Tree of Knowledge, Sin of

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.

A series of fascinating reasons culled from more than 2 millennia of Jewish scholarship.

Question: I have always been fascinated by the havdalah ceremony, which marks the transition from Shabbat to the weekday. I know that we make a blessing on a special havdalah candle, but I never had the courage to ask why. What’s up with the flame? Reply:...

The Tree of Life first appears in the Bible in the story of Adam and Eve when they were in the Garden of Eden.

How do I know that G‑d has forgiven me? How do I forgive myself?

There are different reasons given for this custom, each impacting the parameters of what (and when) exactly we refrain from eating.

When we find a teacher inspiring and compelling, when we are enthused by people who seem spiritual and pious, how can we be sure that they are not charismatic charlatans preying on our vulnerability for their own selfish gain?

Question: I have been told that one must never let his nail clipping lying around as they pose danger to fetuses. How does that work? Response: The Talmud Moed Katan 18a; Niddah 17a. tells us that "the righteous bury their nails, the pious burn them, and ...

Why do the rabbis add so many laws to the Torah? Isn't that what caused Adam and Eve to sin--the fact that Eve made unwarranted additions to G‑d's law?

Adam wasn't supposed to eat from that tree. Cain and Abel were supposed to talk things out. Everyone was supposed to get along. That was Plan A