3) Genesis Three
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3, ESV Bible)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1)
The Serpent's Temptation: Eve’s Choice in the Garden
Eve wasn’t born yesterday—or maybe she was. It’s hard to say. But for some reason, she fell for the smooth talk of a serpent. The Bible is typically a serious and sober text, not given to fantasy or fairy tales, so a talking snake certainly stands out. How should we understand this? Did Eve really have a conversation with a serpent? Yes, she did. It’s surprising, but as Scripture tells us, “the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field” (Genesis 3:1). Clearly, this was no ordinary animal.
The serpent starts by asking a deceptively simple question: “Has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1). This was a subtle distortion, as God never made such a rule. Eve corrects him, explaining, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, nor touch it, or you will die’” (Genesis 3:2-3). This opens the door for the serpent’s manipulation. Why would God allow them to eat from all the other trees but forbid this one? Could it be that God is withholding something powerful from them? The serpent counters, “You surely will not die! For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).
Eve was faced with a choice. And just like her, we all have this choice before us.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Unrolling the Scroll.
The Serpent
The serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field. "The serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness" (2 Corinthians I1:3). The disciple of the Master must "be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). According to the Midrash, prior to the incident in the garden, the serpent had legs, stood upright, and had the gift of speech.
Rav Yitzchak said that the serpent symbolizes the evil inclination. Ray Yehudah said it was a literal serpent. They consulted Rav Shimon, who told them, "Both of your views are identical. The serpent was Sama'el (the Satan, the Angel of Death) who appeared in this guise, for in this form, the serpent is indeed the Satan... for it is because the serpent was in reality the Angel of Death that it brought death in the world."S! An ancient midrash explains that Satan took possession of the serpent the way an evil spirit possesses a man:
Sama'el was the great prince in heaven; the Chayot had four wings and the Seraphim had six wings, but Sama'el had twelve wings. What did Sama'el do? He took his band of followers and descended and saw all the creatures which the Holy One, blessed be He, had created in His world and he found among them none so skilled to do evil as the serpent ... To what can it be likened? To a man in whom there was an evil spirit? All the deeds that he did and the words which he spoke, he did not speak by his own intention. He acted only according to the ideas of the evil spirit which rules him. So it was with the serpent. (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 13)
The word satan (שָּׂטָן) means "adversary." It appears in the Hebrew Scriptures to refer to enemies in warfare, a prosecuting attorney in a legal case, and any opponent or antagonist. The Satan functions in the book of Job as the angel consigned to the earth who brings accusations against human beings. In I Chronicles 21:1, he provokes David to sin. He appears again in the book of Zechariah where he brings accusations against Joshua the high priest and the people of Jerusalem. He is the prosecutor in God's heavenly court, "the accuser of our brethren. "52 According to one apocryphal source, God cast him out of heaven along with legions of his angelic followers on the second day of creation 33 In another version of the legend, he was cast down after the creation of man. He is the "great dragon (that] was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him" (Revelation 12:9). He has many names: Lucifer, Sama'el Devil, Adversary, Enemy, Tempter, Accuser, Destroyer, Belial, Beelzebub and the old serpent. He is the father of lies and the author of evil. He is the "prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 22): he is "the one who has the power of death that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). He tempts those without self-control,* and he lays his snares every day at the feet of men. Anger gives him opportunity. and he is ever scheming against the people of God. The apostles warn us. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (I Peter 5:8). Sinners serve him:
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)
He is at work in the world bringing suffering, disease, and deformity.
Judaism has a tendency to diminish the role of Satan. Satan is often identified with man's own evil inclination, and sometimes Satan is merely a faithful servant of God assigned to test people's hearts. In any case, he is not depicted as the enemy of God as much as he is the enemy of Israel. Modern Jewish interpretations of Satan reduce him to an abstraction. The older, rabbinic view of Satan has less sympathy for the devil. He appears in stories in the Talmud and midrash as a tempter bent on bringing men to sin and then accusing them of those sins. He is often equated with the angel of death. He authors evil and seizes upon every evil opportunity. He brings havoc into homes and disguises himself to seduce and confuse. He is the incarnation of evil. He is ever devoted to the destruction of Israel. He descends from heaven and leads astray, then ascends and brings accusations against mankind. He seizes upon evil words, so one should be careful not to open his mouth to give Satan an opportunity.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Depths of the Torah, Book One.
