Bereishit 2:9 וַיַּצְמַח יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים מִן הָאֲדָמָה
כָּל עֵץ נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה וְטוֹב לְמַאֲכָל וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן
וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע
And the
Lord God caused to sprout from the ground every tree pleasant to see and good
to eat, and the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of
Knowledge of good and evil.
There are
those who presume that only by partaking of the fruit of the וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע
was man enabled to know good and evil; but as long as he had not yet
eaten from the tree, he could not distinguish between good and evil. And so do
some of our philosophers teach: until partaking of this fruit, man know only
theoretical differentiation - truth from falsehood; but the concept of “good”
and “bad”, which belong to the realm of practical reason, were utterly foreign
to him.
This interpretation however does not appear to be correct.
Freedom of choice distinguishes man as man; hence, man would not be worthy of
his name, without the concept of good and its opposite. Had man been unaware of
the concept of good and evil, G-d would not have assigned him a prohibition;
and once man had violated the prohibition, G-d could not have held him
responsible and punished him. Yet man was assigned a prohibition, and he
was subjected to punishment. It must be, then, that he possessed a sense
of duty, and could distinguish between forbidden and permitted – and this is
none other than the knowledge of good and evil, knowledge that belongs to the
realm of practical reason, not to the realm of theoretical reason.
It appears then that the וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע
derives its name al shem sofo, according to its subsequent role
in the final result: Through this tree, knowledge of good and evil will be
acted upon and decided; through its fruit, man will choose what is good or
bad in his sight.
The earth can become a paradise – only under one condition: that
we call “good” only that which G-d calls “good”, and “bad” only that which G-d
calls “bad”. We must not distinguish good from bad according to the judgment of
our senses. If we accept the judgment of our senses, the gates of Paradise will
be closed to us, and only by long, roundabout routes will man return thereto.
Moreover, it appears
that this tree derives its name also al shem thilato, according to its
initial role in shaping man’s knowledge of good and evil. For this tree taught
man what is good or bad for him, and how he should distinguish good from bad.
As we shall see later, this tree appealed to man’s taste, imagination, and
contemplative mind. His taste, imagination, and his mind drew man to this tree
and tempted him to eat of its fruit. Nevertheless, G-d forbade man to eat of
the fruit of this tree. In other words, partaking of this fruit was defined as
being bad for man. This tree then was to remind man of that teaching on whose
observance man’s whole eminence depends. A person’s senses, imagination and
intelligence may tell him that a certain thing is very good; nevertheless, it
may conflict with his higher calling, and if he partakes of it, this may be an
offense deemed by G-d as deserving of death. From this tree we learn that in
judging what is good or evil, man should not rely on his own senses, his own
imagination, or his own intelligence; rather he should obey the revealed Will
of G-d and follow the lead of His wisdom. Only then will he fulfill his purpose
on earth and be worthy of having the world shaped into a paradise for him.
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