(8) They heard the sound of God ה' moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the Human and his wife hid from God ה' among the trees of the garden.
(א) וישמעו. יֵשׁ מִדְרְשֵׁי אַגָּדָה רַבִּים וּכְבָר סִדְּרוּם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ עַל מְכוֹנָם בִּבְ"רַ וּבִשְׁאָר מִדְרָשׁוֹת; וַאֲנִי לֹא בָאתִי אֶלָּא לִפְשׁוּטוֹ שֶׁל מִקְרָא וּלְאַגָּדָה הַמְיַשֶּׁבֶת דִּבְרֵי הַמִּקְרָא דָבָר דָּבוּר עַל אֳפַנָּיו:
(1) וישמעו AND THEY HEARD — There are many Midrashic explanations and our Teachers have already collected them in their appropriate places in Genesis Rabbah and in other Midrashim. I have come for no other purpose than [to explain] the plain sense of Scripture and for the Aggadah that settles a matter of Scripture and its sense as ‘a word spoken according to its character’ (Proverbs 25:11).
וְהָ֣אָדָ֔ם יָדַ֖ע אֶת־חַוָּ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וַתַּ֙הַר֙ וַתֵּ֣לֶד אֶת־קַ֔יִן וַתֹּ֕אמֶר קָנִ֥יתִי אִ֖ישׁ אֶת־ה'׃
King James translation:
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
(1) והאדם ידע - already before the events related above took place, before he sinned and was driven out of the Garden of Eden. So, also, the conception and birth of Cain took place before this. Had it been written, וידע אדם it would imply that after he was driven out children were born to him (Genesis Rabbah 22:2).
Adam had known his wife Eve, she became pregnant, and she bore Cain, saying, “I have gained a person with the help of YHVH.”
The Instructions—one written and one oral. This verse therefore tells us that both of them were given by God to Moses on Sinai.
בגולה - אין אנו יכולים להעמיד עצמנו מלישא וליתן עמהם שביניהם אנו יושבין ופרנסתנו מהן.
“In the diaspora, we cannot refrain from commercial dealings with them [non-Jews], for we reside among them and derive our livelihood from them.”
And with the rich, in his death —
Though he had done no injustice
And had spoken no falsehood.
For I am ready for disaster;
my pain is always before me.
And of peace without limit
Upon David’s throne and kingdom,
That it may be firmly established
In justice and in equity
Now and evermore.
The zeal of GOD of Hosts
Shall bring this to pass.
ויהי אחר הדברים האלה - כל מקום שנאמר: אחר הדברים האלה מחובר אל הפרשה שלמעלה. אחר הדברים האלה שהרג אברם המלכים אמר לו הקב"ה: אל תירא אברם מן האומות. ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, שנולד יצחק ויוגד לאברהם לאמר כו' ובתואל ילד את רבקה. וכן אחר הדברים האלה שהגיד מרדכי על בגתן ותרש גדל המלך אחשורוש את המן שרצה להרוג את מרדכי והועיל לו מה שהציל את המלך ונתלה המן.
אף כאן אחר הדברים שכרת אברהם ברית לאבימלך לו ולנינו ולנכדו של אברהם ונתן לו שבע כבשות הצאן וחרה אפו של הקב"ה על זאת.
ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, whenever we find the construction אחר הדברים האלה what follows is conceptually immediately following what has been reported immediately before. Examples are found in Genesis 15:1 after Avraham had killed the four kings who had taken Lot captive. At that time God had told him not to be afraid of any repercussions. We also find such a construction in verse 20 of our chapter where the Avraham was informed of the birth of Rivkah after we heard that Yitzchok had been born. We find a similar construction also in Esther 3:1 where Mordechai told Esther and she told the king about the assassination plot by Bigtan and Teresh. The event occurred around the time when Haman was promoted and wanted to kill Mordechai and the Jewish people. The fact that he had saved the king’s life became the immediate cause of Mordechai’s rise in the king’s esteem.
Here too, the words mean that what follows occurred after Avraham and Avimelech had concluded their covenant according to which until the fourth generation Avraham’s descendants would not register a claim against lands owned by the Philistines at this time. God became very angry at this high-handed action by Avraham, seeing that he had given away lands which were part of what God had promised to Avraham and his descendants at the “covenant of the pieces” in chapter 15.
“Fear not, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”
והאלקים נסה את אברהם – קינתרו וציערו כדכתיב: הנסה דבר אליך תלאה (איוב ד׳:ב׳), על נסותם את י״י (שמות י״ז:ז׳), מסה ומריבה, בחנני י״י ונסני (תהלים כ״ו:ב׳). כלומר: נתגאיתה בבן שנתתיךו לכרות ברית ביניכם ובין בניהם, ועתה לך והעלהו לעולה, ויראה מה הועילה כריתות ברית שלך.
