Garden of Eden

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The Garden of Eden features in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis. God plants the garden, causes trees to grow there, and places Adam in the garden to work and preserve it. After Eve and Adam eat forbidden fruit, God drives them out. The Garden of Eden has been the subject of analysis and discussion throughout thousands of years of the Jewish textual tradition.

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The Geography of Eden

TANAKH

The Garden of Eden is depicted as a place of immense natural beauty and wealth, with specific geographical features and resources. The book of Genesis describes the creation of the Garden of Eden, detailing its trees, the river that waters it, and the four branches of the river along with the lands they traverse.

God יהוה planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the Human who had been fashioned. And from the ground God יהוה caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad. A river issues from Eden to water the garden, and it then divides and becomes four branches. The name of the first is Pishon, the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where the gold is. (The gold of that land is good; bdellium is there, and lapis lazuli. )…

Genesis 2:8-14

Clothing of Adam and Eve

MIDRASH

The materials used to clothe Adam and Eve after their sin reveal deeper symbolic meanings and differing rabbinic interpretations. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an eighth-century midrashic work, presents two opinions: one that Adam and Eve used fig leaves, and another that God made them coats from the serpent's sloughed-off skin.

Rabbi Joshua ben Ḳorchah said: From the tree under which they hid themselves, they took leaves and sewed (them), as it is said, "And they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (Gen. 3:7). Rabbi Eliezer said: From the skin which the serpent sloughed off, the Holy One, blessed be He, took and made coats of glory for Adam and his wife, as it is said, "And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21).

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 20:3

The Perils of Adding to God's Command

REFERENCE

Adding to God's command can lead to misunderstanding and transgression, as illustrated by Eve's addition to the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge. The Amoraim, Jewish sages of the Talmudic period, emphasize the importance of precise adherence to divine commandments, as seen in the story of Eve and the serpent in Genesis.

“He who would add to what he had heard in order to strengthen its impression only succeeds in detracting from it. Thus God commanded not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but when Eve spoke to the serpent she added that He had also commanded not to touch the tree. The serpent then pushed Eve until she touched the tree and seeing that she had not died the serpent said: ‘Touching the tree has caused you no harm, neither will you suffer any harm by eating of its fruit.’”

The Jewish Spiritual Heroes, Volume II; The Amoraim of Palestine and the Jerusalem Talmud, Jehudah and Ezekiah, the Sons of Rabbi Chiya 12

The God Who Knows You

COMMENTARY

In "Essays in Ethics," Rabbi Jonathan Sacks contrasts the personal relationship fostered by the God of Abraham with the more universal knowledge of Aristotle's deity. He emphasizes the significance of individual relationships and uniqueness, drawing insights from the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Morality is not just a set of rules, even a code as elaborate as the 613 commandments and their rabbinic extensions. It is also about the way we respond to people as individuals. The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is at least in part about what went wrong in their relationship when the man referred to his wife as isha, “woman,” a generic description, a type. Only when he gave her a proper name, Ḥava, Eve, did he relate to her as an individual in her individuality, and only then did God “make [them] garments of skin and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21)…

Essays in Ethics; A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, Va'ethanan; The Right and the Good 12

The Consequences of the First Sin

KABBALAH

The sin of Adam and Eve introduced illness, disease, and death to both body and soul. Rabbi Chaim Vital’s 16th-century Kabbalistic work, Sha'arei Kedusha, delves into the spiritual and physical ramifications of this primordial sin.

Know that when the first man sinned by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, both his body and soul took on a composition of good and evil. This is the matter of “the contamination of the serpent,” that was instilled in Eve and Adam. This dross brought about illness, disease and death, both spiritually and physically. This is the meaning of the verse, “For on the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die” – meaning the death of the soul, as well as the death of the body.

Sha'arei Kedusha, Part 1 1:7

Shabbat and Yom Tov Insights

HALAKHAH

Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, in Peninei Halakhah, contrasts Shabbat and Yom Tov, highlighting their spiritual essence. On Shabbat, we elevate our faith by abstaining from work, akin to the ideal state in Gan Eden. Yom Tov, closer to our everyday lives, reflects our role in repairing the world, approaching the perfection of Gan Eden.

On Shabbat, even in the Garden of Eden man was meant to be elevated to the level of cessation of all work. Yom Tov, though, corresponds to the six weekdays in the Garden of Eden. God left room for human effort in order to include him in the project of repairing and sustaining the world. “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to till it and tend it” (Bereishit 2:15). The difference between then and now is that in the Garden of Eden, the work would have been done in a relaxed, joyful way…

Peninei Halakhah, Festivals 3:1:5

The Rivers of Eden

TALMUD

The Gemara delves into the geographical and hydrological details of the rivers originating from Eden, particularly focusing on the relative significance and order of the Euphrates river compared to the other three rivers.

