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Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Bereshis 6

These notes cover Bereshis 2:8 through 3:13: the layout of the Garden of Eden and its four rivers, Adam's place and commandments, the naming of the animals, the creation of Chava (Eve), and the serpent and the first sin, up to Hashem asking "Where are you?" Two ideas keep coming back. First, Hashem prepared everything for man ahead of time and with great care: the garden, the commandments, and a partner. Second, the sin was not foolish. Adam and Chava were very wise, and the serpent was clever. It came dressed as a righteous advisor and built its case on careful reasoning, and each of them had reasons that turned out to be wrong. The lessons about home are just as practical: be generous in marriage, don't fuss over small details, and correct people gently.

The pesukim

Bereshis 2:8

וַיִּטַּ֞ע יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים גַּן־בְּעֵ֖דֶן מִקֶּ֑דֶם וַיָּ֣שֶׂם שָׁ֔ם אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָצָֽר׃

God planted a garden in Eden to the east. There He placed the man that He had formed.

Hashem planted a garden in Eden, toward the east, and placed there the man He had formed. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan translates Eden as "delight": east of this delightful place Hashem planted a garden with every kind of tree. He planted it Himself instead of bringing trees from somewhere else. Everywhere else in the world trees grow wherever they happen to, but the Ramban says that here every tree was set in its perfect place. Hashem also commanded that these trees always stay leafy and full of fruit, never grow old, and never need any work.
Bereshis 2:9

וַיַּצְמַ֞ח יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כׇּל־עֵ֛ץ נֶחְמָ֥ד לְמַרְאֶ֖ה וְט֣וֹב לְמַאֲכָ֑ל וְעֵ֤ץ הַֽחַיִּים֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַגָּ֔ן וְעֵ֕ץ הַדַּ֖עַת ט֥וֹב וָרָֽע׃

God made grow out of the ground every tree that is pleasant to look at and good to eat, [including] the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.

Hashem made every tree that is beautiful to look at and good to eat grow from the ground, including the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life was huge, with deep roots, a thick trunk and heavy foliage. The Tree of Knowledge got its name because it sharpened the mind and made the eyes see more clearly, and its fruit was delicious. A center is one spot, so how could both trees stand in it? Bereshis Rabbah gives two answers. Either both trees grew out of one trunk, or the Tree of Life stood in the exact center and the Tree of Knowledge surrounded it, its branches and fruit covering it, so the two looked like one tree.
Bereshis 2:10

וְנָהָר֙ יֹצֵ֣א מֵעֵ֔דֶן לְהַשְׁק֖וֹת אֶת־הַגָּ֑ן וּמִשָּׁם֙ יִפָּרֵ֔ד וְהָיָ֖ה לְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה רָאשִֽׁים׃

A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became four major rivers.

A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it split into four main rivers. The Zohar Chadash teaches that this stream came out from under the Tree of Life, and gained a great deal from it: its water became the waters of life.
Bereshis 2:11–12

שֵׁ֥ם הָֽאֶחָ֖ד פִּישׁ֑וֹן ה֣וּא הַסֹּבֵ֗ב אֵ֚ת כׇּל־אֶ֣רֶץ הַֽחֲוִילָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־שָׁ֖ם הַזָּהָֽב׃

The name of the first is Pishon. It surrounds the entire land of Havilah where gold is found.

וּֽזְהַ֛ב הָאָ֥רֶץ הַהִ֖וא ט֑וֹב שָׁ֥ם הַבְּדֹ֖לַח וְאֶ֥בֶן הַשֹּֽׁהַם׃

The gold of that land is [especially] good. Also found there are pearls and precious stones.

The first river is the Pishon, which circles the land of Chavilah, where there is gold. That gold is especially good, and pearls and precious stones are found there too. Rashi says the Pishon is the Nile, and the Abarbanel says Chavilah is India. The river is extremely wide, eight miles across at its narrowest point. It has ten tributaries, the streams that feed into a river, and when Cyrus king of Persia had it surveyed, his men counted 440. The Torah calls the gold good because there are seven grades of gold (Bereshis Rabbah; the Gemara in Yoma 44b), and as Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan explains, the gold on these banks was the highest grade.
Bereshis 2:13

וְשֵֽׁם־הַנָּהָ֥ר הַשֵּׁנִ֖י גִּיח֑וֹן ה֣וּא הַסּוֹבֵ֔ב אֵ֖ת כׇּל־אֶ֥רֶץ כּֽוּשׁ׃

The name of the second river is Gihon. It surrounds the land of Cush.

