the rain. The Holy Blessed One blesses the destitute, and Elijah blesses the
destitute. The Holy Blessed One revives the dead, and Elisha revives the dead. The Holy Blessed
One remembers the barren, and Elisha remembers the barren. The Holy Blessed One blesses the
destitute, and Elisha blesses the destitute. The Holy Blessed One sweetens what is bitter, and
Elisha sweetens what is bitter. The Holy Blessed One sweetens the bitterest of the bitter, and
Elisha sweetens the bitterest of the bitter. Rabbi Berakhyah quoted Rabbi Simon: "There is none
like God," and who is like God? Grandfather Israel. Just as, regarding the Holy Blessed One, it is
written, "None but the LORD shall be Exalted in that day" (Isaiah 2:17), even for Jacob [it is
written], "Jacob was left alone."
Rabbi Chunya said, "He appeared to him in the image of a shepherd. This one had a flock
and this one had a flock. This one had camels, and this one had camels. He said to him, "Take
across what is yours, and after that, I will take across what is mine." Jacob, our father, took across
what was his, and said, "Let us return and let us see, lest we forgot something." After he returned,
"a man wrestled with him" (Genesis 32:25)."
Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said, "He was the ministering angel of Esav. And that is [what he
meant] when he said to him, 'For this have I seen your face as I saw the face of God and you have
accepted me' (Genesis 33:10). There is a parable about an athlete that got up and wrestled with
the son of the king. He lifted his eyes and he saw that the king was standing behind him and [so]
he fell to the ground in front of [the son]. This is what [is meant by that which] is written, 'and he
saw that he could not overcome him.'" Rabbi Levi said, "'And he saw' the Divine Presence 'and he
could not overcome him.'" Said Rabbi Berachia, "We do not know who won, whether it was the
angel or whether it was Yakov. And from that which it is written, 'and a man wrestled ( vayitabek,
the root of which contains the letters that spell dust) with him,' prove who was covered in dust -
the man that was with him.' Said Rabbi Chananya bar Yitschak, "The Holy One, blessed be He, said
to him, 'He is coming against you and he has five charms in his hand: his merit, the merit of his
father, the merit of his mother, the merit of his grandfather, and the merit of his grandmother -
measure yourself [and see] if you can stand even against his merit.' Immediately, 'And he saw and
he could not overcome him.' There is a parable of a king that had a wild dog and a tamed lion. And
the king took his son and endeared him to the lion, [such that] if the dog would take him on, the
king would say to him, 'The lion was not able to stand in front of him and you want to take him
on?' So [too], if the nations of the world will come to take on Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He,
will say to them, 'Your ministering angel was not able to stand in front of him and you want to take
on his children?'" "And he touched the hollow of his thigh" - he touched the righteous men and
women, the prophets and prophetesses, which were to arise from him in the future. And which is
this? The generation of persecution ( shemad ). "And he touched the hollow of Yakov's thigh" -
Rabbi Berachia and Rabbi Eliezer [disagreed about this]: Rabbi Eliezer said, "He pressed it down."
Rabbi Berachia said in the name of Rabbi Assi, "He split it like a fish." Rabbi Nachman bar Yakov
said, "He separated it from its place, as it is written (Ezekiel 23:18), 'and my soul was separated
etc... like my soul was separated' [in which the context shows that the verb for touching also
means separating]." Said Rabbi Chanina bar Yitschak, "That whole night both of them were striking
each other, the shield of this one across from the shield of that one. Once the sun rose, 'And he
said, send me away from here as the sun has risen.'

Chapter 78

...Esau ran to greet him. [He embraced Jacob and, falling on his neck,] he kissed him; [and
they wept.] (Gen. 33:4). [The word] 'kissed' is dotted [above each letter in the Torah's writing].
Rabbi Simeon ben Elazar said. .. it teaches that [Esau] felt compassion in that moment and kissed
[Jacob] with all his heart. Rabbi Yannai said to him: If so, why is ['kissed'] dotted? On the contrary,
it teaches that [Esau] came not to kiss [Jacob] but to bite him, but our ancestor Jacob's neck
became like marble and that wicked man's teeth were blunted. Hence, 'and they wept' teaches
that [Jacob] wept because of his neck and [Esau] wept because of his teeth.
 Chapter 79

