Symbolism In Judith Plaskow's The Coming Of Lilith

What would Lilith say if she met Eve in the Garden of Eden? That is exactly what Judith Plaskow tries to answer in her story, “The Coming of Lilith”. This story is a poignant retelling of the story of Adam and Eve that is documented in Genesis chapters 2 and 3. In Plaskow’s retelling, she goes off-script and adds some interesting interactions between Lilith, Adam, Eve and God. This retelling of Adam and Eve’s story breaks through the patriarchal ways that this myth has been understood and seeks to help modern women gain a new understanding of their place within Judaism and Christianity by going deeper into Lilith and Eve’s part of the story. Plaskow does this by combining the familiar parts of this story with new additions.

This retelling of

Basically, Midrash is a kind of commentary on the Torah and the other sacred texts of Judaism. The goal of this commentary is to help contemporary readers make sense of the ancient writings. I think that when Judith Plaskow wrote “The Coming of Lilith” she was trying to make sense of the competing images of women that Judaism presents.

On the one hand, you have Lilith-the rebellious and murderous women who steals children and seduces men. But on the other hand, you have Eve-the subservient and misguided wife whose actions ultimately lead to the fall of humanity. These two women are polar opposites, but in the end, the actions of both lead to calamity. I think that Plaskow wanted to see women put in a brighter light within Judaism, so she interprets the story so that women are the ones who are in the right, and the men are the misguided ones. She uses a variety of tones through her writing to hit this point

Plaskow writes about how Eve was mystified to see another woman like herself that was so powerful and her curiosity made her want to learn more about this strong woman. It’s inspiring that instead of the making the women hate each other and fight for Adam and God’s love, Plaskow makes it so that they find love and acceptance from each other and plan to build a future for themselves based on their sisterly love.

“The Coming of Lilith” is a powerful retelling of the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It is an intriguing retelling that combines the characters we know and has them interacting in ways that we would never have imagined. Judith Plaskow tells the story in a way that is skeptical of the patriarchal society that we live in as but provides empowering role models for women in the independent versions of Eve and Lilith. This story is a prime example of Midrash and the ever-continuing efforts of women to find their place in male dominated