Between Sin and Punishment
INTRODUCTION TO
PARASHAT HASHAVUA
Parashat
Bereishit
BETWEEN
SIN AND PUNISHMENT
By
Rabbi Yaakov Beasley
As
we begin our series of Introduction to Parasha series once again at Parashat
Bereishit, we note the sense of optimism and order that begins the Torahs
account of creation. Everything
occurs in an orderly fashion, everything is evaluated by Hashem and found to be
good. When, before the first
Shabbat, Hashem takes one last look at His endeavors, He is pleased enough to
pronounce the result as very good.[1] However, though the second chapter
begins promisingly, the reader senses that the impending collapse of the Edenic
world created, and by the time that Chava takes the bite from the Tree of
Knowledge, a cycle of sin and punishment has begun that will culminate in the
eventual destruction of the entire world and all of Hashems handiwork by the
end of the chapter. This week,
however, we shall interrupt the cycle of sin and punishment that the Torah
portrays so that we appreciate the subtle wisdom it conveys regarding the
effects of sin. We shall study the
following verses:
6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a
delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with
her, and he did eat. 7 And the eyes
of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed
fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles. 8 And they heard the voice of Hashem God
walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of Hashem God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And Hashem God called unto the man,
and said unto him: Where art thou?
10 And he said: I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid,
because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And He said: Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of
the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said: The woman whom
Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And Hashem God said unto the woman:
What is this thou hast done? And the woman said: The serpent beguiled me, and
I did eat.
Between
sin and punishment, we notice the space between when the first people sin and
when Hashem confronts Adam and Chava with their actions. The Torah allows us a glimpse at both
their immediate reactions upon realizing their error, and Hashems gentle
approach towards the ashamed couple.
The Midrash captures the realization that encompassed Adam and Chava at
that fateful moment:
Shir
Hashirim Rabba 3:5:
Before Adam sinned he was given fear and the creatures feared him; once
he sinned fear was put on him, and he is afraid of others. Rabbi said
thus: Before Adam sinned he heard Gods words, while standing on his feet, and
was not afraid. After he sinned he was afraid when he heard Gods voice and hid,
as it is stated (Bereishit 3:10), I heard Your voice in the garden and I was
afraid.
Before
his failure, man was confident, unafraid, and possibly overconfident in his
ways. Afterwards, we sense his
losses; a loss of self-confidence, loss of courage, loss of respect.[2] More than any external factor, sin
itself becomes the punishment. The
power of sin to cause man to degenerate, to lower him and his sense of self from
previously held pedestals is a major theme in Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchiks
lectures on repentance:
However,
sin also has a polluting quality. The Jewish view recognizes a state of
impurity of sin (tumat ha‑chet).
The entire Bible abounds in references to this idea of self‑pollution,
contamination, rolling about in the mire of sin. This impurity makes its mark on
the sinners personality. Sin, as it were, removes the divine halo from mans
head, impairing his spiritual integrity. In addition to the frequent appearance
of this idea in Scriptures and in the homiletical teachings of the Aggadah, we
also find many concrete references to the impurity of sin in the halakha
(Jewish Law)
The moment a person sins he lessens his own worth, brings himself
down, and becomes spiritually defective, thus forgoing his former status. Sin
deprives man of his natural privileges and unique human attributes. He is
subjected to a complete transformation as his original personality departs and
another one replaces it. This is not a form of punishment, or a fine, and is not
imposed in a spirit of anger, wrath, or vindictiveness. It is a metaphysical
corruption of the human personality, of the divine image of man. (from On Repentance)[3]
With
man in this lowered state, they become aware for the first time of Hashems
Presence: And they heard the sound
of Hashem God walking (mithalekh) in the garden in the breeze of the
day. Owing to the problem of
personification of Divine behavior, the commentators wonder as to how either
Hashem or His voice could be portrayed as walking:
Rashi
Bereishit 3:8:
they heard Hashems voice walking in the garden.
Rambam,
Moreh Nevukhim I, 24:
The term halakh is likewise one of the words which denote movements performed
by living beings, as in, And Jacob went (halakh) on his way (Bereishit 32:2)
and in many other instances. The verb to go was next employed in describing
movements of objects less solid than the bodies of living beings, cf. And the
waters were going on (halokh) decreasing (Bereishit 8:5); And the fire went
along (va-tihalakh) upon the ground (Ex.9:23). Then it was employed to express
the spreading and manifestation of something incorporeal, e.g., The voice
thereof shall go like a serpent (Jer.46:22) [comparing Egypt to a serpent for
hurting and killing (J.Kapach)]; again, The voice of Hashem walking in the
garden (Bereishit 3:8). It is the voice that is stated to be walking
(mithalekh).
The
Radak v.8.
And they heard: According to some, Adam, while walking in the garden, heard
Hashems voice. They heard ought to be followed by mithalkhim (walking in the
plural). However, mithalekh refers to Hashems voice to which (voice) walking
applies (e.g., The voice thereof shall go like a serpent (Jer.
46:22).