“And he bought the part of the field where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor,
the father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitas.” (Bereshit 33:19) R’ Yudan bar Simon said: this is one
of the three places about which the nations of the world cannot defraud Israel and say ‘this is
stolen property in your hands.’ They are – the cave of the Machpela, the Holy Temple and the
grave of Yosef. The cave of the Machpela, as it is written “And Abraham listened to Ephron, and
Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver…” (Bereshit 23:16) The Holy Temple, as it is written
“And David gave to Ornan for the place shekels of gold weighing six hundred.” (Divre HaYamim I
21:25) The grave of Yosef, as it is written ““And he bought the part of the field where he had
pitched his tent…” (Bereshit 33:19)

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

"A MAN FOUND HIM, AND BEHOLD!HE WAS BLUNDERING IN THE FIELD: Rabbi Jannai said:
He [Joseph] was met by three angels for scripture says, "A man found him" (v.15); "and the man
asked him"; and "The man said" (v.17).
LET US GO TO DOTHAN: For such are the designs of the Almighty AND THEY SAW HIM FAR
OFF: They said, “Let us kill him by inciting the dogs against him.” AND THEY SAID ONE TO
ANOTHER BEHOLD THE DREAMER COMES: The Rabbi said, “they exclaimed, Behold he is coming
wrapped in his dreams”. Rabbi Levi said, “They exclaimed that he was going to ensnare them into
serving foreign overloads.” COME NOW THEREFORE AND LET US SLAY HIM: The Holy One said to
them, “You say ‘We shall see’ and I say ‘We shall see’. Indeed we shall see whose words will be
fulfilled.”

... As everything that happened to this one, happened to that one:... Just like this one's
mother was barren, so too that one's mother was barren; just like this one's mother bore two, so
too that one's mother bore two; just like this one's mother had difficulty giving birth, so too that
one's mother had difficulty giving birth; just like this one was hated by his brother, so too that one
was hated by his brothers; just like this one's brother sought to kill him, so too that one's brothers
sought to kill him; this one fled, and that one fled;... this one was stolen twice, and that one was
stolen twice:... this one went out of the Land [of Israel], and that one went out of the Land; this
one married a woman from outside the Land, and that one married a woman from outside the
Land; this one fathered children outside the Land, and that one fathered children outside the
Land; this one was accompanied by angels, and that one was accompanied by angels...
"Joseph was seventeen years of age, etc" (Genesis 37:2), and it further says "He was a
youth" (ibid.), rather that he did youthful things. He touched up his eyes, he picked up his heels,
he fixed his hair. "He was a shepherd... he brought negative reports [of his brothers, to his father]"
(ibid.). What did he say? Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Shimon [offered explanations].
Rabbi Meir said, [he said to his father Ya'akov] "Your sons are suspect regarding [the consumption
of] a limb of a living animal". Rabbi Shimon said "They cast their eyes on the daughters of the
land". Rabbi Yehuda said "They scorn the sons of the maidservants and call them slaves". Rabbi
Yehuda son of Simon said, on his words [??] he was struck -- "honest scales and balances are the
LORD's" (Proverbs 16:11). The Holy Blessed One said to him, "You said "Your sons are suspect
regarding a limb of a living animal" -- by your life, even in a time of corruption they never did
anything but slaughtered and [then] ate, (Genesis 37:31) "They slaughtered a kid"! You said they
scorned the sons of the maidservants and called them slaves -- (Psalms 105:17) "Yosef, sold into
slavery". You said they cast their eyes on the daughters of the land -- by your life, that I will
stimulate in you the bear [??], (Genesis 39:7) "And his master's wife cast [her eyes upon Yosef]".
Israel loved Yosef...R Y'hudah and R Nechemiah. R Y'hudah said: the brightness of features
was his, similar to him. (i.e. ‫ זקנים‬is to be seen as a combination of ‫ זיו‬and ‫ )איקונין‬R Nechemiah
said: all the halachot Shem and Ever had passed to Ya'akov, he passed to him. And he made for
him a k'tonet passim. Resh Lakish, in the name of R Elazar benAzaria said: One should not treat
one of his sons differently, for because of the k'tonet passim his father Ya'akov made for Yosef,
they hated him.. .. ‫ פסים‬passim, for it reached the palm ‫ פס‬of his hand. Another explanation: for it
was exceedingly thin and light and could be hidden in the palm of a hand. ‫פסים‬, for they cast lots (
‫פיס‬, post biblical Hebrew) over it for which of them would take it to his father, and selected
Y'hudah. ‫ פסים‬on account of the troubles that overtook him: ‫ פ‬Potifar, ‫ ס‬sochrim, "traders," ‫י‬
Yishm'elim, ‫ מ‬Midyanim. Another explanation: ‫פסים‬, Resh Lakish in the name of R Elazar
benAzariah: "Go see the acts of God."(Psalms 66:5) And in the next verse: "He turned sea to dry
land." Why did they hate him? Because the sea would be torn before them. ‫" =פסים‬strip of sea"
‫פס ים‬.
 “And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they
hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.” [Gen 37:4] Rabbi Ahva ben Zeira said: From the
very disgrace of the tribal ancestors you learn their virtues. Elsewhere it says, “And Avshalom did
not speak to Amnon for good or bad,” [Shmuel II 13:22] keeping in his heart what he felt in his
heart. Whereas here, “And could not speak peaceably to him” – what was in their heart was on
their tongues.

