 CHAPTER II Adam Part II of THE LEGEND OF THE JUE'S VOLUME I. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Coming by Robert Scott. THE LEGEND OF THE JUE'S VOLUME I by Rabbi Lewis Ginsburg. THE IDEAL MAN. Like all creatures formed on the six days of creation, Adam came from the hands of the Creator fully and completely developed. He was not like a child, but like a man of twenty years of age, twenty-one. The dimensions of his body were gigantic, reaching from heaven to earth, or what amounts to the same, from east to west, twenty-two. Among later generations of men there were but few who in measure resembled Adam in his extraordinary size and physical perfections. Adam possessed his strength, Saul his neck, Absalom his hair, Aschahel his fleteness of foot, Uzaya his forehead, Josiah his nostrils, Zedekiah his eyes, Zerubabble his voice. History shows that these physical excellencies were no blessings to many of their possessors. They invited the ruin of almost all, Samson's extraordinary strength caused his death. Saul killed himself by cutting his neck with his own sword, while speeding swiftly, Aschahel was pierced by Abner's spear, Absalom was caught up by his hair in an oak and thus suspended met his death. Uzaya was smitten with leprosy upon his forehead. The darts that killed Josiah entered through his nostrils, and Zedekiah's eyes were blinded twenty-three. The generality of men inherited as little of the beauty as of the portentious size of their first father. The fairest women compared with Sarah are as apes compared with a human being. Sarah's relation to Eve is the same, and again Eve was but an ape compared with Adam. His person was so handsome that the very sole of his foot obscured the splendor of the sun twenty-four. His spiritual qualities kept pace with his personal charm, for God had fashioned his soul with particular care. She is the image of God, and as God fills the world, so the soul fills the human body, as God sees all things and is seen by none. So the soul sees, but cannot be seen. As God guides the world, so the soul guides the body. As God in his holiness is pure, so is the soul, and as God dwells in secret, so doth the soul twenty-five. When God was about to put a soul into Adam's clod-like body he said, quote, At which point shall I breathe the soul into him? Into the mouth? Nay, for he will use it to speak ill of his fellow man. Into the eyes? With them he will wink lustfully. Into the ears? They will hearken to slander and blasphemy. I will breathe her into his nostrils, as they discern the unclean and reject it, and take in the fragrant, so the pious will shun sin, and will cleave to the words of the Torah twenty-six. The perfections of Adam's soul showed themselves as soon as he received her. Indeed, while he was still without life, in the hour that intervened between breathing a soul into the first man and his coming alive, God revealed the whole history of mankind to him. He showed him each generation and its leaders, each generation and its prophets, each generation and its teachers, each generation and its scholars, each generation and its statesmen, each generation and its judges, each generation and its pious members, each generation and its average commonplace members, and each generation its impious members. The tale of their years, the number of their days, the reckoning of their hours, and the measure of their steps all were made known unto him twenty-seven. Of his own free will Adam relinquished seventy of his allotted years. His appointed span was to be a thousand years, one of the Lord's days. But he said that only a single minute of life was a portion to the great soul of David, and he made a gift of seventy years to her, reducing his own years to nine hundred and thirty. The wisdom of Adam displayed itself to greatest advantage when he gave names to the animals. Then it appeared that God, in combating the arguments of the angels that opposed the creation of man, had spoken well, when he insisted that man would possess more wisdom than they themselves. When Adam was barely an hour old, God assembled the whole world of animals before him and the angels. The latter were called upon to name the different kinds, but they were not equal to the task. Adam, however, spoke without hesitation. Quote, O Lord of the world, the proper name for this animal is Ox, for this one Horse, for this one Lion, for this one Camel. And so he called all in turn by name, suiting the name to the peculiarity of the animal. Then God asked him what his name was to be, and he said, Adam, because he had been created out of Adam. Again God asked him his own name. Quote, Adonai, Lord, because thou art Lord over all creatures. The very name God had given unto himself the name by which the angels call him, the name that will remain immutable evermore. Twenty-nine. But without the gift of the Holy Spirit, Adam could not have found names for all. He was in very truth a prophet, and his wisdom a prophetic quality. Thirty. The names of the animals were not the only inheritance handed down by Adam to the generations after him, for mankind owes all crafts to him, especially the art of writing, and he was the inventor of all the seventy languages. Thirty-one. And still another task he accomplished for his descendants. God showed Adam the whole earth, and Adam designated what places were to be settled later by men, and what places to remain waste. Thirty-two. The Legends of the Jews. Volume One by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg. The Fall of Satan. The Extraordinary Qualities with which Adam was blessed. Physical and spiritual as well. Arouse the envy of the angels. They attempted to consume him with fire, and he would have perished, had not the protecting hand of God rested upon him, and established peace between him and the heavenly host. Thirty-three. In particular Satan was jealous of the first man, and his evil thoughts finally led to his fall. After Adam had been endowed with a soul, God invited all the angels to come and pay him reverence and homage. Satan, the greatest of the angels in heaven, with twelve wings, instead of six, like all the others, refused to pay heed to the behest of God, saying, quote, Thou didst create us, angels, from the splendor of the shekinah. And now Thou dost command us to cast ourselves down before the creature which Thou didst fashion out of the dust of the ground, end quote. God answered, quote, Yet this dust of the ground has more wisdom and understanding than Thou, end quote. Satan demanded a trial of wit with Adam, and God assented there too, saying, quote, I have created beasts, birds, and reptiles. I shall have them all come before thee and before Adam. If Thou art able to give them names, I shall command Adam to show honor unto thee, and Thou shalt rest next to the shekinah of my glory. But if not, and Adam calls them by the names I have assigned to them, then Thou wilt be subject to Adam, and he shall have a place in my garden and cultivate it, end quote. Thus spake God, and he betook himself to Paradise, Satan following him. When Adam beheld God, he said to his wife, quote, O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our maker, end quote. Now Satan attempted to assign names to the animals. He failed with the first two that presented themselves, the ox and the cow. God led two others before him, the camel and the donkey, with the same result. Then God turned to Adam and questioned him regarding the names of the same animals. Framing his questions in such wise that the first letter of the first word was the same as the first letter of the name of the animal standing before him, thus Adam divined the proper name. And Satan was forced to acknowledge the superiority of the first man. Nevertheless he broke out in wild outcries that reached the heavens, and he refused to do homage unto Adam as he had been bidden thirty-four. The host of angels, led by him, did likewise, in spite of the urgent representations of Michael, who was the first to prostrate himself before Adam in order to show a good example to the other angels. Michael addressed Satan, quote, give adoration to the image of God. But if thou dost it not, then the Lord God will break out in wrath against thee, end quote. Satan replied, quote, if he breaks out in wrath against me, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will be like the Most High, end quote. At once God flung Satan and his host out of heaven down to the earth, and from that moment dates the enmity between Satan and man. The legends of the Jews, volume one, by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg, woman. When Adam opened his eyes the first time, and beheld the world about him, he broke into praise of God, quote, how great are thy works, O Lord, end quote. But his admiration for the world surrounding him did not exceed the admiration all creatures conceived for Adam. They took him to be their creator, and they all came to offer him adoration. But he spoke, quote, why do you come to worship me? Nay, you and I together will acknowledge the majesty and the might of him who hath created us all. The Lord reigneth, end quote. He continued, quote, he is apparelled with majesty, end quote, thirty-six. And