© 2020 by Rabbi Dr. Zvi Aviner

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ADULTERY-5/Eden/

Their Eyes Opened and They Saw – What?

 

 

1: The lying serpent

 


And it said to the woman:

Has not ELoKiM said You shall not eat of any tree of the Garden?” (Genesis 2:25, 3:1)

 

And the woman said to the Serpent,
we may eat from the fruits of the Trees of the Garden,
but of the fruits of the Tree which is in the midst of the Garden,
ELoKiM has said you shall not eat of it.” (Genesis 3:2-3)

 

And the Serpent said to the woman,

you shall not surely die, for ELoKiM knows that on the day you eat of it then your eyes shall be opened and you shall be like ELoKiM knowing Good and Evil…” (Genesis 3: 4-5)

 

The lying Serpent
The cunning Serpent lied to the woman. It said:

1 “Has not ELoKiM said..”  One can’t see it in the English translation, but the Serpent began with “aa-f“ expressing a great wonder: How COULD ELoKiM say this to you!”   The Serpent sounded as if ELoKiM had deprived the humans from something good.

2:Has not ELoKiM said…  It was unaware of YHVH.

3. “You shall NOT die…’  The Serpent openly lied. Eating the fruit should incur the death penalty, being thrown out to live on Earth, where she would face the Angel of Death

.4 “You shall be like ELoKiM knowing Good and Evil…”  The Serpent exhibited its ignorance of YHVH. It presented Good and Evil as perspectives of ELKM!

5: The Serpent depicted ‘Knowing Evil’ as a REWARD, rather than a BURDEN .  It is tough to live on Earth made by ELKM, having the prisms of YHVH over your eyes.

6: The Serpent twisted ELKM’s intention, as if ELKM feared competition.

7: The Serpent took advantage of the fact that the woman had not heard YHVH ELKM warning by herself.  The Serpent therefore told her not to touch the fruit, so when she did, and nothing happened, she could easily be convinced that ELKM had not told them the truth,

In short, the Serpent accused ELKM for not telling the truth, while ELKM’s nickname is TRUTH

 

 

2: Which Commandments they transgressed?

 

 

She accepted the lie

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food
And that it was a delight to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
She took of its fruits and did eat it, and gave also to her husband with her, and he did eat it.” (Genesis 3: 6)

 Sin always comes on gradually. She first looked at the fruit, then ate of it, then enjoyed it. Then she enticed her husband to do the same. Being a Serpent is infectious. A sinner usually entices others to join, to spread the guilt.

 

What sin did they commit, exactly?

Surely, they violated IDOLATRY by disobeying their FATHER-KING’s Advice and Command.

The married Woman committed ADULTERY by merely cohabiting alone with the Serpent.   Some traditions say that she did have sexual relationship with the Serpent. .

Having violated the only two Commandments that were relevant to their life in Eden, they lost their right to stay there.

A lesson to us: One we’ve transgressed all the Seven Commandments of Noah, relevant to our life on Earth, we too would have lost our right to stay  here. .

 

 

3: And their eyes opened, and they saw- what?

 

The effect of the eating was dramatic:

“And the eyes of both of them were opened
And they knew that they were naked
And they sewed fig leaves together

and made themselves loincloths.” (Genesis 3: 7)

 “And their eyes were opened…” What exactly did they see now? What did they gain? What could they gain by sinning? (many commentaries ask.) They should, rather, have lost something!

They certainly  lost the protection of the Tree of Life.  But what did they gain by knowing Good and Evil?

The answer: Since Good and Evil are perspectives in YHVH’s eyes (as opposed to Right and Wrong which are perspectives of ELKM’s eyes) it comes out that-

Eating from the Forbidden Tree rendered them the awareness of the Merciful Attribute YHVH, that  they had lacked   

What caused that drastic change? Was it the sin itself? Or was it a magical influence of the fruit? After all, any magic can happen in the virtual Garden of Eden.

