Sweet Grapes
Life is about making or missing opportunities. Even when doing something wrong, we should be bothered most by what we did not do right.
Tree of Knowledge: a Grapevine
Among the four opinions as to what tree Adam and Eve ate from (see preceding essays), there is one that it was a grapevine. The basis for this opinion is that that particular fruit, i.e., its primary by product, wine, has been implicated in many a misfortune throughout history. Several of the calamities brought on by wine are recorded in the Torah. Noah and Lot are just two examples where drinking excessively have ended in disaster.
The Midrash states, however, that if Adam and Eve would have waited just three hours until the onset of the Sabbath, they would have been permitted to drink the wine. Adam would have recited the first Kiddush on wine. Because he could not wait until it would be permissible, his action brought death and misfortune to the world that will last until after the coming of Moshiach.
The obvious lesson from this opinion is that “haste makes waste.” The very same act when done prematurely or at an inappropriate time can have the opposite effect as compared to the same act when performed at the appropriate time. In the words of King Solomon the wisest of all men, “For everything there is an appropriate time.”
Why does one have to be a King Solomon to figure that out? Isn’t it obvious that a winter coat in the summer is out of place? Isn’t it obvious that an immature child could not and should not be allowed to do certain good deeds that can jeopardize its life?
Missed Opportunities
The simple understanding of King Solomon’s words is that he was counseling patience; one should not do the things for which one is not ready. In effect, King Solomon was actually telling us what we should not do.
Upon further analysis it may be suggested that, on the contrary, King Solomon’s message is positive not negative. Rather than counseling what not to do, His exhortation to us was that we should do the things at the right time and that we should utilize the time we must wait to prepare ourselves get ready for the time that we will be ready.
Adam and Eve’s sin was not that they did what they were not yet permitted to do, but it was that as a result of their premature imbibing, they precluded themselves from drinking the wine of the Tree of Knowledge at the appointed time. It’s not what they did wrong as much as what they did not do right.
Restrictive Statements
Jewish literature is replete with restrictive statements about learning the secrets of Torah, the esoteric knowledge of Kabbalah that is also referred to as the “wine” of Torah. As the Talmud states: “When wine enters, out come the secrets.” When the masters of Kabbalah would teach this secret knowledge they limited the number and caliber of people who were permitted to attend their session. Most of the Talmudic Sages were not initiates into this hidden discipline.
One might get the impression that like the wine drunk prematurely by Adam and Eve, the study of the esoteric dimension of Torah is a negative.
In light of our analysis, however, the opposite is true. While there were certainly restrictions imposed on the study of this arcane discipline, the ultimate goal was that it does become widespread.
The Zohar—which was taught, initially, and for many centuries later, to only a select few—clearly states that a time will come when even children will be privy to the secrets of the Zohar. The Zohar further states that when these teachings will be disseminated, they will actually be the catalyst to bring Moshiach. What was out of bounds in the past has become an imperative.
Waiting for Moshiach
Similarly, there were many periods in Jewish history when Jewish leaders were wary of Messianic fervor that was generated by obvious imposters or those who were suspect.
As a result, there were those who felt that all talk of Moshiach was detrimental. Talk of Moshiach was considered by some to be dangerous and premature.
There can be nothing further from the truth. Belief in Moshiach is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith. And integral to this belief is the requirement to anxiously await his coming. All of classical Jewish literature—the Bible, Talmud, Kabbalah etc.—is replete with references to Moshiach.
Moreover, Moshiach and related beliefs (rebuilding of Holy Temple, Resurrection of the Dead etc.) represent the most pervasive theme in our daily prayers. In the course of one year, there are about 20,000 references to Moshiach and Redemption in our prayers!
Indeed, much of Jewish tradition is geared to being prepared for the future Redemption.
We must thus realize that admonitions to the contrary were merely intended as a way of protecting the people from charlatans so that they can properly prepare for the real Moshiach. But, at no time did we dismiss the need to await and prepare for Moshiach.
And as time progresses the anticipation for Moshiach must increase. If there were statements made by our Sages that intimated some caution this is something that must change with the passage of time.
A Stop Sign or a Red Light?
Whenever there is a roadblock that was put up to prevent the commencement of a new and higher level of spirituality, one must reflect whether the restriction is a stop sign or a red light. The difference is that when one stops at a red light they may not proceed until it turns green. A stop sign, by contrast, is a sign to stop, look in every direction, but then proceed.
Moreover, even a red light cannot remain that way indefinitely. When we stop at the light we have to be vigilant, waiting for it to turn green at a moment’s notice.
The lesson from Adam and Eve partaking from the grapevine prematurely is not about haste and doing things at the inappropriate time. The lesson is about how we should prepare ourselves for the real thing.
The Zohar’s prediction was echoed 1400 years later by the Ari, who emphasized the need to start reveal and popularizing this mystical tradition.
With the advent of the Chassidic movement, the esoteric teachings have been disseminated throughout the world. What was once forbidden has no become the most powerful spiritual medium that has inspired countless Jews and has paved the way for the coming of Moshiach.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Breishis by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
