Posted on

Beraishis 3A The Argument of the Snake – The Rationale for Man to SIn

The model for all of Man’s struggle with sin lies in the argument the snake presented:

“The fruit of the tree could not possibly be forbidden to you by God even if He told you so. The tree is beautiful and its fruit looks delicious. Your inner self is telling you to have it. Surely that is the voice of God within you telling you that you should have it.”

This argument was presented by the wisest of the animals. For an animal, this argument is absolutely true. Even the wisest of animals has no free will. When an animal acts upon its sensual instincts it is indeed carrying out the will of God.

But Man was designed to have two opposing sides in order to have free will. Often, Man must deny his sensual urges for a higher duty. The voice of God speaks to Man but not in him.

Animal wisdom, and in modern times philosophers, exaggerate what is prohibited and tell us that too much is being asked of us. They say we shouldn’t deny ourselves what is so instinctual.

In truth, God does not deny Man sensual pleasure in this world. Most pleasures of this world are permitted, but those pleasures are to be enjoyed out of a sense of duty, not instinct.

Beraishis 3:1, Pages 72-74

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3B The Danger of Making Rabbinic Fences Too Tall

Adam added a fence around the original prohibition against eating the fruit and told Eve they must not even touch it.

When Eve told this to the snake, she did not mention anything about Adam adding this fence. (Perhaps Adam never told her it was a fence? GS) She said they cannot eat from it or touch it lest they die. The Midrash explains that the snake caught her on this distortion, pushed her into the tree and told her that just as she didn’t die from touching the tree, so too she won’t die from eating its fruit.

This is the danger of exaggerating a rabbinical fence. Fences are important, but they must always be recognized as fences.

That same Midrash puts it this way: When a person builds a wall higher than it should be it will fall down on the produce it was designed to protect.

Beraishis 3:2-3, Pages 74-75

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3C Shame after the Sin

Immediately after they ate from the forbidden fruit they became aware that they were naked.

They sensed that their bodies should not remain visible.

This has its root in the basic human emotion of shame.

Before the sin, their bodies were in perfect harmony with the will of God. There was nothing to cover up. After the sin, brought about by their listening to their senses over and above God’s command, they became aware that their bodies have desires contrary to God’s will. That was the root of their shame. They came to understand that a part of themselves was not completely dedicated to the service of God which was their calling. The root of their sin was they they followed their animal instincts above God’s command.

Shame is the emotion of the conscience which reminds us we are not animals.

Beraishis 3:7, Page 77

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3D עיקר שכינה בתחתונים

The original, natural state of the world is one in which God’s proximity is felt directly by Man, here on earth.

It is only due to Man’s sin, for Man’s education, that God withdrew Himself somewhat from Man. Whenever in history God has communicated directly to Man, to our Avos, Moshe, the Nevi’im or when the entire nation stood before Har Sinai experiencing this closeness, that was the natural state of being. Those are moments, brought about by the power of the Torah, where the world returned to its natural state of being. The thousands of years of distance from God is the unnatural state.

Originally, all of nature lay before Man who stood before God. Man was at peace with the world, with himself and with God in Paradise. This is the natural state of the world.

The intent of every page of the Torah is to reestablish peace and harmony in this world, to open up the gates of Paradise once again and to bring God’s שכינה back to this world.

Beraishis 3:8, Pages 77-78

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3E God’s Distancing Himself as a Result of Human Sin

As a a result of Man’s sin God was מתהלך בגן – God withdrew to a limited sphere. Our sages understood this s to mean that God  was withdrawing to some degree from Man, סילוק שכינה, choosing to stay within the proximity of holiness. Man’s had chosen to not be holy.

Later in the Torah we find that when our camps are holy, God is to be found there. When we have made our מחניך קודש, then we find כי ה’ אלקיך מתהלך בקרב מחנך.

The lesson is clear. God can be heard in our camps, in our day to day lives on earth – not via some emotional, spiritual high or by some kabbalistic elevation to another state of being. God will be close to us in the midst of our regular, earthly lives when we live our lives in holiness, according to His will.

God withdrew from them in the garden, the garden being a place on earth. When Adam and Eve were living their lives according to God’s will, He could be sensed on earth.

Beraishis 3:8, Pages 78-79

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3F All Commandments are Positive (even the “negative” ones)

There is no word in biblical Hebrew for “forbidding”. When God asks Adam if he ate from the forbidden fruit, the expression used is “did you eat from the the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (As opposed to “did you eat from the the tree that I forbade you to eat from?”)

