Wednesday 23 August 2017

Sanhedrin 38: The Creation Of Adam; Proving One G-d

The rabbis discuss a number of issues related to the Nature/ the Oneness of G-d:

  • a story about Rabbi Chizikiyah and Yehuda got drunk with Rebbi and they stated that Moshiach will come only when the Roshei Galuta (Bavel) and the Nesi'im (Yisrael) are destroyed
  • The Gematria of the words wine and secret are both 70 - when wine enters, secrets come out
  • The rabbis explain that G-d brought evil on people quickly because He is a tzadik, righteous, and his acts are all acts of tzedaka
  • Our Mishna taught that G-d created only one man
  • A baraita teaches that this was to prevent people from saying that there might be another G-d
  • It could be so that tzadikim don't think we descent from a tzadik and so we do not have to keep ourselves far from sin; it could be so that resha'im (bad people) do not believe that we descend from a rasha and thus there is no need to repent
  • It could allow families to have less conflict
  • It could discourage theft and extortion
  • Our Mishna stated that this shows G-d's greatness; each of us looks different although we could have all been made to look the same
  • This was done to minimize wrongful claims of ownership
  • We are different in voice, appearance and thinking to ensure that men do not have intercourse with each others' wives, to better hide valuables and minimize crime
  • We learn that man was created on erev Shabbat to ensure that we did not claim we participated in the creation of people
  • We can remind haughty people that mosquitoes were created before him
  • The rabbis repeat that a woman brought Adam down through her lack of intelligence
  • The rabbis imagine that the dirt that created Adam was taken from all over the world: the dirt for his body - or perhaps his buttocks - was taken from Bavel, his head from Yisrael, his limbs - Rashi says his hands and feet - were from other places
  • Rabbi Yochanan ben Chanina describes how Adam's body and his life were formed and progressed over twelve hours
  • The rabbis continue to discuss the creation of 'man'
    • wild animals only rule over people if they appear to be animals
    • angels consulted on whether or not G-d should create 'man'
    • the angels argued and G-d burned them with His finger, creating more angels who disagreed
  • Perhaps Adam stretched from one end of the world to the other; from the ground to heaven
  • Perhaps Adam spoke Aramaic or thought in Aramaic
  • Perhaps Adam was shown every generation, its scholars, and its Sages
  • He was happy with Rabbi Akiva's Torah but saddened by Rabbi Akiva's death
  • Perhaps Adam was a min, heretic
  • Adam's circumcision or lack thereof is discussed - he may have circumsized himself or been born circumcized and stretched his foreskin
  • Our Mishna taught be diligent to learn Torah and know how to speak to a heretic
  • Rabbi Yochanan teaches that a Yisrael Min, one who knows the truth and denies it, will deny it more when challenged
  • The rabbis provide a number of responses when a heretic says that there is more than one G-d
    • There is a verse that says "our image" but there is also a verse that says "My image"
    • There is a verse that says "let us confuse" but there is also a verse that is singular
    • There is a verse that says "G-ds appeared to him" but there is also a verse that is singular
    • etc.
  • But why were all of these verses written in plural?
  • Rabbi Yochanan taught that G-d always consults with his Heavenly Court before doing anything, thus the use of plural
  • Our daf ends with a discussion of G-d, thrones and footstools

No comments:

Post a Comment