When at last the assent of the angels to the creation of man was given,
God said to Gabriel: "Go and fetch Me dust from the four corners of the
earth, and I will create man therewith." Gabriel went forth to do the
bidding of the Lord, but the earth drove him away, and refused to let
him gather up dust from it. Gabriel remonstrated: "Why, O Earth, dost
thou not hearken unto the voice of the Lord, who founded thee upon the
waters without props or pillars?" The earth replied, and said: "I am
destined to become a curse, and to be cursed through man, and if God
Himself does not take the dust from me, no one else shall ever do it."
When God heard this, He stretched out His hand, took of the dust of the
ground, and created the first man therewith.[14] Of set purpose the
dust was taken from all four corners of the earth, so that if a man
from the east should happen to die in the west, or a man from the west
in the east, the earth should not dare refuse to receive the dead, and
tell him to go whence he was taken. Wherever a man chances to die, and
wheresoever he is buried, there will he return to the earth from which
he sprang. Also, the dust was of various colors—red, black, white, and
green—red for the blood, black for the bowels, white for the bones and
veins, and green for the pale skin.
At this early moment the Torah interfered. She addressed herself to
God: "O Lord of the world! The world is Thine, Thou canst do with it as
seemeth good in Thine eyes. But the man Thou art now creating will be
few of days and full of trouble and sin. If it be not Thy purpose to
have forbearance and patience with him, it were better not to call him
into being." God replied, "Is it for naught I am called long-suffering
and merciful?"[15]
The grace and lovingkindness of God revealed themselves particularly in
His taking one spoonful of dust from the spot where in time to come the
altar would stand, saying, "I shall take man from the place of
atonement, that he may endure."[19]