Bereishis: What Was The Forbidden Fruit?

Okay, welcome and welcome everyone. A gezinta Herbst. As I like to say, not sure why we're wishing people a good winter considering the fact that winter starts in about 3 months from now and we just started the fall. I mean, why not wish people a nice fall? Okay. Anyway, it's Bereishit's time. New beginnings. So, in that spirit, make sure you have the safer on Bereishit, Bereishit volume one, safer Maggid of Kia, Bereishit volume one. You could order it with free shipping at rabbidigi.com. Or you could get it for free at safer@marbitzei torah.com. They'll send you a free copy of Maggid of Kia on Bereishit. Also, Birchas HaTzaddik Al HaTorah, that's also available with free shipping at rabbidigi.com. You could also get it for free at safer atmarbitzeitorah.com. If anybody would like to participate in upcoming publications, we have in the queue Devar Yavoh Be'ito, connecting each parsha to the Zman HaShana. And a number of other sefarim in the queue including Ahavas Yisrael of the Chofetz Chaim and a number of other ones. You could join us for many learning opportunities throughout the week. Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:15, Mishna Berurah Daf HaShavua. It's a We have an amazing chaburah from all over the world. Uh please join us 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning through Thursday. Today, we're going to back to the Garden of Eden. Back to paradise. And we're going to discuss the fruit, the Eitz HaDaas. We're going to try to identify the Eitz HaDaas and speak about it in the aftermath of the Yom Tov of Sukkot. If I could take a moment, I would highly recommend that you check out the release of the many part series of how it is a journey of a lifetime. We have an amazing production, life-changing production. Check it out on Torah Anytime. Journey of a lifetime. The says in on men And there's a similar on on iron. What was the tree that was on it from? says it was higher. says it was a grape, a vine. Nothing brings more curse on man like iron. Like it says, he drank from the wine and he got drunk. So the opinion of was was a says it ain't it was a fig. Why? Because why did God make for Adam and a way to know? Tunics of fig branches. Must be in the item that he was corrupt, he was rectified. says no says no it was a fig. It was wheat because a child doesn't have the to call out father or mother until the father until he tastes the taste of grain. So we have a what kind of tree the says it was a fig. He proves it from the fact that it brought corruption to the world like it says by and in fact like the shita of R Meir, the Zohar concurs with R Meir. It says sachta anavim v'yahavta lei. She squeezed grapes and she gave it to him. So R Meir says the Zohar says explicitly it was grape. R Nechemia says it was figs. Because that's what they covered themselves. And according to R Yehuda, it was wheat. And because wheat brings to daas. Okay. The Gemara does not give a conclusive view as to the identity of the eitz hadaas. However, we find in many sources that there are many authentic sources that seem to take the view that like R Meir, that it was a gefen. For example, the Baal HaTurim in Sefer Bamidbar. The pasuk says ki yaasu mikol chatos haadam. It says the expression chatos haadam in the context of sending away tamei'im. Why? Cuz through the sin of Adam that he ate from the eitz and the snake seduced Chava and she was motzei shem ra on Adam, they were all punished. Okay. And juxtaposed to the expression mikol chatos haadam is the parsha of sotah. It would juxtapose is the parsha of nazir. Why? Says the Baal HaTurim, because the sin of Adam HaRishon was he drank wine. What do you mean the sin of Adam HaRishon was he drank wine? I thought it was a fig. I thought it was wheat. No, no, no. The Baal HaTurim is clearly siding with the opinion that it was a grape. So the Baal HaTurim says on the juxtaposition of ish o ish ki yaasu mikol chatos haadam, it's maramez to the cheit of Adam HaRishon and therefore nismacha parshas nazir. Fine. Interestingly, there's an amazing Arj Hakadosh. The S Asher boy pre-ates. Hashem tells Adam Harishon you