The Temptation
The serpent asked Eve if God had really prohibited the fruit of every tree. She replied that he had not, but that He forbade even touching the fruit of the tree of knowledge: "You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die" (Genesis 3:1). Actually, God had not forbidden touching the tree.
One explanation says that Adam added to the commandment when he related it to Eve because he hoped to safeguard her. The serpent pushed her to touch the tree. She touched it and saw that she did not die. Then the serpent urged her to also eat of it. In this way, the serpent brought her to doubt the commandment of God. Satan uses similar ploys with us today. He uses subtle manipulations of theology and thought to cast doubt on the authority of the Torah. His strategies have not changed.
The apostles warn women to be careful of the Devil's strategies when they say, "It was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression" ( Timothy 2:14). This does not mean that women are more prone to sin than men, but it might reflect the situation in first-century Judaism where women did not have the same caliber of Torah education as the men. The apostles encouraged women not to let Eve's failure discourage them: "Women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint" (1 Timothy 2:15). No one is sure what that is supposed to mean unless it means that women should stay diligent in the duties of their gender and not listen to serpents.
The serpent tempted Eve saying that if she ate of the fruit her eyes would be opened and she would be like God. Man's purpose is to reveal God, not be God. Adam and Eve could not resist the temptation of being "like God."
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Depths of the Torah, Book One.
The Malice of Sammael
The devil was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.65 Sammael employed all his cunning deceit and persuaded his followers to rebel with him against the Almighty. They descended to the earth and plotted against Adam. Sammael found no creature so shrewd and adept at deceit as the serpent. He took control of the serpent like a man who rides upon a steed:
To what can this be compared? To a man possessed by an evil spirit. All the deeds which he does, and all the words which he utters, he does involuntarily. He acts only according to the will of the evil spirit which rules over him. So it was with the serpent. All the deeds which he did, and all the words which he spoke, he did not speak except by the direction of Sammael. (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 13)
Sammael used the serpent's sly and manipulative words to persuade the human beings to eat of the tree of knowledge, thereby inciting them to join his rebellion against their Creator and keeping them from the tree of life.
God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity. Nevertheless through the devil's envy, death entered into the world. (Wisdom of Solomon 2:23-24)
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Shadows of Messiah, Book One.
For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5)
The Necessity of Choice: Good, Evil, and Free Will in Creation
What motivated the serpent to lead Eve astray? If the serpent was evil, does that reflect poorly on God? Why would a good God create an evil creature? Similarly, why place a forbidden tree in the garden at all—doesn't that seem like a trap?
To know good and evil means to experience both and understand the difference. In Hebrew, "evil" can also refer to bad events, not just moral wrongdoing. And bad things do happen—that’s the nature of evil. But for human beings to have real choices, alternatives must exist. If God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge but had not placed the tree within their reach, there would have been no choice, and without choice, there can be no genuine obedience or disobedience. God didn’t want robots or pets confined to cages—He desired real people with free will, capable of making their own choices.
This desire to create a real world with real people helps explain much. Skeptics often struggle with the idea of God because He isn’t visibly present, and the universe seems to operate through natural processes. Even more troubling is the existence of suffering and evil, which seems incompatible with a loving and omnipotent God. But if God had made a reality where His presence was undeniable, there would be no true independence; the universe would be indistinguishable from God Himself. For creation to be real and self-sustaining, it needed autonomy—hence the natural order of cause and effect.
Furthermore, if God had made a world where loss, suffering, and death were impossible, it would be static, like a still-life painting rather than a dynamic, living reality. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil signifies that God created a universe where evil could potentially exist. If evil were impossible, the concept of good would be meaningless. In a world of only light, light would lose its significance without the contrast of darkness. By declaring creation "good," God was also acknowledging its potential for not being good. A world with no possibility of evil would not truly be good, because good would have no meaning without its opposite. For freedom to be real, and for choices to matter, the universe had to include the possibility of evil.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Unrolling the Scroll.
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:6)
The First Sin: Disobedience and the Definition of Sin
Eve gave in to the temptation to "be like God" and ate the forbidden fruit, though the Bible never specifies what kind of fruit it was. Rashi, the famous Jewish commentator, suggests it might have been a fig. It could have been a fig, an apple, or perhaps a fruit we've never seen since Eden. The important point is that Eve did what God explicitly commanded her not to do—that was the sin.
