The Jewish sage Rambam gave a really interesting comment on “let us make man in our image.” He says perhaps God was speaking to the earth; God contributes the soul of mankind “God breathed into mankind” but the ‘dust of the earth’ contributed the body. In a way, then, we have two ‘creators’ – God and the earth.  This makes sense to me, then, why some people seem to be drawn to worship the earth. Of course, ultimately, God is our creator, for He made the earth. There is nothing He did not make. He alone is worthy of worship.

When Adam and Eve were sent out of Eden, they experienced a two-fold alienation – from God but also from the earth “in toil (sadness) you will eat of it all the days of your life.”

Rabbi David Fohrman suggests these feelings of alienation (the curses) is “a kind of homing beacon”, a way for us to understand what we have lost, imbuing in us a longing to return to how it was supposed to be.

What we’re doing to the earth, the complete disregard of it, the lack of connection to it, echoes the fallen world’s lack of connection to God.

As I’m writing this, I’m looking around at all the plants I have growing in my home. There is something soothing to my soul to take care of them, watch for new leaves, monitor their water intake. Until now, I never saw this cultivation as a way to return to Eden, return to intimacy with God and become more connected to the dust from which I came.

Instead of becoming numb to the sadness (toil) in cultivating the earth, may we embrace the feeling, acknowledge our longing for more, which in turn will give rise to the hope that the messianic era will right all the wrongs.

Be Blessed, 

Gail Heaton