Entire books & dissertations could be written about various religions that began in a more egalitarian or feminist manner, and then patriarchal attitudes suppressed and/or eradicated those voices... 😢 #ParshaChat

💖💔🫂 Thank you for sharing this. I admired Mel from afar for so long. Such a beautiful fierce cheerful joyous spirit. #ParshaChat

I’d learned that the Hebrew people were originally more feminist/matriarchal and pivoted towards patriarchal around 2000BC, but we still see echoes of the earlier traditions. #ParshaChat

True. I'd wager most folks don't realize that there are many names for God in Biblical Hebrew. As a second-wave feminist, I was very pleased when I learned that several of God's names were in the feminine gender, somewhat unique, given the patriarchal nature of most religious discourse. #ParshaChat

But dates are soooo delicious! Date honey … yum #ParshaChat

We've reached the end of the scheduled #ParshaChat, but please feel free to continue the conversation!

A Date Palm Tree of Life would be a lot easier to resist temptation to pick fruit from! #ParshaChat

I guess one thing about the possibility of it being figs is that figs are pretty easy to reach and pick. My elementary school had a fig tree that we weren't allowed to pick the figs from, so of course all of us did. It wasn't hard.
#ParshaChat

Given the era in which the story was first told, I assume the people of that time envisioned a fig or a date or some other fruit they would have been familiar with. #ParshaChat

I learned yesterday that one of the traditional names of Hashem is Shalom. I never hear people use Shalom that way, as God’s name. #Parshachat

This is reminding me of the affinity that Mel Baggs had with trees in general and the Mother Tree in particular. #ParshaChat

The Torah isn't specific at all except about it being some kind of tree fruit. I kind of imagine it as shiny and coming from something like a giant redwood tree. #ParshaChat

Applause!! #ParshaChat

We're a visual culture, and many folks think it was an apple because of Michelangelo's painting. Of course, the Hebrew Bible never refers to it as an apple... #ParshaChat

When I was a child in a broken home, I’d sit touching the bark of a large tree and have mental conversations with it. I’d listen to its rootedness as a tool for survival. #ParshaChat

And also important to acknowledge their limits, both material limits and ethical limits. #Parshachat

Even the Tanakh uses more than one name for the deity. English translations are all "God" or "The Lord." But Biblical Hebrew (as you know) refers to God by attributes, by qualities, etc. I'd imagine that people prayed based on their experience of who God was to them. #ParshaChat

That said, when we see our relationship to the natural world as *solely* one of domination, bad things happen.

But I do think it's important to acknowledge the power dynamics involved. #ParshaChat

And likewise animals: We do a lot of animal breeding, a lot of domestication, a lot of dog training, etc. And in the case of zoos, a lot of proactive species preservation. #ParshaChat

When I grew up, I learned it was translated as stewardship. That’s what I taught my children. I’m uncomfortable with “rulership” in a way I’m not with “stewardship.” We have a duty to protect and preserve and guide those we steward. Like David Brin’s beautiful idea of Uplift. #ParshaChat