Sanhedrin 38b — the Talmud in English

His body was formed from Babylonia.

Since Babylonia is deeper than all other lands, it appears that the earth for the human body was taken from there, and it became a deep place.

And his head was formed from the Land of Israel.

For it is higher and more esteemed than all other lands.

And his limbs,

his hands and feet,

were formed from the other lands.

As for his buttocks, Rav Aḥa said: They were formed from Akra De-Agma.

This was a place in Babylonia that was extremely deep.

The Gemara, the Talmudic discussion of the Mishna, explains how the human being was created on the sixth day:

Rav Yoḥanan bar Ḥanina said: The day consisted of twelve hours ,

In the first hour, his dust was gathered. In the second, he became an unformed mass. In the third, his limbs were extended. In the fourth, a soul was cast into him. In the fifth, he stood on his feet. In the sixth, he gave names. In the seventh, Eve was paired with him. In the eighth, two went up to the bed, and four came down

. In the ninth, he was commanded not to eat from the tree. In the tenth, he sinned. In the eleventh, he was judged. In the twelfth, he was driven out and went away.

As it is stated

Psalms 49:13]: “

And

man in his glory does not spend the night.”

That is, he did not merit spending the night in the Garden of Eden.

Rami bar Ḥama said: A wild animal does not dominate a human being unless the human being appears to it as an animal.

As it is stated: “He is compared to animals; they are like them.” [

A mnemonic: ShaEH BeSoF ArMI ]

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: When the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to create the human being, He created one group of ministering angels.

He said to them: Do you wish us to make a human being in our image?

They said before Him: Master of the Universe, what will his deeds be?

He said to them: Such and such will be his deeds.

They said before Him: Master of the Universe, “What is man, that You should remember him, and the son of man, that You should attend to him?” [

Psalms 8:5].

He extended His little finger

among them and burned them.

And likewise with a second group.

The third group said before Him: Master of the Universe, what did the first ones accomplish by saying what they said before You? All

the entire world is Yours! Whatever You wish to do in Your world, do.

When He reached the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion, whose deeds were corrupt

42 , they said before Him: Master of the Universe, did the first ones not speak correctly before You?

He said to them: “Even to old age I am the same, and even to old age I will bear,” and so on [

Isaiah 46:4] .

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Adam, the first human being,

when he lay down, reached

from one end of the world to the other.

As it is stated [

Deuteronomy 4:32]:

“From the day that God created man upon the earth, and from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens.”

Once he sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, placed His hand upon him and diminished him.

As it is stated [

Psalms 139:5]:

“Behind and before You formed me

and You placed Your palm upon me.”

Rabbi Elazar said: Adam, the first human being,

his height

was from the earth to the sky.

As it is stated [

there]:

“From the day that God created man upon the earth and to the end of the heavens,”

meaning that he stood on the earth, while his head reached the heavens.

Once he sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, placed His hand upon him and diminished him.

As it is stated: “Behind and before You formed me,” and so on.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

The verses contradict one another,

as to whether his height was as Rav Yehuda said or as Rabbi Elazar said.

The Gemara answers:

Both are one measure.

The distance between the earth and the sky is equal to the distance between the two ends of the earth.

And Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Adam, the first human being, spoke in Aramaic .

As it is stated: [

Psalms 139:17]

“And to me, how precious are Your thoughts, God.”

And this is what Reish Lakish said,

meaning that this verse is also expounded below in the words of Reish Lakish:

What is the meaning of that which is written [

Genesis 5:1]:

“This is the book of the generations of Adam”?

This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed

Adam, the first human being,

each generation and its expounders, each generation and its Sages.

When he reached the generation of Rabbi Akiva, he rejoiced in his Torah and grieved over his death.

He said: “And to me, how precious are Your thoughts, God.”

And Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Adam, the first human being, was a heretic.

That is, he was inclined toward idolatry .

As it is stated [

Genesis 3:9]:

“And the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”

And we expound it:

Where has your heart turned?

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: He was one who drew on his foreskin.

And he expounded this from the comparison between what

is written here [

Hosea 6:7],

“But they, like Adam, violated the covenant,” and what is written there, [

Genesis 17:14] “And an uncircumcised male who does not circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from its people;

he has violated My covenant.”

It is thus clear that one who nullifies the mitzva of circumcision is called one who violates the covenant. Since Adam, the first human being, is called one who violates the covenant, he must have drawn on his foreskin .

Rav Naḥman said: He denied the fundamental principle.

It is written here, “They violated the covenant,” and it is written there [

Deuteronomy 29:24],

“And they will say: Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord,”

and it is clear that one who violates the covenant is one who denies the fundamental principle.

Since the matter of denying the fundamental principle was mentioned, the following teachings were brought:

We learned there

in tractate Avot [chapter 2, Mishna 14]:

Rabbi Eliezer says: Be diligent

to learn quickly and energetically

in Torah, and know

that is, so that you will know

what to answer a heretic,

who attempts to bring proof from the words of the Torah for the view of the heretics who say that there are two authorities.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This was taught only with regard to a gentile heretic; but as for a Jewish heretic,

one should not answer him, since he recognized the words of Torah and denied them. If you answer him,

all the more so will he become even more irreverent .

Rav said: Everywhere

in the Torah

where the heretics became irreverent,

that is, where they sought to prove from the verse that, Heaven forfend, there are two authorities,

the answer to them is found alongside it.

That is, the very same verse contains proof against them, as follows:

a. It is stated [

Genesis 1:26]: “Let us make man in our image,”

“let us make” being a plural expression.

