Notes for Shabbat Bereshit

The reading of the Torah and its analysis is part of the Jewish liturgy. It is a cycle that concludes and begins anew during the celebration of Simchat Torah. The first chapters of Genesis, which will be read and analyzed this week, recount the creation of the cosmos, of the creatures that inhabit it, and of the human being—the most sophisticated and perfect among all creatures. They describe some of human nature's passions, such as sibling jealousy in the story of Cain and Abel (4:1–17), and the complementarity of the masculine and feminine in the account of Eve's creation (2:18–25).

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, whose fruit man was forbidden to eat, is one of the most difficult passages to interpret in this narrative. There are many indications that led exegetes to connect this story with human sexuality. The prohibition appears just before the creation of the woman. Once she is created, verse 2:25 states that despite being naked, Adam and Eve felt no shame. Once they ate of the fruit, the man's first reaction was to discover his nakedness and cover it up.

Interpreting this story through the lens of various psychological theories would yield numerous treatises. However, there is a single phrase that reveals the quintessence of that prohibition's meaning—the very phrase the serpent used to induce Adam and Eve to transgress the divine commandment: "And you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (3:5). This was the human being's ultimate objective, which displeased God: considering themselves as if they were gods.

When Erich Fromm analyzed the "death of God" in the 20th century in a short essay, as envisioned by Nietzsche, he titled it: You Shall Be as Gods (1966).

Since the dawn of humanity, there have been many leaders who considered themselves deities or idols—an affliction that has not been fully overcame to this day.

Shabbat Shalom!