창세기 3:29의 Musar

Furthermore, we know and understand that the Creator did not create the world for the sake of the wicked or those who anger Him, for reason cannot lead us to such a conclusion, but He created it for the sake of the pious, who acknowledge His divinity and serve Him properly. His intent was only to create the pious, but the wicked were created by virtue of the nature of creation. Just as a piece of fruit has a peel³This metaphor seems to be Kabbalistic, especially the use of "peel" for "evil."²This is a possible allusion to a favorite theme in Jewish Mysticism. "Evil is the Kelipah, the ‘bark’ of the cosmic tree or ‘The shell of the nut’ ". Gershom G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York: Schocken, 1946), p. 239. and that which is choice is what is within the peel, so the pious are the fruit of the creation of the world and the wicked are the peel . Just as we see that the intent of the sower of the seed is to cause wheat alone to grow, but that the strength of the sprout brings forth evil weeds with the wheat⁴See Isaiah 5:2. and that with the rose come all sorts of thorns, thus it is the intent of the Creator to create the pious, but by the virtue of the nature of creation, the wicked are brought forth with the pious. There is nothing that is created that cannot be divided into three parts: the choice or the purest part, which is like the finest flour; the inferior part, which consists of offal and worthless parts, such as straw or rubbish, and there is the part in between⁵This refers to some kind of intermediary state between excellence and worthlessness.. Thus you find among human beings one part which is choice and pure, and these are the pious ones; they are like the fine flour or the choicest fruit. And then there is the less worthy and the rejected, and they are the wicked that are like the rubbish or straw. Therefore, we can say that the world was not created for the sake of the wicked, but for the sake of the pious. Just as in the case of a tree, its master did not plant it and labor for the sake of the peel, but for the sake of the choicest fruit that it will yield.⁶This paragraph sounds Kabbalistic, not only in the imagery but also in the idea that evil is a necessary part in the creation of the world. Theodore Friedman in his review of Ephraim E. Urbach’s The Sages—Their Concepts and Beliefs (Hebrew) Jerusalem, Magnes: 1969, in Judaism Vol. 21:4, p. 499 deals with the famous controversy between the Schools of Shammai and Hillel, whether or not it would have been better for man never to have been born (Eruvin 13b). Urbach said that the question that exercised the two Schools was whether or not it would have been better for [the wicked] never to have been born. Friedman feels "unconvinced" that such is the plain meaning of the text. It is interesting to observe that the text which Urbach uses (p. 226) taken from the Ethics of the Fathers VI: 11 "Whatsoever the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He created it only for His glory", as it is written, Everything that is called by my name and that I have created, I have formed it, yea, I have made it (Isaiah 43:7) contains the very same verse which was cited by our author in the beginning of this chapter. See p. 10, lines 21-22.

The whole subject matter of burial is connected with Genesis 3,19: כי עפר אתה ואל עפר אתה תשוב, "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Adam's origin was dust from the earth. Our sages describe G–d as having taken earth from the site that is described in Exodus 20,21: מזבח אדמה תעשה לי, "Make for Me an altar of earth" (Talmud Yerushalmi, Nazir 7,2).

These commandments concern themselves with the refinement of body and soul. Concerning חלה, i.e. bread, the Torah tells us in Deut. 8,3: that "man does not live by bread alone, rather on all that emanates from the mouth of G–d." I have explained at length elsewhere in the name of the Arizal, that this verse explains the efforts made by scientists to find out how it is that through the intake of certain foods the soul remains attached to the body, although the soul by definition does not need to eat. The answer to this problem is that food is both something physical as well as something spiritual. There simply is nothing on this earth that does not contain some spiritual input from the "higher" regions. Heavenly forces cause that spiritual potential to be activated down here on earth. This is why the soul can also benefit from those spiritual ingredients in food, just like the body derives strength from the nutrients in the food consumed. Because of this, the soul remains attached to the body as long as the body receives sufficient food of the right kind. This is what is meant by the above quoted statement that man does not live by bread alone. It means that the body is maintained by the physical composition of the food, i.e. bread, as one can see. Over and above that, life is maintained, i.e. the soul is kept going, by the invisible spiritual elements in food, i.e. G–d's command, מוצא פי ה', for those spiritual elements to become active within the person in question. The Torah therefore commanded us to set aside the חלה, the portion to be given to the priest; by fulfilling this commandment the spiritual element in the bread should be "awakened" and contribute its share to maintaining our souls. Since the priest represents holiness, he is given this "holy" part of the bread. Since, ideally, this חלה is set aside when the bread has not yet been baked but is merely dough, it is a method of refining our bread by adding sanctity to it before it is even baked. The bread thereby acts as a refining agent for both body and soul. The first man, Adam was considered as the חלה of the universe (Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 2). He was perfect in mind and body until he sinned and caused the curse, and the Torah said concerning the earth קוץ ודרדר תמציח לך, ובזיעת אפך תאכל לחם "It will sprout thorns and thistles for you,…. by the sweat of your brow will you eat bread." The net effect on the bread after Challah has been set aside and has been given to the כהן, is for a person to qualify for the blessing inherent in the verse "ולחם לבב אנוש יסעד, bread will sustain man's life" (Psalms 104,15).

I have previously referred to an allusion contained in the words: אדם כי יהיה בעור בשרו וכו'. The vestments for the priests were to be לכבוד ולתפארת, "for dignity and adornment." These were to symbolize the כתנות אור, garments of light, which Adam and Eve wore before they had to exchange them for כתנות עור garments of skin, after the sin. Onkelos translates כתנות עור as לבושין דיקר, "precious garments" (Genesis 3,21). At first glance it seems that Onkelos equates כתנות אור with כתנות עור and בגדי כהונה. There is a mystical dimension to this comparison which is rooted in Kohelet 2,13: כיתרון אור מן החושך, "as the advantage of light over darkness." The message there is that G–d makes purity emerge even out of impurity. I have dealt with this at length in one of my addresses on שבת הגדול, the Sabbath preceding the festival of Passover. You will find it in my tractate Pesachim.

I am surprised that when it comes to smallpox outbreaks, which spreads from child to child, why do people not take their children out of the city? In the future, the fathers will be responsible for the deaths of their children who are nursing, and have committed no sin, and those who are weaned and have committed no sins, and died from the sickness whose fathers did not take them away [from the city]. Every man who fears god should fear every eventuality. These things that are included in protecting the body are included in the warnings of (Devarim 4:9) 'take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously' and this is also the way of the world to take care of one's body since it is the container that the soul is wrapped up in so it will be a throne for the soul.

The two arms of man correspond to the emanations חסד and גבורה. The two legs correspond to the emanations נצח and הוד. The male reproductive organ within which all the forces of the body coalesce and form his seed and by means of which he unites with his wife, corresponds to the emanation מלכות. After the Torah had described the union of man and wife [i.e. man in the plural i.e. אותם, Ed.], it mentions that G–d blessed them (Genesis 1,28). He called their combined name אדם. Man had not become whole until joined by his wife as a separate entity. When this occurred Man's soul wore garments of distinction [i.e. the body. Ed.] Man's essence is his "interior," his body is merely his "clothing." This "clothing" was snow white, as if he were wearing clothing made of "light," i.e. כתנות אור. Man's body then could be described as illuminating both his soul and itself. This provided man with three different kinds of wholeness or "perfections." They are alluded to in the acronym מגן (usually understood as shield, protection). The three letters forming that acronym are the first letters of each of the words ממון, money, גוף, body, and נשמה, soul. This is what is meant when the beauty of Jacob is described by our sages as comparable to the beauty of Adam. The Torah refers to it when it describes the mental and physical state of Jacob/Israel shortly after his encounter with Samael. We read in Genesis 33,18: ויבא יעקב שלם, "Jacob arrived whole." We are told in Shabbat 33b, that the word "whole" comprised the three aspects we have mentioned as the perfection of Adam. The Talmud described one of the aspects in which Jacob was "whole,” שלם, as תורתו; this refers, of course, to the state of his נשמה, his soul, since it is Torah which illuminates our soul. Adam the whole was not deficient in any area that is part of life. He did not have any needs since he already found himself at home in גן עדן, in an ideal environment. His food was derived from the trees of גן עדן. He did not have to work for a living and was therefore free to directly devote all his time to the service of G–d. The Torah describes that Adam was placed in גן עדן in order לעבדה ולשמרו, was placed in such an undemanding environment in order to enable him to serve G–d without hindrance and impediment. Our sages interpret the word לעבדה as referring to the performance of positive commandments, whereas the word לשמרה refers to the care taken not to transgress negative commandments. Adam performed all six hundred and thirteen commandments in a theoretical, spiritual fashion. All of this is explained in Pardes Rimonim chapter הנשמה, and I have elaborated on this elsewhere (מסכת חולין item 104, new edition of של"ה השלם by Rabbi Meir Katz). Man unfortunately did not even manage to spend a single night in גן עדן before he sinned. (cf. Psalms 49,13). His "jewelry" was removed as a result of his seduction by the serpent. This brought in its wake that instead of wearing "garments" which illuminated his soul as well as his body, he had to wear garments made of the hide of flesh, i.e. animals which did not represent anything spiritual. Ever since, new generations of man are the product of the smelly drop of semen, i.e. semen which is polluted by the residual pollutant of the original serpent. Once Eve had become defiled through sexual union with the serpent, the defiled party had to leave the holy site, i.e. גן עדן, just as in the desert anyone who was ritually impure could not remain within the holy precincts of the מחנה שכינה, the camp hosting the Presence of G–d. The immediate result of this was the toil involved in securing his sustenance, his clothing and his shelter. This is what the Torah meant when it describes that G–d told Adam: "You will eat bread in the sweat of your brow" (Genesis 3,19). Because man was constructed from parts of nature, מטבע, he has a tendency to pursue money, matbei'a, as symbolized by the word מטבע. He uses this money, מטבע, to secure his needs.

