In memory of Mr. Alfred Parker- Avraham ben Aharon HaKohein- who passed away on Monday. Mr. Parker escaped from Austria in 1938, went to culinary school in Switzerland, and came to America after the war. He served with distinction as manager of Yeshiva University cafeteria- known during his tenure simply as ‘Parker’s’- for 29 years. May his memory be a blessing.
In this week’s parsha, we are told of the serpent’s efforts to entice Chava into eating forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent argues, “on the day you will eat from it and you will be like God, knowing good and bad.” (Bereishis, 3, 5). Rashi explains the serpent’s argument to be that every craftsman hates others who are occupied in the same craft. God, argues the serpent, ate from the fruit of the tree, and created worlds. By eating from the tree, then, Adam and Chava would also have this ability, and thereby become competitors of God. Chava was taken in by this argument, ate of the fruit, and gave some to Adam to eat, as well. Adam and Chava were punished and thrown out of the Garden of Eden, and the serpent was punished by being unable to walk in an upright position, but rather having to crawl in order to get around. .According to the Talmud (Sotah, 9b), the serpent originally walked in an upright position, so that its need to now crawl constituted a diminution in stature.
Actually, further reflection on the argument of the serpent, as explained by Rashi, leaves one a bit confused. What was so wrong about wanting to be a creator, like God. Isn’t man supposed to be creative? In fact, according to Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt’l, in his essay Lonely Man of Faith, part of man’s task in this world is to be creative just as God is creative (for a shortened presentation of this seminal essay, see Man of Faith in the Modern World, by Rabbi Abraham Besdin). This is the role of Adam-I, as Rabbi Soloveitchik dubs him, the first typology of man, as set forth in the first chapter of parshas Bereishis. Why, then, was the serpent punished for advancing this argument? Moreover, how did the punishment of being diminished in stature and having to crawl on his stomach fit the crime of advising Chava to eat from the fruit of the tree?
Rabbi Shneur Kotler zt’l, in his Noam Siach, volume 2, explains the serpent’s mistake by referring to a Talmudic passage in Bava Kama, 16a, that the spine of a person who did not bend during the blessing of ’Modim’- a blessing of thanks to God- in the Shemoneh Esreh prayer turns into a snake after seven years. The idea that the rabbis were articulating here, explains Rabbi Kotler, is that a person needs to submit himself to the will of God. Once he does so, he is then able to actualize his ‘tzelem Elokim,’ the image of God, the divine traits that were implanted in him by his Creator.This tzelem Elokim, says Rabbi Kotler, is the ability to be creative, as God is creative. However, man can only do so with the proviso that he submits his own will to that of God, and does nothing to contradict the divine imperative. Although Rabbi Kotler does not say this, perhaps this is the idea behind the Talmudic expression of man becoming a partner with God in the work of creation. The intent of the serpent, however, was to sever man’s connection to God, by having him transgress His command. Man’s creative work would then be in competition with and rebellion against God, rather than in partnership. Because the serpent wished to separate man from God and thereby distort the true image of God, it was punished by losing its upright stature- which represents the image of God- and being reduced to slithering along on its stomach. A person who does not bow during Modim- the declaration of thanks and gratitude to God- does not demonstrate the attitude of submission to His will that is necessary in order to use one’s creative abilities in a proper manner. Therefore, his spine, turns into a snake, the symbol of one who tried to separate man from God. Rabbi Kotler, again, does not say this, but I believe that the seven years are an allusion to the seven days of creation, and, by extension, the creative process in general. The serpent’s mistake, then, was to pervert this process and use it to separate man from God, rather than bringing him closer.
The Torah, in describing the creation of man, tells us, “And God created man in his image, in the image of God He created him” (Bereishis, 1, 27). My teacher, Rav Aharon Soloveichik, zt’l, pointed out that the common translation of the first part of this verse as “And God created man in His image,” taking the word ‘betzalmo’ to refer to the image of God, cannot be correct, because the verse would then be redundant, since the second half records that ´in the image of God He created him.: Rather , the word ‘betzalmo’ must be translated as ‘in his image,’ spelling the word 'his' with a lower case ‘h.’ The reference, then, is to man’s unique image. Each person, explained Rav Aharon, has his own unique character, and it is his task in life to actualize that unique aspect of his personality. However, we must always remember that it is God Who gave each of us our unique character, and it is only by working in consonance with His will and imperatives that we can properly utilize the unique creative talents that we have been endowed with.