...
... R. Acha said, " He went to fulfill that deep counsel that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave
between Himself and the fine colleague who is buried in Hebron - ' and they shall be enslaved and
oppressed' (Genesis 15:13)."

Chapter 85

What is written above the matter? "And the Midianites sold him to Egypt" [and then it
interrupts with the story of Yehuda and Tamar:] "And it was at that time." And the reading
(narrative) only required it to [immediately] say "And Yosef was taken down to Egypt" (Genesis
39:1) And because of what was this section made proximate to that? Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi
Yochanan [answered this]: Rabbi Elazar said, "In order to make one descent proximate to the
other descent." Rabbi Yochanan said, "In order to make [one use of the word,] "recognize,"
proximate to [another use of the word,] "recognize." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said, "In order to
make the story of Tamar proximate to the story of Pothiphar's wife; [to tell you that] just as that
one (the incident of Tamar) was for the sake of Heaven, so too this one (the incident of Potiphar’s
wife) was meant for the sake of Heaven." As Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, "She saw through her
astrology that she was destined to raise a child from him (Yosef), but she did not know if [it would
be] from her or from her daughter." This is [the meaning of] what is written (Isaiah 47:13), "let the
diviners of months inform you from that which will come to you" - Rabbi Eibo said, "'From that'
and not 'all that.'" And similar to it is [the sequence of], "and they were not embarrassed. And the
snake was sly" (Genesis 2:25-3:1). And the reading (narrative) only required it to [immediately] say
"And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife, etc." (Genesis 3:21). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha
said, "[It is] to let you know from which sin that evildoer (the snake) jumped upon them: from that
which he saw them engaging in 'the way of the world,' he desired them." Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar
Chanin said, "[It is] to not begin a [separate] section of the snake." And similar to it is [the
sequence of], "and the one who walks in pride, He is able to abase (which are the final words of
Nevuchadnetsar). Balshatsar the king […] And Daryavesh the Mede” (Daniel 4:34-5:1, 6:1). And
where is Ehvil Merodach (who came between Nevuchadnetsar and Balshatsar)? Rabbi Elazar said,
"In order to make [one] evildoer proximate to the other, a destroyer to a destroyer, a proud one
to a proud one.” Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said, "In order to make the interruption of [one]
kingdom proximate to the interruption of [another] kingdom." And similar to it is [the sequence
of] "And on that very night, Balshatsar the Chaldean king was killed. Daryevesh the Mede" (Daniel
5:30-6:1). [And yet later], "And in the third year of the rulership of Balshatsar the king" (Daniel
8:1). Rav Huna said, "That they not say they are [just] words of poetry; so that they should all
know that he wrote it with holy spirit." Our rabbis said, "In order to weave it into the entire book,
that he said it with holy spirit." Here too, it should have said, "And Yosef was taken down to
Egypt." And it is written, "And Yehuda went down from his brother": He said, "Let us disperse
ourselves, [since] the whole time we are together, the contract is found ( matsui ) for collection."
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, "Ten men that are found stealing, are they not all
caught when one is caught?" And once they were found with the goblet, they said, "The Lord has
found ( matsa ) the sin of your servants." Rabbi Yitschak said, "Like the one that empties out
( mematseh ) the barrel and leaves it with its sediments." Our rabbis said, "[Yehuda said], 'Let us
take care of ourselves; in the past [Yaakov] was required to get us wives to marry, but now that he
is involved in his sackcloth and in his fasting, it is not appropriate that he get us wives to marry.'
[The brothers] said to Yehuda, 'Are you not our head? Get up and take care of yourself.'
Immediately, ‘And it was at that time.'"

