Bradley Shavit Artson
Recorded at Limmud Festival 2020
Hashem created the world, and on the 6th day, formed humankind, in the shape of Adam and Eve. This is the foundational event we commemorate at Rosh Hashanah. And so do we remember the first sin which occurred very shortly after Creation: when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden and cursed, allegedly, after eating from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
But was that the true reason Hashem punished Adam and Eve? The biblical text is ambiguous, and various commentators step in to fill the gaps which thereby appear in the narrative. In this session from Limmud Festival 2020, Bradley Shavit Artson analyses one such midrash and demonstrates how even some of our most ancient texts can sometimes subvert contemporary hierarchies.
- What would you do with a domesticated snake?
- What else could Adam had done to prevent himself and Eve from transgressing Hashem’s commandment?
- This New Year, are there new steps we could take to foster greater inclusivity in the Jewish community?