בְּרֵאשִׁית

BeReshit/Genesis
CHAPTER 3

With Commentaries

“And ADAM/the man named his wife Khavah/Eve because she was to be the mother of all the living.”


Listen to this chapter in Hebrew

And the serpent was the shrewdest/most prudent/most sensible/most cunning than all the living things of the land which YHVH ELOHIM had made. And he said to the woman, “Also because ELOHIM said, 'You will not eat of any tree in the garden?’”

1

וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יהוה אלהים וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה אַף כִּי־אָמַר אלהים לֹא תֹאכְלוּ מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן׃

א

V’HaNakhash | Haya | Arum | Mikol | Khayat | HaSadeh | Asher | Asah | YHVH | ELOHIM | Vayomer | Et-HaIsha | Af | Ki-Amar | ELOHIM | Lo | Tokh’Lu | Mikol | Etz | Hagan

COMMENTARIES VERSE 1

אף כּי-אמר אלהים

Did, perhaps, God say.

"ls it possible that God forbade you to eat of any of the trees? Why would He have created them if they are not to be enjoyed?" (Midrash HaGadol). This is a classic ploy of the Evil Inclination: Pleasures are meant to be enjoyed, so it is foolish to believe that God could have commanded one to restrain oneself from doing so.

This verse could be portrayed as a line of conversation that could go on in your mind when contemplating an action you know you are not to do. An action you know fully well is wrong with negative consequences, but you try to convince yourself to do it anyway. So you try to find justification to do it.

Who or what was the serpent? This is a question that I will try to answer later, as the answer is quite complicated. For now, let us try to understand the serpent's motive and essence. What is this serpent all about? What does HaShem tell us by this verse? Let us begin with the word that HaShem uses to describe the serpent’s character.

עָרוּם/ARUM

1) subtle, shrewd, crafty, sly, sensible
1b) prudent

This word appears 11 times in the Hebrew Bible and seems to describe someone calm, calculating, patient, and cunning. Someone who does things pre-emptively and not in a rush. Someone who puts a lot of thought into his actions. Someone who is very smart and can react quickly and favorably on his behalf. Here are the 11 verses in which you can find this word.

Job 5:12 He frustrates the devices of the עָרוּם/crafty so that their hands achieve no success. (The עָרוּם is viewed as unfavorable.)

Job 15:5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the עֲרוּמִים/crafty (in plural). (The עֲרוּמִים are viewed as unfavorable.)

Proverbs 12:16 The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the עָרוּם/prudent ignores an insult. (The עָרוּם is viewed as favorable.)

Proverbs 12:23 A עָרוּם/prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly. (The עָרוּם is viewed as favorable.)

Proverbs 13:16 Every עָרוּם/prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (The עָרוּם are viewed as favorable.)

Proverbs 14:8 The wisdom of the עָרוּם/prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving. (The עָרוּם are viewed as favorable.)

Proverbs 14:15 The simple believes everything, but the עָרוּם/prudent gives thought to his steps. (The עָרוּם are viewed as favorable.)

Proverbs 14:18 The simple inherit folly, but the עֲרוּמִים/prudent (in plural) are crowned with knowledge. (The עֲרוּמִים are viewed as favorable.)

Proverbs 22:3 The עָרוּם/prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. (The עָרוּם are viewed as favorable.)

Proverbs 27:12 The עָרוּם/prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. (The עָרוּם are viewed as favorable.)

As we can see, this word can be used to describe someone who is evil or good. This word is a skill that can be used for good or evil.

Okay, back to the serpent. This serpent is very smart, calculating, and motivated. Also, this verse names the serpent the smartest of all the animals of creation. Now, let us continue this in later verses.

And the isha/woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the tree, of the garden we may eat.

2

וַתֹּאמֶר הָאִשָּׁה אֶל־הַנָּחָשׁ מִפְּרִי עֵץ־הַגָּן נֹאכֵל׃

ב

Vatomer | HaIshah | El-Hanakhash | Mip’Ri | Etz-HaGan | Nokhel

and from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden. ELOHIM said, ‘Do not eat from it, and do not touch it lest you die.’”

3

וּמִפְּרִי הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹךְ־הַגָּן אָמַר אלהים לֹא תֹאכְלוּ מִמֶּנּוּ וְלֹא תִגְּעוּ בּוֹ פֶּן־תְּמֻתוּן׃

ג

Umip’Ri | HaEtz | Asher | B’Tokh-HaGan | Amar | ELOHIM | Lo | Tokh’Lu | Mimenu | V’Lo | Tig’U | Bo | Pen-T’Mutun

And the serpent said to the woman, “You are not going to die,

4

וַיֹּאמֶר הַנָּחָשׁ אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה לֹא־מוֹת תְּמֻתוּן׃

ד

Vayomer | HaNakhash | El-HaIshah | Lo-Mot | T’Metun

COMMENTARIES VERSES 3 - 4

וְלֹא תִגְּעוּ בּוֹ

And don’t touch it.

In the Midrash, Rashi wrote: God had commanded them only not to eat, but Eve added to the prohibition. The outcome of doing so was to diminish the commandments. The serpent pushed her against the tree and said: “Just as you did not die from touching it, so you will not die from eating it!” Thus, the serpent convinced her that God’s death threat was merely to intimidate them not to eat but that they would not indeed die.

for ELOHIM knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be as/like elohim/gods/humans with power who know good and bad.”

5

כִּי יֹדֵעַ אלהים כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכׇלְכֶם מִמֶּנּוּ וְנִפְקְחוּ עֵינֵיכֶם וִהְיִיתֶם כֵּאלֹהִים יֹדְעֵי טוֹב וָרָע׃

ה

Ki | Yodea | ELOHIM | Ki | B’Yom | Akhal’Khem | Mimenu | V’Nig’K’Khu | Eyneykhem | Vih’Yiytem | KeLohim | Yod’Ey | Tov | Vara

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was desirable to the eyes, [or craved just by looking at it.], and that the tree was coveted to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

6

וַתֵּרֶא הָאִשָּׁה כִּי טוֹב הָעֵץ לְמַאֲכָל וְכִי תַאֲוָה־הוּא לָעֵינַיִם וְנֶחְמָד הָעֵץ לְהַשְׂכִּיל וַתִּקַּח מִפִּרְיוֹ וַתֹּאכַל וַתִּתֵּן גַּם־לְאִישָׁהּ עִמָּהּ וַיֹּאכַל׃

ו

Vatere | HaIsha | Ki | Tov | HaEtz | L’Ma’Akhal | V’Khi | Ta’Ara-Hu | Laeynayim | Vatokhal | HaEtz | L’Has’Kil | Vatikakh | Mipir’Yo | Vatokhal | Vatiten | Gam-L’Isha | Ima | Vayokhal

COMMENTARIES VERSE 6

תַאֲוָה/Ta’Ara

This word is used to describe how the fruit looked to the woman. This word appears in the Bible 21 times.

Genesis 49:26 The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers. (Monetary, something to be gained from.)

