Parshas Vayelech

At what should have been G-d’s only command and eat from the fruit of knowledge. But it wasn’t the juice of the fruit that the snake proffered. It was the promise of something more. The promise to transcend the limits of human physicality. In his own words: “For G-d knows that as soon as

Imagine the power to do whatever you want, whenever you want it!

But in truth, the snake’s (Bereishis 3:5). What? Not infinite power. Not the ability to create or destroy worlds. But simply — “to know good and bad”?

Here lies an astounding perspective on the potential — and the curse — of being human.

Before this incident, there was one valid, universal perspective: the truth. If there was a question of good or bad, we could see it clearly. Place the act into the great tapestry of history: does this bring more of the Divine into the world, or does it diminish His presence? That was the measure. That was clarity.

But after eating from the of man. When faced with moral dilemmas, man can no longer see the full picture. He sees only a narrow slice — his tiny vantage point in the anchoring himself to Torah and G-d’s ultimate truth, he is left merely “like G-d, who knows good and bad” — but only through the foggy lens of

Now, in these Ten Days of in the heavy fabric of our own personal perspective — a cloak that shields us from the blazing light of G-d’s truth. Our task in these awesome days is to peel away that cloak, layer by layer, and reconnect with the source of clarity.

May we all merit Divine help not to be seduced by the shiny fruits of this world, those false promises of pleasure, glory, and happiness. Instead, may we bind ourselves to the true light of G-d’s presence. And through that light, may we illuminate ourselves, when Moshiach comes, and

May we all be sealed for