could eat from any tree. What do you mean any tree? I thought he can't eat from the S Hadass. Why does the possuk say you could eat S the S [clears throat] Asher boy pre-ates? What happened to the S Hadass? So, the the Arj Hakadosh says no, the S Hadass was not Asher pre. It is a pre. It is a pre. We're only Ashering fruits that have in it that have fruit. We're only Ashering a tree that has fruits, but not a tree that is a fruit. That's the first answer. The second answer is that even the S Hadass was permitted to Adam Harishon. Why? Cuz Hazal say that if he only would have waited until Friday night, he could have made Kiddush on wine on the wine. Adam Harishon was just supposed to wait until Friday night to make the Kiddush. This is presuming that the S Hadass was wine. Think about what the Arj Hakadosh is saying. The Arj is bothered. If Adam Harishon was not allowed to eat from the S Hadass, so what does it mean that Hashem says I gave you S Asher boy pre-ates? He wasn't allowed to eat from the S Hadass. Answer, yes, he was. Even the S Hadass, it was only he wasn't allowed to eat from it prematurely, but if he waited until Friday night, he would have been allowed to have some. So, by the way, it's interesting. There are there are some gatherings where people gather together on Friday afternoon and they consume large amounts of Shabbos food. They have cholent. They have kugel. And they masquerade it in a religious activity that they call tiyameha. Now, tiyameha means you should taste the food, which means you take a morsel of cholent, you lick it, and you consume less than two calories. Then maybe you take a tiny tiny piece. No, but cloaked in the um hypocritical garb of religiosity, they consume large amounts of food and they call it a mitzvah, so that when Friday night comes, they have no appetite at all. So, they are successfully imitating the original sin of Adam and Eve, who also made a premature kiddush club. In other words, if you wanted to know, what would you call the activity of Adam and Eve? It It was nothing short of a kiddush club. So, that's why I like to say, if you too would like to bring devastation and destruction to the world and cause harm to the Jewish people, you too could eat Friday afternoon large amounts of food before Shabbos. You too could walk out during the keriah or the haftarah to make kiddush. And you could too could follow in the ways of Adam and Eve bringing destruction to the Jewish people. That is your choice. That was That is the opinion of the Or HaChaim HaKadosh. Now, another So, but one thing we see clearly from the Or HaChaim HaKadosh that he takes the view that the tree of Adam and Eve the eitz hadaas was yayin. The Shlah says similarly, the Shlah says that according to the opinion that the Eitz HaDaas was Gefen and Chava squeezed the grapes and they are referred to as Sarei Gefen Nachria or Kavos Kos HaTara HaTara Ela. So, therefore connect because of that, a woman has dam niddah. And because Chava [snorts] intended to be mavdil from Adam al yedei yayin, that's why women don't drink from Havdalah. You ever wonder? Why don't women drink from Havdalah? So, they'll they've come up with all kinds of wives' tales that if they're going to drink from Havdalah, you know, bad things are going to happen to them. I can't This is not the place This is a you know, a general audience. I can't describe the different legends that women say over what will happen if they haven't forbid drink from Havdalah. The Kabbalistic reason they don't drink from Havdalah is because uh Chava intended to be mavdil from Adam al yedei yayin, therefore they don't drink the wine of Havdalah. This brought down the halacha by the Magen Avraham. He says the minhag is women don't drink from Havdalah, look in the Schlah. By the way, I just want to point out there are other reasons why women don't drink from Havdalah. Another reason is because of their great connection to Shabbos. Women are so connected to Shabbos like Sarah Imeinu whose candles burnt from Leil Shabbos to Leil Shabbos. She was so mekushar and medubak to Shabbos. So, her candles burnt the whole week. Women cannot bring themselves to be mavdil