The second river is the Gichon, which circles the land of Cush. Cush is Ethiopia. Rashi, from the Gemara in Berachos (59b), explains that the Gichon is named for its waters, which rush along very rough and loud.
Bereshis 2:14

וְשֵׁ֨ם הַנָּהָ֤ר הַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙ חִדֶּ֔קֶל ה֥וּא הַֽהֹלֵ֖ךְ קִדְמַ֣ת אַשּׁ֑וּר וְהַנָּהָ֥ר הָֽרְבִיעִ֖י ה֥וּא פְרָֽת׃

The name of the third river is the Tigris which flows to the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

The third river is the Chidekel, the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth is the Pras, the Euphrates. The Tigris runs near Baghdad, and the Gemara in Berachos describes its waters as light and fast, loud enough to be heard far away. The Euphrates is called the largest of the rivers, and it borders the Holy Land. However, the Book of Daniel calls the Tigris "the great river," which suggests it was the largest, so the opinions differ.
Bereshis 2:15

וַיִּקַּ֛ח יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעׇבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשׇׁמְרָֽהּ׃

God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and watch it.

Hashem took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it. According to the Targum Yonasan (also called the Targum Yerushalmi), Adam was created on Mount Moriah, the future site of the Beis HaMikdash (the Holy Temple), and Hashem brought him from there into the garden. He showed him that it was all arranged for his good and warned him not to ruin His world, and He made him king of the garden. But the garden needed no work, so what was Adam supposed to work and guard? The Ramban says Hashem told him to plant wheat and other grains. Rabbeinu Bachya says "to work it" means to serve Hashem and "to guard it" means to keep His commandments.
Bereshis 2:16–17

וַיְצַו֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים עַל־הָֽאָדָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר מִכֹּ֥ל עֵֽץ־הַגָּ֖ן אָכֹ֥ל תֹּאכֵֽל׃

God gave the man a commandment, saying, "You may definitely eat from every tree of the garden.

וּמֵעֵ֗ץ הַדַּ֙עַת֙ ט֣וֹב וָרָ֔ע לֹ֥א תֹאכַ֖ל מִמֶּ֑נּוּ כִּ֗י בְּי֛וֹם אֲכׇלְךָ֥ מִמֶּ֖נּוּ מ֥וֹת תָּמֽוּת׃

But from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, do not eat, for on the day you eat from it, you will definitely die."

Hashem commanded the man: from every tree of the garden you may eat, but from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil do not eat, for on the day you eat from it you will surely die. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (56b) learns from this verse that Hashem gave Adam seven laws for him and all his descendants, later known as the seven laws of the children of Noach. The Rambam (Hilchos Melachim, chapter 9) sets out their details. As for the tree, Ibn Ezra notes the word "from it." Most forbidden foods only count once you eat an olive's worth, but here even the tiniest bite was forbidden. The doubled phrase "you will surely die" means death would come to Adam, to all his descendants and to every living creature.
Bereshis 2:18

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־ט֛וֹב הֱי֥וֹת הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְבַדּ֑וֹ אֶֽעֱשֶׂה־לּ֥וֹ עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃

God said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a compatible helper for him."

Hashem said it is not good for man to be alone, and that He would make him a helper suited to him. It sounds as if Hashem changed His plan after making Adam, but Hashem never changes His mind. The opening chapter of Bereshis described creation in general, and this passage goes back and fills in the details: Hashem decided to make a woman before Adam was ever created. Being alone is not good because a single person tends to live for himself, while being like Hashem means being a giver. Marriage is the best boot camp for learning to live for someone else. A "suited helper" also means that with a good wife, a person can keep the mitzvos (commandments) much better.
Bereshis 2:19–20

וַיִּ֩צֶר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָ֗ה כׇּל־חַיַּ֤ת הַשָּׂדֶה֙ וְאֵת֙ כׇּל־ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיָּבֵא֙ אֶל־הָ֣אָדָ֔ם לִרְא֖וֹת מַה־יִּקְרָא־ל֑וֹ וְכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִקְרָא־ל֧וֹ הָֽאָדָ֛ם נֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּ֖ה ה֥וּא שְׁמֽוֹ׃

God had formed every wild beast and every bird of heaven out of the ground. He [now] brought [them] to the man to see what he would name each one. Whatever the man called each living thing [would] remain its name.

וַיִּקְרָ֨א הָֽאָדָ֜ם שֵׁמ֗וֹת לְכׇל־הַבְּהֵמָה֙ וּלְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּלְכֹ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה וּלְאָדָ֕ם לֹֽא־מָצָ֥א עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃

The man named every livestock animal and bird of the sky, as well as all the wild beasts. But the man did not find a helper who was compatible for him.