The Gemara asks: But isn’t it written: “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was separated, and became four heads…And the name of the third river is Tigris; that is the one that goes toward the east of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates” (Genesis 2:10, 14)? This indicates that the Euphrates, which is mentioned last, is the least of the four rivers, not the source of the other three.

Bekhorot 55b:2

Adam's Expulsion to Mount Moriah

MIDRASH

The Torah recounts that Adam is expelled from the Garden of Eden, but doesn't detail where he goes. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an eighth-century midrashic work, explains how Adam was expelled to Mount Moriah, the place on which the Temple would later be built.

ADAM'S PENITENCE
"So he drove out the man" (Gen. 3:24). Driving out (i.e.) and he went forth outside the garden of Eden (and he abode) on Mount Moriah, for the gate of the garden of Eden is nigh unto Mount Moriah. Thence He took him and thither He made him return to the place whence he was taken, as it is said, "To till the ground from whence he was taken" (Gen. 3:23).

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 20:1

Rivers of Genesis

SECOND TEMPLE

Philo of Alexandria provides a unique geographical and locational perspective on the rivers mentioned in the early chapters of Genesis, which is rarely detailed in other ancient Jewish texts. Philo’s midrashic commentary blends Jewish tradition with Hellenistic philosophy, offering an allegorical interpretation of the biblical text.

Why it is that he not only describes the situation of the Euphrates, but also says that the Phison goes round all the land of Evilat, and that the Gihon goes round all the land of Ethiopia, and that the Tigris goes toward Assyria? (Genesis 2:14).

The Midrash of Philo 2:11:1

Commandments to Adam

MIDRASH

The rabbis interpret God’s command to Adam as encompassing six fundamental mitzvot (commandments), each derived from specific words in the verse. The early medieval midrash, Bereshit Rabbah, a talmudic-era midrashic work on the book of Genesis, offers a detailed exploration of these commandments and the consequences of violating them.

“The Lord God commanded man, saying: From every tree of the garden you may eat” (Genesis 2:16).
“The Lord God commanded man, saying: From every tree of the garden you may eat.” Rabbi Levi said: He commanded him regarding six mitzvot. “[The Lord God] commanded [vaytzav]” – regarding idol worship, as it says: “Because he willingly followed an order [tzav]” (Hosea 5:11). “The Lord” – regarding blasphemy, as it says: “One who blasphemes the name of the Lord” (Leviticus 24:16)…

Bereshit Rabbah 16:6

The Awakening of Human Consciousness

COMMENTARY

The transformation in human consciousness and self-awareness after eating from the Tree of Knowledge marks the beginning of moral consciousness and free will. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz's modern translation and commentary on the Hebrew Bible provides a clear and engaging exploration of this pivotal event in Genesis.

The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. Obviously, the man and woman were always aware of their nakedness. Indeed, their nakedness is already mentioned, as a matter of fact, at the end of the previous chapter. However, at first they were not ashamed of their naked state, just as people are not embarrassed to expose their noses or their eyes. Like the animals, all parts of their bodies were considered equal in their eyes. Partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil injected something new into their consciousness: A separation of…

Steinsaltz on Genesis 3:7

Preserving the Garden of Eden

MUSAR

Humanity has a responsibility to appreciate and preserve the beauty and excellence of God's creation, warning against corruption and destruction. In the 18th-century ethical text Mesillat Yesharim, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto emphasizes the importance of stewardship and ethical conduct in preserving the world.

Our sages roused us to this fundamental principle in Midrash Kohelet saying: "see the work of G-d." (Ecc. 7:13), "when the Holy One, Blessed be He, created Adam, He took him and led him to pass before all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: 'see how beautiful and excellent are my works. All that I have created, I have created for your sake. Be careful that you do not become corrupt and destroy My world.'"

Mesillat Yesharim 1:14

Israel in a Divine Garden

TARGUM

The Assembly of Israel likened their connection to the divine presence to fresh flora from the Garden of Eden. The Aramaic Targum to Song of Songs adds layers of meaning, illustrating Jewish theological perspectives through this analogy.

The Assembly of Israel said, “During the time that the Lord of the World makes His Presence dwell among us, I am like the narcissus fresh from the Garden of Eden and my actions are beautiful like the rose in the valley of the Pleasure-Garden of Eden.

Aramaic Targum to Song of Songs 2:1

The Garden of Eden, Thomas Cole, 1828

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