Musar על בראשית 1:26

The author views the creation of the emanations i.e. אצילות [a collective term used by the author of the book פרדס רמונים for all the ספירות. Ed.], as something akin to a "body." This means that the אין סוף (another word for G–d's Essence) needed to "wrap" itself in a spiritual emanation in order to eventually ennoble man through granting him some of the אור הנעלם. If G–d had not done so, man would not have a chance to get to know anything meaningful about G–d. The need for these emanations arises from the fact that without them the effect of the Revelation would be so overpowering that it would simply shatter us, much as noise at decibels that our ears are not attuned to would shatter our sense of hearing. [I have heard this explained as similar to a high voltage transformer which reduces such voltage in order to protect the electrically operated gadgets that we use in our household. If the voltage would hit our gadgets at full strength it would simply destroy them. Ed.]. When G–d said in Genesis 1,26: "Let Us make man in Our image and in Our likeness," this was a plan to create the most perfect creature, a creature that would effectively be the world, i.e. would be enthroned in this physical world much as G–d Himself is enthroned in the Heavens. The communication between man's soul and that soul's origin to the אדם העליון, [a term for the highest of the emanations], would be unimpeded.

Man's purpose is to perfect his resemblance to the Divine. It follows that even those aspects of his body which are more mundane by nature should be elevated to a level of חולין שנעשו על טהרת הקודש, "profane matters treated as if all the restrictions of sacred matters applied to them." This includes the act of sexual union with his wife. At first glance the very desire to engage in sexual intercourse is demeaning, reflects the dominance of our physiological impulses over our spiritual impulses. This can be overcome when man sanctifies himself prior to engaging in marital relations with his wife. When he does so he not only models himself on the Divine but the children who will be born as a result of such a physical/spiritual union will reflect the דמות ה' in an intensified measure. We have elaborated on this elsewhere as well as on the fact that there are three partners involved in the making of every human being, G–d having said "Let us make man in Our likeness" (Genesis 1,26). [This refers to G–d's participation in the creation of every human being subsequent to the first. I have found this confirmed in ראשית חכמה, שער קדושה, פרק טז, paragraph 56 in the new edition by Rabbi Joseph Chayim Waldman. Ed.] G–d's participation is conditional on the act of marital union being performed under the aegis of the סטרא דקדושה, the sacred side of the emanations.

G–d has, however, provided a remedy for those Israelites who have become subject to these influences. This remedy is known as תשובה, repentance. Repentance possesses the power to bring such sinners "back into the fold," into the right side of the emanations which represents holiness. This was pointed out by Nachmanides; the relevant verse is 30,11 which refers to repentance. The mystical dimension of repentance is part of the emanation בינה. Students of the Kabbalah are aware that this emanation cannot be accessed by the Gentiles. The latter can access only the emanations from חסד "downwards." Canaanites have access to these lower emanations. Ishmael was sired by Abraham who represented the emanation חסד. Hence Gentiles are able to relate to this emanation. Being offspring of Isaac, who represented the next "lower" emanation גבורה, the descendants of Esau also could access that emanation. Having delineated the above exceptions, the 70 nations can access only the שרים ומזלות which we have already described. The inability of these 70 nations to access the emanations of either חסד or גבורה explains why the touching by members of such nations disqualifies wine, an expression of G–d's bounty. All this because of the pollutant of the serpent which spread through mankind as a result of Eve having squeezed out the fruit of the tree of knowledge (reputedly the grape). It thus became what is termed in our portion (29,17) פורה ראש ולענה, "a fruit turning into poison weed and wormwood." Concerning this type of wine, Solomon (Proverbs 23,31) has said: "Do not look at wine when it is red." Since the emanation בינה is not exposed to the "touch" of the Gentiles, the wine we find in that domain is the kind of which our sages have said that it has been preserved in its original grapes ever since the six days of Creation, in order to be served up to the righteous in the Hereafter (Berachot 34b). This is an allusion to the six "revealed" days of Creation remaining as they are, i.e. accessible to contact by the Gentiles. The six days of Creation known as the days of בנין, the concealed aspect of the work of Creation, serve as an area in which this wine is stored for the eventual enjoyment by the righteous. The penitent must elevate himself to a level that qualifies him to partake of that wine in the future. He is able to burst the confining shackles of the קליפות, symbols of the constraints imposed upon him by the evil urge, so that he can rejoin the mainstream of the Jewish people. The בעל תשובה together with the other righteous will then experience the revelation of G–d's secrets as a result of having partaken of this wine. This is the meaning of Psalms 25,14: "G–d's secrets are reserved for those who fear Him." The numerical value of the word סוד, secret, is 70. It alludes to the 70 who formed the nucleus of the Jewish people who first went down to Egypt. Because they were all a single "person," נפש, they all have a share in the World to Come. It is known to Kabbalists that the emanation בינה is the mystical dimension of the World to Come, a domain where G–d and His Name are One and where a unified people of Israel cleave to Him. It is only the people of Israel who are referred to by the title אדם; by describing the creation of אדם as "in G–d's likeness" (Genesis 1,26), the Torah concurrently refers to the creation of the Jewish people. When we reflect on the respective meanings of אדם and אדמה, earth, we must conjure up in our minds that it is the function of this אדם to serve as the מרכבה, carrier, or better אדמה of G–d's Presence. G–d is perceived as sitting on a throne. The throne is standing on this אדמה, i.e. is supported by אדם, the Jewish people. It follows that any misconduct by Israel in our terrestrial spheres undermines the "floor" on which G–d's throne is based.