not alone the creatures on earth, even the angels thought Adam the Lord of all, and they were about to salute him with, quote, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, end quote. When God caused sleep to fall upon him, and then the angels knew that he was but a human being, thirty-seven. The purpose of the sleep that unfolded Adam was to give him a wife, so that the human race might develop, and all creatures recognized the difference between God and man. When the earth heard what God had resolved to do, it began to tremble and quake. Quote, I have not the strength, end quote, it said, quote, to provide for the herd of Adam's descendants, end quote. But God pacified it with the words, quote, I and thou together we will find food for the herd, end quote. Accordingly, time was divided between God and the earth. God took the night, and the earth took the day. Refreshing sleep nourishes and strengthens man. It affords him life and rest, while the earth brings forth produce with the help of God, who waters it. Yet man must work the earth to earn his food, thirty-eight. The divine resolution to bestow a command companion on Adam met the wishes of man, who had been overcome by a feeling of isolation when the animals came to him in pairs to be named, thirty-nine. To banish his loneliness Lilith was first given to Adam as wife. Like him she had been created out of the dust of the ground, but she remained with him only a short time because she insisted upon enjoying full equality with her husband. She derived her rights from their identical origin. With the help of the ineffable name which she pronounced, Lilith flew away from Adam and vanished in the air. Adam complained before God that the wife he had given him had deserted him, and God sent forth three angels to capture her. They found her in the Red Sea, and they sought to make her go back, with the threat that, unless she went, she would lose a hundred of her demon children daily by death. But Lilith preferred this punishment to living with Adam. She takes her revenge by injuring babes, baby boys during the first night of their life, while baby girls are exposed to her wicked designs until they are twenty days old. The only way to ward off the evil is to attach an amulet bearing the names of her three angel captors to the children, for such had been the agreement between them. Forty. The woman destined to become the true companion of man was taken from Adam's body. Four, quote, only when like is joined unto like the union is indissoluble, end quote. Forty one. The creation of woman from man was possible, because Adam originally had two faces, which were separated at the birth of Eve. Forty two. When God was on the point of making Eve he said, quote, I will not make her from the head of man, lest she carry her head high in arrogant pride. Not from the eye, lest she be wanton-eyed. Not from the ear, lest she be an eavesdropper. Not from the neck, lest she be insolent. Not from the mouth, lest she be a tatler. Not from the heart, lest she be inclined to envy. Not from the hand, lest she be a meddler. Not from the foot, lest she be a gadabout. I will form her from a chaste portion of the body, end quote. And to every limb and organ, as he formed it, God said, quote, be chaste, be chaste, end quote. Nevertheless, in spite of the great caution used, woman has all the faults God tried to obviate. The daughters of Zion were haughty, and walked with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes. Sarah was an eavesdropper in her own tent, when the angel spoke with Abraham. Miriam was a tail-bearer, accusing Moses. Rachel was envious of her sister Leah. Eve put out her hand to take the forbidden fruit, and Dina was a gadabout, forty-three. The physical formation of woman is far more complicated than that of man, as it must be for the function of child-bearing, and, likewise, the intelligence of woman matures more quickly than the intelligence of man, forty-four. Many of the physical and psychical differences between the two sexes must be attributed to the fact that man was formed from the ground and woman from the bone. Women need perfumes while men do not. Dust of the ground remains the same, no matter how long it is kept. Flesh, however, requires salt to keep it in good condition. The voice of woman is shrill, not so the voice of men. When soft vions are cooked, no sound is heard, but let a bone be put in a pot, and at once it crackles. A man is easily placated, not so a woman. A few drops of water suffice to soften a clot of earth. A bone stays hard, and if it were to soak, in water, four days. The man must ask the woman to be his wife, and not the woman the man to be her husband. Because it is man who has sustained the loss of his rib, and he sallies forth to make good his loss again. The very difference between the sexes in garb and social forms goes back to the origin of man and woman for their reasons. Woman covers her hair in token of eaves having brought sin into the world. She tries to hide her shame, and women precede men in funeral cordage. Because it was woman who brought death into the world, and the religious commands addressed to women alone are connected with the history of Eve. Adam was the Hive offering of the world, and Eve defiled it. As expiation all women are commanded to separate a Hive offering from the dough, and because woman extinguished the light of man s soul, she is bidden to kindle the Sabbath light, forty-five. Adam was first made to fall into a deep sleep before the rib for Eve was taken from his side, for had he watched her creation she would not have awakened love in him. To this day it is true that men do not appreciate the charms of women whom they have known and observed from childhood up. Indeed God had created a wife for Adam before Eve, but he would not have her, because she had been made in his presence. Knowing well all the details of her formation he was repelled by her forty-six. But when he roused himself from his profound sleep and saw Eve before him in all her surpassing beauty and grace, he exclaimed, quote, this is she who caused my heart to throb many a night, end quote. Yet he discerned at once what the nature of woman was. She would, he knew, seek to carry her point with man either by entreaties and tears or flattery and caresses. He said therefore, quote, this is my never silent bell, end quote, forty-seven. The wedding of the first couple was celebrated with pomp never repeated in the whole course of history since. God himself, before presenting her to Adam, attired and adorned Eve as a bride. Yet he appealed to the angel saying, quote, come let us perform services of friendship for Adam and his helpmate, for the world rests upon friendly services, and they are more pleasing in my sight than the sacrifices Israel will offer upon the altar, end quote. The angels accordingly surrounded the marriage canopy, and God pronounced the blessings upon the bridal couple, as the hazzan does under the hoopah. The angels then danced and played upon musical instruments before Adam and Eve in their bridal chambers of gold, pearls, and precious stones which God had prepared for them. And Adam called his wife Aisha, and himself he called Ishe, abandoning the name Adam which he had borne before the creation of Eve, for the reason that God added his own name Yah to the names of the man and the woman, Yad to Ishe, and he to Isha, to indicate that as long as they walked in the ways of God and observed his commandments his name would shield them against all harm. But if they went astray his name would be withdrawn, and instead of Ishe there would remain Ash, fire, a fire issuing from each and consuming the other, for the reason that God had prepared for them. formation, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Robert Scott. The Legends of the Jews, Volume 1, Adam and Eve in Paradise. The Garden of Eden was the abode of the first man and woman, and the souls of all men must pass through it after death, before they reach their final destination, for the souls of the departed must go through seven portals before they arrive in the heaven, Arabat. There the souls of the pious are transformed into angels, and there they remain, forever, praising God and feasting their sight upon the glory of the Shekinah. The first portal is the cave of Macpela, in the vicinity of Paradise, which is under the care and supervision of Adam. If the soul that presents herself at the portal is worthy, he calls out, quote, make room, thou art welcome, end quote. The soul then proceeds until she arrives at the gates of Paradise, guarded by the cherubim and the flaming sword. If she is not found worthy, she is consumed by the sword, otherwise she receives a pass bill which admits her to the Terrestrial Paradise. Therein is a pillar of smoke and light extending from Paradise to the Gate of Heaven, and it depends upon the character of the soul whether she can climb upward on it and reach heaven. The third portal, Zabul, is at the entrance of heaven. If the soul is worthy, the guard opens the portal and admits her to the heavenly temple. Michael presents her to God and conducts her to the seventh portal. Michael presents her to God and conducts her to the seventh