תהלים קלט-קמג: 'אחור וקדם צרתני ותשת עלי כפך'

For the Leader. A Psalm of David. O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me. . Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou measurest my going about and my lying down, And art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, But, lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; Too high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in the nether-world, behold, Thou art there.

Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira says: Adam was sitting in the Garden of Eden, and the angels who serve God stood there in the Garden attending to him. They grilled meat for him, and chilled wine for him. The snake came and saw all this, and took it as an affront to his own honor, and he became jealous.
How was Adam created? In the first hour, his dirt was gathered together. In the second hour, his form was formed. In the third hour, a torso was made. In the fourth hour, his limbs were attached. In the fifth hour, his orifices were opened. In the sixth hour, he was given breath. In the seventh hour, he stood up on his legs. In the eighth hour, he was paired with Eve. In the ninth hour, he was brought into the Garden of Eden. In the tenth hour, he was commanded [not to eat from the tree]. In the eleventh hour, he disgraced himself. In the twelfth hour, he was driven out and left, which fulfills the words of the verse (Psalms 49:13), “Man does not spend even one night in honor.”
What is recited on the first day? “The earth is the Eternal’s, in all its fullness; the world and those who dwell upon it” (Psalms 24). For He became Master of the World and will judge it. What is recited on the second day? “The Eternal is great, and praised tremendously in the city of our God” (Psalms 48). For He sets up all His works and becomes everything over His world. What is recited on the third day? “God stands in the divine congregation; amidst the powers He judges” (Psalms 82). For He created the sea and the land, and the land was folded into its place, and a space was cleared for His congregation. What is recited on the fourth day? “God of Vengeance, Lord! God of Vengeance, appear!” (Psalms 94). For He created the sun and the moon and the stars and the constellations, and they illuminate the world, and will one day be paid for their work. What is recited on the fifth day? “Sing joyously to the Eternal, our strength, shout out to the God of Jacob!” (Psalms 81). For He created birds and fish, and sea creatures, who all sing joyously in the world. What is recited on the sixth day? “The Eternal is king, He is dressed in dignity; the Eternal has dressed, and wrapped Himself in strength. The world is set in place; it will not fall” (Psalms 93). He finished all of His works, and then rose above them and sat up in the heights of the world. What is recited on the seventh day? “A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day” (Psalms 92). For on it, there is no eating or drinking, no buying or selling. The righteous just sit, with crowns on their heads, and bask in the radiance of the Divine Presence, as it says (Exodus 24:11), “And they beheld God, and they ate and drank,” like the angels who serve God.
(And why [was he created] so close [to the Sabbath]? So that he could enter into the Sabbath meal immediately.)
Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: I will give you a parable. What was Adam like? Like a man who married a convert, and would sit with her and give her orders. He said to her: Girl, do not eat bread while your hands are impure. And do not eat fruit that has not been tithed. And do not desecrate the Sabbath. And do not break your vows. And do not go around with other men. Now, if you break any one of these rules, you will die. (Then what did that man do?) He ate bread in front of her while his hands were impure, and he ate fruit that had not been tithed, and he desecrated the Sabbath, and he broke his vows. [And then he cast her out.] What did this convert say to herself? All the rules that my husband ordered me to follow are lies! She immediately went and broke them all.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says: I will give you a parable. What was the situation with Adam like? Like a man who had a woman in his house. What did he do? He went and brought a jar and put figs and nuts in it. Then he caught a scorpion, and put it near the mouth of the jar. And then he sealed the jar with a string and placed it in a corner. He said to her: Girl, everything I have in this house is for you to use, except for that jar, which you must not touch at all. What did the woman do? When her husband went out to the marketplace, she went and opened the jar, and stuck her hand inside, and the scorpion bit her. She went and fell on the bed. When her husband came back from the marketplace, he said to her: What happened? She said to him: I stuck my hand in the jar, and a scorpion bit me, and now I am dying! He said to her: Didn’t I tell you before? Everything I have in my house is for you to use, except for that jar, which you must not touch at all! He became very angry at her and cast her out. So it was with Adam. When the Holy Blessed One said to him (Genesis 2:16–17), “From every tree of the garden you may absolutely 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.” Then when he ate from it, he was driven out, which fulfills the verse (Psalms 49:13), “Man does not spend even one night in honor. He is just like the beasts.”
