To Man’s senses and understanding, the עץ הדעת appeared beautiful, nourishing and the most correct tree to partake of. Despite that, God told Man not to partake of it.
This is the meaning behind the tree’s name: By man’s choice it will become clear what Man considers good and evil. Does he make his determination based on his own senses and understanding or based on the will of God?
The tree stood to remind Man of that which must remain front and center in his mind. Man’s doesn’t understand why he can’t partake of this tree. Everything inside him tells him that he should partake of it, and yet God’s will is that he not partake.
For Man to fulfill his mission on earth and be worthy for the world to be a Paradise for him, he must learn to put God’s will, whenever it is revealed, before his own.
Beraishis 2:9, Pages 58-59