Hashem brought every wild animal and bird to the man to see what he would call it, and whatever he called each one became its name, but among them he found no partner for himself. The angels had looked down on a man made of earth. Hashem told them Adam was wiser than they were, and proved it: He brought all the creatures before the angels, who could not name them, and then before Adam, who named every one and often gave the male and the female different names. In Lashon HaKodesh, the holy language, a name expresses the essence of a thing, so naming every creature meant understanding what each one really is. When Hashem asked Adam his own name, he said "Adam," because he was taken from the adamah, the ground. Then Adam saw that every creature had a mate and he alone did not, and he asked why, and Hashem granted his request.
Bereshis 2:21–22

וַיַּפֵּל֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֧ים ׀ תַּרְדֵּמָ֛ה עַל־הָאָדָ֖ם וַיִּישָׁ֑ן וַיִּקַּ֗ח אַחַת֙ מִצַּלְעֹתָ֔יו וַיִּסְגֹּ֥ר בָּשָׂ֖ר תַּחְתֶּֽנָּה׃

God then made the man fall into a deep state of unconsciousness, and he slept. He took one of his ribs and closed the flesh in its place.

וַיִּ֩בֶן֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֧ים ׀ אֶֽת־הַצֵּלָ֛ע אֲשֶׁר־לָקַ֥ח מִן־הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְאִשָּׁ֑ה וַיְבִאֶ֖הָ אֶל־הָֽאָדָֽם׃

God built the rib that he took from the man into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

Hashem put the man into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs, closed up the flesh, and built the rib into a woman, whom He brought to the man. The Midrash says Hashem wanted the woman to have no bad tendencies, so He made her from a part of the body that has no bad influence. Head, eyes, ears, mouth, heart, hands and feet each carry a weakness, and the side carries none. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (39a) explains why Adam had to be asleep: if he had watched her being formed from a piece of his flesh, he would have been repelled by her.
Bereshis 2:23–24

וַיֹּ֘אמֶר֮ הָֽאָדָם֒ זֹ֣את הַפַּ֗עַם עֶ֚צֶם מֵֽעֲצָמַ֔י וּבָשָׂ֖ר מִבְּשָׂרִ֑י לְזֹאת֙ יִקָּרֵ֣א אִשָּׁ֔ה כִּ֥י מֵאִ֖ישׁ לֻֽקְחָה־זֹּֽאת׃

The man said, "Now this is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She shall be called Woman (Ishah) because she was taken from man (ish)."

עַל־כֵּן֙ יַֽעֲזׇב־אִ֔ישׁ אֶת־אָבִ֖יו וְאֶת־אִמּ֑וֹ וְדָבַ֣ק בְּאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וְהָי֖וּ לְבָשָׂ֥ר אֶחָֽד׃

A man shall therefore leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The man said: this time she is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, and she shall be called Ishah, woman, because she was taken from Ish, man. That is why a man leaves his father and mother, joins his wife, and they become one flesh. "This time" means this is the only time a woman will ever come from a man. From then on it is the other way around: every person is formed inside a woman's womb.
Bereshis 2:25

וַיִּֽהְי֤וּ שְׁנֵיהֶם֙ עֲרוּמִּ֔ים הָֽאָדָ֖ם וְאִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וְלֹ֖א יִתְבֹּשָֽׁשׁוּ׃

The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not embarrassed by one another.

The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed. They had no yetzer hara, no evil inclination, and shame at being naked only comes once a person has lustful thoughts.
Bereshis 3:1–5

וְהַנָּחָשׁ֙ הָיָ֣ה עָר֔וּם מִכֹּל֙ חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה אַ֚ף כִּֽי־אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹ֣א תֹֽאכְל֔וּ מִכֹּ֖ל עֵ֥ץ הַגָּֽן׃

The serpent was the most cunning of all the wild beasts that God had made. [The serpent] asked the woman, "Did God really say that you may not eat from any of the trees of the garden?"

וַתֹּ֥אמֶר הָֽאִשָּׁ֖ה אֶל־הַנָּחָ֑שׁ מִפְּרִ֥י עֵֽץ־הַגָּ֖ן נֹאכֵֽל׃

The woman replied to the serpent, "We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden.

וּמִפְּרִ֣י הָעֵץ֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּתוֹךְ־הַגָּן֒ אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים לֹ֤א תֹֽאכְלוּ֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְלֹ֥א תִגְּע֖וּ בּ֑וֹ פֶּן־תְּמֻתֽוּן׃

But of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God said, 'Do not eat it, and do not [even] touch it, or else you will die.'"

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַנָּחָ֖שׁ אֶל־הָֽאִשָּׁ֑ה לֹֽא־מ֖וֹת תְּמֻתֽוּן׃

The serpent said to the woman, "You will certainly not die!

