My Father is Better! (Sanhedrin 37 “vs” Pirkei d’Rebbi Eliezer 21)

Question

Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. Sanhedrin 37a says that Adam was created alone so that one would not be able to tell his fellow that his father was greater than his father. But how can this be the reason, when Kayin’s father was Satan in the guise of the nachash, not Adam HaRishon, as brought in Pirkei d’ R’ Eliezer 21? So we see that some people descended from the serpent, and not everyone descended from Adam HaRishon.

Is the answer that Hashem knew that all of the b’nei Kayin would die in the flood, so He knew beforehand that Adam would be the father of everyone? But that doesn’t explain the fact that before the flood, the b’nei Adam could have told the b’nei Kayin that their father was better than their father.

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    First, the Talmud is usually the defining factor in understanding Torah SheBa’al Peh. That means that the basic understanding of Torah SheBa’al Peh is according to the Talmud and not according to the Midrashim. In this case it is even clearer, as the section in Pirkei D’Rebbi Eliezer that mentions this is entirely made up of metaphorical teachings that explain, among other things, the concepts of Gan Eden, the Tree of Knowledge and Chava.

    In general, Rav Sa’adia Gaon writes that Midrashim and Agadata that cannot be understood literally are lessons that require toil and much research to understand, as our Sages are conveying their messages in a concealed fashion.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team