Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/72

 54

TJic

s])irit

all

in

the l^sahnist's words, "but Httle lower than the

and crowned

angels,

of

him, he rises higher and ever higher, until he

williin

becomes,

human

living

God Himself.

am

holy"

"Ye

witli

shall

human

And

glory and honor".

the goal

become even like unto be holy; for 1 the Lord your God

and striving

(Leviticus

standard of

Book of Genesis

XIX,

is

2),

to

is

the

divinely

appointed

righteousness.

But holiness and righteousness are not mere passive conThey must be striven for, and can be attained only by constant struggle, which at last conquers the earthly, animal cravings of the body of dust, and leaves ditions of existence.

And

the divine, spiritual element triumphant. struggle and the victory justification of divine

lie

only in the

the merit of goodness

reward for right

choice but to be good or to be

evil, in

living.

and the no

Had man

accordance with divine

predestination, there could be no reason for, nor justice

in,

reward or punishment. Therefore, in His wisdom God has so fashioned man, that it rests with him alone to choose the right or the wrong, the blessing or the curse, life or death. The words of Moses unto all Israel just before his death, 'T call Heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that thou mayest live", It is given express most clearly this principle of Judaism. to man to make his own life, good or evil, to determine whether he will walk in purity with (lod, or must hide in We become just guilt and shame, in darkness and shadow. what we make ourselves, angels or beasts as we choose. All this

Eden.

It

is

tells

clearly im])lied in the story of the ("harden of

that man's life on earth

mand from God.

A command

ing between obedience and disb:diencc. the reason for the ex])lain

the tree.

to

the

man

command Plis

began with a com-

im])lies the necessity of

is

It

choos-

matters not

tliat

not given, that (lod did not

purpose

in

forbidding the fruit of

Very often we can not understand

the purpose of