Am I Going to The Israeli Day Parade?

A number of people have asked me whether I am going to the Israeli Day

Parade (in New York) today, so I thought I would give my answer:

No.

The reason is very simple. We do not have a State of Israel. I do not

know what name one might give to the disgrace on the Mediterranean Sea

which has stolen the name of our ancient and (in theory) righteous

people, but it certainly would not be "Israel".

State of "Israel", your institutions sicken me! The sight of your

soldiers' uniforms sickens me. The sight of your police sickens me!

The sound of your "Hebrew" language -- really a Hebrew, Aramaic,

Yiddish and English pidgin -- sickens me. Your flag  -- with its

medieval European Jewish symbol -- sickens me. Your Westernized

television and radio programs sicken me, your violence- and rape-

ridden cities sicken me. Your Sephardim sicken me, and your Ashkenazim

sicken me. Your Rabbis sicken me, and your hilonim sicken me.

Your entire society and your entire culture, if I may be so bold as to

venture, also sicken Yehowah, who looks down from heaven and watches

all this, quietly observing, waiting and spinning his equations from

the world of the spirit.

You have run your course, State of "Israel", you have played your

game, you have made your choices, and as you have sown, so shall you

now reap.

State of "Israel", you have no more purpose in your current formation,

just as the body of a 95 year old person has no more purpose in this

universe of space and time. It withers away once the person has

completed his mission, just as the body of a caterpillar withers away

once it has served its purpose, and the caterpillar metamorphoses into

a butterfly. As the person sheds his old shell -- his body -- he too

metamorphoses and is born into something new, something which we can

neither see nor understand from this earth of three dimensions, of

space and time. So, from our limited perspective here on earth, we see

it as "death". (The twin in the womb, when he sees his brother going

out before him, must also think his brother is dying.)

So, the State of "Israel" is withering away, it is dying. And nothing,

nothing at all, can stop this process. As sure as the rain must fall

after a hot and steamy day, as sure as the rivers must flow from the

mountains to the valleys, so all things must run their course. Since

the State of "Israel" has hitched its star to that of Western culture,

dutifully imitating its institutions and thought patterns, so its fate

must rise as Western culture rises, and must fall as Western culture

falls. Unfortunately, the latter time is at hand.

Had Israel only joined its fate with the eternal stream of life, to

the ancient and eternal ways of Yehowah, then it would last forever,

it would have been immortal! But instead, it chose to join itself to

the ups and down, the vicissitudes of a certain culture, to the waves

and cycles of history, all of which rise and fall, and are born and

die. The State of Israel is dying.

Therefore, give no importance to a dying entity. Make no effort to

resuscitate that which cannot be saved. Give none of your energy and

none of your strength to that which will soon disappear before your

very eyes: Do not participate in its institutions, do not vote in its

elections; if you can avoid it, do not give a penny in taxes to its

government. Wait patiently for it to implode, the result of its own

compromises and mistakes, and put all your faith, effort and hope into

the New State of Israel which will develop out of this one, which may

very well go out in a giant ball of fire (with the help of Iran, North

Korea, etc.)

The New State of Israel, the Real State of Israel, is coming soon, and

it is where all our hopes, faith and efforts should lie. Though the

Rabbis believe they are a shoe-in to control this new state, they are

wrong. They will be as irrelevant in the New State of Israel as the

Emperor of Rome is in Tokyo. (Many of them will die along with the old

state. If their ideas do not die, then their bodies will.) Completely

new ideas, completely new leaders, completely new patterns of thought

will come, as if from out of nowhere, like a light far off to the side

that is at first not noticed, and then is suddenly noticed, and then

grows stronger and brighter until it shines like the sun and overtakes

everything else.

This time is near. Prepare for it.

The Teshuva of Yisrael by Saddoq ben Avraham Avinu

(Note: The Hebrew word teshuva often refers to the Tanakh concept of ‘repentance.’ The root of the word is SHIN-WAW-TAW as can be seen in the word itself: tshuba.)

It seems that the modern Yisreeli has become over reliant in the belief that when the meshiach comes, he will fix everything. “Meshiach this!”, “Meshiach that!” The messiah will indeed rule as a just king over the earth, but he will not conquer the spiritual war that plagues all of Yisrael- the war of disobedience towards YHWH. Israel has a collective past, present, and future. Before any type of redemption can occur, and before a meshiach can arrive, the Israelites must return to YHWH as a whole.

