Eden Defines the Truth About Responsibility (D’var Torah)
B’REISHIT, GENESIS 1:1−6:8
D’VAR TORAH BY: RABBI STEPHEN S. PEARCE, PH.D.
What could have possibly have been so bad about taking just one bite from a piece of fruit? But in Parashat B’reishit, the fruit Eve served to Adam was not just any fruit; it was fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and bad. Adam ate and did not ask any questions about where that delectable morsel came from. Consequently, that feast turned out to be Adam and Eve’s last supper, their last free meal, because they were expelled from the Garden of Eden immediately following dessert.
Not being just any plain garden variety of fruit, the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and bad resulted in the loss of innocence in much the way a teenager leaves the innocence of childhood behind when acquiring adult interests in money, sex, and power. But was eating the forbidden fruit the sin that earned them God’s scorn and a lifetime of sweat and toil, a punishment also passed onto succeeding generations?
Adam and Eve could not plead ignorance of the law; clearly, they had been warned, “You may eat all you like of every tree in the garden — but of the Tree of All Knowledge you may not eat, for the moment you eat of it you shall be doomed to die” (Genesis 2:16-17). Were they testing God’s warning? Did boredom lead them to seek a cheap thrill by disobeying God or was it something else?
The beguiling snake mocked God by planting doubt in Eve’s mind: “Did God really say, ‘You may not eat of any tree in the Garden?’…You most certainly will not die! … (for) God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like the gods, knowing all things” (Genesis 3:1, 4-5). Loss of innocence, failure to heed God’s word, and mistrust of God’s edict all should have been cause enough to have earned Adam and Eve a one-way ticket from Eden, but according to Rabbinic tradition, the sin that led to expulsion was different.
The paramount sin of the Garden of Eden was lack of accountability. When Adam was questioned by God about eating the fruit, he passed the responsibility to Eve: “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, so I ate” (Genesis 3:12). Eve did not own up to her deed as well: “The serpent tricked me into eating it” (Genesis 3:13). Neither was willing to take responsibility for the misdeed, and so they were cast out of the Garden forever.
Jewish tradition is resolute in insisting that individuals take responsibility for their actions as the Mishnah instructs: “An individual is always responsible, whether the act is intentional or inadvertent, whether awake or asleep” (Mishnah, Bava Kama 2.6).
More than ever, this age, like so many others, is one in which people shrink from personal responsibility for action or inaction; all too many in the public and private sectors look for something or someone else to blame for their own objectionable behavior. Thus, the loss of personal accountability defines our age. This malaise fills our government and our courtrooms: “Don’t blame me. I’m not responsible. I’m a victim.” Some people successfully exploit loopholes in the law or launch false ad hominem attacks against others to deflect from their own misdeeds. The more this kind of behavior persists, the more it becomes accepted as “normal.”
Blame, elaborating grievances, and refining excuses are so much more convenient than is taking personal responsibility for one’s action. We’ve become a nation of whiners, always accusing someone else or some circumstance to explain away unsuitable behavior. Looking around makes one wonder if humankind has made any real progress since Eden. The fact that it hasn’t is the reason no one has ever been able to return to Eden, because only when people stand tall and take responsibility for their actions can there ever be a return to the tree of life at the center of the garden.
Rabbi Stephen S. Pearce, PhD is senior rabbi emeritus of Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco, and a faculty member of the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning at the University of San Francisco and the Beyond The Walls: Spiritual Writing Program at Kenyon College. He is the author of Flash of Insight: Metaphor and Narrative in Therapy and other articles, poems, and books.
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October Dates to Remember
1 NO Sunday School 1 Raise the Sukkah 4 Erev Sukkot
4 Hebrew School
4 Decorate the Sukkah Party
6 Kabbalat Shabbat
7 Saturday Service/Sukkot Tisch
8 Sunday School
8 Sisterhood Board Meeting 11 Breakfast Schmooze
11 Hebrew School
12 Yizkor Service
13 Simchat Torah
13 Consecration Dinner
14 Saturday Service
15 Sunday School
18 Hadassah Meeting 18 Hebrew School
20 Rosh Chodesh
20 Kabbalat Shabbat
21 Saturday Service
22 Sunday Speaker Series
22 Temple Board Meeting 25 Hebrew School
27 Service with Lecture
28 Saturday Service
29 Sunday School
Food Donation Barrel
We have an empty food barrel that needs filling. Please bring 1 nonperishable item when you visit the temple for donation.
There are many in our community who need our help.
Sisterhood
The Sisterhood is busy baking and preparing for our 50th Annual Bake Sale. The pre-order forms will be mailed the week of October 9 as well as being available in the Temple office.
Please consider not only baking, but helping out with the setup and cleanup. We look forward to participation from everyone to make this our best bake sale yet.
We are looking for pictures or newspaper articles relating to past sales. If anyone has anything, please contact Jennifer Britanisky.
The next Sisterhood board meeting will be October 8 at 12:00 noon.
Hope everyone is enjoying our beautiful autumn weather.
Cheryl August
Hadassah
After all of the hustle and bustle of the Jewish fall holidays, we hope everyone feels renewed and ready to look towards the business of Hadassah and other interests.
We will have a brief meeting on Wednesday, October 18 at 11:00 am and on Wednesday, November 15 at 11:00 am. The Rabbi is having a Brown Bag Luncheon on November 15 at 12:00 noon, and we invite you to stay and learn a little, nosh a little, and laugh a little.
We encourage you to bring canned food items for the donation barrel whenever possible. The need is great, and the effort is small.
See you around the Temple
Nancy Rosenberg
Sukkot & Simchat Torah Dinner with Religious School Consecration
Friday, October 13 at 6:00 pm we will have a hot dog supper with all the trimmings for Sukkot and Simchat Torah with the Religious School Consecration. Please RSVP to the Temple at 582-2001.
Yizkor Service
There will be a Yizkor Service on Thursday, October 12 at 6:00 pm. We hope you will join us.