But what exactly is sin? People often talk about sin with strong convictions, labeling different things as sinful, and what one person considers a sin might not be the same for someone else. We often think of sin as doing something wrong, but that's a vague definition since right and wrong can be difficult to pin down in absolute terms.
Biblically, sin is defined as disobedience to God's commandments. As 1 John 3:4 says:
"Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness." (1 John 3:4)
Leviticus 4:2 adds that even unintentional disobedience to God's commands is considered sin. Only God can define sin because it’s the violation of His law. In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve just one command, and when they broke it, they committed the first sin.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Unrolling the Scroll.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. (Genesis 3:7)
The Consequence of Disobedience: Eyes Opened to Sin and Shame
The serpent told the truth in part. He told Eve that if she ate from the tree, her eyes would be opened, and indeed, after she and Adam ate, their eyes were opened—to the reality of good and evil. For the first time, they experienced shame, remorse, and guilt, and felt an immediate separation from God. They became acutely aware of their potential for evil—lust, ambition, hatred, and violence. Along with that, they realized their own vulnerability to suffering, pain, and need. Their entire world had changed.
One of the first things to shift was their view of sexuality. What had once been pure and innocent became a source of shame. This fundamental aspect of human biology became distorted, carrying the potential for misuse and evil. Since that moment, human sexuality has been damaged, often leading to self-destructive behavior and broken relationships.
Rashi explains that before their eyes were opened, Adam and Eve were unaware of modesty or the distinction between good and evil. Though Adam had knowledge, he did not have the evil inclination until after eating from the tree. It was only then that the impulse to do evil entered him, and he could fully understand the difference between good and evil.
Yeshua later taught, "Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). The Apostle Paul expanded on this idea in the book of Romans, writing:
"Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?" (Romans 6:16)
By choosing to disobey God and follow the serpent, Adam and Eve stepped out of God’s kingdom and into the kingdom of darkness. They became slaves to sin, placing themselves outside of God’s authority.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Unrolling the Scroll.
Naked in the Garden
After their sin, Adam and Eve immediately became aware of their nakedness. Their sudden shame indicates their loss of innocence. The pious rabbis blushed at the notion that, prior to the fall, Adam and Eve simply walked about the garden nude. Instead, they suggested that Adam and Eve wore heavenly garments. Some sources describe Adam and Eve clothed in a fingernail-like substance: "A skin of nail and a cloud of glory covered them." Garments of light and glory encompassed them. Before they sinned, they radiated light, reflecting "the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God." In these luminous garments, they resembled heavenly beings. After Adam's sin, the glory faded, leaving the man and his wife naked in the garden.
The rabbis and mystics called the light of God's glory "the radiance of the Shechinah" (Ziv HaShechinah, זיו השכינה). "Adam's heel outshone the globe of the sun; how much more the brightness of his face!" "Adam's garments blazed like a torch." Likewise, the pious will shine like the original Adam in the time to come:
How do we know that the [original glory of Adam will be restored to man in the days of the Messiah? We can infer that [Adam's] resplendence will be restored from the text [in Judges 5:31], "Those who love Him (will be like the rising of the sun in its might." (Numbers Rabbah 13:12)
After spending forty days and forty nights in the cloud on the mountain, Moses descended, his face resplendently reflecting the glory of God. "The radiance of Moses' appearance was like that of the sun and he was like an angel of the Lord of hosts." White and luminous garments clothe the righteous, the divine, and angelic beings.
The Chasidim teach that the Messiah will be at the level of the first Adam before he sinned.73 When the disciples witnessed the Master on the Mount of Transfiguration, "His face shone like the sun" (Matthew 17:2). "His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them" (Mark 9:3).
A brilliant countenance and blazing garments of glory appear frequently in apocryphal and rabbinic literature to describe celestial beings and the resurrected righteous. In the future, the resurrected righteous, with faces shining like the sun and the moon, will welcome the presence of the Shechinah." When the risen Messiah appeared to His disciple John, "His face was like the sun shining in its strength" (Revelation 1:16). The Master told His disciples that at the time of His coming, "the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew I3:43).
