DIY -- veggie burgers

I haven't posted in this column for a long time but some things came together one morning out of the news, so I decided to do this one.

A report in the British Medical Journal summarizes three large studies in separate nations about how processed food is shortening lives.

https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l1949

You are at a higher risk of dying young -- up to 60% higher -- compared to other people in your age cohort, if you eat more processed food than they do.

Kicker: that includes "health" food like veggie burgers. Check the ingredients. There may be dairy products in them. Including cheese. Look where cheese falls in the BMJ study.

Here's another way that dairy products are a flashpoint. Cows don't give milk unless they give birth. They are bred to produce a calf about every 3 years after they come to maturity. They have 2-4 calves during their lifetimes. Farmers cannot house, feed, and muck out for that many calves and still keep up their milk production. That's where veal comes from. If you are opposed to eating veal, you have to be opposed to production of unwanted calves, and you have to take away the demand for the dairy products that wouldn't exist without producing unwanted calves. So you can't eat anything with dairy products as an ingredient. If you didn't know this, it's because you're like the majority of people who know nothing about the food chain.

Look at most of the processed food on store shelves. How much of it contains dairy products? (This is an "oh shit" moment for a lot of you.)

The veggie burger I'm talking about also contains lecithin and guar gum. Lecithin, an emulsifier, along with other emulsifiers like the polysorbates in ice cream, has been implicated in causing obesity.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19288019

Guar gum belongs to a class of chemicals which seem to help with cholesterol. Guar gum is the only member of the class which does NOT help with cholesterol.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28733671

Now, vegan veggie burgers may not have the dairy products, but that doesn't mean they get off scot free. The Beyond Burger contains gum arabic. This is a conflict product. The only source of gum arabic is Sudan, and the income from it fuels war there.

The other product that uses gum arabic is all sodas, to keep the chemicals in suspension. All sodas, even the "diet" ones, promote obesity and Type II diabetes.

Meanwhile, you are better off making your own, not just veggie burgers, but everything else, like sun tea instead of sodas, so you aren't at the mercy of manufacturers who are making a pile off of killing you.

Here's a veggie burger recipe; I haven't tried it because being veggie is not one of my things. Make sure the egg you use in this recipe is free range; if you're lucky, your community may allow you to raise your own chickens. For the bread crumbs, remember way back when I posted how to brew your own sourdough starter from water and flour? Do it. Keep the crumbs. You can use them in this, or you can add them back into any bread you bake to enhance the flavor.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/85452/homemade-black-bean-veggie-burgers/

21st Century Bible Hebrew -- horeg

Genesis 4:5-8

 

ה וְאֶל־קַ֥יִן וְאֶל־מִנְחָת֖וֹ לֹ֣א שָׁעָ֑ה וַיִּ֤חַר לְקַ֨יִן֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ פָּנָֽיו:

ו וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָֹ֖ה אֶל־קָ֑יִן לָ֚מָּה חָ֣רָה לָ֔ךְ וְלָ֖מָּה נָֽפְל֥וּ פָנֶֽיךָ:

ז הֲל֤וֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת וְאִם֙ לֹ֣א תֵיטִ֔יב לַפֶּ֖תַח חַטָּ֣את רֹבֵ֑ץ וְאֵלֶ֨יךָ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָת֔וֹ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּמְשָׁל־בּֽוֹ:

ח וַיֹּ֥אמֶר קַ֖יִן אֶל־הֶ֣בֶל אָחִ֑יו וַֽיְהִי֙ בִּֽהְיוֹתָ֣ם בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה וַיָּ֥קָם קַ֛יִן אֶל־הֶ֥בֶל אָחִ֖יו וַיַּֽהַרְגֵֽהוּ:

 

And now for verse 8.

 

Qain said to Hevel his brother; It must have been at the time of their being in the field, that Qain arose at Hevel his brother and killed him.

 

Let me get the little thing out of the way. Remember, I said that va-y’hi plus a time expression sets the timing of the event. When you get this structure, look for the first narrative past. If it follows on from the time expression, that is a relative clause telling what happened at that time.