'And he said what is the guarantee that I shall give etc.' - Rabbi Hunya said: The Ruach
HaKodesh [prophetic spirit] glimmered within her, your seal is Royalty, as it is said (Song of Songs
8:6): "Set me as a seal upon thy heart". (Jeremiah 22:24) "As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah
the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon My right hand". "And thy cord", that is
the Sanhedrin, who are found in the cord, as it is said (Exodus 39:31) "A cord of blue". "And thy
staff", that is the Messiah, as it is said (Isaiah 11:1): "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the
stock of Jesse". (Psalms 110:2) "The rod of Thy strength the LORD will send out of Zion". "And he
gave them to her etc". "And she conceived by him", Heroes like so, and Righteous ones like so.
"And Judah sent etc." Yehuda Bar Nachman said in the name of Reish Lakish (Proverbs 8:31):
"Playing in His habitable earth" (Proverbs 8:30) "Playing always before Him", the Torah, that
delights his creations. The Holy One Blessed be He said to Judah: You lied to your father, with a
goat kid, so too, Tamar lies to you with a goat kid.

Chapter 86

AND IT CAME TO PASS FROM THE TIME THAT HE APPOINTED HIM, etc. (XXXIX, 5). R. Simeon
b. Yohai taught: Wherever the righteous go, the Shechinah accompanies them. Thus when Isaac
went down to Gerar, a blessing went with him, as it says, And Isaac sowed in that land...and the
Lord blessed him (Gen. XXVI, 12). Jacob went down to Laban, and a blessing went with him: And
the Lord hath blessed thee whithersoever I turned (ib. XXX, 30). Joseph went down to Potiphar,
and a blessing went with him, and it says, AND THE LORD BLESSED THE EGYPTIAN'S HOUSE FOR
JOSEPH'S SAKE.
AND THE BLESSING OF THE LORD WAS UPON ALL THAT HE HAD, IN THE HOUSE AND IN THE
FIELD. He spent twelve months here, six in the house and six in the field.
AND HE LEFT ALL THAT HE HAD IN JOSEPH'S HAND; AND, HAVING HIM, HE KNEW NOT
AUGHT SAVE THE BREAD THAT HE DID EAT (XXXIX, 6). This is a euphemism. [It refers to his wife.]
 AND JOSEPH WAS OF BEAUTIFUL FORM, etc. R. Isaac commented: Throw a stick into the air
and it falls back to its source. Thus, because it is written, But Rachel was of beautful form, etc. (ib.
XXIX, 17), therefore we read, AND JOSEPH WAS OF BEAUTIFUL FORM, etc. [Cf. supra, LIII, 15.]

Chapter 87

And he did not listen to her to lie down with her - in this world. 'To be with her' in Gehena,
in the world to come. And another opinion: 'He did not listen to her' he did not even touch her
bed. A certain Roman Matron asked Rabbi Yosi: Is it really possible that Yosef, a young man of 17
resisted all his heat and did this? Rabbi Yosi took out the book of Bereshit and began reading for
her the stories of Reuven and Bilhah, Yehudah and Tamar, and said: 'if with those, adults and
under their father's authority the Scripture did not hide their misdeed, with this one, not an adult
and by himself, all the more so it would have revealed the misdeed!
"One such day, he [Yosef] came into the house to do his work and none of the men of the
household were there" (Genesis 39:11). Is it possible that in the house of such a man it was
deserted with no man there? Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nechemyah [explain this]. Rabbi Yehuda
says, it was a Nile festival and all had gone to see it, and he did not go. Rabbi Nechemyah says, it
was a day of the theatre [ teiatiron ] and all had gone to see it, and he did not go. Rather, "he
came into the house to do his work", to calculate his master's calculations. Rabbi Shmuel son of
Nachman says, "to do his work literally", except there was no man there -- he searched himself,
and he did not find himself to be a man. Another explanation, Rabbi Shmuel says, the bow is
stretched and returned. For is it not written: (Genesis 49:24) "Yet his bow [ ‫ ]קשתו‬remained taut" --
his hardness [‫]קשיותו‬. Rabbi Yitzchak says, his seed [‫ ]זרע‬was scattered and went out by way of his
fingernails, as it says (Genesis 49:24) "and the arms of his hands [ ‫ ]זרעי ידיו‬were made firm". Rav
Huna in the name of Rabbi Matna says, images of his father appeared and chilled his blood, as it is
written (Genesis 49:24) "From there, the Shepherd, the Rock of Yisrael". Who does such? (Genesis
49:25) "The God of your father who helps you [...] blessings of breast and womb" -- (Onkelos
Genesis 49:25) "blessings of father and mother."

