Ta'anit 15 In Order of Importance: Fast Days, Rituals & Gan Eden

We begin with fascinating words by Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak.  Not all are fit for light, and not all are fit for gladness/happiness.  The righteous with light, and the upright with gladness.  This is because "Light is sown  for the righteous" and "gladness for the upright in heart" (Psalms 97:11).  I want to better understand the meanings of righteousness and of upright behaviour.  The implication is that light, a more spiritually pure experience is different than the reward of happiness or gladness.   

Perek II of Masechet Ta'anit begins with a very long mishna.  It outlines the six prayers that are added to the 18 prayers of the amida on fast days.  Those on the priestly watch are expected to fast less than those in the patrilineal family.  As the fast days progress, these community members have different obligations regarding fasting and other behaviours.  The mishna also outlines on which days of the week fast days are to be scheduled.

The Gemara begins to examine this mishna by looking at how people actually observed the fast days.  Did they go to synagogue?  In which order would people take burnt ashes and place them upon their heads.  First the Nasi, then the Deputy Nasi, and then every member of the community.  But is this what Rabbi Yehuda taught us?  The Gemara tells us that Rabbi Yehuda taught us that yes, we observe rituals of greatness in order of greatness.   But when the ritual involves a curse or a dishonour, we begin with the "least important member of the group" and ascend.  

The proof text for 'greatness'  is found in Leviticus (10:6) when Moses spoke to Aaron and then to Elazar and to Itamar.  Because Aaron is "more important" than his sons, we can assume that greatness travels from the greatest person down through the ranks.  The proof text for our rituals when dealing with a curse is more intriguing.   We are told that "the serpent was cursed first and  afterward Eve was cursed and afterward Adam was cursed".  And so Adam is the most important, followed by Eve, followed by the serpent.

What if Adam is not the most important person in this group, but instead he is simply the person who participated least in the betrayal?  And so the serpent is cursed first because of its role in the story and not because it is a less important creature?  To assume that Adam is more important than Eve, and that his status is what allowed him to be cursed last, fits very nicely with the world view of the rabbis who were creating these interpretations.  

Perhaps, just perhaps, if even one woman (well, one woman might be pushed aside by the men, so let's say three women) were part of this particular rabbinical discussion, this proof text using Adam as the 'most important' person might not have been defensible.  Perhaps - and this is a long shot - the rabbis would have been forced to examine something other than a hierarchical analysis of merit.  And if that had happened, well, who knows how our tradition might have evolved?