In this article titled “The fall of Adam in the Jewish perspective”, we shall examine the Jewish belief about the ancestor of mankind on the earth, particularly the ideology of the “Original sin”.
The Original Sin Ideology
Some of the most heated debates in religious circles focus on man’s supposed need for a Savior, the assumption that God needs a mediator between man and Himself, and maybe the most contested debate of all deals with the concept of the original sin (the idea that all men are inherent sinners because of Adam’s sin).
All of these debates stem from this “original sin ideology”. I can’t begin to understand why this irrational idea would have such a great following.
This idea states that when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they caused all humans to be damned, and none of us was there to partake in the act of disobedience. They argue that because Adam is the father of the human race we inherit his sin.
A very important question here is that supposed my father robs a bank, will I inherit the title of the bank robber, would any rational person hold me responsible for my father’s actions? No! And if anyone did say that I was responsible, it would be said of that person, “he is unjust”.
Now, it should go without saying that we can never equate anybody or anything with God, but by accepting this ideology, we are saying that humans are more just than God (God Forbid!). This is because for God to hold all humans liable for Adam’s sin is unjust. How can this be when God says that he is the Just? (1)
Is it that God is unjust or is the people’s perception of God unjust? There are three Monotheistic beliefs in this world and we all agree that Adam was the first man created by God. We all agree that Adam did commit an unadvised act. We also agree that the act caused Adam to be placed outside the Garden of Eden and his easy life came to an end. We all agree that Adam was punished but what that punishment entailed is not agreed upon.
Was it known to God that Adam was going to commit this act? Or was God surprised? Did the crime merit the punishment that some say was meted out? The way that we view the events of the Garden of Eden gives a direct insight into the way that God is viewed in each faith.
Each view will call into question God’s attributes of being the All-Knowing (2); The Forgiving (3); and the Just.
We will review the events that took place in Eden from the Jewish, Christian and Islamic points of view and give what their perception of God is.
The Jewish Perception of God
To begin this discussion, let’s get the Jewish perception of what God is. According to our Jewish brothers, belief in one God is a fundamental Jewish belief. The Schema, a central prayer, states “Hear, Israel: The Lord is God, The Lord is one.”
The idea of any other God is heretical for Jews. It follows that all prayer and praise can only be directed to God. In Judaism, God has no body, God is non-physical. Any mention of God’s body is considered to be metaphorical. Any physical representation of God, such as the Golden Calf, is considered to be idolatry.
As God has no body, He has no gender. God is just and merciful. Thus, people can atone for their sins. Via prayer, repentance and giving (tzedakah), people can find their way back into God’s favour. God is all-Knowing. He knows all man’s thoughts and deeds, in the past, present and future. God is all-powerful. The only thing outside of God’s control is man’s free will (4).
Now that we have established the Jewish perspective of God, it is now time to analyze their view on the events that took place in the Garden of Eden.
I must emphasize here that our Jewish brothers do not believe in “the original sin”. As a matter of fact, Rabbi Tovia Singer has said,
“The term “original sin” is unknown to the Jewish scriptures, and the Church’s teachings on this doctrine are antithetical to the core principles of the Torah and its prophets”. (5)
Being that the Jews don’t adhere to this doctrine, I will only present certain verses that deal with the events that took place in the Garden of Eden. The first verse is:
And God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: but the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, you must not eat thereof; for on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.” (6)
A Comparative Analysis of “The Original Sin”
According to the commentary given in the Chumash (7) by Rabbis, When Adam and Eve were originally created; their natural impulse was to do good. But, on the day man would eat from this tree the evil, the impulses of jealousy, lust, and honour would be aroused within him, making it impossible for him to attain the goal of complete spirituality as long as he was still on earth.
Thus, man must subdue his base desires through study, thought, and self-discipline to indoctrinate into himself a desire to do good and to have a distaste for doing evil.
This verse clearly states that “on that day you shall surely die”, the commentator says, “this didn’t mean that Adam would die instantly but that Adam would be subject to death, whereas if he had not sinned God would have kept him alive forever.” (8)
The end of this commentary is questionable because it gives an explanation to: “So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life”. (9)
The commentators have said, “Man had to be banished from Eden so that he would not be able to eat from the Tree of Life and live forever.” (10)
It may be argued that man was created in the beginning to live forever, but the Torah never states that to be the case. Moreover, in the commentary: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (11). For you were dust; the Rabbis have stated, “the implication is that death was not a curse but a natural consequence of Man’s nature. Since he originated from earth it is only natural that that age and deterioration would return him to his origin” (12). This view shows that death is inevitable.
The next few verses will deal with the serpent and his role in the Garden. The Torah says;
1: Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2: The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden”,
3: But God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’
4: “You will not surely die”, the serpent said to the woman.
5: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (13)
The consensus of the commentators is that the serpent used here was literally a serpent. They differ regarding what force it represented: the Evil Inclination, Satan, or the angel of Death.