The People Yisrael have a covenant with YHWH. It was sealed with Moshe as the 'lawyer' mediating between the two parties. The covenant indicates that when Israel leaves God, God leaves Israel. Fortunately, God is long suffering in his patience, whereas Israel is usually too quick to fall into apostasy. This righteousness-sin-righteousness cycle (exemplified by the book of Judges) is very important when it comes to understanding the Divine nature of the covenant. We all wish that the Tanakh would be full of stories of Yisrael's righteousness and exemplary conduct. "Surely if Israel were 100% sinless and exalted by the Prophets, that would prove that Israel is the chosen people!" say the Christians and Moslems.

(Sigh...) Well as we all know, the Prophets rarely have anything positive to say about Israel. In fact, most of our Miqra is filled with criticism towards Israel. We and the Nations know all to well that Yisrael is the Western world's 'standard' for stubbornness and disobedience towards the Divine.

Since Israel's righteousness and eternal prosperity is not what is portrayed in the Miqra, since the Nations think we are not God's chosen people because of our perpetual sin and disobedience, since we are not the light unto the nations that the heathen should envy, the current proof of the Divinity of the Covenant is not in Israel's righteousness.

The proof that the Covenant at Sinai is indeed of Divine origin is that Israel is always chastised by God for its sins. Think about this. It would be very obvious that if we were all living in Ha-arets, prospering with all of our endeavors, going to Jerusalem for the Chaghim, and living out the maximum of our years, we would know for sure 100% that the Covenant is being fulfilled with all of its blessings as described in Devarim 28:1- 14. But since we are not enjoying this Divine prosperity we know that something is wrong and we are currently living in the state of the curses described in Devarim 28:15-68. Thus, either way, the covenant is being fulfilled. Yes, even as we suffer in exile, know that the Covenant is still in full effect. Our state of exile my friends, is proof that the Covenant is indeed of Divine origin.

If we can prove the Covenant's Divine validity based on the reality of its curses, then we should without a doubt believe that by returning to YHWH and following His Tora shall we receive the blessings!  You would think this is something that apostate Israelites (so-called) would understand and take advantage of? You would think the Rabbis with all of their knowledge and authority would advocate such a simple teshuva to the Torah? You would think the Qaraites would do the same! But this is not happening because as a collective unit the redemption of Israel requires teshuva on a collective level.

Devarim chapter 30 describes for us some of the most important material in the Miqra. In this chapter, Moshe lays everything down in simple terms as to how Israel can return to God and how God can return to Israel. This chapter is also important as an anti-missionary piece of work because it also shows how redemption by following Torah is forever the only way to return to YHWH. 

Devarim 30

"It will be that when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have presented before you, then you will take it to your heart among all the nations where YHWH your God, has dispersed you;

Moshe, the greatest prophet, foresaw the ‘Cycle of Exile.’ This Cycle consists of Israel living in the state of blessings and then in the state of curses typified by Exile. What does Moshe mean when he states that we will take it to heart? It basically means that we will not just ‘realize the error of our ways,’ but also that we will have such an enlightened perspective on our own cycle of sin and redemption, that we will choose never to allow it to happen again. When Moshe speaks of how God has scattered us among all the nations, he means that this ‘enlightenment’ or taking it to the heart will happen on a world-wide exilic level. All Israelites from every nation will realize that the cycle of sin and redemption must end. This will certainly have to be the greatest miracle ever known to mankind!

 and you will return unto YHWH, your God, and listen to His voice, according to everything that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and all your soul.

Once the enlightenment occurs amongst all Israelites everywhere, Moshe prophesies that we will finally return (Heb. shavta) to YHWH. What does it mean that we will listen to His voice? Moshe is referring to the text of Devarim which God put in his mouth to teach Israel. As a prophet, Moshe was literally the voice of God. This may also imply that at this point in Israel’s return, prophets will return to assist the people. Will these prophets be the Israelites themselves? Read on…

Then YHWH, your God, will bring back your captivity and have mercy on you, and He will return and gather you in from all the peoples to which YHWH, your God, has scattered you" (Dev. 30: 1- 3).

