{"id":13164,"date":"2014-03-21T16:47:36","date_gmt":"2014-03-21T22:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=13164"},"modified":"2014-03-21T16:47:36","modified_gmt":"2014-03-21T22:47:36","slug":"modesty-and-other-virtues-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/modesty-and-other-virtues-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Modesty and other virtues"},"content":{"rendered":"

By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

As we know, the snake, so to speak, seduces Eve. She, and na\u00efve Adam\u00a0swallow his marketing speech. Now they both metaphorically have\u00a0ingested the wisdom of the Tree of Good and Evil. But to us, the ban\u00a0on such a luncheon is already a puzzle. Why should G-d\u2019s finest\u00a0creation not know the difference between good and evil? It would seem\u00a0the finest ingredient of mankind. Sin \u2013 the ingestion of the fruit of\u00a0the tree \u2013 why the connection with nudity? There wasn\u2019t a single\u00a0tailor in Eden.<\/p>\n

First a strange interlude BEFORE they indulged their passion for the\u00a0fruit of the tree: \u201cthey were both naked, the man and his wife and\u00a0they were not ashamed\u201d. How strange. Why should they be ashamed?\u00a0What\u2019s blameful about nudity thousands of years ago? And who was to\u00a0view their nakedness \u2013 the bluejays, the snake, the brown bear? A\u00a0conundrum if there ever was one. And why would their disobedience\u00a0bring on nakedness?<\/p>\n

But we are not through. They do eat of the Tree of Good and Evil.\u00a0And immediately they see something evil in their \u201cnekkidness\u201d, as we\u00a0say down here. Why? They sew up underwear from fig leaves. Why does\u00a0their violation affect the lower reaches of their bodies and not their\u00a0minds? Why are they suddenly sensitive to the revelation of their\u00a0body? They just violated G-d\u2019s command and they\u2019re worried about the\u00a0world\u2019s first burlesque show! How irrelevant. What an imbalance.<\/p>\n

The charade \u2013 this relevance to the disobedience of an all powerful G-d and underwear continues. It\u2019s a puzzle.<\/p>\n

G-d calls out to Adam \u2013 basically \u201cwhere are you\u201d \u2013 as though He\u00a0<\/span>doesn\u2019t know. Adam, now wearing a fig leaf suit and matching vest,\u00a0<\/span>tells his Creator that he was afraid to answer, \u201cbecause I was\u00a0<\/span>naked\u201d. Shocking. Adam is afraid to stand nekkid (as we say down\u00a0<\/span>here) in front of his G-d. And furthermore his nudity evidently\u00a0<\/span>reveals the fact that for the sake of an apple he has shattered one of\u00a0<\/span>the only two commandments that G-d has levied upon him. <\/span><\/p>\n

Little does\u00a0<\/span>he know that centuries later his kin will receive 613 more! The\u00a0<\/span>dialogue that we and all mankind are familiar with follows. The\u00a0<\/span>punishment: Adam has to get a job. Poor Eve is plagued with\u00a0<\/span>childbirth pain.<\/span><\/p>\n

And when the lecture is over unbelievably, G-d, Himself, \u201cmade tunics\u00a0of skin and clothed them\u201d. Why? Why is the Designer and Master of\u00a0the galaxy shocked by nudity? Every living creature is naked!<\/p>\n

This is mind bending. Evidently, the newlyweds\u2019 lack of wardrobe even impresses the Creator. And it loudly announces to G-d that the two\u00a0naked ones have broken the only sanctions imposed on them.\u00a0<\/span>Why is it so important? We\u2019re talking about a primeval wilderness,\u00a0<\/span>not Times Square. And why would the G-d of all creation worry how his\u00a0<\/span>children are dressed? <\/span><\/p>\n

There is some meaning behind here that we are\u00a0<\/span>missing. I mean, if you carved the Alps and scooped out the trench\u00a0<\/span>for the Pacific Ocean and hung the planets in the virgin sky, what\u00a0<\/span>difference does a fig leaf here or there make? Clearly, the\u00a0<\/span>translation misses something. Modesty is far from the top of the v<\/span>irtue chain. <\/span><\/p>\n

But I\u2019m just a scribbler. Go ask your rabbi.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Share