The Green Apple of Envy in the Garden of Eden
By Mrs. Ferreri
In the beginning, God dreamed a dream of a people who would honor Him and expand His consciousness, using their skills and talents. He looked forward to having companionship with them and teaching them to live good and upright lives. So, one afternoon, after hearing His entourage of ever-present angels sing in perfect harmony, God took from his potter’s clay a dampened wad and formed it into the heavens and the earth. It was a perfect dome beyond which none could travel, a protected place for his new people. Then, he called upon the feminine Holy Spirit to cover and roam the face of the earth and speak things into being, like the land, its foliage and peaked mountains, valleys with lakes and ponds; she filled them with animals that ate meat and those who ate leaves. With His paint brush God added colors in hues so vibrant they shimmered and vibrated to the tune of life. He was in no rush; this creation had to be perfect with every creature dependent upon the next for food, in a constant chain, without waste.
Salty waters were separated from fresh and different depths made the water an amazing rainbow of blues and greens. Every intricacy of the pink coral was known to him. Every fish was given the perfect length of fin and scale. Every tree reached to the sky, in an act of photosynthesis to produce an atmosphere suitable for HIS new people. Next, God stepped back. With anticipation and a little fear, HE made man from his head to his toe, sinew by sinew, connected with veins and a heart that throbbed like its Master’s. God reached down and put the man in a garden prepared for him and waited. And, He waited. And, He waited. And, He waited for some sign that this creature was happy and thankful for life. But, Adam just looked around and, seeing nothing like himself, was despondent and afraid. Why was he different? Why did every other animal know its purpose and he did not? Adam felt lost, despite being surrounded by Paradise.
Adam’s unhappiness hurt God deeply and HE realized, with a start, that Adam was bereft of a partner—an ezer kenegdo, a complement, a perfect match. So, God took out His clay and formed the perfect woman and named her Eve. She would carry life for nine months. She would be the first of her kind and the mother to all. Adam’s despondency ended the moment she appeared. She was the most beautiful thing on the planet by far, and he could not get enough of seeing her, even as she slept. God had made a perfect complement. Adam’s body was larger and stronger, but Eve like to talk about everything she saw and told him stories that made him think...and made him laugh.
They were given no insight into how to begin a family, despite the actions of the animals all around them that were proliferating. They lacked knowledge of both good and evil when they were brought into the world. This is how the snake gained a stronghold. One evening, as dusk descended upon the dome, he slithered into the garden looking for a mouse or a small bird to eat.
Satan hated Eve because he believed he could corrupt humanity through her, as all future generations would descend from her. He targeted her specifically as a way to attack God's creation and prevent the birth of a sinless human race. This hatred was further fueled by her role as the first woman, symbolizing the life-giving and nurturing power he opposed, and her later role as the mother of all living, and the progenitor of humanity, which included the lineage that would eventually lead to Christ, his ultimate vanquisher.
“Why have you not begun a family?” the snake asked circling the green apple tree? Why is every other living thing fruitful and multiplying, but you two?”
Eve looked at Adam, bronzed by the sun and having just named the armadillo…”I do not know,” she said. “We were not told how.” So, the snake explained the birds and bees to Eve and she thanked him for his wisdom on the topic and they produced a family outside of the boundaries of marriage, for God had assigned a day three days hence.
Over time, however, as Eve grew large with life, Adam resented her ability to bring forth life and wondered why God had not given him—the firstborn—that role. He wondered if being last she, not he, was God’s masterpiece, and he but an inferior piece of work. She never knew any of this was going on in his mind, until he started mimicking her hands supporting her back and belly. Then, she knew he was green with envy. He started disrespecting her, calling her “that woman you gave me”...using only pronouns—she, her and even it—avoiding her name, her true identity.
For weeks on end, Adam withheld his love from her and she recoiled from his touch. He was in high rebellion from his role as a man and wanted to be a woman instead. Soon, she had to go out and forage for food, kill the animal, remove its skin, cook it and feed herself to stay alive. Adam took care only of himself. Their enmity increased the farther along she got toward her first birth. God saw it all and it greatly depressed and angered Him. He made the birds chatter their displeasure into Adam’s ear, and this is also when the mosquito and pernicious sand flea were created.
Finally, God enlisted the help of the pesky snake, who was sent to Adam with this message: “You are behaving badly. There is only one man on the earth, and you cannot be spared, so here is my warning: If you continue in this manner, you will live in the bowels of the earth and hunt by night, never enjoying the warm sun. You have been like this green, sour apple,” and the snake plucked the hardest and most sour apple from the tree [with God’s help] and dashed it into Adam’s chest.
Wounded, black and blue, Adam looked at Eve with a fresh perspective. He no longer desired to complete with her or subdue her. He had a complete change of heart and begged her to take him back, and she did, of course. When their child was born, and they named him Cain, Adam protected the boy like a warrior and was thankful to be a man, made in the image of God, naming animals and growing things by the skill of his own hands...and this did, in fact, please God greatly.