כִּ֚י יֹדֵ֣עַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים כִּ֗י בְּיוֹם֙ אֲכׇלְכֶ֣ם מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְנִפְקְח֖וּ עֵֽינֵיכֶ֑ם וִהְיִיתֶם֙ כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔ים יֹדְעֵ֖י ט֥וֹב וָרָֽע׃

Really, God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

The serpent, the most cunning of the wild animals, asked the woman whether God had really said they could not eat from any tree of the garden. She answered that they could eat from all the trees except the one in the middle of the garden, which they must not eat or even touch, or they would die. The serpent told her she would certainly not die, because God knew that once she ate, her eyes would open and she would be like God. Bereshis Rabbah (19:4) explains the claim: God Himself got the power to create worlds, kill and bring the dead to life by eating from this tree. Like any craftsman who hates competition, He did not want anyone else to have that power. Then the serpent pushed Chava against the tree and touched it himself. Nothing happened, he argued, so nothing would happen if she ate either.
Bereshis 3:6

וַתֵּ֣רֶא הָֽאִשָּׁ֡ה כִּ֣י טוֹב֩ הָעֵ֨ץ לְמַאֲכָ֜ל וְכִ֧י תַֽאֲוָה־ה֣וּא לָעֵינַ֗יִם וְנֶחְמָ֤ד הָעֵץ֙ לְהַשְׂכִּ֔יל וַתִּקַּ֥ח מִפִּרְי֖וֹ וַתֹּאכַ֑ל וַתִּתֵּ֧ן גַּם־לְאִישָׁ֛הּ עִמָּ֖הּ וַיֹּאכַֽל׃

The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and desirable to the eyes, and that the tree was attractive as a means to gain intelligence. She took some of its fruit and ate [it]. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate [it].

The woman saw that the tree was good to eat, beautiful to look at, and a way to gain wisdom, so she ate its fruit and also gave some to her husband, who ate. Touching the tree had not hurt her, so she believed the serpent was telling the truth, and she ate.
Bereshis 3:7

וַתִּפָּקַ֙חְנָה֙ עֵינֵ֣י שְׁנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיֵּ֣דְע֔וּ כִּ֥י עֵֽירֻמִּ֖ם הֵ֑ם וַֽיִּתְפְּרוּ֙ עֲלֵ֣ה תְאֵנָ֔ה וַיַּעֲשׂ֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם חֲגֹרֹֽת׃

The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. They sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves loincloths.

The eyes of both of them were opened, they realized they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths. They felt their nakedness now because, once they had eaten, bad and lustful thoughts entered them. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan points out that they covered themselves with fig leaves because the fruit they had eaten was a fig.
Bereshis 3:8–9

וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֞וּ אֶת־ק֨וֹל יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים מִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ בַּגָּ֖ן לְר֣וּחַ הַיּ֑וֹם וַיִּתְחַבֵּ֨א הָֽאָדָ֜ם וְאִשְׁתּ֗וֹ מִפְּנֵי֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים בְּת֖וֹךְ עֵ֥ץ הַגָּֽן׃

They heard God's voice moving about in the garden with the wind of the day. The man and his wife hid themselves from God among the trees of the garden.

וַיִּקְרָ֛א יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ אַיֶּֽכָּה׃

God called to the man, and He said, "Where are you [trying to hide]?"

They heard Hashem's voice moving through the garden with the wind of the day and hid among the trees, and Hashem called to the man, "Where are you?" Hashem knew exactly where Adam was. He asked only to open a conversation. Bereshis Rabbah learns from this that you should not scold someone the moment he sins. Being corrected right away is so painful and embarrassing that it can feel as bitter as death. Wait a while, and then correct him.
Bereshis 3:10–12

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אֶת־קֹלְךָ֥ שָׁמַ֖עְתִּי בַּגָּ֑ן וָאִירָ֛א כִּֽי־עֵירֹ֥ם אָנֹ֖כִי וָאֵחָבֵֽא׃

"I heard Your voice in the garden," replied [the man], "and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מִ֚י הִגִּ֣יד לְךָ֔ כִּ֥י עֵירֹ֖ם אָ֑תָּה הֲמִן־הָעֵ֗ץ אֲשֶׁ֧ר צִוִּיתִ֛יךָ לְבִלְתִּ֥י אֲכׇל־מִמֶּ֖נּוּ אָכָֽלְתָּ׃

[God] asked, "Who told you that you are naked? Did you eat from the tree which I commanded you not to eat?"

וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הָֽאָדָ֑ם הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָתַ֣תָּה עִמָּדִ֔י הִ֛וא נָֽתְנָה־לִּ֥י מִן־הָעֵ֖ץ וָאֹכֵֽל׃

The man replied, "The woman that you gave to be with me—she gave me what I ate from the tree."

