ב"ה

Discovering Eden

October 19, 2016 4:29 PM

Dear Friend,

Remember the first time you ever heard of the Garden of Eden in this week’s Torah portion? I’m pained to confess I more readily remember the first time I heard about Darwin.

In terms of formal education, I’ve spend a lot more time in secular classrooms than in Torah classrooms. And I remember quite clearly learning the Theory of Evolution as a child. It was fascinating.

But as an adult with quite a bit of secular studies under my belt, and a little Torah learning, I know that it was also devastating. When you teach a child that she or he is a cousin of the chimpanzee, and ultimately descends from an amoeba or a virus, this causes a devastation in the child’s soul.

Now I’m not going to explain in this brief note why I think Darwin’s theory can be put in its place by means of critical thinking. Here I just want to express how grateful I am to the Torah for teaching us that when our oldest ancestors first opened their eyes, it was not a jungle that they saw around them. It was a divine garden. A garden named Delight. Eden.

Where is Eden? It’s the place where we cultivate the soil of our Delight, “tilling it and tending it” (Genesis 2:15) with the sweatless brow of our mitzvot, making it a lovely little paradise, safely enclosed from the surrounding jungle and its restless monkey calls, in which to spend precious hours with Holy One Who put us there.

Michael Chighel,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team

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mike November 10, 2016

Re Noah
Please allow us some intelligence. Would you give up having spoken with the Almighty and following his instructions?
Some of your statements are much to be desired. Even animals fight for life should be made
When I think of Noah, I picture him building his ark, plank by plank, day after day, for decades. Despite the scoffing and jeering of passersby, certain that Noah was delusional and no mass destruction would befall them, he persevered.

As difficult and demoralizing as that must have been, he had hope. Hope that someone, anyone, would take him seriously, and adjust their behavior accordingly.

After witnessing the destruction of the entire known world and almost all its inhabitants, most people would have felt hopeless and downtrodden, ready to give up. Noah and his family, however, did what is virtually impossible—they started afresh. They drummed up enough hope and belief in the future—a better future—to begin rebuilding, day by day, person by person. Reply

Jose Garden grove November 4, 2016

Is Is there still prophets in the World? Reply

Anonymous October 30, 2016

the beginning Even the Rabbis do not agree. They have theories of previous beginnings which were destroyed.
Nothing in the Torah apparently is as stated Reply

TBA Toronto October 30, 2016

"Sin crouches at the door but you (Cain) must rule over it." Gen. 4:7 Dr. Chigel, i am with you. But the struggle didn't end or begin with just the unforseen accident of Cain's horrific discovery. Otherwise, would Shakespeare have had reason to write Othello? ...
In Gen 6:4++ when the Nephilim arrive and attempt to abduct the daughters of Adam, what was their agenda? According to Christian Gnostic sources, the Nephilim wanted to re-structure the Adamic seed, producing large physicals with puny brains. (a.k.a. Goliath and a few other star basketball players). However, because of the bravery of David Ben Josef, one gem of a quest/conquer story came into being. The philosopher 'kings' as some call them: Zeus & the other usual suspects ... enlightened our minds to a point, but only up to a predictable 'stronghold' of worldly princes. This is why i an thankful for hasidic scholars who refused to give up on our Divine heritage and remembered firstly, the 'fruit' of the Torah Eser Sephiroth. If you think post-Constantinople's 'modern' Christianity ... Reply

Michael Chighel Jerusalem October 30, 2016

We ain't nothing but mammals. Dear Mark,

Thank you for the opportunity to clarify my point still further. Re "clumps of dirt," I'm not sure they're any less part of Creation than the clumps of protoplasm we call "animals." But the question of "devastation" stands.

A key problem of the Torah is how to encourage human beings to behave in a way that is moral and sublime, moral towards fellow human beings (bein adam lechavero) and sublime in relation to G-d (bein adam lemakom). The requirement to behave well holds, of course, even in circumstances that are highly discouraging. For example, in concentration camps. In such discouraging situations (rachmana litzlan) human beings are reduced to animals and often behave in the most "beastly" ways. Yet even then, when the de facto situation is depressing, the Torah makes de jure demands.

In terms of education (as you say, Torah = Teaching), though, especially under peaceful circumstances, decent behavior finds its essential source of courage in the conviction that one is, de facto, a divine being, not an animal. If I think I am an animal, I will feel justified behaving like an animal. I may sometimes behave in more civilized ways, as a matter of convenience. But when it becomes inconvenient to behave thus, I will will readily slip into animalistic behavior. And the problem with Darwinian Evolution is that it can offer an alibi for animalistic behavior. "If it's good enough for a chimp, then ..."