 

Notice the etnach before that. We don’t know what Qain said. We don’t care. The rest of the verse is what’s important.

 

You might hear people say that we are descended from murderers. That’s not true for two reasons and here is one of them.

 

The word for what happened here is va-yahargehu. Torah’s legal definition for this term is manslaughter, not murder. Torah’s legal definition of murder goes with the term ratsach. Qain was never a murderer. He was guilty of manslaughter, if anything.

 

Now let me dive back into the Gan Eden story. I said that mot tamut is the death penalty. The death penalty didn’t happen. Why not?

 

Because the culture that transmitted this narrative down into the Babylonian Captivity had a law that nobody suffers the death penalty except by the testimony of two witnesses. That’s in Numbers or Deuteronomy. Who were the witnesses in the death penalty case against Adam and Chavvah?

 

There weren’t any. Adam and Chavvah were husband and wife, and thus each other’s relatives, and relatives cannot serve as witnesses against each other. Each of them was also his or her own relative. This is one reason why confessions are not admissible evidence in a Jewish court case. There are others but let’s stick with our sheep.

 

To inflict the death penalty, Jewish culture also requires means, motive, intent, and opportunity. Motive means against the person killed. Qain had no motives against Hevel; Qain was angry at Gd for Gd’s behavior. Having no motive, Qain could not form intent against Hevel.

 

Plus they were in the field. Not only did these actions not meet the elements of murder, there were no witnesses. Qain could not be tried for murder, let alone convicted.

 

Gd obeys the culture He created. He does not put Adam and Chavvah to death. He does not inflict the death penalty on Qain when Hevel’s death does not fit the elements of murder.

 

This is the second example of how Jewish culture rejects the “do as I say, not as I do” culture.  Gd obeys the rules; He always did.

 

21st Century Bible Hebrew -- Genesis 5-8, commandment grammar

Genesis 4:5-8

 

ה וְאֶל־קַ֥יִן וְאֶל־מִנְחָת֖וֹ לֹ֣א שָׁעָ֑ה וַיִּ֤חַר לְקַ֨יִן֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ פָּנָֽיו:

ו וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָֹ֖ה אֶל־קָ֑יִן לָ֚מָּה חָ֣רָה לָ֔ךְ וְלָ֖מָּה נָֽפְל֥וּ פָנֶֽיךָ:

ז הֲל֤וֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת וְאִם֙ לֹ֣א תֵיטִ֔יב לַפֶּ֖תַח חַטָּ֣את רֹבֵ֑ץ וְאֵלֶ֨יךָ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָת֔וֹ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּמְשָׁל־בּֽוֹ:

ח וַיֹּ֥אמֶר קַ֖יִן אֶל־הֶ֣בֶל אָחִ֑יו וַֽיְהִי֙ בִּֽהְיוֹתָ֣ם בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה וַיָּ֥קָם קַ֛יִן אֶל־הֶ֥בֶל אָחִ֖יו וַיַּֽהַרְגֵֽהוּ:

Translation: But He had not looked at Qain and his minchah; Qain must have kindled for he became downcast.

The Lord said to Qain: why have you kindled and become downcast?

Is it not [true] if you make good [that] it is by excelling, but if you don’t make good, at the entrance sin [habitually] lies; its impulse is toward you, but you can rule it.

Qain said to Hevel his brother; it must have been at the time of their being in the field that Qain rose up to Hevel and killed him.

 

In verse 5, the two words at the end are a conjugated form of nafal panayv (it’s in narrative past in this verse), an IDIOM for being downcast.

 

Why does Gd ask this question? The rabbis say over and over again, when you have to have a difficult conversation with somebody, you don’t plunge into the middle of it. You start with something minor – and obvious. Gd is telling Qain, look, it’s not like I don’t care. I can see how you’re feeling. Your feelings are your feelings. But look….

 

The next verse is one of the most important verses in all of Torah for more than one reason.