Chapter 88

Chapter 89

(Genesis 41:1) "And it was the end of 2 years..." - (Job 28:3) "He sets an end to darkness..."
He gave a set time of how many years the world would be in darkness. And what does it mean "he
set an end to the darkness"? For so long as the evil inclination is in the world, the world is in (Job
28:3) "darkness and the shadow of death." When the evil inclination is uprooted from the world,
no longer will there be "darkness and the shadow of death" in the world. Alternatively: "He sets an
end to darkness..." He gave a set time for Joseph of how many years he would be in darkness in
prison. Once the end [of that time] arrived, "Pharaoh dreamt a dream..."

R. Yehoshua of Sakhnin in the name of R. Levi, "They would interpret it, but their voices
would not enter his ears. 'The seven good cows are seven daughters that you will beget, and the
seven bad cows are seven daughters that you will bury.' Likewise they said, 'The seven good
sheaves are seven kingdoms that you will conquer, and the seven bad sheaves are seven ministers
that will rebel against you'"... Another interpretation: "And he sent and called" - to inform you that
each and every nation that stands in the world is granted five wise men to serve it. Moreover, the
Holy One, blessed be He, gives it three things: wisdom, understanding and strength. As so did the
evil Sannacherib say (Isaiah 10:13), "By the might of my hand have I done this, etc." But when the
Holy One, blessed be He, judges the world, He takes them away from it, as it is stated (Obadiah
1:8-9), "I will make the wise vanish from Edom, understanding from Esau’s mount.Your warriors
shall lose heart, O Teman." And why so much? So that Joseph will come at the end and
attain greatness. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "If Joseph comes first and interprets the
dream, this [will not earn] him praise. The magicians will be able to say to him, 'If you had asked
us, we would have already interpreted it for you [the same way].'" Rather, [Joseph] waited for
them until they tired him out and extracted his spirit. And afterwards Joseph came and brought it
back [to him]. About this did Solomon say (Proverbs 29:11), "The fool extracts his entire spirit" -
these are the wise men of Egypt; "but the wise man lowers it back" - this is Joseph, as it is stated
(Genesis 41:39), "there is no one wise and understanding like you."

Chapter 90

Chapter 91

"And Yosef saw his brothers, etc." - Rabbi Yehoshua bar Nechemiah said, "He made himself
a stranger ( nocri ) to them. "And Yosef recognized his brothers, etc." - Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis
[argued about this]: Rabbi Levi said, "At the time they fell into his hand, 'And Yosef recognized his
brothers;' at the time he fell into their hands, 'and they did not recognize him.'" And the Rabbis
said, "He who left them adorned by beards, 'And Yosef recognized his brothers - and they did not
recognize him,' as they did not leave him adorned by a beard [as he was too young].""And Yosef
remembered, etc... and he said to them, etc...'we are all the sons of one man'" - they had a flash of
Divine inspiration [in which] they said to him, "We and you are the sons of one man, we are." He
said to them, "And where is [the other one]?" "We sold him." He said to them, "For how much did
you sell him?" They said to him, "For five sela."He said to them, "And if a person would say to you,
'Give me five sela and I will give him to you,' would you do it?" They said to him, "Yes." "And if a
person would say to you, 'Give me double and I will give him to you,' would you do it?" They said,
"Yes." "And if a person would say to you, '[Even] if you would give me a thousand, I will not give
him to you,' what would you do?" They said to him, "For that have we come down [to Egypt],
whether to kill or to be killed." He said to them, "'This is what I have said about you, spies, etc.'"
"Through this will you be examined; by the life of Pharaoh" - when he wanted to make a false
oath, he would swear by the life of Pharaoh. Rabbi Levi said, "There is a parable of a goat that ran
away from the pasture and went in to a widow. What did she do? She got up and slaughtered it
and flayed it and put it in her bed and covered it with a sheet. They came to request it from her.
She said, 'So should happen to this woman if she knows about it, this flesh [actually referring to
the goat] should be bitten and eaten.' So too, 'by the life of Pharaoh if you will get out, etc...Send
one of you.'" "And he placed them in the prison for three days" - never does the Holy One, blessed
be He, leave righteous ones in dire straits for three days and so was it taught to Yosef, to Yonah, to
Mordechai, to David. And so is it stated (Hoshea 6:2), "He will revive us from the two days; on the
third day" of the tribes, "He will bring us up" - "And Yosef said to them on the third day."