Numbers 11:4 Now, the mob that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh, that we had meat to eat!

Isaiah 26:8 In the path of your judgments, O YHVH, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.

Psalms 78:29 And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.

Job 33:20 so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food.

This word in the rest of the other verses gets translated as desire and just a few more times to crave. So, in other words, the woman wanted to take the fruit just by looking at it. It was something that she craved, desired, and saw as some reward to take from.

חָמַד/Hamad

This word is used to describe the outcome of eating the fruit. This word appears 26 times in the Bible.

Genesis 2:9: And out of the ground, YHVH God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 27:15: Then Rebekah took any garments of her son Esau that she desired, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son.

Exodus 20:17: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Isaiah 44:9: All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know that they may be put to shame.

Daniel 9:23 At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision.

The rest of the verses where this word can be found repeat the above meanings.

It would seem that the woman wanted to take from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. She was taking in what the serpent told her and finding justifications to do so. She just needed a little nudge to get her to do it.

So another question that comes up frequently is, did ADAM and EVE have no free will before eating from the Tree of Knowledge? I say yes, they did. Otherwise, there would have been no words the serpent could say to convince either of them, and there would have been no punishment. Why punish them for something they had no control over? They had free will but did not know they were doing evil by listening to the serpent and disobeying HaShem. Knowing between good and wrong was not part of ADAM and EVE yet. Not until they took from the Tree of Knowledge.

COMMENTARIES VERSE 6

כִּי יֹדֵעַ אלהים

for God knows

R’Hirsch wrote: The serpent used another ploy familiar to those who try to rationalize the Torah away. They contend that those who convey and interpret the Law of God are motivated by a selfish desire to consolidate power in themselves. “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.”

Radak and Ibn Ezra wrote: The tempter did not explicitly tell the woman to eat the fruit, but he had enveloped her in his words. She looked at the tree with a new longing. Its fruit was good to eat, a delight to the eyes, and it would give her wisdom. Then she brought it to ADAM and repeated everything the serpent had told her. He was at one with her and not blameless (i.e., he was not hopelessly tempted or unreasonably deceived) and, therefore, liable to punishment.

Then, their eyes/ears of them both were opened, and they knew/saw/perceived that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

7

וַתִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי שְׁנֵיהֶם וַיֵּדְעוּ כִּי עֵירֻמִּם הֵם וַיִּתְפְּרוּ עֲלֵה תְאֵנָה וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם חֲגֹרֹת׃

ז

Vatipakakh’Nah | Eyney | Sh’Neyhem | Vayed’U | Ki | Eyremim | Hem | Vayit’P’Ru | Ale | T’Ena | Vaya’Asu | Lahem | Khagorot

COMMENTARIES VERSE 7

וַיֵּדְעוּ

Vayed’U

And they realized……

R’Hirsch said the serpent was right: They had become enlightened people. But their first realization was — that they were naked! … Man need not be ashamed of his body as long as it stands in the service of God … Otherwise, he feels shame in his nakedness. This shame awakens the voice of conscience that reminds us we are not meant to be animals.

I think ADAM and his wife underwent a change in them—an irreversible change, even when they procreate. Their children will be like them. Now, they can see/perceive/can tell apart what is good and evil. Why did HaShem not create ADAM with the ability to distinguish right from wrong from the beginning? I believe this had to be a choice that they, ADAM and his wife, had to make on their own. Everything is a choice: a choice to do good, a choice to do evil, a choice to believe in a particular religion and not the true Creator, a choice for everything. HaShem gave the Torah to Moses, and now humanity can get it themselves. No matter who you are or where you are from. It is our choice to read it and study it. Or, you have the choice to be led by what others say the Bible says, and you have the choice to not read it by yourself and be led astray.

This is what HaShem God says about the Torah.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14

Surely, this Instruction (the Torah) which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens that you should say, “Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, “Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” No, the thing (the Torah) is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.

And they heard the sound/voice of YHVH ELOHIM walking in the garden in the ruakh (breath/spirit/wind) of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of YHVH ELOHIM among the trees of the garden.

8

וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת־קוֹל יהוה אלהים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן לְרוּחַ הַיּוֹם וַיִּתְחַבֵּא הָאָדָם וְאִשְׁתּוֹ מִפְּנֵי יהוה אלהים בְּתוֹךְ עֵץ הַגָּן׃

ח

Vayish’M’U | Et-Kol | YHVH | ELOHIM | Mit’Halekh | Bagan | L’Ruakh | Hayom | Vayit’Khabe | HaAdam | V’Ish’To | Mip’Ney | YHVH | ELOHIM | B’Tokh | Etz | Hagan

COMMENTARIES VERSE 8

וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ

Vayeesh’U

And they heard

Radak said that HaShem caused His sound to be heard by the Man and the Woman to Afford them the opportunity to hide and teach etiquette: Do not look upon a man in his disgrace.

As written in Derech Eretz Rabbah 5, God did not appear to them immediately after they sinned and felt ashamed; He waited until they had sewn fig leaves together, and only then did they hear the sound of HaShem God. The verse also teaches that one should never enter another’s home suddenly and unannounced.

I have been looking for where this verse says, “in the Ruakh of the day.” I am not exactly sure what it means by this. It could be translated as to be “in the wind of the day,” “in the spirit of the day,” or “in the breath of the day.” I know that in some translations, it says in the cool of the day or something similar that makes sense, but that is not what it says. There must be a meaning to using such word, “Ruakh.” I am not smart enough to get it yet. When I looked it up, I found a discussion on the cool time of the day, but I don’t think HaShem meant a time of the day. Why would it matter if it was in the morning, midday, or night? I hope I find out the true message one day. I have already spent two days just on this verse and word.

YHVH ELOHIM called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

9

וַיִּקְרָא יהוה אלהים אֶל־הָאָדָם וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אַיֶּכָּה׃

ט

Vayik’Ra | YHVH | ELOHIM | El-HaAdam | Vayomer | Lo | Ayeka

COMMENTARIES VERSE 9

אַיֶּכָּה

Where are you?

In the Midrash Aggadah is written: God knew where ADAM was, of course. The question was merely a means of initiating a calm dialogue with him so he would not be too terrified to repent [or to reply], as he would be if God were to punish him suddenly. But ADAM did not confess. Instead, as verse 12 shows, he hurled against God the very kindness of the gift of EVE by implying that God was at fault for giving him his wife.

He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid.”

10

וַיֹּאמֶר אֶת־קֹלְךָ שָׁמַעְתִּי בַּגָּן וָאִירָא כִּי־עֵירֹם אָנֹכִי וָאֵחָבֵא׃

י

Vayomer | Et-Kol’Kha | Shama’Ti | Bagan | Vaira | Ki-Eyrom | Anokhi | Vaekhave

And He said, “Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten of the tree you were commanded not to eat from?”