from Shabbos. By the way, halacha l'maaseh, you need to know this. This is only These are Kabbalistic reasons, but women are chayav in Havdalah. Therefore, if their husband is not around or already made Havdalah, they need to make their own Havdalah and drink without any hesitation. Heaven forbid for a woman to use these reasons and not make Havdalah. It's only all things being equal if their husband is home and he's drinking the wine, she doesn't drink the wine. By the way, the Aruch Hashulchan and the Mishnah Berurah and the Aruch Hashulchan both say women are chayav in Havdalah and if need be, they need to drink the wine. But, there's a Kabbalistic reason that women don't drink the wine because she chava intended to be mavdil from Adam al yedey yayin. Furthermore, in the Sefer Maaseh Rav in the Minhagim of the Gra it's brought don't eat grapes on Leil Rosh Hashanah. The reason is Kabbalistic and the Gra does not reveal the Kabbalistic reason. However, in the Sefer Imrei Shmuel, he reveals the Kabbalistic reason. The Kabbalistic reason is that since according to the Zohar, the Eitz HaDaas was yayin, an aveimah in ve roish, and we know that Adam HaRishon was created on Rosh Hashanah and he ate from the Eitz HaDaas on Rosh Hashanah. So, on the day that he violated the sin and ate from the Eitz HaDaas, the last thing we want to do is follow in his ways and eat grapes. That's the Kabbalistic reason not to eat grapes on Rosh Hashanah. All of these sources, whether it's the Baal HaTurim, whether it's the Aruch HaChaim HaKadosh, whether it's the Shlah HaKadosh, whether it's the Gra, they all seem to be going according to the opinion of Rabbi Meir that the Eitz HaDaas was yayin, was gefen. This is all the opinion of Rabbi Meir. And therefore, in the Sefer Divrei Torah of the Munkatcher, he brings that he has a tradition, the reason why we Chazal were masakin by every davar she ba kedusha that it's over a yayin. Um For example, at a bris milah borei pri hagafen asher kideshanu mibetan pidyon haben chuppah kiddushin we're constantly making borei pri hagafen leil seder leil rosh hashanah we're always using yayin leil sukkot leil shavuot leil shabbat why? The reason we begin every davar shabakadosha with yayin is because they're all of these holy activities are coming to rectify the sin of Adam Harishon who ate from the eitz hadaas which was gefen. So we want to rectify the sin of Adam Harishon and we do so al yedei yayin. So all of these sources the >> [clears throat] >> baal haturim the arich hakadosh the shlah the gra the munch hatcher they're all going according to the opinion of rameyer that the eitz hadaas was a gefen. However, elsewhere in maseches pesachim the shlah seems to also acknowledge the opinion of rabbi yehudah that it was a chittah. The shlah says the matzah and the yayin that we have on pesach are a tikkun for the sin of Adam Harishon. Some say it was a chittah some say it was eshkol anavim and they're both true. The matzah according to matzah comes to be masakin the view that it was chittah yayin comes to be masakin the view that it was eshkol anavim. So now we're we're acknowledging the opinion that the eitz hadaas was chittah. Comes the ben yehoyada in maseches berachos and he says eilu ve'eilu divrei elokim chayim and the truth is, the Adam HaRishon ate from all three. The Ben Ish Hai Yada says, "It's known that all the words of the Tanakh are emes." All of these three fruits were included in the warning of the Eitz HaDaas. He ate from all three. Therefore, by the Shalosh Regalim, it says simcha regarding achila and shtiya. Our eating on the Shalosh Regalim is a tikkun for the sin of Adam HaRishon. And perhaps that's why it says Shalosh Regalim tachog li bashana. Tachog is rashei teivos te'ena, chita, gefen. Shalosh Regalim tachog te'ena, chita, gefen. And we want to be mesakein to eat on the our achila on the Shalosh Regalim, which are keneged the gimmel avos, which are chet ches gimmel taf, chesed, gevurah, tiferes. Pesach is chesed Avraham. Shavuos is gevurah Yitzchak. Sukkos is tiferes Yaakov. So, according to the Ben Ish Hai Yada, the Eitz HaDaas included all three trees. And Adam HaRishon ate from all three. Now, in the sefer Ben Ish Hai, in year two, the beginning of Bereishis, he says slightly different. He says, "Indeed, elu ve'elu divrei Elokim Chaim." They were all included. The Eitz HaDaas had chita, had te'ena, had gefen. But what it means is they it had the flavor of all of these three. The Eitz HaDaas was one fruit, but that one fruit incorporated the taste of all the various possibilities. Just like the manna had multiple tastes, so to the etz hadas had the taste of chita, gafen, te'ena. And therefore again, the sholosh regalim, the three meals that we have, tach ayin te'ena chita gafen, tiferes chesed gevurah, is mesakein all these various views. However, friends, these are not the only three views what the etz hadas was. The The three views are not just chita, te'ena, and gafen. As you might know, there's another view, and it's very relevant to a yam tif we just celebrated. What about the Yalkut Shimoni, which exchanges the opinion of Rav Meir and Rav Yehuda, brings the opinion of fourth opinion, you know what the etz hadas was? Rav Meir says chita, Rav Yehuda says anavim, Rav Abba de Min Akko says esrog chaya. That's what it means, va'teira ha'isha ki tov ha'etz le'ma'achal. What tree could you eat? The tree? The esrog, which by the way, this is like the Or HaChaim HaKadosh's first answer. The Or HaChaim HaKadosh had a question. How could Hashem said hinei nasati lachem es kol etz oseh pri. What do you mean Hashem's not giving Adam the etz hadas to eat? No, the etz hadas is not an etz oseh pri. The etz hadas was etz pri. So the Or HaChaim HaKadosh in his first answer is seems to be going with this opinion of the Yalkut, that the etz hadas, there's a fourth option, the esrog in the holy sefer Ben Ish Chai. By the way, did I mention you could get this sefer for free? You can get it for free. Go to sefer em rabbeinu zera torah.com. Actually, this coming year you could join us. Yud Gimmel Teves. Maybe you want to come for the 50th Yahrzeit of the Tzaddik of Ra'anana. Come to Har Hamenuchot for the 50th Yahrzeit. If you look in the Divrei Bracha in the beginning of the Sefer, the great Rosh Yeshiva of Tvi Kushelevsky writes about when he personally visited the Kever of the Tzaddik of Ra'anana and how he experienced Yeshua's. Anyway, the Ben Ish Hai says a Remez to the opinion that the pre- the Eitz HaDaas was an Astroid. It says pre-Eitz HaDaas Kapois Tamarim, Aso Feitevos Yetzer Mayis, that by Adam HaRishon eating from the Eitz HaDaas, it the Eitz HaRa caused death to the world. Now, question. According to the Ben Ish Hai, the three Regalim are Mesakin all three views of what the Eitz HaDaas was. Question. A- According to the Ben Ish Hai, that the three Regalim Mesakin three views, but now there's a fourth view. So, what's Mesakin the view that it's an Astroid? You could say Shmini Atzeres is Regel Bifnei Atzmi. So, there really four Regalim, and they correspond to the four Shitos of what the Eitz HaDaas is. So, now, friends, it's a it would be nice to try to identify which Yom Tov corresponds and is Mesakin which view of the Eitz HaDaas. And in this handy footnote here in the Sefer Magid Rakia on Bereishit, which you could get for free shipping at rabbidg.com, or you could even get it for free at my beatsa at safer.mybeatsa.com. We point out that the Ben Yehoyada does not expressly identify which regel is masakin which hate. Which regel is masakin which view? So, let's take it one at a time. It's pretty reasonable to say Sukkot is a tikkun for the view that it's an esrog. Rabbeinu Bachya says that we take the lulav to make on other Rishonim. So, it is very logical to assume the Yom Tov of Sukkot is masakin the view that the etrog hadas was an esrog. Okay, so so far so good. Now, the Shulchan says that matzah is a tikkun for the view that it was a chita. Also on Pesach we're judged on trua. So, Sukkot is esrog, matzah is chita. On the other hand, you could say the Shulchan says we drink dalet kosot on Pesach. So, maybe it's the view that it's yayin. But, we're not really going to have any other Yom Tov to be masakin chita. So, let's assume Pesach is masakin chita. And what's masakin yayin? Maybe