(On that same day he was formed;) On that same day he was created; on that same day his form was formed; on that same day a torso was made; on that same day his limbs were attached and his orifices were opened; on that same day breath was given to him. On that same day he stood up on his legs; on that same day he was paired with Eve; on that same day he called [all the animals] names; on that same day he was brought into the Garden of Eden; on that same day he was commanded [not to eat from the tree]; on that same day he disgraced himself; on that same day he was driven out, which fulfills the words of the verse (Psalms 49:13), “Man does not spend even one night in honor.”
On that same day they went up into their bed as two and came down as four. Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira says: On that same day they went up into their bed as two and came down as six.¹This is according to the tradition that each son was born with a twin girl who would become his wife. On that same day Adam was given three new decrees, as it says (Genesis 3:17–18), “And to Adam [God] said: Because you heeded the voice of your wife…the ground will be cursed because of you. You will eat from it in distress…and it will sprout thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the grasses of the field.” When Adam heard that the Holy Blessed One said to him, “You will eat the grasses of the field,” immediately his limbs began to shake. He said before God: Master of the World! Will I and my animal eat from the same trough? The Holy Blessed One said: Since your limbs began to shake (nizdazu), therefore “by the sweat (zeiah) of your brow you will [be able to] eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). And just as Adam was given these three decrees, so, too, Eve was given three decrees, as it says (Genesis 3:16), “To the woman [God] said: I will increase and increase your pangs in childbearing; you will give birth to children in pain.” So when a woman has her menstrual bleeding, the beginning of her cycle is the most difficult for her. (“I will increase and increase”:) When a woman first has sexual relations, at the beginning intercourse is difficult for her. “Your pangs”: And when a woman becomes pregnant, her face becomes ugly and greenish for the first three months.
When evening began to descend, Adam looked toward the darkening horizon and said: Woe is me! Because I disgraced myself, the Holy Blessed one is bringing darkness upon my world. He did not know that this was simply the way of the world. In the morning, when he saw that the world began to brighten from the east, he felt an overwhelming sense of joy. So he went and built altars, and brought a bull whose horns had grown in before his hooves,²Unusual for a bull, but because the first bull grew up out of the ground, its top was formed before its legs. See Rashi, Hullin 60a. and he offered it up as a sacrifice, as it says (Tehillim 69:32), “It will be better to the Eternal than a bull with horns and hooves.”
The bull that Adam offered up on the altar, as well as the bull that Noah offered up, and the ram that Abraham our forefather offered up in place of his son, (all had horns that had grown in before their hooves), as it says (Genesis 22:13), “Abraham raised his eyes, and behold, a ram was caught [in the brambles by its horns].”
At that same hour, three groups of angels who serve God came down, and in their hands were lyres and harps and all kinds of instruments, and they sang with him, as it says (Psalms 92:1–2), “A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to thank the Eternal…and to speak of Your kindness in the morning, and Your faith through the night.” “To speak of your kindness in the morning” – that is the World to Come, which is compared to morning, as it says (Lamentations 3:23), “They are renewed in the morning; great is Your faith.” “And Your faith through the night” – that is this world, which is compared to night, as it says (Isaiah 21:11), “The burden of Dumah. Someone calls to me from Seir: Watchman, what will happen in the night? Watchman, what will happen in the night?”
At that same hour, the Holy Blessed One said: If I do not punish the snake, I will be found to have caused the destruction of the whole world! They will say, that one, whom I have crowned, and made king over the whole world, how can it be that he has ruined himself and eaten the fruits of that tree? Immediately, He turned to the snake and cursed it, as it says (Genesis 3:14), “Then the Eternal God said to the snake….” Thus, Rabbi Yosei said: If this verse had not (not) concluded with its curse, the whole world would have been destroyed.
When the Holy Blessed One created the first human being, He formed it facing both frontward and backward, as it says (Psalms 139:5), “You formed me after and before, and You placed Your hand upon me.” And the angels who serve God came down (to serve Him) [in order to destroy the first human being]. So the Holy Blessed One took it and placed it under His wings, as it says (Psalms 139:5), “You hedge me before and behind, and You placed Your hands upon me.”
Another interpretation of “And You placed Your hands upon me”: (When [Adam] disgraced himself, the Holy Blessed One took one of [His hands] away). From here we see that both the human being and the Sanctuary, when they were created, were created by God’s two hands. From where do we learn that the human being was created with God’s two hands? As it says (Psalms 119:73), “Your hands made me and fashioned me.” From where do we learn that the Sanctuary was created with God’s two hands? As it says (Exodus 15:17), “In the Sanctuary, God, which Your hands have established.” (And it says [Psalms 78:54]), “He brought them to the border of His Sanctuary, the mountain which His right hand had acquired.”
And it says (Exodus 15:19), “The Eternal will reign forever and ever.”