11

וַיֹּאמֶר מִי הִגִּיד לְךָ כִּי עֵירֹם אָתָּה הֲמִן־הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ לְבִלְתִּי אֲכׇל־מִמֶּנּוּ אָכָלְתָּ׃

יא

Vayomer | Mi | Higid | L’Kha | Ki | Eyrom | Ata | HaMin-HaEtz | Asher | Tzivitikh | L’Vil’Ti | Akhol-Mimenu | Akhal’Ta

And the man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”

12

וַיֹּאמֶר הָאָדָם הָאִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה עִמָּדִי הִוא נָתְנָה־לִּי מִן־הָעֵץ וָאֹכֵל׃

יב

Vayomer | HaAdam | HaIsha | Asher | Natata | Imadi | Hiv | Nat’Na-Li | Min-HaEtz | Vaokhel

COMMENTARIES VERSE 12

וָאֹכֵל

And I ate.

In an astounding interpretation, the Sages/Khazal note that the verb is in the future tense as if ADAM was saying, “I ate, and I will eat again!” Michtav MeEliyahu (1892 - 1953) explains that ADAM assessed himself objectively and said that if he were to be faced with a similar temptation, he would probably succumb again. A sinner cannot hope to escape from his spiritual squalor unless he is honest with himself.

And YHVH ELOHIM said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

13

וַיֹּאמֶר יהוה אלהים לָאִשָּׁה מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂית וַתֹּאמֶר הָאִשָּׁה הַנָּחָשׁ הִשִּׁיאַנִי וָאֹכֵל׃

יג

Vayomer | YHVH | ELOHIM | LaIshah | Ma-Zot | Asit | Vatomer | HaIsha | HaNakhash | Hishiani | Vaokhel

And YHVH ELOHIM said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all beasts/livestock and above all living animals of the field; on your belly, you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

14

וַיֹּאמֶר יהוה אלהים אֶל־הַנָּחָשׁ כִּי עָשִׂיתָ זֹּאת אָרוּר אַתָּה מִכׇּל־הַבְּהֵמָה וּמִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה עַל־גְּחֹנְךָ תֵלֵךְ וְעָפָר תֹּאכַל כׇּל־יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ׃

יד

Vayomer | YHVH | ELOHIM | El-HaNakhash | Ki | Asita | Zot | Arur | Ata | Mikol-HaB’Hema | Umikol | Khayat | HaSadeh | Al-G’Khon’kha | Telekh | V’Afar | Tokhal | Khal-Y’mey | Khayeykha

COMMENTARIES VERSE 14

אֶל־הַנָּחָשׁ

To the serpent.

The serpent was the instigator of it all; he was cursed first, then EVE, and finally ADAM (Khiskuni 13th Century).

and I will put enmity/hatred between you and between the woman and between your offspring/seed/descendants and between her offspring/seed/descendants; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

15

וְאֵיבָה אָשִׁית בֵּינְךָ וּבֵין הָאִשָּׁה וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ וּבֵין זַרְעָהּ הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב׃

טו

V’Eyva | Ashit | Beyn’Kha | Uveyn | HaIsha | Uveyn | Zar’A’Kha | Uveyn | Zar’A | Hu | Y’Shuf’Kha | Rosh | V’Ata | T’shufenu | Akev

COMMENTARIES VERSE 15

רֹאשׁ…עָקֵב

Head…heel.

Homiletically, the Sages/Khazal derived from this description the proper tactics in the eternal war between man and the Evil Inclination symbolized by the serpent. The serpent seduces the Jew to trample the commandments with his heel, and the Jew can prevail by using his head, meaning the study of the Torah (Midrash HaNe’elam).

I kind of agree with this commentary, and at the same time, I do not agree with it. Why? If the serpent symbolizes sin, and the heel is the heel of the seed/descendants/offspring of the first woman. Then that means that “he,” in this case, is all mankind because all mankind came from that first woman. Furthermore, sin is not exclusive to the Jewish people. And if we are patient enough, HaShem Elohim will explain it in the next chapter.

To the woman, He said, “I will multiply many times your pain/labor/hardship/sorrow/toil (I think it means to say pregnancy here); in pain you shall bring forth children. Yet your desire shall be to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

16

אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה אָמַר הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה עִצְּבוֹנֵךְ וְהֵרֹנֵךְ בְּעֶצֶב תֵּלְדִי בָנִים וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ תְּשׁוּקָתֵךְ וְהוּא יִמְשׇׁל־בָּךְ׃

טז

El-HaIsha | Amar | Har’Bah | Ar’Be | Itz’Vonekh | V’Heronekh | B’Etzev | Tel’Di | Vanim | V’El-Ishekh | T’Shukatekh | V’Hu | Yim’Shal-Bakh

COMMENTARIES VERSE 16

Sforno (c. 1470/1475 - 1549) wrote: Before the sin, ADAM and EVE lived together, and she conceived and gave birth immediately and painlessly. Now, that would change. Conception would not be automatic, and there would be an extended period of pregnancy and labor pains.

If HaShem said to the woman, “I will multiply many times your pregnancy: in pain, you shall bring forth children.” Then, it naturally should be assumed that before the punishment, she could give birth without pregnancy hardship and that she could give birth painlessly. If not, then the punishment is not a punishment.

וְהוּא יִמְשׇׁל־בָּךְ

And he shall rule over you.

R’ Hirsch (1808 - 1888) wrote that her punishment was a measure for measure. She influenced her husband to eat at her command; now, she would become subservient to him. Ramban (1194 - 1270) clarifies that the new conditions/way of life they will descend to will make life hard for them in many ways, especially a way to find food. Hard labor would be needed and naturally would make women dependent on naturally physically stronger men. R’ Hirsch also wrote that obedience to the Torah restores her to her former and proper status as the crown of her husband and the pearl of his life.

I will add to this by saying that in my life, I have met many women who are afraid of having children just because of the pregnancy difficulties and the labor process itself. Yet, when they get married and come to love their husbands, they overcome the fear associated with childbearing and get pregnant, many of them multiple times. So, in the end, women’s longing is for their husbands despite their fear of childbearing difficulties.

Proverbs 12:4

A capable wife is a crown for her husband, But an incompetent one is like rot in his bones.

Proverbs 31:10

What a rare find is a capable wife! Her worth is far beyond that of rubies.

The Sages/Chazal ordained that a man should honor his wife more than himself and love her as himself. He should increase his generosity to her according to his means if he has money. He should not cast fear upon her unduly, and his conversation with her should be gentle — he should be prone neither to melancholy nor anger. They have similarly ordained that a wife should honor her husband exceedingly revere him … and refrain from anything repugnant to him. This is the way of the daughters of Israel who are holy and pure in their union, and in these ways will their life together be seemly and praiseworthy (Rambam, Hil. Ishus 15:19-20).