The man answered that he heard Hashem's voice and was afraid because he was naked, so he hid. Hashem asked who told him he was naked, and whether he had eaten from the tree he was commanded not to eat from. The man replied that the woman Hashem gave him had given him from the tree, and he ate. In other words, he put the blame on Chava. That is a strange defense against a command that came from Hashem Himself, and it is one of the difficulties discussed below.
Bereshis 3:13

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים לָאִשָּׁ֖ה מַה־זֹּ֣את עָשִׂ֑ית וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה הַנָּחָ֥שׁ הִשִּׁיאַ֖נִי וָאֹכֵֽל׃

God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman replied, "The serpent seduced me and I ate [it]."

Hashem asked the woman, "What is this you have done?" and she answered that the serpent had tricked her and she ate. Hashem knew what she had done, and Bereshis Rabbah learns from His question that before punishing a suspect because of what others say, you must ask him first and let him defend himself. The serpent was not given that chance. He was like a meisis, someone who talks others into serving idols, and such a person gets no opportunity to defend himself.

English from The Living Torah by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, used with the permission of the Kaplan family. Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC BY-SA).

Takeaways

  • When you truly have something to offer, you don't need to make noise, like the Euphrates.
  • Marriage is the boot camp for living for someone else instead of yourself.
  • At home, be a little "asleep": let small things go, and remember that people act from their nature, not to spite you.
  • Never shame someone by bringing up his sin, and when you do need to correct someone, wait a while instead of doing it on the spot.
  • The yetzer hara often comes dressed as a tzaddik with extra advice. A fence that isn't true can end up as "proof" for breaking the real rule.
Going deeper— the stories, Kabbalah and the reasons behind the reasons

Why the east is the best side, and how big Eden is

  • The garden was planted in the east, which teaches that the east side is always the best side. Rabbeinu Bachya explains that the eastern wind is the best wind, so fruit grown on the east side of a hill or orchard is the best fruit. Eating it satisfies the heart and calms the mind.
  • The air is also better on the east side, because that is where Gan Eden is. So if you go apple picking, head for the eastern side of the orchard.
  • The Gemara in Taanis (10a) says the whole world is one sixtieth of the garden, and the garden is one sixtieth of Eden. There are three levels: Eden, the delightful place itself; the garden at its east; and then our entire world.
  • The same page of Taanis continues that Eden in turn is one sixtieth of Gehinom.

The quiet river: what the Euphrates teaches

  • The Midrash says the other three rivers came to the Euphrates and asked why its waters don't roar like theirs. It answered that it had no need to make its voice heard, because everyone already knows the benefits of its waters.
  • The lesson is that someone who truly has something to offer doesn't need to make noise. Putting on a show is a sign that a person is missing something.
  • Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan adds that the name Pras is related to parah, "fruitful," and everything it touches becomes fruitful (Berachos 59b; Bereshis Rabbah 16:3). An orchard watered by the Euphrates can mature in thirty days, and a grain field watered by it for three days already sprouts.
  • People who drink its water become healthy, and people who live near it have large families.
  • When you see these four rivers you say the blessing Oseh Ma'aseh Bereshis, praising Hashem who made the works of creation. But you only say it on a river's original course, not on a channel cut from it.
  • The Persians diverted the Euphrates, so according to the Gemara in Berachos the blessing is said only upstream of a place called Bei Shapur, where the river still runs in its original bed.

Adam's greatness: the angels and the canopies

  • Bereshis Rabbah (8:10) relates that when the angels saw Adam, the high point of all creation, they were terrified and thought he was the Master of the universe. They were about to bow down to him.
  • Adam would not let them. He led them in bowing to Hashem, saying the verse from Tehillim (95:6): "Come, let us bow and kneel before Hashem our Maker."
  • The angels honored Adam and served him, roasting meat for him, pressing wine for him and bringing him whatever gifts Hashem commanded. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (59b) brings this.
  • The Gemara in Bava Basra (75a) says ten canopies were made for Adam, some say eleven and others say thirteen, and the simplest of them was made of gold. If that was the lowest, imagine what the others were like.

Serving Hashem is not like serving a king

  • The Me'am Loez brings from the Alshich that a human king rewards you only after you have done something for him. Hashem placed Adam in the Garden of Eden before he had done anything good, so Hashem pays in advance.
  • When you serve a human king, you might get rewarded, but you yourself stay the same. When you serve Hashem, you yourself change: every mitzvah makes you holier.
  • A person has 248 limbs, matching the 248 positive commandments, and each mitzvah you do makes its matching limb holy.
  • A king gives no reward for simply not doing something wrong. With Hashem, even holding back from a sin moves a person forward, step by step, every day.
  • The Maharal, on the words kedoshim tihyu, "you shall be holy," teaches that kedushah, holiness, means separating yourself from the body's desires, and above all from immorality. That is where holiness comes from. Staying away from every other sin is what keeps it: someone who doesn't, loses the holiness he gained (Gur Aryeh on Vayikra 19:2). One way to fit these together is to separate holiness, which is a kind of purity, from righteousness and good character, which also grow with every mitzvah.

The seven laws for all mankind

  • The seven laws given to Adam, later called the laws of the children of Noach, are: no idol worship, no forbidden relations, no murder, no stealing, setting up courts, no cursing Hashem, and no eating a limb from a living animal.
  • Forbidden relations include adultery with a married woman. Non-Jews don't have halachic marriage and divorce, so for them a couple living together as husband and wife counts as married, and they count as divorced as soon as they separate.
  • For a non-Jew the law of murder is in some ways stricter. It includes killing an unborn child, ending the life of someone who is dying anyway, and killing passively, for example by tying a person to train tracks or leaving him to starve.
  • If a non-Jew sees someone trying to kill or rape another person, he may kill the attacker, but only if he cannot stop him some other way. If he could have stopped him by wounding him, for example with a shot to the knee, and killed him instead, he is guilty of murder.
  • Stealing is forbidden even for less than a penny. Every society must appoint judges and police to enforce these laws. Unlike a Jewish court, a non-Jewish court needs no advance warning to the offender, and relatives may testify.
  • Eating from a living animal is forbidden as long as the animal shows any sign of life, even if it has already been fully slaughtered and is still moving.
  • Some Sages in Sanhedrin (56b) add four more: not castrating, not practicing sorcery, not crossbreeding animals or grafting different species of trees, and not eating blood from a living animal. The Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 9:10) rules that blood from a living animal is permitted to a non-Jew, while crossbreeding and grafting are forbidden.
  • A non-Jew who keeps these laws because Hashem commanded them, and not only because they seem moral, has a share in the World to Come.

Adam was not allowed to eat meat

  • The Gemara teaches that Adam was allowed to eat only from plants, not animals, fish or birds. The "meat" the angels roasted for him was some spiritual food, like the mann (manna), which our minds can't grasp.
  • Then why was Adam commanded not to eat a limb from a living animal? Because what was forbidden to him was eating a slaughtered animal. He could have eaten an animal that died on its own.
  • But no animal had died yet, because death had not yet been decreed on the world, so the angels' food could not have been that kind of meat either.

Another view: the limb from a living animal came with Noach

  • Some hold that Adam was never commanded about eating from a living animal, since he wasn't allowed meat at all. That commandment was given to Noach, once he was permitted to eat meat.
  • This is the Rambam's view (Hilchos Melachim 9:1): Adam was given six of the laws, and the seventh was added for Noach.

Why the Torah never names the forbidden tree

  • The commentaries disagree about which tree it was: an esrog, a fig, grapes, or, according to Rabbi Yehuda in the Gemara (Berachos 40a), wheat.
  • The Torah left the species out on purpose (Bereshis Rabbah 15:7). If we knew it, people would see that tree and say, "That's the tree that brought death into the world."
  • The lesson is not to shame anyone by bringing up a sin he committed.
  • The fig is the simplest answer. Rabbi Nechemya gives this reason in the Gemara (Berachos 40a): they covered themselves with fig leaves, as if trying to repair the damage with the very tree they had sinned with.

Names in the holy language

  • In other languages a word means something only because we learned to connect it with a thing. We hear the sounds of "table" and picture what we were taught to picture.
  • In Lashon HaKodesh a name expresses the very nature of the thing. A Kabbalist who had never seen a table could study the letters of shulchan, the Hebrew word for table, and understand what a table is.
  • Our own names express our essence in the same way. That is why naming every creature proved that Adam understood each one's nature better than the angels did.

Four benefits of marriage

  • Protection: when there is love and peace between husband and wife, Hashem watches over them and guards them from harm.
  • Blessing: a man without a wife is not fit for blessing. The verse speaks of bringing blessing to "your house," and in the language of the Sages a man's house means his wife (Yevamos 62b).
  • Protection from sin: Rabbi Chiya's wife always did the opposite of what he asked, yet he loved her, saying it was enough that she kept him from sin (Yevamos 63a).
  • Torah study: a married man comes home from work to a running household and can learn more Torah at night.

How Chava was formed

  • The Midrash (Bereshis Rabbah 18:2) explains why each other part of the body was ruled out. From the head she would have been arrogant, from the eyes too curious, always at the window (or scrolling Instagram), from the ears always listening to gossip, and from the mouth too talkative. From the heart she would have been jealous, from the hands always touching everything, and from the feet always on the go.
  • She was taken from the side so she would have the best traits and none of the bad ones.
  • Hashem first asked Adam's advice on how she should be made, so he could never complain about how she turned out.
  • The Zohar says Adam was still on Mount Moriah when Chava was formed. Hashem took the thirteenth rib on his right side, and some say Adam had an extra rib so that nothing of his would be missing.

Peace at home: be a little sleepy

  • The Toldos Yitzchak learns from Adam's sleep that a man should always be a little "asleep" at home. He should not watch every detail of what his wife does, because nitpicking causes fights and lost tempers.
  • You don't really know someone until you live with them, and everyone does things the other doesn't like. Let the small things slide.
  • The rib is a hard bone, while man was made from soft earth. Once you understand someone's nature, you forgive more easily, because they aren't doing it to spite you.
  • In the Gemara in Taanis (20b), Rabbi Zeira (some say Rav Adda bar Ahava) was asked why he lived so long. One of his answers: he was never particular about what went on in his home.

Two, to help each other

  • One of the main reasons people were created male and female is so each can help the other keep the Torah. So a man shouldn't be too critical of his wife, even if she is independent and difficult.
  • A couple who quarrel are like animals: in season they get along, and afterward they fight and gore each other.
  • By avoiding strife, a couple gain the calm to grow spiritually, which is what they were created for.

One unit: why man and woman were made this way

  • The animals were created male and female together because their main purpose is to reproduce. Man and woman were created separately so they would not think their purpose was the same. Man's purpose is to serve his Creator, and Hashem saw that a partnership of husband and wife would serve that purpose best.
  • The Gemara in Berachos (61a) and the Zohar read tzela as "side" rather than "rib": Adam and Chava were first made as one being, back to back, and then split in two.
  • This teaches that husband and wife are one unit. When one does good, both are rewarded.
  • When Rabbi Akiva came home after twenty-four years of learning, his students tried to keep his wife away. He told them that everything he and they had belonged to her (Kesubos 63a).
  • The Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer says Hashem Himself said the wedding blessings over Adam and Chava. From this the Gemara in Berachos (61a) learns the mitzvah to go to a wedding and make the bride and groom happy. If Hashem went to a wedding, no one is too important to go.

The angel of death's plan

  • The angel of death wanted Adam to sin, because his job is to kill and there was no death in the world yet. A sin would bring death into the world and give him work.
  • Adam was too wise to trick directly, so the angel looked for the most intelligent creature to disguise himself as and chose the serpent, which at that time walked upright on two legs. The Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer and the Zohar describe this disguise, and the other animals were terrified when they saw him.
  • When he saw Adam and Chava together, he was filled with desire for Chava and planned to kill Adam and take her for himself. He knew he could not persuade Adam, so he would persuade Chava, and she would bring her husband along.
  • He waited until Adam was away. The Gemara in Sotah says Adam was traveling the world deciding which places should be lived in. Every place he chose immediately became fields and vineyards, and every place he passed over is desolate to this day.
  • Ibn Ezra says that in those days people could understand the speech of animals, which is how Chava understood the serpent.

Where "do not even touch it" came from

  • Hashem told Adam only not to eat from the tree, yet Chava said they could not even touch it.
  • One opinion is that Chava added this fence on her own.
  • The other is that Adam, worried she might eat, told her not to touch it.
  • Either way, once the serpent pushed her against the tree and nothing happened, the fence turned into "proof" that eating was safe too.

What happened right after she ate

  • When Chava ate, her eyes opened and she saw the angel of death standing in front of her, and she realized she had been tricked.
  • Afraid that she would die and Adam would take another wife, she gave him the fruit out of jealousy, so that he would die too.
  • The Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer says she could not get Adam to eat the fruit, so she squeezed it and gave him the juice without his knowing what it was. Others say he took it from her, or that she pressured him.
  • She also gave the fruit to all the animals and birds.
  • There were no needles yet, so according to Ibn Ezra they sewed the fig leaves with straw or a thorn.

Five difficulties in the story, and how they resolve

  • First difficulty: the serpent opened by asking whether God had forbidden every tree, an obvious lie. How could such wise people fall for it?
  • Second: the "don't touch" rule was made up, so why should touching prove anything? Third: Hashem said "on the day you eat," not "the moment you eat," so not dying immediately proved nothing, and she could have waited a full day.
  • Fourth: if the serpent wanted Chava, why make her eat and die? Fifth: Adam's defense, "the woman You gave me gave me," seems the worst possible answer to a direct command from Hashem.
  • Resolution of the first: the serpent was not lying about the law. He came as a tzaddik, a righteous man, the way the yetzer hara often does. He advised that since one tree was forbidden, she should be extra careful and not eat from any tree at all. She answered that she needed no such fence, because she already had her own: she didn't even touch the forbidden tree.
  • Resolution of the fourth: the serpent assumed Chava would not die, because she had not yet been created when Adam received the command. She would eat, live, give it to Adam, and he alone would die. He also assumed she would let Adam taste it first, as wives usually do, and that once Adam ate he would stop her from eating too.
  • The Tzeror HaMor says Chava reasoned that only the fruit was forbidden, not the peel. She tasted the peel, found it good, and then ate the rest, which is why the verse says "she saw that it was good."
  • The Toldos Yitzchak says she thought the tree's location in the middle of the garden, where Hashem's presence was concentrated like the Holy of Holies, made touching the tree the real problem, and that fruit which had fallen off was permitted.
  • Adam and Chava were not fools. They had calculations, and so did the serpent, and all of them were wrong. Next time: the punishments of the serpent, Adam and Chava.

