## Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit

###### Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 10:1
[Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 10:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Midrash%20Tanchuma%20Buber/s/Bereshit/r/10:1)

שאל ר' נתן בן אלעזר את ר' שמואל, א"ל היאך ברא הקב"ה את העולם, א"ל ר' שמואל כשביקש הקב"ה [לברוא] את העולם נתעטף באורה, שנאמר עוטה אור כשלמה (שם שם ב), אמר לו בלחישה אמרת לי, למה בלחישה, [א"ל] כשם שקיבלתי בלחישה, כך מסרתי לך בלחישה. א"ל ר' תנחומא בר אבא והלא כבר שמענו את ר' יצחק דורשה ברבים.

**Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber Recension; trans. by John T. Townsend, 1989.:**
R. Nathan ben Eleazar questioned R. Samuel.²⁶., Exod. 10:6; Gen. R. 3:4; Exod. R. 50:1; Lev. R. 31:7; M. Pss. 104:4. He said to him: How did the Holy One create the world? R. Samuel said to him: When the Holy One desired [to create] the world, he wrapped (rt.: '*TP*) himself in light, as stated (in Ps. 104:2): PUTS ON (rt.: '*TP*) LIGHT LIKE A GARMENT. He said to him: You have told me in a whisper. Why in a whisper? He said to him: Just as I received this tradition in a whisper, so I have transmitted it to you in a whisper. R. Tanhuma bar Abba said to him: Have we not already heard R. Isaac expounding it publicly?

footnotes:
²⁶ See Tanh


###### Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 10:2
[Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 10:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Midrash%20Tanchuma%20Buber/s/Bereshit/r/10:2)

מאימתי נתגדל הקב"ה, משברא שמים וארץ ובזכות מי בראו בזכות ישראל, שנאמר קודש ישראל לה' [ראשית תבואתה] (ירמיה ב ג). אמר ר' אבא בר כהנא תבואתה כתיב, ולמה אנו קורין תבואתו, שאין אנו אוכלין אלא מן התבואה ולא מן הקרן, שהוא קיימת לנו לעולם הבא.

**Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber Recension; trans. by John T. Townsend, 1989.:**
When did the Holy One become magnified? When he had created heaven and earth. And for whose sake did he create it? For the sake of Israel,²⁷ of whom it is said (in Jer. 2:3): ISRAEL IS HOLY FOR THE LORD, [THE BEGINNING OF HIS HARVEST]. R. Abba bar Kahana said: The written text spells HIS HARVEST *tevu'atoh*. Why do we read (*qorin*) *tevu'ato* (with a final *waw* instead of a final *he*)? Because we only eat from the *tevu'atoh* (i.e., the interest of the written text) and not from the principal (*qeren*), since it is preserved for us for the world to come.

footnotes:
²⁷ See above, sec. 1:3.


###### Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 10:3
[Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 10:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Midrash%20Tanchuma%20Buber/s/Bereshit/r/10:3)

ד"א בזכות התורה נבראו שמים וארץ, שנאמר ואשים דברי בפיך [ובצל ידי כסיתיך לנטוע שמים וליסוד ארץ (ישעיה נא ט"ז)].

**Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber Recension; trans. by John T. Townsend, 1989.:**
Another interpretation: By virtue of the Torah were heaven and earth created. It is so stated (in Is. 51:16): MOREOVER, I HAVE PUT MY WORDS (i.e., the Torah) IN YOUR MOUTH; [AND I HAVE COVERED YOU IN THE SHADOW OF MY HAND, SO THAT I MAY PLANT THE HEAVENS AND LAY THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH].


###### Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 10:4
[Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 10:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Midrash%20Tanchuma%20Buber/s/Bereshit/r/10:4)

ד"א בזכות ציון, שנאמר ולאמר לציון עמי אתה (שם שם).

**Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber Recension; trans. by John T. Townsend, 1989.:**
Another interpretation: Creation came about for the sake of Zion. It is so stated (ibid.): TO PLANT HEAVEN, LAY THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH , AND SAY TO ZION: YOU ARE MY PEOPLE.