portal, Arabat, within which the souls of the pious change to angels, praise the Lord, and feed on the glory of the shakana, forty-nine. In Paradise stand the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, the latter forming a hedge about the former. Only he who has cleared a path for himself through the Tree of Knowledge can come close to the Tree of Life, which is so huge that it would take a man five hundred years to traverse a distance equal to the diameter of the trunk, and no less vast is the space shaded by its crown of branches. For beneath it flows forth the water that irrigates the whole earth, fifty. Putting vents into four streams, the Ganges, the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates, fifty-one. But it was only during the days of creation that the realm of plants looked to the waters of the earth for nourishment. Later on God made the plants depend upon the rain, the upper waters. The clouds rise from heaven to earth where water is poured into them as from a conduit, fifty-two. The plants began to feel the effect of the water only after Adam was created. Although they had been brought forth on the third day, God did not permit them to sprout and appear above the surface of the earth until Adam prayed to him to give food unto them, for God longs for the prayers of the pious, fifty-three. Paradise, being such as it was, it was, naturally, not necessary for Adam to work the land. True, the Lord God put the man into the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it, but that only means He is to study the Torah there and fulfill the commandments of God, fifty-four. There were especially six commandments which every human being is expected to heed. Man should not worship idols, nor blaspheme God, nor commit murder, nor incest, nor theft and robbery, and all generations have the duty of instituting measures of law and order, fifty-five. One more such command there was, but it was a temporary injunction. Adam was to eat only the green things of the field, but the prohibition against the use of animals for food was revoked in Noah's time, after the deluge. Over the last Adam was not cut off from the enjoyment of meat dishes, though he was not permitted to slaughter animals for the appeasing of his appetite. The angels brought him meat and wine, serving him like attendants, fifty-six. And as the angels ministered to his wants, so also the animals. They were wholly under his dominion, and their food they took out of his hand and out of eaves, fifty-seven. In all respects the animal world had a different relation to Adam from their relation to his descendants. Not only did they know the language of man, fifty-eight, but they respected the image of God, and they feared the first human couple, all of which changed into the opposite after the fall of man, fifty-nine. The legends of the Jews, volume one, Rabbi Louis Ginsburg, the fall of man. Among the animals the serpent was notable. Of all of them he had the most excellent qualities in some of which he resembled man. Like man he stood upright upon two feet, and in height he was equal to the camel. Had it not been for the fall of man which brought misfortune to them, two, one pair of serpents, would have sufficed to perform all the work man has to do. And besides they would have supplied him with silver, gold, gems, and pearls. As a matter of fact it was the variability of the serpent that led to the ruin of man and his own ruin. His superior mental gifts caused him to become an infidel. It likewise explains his envy of man, especially of his conjugal relations. envy made him meditate ways and means of bringing about the death of Adam, sixty. He was too well acquainted with the character of man to attempt to exercise tricks of persuasion upon him, and he approached the woman. Knowing that women are beguiled easily, the conversation with Eve was cunningly planned. She could not but be caught in a trap. The serpent began, quote, is it true that God hath said, ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden, end, quote, we may, end, quote, rejoin, Eve, quote, eat of the fruit of all trees in the garden, except that which is in the midst of the garden, and that we may not even touch, lest we be stricken with death, end, quote. She spoke thus because in his zeal to guard her against the transgressing of the Divine Command, Adam had forbidden even to touch the tree, though God had mentioned only the eating of the fruit. It remains a truth what the proverb says, quote, better a wall ten hands high that stands than a wall a hundred L's high that cannot stand, end, quote. It was Adam's exaggeration that afforded the serpent the possibility of persuading Eve to taste the forbidden fruit. The serpent pushed Eve against the tree and said, quote, thou seest that touching the tree has not caused thy death, as little will it hurt thee to eat the fruit of the tree. Not, but malevolence has prompted the prohibition, for as soon as ye eat thereof ye shall be as God. As he creates and destroys worlds, so will ye have the power to create and destroy. As he doth slay and revive, so will ye have the power to slay and revive, sixty-one. He himself ate first of the fruit of the tree, and then he created the world. Therefore doth he forbid you to eat thereof, lest you create other worlds. Everyone knows that artisans of the same guild hate one another. Furthermore have ye not observed that every creature hath dominion over the creature fashioned before itself? The heavens were made on the first day, and they are kept in place by the firmament made on the second day. The firmament, in turn, is ruled by the plants, the creation of the third day, for they take up all the water of the firmament. The sun and the other celestial bodies, which were created on the fourth day, have power over the world of plants. They can ripen their fruits and flourish only through their influence. The creation of the fifth day, the animal world, rules over the celestial spheres, witness the ziz, which can darken the sun with its pinions. But ye are masters of the whole of creation, because ye were the last to be created. Hasten now and eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, and become independent of God, lest he bring forth still other creatures to bear rule over you. 62 To give due weight to these words, the serpent began to shake the tree violently and bring down its fruit. He ate thereof, saying, as I do not die of eating the fruit, so wilt thou not die. Now Eve could not but say to herself, quote, all that my master, end quote, so she called Adam, quote, commanded me, is but lies, end quote, and she determined to follow the advice of the serpent, 63. Yet she could not bring herself to disobey the command of God utterly. She made a compromise with her conscience. First she ate only the outside skin of the fruit, and then, seeing that death did not fell her, she ate the fruit itself. 64 Scars had she finished when she saw the angel of death before her. Expecting her end to come immediately, she resolved to make Adam eat of the forbidden fruit too, lest he espouse another wife after her death. 65 It required tears and lamentations on her part to prevail upon Adam to take the baleful step. Not yet satisfied, she gave of the fruit to all the other living beings, that they too might be subjected to death. 66 All ate, and they all are mortal, with the exception of the bird Malham, who refused the fruit with the words, quote, is it not enough that ye have sinned against God, and have brought death to others? Must ye still come to me, and seek to persuade me into disobeying God's command, that I may eat and die thereof? I will not do your bidding, end quote. A heavenly voice was heard then to say to Adam and Eve, quote, to ye was the command given, ye did not eat it, ye did transgress it, and ye did seek to persuade the bird Malham. He was steadfast, and he feared me, although I gave him no command. Therefore he shall never taste of death, neither he nor his descendants. They all shall live forever in paradise, end quote, 67 Adam spoke to Eve, quote, didst thou give me of the tree of which I forbade thee to eat? Thou didst give me thereof, for my eyes are opened, and the teeth in my mouth are set on edge, end quote. Eve made answer, quote, as my teeth were set on edge, so may the teeth of all living beings be set on edge, end quote, 68. The first result was that Adam and Eve became naked. Before their bodies had been overlaid with a horny skin, and enveloped with the cloud of glory. Though sooner had they violated the command given them, than the cloud of glory and the horny skin dropped from them, and they stood there in their nakedness and ashamed. 69 Adam tried to gather leaves from the trees to cover part of their bodies, but he heard one tree after the other say, quote, there is the thief that deceived his creator. Nay the foot of pride shall not come down against me, nor the hand of the wicked touch me, hence and take no leaves from me, end quote. Only the fig tree granted him permission to take of its leaves. That was because the fig tree was the forbidden fruit itself. Adam had the same experience as that prince who seduced one of the maid servants in the palace. When the king, his father, chased him out, he vainly sought a refuge with the other maid servants. But only she who had caused his disgrace would grant him assistance. 