What if Eve turned to G-d? What if she turned to man?

When the first man was created, G-d planted a garden of Eden and placed the man to work and to guard it.  Two trees did the Lord G-d plant in the garden of paradise: the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and also the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  

G-d created a woman out of man's side, to be his helper opposite of him, ezer k'negdo  (opposite of man, or opposite of G-d?).   A serpent, more cunning and smooth than all animals of the field, came to the garden and asked Eve: Even if G-d said do not eat of any tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1)

We know the rest of the story - Eve ate from the tree, her eyes opened, she let the man try, man, woman and the snake were cursed and exiled from the garden, and the guardian angels with rotating flaming swords were placed at the garden gates to protect the tree of life, so that the man won't become immortal. 

When a man is presented with temptation there are two choices - to say Yes and succumb to it, or to say No and refuse - right?  What if there were a third choice - to turn away from the snake and to ask G-d - Why?  Why did You present me with this temptation? Why did You plant the tree of knowledge of good and eve in the garden? Why did You make it available to me and forbidden at the same time?  Why did You plant desire in my heart?  Why did You create me in such way that I am so confused - the desire that whispers with Your voice within me, which lights me with the fire of life, and Your words of explicit prohibition?  Why did You create the serpent and brought him on my path?  The list of questions can go on and on…  This is a dialog with G-d that keeps going for as long as man lives.  The majority of people, yours truly included, are neither righteous nor evil, but we are all engaged in the dialogue with G-d, whether consciously or not.   The whole history of human thought, of philosophy is this ongoing conversation - who am I, why am I like this, why am I struggling between the law and desire, why is not life easy and clear, why did You plant anguish in my heart? 

 

But here is what happens when a man consciously engages in this dialog and gets really into it - the dialog itself acquires a life of its own and becomes appealing to man to the point that he forgets about the temptation.  So the next time the snake comes around with his un-holy propositions, Eve may say - thanks for the offer, but I have something better going on here, I am talking to G-d!

 

I have a confession to make.  My greatest sin is not eating a salad cut with a non-kosher knife and served on a treif plate.  It is not even an occasional flirtation or frivolous talk.  My greatest sin is hatred of a fellow man.  Every day, numerous times, I transgress the prohibition "do not hate your fellow in your heart".  In fact, the previous two minor sins keep me humble and prevent from the outright rage.  How come?  Easy.  What person alive has not been frustrated when others do imperfect job, make you wait, don't understand explanations, don't remember requests, and just don't get what is expected from them?  Who has not felt the pain of betrayal, failed promises, disappointment?  Who was not outraged when being exploited, taken advantage of, used?  How many of our people turned away from fellow Jews and Judaism when disappointed or betrayed by members of the tribe?  Think you don't have it?  It is well hidden behind the mask of self-righteousness, criticism, perfectionism. 

 The lashon hara, negative speech, is a tip of the iceberg.  The real sin are the negative thoughts and feelings, hiding in the dark corners of the psyche, luring the man to follow their lead like the strange foreign woman in Mishlei, enwrapping the innocent soul in the ropes of anguish.  Even lust is only a craving for a placebo that temporarily calms the enraged, turbulent mind. 

The temptation to succumb to negativity and lash out in anger  - that is a real tayeiva, enticement. The desire to express your frustration, to tell your fellow man exactly what you think of them in the heat of the anger  - that's the apple, that is the real draw!  So when anger calls you and whispers in your ear that you are right and others are wrong, when it lures you into the chambers of righteous indignation, seduces you with the visions of justice  - turn away from it and talk to G-d, ask Him why is this happening, why do I feel this way?  When another person is imperfect, ask G-d why he created him or her like that, and He'll tell you that He created every man and woman in His image.

The conversation with G-d can take different turns, and not all philosophers have come out of it with a resounding "No" answer to the snake - many have come to a different conclusion and answered "Yes" with the disastrous results for humanity.  Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche,  Sigmund Freud, and many others - the sorry history of the 20th century is a result of a wrong conclusion from the philosophical quest.  How do we know that the conclusion was wrong - our people paid for it with blood of six million victims, and the world paid with many more innocent souls caught in the whirlwind of wrath.  We have to say "No" based not on the intellectual reasoning, but for the sake of those we love, to protect them from harm. 

 So we come to the fourth choice - what if Eve turned to man?  What if she turned away from the snake and looked at Adam, and realized how much suffering it would bring to him to disobey the commandment?  If she imagined not the faceless mass of the millions, but him, her beloved led away in chains, burned at stake, taken to Auschwitz in a cattle car, forced to hard labor, pushed into a gas chamber, freezing in Siberian forest, beaten and tortured and humiliated - would she say "No" out of love?

I re-read my new resume with informal education ranging from Plato to Spinoza to Eastern Spirituality and realized that my rational mind can be anywhere, but it is the heart that brings me here. 

Here is the difference - the other teachings, no matter how wise, give you the method to calm your soul, but they don't put you in front of the imperative, they don't force you to face your anger as a sin, an offence against G-d and man that requires deep repentance.  It is nice to be a good person, but you are not forced to.  In nothingness-embracing meditation one quiets his mind and rests in silence.  There is no Other Being to talk to , to blame, to question, to apologize to, no one to miss and to love.  Judaism makes one responsible for actions, thoughts and feelings.  If I am not for myself, then who is for me?