 

First, notice that Gd gives Qain the up-side first. Once Qain has accepted that there are consequences for doing good, he is more likely to agree that there are consequences for doing wrong.

 

The word rovets may seem strange but it is in contrast to set.

 

A set is a rising. In Numbers, the priestly blessing has Gd “lifting His face” to those He favors.

 

A rovets is a lying down. In Yaaqov’s blessing of his sons, he says Yehudah is a lion rovets. It may sound innocuous but it comes right after a verse about a lion cub attacking prey.

 

Gd tries here to give both the positive and negative spin. He wants Qain to focus on what He says first and take the right path.

 

What He does not do is issue another commandment. That didn’t work so well the last time. There are commentators who say differently, but the grammar and the situation argue against that. A commandment looks like a conjugated verb in second person, it is prefixed with vav, and it is either imperfect or perfect aspect. Commandments are all over Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, and the laws of circumcision in Genesis are commandments too. Commandments are forever.

 

We don’t have that here. What Gd says is an explanation to Qain of how life works, not a commandment.

21st Century Bible Hebrew -- Qain and Hevel: the setup

Genesis 4:1-4

 

א וְהָ֣אָדָ֔ם יָדַ֖ע אֶת־חַוָּ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וַתַּ֨הַר֙ וַתֵּ֣לֶד אֶת־קַ֔יִן וַתֹּ֕אמֶר קָנִ֥יתִי אִ֖ישׁ אֶת־יְהוָֹֽה:

ב וַתֹּ֣סֶף לָלֶ֔דֶת אֶת־אָחִ֖יו אֶת־הָ֑בֶל וַֽיְהִי־הֶ֨בֶל֙ רֹ֣עֵה צֹ֔אן וְקַ֕יִן הָיָ֖ה עֹבֵ֥ד אֲדָמָֽה:

ג וַיְהִ֖י מִקֵּ֣ץ יָמִ֑ים וַיָּבֵ֨א קַ֜יִן מִפְּרִ֧י הָֽאֲדָמָ֛ה מִנְחָ֖ה לַֽיהוָֹֽה:

ד וְהֶ֨בֶל הֵבִ֥יא גַם־ה֛וּא מִבְּכֹר֥וֹת צֹאנ֖וֹ וּמֵֽחֶלְבֵהֶ֑ן וַיִּ֣שַׁע יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־הֶ֖בֶל וְאֶל־מִנְחָתֽוֹ:

 

Translation:     The man had known Chavvah his wife; she got pregnant and birthed Qain and she said: I have acquired a man with ****.

She added for birthing, his brother, Hevel; Hevel must have been a herder of sheep, but Qain was a worker of the earth.

It must have been at the end of a year; Qain brought from the fruit of the ground a minchah to ****.

Heveh brought, he from the firstlings of his sheep and their chelev; **** turned to Hevel and his minchah.

 

Now, I want to go back and re-discuss et. Notice that when Chavvah gives birth to Qain there’s one distinctive et and then there are the two for Hevel. Now, it’s pretty obvious that there’s a distinction between the two brothers, all the more so as it’s obvious they aren’t twins.

 

But why does it emphasize that they are brothers? It doesn’t do that with Yaaqov’s sons later on.

 

Well, it’s a distinctive et for et achiv et Hevel. Hevel acted in distinction from how Qain’s brother would act. Qain followed in Adam’s footsteps, tilling the soil. Hevel did not. He raised sheep.

 

Yamim: I think I said this before but in case I didn’t… When yamim has a number with it, it’s that many days. If not, it’s a year of days – a solar year.

 

A minchah is a grain offering. It’s also the afternoon prayer because in the daily whole offering, after the animal has started burning on the altar, there is an offering of fine flour mixed with oil and salt and with pieces of frankincense on top. The afternoon prayer commemorates this sacrifice and took on its name.

 

There are cases when the normal sacrifice for a given purpose is too expensive so a poor person can bring a flour offering of some kind to meet that purpose. The minchah is also acceptable in itself for various things.