This verse is very important, please read it carefully. ONLY once we have been enlightened and have decided to return to YHWH will all our hearts and souls shall YHWH bring us back to the Land of Israel. This raises the question about the validity of the State of Israel. Where in our Scriptures does it state that God will be the one to create a socialist, anti-Jewish State, whose state religion is secularism (Just now as I am writing this, the State of Israel has agreed to divide Jerusalem into two parts!)? Dev. 30:3 implies that God has not. The only legitimate Israel is not a state or government. It is a people that has returned to YHWH with every fiber of their being. This is a very sensitive issue for religious Israelites living in the State of Israel or for those considering aliyah. But you cannot deny what the text says. The only sure and safe way that any Israelite will be able to settle and prosper in the Promised Land is when we return to YHWH as a whole and he brings us back to the Land as a whole. All other persons operating against the principle of 30:3 cannot have their safety and prosperity in the Land guaranteed by YHWH. 

"If your dispersed will be at the ends of heaven, from there YHWH your God, will gather you in and from there He will take you. YHWH, your God, will bring you to the Land that your forefathers possessed and you shall possess it. He will do good to you and make you more numerous than your forefathers.

This portion indicates that it does not matter how far exiled one may be in order for YHWH to bring them back. Note here that once we are enlightened, return to YHWH, and returned to the Land, we will possess it. Compare this also to the affairs of the State of Israel. See how the government gives up the holy land  to its enemies for nothing in return, in effect mocking YHWH’s promises to His people. Moshe also states that God will make us more numerous than our ancestors. Compare this once again to the State of Israel. The population of Israel is being outnumbered by the Palestinian populations living within it. Once the Oslo Peace Accords are complete, and the Palestinians are granted the right to return, they will over populate the Israelis and wreck havoc.

YHWH, your God, will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, to love YHWH, your God, will all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live" (Dev. 30: 4-6).

Let’s review the redemption process. 1) Enlightenment (30:1), 2) Teshuva to YHWH (30: 2), and 3) Ingathering of the Exiles (30: 3). The question is now this: what was the initial cause of this great enlightenment that will take place? The answer is that YHWH will circumcise our hearts so that we may love him with all our being. The significance of this obvious: Israel’s persistent disobedience and sin proved that they indeed did not love YHWH will all their ability. The circumcision of the heart has great prophetic significance. It is intimately related to the ‘New Covenant’ and the return of prophecy.

“Behold the days are, coming- the word of YHWH- when I will seal a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah: not like the covenant that I sealed with their forefathers on the day that I took hold of their hand to take them out of the land of Egypt, for they abrogated My covenant, although I became their Master- the word of YHWH.

Many Jews have struggled with the issue as to what is this New Covenant. And many times they have fallen prey to the Christian idea the New Covenant is a covenant without the Torah. Surely this cannot be! For it would make Devarim 30 a lie and thus Moshe (and Jeremiah) false prophet. The New Covenant will include both the exiled houses of Israel and Judah. God is very clear as to what is so ‘new’ about this brith. By looking at his initial statements, God says that Israel abrogated his covenant, meaning they continuously broke it and were disobedient. Although YHWH was their master, Israel had no desire in fulfilling its part of the covenant so God has no choice but to follow through with the curses.

For this is the covenant that I shall seal with the House of Israel after those days- the word of YHWH- I will place my Torah within them and I will write it onto their heart; I will be a God for them and they will be a people for Me.

The ‘new’ aspect of the Covenant is to make Israel 100% obedient to YHWH. God has expressed his disgust and frustration with contending with Israel for nearly 3000 years. The New Covenant will place the Torah inside the people of Israel and in their hearts. In Devarim 30, we see that  whenever the heart is referred to, it implies the matter of obedience. Thus the power of the New Covenant will be one in which Israel will no longer sin and be disobedient to YHWH. Israel will acknowledge that YHWH is their Master and YHWH will acknowledge Israel as his people—forever.

Why does God not include the House of Judah in this statement? It is because now in His eyes, Israel and Judah will not be separate—they will be one people, which implies a complete ingathering of the exiles as stated in Devarim 30: 3! Jeremiah 31 and Deuteronomy 30 are very much related to one another.

