Breishit: Shifting the Paradigm
Some years ago, I had a spark of a dream: to come to Israel, learn hebrew, and read the bible in its original language.
I had been inquiring into the value religions and traditions world-over place on altering one's consciousness through prayer, meditation, fasting, movement, plant sacraments, and other means. I was contemplating the power of these experiences and their potential for profound healing and insight, as well as the respect, caution, and intentionality they require.
I wanted to encounter Breishit (the first chapter in the bible, which includes the story of the Garden of Eden and humanity's tasting of the 'forbidden fruit') directly, without the medium of translation imposing its own agenda, linguistic paradigm, and cultural context, shaping my understanding of these ancient, sacred stories, which contain so many untranslatable words.
Breishit not only contains the origin stories of the cosmos and humanity, it's the origin of some of the most impactful and painful paradigms which have shaped the world: subjugation and subordination of woman to man. Woman easily seduced, as well as sinful seductress. Tasting of the 'forbidden fruit' as 'original sin' leading to expulsion from paradise and a life of pain and hard labor. And so on.
I was yearning for another way to read the story.
Last shabbat, we began again at the beginning, as the yearly Torah-reading cycle renewed. I spent much of the day pouring over Breishit in hebrew, as well as a book of Women's Torah Commentary - specifically a chapter on 'Breishit' by Rabbi Lori Forman.
This exploration was a new beginning to what I know will be an unending exploration of what this story is actually saying. I don't have a word for what I gained. It's something like a deepened understanding that is actually space for more questions, and questions that are more refined.
Here is some of what I discovered and found beautiful, important, or fascinating:
*It's commonly believed that Eve is fashioned from Adam's 'rib.' But the Talmudic rabbis actually declare that this word, 'tzelah,' is from the root of the hebrew word for 'side.' Meaning that Eve is fashioned from Adam's side, and they are two equal halves of one, originally androgynous being (which is the first human created, in chapter 1). The mystics suggest that when they cling to each other, their love and yearning is to return to this original, unified being.
*The snake did not trick Eve into eating the fruit. The text simply says that the snake speaks what is true: "You are not going to die...but as soon as you eat of it, your eyes will be opened." And nowhere does it say that Eve goes out and seduces Adam. Rather, it says that "she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate." He was WITH her. They were together during this episode.
*The snake also does not seduce Eve into eating the fruit. She looks out with her own agency, and sees what is true - "that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source for wisdom" (Gen 3:1-6). This is not a passive scene. Writes Rabbi Forman, "Eve, full of curiousity, reaches out for the gifts of life: food, beauty, and wisdom." How natural!
*The snake is not punished as a result of deceiving Eve. The Torah does not say that the snake deceived Eve: the snake asks Eve a question, and states truth. The snake's punishment is a result of blame-casting and deflecting responsibility: Adam blames Eve, and Eve blames the snake, claiming that it deceived her.
*God does not expel Adam and Eve from the garden as a direct result of this act; it's more indirect. God expels them from the garden, specifically, to prevent them from also eating of the 'Tree of Life' and thus gaining immortality. (Gen 3:22)
*Nowhere in this chapter does the Torah mention the word 'sin.' The first time we see the word 'sin' (which in Hebrew, more literally means 'to miss the mark') is later on, outside of the garden, when Cain kills Abel. The idea of 'original sin' is not from the Hebrew bible, but is a result of Christian exegesis. And if there is an original sin in the bible, it is fraternicide, not Eve eating from the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Finally, the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden, as an indirect result of their eating this fruit (and deflecting responsibility for that action), is what makes all of life-including birth, child-bearing, death, and everything in between- possible. Writes Rabbi Forman, "though tradition has frequently seen her act as one of disobedience, without Eve's boldness, human history as we know it would never have come to pass." What story would there be if they had remained forever in the garden, never died, and never truly lived?
The expulsion made the FULLNESS of life possible, and after this event, Eve is given her name, Chava, because she is "em-hol-chai" - the mother of all life - the fullness of life.
Writes Rabbi Forman, "We can reclaim Eve and her spirit for ourselves, and thus finally recast Eve's legacy to speak of a woman who began human history by reaching for what was good, pleasant, and intellectually empowering."
I am aware of the subjectivity of all interpretations, including my own - and have so much gratitude for my burgeoning ability to encounter and perceive these texts directly. I also recognize the importance and contributions of generations of translators, teachers, writers, and rabbis from different lineages who made these teachings and stories available. It feels crucial to recognize that that they were (and are) operating within a cultural and historical context, with their own agendas, and definitely didn't do it perfectly or objectively.
I appreciate the power of paradigm and our ability to re-examine where our operating paradigms originate. I believe it's a responsibility and a privilege to do this work of asking questions, learning, and going deeper. We can renew and enliven this story, this Tree of Life - deeply rooted in its earthly & heavenly, ancient & present origins, and bearing new and fresh fruit in each generation.