Chapter LXXIV.

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SAID Rabbi Abba: "'The blessing of the Lord maketh70a-71b rich' (Prov. X. 22). The blessing of the Lord is the Schekina who rules over the blessings that come to mankind, To the words of this verse in scripture is added, 'And he added no sorrow with it.' Now the term atzeb (sorrow) is here used because it alludes to the mystery expressed in the words, 'cursed be the ground for thy sake, in sorrow (beitzabon) shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.' The utzeb here designates that sense of the divine wrath and displeasure that causes the face of man to lose all traits of joy and to become pallid with fear and alarm. In addressing these words to Adam God wished to say that henceforth man would not partake of spiritual food and nourishment freed from and unsurrounded by evil spirits, whose object would be to prevent his reception of heavenly and divine benedictions pure and unalloyed with sorrow and regret. This is why scripture states that he, the Divine Being, will not add (yosiph) sorrow (atzeb) with his blessings, thus expressing the same mystery as in the words, 'I will not again (aseph) curse the ground for man's sake.' Scripture further states, 'And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth on the earth and upon all the fishes of the sea,' meaning, 'From this day henceforth you shall be endowed with a human form, of which man by his wickedness had become divided.' After Adam's transgression, the human countenance became so changed that it lost all resemblance of Alhim in whose image he had been

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created, so that man, instead of inspiring animals with fear of him, lived in fear of them. As they gazed upon him before his fall, they recognized the marks of his divine origin and stood in awe before him, but, after the loss of his innocency, they regarded him only as a creature like unto themselves. Observe that all men living the higher and divine life and observing obediently the commandments of their Lord, exhibit in their countenances the imprint of the divine, before which all creatures on beholding it tremble and fear. But immediately that men begin to transgress the good law it fades and becomes obscured, that animals are no longer restrained through fear of attacking them. The world after the deluge became renewed and purified, and God in blessing men restored to them the lost power of ruling over the animal creation and over the fish of the sea, as it is written, 'And upon all the fishes of the sea into your hand are they delivered' (Gen. IX. 2)."

Said Rabbi Hiya: "These words signify that the Holy One, as at the creation of man, said unto him, Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth' (Gen. I. 28), so at the reinstoration of mankind after the deluge endowed him again with the power of ruling over all animals and living creatures."