Whatever the answer is, the message here is that the new awareness of YHVH made then do –  what?

“And the eyes of both of them were opened
And they knew that they were naked
And they sewed fig leaves together

And made themselves loincloths.” (Genesis 3: 7)

You can say that having transgressed ADULTERY, made them aware and ashamed of their nakedness. But the verse associates that shame with the new awareness of Good and Evil, which are YHVH’s values.

For instance: If I am caught driving 120 m/h, the judge would asses whether I did something right or wrong.  Having transgressed the law,  I  have certainly done done something wrong.   The judge would then punish me accordingly.   He would not assess whether my deed was Good or Evil    I would accept his verdict, without feeling ashamed. l

But standing before my mother, after being caught driving while intoxicated, I might feel ashamed for having disappointed her. .

But suppose that the Woman dd not commit sexual sin with the Serpent.  Why then did they cover their nakedness?

The answer id profound.  YHVH, the “G-d of Israel,” despises nakedness (Talmud).  It stands  against Her Holiness.   You see that in the rest of the Torah.  “Holiness” is- in the rabbis’ mind – covering our nakedness AND PROPER MODEST BEHAVIOR. .

You  can also say that being aware and ashamed from our nakedness, makes us different from the Serpent and all other creatures on Earth.

The Spiders may develop very sophisticated and scientific society of their own, given few more millions years.  They might develop space ships and I phones, yet one thing they would never ever know:  Good from Evil.  Why? Because spiders were made by ELKM, and they have never eaten from the Forbidden Fruit of Eden.

Eating the Forbidden Fruit changed their mind and heart.  Now they knew Good from Evil.  Once they would live on Earth they would know Evil not only as nakedness, but Evil as Sorrow and Death.

Meanwhile the PARENT YHVH ELKM kept then in Eden, to teach them another aspect of YHVH – FORGIVENESS.  

 

 Mercy as a part of our Natural Moral Code 

The implication of the story is enormous.  Henceforth no human may ever claim being unaware of Mercy, Compassion and Forgiveness.  No human may claim that he/she is a beast (The Nazis , in fact, did claim that Man lives in a jungle and must act like a beast, with no Mercy and Compassion, to survive. We know the results of that absurd teaching ).

The Torah teaches here that the values of YHVH – Modesty, Holiness, Mercy, Compassion and Forgiveness – are part of every human soul.  They have been implanted  in us by eating the Forbidden Fruit in Eden- the cradle of  Mankind.  Yes, Nazis and their followers may stand on trial  for their heinous crimes against humanity, regardless of what they claim that they merely followed their party line.

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 4  A new level of Sin

 

When their eyes opened,up they acquired a a new level of Sin:

Sin is also an act that shames us in YHVH’s eyes, in our MOTHER IN HEAVENS’s eyes. Sin makes our MOTHER IN HEAVENS disappointed.

 My disobedience may make me fearful of my father’s wrath, but  would make me ashamed by my mother’s disappointment. 

Sin so far is – 

  1.  Sin damages our spiritual umbilical cord to the CREATOR’S lips
  2.  Sin is to disregard our FATHER IN HEAVENS advice
  3. Sin is to disobey our KING’s Command
  4.  Sin is not right, foolish, with bad consequences
  5. Sin shames us in YHVH’s eyes

When the PARENT YHVH ELKM warned Adam about the Forbidden Tree, He said that “the Day you eat of it you shall die.”   It means that Adam would be driven out of Eden to live on Earth.  And there, on Earth, Adam would surely KNOW first hand what Evil is, what Death is.  There on Earth Adam would get the full Glory and meaning of the Merciful YHVH.

But as Moss is saying, the PARENT did not chase out Adam and his Wife right way. Instead, Adam and his Wife were allowed to stay in Eden and learn one more aspect of YHVH – FORGIVENESS.  .   .

 

  ***


Read also: “Genesis Vs. Science, Can They Match?” By Zvi Aviner, at www.smashwords.com

 

END OF ADULTERY CLASS 5