Gan Eden- The Deeper Lesson

Ah, Gan Eden. The rich, beautiful home of Adam and Chava, locked away and guarded by an angel with a fiery sword. Many have tried in vain to find it- but doesn't the Torah give us coordinates?

בראשית ב׳:י׳-י״ד

(י) וְנָהָרּ֙ יֹצֵ֣א מֵעֵ֔דֶן לְהַשְׁק֖וֹת אֶת־הַגָּ֑ן וּמִשָּׁם֙ יִפָּרֵ֔ד וְהָיָ֖ה לְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה רָאשִֽׁים׃ (יא) שֵׁ֥ם הָֽאֶחָ֖ד פִּישׁ֑וֹן ה֣וּא הַסֹּבֵ֗ב אֵ֚ת כָּל־אֶ֣רֶץ הַֽחֲוִילָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־שָׁ֖ם הַזָּהָֽב׃ (יב) וּֽזֲהַ֛ב הָאָ֥רֶץ הַהִ֖וא ט֑וֹב שָׁ֥ם הַבְּדֹ֖לַח וְאֶ֥בֶן הַשֹּֽׁהַם׃ (יג) וְשֵֽׁם־הַנָּהָ֥ר הַשֵּׁנִ֖י גִּיח֑וֹן ה֣וּא הַסּוֹבֵ֔ב אֵ֖ת כָּל־אֶ֥רֶץ כּֽוּשׁ׃ (יד) וְשֵׁ֨ם הַנָּהָ֤ר הַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙ חִדֶּ֔קֶל ה֥וּא הַֽהֹלֵ֖ךְ קִדְמַ֣ת אַשּׁ֑וּר וְהַנָּהָ֥ר הָֽרְבִיעִ֖י ה֥וּא פְרָֽת׃

Genesis 2:10-14

(10) And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads. (11) The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; (12) and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. (13) And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. (14) And the name of the third river is Tigris; that is it which goeth toward the east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

שמואל א ט״ו:ז׳

(ז) וַיַּ֥ךְ שָׁא֖וּל אֶת־עֲמָלֵ֑ק מֵֽחֲוִילָה֙ בּוֹאֲךָ֣ שׁ֔וּר אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י מִצְרָֽיִם׃

I Samuel 15:7

(7) And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is in front of Egypt.

Havilah is the only place mentioned that isn't so clear where it is; see here for the author's approximation. Cush, we know to be Ethiopia, so we can assume that the Nile is being referred to here; and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are apparent on any (reasonable) modern map of Iraq.

However, the facts don't seem to add up logically. These four different rivers are not in the same place, or even start from the same source! Thus, Gan Eden cannot be a physical location on this world.
However, there is something about the rivers that they all have in common: They are the main rivers of the places that Bnei Yisrael dwelled in during the time of the Tanach.

שמות י״ב:מ׳

(מ) וּמוֹשַׁב֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָשְׁב֖וּ בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה וְאַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָֽה׃

Exodus 12:40

(40) Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

מלכים ב י״ז:כ״ג

(כג) עַ֠ד אֲשֶׁר־הֵסִ֨יר יְהוָ֤ה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מֵעַ֣ל פָּנָ֔יו כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבֶּ֔ר בְּיַ֖ד כָּל־עֲבָדָ֣יו הַנְּבִיאִ֑ים וַיִּ֨גֶל יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל מֵעַ֤ל אַדְמָתוֹ֙ אַשּׁ֔וּרָה עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ (פ)

II Kings 17:23

(23) until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, as He spoke by the hand of all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria, unto this day.

ירמיהו נ״ב:כ״ז

(כז) וַיַּכֶּ֣ה אוֹתָם֩ מֶ֨לֶךְ בָּבֶ֧ל וַיְמִתֵ֛ם בְּרִבְלָ֖ה בְּאֶ֣רֶץ חֲמָ֑ת וַיִּ֥גֶל יְהוּדָ֖ה מֵעַ֥ל אַדְמָתֽוֹ׃

Jeremiah 52:27

(27) And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.

From this, we see that Gan Eden is wherever Bnei Yisrael are. To quote:

מגילה כט. 16-21

תניא ר"ש בן יוחי אומר בוא וראה כמה חביבין ישראל לפני הקב"ה שבכל מקום שגלו שכינה עמהן גלו למצרים שכינה עמהן שנאמר (שמואל א ב, כז) הנגלה נגליתי לבית אביך בהיותם במצרים וגו' גלו לבבל שכינה עמהן שנאמר (ישעיהו מג, יד) למענכם שלחתי בבלה

Megillah 29a:4

It was taught: Rabbi Yishmael says, "Come and see how much Israel is loved before the Holy One, Blessed be He, for in every place that they were exiled to, the [Divine] presence was with them. They were exiled to Egypt- the [Divine] presence was with them, as it says, "Did I reveal myself to you and to your father's house when they were in Egypt, etc. (I Samuel 2:27)."

They were exiled to Babylon, and the [Divine] presence was with them, as it is said, "For your sake I have sent to Babylon (Isaiah 43:14)."