They said that the serpent used ploys such as, “Is it possible that God forbade you to eat any of the trees? Why would he have created them if they are not to be enjoyed?
They say that Eve added to the command of God when she inserted, “You must not touch it.”
The serpent used this to his advantage by pushing Eve onto the tree making her touch the fruit and saying: “Just as you did not die touching it, you will not die from eating it.”
The commentators end with the serpent saying: “God did not prohibit this tree out of any concern for your lives, but because He is aware that by eating from it, you will attain extra wisdom, and become omniscient like Him. Then you will be independent of Him (14).
The commentators agree that the serpent was literal and they differ concerning what it represented. The serpent they said could have represented the Evil Inclination that pushes man to do evil.
This is unlikely because as stated in the previous paragraph: “When Adam and Eve were originally created; their natural impulse was to do good”. So it didn’t represent that.
The next possible representation is that it could have been Satan. While reading the Torah, the fall of Satan hadn’t occurred while Adam was in the Garden so he has to be eliminated.
The last of candidate that the serpent could have represented is the Angel of Death. The Angel of Death is a servant of God doing only his bidding. If the Angel of death coerced Adam into sinning, then God would be held responsible for Adam’s disobedience.
I think what really has to be asked here is what problem did the serpent have with Adam? How did the serpent become so wise?
Why was the serpent so interested in Adam’s disobedience to his Lord? Our Jewish brothers didn’t leave us with direct answers, but they were on to something. These questions will be answered later on, God Willing. The next groups of verses are pretty straightforward. They are the verses that mete out punishment.
The first to be punished was the serpent. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (15)
This punishment agrees with the commentator’s consensus that the serpent was a literal serpent. If the serpent had represented any of the other things mentioned earlier, it would have been unjust for God to punish the serpent and not the being working through him.
The second to be punished was Eve. A part of Eve’s punishment is shared by the serpent, And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow, thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (16)
To be continued!
NOTES:
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1. Adl- Just – 1. acting with fairness and impartiality, 2. done, pursued, or given in accordance with what is morally right, 3. valid or reasonable. Adl (Islamic) is an attribute of Allah (God) meaning God is the most Just.
According to Nasir Makaram Shirazi in Lessons about Allah, Prophet, Justice, Leadership and Resurrection page 220, “The meaning of God’s justice is not to remove the rights of a person nor give the rights of one to another nor to discriminate between people. He is Just in all senses of the word…” “Oppression, whether it be the taking away of a person’s rights or by giving the rights of one to another, or wastage and discrimination, does not exist in the pure Essence of God.
He never punishes a person who does good. He never encourages a person who does evil, no one will be held responsible for the sins of another. “
2. Alim- All- Knowing- aware of things and able to act cleverly and judge shrewdly. having knowledge, information, or understanding. Alim (Islamic), Yasin Al-Jabouri in Allah, The Concept of God in Islam page 45, “When applied to the Almighty, is the One that Who is most Knowing: surely His knowledge encompasses everything in existence even before anything begins to exist. Nothing at all can escape His knowledge. He is the One, whose knowledge is inclusive, be it apparent or hidden, a minute or magnanimous. He knows its beginning and its end, what is above or underneath it, and what results there from.” It must be noted that God doesn’t acquire knowledge through trial and error it is a part of his essence.
3. Forgiving (Al-Gafur) – willing to forgive, especially in most circumstances. Al-Gafur (Islamic) Al-Jabouri in Allah, The Concept of God in Islam page 38, Is God veiling of one’s sins, and His forgiveness by granting him His favour and mercy. The One Who has manifested what is beautiful and veiled what is ugly in the life of this world and Who does not inflict His penalty on him in the life hereafter. He is the One that forgives sins veils shortcomings wipes out the sin by accepting one’s repentance. He is the One Who forgives the sins though they may be great, and He veils them though they may be numerous.
4. Reference website www.sullivan-county.com/os.htm
5. Reference website http://judaism.about.com/od/beliefs/a/god.htm or The Book of Jewish Concepts, Philip Birnbaum, Hebrew Publishing Co. New York, 1964.
6. Gen. 2:16
7. Chumash is one name given to the Pentateuch in Judaism. The word comes from Chamesh, the Hebrew word for “five”, because of the Five Books of Moses that comprise the Torah.
The more formal term is “Chamishah Chumshei Torah,” “The Five Fifths of the Torah. in Hebrew means five and is referred to as the Torah. The Chumash that is being referenced here is, “The Chumash, The Stone Edition” Mesorah Publications, Ltd. 1998
8. Chumash page 13
9. Gen. 3:24
10. Chumash page 19
11. Gen. 3:19
12. ibid
13. Gen. 3:1-5
14. Chumash page 15
15. Gen. 3:14-15
16. Gen. 3:15-16
