The first parsha of the Torah says (in perek 3 pasuk 3):
וּמִפְּרִ֣י הָעֵץ֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּתוֹךְ־הַגָּן֒ אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים לֹ֤א תֹֽאכְלוּ֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְלֹ֥א תִגְּע֖וּ בּ֑וֹ פֶּן־תְּמֻתֽוּן׃
But of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the Garden, Elohim said, You shall not eat from it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.
Rashi comments that Chavah added extra restrictions to what Hashem commanded and this additional "chumrah" - stringency - caused Chavah to sin (the source of this Berashis Rabbah). The snake disproved Chavah's chumrah by pushing her until she touched the tree and nothing happened to her as a result of touching the tree. The snake told Chavah that just like touching the tree had no consequences, eating from the tree would have the same non-result.
The Sifsei Chachmim further explains that Chavah had devised a logical theory explaining why these prohibitions existed; the tree had a poison that would kill not only by eating the fruit but also by touching the tree. When the snake disproved this she reasoned there was no danger of death from eating the fruit.
Rav Henoch Leibowitz comments that Chavah's conclusion is difficult to understand. She creates her own reasoning and when it is disproved she eats from the tree; risking death! Logically, she should have rejected her reasoning for the prohibition and retained the commandment from Hashem. You would think that she should not have risked death by eating the fruit of the tree.
Rav Henoch explains that human beings are blinded by arrogance and self-love. Even when they are faced with incontrovertible proof they are wrong, it is difficult for us to swallow our pride and admit we are wrong. Once Chavah set up her internal logic she could not retract it when faced with the truth. Despite the fact the only alternative was to reject Hashem's commandment and risk losing her and her husband's life.
We must be careful to continuously study ourselves, and review our actions and thoughts with a skeptical and critical eye. By holding them up to the light of the Torah's truth and acknowledging our mistakes with intellectual honesty. Not only is it difficult to admit our mistakes to our peers, it may be even harder to admit them to ourselves.
As we begin the new year a healthy measure of self-skepticism is the key to self-improvement. It is a powerful tool to ensure the bad habits we left behind on Yom Kippur do not reappear in our daily routines. Awareness of our fallibility and human shortcomings will enable us to acknowledge our mistakes with sincere humility and carry us a long way on our quest for perfection.
Have a good Shabbos.
