The Torah tells us: “And the L-rd G-d planted a garden in Eden, to the east, and He placed there the man whom He had formed. And the L-rd G-d caused to sprout from the soil every tree which is pleasant of sight and good for food... and a river goes forth from Eden to irrigate the garden, and from there it is separated and becomes four headwaters... and the L-rd G-d took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and to guard it” (Genesis 2:8-15).

Suddenly, in the midst of describing the Garden of Eden, the Scripture breaks off the narrative and adds a verse about the river which flows outside of Eden. It appears to interrupt itself in order to tell us about the river. What lies behind this interjection?

Let us have a look at the verses that follow: “And the woman saw that the tree was good for eating… and she took of its fruits and she ate, and she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

This is the description of the sin of Adam and Eve. By eating of the forbidden fruit, Adam forfeited his immortality and that of all his progeny. The curse of Death came into the world, as a logical consequence of the imperfection which Adam and Eve introduced into the heretofore perfect universe. This was just what they were warned would happen concerning the Tree of Knowledge: “On the day of your eating from it, you shall surely die.”

As we all know, Adam's life did not end then and there. However, then and there, what did die a tragic death was his perfection, his wholeness, blamelessness, and his immortality. He was no longer on the spiritual standard of living which made him the ideal resident of the Garden of Eden. Henceforth, the gates of Eden were closed and barred before Adam and Eve. They would be compelled to live their lives on a far lower spiritual level. Henceforth, they were destined to struggle daily with the forces of evil and death which their transgression had released.

In Eden, body and soul, physical and spiritual, had been one harmonious entity, united in serving their Creator. This ideal situation no longer prevailed. From now on, Adam and Eve would be pulled in two opposite directions, between two opposite poles, good and evil, soul and body. For the rest of their lives, they would be torn between these two forces which were locked in a life-and-death struggle to dominate the life of mankind.

We cannot presume to imagine how profound was their remorse or how overwhelming their longing for the paradise they had lost. In his despair, Adam sought to retain some sliver of a bond with the treasure he had lost. To do so, he plunged into the waters of the “river which flows out of Eden.” There he could again sense the soothing whisper of the paradise which had once been his own, and was now lost.

This is why the Scriptures mention that a “river flows out of Eden” in the midst of telling us how G-d placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, how they failed to heed His commandment and came to sin. From here we learn that the inner essence of the Garden of Eden can be experienced – to a certain degree – even outside its borders, for it is transmitted to the world at large by the waters of the river that “flows out of Eden.” We, too, even in our times, can renew our link with Eden and its blessings through the waters of the river which flows out of it.

How do we go about it?