Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
When Adam opened his eyes the first time, and beheld the world about
him, he broke into praise of God, "How great are Thy works, O Lord!"
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: "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,'" he continued, "'He is apparelled with majesty.'"[36]
And not alone the creatures on earth, even the angels thought Adam the
lord of all, and they were about to salute him with "Holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord of hosts," when God caused sleep to fall upon him, and then
the angels knew that he was but a human being.[37]
The purpose of the sleep that enfolded Adam was to give him a wife, so
that the human race might develop, and all creatures recognize the
difference between God and man. When the earth heard what God had
resolved to do, it began to tremble and quake. "I have not the
strength," it said, "to provide food for the herd of Adam's
descendants." But God pacified it with the words, "I and thou together,
we will find food for the herd." 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.[38]
The Divine resolution to bestow a 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.[39] 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.[40]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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