Portion of the Week / Our main feature is our mortality - Haaretz

Subscribe to Print Edition

Thu., October 11, 2007 ,

Israel Time: 22:00 (EST+7)

web haaretz.com

Back to Homepage

Print Edition

Diplomacy

Defense

Arts & Leisure

Real Estate

Jewish World

National

Advertising

Magazine

Week's End

Business

Opinion

Rosner's Domain

Anglo File

Books

Travel

del.icio.us

Digg It! new

Portion of the Week / Our main feature is our mortality

By Benjamin Lau

The Garden of Eden era is over. The world in which humans did not have to assume any responsibility has been transformed into one where they must toil and create. The first verse after our banishment from Eden is, "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord" (Genesis 4:1). Eve's naming expresses human responsibility. The Hebrew literally translates as, "I have purchased a man with God"; it is as if Eve is saying, "Previously, God, you were solely responsible for creation, but now I am a senior partner in the process."

Cain represents the mortal hope that we will daily create through our powers. However, the same powers to create and build are what drive Cain to jealousy, competitiveness and violence, culminating in the world's first murder.

After that homicide, the bereaved mother gives birth to another son: "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. 4:25-26). This time Eve does not declare that she is purchasing a mortal in partnership with God. She has reversed her position - from being an agent to one who is acted upon. Like the mother, the child belongs to God.

	Advertisement

Her third son calls his own son Enos [enoshut=humanity]. Why and what is the meaning of "then began men to call upon the name of the Lord"? Rabbi Isaac Samuel Reggio (mid-18th century Italy) explains the name: "It is written 'and he called his name Enos'; the name was later applied to all humankind. For instance, we find 'What is man, that thou art mindful of him?' (Psalms 8:4) and 'As for man, his days are as grass' (Pss. 103:15). The word Enos is derived from 'mortal,' as in '... and my wound incurable' (Jeremiah 15:18) and in 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked' (Jer. 17:9). The term is applied to mortals because we always suffer pain and affliction, because God strikes us and we are tormented. Seth was a very wise individual because he was born in Adam's image, as it is written in the text before us. Realizing how great was his father's sin and understanding that, because of that transgression, Adam fell from his lofty position, losing his invaluable powers, Seth named his son Enos, and was essentially stating the following message: 'We mortals must be humble and suffer torment, because, if we are too self-satisfied, we could exceed the limits of our passions and follow our evil inclinations.'"

The verses Rabbi Reggio cites describe mortals as dependent beings. In his view, the word "Enos" represents our weakness and lowly position. I would suggest that Seth's own name expresses our dependence, in contrast with the passion-driven Cain. Thus, we can see two paths in the process of human development: Adam-Cain, representing the prosperous, creative being who is like God, and Adam-Seth-Enos, representing dependent mortals.

Biblical commentators were divided over whether the phrase "then began men to call upon the name of the Lord" reflects positively or negatively on Enos' generation. Rashi chooses the negative interpretation: "The word 'huhal' [began] is from the root hol or hulin, or profane. People began using God's name when naming themselves or naming objects that were used for idol worship and were called gods." In contrast, his grandson, Rabbi Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), takes the positive view: "It is written, 'then began men to call upon the name of the Lord'; the word huhal connotes beginnings; in other words, people began to pray to God because of the calamities that reappeared."

Generally speaking, we consider the two interpretations as being diametrically opposed; I believe, however, that there is no essential difference between them. Aware of their temporal nature and the limits of their strength, humble mortals feel lost in the giant world that threatens them. They seek the path to stability, to the eternal and the divine. Some mortals succeed in their quest, while others become stuck along the way and begin worshipping the powers of nature. In his presentation of the laws governing idol worship, Maimonides explains humanity's basic error: "In Enos' day, mortals committed a major mistake. Their mistake was essentially this: They said, 'God created these stars and heavenly spheres to control the world and set them up high, granting them much honor. They are his servants and they are worthy of praise and glory and worthy of being honored. It is God's will that we should praise and honor those whom he praises and honors, just as monarchs want those who serve them to be honored because the monarchs are in this way also honored."

All mortals seek a connection that will encourage their self-confidence. In one of his memoirs, Mordechai Bar-On (a graduate of the Israel Defense Forces' first officers course and a former IDF chief education officer) describes his feelings as a platoon commander, lining up his soldiers in an orchard near Beit Oved opposite the vanguard of the Egyptian army that had reached Ashdod: "When night fell, we awaited the attack expected to be launched at dawn. I lay in one of the orchard's trenches and began to imagine what would happen when the dawn would break; I was stricken with fear and then, at a certain moment, I suddenly felt a strong urge to pray. Although I did not know how to pray nor did I know any prayer by heart, I prayed then and there."

We continually find ourselves between two poles: the feeling that we were created in the "image of God" (Gen. 1:27), and the awareness that we are weak mortals. This week's Torah reading thrusts us simultaneously onto two paths: that of the prosperous, creative human being and that of the mortal who seeks something that is everlasting. We set out from this point as we proceed toward a new year of creativity and prayer.

Bookmark to del.icio.us


	Bad publicity
	Tiv Taam is fighting for public opinion in order to counter a consumer affairs T.V. show.


	The biggest stage
	For the first time in its history, Maccabi Tel Aviv will play against the New York Knicks.




1.	With our minds fixed upon the Wisdom that	15:30	\|	In His Name	06/10/07

2.	the injunction forbidding the use of the Lord`s Name in vain	03:00	\|	Joseph E .	07/10/07

Today Online


	Senior Fatah official rules out reconciliation with rival Hamas
	Responses: 126


	Meron Benvenisti: E. J'lem Arabs oppose division of the city
	Responses: 45


	Harel: Constitution must ensure Israel's Jewish identity
	Responses: 72


	Report: Top PA official warns failed summit may spark intifada
	Responses: 199


	Rightists to launch bid to free Yitzhak Rabin's assassin Yigal Amir
	Responses: 47


	Rosner: Can Ann Coulter want Jews to become Christian?
	Responses: 55

More Headlines
17:47 Avigdor Lieberman: Peace talks could bring about government's collapse


20:00 Yesha halts talks with gov't after settlement construction frozen


21:28 Treasury D-G: Zelekha's conduct is harming Israel's economy


20:54 Lebanese authorities free Israeli held on suspicion of espionage


15:39 Rightists to launch campaign to free Rabin assassin Yigal Amir


16:53 French official: Police on trail of suspect in 1980 shul bombing


20:29 Police question PM in Leumi probe for second time in two days


17:24 Assad casts doubt on Syrian participation in peace summit


18:34 PA furious over move to forbid visitors from bringing prisoners candy


15:37 Two Iraqi children to arrive in Israel for open heart surgery


20:32 Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend Bar Refaeli sues Israeli newspaper for libel


16:41 Israeli scientists build Red Sea concrete reef to lure divers