Genesis Rabbah 15

¹“The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, to the east; He placed there the man whom He had formed” (Genesis 2:8). “The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, to the east” – the school of Rabbi Yanai says: Why does it mention a full name (God). regarding the planting of the garden? It is because from the beginning of its planting it requires forethought. From the start, [even] before it emerges from its mother’s womb, a person must plan out which direction is appropriate for it. That is what is written: “The trees of the Lord are sated, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted” (Psalms 104:16). Rabbi Ḥanina said: They [the initial saplings] were as [tiny as] the antennae of grasshoppers when the Holy One blessed be He uprooted them and planted them in the Garden of Eden. “The trees of the Lord are sated…” – Rabbi Ḥanina said: They are sated with the lives that they live, they are sated with the water that they need, they are sated in their planting. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The world was not worthy of using cedars [for secular buildings], as they were created solely for the purpose of the Temple. That is what is written: “The trees of the Lord are sated, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted.” And “Lebanon” is nothing other than the Temple, as it says: “That goodly mountain and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: There are twenty-four species of cedar, but only seven are the highest quality of them all. That is what is written: “I will put cedar [ erez ], shita , [ hadas and etz shemen in the wilderness; I will place in the desert berosh , tidhar and te’ashur together]” (Isaiah 41:19). Berosh – berata , tidhar – adera , te’ashur – paksinon . Why is it called te’ashur ? It is because it is the most praiseworthy [ me’ushar ] of them all. They [subsequently] added three more to the list: Alonim , armonim , and almugim , Alonim – balutin , armonim – dalbon , almugim – alvam . ²“A garden in Eden” – Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Yehuda says: The garden is larger than Eden, as it is stated: “All the trees of Eden that were in God’s garden envied it” (Ezekiel 31:9), [and it is stated: “You were in Eden, of God’s garden” (Ezekiel 28:13)]. Rabbi Yosei says: Eden is larger than the garden, as it is stated: “The Lord God planted a garden in Eden.” It is written: “A river emerges from Eden to water the garden” (Genesis 2:10). According to the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, [this means that] from the runoff of a beit kor , a tarkav could be watered. and beit kor are units of area, tarkav being one-sixtieth of a beit kor . The verse is saying that the smaller garden was watered by the runoff from the much larger Eden. According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, it is like a spring that is situated in [the middle of] the garden and waters the entire garden. But Rabbi Yehuda adduces two verses, whereas Rabbi Yosei adduces only one verse. Rabbi Ḥanin of Tzippori said: The Holy One blessed be He illuminated the eyes of Rabbi Yosei and he found another verse that was decisive in addition to the first. Which is that? “He will render its wilderness like Eden and its desert like the garden of the Lord” (Isaiah 51:3). ³“To the east [ mikedem ]” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: You may think that it means before the creation of the world, but in fact it means only before the creation of man. to mean “beforehand” rather than “east.” Man was created on the sixth day, the Garden of Eden on the third day. That is what is written: “For God is my King from times of old [ mikedem ], working salvation in the midst of the land” (Psalms 74:12) – look at His benevolent works, as the Holy One blessed be He prepared my reward even before I [mankind] began to do anything. ⁴“He placed there [ vayasem sham ] [the man]” – Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda said: He elevated him, just as it says: “You shall set [ som tasim ] a king over you” (Deuteronomy 17:15). Rabbi Neḥemya said: He enticed him. This is analogous to a king who prepared a feast and invited a guest. So, too, the Holy One blessed be He invited Adam, due to the merit of Abraham. 14:6 That is what is written: “You know my sitting and my rising; You understand my thoughts from afar” (Psalms 139:2) – “my sitting” in the Garden of Eden,” “my rising” – my expulsion from it. “You understand my thoughts from afar” – by what merit did You come to the decision to create me? It is by the merit of the one who came from afar, as it is written: “I summon a bird of prey from the east, the man of My counsel from a distant land” (Isaiah 46:11). ⁵“He placed there [the man whom He had formed]” – just as it says: “And it is there to this day” (II Chronicles 5:9). Rabbi Levi said: Provided that he remain in his present form. Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Maryon said: It is written: “These are the outgrowths of the heavens [when they were created]” (Genesis 2:4) – their Creator praises them, who can disparage them? Their Creator lauds them, who can find fault with them? Rather, they are beautiful and praiseworthy, [as it is written:] “These are the outgrowths of the heavens.” ⁶“The Lord God grew from the ground every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9). “The Lord God grew from the ground […and the tree of life]” – it is taught: [The tree of life is] a tree that spreads out over all the living. Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai said: [The extent of] the tree of life is a walking distance of five hundred years and all the waters of creation branch out from beneath it. Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai: It is not merely that [the extent of] its branches are a walking distance of five hundred years, but even [the extent of] its trunk is a walking distance of five hundred years. ⁷What was that tree [of knowledge] from which Adam and Eve ate? Rabbi Meir said: It was wheat. When a person does not have knowledge, people say: That person has never eaten wheat bread in all his days. Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzḥak asked before Rabbi Ze’eira, saying to him: ‘Is it possible that it was wheat?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘But is it not written that it was a “tree”?’ He said to him: ‘It [the wheat in Eden] rose to a great height, like the cedars of Lebanon.’ Rabbi Yaakov bar Aḥa said: There is a dispute between Rabbi Neḥemya and the Rabbis. Rabbi Neḥemya said: [“Blessed be God…] who brings forth [ hamotzi ] bread from the earth, [meaning] that He brought forth bread from the earth in the past. (“who brings forth”) can also connote an event in the past (see Numbers 23:22). When Adam was created and placed in the Garden, finished bread grew from the ground. This was discontinued when he sinned. The Rabbis say: [Blessed be God …] who brings forth [ motzi ] bread from the earth, [meaning] that He will bring forth bread from the earth in the future, (“who brings forth”) can also connote an event in the future (see Exodus 6:7). In the Messianic future finished bread will grow from the ground. as it is stated: “There will be bread [ pisat ] from grain upon the earth” (Psalms 72:16). Lefet means turnip. In some dialects, the word pisat (translated in the Psalms verse under discussion as bread) also means turnip. The midrash explains the connection. – there is a dispute between two Amora’im, Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak and Rabbi Shmuel bar Ami. One said: Lefet – was it not [once] bread [ lo pat ]? And the other said: Lefet – is it going to be bread [ lo pat ] in the future? Rabbi Yirmeya recited the blessing before Rabbi Zeira: Who brings forth [ hamotzi ] bread from the earth, and he praised him. [Did he act] in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Neḥemya? This is bewildering. [No,] it was, rather, so as not to slur the [adjacent identical] letters. ” is haolam, which ends with a mem . Were one to recite the word as motzi, the first letter of motzi would be slurred with the final letter of haolam . Using the word hamotzi solves that problem. Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai said: They [the forbidden fruits that Adam ate] were grapes, as it is stated: “Their grapes are grapes of poison, clusters of bitterness for them” (Deuteronomy 32:32) – those clusters brought bitterness to the world. Rabbi Abba of Akko said it was a citron. That is what is written: “The woman saw that the tree was good for eating…” (Genesis 3:6). Go out and see which is the tree whose wood has a taste like its fruit, and you will find only the citron. Rabbi Yosei says: They were figs. It is a matter that is derived from its context. This is analogous to the a prince’s son who sinned with one of the maidservants. When the prince heard, he expelled him and had him removed outside the palace. He circulated among the houses of all the maidservants, but none would receive him. But the one with whom he sinned opened her door and received him. So, too, when Adam the first man ate from that tree, the Holy One blessed be He expelled him and had him removed outside the Garden of Eden. He circulated among all the trees but none would receive him. What did they say to him? Rabbi Berekhya said: ‘Here is the thief who deceived his Creator.’ That is what is written: “Let no arrogant foot come to me” (Psalms 36:12) – the foot of one who was arrogant towards his Creator. “Let the hand of the wicked not move me” (Psalms 36:12) – you may not take a leaf from me. But the fig tree, whose fruit he had eaten, opened its door and received him. That is what is written: “They sewed fig leaves” (Genesis 3:7). What [type of] fig was it ? Rabbi Avin said: It was the berat sheva species, as it brought seven [ sheva ] days of mourning to the world. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: It was the berat elita species, as it brought weeping [ elita ] to the world. Rabbi Azarya and Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: Far be it that God should have revealed [the identity of] that tree to any man, nor will He reveal it in the future. See what is written: “A woman who will approach any animal [to copulate with her, you shall kill the woman and the animal]” (Leviticus 20:16) – though the person sinned, what sin did the animal commit? [The animal did not sin,] but it is [killed] so that the animal should not pass through the marketplace, where people would say: This is the animal on whose account so-and-so was stoned. If He is concerned about the dignity of his [Adam’s] descendants [even though they had committed a grievous sin], is it not all the more so regarding his [Adam’s] own dignity [after his sin]? That is a rhetorical question.