He does for the best. And Rav Huna said that Rav said in the name of Rabbi Meir: One’s words should always be few before the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “Be not rash with your mouth and let not your heart be hasty to utter a word before God; for God is in heaven, and you upon earth. Therefore, let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:1). Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda interpreted homiletically: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Then the Lord God formed [vayyitzer] man” (Genesis 2:7), with a double yod? This double yod alludes to that fact that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created two inclinations; one a good inclination and one an evil inclination. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak strongly objects to this: If that is so, does an animal, with regard to whom vayyitzer is not written with a double yod, not have an inclination? Don’t we see that it causes damage and bites and kicks? Rather, interpret the double yod homiletically, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, as Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said: This alludes to the difficulty of human life; woe unto me from my Creator [yotzri] and woe unto me from my inclination [yitzri]. If one opts to follow either his Creator or his inclination, woe unto him from the other. Alternatively, this duplication in the language of creation can be explained in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar, as Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, created two faces [du partzufin] on Adam the first man; he was created both male and female in a single body, as it is stated: “You have formed me [tzartani] behind and before” (Psalms 139:5); tzartani is derived from the word tzura [face]. God formed two faces on a single creation, back and front. It is stated: “And the tzela which the Lord, God, had taken from the man, He made a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:22). Rav and Shmuel disagree over the meaning of the word tzela: One said: It means face. Eve was originally one face or side of Adam. And one said: It means tail, which he explains to mean that the tzela was an appendage, i.e., one of the ribs in Adam’s chest. The Gemara analyzes this dispute: Granted, according to the one who said that tzela means face; that is why it is written: “You have formed me [tzartani] behind and before.” However, according to the one who said that tzela means tail, what is meant by the verse: “You have formed me [tzartani] behind and before”? The Gemara answers: It can be explained in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ami, as Rabbi Ami said: Behind means Adam was created at the end of the act of creation; and before means that he was first for punishment. The Gemara asks: Granted, Adam was behind, or last, in the act of creation, meaning that he was not created until the sixth day, Shabbat eve; however, before, or first, for punishment, to what punishment does this refer? If you say that he was first for punishment in the wake of the episode with the snake, wasn’t it taught in a baraita that, with regard to punishment, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: In conferring honor, one begins with the greatest; in cursing, one begins with the least significant. The Gemara explains: In conferring honor, one begins with the greatest, as it is written: “And Moses said unto Aaron, and Elazar and Itamar, his remaining sons: Take the meal-offering that remains” (Leviticus 10:12). Aaron, who was the greatest among those involved, is mentioned first. And in cursing, one begins with the least significant, as first the snake was cursed, then Eve was cursed, and ultimately Adam himself was cursed. The punishment did not begin with Adam. Rather, this refers to the punishment of the flood, as it is written: “And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle, creeping things and fowl of the heaven” (Genesis 7:23); the punishment began with man, then the animals, and ultimately all the other creatures. Returning to interpretation of vayyitzer, the Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who said that Eve was originally a face or side of Adam; that is why it is written vayyitzer, with a double yod, which allude to the two formations. However, according to the one who said that she was a tail, or appendage, of Adam, what is conveyed by spelling vayyitzer with a double yod? The Gemara responds: This is interpreted homiletically in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, as Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said: This comes to emphasize that which a person says to himself in every circumstance: Woe unto me from my Creator and woe unto me from my inclination. Granted, according to the one who said that Eve was a face, that is why it is written: “Male and female, He created them” (Genesis 5:2). However, according to the one who said that Eve was a tail, what is the meaning of the verse: “Male and female, He created them”? The Gemara answers: It can be explained in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Abbahu. As Rabbi Abbahu raised a contradiction between the verses: On the one hand it is written: “Male and female, He created them,” and on the other hand it is written: “For in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6), indicating that man was created alone. How, then, does he resolve the contradiction? At first, the thought entered God’s mind to create two, and ultimately, only one was actually created. The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who said that Eve was a face, that is why it is written: “And He took one of his sides and closed up the place with flesh in its place” (Genesis 2:21), as it was necessary to close the side that was open. However, according to the one who said that Eve was originally a tail, what is meant by the verse: “And closed up the place with flesh in its place”? Rabbi Yirmeya said, and some say Rav Zevid said, and some say Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: It was necessary to say that only with regard to the place of the incision. The Gemara challenges the other opinion: Granted, according to the one who said that Eve was