 They will no longer teach, each man his fellow, each man his brother—saying, ‘Know YHWH!’ For all of them will know Me, from their smallest to their greatest—the word of YHWH—when I will forgive their iniquity and will no longer recall their sin…(Yer 31: 30-33, 36).

This passage indicates that such a profound knowledge of YHWH will fill Israel, that no Israelite will require another to tell him/her to search for YHWH’s will. Does this mean we will still require prophets?

Compare  this ‘knowledge of YHWH’ to the end of days prophecy of Zekharia 14:9: “YHWH will be the King over all the land, on that day YHWH will be One, and His Name will be One.” This implies a world-wide knowledge of YHWH as the only God. What appears to be an enlightenment for Israel will be only a microcosm of the enlightenment for the entire world once God defeats Israel’s enemies and sets the messiah of David upon the throne.

There are two more important subjects we should discuss before we return to Devarim 30.

Yoeyl 2:23 describes the coming of a ‘teacher for righteousness,’: “Children of Tsion, exult and be glad with YHWH your God, for He has given you a teacher of righteousness [Heb. hamoreh litsdhaqah], and he has rain for you- the early rain and the late rain—in the first month…Then you will know that in the midst of Israel am I, and that I am YHWH your God, there is none other; and My people will not be shamed evermore” (Yoeyl 2:23,27).

These verses indicate a time when Israel will be perfect in its righteousness (compare it with Yermiyahu 31:36). The advent of the enlightenment and New Covenant will probably be preceded by the ‘teacher for righteousness.’ Who could this person be? When we read that the teacher who instructs Yisrael in righteousness brings rain, we may assume that this person is none other than Elijah. We know that the beginning of Elijah’s prophecy had to do with restraining and causing rain. The combination of rain and Elijah thus allude to the concept of judgment.

The prophet Malakhi wrote that Elijah would return before God’s judgment upon the Nations. “Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of YHWH. And he will turn back [note again the Hebrew word heishiv] the hearts of father with sons, and the hearts of sons with their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with destruction” (Mal. 3:23). It is not entirely clear what Elijah’s mission is. My opinions are 1) that Elijah’s instructions will reunite families in some manner, or 2) it refers to the returning to YHWH of entire families, or 3) it can be understood as having metaphorical significance. In any case, we have the concept of the heart once again so this has something to do with obedience and love.

If the teacher for righteousness is Elijah (more proof may be found in Malakhi 3:1), and his advent marks the beginning in some way of the enlightenment, ingathering, and the New Covenant, then what follows Yoeyl chapter 2 resonates quite nicely with the concept that all of Israel shall know YHWH ( remember Yer. 31:33). Yoeyl chapter 3 speaks of a time of prophecy never before seen in the history of Israel. It will be a time when every Israelite will prophecy: “And it will happen after this, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophesy; your elders will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. Even also upon the slaves and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My Spirit. I will set wonders in the heaven and on earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke; the sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great awesome Day of YHWH. And it will be that anyone who calls in the Name of YHWH will escape, for on the Mount of Tsion and in Yerushalayim there will be refuge as YHWH said, and among the survivors whom YHWH summons” (Yoeyl 3:1-5).

What if this period of ‘blanket’ prophecy upon all Israelites triggers the enlightenment, and thus the ingathering and start of the New Covenant? Is Yoeyl, Malakhi, Yermiyahu, and Moshe all speaking about the same event? The parallels in Yoeyl chapter 3 regarding the great awesome Day of YHWH is nearly identical to that of Malakhi 3:23:

Malakhi 3:23: “Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of YHWH.

Yoeyl 3:4: I will set wonders in the heaven and on earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke; the sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great awesome Day of YHWH.

It is clear that the time period of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is identical with the advent of Elijah and the Day of YHWH’s wrath. If the parallels between the enlightenment and ingathering of Devarim 30 and the New Covenant of Yirmiyahu 31 are indeed consistent, then we may actually have a clear understanding of how the ‘final redemption’ will take place.

Let’s return to Devarim chapter 30:

"YHWH your God, will place all these imprecations upon your enemies and those who hate you, who pursued you. Note how this implies the great and awesome day of YHWH’s wrath upon the nations that persecuted Yisrael.

