What is the Torah? Is the Torah a history book? Is it a book of laws? It is a book of ethics? The Torah is the manifesto (if you will) of humankind’s mission in the universe.

According to the Ramban, if the Torah was a book of laws, it would have begun in Shemot (Exodus) with the first mitzvah that the Jewish people as a whole were given: thecommandment to recognize the new moon of the month.

But we know the Torah doesn’t begin in Shemot (Exodus), it begins with Bereshit (Genesis), with the pasuk (line): “In the beginning of G-d’s creating of the heavens and the earth…” ~ “בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹקים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃”

We read about the creation of light, of land and heaven, of land and sea, of vegetation and animals, and finally of humankind.

We read that Adam was created to work the soil of Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden). G-d told Adam: “You can eat everything except the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (עץ הדעת טוב ורע).” Then G-d saw that Adam needed a friend — “it is not good for man to be alone” ~ “לֹא־ט֛וֹב הֱי֥וֹת הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְבַדּ֑וֹ”, and so Chava (Eve) was formed. (She technically already existed, as Adam was really HaAdam, a two-sided human of both sexes. So Chava was just one side of HaAdam that was made separate. Also, voila — the concept of soul mates / other halves / partners being really one flesh (בשר אחד)! All humans are simply searching for the other half of our HaAdam as we did in Creation!)

Then the serpent (nachash, נחש) tempts Chava into eating from the Etz HaDaat (the Tree of Knowledge), which she does, and then shares the fruit with Adam. This is the “Original Sin” that we are forever attempting to rectify.

If we are now rectifying the “Original Sin” of eating of Etz HaDaat, what was humankind’s mission before that sin? The mission was (and is) to bring G-dliness into the world. To elevate the physical with the spiritual. This is a mission only humans can fulfill. Unlike angels (malachim) which are strictly spiritual beings, and unlike animals which are strictly physical beings, humankind is unique. We are physical beings with G-dly souls. The Midrash says that Adam was created from both the upper realms and the lower realms, just like us.

Creation isn’t just a story about light and darkness, of oceans and deserts, and it’s not about the creation of humankind either. Creation is the birth of Am Yisrael, the people that inherited the commandment of Creation that Adam and Chava (Adam and Eve) were given. The commandment to elevate the physical, to bring G-dliness into the world.

(I learned this next idea over a year ago from Mrs. Raquel Kirszenbaum of Neve Yerushalayim, but it has really stuck with me)

But what’s the big deal about the Etz HaDaat? What knowledge did Adam and Chava suddenly have? Their eyes were opened to make them realize they were naked. Ok fine, but weren’t their eyes already open? Yes, but now Adam and Chava had a more basic level of sight: sight of the physical form. Before eating from the Etz HaDaat, when they would look at each other, or at any other living thing, instead of seeing their physical outside, Adam and Chava saw their souls, their true essences. The curse of the Tree of Knowledge was the knowledge of physicality. They weren’t embarrassed about being naked because the last thing on their minds was their physical body. What truly mattered was a being’s essence.

And crazily enough, blindness to anything but the surface is an affliction we suffer from now. So think about what would be different in our world if we still had the ability to transcend the physical. And on a lower level, how do you rectify the Original Sin in your daily life? Do you try to look beyond the surface of others? Do you struggle to understand peoples’ true intentions? Reflect! (for full text contact me-- [email protected])