(Note: One can see similar notions expressed in various forms via the writings of Eastern mystics, the Greeks (eg Plato),  all the way up to Wittgenstein, Schweitzer etc, however here we are concenrned with the Jewish Traditional approach.).

The Bible begins with the story of creation, which is cosmoGenesis and mysticism combined. The process culminates with the creation of humanity in the divine image,  which would be considered mysticism except for the fact that it is written out explicitly. However the mystical aspect is encoded in the interpretations of the enigmatic phrase 'divine image'. Then comes the garden of Eden account, which is about humanity being infused with the divine 'breath' - again a very mystical concept. Then is the account of this being utilizing Free Will to make choices, and of God the creator holding this being responsible for these choices - in other words it is about Transendental Morality. Humans - created in the image of God and instilled with the divine 'breath', are in cobtact with this Transcendent realm, can distinguish good and evil, and are capable of making choices that are free in a way that no other natural entity is.

We can certainly see that the creation & Eden accounts involve not just cosmogony, but also mysticism and Ethics. Indeed, we can see that these three are interelated - humans are held to moral responsibility since they are in the divine image and with the divine spirit/breath as their essence, and can sense the Transcendent level of good and evil and make truly free choices.

Rambam: Moral self-development forms a core of the writings of the supposed "arch-rationalist" Rambam and the mystic who I consider to be his (half-millenium-removed) great pupil, Ramchal (Luzatto).

Luzzato (‘Ramchal’) ties it all to cosmogony, world to come etc, but it is also self-interest because it is the path to greatest ability to partake of the joy of God’s splendour etc. Genesis sets up a cosmogony and free will moral responsibility etc but it is all this-worldly. That’s why Ramchal and others speak more openly of the world to come, this world as a corridor to the next world.

Since we are created in God’s image and our essence is the breath of God (God’s spirit) as told in Genesis, we become “Whole" only when we unite with God…...The level of after-life is determined via cause-effect rather than ‘reward/punishment’, and the purpose is Relationship with the Essence, which is its own reward: this world was created to be a vehicle for us to overcome challenges in order to achieve higher levels of internal development; the extent of effort and overcoming of obstacles correlates in the after-life to the amount of connection to God ,which is the greatest pleasure.

Everything in this world is in order to increase relationship with God, and it is the relationship which is its own reward.

 Mesillat Yesharim (Ramchal):“For all the affairs of the world, whether for the good or for the bad, are trials to a man. To the extent that he has subdued his evil inclination and his desires, and withdrawn from those factors which draw him further from the good, and exerted himself to become united with it, to that extent will he attain it and rejoice in it.  [Not reward and punishment but cause-effect of appropriate preparation.]

“When you look further into the matter, you will see that only union with God constitutes true perfection, as King David [the illustrious Mystic] said (Psalms 73:28), "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good," and (Psalms 27:4), "I asked one thing from God; that will I seek - to dwell in God's house all the days of my life..."

How does one achieve this? Via compassion and kindness to others, overcoming one’s nature….

Explanation: The wise people of all cultures have recognized that pleasures of this world, power, wealth, fame, sex, even knowledge, do not lead I themselves to the goal that is sought – happiness or contentment and usually not even to sustained pleasure. Except perhaps for very very few, one in a million. For all the rest, what leads to the desired result is some human relationships, connection to community, and to God. Inner growth of self, compassion and loving-kindness for others.

But maybe we are here to suffer? To serve Earthly masters? Maybe we do not deserve happiness and shouldn’t even seek it? No, he says. We were created to attain joy and pleasure, but it is the pleasure found in union with God, which by definition is ‘the world to come’. But the way to attain that is in this world, and only via this world, only via meeting life’s challenges.

So the bottom line is that we want joy and we are attracted by our instincts and by societal pressures instead to pleasures, and to the wrong joy/pleasures and sources of joy. We do indeed deserve joy, were created in fact to attain joy, but it is to be found by overcoming the instincts, not to be led by them, and the joy is in the world to come not in this one. And it is the joy of being connected to one’s essence, source, the soul, the Creator of all.

 Approaches to the right life: (not mutually-exclusive), and books which outline that Path

·               Ethical Attitude: live life normally, have a job, a family, hobbies, but in everything (all the normal activities), ethical, model citizen etc. (ie nothing inner, and life is as usual) Book: Chofetz Chayim.

·               Proactively-ethical, always looking about to see what needs to be done for others.

·               Idealistic (ethical actions): very involved in volunteer work after work and on weekends, donate blood, lots of charity etc; choose a career that enables greatest contribution; more extreme: forego normality to go to live in some poor area and work hard. (nothing inner, life is visibly unusual): Various books promote this as spiritual path.

·               Religious actions (piety)(devotional): life of study and prayer; Monastic or asceticism; extreme focus on all the commandments (ie nothing inner, life is visibly religious): Book: Shulchan Aruch

·               Spiritual: inner spiritual development, defeat ego to attain humility towards God, develop a love and awe and even some fear of God; mystical experiences of union with God etc. (all inner, outer life may seem the usual from the outside, but maybe no social action like volunteering  etc; holy shoe-maker): (Book: Mesillas Yesharim).

·               Psychological: inner psychological development, defeat ego-based behavior, become aware of psychological flaws and try to correct them, see good traits in others and internalize them (also: ethical development in behavior towards other people, society).(inner, can be an atheist; outer life seems usual): Psychological version of Buddhist teachings, Mars/Venus etc.

·               Spiritual/Psychological: religious development via psychological growth: Book: ??

·               State of mind: Be always serious/in awe of God, be always joyful/love of God, be always doing/mitzvot

Place this and other books into the above context: R Tatz, “Living Inspired”: Recognizing the metaphysical patterns and motifs underlying historical events, personal life challenges.

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 Comparing Rambam, Ramchal (the Baraisa ) , the Sulam and others, eg “Living Inspired”,  "Endless Light"...

                     Sulam:                                                    Ramchal                                   Rambam…. “Living Inspired”

  .......................

We were created to experience the greatest joy - humanity was never damned! (God forbid even the thought!)

see: https://waisworld.org/go.jsp?id=02a&o=11714

Much of what is often attributed to the Biblical story of Eden is actually Christian theology rather than Biblical, and so the Jewish and Christian interpretations of the story differ greatly. This week Jews begin the annual cycle of reading the Torah (the scroll containing the five books of Moses), starting with Genesis, so the concept of "original sin" is topical. The Biblical story of the garden of Eden does not mention anything about being damned to Hell (eternally or otherwise), or Falling from Grace, and Jews do not believe that human beings require 'salvation.' In fact, although the snake and the ground are 'cursed' by God as a result of the eating from the tree of knowledge, significantly the man and woman are not. There are even traditional Jewish rabbinic commentators who state that God wished for Adam and Eve to eat from the tree.