Is the Tree of Knowledge About Forbidden Power or Forbidden Pleasure

(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.

(15) The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.

(16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat;

(17) but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.”

(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!”

(7) What was the tree, from which Adam and Eve ate? Rabbi Meir said, it was wheat. When a person lacks knowledge people say "That person has not eaten bread made from wheat even a day." Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzhak asked before Rabbi Zeira and said to him "Is it possible that it is wheat?" He said to him, "Yes!" He said to him, "But isn't it written, 'tree'" He said to him, "It rose like the ceders of Lebanon" Rabbi Yaakov Bar Aha said: Rabbi Nechemiah and the Rabbis disagree. Rabbi Nechemiah said, "[When we bless our bread we should say]...'the one who brings bread from the earth', since bread already came from the earth."

(11) And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so.

(12) The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good.

(11) עץ פרי FRUIT TREE — that the taste of the tree be exactly the same as that of the fruit. It did not, however, do this, but (v. 13) “the earth brought forth a tree yielding fruit” and the tree itself was not a fruit; therefore when Adam was cursed on account of his sin, it (the earth) was also visited (because of its sin) and was cursed also.

(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.”

THE GENERATION OF THE DIVISION, [THEY] HAVE NO PORTION IN THE WORLD TO COME, etc. Rabbi Yirmiyah bar Elazar said: They split up into three parties. One said, ‘Let us ascend and dwell there’; the second, ‘Let us ascend and worship the gods (lit., serve the stars)’; and the third said, ‘Let us ascend and wage war [with God].’ The party which proposed ‘Let us ascend, and dwell there’ — the Lord scattered them.

(2) O mortal, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus said the Lord GOD: Because you have been so haughty and have said, “I am a god; I sit enthroned like a god in the heart of the seas,” whereas you are not a god but a man, though you deemed your mind equal to a god’s—

(12) How are you fallen from heaven, O Shining One, son of Dawn! How are you felled to earth, O vanquisher of nations!

(13) Once you thought in your heart, “I will climb to the sky; Higher than the stars of God I will set my throne. I will sit in the mount of assembly, On the summit of Zaphon:

(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.

(4) "And Adam said: this is now...""This is now" - this is she that perturbed me all night.

(6) "And they were both naked." Rabbi Eleazar said: there were three who did not wait for their contentment even six hours, and these are they: Adam, and Israel, and Sisra. Adam, as it says: "and they were not embarrassed" (Genesis 2:25) - six hours had not passed, and he was content. Israel, as it says: "And the nation saw that Moses delayed" (Exodus 32:1), when six hours had passed and Moses had not appeared. Sisra, as it says: "Why does his chariot delay in coming?" (Judges 5:28) - every day he would come in three or four hours, and today six hours have past and he is not here - these are all cases related to "and they were not embarrassed." "And the snake was crafty" (Genesis 3:1) - the text only needed to continue with "And Hashem God made for Adam and his wife..." (Genesis 3:21). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karchah said: to teach you which temptation the snake sprung on them - he saw them engaged in the way of the world, and desired here. Rabbi Yaakov of the village of Hannin said: to not pause the story of the snake.

Rabbi Elazar said: What is meant by the Scriptural text, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh? (Genesis 2:23)’ This teaches that Adam had intercourse with(entered upon) every beast and animal but his disposition was not cooled (satisfied) until he had intercourse with (entered upon) Eve.

(2) "And the man knew etc." - Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Ya'akov both said in the name of Rabbi Avin, who in turn said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana as follows: No creature ever had relations previous to the first man, Adam. "Knew (yada)" means that Adam informed (hodia) everyone of the natural way of life [for relations.] Another explanation: He "knew" how his tranquility was expelled, i.e. what Chava had done to him [by giving him the fruit.] Rabbi Acha said: The serpent (cheyava) was your [, Chava's,] temtptress (chiyava) and you were Adam's temptress.

(1) "And the snake was crafty." It is written: "With great wisdom is great vexation" (Ecclesiastes 1:18)...

(10) Said R’ Hosha`ya: In the moment that the Holy One created Adam Harishon, the first Human, the ministering angels erred and sought to say ‘Holy/Qadosh’ before him (to worship him) . . .

(1) ... Adam looked to above and below . . . and he saw the creatures/b’riyot that the Holy One had created and he began to glorify the name of his Creator and he said, “How diverse are Your works Hashem” [Ps 104:24]. He stood on his feet and was described/proportioned/m’to’ar in the likeness of Elohim. The creatures saw him and they were afraid of him, as they thought that he created them, and all of them came to bow down to him.

(5) ... [The snake was created] “ruler over beast and animal / melekh `al hab’heimah v`al hachayah” [and] “erect like Adam / qom’miyut k’adam”

(1) Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gained a male child with the help of the LORD.”

(1) And Adam knew Hava his wife, who had desired the Angel; and she conceived, and bare Kain; and she said, I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord.

(6) "And He took one of his ribs."Rabbi Hanina the son of Rav Idi: from the beginning of the book until now there has not been a samech, once Eve was created, Satan was created with her. And if you want to argue that man is the one that circles, the reply is that the text is talking about the rivers [that encircle Eden].

(7) ותפקחנה עיני שניהם, their mental eyes. This is why the Torah continues with וידעו, “they knew,” and not with ויראו, “they saw.” They “saw” the same objects they had seen previously. However, after having eaten from the fruit of the tree of knowledge they experienced a biological urge to engage in sexual relations with one another. Adam’s organ stiffened as a result of this feeling of desire. This became a source of shame for them as it meant that one his organs was out of his control. The punishment in this instance fitted the crime. They had removed themselves from the control of their Creator by ignoring His instructions. As a result, an organ of theirs had removed itself from its owner’s control. Furthermore, engaging in sexual relations other than for the purpose of reproduction is a shameful activity. This is why they felt shame now. They felt ashamed to be seen in such a state by G’d and this is why they hid themselves.

(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.”

(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.”

Rather, here am I [going to] create him from the upper ones and the lower ones, for the sake of peace / bish’vil shalom... ‘And YHVH Elohim formed him dirt from the ground’—from the lower ones; ‘and He blew in his nostrils life’s breath / nishmat chayyim’ [Gn 2:7]—from the upper ones.