Agrippa I, appointed by the Roman Emperor to rule over Judea, was pious and kind to his subjects. During his reign, the Jews began to prosper and live comfortably. The Sages of the time accorded him great respect.
Agrippa I started construction to repair, broaden and heighten the walls around Jerusalem. The Romans, wary of the Jews' rising prosperity, placed many obstacles in his way. Nonetheless, the wall was completed, though the finished product was not as magnificent as originally planned.
The 16th of Adar, the day when the construction commenced, was instituted to be a joyous day.
Adam trudged past the gates of Eden, his head low, his heart heavy with the pain of remorse.
Suddenly he stopped. A thought had struck him.
He turned to the heavens and exclaimed, “You had this planned! You put that fruit there knowing I would choose to eat from it!”
“But tell me: Why?
The heavens were silent.
But we have found an answer.
Without failure, we can never truly reach into the depths of our souls. We cannot know that our choices matter, and that we hold our destiny in our hands. That we exist.
With that failure and that discovery, we can return to the garden, reaching higher and higher without end, to the One that exists without cause.
Beyond Eden.