Parashat Bereshit - Triennial year two study sheet
(ב) תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם ביום עשות ה' לִמָּדְךָ, שֶׁכֻּלָּם נִבְרְאוּ בָרִאשׁוֹן דָּבָר אַחֵר בְּהִבָּרְאָם, בְּהַ' בְרָאָם, שֶׁנָּ' בְיָהּ ה' צוּר עוֹלָמִים (ישעיהו כ"ו), בְּב' אוֹתִיוֹת הֲלָלוּ שֶׁל הַשֵּׁם יָצַר שְׁנֵי עוֹלָמִים, וְלִמָּדְךָ כַאן שֶׁהָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה נִבְרָא בְהֵ"א, רֶמֶז שֶׁיַּרְדוּ לְמַטָּה לִרְאוֹת שַׁחַת כְּהֵ"א זֹאת שֶׁסְּתוּמָה מִכָּל צְדָדִים וּפְתוּחָה לְמַטָּה לָרֶדֶת דֶּרֶךְ שָׁם:
(2) ‘תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם ביום עשות ה THESE ARE THE PRODUCTIONS OF THE HEAVEN AND OF THE EARTH WHEN THEY WERE CREATED, IN THE DAY THE LORD GOD MADE EARTH AND HEAVEN — The verse teaches you that all of them (the productions of heaven and earth) were created on the first day when God made earth and heaven. Another explanation of the word בהבראם: It may be divided as בה' בראם He created them with the letter ‘ה, as it is said, (Isaiah 26:4) כי ביה ה' צור עולמים “For in Jah, the Lord, is the rock of worlds”, which may be explained to mean (taking צור in sense of Former, Creator) “for by means of ב these two letters י ה of the Divine Name (יהוה) God formed the two worlds” (Menachot 29b), and this verse teaches that this world was created by means of the ‘ה — a suggestion that all created beings must descend to the nether world “to behold the pit” — the world being like this letter ‘ה , which is closed on all sides but open at the bottom, thus giving away by which they must descend.
(א) טרם יהיה בארץ כָּל טֶרֶם שֶׁבְּמִּקְרָא לְשׁוֹן עַד לֹא הוּא, וְאֵינוֹ לְשׁוֹן קוֹדֶם, וְאֵינוֹ נִפְעָל לוֹמַר הִטְרִים, כַּאֲשֶׁר יֵאָמַר הִקְדִים וְזֶה מוֹכִיחַ, וְעוֹד אַחֵר כִּי טֶרֶם תִּירְאוּן (שמות ט) עֲדַיִין לֹא תִירְאוּן, וְאַף זֶה תְפָרֵשׁ עֲדַיִין לֹא הָיָה בָאָרֶץ, כְּשֶׁנִּגְמְרָה בְרִיאַת הָעוֹלָם בַּשִּׁשִּׁי קוֹדֶם שֶׁנִבְרָא אָדָם, וְכָל עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִצְמַח עֲדַיִּין לֹא צְמַח וּבְג' שֶׁכָּתוּב, תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ, לֹא יָצְאוּ, אֶלָּא עַל פָּתַח קַרְקַע עָמְדוּ עַד יוֹם שִּׁשִּׁי:
(1) טרם יהיה בארץ WAS NOT YET IN THE EARTH — Wherever טרם occurs in the Scriptures it means “not yet” and does not mean “before”. It cannot be made into a verbal form, saying הטרים as one says הקדים (verbal form of קדם) and this passage proves that this is the meaning and not "before" as well as another (Exodus 9:30), כי טרם תראון “that ye do not yet fear the Lord”. Therefore you must explain this verse also thus: “No plant of the field was yet in the earth” at the time when the creation of the world was completed on the sixth day before man was created, and וכל עשב השדה טרם יצמח means “and every herb of the field had not yet grown”. But as regards the third day of creation about which it is written “The earth brought forth etc.” this does not signify that they came forth above the ground but that they remained at the opening of the ground (i. e. just below the surface) until the sixth day (Chullin 60a).
(ב) כי לא המטיר וּמַ"טַ לֹא הִמְטִיר? לְפִי שֶׁאָדָם אִין לַעֲבוֹד אֶת הָאֲדָמָה, וְאֵין מַכִּיר בְּטוֹבָתָם שֶׁל גְּשָׁמִים, וּכְשֶׁבָּא אָדָם וְיָדַע שֶׁהֵם צוֹרֶךְ לָעוֹלָם, הִתְפַּלֵּל עֲלֵיהֶם וְיָרָדוּ וְצָמְחוּ הָאִילָנוֹת וְהַדְּשָׁאִים:
(2) כי לא המטיר BECAUSE GOD HAD NOT CAUSED IT TO RAIN — And what is the reason that God had not caused it to rain? כי אדם אין לעבוד את האדמה BECAUSE THERE WAS NO MAN TO TILL THE GROUND, and there was, therefore, no one to recognize the utility of rain. When Adam came (was created), however, and he realised that it was necessary for the world, he prayed for it and it fell, so that trees and verdure sprang forth.
