וּמִפְּרִ֣י הָעֵץ֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּתוֹךְ־הַגָּן֒ אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים לֹ֤א תֹֽאכְלוּ֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְלֹ֥א תִגְּע֖וּ בּ֑וֹ פֶּן־תְּמֻתֽוּן׃
mais quant au fruit de l’arbre qui est au milieu du jardin, Dieu a dit: Vous n’en mangerez pas, vous n’y toucherez point, sous peine de mourir."
Shem MiShmuel
But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, "You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die" (Genesis 3:3): And in Rashi (Rashi on Genesis 3:3): She added to God’s command (which did not forbid touching the tree, but only eating of its fruit); therefore, she was led to diminish from it. It is to this that Solomon says: Do not add unto His words (Proverbs 30:6). But this must be understood. Is it not our obligation, and is it not proper for us to do this, and were we not commanded about it to make a protection for the protection? So she did well to add [the prohibition of] touching so that she would not come to eating. And the law is like this with chametz (leavened grains) in the Talmud (Pesachim 1ob). [There] Rabbi Yehudah made a decree and negated the commandment to search and destroy chametz [if one finds it] during the holiday, lest one come to eating from it since people are not used to separating from it year-round. And [even with] the rabbis who do not make the decree, it is because that he is looking for it to burn it [at this time, so he will not come to eat it]. And Rabbi Meir (Pesachim 11a) also makes the decree even when people do separate from it, such as with the new grain. See there. And, if so, what sin did she sin when she added to the command? And in fact, [it is written] in Avot DeRabbi Natan 1:5 about that which the men of the Great Assembly said (Avot 1:1), "Make a fence for the Torah": And create a fence around your words just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, created a fence around His, and the First Man made a fence around his, etc. What safeguard did First Man make for his words? The verse states, etc. from the tree of knowledge [...] you may not eat, etc. (Genesis 2:17). First Man did not want to tell this to Eve in the same manner that the Holy One, Blessed be He, had told it to him. Rather he told her thus, making a safeguard for his words, [restrictive] to a greater extent than what the Holy One, Blessed be He, told him: But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, "You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die." — because he wanted to guard himself and Eve from the tree, not even to touch. To here are [its words]. It pushes it to say that [the excerpt in Pesachim and Pirkei DeRabbi Natan] are midrashim that disagree. And, regardless, the mishnah in Avot presents a difficulty for Rashi. And it is also difficult in the opposite direction from the verse that Solomon said: Do not add unto His words.