Every commandment requires positive energy to fulfill. No commandment tells us to remain inactive. Often a negative commandment requires more positive energy than does a positive commandment. We are asked to muster joyful energy in fulfilling all the commandments including when what we are asked to do is to refrain from some activity.

Beraishis 3:11, Page 80

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3G Man Remains Capable of Overcoming his Lusts

The snake is cursed, for the education of Man. (God speaks to it as ה’ אלקים – see Names of God for more )

From this point forward there is hatred between snakes and people. Perhaps this is to always remind Man that he must keep away from “animal wisdom.” Man must not follow his instinct but rather exercise his free will to follow God’s commands.

God tells the snake, which represents the voice of the animal lust that tempts Man, Man will hit you on the head and you will hit him on his heel. By this God is telling Man that he is stronger than his evil inclination. Man can do more harm to the snake than the snake can to Man (when Man is ready to fight the fight).

When Man is off guard, his evil inclination can get the best of him, just as a snake quickly jumps out and bites man.

Additionally, when Man arouses his lusts, he falls to them. When he leaves them to slumber, he can overcome them.

Beraishis 3:14-15, Pages 81-82

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3H The New State of Man – עצבון – Sacrifice

Woman is told she will have much עצבון and she will bear children with עצבון.

Man is told in verse 17 בעצבון תאכלנה.

The word עצבון is related to the word עזב which means forsake. With the letter צ in place of the ז it means to have to give something up against one’s will.

After the sin, Man is no longer at harmony with nature. Nature no longer smiles at Man ready to flourish without opposition. This moment is the beginning of a new phase of history where in order for Man to attain one pleasure he must give up another pleasure. This is the beginning of thousands of years of Man’s education.

The greatest joy is to have a child. But in order to attain this, women will now have to sacrifice their own flesh and blood.

Men will labor and sacrifice day and night to have food and shelter.

Women will feel dependent on men for their food and shelter. This will create a challenge to the original, natural state of equality between husband and wife. Only through the Torah’s influence will this equality be restored completely. (see Mishlei 12:4 where a wife is called the crown of her husband, also Mishlei 31:10 where a wife is called the invaluable pearl of his life.)

Beraishis 3:16-19, Pages 83-86

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3I – ארץ ישראל A Small Model of Paradise on Earth

After Man’s sin he is told that the ground will be cursed for his sake, The earth will only flourish in response to his living up to a higher ideal.

Here, the Torah shows us the first moment that the flourishing of the earth is not dependent on natural causes such as sunshine and rain, but on the moral standing of Man, to the degree that Man lives by God’s laws.

The giving of the Torah was to teach Man the path to come back to his original level.

ארץ ישראל was to be a returning to a form of paradise, to be lived on this earth.

The path for Man to return to paradise is the way of life detailed in the Torah.

This is explicit  in פרשת בחקתי where the Torah tells us that particularly in ארץ ישראל, our behavior, either good or bad, will be reflected in the land’s flourishing or the opposite.

Beraishis 3:17, Pages 86-87

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3J Man is Inherently Good

After Man’s sin he remains inherently good.

The only things God cursed were the ground and an animal, which serve as the new stage upon which Man continues to carry on the same mission he had before the sin. Man’s high calling and his ability to reach that goal remain the same.

To this day every human child is born as pure as an angel. This is one of the most basic Jewish concepts.

See page 87, mid-page, beginning with the words “what a disconsolate lie”,  for very passionate words written by RSRH written in vehement protest to Christian dogma. He writes that Christianity’s false interpretation of the effects of the original sin presented the mistaken thought that Man is no longer inherently good and must sin, and the only way to return to God and paradise, is for something external to bring Man back.

To this RSRH says yes, it is true that as a result of this sin Man lives in a world which doesn’t flourish as it did before the sin, but the only reason Man has not yet returned to paradise is because he keeps on repeating this same sin, not because the original sin caused irrevocable damage. Man is thrust into the “school of renunciation”, the school where he must learn to sacrifice for a higher good and not give in to his animal instincts. This will ultimately educate Man up to the highest levels, and back to paradise.

Jewish history is filled with examples of people who, through their free willed efforts were able to become very close to God, without the need for any external dead or resurrected intermediary. Avraham, Moshe, Yeshaya, Yirmiyahu and all the prophets attained this level by their pure efforts in fulfilling God’s will.

To this day we begin our prayers with the words הנשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא “the soul that You have given to me is pure”.

The sum total of the Torah is to teach us how to understand and think about God and uplift earthly life up to God, using the moral power that each human being was given.