The sages also describe G–d as having gathered a little dust from every part of the globe so that wherever man would die, the local earth would not reject his remains since he contained part of it (Rashi Genesis 2,7). Both statements are accurate and point us in the same direction. It is well known that Adam incorporated within him all subsequent generations of mankind, for their very existence was through him. Our sages described all subsequent mankind as being related to Adam either through his head, his eyes, his hair, etc. [In present-day parlance this means that all of our genes were at one time part of the genes of Adam.] Even in death man is not totally severed from his connection with original man: the earth Adam was made of was holy soil, from the site of the earth of the altar mentioned. That piece of earth in turn contained earth from all parts of the globe, seeing that this site is the site from which the whole earth receives its sustenance. Had Adam not sinned he would have lived forever. Since he sinned, however, and was expelled from the garden of Eden because G–d did not want him to eat from the tree of life and live forever, he was bound to die sometime.

The Sages have said: "Intelligence is a sense of shame and a sense of shame is intelligence." For regarding Adam and Eve, it is said: "The two of them were naked and yet they felt no shame" (Gen. 2:25). And they did not understand what modesty is and they could not distinguish between good and evil. But, after they had eaten of the Tree of Knowledge, it is said: "Then the eyes of both of them were opened" (Gen. 3:7).

Another lesson we have to learn from this portion is to be careful not to use our power of speech to speak slanderously as the serpent had done, seeing that for every other sin there is some way to atone through some punishment, but the only sin that could not be atoned for was the slanderous use the serpent made of its tongue. Its punishment was not designed to elevate and rehabilitate. Of course, we also learn to be careful with what we eat, seeing that Eve sinned by eating forbidden food. Seeing that the Torah permits the cutting down of a tree only "if you know that this tree is not a fruit bearing tree" (Deut. 20,20), we learn that food is to be treated as something sacred and must not be wasted. We have a tradition that the prophet Ezekiel did not eat any meat if there was a question of the animal having been healthy etc., i.e. if a halachic ruling was deemed necessary concerning its fitness to be eaten. Just as consumption of food of a forbidden kind caused death, so fulfillment of the command to eat in sanctity which is hinted at in the words מכל עץ הגן אכל תאכל, "From all the trees of the garden you shall surely eat" (Genesis 2,16), is a commandment which promises life. The expression אם כל חי, which contains all the letters of the word for food, i.e. מאכל alludes to this. I have discussed this at length in my treatise dealing with the letters of the Aleph Bet when discussing the letter ק, at which point I have also explained the rabbinic statement that the word בראשית tells us that the world was created for the sake of the חלה תרומה and בכורים Jews separate from their dough or harvest respectively and dedicate to G–d. So much for the lessons of סור מרע, "desist from doing evil."

This is the way the סמ"ג describes the commandment as number seven in his list of positive commandments. "One must walk in His good straightforward paths, seeing that the Torah says והלכת בדרכיו, as well as אחרי ה' אלוקיכם תלכו (Deut 13,5), which is interpreted in the Talmud Sotah 14a as a reference to G–d's virtues. Just as G–d provides clothing for the naked, since the Torah says: 'G–d made leather aprons for Adam and his wife and He clothed them,' G–d also visits the sick, as we know from the beginning of this פרשה. G–d comforts the mourners as we know from Genesis 25,11: 'After the death of Abraham G–d blessed Isaac.' G–d also buries the dead, as we know from Deut. 34,6: 'He buried him (Moses) in the valley in the land of Moab.' This is the way I explained the contents of this paragraph to the scholars of Spain. You should know the G–d of your fathers, and serve Him, for just as He is gracious and merciful, so you should be gracious and merciful. Just as He performs acts of kindness, justice and charity on earth, so should you. You have two examples. In Jeremiah 22,15 it is reported of King Josiah that 'he ate, drank and performed justice and righteousness, whereupon all was well with him. Then he judged the poor and the needy, and all was well with him. That is truly heeding Me, says the Lord.' We have another verse in Jeremiah 9,22: 'Thus said the Lord: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; let not the strong man glory in his strength…but only in this should one glory; in his earnest devotion to Me, For I the Lord act with kindness, justice and equity in the world; for in these I delight, says the Lord." Thus far the סמ"ג.

The original "jewelry" had been taken from Man due to the powerful impact of Adam's sin. At that time Man's original vestments were exchanged from כתנות אור, garments made of light, for כתנות עור, garments made of hide (Genesis 3,21). The Torah, in our portion, orders that כתנות, tunics, be made for Aaron's sons (28,40) who had to be dressed in sacred vestments. They put on שמן משחת קודש, holy anointing oil, on their bodies before they dressed in the sacred vestments. By following this procedure, the priests ceased being זרים, strangers or "outsiders," before putting on garments which could not be worn by non-priests. When Adam became a זר, outsider, this was due to the pollutant with which the serpent had infected him. It was this pollutant from which he had to be purified. Aaron was the human being through whom this rehabilitation of Man was achieved. He had to be separate to sanctify his body. He thereafter dressed in the sacred vestments which conferred upon him כבוד ותפארת, the very kind of visible distinction that Adam enjoyed while dressed in garments made of light. The pollutant present in Man because of the serpent's infection was converted into something positive by means of the breastplate Aaron wore on his heart. The Ineffable name of G–d was engraved on the stones of the breastplate The names of the 12 tribes as well as the names of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were engraved between the 12 gemstones set in it. The latter represented the מרכבה, whereas the former represented the twelve possible ways of arranging the letters of the Ineffable Name.

Since holiness exists only in the Holy Land, we are commanded to "depart from evil," i.e. to destroy all the sites where the Gentiles have worshiped This commandment applies only inside the boundaries of ארץ ישראל. Our sages (Chulin 13b) have alluded to this mystery when they said that Gentiles in the rest of the world are not considered as idol worshipers. This means that idol worshipers who live in the land of Israel which is under the direct rule of G–d serve Him in an inadequate manner, are heretics. This is what is called idol-true worship. The Gentiles who live in the rest of the world – which is under the authority of negative forces, חיצוניות, however – do not reject the authority under which they live. Just as it is a serious sin to destroy even a single stone of the Holy Temple, so it is a great מצוה to destroy – and never to rebuild – an עיר הנדחת, a city within the boundaries of ארץ ישראל the majority of whose inhabitants have turned to idol worship. Its very site has become defiled. Whatever applies to such a city applies to the מסית ומדיח, those that have seduced their fellow-Jews to turn to idol worship. Uprooting such cities or people is equivalent to uprooting the residual pollutant of the original serpent. Just as G–d cursed the serpent immediately (Genesis 3,14) without making any allowances or even asking why the serpent had seduced Eve, so we too have to deal with such phenomena without our customary recourse to finding every possible merit to save the transgressor from judicial execution. The commandment not to love the seducer enjoins us to emulate G–d's conduct in this respect. Since Genesis 3,15, G–d has made the animosity between human beings and serpents a natural phenomenon, something that we need not, or better should not strive to overcome. The false prophet similarly is part of the phenomenon of the pollutant of the serpent rearing its ugly head.