Chava's test: why she added "don't touch"

  • Chava suspected the serpent wanted her for himself and wanted Adam dead, but she wasn't sure. When he said she would be "like God, knowing good and evil," she thought he might mean it for her good. Still, she worried he wanted her to give the fruit to Adam first, so that Adam would die.
  • So she set a test. She told the serpent they were forbidden even to touch the tree, and said to herself: if he tells me to touch it, his motives are good, because touching is a safe test with no danger in it. If his motives are evil, he'll go to Adam first and get him to touch it, thinking that will kill him. That is why she added touching, though it wasn't part of Hashem's command.
  • When the serpent pushed her against the tree, she concluded he meant well: if he wanted me to give it to my husband and kill him, why would he put me in danger? This answers the second difficulty (Kli Yakar).

How Adam's answer fits

  • On the view that they thought the tree was forbidden because it stood in a holy place, so that only picking its fruit was forbidden, Adam's answer makes sense.
  • "The woman You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree" meant: I didn't pick the fruit, she handed it to me. He assumed that was permitted. This answers the fifth difficulty (Toldos Yitzchak).

Why the serpent wasn't questioned

  • Hashem asked Adam and Chava what they had done, but not the serpent, because the serpent had an answer ready: "When the teacher says one thing and the student says another, whom do you listen to?" If Hashem commanded them not to eat, why did they listen to me? (Sanhedrin 29a)
  • The second reason is the one from class: someone who talks others into idolatry isn't given a chance to defend himself.
Review questions
  1. Both the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge stood "in the middle of the garden." What are the two ways Bereshis Rabbah explains this?
  2. Why did Adam's naming of the animals prove he was wiser than the angels, and what does a name mean in Lashon HaKodesh?
  3. If Adam was forbidden to eat meat, why was he also commanded not to eat a limb from a living animal?
  4. Why was Chava formed from Adam's side and not from any other part of his body, and why did Adam have to be asleep?
  5. If the serpent wanted Chava for himself, why did he get her to eat from the tree?
  6. What does Hashem's question "Where are you?" teach about how to correct someone?
Sources
  • Ramban — the perfect arrangement of the garden; Adam planting grain
  • Rabbeinu Bachya — the eastern wind and air; "work and guard" as serving Hashem and keeping His mitzvos
  • Talmud Taanis 10a and 20b — the world as a sixtieth of the garden, and Eden as a sixtieth of Gehinom; the sage who lived long by not being particular at home
  • Bereshis Rabbah (8:10; 15:7; 16:3; 18:2; 19:3–5) — the angels wanting to bow to Adam; why the tree isn't named; the Euphrates; where Chava was taken from; the serpent's claims; the fruit given to the animals
  • Rashi and the Abarbanel — the Pishon as the Nile and Chavilah as India
  • Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan — Eden as "delight"; the highest grade of gold; Pras from parah, "fruitful"; the fruit as a fig
  • Talmud Berachos 40a, 59b and 61a — which tree it was; the rivers and their blessing; Adam and Chava created back to back; the mitzvah to gladden a bride and groom
  • Targum Yonasan (Targum Yerushalmi) on 2:15 — Adam created on Mount Moriah
  • Alshich (brought in the Me'am Loez) — how serving Hashem differs from serving a human king
  • Talmud Sanhedrin 39a, 56a–59b and the Rambam, Hilchos Melachim 8–9 — the seven laws for all mankind; Adam's diet; Chava formed while Adam slept
  • Talmud Yoma 44b — the seven grades of gold
  • Talmud Bava Basra 75a — the canopies made for Adam
  • Ibn Ezra — even a tiny bite of the tree was forbidden; understanding animals' speech; sewing with straw or thorns
  • Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer — the angel of death disguised as the serpent; the squeezed fruit; Hashem saying Adam and Chava's wedding blessings
  • Zohar — the serpent's disguise; Chava formed while Adam was still on Mount Moriah
  • Toldos Yitzchak — be a little "sleepy" at home
  • Koheles Rabbah 7:13 — "don't ruin and destroy My world"
  • Talmud Yevamos 62b–63a — no blessing without a wife; Rabbi Chiya and his wife
  • Talmud Kesubos 63a — Rabbi Akiva's wife
  • Talmud Sotah 46b — the places Adam decreed should be settled
  • Maharal, Gur Aryeh on Vayikra 19:2 — holiness as separation
  • Tzeror HaMor — the peel