TORAH PORTION I

B'NAI DAVID INSTITUTE
FOR ADULT EDUCATION
FALL SEMESTER, 1991

• Lectures on vital contemporary issues by
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RABBI RICHARD C. HERTZ

Lecture Series
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MODERN MEDICINE AND JEWISH LAW

OCTOBER 8 — MEDICAL ETHICS: THE JEWISH PERSPECTIVE
OCTOBER 15 — HOST MOTHERS AND SURROGATE MOTHERS
IN JEWISH LAW
OCTOBER 22 — HALACHA AND HOSPICE: ARE THEY COMPATIBLE?

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T

he Adam and Eve
story from Genesis, in-
cluded in this week's
Torah portion, is one of the
literary classics of mankind.
Depicted as living in an en-
vironment of ease, free of pain
or worry, Adam had as his on-
ly task to tend the Garden of
Eden. The tale of expulsion
from paradise put the Tree of
Knowledge at the center. Two
radically different theological
interpretations have evolved
historically from this story.
Christianity taught that as
a result of Adam's trans-
gression all men became in-
herently evil. "The fall of
man," an expression absent
from Jewish literature, meant
that according to Paul's
teachings, man contracted an
original sin stemming from
Adam.
An old New England prim-
mer put it, "In Adam's fall, we
sinned all!' How could man
be redeemed? Only after
Jesus came into the world as
the Messiah could man be
redeemed through faith and
grace. This theological con-
cept of fundamental Chris-
tian theology meant that
otherwise man must rot and
die because of his original sin.
Judaism, on the other hand,
refused to give the Adam and
Eve story much emphasis in
its world view. Judaism main-
tained, instead, especially il-
lustrated in the Yom Kippur
liturgy, that man is free to
make a choice between good
and evil. The road to salva-
tion lies through repentance
and doing godly deeds ("mitz-
vot") rather than through a
savior.
Historically, Judaism did
not deny evil. Man is con-
stantly exposed to evil temp-
tation. But by carrying out
God's commandments to do
good and shun evil, he can
build a better world, make a
difference and find happiness.
The Bible tells us in the
opening sedra of Genesis that
when Adam and Eve were
hiding in the Garden of Eden,
after the subtle serpent had
seduced Eve, she in turn gave
Adam some of the fruit of the
Tree of Knowledge (Genesis
3:8):
And the man and his
wife hid themselves
from the presence of the
Lord God amongst the
trees of the garden .. .

Richard Hertz is rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth El,
Birmingham.

When the Lord asked Adam
"Where art thou?," He didn't
mean where art thou phys-
ically. He meant "Where do
you stand, Adam? Where do
you stand in the world? What
have you done with your fami-
ly, with your community?"
The rabbis later asked in
studying the story, why did
God ask such a question?
Didn't God already know the
answer? So why ask? And
they answered their own
question. "It was because the
time had come for Adam to
think of where he was and of
where he should now turn!'

Shabbat Bereshit
Genesis 1:1-6:8
Isaiah 42:5-43:10

In every age, God calls to
every person and asks
"Where are you?" Where are
you in your world? Where are
you with yourself? Every per-
son has to realize he has been
given a fixed number of days
and years. How should he
make the best use of that
time on earth?
We have just finished with
the High Holy Days where we
considered these ultimate
questions.
As with Adam, the choice
we have been given is not to
hide away from our problems
but instead to decide how we
should face up to them.
In our time, that is not so
easy. The roads to goodness
are obscured. The obstacles to
overcome in today's world and
in ourselves are mighty. We
have to fight against jealousy,
brutality, greed, misuse of
power, violence, frustration,
pettiness, despair. And when
those we love turn away from
us?
We are not alone. The power
we have been given to develop
our strengths ahead of our
weaknesses is one of the great
qualities of man. There are
many, many voices from the
past and present to help guide
us on the road.
The synagogue, where the
Torah is read, is one of the
compasses in your life. It
points the right way, to help
you get your bearings and
help you make decisions as to
what is right and proper and
ethical and decent and wor-
thwhile. Everyone needs a set
of standards. a value stance in
order to know where he is go-
ing in life. Therefore the ques-
tion, "Ayeka" put to Adam
"Where are you?" You have to
answer that question first
and above all. D

