Esnoga Bet Emunah - 227 Millset Chase# - San Antonio, Texas 78253

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan

B’resheet (Genesis) 3:22 – 4:26

And the Lord God said to the angels who ministered before Him, Behold, Adam is sole on the earth, as I am sole in the heavens above; and it will be that they will arise from him who will know to discern between good and evil. Had he kept the commandments which I appointed to him, he would have lived and subsisted as the tree of life for ever. But now, because he hath not kept that which I prescribed, it is decreed against him that we keep him from the garden of Eden, before he reach forth his hand and take of the tree of life: for, behold, if he eat thereof, living he will live and subsist for ever. And the Lord God removed him from the garden of Eden; and he went and dwelt on Mount Moriah, to cultivate the ground from which he had been created. And He drove out the man from thence where He had made to dwell the glory of His Shekina at the first between the two Kerubim. Before He had created the world, He created the law; He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they might eat and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree; because they would have practiced in their lives the teaching of the law in this world, and have maintained the commandments: (but) he prepared Gehinnom for the wicked, which is like the sharp, consuming sword of two edges; in the midst of it He hath prepared flakes of fire and burning coals for the judgment of the wicked who rebelled in their life against the doctrine of the law. To serve the law is better than (to eat of) the fruit of the tree of life, (the law) which the Word of the Lord prepared, that man in keeping it might continue, and walk in the paths of the way of life in the world to come.

[JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord God said, Behold, Adam whom I have created is sole in my world, as I am sole in the heavens above. It is to be that a great people are to arise from him; from him will arise a people who will know how to discern between good and evil. And now it is good that we keep him from the garden of Eden before he stretch forth his hand and take also of the fruit of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever......And He cast out Adam, and made the glory of His Shekina to dwell at the front of the east of the garden of Eden, above the two Kerubim. Two thousand years before He had created the world, He created the law, and prepared Gehinnom and the garden of Eden. He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they should eat, and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree, because they had kept the commandments of the law in this world. For the wicked He prepared Gehinnom, which is like the sharp, consuming sword with two edges. He prepared in the depth of it flakes of fire and burning coals for the wicked, for their punishment for ever in the world to come, who have not kept the commandment of the law in this world. For the law is the tree of life; whoever keeps it in this life lives and subsists as the tree of life. The law is good to keep in this world, as the fruit of the tree of life in the world that cometh.]

IV. And Adam knew Hava his wife, who had desired the Angel; and she conceived, and bare Kain; and she said, I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord. And she added to bear from her husband Adam his twin, even Habel. And Habel was a shepherd of the flock, but Kain was a man working in the earth. And it was at the end of days, on the fourteenth of Nisan, that Kain brought of the produce of the earth, the seed of cotton (or line), an oblation of first things before the Lord; and Habel brought of the firstlings of the flock, and of their fat; and it was pleasing before the Lord, and He gave (His) countenance to Habel and to his oblation; but to Kain and to his oblation He gave no countenance. And Kain was angered greatly, and the features of his face were downcast. And the Lord said to Kain, Why hast thou anger, and why are the features of thy face downcast? If thou doest thy work well, will not thy guilt be forgiven thee? But if thou doest not thy work well in this world, thy sin is retained unto the day of the great judgment, and at the doors of thy heart lieth thy sin. And into thy hand have I delivered the power over evil passion, and unto thee shall be the inclination thereof, that thou mayest have authority over it to become righteous, or to sin.

And Kain said to Habel his brother, Come, and let us two go forth into the field. And it was that when they two had gone forth into the field, Kain answered and said to Habel, I perceive that the world was created in goodness, but it is not governed (or conducted) according to the fruit of good works, for there is respect to persons in judgment; therefore it is that thy offering was accepted, and mine not accepted with good will.

Habel answered and said to Kain, In goodness was the world created, and according to the fruit of good works is it governed; and there is no respect of persons in judgment; but because the fruits of my works were better than thine, my oblation, before thine, hath been accepted with good will.

