Today's Trees of Knowledge-October 1, 2010

Shabbat Shalom!
The news of the suicide of 18 year-old Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi this week brings to the forefront, once again, the issue of the appropriate use of the technology that has made email, texting, Facebook and Twitter possible. Most people use these avenues of communication in positive ways: to maintain friendships, to stay in close communication with a friend or family member, to celebrate or share some aspect of life, or to reflect on what is happening in the world. We have seen in recent months how the dark side of this technology can ruin lives through comments, photos or videos that can result in public humiliation, embarrassment or even anger. Text messages, status updates, “tweets” and blogs can inflame as well as comfort and heal (and text messages sent while driving can endanger more than just the driver). There is so much great potential in some of these technologies that create community in ways that we couldn’t have imagined 15 or even 10 years ago. It seems as if any new technology needs an instruction book or a strong dose of personal common sense.

The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in this week’s Torah portion teaches what it means to be human when a limit is set: that, at times, “no” becomes “not really ‘no.’” God told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil so that humanity could remain in a state of eternal blissful ignorance. God told the first man that he would die if he ate the fruit (it doesn’t say “apple”), meaning that he would become mortal and lose a ticket to eternity (although that may not have been clear to Adam). When Adam told Eve about the rules regarding the Tree, he added to God’s instructions, “We shouldn’t even touch it!” Then came the serpent telling Eve that she wouldn’t “die” (meaning immediately) if she ate of the fruit. She ate, Adam ate, and when God confronted them, the man and woman engaged in successive finger-pointing (including a strong accusation against the serpent). Already, early in the book of Genesis, human disobedience had led to a new awareness of good and evil, a loss of immortality, blaming and, finally, stiff consequences.

Some modern commentators assert that this tale in the Torah was intended to tell how we came to be the way we are, with a finite life span, having to work hard to sustain our lives, and needing to decide between right and wrong, good and evil. Those choices are not always clear or easy, but we can hopefully make them in such a way that brings us together rather than driving us apart, that respects each individual and his or her personality and privacy rather than ignoring societal limits and common-sense boundaries regarding relationships and behavior. It is our responsibility to help one another engender such a level of respect and integrity. May we do our best to reach this goal for ourselves and all humanity.

L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry