וַיְשַׁלְחֵהוּ יְהוָּה אֱלֹהִים מִגַן-עֵדֶן,לַעֲבֹּד אֶת-הָּאֲדָּמָּה,אֲשֶׁר לקַח מִשָּם.
Vayeshalechehu Adonai Elohim miggan-eden, la'avod et-ha'adamah, asher lukach misham.
“And the Lord God expelled him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.”
The expulsion from the Garden of Eden was a crucial step in the spiritual evolution of humankind, as, although many view it as a punishment, it is actually, within the duality that characterizes our experiences, an opportunity for us, as children of the Creator, to face the challenges of the material world and, through them, achieve our redemption.
The Garden of Eden represents a state of purity and direct connection with the divine, while the "earth" in which we currently dwell as a critical mass represents a physical reality that contains specific challenges; therefore, by working, we assume the task of transforming and redeeming ourselves.
Instead of enjoying fruits without effort, humans must actively participate in creation, cultivating and elevating the material world toward the spiritual, a task that is essential for redemption and the restoration of the original state of harmony with the divine.
This is why the word "אֲדָּ מָּ ה" (adamah, "earth"), with its numerical value of 50 (Alef = 1, Dalet = 4, Mem = 40, Hei = 5), also speaks to us of freedom and redemption, as this number is associated with the jubilee, a time of liberation and restoration in Jewish tradition.
The term "גַן -עֵדֶ ן " (gan-eden, "Garden of Eden") has a numerical value of 124 (Gimel = 3, Nun = 50, Ayin = 70, Dalet = 4, Nun = 50), calling us to a state of fullness and blessing that was lost with the expulsion, but which remains a goal for humanity to achieve through work and spiritual effort.
Let us not lose sight of the importance of work and effort in life, for although the expulsion from the Garden of Eden symbolizes the entrance into a state where effort is necessary to attain fullness and connection with the divine, it is also clear that working the earth becomes a metaphor for the luminous inner growth that each person must undertake to transform their life and attain redemption.
Faith reminds us that, although we are intrinsically connected to the material world, our mission is to elevate and purify it, a process that ensures that every conscious action we take to improve our surroundings and ourselves brings us closer to the state of harmony and fullness that the Garden of Eden represents.