Since holiness exists only in the Holy Land, we are commanded to "depart from evil," i.e. to destroy all the sites where the Gentiles have worshiped This commandment applies only inside the boundaries of ארץ ישראל. Our sages (Chulin 13b) have alluded to this mystery when they said that Gentiles in the rest of the world are not considered as idol worshipers. This means that idol worshipers who live in the land of Israel which is under the direct rule of G–d serve Him in an inadequate manner, are heretics. This is what is called idol-true worship. The Gentiles who live in the rest of the world – which is under the authority of negative forces, חיצוניות, however – do not reject the authority under which they live. Just as it is a serious sin to destroy even a single stone of the Holy Temple, so it is a great מצוה to destroy – and never to rebuild – an עיר הנדחת, a city within the boundaries of ארץ ישראל the majority of whose inhabitants have turned to idol worship. Its very site has become defiled. Whatever applies to such a city applies to the מסית ומדיח, those that have seduced their fellow-Jews to turn to idol worship. Uprooting such cities or people is equivalent to uprooting the residual pollutant of the original serpent. Just as G–d cursed the serpent immediately (Genesis 3,14) without making any allowances or even asking why the serpent had seduced Eve, so we too have to deal with such phenomena without our customary recourse to finding every possible merit to save the transgressor from judicial execution. The commandment not to love the seducer enjoins us to emulate G–d's conduct in this respect. Since Genesis 3,15, G–d has made the animosity between human beings and serpents a natural phenomenon, something that we need not, or better should not strive to overcome. The false prophet similarly is part of the phenomenon of the pollutant of the serpent rearing its ugly head.

(Bereshith 3:14): "And the L-rd G-d said to the serpent: 'Because you have done this, you are more accursed than all the beasts… On your belly shall you go…" What is the intent of 'On your belly shall you go?' That its "supporters" would be broken and its feet would be cut off and it would have nothing to stand on. And when Israel do not want to support the Torah they give it [(the serpent)] supports and thighs to stand on and prevail." (Thus far, the holy Zohar.)

ענין כתנות אור שנהפך לעור . Originally, man wore clothing made from "light" i.e. the word Or spelled with the letter א, whereas after the sin G–d had to provide man with clothing made from hide. This teaches the need to refine one's body until one again reaches the spiritual level when one can wear clothing made of אור. One way of qualifying for such garments once more in the future is to accept any afflictions we experience in life with love, to perceive them as acts of G–d designed to help us refine our body. Even death itself is a means of refining the material the body is made of. This is why the Psalmist says: יקר בעיני ה' המותה לחסידיו, "The death of His pious ones is precious to G–d." There is a very interesting comment in the book עמק ברכה page 85 on Genesis 3,22: "What if man were to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat from it and live forever!" G–d's fear of that eventuality was based on His not wanting man to miss his chance at rehabilitating himself through death.

In the Zohar on Parashat Terumah [it is taught]: 'One who luxuriates at his table and delights in those foods ought to call to mind and to feel concern for the holiness of the Holy Land and for the Temple of the King that has been destroyed. In consideration of the sadness that one feels at one's table--in the midst of the joy and celebration [lit. drinking] there--the Holy Blessed One accounts it to one as if one has rebuilt His House and rebuilt all the ruins of the Temple. Happy is one's portion!' (Zohar 2:157:2). Therefore it is customary to recite the Psalm 'By the waters of Babylon' (Psalms 137) before Grace after Meals, particularly since the table corresponds to the (Temple) altar, while, through our many sins, the altar itself is no longer. One should call to mind [the teaching], 'Woe to the children who have been banished from their Father's table' (Talmud Berachot 3a). The banishment from the Table (shulchan, sh.l.h.n) was caused by the power of the Snake (lenachash, l.n.h.sh), as is taught in the Zohar [about the word] Eichah ('.y.kh.h, 'Alas;' the name of the Book of Lamentations): 'I shall set enmity' (Eivah, '.y.b.h) (Genesis 3:15), an anagram for א׳יכה י׳שבה ב׳דד ה׳עיר 'Alas, the city sits solitary' ('.y.b.h) (Lamentations 1:1). On Shabbat and Festivals one recites the Psalm 'When the Name restores the fortunes of Zion' (Psalms 126).

And we learn also in Pirkei d'R. Eliezer: "Anyone who speaks lashon hara against his friend in secret has no cure, as it is written (Psalms 101:5): 'He who slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I cut off [forever].' And it is stated elsewhere (Devarim 27:24): 'Cursed be he who smites his neighbor in secret.' Come and see [what happened to] the serpent. Because he spoke lashon hara between the Holy One Blessed be He and Adam and his wife, the Holy One Blessed be He cursed him (Bereshith 3:14): 'And dust shall you eat all the days of your life.'" (That is, just as it is written there "all the days of your life," the intent being that he not be cured even in the days of the Messiah, as stated in Berachoth 12b: "the days of your life" — this world; "all the days of your life" — to include the days of the Messiah" — so, here, he [the speaker of lashon hara] has no cure forever.) And I have seen also in the holy books that if one speaks lashon hara, his sustenance diminishes, like that of a serpent [i.e., "And dust shall you eat, etc."]

The fact that the same word is also used in connection with the tunic, כתונת, i.e. a garment worn on the body and not on the head, may be understood as a reference to the Zohar which says that "here on earth the תפילין are made of hide, skin, i.e. עור. However, in their ultimate place, i.e. מקומם העליון, they are made of light, אור." These are the תפילין, concerning which our sages say that G–d Himself lays them, since the emanation of תפארת acts as a crown, an adornment in the Celestial Regions. If Adam had not sinned, or, if Israel had not sinned subsequently with the golden calf, they could have laid תפילין made of אור, light. After the sin, however Israel could qualify only for תפילין של עור, phylacteries made of hide. This meant that the original light created by G–d at the very outset of creation underwent a process of contraction, i.e. lost most of its power. The Zohar expands on this theme in connection with ויעש אלוקים לאדם ולאשתו כתנות עור, that G–d made cloaks of hide for Adam and his wife and clothed them (Genesis 3,21). It follows that כתנות עור-כתונת שש, and the תפילין, are the instruments which enable man to rehabilitate himself after he had committed the sin in the garden of Eden. משכן, similarly, is the means by which Israel rehabilitates itself after the sin of the golden calf. These concepts need further clarification.

When we reflect further upon this, we find that the first lashon hara that came to the world came through the serpent, and through denial of the living G-d, the snake saying to Eve (Bereshith 3:5): "For G-d knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened" (as Rashi there interprets it in the name of the Midrash: "Every craftsman hates his competitors. He ate from this tree and created the world. You eat from it and your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, creators of worlds.") And this brought death to all the world, and all hate it and wish to kill it, as Scripture says (Ibid. 15): "And hatred shall I place between you and between the woman… He will crush your head, etc." [aside from its other punishments: its legs were cut off, viz. (Ibid. 19): "On your belly shall you go"; and its food is dust, viz. (Ibid.): "And dust shall you eat"; and its faculty of speech was removed.

The above is similar to what I have written about elsewhere when I explained Genesis 4,7. There G–d explained to Cain that if he were to be good i.e. אם תיטיב, he could achieve a higher spiritual plateau, שאת. G–d told Cain that the alternative would be לפתח חטאת רובץ, that the חיות described in Ezekiel 1 which are carriers of G–d's throne perspire from their load, and that this perspiration is the river poured over the wicked people in purgatory, (cf. Chagigah 13). The word for perspiration is זיעה, the word G–d used when He told Adam that he would have to earn his livelihood the hard way (Genesis 3,19). [The poisonous nature of perspiration is also described in Bereshit Rabbah 78,1. Ed.] When Israel are free from sin, they act as the carriers of the throne of G–d; in fact they have been created to do just that. They are to occupy an exalted position as personified by the patriarchs who became carriers of G–d's מרכבה. When this idyllic state will have been achieved there will no longer be a purgatory since there will not be any perspiration by the חיות which were described in Ezekiel's vision as the carriers of the מרכבה. This is the vision or promise held out by G–d to Cain, that man has the potential of elevating himself to such a spiritual level. If man fails to achieve this level, the מרכבה will have to be carried by other creatures whose poisonous sweat creates גהנם.

The deeper meaning, סוד, of the relationship between צלם and דמות, image and form, is the relationship between soul and body. The attachment of the Essence of G–d, the אין סוף, -to אצילות, the emanation closest to the אין סוף, -is similar to the attachment of our soul to our body. This is a comparison of a general nature, something we described as דרך כלל. The more detailed explanation of this, which I have given in my treatise תולדות אדם, describes the soul נשמה, as something Divine, originating in the upper regions of the Heavens. I have discussed also the sources of our other spiritual forces such as נפש and רוח in that treatise. Generally, we find those three spiritual forces as being mentioned in the Bible, though on rare occasions the Bible also uses two more names for our spiritual forces, חיה and יחידה. In my treatise תולדות אדם I have also discussed the meaning of such verses as ויהי האדם לנפש חיה, "Man became a living creature" (Genesis 2,7), as well as the verse היא היתה לאם כל חי, "She has become the mother of all living human beings" (Genesis 3,20), and הן האדם היה כאחד ממנו, "Here man has become like one of Us" (Genesis 3,22). The last verse alludes to the deeper meaning of the spiritual force called יחידה. In that connection we have also discussed the significance of דמות, the body. We have explained there that G–d created man with seven facets, the head to correspond to the upper three of the emanations כתר, חכמה, בינה, the two arms corresponding to the emanations, חסד, גבורה. The torso corresponds to the emanation תפארת, the "covenant" with the sexual organ draws the torso towards the emanation יסוד, whereas the two thighs corresponds to the emanations נצח, הוד. Man cleaves to his wife (Genesis 2,24) by means of the "covenant" with his sexual organ. The latter function of the body corresponds to the emanation מלכות. In the treatise בית ישראל, which follows the treatise תולדות אדם, I have dealt with the mystique contained in the various names for other parts of the body.

