This narrative essay revises the Jewish folklore of Adam and Eve according to the well-known mystical tradition of Lilith, a new introduction to the scriptural story. This essay is a story with an obvious moral undertone that constitutes a kind of Jewish Feminism that defines Plaskow's academic influence.
The story is epic and archetypal; The Lord creates Adam, but not Eve just yet; instead, he creates Adam in twain with a perfect female counterpart to his own nature. For instance, Lilith is born of the dirt and breath, like Adam. One day, Adam is barking orders at Lilith to clean up around the garden and bring him his afternoon figs, and Lilith decides she has had enough. She walks off into the jungle. When God comes back to check in on the little human family, Adam tells him that Lilith has run off into the wilderness.
God tries to convince Lilith to return, but Lilith refuses to live in a family where her only role is to be a slave to a lazy husband who has no respect for her sovereign nature and divine worth. God threatens her, but she is not swayed. Then, he puts Adam into a deep sleep (resuming the scriptural narrative), and Eve is born from his ribcage. After a while, though, the Lord continues analyzing his handiwork and he notices that, actually, Lilith had a point, and Eve's role as "helper" has spoiled Adam's character.
Eve learns about Adam's first wife and ends up very curious about Lilith. She climbs the forbidden wall and visits Lilith in her side of the garden. They are very cordial and familial, and they instantly strike up a fascinating and conversational dialogue about life and reality, and Adam. They laugh together and cry and tell stories. At home, this encounter has an immediate effect on Eve's character. She is no longer passive and helpless. God decides that his own nature must be dynamic, because his reality demands chronic improvement toward a new ideal.
