va-ya'as et ha-rakia va-yavdeil bein ha-mayim asher mi-tahat la-rakia u-vein ha-mayim asher mei-al la-rakiala-mayim va-y'hi khein (And G-d made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.) (Genesis 1:7)

The Ramban in his commentary on this verse asks why, immediately after telling us that G-d made the firmament (va-ya'as et ha-rakia), the Scritpure writes "va-y'hi khein" (and it was so), which signifies that G-d's commandment that the firmament come into existence (y'hi rakia) was already realized. And our master said in the name of his father, the gaon (R. Avraham Glasner, 1826-78), that the Scripture was differentiating between this commandment (y'hi rakia) and the one immediately following: "let the waters under the firmament be gathered into one place" (yiqavu ha-mayim). For the Holy One Blessed Be He, as the Ramban explains, originally created just one substance from absolute nothingness; once this general substance came into existence it could then be transformed into the four primary elements (earth, wind, fire, and water). It was only after creating the four primary elements, that the Holy One Blessed Be He commanded that they be transformed into all the material things that we experience.

However, since earth is heavier than water, it would not seem possible for the land to have risen above the waters below. The earth, therefore, should have sunk to the bottom of the mighty waters. When the Holy One Blessed Be He said "let the waters under the firmament be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear," He Himself had to ensure that a phenomenon contrary to the laws of nature would occur. It was only through Divine intervention that the waters could gather in a low place and the land rise above them.

In this way, our mater's father explained the verse (Psalms 24:1), "the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein" (la-Ha-Sheim ha-aretz u-m'lo-ah teiveil v'yoshvei vah). The verse is telling us that it can be proved that the world did not always exist, but was, instead, the creation of G-d from the fact that "He has founded it on the seas and established it on the rivers" (ki hu al yamim y'sadah v'al n'harot y'khon'nehah) (Psalms 24:2), because this is contrary to the natural tendency of the elements. That is why the Scripture writes "and G-d made the firmament and divided the waters . . . and it was so." The Scripture, as the Ramban explains, is teaching us that earth and water were immediately separated when the first substance was created. The separation between the waters (yiqavu ha-mayim) did, indeed, follow the laws of nature. However, the subsequent commandment "let the waters under the firmament be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear" was contrary to the law of nature, that the heavier object should have sunk beneath the lighter one. Nevertheless, it came to pass as G-d decreed, for it was guided by the Hand of G-d.

va-yomer Ha-Sheim Eloqim lo tov heyot ha-adam l'vado e'esseh lo eizer k'negdo (And the Lord G-d said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help to match him)

(Genesis 2:18):

In the Talmud the Sages comment, "if a man is worthy (zakhah), she is a help meet (eizer), if he is not worthy (lo zakhah), she becomes his nemesis" (k'negdo). Our master explained this in the following way. A man who lives alone without a wife must be constantly busy, working both inside and outside his home with not even a moment left for Torah and wisdom. This is why it says in the Talmud that R. Yosi called his wife, "my house." However, a married man is free from domestic responsibilities and may devote himself to the service of G-d. So if one dedicates the time that he need not devote to domestic obligations to the service of G-d, then, because his conduct is meritorious, the wife that G-d gave him is considered his help meet. But if one uses the time that he has gained to prowl the streets with the lads and make merry with his chums, then his wife will be considered a curse, and becomes his nemesis, for it would have been better had he been obliged to take care of his home himself than to be occupied with nonsense.

However, if our Sages have explained the first verse, how can they explain the next verse which says, "and the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him"? And it appears to our master that the Torah is hinting at a great idea here, since there are Gentile scholars who maintain that man is born as a wild ass and is the descendant of apes. But how have their eyes been dimmed from seeing! For did the Sages not say that there are three types of creatures that have conjugal relations facing each other: fish, snakes and people? Besides these three, all others, including the apes, have conjugal relations in the opposite way. And it appears to our master that, before its legs were cut off, the snake also had conjugal relations as do all other creatures, so that among all the creatures only fish in the water had conjugal relations in the manner of man on the land. Nor is it possible that apes have changed their manner of having conjugal relations. Thus when the Torah said that among all animals on the land, the man could not find a help meet "k'negdo," it meant that he could not find a partner with whom he could have conjugal relations face to face. G-d therefore said, "I will make a help meet for him."

v'eivah ashit bein'kha u-vein ha-ishah u-vein zarakha u-vein zarah hu y'shupeikh rosh v'atah t'shupenu aqeiv (And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel) (Genesis 3:15):