The deeper meaning, סוד, of the relationship between צלם and דמות, image and form, is the relationship between soul and body. The attachment of the Essence of G–d, the אין סוף, -to אצילות, the emanation closest to the אין סוף, -is similar to the attachment of our soul to our body. This is a comparison of a general nature, something we described as דרך כלל. The more detailed explanation of this, which I have given in my treatise תולדות אדם, describes the soul נשמה, as something Divine, originating in the upper regions of the Heavens. I have discussed also the sources of our other spiritual forces such as נפש and רוח in that treatise. Generally, we find those three spiritual forces as being mentioned in the Bible, though on rare occasions the Bible also uses two more names for our spiritual forces, חיה and יחידה. In my treatise תולדות אדם I have also discussed the meaning of such verses as ויהי האדם לנפש חיה, "Man became a living creature" (Genesis 2,7), as well as the verse היא היתה לאם כל חי, "She has become the mother of all living human beings" (Genesis 3,20), and הן האדם היה כאחד ממנו, "Here man has become like one of Us" (Genesis 3,22). The last verse alludes to the deeper meaning of the spiritual force called יחידה. In that connection we have also discussed the significance of דמות, the body. We have explained there that G–d created man with seven facets, the head to correspond to the upper three of the emanations כתר, חכמה, בינה, the two arms corresponding to the emanations, חסד, גבורה. The torso corresponds to the emanation תפארת, the "covenant" with the sexual organ draws the torso towards the emanation יסוד, whereas the two thighs corresponds to the emanations נצח, הוד. Man cleaves to his wife (Genesis 2,24) by means of the "covenant" with his sexual organ. The latter function of the body corresponds to the emanation מלכות. In the treatise בית ישראל, which follows the treatise תולדות אדם, I have dealt with the mystique contained in the various names for other parts of the body.

There are four classifications in the matter of listening (Yalkut Shimoni — Gen. 32) : There is one who hears and loses thereby, and there is one who hears and is rewarded thereby. There is one who does not listen and loses thereby, and there is one who does not listen and gains a reward thereby. One who listens and loses thereby an example of Adam, as it is said : "And unto Adam He said : "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife" (Gen. 3:17). And what did he lose? "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Ibid. : 19).

When Abraham told the three angels (men) at the time he invited them to come and rest under the tree, he already wanted to examine them as to their ritual purity. He did not say "rest under a tree," but "rest under THE tree." When Adam sinned, he sinned with the tree of knowledge. That tree brought death into the world. G–d Himself is on record as evicting Adam from the garden of Eden so that he should not be able to eat from the tree of life and thus live forever (Genesis 3,22).

We have a rule that in case a fire breaks out on the Sabbath, that whenever it is permitted to save the book, i.e. Torah scroll, it is also permitted to save the protective cover that such a Torah scroll is wrapped in together with the scroll (Shabbat 116). The relative importance of the body compared to the soul is similar to the importance in halachah of the ark of the Torah scroll to the Torah scroll itself. This is why in the future when the world will be full of knowledge of the Lord-a spiritual achievement-also physical matter such as the body will benefit through resurrection. It too will be able to absorb such knowledge. This is one of the important aspects in which the present sin-polluted world differs from an ideal world. The inferior status of matter in our world had its origin in Genesis 6,6, where the Torah says: ויתעצב אל לבו, He (G–d) was saddened concerning his (man's) heart. G–d saw that man no longer was using his body correctly, that the only area of spirituality left was man's heart. If man had "seen" with his heart instead of merely with his "eyes," [part of physical matter. Ed.] man's fall could have been avoided. We know from Samuel I 16,7: "for man 'sees' with the eyes whereas G–d 'sees' with the heart." Only G–d sees with His "heart." Man's decline began when the tree of knowledge appealed to Eve's eyes (Genesis 3,6). The purpose of man's creation had been to have the body as perfect as the soul, the body to be the היכל, "Sanctuary," whereas the soul would be the קדשי קדשים, "the inner Sanctuary." Both body and soul would have enjoyed a life of intelligence.

The Levites' cities absorbed those forced to go into exile because of their having committed involuntary manslaughter. When disaster struck the nation, the Levites too were sent into exile as we know from Psalm 137,3 which tells of the Levites being asked to sing the songs they used to sing in Zion. They responded by refusing, claiming they could not possibly do so on foreign soil. Our sages (Midrash Tehillim 137,5) say that they amputated the tops of their fingers so as to be unable to play their instruments. Israel without a rebuilt Temple is compared to כאדם עברו ברית, "just as Adam who had violated the covenant with G–d," in the words of Hoseah 6,7. Midrash Eichah Rabbah elaborates on this, Rabbi Abahu saying that G–d describes how he had placed Adam into Gan Eden, commanded him a single commandment, which he transgressed. G–d consequently punished him with expulsion and personally elegized him with the word איכ-ה, Ayekkoh, (Genesis 3,9), which can be read as Eychah, an expression of mourning as in Lamentations, and also as used by Moses in Deut. 1,12 in the same sense, until He was able to bring the Jewish people into the Holy Land. Jeremiah 2,7 describes this in the words ואביא אתכם אל ארץ הכרמל לאכול את פריה. "I have brought you to the land of the Carmel to eat its fruit." Proof that G–d commanded Israel to observe commandments in the Holy Land is derived from Numbers 34,2: "Command the children of Israel, say to them…when you enter the land of Canaan, etc." Israel transgressed these commandments as described in Daniel 9, 9-11. Daniel includes the whole people as having violated G–d's teachings, as a result of which the curses in the Torah were poured out over them. Our exile, too, was a result of such conduct as is stated in Hoseah 9,9: "I will expel them from My House." The expulsion was not only to a country adjoining their homeland, but also to far off places as is indicated by Jeremiah 15,1: שלח מעל פני ויצאו, "Dismiss them from My Presence; let them go forth!" In His elegy, G–d refers to the lonely and isolated situation Zion finds itself in as a result; cf. Lamentations 1,1. Thus the introduction of Midrash Eicha.

How many evils are dependent upon envy?The primeval serpent was envious of Adam and brought death to the world, and concerning him it was decreed. "Upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shall you eat" (Gen. 3:14). Likewise see what happened to Cain and to Korah and to Balaam and to Doeg and to Ahithophel and to Gehazi and to Adonijah and to Absalom and to Uzziah, who hankered after that which did not belong to them! It wasn't enough that they were punished in that what they wanted was not given to them, but what was already in their hand was taken from them. From all of these instances, a man ought to learn to separate himself from jealousy and lust. If whatever a man has is not really his, for when tomorrow comes it may vanish, then what good will come to him from something that doesn't belong to him?

We find that Adam essentially violated three categories of sin: idol worship, sexual licentiousness, and bloodshed. He was also guilty of violating property rights, i.e. financial misdemeanors. Our sages describe Adam as a heretic in Sanhedrin 38. They describe him as "pulling his foreskin," (ibid. i.e. to make himself appear as if he had not been circumcised) He also cohabited with his wife who had previously been slept with by the serpent. As a result Adam's son Cain was infected with the pollutant of the serpent, the reason why he could become a murderer. [I recommend to the reader the commentary on this by Rabbeinu Chananel, who sees these accusations as being mouthed by the Gentiles, and who feels that the Talmud quotes them only in order to teach us how to respond to Biblical quotations taken out of context and used against us by our enemies. Ed.] As to Adam having sinned in property matters, this must be explained, seeing that the whole world belonged to him and he could not therefore become guilty of stealing, embezzling, etc. Rashi comments on Leviticus 1,2 that the reason why the Torah uses the word אדם as an example for someone who offers a sacrifice is, that just as Adam could not have brought a sacrifice from money which was not his, so anyone who offers a sacrifice is warned not to use stolen money for its purchase. Adam's sin consisted of his attitude to material things, described by the Torah as פורה ראש ולענה, "sprouting poison weed and wormwood" (Deut. 29,17). Adam displayed greed by eating from the tree of knowledge, which is described by the Torah as "inspiring desire in the eyes" (Genesis 3,6). He was a victim of the trait which our sages described when they said: "man does not leave this world without leaving behind half his desires unfulfilled, that having amassed his first million, a man already aims at the second million" (Kohelet Rabbah 1,34). Adam himself is alluded to in these three portions. Prior to his sin, Adam can be viewed as having been ראש המטות, "the (spiritual) head of all human tribes." Our sages describe the ministering angels surrounding Adam as paying homage to him, eager to hear his words of wisdom (Bereshit Rabbah 8,9). When the Torah says of the progress of the Jewish people in the desert in Numbers 33,2: "These are the departures of the Jewish people according to their journeys," this is a veiled reference to Adam who had been expelled from Paradise and forced to reside in various parts of the earth, a constant traveler. At the end of the same verse, the Torah reverses the description of these journeys by describing them as "their journeys according to the points of their departures."

