To Serve and Preserve

Detail -Adam and Eve, 1526, Cranach, Lucas, the Elder

by Susan Weinberg

“What to you is Paradise?” asked Rabbi Davis. 

One person quickly responded, “A world where everybody is treated equally and all needs are fulfilled.”

“No,” replied another. “We really would have to exclude humans who have a tendency to ruin things. “

Yet another spoke of a rainforest she recently visited where animals were not afraid of people and there was a sense of dignity and peace.

“Timelessness,” tossed out someone else. “I don’t have to remember where I have to be!” We chuckled quietly in acknowledgement of the busy lives we all lead. 

Humans were invited back into the garden, as one noted that their Paradise would include not just what God has created, but also human creations such as music. Apparently, we don’t ruin everything.

“If it is a place, what happens there?” asked the rabbi.

I had been wondering the same thing. How would I occupy myself in Paradise? I was quite sure I would be thoroughly bored. I considered painting which can present a state of flow and timelessness, but it too comes out of some unease. If you take away the unease, what kind of art does one create? I wondered.

“I don’t know what happens, but I know what doesn’t,” replied one person.  “There are no cars, no freeways, no jobs, no stress. Things happen organically, conflicts are resolved, there is relaxation and tranquility. “And love,” added another. “A place to love and be loved.”

The conversation turned towards a sense of purpose and whether that was taught or innate in each of us. That was what was lacking from the picture we described and it was that missing piece that I needed. I was to learn that it was not neglected.

To consider a different take on Paradise, we turned our attention to the second creation story in the Torah in  Genesis 2:5-16. There we noted there were two trees, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was only the tree of knowledge of good and evil that was forbidden, a negative rule, just the thing to tempt the then childlike Adam and Eve. In fact, the admonition preceded the creation of Eve, despite the bad rap that was permanently bestowed upon her. What was that tree doing there anyway? God was certainly not childproofing the garden. More like putting it there to create the ensuing action. Also, in this passage God indeed gives Adam a purpose – to dress and keep the garden of Eden. 

Our handout (Serve and Preserve)  presented different perspectives on this task assigned to Adam. Rashi believed that Adam was placed there to till it, enjoy its fruits and keep the animals out. Chizukini notes that Adam was formed elsewhere, a place of thorns and thistles, so by contrast he could fully appreciate the special nature of the garden. Several of the sages speak of the garden metaphorically as representing the Torah, but the Torah was not introduced until much later in the story. Perhaps the garden represented a discipline and a responsibility, something we were to learn from and carry forward to the Torah, approaching it with a sense of reverence as part of a holy relationship. We concluded that Paradise is not a gift, it is something we work on. In fact, we are the soil that we till.

One of the sources we kept coming back to was, The Way Into Judaism and the Environment by Jeremy Benstein. Benstein explains that one of the translations of the Hebrew phrase “le’ovdah ulshomrah” is  “to work and to guard.” What exactly are we guarding the garden from?  Benstein posits that we are to protect it from our own avodah, the effect of our own work. He argues for a role of stewardship  with an emphasis on sustainability. One of the other translations from the Hebrew is “to serve and preserve, ” an interpretation that implies a level of humility necessary in the act of stewardship. (More from Jeremey Benstein)

And a few recommendations:

Article on Jonathan Safran Foer's new book We Are the Weather Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast.

Rabbi Noah Greenberg's workshop at Beth El on Making Your Own Tefillin