Every Monday there will be a midrashic fable posted from Louis Ginzberg’s classic collection Legends of the Jews. This week the midrash concerns the characteristics of Adam when he was created.
There are some fun stories in this midrash: Adam’s original size was GIGANTIC, later parts of Israel’s history are explained by men who possessed some of Adam’s characteristics, the life-span of David is credited to Adam, and Adam new God’s name because he was gifted with the Holy Spirit.
Like all creatures formed on the six days of creation, Adam came from the hands of the Creator fully and completely developed. He was not like a child, but like a man of twenty years of age. The dimensions of his body were gigantic, reading from heaven to earth, or, what amounts to the same, east to west. Among later generations of men, there were but few who in a measure resembled Adam in his extraordinary size and physical perfections. Samson possessed his strength, Saul his neck, Absalom his hair, Asahel his fleetness of foot, Read the rest of this entry »