והאלקים נסה את אברהם i.e. He provoked him and caused him pain. [Nissah means to provoke,] as it is written (Job 4.2), "Since He provoked you with suffering (hanissah) you are unable;" [and it is written,] (Ex. 17.7) "because they provoked (nassotam) the LORD [ – hence the name] Massah and Meribah [Provocation and Quarrelsomeness];" [and it is written,] (Ps. 26.2) "Test me, O LORD, and provoke me (venasseni)." That is to say, God said to Abraham, "You took pride in the son that I granted you, making a pact between yourselves and their children, now go and offer him as a burnt offering and let it be seen what good your making a pact accomplished!"
“Before the eyes of all Israel”—that his heart inspired him to break the tablets before their eyes, as it says, “And I smashed them before your eyes” (Deut. 9:17). And God’s mind was in accord with Moses’ mind, as it says, “the tablets that you smashed” (Deut. 10:2 and Exodus 34:1)— read not asher shibarta (“that you smashed”) but yishar kochacha she-shibarta (“more power to you for smashing the tablets")! [Found in Yevamot 62a and Shabbat 87a]
and for all the great might and awesome power that Moses displayed before the eyes of all Israel.
The Shulchan Arukh (“Set Table”) is the most widely accepted code of Jewish law ever written. Compiled in the 16th century by Rabbi Joseph Karo, it is a condensed and simplified version of the Beit Yosef, a commentary that Karo wrote on the Tur. Karo’s rulings are in accordance with Sephardic traditions; the text of the Shulchan Arukh also includes the Mapah ("the Tablecloth"), the in-line glosses of Rabbi Moshe Isserles, which cite Ashkenazic traditions. (Intro to Shulkhan Arukh from Sefaria, with edits)
רַבִּי חֲנִינָא מִיעֲטֵף וְקָאֵי אַפַּנְיָא דְמַעֲלֵי שַׁבְּתָא, אָמַר: ״בּוֹאוּ וְנֵצֵא לִקְרַאת שַׁבָּת הַמַּלְכָּה״. רַבִּי יַנַּאי לָבֵישׁ מָאנֵי מְעַלּוּ (שַׁבָּת) [וּמִיכַּסֵּי], וְאָמַר: ״בּוֹאִי כַלָּה, בּוֹאִי כַלָּה״.
The Gemara now returns to the issue of delight in and deference to Shabbat. Rabbi Ḥanina would wrap himself in his garment and stand at nightfall on Shabbat eve, and say: Come and we will go out to greet Shabbat the queen. Rabbi Yannai put on his garment on Shabbat eve and said: Enter, O bride.
(3) One should wear nice clothes and celebrate the arrival of Shabbat like the greeting of the king or the greeting of bride and groom. Rebbe Chanina would shroud himself in his garment and stand waiting on the evening approaching Shabbat and say "Come and go out to greet the Shabbat queen" and Rebbe Yannai would say "Come bride, Come bride."
Rema: and one should dress himself in Shabbat garments immediately after he bathes himself and this is an honor for Shabbat, and because of this, one should only bathe close to the evening [approaching Shabbat] so that he may dress himself immediately. (The new Hagahos Mordechai)
Women are obligated in Kiddush, even though it is a positive commandment that time causes (meaning, a positive commandment dependent on time), because Remember is compared to Guard. And these women, since they are included in watching, they are include in remembering. And they can discharge men (from their obligation) since they are obligated biblically, like them.
After he blesses over the cup, one washes his hands and says 'Al Netilat Yadayim'. If he washed his hands prior to Kiddush, he has revealed that bread is beloved to him, and he does not make kiddush over the wine, rather over the bread. Rema: There are those who say that initially, one should wash his hands before kiddush and then make kiddush over wine (the Rosh; Mordechai; Rashba; Hagahos Maimoni; Tur) and such is the simple custom in our lands and it is not to be changed except on Pesach night, as explained in Siman 473
One should make Kiddush on a full cup of wine that is not blemished, and to require all that us required for a cup for Birkat Hamazon, and to say 'Vayechulu' while standing and afterwards one says 'boreh pri hagafen' and afterwards one says kiddush. Rema: One may stand during the time of Kiddush but it is better to sit (Kol Bo). Our custom is to sit even while saying 'Vayechulu', except when we begin we stand a bit to honor Hashem, because we begin 'Yom Hashishi, Vayechulu Hashamayim' and it hints to Hashem in the first letters of this phrase. When one begins he should look at the candles (Mahar"il; Sechel Tov) during kiddush with the cup of blessing. And so it seems to me, see above Siman 183 Seif 4.