The fourteenth—The angels are powers, and they have no body and no form, but they may find it fitting to clothe themselves with the mantle of form. One of them may appear in the form of a lion and another in the form of a heavenly being or a celestial wheel, and some of them may appear in the form of man, and that form is most precious in their eyes. For this is the form in which the angel of glory appears, as it is said (Ezekiel 1:26), “And upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man.” And therefore it is said (Genesis 1:26), “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” that is to say, in a form which is honored by us, and preferred by the angels when they appeared before the children of men. From this we learn that the form of man is the highest, for it is the form of knowledge and wisdom, and therefore every soul whose form is the form of man has within it the power that draws it to the perfection of the angels, if some restraining force, by reason of evil deed, does not hold it back.

A further positive virtue to be learned from this portion is to be humble, unassuming and modest, something that G–d has demonstrated in this portion. He took advice from His inferiors before creating man, as is evident from the plural of .'נעשה אדם וגו

The reason that the Midrash quoted the verse from Proverbs 3,15, was to substantiate the value that we accord to a natural firstborn. It interprets the word "פנינים," as derived from "פנים," front, or face. The question arises why is it not spelled פנים then? Why do we need the letter "נ" twice in that word? Another question is how do we prove that Gershon had not lost his rank as a firstborn? After all, the fact remains that the Torah gave precedence to Kehat counting him first! This question is answered by the Midrash quoting this verse which had the double "נ" in the word פנים. It is just like saying that in this case two families both ranked as panim, first. We must remember that G–d's original plan was that the Torah should be given to Adam, and this was the whole reason why he had been created. We have explained all this when we discussed the verse in Genesis 1,26, "נעשה אדם" Adam had been the "firstborn" of all mankind, since he was the first human being ever. We also have Israel being called "אדם." This in turn means that Israel is called "firstborn" as we know from Exodus 4,22: "My firstborn son Israel." Here, however, the rank of the Levites as firstborn outranks that of Israel as a whole, since the Levites represent the רוח אדם, whereas the remainder of the tribes of Israel only represent the נפש אדם. We have discussed this concept previously. To make certain that we appreciate this point, the Torah writes concerning the tribe of Levi in Deut. 33,10: יורו משפטיך ליעקב ותורתך לישראל, "They will teach Your laws to Jacob, and Your instructions to Israel." This refers to the revealed Torah, the תורת האדם, the practical Torah, the commandments that either have to be fulfilled, or the transgressions that have to be avoided. However, the spiritual Torah is the true "firstborn," having been created two thousand years before the universe; it is the Torah alluded to on the tablets that the Kehatites were carrying in the Holy Ark. The tablets after all, were מעשה אלוקים המה, "were the handiwork of the Almighty," (Exodus 32,16) just like the "spiritual Torah" which had preceded the written Torah. This Torah then must be viewed as the real בכור, "firstborn." It preceded the Torah that was given to אדם to perform. The Kehatites were mentioned first because they carried the Holy Ark containing the tablets, i.e. the spiritual essence of the Torah. From that aspect the Kehatites deserved to be considered as the בכור. It now is clear why they were counted first. We view Gershon as the "firstborn" in matters that have to be performed in this material world, and Kehat as the "firstborn" in matters that are exclusively the domain of the spiritual world. The very concept of the distinction of being the firstborn is enhanced by our understanding these nuances in the way the Torah is written.

The purpose of creation, is, as far as man is concerned, for the sake of the Torah, i.e. he is to perform the positive and negative commandments contained in Torah. He has to avoid transgressing negative commandments. His task vis-a-vis Torah can be summarised as לעבדה ולשמרה, just as Adam's task in Eden had been the same thing. All this is hinted at in Genesis 1,26, when G–d said: "נעשה אדם, instead of אעשה אדם." The word נעשה, alludes to the נעשה ונשמע the Jewish people proclaimed at Sinai prior to receiving the Torah. That moment in time was their finest hour, as we explained when discussing the appropriate verse. Once Adam had sinned, "Man's" rehabilitation did not commence until the giving of the Torah and the building of the Tabernacle. This is because the Tabernacle was built in a way that made it a universe in miniature, i.e. a microcosm. It reflected the universe, since it too had been created for the sake of Man. Adam had distanced himself and his place was now taken by Aaron, who had been brought close. G–d instructed Moses in Exodus 28,1: "ואתה הקרב אליך את אהרון." I have elaborated on this theme in Torat Kohanim i.e. the book of Leviticus. I also explained how the Tabernacle was the universe in miniature. Aaron is equivalent to "Adam" i.e. Man, for whose sake the universe had been created, so that he could receive the Torah. It is this which is hinted at at the beginning of the book of Numbers, אוהל מועד=ציור העולם. The Levites, who are close to Aaron, may be viewed as if they were branches of "Adam," and it is a fact that only Israel is described in the Torah as אדם.