Kain answered and said to Habel, There is neither judgment nor Judge, nor another world; nor will good reward be given to the righteous, nor vengeance be taken of the wicked.

And Habel answered and said to Kain, There is a judgment, and there is a Judge; and there is another world, and a good reward given to the righteous, and vengeance taken of the wicked.

And because of these words they had contention upon the face of the field; and Kain arose against Habel his brother, and drave a stone into his forehead, and killed him.

And the Lord said to Kain, Where is Habel thy brother? And he said, I know not; am I the keeper of my brother? And He said, What hast thou done? The voice of the bloods of the murder of thy brother which are swallowed up in the sod, crieth before Me from the earth. And now because thou hast killed him, thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened the mouth, and received the bloods of thy brother from thy hand. When thou tillest the earth, it shall not add to give strength to its fruits for thee. A wanderer and an exile shalt thou be in the earth. And Kain said before the Lord, More heavy is my rebellion than can be borne (away). Yet is there power before Thee to forgive it. Behold, Thou hast cast me forth to-day from the face of the earth, and from before Thee is it possible to be hidden? And because I am a wanderer and an exile in the earth, any just one who findeth me will kill me. And the Lord said to him, Behold now, any one who killeth Kain, unto seven generations vengeance shall be taken of him. And the Lord sealed upon the face of Kain the mark of the Name great and honourable, that any one who might find him should not kill him when he saw it upon him.

[JERUSALEM. 7. If thou makest thy work good in this world, will it not be forgiven and remitted thee in the world to come? But if thou doest not make thy work good in this world, thy sin is retained unto the day of the great judgment; and at the door of thy heart it lieth. Yet into thy hand have I delivered power over evil passion, and to thee may be dominion over it, to become righteous or to sin......8. And Kain said to Habel his brother, Come, and let us go forth upon the face of the field. And it was when they had gone out upon the face of the field, Kain answered and said to Habel his brother, There is neither judgment nor Judge, nor another world; neither is a good reward given to the righteous, nor will vengeance be taken of the wicked. Nor was the world created in goodness, nor in goodness is it conducted. Therefore it is that thy oblation was accepted with good will, and mine not accepted with good will. Habel answered and said to Kain, There is a judgment, and there is a Judge: there is another world, and a good reward is given to the righteous, and vengeance taken of the wicked. And in goodness was the world created, and in goodness is it conducted. But according to the fruit of good works is it conducted. Because my works were better ordered than thine, my offering was accepted with good will, and thine was not accepted with good will. And as they two disputed on the face of the field, Kain arose against Habel his brother, and killed him......10. The voice of the blood of the multitude of the righteous who were to arise from Habel thy brother......13. And Kain said before the Lord, My sins are greater than can be borne. Nevertheless there is power before Thee to absolve and forgive me.]

And Kain went out from before the Lord, and dwelt in the land of the wandering of his exile, which had been made for him from before, as the garden of Eden. And Kain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Hanok; and he builded a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Hanok.

[JERUSALEM. And Kain went out from before the Lord, and dwelt in the land of exile and wandering, eastward of the garden of Eden. And it had been before Kain slew Habel his brother that the earth multiplied fruits, as the fruits of the garden of Eden; (but) from (the time that) he sinned and killed his brother, it changed, to produce thorns and thistles.]

18. And there was born unto Hanok Irad, and Irad begat Mechujael, and Mechujael begat Methushael, and Methushael begat Lemek. And Lemek took to him two wives; the name of the first, Ada, and the name of the second, Zillah. And Ada bare Javal; he was the chief (rab) of all those who dwell in tents, and are masters of cattle. And the name of his brother (was) Juval: he was chief (rab) of all those who take part in song with the lyre and the pipe. And Zillah bare also Tuvalkain, the chief (rab) of all artificers who know the workmanship of brass and iron. And the sister of Tuvalkain was Naama; she was mistress of elegies and songs.

