Who is that Snake?

Genesis 3:15

Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [seed/zera] and her offspring [seed/zera] …He will pound your head, and you will bite his heel.”

Is the snake in this passage more than a snake? Could an angelic being be involved in this tragedy? Many Christians believe this snake to be an angel named Satan. Rather than an angelic being that is in line with HASHEM's divine will, they claim he is a fallen angel who is in rebellion of G-d's plan. This is contrary to the image of Satan in the book of Job, where Satan is unable to act without G-d's explicit approval and command. In Job 1:12 he asks G-d's permission to afflict Job and Job overcomes temptation to despair against HASHEM.

Satan is an adversary, which is the literal meaning of his name, created by G-d to challenge men. His role is similar to that of a prosecutor in a court of law, who questions and contests actions and motives. Satan is not acting on rebellious desires. He is acting according to G-d’s will, in conformity to the way G-d made him. When man is tested it is done by HASHEM’s command. None of the angels act without it.

On an interesting side note, there are many meanings derived from this account in Genesis. One midrash tells of an animal, indeed talking, that was jealous of Chava, wishing Adam had picked it instead as his companion. When rejected it felt vengeance and acted against the woman. The resulting consequences were perpetual enmity between the two and life altering changes in the physical makeup of both creatures.

We can learn an interesting lesson from this account, other than the danger of jealousy and revenge. We learn to never attribute words to HASHEM that were not from Him. This was Chava's mistake in claiming that HASHEM said to not touch the tree. In midrashic tales, the snake pushes Chava against the tree to prove that nothing comes of disobeying G-d. It might have been smart to refrain from touching the tree, but it is always important to remember G-d's original command, so as not to be led astray by confusion. She succumbed to this argument and digressed into serious sin.