Myth and a Midrashic Creation Story

What the myth does:

–addresses issues not brought up in the Genesis myth
a) creation of Torah, heaven and hell
b) shows God's speech as a living entity
c) shows Messiah was part of the cosmic plan
d) shows what happened "before Genesis"
e) links Exodus and Genesis by showing that the Torah existed before Sinai

–addresses morality and rules to follow
a) repentenance, importance of good behavior
b) establishes paradigmatic model of consultation rather than dictates

–establishes the relationship between God and humans as symbiotic
a) importance of religion as a communal experience
b) makes God more appealing than in the Genesis myth
c) explains the rabbinic point of view

–establishes Torah as vital part of cosmic plan
a) having a Torah in one's group would connect the group to the sacred
b) Torah was used to create our world
c) God and Torah work together to keep humans in line

–establishes nature of Torah
a) God addresses her as a peer
b) She plays the role of cosmic advisor (second in command?)
c) A living body – flexibility and change built in
d) Personified female (fertile, life-giving)

–answers questions humans would like to know
a) why are humans imperfect?
b) Is there an afterlife?

Why it would be taken seriously:

–comes from a source of authority, the Talmud
--comes from the oral tradition that Jews take seriously
–oral Torah explains and interprets the written one (Genesis account)
–an extension of the one they already know
–story of the origin of Torah, itself in the oral Torah, is itself sacred
–an embellishment, not contradiction, with Genesis myth

Meets Criteria for a myth -- Yes:

–sacred narrative
–answers unknown questions
–shapes the tradition
–deals with supernatural beings
–deals with beginnings
–captures a deeper truth
–written by a group
–provides guidelines for living
–considered true by members of tradition
--provides model for Jewish living: Jews "live the myth" by following the example of God taking counsel with the Torah

No:

–no ritual re-enactment of this myth
–doesn't contribute to group identity
--doesn't fit model of sacred breaking through into profane
--doesn't seem to be a "paradigmatic moment"
--not all followers of this tradition believe this myth