 

Qain openly brings a minchah of what he has cultivated, following in his father’s footsteps. Hevel’s offering is also called a minchah.

 

But Hevel’s offering is chelev. If your favorite translation calls this “fat”, it’s wrong. The rest of Torah shows that chelev is something designated for Gd and no mortal can eat it. With an animal, it’s the fat on the lower GI organs and the inside of that cavity.

 

Animals also have fat mingled with muscle, and this fat is allowed for human consumption. Thus you don’t have to render the fat out of second cut brisket before you corn it, and you don’t have to cut the fat off a rib steak before you eat it. The fat that you render out of poultry skin is allowed for food, that’s why our great-grandmothers’ recipes had schmaltz in them and they made gribenes for a snack. The ancients recognized the likeness between this fat and shemen, olive oil, and they called animal fat shuman in Hebrew. Shmaltz is Yiddish.

 

When verse 4 calls Hevel’s chelev a minchah and says Gd yisha it, that’s a cliff-hanger.

21st Century Bible Hebrew -- Genesis 4:1-4, va-y'hi plus time expression

Genesis 4:1-4

 

Ready to pick up the pace some more?

 

א וְהָ֣אָדָ֔ם יָדַ֖ע אֶת־חַוָּ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וַתַּ֨הַר֙ וַתֵּ֣לֶד אֶת־קַ֔יִן וַתֹּ֕אמֶר קָנִ֥יתִי אִ֖ישׁ אֶת־יְהוָֹֽה:

ב וַתֹּ֣סֶף לָלֶ֔דֶת אֶת־אָחִ֖יו אֶת־הָ֑בֶל וַֽיְהִי־הֶ֨בֶל֙ רֹ֣עֵה צֹ֔אן וְקַ֕יִן הָיָ֖ה עֹבֵ֥ד אֲדָמָֽה:

ג וַיְהִ֖י מִקֵּ֣ץ יָמִ֑ים וַיָּבֵ֨א קַ֜יִן מִפְּרִ֧י הָֽאֲדָמָ֛ה מִנְחָ֖ה לַֽיהוָֹֽה:

ד וְהֶ֨בֶל הֵבִ֥יא גַם־ה֛וּא מִבְּכֹר֥וֹת צֹאנ֖וֹ וּמֵֽחֶלְבֵהֶ֑ן וַיִּ֣שַׁע יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־הֶ֖בֶל וְאֶל־מִנְחָתֽוֹ:

 

Translation:     The man had known Chavvah his wife; she conceived and gave birth to Qain, she said I have obtained a man with the Lord.

She added birthing his brother, Hevel; Hevel must have been herding sheep but Qain was [one] working the earth.

It must have been at the end of years, that Qain brought some of the fruit of the ground as a minchah to the Lord.

Hevel brought, he, some of the firstlings of his flock and some of their chelev; the Lord must have looked at Hevel and his minchah.

 

What aspect is the first verb in this chapter?  Right, perfect aspect.  So this is a new narrative.

 

In verse three we find a new use of va-y’hi.  When it is used with a time expression, think of it this way.  When us old guys tell stories about their past, we might start up with “It must have been when I was about 22 that ….” And the story follows. 

 

Va-y’hi plus a time expression starts an episode that is crucial to a larger narrative.  You’ll see it again in Genesis 14 at the start of the war of the kings, and Genesis 22 at the start of the Akedah.

 

Vocabulary in this lesson:

תַּהַר	Get pregnant
תֵּלֶד	Birth (v)
קָנִיתִי	I have acquired
תֹּסֶף	added
רֹעֵה	herder
צֹאן	sheep
יַּלְבִּשֵׁם	Dressed them
מִקֵּץ	At the end
מִנְחָה	Grain offering and by extension late afternoon prayer service
בְּכֹרוֹת	Firstlings of animals
חֶלְבֵהֶן	Their chelev
יִּשַׁע	Turn to

 

21st Century Bible Hebrew -- Genesis 3 audio

Genesis 3

 

Don’t freak. You’ve already been through this chapter in detail. Now you can hear it.

