Lilith
Sat., June 20, 12:34 PM
Rabbi Gellman, who writes the God Squad column, answered a question about Lilith this week. He introduced the word midrash, which is a writing meant to explain inconsistencies in the Bible.
Now, you know that I am not about to trash the Bible, nor would I ever attempt to force any kind of religion on you. I do believe I have mentioned that more than once. But I will remind you that the Bible was written by people — mostly if not completely by men. A great part of its purpose was to control the behavior of the community, and that is certainly a component of all religions. (Very basically, “if you break the rules of the community, you will be punished — not just by the human boss, but for all eternity.”)
You have to admit it is an effective way to protect the group. The problems arise when the character of the individuals change, either because external factors have changed what they need or simply because they have learned to question. Then you have two factions, those who feel compelled defend what they have always known and those who would accommodate change. An example might be the commandment, “Go forth and multiply,” the validity of which I have tried to explain but not endorse.
The very existence of midrashim — call it the “oops factor” — seems to prove that the Holy Scriptures were written by men; God would not have made that kind of mistake, would S/he?
When you look back at the mystery of Lilith, you can see the difficulty she presented. A woman who was created equal, who refuses to follow orders just because they came from a man, can be a problem. One is a difficulty; if she has followers, she can destroy the very fabric of the community. So Lilith had to be discredited, replaced by Eve, who might try to blame wrongdoing on her husband but would be punished alongside of him. Notice what her punishment is: the pain of bearing children. When physicians started medicating women during childbirth, sermons from all over insisted it was a sin against the Bible. Call that what you will, I call it the macho mentality.
I really prefer this version, in which Eve was created first. It’s a little long, but I give credit to whoever figured this one out.
After three weeks in the Garden of Eden, God came to visit Eve. “So, how is everything going?” inquired God.
“It is all so beautiful, God,” she replied. “The sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking, the smells, the sights, everything is wonderful, but I have just one problem.
“It is these breasts you have given me. The middle one pushes the other two out, and I am constantly knocking them with my arms, catching them on branches and snagging them on bushes. They are a real pain,” said Eve. And Eve went on to tell God that since many other parts of her body came in pairs, such as her limbs, eyes, ears, etc., she felt that having only two breasts might leave her body more “symmetrically balanced,” as she put it.
“That is a fair point, ” replied God, "but it was my first shot at this, you know. I gave the animals six breasts, and I figured that you needed only half of those, but I see that you are right. I will fix it up right away.” And God reached down, removed the middle breast and tossed it into the bushes.
Three weeks passed and God once again visited Eve in the Garden of Eden. “Well, Eve, how is my favorite creation?”
“Just fantastic,” she replied, “but for one oversight on your part. You see, all the animals are paired off. The ewe has a ram and the cow has her bull. All the animals have a mate except me. I feel so alone.”
God thought for a moment and said, “You know, Eve, you are right. How could I have overlooked this? You do need a mate and I will immediately create a man from a part of you. Now let's see…where did I put the useless boob?”
Now doesn't THAT make more sense than that fairy tale about the rib?