Chapter 92

Here, the money etc. - Rabi Yishmael taught, this is one of the ten a fortiori arguments
written in the Torah. 1. "Indeed we returned the silver, obviously we wouldn't steal!"; 2. (Exodus
6) "The Children of Israel did not listen to me, certainly it is doubtful that Pharaoh would!"; 3.
(Numbers 12) "And G-d said to Moses, 'If her father would spit in her face [she would hide from
sight for seven days] surely then if the Shekhina rebukes her [she should hide for] fourteen days!";
4. (Deuteronomy 31) "Indeed while I still live among you, you were rebellious, how much more so
after my my death!"; 5. (Jeremiah 12) "If you race with the foot-runners and they exhaust you,
surely then, you cannot compete with horses!"; 6. (ibid) "If you are secure only in a tranquil land,
you will surely not fare well in the jungle of the Jordan!"; 7. (Samuel I 23) "Behold we are afraid
even here in Judah, surely [we will fear them] if we go to Keilah!"; 8. (Proverbs 11) "If the
righteous pay [for sin] while on earth, certainly the wicked should expect to!"; 9. (Esther 9) "And
the king said to Esther, 'In the capitol city the [Jews destroyed so many] imagine what they have
done in my other provinces!" [NOTE: The tenth a fortiori argument seems to be: 10. (Ezekiel 15:5)
"If the wood of a grapevine has little use when it is whole, it obviously has no value when it is
charred!"]
 6

Chapter 93

ַ‫קֹורא ׁשֶ ּדִ ּבֵר י ְהּודָ ה לְיֹוסֵ ף ִּב ְפנֵי אֶ חָ יו עַ ד ׁשֶ אַ ּתְ מַ ּגִיע‬ ֵ ְ‫ָאמַ ר ַרּבִי חִ ּיָא ּבַר אַ ּבָא ּכָל הַ ּדְ ב ִָרים ׁשֶ אַ ּת‬
,‫ ִּפּיּוס לְיֹוסֵ ף‬.‫ ּו ִפּיּוס ְל ִבנְי ָמִ ין‬,‫ ּו ִפּיּוס לְאֶ חָ יו‬,‫ הָ י ָה ּבָהֶ ם ּפִּיּוס לְיֹוסֵ ף‬,‫ ו ְֹלא י ָכ ֹל יֹוסֵ ף לְהִ תְ אַ ּפֵק‬:)‫ א‬,‫(בראשית מה‬
‫ ּפִּיּוס‬.‫ לְאֶ חָ יו לֹומַ ר ְראּו הֵ יאַ ְך הּוא נֹותֵ ן נַפְׁשֹו עַ ל ָאחִ יו‬,‫ ּפִּיּוס‬.‫לֹומַ ר ְראּו הֵ יְך הּוא נֹותֵ ן נַפְׁשֹו עַ ל ָּבנֶיהָ ׁשֶ ל ָרחֵ ל‬
‫ ַרּבִי חָ מָ א‬,'‫ ו ְֹלא י ָכ ֹל יֹוסֵ ף לְהִ תְ אַ ּפֵק וגו‬.‫ ָאמַ ר לֹו ּכְׁשֵ ם ׁשֶ ּנָתַ ּתִ י נַפְׁשִ י עָ לֶיָך ּכְָך אֲ נִי נֹותֵ ן נַפְׁשִ י עַ ל ָאחִ יָך‬,‫ְל ִבנְי ָמִ ין‬
‫ ַרּבִי ׁשְ מּואֵ ל ּבַר נַחְ מָ ן ָאמַ ר‬.‫ ׁשֶ אִ ּלּו ּבָעֲ טּו ּבֹו אֶ חָ ד מֵ הֶ ם מִ ּיָד הָ י ָה מֵ ת‬,‫ַּׁשּורה‬ ָ ‫ּבַר חֲ נִינָא ָאמַ ר ֹלא עָ ׂשָ ה יֹוסֵ ף ּכ‬
‫ ָאמַ ר חַ ס ו ְׁשָ לֹום אֵ ין ַאחַ י חֲ ׁשּודִ ים עַ ל ׁשְ ִפיכּות ּדָ מִ ים‬,‫ יֹודֵ עַ הָ י ָה צִדְ קָ ן ׁשֶ ל אֶ חָ יו‬,‫ַּׁשּורה עָ ׂשָ ה‬ ָ ‫ּכַהֹגֶן וְכ‬.

Chapter 94

Chapter 95

Chapter 96

96:3 "And Israel approached the time of dying" (Gen 47:29). It is written, "No one rules over
the wind to restrain the wind, and there is no ruling over the day of death" (Eccles 8:8). Rabbi
Yehoshua of Sichnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The trumpets which Moses made in the
wilderness were hidden by the Holy One, who is blessed, when Moses neared death so that no
one else would sound them while they were coming to him, as it is written, "Gather to me all the
elders of your tribes" (Deut 31:28), in order to fulfill what is stated, "And there is no ruling over the
day of death"....And so too when Jacob neared death he began to lower himself before Joseph and
said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes" (Gen 47:29). When [did he say this]? As he
was approaching death, as it is stated, "And Israel drew near to the time of dying" (ibid.).