When we look at certain individuals who lived prior to the time the Tabernacle was erected, we find that נח, אדם and אברהם respectively personified the concept of עשן, i.e. שנה,עולם , and נפש. Adam represented עולם, seeing he was the product for whose sake G–d had undertaken to create the universe. Noach personified the concept of שנה, seeing that during his lifetime the world underwent cataclysmic changes. He witnessed a world which functioned; he then witnessed a world that was destroyed; finally he witnessed a world rebuilt. Our patriarch Abraham, inasmuch as he personified absolute faith in G–d, comprised within himself all the spiritual powers connected with the soul. The Torah testifies that while still in Charan he and Sarah "made" souls, created people who possessed spiritual values, i.e. a soul (Genesis 12,5). Vayikra Rabbah 1,9 comments on Leviticus 1,1 ויקרא אל משה, "He called upon Moses," that whereas G–d called upon Moses, He did not call upon Adam. This seems peculiar in view of ויקרא ה' אלוקים אל האדם, in Genesis 3, 9! Obviously G–d did call upon Adam! We must answer by stating that it is not a disgrace for the king to speak to his tenant. The Midrash goes on: G–d spoke to Moses, i.e. וידבר ה' אליו, whereas he did not speak to Noach. How are we to understand this in view of Genesis 8,15: וידבר אלוקים אל נח! We must answer that it is no disgrace for a king to speak to his herder.

For that which inclines one's nature towards these pleasures to the extent that one needs such great strength and so many strategies to separate from them is the enticement of the eyes which tend to be seduced by the superficial appearance of things which appear good and pleasing. This seduction is what brought about the first sin as scripture testifies: "The woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and that it was desirous to the eyes... and she took of its fruit, and ate" (Bereishis 3:6).

This refers to the journeys that man has been sentenced to, both Adam and his descendants who were to be dispersed all over the globe. This is beneficial to them. Adam's task originally had only been "to work it and to preserve it intact," meaning that he was to observe G–d's laws simply in a contemplative fashion. As a result of the expulsion, knowledge of G–d would become widespread; wherever man would reside, sanctity would find a home. This is what is meant when the Torah describes Adam's expulsion in the words: "G–d sent him forth from Gan Eden, to work the soil he had been taken from" (Genesis 3,23). The term לעבוד, used for Adam's task henceforth is the same as the term the Torah uses when he had still been in Gan Eden. When Adam, i.e. Israel or mankind, fulfill their task in their respective journeys, i.e. מסעיהם, they will eventually return to their מוצאיהם, their point of departure, i.e. Gan Eden. The return referred to will be posthumous. This is why the Torah reversed the expressions in verse 2 of chapter 33.

Purity is the rectification of the heart and the thoughts. We find this term used by king David who said: "Create in me a pure heart, O G-d" (Tehilim 51:12).

To get back to the meaning of “אחד” in the prayer known as קריאת שמע. The first letter א in that word symbolizes both Jacob and Joseph, each of whom were unique. That letter is not just the first letter of the alphabet, but it symbolizes the Aleph= Eleph of the first man, who commenced human history. Adam's uniqueness is joined by Jacob's uniqueness, seeing Jacob's beauty has been described as similar to Adam's. In turn, Joseph, the בן זקונים, was the זיו איקונין, the spitting image of his father. Moreover, the א of Adam is an allusion to the garments of אור, light, that Adam wore before his sin and which were exchanged for garments of עור, skin or leather, after he had sinned. G–d Himself had made these garments for Adam and his wife as recorded in Genesis 3, 21. When we read in Job 10, 11 “עור ובשר תלבישני,” You have clothed me with skin and flesh, this is an admission that Adam's, i.e. man's "Oneness" the fusion of body and soul, was torn asunder as a result of his sin. Ever since that time man became a dichotomy of גוף ונפש, body and soul. The ascent of the one meant the automatic descent of the other. Before the sin, whenever the soul shone, the body lit up also. Body and soul worked in tandem. At that time the soul radiated a major amount of light, the body a smaller amount; the important thing was that both radiated light. We have elaborated on these concepts repeatedly.

Pinchas saw the letters of the word מת in his mind's eye, and this inspired him to be a barrier to "death." How did he do so? When commenting on the lance, רמח which Pinchas used to slay Zimri, the Zohar describes Pinchas as "garbing" himself with this lance in order to mete out justice here on earth so that mercy could be invoked in the parallel regions of Heaven. He saw his own name (numerical value 208) rise heavenwards, realising that his name had the same numerical value as that of "יצחק" the patriarch who personified the attribute of Justice on earth. He also saw the letter מ fly in the air. This letter is an allusion to death, מות. This allusion has already been commented on in Genesis 3,6: ותרא האשה כי טוב וגו' … ותקח מפריו ותאכל ותתן. "The woman saw that it was good,…she took from its fruit, ate, and gave" (to her husband). We find here four words commencing with the letter ות, and in the middle of these words a word commencing with the letter מ. When you join this letter מ to the four words which commence with the letters ות, you obtain the word מות, "death" each time. In other words "death" is present in all four compass directions. This is what the sages had in mind when they referred to Pinchas' mind's eye as seeing the letter מ "flying" in the air.

Concerning the first manifestation of fondness for Moses, where the Midrash had asked why G–d did not use the term ויקר, we may answer that it is a word connected with קרי, impurity contracted through the emission of seminal fluid. If the word ויקרא reflects an added degree of fondness compared to ויקר, why did G–d employ it when speaking to Adam at a time when He asked him איכה i.e. accused him of disobedience. Surely, at a time when Adam had absorbed the pollutant of the serpent which is equivalent to טומאת קרי, such an expression of fondness would hardly have been in place!

First let me explain a few of the finer nuances in the verses which forbid man to eat from the tree of knowledge. The Torah twice says: ממנו, "from it," ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו כי ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות "From the tree of knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it, for on the day you eat from it you will surely become mortal" (Genesis 2,17). During the conversation between Eve and the serpent, however, the word ממנו occurs only once, i.e. ומפרי העץ אשר בתוך הגן לא תאכלו ממנו ולא תגעו בו פן תמותון, "And from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, the Lord has said 'do not eat from it and do not touch it lest you die'" (Genesis 3,3). Another difficulty in the text is the fact that in the original command by G–d we find the words “2,16) ”עץ…ומעץ הדעת and 2,17), and also the serpent itself refers to "the tree itself" (3,1). Eve, on the other hand, mentioned only a prohibition of the fruit of the tree (3,3). Only afterwards do we read in verse 6 of the conversation between Eve and the serpent: ותרא האשה כי טוב העץ למאכל, "the woman saw that the tree was good for eating." Another difficulty is the fact that surely Eve was an extremely intelligent woman. What could have prompted her to tell the serpent of an additional prohibition, that of touching the tree, when such a prohibition had not been issued by G–d? A further difficulty is that since Eve knew that G–d had not prohibited touching the tree, why did the fact that the serpent pushed her against the tree and she did not die influence her to the extent that she accepted the serpent's argument that just as touching the tree had not proved fatal to her, eating from it would not have fatal consequences either? (compare Bereshit Rabbah 19,3 that the serpent pushed Eve against the tree). How did Eve deduce a prohibition from something that had not been commanded? Yet another difficulty is the wording of the punishment. The Torah quotes G–d as saying to Adam: ארורה האדמה בעבורך, "The Earth will be cursed on your account" (Genesis 3,17). This means that Earth was punished at that time for a former misdemeanour. Why was Earth not punished at the time it failed to produce the kind of trees it had been commanded to produce?