And to ADAM/Man, he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and ate of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground for your sake; in pain/labor/hardship/sorrow/toil, you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

17

וּלְאָדָם אָמַר כִּי־שָׁמַעְתָּ לְקוֹל אִשְׁתֶּךָ וַתֹּאכַל מִן־הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ לֵאמֹר לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ אֲרוּרָה הָאֲדָמָה בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ בְּעִצָּבוֹן תֹּאכְלֶנָּה כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ׃

יז

Ul’Adam | Amar | Ki-Shama’Ta | L’Kol | Ish’Tekha | Vatokhal | Min-HaEtz | Asher | Tzivitikh | L’Mor | Lo | Tokhal | Mimenu | Arura | Ha’Adama | Ba’Avurekha | B’Itzavon | Tokh’Lena | Kol | Y’Mey | Khayeykha

COMMENTARIES VERSE 17

כִּי־שָׁמַעְתָּ

Because you listened.

People always make choices in life, and they are responsible for them. ADAM failed to exercise his responsibility to investigate what he was being offered and realize that when he had to choose between pleasing God and pleasing the one offering a momentarily enticing choice, his first allegiance had to be to God. As Or HaChaim (b. c. 1696 - 7 July 1743) puts it, he listened to her voice without examining the consequences that her words would bring.

When I read the part where it says, “offering a momentarily enticing choice.” It reminded me of Joseph, son of Jacob/Israel.

Genesis/B’Reshit 39:7-10

And after a time, his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

Sin presents itself in many ways, and we must be prepared to know what HaShem thinks and what is wrong in His eyes.

אֲרוּרָה הָאֲדָמָה בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ

Cursed is the ground for your sake.

This part of the verse almost always says, “Cursed is the ground because of you.” but it does not say that. Instead it reads “cursed is the ground for your sake.” And I can see how this can be true because we are responsible for the earth. Our job as people is to care for and tend to the earth just like ADAM and EVE had to tend and care for the Garden of Eden; all our actions affect it. On the other hand, everything in creation was made for ADAM/Man, and if the earth had to be cursed to teach ADAM a lesson, what other conclusion can we come to if not to curse the land to make Adam a Better Man? Why would God punish the land because ADAM sinned? What fault is it of the land that ADAM sinned? But to use the earth/the land as a tool to make Man a better creation, that, I can see. So, to help ADAM, God cursed the land. It was done for his sake.

בְּעִצָּבוֹן תֹּאכְלֶנָּה כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ

“In pain/labor/hardship/sorrow/toil, you shall eat of it all the days of your life.”

Radak (1160–1235) wrote that ADAM would have to work the soil until he was able, finally, to eat its produce, whereas up until then, he did not have to toil to assure himself of his food supply. All ADAM had to do was to pluck the fruit from the trees in the Garden of Eden. When the Torah had spoken of Adam’s task in the Garden of Eden being לעבדה ולשמרה (2,15), the amount of physical work required to attend to that task was minimal. Now, he would have to work intensively; as the metaphor illustrates, “You will eat your bread in the sweat of your brow.”

And thorns and thistles it will spring for you, and you shall eat the vegetation of the field.

18

וְקוֹץ וְדַרְדַּר תַּצְמִיחַ לָךְ וְאָכַלְתָּ אֶת־עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה׃

יח

V’Kotz | V’Dar’Dar | Tatz’Mikha | Lakh | V’Akhal’Ta | Et-Esev | HaSadeh

COMMENTARIES VERSE 18

וְקוֹץ וְדַרְדַּר

And thorns and thistles.

I just discovered that thistles are edible and that, nowadays, they are used by health-conscious people as medicinal herbs. I guess, and I could be wrong, that the milk thistle can be consumed entirely once you get past the thorny part. Could ADAM and EVE have initially fed on just this variation full of thorns until they managed to find new food sources and start planting agricultural-wise?

With sweat on your face, you shall eat food till you return to the ground, for from it you were taken; because dust you are, and to dust you will return.”

19

בְּזֵעַת אַפֶּיךָ תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם עַד שׁוּבְךָ אֶל־הָאֲדָמָה כִּי מִמֶּנָּה לֻקָּחְתָּ כִּי־עָפָר אַתָּה וְאֶל־עָפָר תָּשׁוּב׃

יט

B’Zeat | Apeykha | Tokhal | Lekhem | Ad | Shuv’Kha | El-Ha’Adamah | Ki | Mimena | Lekakh’Ta |Ki-Afar | Ata | V’El-Afar | Tashuv

COMMENTARIES VERSE 19

כִּי־עָפָר אַתָּה

Because dust you are.

Aderes Eliyahu, a Torah commentator, implied that death was not a curse but a natural consequence of Man’s nature. Since he originated from the earth, it is only natural that age and deterioration would return him to his origin. However, he would have purified his physical nature and risen above his origin if he had not sinned.

This is the process of mankind’s life. We are conceived, we are born, we live our lives, and we die. There is no way around it. But can you prolong your life? HaShem says in Isaiah 45:7, “I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil; I, Adonai/HaShem, Am the ONE Who does all these things.” Here, HaShem God is saying that He created all goodness in the world and all evil in the world. Good and evil have existed in the world since the beginning of creation. But in Deuteronomy 30:11-14, HaShem God says, “For this commandment/Torah/Law of God that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word/Torah/Law of HaShem God is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it.” HaShem God gave the Torah/five books of Moses/God’s Law to Moses, our teacher, and Moses gave it to the Jews, and the Jews let us have it as well. There is no excuse. The Torah is accessible to everyone. Further, in Deuteronomy 30:19, He said, “I set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life that you and your offspring may live.” Here, HaShem God is saying at the end of the Torah that the rules, the Law of HaShem God, the Torah, is in your hands and that with it, you can know what is good and what is evil in His sight and warns you to choose good so that you will live the full extent of your life span. Similarly, if you live a careless life, making bad choices, your life will be shortened, as we will see as we study the Torah more. So, the only one who can save you and the only one who can have the choice to be with HaShem for eternity is you. You have the power of choice. You decide if you are a good person or a bad one. You decide if you get saved or not. God presents you with the rules in the Torah, and He puts the choice on you. Follow them and live; go against them and die. He wants you to choose good. HaShem loves you very much; He loves you more than any human can love Him or any other person. But He will not force you to be a good person if you don’t want to.

ADAM/the Man called his wife’s name Khavah/Eve because she was to be the mother of all life.

20

וַיִּקְרָא הָאָדָם שֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ חַוָּה כִּי הִוא הָיְתָה אֵם כׇּל־חָי׃

כ

Vayik’Ra | HaAdam | Shem | Ish’To | Khavah | Ki | Hiv | Hay’Ta | Em | Kol-Khay

COMMENTARIES VERSE 20

חַוָּה

Khavah/Eve

This Hebrew word/name means “life.” So Khavah/Eve, Adam’s wife, is to be the mother of all people alive. Once again, ADAM gave her that name as he saw Khavah’s/Eve’s nature. We all know Khavah by the name Eve, which is the English version of the name, which in turn is derived from the Latin name Eva, which came from the Hebrew name Khavah/life.

And YHVH ELOHIM made for ADAM and for his wife garments of skin and clothed them.