You shall return and listen to the voice of YHWH, and perform all His mitswoth that I command you today. YHWH will make you abundant in all your handiwork-- in the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your animals, and the fruit of your land-- for good, when YHWH will return to rejoice over you for good, as He rejoiced over your forefathers, when you listen to the voice of YHWH , your God, to observe His commandments and His decrees, that are written in this Book of the Torah, when you shall return to YHWH your God, with all your heart and all your soul" (Dev 30: 7-10).

It is without a doubt that the ‘final redemption’/teshuva/New Covenant/Outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be consummated by the practice of the Torah in all of its aspects. If our theory is correct that Elijah will be present at this time, it would make perfect sense to state that he will correct the erroneous interpretations of the Tanakh and destroy the works of the Rabbanite Oral Law. On the other hand, if all Israelites are prophesying, it may be that the enlightenment itself brings all Israelites to the true interpretation of the Torah without Elijah assistance.

Regardless of speculation, Moshe clearly states that we will perform ALL of the commandments, decrees, and judgments written in Devarim.

"For this commandment that I command you today- it is not hidden from you and it is not distant. It is not in heaven, to say who will ascend to the heaven for us and take it for us and perform it? Nor is it across the sea, to say, who can cross to the other side of the sea for us and take it for us, so that we can listen to it and perform it? Rather the matter is close to you-- in your mouth and in your heart to do it" (Dev. 30: 11-14).

Moshe steps back for a moment and tells us that the ability to do the Torah does not lie hidden in some priest cult (like the pagan-mysteries), it does not lie in heaven above with God’s ‘eternally 30-something son.’ The Torah is written down on purpose so it can be read and understood. Compare Moshe’s statement that the Torah is not hidden to his metaphor in verse 14. He is making a great comparison. The matter of doing the Torah is not hidden—it is SO close that it can be considered as literally being in our mouth and heart! Let no one try to convince you that ‘no one can keep the Law’! These people are deceivers and liars and have never tried keeping the Torah in their entire lives. These heathen need to be asked whether or not they think Moshe or YHWH is a liar. See that you are not deceived.

"See, I have given before you today the life and the good, and the death and the evil, that which I command you today, to love YHWH your god, to walk in His ways, to observe His commandments, His decrees, and His ordinances; then you will live and multiply, and YHWH your God will bless you in the Land which you come, to possess it. But if your heart will stray and you will not listen, and you are led astray, and your prostrate yourself to the gods of others and serve them, I tell you today that you will be surely lost, you will not lengthen you days upon the Land that you cross the Jordan to come there, to possess it" (Dev. 30: 15-18) .

Nearing the conclusion of his address, Moshe delineates the difference between Torah observance and non-observance- that is, the difference between life and goodness, and death and evil. Keeping the Torah guarantees that we have life in the Land (although not in Exile- understand this). Israel for most of its history has chosen death and evil. May we ever pray that YHWH come to our aid now.

"I call heaven and earth today to bear witness against you: I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life, so that you will live, you and your offspring- to love YHWH your God, to listen to His voice and to cleave to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, to dwell upon the Land that YHWH swore to your forefathers, to Avraham, Yitschaq, and to Ya'aqob, to give them" (Dev. 30: 19-20).

Moshe concludes by calling heaven and earth as witnesses against the Israelites in their acceptance of the Torah. Why does he do this? The answer is that when God seeks to punish Israel, he causes nature to turn against her. Additionally, nature, as a collective biological life form, is essentially immortal, and can therefore witness the actions of Yisrael throughout the ages.

In conclusion, my theory is this: that an enlightenment upon all Yisrael will occur. This enlightenment will be caused by YHWH through the pouring of the Holy Spirit out upon all of Yisrael. It is possible that the teacher for righteousness and Elijah are one and the same. Elijah will assist in this enlightening process. At this point, Yisrael will return to God and be gathered back into the Land. The enlightenment will be the start of the New Covenant, and Yisrael will never sin again. Only once Yisrael becomes sinless can it become the nation of priests and light unto the Nations that God wished it to be. This appears to happen before the Great and Awesome Day of YHWH, typically understood as the Day of YHWH’s wrath against the Nations. What happens after this remains a mystery. We do know there are allusions to wars in Ezekiel and Zekharia. Will these wars happen then? Perhaps.

