A scribal post by my husband, Marc Michaels (a.k.a Mordechai Pinchas, sofer stam):
So one of my favourite kabbalistic touches happens in Bereshit where Adam and Eve are found to be [arumim] naked (2:25). In a number of sifrey Torah I have checked I have seen the ayin t'luyah - suspended ayin. My teacher's teacher Eric Ray also noted a few sightings in various scrolls.
[Picture] Both 2:25 and 3:1 close together in a kabbalistic scroll showing the ayin t'luyot.
I did search high and low for an explanation of these and eventually found something that explained that actually this represented Adam stretching up his neck from behind the bushes to look around to see if the coast was clear. Love that image! Can't find my original note with the source though.
In chapter 3 verse 1 the serpent too is described as arum - this time meaning cunning. And I guess the serpent's long neck is also looking up to see what mishief he can get up to.
Copyright © Marc Michaels
Link to his original Facebook post, complete with pictures, here:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=181799410324&id=55615525855&ref=mf
See his comprehensive scribal arts page at:
http://sofer.co.uk
