Paradise Found

 “We were expelled from Paradise but Paradise was not destroyed.  In a sense, our expulsion from Paradise was a stroke of luck for had we not been expelled Paradise would have had to be destroyed.”  Franz Kafka

 

The familiar story of Eden has many facets.  One of the most compelling aspects to the story is man’s expulsion from it.  From that moment humanity lies fully exposed to aging, disease, and hatred.  The evil unleashed when the Gates of Paradise were closed and locked after the departing Adam Eve has stayed with us.

Who has not yearned for a release from the darkness of this world?  Who has not wept at taking of the forbidden fruit?  All suffering comes from that choice.

Paradise was created before the world came into being pesachim 54a  after the world was cast into being, God then placed Paradise on earth.  But perfection was not meant for this world.  It could not stand in a place where humanity desired more than they needed.  It could not remain where “wants’ were a more powerful urge than sacrifice.  

There was only one choice before God: destroy Paradise or wipe out humanity who not coexist with perfection.  The Holy One accepted neither choice:  He moved Paradise to another place.

Said Rabbi Isaac, “This world is only the vestibule to another world; you must prepare yourself in the vestibule so that you may enter the banquet hall.”
~ Avot, 4, 21.