First let me explain a few of the finer nuances in the verses which forbid man to eat from the tree of knowledge. The Torah twice says: ממנו, "from it," ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו כי ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות "From the tree of knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it, for on the day you eat from it you will surely become mortal" (Genesis 2,17). During the conversation between Eve and the serpent, however, the word ממנו occurs only once, i.e. ומפרי העץ אשר בתוך הגן לא תאכלו ממנו ולא תגעו בו פן תמותון, "And from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, the Lord has said 'do not eat from it and do not touch it lest you die'" (Genesis 3,3). Another difficulty in the text is the fact that in the original command by G–d we find the words “2,16) ”עץ…ומעץ הדעת and 2,17), and also the serpent itself refers to "the tree itself" (3,1). Eve, on the other hand, mentioned only a prohibition of the fruit of the tree (3,3). Only afterwards do we read in verse 6 of the conversation between Eve and the serpent: ותרא האשה כי טוב העץ למאכל, "the woman saw that the tree was good for eating." Another difficulty is the fact that surely Eve was an extremely intelligent woman. What could have prompted her to tell the serpent of an additional prohibition, that of touching the tree, when such a prohibition had not been issued by G–d? A further difficulty is that since Eve knew that G–d had not prohibited touching the tree, why did the fact that the serpent pushed her against the tree and she did not die influence her to the extent that she accepted the serpent's argument that just as touching the tree had not proved fatal to her, eating from it would not have fatal consequences either? (compare Bereshit Rabbah 19,3 that the serpent pushed Eve against the tree). How did Eve deduce a prohibition from something that had not been commanded? Yet another difficulty is the wording of the punishment. The Torah quotes G–d as saying to Adam: ארורה האדמה בעבורך, "The Earth will be cursed on your account" (Genesis 3,17). This means that Earth was punished at that time for a former misdemeanour. Why was Earth not punished at the time it failed to produce the kind of trees it had been commanded to produce?

The sin of Adam and Eve in eating from the tree of knowledge was directly attributable to the failure of Earth to respond fully to G–d's command. The reason that Earth had not been punished sooner for its departure from G–d's command was that its intention had been constructive, as we explained earlier. Now, however, there had been fatal consequences of Earth's failure to obey G–d fully; this is why Earth was punished at the same time man too was punished for his sin. This is why the Torah added the words בעבורך when describing its punishment. The very words כי ממנה לקחת, "for from it (earth) you have been taken" (Genesis 3,19), which is part of Adam's penalty, that of forfeiting eternal life, are an allusion to the fact that the sin had been made possible by Earth's behaviour at the time when it did not produce the right kind of trees.

The sin of Adam and Eve in eating from the tree of knowledge was directly attributable to the failure of Earth to respond fully to G–d's command. The reason that Earth had not been punished sooner for its departure from G–d's command was that its intention had been constructive, as we explained earlier. Now, however, there had been fatal consequences of Earth's failure to obey G–d fully; this is why Earth was punished at the same time man too was punished for his sin. This is why the Torah added the words בעבורך when describing its punishment. The very words כי ממנה לקחת, "for from it (earth) you have been taken" (Genesis 3,19), which is part of Adam's penalty, that of forfeiting eternal life, are an allusion to the fact that the sin had been made possible by Earth's behaviour at the time when it did not produce the right kind of trees.

A person could have sat idle and the decree would have been fulfilled (his designated portion would have come to him), had it not been preceded by the fine imposed on every human being: "by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread" (Gen.3:19), whereby a person is required to make some effort for obtaining his livelihood, for thus the exalted King decreed.

We shall answer the questions in order: As to their saying "against Elokim and against Moses," they emulated in this, the primal serpent, who also spoke against the Holy One Blessed be He, who said that the reason the Holy One Blessed be He did not permit eating from the tree of knowledge was (Bereshith 3:5) "For Elokim knows that on the day you eat from it… you will be like elohim" [which Onkelos translates 'great ones'], wherefore He withheld this good [of eating] from you. Here, too, in giving you manna, He gave you "faulty bread," and He is destined to exact punishment of you through it [see Rashi], that your bowels will burst, when you are not meritorious; for He wishes to conduct himself with you according to the attribute of din. And, in truth, it was not so. For it was in His mercy and lovingkindness that He gave them bread from heaven, which contained no waste, the like of which he had not even given to our holy forefathers, as it is written (Devarim 8:3): "And He fed you the manna, which you did not know, and which your forefathers did not know, to make it known to you that not through bread alone shall a man live, but by all that issues from the mouth of the L-rd shall a man live." And he also wished to spare them exertion. For is it not known that the cloud of the L-rd dwelt among them, because of which it is written in the Torah (Devarim 23:13): "And a place shall there be for you outside the camp [outside the cloud of glory], and you shall go out there outside." Therefore, He gave them manna to eat, which produces no waste and which is absorbed into the organs, so that they would always be clean and pure, wherefore it is written thereafter (7): "because we spoke against Hashem" [connoting "mercy"], who gave us manna in His mercies.

We have another allusion to Jacob in the course of the Torah's report of Eliezer's journey, when the Torah describes Eliezer thanking G–d in that verse with the words: אשר הנחני בדרך אמת, "who has guided me on the path of truth." He referred to the קפיצת הדרך he had experienced i.e. the telescoping of the distance from Kiryat Arba to Charan into a single day's journey. Something similar happened to Jacob on his journey to Charan in Genesis 28,11 (see Rashi). Eliezer told his hosts that if they were prepared to do a חסד and אמת for him all well and good, seeing that Jacob would be destined to "redeem," i.e. justify G–d's having saved Abraham from Nimrod's furnace. This is the deeper meaning of חסד ואמת. When Jacob, whose children were all loyal to the tradition founded by Abraham and Isaac appeared on the scene of history, the whole universe became rejuvenated. Jacob personified the purpose of Creation which is intended to be fully good and to continue indefinitely as symbolized by the tree of life in the center of the garden of Eden. Ishmael, who represented the קליפה, the husk, preceded Isaac; it is in the nature of things for the husk to appear before the fruit, the kernel.

When we examine closely, we will find that Humility is dependent both on thought and deed. For at first, a person needs to become humble in his thoughts and only afterwards, can he conduct himself in the ways of the Humble.

Humility in thought is for a person to contemplate and come to realize as truth that he is undeserving of praise and honor, and all the more so [unworthy] of being elevated over his fellow men. This is due to what he lacks and also to what [good] he has actually attained.

It is quite clear that the tree of knowledge responded to G–d's original command to earth, that its trunk was as edible as its fruit. This was because this tree had been planted by G–d Himself, was not the product of the general instruction to Earth on the third day of creation (Genesis 2,8). The serpent alluded to this fact when it said that G–d had only forbidden eating "of the tree of the garden," and made no mention of the fruit of the trees (Genesis 3,1). According to the serpent, man was not allowed to partake of the wood of the trees that G–d had planted. The reason this was forbidden, explained the serpent, was that these trees were supernatural creations. There was no reason however, for Eve to worry that the fruit of the tree was forbidden, seeing that the fruit was something natural, part of the laws of nature. The serpent was astute enough to use the language G–d had used to convince Eve that only the wood had been forbidden.

So no matter what a person undertakes to do, let him begin with the Creator’s service. For example, when he builds a house let him consider first where he will place his books and where he will study. Similarly, if he sets about fashioning clothing for himself or his wife let him have in mind when he first begins working and also at the time of the sewing that it should be for the sake of Heaven. For the Holy One Blessed is He has indicated to us in His holy Torah that a human being must be clothed, as it is written, “Hashem made tunics of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Bereishis 3:21).

Eve was now ready to accept the serpent's statement that the only reason G–d had prohibited eating from the tree was that He did not want them to know good and evil just as He Himself did (Genesis 3,5). Reflecting on this, Eve saw that the tree was good as food, etc. (3,6).

Eve was now ready to accept the serpent's statement that the only reason G–d had prohibited eating from the tree was that He did not want them to know good and evil just as He Himself did (Genesis 3,5). Reflecting on this, Eve saw that the tree was good as food, etc. (3,6).

Regarding involuntary manslaughter, discussed in 21,13, the penalty of exile to a city of refuge parallels Adam's expulsion from Eden. Adam's sin had been due to the serpent's power to seduce. This had resulted in death being introduced in the universe (Genesis 2,17). When the Torah writes here מכה איש, when a man kills, it means Adam who was the first איש, individual, to cause death. Anyone who causes death is subject to "you are dust and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3,19). The repetition of the expression מות תמות, in Genesis 2,17, is our clue to transmigration of souls, to the concept that several re-incarnations may be necessary for man to achieve his תכלית, his allotted task on earth. However, the principal meaning of the line was never that death would occur immediately after the sin had been committed. After all, Adam was 930 years old before he died (Genesis 5,5). His sin was comparable to an inadvertently committed act since it had been due to the outright seduction by the serpent. This is the reason a person guilty of involuntary manslaughter only has to be exiled to a city of refuge.

