The Serpent

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In the story of creation, the Serpent stands out because of his talent to deceive. He is talkative. And active. His role is unquestionably significant. If he were not there to fulfill his seductive mission, the human adventure would have stopped with the first couple. So why was he punished?

Let’s look at the tale. Adam and Eve are in Paradise, where God Himself is their guide. He shows them the rivers, the gardens: They have everything they need to be happy. Furthermore, he gives them a particular privilege that makes them human. They have freedom of choice when faced with the forbidden. The two trees—the one that gives life and the one that gives knowledge—are there to intrigue them. And to force them into making choices: They can obey His wishes and live forever—or disobey and die. Although quite aware of the inherent danger of knowledge, they nonetheless wish to know. Are they not then afraid of the punishment?

Yes. They are. This is where the Serpent comes in. He meddles in affairs that do not concern him. The matter of the two trees concerns only God and His first human creatures. The Serpent is not involved in it. So why does he approach Eve to tempt her and thereby propel the human species into sin? He is jealous. So affirms the midrash^a: “Adam was indeed in paradise. The angels were roasting his meat and pouring his wine. Having observed this, the Serpent was jealous.”

The rest is common knowledge. The text reveals the Serpent’s stratagem. He uses Eve to strike at her and her husband. At this point the authors of the midrash give free rein to their fantasy. To start with, they describe the Serpent in almost human terms: He stands erect, knows how to reason and to express himself. More importantly, he knows how to do so effectively.

First, he succeeds in convincing Eve that God is resentful. Of whom? Of humans. He is resentful of their immortality; that is the secret of the forbidden fruit. Taste it, and you will be like God. The midrash believes also that Eve was tempted by the promise of power. If you taste from the tree, the Serpent had told her, you shall be like God, who ate from the same tree before 019creating the world. Like Him, you shall have the power to create and destroy, to kill and resurrect. A credible argument, but Eve remains frightened. Frightened of the consequences. And so she tells the Serpent. She can only exaggerate: In the Book of Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve not to taste the fruit from the tree that gives knowledge. In her conversation with the Serpent, however, Eve overstates this; in her mouth, what is forbidden applies also to the act of touching. To touch the tree or the fruit, she says, would be our death sentence.

This is what the Serpent is waiting for. He pushes Eve against the tree. She touches it. And nothing happens. See? says the Serpent. You are still alive. You will remain alive even if you taste the fruit of the tree.

Here, the Serpent is guilty. As long as he was using only words, he could explain to God: “You put me in Paradise because of my reason, is that not true? And you gave me speech so I could use it, is that not so? My assignment was to tempt Eve—and her duty was to resist me.” Regardless, he used physical force: That was his transgression.

The midrash also says that the Serpent was the first to be cursed, Eve was the second, and Adam was the last. Rabbi Shimon ben Menasheh says that by the fault of the Serpent, the world lost wonderful servants: Each man and each woman of Israel would have had two serpents to serve them and to bring them the precious stones from the North and from the South.

The Serpent’s punishment? He loses his arrogance. He can no longer walk with his head held high. He can no longer stand erect. He must crawl on his belly and eat dust.

The celebrated Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotsk commented: “Where is his punishment, since he will never be hungry? Precisely, his punishment is that he will never be hungry.”

Translated from the French by Alissa Martin.

In the story of creation, the Serpent stands out because of his talent to deceive. He is talkative. And active. His role is unquestionably significant. If he were not there to fulfill his seductive mission, the human adventure would have stopped with the first couple. So why was he punished? Let’s look at the tale. Adam and Eve are in Paradise, where God Himself is their guide. He shows them the rivers, the gardens: They have everything they need to be happy. Furthermore, he gives them a particular privilege that makes them human. They have freedom of choice when […]