The principle involved in that statement is bound up with the word בראשית, which some of our sages (including Rashi on Genesis 1,1) explained as the raison d'etre of the universe, בשביל התורה וישראל שנקראו ראשית, on account of the Torah and Israel which are called Reshit, G–d created the universe seeing that they are a "first," and the appellation "first" does not really belong to anyone but G–d Himself, who did not even have a "beginning, i.e. ראשית.” The meaning of the word Reshit is the "beginning of creation," that the very first thought concerning creation included thoughts of the final product of such a creation, i.e. אדם, Israel and the Torah which Israel was meant to accept. All of this is alluded to in G–d's words when He said: נעשה אדם. The word נעשה distinguished Israel at the time when they accepted Torah without insisting that they first wanted to know its contents (Exodus 24,7). G–d, the Torah, and אדם are entwined with one another. Kabbalists who are deeply immersed in these esoterics described it in these words: "Torah is the imprint (רושם) of Divinity, whereas אדם is the imprint of Torah. The true revelation of G–d's Divinity is through His holy names, and Torah itself is a string of G–d's holy names. It consists of 600,000 letters which represent the 600,000 souls of Israel. Torah also consists of 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments; they represent expressions of G–d's attribute of Mercy and G–d's attribute of Justice respectively. The 365 negative commandments correspond to 365 sinews or tendons in man. Seeing the latter are red, the Kabbalists see in this a symbolism for the attribute of Justice. The 248 positive commandments, however, represent the bones of man, something white, symbolic of the attribute of Mercy.

In a book called Sefer Hama-arechet chapter Ha-adam the author writes: Now that you are aware of the reasons for the manner in which the human body is constructed, you are able to understand whether you have received communication via the "mouth to mouth" method, a true prophetic insight such as our prophets used to receive, or not. The sages used to call such prophetic insights שיעור קומה, a way of saying that someone had some insight into the gateway of the Creator. The Torah referred to this when it describes G–d as saying "Let us make man in Our image and in Our likeness." Concerning such visions it is written: ואנכי חזון הרבתי וביד הנביאים אדמה "I have granted many visions and made plain My word through appearances to the prophets." Thus far the author of Sefer Hama-arechet.

The second of the five ways of examining one's spiritual level has to do with the name concept of האדם, a term used for the abstract spiritual world as such. This אדם is also viewed as the principal carrier of G–d's Presence. אדם, i.e. Man in our "lower" world, serves as the throne for the אדם in the Celestial Regions. Our respective limbs and organs are allusions to concepts prevailing in the spiritual world. They are all forces of the Divine. When G–d said: "Let Us make man in Our image," this was not just an empty phrase, but it conveyed the message that physical man would possess some Divine properties [as opposed to all other living creatures. Ed.] The תמונה, image, revealed to the prophet when he experiences a prophetic vision is the תמונה of the אדם העליון, Man as a spiritual concept. When the physical counterpart of this "man," i.e. the prophet, experiences such a vision, his own physical characteristics are temporarily elevated to be of almost spiritual dimensions. The image he sees is similar to someone who looks in a top quality mirror and sees himself reflected in it. Not every prophet saw a reflection of the same clarity, since this depended on the spiritual qualities he possessed. Thus far the words of the Chayat.

The third and mystical function of the קרבן is that it facilitates the union between man and the Ineffable Name of G–d. Concerning this function the Torah says: אדם כי יקריב מכם (הוא) קרבן ל-י-ה-ו-ה. Israel is the sacrifice called אדם. When G–d had said in Genesis 1,26: נעשה אדם בצלמנו, "Let Us make man in Our image", He created man in this world while at the same time establishing the likeness of man on the throne in the Celestial Regions. It is significant that the numerical value of the word אדם (45) corresponds to the numerical value of the Ineffable Name when spelled as a word, i.e. יוד-הא-ואו-הא. This is the allusion that man is close to G–d, i.e. is a קרבן. Such affinity is achieved by means of בקר and צאן which we sacrifice down here on earth. When the Torah continues: תקריבו את קרבנכם, this is the instruction to awaken within ourselves the consciousness of the highest achievements we are capable of in our affinity with G–d. Nowadays, when we find ourselves in exile, the sages introduced the daily prayer services as a substitute for the public offerings in the Temple. Prayers are also capable of establishing this unity between ourselves and the Ineffable Name.

The author views our rehabilitation process as linked to our souls having stood at Mount Sinai and having witnessed the revelation. The major organs involved were the ears which had heard the commandments. When later generations tune in their ears to what is written in the Torah, it is as if they were trying to make up for generations or individuals who had closed their ears to Torah instructions. The very word נעשה "we shall do," which the Jewish people said prior to the revelation was an allusion to the beginning of creation when G–d had said נעשה אדם בצלמנו. Once our ears are involved in this process of rehabilitation the other organs will become involved also and general מצוה performance will result.