Gan Eden and Being Human

It must have been somewhere near this spot... (my 'eden' in Jerusalem)

From 4/26 – Genesis 2: 8-9
R. Marder led a detailed discussion.
(I know my notes are a bit spotty on this one but I hope I got the essence of some of the discussion)

The discussion started with the image of God as the ‘potter’ forming man and then breathing the spirit into the formed dust to represent both the “Glory and fragility of being human”.

Samson Raphael Hirsh: How man is set apart. The spirit preserves life.

This led to a discussion on the Reform movement’s position on life after death as noted in both the 1885 Platform that dismissed ceremonial laws but emphasized moral law and mentions the concept of afterlife. And then in the revised platform from 1999 that does note trust in the promise of an eternal spirit.

Various mentions and interpretations were reviewed from the concepts of how a spirit lives in others to how the spirit leaves us when we are asleep and how even our Amidah prayer mentions and afterlife in some way even if only metaphorically. The topic of afterlife is so complex with so many different views I am sure this will come up again and again.

And then an important reminder from Rambam : it is “foolish to imagine what happens in ‘paradise’, it is far more productive to focus on the ‘here and now’”

On to Gan Eden... And the Tree of Life / Tree of Knowledge

Another complex concept with many interpretations.

There are some indications of the roots of the idea in mythological imagery as noted later in Isaiah and Ezekiel as referenced as the “Garden of the Lord” and full of precious gems. However, the description in Genesis is more simple and basic.

The concept of a garden would have greater impact when considering the arid desert climate. Translation of Eden = delight or pleasure.

This place as described cannot be found from the description. Possibly not intended to be thought of as a ‘real place’ but a symbolic reference. Man was ‘placed’ in the garden ‘from’ the world of ‘thorn and thistles’. Thus man knew the difference between these worlds and was able to make informed decisions. We need to know the contrast in order to appreciate the differences.

Samson Raphael Hirsh on the ‘beauty of Eden’:
Man’s capacity to feel and observer beauty ahead of nourishment sets him apart. This pleasure from the order and harmony in the world is related to ethics and offers a connection to the moral and ethical realm we live in.

Is art a civilizing element? The question was asked in relation to the art that was created during the Shoah.

NOTED: Poet, Wallace Stevens, in describing the quest for “nobility” in poetry, called it
“…a violence from within that protects us from the violence without. It is the imagination pressing back against the pressure of reality.”

NEXT – The Serpent.... Found interesting link on this