Parshat B’reishit: Adam and Eve—a coming-of-age story
We also know, from personal experience (for better or for worse) that girls often mature more rapidly than boys. The rabbanim/rabbis of old were so convinced of this that they differentiated between females and males in choosing the official age at which a Jew becomes obligated to observe the commandments: A girl becomes a bat mitzvah (literally, a daughter of the commandment) at the age of 12, whereas a boy becomes a bar mitzvah (a son of the commandment) at 13.
Little wonder, then, that Eve was the first to bite into the forbidden fruit, conveniently provided by that living phallic symbol, the snake. The knowledge of good and evil represents the awareness of sexuality, as evidenced by the fact that Adam and Eve were never concerned about being naked in G-d’s presence until after they’d eaten the forbidden fruit. G-d then kicked them out of Gan Eden/the Garden of Eden, like a pair of parents whose kids have just gotten married and must now move out and support themselves. Only then, like a pair of traditional newlyweds, did they have sex for the first time.
3 Comments:
I «heart» Bereishit chapter 4 - the story of Qayin and Hevel, and the list of Qayin's descendents.
Read the first verse with Rashi or a Biblical Grammar handy. They both agree: veha’adam yada‘ et Hhava ishto... is a _pluperfect_ verbal expression, not a simple past one: "and Adam had known Hhava his wife..." already before they were kicked out of ‘Eiden.
Since this is Eden, both a mysteriously miraculous and mysteriously metaphorical place, it's perfectly possible that Eve not only conceived Cain, but gave birth to him already on that "Sixth Day" in Eden. We are told that Eve ate the fruit. We're told that Adam ate the fruit. We are not told, however, that Cain ate the fruit.
Cain, first-born son of Humanity, kicked out of paradise even though he didn't do anything wrong. And since he didn't disobey the divine command, he didn't even have the Knowledge of Good and Evil necessary to survive and 'move on' out in the real world.
Gives a whole new spin to the story, in my opinion.
Steg (dos iz nit der šteg)
I «heart» Bereishit chapter 4 - the story of Qayin and Hevel, and the list of Qayin's descendents.
Read the first verse with Rashi or a Biblical Grammar handy. They both agree: veha’adam yada‘ et Hhava ishto... is a _pluperfect_ verbal expression, not a simple past one: "and Adam had known Hhava his wife..." already before they were kicked out of ‘Eiden.
Since this is Eden, both a mysteriously miraculous and mysteriously metaphorical place, it's perfectly possible that Eve not only conceived Cain, but gave birth to him already on that "Sixth Day" in Eden. We are told that Eve ate the fruit. We're told that Adam ate the fruit. We are not told, however, that Cain ate the fruit.
Cain, first-born son of Humanity, kicked out of paradise even though he didn't do anything wrong. And since he didn't disobey the divine command, he didn't even have the Knowledge of Good and Evil necessary to survive and 'move on' out in the real world.
Gives a whole new spin to the story, in my opinion.
Steg (dos iz nit der šteg)
oops, sorry about the doubling.
webbrowser hiccup.
Steg (dos iz nit der šteg)
Post a Comment
<< Home