HaShem brought Adam and Chava to a lush garden - the most beautiful place on earth - Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden). There, every kind of tree grew, their branches loaded with ripe, sweet fruit. Adam and Chava could help themselves to whatever they wished, and when they wanted to drink, they would simply scoop up some fresh, clear water from one of the rivers that flowed through the garden.
Then HaShem said to Adam, "You may eat fruit from almost any of the trees in the garden. But you may not eat from the tree that is right in the middle. If you eat that fruit, you will deserve to die, and will no longer have the right to live forever."
Adam then went to Chava to tell her about HaShem's commandment. He didn't want to take any chances that they might eat the fruit from the tree. So he said, "Chava, we are not allowed to touch the tree in the middle of the garden, or eat its fruit. If we do, we will die."
