Questions tagged [gan-eden]

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Why did Eve Believe the Snake?

Rashi in Genesis 3 states: כָּל אֻמָּן שׂוֹנֵא אֶת בְּנֵי אֻמָּנוּתוֹ, מִן הָעֵץ אָכַל וּבָרָא אֶת הָעוֹלָם (בראשית רבה): כי ידע FOR [GOD] KNOWS — Every artisan detests his fellow-artisans (“Two of a ...
GratefulD's user avatar
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4 answers
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Why did G-d allow for the serpent to be in the Garden (which is a sacred space) when the serpent is deceitful by nature and thus, evil?

According to the Ancient Israelite view, the Garden is a manifestation of sacred space (this is the sacred space theology. The Holy Temple was a manifestation of sacred space on Earth), guarded by ...
setszu's user avatar
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1 answer
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Why wait? Shabbos and the Tree of Knowledge

In Bereishis 1:29 we read: And G-d said, Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, on which is the fruit yielding seed; to you it shall ...
Shmuel's user avatar
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Was it Permissible for Eve to Smell the Forbidden Fruit/Relax in the Shade of its Tree and/or Enjoy a Forbidden-Fruit-Based Shampoo?

The Torah (Genesis 2:16-17) describes God's prohibition of eating the forbidden tree/fruit. In Genesis 3:3 (per Chazal - see Rashi) Eve adds the additional proscription banning touching the tree/fruit....
GratefulD's user avatar
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0 answers
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Geographical location of Gan Eden

Do the sources give us the location of Gan Eden in which Adam and Chava lived?
Vyacheslav Yosef Dobrovych's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
156 views

What kinds of vegetables did Adam eat in the Garden?

In Bereshit 1:29-30, Adam is told that vegetables were allocated for him to eat for food. However, is there any information as to what vegetables Adam was permitted to eat, specifically whether Adam ...
setszu's user avatar
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Does Gan Eden smell like the havdahlah candle?

I’ve constantly heard from my family that after extinguishing the candles for havdalah you should smell them, I have found sources claiming this helps with smell and with memory but my family claims ...
jewishboy's user avatar
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0 answers
94 views

Peacock and date palm symbolism

In episode 2 of Simon Schama's documentary 'The Story of the Jews' ('Among Believers'), he introduces the art of the Vigna Randanini catacombs. In talking about the imagery and the connection between ...
ANH's user avatar
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Is R. Yehoshua ben Levi ever identified with a particular angel?

Related to this question: Did Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi learn the Angel of Death's personal name? We learn that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi entered the Garden of Eden alive without dying. This is ...
ANH's user avatar
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What do we want? How to resolve this seeming mixed message in Alshich on Shir HaShirim 1:4?

Here is an excerpt. I recommend learning the whole commentary on 1:4 before considering answering the question. הה"ד משכני וכו' והוא כי הלא יקשה בכתוב אשר הערנו למעלה אומרו משכני לשון יחיד נרוצה ...
Rabbi Kaii's user avatar
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1 answer
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Soul Fruit - what do we know?

Bereshit 2:9: ויצמח יהוה אלהים מן־האדמה כל־עץ נחמד למראה וטוב למאכל ועץ החיים בתוך הגן ועץ הדעת טוב ורע And from the ground Hashem, God, caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and ...
Rabbi Kaii's user avatar
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Did the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden have sapphire?

I heard one teaching that Moshe's staff was sapphire, and another that it was the Tree of Life. Is there any connection between the two, like maybe the fruits on the Tree of Life were like sapphires ...
ShipBuilding's user avatar
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Was Man Created Alone?

I am looking for a source which I (thought I) came across once regarding creation of man. From what I remember it said that man was actually created in multiple places. Or rather more than one man was ...
Shmuel's user avatar
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2 votes
5 answers
613 views

How did Adam and Eve sin before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge?

We see in chapter three of Genesis that although Adam and Eve were commanded not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge by G-d, the serpent was able to make it desirable in their eyes and lead them to sin. ...
treenuts15's user avatar
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1 answer
123 views

Gan Eden has gates and keepers?

According to Wikipedia: In the Talmud there are two types of spiritual places called "Garden in Eden". The first is rather terrestrial, of abundant fertility and luxuriant vegetation, known ...
capri reds's user avatar
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2 answers
111 views

Rav Albo's Sefer HaIkkarim-Maamar 4.30.10

In Rav Albo's Sefer HaIkkarim-Maamar 4.30.10 we read: "The second opinion is that though the perfectly righteous get material reward in this world, yet since their number is small, and the great ...
Amos74's user avatar
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(Why) Were animals expelled from Eden?

And the LORD God formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the man (in Eden). Genesis.2.19 I'm confused about what happened to the animal: God ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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1 answer
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Could animals in Eden eat from the tree of life and what would happen to them?

Following "Could animals in Eden eat from the tree of life", Could animals in Eden eat from the tree of life and what would happen to them?
Al Berko's user avatar
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What's the point of the tree of life staying in Eden after Adam's fall?

"He drove the man out, and stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the fiery ever-turning sword, to guard the way to the tree of life" Genesis.3.24 The tree was left in Eden ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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3 votes
4 answers
435 views

Could animals in Eden eat the forbidden fruit of knowledge and what would happen to them?

I don't see an objection to the fact that the animals of Eden have different diets prior to Adam's sin. And many animals eat fruits: mammals, birds, worms, etc, especially "the tree was good for ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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4 votes
3 answers
219 views

Moshiach already in heaven?

Masechet Derekh Eretz Zuta says: ט׳ נכנסו בחייהם בג״ע. ואלו הן חנוך בן ירד ואליהו ומשיח ואליעזר עבד אברהם וחירם מלך צור ועבד מלך הכושי ויעבץ בנו של רבי יהודה הנשיא ובתיה בת פרעה וסרח בת אשר ויש ...
Yosef's user avatar
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Why was Gan-Eden a garden?

The narrative says there was a place called Eden or being eden (a watered valley) and then God planted a garden inside of it where Adam was placed. Why was this place a garden, and not a city, a ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
103 views

Were there any animal in Eden?

The Gemara Berachos (34a) writes רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר: זֶה עֵדֶן, שֶׁלֹּא שָׁלְטָה בּוֹ עֵין כׇּל בְּרִיָּה - Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: That is Eden, which no creature’s eye has ...
NJM's user avatar
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2 votes
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R. Meir and Reish Lakish on Gan Eden and Gehinnom

I remember reading humble statements by both R. Meir and Reish Lakish, saying about themselves that they would probably need to go through Gehinnom to some degree, because of unknown sins and ...
Martin Åhlin's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
699 views

Were there insects in the garden of eden?

I was recently thinking, we create comfort for ourselves by keeping nature at bay. Flies and mosquitos are annoying, would Adam and Eve have thought the same? There were certainly serpents, maybe ...
Nephilim's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
181 views

To say Kaddish if known the person has gone to Gan Eden

This story https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/1819358/tzaddik-of-bnei-brak-appears-in-dream-to-fellow-kovno-ghetto-survivor-im-already-in-gan-eden.html Got me thinking ...
Daniel Ross's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Is there a connection between the serpent in Eden and the brass serpent in the wilderness?

Often unrelated stories are related to each other, (sometimes even despite non similar words). In this present case, one particular animal has a (some kind of) central role to its development. In the ...
Renato S. Grun's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
53 views

Is man really more similar to HaShem now or did the nachash just lie?

The snake claimed that once you eat from the tree, ‘Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' The commentators (I believe the Ramchal) explain that before the sin ...
Lages's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Gan Eden vs. Olam Haba

Please correct me if I'm wrong: The purpose of creation is to create a בית בתחתונים for G-d. The more mitzvos Jews engage in, the more they are guided by their soul's desire to give as opposed to ...
user27343's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
991 views

Where was Adam when Chava cheated with the snake?

Where Adam was when Chava was sinning with the snake? For me, it looks that Eden doesn't seem to be a huge place to walk around and Adam was so excited to have a woman by his side, also Adam and ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
218 views

Why should we be punished for Adam's sin? [duplicate]

My kid asked: I understand that Adam and Eve violated God's command by eating from the tree of knowledge and thus deserved punishment: as described in Genesis, Adam would have to work for his food ...
msh210's user avatar
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3 votes
3 answers
520 views

Beresheit 3:21: What was the material Hashem used to cover Adam and Chava?

I'm seeking a general consensus on what material Hashem used to clothe Adam and Chava. I realize there are various translations stating they were leather or animal skins. Commentaries range from ...
Ephraim77's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
284 views

What mitzvos did Adam have in Gan Eden?

Which mitzvos did Adam have before eating from the tree? Posible options: 1 - Not to eat from the tree. 2 - (the above +) to have children. 8 - (the above +) 6 mitvos 9 - (the above +) tzedoko
hazoriz's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
81 views

Adam and Chava's lack of repentance

I searched but did not find this exact question. Were Adam and Chava's expulsion also in part due to their lack of repentance or was it specifically because of their disobedience?
Ephraim's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
140 views

What is the significance of the 7 spices in Shir Hashirim 4:14? Why are they the chief spices? More so than the ones in the Keterot?

In Shir Hashirim chapter 4, verse 14 states: "Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all frankincense trees, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices." What is the significance ...
Butterfly and Bones's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
538 views

Seven Sons equals Gan Eden?

Is there a source for the idea that a woman who has seven boys in row gets automatic entrance to Gan Eden?
Mina Rut Haim's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
333 views

Is there still a prohibition on eating from the Eitz Hadaat (Tree of Knowledge)?

Obviously this is a philosophical question, not a practical one, but I am curious to see if anyone has commented if whether the prohibition for eating from the Eitz Hadaat still stands today. On the ...
Nic's user avatar
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6 votes
0 answers
203 views

Purpose of Torah in Gan Eden

We know from several midrashim (see first chapter of Midrash Tanchuma to Bereshit) that Torah had already existed before the world was created. It should have contained all the positive and negative ...
Kazi bácsi's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
152 views

Bereishis 2:15 - Inconsistent Gender of "Gan" and "le'Avdah u'leShamrah"?

In Verse 2:15 "Gan" (garden) is a masculine noun and "le'Avdah u'LeShamrah" (to till it and to keep it) are feminine inflections... I was told, the Zohar would explain it as follows: a) le'Avdah = all ...
shraga's user avatar
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3 votes
4 answers
594 views

Do Any Commentators Say Bananas were the 'forbidden fruit'?

In an effort to have more kavanah when saying a bracha I began to learn about fruits and vegetables common in my diet. I stumbled across an amazing book called: Banana - The Fate of the Fruit that ...
Re'eh's user avatar
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1 vote
5 answers
518 views

why Adam and Eve felt shame?

after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it says: "And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were nak-ed, and they sewed fig leaves and made ...
ray's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
329 views

Would Adam and Eve have lived forever if they didn't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

Would Adam and Eve have lived forever if they didn't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from ...
rabbiiapter's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
505 views

Is the story of Gan Eden Literally true?

Could it be that the story of Gan Eden, Adam, Hava and the Snake is an allegory meant to teach us lessons but not a recording of an actual event?
Mark A.'s user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
196 views

Is there any significance in the wording of Genesis 3:23?

The text reads: "וישלחהו ה' אלהים מגן עדן לעבד את האדמה אשר לקח משם" "And Hashem God banished him from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken" Why does it only say "ישלחהו" "...
Julian Jefko's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
867 views

Did The Snake In The Garden Of Eden Have Free Will?

I heard that all of creation recognizes Hashem and is obedient to Hashem, and that humans are the only creation from Hashem that have free will. So why is it that the snake in the garden of Eden was ...
SWT's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
222 views

What did Adam and Chava learn after eating of the Tree?

After reading this question and its answers and related discussion, I am still left with a question (so I don't think this is an exact dulicate): Is the binary of good/evil (tov/ra) the same as right/...
rosends's user avatar
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-4 votes
1 answer
151 views

What is the Tree of Life?

"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. -Genesis ...
Aigle's user avatar
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15 votes
6 answers
3k views

Who is Adam guarding Eden from?

In Bereshis 2:15 Adam is placed in Gan Eden to work and guard it. Guard it from what or whom?
rikitikitembo's user avatar
22 votes
6 answers
836 views

Why do fish die?

In Parshas Bereishis (Genesis 3:6), there's an interesting comment by Rashi. The Torah says: וַתֵּ֣רֶא הָֽאִשָּׁ֡ה כִּ֣י טוֹב֩ הָעֵ֨ץ לְמַאֲכָ֜ל וְכִ֧י תַֽאֲוָה־ה֣וּא לָעֵינַ֗יִם וְנֶחְמָ֤ד הָעֵץ֙ ...
robev's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
695 views

The serpent of Gan Eden [duplicate]

Does the Torah mean that there really was a "talking snake," or was it just a symbol of the Yetzer Hara (Satan/adversary)?
Dallas's user avatar
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