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א וְהַנָּחָשׁ֙ הָיָ֣ה עָר֔וּם מִכֹּל֙ חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה אַ֚ף כִּֽי־אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹ֣א תֹֽאכְל֔וּ מִכֹּ֖ל עֵ֥ץ הַגָּֽן׃

The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field that the Lord God had made. The serpent was clever; it possessed intelligence. Although the word “cunning” [ arum ] usually has negative connotations in modern Hebrew, in the Bible it is a neutral term. Furthermore, this primeval serpent was not the same as the diminished snake we know today, but a wholly intelligent creature. He said to the woman: Did God actually say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden? Perhaps the serpent chose to address the woman because God did not speak directly to her but to the man, reasoning that since she had heard of the prohibition only through an intermediary, it would be easier to incite and deceive her. Although when God forbade man from partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the woman was still a part of him, one must conclude that only the male side heard the command directly from God.

RASHI

והנחש היה ערום.מָה עִנְיָן זֶה לְכָאן? הָיָה לוֹ לִסְמֹךְ וַיַּעַשׂ לְאָדָם וּלְאִשְׁתּוֹ כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר וַיַּלְבִּשֵׁם, אֶלָּא לִמֶּדְךָ מֵאֵיזוֹ עֵצָה קָפַץ הַנָּחַשׁ עֲלֵיהֶם, רָאָה אוֹתָם עֲרֻמִּים וְעוֹסְקִים בְּתַשְׁמִישׁ לְעֵין כֹּל וְנִתְאַוָּה לָהּ:

ערום מכל.לְפִי עָרְמָתוֹ וּגְדֻלָּתוֹ הָיְתָה מַפָּלָתוֹ, עָרוּם מִכֹּל, אָרוּר מִכֹּל (בראשית רבה):

אף כי אמר וגו'.שֶׁמָּא אָמַר לָכֶם לֹא תֹאכְלוּ מִכֹּל וְגוֹ', וְאַעַ"פִּ שֶׁרָאָה אוֹתָם אוֹכְלִים מִשְּׁאָר פֵּרוֹת, הִרְבָּה עָלֶיהָ דְבָרִים כְּדֵי שֶׁתְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ וְיָבֹא לְדַבֵּר בְּאוֹתוֹ הָעֵץ:

DISCUSSION

The serpent was more cunning

The Torah does not disclose the serpent’s motives for seducing the woman. Perhaps it sought to usurp man’s position atop the hierarchy in the Garden of Eden (see Bereshit Rabba 20:5). It is also possible that the serpent had absolutely no personal motive; it was simply the embodiment of evil. The Midrash depicts Satan as riding on the back of the serpent; the serpent was an instrument in the hands of absolute evil ( Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer 12). However, even if the serpent’s actions are ascribed to Satan, it is still difficult to fathom the existence of such evil in the world. Indeed, the mystery surrounding the serpent’s motivation remains unsolved (see Zohar 1:35b). Whatever the motivation, the serpent wanted evil, negation of the laws of reality. And yet, it seems that the serpent itself was unable to eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Like the other creatures, it was unable to contravene these laws. Since only the man and the woman had the freedom to violate the laws, the serpent turned to them. Alternatively, perhaps the serpent was cunning precisely because it happened to eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as it was not prohibited from doing so (see Ḥizkuni ).

ב וַתֹּ֥אמֶר הָֽאִשָּׁ֖ה אֶל־הַנָּחָ֑שׁ מִפְּרִ֥י עֵֽץ־הַגָּ֖ן נֹאכֵֽל׃

The woman said to the serpent: From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat. God did not prohibit us from eating the fruit of the garden.

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