Ramban:
Bereishit 3:8:
(After citing the Midrash and the Guide for the Perplexed): In my opinion
walking (mithalekh) in the Garden of Eden has the same meaning as
Vehithalakhti and I will walk among you (Lev. 26:12) *), And Hashem went
(vayelekh) [His way] as soon as He had left speaking to Abraham (Bereishit
18:33), I will go and return to my place (Hoshea 5:15), all of which refer
either to the place of the Revelation of the Shekhina (Divine Presence) or to
its departure from the place where it appeared. In the breeze of the day: The
Revelation of the Shekhina is accompanied by a great and strong wind, as in,
And, behold, Hashem passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,
and broke the rocks in pieces before Hashem (1 Melakhim 19:11), or, He soared
on the wings of the wind (Tehillim 18:11), or Then Hashem answered Iyov out of
the storm wind (Iyov 38:1). Hence it is stated here that they heard the voice
of Hashem, i.e., the Shekhina had revealed itself in the Garden as it approached
in the breeze of the day, since a wind blew it - in the Garden, an ordinary
wind, not a great and strong one in a vision as in other prophecies, lest they
be frightened.
According
to the Radak and the Rambam, it is Hashems voice that was walking while Rashi
and the Ramban understand that mithalekh referred to the Divine Presence. According to the Ramban, this was the
appearance of the Shekhina in the Garden.
However, the Midrash brings an alternative approach in the name of R.
Abba bar Kahana:
And
they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the breeze of the
day: R. Chalfon said: We have heard about the walking of the voice, as it is
stated, And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden and
likewise of fire, as it is stated, (Ex. 9:23), And the fire ran down upon the
ground. Said R. Abba bar Kahana, It does not say mehalekh (intensive present
form) but mithalekh - skips and rises - the Shekhina (Divine Presence) was mainly below (see Guide), but when Adam sinned the
Shekhina moved to the first Heaven, when Cain sinned it moved to the second
Heaven, the generation of Enosh, to the third, the generation of the Great
Flood, to the fourth
R.Abba
bar Kahana interprets mithalekh as departing. Sin causes the Presence of Hashem to
leave or in other terms, to be less perceptible to human awareness. This becomes the greatest consequence of
sin, as explained by R. S. R. Hirsch:
Our Sages comment: The
Shekhina (Divine Presence) dwells mainly on earth (Bereishit Rabba
19:13). At first the Lord wished to let His Shekhina rest on
earth. We are used to thinking that Gods proximity to the Prophets is an
exceptional state. Hence many doubt and deny the possibility of prophecy. The
opposite is the view of our Rabbis: The mission of the Prophets, Gods
revelation to the Patriarchs, Moses and Israel, are not exceptions. The opposite
is true: The distancing of God from man - six thousand years - represents the
unnatural state, since The Shekhina (Divine Presence) dwells
mainly on earth.
We learn this from the Garden of Eden:
Not in the World to Come, but in this world can peace dwell with man -
peace in his heart, peace with nature around him, peace with his God above,
peace and harmony with the world and its fullness. Nature - the blooming garden,
animals of the field at his feet, and even the creatures creeping in the dust
are his friends. And in the midst of all this stands man, in Gods image and
upright. He lifts himself up toward his God, and God is near to him, talks with
him, teaches and directs him. However, all this only if man, in all his
splendor, submits to his God from Whom he will hear what is good and what is
bad. However, mans crown will be removed from him if he seeks his teachings
from the animal and wishes to emulate it.
To open again the gates of the Garden
of Eden, to bring back peace to earth, peace from animal to man, to turn
the Shekhina back to earth - this is the purpose of the Torah and its
reward, that is written on every page of the Holy Writings. It is important to
learn this from the beginnings of mans history. If afterwards we read about the
mission of the Prophets or the ideal state in which all the people of God are
prophets - let us not regard all these as supernatural situations, let us rather
see them as they really used to be: The return of the world to its original
state - a momentary return through the power of the Torah.
Let
us hope that the beginning of the new year, as symbolized by our beginning a new
reading of the Torah, brings with it a greater appreciation and ability to
perceive Hashem, with no barriers between us.
Shabbat
Shalom
[1] For further reading on
the significance of the phrase very good, we suggest the article And God Saw
that it was Good by Rabbi Chanoch Waxman at http://www.vbm-torah.org/parsha.62/01bereish.htm, and How Good is Very
Good by Rabbi Yaakov Beasley at http://vbm-torah.org/archive/intparsha68/01-68bereishit.htm.
[2] The Midrash returns to
this theme of sin as weakening man in several
places:
On Num.5:2: Put outside
the camp everyone with tzaraat and everyone that has an
issue.
Sifre Parashat Naso Paragraph
1: R.Yose the
Galilean says: See how strong the force of the sin is; before they committed a
sin there were none among them with tzaraat (leprosy) or an issue; after they
sinned there were among them those with an issue and tzaraat!
R.Shimon ben
Yochai says: See how strong the force of the sin is; what is stated about them
(Sh.24:17) before they sinned? And the sight of the Glory of Hashem was like a
devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of
Israel, and they were not afraid and did not tremble; after they sinned, even
the shining face of Moshe frightened them.
Midrash Rabba Bemidbar Section
11:3: Before David
committed that sin, The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
(Tehillim 27:1). After he sinned, it is stated (2 Sh.17:2), And I will come
upon him while he is weary and weak-handed
[3] Excerpt from On
Repentance available online at http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Yom_Kippur/Themes_and_Theology/Repentance/Attitudes_Towards_Repentance/Cleansed_from_Sin.shtml.