Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
(כח) וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֹתָם֮ אֱלֹהִים֒ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לָהֶ֜ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֛וּ וּמִלְא֥וּ אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ וּרְד֞וּ בִּדְגַ֤ת הַיָּם֙ וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּבְכׇל־חַיָּ֖ה הָֽרֹמֶ֥שֶׂת עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase, fill the earth and rule over it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”
This is the first set of instructions that God gives to human beings in the Torah. But it isn’t clear what exactly the Hebrew word וְכִבְשֻׁהָ (ve-khivshuha, rule over it) means here. What does it mean that Adam and Havah fill the earth and rule over it?
We are going to look at two different ways of understanding this phrase. As you read the two commentaries, try to see if you can notice the differences between how they each understand its meaning.
"וְכִבְשׁוּהָ" נָתַן לָהֶם כֹּחַ וּמֶמְשָׁלָה בָּאָרֶץ לַעֲשׂוֹת כִּרְצוֹנָם בַּבְּהֵמוֹת וּבַשְּׁרָצִים וְכָל זוֹחֲלֵי עָפָר וְלִבְנוֹת וְלַעֲקֹר נָטוּעַ וּמֵהֲרָרֶיהָ לַחֲצֹב נְחֹשֶׁת וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּזֶה וְזֶה יִכְלֹל מָה שֶׁאָמַר "וּבְכָל הָאָרֶץ."
“And rule over”—God gave them power and authority over the earth to do as they wish with the cattle, the reptiles, and all that crawl in the dust, and to build, and to uproot that which is planted, and to dig out copper from its hills, and other similar things. This is included in what [God] said “and over all the earth.”
"וְכִבְשׁוּהָ" שֶׁתָּגֵינוּ בְּשִׂכְלְכֶם וְתִמְנְעוּ אֶת הַחַיּוֹת שֶׁלֹּא יִכָּנְסוּ בִּגְבוּלְכֶם וְאַתֶּם תִּמְשְׁלוּ בָּם:
“And rule over”—That you will be able to protect yourself [from wild animals] with your intellect, so that they cannot enter the boundaries in which you live. In this way, you will have authority over them.
- How do Ramban and Sforno each understand what God is telling Adam and Havah in this פָּסוּק (pasuk, verse)? Are they reading this pasuk differently?
- Which reading do you think fits better into the words of the pasuk?
- How do these commentators view our relationship to the world around us? When we use the resources of the earth—like trees for wood, or animals for food—in what way are we allowed to do that? Why? What other responsibilities should we keep in mind when we use the earth’s resources?
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