21

וַיַּעַשׂ יהוה אלהים לְאָדָם וּלְאִשְׁתּוֹ כׇּתְנוֹת עוֹר וַיַּלְבִּשֵׁם׃

כא

Vayaas | YHVH | ELOHIM | L’Adam | Ul’Ish’To | Kot’Not | Or | Vayal’Bishem

COMMENTARIES VERSE 21

Rabbi Tovia Singer says that HaShem made them clothes of animal skin because it would remind them of what they lost. Now, they have to cover their nakedness with an animal’s nakedness.

Another view, and I am sorry to say that I do not remember from whom I heard it, but his view is that maybe the Garden in Eden is not on Earth, and Adam and Khavah were not on Earth yet. So, the skin they got was their human skin. He believes they were souls before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge and did not need skins until they reached Earth. This is certainly a different view that I have never heard before. And as I saw the word for skin in Hebrew in this verse, which is עוֹר/Or, I immediately remembered the word for light, which is אוֹר/Or they are just spelled differently. For all I know, this might not mean anything, but it caught my eye. Also, when I was pondering these two words, I remember Exodus 4:29-35 in which was written:

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with HaShem. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward, all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that HaShem had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before HaShem God to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went in to speak with Him.”

In these verses, I think that it was not Moses's skin glowing but that the soul/spirit/Breath of God inside Moses was shining through his skin. Like the light of a flashlight going through your skin when you put it against your hand. I can continue pondering about the Torah forever, and I don’t want to be sidetracked. So I will stop here.

And YHVH ELOHIM said, “Look/Behold, Adam/the man became like one of us to know good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”

22

וַיֹּאמֶר יהוה אלהים הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה כְּאַחַד מִמֶּנּוּ לָדַעַת טוֹב וָרָע וְעַתָּה פֶּן־יִשְׁלַח יָדוֹ וְלָקַח גַּם מֵעֵץ הַחַיִּים וְאָכַל וָחַי לְעֹלָם׃

כב

Vayomer | YHVH | ELOHIM | Hen | HaAdam | Hayah | K’Akhad | Mimenu | Ladaat | Tov | Vara | V’Ata | Pen-Yish’Lakh | Yado | V’Lakakh | Gam | Meetz | Hakhayim | V’Akhal | L’olam

Adam became like one of us. Adonai HaShem God said that Adam became like Himself and the administering angels/messengers to know right from wrong. This tells me that angels/messengers know the difference between right and wrong. The question is, do they have free will? You can say that they do because if not. What would be the point of knowing right from wrong if you can not choose from one or the other? At the same time, I know that angels or messengers are just messengers, as they are named in the original Hebrew language. They are just what their name means: messengers, one who carries a message or is employed to carry messages. But these messengers do more than run messages. In the Hebrew Bible, they have been known to act in certain situations. Like when the two angels/messengers were tasked with finding out if Sodoma and Gamora were sinful enough to be destroyed. In this case, they act to save Lot and his family (Be’Reshit/Genesis 19) in a way that would not harm the evil people. So, their purpose is more than to carry messages. They are more like taskdoers.

Another thing I know is that no angel/messenger has ever acted against God’s will like the messenger in the Book of Job. This angel/messenger only acted to do evil to Job after HaShem God allowed him to. In the Book of Job, HaShem God asked the angel/messenger about Job and asked the angel/messenger if he had seen how righteous Job was, and the messenger told God that this was because God protected Job too much. So God gave this messenger permission to do evil on Job, and the angel/messenger did so, but Job never forsook God. See, this angel/messenger did not act on his own accord, and not until Adonai God told him to do it did this messenger called, in this book, satan (the adversary) act do evil on Job. Angels/messengers can not act independently; they can only do as Adonai, our God, commends them to do. They only do the job they are assigned, and only if forced to take action will they act independently, but still staying within the boundaries of God’s will.

Angels/messengers, the Hebrew Bible does not say how, why, or what for were they created. All that is known of them is what we can derive from what they do and how they act in the Bible.

There I go. I went off-topic again. Okay, so Adam was not created with the ability to tell good and evil from one another. Only after eating from the Tree of Knowledge did mankind learn this ability. Bringing us that much closer to being in God’s image.

And YHVH ELOHIM sent him out from the garden of Eden/Pleasure to work/serve/labor the ground from which he was taken.

23

וַיְשַׁלְּחֵהוּ יהוה אלהים מִגַּן־עֵדֶן לַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר לֻקַּח מִשָּׁם׃

כג

Vay’Shal’Khehu | YHVH | ELOHIM | Migan-Eden | LaA’Vod | Et-HaAdama | Esher | Lekakh | Misham

And having driven out Adam/the man, He stationed at the east of the Garden of Eden the Ke’Ruvim and the flame of the ever-turning sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life.
_________________________________________________________________________

And drove out Adam/the man, and dwelt in front/to the east of the Garden of Eden/Pleasure. The Ke’Ruvim and the heat/flame of the ever-turning sword guard/preserve the way/passage/path of the Tree of Life.

24

וַיְגָרֶשׁ אֶת־הָאָדָם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן מִקֶּדֶם לְגַן־עֵדֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִים וְאֵת לַהַט הַחֶרֶב הַמִּתְהַפֶּכֶת לִשְׁמֹר אֶת־דֶּרֶךְ עֵץ הַחַיִּים׃

כד

Vay’Garesh | Et-HaAdam | Vayash’Ken | Mikedem | L’Gan-Eden | Et-HaKe’Ruvim | V’Et | Lahat | Hakherev | Hamit’Hapekhet | Lish’Mor | Et-Derekh | Etz | HaKhayim

COMMENTARIES VERSE 24

The more I read chapter three, the more I see the Garden of Eden as being located in Heaven. The place that was created together with Earth on the first day of creation but separated by the creation of the expense. ADAM and Khavah/Eve then did what they should not have and gained the ability to differentiate good from evil. An ability that is not easily mastered if you want to be close to HaShem, our Creator. So, bare with me: if the Garden was located in Eden/Pleasure and Eden was up in Heaven, then where Adam and Khavah were expelled from was Heaven and cast down to Earth. Earth is where both good and evil exist together, and suffering also exists because the Earth is where evil is possible. Suffering is a consequence of evil deeds.

הַכְּרֻבִים

The Ke’Ruvim

These Ke’Ruvim are creatures from Heaven; I guess I will use the term angelic. And as the word Ke’Ruvim is used here, it is plural from the singular word K’ruv. So, this means that HaShem placed many Ke’Ruvim to guard the way back to the Tree of Life, and if we keep with the idea of the Garden that is in Eden, and Eden is up in Heaven, then the path that this multiple Ke’Ruvim are guarding is the way to Heaven. What is more interesting, and I will skip a few chapters, is Genesis chapter 11. The people of that time were trying to build a tower to reach the Heavens, all for pride's sake.

וְאֵת לַהַט הַחֶרֶב הַמִּתְהַפֶּכֶת

And the heat/flame of the ever-turning sword.

To begin with, what is the focus of this statement? I would say the לַהַט/heat/flame, not the sword.

לַהַט

Heat/Flame

This word only appears once in the whole Tanakh/Hebrew Bible. So, along with the Ke’Ruvim what was placed to guard the way to the Tree of Life? Some say the Ke’Ruvim and the sword that the Ke’Ruvim wilded. However, it does not say that the sword was wielded. It only says that the heat or flame of the sword itself was placed to guard the way or the path to the Tree of Life. The sword takes a back seat in this statement. Also, what is the description of the sword? Ever-Turning, this sword is always in motion, never stopping and always moving, and gives off heat so intense that it can not be approached. Another thing, what is a sword? Especially to the people of that time. Phrases like “they took the sword” meant that they went to war, and “living by the sword” meant living in constant war. A sword is a weapon for defense or attack; it does not necessarily have to be a sword. In war, all kinds of weapons are used. So, putting everything together for this sword that may or may not be physical but can be any weapon. That is in constant movement and puts off an immense amount of heat that can not be approached, and since God created it, it is a heavenly armament. Also, the threat was not the sword itself but what guards the path to the Tree of Life, which may be up in heaven, is the heat or flame the sword/weapon puts out.

Okay, what I am about to say is farfetched, and I know how it will sound. Especially nowadays, we have come to know so much from science, but when I combine all of these descriptions, the image that gets conjured into my mind is the Sun. Yes, the sun. The Sun is up in space or the heavens. It is a miraculously enormous star that is always in motion; it never stops moving, and its light and heat travel farther than Earth. We can feel its heat every day, and even if we could travel to it, how close do you think we can get to it before we get burnt to a crisp? Only with the help of HaShem God can we survive getting close to it. Also, the Sun itself would not be the first danger, but the heat that radiates from it would be the first danger.

2 Kings 2:11

And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire/אֵשׁ/esh and horses of fire/אֵשׁ/esh separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

This passage in 2 Kings 2:11 describes Elijah, the prophet of HaShem God, being taken alive to Heaven in chariots of fire and pulled by horses of fire. What is more fitting to go through the Sun and into the path to Heaven if not in chariots and horses of fire? And there are a lot more passages that have to do with fire from HaShem. For example, when HaShem came down to Mountain Sinai, the top of the mountain was engulfed in smoke and fire the whole time HaShem was on it. When Elijah, the prophet of HaShem, was confronted with fifty soldiers, fire from Heaven came down and killed all fifty soldiers, and this happened two or three times in a row. The king who wanted Elijah kept sending fifty soldiers. Also, Sodoma and Gamora and all the surrounding area were destroyed with sulfur and fire that came from HaShem to deliver punishment.

Like I said before, I am just speaking my mind. I have always had a vivid imagination, but maybe that is one of the things needed to understand HaShem. Pondering and thinking in the Torah. HaShem says that we must read from the Torah and learn His laws and commandments, Jews and strangers alike.

Deuteronomy 10 - 13

And Moses commanded them, saying: 'At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before YHVH your God in the place which He shall choose, you will read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear YHVH your God, and observe to do all the words of this law; and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear YHVH your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.'

The Torah has to be read and learned. Back then, they had to commute and gather to hear the Bible as most people could not read. Now, most people can read, and they know less of God than back in those days, and we can see that with no fear of God comes immorality, perversity, and violence.

A study by Statista shows a survey from 2021 found that 11 percent of Americans read the Bible daily. Trends in reading habits over four years showed that most Americans never read the Bible; however, in 2021, this number dropped to 29 percent of respondents. You can say daily that you believe in God, but do you? HaShem's first way of communication with you is the Bible, and you don’t read it. That, to me, is to ignore God. It is like saying I know you are there, but don’t want to hear from you. You are saying to God, I don’t want to know you. Okay, I just realized that I went off-topic yet again. Let us keep going.

Putting It All Together

Sort of

People may have questions about this chapter. Like what or who was the serpent? Was the serpent real, or was it fictive? What type of tree was the Tree of Knowledge? What kind of fruit was it? Why did HaShem have to call out to Adam if He is all-knowing? Why did they get all different punishments, and why did each get their specific punishments? Why would there have to be a tree created by God that can have such harmful consequences in the first place?

I will start by saying that I don’t have all the answers, and even the best minds do not entirely agree with each other, but I will tell you what I have learned from different rabbis, different studies on this subject, and articles I have read and heard over the years.

The Serpent

Okay, Adam and Khavah/Eve have just been created, and this creature shows up out of nowhere and starts trouble. Who or what is it, and what does it want? Is the serpent satan? Let us start here with this Satan word because it is not a name, at least not in the Hebrew Bible.

שָׂטָן/satan

Is this a fallen angel? Who or what is this satan? In the Hebrew Bible, the word satan appears 23 times, and here are the verses.

Numbers 22:22

But Elohim’s anger was kindled because he went, and the מַלְאַךְ/Mal’Akh/messenger/angel of YHVH took his stand in the way as his שָׂטָן/satan/adversary. Now, he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him.

First, let me tell you that a Mal’Akh is a heavenly being created by HaShem God. A Mal’Akh translates into English as a messenger, and a Mal’Akh translates into Greek as Angelos. The Greek word Angelos translates into English as a messenger. So, the word angel is the Greek word Angelos, which was romanized for English use.

In this verse, Satan is this Mal’Akh/messenger/angel of HaShem, but this Mal’Akh/messenger/angel said it himself. He said that he was acting as his satan/adversary. So, the action he was taking was satan and not him, or because he was acting as an adversary, it made him satan. Either way, this Mal’Akh/messenger/angel had HaShem’s best interest in mind and was working with HaShem and not against Him. HaShem sent him there.

Numbers 22:32

And the Mal’Akh/messenger/angel of YHVH said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to שָׂטָן/satan/oppose you because your way is perverse before me.

This is the same Mal’Akh/messenger/angel as the previous verse and the same story. Again, Satan is the action of the Mal’Akh/messenger/angel was taking and not him. This Mal’Akh/messenger/angel was standing in opposition, and that was satan; to stand in opposition or because he was standing in opposition made him satan. The action taken itself.

1 Samuel 29:4

But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become a שָׂטָן/satan/adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here?

Here again, satan means adversary and not an evil angel, and this time, Satan refers to the action that a man might take. This man was feared to be treasonous and was feard to turn against them in battle because he used to be from the opposing enemy. He was not trusted.

2 Samuel 19:23

But David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be as a שָׂטָן/satan/adversary to me? Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?”

Once again, adversary.

1 Kings 5:18

But now YHVH my God/אֱלֹהַי/Elohay has given me rest on every side. There is neither שָׂטָן/satan/adversary nor misfortune.

Here, satan is an adversary of any kind, people, nation, or any opposition.

1 Kings 11:14

And YHVH raised up a שָׂטָן/satan/adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom.

Here, Satan is a man/human incited by YHVH himself to be an adversary.

1 Kings 11:23

Elohim also raised up as a שָׂטָן/satan/adversary to him, Rezon, the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer, king of Zobah.

Once again, a man/human is incited to be an adversary.

1 Kings 11:25

He was a שָׂטָן/satan/adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Syria.