Regarding involuntary manslaughter, discussed in 21,13, the penalty of exile to a city of refuge parallels Adam's expulsion from Eden. Adam's sin had been due to the serpent's power to seduce. This had resulted in death being introduced in the universe (Genesis 2,17). When the Torah writes here מכה איש, when a man kills, it means Adam who was the first איש, individual, to cause death. Anyone who causes death is subject to "you are dust and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3,19). The repetition of the expression מות תמות, in Genesis 2,17, is our clue to transmigration of souls, to the concept that several re-incarnations may be necessary for man to achieve his תכלית, his allotted task on earth. However, the principal meaning of the line was never that death would occur immediately after the sin had been committed. After all, Adam was 930 years old before he died (Genesis 5,5). His sin was comparable to an inadvertently committed act since it had been due to the outright seduction by the serpent. This is the reason a person guilty of involuntary manslaughter only has to be exiled to a city of refuge.

The death penalty for striking father or mother, or even for only cursing them, is due to the Torah regarding father and mother as G–d's partners, since they contribute two thirds in producing a child. They deserve a degree of respect similar to that due to G–d Himself (21,15, or 17). The reason the Torah inserts the penalty for kidnapping between the penalty for striking and the penalty for cursing father or mother, is to teach us that all these three sins are closely connected; one of these sins usually is the cause for the next one. All three are due to the pollutant man has absorbed since yielding to the serpent's seduction in גן עדן. The Midrash Hagadol Genesis 3,7, says that Adam was a thief, since he ate what did not belong to him. He was גונב דעת עליון, he deceived, or better, tried to deceive G–d. Misrepresentation in order to put oneself in a better light fraudulently is the worst kind of stealing (Mechilta on Mishpatim item 13).

The second group consists of those who are begrudging to- wards others and lack the heart to give charity beyond a pittance to satisfy their pride. Yet when it comes to their own enjoyment they eat and drink freely and indulge themselves lightheartedly, making themselves as plump and robust as fatted calves. Concerning this group the Zohar comments (2:245a): These are the people who derive from the side of the snake. The mnemonic for them is the verse, “Whatever moves on its belly” (alluding to the snake; Vayikra 11:42). In other words, whoever has a large, fat belly emanates from the side of the one who was cursed with the words, “You shall move around on your belly” (Bereishis 3:14). Nevertheless, the members of this group have a little merit, even if they only give to satisfy their pride.

Since the havoc wrought on G–d's creation was due to the original נחש, and that serpent was ערום, sly, or naked, i.e. brazen, Israel descended into the "iron crucible" of Egypt to experience ערום ועריה (Ezekiel 16,7), facing Pharaoh who is described elsewhere as the תנין הגדול, the great sea monster, the serpent being עפר לחמו, having been condemned to subsist on dust (Genesis 3,14). The letters in the name Pharaoh, i.e. פרעה when re-arranged spell העפר "the dust." This is the reason the first miracle Moses performed transformed the staff into a תנין to allude to Pharaoh. In order to cleanse themselves spiritually from the pollutant of the original serpent, Israel had to perform עבודת פרך, hard labour. Since the pollutant of that serpent had kept permeating more and more of the human being, it required potent cleansing measures to eradicate it. Had there not been such a pollutant, man would have lived indefinitely. As it is, the only two means to regain the original state of man are afflictions while he is alive, and the experience of death itself. Exile is one of the manifestations of such afflictions. So we have a progression of afflictions which will culminate in serenity, light, until the original light of creation which has been hidden will be revealed again. Nowadays the world is desolate, due to the sin caused by the נחש, i.e. our sins. Physical death is described in Genesis as טוב מאד, very good according to Rabbi Meir (Genesis 1,31). This is because it is the catalyst that leads man to repentance and thereby to eternal life and resurrection (Midrash Hagadol).

Since the havoc wrought on G–d's creation was due to the original נחש, and that serpent was ערום, sly, or naked, i.e. brazen, Israel descended into the "iron crucible" of Egypt to experience ערום ועריה (Ezekiel 16,7), facing Pharaoh who is described elsewhere as the תנין הגדול, the great sea monster, the serpent being עפר לחמו, having been condemned to subsist on dust (Genesis 3,14). The letters in the name Pharaoh, i.e. פרעה when re-arranged spell העפר "the dust." This is the reason the first miracle Moses performed transformed the staff into a תנין to allude to Pharaoh. In order to cleanse themselves spiritually from the pollutant of the original serpent, Israel had to perform עבודת פרך, hard labour. Since the pollutant of that serpent had kept permeating more and more of the human being, it required potent cleansing measures to eradicate it. Had there not been such a pollutant, man would have lived indefinitely. As it is, the only two means to regain the original state of man are afflictions while he is alive, and the experience of death itself. Exile is one of the manifestations of such afflictions. So we have a progression of afflictions which will culminate in serenity, light, until the original light of creation which has been hidden will be revealed again. Nowadays the world is desolate, due to the sin caused by the נחש, i.e. our sins. Physical death is described in Genesis as טוב מאד, very good according to Rabbi Meir (Genesis 1,31). This is because it is the catalyst that leads man to repentance and thereby to eternal life and resurrection (Midrash Hagadol).

Adam enjoyed the fruit of this world without pronouncing a benediction prior to tasting it, i.e. without thanking the Lord for what he was about to partake of. The letter ב, in the word בראשית, symbolises that G–d created the universe with a blessing, ברכה, as we know from Bereshit Rabbah 1,10. When Adam ate from the tree of knowledge without a prior benediction he removed himself from the region of blessing by listening to the curse of the serpent, and he gratified himself from the allure of the tree which appeared good to eat (Genesis 3,6). The Talmud Berachot 35, says that anyone who indulges himself in this world without benediction, i.e. without acknowledging it as a gift from G–d, steals both from G–d and from the Jewish people, since we read in Proverbs 28,24, "whoever robs his father and mother and says that this is not sinful is a companion of the destroyer."

The reason that these numbers need to be found in the construction of the תפילין is the statement of the Talmud Kidushin 35, based on: למען תהיה תורת השם בפיך that the entire Torah is compared to תפילין (Exodus 13,9).

There cannot be a question of G–d intentionally misleading anyone. What is frequently the case is that someone deceives himself. Hosea 14,10, writes: כי ישרים דרכי השם, וצדיקים ילכו בם, ופושעים יכשלו בם, "For the ways of the Lord are upright, and the just walk on them, whereas the sinners will stumble on them." The prophet is quite explicit in placing the blame on the sinners, not on G–d or His ways. Here too G–d intended to enter into dialogue with Bileam when He asked him about "these men." Bileam the wicked, jumped to the conclusion that G–d did not know everything, else He would not have asked, and used this to try and deceive G–d. Rashi's comment here that G–d wanted to deceive Bileam seems to contradict his comment on Genesis 3,9, when G–d asks Adam: "Where are you?," and Rashi says that G–d knew full well where Adam was, but wanted to enter into dialogue with him without frightening him by punishing him without preamble. One must understand therefore, that when Rashi wrote on our verse: "in order to mislead him," the subject of "him" is not G–d but the invitation of these men to curse Israel. The invitation of Balak was the מכשול, the stumbling block which caused Bileam's sins to deceive him into thinking he could deceive G–d. He did not understand the truth of G–d's intentions when He asked him rhetorically: "who are these men?" This whole incident is similar to one recorded in the Talmud Yuma 87a, when the great scholar Rav went to the house of a butcher on the eve of the Day of Atonement in order to give that butcher a chance to apologise for something that had occurred between them. This was unusual, since the butcher should have come to Rav to beg his forgiveness for the wrong he had committed. On the way he met Rabbi Hunna his disciple who asked Rav where the latter was going. When told that he was on his way to reconciliation with a certain butcher, Rabbi Hunna said "Rav went to kill a person," for he could not imagine that a butcher who had insulted Rav should not be punished. When Rav arrived at that butcher's he found him busy cutting off the head of an animal. The butcher raised his eyes and exclaimed in wonderment "you are Abba! Go away! I do not want to have anything to do with you!" At that moment a bone from that animal hit the butcher in his neck causing his death. Therefore, if the butcher died, it was his obstinacy in refusing to accept Rav's offer at reconciliation that made him a candidate for death, since in such circumstances the Day of Atonement would not protect him from the judgment due him. Rabbi Hunna's having said that his teacher was on his way to kill someone certainly was not the cause of this butcher's death. The same explanation applies to Rashi's comment in Parshat Korach, 16,6 that the incense contained a lethal poison. Mistaking the function of incense would lead to the death of the person who willfully abused that instrument of service to G–d. G–d's intent in asking Bileam was fair.

