{"id":70683,"date":"2020-02-25T11:51:08","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T09:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=70683"},"modified":"2023-10-17T15:20:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T12:20:47","slug":"the-journey-back-to-eden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-journey-back-to-eden\/","title":{"rendered":"The Journey Back To Eden\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[674,571,400],"acf":{"old_id":"70683","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":37561,"related_cahpter":"424","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Reversing the curse\u00a0\r\n\r\n","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Way back at the beginning of the Tanach, in Genesis 2, God commands Adam and Eve not to eat from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, lest they be uprooted from the Garden of Eden and banished eternally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this chapter, God seems to reverse that curse. In verse 6, God promises to plant the righteous people who had left Judah and not uproot them again; in verse 7, God promises to give these newly rooted Judeans knowledge of God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a book full of curses and predictions of suffering for the Israelites, and in a chapter where God rails against the wicked Israelites who have turned away and will be destroyed, this seems like an odd place to reverse the decree of the Garden of Eden and the first people. Is it possible that, amidst all this chaos and cursing, God misses the closeness with humankind that existed in the Garden of Eden?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The answer is yes, according to Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel who even wrote a whole book about it. God is \u201cin search of man,\u201d eagerly waiting for him to connect. In his theology, Heschel argues that God is upset with the suffering he himself causes the Israelites, and is devastated to have lost contact with His precious people. God wants to welcome back the faithful and loving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jewish mystical tradition teaches that we can undo the expulsion from Eden by a process of discernment, separating good and evil just as one separates grain or seed from chaff. The goal of this process of separation and discernment is to be left with a basket of pure seeds, ready to be planted and grow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God, in this chapter, decides to capitalize on this process, offering to plant and nourish the good seeds. By striving to become better people, to know the difference between good and evil, we signal God that we are ready to go back to Eden. Humanity may have sinned by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, but can fix that mistake by adhering to the good and turning away from evil. Knowledge is one step towards power, but true power comes from being able to discern from our knowledge how to act. Once we do, we can return to Eden.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: Thomas Cole, The Garden of Eden, 1828 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":70685,"id":70685,"title":"Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden","filename":"Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-journey-back-to-eden\/jer24-thomas_cole_the_garden_of_eden\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jer24-thomas_cole_the_garden_of_eden","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":70683,"date":"2020-02-25 09:50:49","modified":"2021-08-02 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