And Lemek said to his wives Ada and Zillah, Hear my voice, wives of Lemek, hearken to my words: for I have not killed a man, that I should be slain for him; neither have I destroyed a young man, on whose account my children should perish. For Kain who sinned and was converted by repentance (had protection) unto seven generations extended to him: and to Lemek, the son of his son, who hath not sinned, it is just that it shall be extended unto seventy and seven.

And Adam knew his wife again, at the end of a hundred and thirty years after Habel had been slain; and she bare a son, and called his name Sheth; for she said, The Lord hath given me another son instead of Habel whom Kain slew. And to Sheth also was born a son, and he called his name Enosh. That was the generation in whose days they began to err, and to make themselves idols, and surnamed their idols by the name of the Word of the Lord.

Ashlamatah Special:

Amos 9:7-15

7 Are you not as the children of the Ethiopians unto Me, O children of Israel? Says the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?

8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, says the LORD.

9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, that say: ‘The evil shall not overtake nor confront us.’

11 ¶ In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old;

12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations, upon whom My name is called, says the LORD that doeth this.

13 Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sows seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

14 And I will turn the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, says the LORD thy God.

Ashlamatah Normal:

Ezekiel 28:13-19 + 24-26

11 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

12 ‘Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say unto him: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Thou seal most accurate, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty,

13 thou wast in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the carnelian, the topaz, and the emerald, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the carbuncle, and the smaragd, and gold; the workmanship of thy settings and of thy sockets was in thee, in the day that thou wast created they were prepared.

14 Thou wast the far-covering cherub; and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned; therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I have cast thee to the ground, I have laid thee before kings, that they may gaze upon thee.

18 By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee, it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

19 All they that know thee among the peoples shall be appalled at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shalt never be any more.’

20 ¶ And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

21 ‘Son of man, set thy face toward Zidon, and prophesy against it,

22 and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon, and I will be glorified in the midst of thee; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.

23 For I will send into her pestilence and blood in her streets; and the wounded shall fall in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

24 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor a piercing thorn of any that are round about them, that did have them in disdain; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

25 Thus saith the Lord GOD: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the nations, then shall they dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.

26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell safely; when I have executed judgments upon all those that have them in disdain round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.’

Targum on:

Psalm 2

1. ¶ Why are the Gentiles disturbed, and the nations murmuring vanity?

2. The kings of the earth arise and the rulers will join together to rebel in the Lord’s presence, and to strive against his Messiah.

3. They say, “Let us break his bonds, and let us throw off his chains from us.”

4. The one who sits in heaven will laugh; the word of the Lord will mock at them.

5. Then he will speak to them in his strength, and in his wrath he will frighten them.

6. I have anointed my king, and appointed him over my sanctuary.

7. ¶ I will tell of the covenant of the Lord. He said: “You are as dear to me as a son to a father (abba), pure as if this day I had created you.”

8. Ask me and I will give the riches of the Gentiles as your inheritance, the rulers of the ends of the earth as your holding.

9. You will shatter them as with a rod of iron, like a potter’s vessel you will break them.

10. ¶ And now, O kings, grow wise; accept discipline, O princes of the earth.

11. Worship in the presence of the Lord with fear, and pray with trembling.

12. Accept Torah instruction lest he be angry, and you lose your way; for his wrath will tarry a little. Happy all who trust in his word!

COMMENTARY

The Midrash Tanchuma Yelammedenu starts commenting on Genesis 3:22 as follows:

“May our master teach us the punishment inflicted upon one who speaks evil of another? Thus do our masters teach us: One who speaks evil of another is punished more severely than one who does an evil act. The punishment inflicted upon our ancestors befell them only because of speaking evil of others, as it is said: You have put me to proof these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice (Numbers 14:22).

R. Mana od She’ar said in the name of R. Joshua the son of Levi: No man speaks evil of another until he denies the basic principle of faithful obedience (the Oneness of G-d), as it is said: Our tongue will we make mighty, our lips are with us: Who is the Lord over us? (Psalm 12:5).

