"The serpent’s words come in a vast array of forms, but its goal is always the same"
In Nurture Their Nature, Rabbis Yosef Lynn and Jack Cohen present a fascinating interpretation of the conversation between Chavah and the serpent, which they first heard from Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld, based on the words of the Vilna Gaon and the Meshech Chochmah.
In their telling, the serpent’s entire goal was to obscure the fact that the first mitzvah given to Adam was to enjoy the fruits of all the trees of Gan Eden. The verse (2:16) specifically uses the term of a command, “vaitzav Elokim,” and the doubling of the verb for eating, “achol tocheil,” indicates the imperative form.
The serpent sought to distract Chavah’s attention from that first commandment — an expression of Hashem’s desire that man should experience the full range of sensory, spiritual, and intellectual delights even in this world.
True, Chavah pushed back when the serpent asked, “Has Elokim not said that you shall not eat from all the trees of the Garden?”
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