The Torah agrees with Darwin that we are partly animal, of course, or, as you say, "mudclods" (Gen. 2:7). But this is the whole challenge of being human: to resist the alibis that our muddy, animalistic selves offers, and to behave more in line with our other, more sublime, non-Darwinian selves, namely our divine selves made in the "image of G-d" (Gen. 1:27). Reply

Mark Solomon New York October 29, 2016

Three questions The Rebbe taught that the Torah is a book of teaching, not history. We can say also that the Torah is not a biology book. The Zohar teaches: “Woe to the person who says that the Torah comes to give instructions and tell descriptive stories and simple tales." Rambam teaches in Yesodei haTorah 2:12: "These concepts are extremely deep, and not every [person has] the knowledge necessary to appreciate them." Should we assume to have the capacity to properly understand Ma'aseh Bereshis?

Your juxtaposition of "jungle" and "garden" seems loaded, giving a negative connotation to an untamed and dangerous "jungle" and a positive one to a well-tended "garden." But gardens are artificial and labor intensive; jungles are natural and self-sustaining. Mightn't Gan Eden be described as a fertile and colorful "rain forest" where our oldest ancestors lived?

Finally, why is it "devastating" to a child's soul to learn that he is related to other living beings on Earth, as opposed to a clump of dirt? Reply

Michael Chighel Jerusalem October 29, 2016

In Praise of a Certain Naivete Dear Readers, thank you for all your wonderful thoughts and responses!

Just to set the record straight ... I am a big fan of Darwin and of the Theory of Evolution. Like good old Charlie himself, the idea that human beings are the crowing achievement of myriad metamorphoses on a chromosomal level from the simplest prokaryotes and amino acids is an idea that fills me with a deep sense of wonder at the miraculous and mysterious ways of the Good Lord.

And I'm quite convinced that scientific theories (Evolution, Big Bang etc.) can be reconciled with the Truth that is the Torah. It takes work, to be sure. And I mean very serious analytic work in the disciplines of epistemology and philosophy of science. I think Thomas Kuhn's ideas in his book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" (1962) in particular are vital. Also the ideas of Karl Popper, and of Martin Heidegger. With G-d's help, I hope to put together a series of video lessons on this topic in the not too distant future.

Why, then, do I (follwing the Rebbe's lead) insist on recognizing the "devastating" potential of Darwin's theory? If it's not clear enough in my short note, let me stress here that my point concerns children. Adults should be able to handle difficult truths. That's just part of what it means to be an adult. But children cannot handle many truths. For example, truths about sex, drug addiction, criminal lifestyles, political intrigues, war -- among which I would include the Theory of Evolution.

Why not? Why is Evolution so "dangerous" a truth?

Well, because an absolutely fundamental truth that a child must imbibe with her or his mother's milk is that the universe in which she or he resides is a blessed one. It is a home. Not a jungle. It is not an arrangement that came together through some impersonal cosmic knee-jerk reaction to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It is a place made especially for her or him, made by an Infinite Parent with infinite love as well as omnipotence, made with a holy purpose, made with plan for her or him, this child, to fulfill in life. The plan laid out in the Torah. This is why the Torah begins by telling us that our original parents were set down in a beautiful, human-friendly setting: a garden.

Along Darwinian lines, thinkers like Sigmund Freud made much of the fact that human civilization -- what Freud called "Kultur," culture -- is a kind of freak abberation of the natural order of things. It is said that we are civilized by accident, as it were, not by nature. The Torah rejects this premise. It insists that culture was in fact our original circumstance. Our first task was horticulture.

In short, the problem is not Evolution as such. The problem lies in letting this biological theory dictate principles of psychology and, consequently, of morals.

As adults we must be prepared to face complex truths like Evolution with our eyes wide open, without the gullibility of some closed-minded dogmatism. But Heaven help us, and Heaven help our children, if we imagine we can make such truths the foundation of moral or spiritual teaching! Great minds can handle scientific truth. The greatest minds, however, are able to place such truths in their proper orbit around a core of the purest naivete, where the love of G-d, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not the G-d of the philosophers, is the soul's essential truth.

May these first chapters of the Book of Genesis mark a year of sweet reading of the Torah for you and yours!

Michael Reply

rose rehman Arlington October 29, 2016

Thank you for words and real meaning of God's work, what Torah is about..Humans are are confused and scared of the truth, Science is God's creation....I believe Reply

O.Turcotte Cambridge, MA October 28, 2016

The Jungle and the Divine Garden Could it be that one person's jungle is another one's Eden and vice versa? I sometimes feel this in today's world too. Reply

Kevin McQuoid New Zealand October 28, 2016

Just wondering at the line of thought.
Who was it that Cain was afraid of when banished, was it the people he married into, or was it another people?
I agree with you Yosef ben Moshe. Reply

Anonymous October 28, 2016

there is nothing "devastating" to anyone's soul (if there is such a thing) from believing in evolution, let alone just hearing about it, nor from knowing that we share 98% of our genes with chimps. That 2% must be pretty important. Some people share 99.9% of their genes with chimps, but know what, I should not disrespect and insult chimps like that. Much of science can be compatible with faith if you do not take the bible literally word for word. God did not write the bible, men did and no matter how inspired by God, they are fallible. Men decided what writings should and should not be in the bible or Torah. Many people and scientists see Hashem's hand in the order and majesty of creation without worrying about ancient writings. It is not given to man to know everything and so you can debate the Torah for the rest of your days in vain. Perhaps God used the big bang when he said "let there be light" and perhaps he used evolution to create man. Reply

Doug Seattle Wa October 28, 2016

Interesting comment that gives no answer to the question..... Reply

Joachim Tanzania October 28, 2016

God Our Creator, Our Image I highly agree with you that we are created by God hand and after creation we are the first human being and animals are raised before us,how comes animals they changed to become humans? Reply

Nancy Carman Tennessee October 28, 2016

A beautiful commentary on our beginning. Reply

Anonymous Dallas October 28, 2016

Michael, I'm reading Rebbe at this time. The Rebbe clearly states that both science and religion are on equal ground, both giving much to the amazing equation of life. The Rebbe is also very careful not to denigrate or "put down" any free thought. He rather advises in a positive fashion. Be careful of where you are going. The "jungle" you speak of is the only remaining Eden of today. God, Torah and science are great, your comment is archaic and ill advised. Keep on growing, that's the Jewish way.

Thanks, Mel Reply

David Gatto Mountain View October 28, 2016

The Torah is clear and concise on the Genesis of Adam and Man in general. The Breath of life remains the moving force in the Creation story. How this story unfolds, is influenced by our environment. It's this environment, that is subject to the natural laws which were established by our Creator. Conflict only occurs when man places his knowledge, above this divine knowledge. It's always a losing proposition. Reply

Yosef ben Moshe Israel October 28, 2016

Michael, I think that you are on thin ice with your disposal of the Theory of Evolution. I too had a good secular education but had no difficulty accepting the torah as it stands. It is not too difficult to integrate the relating of the Creation with the Big Bang Theory et al if one opens the mind to the enormity and magnificence of the event. Just think, that for all the events to fall into place in our Galaxy just as we find them today, was not by chance. There was and is a Guiding Hand. Problem solved.QED Reply

Andrew Cottrell South Africa October 28, 2016

In the beginning, G-d!! "and G-d made man is His own image and after His own likeness - male and female..."
Man has a divine dignity about him, and written into his very being by the Eternal G-d.
Also, the creation came into being because the Almighty called it all into being. It could not possibly have called itself into being.
All worship and honour and glory to the Eternal One Who is forever praised! Reply

Michael Davis Houston October 28, 2016

Beautifully communicated. Amen! There really is nothing to fear in reading the Torah and believing it in the context of science unless you panic before the truth is revealed entirely. We, of course, want to know it all and right now yet... G-d made the earth and heavens before making the first day, or even time itself, and so people think scientists have a clear handle on the age of rocks, and layers of sediment, and evolved animals, over a timespan that is meaningless before timelessness, and dimensionlessness, from which G-d decided to create space and time for creation. Thinking you know something can be very bad for actually learning it, and yet assuming a subtle change in perspective might change your perspective on subtle things, makes all the difference, and might also teach you humility is a quintessential beginning to the awe wisdom emerges within. Please don't be discouraged by less than humble opinions and attempts to connect science and religion without the mindset to actually do that.Thank you Reply

Roger Steele Gold River BC. Canada October 28, 2016

Well said sir I feel such sadness when they teach this "theory" to our children. Reply

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