Sanhedrin 38b (לח:) — the Talmud in English

Its body, from Babylonia.

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

And its head, from the Land of Israel.

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

And its limbs,

its hands and feet,

from the other lands.

Its buttocks, Rav Aḥa said, from Akra de-Agma.

A place in Babylonia, exceedingly deep.

The Gemara explains how the creation of man was arranged on the sixth day:

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

It comes to explain that the creation of man extended over all the hours of the day, to say that man is everything even with respect to time. And see further in Maharal in the novellas of aggadot.

The first hour: his dust was gathered. The second: he was made into a formless mass. The third: his limbs were stretched out. The fourth: a soul was cast into him. The fifth: he stood on his feet. The sixth: he gave names. The seventh: Eve was paired with him. The eighth: two went up to the bed, and four descended

. The ninth: he was commanded not to eat from the tree. The tenth: he sinned. The eleventh: he was judged. The twelfth: he was expelled and went away.

As it is stated

Psalms 49:13]: “

And

man in his splendor does not lodge.”

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

Rami bar Ḥama said: No wild animal dominates a person unless he appears to it as an animal.

As it is stated: “He is likened to the animals; they are silenced.”

On the exposition: that man is likened—that is, there is rule and dominion over him—when "they are likened to beasts," when he appears as a beast. Maharsha gives an additional reason: since a heretic is a gentile, the source of his error is his negation of the Creator due to an error in the study of Scripture and he does not know the midrashim of the Sages. Therefore we must answer him from Scripture. But an apikoros who is Israel denies the midrashim of the Sages; and if we answer him only from Scripture, not according to the midrashim, all the more so he will rebel more against the words of the Sages. A sign for the three aggadot that will be brought below: (a) at the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, desired, etc.; (b) the master of the world from its end to its end, etc.; (c) the master of the world told in Aramaic language.

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

He said to them: Do you wish us to make man 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.

See in Yalkut Shimoni (Psalms, section), "At the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, came to create the first man, the angels were divided into factions; some say 'He shall create' and some say 'He shall not create'—Kindness says 'He shall create' because He bestows kindnesses; Truth says 'He shall not create' because all is false; Justice says 'He shall create' because full of righteousness; and Peace says 'He shall not create' because everything is petty dispute…" Thus those factions that said "He shall not create" are the factions of Truth and Peace. Psalms 85, section 843): “When the Holy One, blessed be He, came to create Adam, the first human being, the angels became groups. Some said, ‘Let him be created,’ and some said, ‘Let him not be created.’ Kindness said, ‘Let him be created, for he performs acts of kindness.’ Truth said, ‘Let him not be created, for he is entirely falsehood.’ Righteousness said, ‘Let him be created, for he is full of acts of righteousness.’ And Peace said, ‘Let him not be created, for he is entirely quarrel.’” It follows that the groups that said, “Let him not be created,” were the groups of Truth and Peace. Maharsha.

The third group said before Him: Master of the Universe, what was accomplished by the first ones who spoke before You? 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, were the first ones not correct in what they said before You?

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

Isaiah 46:4] .

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Primordial man,

when he was lying 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]

“You formed me behind and before

and You placed Your palm upon me.” Rav Elazar said: Primordial man,

his height

was

from the earth to the firmament.

As it is stated

Deuteronomy there]

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

that is, 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: “You formed me behind and before,” and so on.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

The verses contradict one another,

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

The Gemara answers:

Both are one measure.

The distance from the earth to the firmament is equal to the distance between the two ends of the earth.

And Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Primordial man spoke in the Aramaic language .

For an explanation of the matter, see Maharal in the novellas of aggadot. in his novellae on aggada.

As it is stated:

Psalms 139:17]

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

And this is what Reish Lakish said,

that is, 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 man”?

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

the first man

each generation and its expounders, each generation and its sages.

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

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

And Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Primordial man was a heretic.

That is, he was inclined to practice 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 inclined?

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

And he expounded: From what

is written here

Hosea 6:7],

“But they, like man, transgressed 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 broken

My covenant.”

It is clear that one who nullifies the mitzva of circumcision is called one who transgresses the covenant. Since Primordial man is called one who transgressed the covenant, he certainly drew his foreskin .

Rav Naḥman said: He was a denier of the fundamental principle.

It is written here, “They transgressed 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 transgresses the covenant is one who denies the fundamental principle.

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

We learned there

in tractate Avot

chapter 2, mishna 14]:

Rabbi Eliezer says: Be diligent quick and zealous]

to learn Torah, and know

that is, so that you will know]

what to answer a heretic,

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

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They taught this 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 nevertheless denied them; if one answers him,

all the more will he become more brazen .

The Maharsha gives an additional reason: since a heretic is a gentile, the source of his error is his negation of the Creator due to an error in the study of Scripture and he does not know the midrashim of the Sages. Therefore we must answer him from Scripture. But an apikoros who is Israel denies the midrashim of the Sages; and if we answer him only from Scripture, not according to the midrashim, all the more so he will rebel more against the words of the Sages. gave an additional reason for this: The primary error of a gentile heretic is that he denies the Creator because of his error in studying Scripture, and he does not know the expositions of the Sages. Therefore, one should answer him from Scripture. But a Jewish heretic denies the expositions of the Sages; if one answers him from Scripture without following the expositions of the Sages, he will all the more deny the words of the Sages.

