בס"ד
The book of Genesis describes the fall of man. It starts when G-d tells Adam that he may eat any plant in the Garden of Eden except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil and warns him that he will die a death if he does (see Genesis 2:17). Concerning the tree itself, when Eve considers eating from it, the Chumash describes the fruit as being good to eat and attractive to the eyes. There was a contemplative component also, in that is described as נֶחְמָד. The word is generally understood as "desirable". A variant is חָמוּד which is a diminutive that is often applied to children (see Genesis 3:6).
The effect on Adam and Eve of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is the immediate perception that they are naked, therefore they make clothes. This is in contrast to the absence of shame of their bodies before eating the forbidden fruit.
Previously the seduction of Eve into evil by the snake is described. The snake is described as being עָרוּם. The word is often translated as clever meaning he was smart but not greatly wise. It also has connotations of being deceptive and manipulative. He opens up a conversation with her about the tree, lies to her that she will not die as a consequence of eating from the tree, and on the contrary she will be a goddess if she does.
This passage describes the various components of evil. Just like the fruit of the tree of good and evil was edible and in the middle of the garden, so too it is possible to do evil and the opportunity is freely available. On top of that it is attractive. The Chumash uses the word תַאֲוָה which frequently means lust. The hint here is that some physical pleasure is to be obtained through the medium of evil.
The idea of embarking on this adventure is described as נֶחְמָד. It's often understood as desirable. The word also means envious and has erotic connotations. A variant of it is חָמוּד meaning cute. It is here that the slippery path into evil begins to appear. Cute is a diminutive. Babies are cute, puppies are cute, hamsters are cute. How could they hurt a soul even if we tease them. Similarly how could this kind, loving, benevolent grandfather bring war, pestilence, and famine on the world because human beings are ignoring Him and not behaving to his liking? Not only that the thought of violating a mitzvah of the Torah often evokes laughter and is seen as inconsequential. A person's fantasies are often a playground for nonsense. As a result things like flattery, fornication, vanity, robbery, vandalism, and generally going wild initially sound like nothing but harmless fun. Sometimes people do get away with it. More often a predictable hard knock is in the offing.
The test of Eve and Adam was not a severe one. The flattery of the snake should have been rejected. Eve could have told the snake she wasn't interested in this type of thing, lectured him a bit on the power of the Almighty, and teased him saying that he may even get scolded for this shenanigan.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
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