Once more, a man/human is incited to be an adversary.

Zekharaih 3:1

I saw Joshua, the high priest, standing before the מַלְאַךְ/Mal’Akh/messenger/angel of YHVH, and שָׂטָן/satan/accuser standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Here, the accuser is a messenger/angel, but it is an accuser against Joshua, the high priest, not against HaShem.

Zekharaih 3:2

And YHVH said to the שָׂטָן/satan/accuser, “YHVH rebuke you, O שָׂטָן/satan/accuser! YHVH Who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”

HaShem is reprimanding the same messenger/angel for accusing Joshua, the high priest of Israel.

Psalms 109:6

Appoint a wicked man against him; let a שָׂטָן/satan/accuser stand at his right hand.

Job 1:6

Now, there was a day when the sons of the Elohim came to present themselves before YHVH, and the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary also came among them.

Here and all, the next eleven verses are all from the book of Job, and satan will be a Mal’Akh/messenger/angel throughout the story of Job that tries to make Job stand against HaShem. Job had HaShem's protection, and this Mal’Akh/messenger/angel could not do anything without HaShem’s permission. He gets it, though, and Job suffers, but this Mal’Akh/messenger/angel is unsuccessful. Is this Mal’Akh/messenger/angel the same as before, though? Only HaShem knows.

Job 1:7

YHVH said to the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary, “From where have you come?” the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary answered YHVH and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Jobe 1:8

And YHVH said to the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears Elohim and turns away from evil?”

Job 1:9

The שָׂטָן/satan/adversary answered YHVH and said, “Does Job fear Elohim for no reason?

Job 1:12

And YHVH said to the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary went out from the presence of YHVH.

Job 2:1

Again, there was a day when the sons of the Elohim came to present themselves before the YHVH, and the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary also came among them to present himself before the YHVH.

Job 2:2

And YHVH said to the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary, “From where have you come?” the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary answered YHVH and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Job 2:3

And YHVH said to the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears Elohim and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

Job 2:4

Then the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary answered YHVH and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.

Job 2:6

And YHVH said to the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

Job 2:7

So the שָׂטָן/satan/adversary went out from the presence of YHVH and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

1 Chronicles 21:1

Then שָׂטָן/satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.

In this last verse, I assume that satan is also a Mal’Akh/messenger/angel, and this is the first time that this entity, SATAN, is called so without saying what or who he is. Here, for the first time, he is just SATAN. Also, 1 Chronicles is the second to last book in the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible and the lat time that the word SATAN apears. I don’t know, maybe over time, this Mal’Akh/messenger/angel was given the power to tempt man but not to go over HaShem’s wishes. So, what is going on in this verse? See, there is a law in the Torah that says that no one is to count the people of Israel, and the Mal’Akh/messenger/angel or the spirit/Satan is sent to make David sin. If you want to know why it is a sin to count the children of Israel, that is a simple answer. In Genesis 22:17, HaShem told Abraham: “I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore, and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes.” Also, HaShem told Abraham this: “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He added, “So shall your offspring be.” If HaShem says that the descendants of Abraham are this numerous. Then how can they be counted? If you try to count them, then you are going against HaShem Himself. How can you count Israel if Israel has been scattered all over the world? Who knows, maybe even we are Jews in one way or another. But I am going off track again.

Getting back to the word Satan, these twenty-three times are the only times that the word Satan appears in the Hebrew Bible. As you can see, Satan can be a situation, a nation, a person, or an angel. This angel could be the same angel or not; HaShem does not specify, but the actions of this angel, angels, nation, or man make him a Satan.

So, after all that, let's get back on topic: is the serpent satan?

Yes, in a way. This serpent acted as an adversary against Khavah/Eve and acted to make Khavah/Eve sin. So, yes, the serpent was a satan/adversary. Its action made it so.

Was the serpent real or symbolic?

I will say that the serpent was both real and symbolic. Why? Well, because even though the serpent was real. HaShem knew how the serpent was going to act. And isn’t it funny how the serpent’s words mimic so well how our minds would try to convince us to do something we are not supposed to do? So HaShem, knowing this, used the serpent's behavior to serve as a symbolic example of how sin works within us. You tell yourself things like common one more serving/drink. I have been eating/drinking like this for years, and nothing has happened; common, no one will find out, I can get away with it, or Who cares anyway? I will do it anyway. Or I will take it, and nobody will find out. No one uses it anyway. No one is sinless, and we all know the scenario we go through to convince ourselves that it is okay to do a bad thing. We go as far as to say that it is not bad, and we find justification for our bad actions. And the danger is that if you do it too much, in time, it becomes a habit that you get used to, and now you sin without remorse. You do not consider it a sin, but it is, and sin becomes a part of you and your life.

Why do I say the serpent was real? Where did it come from? Why would the serpent do what it did? What is the motive? What was the serpent? Is it a serpent similar to the pictures you see in books or online of Eve reaching for the fruit on a tree with a serpent slithering in the tree?

Okay, let's see where I should start. Let us start with the serpent’s punishment. In verses 14-15 of this chapter, it is written:

And YHVH ELOHIM said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all beasts/livestock and above all living animals of the field; on your belly, you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. and I will put enmity/hatred between you and between the woman and between your offspring/seed/descendants and between her offspring/seed/descendants; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Okay, this serpent before the curse was not a creature that went on its belly, so before the curse, it could walk. It could talk as it talked with Khavah/Eve, and the verse says it was the most intelligent of all animals created. “And dust, you will eat all the days of your life.” This punishment tells us that the serpent enjoyed food; otherwise, why this punishment? So this serpent walked upright, could have an intelligent conversation, and was a connoisseur of good food. I don’t know about you, but this serpent/animal sounds a lot like a humanoid.

Okay, now that we know this, let us go to the previous chapter to find out where the serpent came from and its motive. In chapter 2:18, HaShem makes Adam name all the animals so that he will find and understand that he, Adam, was alone with no one equal to him or another person who would match his intellect. In Adam’s search, I am sure he encountered this smart, cunning, humanlike creature that enjoyed food and probably wanted to be Adam’s mate. If Adam were to contemplate a partner out of all the animals, this would be the creature. Adam most likely saw right through its motives as he could see the nature of all creatures. Adam saw how conniving, vengeful, gluttonous, and deceitful this creature was and that it only cared for its animal wants and nothing else. So, what would a creature like this do if it saw God make a partner for Adam and saw that Adam did not choose it? Well, it did what it did: try to get Khavah/Eve into trouble and get Adam for itself. However, the plan did not work because Khavah involved Adam.

