רב אסי רמי כתיב (בראשית א, יב) ותוצא הארץ דשא בתלת בשבתא וכתיב (בראשית ב, ה) וכל שיח השדה טרם יהיה בארץ במעלי שבתא מלמד שיצאו דשאים ועמדו על פתח קרקע עד שבא אדם הראשון ובקש עליהם רחמים וירדו גשמים וצמחו ללמדך שהקב"ה מתאוה לתפלתן של צדיקים רב נחמן בר פפא הויא ליה ההיא גינתא שדי ביה ביזרני ולא צמח בעא רחמי אתא מיטרא וצמח
Rav Assi pointed out a contradiction between two verses [in the Torah]. One verse, referring to the third day [of Creation], says: "The earth brought forth vegetation . . ." (Genesis 1:12). whereas the other verse, when speaking of the sixth day, says, ". . . no shrub of the field was yet on the earth . . . ." (Genesis 2:5). However, the verses, seemingly contradictory, teach us that plants commenced to grow [on the third day] but stopped just as they were about to break through the soil, until Adam came [who was created on the sixth day] and implored for mercy [i.e., rain] upon them; and when rain fell, they sprouted forth.
by Zelda
translated from the Hebrew by Marcia Falk
Sun-startled pines
wafted a wild-fragrance --
the same stunning strength
from the inmost flowering
made the world my home again
but did not reveal the core,
the divine intention
in budding and wilting plants.
And the point of my life
and the point of my death --
I will not know in this world.