A Mal’ach HaMavet– An Angel of Death, and a Tree of Life were all created on the same day, a few billion years ago. They were Yin and Yang. At first the Tree of Life only produced single cell organisms that reproduced by splitting, so evolution progressed very slowly through occasional genetic mutations. Each cell was a clone of another cell and while most died some always survived. Since the survivors were perfect reproductions and direct descendants of the original cells, they were literally immortal. (A wonderful TV documentary “Life on Our Planet” is a great introduction to life on our planet.)

The Mal’ach HaMavet did its job slaying single cells, as the Lord had commanded, but its contribution to The Tree of Life didn’t seem very important.

Then sexual reproduction began. Now as generations died the gene pool was modified through sexual selection, genetic drift and survival adaptation. Now the Angel of Death saw much more quickly and clearly the fruits of its labors. On land, in the forests of the Garden of Eden, the Mal’ach HaMavet developed a new great form of mass death: fire.

A ponderosa forest needs low-intensity wildfires, which burn every 2 to 12 years, to clear the forest floor of organic litter and allow for the reseeding of new grasses and other ‘under the branches’ plants. Without periodic fires in overcrowded forests, the trees become increasingly susceptible to attack by insects, pathogens, and catastrophic crown fires.

Some species of trees only drop their seeds after a fire, when conditions for reproduction are substantially improved. Forests need fire as animal species need predation; to prevent individual decline and decrepitude from afflicting the community Tree of Life.

The Tree of Life now grew healthier. The Angel of Death used natural catastrophes-acts of God, like fires, floods, volcanoes, and ice ages to accelerate evolution even more quickly; and the Tree of Life sprouted fruits with bigger brains and greater adaptability. There came a day when some creatures were even able to use and make fire.

Then one day God caused the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil to grow next to the Tree of Life. For eons none of the creatures paid attention to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, whose fruit was not that attractive. So the Lord commanded the Mal’ach HaMavet to work as a Satan-a tempter. Only one creature on planet Earth had the potential ability to discern right from wrong; but the male wasn’t interested.

Thank God, the female was attracted to the fruits of morality and desired to........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)