70 End of Chapter 2, Part 3. led by Robert Scott, July the 7th, 2007. Chapter 2, Adam, Part 4 of the Legends of the Jews, Volume 1. This is a LibriVox recording, all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Legends of the Jews, Volume 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg, The Punishment As long as Adam stood naked, casting about for means of escape, from his embarrassment, God did not appear unto him, for one should not, quote, strive to see a man in the hour of his disgrace, end quote. He waited until Adam and Eve had covered themselves with fig leaves. But even before God spoke to him, Adam knew what was impending. He heard the angels announce, quote, God be taketh himself unto those that dwell in paradise, end quote. He heard more too. He heard what the angels were saying to one another about his fall, and what they were saying to God. In astonishment the angels exclaimed, quote, what, he still walks about in paradise? He is not yet dead, end quote, whereupon God, quote, I said to him, in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Now ye know not what manner of day I meant. One of my days of a thousand years, or one of your days. I will give him one of my days. He shall have nine hundred and thirty years to live, and seventy to leave to his descendants, end quote. When Adam and Eve heard God approaching, they hid among the trees, which would not have been possible before the fall. Before he committed his trespass, Adam's height was from the heavens to the earth, but afterward it was reduced to one hundred L's. Another consequence of his sin was the fear Adam felt when he heard the voice of God. For his fall it had not disquieted him in the least. Hence it was that when Adam said, quote, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, end quote. God replied, quote, aforetime thou were not afraid, and now thou art afraid, end quote. God refrained from reproaches at first, standing at the gate of paradise, he but asked, quote, where art thou, Adam, end quote. Thus did God desire to teach man a rule of polite behavior, never to enter the house of another without announcing himself. It cannot be denied the words, quote, where art thou, end quote, were pregnant with meaning. They were intended to bring home to Adam the vast difference between his latter and his former state, between his supernatural size then and his shrunken size now. Between the lordship of God, over him, then, and the lordship of the serpent, over him, now. At the same time God wanted to give Adam the opportunity of repenting of his sin, and he would have received divine forgiveness for it, but so far from repenting of it Adam slandered God and uttered blasphemies against him. When God asked him, quote, hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, thou should not eat, end quote. He did not confess his sin, but excused himself with the words, quote, O Lord of the world, as long as I was alone I did not fall into sin, but as soon as this woman came to me she tempted me, end quote. God replied, quote, I gave her unto thee as a help, and thou art ungrateful when thou accusest her, saying, she gave me of the tree. Thou shouldst not have obeyed her, for thou art the head and not she, end quote. God who knows all things had foreseen exactly this, and he did not create Eve until Adam had asked him for a helpmate, so that he might not have, apparently good reason, for reproaching God with having created woman. As Adam tried to shift the blame for his misdeed from himself, so also Eve. She, like her husband, did not confess her transgression and pray for pardon, which would have been granted to her. Just as God is, he did not pronounce the doom upon Adam and Eve until they showed themselves stiff-necked. Not so with the serpent, God inflicted the curse upon the serpent without hearing his defense, for the serpent is a villain, and the wicked are good debaters. With God had questioned him, the serpent would have answered, quote, Thou didst give them a command, and I did contradict it. Why did they obey me, and not thee, end quote. Therefore, God did not enter into an argument with the serpent, but straight way decreed the following ten punishments. The mouth of the serpent was closed, and his power of speech taken away. His hands and feet were hacked off, the earth was given him as food. He must suffer great pain in slothing his skin, and Mity is to exist between him and man. As he eats the choicest vions, or drinks the sweetest beverages, they all change into dust in his mouth. The pregnancy of the female serpent lasts seven years. Men shall seek to kill him as soon as they catch sight of him. Even in the future world, where all beings will be blessed, he will not escape the punishment decreed for him. He will vanish from out of the holy land if Israel walks in the ways of God. Furthermore, God spake to the serpent, quote, I created thee to be king over all animals, cattle and the beasts of the field alike, but thou wasst not satisfied. Therefore thou shalt be cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field. I created thee of upright posture, but thou wasst not satisfied. Therefore thou shalt go upon thy belly. I created thee to eat the same food as man, but thou wasst not satisfied. Therefore thou shalt eat dust all the days of thy life. Thou did seek to cause the death of Adam in order to espouse his wife. Therefore I will put enmity between thee and the woman, end quote. How true it is, he who lusts after what is not his do, not only does he not attain his desire, but he also loses what he has. The angels had been present when the doom was pronounced upon the serpent, for God had convoked a Sanhedrin of seventy-one angels when he sat in judgment upon him. So the execution of the decree against him was entrusted to the angels. They descended from heaven and chopped off his hands and feet. His suffering was so great that his agonized cries could be heard from one end of the world to the other. The verdict against Eve also consisted of ten curses. The effect of which is noticeable to this day in the physical, spiritual, and social state of women. It was not God himself who announced her fate to Eve. The only woman with whom God ever spoke was Sarah. In the case of Eve he made use of the services of an interpreter. Finally, also the punishment of Adam was tenfold. He lost his celestial clothing. God stripped it off him. In sorrow he was to earn his daily bread. The food he ate was to be turned from good into bad. His children were to wander from land to land. His body was to exude sweat. He was to have an evil inclination. In death his body was to be a prey of the worms. Animals were to have power over him and that they could slay him. His days were to be few and full of trouble. In the end he was to render account of all his doings on earth. These three sinners were not the only ones to have punishment dealt out to them. The earth fared no better, for it had been guilty of various misdemeanors. In the first place it had not entirely heeded the command of God given on the third day to bring forth, quote, tree of fruit, end quote. What God had desired was a tree, the wood of which was to be as pleasant to the taste as the fruit thereof. The earth, however, produced a tree bearing fruit, the tree itself not being edible. Again, the earth did not do its whole duty in connection with the sin of Adam. God had appointed the sun and the earth witnesses to testify against Adam in case he committed a trespass. The sun, accordingly, had grown dark the instant Adam became guilty of disobedience, but the earth, not knowing how to take notice of Adam's fall, disregarded it altogether. The earth also had to suffer a tenfold punishment. Independent before, she was hereafter to wait to be watered by the rain from above. Sometimes the fruits of the earth fail, the grain she brings forth is stricken with blasting and mildew. She must produce all sorts of noxious vermin. Once forth she was to be divided into valleys and mountains. She must grow bare and trees, bearing no fruit. Thorns and thistles sprout from her. Much is sown in the earth, but little is harvested. In time to come the earth will have to disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain, and finally she shall one day wax old like a garment. When Adam heard the words, quote, thorns and thistles shall it bring forth, end quote, concerning the ground a sweat broke out of his face, and he said, quote, what, shall I and my cattle eat from the same manger, end quote. The Lord had mercy upon him and spoke, quote, in view of the sweat of thy face, thou shall eat thy bread, end quote. The earth is not the only thing created that was made to suffer through the sin of Adam. The same fate overtook the moon. When the serpent seduced Adam and Eve, and exposed their nakedness, they wept bitterly, and with them wept the heavens, and the sun and the stars, and all created beings and things up to the throne of God. The very angels and the celestial beings were grieved by the transgression of Adam. The