Baidarka

Adam and Eve as allegory.

Garden of Eden = innocent childhood
Snake = penis
Apple = sex ( Round sexy things, tits, balls, bellys, ass cheeks all fruit like)
Expulsion from the garden = loss of innocence and awakening to adult responsibility because sex leads to children.
God = stern parent warning innocent children to abstain from sex.

It is my contention that the garden of Eden was never meant to be taken literally. It was always meant to understood as a humorous statement about the human condition.

God warns A&E to stay innocent and pure or there will be bad consequences.
E arouses and is seduced by A's penis.
A is seduced by E
E becomes pregnant and A&E grow up and take on adult responsibility. They toil and suffer for their children.
This is an allegory which attempts to tell the story of the human condition.

Any thoughts about this? Any additions?

Anat

Have a look at Growing up in Eden?. It is more serious than you might be thinking. According to this interpretation the story of Eden is indeed an allegory of coming of age, with all the trouble this normally involves (teenage angst, the dreariness of adult existence). However, none of the changes is interpreted as punishment for sin. (I still have to understand what is meant by shame as opposed to guilt, though.)