WMST-L DIGEST5: Thursday, March 4, 1993 (3 items)
From: Barbara.Winkler@UM.CC.UMICH.EDU
Subject: Lilith
From: Taking the fruit: Modern women's
tales
of the bible. This is
Subject: Re: Women and Religion
From: Phyllis Holman Weisbard
(PWEIS@MACC.WISC.EDU)
Subject: Lilith
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Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1993 07:35:32 EST
From: Barbara.Winkler@UM.CC.UMICH.EDU
Subject: Lilith
You can learn more about Lilith in Raphael Patai, *The Hebrew Goddess*
Chapter VII and in writings by Judith Plaskow including *Womanspirit
Rising: A Feminist Reader in Religion* edited by her and Carol Christ,
specifically "The Coming of Lilith: Toward a Feminist Theology".
Plaskow also has a very witty retelling of the Lilith story and the
expulsion from Eden - which is included in this article.
barbara.winkler@um.cc.umich.edu
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Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1993 09:03:54 -0500
From: Taking the fruit: Modern women's
tales
of the bible. This is
Subject: Re: Women and Religion
Hi there. I'm sure you'll hear the traditional story of Lilith
from
others on the list. I wanted to share a poem a student gave me.
I've never tried to look up the book, so I don't know if it
was indeed published somewhere. This was copied from a
xeroxed
sheet. It's kind of long, but I love it so.
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From: Taking the fruit: Modern women's tales of the
bible.
This is
the "First Tale" (1973) by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb.
In the beginning
God made the earth and the sky and the sea
God reached into the waters
formed a womb in my hand
and put it in the sky
then
with Her own breath
God filled womb with Lilith
first woman
Deep inside the womb
Lilith began her birthing
the womb grew heavy with woman
until one day
Lilith pushed her arms outward
tore the walls which held her
to reach the sky
The sky received her smiling
Lilith embraced all life
her wings of fire
not knowing where sky began
and her own self ended
Lilith looked down
saw a shadow on the water
She saw herself hovering over the deep
Lilith rejoiced
thinking she had found another like herself
spoke to the image
which did not answer
First loneliness
and God said: it is not good
for woman to be alone
I will make her a companion
As Lilith is sky
so man shall be earth
and God made man
from the dust of the ground
breathed into him the breath of life
and man became a living being
then God brought Lilith to dry land
there upon the soil
Lilith became still
seeing a place which did not move
like wind or water
Lilith said:
I will stay awhile
then, he appeared
and came toward her
his eyes still spoke of birth
like hers
and yet she know a difference
this one stood solid on the ground
He said: I am Adam child of Adamah
walk with me and I will show you the earth
Lilith smiled and said: I am Lilith
with wings of fire
come and I will show you the sky
but Adam, afraid of Lilith's wings of fire
fell to the earth
Lilith
needing her companion
removed her wings of fire
hurled them to the sky
Adam saw Lilith without her fire
no longer afraid
he rose to meet her
woman and man walked together
sharing memories of their own first hours
Lilith remembered a spirit on the waters
called to the sun to return her fire
Adam knew her now
and would not be afraid
but Adam
still afraid of woman's fire
forced Lilith to the ground
hoping to make her more like himself
but she continued calling
then Adam understood
the power of this holding
forced himself down upon her
Lilith felt his strength as pain
closed her eyes
first sleep of terror
deep inside her own darkness
under the fear of man
Lilith forgot her sky birth
and awoke
without memory
Eve
second woman
Eve opened her eyes
saw Adam standing large before her
he moved and revealed the sun
Adam said: I will call you woman
because you come from man
serve me
and I will protect you from strange fires
Eve upon the earth
gave herself to man
and God sad parent of creation
wept
seeing woman slave to man
and man afraid of woman
God knew
she must give them life and death
the passing of generations
so one future man and woman
as intended at creation
and God planted the tree of knowledge in the garden saying
You must choose eternity or knowledge
for on the day you eat this fruit
you shall surely die
and Eve said: I want to know
and felt a strange remembering
she saw the tree was good for food
and a delight to the eyes
so she took the fruit and ate it
Adam ate with her
then Eve heard the evening wind
moving in the garden
and some dark memory stirred her soul
a memory of fire
a spirit on the waters
Adam saw death
the lost eternity of man
and said: In pain you shall bear my children
your desire will be toward me
Eve left the garden
with her master
mourning a self not quite remembered
Lilith
we are your children
we are the changing generations
help us recover our wings of fire
so we can come together
woman and man
as intended by God
in the beginning
of creation
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Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1993 09:30:00 CST
From: Phyllis Holman Weisbard
(PWEIS@MACC.WISC.EDU)
Subject: Lilith
The Lilith poem was indeed published.The full
citation
is TAKING THE
FRUIT: MODERN WOMEN'S TALES OF THE BIBLE, edited by Jane Sprague Zones.
San
Diego: Woman's Institute for Continuing Jewish Education, 1989,
pp.17-21.
The
Plaskow re-telling is also in this book. This information took a bit of
digging.
I went to my bookshelves to find it, but it wasn't there. I then
remembered
that my 14 year old daughter (who gave her Bat Mitzvah speech on
Lilith)
had
borrowed it because she wanted to use the Plaskow story for a forensics
meet.
That meant I had to enter her room and literally dig around. The
archaeological
expedition was successful, probably because the forensics meet was from
a recent
layer of adolescent history.
More on Lilith can be found in THE BOOK OF LILITH,
by
Barbara Black
Koltuv. York Beach Maine: Nicolas-Hays, Inc., 1986.
Also, the "reason" for the Lilith stories originally
in Jewish midrashic
tradition is that there are two distinct creation stories in Genesis.
In
one the
two individuals are created at the same time; in the second, that rib
business
is told. So, the midrashists (rabbis of old, and anyone of now) needed
to find a
way to explain the two stories. One way was to invent a first woman,
pre-Eve, who was created equally. This couldn't then be allowed to work
out,
and it didn't. Lilith gets disgusted with Adam and flies away (she had
wings).
God sends angels to try to convince her to return, but she refuses.
Apparently
God couldn't force her to, but could punish her by having her (by now
demon)
babies killed. She prefers this to returning to Adam, and according to
midrash,
she takes revenge by injuring other women's babies (amulets ward her
off).
The
feminist re-tellings de-demonize her.
Phyllis Holman
Weisbard
(608) 263-5754
Acting Women's Studies
Librarian
pweis@wiscmacc (Bitnet)
University of Wisconsin
System
pweis@macc.wisc.edu (Internet)
Room 430 Memorial Library
728 State Street
Madison, WI 53706
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