moon alone laughed, wherefore God grew wroth and obscured her light. Instead of shining steadily like the sun, all the length of the day, she grows old quickly and must be born and reborn again and again. The callous conduct of the moon offended God, not only by way of contrast with the compassion of all other creatures, but because he himself was full of pity for Adam and his wife. He made clothes for them out of the skin stripped from the serpent. He would have done more. He would have permitted them to remain in paradise if only they had been penitent, but they refused to repent, and they had to leave, lest their godlike understanding urge them to ravage the tree of life, and they learned to live forever. As it was when God dismissed them from paradise, he did not allow the divine quality of justice to prevail entirely. He associated mercy with it. As they left, he said, quote, a what a pity that Adam was not able to observe the command laid upon him for even a brief span of time, end quote. To guard the entrance of paradise, God appointed the cherubim, called also the ever-turning sword of flames, because angels can turn themselves from one shape into another at need. Instead of the tree of life, God gave Adam the Torah, which likewise is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and he was permitted to take up his abode in the vicinity of paradise in the east. Once pronounced upon Adam and Eve and the serpent, the Lord commanded the angels to turn the man and the woman out of paradise. They began to weep and supplicate bitterly, and the angels took pity upon them and left the divine command unfulfilled, until they could petition God to mitigate his severe verdict. But the Lord was inexorable, saying, quote, was it I that committed a trespass, or did I pronounce a false judgment, end quote. Also Adam's prayer to be given of the fruit of the tree of life was turned aside, with the promise, however, that if he would lead a pious life he would be given the fruit on the day of resurrection, and he would then live forever. Seeing that God had resolved unalterably, Adam began to weep again and implore the angels to grant him at least permission to take sweet-scented spices with him out of paradise. That outside, too, he might be able to bring offerings unto God, and his prayers be accepted before the Lord. Thereupon the angels came before God and spake, quote, king, unto everlasting, command thou us to give Adam sweet-scented spices of paradise, end quote. And God heard their prayer, thus Adam gathered saffron, nard, calamus, and cinnamon, and all sorts of seeds besides for his sustenance. Madden with these Adam and Eve left paradise and came upon earth. They had enjoyed the splendors of paradise but a brief span of time, but a few hours. It was in the first hour of the sixth day of creation that God conceived the idea of creating man. In the second hour he took counsel with the angels. In the third he gathered the dust for the body of man. In the fourth he formed Adam. In the fifth he clothed him with skin. In the sixth the soulless shape was complete, so that it could stand upright. In the seventh a soul was breathed into it. In the eighth man was led into paradise. In the ninth the divine command prohibiting the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden was issued to him. In the tenth he transgressed the command. In the eleventh he was judged, and in the twelfth hour of the day he was cast out of paradise in atonement for his sin. This eventful day was the first of the month of Tashiri. Therefore God spoke to Adam, Quote, thou shalt be the prototype of thy children, and thou hast been judged by me on this day and absolved. So thy children, Israel, shall be judged by me on this New Year's Day, and they shall be absolved." Each day of creation brought forth three things. The first, heaven, earth, and light. The second, the firmament, Gehenna, and the angels. The third, trees, herbs, and paradise. The fourth, sun, moon, and stars. And the fifth, fishes, birds, and leviathan. As God intended to rest on the seventh day, the Sabbath, the sixth day, had to do double duty. It brought forth six creations, Adam, Eve, cattle, reptiles, the beasts of the field, and demons. The demons were made shortly before the Sabbath came in, and they are, therefore, in corporeal spirits. The Lord had no time to create bodies for them. In the twilight, between the sixth day and the Sabbath, ten creations were brought forth. The rainbow, invisible until Noah's time. The mana, water springs, whence Israel drew water for his thirst in the desert. The writing, upon the two tables of stone, gave at Sinai, the pen with which the writing was written, the two tables themselves, the mouth of Balaam's Shias, the grave of Moses, the cave in which Moses and Elijah dwelt, and the rod of Aaron, with its blossoms and its ripe almonds. Chapter 2, Adam, Part 5 of the Legends of the Jews, Volume 1. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recorded by Brian Ness. The Legends of the Jews, Volume 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsberg, Sabbath in Heaven. Before the world was created, there was none to praise God and know him. Therefore he created the angels and the Holy Hayat, the heavens and their host, and Adam as well. They all were to praise and glorify their Creator. During the week of creation, however, there was no suitable time to proclaim the splendor and praise of the Lord. Only on the Sabbath, when all creation rested, the beings on earth and in Heaven, all together broke into song and adoration, when God ascended his throne and sate upon it. It was the throne of joy upon which he sate, and he had all the angels pass before him. The angel of the water, the angel of the rivers, the angel of the mountains, the angel of the hills, the angel of the abysses, the angel of the deserts, the angel of the sun, the angel of the moon, the angel of the Pleiades, the angel of Orion, the angel of the herbs, the angel of paradise, the angel of Gehenna, the angel of the trees, the angel of the reptiles, the angel of the wild beasts, the angel of the domestic animals, the angel of the fishes, the angel of the locusts, the angel of the birds, the chief angel of the angels, the angel of each heaven, the chief angel of each division of the heavenly hosts, the chief angel of the holy hayat, the chief angel of the cherubim, the chief angel of the ophenim, and all the other splendid, terrible, and mighty angel chiefs. They all appeared before God with great joy, laved in a stream of joy, and they rejoiced and danced and sang, and extolled the Lord with many praises and many instruments. The ministering angels began, let the glory of the Lord endure for ever, and the rest of the angels took up the song with the words, let the Lord rejoice in his works. Arabat, the seventh heaven, was filled with joy and glory, splendor and strength, power and might, and pride and magnificence and grandeur, praise and jubilation, song and gladness, steadfastness and righteousness, honor and adoration. Then God bade the angel of the Sabbath seat himself upon a throne of glory, and he brought before him the chiefs of the angels of all the heavens and all the abysses, and bade them dance and rejoice, saying, Sabbath it is unto the Lord. And the exalted princes of the heavens responded, unto the Lord it is Sabbath. Even Adam was permitted to ascend to the highest heaven, to take part in the rejoicing over the Sabbath. By bestowing Sabbath joy upon all beings, not accepting Adam, thus did the Lord dedicate his creation. Seeing the majesty of the Sabbath, its honor and greatness, and the joy it conferred upon all, being the fount of all joy, Adam intoned a song of praise for the Sabbath day. Then God said to him, Thou singest a song of praise to the Sabbath day, and singest none to me, the God of the Sabbath? Whereupon the Sabbath rose from his seat, and prostrated himself before God, saying, it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. And the whole of creation added, and to sing praises unto thy name almost high. This was the first Sabbath, and this its celebration in heaven by God and the angels. The angels were informed at the same time that in days to come Israel would hallow the day in similar manner. God told them, I will set aside for myself a people from among all the peoples. This people will observe the Sabbath, and I will sanctify it to be my people, and I will be God unto it. From all that I have seen I have chosen the seed of Israel wholly, and I have inscribed him as my firstborn son, and I sanctified him unto myself unto all eternity, him and the Sabbath, that he keep the Sabbath and hallow it from all work. For Adam the Sabbath had a peculiar significance, when he was made to depart out of paradise, in the twilight of the Sabbath Eve, the angels called after him. Adam did not abide in his glory overnight. Then the Sabbath appeared before God, as Adam's defender, and he spoke, O Lord of the world, during the six working days no creature was slain. If thou wilt begin now by slaying Adam, what will become of the sanctity and the blessing of the Sabbath? And this way Adam was rescued from the fires of hell, the meat punishment for his