Girls in Trouble is an indie-folk song cycle about women in Torah by musician, writer and Torah teacher, Alicia Jo Rabins. The Girls in Trouble Curriculum links these musical midrashim with their source texts, Alicia's notes, and other artistic interpretations, inviting teachers, students, and individual learners on a journey through the world of women in Torah. We hope you enjoy this concise version of the Eve unit. To download the full unit, including teacher's notes, please visit www.girlsintroublemusic.com.
Behind the Music: Notes from singer/songwriter Alicia Jo Rabins
Eve is usually thought of as the first woman, less often considered as a mother. What might her complicated experience of motherhood teach us about the nature of parenthood and love itself?
After all, she was completely on her own. She had no mother of her own, no women friends, no parenting blogs. How can we imagine Eve’s experience? What does it mean that the first mother has such a complex and ultimately tragic experience of motherhood? And how can we reconcile Eve’s power as the Mother of all Living with her powerlessness as the mother of two feuding sons?
TEXT 1: THE NAMING OF EVE
(20) Adam named his wife Eve [Chava], because she was the mother of all living [em kol chai].
Questions for Discussion:
1. What do you think the phrase “mother of all living” means? What does it mean to you? What images or feelings does it evoke?
TEXT 2: CAIN AND ABEL
(1) Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have acquired a male child with the help of the Lord." (2) She then bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the soil. (3) In the course of time, Cain brought an offering to God from the fruit of the soil; (4) and Abel, for his part, brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. God paid heed to Abel and his offering, (5) but to Cain and his offering God paid no heed. Cain was much distressed and his face fell. (6) And God said to Cain,
"Why are you distressed,
and why is your face fallen?
(7) Surely, if you do right,
there is uplift.
But if you do not do right
sin crouches at the door;
its urge is toward you,
yet you can be its master."
(8) Cain said to his brother Abel. [...]And when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him. (9) God said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (10) Then God said, "What have you done? Hark, your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground! (11) Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. (12) If you till the soil, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall become a ceaseless wanderer on earth."
(13) Cain said to God, "My punishment is too great to bear! (14) Since You have banished me this day from the soil, and I must avoid Your presence and become a restless wanderer on earth — anyone who meets me may kill me!" (15) God said to him, "I promise, if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be taken on him." And God put a mark on Cain, lest anyone who met him should kill him. (16) Cain left the presence of God and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
(25) Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, meaning, "God has provided me with another offspring in place of Abel," for Cain had killed him.
Translation: Adapted from JPS
Questions for Discussion:
1. What do you imagine Eve’s experience of the Cain and Abel story to be?
2. Eve and Adam are absent from most of the Cain and Abel story above. Where do you imagine they might have been during this time?
3. What feelings does the passage about Adam and Eve's third son, Seth, evoke for you?
4. What do you think is the relationship between the Torah's calling Eve "Mother of all Living" and her experience as the mother of three sons?
SONG LYRICS
OPEN THE GROUND
a song in Eve’s voice by Alicia Jo Rabins/Girls in Trouble
The raven showed us how to open the ground
And feed it what it grew
But all the while as we buried your brother
I was thinking of you
Where would you wander
And would you ever stay
And could I have taught you
Some other way
The pain was so terrible
I thought I was dying
I thought that I would split in two
But a sound came from me
And I opened wide
And then, there was you
I didn’t want to tame you
I loved you as you were
If I’d had a mother
Maybe I’d have learned from her
Will some woman love you
In that faraway place
For the strength in your hands
And the mark on your face
Seven times seven
How much is it worth?
Flaxseed and blood,
All the fruit of the earth.
What did you say
Out in the field that day
And how did he answer you
You always were convinced
That you were somehow less than him
Though I told you it wasn’t true
And who is counted lucky,
the living or the dead
When sin is always crouching
just ahead?
Questions:
1. Who is Eve singing to in this song?
2. What is your response to this song? What emotions, memories or images does it
evoke for you?
3. When you imagine Eve as a mother, is it similar to or different from this song's portrayal? How?
For more songs and study guides about women in Torah, as well as upcoming performances, come visit us at www.girlsintroublemusic.com.