By Mrs. Ferreri
In the beginning, God dreamed a dream of a people who would honor Him and expand His consciousness, using their skills and talents. He looked forward to having companionship with them and teaching them to live good and upright lives. So, one afternoon, after hearing His entourage of ever-present angels sing in perfect harmony, God took from his potter’s clay a dampened wad and formed it into the heavens and the earth. It was a perfect dome beyond which none could travel, a protected place for his new people. Then, he called upon the feminine Holy Spirit to cover and roam the face of the earth and speak things into being, like the land, its foliage and peaked mountains, valleys with lakes and ponds; she filled them with animals that ate meat and those who ate leaves. With His paint brush God added colors in hues so vibrant they shimmered and vibrated to the tune of life. He was in no rush; this creation had to be perfect with every creature dependent upon the next for food, in a constant chain, without waste.
Salty waters were separated from fresh and different depths made the water an amazing rainbow of blues and greens. Every intricacy of the pink coral was known to him. Every fish was given the perfect length of fin and scale. Every tree reached to the sky, in an act of photosynthesis to produce an atmosphere suitable for HIS new people. Next, God stepped back. With anticipation and a little fear, HE made man from his head to his toe, sinew by sinew, connected with veins and a heart that throbbed like its Master’s. God reached down and put the man in a garden prepared for him and waited. And, He waited. And, He waited. And, He waited for some sign that this creature was happy and thankful for life. But, Adam just looked around and, seeing nothing like himself, was despondent and afraid. Why was he different? Why did every other animal know its purpose and he did not? Adam felt lost, despite being surrounded by Paradise.
Adam’s unhappiness hurt God deeply and HE realized, with a start, that Adam was bereft of a partner—an ezer kenegdo, a complement, a perfect match. So, God took out His clay and formed the perfect woman and named her Eve. She would carry life for nine months. She would be the first of her kind and the mother to all. Adam’s despondency ended the moment she appeared. She was the most beautiful thing on the planet by far, and he could not get enough of seeing her, even as she slept. God had made a perfect complement. Adam’s body was larger and stronger, but Eve like to talk about everything she saw and told him stories that made him think...and made him laugh.
They were given no insight into how to begin a family, despite the actions of the animals all around them that were proliferating. They lacked knowledge of both good and evil when they were brought into the world. This is how the snake gained a stronghold. One evening, as dusk descended upon the dome, he slithered into the garden looking for a mouse or a small bird to eat.
Satan hated Eve because he believed he could corrupt humanity through her, as all future generations would descend from her. He targeted her specifically as a way to attack God's creation and prevent the birth of a sinless human race. This hatred was further fueled by her role as the first woman, symbolizing the life-giving and nurturing power he opposed, and her later role as the mother of all living, and the progenitor of humanity, which included the lineage that would eventually lead to Christ, his ultimate vanquisher.
“Why have you not begun a family?” the snake asked circling the green apple tree? Why is every other living thing fruitful and multiplying, but you two?”
Eve looked at Adam, bronzed by the sun and having just named the armadillo…”I do not know,” she said. “We were not told how.” So, the snake explained the birds and bees to Eve and she thanked him for his wisdom on the topic and they produced a family outside of the boundaries of marriage, for God had assigned a day three days hence.
Over time, however, as Eve grew large with life, Adam resented her ability to bring forth life and wondered why God had not given him—the firstborn—that role. He wondered if being last she, not he, was God’s masterpiece, and he but an inferior piece of work. She never knew any of this was going on in his mind, until he started mimicking her hands supporting her back and belly. Then, she knew he was green with envy. He started disrespecting her, calling her “that woman you gave me”...using only pronouns—she, her and even it—avoiding her name, her true identity.
For weeks on end, Adam withheld his love from her and she recoiled from his touch. He was in high rebellion from his role as a man and wanted to be a woman instead. Soon, she had to go out and forage for food, kill the animal, remove its skin, cook it and feed herself to stay alive. Adam took care only of himself. Their enmity increased the farther along she got toward her first birth. God saw it all and it greatly depressed and angered Him. He made the birds chatter their displeasure into Adam’s ear, and this is also when the mosquito and pernicious sand flea were created.
Finally, God enlisted the help of the pesky snake, who was sent to Adam with this message: “You are behaving badly. There is only one man on the earth, and you cannot be spared, so here is my warning: If you continue in this manner, you will live in the bowels of the earth and hunt by night, never enjoying the warm sun. You have been like this green, sour apple,” and the snake plucked the hardest and most sour apple from the tree [with God’s help] and dashed it into Adam’s chest.
Wounded, black and blue, Adam looked at Eve with a fresh perspective. He no longer desired to complete with her or subdue her. He had a complete change of heart and begged her to take him back, and she did, of course. When their child was born, and they named him Cain, Adam protected the boy like a warrior and was thankful to be a man, made in the image of God, naming animals and growing things by the skill of his own hands...and this did, in fact, please God greatly.