[Avodah] Knowledge of Good and Bad

[David Riceman]

From: <kennethgmiller at juno.com>
<citing Rabbi Yossi Abrams>
> Then they ate from the tree, and gained a new knowledge. A new
> meaning was added to the word "tov". Not only did they understand the
> difference between good and bad, between tasty and putrid, between
> beautiful and ugly. But now they also understood the difference
> between right and wrong.

Let me explain why I think this is such a radical hiddush.  Breishis begins 
with God's creation of the world, which is obliged to obey God, and 
continues with God's creation of people, who have free will.  God gives the 
people one mitzva, and they disobey it.  As a result of this they are given 
what we normally think of as the highest human capacity, moral sensibility.
So the Torah begins by hinting to us that, when confronted by a command from 
God, we should not necessarily follow it, but should evaluate whether it is 
appropriate for us in our current situation.  This is especially surprising 
since Adam didn't even have the excuse that legislation, since it's made for 
the millions, is bound to cause a few unfortunates distress (the Rambam 
mentions this somewhere in part 3 of the MN, but I don't recall where off 
the top of my head).  That legislation was tailor made for Adam and Hava in 
their unique situation.
  So you see why I find this so surprising.  It suggests that when we read 
the Torah as divnely mandated legislation, we're reading it wrongly.

David Riceman