a tail, that is why it is written: “And the Lord God built the tzela” (Genesis 2:22); it was a completely new building. However, according to the one who said that Eve was a complete face or side, what is the meaning of: “And He built”? What needed to be built? The Gemara responds: This must be interpreted homiletically, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya, as Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya interpreted homiletically: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And the Lord God built the tzela”? This verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, braided Eve’s hair, and then brought her to Adam, as in the coastal towns, they call braiding hair, building. Alternatively, the verse: And He built, could be understood as a description of her basic shape, as Rav Ḥisda said, and some say that it is taught in a baraita: This verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, built Eve like the structure of a storehouse. Just as a storehouse is built narrow on top and wide on the bottom, in order to hold produce without collapsing; so too a woman is created narrow on top and wide on the bottom, in order to hold the fetus. With regard to the verse: “And brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:22), Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: This verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, was Adam the first man’s best man. From here, the Torah taught that it is a desired mode of behavior for a greater individual to seek out a lesser individual to assist him and serve as his best man. The greater individual should help the lesser and should not feel badly about it, that it might be beneath his dignity. The Gemara asks: And according to the one who said that Eve was a face or side of Adam, which one of them walked in front? Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: It is reasonable to say that the man walked in front, as it was taught in a baraita: A man should not walk behind a woman on a path, as he will look at her constantly. And even if one’s wife happens upon him along a bridge, he should walk quickly in order to move her to his side so that she will not walk before him. And anyone who walks behind a woman in a river in order to see her exposed skin when she lifts her clothing as she passes through the water has no portion in the World-to-Come. The Sages taught: One who counts money for a woman from his hand to her hand in order to look upon her, even if he has accumulated Torah and good deeds like Moses our teacher, he will not be absolved from the punishment of Gehenna, as it is stated: “Hand to hand, the evil man shall not go unpunished” (Proverbs 11:21); one who hands money from his hand to her hand, even if he received the Torah from God’s hand to his own, like Moses, he will not be absolved from the punishment of Gehenna, which is called evil. Rav Naḥman said: From the following verse we know that Samson’s father, Manoah, was an ignoramus, as it is written: “And Manoah…went after his wife” (Judges 13:11). Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak strongly objects to this: If that is so that you understand the verse literally, what do you say about the verse with regard to Elkana, the father of the prophet Samuel, as it is written: “And Elkana walked after his wife,” and what of the verse with regard to the prophet Elisha, as it is written: “And he arose and followed her” (II Kings 4:30)? Does this verse mean that he literally walked after her? Rather, certainly this verse means that he followed her words and advice. If so, then the verse concerning Manoah may be similarly interpreted; he followed his wife’s advice and guidance and did not literally walk behind her. Rav Ashi said: And according to what Rav Naḥman said, that Manoah was an ignoramus; he did not even learn to read the basic Torah stories that even children learn in school, as it is stated: “Rebecca arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man” (Genesis 24:61); they followed him and did not walk before the man. On this topic, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is preferable to walk behind a lion and not behind a woman, and preferable to walk behind a woman and not behind idolatry, for then it will appear as if he is accompanying the idolatry. It is preferable to walk behind idolatry and not behind a synagogue when the congregation is praying, as he appears to separate himself from the community in that he does not wish to join them in prayer. This last halakha has numerous caveats: And we only said this in a case where he is not carrying something, and if he is carrying something, this does not apply, as everyone will understand why he did not enter the synagogue. And we only said this in a case where there is no other entrance to the synagogue, and if there is another entrance, this does not apply. And we only said this in a case where he is not riding a donkey, and if he is riding a donkey, this does not apply. And we only said this in a case where he is not donning phylacteries, but if he is donning phylacteries, this does not apply. Rav said: The evil inclination is like a fly and it sits between the two entrances of the heart, as it is stated: “Dead flies make the ointment of the perfumer fetid and putrid” (Ecclesiastes 10:1). And Shmuel said: The evil inclination is like a type of wheat, as it is stated: “Transgression [ḥatat] couches at the door” (Genesis 4:7); ḥatat is interpreted homiletically as related to ḥitta, wheat. The Sages taught in a baraita: A person has two kidneys; one advises him to do good and one advises him to do evil. And it stands to reason that the one advising him to do good is to his right and the one that advises him to do evil is to his left, as it is written: “A wise man’s understanding is at his right hand, but a fool’s understanding is at his left” (Ecclesiastes 10:2). Tangential to the subject of kidneys, the Gemara cites that which the Sages taught in a baraita with regard to the roles of various organs: The kidneys advise, the heart understands, the tongue shapes the sounds that emerges from the mouth, the mouth completes the shaping of the voice, the esophagus takes in and lets out all kinds of food, the trachea produces the voice,