The Sins of Adam and Eve

The Alshich has an interesting take on the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He puts the primary blame on the serpent.

He explained that the serpent desired Eve when he saw her being intimate with Adam. He wanted her for himself and wanted Adam killed.

He committed three sins. He had no right to enter the Garden of Eden. He spoke against Hashem, and it was an obscene desire to try to take her away from her husband.

Eve’s sins were that she caused Adam to sin and that she ate from the forbidden fruit.

Adam ate from the tree and showed ingratitude by blaming “the woman that Yiu gave me.” He was forced to work the land “by the sweat of his brow.”
The serpent became an enemy to man. He was destined to slither in the dust. He represents evil and trickery.

Eve needed to atone for her role in this incident. Death came to the world because of her sin. Three Mitzvot were given to women to bring about this atonement.
Lighting Shabbat candles by women, were to bring light unto the world after Eve brought so much darkness. The Nidda laws related to menstruation were an atonement for the death and bloodshed brought to the world. Childbirth and pregnancy were connected with these laws.

The separation of the dough, known as “Hafrashat Challah,” was a law given to women. She took from the world without permission. The הפרשת חלה was meant to be a gift to the Kohein.

It is difficult to take this story literally when it involves a conversation between a woman and an animal. The symbolism is that the snake represented the Yeitzer Hara, the evil inclination, and how it entices us to sin.

This story is meant to be a reminder that we all have the same battle with the Yeitzer Hara. Its job is to get us to fail and make wrong decisions.We must learn to overcome these enticements and do what is right in the eyes of G-d.