One of the most familiar narratives to any student of the Torah is a tale found very early in Genesis. After being created, Adam is tasked with naming each animal and then fell into a deep sleep while Hashem formed his bride Chava from his own side. After this, it seems the newlywed couple was given some privacy to spend time together, and it was during this time where it seems Hashem was absent that Chava has a conversation with the serpent, which ultimately resulted in Adam and Chava eating of the fruit of the tree which Hashem had forbidden to them - the tree of Knowing good and evil. This prompted Hashem to then conceal the tree of life so that Man might not live forever knowing good and evil.
Some might call this brief summary of Genesis 1-3 a tale of two trees. Some may even suggest that this tale isn't over yet but that its ending has been revealed.
While that may all be very true, does the text support this idea of two distinct trees in one story? Suppose perhaps there are two stories. Two potential realities. Two choices, but only one tree.
At this point, you might be thinking, "well obviously there are two trees because the text clearly speaks of the tree of life and the tree of knowing good and evil, both located in the middle of the garden."
But is this what the text actually relays?
Out of the ground Hashem Elohim made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)
The wording and punctuation here are a bit ambiguous, and even in Hebrew, this is the case. The verse begins by stating that Hashem made all the variety of trees grow and digresses to make mention of the Tree of Life being in the middle of the garden, then simply includes the tree of knowing good and evil at the tail end. Which part of the verse is it being included with, though? The last part which mentions the Tree of Life being in the middle of the garden? This would indicate both were in the middle of the garden, as most would agree with. But this inclusionary clause might just as easily be a return to the former starting point of the verse after deviating to mention the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden. This would indicate that the tree of knowing good and evil is being mentioned as included among the many variety of trees Hashem had caused to grow. This makes the location of the Tree of knowing good and evil more difficult to pinpoint. At best, this would render the verse as saying, "Hashem caused all variety of trees to grow in the garden, the Tree of Life in the middle, and the tree of knowing good and evil is also somewhere."
Believe it or not, this rendering of the verse has been suggested by more than one noteworthy rabbi.
Working within this rendering, one can only rightly conclude that the Tree of Life is at the center point of the garden, and even logically this makes sense in that only one tree could truly occupy the perfect center of the garden.
So what of the tree of knowing good and evil? After all, that's the one Hashem forbade them from eating. It would be of the utmost importance for them to know where it is lest they eat of it accidentally.
So it's noteworthy that the text never records Hashem telling Adam or Chava where either one of the trees is. Genesis 2:16-17 records Hashem giving them permission to eat of every tree except the tree of knowing good and evil, but it never records him telling them a location. Something Chava says to the serpent indicates she had some idea though.
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’” (Genesis 3:2-3)
Many of you may be thinking now, "See! The tree of Knowing good and evil was in the middle of the garden with the tree of life! Chava just said so!" But does she? Notice she doesn't refer to the tree by any name, only "the tree which is in the middle of the garden." Its location seems to be the only means by which she could identify the tree she knew to be forbidden to them. Her choice of words also reveals something else. That according to Chava, there was only one tree in the middle of the garden. She doesn't say they are forbidden of one of the trees in the middle of the garden. She says they are forbidden from the (a specific) tree in the middle of the garden.
So which tree is the one in the middle of the garden? The tree of Life? Or the tree of knowing good and evil?
Ask yourself why they shouldn't be the same tree. Are they not both analogous to the Torah?
Of course they are! The tree of life very simply gives life, life to be lived in fellowship with Hashem. This is also what the Torah does.
You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live in them. I am Hashem. (Leviticus 18:5)
Hashem intends for his children to live by his commandments, not to die by them. So how is the tree of knowing good and evil analogous to the Torah?
Well, very simply, it gave knowledge of good and evil in more ways than one. This is what the Torah also provides. The Torah distinguishes between clean and unclean, between spiritual light and darkness, and between deeds of wickedness and deeds of righteousness. It teaches the difference between good and evil in a very literal and practical way.
What shall we say then? Is the Torah sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn’t have known sin, except through the Torah. For I wouldn’t have known coveting, unless the Torah had said, “You shall not covet.” (Romans 7:7)
When a person rebelliously violates a command of the Torah with full knowledge of the wickedness of such rebellion, they come to know evil in a more intimate way, a way Hashem never intended for us. A way that creates distance between us and the Creator who craves closeness to us, just as eating from the tree created distance between Hashem and Adam and Chava.
But a person also comes to know goodness more intimately when they obey the commands of the Torah out of love for Hashem in their hearts. This, in turn, shortens the distance between Hashem and His creation, allowing an intimate closeness between creation and Creator.
If you are wondering, "But how could they be the same tree? Adam and Chava weren't forbidden from eating from the tree of life, only the Tree of Knowing Good and Evil."
It has been suggested that the prohibition against eating from the tree of Knowing Good and Evil was not eternal, that it was temporary pending the correct time and occasion.
In his commentary on Genesis 1:29, Ohr HaChaim suggests that if Adam had waited only a little longer, if he had simply waited until the eve of the Sabbath, he would have been permitted to eat of the fruit. That this fruit was intended to be elevated by Adam in the context of Shabbat, as the wine that is blessed is also elevated. This understanding is also stated in Shach on Leviticus 19:23 and is alluded to in Bereishit Rabbah 21:7.
Why is this important?
If one accepts that the two are one tree, both being analogous to the Torah, then the answer as to which tree is being eaten lies as much in how the tree is approached as in how the Torah is approached.
For one seeking to determine for themselves what is good and bad, disregarding the commandments of the Torah and taking part in the bad it gives knowledge of. For one seeking to play the role of G-d for themselves. The Torah is as the tree of knowing good and evil, bringing death and distancing that person from Hashem.
For one who approaches the Torah with patience and love for Hashem, who seeks only to obey and grow closer to Hashem, the Torah is as the tree of life. Elevating the deeds of the person and bringing them into a sublime closeness with Hashem.
The Tales of this tree are the stories of a person's life and the choices they make. Every day a person wakes up and from the moment their eyes open they are faced with choices, between walking in the path of Torah (the tree of life), or choosing to disregard it in favor of their own desires (the tree of knowing good and evil).
A Torah scroll has two wooden handles, and both are necessary to navigate through it. Nonetheless, it is one scroll.
There may very well have been two trees in the middle of the garden as Onkelos suggests. But theorizing about the possibility of the two actually being one tree might help to better one's approach to the Torah in the pursuit of the Tree of Life as a reminder that it is our choice that determines what the Torah makes of us and therefore what it is to us, be it life or death.
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