Finally, let us be reminded that Moshe advises us to choose life so we may live. Let us cleave to YHWH, because he is the Source of all life, longevity and prosperity. He alone can guide us through the darkness of the Exile, but we need to be willing to take His hand.

Sex, Patriarchy and the Environment in the Book of Genesis

 Let’s consider the argument of Genesis 1:28 which act as a proof text to those who believe that the earth and all of it is ripe for exploitation. The ground is cursed because of Adam (3:17) and he, as well as all men must work with the sweat of his brow in the midst of thorns and thistles to provide for his own. This doesn’t sound exploitative as we have been instructed. Let’s consider the idea of balance: some expect the ideal balance is that Man and Nature work together harmoniously- a reciprocating system, if you will.  However, the true balance, as stated in 1:28, is that Man is to rule over nature- this is the ideal balance in the Hebrew Paradise.  After God cursed the ground, an imbalance occurred making Man subject to nature’s cruelty (famine, floods, etc). It is the curse upon Man to actually struggle against nature in order to re-achieve that ideal balance spoken of in 1:28.

            To show how the “exploitative proof-text” is false and that imbalance is the actual state of Man in Genesis, one only need to look at the gods such as Tammuz and Inanna, who were agrarian deities which the Mesopotamians worshipped. The gist of Hebrew creation and expulsion mythology is better rendered as this: “What was the ideal relationship between Man and Nature and Man and Woman is not what is”. So, instead of the ideal male and female equality, there occurs a mutual co-dependency relative to the needs of the sexes. Also, instead of the ideal Human dominance and control over nature, there exists a struggle of Man against Nature to achieve his nutritional needs. This is evident when one looks at the situation like the tsunami back in December 2004 or Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

            Genesis is about ideal concepts that were overturned via Man’s unwillingness to accept those concepts. It is impossible, therefore, to find a proof text in Genesis to condone domestic violence, oppressive patriarchy, and environmental destruction. To those who think so, I extend my sympathy to them.

            The knowledge of good and evil, which is the true symbolism of the fruit of the tree, does not bring death. Rather, the disobedience to God’s command to not eat the fruit is the cause of death and suffering.

            I am familiar with the idea that the Woman’s portrayal in Genesis is a proof text for those who think the Bible is sexist and for those who promote oppressive patriarchy. This is ridiculous. Whether you teach these things because you are supposed to teach the majority interpretation or not, it should be evident to you that this is not the case.

            The Snake was cleverly mixing what the Woman heard from God with an assumption that seemed quite reasonable: God didn’t want Man to eat of the Tree of Knowledge so they wouldn’t become gods and challenge his power. For in order to be a god, as the Snake implied, one must have knowledge of good and evil. I don’t believe this promotes the Woman as “weak” or “gullible”, rather, I believe she deeply considered the Snake’s message as true- because it was rational to her that God would fear other gods as a challenge (consider the admonitions of God in the Bible saying he is a jealous God).  Perhaps the real reason that that the Woman succumbed to the Snake was this: that she didn’t have enough reasons why not to eat of the fruit other than God telling her not to. Therefore, it was her over-rationalization, as planted by the Snake, which led to her rebellion rather her being a “ditsy” female archetype.

            Genesis 3:6 clearly states that to the Woman, the fruit was edible (this is rationalization), and was a delight to the eyes (lusting after the Knowledge) and the tree was “desired” to make one wise (the tree is the pathway to godhood). This was firm rationalization by the Woman, not a spur of the moment dupe by the Snake.

            Furthermore, it was Adam who received the fruit from Eve and he ate it- so who exactly is the “weaker of the two”? Through this “transaction”, many scholars conclude that the Man was coerced through sexual intercourse. There is no evidence of this anywhere. The only evidence we have of a sexual interaction between the Man and Woman is Genesis 4:1. It is best assumed that Eve rationalized to Adam in the same way the Snake did to Eve. We could ask of Adam, “who’s more foolish? The fool or the fool that follows her?”

