Monday, July 13, 2009

One (IV) - Further Out of Bounds

Examining the story of Adam in the Garden of Eden, Rabbi Yaakov Leiner of Ishbitz has a very out-of-the-box view of the Sin. He maintains that at the End of Time God will reveal the truth that Adam did not sin by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Adam's eating from the Tree was part of the Divine plan to begin with. The sin he committed was in his attitude, not in his action. After eating from the Tree, when God questioned him about what had occurred, he should have answered "God, I am incapable of doing anything without your enabling me." That would have shown his understanding that God permeates all. Instead, seeing that he had done something that he thought he was not supposed to do, he came to the conclusion that he had the ability to act outside of God's will. This was his sin.

Adam was faced with two choices as to how to view Creation. He could take the lower view of Binah and view the world as a series of lines and boundaries, dos and don'ts with Adam having the choice to stay in the lines, or to step out. This is by far the "easier" view to take of a world in which God's presence is hidden under many layers of Creation, both physical and spiritual. Alternatively, being the handmade creation of God, he had the best view from which to be aware of God's presence in all, and of his own inability to act outside of God.

Adam chose to take the view of his having the ability act outside of God. This is why the Talmud labels him as arrogant and also refers to Adam as an idol worshipper. In his denial, his attitude was akin to idol worship.

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