Lilith Flees From The Apparition Of Eve

I'm talking about Lilith.

The tales surrounding Lilith are wild and varied, and one particular story, found woven within the mystical threads of the Zohar (1:19b), paints a fascinating picture of her encounter with Adam... and a rather unusual Eve.

Imagine this: God creates Adam, but it's not quite the Adam we all know. According to this tradition, Eve wasn't yet a separate being. Instead, she was attached to Adam's back! Some accounts go even further, suggesting she wasn't fully "real" yet, merely an apparition, a vision of perfect beauty "like that of the realms above." It's a truly striking image, isn't it? A being both male and female, whole and yet… incomplete. This idea seems to stem from the verse in Genesis 1:27: "In the image of God He created him, male and female He created them."

Now, enter Lilith. She approaches Adam, perhaps with the intention of seduction, thinking he's alone. But then, she sees Eve. Not a fully formed woman standing beside him, but this… image attached to his back.

What happens next? Lilith flees.

But why? Was she simply intimidated by the fact that Adam wasn't alone? Or was it something more? The Zohar suggests that Eve’s beauty, being the image of God (tzelem in Hebrew), far surpassed Lilith’s own. It’s as if she recognized a divine perfection she couldn't compete with. Gershom Scholem, a renowned scholar of Kabbalah, even proposed that tzelem signifies a kind of astral body, adding another layer of mystique to Eve’s ethereal form.

So, where does Lilith run? According to this story, she flees to the cherubim, the angelic beings who guard the gates of the Garden of Eden, as described in Genesis 3:24. Why she sought them out remains a mystery. Perhaps she desired a human body herself, or perhaps she thought she could somehow gain entry into the Garden. Whatever her intentions, the cherubim turn her away.

And then, God steps in. He sends Lilith to the depths of the Cities of the Sea. There she remains, exiled, until Adam and Eve commit their fateful sin. With their transgression, God frees Lilith from her watery prison, allowing her to roam the world. She returns to the cherubim, lingering near the fiery, ever-turning sword that guards the way to the Tree of Life. She's close, but still shut out.

The story doesn't end there. Some say she still bides her time, emerging when the moon wanes, seeking revenge on the children of Eve. But others believe God has exiled her again, to the Cities of the Sea, until the prophesied destruction of Rome. Only then, they say, will God bring Lilith from the depths and settle her in Rome's desolate ruins.

The Zohar (3:19a) offers another perspective, describing Eve as being fastened to Adam's side when God breathes the breath of life into him. This act infuses his body with a living soul. Here, the female, still connected to the male, almost feels like what Carl Jung called the anima – the feminine side of a man that he must integrate to achieve wholeness. Eventually, however, God separates them, "preparing" Eve as an independent person, perhaps transforming her from image to living being, or, as some midrashim suggest, preparing her as a bride for Adam (Gen. 2:22).

Kabbalistic thought offers a broader understanding, viewing Lilith not just as a demoness but as the embodiment of the Sitra Ahra, "the Other Side," the realm of darkness and demonic power. Eve, in contrast, represents the world of holiness.

What are we to make of this strange and evocative tale? It's a reminder that the stories we think we know often have hidden depths, filled with complex characters and challenging ideas. The story of Lilith's flight from the apparition of Eve forces us to consider the nature of creation, the meaning of image, and the eternal struggle between light and shadow within ourselves. It reminds us that even in paradise, there's always more than one story unfolding.

Commentary

Some say that she still bides her time there until the moon is on the wane and the light diminishes. Then she comes forth from the gates of the Garden and flies through the world seeking revenge against the children of Eve. But others say that God has exiled her once again to the Cities of the Sea, and that she will remain there until Rome is destroyed. Then God will bring Lilith from the depths and settle her in Rome's desolate ruins. This myth is a good example of how the Zohar takes an existing midrash and transforms it into a kabbalistic one. The midrash on which this myth is based ( B . Eruv. 14a) describes Adam and Eve as having been created back to back. That image recurs here (Zohar 1:19b), but it seems to suggest that rather than being a flesh and blood creature. Eve is more of an apparition, a perfect image. This interpretation grows out of the verse In the image of God He created him , male and female He created them (Gen. 1:27). Tzelem, the word for "image," has many mystical meanings. Here it seems to suggest that Eve is more of an archetype than a person. Lilith is intimidated by this vision, either because she realizes that Adam is already with another woman, or because Eve's supernal beauty (which is, after all, that of the image of God) so greatly transcends her own. Gershom Scholem suggests that tzelem is a kind of astral body (On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead , pp. 251-273). Then the myth recounts that Lilith flees to the cherubim, who guard the gates of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:24). Her reasons for seeking out the cherubim are not clear, but it is possible that she, too, wanted a human body In any case, the cherubim guarding the gates of Eden turn her away and God imprisons her in the depths of the sea. But Adam's sin causes God to set her free, and she comes as close as she can to the Garden of Eden— still, it seems, desiring entry there— while using the night to seek harm against human infants, which, it is implied, is her revenge against Eve. Zohar 3:19a describes Eve as being fastened to Adam's side, rather than his back, at the time that God breathes the breath of life into him, and this living soul pervades his body. In both of these sources from the Zohar it seems that the female plays a role similar to that defined by Carl Jung as the anima, the feminine side of a man, whose presence must be discovered and integrated in order for a man to achieve wholeness. Eventually, however, God splits Adam and prepares Eve as an independent person (Zohar 3:19a). Here "prepares" can be understood as transforming Eve from her image into a living person, or, more closely following the midrashim about the wedding of Adam and Eve, preparing her as a bride for Adam. Or both, for this same passage from the Zohar also states that the reason Lilith fled was that she saw God bringing Eve to Adam, dressed as a bride (Gen. 2:22). Kabbalistic cosmology offers an entirely different way of viewing this myth of Lilith and Eve. Here Lilith represents not a demoness, but the whole side of evil in the Sitra Ahra, "the Other Side," the domain of dark emanations and demonic power. Eve, likewise represents the world of holiness. See "Adam the Hermaphrodite," p. 138, and "The First Wedding," p. 143.

Lilith Flees From The Apparition Of Eve

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