God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve to replace their garments of light. The Hebrew word for "skin" (or, עור) sounds like the Hebrew word for "light" (or, אור). From where did God get the skin with which He clothed Adam and Eve? The rabbis say that He used the resplendent skin shed by the serpent.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Shadows of Messiah, Book One.
They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.(Genesis 3:8-9)
The Hidden God: Who Is Really Hiding?
Once, a Chasidic teacher, a great rabbi, watched children playing hide-and-seek. One child covered his eyes and counted while the others scattered to hide. After counting, he began to find them one by one, and those found joined in the search for the others. The rabbi observed for a while before returning to his studies. As time passed, the sound of the children’s laughter faded, and eventually, the rabbi was interrupted by the cry of a lone child in the schoolyard. Concerned, he went out and asked, “Why are you crying, my son?” The boy tearfully explained, “We were playing hide-and-seek. I hid, but no one came to find me. They gave up and went home." His tears made the rabbi realize that the child’s sorrow mirrored God’s own. God, in a way, has hidden Himself and asked us to seek Him, but so many have stopped looking.
Why does God hide Himself? Why doesn’t He reveal Himself plainly to us? In the Garden of Eden, humans experienced God directly—perhaps even tangibly. They lived in innocence, without sin or shame, and God was present, immediate, and fully revealed. He walked with them, spoke to them, and His presence was undeniable. There was no need to seek God—He was everywhere, His voice filling the garden.
But now, things are different. Why does God seem distant? The story of Eden holds the answer. After sinning, it was not God who hid, but man. The Torah says, "The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8). God, in fact, sought after them, calling, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9).
It is we who have hidden ourselves from God. In our fallen, self-aware state, we can no longer bear His presence. The question isn’t, “Where is God?” The real question is, “Where are we?”
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Unrolling the Scroll.
Where Are You?
When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree they discovered that they were naked. How had they not noticed before? The opening of their eyes indicates a loss of innocence. Rashi says that the opening of their eyes indicates a newfound intelligence and awareness. Others explain that, when they sinned, they lost the supernatural luster, the garments of light, which had clothed their bodies. According to this idea, prior to sin, Adam and Eve were clothed in light like angelic beings. Some say they were clothed in a hard, fingernail-like substance.
Suddenly they were aware of their vulnerability and insufficiency. They attempted to cover themselves with leaves. When they heard the Presence of the LORD approaching them, they hid themselves. God called out to them, "Where are you?" Abraham Joshua Heschel explains that Judaism is not so much about man's search for God as it is about God's search for man.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Depths of the Torah, Book One.
Cool of the Day
Prior to their sin, Adam enjoyed communion with the presence of the LORD. The Almighty entered the garden and walked with the man "in the cool of the day" and spoke with him. The words "cool of the day" translate ruach hayom(רוח היום), i.e., "the breeze of the day," or more literally, "the spirit of the day." After their sin, Adam and Eve heard the "voice" of the LORD in the garden, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD. The LORD called to the man, "Where are you?"
The sixteenth-century rabbi, Moshe Alshich, offers the following messianic interpretation on the story: Before Adam's sin, he was clothed in a spiritual garment. This enabled him to hear the voice of God speaking to him directly, as a father speaks to his son. After sin corrupted him, he was stripped of this heavenly garment. This affected the way that he heard God's voice. He heard the Almighty speaking as though there was a voice walking in the garden, speaking to no one in particular. Adam only heard this voice speaking indirectly rather than directly to him, and he would not even have merited to hear this much if it were not for the ruach hayom, "spirit of the day."
The "spirit of the day" is the same Spirit of God that hovered above the water, which our rabbis say is King Messiah. It is called the Spirit of the Day because it refers to that specific day mentioned in Malachi 3(4), which is the day of our Messiah. One day the ruach hayom will be returned and the world will be repaired to the way it was, because Adam was the King Messiah (so to speak).
After he sinned, however, Adam was not able to bear even the echo of the voice speaking indirectly. Being naked of his holy garment he did not retain the strength to bear God's holy and awesome voice. Being deprived of holiness and the ability to listen to the Holy One speaking, he fell on his face in fear and dread, which is why he hid himself among the trees of the garden.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Shadows of Messiah, Book One.
The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." (Genesis 3:12)
The Blame Game: Taking Responsibility for Our Actions
When God confronted Adam and Eve about eating from the tree of knowledge, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. Neither was willing to take responsibility for their actions. This pattern is a common trait in human behavior: when we do something wrong, we are often reluctant to admit it. Instead, we rationalize, point to extenuating circumstances, or find someone else to blame. We are quick to see the faults of others but slow to recognize our own.
