“…but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall surely die.” (Bereishis 2:17)

The source verse above was said by Hashem to Adam Harishon. To me, this seems to indicate that the punishment would be immediate — if Adam would take a bite he would drop dead right then and there.

The question is obvious: While HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave Adam Harishon a list of curses on that day, he lived for nearly a thousand years after this incident!

The Vilna Gaon answers this question by explaining that there are two kinds of punishments. There are punishments which are consequences of the act itself, and punishments unrelated to the action that was perpetrated, but are for disobeying.

Examples of punishments which are consequences are: If a mother tells her child “Avramele, don’t stick your finger in the electrical socket, because you will get a severe shock!” If Avramele doesn’t listen, the “punishment” of being shocked is a direct and immediate outcome of his action. Or, if a mother tells her child, “Avramele, put on your coat before you go outside, otherwise you’ll catch a cold!” While not as direct, if Avramele doesn’t listen and catches a cold shortly thereafter, it is also a direct result of his action.

An example of punishment which is not a direct consequence, would be: If a mother tells her child “Avramale, if you listen to Mummy and clean your room like the good little boy that you are, then I will allow you to go on your class trip tomorrow. However, if you ignore your Mummy and leave your room a mess, I will not permit you to go.” This punishment, though inspired by the failure to clean his room, is a result of not following the mother’s instructions.

When Adam Harishon ate from the etz hadas, he disobeyed a commandment from Hashem, and he also caused his body to have to die. The pasuk saying “mos yamus,” does not necessarily mean “You will die as a punishment.” Rather, it means that you have introduced “death” to your body, and your body will eventually die because of your action.

Many of us have made certain resolutions to travel on a particular path during the year 5785. It is now, at the beginning of our journey, that we need to be most vigilant in preventing even one small infraction, as that could set the stage for our entire resolution to collapse, which would necessitate finding a new path towards teshuva —if not immediately, then certainly by the end of the year.

I once heard someone ask, “If you have a box filled with 100 identical chocolate cream cookies, which cookie is the most fattening?” He answered in jest, “The first one you eat, as once you break your diet, the rest of the cookies will soon be gone!”

Shabbos Bereishis is the first week in 5785 when we return to our “non-Yom Tov” routine. May we be strong in our resolve so that we complete this year as we committed to during the recently completed Yomim Nora’im.