Adam 1 and 2 and the Giving Tree© Rabbi David Baum
“Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy, and every day the boy would come, and he would gather her leaves, and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk And swing from her branches And when he was tired he would sleep in her shade.”
Who in here ever read your child or grandchild the Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein? I bring this up because I read a report on the news about the home of the author, Shel Silverstein. Although he passed in 1999 of a heart attack, he had a famous home in the Keys. I just heard that this historic home was destroyed during Hurricane Irma – and do you know how it was destroyed? A Banyan tree fell on it – yes, the tree finally got her revenge.
The Giving Tree is a seemingly simple, yet elegant and profound book. It can be uplifting for some, disturbing for others.
I honestly did not put much thought into it until I read it to my own children. I used to read it to my oldest son when he was quite young, and he seemed to like it. But I read it to him a couple of months ago, and at the end, he was crying. He said, “I feel so bad for the tree, he gave and gave and died at the end!” It was interesting because I had always looked at the story from the boy's perspective. Sure, it was called the Giving Tree, but I always thought it was about the boy. Apparently, it was about the tree all along. Or was it? Perhaps it is about both?
This year, we begin the Torah again with the book of Bereshit, Genesis. Today, we are in the second triennial of the Torah reading, so we will be reading chapter 2, but on Simchat Torah, we read chapter 1. So let me ask you something – who is the main character of the creation story? It may not come as a surprise to you, but Shel Silverstein was Jewish, and I wonder if the Jewish take on the creation story helped him write the Giving Tree? Who is the main character of the Giving Tree? Is it the boy, or the tree? I want to explore these ideas today – and I know what you are thinking – why should we discuss the Giving Tree at shul? Because, I think it can help us understand what seems to be simple, and yet utterly profound and complex story – the creation of the world.
First, how many creation stories are there and what are they?
There are actually two creation stories in these chapters, and there are two different Adams that we meet in these stories. Really, it's the same story, just told from a different perspective. But the better question is, why do we need two stories? Can't we just have one? Today, I want to tell you why we actually need the two stories, because we need both Adams.
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the famous 20th Century philosopher and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva University, in his famous essay, introduced the idea of the two Adams in his essay, The Lonely Man of Faith.
In the first story, chapter 1 of Genesis, man, Adam, is created "in the image of God," Adam is tasked with "filling" and "subduing or conquering" the earth. In the second account, in which man is created out of dust and God's breath, Adam is charged with "serving" and "keeping or protecting" the Garden of Eden.
Soloveitchik writes, “Adam the first is aggressive, bold, and victory-minded. His motto is success, triumph over the cosmic forces. He engaged in creative work, trying to imitate his Maker. The most characteristic representative of Adam the first is the mathematical scientist who whisks us away from an array of the technical things, from color and sound, from heat, touch and smell which are the only the phenomena accessible to our senses, into a formal relational world of thought constructs. The modern scientist does not try to fully explain nature. He only duplicates it.” In other words, the first Adam is a creator of new worlds – always creating, filling, and conquering. Western culture has thrived on Adam the first – look at what we have created with our ingenuity. We have literally created towers that touch the sky, travel around the world, things that our ancient ancestors could never dream we could have accomplished. And who do we most look up to as the new conquerors in today's society in America? It's not the generals, it's the coders and the people creating tech startups – we even call them tech giants.
In the Giving Tree, we see the Adam the first, when the boy grows up to be a young man - -"Cut down my trunk and make a boat," said the tree. "Then you can sail away and be happy." And so the boy cut down her trunk And made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy But not really”
Adam the first is vital for us – without Adam the first, stands for the dignity of man – without Adam the first, we wouldn't have evolved to become who we are today. Soloveitchik writes, “man of old who could not fight diseases and succumbed to a multitude of yellow fever or any other plague with degrading helplessness could not lay claim to dignity. Only the man who builds hospitals discovers therapeutic techniques, and save lives are blessed with dignity.” But what happens when we take things too far – when our lives become only about the subduing and the conquering.
The tree wasn't happy when the boy left, but what about the boy? Are we as human beings happy after we have conquered? Does it satiate our hunger? Over the last couple of weeks, we have heard stories of men trying to conquer others – a movie mogul sexually harassing women, and an explosion of stories in an industry where men conquer others who they deem to be subordinates – actors and women. We have seen this in the tech industry as well – famously seen in the news with Uber where sexism and sexual harassment was made public by a software engineer named Susan Fowler. It began a look at the entire industry – a recent survey called “Elephant in the Valley” found that nearly all of the 200-plus senior women in tech who responded had experienced sexist interactions.
Is this what happens when conquering becomes the only thing that matters, when it consumes us?
Well, after his travels, the boy returns. He has seemingly conquered it all, And after a long time the boy comes back:
-"I am sorry, Boy, "said the tree, "but I have nothing left to give you — My apples are gone."
-"My teeth are too weak for apple, "said the boy.
-"My branches are gone," said the tree. "You cannot swing on them — "
-"I am too old to swing on branches" said the boy.
-"My trunk is gone," said the tree. "You cannot climb — "
-"I am too tired to climb," said the boy.
Is he just old, or is he actually tired of the climb – the dance of being conquered and conquering? What else is there?
That's why we need Adam the second.
Adam the first asks how questions – how does this and that work. Adam the second asks 'why' questions – why am I here? Soloveitchik writes, “He wonders, “why did the world in its totality come into existence? What is the purpose of all this? What are the great challenges reaching me from beyond?
The second Adam finds God in the wonder, in the beam of light, in the immeasurable and inconceivable – in faith. Adam the second realizes that he is not the end all of creation – there is something larger.
The NY Times columnist and author David Brooks wrote a book based on the idea of Rabbi Soloveitchik's two Adams. He says our society favors Adam I. Adam I is the worldly, ambitious, external side of our nature. He wants to build, create, create companies, create innovation. Adam II is the humble side of our nature. Adam II wants not only to do good but to be good, to live in a way internally that honors God, creation and our possibilities. Adam I wants to conquer the world. Adam II wants to hear a calling and obey the world. Adam I savors accomplishment. Adam II savors inner consistency and strength. Adam I asks how things work. Adam II asks why we're here. Adam I's motto is "success." Adam II's motto is "love, redemption and return."
While we want our children to grow to become giants in the world, Adam 1's, what we need to focus more on is Adam II. Perhaps that's why the second chapter of Genesis begins with Shabbat – it's a message to man – there is a limit to your conquering. For one day a week, you are going to have to let things sit, and you are going to have to work on you, so you can be stop conquering for a minute, a start obeying more, and loving more.
"I am sorry" sighed the tree. "I wish that I could give you something. . . but I have nothing left. I am
just an old stump. I am sorry..."
-"I don't need very much now" said the boy. "just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired"
-"Well" said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, "well, an old stump is good for
sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down... and rest."
And the tree was happy.."
And I hope Shel Silverstein wouldn't mind if I added just one line.
And the tree was happy...and so was the boy.
Shabbat Shalom.
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