As Yeshua said:
"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3).
As long as we blame others or external factors for our mistakes, we prevent ourselves from truly changing. Only when we acknowledge our faults can God give us the strength to correct them. Instead of hiding from God and shifting blame, Adam and Eve could have admitted their wrongdoing, apologized, and sought forgiveness. Perhaps the outcome would have been different if they had chosen to do so.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Unrolling the Scroll.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. (Genesis 3:15)
The Serpent’s Defeat: The Promise of the Messiah
As God passed judgment on the serpent for his role in humanity's downfall, He offered a cryptic promise: one day, a child of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head, while the serpent would bruise the child’s heel. This prophecy is like a riddle. Who is the serpent? The serpent represents the enemy of humanity and the enemy of God. In Revelation 12:9, he is described as "the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world." The prophet Ezekiel also tells us that Satan was once an angel, one of God’s heavenly messengers. His domain is one of nightmares, fear, cruelty, suffering, and death.
Satan doesn’t hide—he is always eager to show himself. His destructive handiwork is visible everywhere, tarnishing the beauty of God’s creation. His influence adds pain, suffering, decay, and destruction to every corner of life. The only time he hides is to ambush his prey. He is called the "accuser of our brethren" (Revelation 12:10), and that’s exactly what "Satan" means in Hebrew—"accuser." Rather than a fang-mouthed ghoul, he’s more like a cunning prosecuting attorney. He doesn’t live in hell, nor does he have horns and a tail. His realm is the earth itself. When Adam and Eve chose to obey him, they forfeited the authority over the world that God had entrusted to them.
Who is the seed of the woman? The seed is the promised Savior—the Messiah—who will reverse the curse, defeat the serpent, and reclaim the authority over creation, returning it to God.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Unrolling the Scroll.
Seed of the Woman
The LORD punished the man, the woman, and the serpent. He cast down Sammael and all his host from their holy place in heaven, and he cut off the feet of the serpent." He placed eternal enmity between the serpent and the woman and between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. This sounds like a folktale meant to explain why women are afraid of snakes, but the Torah has a spiritual and prophetic message in view.
The seed of the woman will be bruised on the heel by the seed of the serpent, but the head of the serpent will be crushed by the seed of the woman. On the one hand, the seed of the woman is the whole human race. On the other hand, it refers to the singular seed of the woman, the Messiah:
And it will be that when the sons of the woman consider the Torah, and observe its instruction, they will be prepared to smite your head to kill you, but when the sons of the woman forsake the commandment of the Torah, and do not observe its instruction, vou will be able to wound them in their heel, and harm them. Nevertheless there will be a remedy for the sons of the woman, but for you, serpent, there will be no remedy. [For the sons of the woman] there will be a remedy for the [wounded heel in the days of the Messiah King. (Genesis 3:5, Targum Pseudo-Yonatan)
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Shadows of Messiah, Book One.
22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. (Genesis 3:22-23, ESV Bible)
The Path Back to Eden: Redemption Through Yeshua
God sent Adam and Eve out of paradise, barring them from ever returning. In doing so, they lost their chance to eat from the tree of life, sealing their fate as mortals, destined to die and live in a world governed by darkness. This reality extends to all of us, the descendants of Adam and Eve. We live outside of paradise, in a broken world filled with pain, suffering, and death. The Apostle Paul reflects on this in Romans, explaining that through Adam's sin, humanity as a whole was condemned: "even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam" (Romans 5:14). Paul writes, "Judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation" (Romans 5:16), and because of Adam’s sin, "death reigned through [him]" (Romans 5:17).
But what if Adam and Eve had chosen differently? If they had obeyed God, we would still have access to paradise. Immortality, symbolized by the tree of life, would be within our reach. However, Yeshua of Nazareth, the Son of God, stands as a second Adam. He made the right choices, never breaking God’s commandments, living a sinless life. The Apostle Paul explains that through Yeshua, we have the hope of redemption and salvation. As Romans 5:15-19 reveals, just as Adam's transgression brought condemnation, Yeshua's act of righteousness brings salvation and justification. Through His obedience, we are made righteous.