sins, and in gratitude he composed a Psalm in honor of the Sabbath, which David later embodied in his Psalter. Still another opportunity was given to Adam to learn and appreciate the value of the Sabbath. The celestial light whereby Adam could survey the world from end to end should properly have been made to disappear immediately after his sin. But out of consideration for the Sabbath, God had let this light continue to shine, and the angels at sundown on the sixth day intoned a song of praise and thanksgiving to God for the radiant light shining through the night. Only with the going out of the Sabbath day the celestial light ceased to the consternation of Adam, who feared that the serpent would attack him in the dark. But God illumined his understanding, and he learned to rub two stones against each other and produce light for his needs. The celestial light was but one of the seven precious gifts enjoyed by Adam before the fall, and to be granted to man again only in the messianic time. The others are the resplendence of his countenance, life eternal, his tall stature, the fruits of the soil, the fruits of the tree, and the luminaries of the sky, the sun and the moon, for in the world to come the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold. The Legends of the Jews, Volume 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg, Adam's Repentance. Cast out of paradise Adam and Eve built a hut for themselves, and for seven days they sat in it in great distress, mourning and lamenting. At the end of the seven days, tormented by hunger, they came forth and sought food. For seven other days Adam journeyed up and down in the land, looking for such dainties as he had enjoyed in paradise. In vain he found nothing. Then Eve spoke to her husband, My Lord, if it please thee, slay me, may have God will then take thee back into paradise, for the Lord God became wroth with thee only on account of me. But Adam rejected her plan with abhorrence, and both went forth again in the search for food. Nine days passed, and still they found not resembling what they had had in paradise. They saw only food fit for cattle and beasts. Then Adam proposed, Let us do penance, may have the Lord God will forgive us and have pity on us, and give us something to sustain our life. Knowing that Eve was not vigorous enough to undergo the mortification of the flesh which he proposed to inflict upon himself, he prescribed a penance for her different from his own. He said to her, Arise and go to the Tigris, take a stone and stand upon it in the deepest part of the river, where the water will reach as high as thy neck, and let no speech issue forth from thy mouth, for we are unworthy to supplicate God. Our lips are unclean by reason of the forbidden fruit of the tree. Remain in the water for thirty-seven days. For himself Adam ordained forty days of fasting, while he stood in the river Jordan in the same way as Eve was to take up her stand in the water of the Tigris. After he had adjusted the stone in the middle of the Jordan and mounted it with the water surging up to his neck, he said, I adjure thee, O thou water of the Jordan, afflict thyself with me, and gather unto me all swimming creatures that live in thee. Let them surround me, and sorrow with me, and let them not beat their own breasts with grief, but let them beat me. Not they have sinned, only I alone. Very soon they all came, the dwellers in the Jordan, and they encompassed him, and from that moment the water of the Jordan stood still, and ceased from flowing. The penance which Adam and Eve laid upon themselves awakened misgivings in Satan. He feared God might forgive their sin, and therefore essayed to hinder Eve in her purpose. After a lapse of eighteen days he appeared unto her in the guise of an angel. As though in distress on account of her he began to cry, saying, Step up out of the river, and weep no longer. The Lord God hath heard your mourning, and your penitence hath been accepted by him. All the angels supplicated the Lord in your behalf, and he hath sent me to fetch you out of the water, and give you the sustenance that you enjoyed in Paradise, and for which you have been mourning. Infeebled as she was by her penances and mortifications, Eve yielded to the solicitations of Satan, and he led her to where her husband was. Adam recognized him at once, and amid tears he cried out, O Eve, Eve, we're now as thy penitence. How couldest thou let our adversary seduce thee again, him who robbed us of our sojourn in Paradise and all spiritual joy? Whereupon Eve too began to weep and cry out, Well unto thee, O Satan, why strives thou against us without any reason? What have we done unto thee that thou shouldst pursue us so craftily? With the deep-fetched sigh Satan told them how that Adam, of whom he had been jealous, had been the real reason of his fall. Having lost his glory through him he had intrigued to have him driven from Paradise. When Adam heard the confession of Satan he prayed to God, O Lord my God, in thy hands is my life. Remove from me this adversary who seeks to deliver my soul to destruction, and grant me the glory he has forfeited. Satan disappeared forthwith, but Adam continued his penance, standing in the waters of the Jordan for forty days. While Adam stood in the river he noticed that the days were growing shorter and he feared the world might be darkened on account of his sin, and go under soon. To avert the doom he spent eight days in prayer and fasting, but after the winter solstice when he saw that the days grew longer again he spent eight days in rejoicing, and in the following year he celebrated both periods, the one before and the one after the solstice. This is why the heathen celebrate the callons and the Saturnalia in honor of their gods, though Adam had consecrated those days to the honor of God. The first time Adam witnessed the sinking of the sun he was also seized with anxious fears. It happened at the conclusion of the Sabbath, and Adam said, Woe is me for my sake, because I have sinned, the world is darkened, and it will again become void and without form, thus will be executed the punishment of death which God has pronounced against me. All the night he spent in tears and Eve, too, wept as she sat opposite to him. When day began to dawn he understood that what he had deplored was but the course of nature, and he brought an offering unto God, a unicorn whose horn was created before his hoofs, and he sacrificed it on the spot on which later the altar was to stand in Jerusalem. The Legends of the Jews Volume 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsberg, the book of Raziel. After Adam's expulsion from paradise he prayed to God in these words, O God, Lord of the world, thou didst create the whole world unto the honor and glory of the mighty one, and thou didst, as was pleasing unto thee, thy kingdom is unto all eternity, and thy reign unto all generations, not as hidden from thee, and not as concealed from thine eyes. Thou didst create me as thy handiwork, and didst make me the ruler over thy creatures, that I might be the chief of thy works. But the cunning, accursed serpent seduced me with the tree of desire and lusts, yea, he seduced the wife of my bosom. But thou didst not make known unto me what shall befall my children, and the generations after me. I know well that no human being can be righteous in thine eyes, and what is my strength that I should step before thee with an impudent face? I have no mouth wherewith to speak, and no eye wherewith to see, for I did sin and commit a trespass, and by reason of my sins I was driven forth from paradise. I must plow the earth whence I was taken, and the other inhabitants of the earth, the beasts, no longer, as once, stand in awe and fear of me. From the time I ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, wisdom departed from me, and I am a fool that knoweth not, an ignorant man that understandeth not. Now, O merciful and gracious God, I pray to thee to turn again thy compassion to the head of thy works, to the spirit which thou didst instill into him, and the soul thou didst breathe into him. Meet me with thy grace, for thou art gracious, slow to anger, and full of love. O that my prayer would reach unto the throne of thy glory, and my supplication unto the throne of thy mercy, and thou wouldst incline to me with loving kindness. May the words of my mouth be acceptable, that thou turn not away from my petition. Thou wert from everlasting, and thou wilt be unto everlasting. Thou wert king, and thou wilt ever be king. Now have thou mercy upon the work of thy hands. Grant me knowledge and understanding, that I may know what shall befall me, and my posterity, and all the generations that come after me, and what shall befall me on every day, and in every month, and mayest thou not withhold from me the help of thy servants and of thy angels. On the third day after he had offered up this prayer while he was sitting on the banks of the river that flows forth out of paradise, there appeared to him in the heat of the day the angel Raziel, bearing a book in his hand. The angel addressed Adam thus, O Adam, why art thou so faint-hearted? Why art thou distressed and anxious? Thy words were heard at the