Beraishis 3:19, Pages 87-88

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3K Woman, Giver of Life

Adam names woman Chava – חוה – which means “one who gives life”.

Woman bears life. Despite the decree that man would no longer live forever, and despite the fact that woman caused him to be driven out of Paradise, he names her by this greatest of her tasks.

Both man and woman would now live a different life than before. Man would labor and woman would suffer to bear children. But the merit of woman, who in return for her suffering delivers the world from death, is greater than man’s.

חוה, as opposed to חיה denotes giving spiritual life. Woman gives life to the next generation so that it can continue to fulfill man’s destiny.

Beraishis 3:20

pages 114-115 (in the new Hirsch Chumash)

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3L Clothing

Clothing (given to man by God) serves two purposes.

1. To cover the lower part of the body. This warns man to rule over his body and not allow the opposite. This was needed especially at the time of leaving Gan Eden. From that point forward, man’s mind would be occupied with more earthly matters than before.

2. To provide protection from the elements. This reminds man that he has fallen from his previous stature and he must strive to regain it.

The Midrash calls these clothing priestly garments (שעשה לו הקב”ה בגדי כהונה). Just as the clothing of the Cohen enlighten and teach (through their symbolism) so do clothing teach man

The Mitzvah of Tzitzis furthers this lesson. The strings, attached to the corners of our garments are an extension of our clothing. They are the “flowering” of the message of the clothing. (Tzits means blossom and flower.) They remind us to keep God’s commandments. Tzitizis counter the notion that man’s own heart and eyes alone can determine what is good. (This was the root of the original sin. See above v. 6)

Beraishis 3:21
pages 115-116 (in the new Hirsch Chumash)

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3M Acts of Kindness – גמילות חסד

The expulsion from Gan Eden brought about opportunities for acts of kindness.  Man must now toil by the sweat of his brow to survive. If he does this only for himself, he is selfish. If he does this for others, he emulates God in acts of kindness. As our sages (Shabbos 133b) explain the verse והלכת בדרכיו – And you shall walk in His ways (Devarim 28:9) “Just as He clothes the naked, visits the sick, comforts mourners, buries the dead, so shall you clothe the naked, visit the sick, comfort mourners and bury the dead, etc.” This is the basis for Jewish גמילות חסדים. One now finds the House of Israel, scattered all over the world, a society of גומלי חסדים.

Anyone who wants can elevate himself to the heights of emulating God. This refutes the erroneous (Christian – GS) notion that the first sin brought a curse upon man and deprived his descendants of the purity of their souls. The very mitzvah to emulate God is derived from the expulsion from Gan Eden. Had man not been expelled from Gan Eden and become lacking and dependent on others for help, this mitzvah to emulate God would not have become a reality.

Beraishis 3:21
pages 116-117 (in the new Hirsch Chumash)

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3N History – The Way Back to Eden

Post Eden – History and the education of Man

Man was removed from Gan Eden and was alienated from God. When man followed his own lusts and desires he was left to himself. Man now begins the long process of of learning to put God before himself through the difficulties of life, until man longs for God’s guidance and closeness.

The Cheruvim and the flame of the ever-turning sword guard the way to the tree of life and guarantee that someday man will return.

The Cheruvim represent the traces of Divine revelation to man. This is the positive form of man’s education.

The ever-turning sword represents the misery and suffering that occur to man and society, left to his own devices. This is the negative form of man’s education.

Together, the sword and the cheruvim, suffering and revelation, guard the way to the tree of life.

The first step in this return is culture that is subordinated to morality. (See Beraishis 3O for more on this)

Beraishis 3: 23-24

pages 119-121 (in the new Hirsch Chumash)

 

 

 

 

 

Share
Posted on

Beraishis 3O Culture

Midrash: Derech Eretz (culture) preceded the Torah by 26 generations. As it says “לשמור דרך עץ חיים”.

דרך refers to דרך ארץ (culture) – עץ חיים refers to תורה. First דרך ארץ and then תורה.

The fig leaf and apron are the beginning of culture. They represent culture that is subordinated to morality.

There is intrinsic value to culture as the Mishna in Avos states (3:17): אם אין דרך ארץ אין תורה

But only culture that is moral has value and will contribue to man’s returning to God, as the same Mishna states: אם אין תורה אין דרך ארץ

If a culture does not lead to Torah but seeks to take its place, that culture doesn’t lead to the tree of life but is the way to degeneration.

Beraishis 3:24
page 121 (in the new Hirsch Chumash)

Share