This (on the left) is a translation of the myth of Lilith as it appears in the earliest source in Judaism in a wide clear way. this book - the Alpha-Beta of Ben-Sirah" was composed in Babylon in the 9th century, and was very popular amongst jews all over the jewish world for many centuries.

There are other places in Jewish litrature that speak about lilith, or about this interesting tradition that Eve was not the first woman on Earth but there was a previous woman that for a reason left before Eve was created. you can find it in the Talmud and in Midrash Rabah in several places.

Years ago I (Ohad) wrote a book about Lilith, that was published only in 2004 in Israel, and in Hebrew. This is the book cover (click on it to order it):

The book brings many sources about the myth of Lilith, many of then relatively unknown. The main issue though is the way that this story is understood in Lurianic Kabalah and the Zohar. There one can find a very interesting and even surprising information on the subject. The Archetype of Lilith, according to this Kabalistic school, is holding the higher spiritual power of the feminine. Therefor it was misunderstood by Adam, as well as by the patriarchs, and rejected. It was demonized as a result of this rejection, and women as well as men accepted this image of negativity towards the powerful, independent, intelligent and hyper sexual  aspect of femininity. This is an error in our human culture that is part of the exile of the holy Shechinah.

I wrote the book "Who's afraid of Lilith" in 98, in a period when i was learning in Hevruta with my colleague Reb M. Gafni, who helped me understand deeper the Biblical story of the house of Jacob, Rachel and Le'ah, and their dysfunctional relationships which became an important part of this book, and I thank him for that!

Rabbi Gershon Winkler read the book and wrote: "

A masterpiece! A classic!  With erudite scholarship and drawing from sources most of us know-it-alls have overlooked, Rabbis Ezrachi and Gafni have shattered the naivety that so sadly surrounds the Lillith Mythology and offered us instead a whole new and more accurate and positive portrayal of Lillith culled from the very same ancient and medieval tradition that has been for too long sorely misunderstood and misinterpreted. This awesome work will become a major classic to be studied and re-studied by both the novice and the scholar. Prepare yourself for an entirely fresh perspective from two rabbinic mavericks steeped in the knowledge of ancient Hebraic and Aramaic texts.

 Rabbi Gershon Winkler

Author of Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism

Working with the inner energies of "Lilith and The Great Demon" is an integral part of our KabaLove Kroovim workshops.

Lilith - the first woman on Earth:

"When God created Adam and saw that he was alone in this universe, God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone' (Gen. 2: 18). He immediately created a woman for him, who was taken from the earth, like he had been. He called her name Lilith, and       brought her to Adam. They both immediately began to quarrel.    He said, "You should lie underneath me," and she said: "You lie underneath me, as we were both created equally, and we both are of the earth!"

 Neither of them could convince the other.

When Lilith saw that this was the case, she pronounced God's ineffable name, flew into the air, and ran away. Adam immediately beseeched God in prayer, saying: "Master of the Universe! This woman You gave me has already run away."

The Holy One, blessed be He, immediately sent three angels, and He said to them: "Go bring Lilith back home! If she so desires, she will come. If not, do not bring her against her will."

These three angels went immediately... and found her in the sea, in the place where the Egyptians would drown in the future. They took her and said to her, "If you come with us, then all is well, and if not, we will drown you in the sea."

She said to them, "My friends, I know that the reason God created me was so that I could weaken the newborns until they are eight days old. From the day they are born until they      are eight days old, I have power over them. From eight days onward I have no more power over male babies, but if it is a female, I have power over it for twelve days."

They said to her: "If you don't come back with us, we will drown you in the sea!"

She said to them: "I cannot go back, because it is written in the Torah: "Then the first husband who divorced her shall not take her to wife again, since she has been defiled" and I have already slept with the Great Demon."

They said to her: "We will not leave you be until you agree that one hundred of your children die every day", and she accepted it."

from "Alpha-Beta de-Ben Sirah" a Jewish Midrash composed in Babylon in the 9th century.

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