The Tree of Knowledge/2/en
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The Tree of Knowledge
Exegetical Approaches
Sexual Desire
The fruit of the tree introduced sexual desire to mankind.
Meaning of the root "דעת" – These sources point to the many places in Tanakh where the root ידע connotes sexual relations.1
Meaning of "טוֹב וָרָע"
"וַיֵּדְעוּ כִּי עֵירֻמִּם הֵם" – Radak points to this verse as proof of this position. After eating from the tree, the first thing that Adam and Chavvah gain awareness of is the fact that they are naked. Only with sexual desire does this have import, and lead to a feeling of embarrassment.
"וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ" – The first deed done by Adam after our story is to have relations with his wife, a direct result of the new "knowledge" that he gained.
"וִהְיִיתֶם כֵּאלֹהִים יֹדְעֵי טוֹב וָרָע" – Ramban questions this approach from
Measure for measure punishment?
"וַיִּקְרָא הָאָדָם שֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ חַוָּה"
"כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכׇלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹת תָּמוּת"
Eating from the Tree of Life
Free Will
Upon eating from the tree, humans attained the ability to choose between good and bad. They were given free will.
Sources:Ramban
Subjective Knowledge or Moral Conventions
Before the sin, humans had objective knowledge of truths and falsehoods, knowledge gained by pure analytical reasoning. Afterwards their intellectual level dropped and became the subjective knowledge of moral convention, knowledge gained by custom and empirical observation.
Sources:Rambam, Ralbag
"וִהְיִיתֶם כֵּאלֹהִים יֹדְעֵי טוֹב וָרָע" – Rambam understands "" in the secular sense of teh word to refer to political leaders.
Partial / Moral Knowledge
Objective Knowledge
Sources:Cassuto
Appreciation of Aesthetics
Sources:? Rashbam
No New Knowledge
The fruit of the tree did not change the intellect of man at all.
Sources:Midrash Tadshe, R. Hirsch,