(ג) ה' אלקים ה' הוּא שְׁמוֹ, אֱלֹקִים שֶׁהוּא שַלִּיט וְשׁוֹפֵט עַל כֹּל, וְכֵן פֵּירוּש זֶה בְּכָל מָקוֹם לְפִי פְּשׁוּטוֹ ה' שֶׁהוּא אֱלֹקִים:
(3) ה' אלהים THE LORD GOD — The Lord (יהוה) is His Name, whereas אלהים signifies that He is Ruler and Judge over all. This, too, is its meaning, according to the plain sense, wherever it occurs: The Lord who is God (Ruler and Judge).
(א) ואד יעלה לְעִנְיַין בְּרִיאָתוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם הָעֳלָה הַתְּהוּם וְהִשְׁקָה עֲנָנִים לְשִׁרוֹת הָעָפָר, וְנִבְרָא אָדָם, כְּגַבֶּל זֶה, שֶׁנּוֹתֵן מַיִם וְאַחַ"כַּ לָשׁ אֶת הָעִיסָּה, אַף כַּאן, וְהִשְׁקָה, וְאַחַ"כַּ וַיִּיצָר:
(1) ואד יעלה AND A MIST WENT UP — This has reference to the creation of Adam: viz., He caused the deep to rise and filled the clouds with water to moisten the dust, and man was created. It is like a kneader of bread who first pours in water and afterwards kneads the dough — similarly here: He first watered the ground and afterwards He formed man (Genesis Rabbah 14:1).
(א) וייצר שְׁתֵּי יְצִירוֹת, יְצִירָה לְעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וִיְצִירָה לִתְחִיַּית הַמֵתִים, אֲבַל בִּבְהֵמָה שֶׁאֵינָה עוֹמֶדֶת לָדִין לֹא נִכְתַּב בִּיִצִירָתָהּ שְׁנֵי יוּדִי"ן:
(1) וייצר AND GOD FORMED — Here the letter yod is written twice to intimate that there were two formations — a formation of man for this world, and a formation of man for resurrection; in the case of animals, however, which will not stand after death for judgment before God the word referring to their formation— ויצר —(Genesis 2:19) is not written with two yods (Midrash Tanchuma, Tazria 1).
(ב) עפר מן האדמה צָבַר עֲפְרוֹ מִכָּל הָאֲדָמָה מֵאַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת, שֶׁכָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁיָמוּת שָׁם תְּהֵא קוֹלַטתּוֹ לִקְבוּרָה דָּ"אַ נָטַל עֲפְרוֹ מִמָּקוֹם שֶׁנֶאֱמַר בּוֹ מִזְבַּח אֲדָמָה תַּעֲשֶׂה לִי (שמות כ'), הַלְוַאי תִּהְיֶה לוֹ כַפָּרָה וְיוּכַל לַעֲמוֹד:
(2) עפר מן האדמה DUST OF THE EARTH — He gathered his dust (i. e. that from which he was made) from the entire earth — from its four corners — in order that wherever he might die, it should receive him for burial (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 3). Another explanation: He took his dust from that spot on which the Holy Temple with the altar of atonement was in later times to be built of which it is said, (Exodus 20:24) “An altar of earth thou shalt make for Me” saying, “Would that this sacred earth may be an expiation for him so that he may be able to endure” (Genesis Rabbah 14:8).
(ג) ויפח באפיו עֲשָׂאוֹ מִן הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים וּמִן הָעֶלְיוֹנִים גוּף מִן הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים, וּנְשָׁמָה מִן הָעֶלְיוֹנִים, לְפִי שֶׁבְּיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן נִבְרְאוּ שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ בַּשֵׁנִי בָּרָא רָקִיעַ לָעֶלְיוֹנִים, בַּשְּׁלִישִׁי תַּרָאָה הַיַבָּשָׁה לַתַּחְתּוֹנִים בָּרְבִיעִי בָּרָא מְאוֹרוֹת לָעֶלְיוֹנִים בַּחֲמִישִׁי יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם לַתַּחְתּוֹנִים,-הוּזְקַק בַּשִּׁשִּׁי לִבְרְאוֹת בּוֹ בָעֶלְיוֹנִים וּבַתַּחְתּוֹנִים, וְאִם לַאו, יֵשׁ קִנְאָה בְמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית, שֶׁיִּהְיוּ אֵלּוּ רַבִּים עַל אֵלּוּ בִּבְרִיאַת יוֹם אֶחָד:
(3) ויפח באפיו AND BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS — He made him of both, of earthly and of heavenly matter: the body of the earthly, and the soul of the heavenly. For on the first day were created heaven and earth, on the second, He created the firmament for the heavenly beings, on the third He said, “Let the dry land appear” — for the earthly beings, on the fourth He created the lights for the heavenly beings, on the fifth He said, “Let the waters swarm…” — for the earthly beings. Consequently on the sixth there had to be created a being composed of both, of heavenly and of earthly matter, for otherwise there would have been envy (lack of harmony) among the works of Creation, in that there would have been devoted to one class of them one day more of the Creation than to the others (Genesis Rabbah 12:8).