Whatever Happened to Lilith?
Storytime!
Once upon a modern time, there was a man and a woman. They both were from similar families and grew up to be beautiful and intelligent. They went to top-tiered universities and secured high paying jobs of their liking. They eventually found each other (like any good story goes) and got married. But soon, trouble hit paradise.
They had a disagreement that broke their marriage. The man believed himself to be superior and expected that his wife heeds everything he said. On the other hand, the woman disagreed and thought that they held equal power. When she got no recourse, eventually, she decided to leave their home and explore the world. The world was vast and beautiful, and she was happy (albeit a little lonely). In a moment of weakness, she almost returned back to her home. But her encounter with another man thwarted her plans. This man was different. More understanding. More her equal. He accompanied her in her quest to see the world, and they were happy.
Together, they had children. However, the past had a nasty habit of sneaking up on people. Her ex-husband, unable to take the humiliation, had sought the help of a powerful man (This story is turning into a Bollywood script). He wanted his wife back.
So, the powerful man sent three of his thugs to retrieve her, but to no avail. The woman was stubborn (I admire her for that) and refused to return. But then the thugs threatened to drown her in the sea and kill her children. Finally, she yielded but promised to herself she’ll seek revenge. She told herself that she’ll take away the powerful man’s children, similar to how he had taken away hers. An eye for an eye, if you may.
We don’t know what happened to her, but snippets for her story were passed around in society. Exaggerated bits were added to the original, and each version was more dramatic than the previous. They called her a demon and a thief. Why else will a woman take innocent children?
When I heard the story, I thought the woman was wronged (Not saying her vow for revenge was right). It was a blatant injustice. How couldn’t people see that?
Oh, before we get ahead, let’s give our characters some names, shall we! It’s getting hard to keep track of the characters.
The man and woman were otherwise called Adam and Lilith.
The other man, her sweet love, was called Samael, aka Lucifer (We’ll get to his story some other time!)
The powerful man was God.
The three thugs were Senoi, Sansenoi, and Sammangelof, respectively.
They both coming from similar backgrounds is an analogy to the fact that they were both made from earth.
(Is it starting to come together now? When it was told like any other story, I felt we judged it with better logic.)
In Genesis Rabbah, we encounter a midrash claiming that Adam had a first wife before Eve. This might be because there were two creation stories of Genesis. In Genesis 1, man and woman are created simultaneously from the earth. However, in Genesis 2, Adam precedes Eve, and she is made from Adam’s rib bone.
Lilith’s story has been mostly unrecorded (intentionally dropped, maybe?) In the versions that did tell her story, she is portrayed as the villain. She is the notorious demon in Jewish tradition, and in others, a thief of newborn infants. In some religious texts, Lilith is believed to be the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The first time Lilith’s story became public was in the Alphabet of Ben Sira during the 8th and 10th centuries. Some scholars say that the satire is a way to shed light on the social anxieties that lie at the center of the Alphabet.
Lilith is a ready scapegoat — a demonic, powerful, sexual woman onto whom blame for sexual impropriety can easily be placed. In this way, conceptions of Lilith actually create the space for deviance from the sexual norm, providing Jewish men with not only an explanation for their “impure” thoughts or actions, but even a justification.[1]
A few authors, like Ada Langworthy Collier, took to a different narration. In her narrative poem in five books (1885), she painted a picture that Lilith was really a creature of strong maternal instincts. She was inspired to write the book that is removed from its original implication when she discovered that the word “lullaby” is derived from “Lilith-Abi” (Hebrew for “Lilith, begone”).
In modern times, many have taken Lilith as a symbol of empowerment. She is an independent woman who challenges the oppressive system in which she is placed. The gory details of Lilith’s story, whether accurate or not, is believed to be the result of her solitude and exclusion. Her story is open to interpretation.
I believe Lilith was conveniently vilified to support what the system wanted the world to hear and adhere to (a woman is made subordinate to a man). The numerous renditions allow women to reinterpret and question archaic tradition to forge new and better paths. It also makes me wonder how many such characters, especially in religious contexts, have been slandered to manipulate mortals.
References
- Kinrich, Lauren, “Demon at the Doorstep: Lilith as a Reflection of Anxieties and Desires in Ancient, Rabbinic, and Medieval Jewish Sexuality” (2011). Pomona Senior Theses. Paper 4.