Here are some fun facts about serpents, mainly the big ones like pythons. They still hold on to their legs. A study has been done, and these big pythons have small vestiges of legs still in their skeleton structure, but their body DNA suppresses them. God left them there as proof. Here is a video I found on this

Also, the second part of the curse is the “you will eat dust all day of your life” part. We know that snakes do not eat dirt, but they might as well do. If you search online, you will find that the average adult has 2,000 to 10,000 taste buds. This makes us enjoy all foods and the range of tastes food offers. A University of Connecticut ecologist and evolutionary biologist have published research on the function of snake tongues. Most animals with tongues use them to taste, clean themselves or others, or capture or manipulate their prey. A few, including humans, also use them to make sounds. Snakes do not use their tongues to form any sounds or use their tongues for any of the other things other animals do; the closest thing to taste they come to is the gathering of chemicals in the air that they use to know where prey is. A more accurate description of what a snake uses its tongue for is collecting chemicals from the air or ground so that the snake can locate them. By itself, a snake's tongue can neither smell nor taste. Snake tongues have no taste buds. Instead, the tongue is best considered a specially shaped chemical collector. So snakes can eat anything and would not know if it tastes good or not. It just eats with no gratification. So, the snake lost the ability not only to talk but not to be able to make sounds or taste food with their tongues. So, anything it eats tastes like nothing.

Serpent Conclusion

So, there you have it. The snake was a humanlike creature that talked, walked, and liked to enjoy good food. A jealous creature who became an adversary/satan for Khavah/Eve and got everyone into trouble. But. Was it trouble what they got themself into? Or… Or? You ask?

What if we got it all wrong?

Well, what I have discussed is not wrong; we have to look at the story from another perspective, and the punishment of Adam and Khavah will make sense. This perspective is not mine; I only wish I was this smart. But I am a good listener and entertain all aspects of reasoning. I heard this perspective from Rabbi Manis Friedman, and I like it so much. It shows the love and trust that HaShem has for us.

Let us start by asking the question, why did HaShem God create us? After all, HaShem is all-powerful. We have nothing that He needs. We can not offer Him anything He can not create on His own. Or are we that naive that we think that we can come up with something that HaShem can not create on His Own? All we give Him is trouble. We are simple creatures that give Him nothing but trouble. We fail Him daily. And yet he says that if we repent, He will forgive us and take us back. And He does, but our repentance has to be genuine.

Isaiah 45:22

“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”

Ezekiel 18:21-23

“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him, for the righteousness that he has done, he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord YHVH, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?”

Hosea 3:5

Afterward, the children of Israel shall return/repent and seek YHVH, their God, and David, their king, and they shall come in fear to YHVH and to his goodness in the latter days.

So why? Why create us? The answer is very simple… LOVE. HaShem, God created us out of love. Why else create an imperfect being that He knows we are going to fail time and time again? And He patiently waits for us to return because that is what repentance means in Hebrew. The word is תְשׁוּבָה/Te’Shuvah/Return. Remember when Adam and Khavah heard the sound of HaShem approaching after eating the fruit of the tree? HaShem called to Adam. Not because HaShem did not know where he was but because Adam was distancing himself from HaShem because of his sin. And HaShem was calling for him, asking him to return. So when you are in sin, don’t you dare say God has abandoned you when the one that went away from God is you. But know that no matter where you are in life. That you can say enough, I can’t do this anymore. I want to return to God. Leave your sin behind instead and RETURN. HaShem is calling you back. Do not hide. Do not run away from him by sinning more. And I hope you also asked why God would make an imperfect being. I also hope that this is obvious to you. HaShem God created us imperfect and created Good along with evil for us to choose. HaShem God does not want robots with no choice but to love him. HaShem created us with the ability to choose to do good and be with Him forever or to do evil and separate ourselves from Him and die, so if you think that we are sinners because ADAM and Khavah sinned. Well, that is not so. We were created like this, imperfect, in order for us to choose Him and still have the choice not to be with Him. HaShem God is good, and so we must be good, but if we choose to instead be evil, we can not be with Him because God dispaces evil. Would you be with someone who you despise or who does things that you despise?

So, what is going on? HaShem created this imperfect creation (us) and put us in a place of sin and suffering, and then what? Why? Why create a tree with a tantalizing fruit, and then He tells Adam not to eat from it? And… that is the right question.

HaShem told Adam not to eat from it.

Ok, here is where the real story starts. The story I heard from Rabbi Manis Friedman. You now have enough information for it all make sense. So, in the beginning, Adam/Man (man and woman) were created on the sixth day of creation, and they were told to be fruitful and to multiply. To fill the earth and subdue it. Do you remember that part? Okay, keep that in mind.

So, HaShem had been creating for five days, and in the middle of the sixth day, HaShem chose two souls and told them. “You are about to go down to this place, but this place is broken. I need you to fix it for me”. And He asked them. “Can you do this for Me?” They both said, “Yes”. So HaShem puts them in bodies of flesh and takes them into this wonderfully perfect garden. This garden had all sorts of trees with wonderful fruit that were a delight to look at and good to eat. All of them were, but he said, not in a stern voice, but in a caring voice. “Don't eat from this tree in the middle of the garden, or you will die.” They both agreed. And the serpent came and put down his case, and they listened and contemplated. Adam, being perfect and a God-fearing man, said no. Also, Adam had the gift of knowing the serpent’s nature. But Khavah/Eve said to Adam, “No, wait. I think that HaShem wants us to eat from this tree.” See, Khavah was made to contradict Adam when Adam was wrong, and HaShem’s power and goodness blinded Adam. Adam was obedient to a fault. And Khavah explained to Adam. “See, HaShem put us in these bodies to fix the earth—the lowest of the worlds. Well, in this paradise, there is nothing to fix. Everything is perfect. There has to be a lower place than this perfect place. There is nothing for us to fix here.” She continued, “We must eat of this tree’s fruit for us to descend to the real world that needs fixing. Here, we are worthless to Him.” She told Adam. “HaShem gave us a choice, and He wants us to choose for ourselves. So we must eat.” And so they did. They ate from the tree, and their eyes opened. It was a shock because the change was overwhelming. Immediately, HaShem felt the change and went to them. And in a loving voice, ask them. “You ate from the tree, didn’t you?” He asked. “How did you know? How did you know I wanted you to eat from the tree, even though I said don’t it from it?” Adam answered, “I did not know, she knew.” HaShem looked at them lovingly and with concern, and HaShem told them, “Now that you did eat from this tree. You must go to the lowest of worlds and try to fix this broken world, but I know you will be successful. And I grieve for you because, in the world that you are going, there is death and suffering. There is also hunger, and you will suffer in pregnancy and labor. Food will not come easy for you. All the days of your lives will be hard. For doing this, I love you”. He told them all this as HaShem put them both in the lowest of the worlds for them and their descendants to fix it.

And there it is. We are in a world of death and suffering, and our job is to make this world a perfect place, not by force but by choice and not by a wrong choice but by a consciously made one. Made out of love for our Creator. Everyone born into this world has a job, which is not easy, but it is the job we were put in this world to do. Now is your turn to take from the fruit of the tree, which is the law in the Torah. In it, you will find what is good and what is evil. Do not choose to do evil, but learn what is good and follow the law of HaShem God. Be a godly person, and make this world a better place. Choose good that you may live. Return to HaShem, our Creator. Show Him that you love Him too. Let’s make this world a place worthy of our Creator.