Before God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden, He made them clothes of skin. Some Jewish commentators say that before Adam and Chava (Eve) sinned, their bodies were clothed with light, and that as a result of their sin, the garments of light were replaced by garments of skin. Does the text support this concept?
When read in Hebrew, it becomes clear why Jewish sages said that. The Hebrew word for “skin” is “OR” (עוֹר): “ayin vav resh”. The Hebrew word for “light” is also “OR” אור) ) but spelled “aleph vav resh”. Originally, God clothed Adam and his wife in garments of celestial light. Why did they lose them?
Here is the beauty of Hebrew: the whole story is in its letters! Hebrew words for light and skin differ in one letter only: aleph for light and ayin for skin. The numeric value of aleph is 1, of Ayin is 70. The difference between them is 69, represented by the Hebrew letters Samech (ס) and Tet (ט). The root of the word samech means “to lean upon”, “to support”. The pictograph for tet looks like a snake. By leaning upon the snake, Adam and Eve lost their garments of light (אור) and had to be clothed in garments of skin (עוֹר).
You don’t have to accept this interpretation, of course, but it’s good to know that in the Hebrew text, even one letter can change the story. And, as we approach the New Year, may this text remind us: what we lean upon – matters! A whole world of meaning is hidden in just one Hebrew letter!