Quotation for Berakhot 121:9
בשלמא אחור למעשה בראשית דלא אברי עד מעלי שבתא אלא וקדם לפורענות פורענות דמאי אילימא פורענות דנחש והתניא רבי אומר בגדולה מתחילין מן הגדול ובקללה מתחילין מן הקטן
It is right that "behind" may refer to the work of creation, for Adam was not created until the eve of the Sabbath ; but that "before" refers to retribution — retribution for what? Are we to suppose the punishment of the serpent-incident? Lo, there is a teaching : Rabbi says : With [the award of] greatness we begin with the most important ; but with a curse, we begin with the least important.
Sifra
39) (Vayikra 10:6): "And Moses said to Aaron and to Elazar and to Ithamar, his sons": Rebbi says: In (affirming) greatness (as in this instance), we begin from the greater, and in (affirming) derogation, we begin from the lesser. Whence is this (the latter) derived? From (Bereshith 3:14): "And G d said to the serpent: Because you have done this … (Bereshith 3:15) and hatred shall I place between you and between the woman … (Bereshith 3:16) to the woman He said .. (Bereshith 3:17) and to the man He said…" — first the serpent was cursed, then Eve, then Adam.
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