 

http://www.mechon-mamre.org/mp3/t0103.mp3

 

א וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה אַף כִּי־אָמַר אֱלֹהִים לֹא תֹאכְלוּ מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן:

ב וַתֹּאמֶר הָאִשָּׁה אֶל־הַנָּחָשׁ מִפְּרִי עֵץ־הַגָּן נֹאכֵל:

ג וּמִפְּרִי הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹךְ־הַגָּן אָמַר אֱלֹהִים לֹא תֹאכְלוּ מִמֶּנּוּ וְלֹא תִגְּעוּ בּוֹ פֶּן תְּמֻתוּן:

ד וַיֹּאמֶר הַנָּחָשׁ אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה לֹא־מוֹת תְּמֻתוּן:

ה כִּי יֹדֵעַ אֱלֹהִים כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְכֶם מִמֶּנּוּ וְנִפְקְחוּ עֵינֵיכֶם וִהְיִיתֶם כֵּאלֹהִים יֹדְעֵי טוֹב וָרָע:

ו וַתֵּרֶא הָאִשָּׁה כִּי טוֹב הָעֵץ לְמַאֲכָל וְכִי תַאֲוָה־הוּא לָעֵינַיִם וְנֶחְמָד הָעֵץ לְהַשְׂכִּיל וַתִּקַּח מִפִּרְיוֹ וַתֹּאכַל וַתִּתֵּן גַּם־לְאִישָׁהּ עִמָּהּ וַיֹּאכַל:

ז וַתִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי שְׁנֵיהֶם וַיֵּדְעוּ כִּי עֵירֻמִּם הֵם וַיִּתְפְּרוּ עֲלֵה תְאֵנָה וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם חֲגֹרֹת:

ח וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת־קוֹל יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן לְרוּחַ הַיּוֹם וַיִּתְחַבֵּא הָאָדָם וְאִשְׁתּוֹ מִפְּנֵי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהִים בְּתוֹךְ עֵץ הַגָּן:

ט וַיִּקְרָא יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהִים אֶל־הָאָדָם וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אַיֶּכָּה:

י וַיֹּאמֶר אֶת־קֹלְךָ שָׁמַעְתִּי בַּגָּן וָאִירָא כִּי־עֵירֹם אָנֹכִי וָאֵחָבֵא:

יא וַיֹּאמֶר מִי הִגִּיד לְךָ כִּי עֵירֹם אָתָּה הֲמִן־הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ לְבִלְתִּי אֲכָל־מִמֶּנּוּ אָכָלְתָּ:

יב וַיֹּאמֶר הָאָדָם הָאִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה עִמָּדִי הִוא נָתְנָה־לִּי מִן־הָעֵץ וָאֹכֵל:

יג וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהִים לָאִשָּׁה מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂית וַתֹּאמֶר הָאִשָּׁה הַנָּחָשׁ הִשִּׁיאַנִי וָאֹכֵל:

יד וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים ׀ אֶל־הַנָּחָשׁ כִּי עָשִׂיתָ זֹּאת אָרוּר אַתָּה מִכָּל־הַבְּהֵמָה וּמִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה עַל־גְּחֹנְךָ תֵלֵךְ וְעָפָר תֹּאכַל כָּל־יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ:

טו וְאֵיבָה ׀ אָשִׁית בֵּינְךָ וּבֵין הָאִשָּׁה וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ וּבֵין זַרְעָהּ הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב:  

טז אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה אָמַר הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה עִצְּבוֹנֵךְ וְהֵרֹנֵךְ בְּעֶצֶב תֵּלְדִי בָנִים וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ תְּשׁוּקָתֵךְ וְהוּא יִמְשָׁל־בָּךְ:  

יז וּלְאָדָם אָמַר כִּי שָׁמַעְתָּ לְקוֹל אִשְׁתֶּךָ וַתֹּאכַל מִן־הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ לֵאמֹר לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ אֲרוּרָה הָאֲדָמָה בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ בְּעִצָּבוֹן תֹּאכֲלֶנָּה כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ:

