9/6/2017. Rabbi Michael Lotker -

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Which ones do tell and don t tell the truth?

1, the story is told as if from space The Deity is referred to as God Elohim h God

And God said Many things are called good, a few very good, but nothing s perfect.

likeness And God created Adam in His image, in the image of God He created him;

1 Rabbi Michael Lotker - Who are the characters in the Garden of Eden Story? Which ones do tell and don t tell the truth? Why were Adam and Eve expelled from the Garden? In Gen. 1, the story is told as if from space The Deity is referred to as God Elohim h God speaks the universe into existence. And God said Many things are called good, a few very good, but nothing s perfect. Gen. 1:26-27 And God said, Let us make man ( Adam humanity) in our image, after our likeness And God created Adam in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them. Evolution: God s tool for creation. Genesis 1:26: God said Let us make humanity in our image. נ ע ש ה א ד ם בּ צ ל מ נוּ Perhaps, God was talking to the animals! We have divine and animal natures. I believe this is a biblical proof text for evolution! 1

In Gen. 2:4 we suddenly find ourselves in the Garden of Eden No people, no plants Deity called Lord God YHVH Elohim h h Then, in verse 2:7 YHVH God formed Adam from the dust of the earth (adamah).

2:16-17 And YHVH God commanded the Adam, saying Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of

It s used since there is no punctuation in the text to indicated emphasis. g u c y, g v. g :,U T, k h h k, The name of the tree is g u cuy,gsv.

2 In Gen. 2:4 we suddenly find ourselves in the Garden of Eden No people, no plants Deity called Lord God YHVH Elohim h h Then, in verse 2:7 YHVH God formed Adam from the dust of the earth (adamah). He blew into his nostrils the breath of life and the Adam became a living being. This is the source of the Jewish tradition that human life begins with the first breath. Gen. 2:16-17 And YHVH God commanded the Adam, saying Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die. Literally on the day you eat of it, you will surely die or you must die, yes die or dying you will die. The Hebrew is in a unique form called the infinitive absolute. It s used since there is no punctuation in the text to indicated emphasis. g u c y, g v. g :,U T, k h h k, The name of the tree is g u cuy,gsv.g Etz ha-da-at tov v rah The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The phrase good and evil may be a merism like soup to nuts. [see Deut. 1:39 & 2 nd Samuel 19:36] The nature of the fruit of the tree is not stated. The rabbis say it was a fig tree since Adam and Chavah cover themselves with fig leaves. Was it an apple? This idea enters in the Vulgate (Latin translation, 4 th century CE) through a assonance between the Latin words for wrongdoing, malum, and apple, malus. 2

Gen. 2:18. And YHVH God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help (or fitting helper or help mate ) for him. 19.

creature, that was its name. 20. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the bird of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam no fitting helper was found. 21.

And the rib, which YHVH God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her to the man. 23.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall be one flesh. 25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

2:18) So God says the man needs an ezer k negdo [ g] This is often translated as helpmate, helpmeet, fitting helper, etc. This sounds vaguely demeaning.

Thus, the woman will help by being a balance a supportive opposite. The phrase could even mean a power equal to him.

3 Gen. 2:18. And YHVH God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help (or fitting helper or help mate ) for him. 19. And out of the ground YHVH God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name. 20. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the bird of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam no fitting helper was found. 21. And YHVH God made Adam fall into a deep sleep, and he slept; and He took one from his ribs (Hebrew: tzela g k ), and closed up the flesh beneath it. 22. And the rib, which YHVH God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her to the man. 23. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall be one flesh. 25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. The first thing God says is not good is loneliness ( It is not good for a person to be alone Gen. 2:18) So God says the man needs an ezer k negdo [ g] This is often translated as helpmate, helpmeet, fitting helper, etc. This sounds vaguely demeaning. But God is called an Ezer and k neged can have the meaning of being in balance and opposition to one (like the scales of justice). Thus, the woman will help by being a balance a supportive opposite. The phrase could even mean a power equal to him. In this spirit, I titled my rabbinic thesis Ezer K negdo Toward a Theology of Jewish-Christian Partnership Gen. 2:25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. What other beings are naked but not ashamed? 21. And YHVH God made Adam fall into a deep sleep, and he slept; and He took one from his ribs (Hebrew: tzela g k ), and closed up the flesh. So, what s a Tzela? It could be a rib as in the familiar translation. It could also mean side (as in Ex. 26:26) so the idea arises that the first Adam was both male and female possibly like a Siamese Twin and the surgery was to separate the two sides. & Could this be a key message in our story? 3

From Ziony Zevit s book (Yale University Press, 2013) The Israelites knew human and animal skeletal structure.

the human male doesn t have? Most male mammals have a penis bone, called the baculum or os penis. This bone is absent in humans and spider monkeys. The phrase closed up the flesh at that spot (lit.

