I heard the sound of You in the garden, he replied. I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. (Gen 3:10)
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אֶת־קֹלְךָ֥ שָׁמַ֖עְתִּי בַּגָּ֑ן וָאִירָ֛א כִּֽי־עֵירֹ֥ם אָנֹ֖כִי וָאֵחָבֵֽא׃
Qui ait: Vocem tuam audivi in paradiso: et timui, eo quod nudus essem, et abscondi me.
The place of happiness, life, and closeness has become a place of fear. However, it was not without hope of recovery. The biblical image of heaven referred to beautiful, ornamental, irrigated gardens at the palaces of rulers and nobles. We still have a living longing for paradise. We set up home gardens to enjoy the beauty of flowers and the taste of fruit, but we still long for something more. The fulfillment will be what the Book of Revelation says: I saw the new heaven and the new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more (Rev 21,1).