Our master explained this verse hints at the comment of the Midrash that the verse (Psalms 49:6): "why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me"(lamah ira bi-mei ra avon aqevai y'subeini) is referring to the days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Hakippurim. Kind David is saying here that he need not fear for his soul because of the great sins that he had committed, because for those sins he could gain forgiveness by repenting with all his heart. What caused him great dread, however, were the sins committed routinely and to which, as a result, he had become accustomed. Of those sins he did not even think about repenting. This is what was meant by "he shall bruise your head" (hu y'shupeikh rosh), which means that when a person repents on Rosh Hashanah for his great sins he bruises the head of the serpent, i.e., Satan, the instigator and seducer, and frustrates Satan's efforts. But G-d tells the serpent "you shall bruise his heel" (v'atah t'shupenu aqeiv), which means that the Satan is able to snare man in those transgressions that he does routinely, which are very difficult to repent of, because after constant repetition, the transgressions begin to seem as if they were permissible.

v'el ha-ishah amar harbeh arbeh itzvoneikh v'haroneikh. b'etzev teildi banim (To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply the pain of your child bearing; in sorrow you shall bring forth children)(Genesis 3:16):

Rashi comments on "itzvoneikh" (your pain) "this is the pain of child rearing;" on "v'haroneikh" he comments "this is the pain of pregnancy" and on "b'etzev teildi banim" (in pain shall you give birth) he comments "this is the pain of childbirth." But the order is reversed as everyone can see. Ibn Ezra avoided this difficulty by interpreting "itzvoneikh" as the pain of losing virginity. And it appears to our master to say that both of these great commentators were interpreting the verse in consistent way, which can be traced back to their explanation of the verse (Genesis 4:1): "now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, 'I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord'" (v'ha-adam yada et hava ishto va-tahar va-teileid et qayin va-tomer qaniti ish et Ha-Sheim). Rashi interprets this verse in accord with the opinion that this occurred before the sin and that she immediately conceived and gave birth in the Garden of Eden. But Ibn Ezra interprets the verse according to the opinion that this occurred after the sin, when they realized that they were mortal and wished to perpetuate their species. Thus, Rashi, according to his interpretation, did follow the order correctly by interpreting "itzvoneikh" as the pain of child rearing of the sons she had already borne: Cain and Abel, whom she lost on a single day when Cain killed Abel and left her by going into exile as a nomad. Rashi then interprets "haroneikh" and "b'etzev teildi" as referring to the children that she would bear subsequently. And see the Talmud in Eruvin, which derives both from the repetition of the words "harbeh arbeh."

b'zei'at apekha tokhal lehem (In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread) (Genesis 3:19):

Our Sages warned against study of the Torah exclusively and exalted the importance of work, as we have been taught in Pirqei Avot (2:2):

Rabban Gamliel the son of R. Judah the Patriarch said: "Excellent is the study of Torah together with a worldly occupation, for the energy taken up by both of them keeps sin out of one's mind. And as for all the study of Torah where there is no worldly occupation the end thereof is that it comes to naught and brings sin in its train."

Moreover, we learn in Qidushin 29a that one who does not teach his son a craft is like one who teaches him brigandage, and our Sages taught us (Berakhot 8a) as well that a man who lives from the labor of his hands is greater than one who fears heaven.

The various commentators endeavor to interpret the explicit and clear saying of the Talmud in Berakhot differently from its plain meaning. But their efforts were unnecessary, for the fear of heaven associated with an easy life is very far from being powerful enough to enable one to resist the evil inclination and sin. Nor does it preclude evil character traits. On the other hand, the expenditure of energy required by hard work distracts a person from his weakness and from his evil inclination and confers upon the worker a noble spirit, so that jealously and hatred, suspicion and oppression are hardly known to him.

This lesson may also be learned from the sin and fall of Adam. At the commandment of the Almighty, blessed be He, Adam was prohibited, on pain of death, from deriving any benefit from the Tree of Knowledge. Adam, of course, was one who feared Heaven, but in the Garden of Eden he was idle. He was therefore unable to withstand the test, and ate from the fruit of the tree from which he was commanded not to eat. After sinning, in response to G-d's query, Adam said (Genesis 3:12): "The woman whom You gave to be with me. She gave me from the fruit of the tree. And I ate." (ha-isha asher natata imadi he natnah li min ha-eitz va-okheil) The Midrash exlaborates on his answer as follows:

:

It was the woman that You gave to be with me that brought me to do this - that I ate from the tree. And I am not at all sure that I will not eat again.

When the Holy One Blessed Be He saw that the fear of heaven, which, was surely one of Adam's attributes, could not save him from sin, He provided Adam with another means by which to avoid sin: hard work. For G-d said to him (Genesis 3:19): "from the sweat of your face you shall eat bread."

The saying of our Sages that one who lives from the labor of his own hands is greater than one who fears Heaven is therefore fully correct, for one who works is better protected from sin than one who fears heaven but is idle. (Adapted rom "Zionism in the Light of Faith")