            Neither does Adam nor Eve’s realization that they were naked give credence to the theory that the first sin was sex, for it is already written in 1:25, that they were naked to begin with. Naked obviously means innocent or better yet, ignorant. It is best understood that when they ate the fruit, they knew the different between good and evil. And when they saw that they were supposedly “naked” (i.e. ignorant), this was self-deception because they knew it was not true. This knowledge was the knowledge of good and evil. Because of the knowledge that they were no longer ignorant, but looked as if they were, they became guilty. The recognition of guilt is a result of the human conscience which, in the case of the Man and Woman, found its ultimate expression reflected in the Torah. This is the why they made fig leaf clothes for themselves.

            This account in Genesis has nothing to do with sex. Neither does it have anything to do with downplaying the role of Woman.  Both misconceptions are doomed. Immediately after the Fall, yet before the Curses, Man has become subordinate to the Woman because of her success to get him to eat the fruit.

            When Eve is confronted by God, she says that the Snake confused her (Hebrew: Hisheyni). Therefore, the blame moves downward from Man to the Snake, like the old saying, “S**t rolls downhill”. The cursing, however, goes in reverse order starting from the Snake to the Man.

            First, the Snake is cursed, and he is told that he will eat the dust all his life. This probably explains in mythological terms why the snake slithers. Furthermore, there is a traditional Jewish interpretation that the Snake represents the “evil-inclination” of Man to rebel against God- even if that includes rationalizing the matter as Eve did. You said that the Snake symbolizes the “unnatural”, an interpretation which is too ambiguous. The best explanation is a mix of the two: the Snake may represent the unnatural which is rebellion against God in the context of Genesis.

            Before the Fall and the Curses, Man and Woman were equal in status, hence Adam’s “bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh” statement in 1:23. This ideal concept of unity is stressed by the narrator who interjects “a man must leave his parents and cleave to his wife and will become one flesh” (1:24). Again, this represents the ideal concept of the man-woman relationship before the Fall. Any concept of a subordinate Woman occurs after the Fall, never before. Remember, the Woman had the upper hand over the Man by coercing him to eat the fruit. It was at this point that the co-equality between Man and Woman shifted whereby the Woman became the dominant person.

            The consequences of this action are outlined by God’s curse to Eve. First of all, she will give birth in pain. And because the Woman will become pregnant and somewhat ‘handicapped’ for a good part of her 9 months and afterward, she will need some help. What help? God says that Eve’s desire shall be to her husband, Adam (3:16) and he shall rule over her. All of this is said within the context of childbirth. Therefore, because the Woman is helpless to forage for food, she requires the physical strength of the Man to take care of her needs. So the Woman has become by default now, not necessarily subordinate to the Man, but dependent on him in the context of pregnancy. I can already hear the ignorant masses holler, “Sexist Patriarchs!” If the Woman is dependent on the Man for all her needs in pregnancy, guess who has to work his tail off? The answer is found in God’s curse to the Man.

            Because Adam listened to Eve’s reasons to eat of the Tree, God cursed the earth for Man’s sake. Consider this: beforehand, Man conveniently pruned and took of the Garden as he saw fit. But now he must work for it. He must “toil” because God causes thorns and thistles to arise (3:18). These may be also symbols for a low crop yield and general and anxiety about starvation. God told the Man that through the sweat of his (Adam’s) brow, he will work the earth for food until he dies.

            So Man, because of his physical strength, is best obliged to work the cursed earth for food until he drops dead and rots into the earth from which he came. Adam is cursed to labor in pain in his own way just as the Woman must “labor in pain” her way. From all of this, I don’t see any proof texts that justify oppressive patriarchy, contrary to what most think. What I do believe happened is that the Patriarchal system evolved out of the obvious notion that men were the ones who were physically able to provide during the pregnancy terms of their wives. In agrarian societies, women were pregnant and raised the children. In between, they would work on the crops and other important duties. Fertility was so important to the ancients that fertility goddesses were worshipped and venerated over the gods. Plump, pregnant female idols made by Sumerians and other Mesopotamians attest to this fact. A pregnant woman was worth more than anything in the world- and it was the man’s responsibility to provide for her (or “them” in cases of polygamy).

            Genesis may have given Hebrews answers to the following questions: “Why do men do most of the heavy work?” “Why must women have to go through this torture of birth?” I doubt if many woman back then asked, “Why are we women second to men?” If one looks at the harsh agrarian Mesopotamian world from which the Semitic peoples emerged, we would understand that the very question itself is wrong and that the answers are self-evident.