Tree of Knowledge, Sin of

Eden was the very beginning, the blueprint for how human existence in its perfect state was meant to be – and exposed the shortcomings that brought about the imperfect world we live in today. Every detail, every nuance, contains a fountain of information ...

From the serene perfection of the Garden, they had been plunged into the fearful reality of galut (exile) – a world where something was terribly wrong...

Initially, it was natural for man to follow woman. Read the story: What convinced Adam to eat of the Tree of Knowledge? Nothing -- just that Eve told him to. Then the roles were reversed. A curse, truly, for both of them...

Eve had just one commandment: not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Yet she ate and invited Adam to do the same. The classic commentators discuss why she ever listened to the snake.

“Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar? Was it me, no you! Couldn’t be. Then who?” This childhood ditty encapsulates one of life’s major issues. Do we admit our wrongdoings? Try to blame the other? How do we react to our failings? Learn why evading ou...

The First Man and Woman, G-d’s Blessing, The Garden of Eden, The Serpent, The First Commandment, The Plot, The First Sin, Their Excuse, The Punishment, Expulsion from the Garden of Eden

What is the issue with consuming from the Tree of Knowledge? Isn’t knowledge a good thing? Exploring the fundamental underpinnings of the controversy from various perspectives, from the classical to the Chassidic, leads us to some surprisingly powerful re...

What exactly was the first sin? What was the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil? Is this kind of knowledge a bad thing such that it had to be forbidden, and was only acquired through sin? Isn’t knowing the difference between good and evil essential to bei...

The Tu B’Shevat festive dinner is an opportunity to repair the transgression of Adam and Eve.

The very first failing of the very first human beings was the desire for instant gratification. What is not so well known is that the fruit of the forbidden tree was not intended to be eternally prohibited . . .