A Tale of Two Worlds: The IS and the ISN'T YET
DR. RONALD A. BRAUNER
Parashat
Bereshit: Genesis 1:1-68
A leading characteristic both of our
Torah and our Peoplehood is that we are constantly
grappling with our notions of what life is and what life
can really be. It is particularly significant that the
opening chapters of the Torah deal not with Jews or the
Land of Israel or Covenant, but rather with universal
meanings, applicable to all people.
We are presented in chapter one (which we might call
“The Seven Days”) with the view of a
God-created world characterized by the harmonious
interdependence of all the created parts: first the sea,
then dry land, followed by vegetation, animal life and,
finally, Man. In an atmosphere of quiet and serenity,
without even a hint of turmoil, strife or contention, a
world comes into being which is ordered (“day one
… a second day… a third day …
”), stable (“ … and it was so …
”) and dependable (“ … and it was
evening and it was morning … ”). It is a world
that does not know of death (“ … be fruitful
and multiply …), a world in which Man and the
animals co-exist benevolently ( “ … I give you
all vegetation for food… ”), and, finally, a
world of harmony and self-sufficiency (“God finished
His work …”). It is a world the sum total of
whose parts is pleasing to God and “very good.”
Contrastingly, as the Adam and Eve Story draws to a close,
we see a world of prohibition (“from the tree of the
knowledge of all things you shall not eat …”)
and violation (“and she ate … and he
ate”); a world of blame (“she gave me and I
ate”) and a world of flawed relationships (“the
man and the woman hid from God … enmity between you
and the woman … the land will sprout thorns and
thistles for you …”); a world of ache
(“in pain shall you give birth …”) and a
world of death (“and to the dust you shall
return”).
The world of Adam and Eve (humankind) is the flawed and
corrupted world we all know, all too well. It is a world
colored and determined by the exercise of free will. Eve
was told not to eat and yet she and her mate did. They were
told what the consequences of their misdeed would be and
yet they forged ahead. The world was changed, humankind was
changed, and interdependent harmoniousness was broken.
Remarkably, the Eden story is placed alongside the world of
The Seven Days, a world for which we long but also a world
we have not yet known. All the rest of Bible and Jewish
history (and everyone's history) has been less than the
picture of The Seven Days. But, then again, The Seven Days
is not what is, rather what isn't … yet. How do we
get there? The Torah shows us The Seven Days' perfected
world because all the rest of Torah and Jewish tradition
will be the program for bringing it about. No universal
ideal can be accomplished without a particular program.
We're still working on ours.
Dr. Brauner is
Professor of Judaic Studies at Siegal College, Cleveland,
OH