Banishment Lament & Hope

If you will recall, God asked Adam, “Where are you?” A straightforward question in English, it is more complicated in Hebrew. “Eiphoh” is where in the physical world.
“Ayeh” is where in the metaphysical or philosophical sense.
This was a critical moment. Adam had eaten the Forbidden Fruit having disobeyed God’s command on the advice of a snake.

Where are you? (Genesis, 3:9)
Yesterday, you were with [Me and] my da'at. And now, you are with the da'at of the snake... (Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 19:9)

Moreover, ayeh has the same root letters [aleph yud kaf hei]as
Ayeh is the kind of question you can ask even when you know where something really is. It's a sadder and more mournful word than eiphoh. In a strange coincidence, ayekah is spelled with precisely the same Hebrew letters [aleph, yud, kaf, hei] as “eichah,” the cardinal Hebrew word for "lament".
Now, a great gulf exists between man and his Creator.
I brought Adam into the Garden of Eden and commanded him.
He transgressed My commands.
I decreed exile upon him.
And [upon his departure], I lamented "eichah / ayekah" ["where have you gone..."].
And so it was with his children.
I brought them into the Land of Israel and commanded them.
They transgressed My commands.
I decreed exile upon them.
And [upon their departure], I [once again] lamented "eichah / ayekah" ["where have you gone..."]
(Midrash Bereishis Rabbah 19:9).

God the Father would have been remiss if he had banished his children from Paradise without preparation for the cruel world. He made them fine clothes from animal skins.
The second gift was more obscure. The Father posted cherubs with flaming swords to prevent the children from returning to the Garden to eat any more forbidden fruit.
He picked Cherubs as guards an unlikely choice tiny fat and pink. Indeed, the only other time we read of Cherubs is when they adorn the Holy Ark in the Tabernacle guarding the Tablets of the Law [Torah].
The Torah is another Tree of Life – a tree of life to all who would grab hold of it.

Even as God banished us from Eden, He bequeathed to us the tools we would need to make it in the new world of our own making.

In conclusion, let me update this study through 1 May 2006.

After attaining the knowledge of good and evil, mankind became more godly -- more passionate, more desirous, more insistently creative. But we were only half-gods. To truly be godly means not just to be passionate, possessed of will, as God is. It means not just to create, as God creates -- but to wisely wield the fearsome power of creation. It means to fully control this power; not to be controlled by it. It means keeping passion in balance; realizing that there is a time to create, and a time to desist from creating.