The answer to them is that it is written [there, verse 27]:

“And God created man in His image,”

which is singular. The Gemara will explain below why the plural expression was written initially .

b. It is stated [there, 11:7]:

“Come, let Us descend and confuse their language there,”

“let us descend” being a plural expression.

The answer to them is that it is written [there, verse 5]:

“And the Lord descended to see the city and the tower,”

which is singular.

c. It is stated [there, 35:7]:

“For there the gods were revealed to him,”

“were revealed” being a plural expression.

The answer to them is that it is written [there, verse 3]:

“To God, Who answered me on the day of my distress,”

which is singular.

d. It is stated [

Deuteronomy 4:7]:

“For what great nation is there that has gods so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to Him?” “Are near” being a plural expression.

The answer to them is from the end of the verse: “Whenever we call to Him,” which is singular.

e. It is stated [

II Samuel 7:23]: “And who is like Your people, like Israel, one nation on earth, whom gods went to redeem for Himself as a people?”

“Went” being a plural expression.

The answer to them is from the end of the verse: “To redeem for Himself,” which is singular.

f. It is stated [

Daniel 7:9]:

“Until thrones were placed and the Ancient of Days sat [until the thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days, the Holy One, blessed be He, sat].”

The expression “thrones” indicates the plural.

The answer to them is from the end of the verse: “And the Ancient of Days sat,” indicating that He sat alone.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

These

all those places where a plural expression was written

why do I need them?

The Gemara answers:

It is in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan’s statement.

For Rav Yoḥanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, does nothing unless He first consults

with the heavenly entourage .

As it is stated: “The decree was issued by the watchers, and the request by the holy ones.”

Therefore, the plural expression was written to indicate that everything is done with the advice of the heavenly entourage.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

Granted, all of these

verses above, in which a plural expression was written as explained; however,

“Until thrones were placed”—what can be said?

Why are there several thrones? The Gemara answers:

One for Him and one for David.

As it was taught in a beraita, a tannaitic source not included in the Mishna: One for Him and one for David. These are the words of Rabbi Akiva.

Rabbi Yosei said to him: Akiva, how long will you continue to make the Divine Presence ordinary,

by seating a human being beside it

?! Rather, one is for judgment and one is for righteousness .

The Gemara is uncertain: Did

he accept it from him

Rabbi Akiva, and retract his statement,

or did he not accept it from him?

It brought a proof from a beraita:

Come and hear a proof: As it was taught in a beraita, one is for judgment and one is for righteousness. These are the words of Rabbi Akiva.

Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said to him: Akiva, what do you have to do with aggada? Turn to the laws of leprous afflictions and ritual impurity conveyed by tents!

[Stop discussing these matters and turn to the laws of leprous afflictions and ritual impurity conveyed by tents, in which you are sharp, but not in aggadic matters. Rashi, Hagiga 14a.]

Rather, one is for a throne and one for a footstool.

A throne is for sitting upon; a footstool is for placing His feet upon.

In any event, it is clear from the beraita that Rabbi Akiva retracted his statement and agreed with Rabbi Yosei’s words.

Rav Naḥman said: Whoever knows how to respond

to the heretics

as Rav Idi did,

as in the case brought below,

should respond. And if not, he should not respond.

A certain heretic said to Rav Idi: It is written [

Exodus 24:1],

“And to Moses He said, ‘Ascend to the Lord,’”

which implies that the Lord did not say this to him, for if so,

it should have said, “Ascend to Me.”

He said to him: This is

the angel

Metatron

55 , whose name is like the name of his Master

. As it is written [

Exodus 23:20–21]: “

Behold, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Beware of him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not bear your transgression,

for My name is within him,”

and therefore his name was not mentioned; he was written about anonymously.

He challenged him:

If so,

since his name is like the name of his Master,

should they worship

him

?

He said to him:

It is written [

there]:

“Do not rebel against him”—do not exchange Me for him.

If so,

since he is not an authority in his own right, why is it necessary to state

“for he will not bear your transgression”?

What benefit is there in him?

He said to him: We have a firm tradition: We did not accept him even as a messenger.

Indeed, for this reason we did not agree to accept him upon ourselves even as an agent who carries out and conveys messages.

As it is written [

Exodus 33:15]:

“And he said to Him: If Your Presence does not go

do not take us up from here.”

.”

A certain heretic said to Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei: It is written, “And the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah

sulfur and fire from the Lord,”

why does it say “from the Lord,” in the third person?

It should have said, “from Him.”

A launderer said

to Rabbi Yishmael:

Leave him

[leave him and pay no attention to his words]

; I will answer him

[I will answer him according to his foolishness].

As it is written [

Genesis 4:23]:

“And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech

listen to what I have said,” why did Lamech speak in the third person? Surely

it should have said, “my wives.”

Rather, Scripture speaks in this manner.

It is the way of Scripture to speak in the third person.

Here too, Scripture speaks in this manner .

He said to him,

Rabbi Yishmael said to that launderer:

From where do you have this?

How did you know to answer him this way? The launderer said to him:

I heard it from Rabbi Meir’s lecture.

In Rabbi Meir’s exposition I heard that this verse is an answer to this question.

For Rav Yoḥanan said: When Rabbi Meir would lecture in his session, he would expound one-third legal teachings, one-third aggada, and one-third parables.

When Rabbi Meir would lecture in his time, one-third of his lecture was devoted to halakha, one-third to aggada, and one-third to parables.

And Rav Yoḥanan said: Rabbi Meir had three hundred fox parables, but we have only

the parable that explains

three

of the following verses: