Rabbi Yohanan bar Hanina said: “The day [i.e., the sixth day of creation] was twelve hours long. During the first hour, his [Adam’s] dust was collected. Second, it was shaped into an undefined figure. Third, his limbs were extended. During the fourth, soul was placed in him. Fifth, he stood on his feet. Sixth, he gave the animals names. Seventh, Eve joined him. Eighth, they climbed onto the bed as two and came down from it as four [they conceived and bore two children.] Ninth, he was commanded not to eat from the tree. Tenth, he failed. Eleventh, he was judged. Twelfth, he was expelled and left [the Garden of Eden] as it is written, “man does not lie down in honor.” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38B)
In this famous aggadic commentary, Rabbi Yohanan bar Hanina claims that the events of the second chapter of the Book of Genesis – the fashioning of Adam, his naming of the animals, the creation of Eve, the conception and birth of Cain and Abel, the prohibition on eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil as well as the violation of this commandment by Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden – all took place during the twelve daylight hours of the sixth day of creation. Rabbi Yohanan draws his inspiration for this reading from a verse in Psalms that presents a rather pessimistic view of humanity, “man does not lie down in honor,” which seems to suggest that human beings did not spend even one night of their existence in a state of unsullied glory.
It is difficult to explain what compelled Rabbi Yohanan bar Hanina to adopt such an unusual interpretation of the Torah’s text. After all, a simple reading of the story does not indicate that all of the developments recounted therein took place on a single calendar day. On the contrary, the casual reader of Beresheet would most likely conclude that the dramatic narrative unfolded over the course of several days, at the very least. Why does Rabbi Yohanan insist upon a reconstruction of the events that appears so counterintuitive?
I would like to suggest that Rabbi Yohanan bar Hanina is offering us a fundamentally new interpretation of the story of the Garden of Eden that is a radical departure from the conventional take. Most students of the Torah read the tale of the expulsion from Paradise as the official record of a truly earth-shattering sin that was committed by the father and mother of all humanity. Adam and Eve were given a simple commandment, they violated it, and they paid the price, bequeathing to us the imperfect world that we now inhabit rather than the ideal existence we would otherwise have enjoyed.
Rabbi Yohanan bar Hanina teaches us that this perspective on the story is incorrect. The Torah is not describing how Adam and Eve took what “should have been” and destroyed it for the sake of a tasty snack. Instead, what the Torah is showing us is the dilemma inherent in human nature. From the moment they emerged on the global scene on the sixth day of creation, human beings were complicated and deeply flawed creatures, simultaneously intellectual and spiritual as well as animal and instinctual, and they were NEVER MEANT to live in paradise, never intended to “lie down in honor.”
Despite our divine spark of intelligence, creativity, and autonomy, our tendency is to be overwhelmed and dragged under by our passions, our emotions, our self-centeredness and our base desires. Eternity in paradise would have been a disaster for mankind because it would have shielded us from the only incentive we have to engage with our environment and to invest time in improving ourselves – namely, our sense that life is difficult and that life is fleeting.
As ideal as it might sound, settling in a place like the Garden of Eden would have brought out the worst in humanity, transforming us into the cosmic version of “spoiled brats” who expect our every demand and wish to be fulfilled and acknowledge no authority higher than our own ambitions. Expulsion from the Garden of Eden was necessary because it is only when we must work hard, struggle for survival, and experience frustration and pain that we feel compelled to look beyond ourselves and behold the bigger picture that surrounds and includes us. Being confronted with a universe that refuses to simply cater to our every whim is humbling and inspires us to recognize the Creator and seek knowledge of His handiwork and its purpose.
By insisting that all of the tumultuous events in the Garden of Eden occurred on the sixth day of creation and not on the days thereafter, Rabbi Yohanan bar Hanina means to tell us that the “downfall” of humanity was in fact part and parcel of the Divine plan of Creation from the outset. The story of Adam and Eve was not intended to draw attention to their individual choices or failings, or to provide us with an historical account of life “before and after” their sin, but to answer the existential questions that have troubled mankind throughout the ages – why didn’t God create a more idyllic, pleasant environment for us to inhabit? Why didn’t he spare us the suffering associated with backbreaking labor, childbirth, sickness and death?
The Torah’s answer is that such an easy and relaxed existence, as tempting as it sounds, would have prevented human beings from fully actualizing their unique potential. It is precisely when we are pampered and indulged like infants that we retreat into the comforting refuge of consequence-free pleasure and are least motivated to learn, to engage, to mature, and to progress. Our nature – whether we like it or not, built into us since day six of Creation – is to reach for the low-hanging fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and to invent an artificial realm of fantasy in which our thoughts and beliefs are the ultimate arbiters of truth and our dreams and desires are the ultimate arbiters of goodness (today, we call this realm “Western Culture.”).
This self-serving fantasy is only shaken and shattered when we are cast out of Eden and subjected to all the uncomfortable exigencies of human life as we know it. Awareness that there is an objective reality beyond us that does not revolve around us, coupled with the realization that we have limited time to make the best out of the gifts we have been granted here, moves us to reflect upon, study, and adapt ourselves to the Divine Plan that transcends and eclipses our personal interests and preoccupations.
The Almighty knew from the beginning of time that only the challenge of living a fragile and fleeting life outside of Paradise would inspire human beings to strive for something higher and better and would awaken within them a yearning to imbue their brief time in this world with eternal significance.
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