Chapter 97

"The angel who has redeemed me from all harm[...]" (Genesis 48:16) Rabbi Yosei son of
Chalafta said, sustenance is doubly difficult, like birth. Of birth it is written (Genesis 3:16) "In pain [
‫ ]עצב‬shall you bear children", and of sustenance it is written (Genesis 3:17) "By toil [ ‫ ]עצבון‬shall
you eat of it [the ground] all the days of your life." Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel son of Nachman,
Rabbi Elazar said, redemption is deduced from sustenance and sustenance from redemption. Just
as redemption is doubled, so too is sustenance doubled. Just as sustenance is daily, so too is
sustenance daily. Rabbi Shmuel son of Nachman said, and [sustenance] is greater than
redemption, for redemption comes at the hand of an angel and sustenance at the hand of the Holy
Blessed One. Redemption by the hand of an angel, "the angel who redeemed me" (Genesis 48:16),
and sustenance by the hand of the Holy Blessed One, "open Your hand and satisfy all that lives"
(Psalms 145:16). Rabbi Yehoshua son of Levi said, the victuals of man are as difficult as the splitting
of the Sea of Reeds, as it says "to the One Who split the Sea of Reeds asunder" (Psalms 136:13)
and it is written later "Who gives food to all flesh" (Psalms 145:25). "Bless the lads" (Genesis
48:16), these are Yehoshua and Gidon, for there it says "And it was when Yehoshua was in Yericho,
and he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, a man stood over him... and he [the man] said 'No,
but I am captain of the LORD's host and have just arrived...'" (Joshua 5:13-14). Rabbi Yehoshua in
the name of Rabbi Chanina son of Yitzchak, he cried out from within his toenails, as it says "And he
said, 'I am a captain of the LORD's host'" (ibid.) - a captain of the Lofty Ones am I, and every place
that I am seen, the Holy Blessed One is seen. This is a sign that in every place that Rabbi Yosei was
set[?], so too Rabbi would appear. "Now I have come" (ibid.) -- with Moshe your teacher I have
come, rather that he was praying and said "Unless You go in the lead..." (Exodus 33:15) - I was
unable to ascend above, but now that I have not done my mission, I was not able to descend
below, that now I pray and say "Unless You go in the lead." Rather, be warned that you should not
do as Moshe your teacher did with me, and I was swayed. "And may they be teeming multitudes [
‫ ]וידגו לרב‬on the earth..." (Genesis 48:16). Just as the eye does not penetrate/rule over to see
these fish [‫]דגים‬, so your sons will not be seen/ruled over by the [evil] eye. So it is written, "The
sons of Yosef spoke to Yehoshua... [saying, 'Why have you assigned as our portion a single
allotment and a single district, seeing that we are a numerous people...']" (Joshua 17:14). He said
to them, 'Are you not afraid of the [evil] eye?' [i.e. how can you boast of your numbers?]. They
responded, 'This was our father's blessing for us, "they shall be teeming multitudes on the earth"
(Genesis 48:16).' Just as these fish are only caught in the throat, so your sons will only be caught in
the throat. "And they said to him, please say 'shibolet,' and he said 'sibolet'." (Judges 12:6). Just as
these fish grow in water, and when one drop descends from above they accept it with thirst like
one who had never tasted water in their life, so too Israel grow in the water of Torah, and when
they hear one new word of Torah they accept it with thirst as one who had never heard a word of
Torah in their life. Rabbi Levi said, the women of Israel became impregnated with sixty thousand
foetuses in one night, and all were sent to the Nile, and they ascended [out of the Nile?] in the
merit of Moshe, since Moshe said "Six hundred thousand are my feet of the people that I am
within" (Numbers 11:21) -- they all went up to my feet. Rabbi Zacai....

Chapter 98
 It teaches that he gave him the strength of a lion and the audacity of its cubs.