The Rabbis said: Slander is considered such a grievous sin that death was imposed upon Adam because of it. The serpent appeared and told Adam and Eve: “God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes will be open, and you will be as God (Genesis 3:5). It was the fruit of this very tree that He ate when He created this world. Now, every craftsman hates a rival craftsman, but if you should eat of this tree, you too will become divine” (cf. Midrash on Psalm 1:9 and Beresheet Rabba 19:4). They listened to him and thus brought death upon themselves and their descendants unto the end of all generations. Whence do we know this? We know it from the words Behold man (Genesis 3:22). The word Behold alludes only to death, as it is written: Behold, your days approach that you must die (Deuteronomy 31:14).”

Psalm 2 also echoes this very thought when it states: “The kings of the earth arise and the rulers will join together to rebel in the Lord’s presence, and to strive against His Messiah.”

Why? May we ask. The answer is given to us by the above Midrash: “No man speaks evil of another until he denies the basic principle of faithful obedience (the Oneness of G-d).”

And this is exactly what our Targum lays out as the reason why Kain murdered his brother:

Kain answered and said to Habel, There is neither judgment nor Judge, nor another world; nor will good reward be given to the righteous, nor vengeance be taken of the wicked.

And Habel answered and said to Kain, There is a judgment, and there is a Judge; and there is another world, and a good reward given to the righteous, and vengeance taken of the wicked.

And because of these words they had contention upon the face of the field; and Kain arose against Habel his brother, and drave a stone into his forehead, and killed him.

Since we started our reading of the Torah in B’resheet 1:1, we have found that the first Adam sinned and lost his position as G-d’s Messiah. Now we read that Kain the first-born also looses his inheritance and his position as Messiah because of his murder. And in the last two verses of our Seder we read: “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son, and called his name Seth: {Heb. Sheth.} ‘for God hath {Heb. shath.} appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him.’ And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh; then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.”

In other words, neither Adam after the fall, nor his first-borne son Kain, the murderer were apt to fulfill their roles as Messiah, and “G-d had to appoint another seed instead of Abel.” This seed instead of denying G-d’s Oneness and slandering others busied itself with making “men to call upon the name of Ha-Shem”!

Thus, SLANDER (speaking evil of others) is the outward manifestation that such a person who utters slander or pays attention to slander has denied the basic principle of faithful obedience: the Oneness of G-d, most blessed be He! Slander is therefore the palpable fruit of an idolater. If you see anyone paying attention to slander or slandering some one be sure that such a person is an idolater. And how is the person that speaks slander or pays attention to slander punished? The same as Adam and Kain – death at the hands of Heaven!

Slander is also the sure outward manifestation that such a person who utters it or pays attention to it has rebelled against G-d’s Torah. As the Psalmist puts it the slander says: “Let us break his bonds, and let us throw off his chains from us.”

May G-d, most blessed be He, grant us of His mercy to remain always faithfully obedient to Him, amen ve amen!

Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Shabbat:	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
הן האדם
“Hen HaAdam” & Mevar’chim HaHodesh Iyar	Reader 1 – B’resheet 3:22-24	Reader 1 – B’resheet 5:1-5
“Behold the man”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 4:1-3	Reader 2 – B’resheet 5:6-14
“He aquí que el hombre”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 4:4-7	Reader 3 – B’resheet 5:15-20
B’ resheet (Genesis) 3:22 – 4:26	Reader 4 – B’resheet 4:8-15
Special:1 Sam 20:18,42; Amos 9:7-15	Reader 5 – B’resheet 4:16-18
Ezekiel 28:13-19 + 24-26	Reader 6 – B’resheet 4:19-22	Reader 1 – B’resheet 5:21-24
Psalm 2	Reader 7 – B’resheet 4:23-26	Reader 2 – B’resheet 5:25-27
	Maftir – B’resheet 4:23-26	Reader 3 – B’resheet 5:28-32
N.C.: Matityahu 1:2-11	1 Sam. 20:18,42; Amos 9:7-15