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Women in the Torah: Eve, Clarity Before Accusing or Assuming
by Atarah C. Gur, The Jewish Press Magazine, October 21, 2005.

We are commanded by the Torah not to add to, nor to subtract from, the commandments of Hashem/G-d. On the other hand, we are taught that the sin which resulted in Adam HaRishon being expelled from Gan Eden was based on just such a misunderstanding.

In Parshas Bereishis [Genesis], the Torah gives us two descriptions of what happened in Gan Eden (Bereishis 2:16 and 3:3). There is a clear contradiction between these two passages, both of which explain Hashem’s commandment to refrain from eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Bereishis [Genesis] 2:16 it says: “And HaShem commanded Adam, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat of it, for on the day you eat of it you shall surely die.’”

When Chava/Eve explains the commandment to the snake, however, she adds on an additional regulation; a detail that Hashem did not specify in His commandment. Bereishis [Genesis] 3:3 says: “And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, Hashem has said, “You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”

From where did Chava/Eve get this additional restriction of not being allowed to touch the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Rashi, in Bereishis/Genesis 3:3, comments that Chava/Eve herself added this law which eventually caused the sin of eating from the forbidden tree. From this we learn that whoever adds to the Torah will end up subtracting from it.

Avos DeRebbe Chapter 1, Mishna 6-8, explains that Adam HaRishon added this law as a fence [issur d'rabbanan] in order to totally separate both of them from the forbidden tree and thus from transgressing the word of Hashem. He neglected to explain to his wife, however, that this 'fence' was his own personal addition, and not the explicit directive of Hashem.

The snake zeroed in on this inaccuracy and pushed Chava/Eve so that she touched the tree. To her surprise, nothing happened. She did not die. The snake then had an opportunity to demonstrate to Chava that, just as she did not die from touching the tree, so also she would not die from merely eating the fruit of the tree.

Chava concluded that she could not trust or rely on anything that her "Rebbe" told her (Adom HaRishon was her "Rebbe", as explained in Avos DeRebbe Natan - Mishna 6). She then decided to eat from the fruit of that tree.

When Torah is taught, the different levels of the issur /forbidden deed of a commandment must be made very clear to each student: if it is not clear, then the student him/herself must ask for clarification.
Knowing that a particular halacha is a Law directly derived from the written Torah (d'oreisa), or that it is Rabbinic in nature, or that it is a chumra/stringency, is important knowledge in order to avoid many dangerous pitfalls and misconceptions in life (even though we, of course, must also have ready access to a Rav for questions and clarifications of halacha).
The inaccuracy of Adom HaRishon’s teaching and Chava's unfortunate conclusion caused humanity to be sunk into a morass of turmoil for 6000 years, until the coming of Moshiach/Messiah.
When a husband or wife converses with their mate, each has to communicate with a precision and a detailed enough explanation so that the other party will not misinterpret the words and come to an incorrect conclusion.
Inaccuracies and lack of communication between people can backfire in a way that causes very serious repercussions, even if their intentions are for the good. In Gan Eden, in addition to eventually being led into the commission of a sin, the kavod/respect of Adom HaRishon was diminished in the eyes of his wife when she concluded that he did not tell her the truth.
Lack of communication between any two people, and particularly between a husband and a wife, can have drastic ramifications for the entire world, as seen by this sin in Gan Eden.

May we all learn to listen carefully and to" hear" what the other person is saying, to explain ourselves to another person in a clear and a concise way, before we jump to conclusions or assume that we truly understand what is meant.

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