... “…and to him will be a gathering of peoples.” (Genesis 49:10) This refers to Jerusalem,
which in the future will blunt the teeth of the nations of the world, as it says “And it shall come to
pass on that day that I will make Jerusalem a stone of burden for all peoples…” (Zechariah 12:3)

Chapter 99

[“Benjamin is a wolf, he will prey…” (Bereshit 49:27)] “Why do you lurk, you lofty mountains,
for the mountain that God desired for His dwelling?” (Tehillim 68:17) R’ Yosi haGalili and R’ Akiva:
R’ Yosi haGalili explained the verse as referring to the mountains. At the moment when the Holy
One came to give the Torah on Sinai the mountains came running and arguing with each other.
This one said ‘the Torah will be given on me!’ and this one said ‘the Torah will be given on me!’
Mount Tabor came from Bet Elim and Mount Carmel from Espamia, this is what is written “As long
as I live, says the King, Whose name is the Lord of Hosts, that as sure as Tabor is among the
mountains, and Carmel is by the sea, it shall come about.” (Yimiyahu 46:18) This one said ‘I was
called!’ and this one said ‘I was called!’ The Holy One said ‘Why do you lurk, you lofty mountains?’
You are all high mountains, but what does lofty (gavnunim) mean? As it says “…or one with long
eyebrows (gibein), or a cataract…” (Vayikra 21:20) Idolatry was done on all of you, but Sinai upon
which idolatry was never done “…the mountain that God desired for His dwelling,” (Tehillim 68:17)
“The Lord descended upon Mount Sinai…” (Shemot 19:20) Nevertheless, “…Even the Lord will
dwell [there] forever,” (Tehillim 68:17) refers to the eternal House. R’ Akiva explained the verse as
referring to the tribes. At the moment when Shlomo said to build the Holy Temple, the tribes
came running and arguing with each other. This one said ‘in my portion it will be built!’ This one
said ‘in my portion it will be built!’ The Holy One said to them ‘tribes, why are you lurking? All of
you are tribes, all of you are righteous – but lofty (gavnunim). What is gavnunim? Ganavim
(thieves). You were all partners in the sale of Yosef; but Benyamin, who did not participate in the
sale of Yosef, “…the mountain that God desired for His dwelling.” (Tehillim 68:17) So we find that
four hundred and eighty years beforehand the children of Korach prophesied on this, that in the
future it would be in the portion of Benyamin as it says “My soul yearns, yea, it pines for the courts
of the Lord…” (Tehillim 84:3) So too it says “Behold we heard it in Ephrath…” (Tehillim 132:6) R’
Yehudah says ‘the Holy Temple was built in the portion of Yehudah, as it is written “…Ephrathite
man from Bethlehem of Judah…”’ (Shmuel I 17:12) R’ Shimon says ‘in the portion of the son of she
who died in Ephrathah. And who died in Ephrathah? Rachel. Perhaps it was in the portion of Yosef
who is also among her sons? The verse says “…we found it in the fields of the forest.” (Tehillim
132:6) In the portion of the one who is compared to a beast of the forest, and who is so
compared? Benyamin, as it is written “Benjamin is a wolf, he will prey…” (Bereshit 49:27)
 ..."Until he comes to Shiloh" - the one to whom the kingdom is his (shelo); "and to him will
be a gathering of peoples" - the one to whom the nations of the world will stream, as it is stated
(Isaiah 11:10), "the stock of Jesse that has remained standing shall become a standard to peoples
—nations shall seek his counsel"...

Chapter 100

...It was taught: Rabban Shimon Gamliel said, "Peace is great, as even the [brothers] spoke
words that were made up in order to bring peace between Joseph and the brothers. This is what is
written (in Genesis 50:16), 'Your father commanded before his death, saying....' And where did he
command? We do not find that he commanded!"

“…and he made for his father a mourning of seven days.” (Bereshit 50:10) Why do we
mourn for seven days in parallel to the seven days of feasting? The Holy One said to them: in this
world you shared the pain of this righteous one and mourned for him seven days, in the coming
world I will transform that mourning to joy, as it says “…and I will turn their mourning into joy and
will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow.” (Yirmiyahu 31:12) And just as I
console you, so I will console Zion and all her waste places in the manner that it says,” For the Lord
shall console Zion, He shall console all its ruins, and He shall make its desert like a paradise and its
wasteland like the garden of the Lord; joy and happiness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and a
voice of song.” (Yeshayahu 51:3)[Alternate transaltion: “…and he made for his father a mourning
of seven days.” (Genesis 50:10) Why do we mourn for seven days? In parallel to the seven days of
feasting. The Holy One said to them: in this world you shared the pain of this righteous one and
mourned for him seven days, in the coming world I will transform that mourning to joy, as it says
“…and I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their
sorrow.” (Jeremiah 31:12) And just as I console you, so I will console Zion and all her waste places
in the manner that it says,” For the Lord shall console Zion, He shall console all its ruins, and He
shall make its desert like a paradise and its wasteland like the garden of the Lord; joy and
happiness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and a voice of song.” (Isaiah 51:3)]