יח וְקוֹץ וְדַרְדַּר תַּצְמִיחַ לָךְ וְאָכַלְתָּ אֶת־עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה:

יט בְּזֵעַת אַפֶּיךָ תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם עַד שׁוּבְךָ אֶל־הָאֲדָמָה כִּי מִמֶּנָּה לֻקָּחְתָּ כִּי־עָפָר אַתָּה וְאֶל־עָפָר תָּשׁוּב:

כ וַיִּקְרָא הָאָדָם שֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ חַוָּה כִּי הִוא הָיְתָה אֵם כָּל־חָי:

כא וַיַּעַשׂ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים לְאָדָם וּלְאִשְׁתּוֹ כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר וַיַּלְבִּשֵׁם:

כב וַיֹּאמֶר ׀ יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהִים הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה כְּאַחַד מִמֶּנּוּ לָדַעַת טוֹב וָרָע וְעַתָּה ׀ פֶּן־יִשְׁלַח יָדוֹ וְלָקַח גַּם מֵעֵץ הַחַיִּים וְאָכַל וָחַי לְעֹלָם:

כג וַיְשַׁלְּחֵהוּ יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהִים מִגַּן־עֵדֶן לַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר לֻקַּח מִשָּׁם:

כד וַיְגָרֶשׁ אֶת־הָאָדָם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן מִקֶּדֶם לְגַן־עֵדֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִים וְאֵת לַהַט הַחֶרֶב הַמִּתְהַפֶּכֶת לִשְׁמֹר אֶת־דֶּרֶךְ עֵץ הַחַיִּים:

21st Century Bible Hebrew -- summary of the Gan Eden episode

Now wait a minute.

 

Adam and Chavvah have been kicked out of the garden, still mortal, but still alive. What’s up with that?

 

Well, this is where due process comes in.

 

In Jewish law, the witnesses to a transgression cannot be relatives of each other.  Adam and Chavvah are married. They can’t testify against each other.

 

They are also their own relatives. They can’t testify against themselves. Jewish law NEVER takes evidence from the defendant. Jewish trials are about whether the witnesses know what they are talking about, not about what the defendant actually did.

 

Well, what about the serpent?

 

When a transgression against Jewish law carries the death penalty, people can only testify in the case if they have tried to stop the transgression from happening. That’s community policing. If you don’t get involved, you can’t get your 15 seconds of fame by testifying.

 

So the serpent promoted the crime instead of trying to stop it, and he is not a valid witness.

 

Well, but Gd knows everything!

 

Gd is the judge. Judges cannot step down from the bench and give testimony.

 

Now here’s the kicker. These are the only characters involved. Oral narratives rarely have a lot of characters in any given episode and if a cast of thousands is needed, they are usually turned in to a group. This is the case with Yosef talking and all his brothers listening; Mosheh and Aharon talking and all the Israelites listening.  You’ll see in the next episode that more people might have been alive at the time, but this episode ignores them. There’s a good reason for that, but it’s redundant because they are Adam and Chavvah’s kids, and the issue of relatives has already been dealt with.

 

This episode also illustrates an ancient legal concept that still applies today: qal va-chomer/chomer va-qal, what western cultures call a fortiori. If Gd issued a commanment about one tree, and the people ate from it anyway, all the more so they are likely to eat from the tree about which He issued no commandment. Gd evacuates and closes off the Gan to prevent this. Nicolas Whybray wrote that he thought the second tree was redundant – but he didn’t know much about how oral narratives or legal systems work so it was almost a given that he would miss the clues.

 

Torah originated as oral narratives teaching a culture how to operate in culture-related ways.. Axel Olrik and Ronald Abrahams both knew of the Fjoort culture reciting their oral tradition in connection with legal proceedings. Neither one realized that the Fjoort were rehearsing their version of the Federal Rules of Procedure.  Which is what we have here in this narrative.