Agriculture (עבודת אדמה)

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And Noah, the husbandman, began and planted a vineyard (Gen. 9:20). Noah degraded himself when he began to till the soil. R. Judah the son of R. Shalum said: At first Noah was called a righteous and perfect man, but now he is described as a man of the earth. And he planted a vineyard; that is, after he planted the vineyard he was called a husbandman. Three men toiled upon the earth and degraded themselves thereby. They were: Cain, Noah, and Uzziah. It is written of Cain: He was a tiller of the ground (ibid…

Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 13:1-2

And in connection with that statement, the Gemara notes that Reish Lakish says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “One who works [oved] his land shall have plenty of bread” (Proverbs 12:11)? If a person makes himself like a slave [ke’eved] to the land, devoting his efforts to it, he will have plenty of bread, but if not, he will not have plenty of bread.

Sanhedrin 58b:24

“Noah, man of the soil, began, and he planted a vineyard” (Genesis 9:20).
“Noah, man of the soil, began [vayaḥel]” – he became profaned and unholy [ḥulin]. Why? “And he planted a vineyard.” Should he not have planted something else, that was constructive, a fig tree branch or an olive tree branch? Instead, “he planted a vineyard.”
From where did he have it [the grapevine shoot]? Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: He brought in [to the ark] vine branches and saplings, fig branches, and olive branches…

Bereshit Rabbah 36:3

“The woman said to the serpent: From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat” (Genesis 3:2).
“The woman said to the serpent” – where was Adam at that time? Abba bar Korya said: He had engaged in the way of nature and he was sleeping. The Rabbis say: The Holy One blessed be He was taking him and circulating throughout the entire world [telling him]: ‘This is a good place to plant, this is a good place to sow.’ That is what is written: “In a land that no man has ever crossed, and where no person [adam] has ever dwelled” (Jeremiah 2:6) – Adam the first man did not dwell…

Bereshit Rabbah 19:3

What do the words in our work and in the toil of our hands (ibid.) imply? Prior to Noah’s birth, men did not reap what they sowed. They would sow wheat and reap thorns and thistles, but when Noah was born, the world reverted to normal: Wheat was sown and wheat was reaped; barley was sown and barley was reaped. Furthermore, prior to Noah’s birth, men performed all their labor by hand, as it is written: And in the toil of our hands, but after Noah was born, plows, scythes, axes, and other implements were introduced.

Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit 11:6

§ The Gemara provides a mnemonic device for a series of statements cited in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Woman; and land; helper; this; two; the blessings; merchants; lowly. The Gemara presents these statements: Rabbi Elazar said: Any man who does not have a wife is not a man, as it is stated: “Male and female He created them…and called their name Adam” (Genesis 5:2). And Rabbi Elazar said: Any man who does not have his own land is not a man, as it is stated: “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord…

Yevamot 63a:2-8

“Any man from the house of Israel who will slaughter a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp” (Leviticus 17:3).
“Any man from the house of Israel who will slaughter a bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – that is what is written: “The advantage of land is in every way” (Ecclesiastes 5:8). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda said: Even matters that you consider to be superfluous for the world are beneficial for the world; palm fiber to make rope; a thorn bush to fence a garden, “A king is subservient to a field” (Ecclesiastes 5:8)…

Vayikra Rabbah 22:1

§ Rav Yehuda said to Ravin bar Rav Naḥman: Ravin my brother, do not buy land that is near a town, as Rabbi Abbahu says that Rav Huna says that Rav says: It is prohibited for a person to stand by another’s field when its ripe grain is standing, i.e., when its produce is ready for harvest, as he might harm the produce with the evil eye. Similarly, land near a town may be harmed by the people of the town watching it. The Gemara asks: Is that so? But when Rabbi Abba encountered Rav’s students he said to them: What does Rav say with regard to the meaning of…

Bava Metzia 107a:11-15

Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says: “Go you [lekh lekha]” – twice, one from Aram Naharayim and one from Aram Naḥor. Rabbi Neḥemya says: “Lekh lekha” – twice, one from Aram Naharayim and Aram Naḥor, and one when He flew him from [the Covenant] between the Pieces and brought him to Ḥaran.
That is what is written: “Your people [amekha] will volunteer on your day of battle [ḥeilekha]” (Psalms 110:3) – I was with you [imekha] when you volunteered on My behalf to descend into the fiery furnace…

Bereshit Rabbah 39:8

The Sages taught: One who goes to measure the grain on his threshing floor recites: May it be Your will, O Lord, our God, that You send blessing upon the product of our hands. If one began to measure the grain he says: Blessed is He Who sends blessing upon this pile of grain. If one measured and afterward recited this blessing, this is a prayer made in vain, because blessing is found neither in a matter that is weighed, nor in a matter that is measured, nor in a matter that is counted…

Bava Metzia 42a:5

Explaining his custom, he would say: How much effort did Adam the first man exert before he found bread to eat: He plowed, sowed, reaped, sheaved, threshed, winnowed in the wind, separated the grain from the chaff, ground the grain into flour, sifted, kneaded, and baked and only thereafter he ate. And I, on the other hand, wake up and find all of these prepared for me. Human society employs a division of labor, and each individual benefits from the service of the entire world…

“And there was no man to till [laavod] the ground” – there was no man to induce people to worship [lehaavid] the Holy One blessed be He, like Elijah the prophet and Ḥoni HaMe’agel.
“And there was no man to till the ground” – man was created only for toil. If he merits, his toil is with Torah. If he does not merit, his toil is with the earth. Fortunate is the person whose toil is with Torah.

Bereshit Rabbah 13:7

“Now, you are cursed from the ground that opened its mouth to take your brother's blood from your hand” (Genesis 4:11).
“Now, you are cursed” – Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: In three places the verse spoke tersely. “Now you are cursed”; “if the Lord will create a creation” (Numbers 16:30); “I opened my mouth to the Lord” (Judges 11:35).
“When you cultivate the ground, it will not continue giving its strength to you; restless and itinerant you shall be on the earth” (Genesis 4:12)…

Bereshit Rabbah 22:10

“Isaac went to Avimelekh [king of the Philistines], to Gerar” – to Gardiki. Rabbi Dostai in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: Why did they [not] decree impurity on the abode in Gardiki? It is because it is a poor abode. Until where? It is until the ravine of Egypt.
“The Lord appeared to him, and said: Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land that I will tell you” (Genesis 26:2).
“The Lord appeared to him, and said: Do not go down to Egypt; dwell [shekhon] in the land” – establish permanent residence [shekhuna] in the Land of Israel…

Bereshit Rabbah 64:3

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