Date: October 21st 2022

When the Torah was given at Sinai the pasuk tells us that Hashem instructed Moshe “So shall you say to the House of Yaakov and tell to the Sons of Israel.” (Shmos 19:3). The Medrash Rabbah interprets this to be a reference to the order of instruction of the men and women. Moshe was instructed to teach the Torah to the women first (Bais Yaakov) and afterward the men (Bnei Yisroel). The Medrash explains that Hashem directed Moshe to teach in this order to avoid a potential disaster that occurred once before when Adam and Chava were given the command to not eat from the Eitz Ha’daas. On the very first day the Serpent enticed Chava to transgress this single commandment which they heard straight from Hashem. Why did Chava eat from the Eitz Ha’daas? It was because she was only commanded after Adam and she reasoned that the primary focus was for Adam and her obligation was secondary to his.

The commentary of the Yefe Toar asks on this Medrash that according to the narrative of the Torah the explicit reason Chava sinned was due to the enticement of the Serpent. The Yefe Toar answers that although Chava was enticed by the Nachash, the reason she was susceptible to his manipulation was because deep down she felt her obligation was second to Adam's and was therefore less important.

The answer of the Yefe Toar bears further consideration. Adam and Chava were extremely wise and on the highest level of spiritual greatness achievable at that time. So much so, that Chazal tell us that the angels wanted to sing praises to them just as they do to Hashem. Furthermore, the command that was given to Chava directly from Hashem was unequivocal. As a matter of fact, when the Nachash first approached her she told him that if she ate from the Eitz H’daas she would die. Even if her command was secondary to Adam it was still binding upon her. Why would that incorrect assumption correlate with her violating her obligations?

We can learn a profound insight into the human condition from here. Apparently, a persons emotions and intellect are so profoundly intertwined such that the way one feels about something shapes how they react even on an uncomplicated issue. It was because Chava felt EMOTIONALLY that her obligation was second class that she was able to be seduced by an otherwise uncompelling intellectual argument.

This is an important insight that has a great impact on the way we serve Hashem and keep the mitzvos each and every day of our lives. To illustrate by contrast, imagine an army. An army is a massive organization with many levels of clearly differentiated rank. For the entire organization to function properly every individual in every unit has to do their part. Even so, if a private does not do his job well the implications to the army as a whole are very miniscule. On the other hand, if a high ranking general does not perform well his failures could have a very significant impact on the success of the army. Hashem’s army does not function this way. Every individual is given a specific role and the unique circumstances in their life to achieve what is specifically set out for them to accomplish- and it is of massive significance to Hashem and the universe. The Talmud says each person must say to himself- The entire world was created for me!

We learn from this Chazal how important it is for a person to appreciate the great value their avodas Hashem has in the true estimation of Hashem's value system. On the other hand, we need to be aware of just how susceptible we are of making mistaken assumptions or judgements if we underestimate the importance of our actions.


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