“The Lord God commanded man, saying: From every tree of the garden you may eat” (Genesis 2:16). “The Lord God commanded man, saying: From every tree of the garden you may eat.” Rabbi Levi said: He commanded him regarding six mitzvot. “[The Lord God] commanded [vaytzav]” – regarding idol worship, as it says: “Because he willingly followed an order [tzav]” (Hosea 5:11). “The Lord” – regarding blasphemy, as it says: “One who blasphemes the name of the Lord” (Leviticus 24:16).
“God [elohim]” – this refers to [the appointment of] judges, as it is stated: “You shall not curse judges [elohim]” (Exodus 22:27). “Man” – this refers to the shedding of blood, as it is stated: “One who sheds the blood of man [haadam]” (Genesis 9:6). “Saying [lemor]” – this refers to forbidden sexual relations, as it is stated: “Saying [lemor]: Behold, if a man sent away his wife, and she departed from him, [and she went to belong another man]” (Jeremiah 3:1).36One of the basic laws of sexual morality is that a married woman may not go and “belong to another man” unless her first husband “sent her away,” i.e., divorced her.
“From every tree of the garden you may eat” – He commanded him regarding theft.37God informed Adam that all the trees were permitted to him only because they were not someone else’s private property. The Rabbis interpreted the entire passage [differently]. “The Lord God [Elohim] commanded” – [He said to him:] ‘I am merciful, but also I am a judge to exact retribution.’38“Lord” connotes God’s attribute of mercy, and “God” [Elohim] connotes His attribute of strict justice.
Elohim – He said to him: ‘I am elohim, act towards me like a God [elo’ah], that you not curse Me,’ as it is stated: “You shall not curse elohim.”39Elohim can mean either “judges” or “God.” From where are forbidden sexual relations derived? “He shall cleave to his wife” (Genesis 2:24) – but not to another man’s wife, not to a male, and not to an animal. “You may eat [akhol tokhal]”40This can be translated: “When it is food, you may eat it.” – Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanin said: When is it [meat] permitted for consumption?
It is after it is slaughtered. He thus alluded to him regarding [the prohibition of eating] a limb [taken] from a living animal. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, as on the day that you eat of it you shall die” (Genesis 2:17). “You shall die [mot tamut]” – death for Adam, death for Eve;41The double expression mot tamut alludes to two deaths. death for him, death for his descendants.