Gratitude or Death - Choose Life

The snake spoke to Eve in the garden of Eden to entice her and Adam to eat from the forbidden tree (the tree of knowledge of good and bad). Eve answered back that God said that " you should neither eat of it or touch it lest you die". The snake convinced her to eat it and she didn't die. What exactly had God meant?

After she and Adam ate, God confronted Adam and asked him "where are you" ? Where are "you" in all of this? (How could you do such a thing) - Not only did Adam not admit fault or guilt he blamed it on his wife, Eve, after all she is the one who gave it to him.

The famous Bible illuminator mentions that Adam was guilty of denying the good that was given to him and the following is what perhaps God meant when he said that "lest you will die:

Every moment of life, every breath is a gift from God. Life itself, awareness of life, the ability to have an experience (s) - to be aware of those experiences, - to see, to touch, to hear, to speak, to smell, to taste - every second of life many of us have an opportunity to constantly experience the good that is given to us by the Almighty. God gives us so much, knows what is good and/or bad for us and let's us know that in advance. If you are aware, over time one has the ability to develop an appreciation and a trust that the Almighty does so much for us out of pure unconditional love - When he says something like don't eat from the tree- he should surely have our attention. By eating from the tree-rejecting the relationship, Adam denied the good that continually comes from Hashem.

True life comes from the ability to be aware of, appreciate and experience the good that someone continuously bestows upon you -and to be connected to the source of that good- the moment you don't do that, disconnect from that source, deny the good- that is the definition of true death.

Life is only love


These thoughts are based upon ideas I heard from Rabbi Benzion Twerski - Rabbi of CBJ-Milwaukee - where we spent Sukkot