Eve Tastes The Forbidden Fruit

"And the woman said to the serpent" (Genesis 3:2). And where was Adam at that hour? Abba bar Koriah said: He had occupied himself with the way of the world and fallen asleep. The Rabbis said: The Holy One, blessed be He, took him and led him about through the whole world, saying to him, Here is a place fit for planting, here a place fit for sowing. This is what is written: "In a land through which no man passed, and where no man dwelt" (Jeremiah 2:6) means the first man did not dwell there. "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden... neither shall you touch it" (Genesis 3:3). This is what is written: "Add not to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar" (Proverbs 30:6). Rabbi Hiyya taught: One should not make the fence higher than the main thing, lest it fall and cut down the plantings. For so said the Holy One, blessed be He: "For on the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). But she did not say so; rather she said: "God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it" (Genesis 3:3). When the serpent saw her passing before the tree, he took hold of her and pushed her against it, and said to her: See, you have not died. Just as you did not die by touching it, so you will not die by eating it; rather, "For God knows that on the day..." (Genesis 3:5).