Rav said: Wherever

in the Torah

the sectarians denied,

that is, they sought to prove from it that, Heaven forbid, there are two authorities,

their answer is 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,” in the plural.

And their answer is that it is written

there, verse 27]: “And God created man in His image,”

in the singular. The reason it was initially written in the plural will be explained below .

B. It is stated

there, 11:7]:

“Come, let Us descend and confuse their language,” “Let Us descend,” in the plural.

And their answer is that it is written

there, verse 5]: “And the Lord descended to see the city and the tower,”

in the singular.

C. It is stated

there, 35:7]:

“For there the gods were revealed to him,” “were revealed,” in the plural.

And their answer is that it is written

there, verse 3]: “To the God who answers me on the day of my distress,”

in the 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 whenever we call to Him?” “gods,” in the plural.

And their answer is from the end of the verse: “whenever we call to Him,” in the 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 Him as a people?” “went,” in the plural.

And their answer is from the end of the verse: “to redeem for Him,” in the singular.

F. It is stated

Daniel 7:9]:

“Until thrones were set in place and the Ancient of Days sat until they set the thrones in place, and the Ancient of Days, the Holy One, blessed be He, sat] .”

The expression “thrones” implies the plural.

And their answer is from the end of the verse: “and the Ancient of Days sat,” He sat alone.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

These

all the places in which the plural is written,

why do I need them?

The Gemara answers:

It is in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan.

For Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, does nothing unless He first takes counsel

with the heavenly household .

This does not mean that the Holy One, blessed be He, needs their counsel; rather He does not do anything if the heavenly court opposes it. See Maharal in the novellas of aggadot. Rashi in the Pentateuch explains that the humility of the Holy One, blessed be He, is learned from here: because man is in the image of the angels and they were jealous of him, therefore He consulted them.

As it is stated: “By the decree of the watchers is the matter, and by the word of the holy ones the request.”

Therefore it was written in the plural, to say that everything was done with the counsel of the heavenly household.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

Granted, all those

verses above, in which the plural was written as explained; but

“Until thrones were set in place”—what can be said?

Why are there several thrones? The Gemara answers:

One for Him and one for David.

As it is taught in a baraita: One for Him and one for David. These are the words of Rabbi Akiva.

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

by seating a flesh-and-blood being beside it

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

Possibly in the light of the dispute about whether there is a seat for the kings of the house of David in the sanctuary; and in the midrash he compared the azarah (outer court) to the heavenly study-hall. Yafeh Anayim.

The Gemara inquires: Did

he accept it from him

Rabbi Akiva, and retract his statement,

or did he not accept it from him?

And it brought a proof from a baraita:

Come and hear: As it is taught in a baraita: One is for judgment and one is for charity. These are the words of Rabbi Akiva.

Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said to him: Akiva, what have you to do with aggada? Turn to tractates Nega'im and Ohalot!

Cease your statements and turn to the laws of Nega'im and Ohalot, in which you are sharp, and not to matters of aggada. Rashi [Ḥagiga 14a]].

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

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

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

Rav Naḥman said: One who knows how to answer

to give a response]

the sectarians, like Rav Idit,

as in the case brought below,

should answer them. And if not, he should not answer them. A certain heretic said to Rav Idit: It is written

He said to him: This is

“Exodus 24:1]:

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

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

it should have said, “Ascend to Me.”

He said to him: This is the angel

the angel

“Metatron,”

whose name is like the name of his Master

. As it is written

Exodus 23:20–21]: “Behold, I send 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 heed his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your transgressions,

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, and it was written anonymously.

He challenged him:

If so,

since his name is like his Master’s name,

let us worship

serve]

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 independent authority, why is

“for he will not forgive your transgressions” necessary?

What benefit does he provide?

He said to him: We rely upon this tradition: We did not accept him even as an agent.

Indeed, for this reason we did not agree to accept him even as an agent who takes and brings.

As it is written

there, 33:15]:

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

with us, do not take us up from here

.”

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

sulfur and fire from the Lord,”

why is “from the Lord” stated 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 my speech.” 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 .

Even though this is the simple meaning of the verse, nevertheless a great hidden matter of the secrets of Torah is concealed therein. See Ya'avetz.

He said to him,

Rabbi Yishmael said to that launderer:

From where do you have this?

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

I heard it from Rabbi Meir’s lecture.

I heard in Rabbi Meir’s exposition that this verse answers this question.

For Rav Yoḥanan said: When Rabbi Meir would lecture in his lecture hall, he would expound one third halakha, one third aggada, and one third parables.

When Rabbi Meir would lecture in his time, one third of his lecture consisted of halakha, one third of aggada, and one third of parables.

And Rav Yoḥanan said: Rabbi Meir had three hundred fox fables, and we have only

the parable that explains

three

of the following verses: