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Share( האש למי לוי אמר ל"ו שעות שמשה אותה האור, שתים עשרה של ערב שבת שנברא בו אדם, וכיון ששקעה חמה בערב שבת בקש הקב"ה לגנזה וחלק כבוד לשבת, וכ"ד של שבת וי"ב של ערב שבת הרי ל"ו, כששקעה חמה במוצאי שבת אמר אדם הראשון עולם חשך בעדי וזימן לו הקב"ה שני רעפים להקישן זה בזה ויצא מהן אש, ובירך עליה אדם
According to Levi ... after the Sabbath When the world sank into darkness as a result of G*d withdrawing the original light, as part of Adam’s punishment for having violated G*d's commandment not to eat from the tree of knowledge, Adam was disconsolate and exclaimed (Psalms 139,11) “is darkness to conceal me permanently?” G*d responded to his cry of anguish by replacing the original light with fire, sparks, by teaching him how to produce fire by striking two flints against each other. Having been successful in this, Adam blessed the fire.
(ח) וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֞וּ אֶת־ק֨וֹל יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים מִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ בַּגָּ֖ן לְר֣וּחַ הַיּ֑וֹם וַיִּתְחַבֵּ֨א הָֽאָדָ֜ם וְאִשְׁתּ֗וֹ מִפְּנֵי֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים בְּת֖וֹךְ עֵ֥ץ הַגָּֽן׃ (ט) וַיִּקְרָ֛א יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ אַיֶּֽכָּה׃
(י) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אֶת־קֹלְךָ֥ שָׁמַ֖עְתִּי בַּגָּ֑ן וָאִירָ֛א כִּֽי־עֵירֹ֥ם אָנֹ֖כִי וָאֵחָבֵֽא׃ (יא) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מִ֚י הִגִּ֣יד לְךָ֔ כִּ֥י עֵירֹ֖ם אָ֑תָּה הֲמִן־הָעֵ֗ץ אֲשֶׁ֧ר צִוִּיתִ֛יךָ לְבִלְתִּ֥י אֲכׇל־מִמֶּ֖נּוּ אָכָֽלְתָּ׃ (יב) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הָֽאָדָ֑ם הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָתַ֣תָּה עִמָּדִ֔י הִ֛וא נָֽתְנָה־לִּ֥י מִן־הָעֵ֖ץ וָאֹכֵֽל׃
(יג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים לָאִשָּׁ֖ה מַה־זֹּ֣את עָשִׂ֑ית וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה הַנָּחָ֥שׁ הִשִּׁיאַ֖נִי וָאֹכֵֽל׃
(יד) וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֥ים ׀ אֶֽל־הַנָּחָשׁ֮ כִּ֣י עָשִׂ֣יתָ זֹּאת֒ אָר֤וּר אַתָּה֙ מִכׇּל־הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה וּמִכֹּ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה עַל־גְּחֹנְךָ֣ תֵלֵ֔ךְ וְעָפָ֥ר תֹּאכַ֖ל כׇּל־יְמֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃ (טו) וְאֵיבָ֣ה ׀ אָשִׁ֗ית בֵּֽינְךָ֙ וּבֵ֣ין הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה וּבֵ֥ין זַרְעֲךָ֖ וּבֵ֣ין זַרְעָ֑הּ ה֚וּא יְשׁוּפְךָ֣ רֹ֔אשׁ וְאַתָּ֖ה תְּשׁוּפֶ֥נּוּ עָקֵֽב׃
(טז) אֶֽל־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה אָמַ֗ר הַרְבָּ֤ה אַרְבֶּה֙ עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ בְּעֶ֖צֶב תֵּֽלְדִ֣י בָנִ֑ים וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֵ֔ךְ וְה֖וּא יִמְשׇׁל־בָּֽךְ׃
(יז) וּלְאָדָ֣ם אָמַ֗ר כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֘עְתָּ֮ לְק֣וֹל אִשְׁתֶּ֒ךָ֒ וַתֹּ֙אכַל֙ מִן־הָעֵ֔ץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר צִוִּיתִ֙יךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֥א תֹאכַ֖ל מִמֶּ֑נּוּ אֲרוּרָ֤ה הָֽאֲדָמָה֙ בַּֽעֲבוּרֶ֔ךָ בְּעִצָּבוֹן֙ תֹּֽאכְלֶ֔נָּה כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃ (יח) וְק֥וֹץ וְדַרְדַּ֖ר תַּצְמִ֣יחַֽ לָ֑ךְ וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ אֶת־עֵ֥שֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ (יט) בְּזֵעַ֤ת אַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ תֹּ֣אכַל לֶ֔חֶם עַ֤ד שֽׁוּבְךָ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כִּ֥י מִמֶּ֖נָּה לֻקָּ֑חְתָּ כִּֽי־עָפָ֣ר אַ֔תָּה וְאֶל־עָפָ֖ר תָּשֽׁוּב׃
(8) They heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (9) The LORD God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
(10) He replied, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” (11) Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?” (12) The man said, “The woman You put at my side—she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
(13) And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done!” The woman replied, “The serpent duped me, and I ate.”
(14) Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you did this, More cursed shall you be Than all cattle And all the wild beasts: On your belly shall you crawl And dirt shall you eat All the days of your life. (15) I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your offspring and hers; They shall strike at your head, And you shall strike at their heel.”
(16) And to the woman He said, “I will make most severe Your pangs in childbearing; In pain shall you bear children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
(17) To Adam He said, “Because you did as your wife said and ate of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ Cursed be the ground because of you; By toil shall you eat of it All the days of your life: (18) Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you. But your food shall be the grasses of the field; (19) By the sweat of your brow Shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, For from it you were taken. For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
Rabbi Yosei bar Zimra said: Three matters were stated regarding that tree: That it was good for eating, pleasing to the eye, and suited for increasing wisdom” – and the three of them were stated in one verse. “The woman saw that…was good” – from here we learn that it was good; “and that it was an enticement to the eyes” – from here we learn that it was pleasing to the eye; “and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom [lehaskil]” – from here we learn that it was suitable for increasing wisdom, just as it says: “A contemplation [maskil] by Eitan the Ezrahite” (Psalms 89:1).
“She took from its fruit and ate” – Rabbi Aivu said: She squeezed grapes and gave it to him [Adam]. Rabbi Simlai said: She came to him persuasively. She said to him: ‘What, do you think that I will die and another Eve will be created for you? “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Or, perhaps [you think that] I will die and you will sit alone? “He did not create it [the world] for emptiness, He formed it to be inhabited”’ (Isaiah 45:18).
The Rabbis say: She began sobbing at him plaintively with her voice.
“Also [gam]” is an inclusive term; [as well as Adam,] she also fed the animals, the beasts, and the birds. All of them heeded her [and ate of the fruit] except for one bird that is called ḥol. That is what is written: “I will live many days, like the ḥol” (Job 29:18). The school of Rabbi Yanai says: It lives a thousand years, and at the end of a thousand years, fire emerges from its nest and burns it. An egg-bulk remains of it and it then grows limbs, and lives again. Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Shimon says: It lives a thousand years, and at the end of one thousand years, its body wastes away and its wings are shed. But an egg-bulk remains of it and it then grows limbs, and lives again.
(א) היה כאחד ממנו. הֲרֵי הוּא יָחִיד בַּתַּחְתּוֹנִים כְּמוֹ שֶׁאֲנִי יָחִיד בָּעֶלְיוֹנִים, וּמַה הִיא יְחִידוּתוֹ? לָדַעַת טוֹב וָרָע, מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בִּבְהֵמָה וְחַיָּה
(ב) ועתה פן ישלח ידו. וּמִשֶּׁיִּחְיֶה לְעוֹלָם הֲרֵי הוּא קָרוֹב לְהַטְעוֹת הַבְּרִיּוֹת אַחֲרָיו, וְלוֹמַר אַף הוּא אֱלוֹהַּ. וְיֵשׁ מִדְרְשֵׁי אַגָּדָה, אֲבָל אֵין מְיֻשָּׁבִין עַל פְּשׁוּטוֹ:
(א) כאחד ממנו לדעת טוב ורע הוא יודע טוב ורע עם היותו בצלמנו
ואם יהיה נצחי בזה הענין הנה ירדוף כל הימים אחר הערב וישליך אחרי גיוו כל השגה שכלית וכל מעשה טוב
ולא ישיג האושר הרוחני המכוון מאת האל ית' בצלמו ודמותו:
(1) כאחד ממנו לדעת טוב ורע, he will know good and evil even while continuing to wear “our image.” This would be an intolerable situation, as in spite of his tendency to give in to his evil urge he would live on forever.
[the author considers בצלמנו as a reference to the infinite life prevailing among the celestial beings. Ed.]
In such circumstances, this Adam whose evil urge was active would continue to chase the material blessings of this world, something which would prevent him from reaching the spiritual aims set for him on earth when G’d made him in the divine image.
(1) הן אדם היה כאחד ממנו, “now that man has become like one of us; etc.” according to the plain meaning of the text the word ממנו, “of Us,” is a reference to the angels. However, if that were the only true explanation the Torah should have written “like one of you.”
However, due to G-d’s humility, He wrote “like one of Us.” The real intention of the verse is to say that originally, היה, “he had been,” like one of Us due to his superior intellect and due to this intellect not being hindered by the evil urge. Now, that he had sinned and become possessed of the desires of the flesh, however, he was no longer like “one of Us.”
(2) ועתה פן ישלח ידו, “and now lest he put forth his hand, etc.” G-d meant that now that He had decreed for man to be mortal there was concern that he would try and neutralize this by eating from the tree of life and assure himself of living forever.
4) According to the views of Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Shimon in Bereshit Rabbah 21,5 the words כאחד ממנו, “like one of Us” mean “like the Unique One in the world.” The word אחד in Deut 6,4 שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד, means “the One, the Unique One.” The other Rabbis quoted in that Midrash believed that the word אחד in our verse refers to the archangel Gavriel seeing we have a verse in Ezekiel 9,2 where that angel is referred to as אחד.
1) ויאמר השם אלוקים, The Lord G'd said: "Here man has become like one of Us, etc." We need to understand why G'd had not commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of life before He forbade them to eat from the tree of knowledge.
Had they eaten from it first they would have lived forever!
(2) Another peculiarity in our verse is the word היה. G'd was afraid that Adam might live forever, not that he had already achieved that status. The word therefore should have been עוד לא היה, or something to that effect. Furthermore, why would the ability to distinguish between good and evil elevate man to the status of G'd? How can we justify the expression ממנו, "like one of Us?" This would give the impression that there are physical beings in the heavens!
(3) In view of the fact that G'd had warned man not to eat from the tree of knowledge He was not worried about his eating from the tree of life. He did not think man would be motivated to do so either of his own volition or as a result of seduction by the serpent. The seducer only urges man to taste what is forbidden; Satan never urges you to do what is perfectly permissible.
Man on his own had no desire to eat from that tree in order to secure permanent life, something that was his birthright anyways. It was only after he had forfeited his birthright that he would seek to find an alternative for what he had lost.
If G'd had forbidden the tree of life immediately, the serpent might have succeeded to entice even Adam himself into eating from it.
Therefore G'd was wise in not including the tree of life in the prohibition immediately. After having eaten from the tree of knowledge with its fateful consequences, Adam's priorities had changed, and G'd now had to be concerned lest man eat from that tree in order to neutralize the mortality that had been decreed on him.
(4) The meaning of the word היה then is: "up until now man was alone unto himself," i.e. he was immortal," however, now that he has lost his immortality, he might want to eat from the tree of life. The word אחד ממנו, would refer to the uniqueness of man on earth. He alone of all the creatures on earth was immortal.
The knowledge man acquired due to having eaten from the tree of knowledge might prompt him to want to eat from the tree of life to recapture the uniqueness of his former stature of ruling over the creatures of earth.
(5) There is another way to solve the problems we have raised. On the day G'd commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge He gave two commandments. G'd actually allowed for the possibility that Adam would violate His command by saying: "should you eat from it, your only way to rehabilitate yourself will be through death, through mortality of the body."
In halachah we would consider the second commandment, i.e. the need to die as a לאו הניתק לעשה, a negative commandment tied to a positive commandment. The positive commandment is viewed as the תיקון, reparation of the negative commandment that has been violated. We have mentioned earlier that had it not been for the sin, Adam would have become so refined that he would have been considered as at home in the world of the permanent beings, just as the prophet Elijah who departed this world, body intact.
It was only due to the sin that Adam's body forfeited the chance to rise with him to such lofty heights. Once deprived of the opportunity to refine his body in the manner described, the very act of separation of the soul from the body becomes the symbol of the inability to achieve the elevation of the body to eternal life.
Under such circumstances man would not eat from the tree of life of his own accord. He would be afraid that as a result of eating from it he would forever forfeit potential rehabilitation should he violate the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge.
Only death could afford him that chance, and once he had eaten from the tree of life he would not die. The matter was different, however, once he had eaten from the tree of knowledge without having eaten as yet from the tree of life.
If he had eaten deliberately from the tree of knowledge, man would certainly be careful not to eat from the tree of life as that would condemn him eternally to a physical existence only. However, as we explained, man's sin had been inadvertent, meaning that he thought he was not bound to die in order to rehabilitate himself.
If so, there was no powerful incentive for him to stay clear of the tree of life. Actually, Adam erred; even though his sin was inadvertent it could only be completely atoned for through death of his body at some stage. The principal reason that G'd had commanded man not to eat from the tree of knowledge was to prevent knowledge of evil becoming an integral part of his perceptions.
His perceptions were meant to concentrate only on what is good. This is what Solomon meant (Kohelet 7,29) when he said that ישר עשה האלוקים את האדם, that "G'd made man perfectly upright." Evil did not figure as part of man's imagination and fantasies. All of this changed after he ate from the tree of knowledge. The fact that man felt naked and ashamed is proof that his fantasies now included things that were evil.
Once man had undergone such a drastic change and the purpose of the prohibition to eat from the tree of knowledge had been irreversibly thwarted, he would no longer consider not eating from the tree of life as his insurance should he need to recapture his original status.
He had already lost that status irretrievably. With the incentive not to eat from the tree of life gone, G'd had to forbid man to eat from that tree. In view of the fact that man had ignored a previous command, G'd deemed it safer to place the tree of life out of Adam's reach by expelling him from the garden.
(8) Although G'd had said that Adam would die "on the day" he would eat from the tree of knowledge, the word "day" could have one of two connotations. It could mean a period of 24 hours, i.e. a day in human terms, or it could refer to a day in G'd's terms, i.e. 1000 years.
If it is the latter, the meaning of the warning was that Adam would die before he reached the age of 1000 years. The respective connotation of the word depends on the severity of the sin and the feeling the sinner had at the time he committed the sin. If the sinner intended to anger G'd at the time he sinned, the meaning of the word "day" would be the minimum. The sinner would have to die before that period of 24 hours expired. If, however, the sin was not committed intentionally and the sinner had made it plain that he had not intended to sin, he would be given the maximum period possible, i.e. he would live up to but not including 1000 years.
God had left it for him to decide of his own free will, whether he would defer to the Will of God in determining what was good, what bad, and thereby tread the path of life, or decide himself what was good or evil and thereby have to be fated to death. Now he had decided that he would know himself what was good and evil. But with this decision he had also decided his ultimate fate.
Created outside Paradise, his being placed in paradise was only to test to set before him these two ways of life. Paradise was only to be regained in the school of self sacrifices, towards the pure greatness of Man.
In these new conditions, death is a welcome friendly relief from the continuous toil of life, to live forever would be no blessing. God's Love does not leave him in the vicinity of the eternally regenerating fruit of the tree of life. Simply forbidding him to eat it would be no protection, he would in spite of it, stretch forth his hand to the forbidden fruit.
(כה) וַיִּֽהְי֤וּ שְׁנֵיהֶם֙ עֲרוּמִּ֔ים הָֽאָדָ֖ם וְאִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וְלֹ֖א יִתְבֹּשָֽׁשׁוּ׃ (א) וְהַנָּחָשׁ֙ הָיָ֣ה עָר֔וּם מִכֹּל֙ חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה יקוק אֱלֹקִ֑ים וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה אַ֚ף כִּֽי־אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹקִ֔ים לֹ֣א תֹֽאכְל֔וּ מִכֹּ֖ל עֵ֥ץ הַגָּֽן׃ (ב) וַתֹּ֥אמֶר הָֽאִשָּׁ֖ה אֶל־הַנָּחָ֑שׁ מִפְּרִ֥י עֵֽץ־הַגָּ֖ן נֹאכֵֽל׃ (ג) וּמִפְּרִ֣י הָעֵץ֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּתוֹךְ־הַגָּן֒ אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹקִ֗ים לֹ֤א תֹֽאכְלוּ֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְלֹ֥א תִגְּע֖וּ בּ֑וֹ פֶּן־תְּמֻתֽוּן׃ (ד) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַנָּחָ֖שׁ אֶל־הָֽאִשָּׁ֑ה לֹֽא־מ֖וֹת תְּמֻתֽוּן׃ (ה) כִּ֚י יֹדֵ֣עַ אֱלֹקִ֔ים כִּ֗י בְּיוֹם֙ אֲכָלְכֶ֣ם מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְנִפְקְח֖וּ עֵֽינֵיכֶ֑ם וִהְיִיתֶם֙ כֵּֽאלֹקִ֔ים יֹדְעֵ֖י ט֥וֹב וָרָֽע׃ (ו) וַתֵּ֣רֶא הָֽאִשָּׁ֡ה כִּ֣י טוֹב֩ הָעֵ֨ץ לְמַאֲכָ֜ל וְכִ֧י תַֽאֲוָה־ה֣וּא לָעֵינַ֗יִם וְנֶחְמָ֤ד הָעֵץ֙ לְהַשְׂכִּ֔יל וַתִּקַּ֥ח מִפִּרְי֖וֹ וַתֹּאכַ֑ל וַתִּתֵּ֧ן גַּם־לְאִישָׁ֛הּ עִמָּ֖הּ וַיֹּאכַֽל׃ (ז) וַתִּפָּקַ֙חְנָה֙ עֵינֵ֣י שְׁנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיֵּ֣דְע֔וּ כִּ֥י עֵֽירֻמִּ֖ם הֵ֑ם וַֽיִּתְפְּרוּ֙ עֲלֵ֣ה תְאֵנָ֔ה וַיַּעֲשׂ֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם חֲגֹרֹֽת׃ (ח) וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֞וּ אֶת־ק֨וֹל יקוק אֱלֹקִ֛ים מִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ בַּגָּ֖ן לְר֣וּחַ הַיּ֑וֹם וַיִּתְחַבֵּ֨א הָֽאָדָ֜ם וְאִשְׁתּ֗וֹ מִפְּנֵי֙ יקוק אֱלֹקִ֔ים בְּת֖וֹךְ עֵ֥ץ הַגָּֽן׃ (ט) וַיִּקְרָ֛א יקוק אֱלֹקִ֖ים אֶל־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ אַיֶּֽכָּה׃ (י) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אֶת־קֹלְךָ֥ שָׁמַ֖עְתִּי בַּגָּ֑ן וָאִירָ֛א כִּֽי־עֵירֹ֥ם אָנֹ֖כִי וָאֵחָבֵֽא׃ (יא) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מִ֚י הִגִּ֣יד לְךָ֔ כִּ֥י עֵירֹ֖ם אָ֑תָּה הֲמִן־הָעֵ֗ץ אֲשֶׁ֧ר צִוִּיתִ֛יךָ לְבִלְתִּ֥י אֲכָל־מִמֶּ֖נּוּ אָכָֽלְתָּ׃ (יב) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הָֽאָדָ֑ם הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָתַ֣תָּה עִמָּדִ֔י הִ֛וא נָֽתְנָה־לִּ֥י מִן־הָעֵ֖ץ וָאֹכֵֽל׃ (יג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יקוק אֱלֹקִ֛ים לָאִשָּׁ֖ה מַה־זֹּ֣את עָשִׂ֑ית וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה הַנָּחָ֥שׁ הִשִּׁיאַ֖נִי וָאֹכֵֽל׃ (פ) (כב) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ יקוק אֱלֹקִ֗ים הֵ֤ן הָֽאָדָם֙ הָיָה֙ כְּאַחַ֣ד מִמֶּ֔נּוּ לָדַ֖עַת ט֣וֹב וָרָ֑ע וְעַתָּ֣ה ׀ פֶּן־יִשְׁלַ֣ח יָד֗וֹ וְלָקַח֙ גַּ֚ם מֵעֵ֣ץ הַֽחַיִּ֔ים וְאָכַ֖ל וָחַ֥י לְעֹלָֽם׃ (כג) וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵ֛הוּ יקוק אֱלֹקִ֖ים מִגַּן־עֵ֑דֶן לַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֻקַּ֖ח מִשָּֽׁם׃ (כד) וַיְגָ֖רֶשׁ אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן֩ מִקֶּ֨דֶם לְגַן־עֵ֜דֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִ֗ים וְאֵ֨ת לַ֤הַט הַחֶ֙רֶב֙ הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת לִשְׁמֹ֕ר אֶת־דֶּ֖רֶךְ עֵ֥ץ הַֽחַיִּֽים׃ (ס)
(25) The two of them were naked, the man and his wife, yet they felt no shame. (1) Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?” (2) The woman replied to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden. (3) It is only about fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said: ‘You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.’” (4) And the serpent said to the woman, “You are not going to die, (5) but God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad.” (6) When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate. (7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths. (8) They heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (9) The LORD God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” (10) He replied, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” (11) Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?” (12) The man said, “The woman You put at my side—she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” (13) And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done!” The woman replied, “The serpent duped me, and I ate.” (20) The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living... (22) And the LORD God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and bad, what if he should stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!” (23) So the LORD God banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he was taken. (24) He drove the man out, and stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the fiery ever-turning sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Original Sin
The doctrine of original sin was first developed in the 2nd-century by Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons. Irenaeus believed that Adam's sin had grave consequences for humanity, that it is the source of human sinfulness, mortality and enslavement to sin, and that all human beings participate in his sin and share his guilt. Augustine took his argument further, arguing that Adam's sin is transmitted by concupiscence, or "hurtful desire," resulting in humanity becoming a massa damnata (mass of perdition, condemned crowd), with much enfeebled, though not destroyed, freedom of will.
Adam’s sin transformed human nature. All of his descendants now live in sin, in the form of concupiscence,” the privation of good, transmitted through sexual reproduction. While sexual concupiscence (libido) might have been present in the perfect human nature in Eden, it became disobedient to human reason and will as a result of the first couple's disobedience to God's will in the original sin. Thus “original sin,” according to Augustine, consists of the guilt of Adam that all humans inherit. As sinners, humans are utterly depraved in nature, lack the freedom to do good, and cannot respond to the will of God without divine grace. https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-immortal-myth-of-adam-and-eve
(9) And from the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad.
(א) וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע - אמרו המפרשים כי היה פריו מוליד תאות המשגל ולכן כסו מערומיהם אחרי אכלם ממנו והביאו לו דומה בלשון זה מאמר ברזילי הגלעדי הַאֵדַע בֵּין טוֹב לְרָע (שמואל ב יט לו) כי בטלה ממנו התאוה ההיא ואיננו נכון אצלי בעבור שאמר וִהְיִיתֶם כֵּאלֹקִים יֹדְעֵי טוֹב וָרָע (להלן ג ה) ואם תאמר כחש לה הנה וַיֹּאמֶר יקוק אֱלֹקִים הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה כְּאַחַד מִמֶּנּוּ לָדַעַת טוֹב וָרָע (להלן ג כב) וכבר אמרו (פירקא דרבינו הקדוש בבא דשלשה טז) שלשה אמרו אמת ואבדו מן העולם ואלו הן נחש ומרגלים ודואג האדומי הבארותי והיפה בעיני כי האדם היה עושה בטבעו מה שראוי לעשות כפי התולדת כאשר יעשו השמים וכל צבאם פועלי אמת שפעולתם אמת ולא ישנו את תפקידם ואין להם במעשיהם אהבה או שנאה ופרי האילן הזה היה מוליד הרצון והחפץ שיבחרו אוכליו בדבר או בהפכו לטוב או לרע ולכן נקרא "עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע" כי הַ"דַּעַת" יאמר בלשוננו על הרצון כלשונם (פסחים ו) לא שנו אלא שדעתו לחזור ושדעתו לפנותו
(1) ...The commentators said that the fruit of this tree gave birth to the sexual desire, and this is why they covered their nakedness after they ate from it. They brought as proof a similar usage of language in the statement of Barzilai haGiladi “I am now eighty years old. Can I tell the difference between good and bad?” (Shmuel II 19:36) which indicates that he had lost the sexual desire. This is not correct in my eyes, because later in this story it says “…and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad.” (Bereshit 3:5) And if you want to say that the snake lied to her, it says further on And the LORD God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and bad…” (Bereshit 3:22) It has already been said (Pirke d’rabbenu hakadosh, Gate 3, 16) that there were three who spoke the truth and were destroyed from the world, and they are – the snake, the spies and Doeg the Edomite (the Beroti). It seems right in my eyes that the human did what came naturally, just as the heavens and all their host, which do only truth, whose acts are only truth and do not deviate from their appointed task. There is no love in their actions or hate. The fruit of this tree gives birth to the will and desire that those who eat it should choose a thing or its opposite, for the good or the bad. This is why it is called ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,’ because da’at in our language refers to will or intention, as the Sages said ‘we only taught this in a case when his intention is to return…
I call upon my faithful friend the mockingbird
To fly and seize the helping book and bring it to your shack
And a tree of knowledge in your soul will grow
And the Helping Friendly Book will plant the seed
But I warn you that all knowledge seeming innocent and pure
Becomes a deadly weapon in the hands of avarice
And greed
The sacred creed will be yours
And if you wait until tomorrow..."
the tree of knowledge of good and bad. The interpretation of this enigmatic designation, which is unparalleled anywhere outside the present narrative, hinges upon the definition of "knowledge" and the scope of "good and bad." Ibn Ezra, followed by many moderns, understood carnal knowledge to be intended since the first human experience after eating the forbidden fruit is the consciousness of nudity accompanied by shame; moreover, immediately after the expulsion from Eden it is said, "Now the man knew his wife Eve,"
Against this interpretation is the fact that at this stage woman is not yet created, that sexual differentiation is made by God Himself (cf. x: 27), that the institution of marriage is looked upon in verse 25 as part of the divinely ordained order, and that, according to 22, "knowledge of good and bad" is a divine characteristic. Thus, it will not do to take "good and bad" as the human capacity for moral discernment. Aside from the difficulty of understanding why God should be opposed to this, there is the additional argument that a divine prohibition would be meaningless if man did not already possess this faculty. Indeed, from 3:3 it is clear that the woman knows the meaning of disobedience; that is, she is already alert to the difference between right and wrong, which can have no other meaning than obedience or otherwise.
It is more satisfactory, however, to understand "good and bad" as undifferentiated parts of a totality, a merism meaning "everything." True, man and woman do not become endowed with omniscience after partaking of the fill it, but the text does seem to imply that their intellectual horizons are immeasurably expanded. Passages like 2 Samuel 14:17, 20 lend support to this interpretation. It should also be noted that "good and bad," exactly in the Hebrew form used here (tov va-ra), occurs again only in Deuteronomy 1:39: "Moreover, your little ones who you said would be carried off, your children who do not yet know good from bad..." There the context leaves no doubt that not to know good and bad means to be innocent, not to have attained the age of responsibility. In the present passage, then, it is best to understand "knowledge of good and bad" as the capacity to make independent judgments concerning human welfare. -Sarna, JPS Torah Commentary
(1) You shall not eat from it. That is, from its fruit, for the tree itself was not edible. For on the day you eat from it you will certainly die. That is, you will have incurred the death penalty, not that you will die immediately. A similar usage appears in I Melachim 2:42. According to the Sages, however, if Adam had not sinned he would have indeed been immortal, for the soul is capable of sustaining the body forever and this is what the Creator originally intended.
כי ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות, “for on the day you would eat from it you would surely become mortal.” Man had not been created as a mortal body, but after having sinned he was punished by becoming mortal. G-d’s warning did not mean that he would die immediately. He only had warned him that he would lose his entitlement to infinite life. At some time in the future he would not be able to escape the need to die. This is why he had to be separated from proximity to the tree of life, so that he could not regain the immortality that he had now lost. -Chizkuni
זֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב: לְכוּ חֲזוּ מִפְעֲלוֹת אֱלֹהִים נוֹרָא עֲלִילָה עַל בְּנֵי אָדָם (תהלים סו, ה).
אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה, אַף הַנּוֹרָאוֹת שֶׁאַתָּה מֵבִיא עָלֵינוּ, בַּעֲלִילָה אַתְּ מְבִיאָן. בֹּא וּרְאֵה כְּשֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת הָעוֹלָם, מִיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן בָּרָא מַלְאַךְ הַמָּוֶת. מִנַּיִן, אָמַר רַבִּי בֶרֶכְיָה, מִשּׁוּם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל פְּנֵי תְהוֹם (בראשית א, ב), זֶה מַלְאַךְ הַמָּוֶת הַמַּחֲשִׁיךְ פְּנֵיהֶם שֶׁל בְּרִיּוֹת.
וְאָדָם נִבְרָא בַשִּׁשִּׁי וַעֲלִילָה נִתְלָה בוֹ שֶׁהוּא הֵבִיא אֶת הַמִּיתָה לָעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹת תָּמוּת (בראשית ב, יז).
מָשָׁל לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה, לְמִי שֶׁמְּבַקֵּשׁ לְגָרֵשׁ אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ, כְּשֶׁבִּקֵּשׁ לֵילֵךְ לְבֵיתוֹ כָּתַב גֵּט, נִכְנַס לְבֵיתוֹ וְהַגֵּט בְּיָדוֹ, מְבַקֵּשׁ עֲלִילָה לִתְּנוֹ לָהּ. אָמַר לָהּ: מִזְגִי לִי אֶת הַכּוֹס שֶׁאֶשְׁתֶּה. מָזְגָה לוֹ. כֵּיוָן שֶׁנָּטַל הַכּוֹס מִיָּדָהּ, אָמַר לָהּ: הֲרֵי זֶה גִּטֵּךְ. אָמְרָה לוֹ: מַה פִּשְׁעִי. אָמַר לָהּ: צְאִי מִבֵּיתִי שֶׁמָּזַגְתְּ לִי כּוֹס פָּשׁוּר. אָמְרָה לוֹ: כְּבָר הָיִיתָ יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁאֲנִי עֲתִידָה לִמְזֹג לְךָ כּוֹס פָּשׁוּר, שֶׁכָּתַבְתָּ הַגֵּט וַהֲבֵאתוֹ בְּיָדֶךָ.
אַף כָּךְ, אָמַר אָדָם לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, עַל שֶׁלֹּא בָרָאתָ עוֹלָמְךָ קֹדֶם שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים שָׁנָה, הָיְתָה תוֹרָה אֶצְלְךָ אָמוֹן, שֶׁכָּךְ כְּתִיב: וָאֶהְיֶה אֶצְלוֹ אָמוֹן וָאֶהְיֶה שַׁעֲשׁוּעִים יוֹם יוֹם (משלי ח, ל), שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים שָׁנָה, וּכְתִיב בָּהּ, זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה אָדָם כִּי יָמוּת בְּאֹהֶל (במדבר יט, יד). אִלּוּלֵי שֶׁהִתְקַנְתָּ מָוֶת לַבְּרִיּוֹת, הָיִיתָ כּוֹתֵב בָּהּ כָּךְ. אֶלָּא בָּאתָ לִתְלוֹת בִּי אֶת הָעֲלִילָה. הֱוֵי, נוֹרָא עֲלִילָה עַל בְּנֵי אָדָם.
(1) And Joseph was brought down into Egypt (Gen. 39:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Come and see the works of God; he acts circuitously in His doings toward the children of man (Ps. 66:5). R. Joshua the son of Karha declared: Even the fearful experiences You inflicted upon us, You brought about circuitously. For example, when the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, He fashioned the angel of death on the first day. Whence do we know that? R. Berechiah said: We know it from the verse And darkness was on the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). Darkness refers to the angel of death, for he darkens the face of man.
(2) Adam was created on the sixth day, and He informed him in a roundabout way that He had brought death into the world, as it is said: For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die (Gen. 2:12). To what may this be compared? It may be compared to a man who wished to divorce his wife. Before he enters his home, he writes out the divorce document and then enters the house with the divorce document in his hand. He then seeks a circuitous way to hand it to her. He says to her: “Give me some water that I may drink.” She does so, and when he takes the glass from her hand, he tells her: “Here is your divorce.” She asks: “What sin have I committed?” “Leave my house,” he retorts, “you have served me a warm drink.” “Apparently you already knew,” she replies, “that I would serve you a warm drink when you prepared the bill of divorce you brought with you.” And that is what Adam told the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, two thousand years before You created the world, You had the Torah as an artisan, as it is written: Then was I by Him, as an artisan; and I was day by day all delight (Prov. 8:30). (The repetition of the word day indicates) that two thousand years7A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday (Ps. 90:4). (had passed since He wrote the Torah). Within it is written: This is the law; that a man dieth in his tent (Num. 19:14). If You had not previously decreed death for mankind, You would not have so stated in it (the Torah). The fact is, You introduced the threat of death against me in a roundabout way. Hence He acts circuitously in His doings toward the children of men (Ps. 66:5).
(3) You find the Holy One, blessed be He, likewise said to Moses: Surely there shall not one of these men, even this evil generation, see the good land (Deut. 1:35). The word man alludes to Moses, as it is written: The man Moses was very meek (Num. 12:13). He was the man who was set apart from the other men (because he alone saw the Promised Land from afar). Similarly You said: And the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among men (I Sam 17:12). And elsewhere it is stated: Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharaoh (Exod. 6:1); that is, you will see the war that will be waged against Pharaoh, but you will not witness the wars against the thirty-one kings (after Israel enters the land). After Moses rebuked the people, saying: Hear now, ye rebels (Num. 20:10), the Holy One, blessed be He, informed him: Therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land (ibid., v. 12). Hence He acts circuitously in His doings toward the son of man (Ps. 66:5).
(4) Similarly, Scripture states with reference to Joseph: And when his brethren saw that his father loved him … they hated him (Gen. 37:4). It was because of the cloak of many colors he had made for him out of (royal) purple wool. Four misfortunes are mentioned as befalling him. They are indicated by the letters of the word passim (“cloak”). The peh alludes to his sale to Potiphar; the samekh to his sale to the merchants (sohrim); the yod to his sale to the Ishmaelites (yishma’elim); and the mem to his sale to the Midianites. Because of the cloak of many colors, all the tribes were compelled to descend to Egypt. R. Yudan declared: The Holy One, blessed be He, desired to fulfill the decree Ye shall surely know that thy seed shall be a stranger (Gen. 15:13), but He resorted to subterfuge in every instance to accomplish it. He made Jacob love Joseph, so that his brothers hated him, and as a result they sold him to the Ishmaelites, who brought him to Egypt. When Jacob heard that Joseph was alive in Egypt, he descended there with his descendants. Later they were enslaved there. Though it says: And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, the word should not be read as hurad (“brought down”) but as horid (“he caused”) his father and the tribes to descend to Egypt.
(5) R. Tanhuma said: To what may this be compared? To a cow upon whose neck they wish to place a yoke which she does not want and which she constantly casts off. What do they do? They move one of her calves to the place they wish the cow to plow. The calf starts to low, and the cow, upon hearing the lowing of her calf, goes to that place, though against her will, for the sake of her offspring. In the same way, when the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to fulfill the decree Ye shall surely know, He acted in a roundabout way in the entire matter. And they descended to Egypt to pay off the bill of debt (i.e., to fulfill the decree). Thus it is said: And Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Hence, He acts circuitously in His doing toward the children of man (Ps. 66:5).