Now the serpent was more subtle (Hebrew; arum U r, a pun on the Hebrew word for naked, arumim h NUr ) than any beast of the field which YHVH God had made.

4 From Ziony Zevit s book (Yale University Press, 2013) The Israelites knew human and animal skeletal structure. Human from ossuaries Animal from eating They knew that human males and females had the same number of ribs (and other bones) So, is there a bone which male animals have that females don t and which the human male doesn t have? Most male mammals have a penis bone, called the baculum or os penis. This bone is absent in humans and spider monkeys. The phrase closed up the flesh at that spot (lit. beneath it (Gen. 2:21 may (ו יּ ס גּ ר בּ ש ר תּ ח תּ נּ ה - refer to the perineal raphe or seam/scar under the male scrotum. Gen. 3:1. Now the serpent was more subtle (Hebrew; arum U r, a pun on the Hebrew word for naked, arumim h NUr ) than any beast of the field which YHVH God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2. And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. 4. And the serpent said to the woman, surely you shall not die; 5. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods [Hebrew: kay-elohim can mean like God ], knowing good and evil. 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her; and he ate. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves loincloths. Some questions about this conversation: Why was the serpent s question especially shrewd? Who told the woman not to touch the fruit? Is the serpent speaking the truth? And, by the way, where was the man during this conversation? 4

God s questions in Genesis 3 3:9 God called out to the man and said to him Where are you? 3:11 Who told you that you were naked? 3:11 Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?

5 God s questions in Genesis 3 3:9 God called out to the man and said to him Where are you? 3:11 Who told you that you were naked? 3:11 Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat? Man s response not my fault 3:12 The woman You put at my side she gave me of the tree and I ate. Woman s response not my fault 3:13 The serpent duped me, and I ate. Gen. 3:16. To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply the pain of your child bearing; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you. 17. And to Adam He said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it; cursed is the ground for your sake; by toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life; 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat the herb of the field; 19. In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust shall you return. Was it a sin? Was it a set-up? What is the meaning of the consequences? Did the serpent speak truth? Why were Adam and Eve expelled from the garden? What s the role of the cherubs (and what s a cherub anyway)? The Hebrew Bible never refers to the disobedience in the Garden as a sin. The prophets, who rant and rail against sin and who catalogue sins against God, never refer to this as a sin. In fact, every reference to Eden in the Hebrew Bible is a positive one. Original Sin, as a concept, is not part of Judaism. In fact, a key prayer in our daily morning liturgy proclaims: The soul that You, my God, have given me is pure. Elohai - neshama sheh-natata be tehora he. א ה י נ שׁ מ ה שׁ נּ ת תּ בּ י ט הוֹר ה ה יא. Some believe this prayer was included as a specific refutation of Original Sin. The first time the word sin is used in the Bible in in connection Cain and Abel (Gen. 4:7). 5

6 Did God want them to eat of the fruit of this tree? If not, why place it at the center, make it so enticing, and create the serpent to teach them about it? Think about a contemporary parallel: Mom & Dad decide to leave the kids on their own as they go out for dinner, saying: We trust you. Reheat the pizza in the microwave; make some popcorn; watch your favorite shows; you have our cell phone numbers and Oh yeah, don t look in mom s upper left hand dresser drawer. How long before they look? Would you really want to have children who, in this example, would not look? The key theological question is Can you have human freewill in theory without actually demonstrating it? If it wasn t a sin, there shouldn t be punishments. Perhaps this story is a parable about humanity leaving infancy and/or the animal world and becoming human. Perhaps the consequences are really God lovingly explaining to us what it means to be an adult human. This analysis follows Harold Kushner s wonderful book. To the woman, God says: I will make most severe your pangs (cmgc) in childbearing There are several other words in the Bible that specifically refer to pain in childbirth such as chevel (kcj Isa. 13:8), tzayir ( hm 1 Sam. 4:19), and chayal (khj Isa. 26:17). They are not used here. To the man, God says: By toil (iucmgc) you shall eat So what is the meaning of etzev? It can mean pain or toil But it can also mean grieve In Gen. 6:6 (just before the Flood), we read: The Lord regretted that He had made man on earth and His heart was saddened (cmg,hu) Unlike animals, we will know the pain in worrying about our children and the anguish, like God s, in seeing our creation turn out in ways other than those of our precise plan. My pet cats don t worry about the fate of their kittens as these kittens reach adulthood. Will they be healthy, happy, meet proper mates and bring me delightful grandkittens? We will know the pain and worry of parenting throughout our lives. And, by the way, the biological reason humans give birth in physical pain is because of the large size of the baby s head due to our large brains capable of knowledge of good and evil. 6

7 Gen. 6:6 YHVH regretted that He had made man on earth and His heart was saddened ו יּ ת ע צּ ב vahyeetatzev How can God regret anything? What does it mean that God s heart was saddened? Perhaps God, like us, is saddened in seeing how His creation turned out. What does this teach us about God s omniscience and our free will? Talmud Everything is in the hand of heaven except awe/fear of heaven. [BT Meg. 25a; Ber. 33b] All is foreseen, yet free will is given. [Mishna Avot 3:15] Gen. 3:4 And the serpent said to the woman, surely you shall not die; 5. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods (or like God - ה ים,(כּ א knowing good and evil. Gen. 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened Gen. 3:22 And YHVH God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil And, of course, they do not die on that day, but they, unlike animals and babies, become aware of their mortality and of how precious life is. So, everything the serpent says is true! Gen 3:22. And YHVH God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, what if he puts forth his hand, and takes also from the tree of life, and eats, and lives forever; 23. And YHVH God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from where he was taken. 24. So He drove out the man; and he placed Cherubs (Keruvim) at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life. Gen 3:24. So He drove out the man; and he placed Cherubs (Keruvim) at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life. The next time we meet the Keruvim is Ex. 25 describing the Holy Ark which protects the Tablets/Torah 17. And you shall make a cover of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. 18. And you shall make two keruvim of gold, of hammered workmanship shall you make them, in the two ends of the cover. 19. And make one keruv on one end, and the other keruv on the other end; of the cover shall you make the keruvim on its two ends. 20. And the keruvim shall stretch out their wings on high, covering the cover with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the cover shall the faces of the keruvim be. 21. And you shall put the cover upon the ark; and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 22. And there I will meet with you, and I will talk with you from above the cover, from between the two keruvim which are upon the ark of the Testimony, of all things which I will give you in commandment to the people of Israel. So, therefore, the Torah is the Tree of Life! 7

From Genesis, they can hold a flaming sword. From Exodus, they have wings and faces.

From a pun in Aramaic Keruvim is the plural of keruv meaning childlike in Aramaic.

In this Jewish reading (note that other Jewish readings are possible as well): There is no reference to sin.

8 From Genesis, they can hold a flaming sword. From Exodus, they have wings and faces. Other, more fanciful descriptions in Ezekiel 1 & 10 So why do we think of them as little babies? From a pun in Aramaic Keruvim is the plural of keruv meaning childlike in Aramaic. The most important bottom line is that the Hebrew Bible is open to many readings and more than one can be true. In this Jewish reading (note that other Jewish readings are possible as well): There is no reference to sin. The story is an allegory of our becoming human and becoming adult and about the importance of human free will. What if they hadn t eaten no work, no pain, children don t need parents and parents don t need children, no tears and no laughter, no longing for something we don t have and no joy in getting it, no deep knowledge of good, evil or anything else. Thus, the woman is the heroine of the story! And we, created in God s image, have serious problems to agonize over and work on. And this was just what God intended! 8

The Beginning of Sin Rom. 5:12

The Beginning of Sin Rom. 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned Patriarchy Judaism Christianity Gen.