you have a short-term memory, friends, but yesterday Shemini Atzeret there is a particular food item that people have in excess, sometimes a little bit too excessive. Shemini Atzeret maybe is a tikkun for gefen. The Vush says we're noigen laharbei bishiyas yayin. That's why we don't do birkas kohanim by mussaf. Maybe Shemini Atzeret is a tikkun for gefen. Especially the garah was besimcha yeseirah on Shemini Atzeret ein simcha ela beyayin. In that case, Shavuot is a tikkun for te'enah. Why would Shavuot be a tikkun for te'enah? Shavuot is matan Torah seino. Well, you could say it says in Mishlei, "Noitzer te'ena yo'ichal pirya." He who guards the fig will eat its fruit. And the Gemara darshans in Eruvin, "The Torah is nimshal te'ena." A te'ena, the more you touch it, the more you find. Torah also, the more you contemplate it, the more taste you find. Furthermore, the Gemara the Medrash darshans, why is the Torah compared to te'ena? Because most ilanot, like zayis and gefen, when the fruit is ripe, you reap it all at one time. The te'ena, today you reap a fruit, tomorrow a fruit, the next day a fruit. So too the Torah. Today you learn a bit, tomorrow a little bit more, because Torah you don't learn not in 1 year and not in 2 years. It's a You learn a bit at a time. So we could say, according to the Yalkut Shimoni, that there was an esrog and there are four fruits, putting together the Bnei Yisrael, that the sholosh regalim are mesakin the three views, you could say Shemini Atzeres, which is regel bifnei atzmo, is mesakin the according to the fourth opinion. And we're suggesting Sukkos is mesakin esrog, Pesach chita, Shemini Atzeres yayin, and Shavuos te'ena. In fact, we brought from the Or Hachaim Hakadosh earlier, that if Adam Harishon would have waited, he would have been able to make kiddush on yayin, on the Eitz Hadass, according to the opinion gefen haya. The Chasam Sofer adds that all the opinions are true. That everybody says had Adam not eaten from the Eitz Hadass before the time, he would have been able to eat it on Shabbos. It's just he had it too soon. Says the Chasam Sofer, a remez is te'einah, chittah, esrog, yayin. They're all true. The fruit had the taste of a fig, wheat, esrog and yayin. The rashei teivos is te'einah, chittah, yayin. Hadar? Hadar for esrog is rashei teivos chaya. Gematria im hakollel shabbosain. Which indicates that on Shabbos the fruit would have brought him life. So, the Chasam Sofer reveals that Eitz HaDaas included all four fruits. Te'einah, chittah, yayin, hadar. Rashei teivos tachaya. Gematria im hakollel shabbosain. As a remez to this idea that the Or HaChaim Hakadosh says that had Adam HaRishon waited until Shabbos, he could have eaten from the Eitz HaDaas. Friends, the limud is Kiddush is very good. Kiddush is good. However, everything in the right time. What with patience is permitted, with impatience brings destruction to the world. So, this Shabbos is Shabbos Bereishis. You what we want to make sure we get off to a good start. We're very excited to begin Bereishis. Last night we mentioned the joy of finishing Vezos HaBrachah is not completing the Torah. What's the joy in completing the Torah? Rebbe Akiva Eiger once suggested, why is there no "Shahas simchah be'einai" when you make a siyum? Because when you make a siyum, what's the simchah? It's in a way a source of agmas nefesh when you realize how deficient the learning may have been. The joy of a siyum is the the learning of a subject endows you with a new lave, with a lave shmaya, with a heart of understanding, and it allows you to endeavor to plumb the depths of your learning in a way that you never had before. So, it's the joy of a siyum is the excitement of being able to start anew with a new lave, with a deeper understanding. So, Hashem Hashem should show us me tyroshi neflies. I wish everyone a very successful upcoming zman. In all of your limudim, in all of your endeavors, Hashem should mevarech everyone in the upcoming year. Shaffa, bracha, v'hatzlacha. Have a wonderful week ahead. Kol tuv. >> Kol tuv. Hi. >> Hi. Good year. >> Good year. How are you doing? >> Good, good. What's doing? >> I'm good. >> Uh-oh.