The free gift [of salvation in Yeshua] is not like the transgression [of Adam]. For if by the transgression of [Adam] the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Yeshua the Messiah, abound to the many. The gift [of salvation] is not like [the condemnation that came] through the one who sinned ...For if by the transgression of the one [Adam], death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Yeshua the Messiah. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One [the Messiah] the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:15-19, interpreted by Daniel Lancaster)
Yeshua’s righteous and sinless life opens the way back to Eden. To enter, we must believe in Him, follow Him, submit to His authority, and accept His free gift of grace. As Colossians 1:13-14 says:
"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)
Salvation is about confessing our sins, turning away from rebellion, and placing our allegiance in Yeshua, who was without sin. As 1 John 1:9 promises, "[God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Through this forgiveness, we are spiritually renewed and begin our journey back to the paradise we lost.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Unrolling the Scroll.
The Exile
The LORD exiled Adam and Eve from the garden. It was an act of mercy. Had they remained in the garden, they might have eaten of the fruit of the tree of life. God did not create them immortal, yet He left immortal ity hanging within their grasp. They needed only to reach out and eat of the fruit of the Tree of Life, and that fruit was never forbidden to them.
Should they do so in their fallen state, they would have been consigned to an immortal existence in rebellion against God, not unlike the Devil, unredeemed and unredeemable for all of eternity: an eternal life of endless death. In His abundant mercy, God exiled them from paradise and banned them from immortality.
God created our souls and our bodies for the Garden of Delight. In some spiritual memory, every human being can still recall the taste of the fruit of the garden. Human beings have a longing wired into their hearts for the place of God, a desire we cannot quite articulate. We thirst for water we have never tasted. We long for fruit we have never eaten. We hunger and thirst for the presence of God. That's why you are reading these words. That's why we are always seeking to fill the empty places of our lives, and it is why we are prone to addictions, sensuality, and self-destructive behaviors. We are longing for Eden.
The exile from the garden corresponds to Israel's exile from the land and this current exile we endure. When the kingdom comes, Israel will return to the land, and the exile will be over. The gates of Eden will open, and we will return to the presence of God. Then all humanity will know the LORD.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Depths of the Torah, Book One.
24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24, ESV Bible)
The Way to the Tree of Life
There is a way back to Eden, past the flaming sword and between the cherubim. The Torah calls this the "derech etz haChayim" (דרך עץ החיים), the "way of the tree of life." The word "way" (derech, דרך) appears first in Genesis 3:24.
The cherubim embroidered in the Temple curtains allude to the way of the tree of life. They stand sentry before the holy of holies and the presence of God, just as the cherubim in Genesis guard the way to the tree of life.
This may be one of the meanings of the rending of the Temple curtain when the Master died. He has made the way between the cherubim. He Himself is "The Way, the Truth and the Life." The early sect of Jewish believers who followed Him and believed Him called themselves, "The Way." He has made the way through the curtain, into the garden, to the holy of holies and the tree of life:
We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Yeshua, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh. (Hebrews 10:19-20)
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Depths of the Torah, Book One.
The Repentance of Adam
God cast Adam and Even from the garden and barred them from entering paradise. They could not eat of the tree of life or enjoy the presence of God. The only remaining taste of Eden they could have came to them in the form of the water that flowed hence from the garden, as the Torah says, "Now a river flowed out of Eden" (Genesis 2:10).
Adam repented by sitting in the river that flowed out of Eden.78 In some versions, both he and Eve immersed themselves in the river to symbolize repentance for their sin. The legends about Adam and Eve immersing themselves in a river to symbolize repentance help explain the work of John the Immerser. All four Gospels open with John the Immerser calling Israel to repentance and confession of sin, symbolized through immersion in a river.
According to the Talmud, all the water in the world ultimately flowed out from Eden.? Even though we cannot enter the Garden of Eden itself, we can enter the water that has flowed out of Eden. Aryeh Kaplan says, "When a person immerses in the waters of the Mikvah, he is also re-establishing a link with man's perfected state [in Eden]. He then loses the status of uncleanness, and is reborn into a state of purity, where he is permitted to enter the Holy Temple."80
The cure for Adam's sin can only be obtained by an immersion of repentance into the death and resurrection of the Messiah--the Living Water that flows from the river of life.
References
This section is from teachings from FFOZ Shadows of Messiah, Book One.