Sanhedrin

R. Johanan  b. Hanina said: The day consisted of twelve hours. In the first hour, his [Adam's] dust was gathered; in the second, it was kneaded into a shapeless mass. In the third, his limbs were shaped;  in the fourth, a soul was infused into him; in the fifth, he arose and stood on his feet; in the sixth, he gave [the animals] their names; in the seventh, Eve became his mate; in the eighth, they ascended to bed as two and descended as four;  in the ninth, he was commanded not to eat of the tree, in the tenth, he sinned; in the eleventh, he was tried, and in the twelfth he was expelled [from Eden] and departed, for it is written, Man abideth  not in honour. Rami b. Hama said: A wild beast has no dominion over man unless he appears to it as a brute,  for it is written. Men are overruled  when they appear as beasts. (Mnemonic: When;  The End; Aramaic.) Rab Judah said in Rab's name: When the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to create man, He [first] created a company of ministering angels and said to them: Is it your desire that we make a man in our image? They answered: Sovereign of the Universe, what will be his deeds? Such and such will be his deeds, He replied. Thereupon they exclaimed: Sovereign of the Universe, What is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou thinkest of him?  Thereupon He stretched out His little finger among them and consumed them with fire. The same thing happened with a second company. The third company said to Him: Sovereign of the Universe, what did it avail the former [angels] that they spoke to Thee [as they did]? the whole world is Thine, and whatsoever that Thou wishest to do therein, do it. When He came to the men of the Age of the flood and of the division [of tongues] whose deeds were corrupt, they said to Him: Lord of the Universe, did not the first [company of angels] speak aright? Even to old age I am the same, and even to hoar hairs will I carry,  He retorted. Rab Judah said in Rab's name: The first man reached from one end of the world to the other, as it is written, Since the day that God created man upon the eath, even from the one end of Heaven unto the other.  But when he sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, laid His hand upon him and diminished him, as it is written, Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before, and laid Thy hands upon me.  R. Eleazar said: The first man reached from earth to heaven, as it is written, Since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from one end of the Heaven [to the other].  But when he sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, laid His hand upon him and diminished him, for it is written, Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before etc.  But these verses contradict each other! — Both measurements are identical. Rab Judah also said in Rab's name: The first man spoke Aramaic,  for it is written, How weighty are thy thoughts unto me, God.  And that is what Resh Lakish meant when he said: What is the meaning of the verse, 'This is the book of the generations of Adam?  It is to intimate that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him [Adam] every generation and its thinkers,  every generation and its sages. When he came to the generation of Rabbi Akiba, he [Adam] rejoiced at his learning but was grieved at his death,  and said: How weighty  are Thy friends  to me, O God. Rab Judah also said in Rab's name: Adam was a Min,  for it is written, And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou?  i.e., whither has thine heart turned? R. Isaac said: He practised episplasm:  For here it is written, But like man, [Adam] they have transgressed the covenant;  whilst elsewhere it is said, He hath broken my covenant,  R. Nahman said: He denied God.  Here it is written, They have transgressed the covenant;  whilst elsewhere it is stated, [He hath broken my covenant,  and again,] Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God. We learnt elsewhere:  R. Eliezer said: Be diligent to learn the Torah and know how to answer an Epikoros.  R. Johanan commented: They taught this only with respect to a Gentile Epikoros; with a Jewish Epikoros, it would only make his heresy more pronounced. R. Johanan sad: In all the passages which the Minim have taken [as grounds] for their heresy,  their refutation is found near at hand. Thus: Let us make man in our image,  — And God created [sing.] man in His own image;  Come, let us go down and there confound their language,  — And the Lord came down [sing.] to see the city and the tower;  Because there were revealed [plur.] to him God,  — Unto God who answereth [sing.] me in the day of my distress;  For what great nation is there that hath God so nigh [plur.] unto it, as the Lord our God is [unto us] whensoever we call upon Him [sing.];  And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, [like] Israel, whom God went [plur.] to redeem for a people unto himself [sing.],  Till thrones were placed and one that was ancient did sit. Why were these  necessary? To teach R. Johanan's dictum; viz.: The Holy One, blessed be He, does nothing without consulting His Heavenly Court,  for it is written, The matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the Holy Ones.  Now, that is satisfactory for all [the other verses], but how explain Till thrones were placed? — One [throne] was for Himself and one for David.  Even as it has been taught: One was for Himself and one for David: this is R. Akiba's view. R. Jose protested to him: Akiba, how long will thou profane the Shechinah?  Rather, one [throne] for justice, and the other for mercy. Did he accept [this answer] from him or not? Come and hear! For it has been taught: One is for justice and the other for charity; this is R. Akiba's view. Said R. Eleazar b. Azariah to him: Akiba, what hast thou to do with Aggada? Confine thyself to [the study of] Nega'im and Ohaloth.  But one was a throne, the other a footstool: a throne for a seat and a footstool in support of His feet. R. Nahman said: He who is as skilled in refuting the Minim as is R. Idith,  let him do so; but not otherwise. Once a Min said to R. Idith: It is written, And unto Moses He said, Come up to the Lord.  But surely it should have stated, Come up unto me! — It was Metatron  [who said that], he replied, whose name is similar to that of his Master,  for it is written, For my name is in him.  But if so, [he retorted,] we should worship him! The same passage, however, — replied R. Idith says: Be not rebellious  against him, i.e., exchange Me not for him. But if so,  why is it stated: He will not pardon your transgression?  He answered: By our troth  we would not accept him even as a messenger,  for it is written, And he said unto him, If Thy [personal] presence go not etc. A Min once said to R. Ishmael b. Jose: It is written, Then the Lord caused to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord:  but from him should have been written! A certain fuller  said, Leave him to me, I will answer him. [He then proceeded,' It is written, And Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Zillah, Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech;  but he should have said, my wives! But such is the Scriptural idiom — so here too, it is the Scriptural idiom. Whence do you know that? asked he [R. Ishmael]. — I heard it in a public discourse  of R. Meir, [he answered]. Even as R. Johanan said: When R. Meir used to deliver his public discourses, a third was Halacha, a third Haggadah, and a third consisted of parables. R Johanan also said: R. Meir had three hundred parables of foxes, and we have only three left,