moment when thou didst utter thy supplication and entreaties, and I have received the charge to teach thee pure words and deep understanding, to make thee wise through the contents of the sacred book in my hand, to know what will happen to thee until the day of thy death. And all thy descendants, and all the later generations, if they will but read this book in purity, with a devout heart, and a humble mind, and obey its precepts will become like unto thee. They too will for know what things shall happen, and in what month and on what day or in what night, all will be manifest to them. They will know and understand whether a calamity will come, a famine or wild beasts, floods or drought, whether there will be abundant grain or dearth, whether the wicked will rule the world, whether locusts will devastate the land, whether the fruits will drop from the trees unripe, whether boils will afflict men, whether wars will prevail or diseases or plagues among men and cattle, whether good is resolved upon in heaven or evil, whether blood will flow, and the death-rattle of the slain be heard in the city, and now Adam come, and give heed unto what I shall tell thee regarding the manner of this book and its holiness. The angel then read from the book, and when Adam heard the words of the holy volume as they issued from the mouth of the angel, he fell down affrighted, but the angel encouraged him. Arise, Adam, he said, be of good courage, be not afraid. Take the book from me, and keep it, for thou wilt draw knowledge from it thyself, and become wise, and thou wilt also teach its contents to all those who shall be found worthy of knowing what it contains. In the moment when Adam took the book, a flame of fire shot up from near the river, and the angel rose heavenward with it, then Adam knew that he who had spoken to him was an angel of God, and it was from the holy king himself that the book had come, and he used it in holiness and purity. It is the book out of which all things worth knowing can be learnt, and all mysteries, and it teaches also how to call upon the angels, and make them appear before men, and answer all their questions. But not all alike can use the book, only he who is wise and God fearing, and resorts to it in holiness. Such and one is secure against all wicked counsels. His life is serene, and when death takes him from this world he finds repose in a place where there are neither demons nor evil spirits, and out of the hands of the wicked he is quickly the sickness of Adam. When Adam had lived to be nine hundred and thirty years old, a sickness seized him, and he felt that his days were drawing to an end. He summoned all his descendants, and assembled them before the doors of the house of worship in which he had always offered his prayers to God, to give them his last blessing. His family were astonished to find him stretched out on the bed of sickness, for they did not know what pain and suffering were. They thought he was overcome with longing after the fruits of paradise, and for lack of them was depressed. Seth announced his willingness to go to the gates of paradise and beg God to let one of his angels give him of its fruits, but Adam explained to them what sickness and pain are, and then God had inflicted them upon him as a punishment for his sin. Adam suffered violently. Tears and groans were rung from him. Eve sobbed and said, "'Adam, my Lord, give me half of thy sickness. I will gladly bear it. Is it not on account of me that this hath come upon thee? On account of me thou undergoest pain and anguish.' Adam bade Eve go with Seth to the gates of paradise and entreat God to have mercy upon him, and send his angel to catch up some of the oil of life flowing from the tree of his mercy, and give it to his messengers. The ointment would bring him rest, and banish the pain consuming him. On his way to paradise Seth was attacked by a wild beast. Eve called out to the assailant, "'How dare Seth lay hand on the image of God?' The ready answer came, "'It is thine own fault. Let thou not open thy mouth to eat of the forbidden fruit. My mouth would not be open now to destroy a human being. But Seth Raman stated, "'Hold thy tongue, desist from the image of God until the day of judgment.' And the beast gave way, saying, "'See, I refrained myself from the image of God,' and it slunk away to its covert. Arrived at the gates of paradise, even Seth began to cry bitterly, and they besought God with many lamentations to give them oil from the tree of his mercy. For hours they prayed thus. At last the Archangel Michael appeared, and informed them that he came as the messenger of God to tell them that their petition could not be granted. Adam would die in a few days, and as he was subject to death, so would be all his descendants. Only at the time of the resurrection, and then only to the pious, the oil of life would be dispensed, together with all the bliss and all the delights of paradise. Returned to Adam they reported what had happened, and he said to Eve, "'What misfortune did Seth bring upon us when thou didst arouse great wrath? See, death is the portion of all our race. Call hither our children and our children's children, and tell them the manner of our sinning.' And while Adam lay prostrate upon the bed of pain, Eve told them the story of their fall. The Legends of the Jews by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg Eve's Story of the Fall After I was created, God divided paradise and all the animals therein between Adam and me. The east and the north were assigned to Adam together with the male animals. I was mistress of the west and the south and all the female animals. Satan, smarting under the disgrace of having been dismissed from the heavenly host, resolved to bring about our ruin and avenge himself upon the cause of his discomfiture. He won the serpent over to his side, and pointed out to him that before the creation of Adam the animals could enjoy all that grew in paradise, and now they were restricted to the weeds. To drive Adam from paradise would therefore be for the good of all. The Satan demurred, for he stood in awe of the wrath of God. But Satan calmed his fears, and said, Do thou but become my vessel? And I shall speak a word through thy mouth, wherewith thou wilt succeed in seducing man. The serpent thereupon suspended himself from the wall surrounding paradise to carry on his conversation with me from without. And this happened at the very moment when my two guardian angels had be taken themselves to heaven to supplicate the Lord. I was quite alone therefore, and when Satan assumed the appearance of an angel bent over the wall of paradise, and intoned seraphic songs of praise, I was deceived, and thought him an angel. A conversation was held between us, Satan speaking through the mouth of the serpent. Art thou Eve? Yes, it is I. What art thou doing in paradise? The Lord has put us here to cultivate it in need of its fruits. That is good. Yet you eat not of all the trees. That we do, excepting a single one, the tree that stands in the midst of paradise, concerning it alone God has forbidden us to eat of it. Else the Lord said, you will die. The serpent made every effort to persuade me that I had not to fear, that God knew that in the day that Adam and I ate of the fruit of the tree we should be as he himself. It was jealousy that had made him say, you shall not eat of it. In spite of all his urging, I remained steadfast and refused to touch the tree. Then the serpent engaged to pluck the fruit for me. Thereupon I opened the gate of paradise, and he slipped in. Scarcely was he within when he said to me, I repented my words. I would rather not give thee of the fruit of the forbidden tree. It was but a cunning device to tempt me more. He consented to give me of the fruit only after I swore to make my husband eat of it too. This is the oath he made me take. By the throne of God, by the cherubim and by the tree of life I shall give my husband of this fruit that he may eat too. Thereupon the serpent ascended the tree and injected his poison, the poison of evil inclination, into the fruit, and bent the branch on which it grew to the ground. I took hold of it, but I knew at once that I was stripped of the righteousness in which I had been clothed. I began to weep, because of it and because of the oath the serpent had forced from me. The serpent disappeared from the tree, while I sought leaves wherewith to cover my nakedness, but all the trees within my reach had cast off their leaves at the moment when I ate of the forbidden fruit. There was only one that retained its leaves, the fig tree—the very tree, the fruit of which had been forbidden to me. I summoned Adam, and by means of blasphemous words I prevailed upon him to eat of the fruit. As soon as it had passed his lips he knew his true condition, and he exclaimed against me, Thou wicked woman, what hast thou brought down upon me? Thou hast removed me from the glory of God. At the same time Adam and I heard the archangel Mikhail blow his trumpet, and all the angels cried out, Thus saith the Lord, Come ye with me to paradise, and hearken unto the sentence which I will pronounce on Adam. We hid ourselves, because we feared the judgment of God. Sitting in his cherry drawn by cherubim, the Lord, accompanied by angels uttering his praise, appeared in paradise. At his coming the bare trees again poured forth leaves. His throne was erected by the tree of life, and God addressed Adam, Adam, where dost thou keep thyself in hiding? Thinkest thou I cannot find thee? Can a house conceal itself from its architect? Adam tried to put the blame on me, who had promised to hold him harmless before God. And I, in turn, accused the serpent. But God dealt out justice to all three of us. To Adam he said, Because thou didst not obey my commands, but did hearken unto the voice of thy wife, cursed is the ground in spite of thy work. When thou dost cultivate it, it will not yield thee its strength. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and in the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread. Thou wilt suffer many a hardship, thou wilt grow weary and find no rest. Bitterly oppressed, thou shalt never taste of any sweetness. Thou shalt toil greatly, and yet not gain wealth. Thou shalt grow fat, and yet cease to live. And the animals over which thou art the master will rise up against thee, because thou didst not keep my command. Upon me God pronounced the sentence. Thou shalt suffer anguish and childbirth and grievous torture. In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children. And in the hour of travail, when thou art near to lose thy life, thou wilt confess and cry, Lord, Lord, save me this time, and I shall never again indulge in carnal pleasure. And yet thy desire shall ever and ever be unto thy husband. At the same time all sorts of diseases were decreed upon us. God said to Adam, Because out its turn thy face for my covenant, I will inflict seventy plagues upon thy flesh. The pain of the first plague shall lay hold on the eyes, the pain of the second plague upon thy hearing, and one after the other all the plagues shall come upon thee. The serpent got addressed thus. Because thou becamest the vessel of the evil one, deceiving the innocent, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field, thou shalt be robbed of the food thou was want to eat, and dost shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. Upon thy breast and thy belly shalt thou go, and of thy hands and of thy feet thou shalt be deprived, thou shalt not remain in possession of thy ears, nor of thy wings, nor of any of thy limbs wherewith thou didst seduce the woman and her husband, bringing them to such a past that they must be driven forth from paradise, and I will put enmity between thee and the seed of man. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel, until the day of judgment. The Legends of the Jews by Rabbi Lewis Ginsburg THE DEATH OF ADAM On the last day of Adam's life Eve said to him, Why should I go on living when thou art no more? How long shall I have to linger on after thy death? Tell me this. Adam assured her she would not tarry long. He would die together, and be buried together in the same place. He commanded her not to touch his corpse until an angel from God had made provision regarding it, and she was to begin at once to pray to God until his soul escaped from his body. While Eve was on her knees in prayer, an angel came and bade her rise. Eve, arise from thy penance, he commanded. Behold, thy husband has left his mortal coil. Arise, and see his spirit go up to his Creator to appear before him. In low she beheld a chariot of light, drawn by four shining eagles, and preceded by angels. In this chariot lay the soul of Adam, which the angels were taking to heaven. Arrived there they burnt incense until the clouds of smoke enveloped the heavens. Then they prayed to God to have mercy upon his image in the work of his holy hands. In her awe and fright Eve summoned Seth, and bade him look upon the vision and explain the celestial sights beyond her understanding. She asked, Who made the two Ethiopians be who are adding their prayers to thy fathers? Seth told her they were the sun and moon, turned black because they could not shine in the face of the Father of Light. Scarcely had he spoken when an angel blew a trumpet, and all the angels could have the awful voices, blessed be the glory of the Lord by his creatures, for he has shown mercy unto Adam, the work of his hands. A seraph then seized Adam, and carried him off to the river Acharon, washed him three times, and brought him before the presence of God, who sat upon his throne, and, stretching out his hand, lifted Adam up, and gave him over to the archangel Michael, with the words, raise him to the paradise of the Third Heaven, and there shall they leave him until the great and fearful day ordained by me. Michael executed the divine behest, and all the angels sang a song of praise, extolling God for the pardon he had accorded Adam. Michael now entreated God to let him attend to the preparation of Adam's body for the grave, permission being given Michael repaired to earth, accompanied by all the angels. When they had entered the terrestrial paradise, all the trees blossomed forth, and the perfume wafted dense lulled all men into slumber except Seth alone. Then God said to Adam, as his body lay on the ground, if thou hath kept my commandment, they would not rejoice who brought the hither. But I tell thee, I will turn the joy of Satan and his consorts into sorrow, and thy sorrow shall be turned into joy. I will restore thee to thy dominion, and thou shalt sit upon the throne of thy seducer, while he shall be damned with those who hearken unto him. Thereupon, at the bidding of God, the three great archangels covered the body of Adam with linen, and poured sweet-smelling oil upon it. With it they entered also the body of Abel, who had laid unburied since Cain had slain him, for all the murderer's efforts to hide it had been in vain. The corpse again and again sprang forth from the earth, and a voice issued thence, proclaiming, no creature shall rest in the earth until the first one of all has returned the dust to me of which it was formed. The angels carried the two bodies to paradise, Adams and Abel's. The latter, in all this time, had been laying on a stone on which angels had placed it, and there they buried them both on the spot whence God had taken the dust wherewith to make Adam. God called unto the body of Adam, Adam, Adam, and had answered, Lord, here am I. Then God said, I told thee once, Dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return. Now I promise thee, resurrection, I will awaken thee on the day of judgment when all the generations of men that spring from thine loins shall arise from the grave. God then sealed up the grave, that none might do him harm during the six days to elapse until his ribs should be restored to him, through the death of Eve. The Legends of the Jews by Rabbi Lewis Ginsburg, The Death of Eve The interval between Adam's death and her own, Eve spent in weeping. She was distressed in particular that she knew not what had become of Adam's body, for none except Seth had been awake while the angels interred it. When the hour of her death drew nigh Eve supplicated to be buried in the self-same spot in which the remains of her husband rested. She prayed to God, Lord of all power, room not thy maid-servant from the body of Adam, from which thou didst take me, from whose limbs thou didst form me. Permit me, who am an unworthy and sinning woman, to enter into his habitation. As we were together in paradise, neither separated from the other. As together we were tempted to transgress thy law, neither separated from the other. So, O Lord, separate not us now. To the end of her prayer she added the petition, raising her high as heavenward, Lord of the world, receive my spit. And she gave up her soul to God. The archangel Mikhail came and taught Seth how to prepare Eve for burial, and three angels descended and interred her body in the grave with Adam and Abel. Then Mikhail spoke to Seth, thus shalt thou bury all men that die until the resurrection day. And again, having given him this command he spoke, longer than six days you shall not mourn. The repose of the seventh day is the token of resurrection in the latter day, for on the seventh day the Lord rested from all the work which he had created and made. Though death was brought into the world through Adam, yet he cannot be held responsible for the death of men. Once on a time he said to God, I am not concerned about the death of the wicked, but I should not like the pious to reproach me and lay the blame for their death upon me. I pray thee, make no mention of my guilt. And as God promised to fulfill his wish, therefore when a man is about to die God appears to him, and bids him set down in writing all he has done during his life, for he tells him, Thou art dying by reason of thy evil deeds. The record finished, God orders him to seal it with his seal. This is the writing God will bring out on the judgment day, and to each will be made known his deeds. As soon as life is extinct in a man he is presented to Adam, whom he accuses of having caused his death. But Adam repudiates the charge. I committed but one trespass. Is there any among you, and be he the most pious, who has not been guilty of more than one? End of Chapter 2, Part 6