Jesse Tree Day 2 - Eve

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.  Then the man said,
‘This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman, 
  for out of Man this one was taken.’  -- Genesis 2:21-23

 

"It's all your fault!" 

 

Whether Eve was created at the same time as Adam (per Gen. 1:27) or, as in this passage, from Adam's rib, Eve was meant to be an equal, a co-worker, a partner.  This was her function, her purpose, but one little slip --- and women have been paying for it ever since.

 

I have difficulty blaming Eve for all the evil in the world, or even for listening to a talking snake. God created humans with a brain -- but did God also give them all the knowledge they would need in order to totally function not only in a new environment but also a new relationship with God Godself?  Was this some sort of trial balloon, to see how far humans could be led before they made a mistake?  After all, God made human beings, not junior gods.

 

Eve has taken the rap all these thousands and thousands of years, and so have her daughters. To restore the earth, at least a good part of it, through tikkun olam, those daughters have to resume (and be allowed to resume) their rightful place as equals and as partners, not as slaves, second-class, kept-barefoot-and-pregnant or kinder, kirche, kuche (children, church and kitchen).  They have contributions to make, and they must be allowed to make them.

 

My lesson from this?  What do I need to do to help my sisters around the world who don't have the opportunities to be the helpmates they were created to be? 

Work together.


Originally published at Daily Episcopalian on Episcopal Café Sunday, December 2, 2012.