The Relationship Between Lilith And Eve

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Quote:
“Jewish communities in Europe were less secure and often persecuted by Christians who regarded Jews as Christ-killing spawn of the Devil, and their religion as obsolete since the coming of Christ” (Anderson and Young 48).

Question:
In regards to the two differing stories about the creation of Eve, it is stated that: “Rabbinic commentators, uncomfortable with two contradictory accounts of creation, fashioned a Midrash that made it possible to read the two stories as one continuous text” (Anderson and Young 55). It is also stated by Modern Jewish Feminists: “Rejecting the patriarchal name of the Midrash, women are rewriting the story to include the powerful idea of sisterhood and friendship between Lilith and Eve” (Anderson and Young …show more content…

It is also important to point out that when a group, such as Modern Jewish Feminists don’t align with the Midrash, they can decide to write their own version. So, how do these texts written by Rabbi and others get taken seriously if they did not live during that time, and can essentially alter the story to promote their beliefs?

Reflection:
While reading the text by Anderson and Young, one topic struck me harder about Judaism than any other religion thus far. The chapter on Judaism focused partially on Jewish feminists and how texts, and history interprets women’s roles in the religion. At first, it was suggested that Judaism had many options of female role models. However, in regards to women’s roles in the synagogue it is stated that: “Jewish textual sources say little or nothing about women’s roles in the synagogue, some greek and latin inscriptions include reference to women bearing titles such as “head”, “leader”, “elder”, and “mother of the synagogue” (Anderson and Young 48). Although it was clear that men and women were separate in the synagogue, reforms were made during the …show more content…

Although there are two textual versions of how Eve was created that have been condensed into one Midrash, the two versions give different ideals for women. To start off, one version states that men and women are created as equals from the same earth. The second version on the other hand, states that Eve was created and formed out of one of Adam’s rib, and therefor was created by man. Being that these two versions contradict quite strongly, a Midrash was created to allow for one solid base of the contextual history of the creation of Eve. Although this suggests that women have been treated with prejudice since the creation of the first women, it does not stop there. This prejudice of women starting with Eve can be foreshadowed onto the idea of women throughout biblical texts and as a God or Goddess figure. For example: “Images of God that predominate in the scriptures and other Jewish texts are those of Father and King” (Anderson and Young 57). Although some imagery of a Female God exists, it primarily is in the form of patriarchal contests. Over and over in biblical text, it is stated that God is a father figure, and there are blessings “of God as Lord and King of the earth” (Anderson and Young 57). This repetitiveness and lack of feminine ideals gives a dominating effect about male influence from the sacred text.

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