Parashat Bereishit
Diving Deeper: Saying No to Temptations
We are surrounded by temptations. A temptation is something that you want, even though you know it isn't good for you. Can you think of something tempting? It might be something delicious like cake or fun like video games or binge watching television.
It's hard to make the decision to eat healthily or to resist playing one more round or another episode. When we see something that is tempting, we know what the right decision is, but it can be so difficult to not give in.
In this week’s Torah portion we have one of the most famous examples of someone giving in to a temptation. Adam and Eve, the first human beings live in a paradise called the Garden of Eden. God told Adam that they could eat anything they wanted except for the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The most cunning creature, the Snake, tempts Eve convincing her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Then, she convinces Adam to eat from the Tree of Knowledge too. In the moment, they didn't consider the consequences of their actions. They were tempted and they gave in to their desires. For this mistake, God made Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden. They could not resist temptation and abide by the rules, so they were kicked out of paradise.
When we give in to small temptations, the consequences might not be as big as the ones Adam and Eve faced. But our actions still have consequences. When we give into temptation even though we know it is wrong, it's as though we are ignoring what we value. We lose important aspects of who we are and replace it with a brief moment of satisfaction. The thing that will make us happy now, might make us very unhappy later.
TALK TO YOUR KIDS about things that tempt you.
How do you handle it? How do you say no?
What tempts them? How do they say no?
Does thinking long-range help us to handle temptations in our lives?
Figure out a strategy to help them, and you, resist temptation. What can you do instead?
Based on work by Judy Greenberg, Rabbinical Student © 2012 Joyce and Fred Claar
It's hard to make the decision to eat healthily or to resist playing one more round or another episode. When we see something that is tempting, we know what the right decision is, but it can be so difficult to not give in.
In this week’s Torah portion we have one of the most famous examples of someone giving in to a temptation. Adam and Eve, the first human beings live in a paradise called the Garden of Eden. God told Adam that they could eat anything they wanted except for the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The most cunning creature, the Snake, tempts Eve convincing her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Then, she convinces Adam to eat from the Tree of Knowledge too. In the moment, they didn't consider the consequences of their actions. They were tempted and they gave in to their desires. For this mistake, God made Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden. They could not resist temptation and abide by the rules, so they were kicked out of paradise.
When we give in to small temptations, the consequences might not be as big as the ones Adam and Eve faced. But our actions still have consequences. When we give into temptation even though we know it is wrong, it's as though we are ignoring what we value. We lose important aspects of who we are and replace it with a brief moment of satisfaction. The thing that will make us happy now, might make us very unhappy later.
TALK TO YOUR KIDS about things that tempt you.
How do you handle it? How do you say no?
What tempts them? How do they say no?
Does thinking long-range help us to handle temptations in our lives?
Figure out a strategy to help them, and you, resist temptation. What can you do instead?
Based on work by Judy Greenberg, Rabbinical Student © 2012 Joyce and Fred Claar