While I am on this subject I shall also deal with the unusual fact that in 24,50, Laban pre-empts his father by speaking up before his father. Rashi comments that it was because of Laban's wickedness that he tried to forestall his father Bethuel. Assuming that Rashi is correct, what advantage did the clever Laban hope to gain by answering first? I have already written that the patriarchs and matriarchs represented the whole of mankind, and that they repaired the spiritual and physical damage inflicted on the universe by Adam (Adam and Eve combined). G–d's whole purpose in the creation of the universe had of course been none other than Adam. We have learned in Avot 4:28 that "jealousy, greed and thirst for honor drive man out of this world," i.e. cause his death. Adam's sin involved elements of all these three negative traits. The serpent was jealous of Adam as Eve's husband and wanted to "marry" Eve himself; hence he tried to seduce Adam. It had thought that Adam would be the first to eat, Eve offering him the first bite, and that thus Adam would become the victim of G–d's warning not to eat from the tree on penalty of death. The serpent would then have been free to mate with Eve. The reward that the serpent held out to Eve (Genesis 3,5-6) was gratification of her greed, "the tree was lovely to look at and good as food." The promise of becoming G–d-like was the additional honour that would result from eating of that tree. Regarding the lives of Abraham and Sarah we find that they practised the very opposite traits. It is natural for a woman to be jealous of another woman's ability to have children when she herself is unable to do so, but Sarah offered Hagar to her husband in order that Abraham should be able to have a child with her instead (Genesis 16,2); she was free of that kind of jealousy. Abraham, who was offered material wealth by the King of Sodom, exclaimed that he would not even accept a shoelace from the booty he himself had captured when he defeated Kedor-Leomer and freed Lot (14,23). Not only did Abraham not display traits of greed, his entire life was filled with acts of generosity towards others. He practiבed humility to the point where he – who had been the recipient of several revelations by G–d – even described himself as being merely "dust and ashes " (18,27).

The verse (26,5) we have just quoted contains ten words corresponding to the Ten Commandments. When you examine the wording of the Ten Commandments you will find that it contains 172 words, the same as the numerical value of the word עקב, as pointed out by Baal HaTurim. You may ask: If this is so why was יעקב not called עקב? The answer is already alluded to when we read about Jacob's birth, when he is described as holding on to עקב עשו, the heel of Esau (25,26). The last three letters in Jacob's name are an indication that the sanctity, holiness expressed by the letter י in his name will prevail in the world only at the end of history, at the עקב, or סוף. The heel of Esau, however, the one that Jacob held on to, is symbolic of the serpent which hisses: it is the end of life, signifies darkness and death, as we have explained earlier. When the enmity that exists between the serpent and man is described in the Torah in Genesis 3,15: הוא ישופך ראש ואתה תשופנו עקב, "He (man) will strike at your head, and you (the snake) will strike at his heel," the Zohar writes on this verse that the word ראש refers to the first letter in the name יעקב, an allusion to the Ten Commandments. If Jacob observes the Ten Commandments, then he can successfully strike at the ראש, the head of the serpent and all that the serpent represents; but והיה כאשר תריד (Genesis 27,40) "when you will backslide in your service of G–d," then you (the snake) will strike at עקב, the part of the name יעקב when detached from the י and all that this letter stands for." If Jacob had not had the letter י in his name his name would have been associated only with elements derived from the סטרא אחרא, the negative side of the diagram of the emanations. When the Torah reports that וידו אוחזת, that "his hand was holding on to," the letters in the word for "his hand,” i.e. ידו, are the same as the letter יוד. The potential contained in the name יעקב, enabled Jacob to become ישראל, a name that was accorded to Jacob only after his successful refinement through harassment at the hands of Esau. The name ישראל is the pinnacle that the spiritually most refined people can achieve. It indicates that he had been able to contend with Heavenly forces and to prevail (Genesis 32,29). Onkelos translates this verse: "You have fought before G–d with man and have succeeded."

Let us now explore the mystical dimension of the name יעקב. In Genesis 27,35 Isaac says to Esau: בא אחיך במרמה, "Your brother came with wisdom to take the blessings." This means that Jacob came to outwit Esau. Isaac referred to Jacob having outwitted what Esau stands for, i.e. Satan, the pollutant of the original serpent, seeing Esau is also Edom, the classic symbol of all that is polluted and cursed. This original serpent had been described in the Torah as ערום, sly (Genesis 3,1). This being so, Jacob had to resort to a wily strategy to outwit such an opponent. He had to counter with ערמה, slyness, in order to defeat the serpent or its representative at its own game. We find something similar when Rashi explains (Numbers 31,8) that the reason the Torah stresses that Bileam was killed by the sword was because the sword was his stock-in-trade. He should have stuck to his trade. Isaac had told Esau that he would live by his sword (27,40), whereas the traditional weapon of Israel is the mouth, i.e. prayer. Since Bileam perverted his function by using Israel's weapon, the mouth, Israel used his own traditional weapon against him. In order to best him absolutely, he had to be killed by the weapon that he had once considered himself a champion of. The Zohar goes as far as to say that the only way it was possible to kill Bileam was by the sword. Onkelos explains the meaning of יודע ציד in 25,27 as being "Esau was shrewd." The Tziyoni derives from that word נחשירכן (the word Onkelos uses to explain יודע ציד), that the mystical dimension of the serpent is contained in the ירך, reproductive organ, thigh, and that Esau had the likeness of a serpent tatooed on his thigh. This was the reason that Samael, or the spiritual representative of Esau, tried to injure that organ of Jacob's during the nocturnal confrontation. The reason he did not succeed was that Jacob did not contain any residual pollution of the serpent. Bileam alluded to this when he said in Numbers 23,23: כי לא נחש ביעקב, that Jacob was not infected by the serpent. Esau is rooted in the cursed serpent. Jacob and his descendants ירך יעקב, are of blessed origin. Jacob had to come with עקבה, trickery, the craft of the serpent, and he wrested the blessing from the clutches of the unworthy. We know from Proverbs 8,12 that חכמה and ערמה are used interchangeably, i.e. אני חכמה, שכנתי ערמה, "I, wisdom, am neighbor to ערמה.” Later on, when he had established a hold in the Celestial Regions, the source of all blessings, he is referred to as ישראל, since he had ascended to these "higher" regions. The level of ישראל in those regions is very high, seeing that Israel surpassed the level of the angels during his ascent. He occupies a position there that is not even accessible to the angels. He proceeds to rise higher and higher until he even surpasses the region of the ministering angels, the most highly placed angels. It is this that Onkelos referred to when he described Israel as "you are a great lion before G–d and men."

We have learned in Avot 4,21, that "jealousy, lust, greed, and ego (i.e. the desire for public recognition) drive man from this world." These very negative virtues had driven Adam from the world. There was the jealousy of the serpent of Adam possessing Eve, its pursuit to gratify its lust, and the pursuit of ego, i.e. Adam and Eve wanted to usurp the unique place of G–d in the universe, since they responded to the lure והייתם כאלוקים, "you will be like G–d." Eve had squeezed out a cluster of grapes, ate it, found that they were unripe. This suggests that in this material world one must not pursue honor. Honor will be inherited by the scholars in the world to come. At that time what is written in Isaiah 24,23: "G–d's Presence will be revealed to His elders," will be fulfilled. This is what is meant when the sages describe יין המשומר, "well aged wine," as being part of the reward in store for the righteous in the future. Concerning what happens to the wicked at that time, it is written in Malachi 3,19: "For lo! that day is at hand, burning like a furnace.. All the arrogant and doers of evil shall be straw, etc." It also says in Samuel II 22,9: "smoke rose from His nostrils," i.e. when G–d was angry, and burned those whom He was angry at." Since we have shown that what happens on earth has its counterpart in the heavens, the Torah reports that the season the spies were dispatched was when the grape harvest commences on earth, i.e. a hint that many grapes are not ripe yet. The spies ignored the items mentioned in Avot as destructive. They ate unripe grapes, i.e they were greedy, they were concerned with their own honor and glory, hence they had to suffer what is described in Proverbs 10,26.

I have explained at length that "evil" is distilled from "good,” that it has only been created, נברא, for the sake of the good, i.e. הטוב. Without רע, "evil," there could not have been such a concept as טוב, "good." G–d arranged that people should fear him; this is why the advantage of light is something that is due to the potential power of darkness. This is the deeper meaning of the Torah saying that both luminaries were created equal in size even though the word מארת is spelled defective, without the letter ו indicating the plural. The idea is to tell us that the luminary later described as המאור הקטן, the smaller luminary, is really part of the overall expression "luminaries." The טוב must be understood as the "great luminary," whereas the "small luminary" refers to darkness, חשך. When you look closely at the letters in the word מאורות (when spelled plene), you will find the words for "light" and "death," i.e. אור and מות. The word מות is separated by the letters spelling אור, light. This is a hint that light (the light of Torah) separates or neutralises the power of מות, death. The same does not apply to the Gentiles or to the wicked. They walk in [unbroken] darkness, not in light, and in the language of our sages are referred to as "dead" even while their bodies are "alive" (Berachot 18). For them death is an ongoing experience, not broken or interrupted by light. Of the righteous the Psalmist says (Psalms 116,15): יקר בעיני ה' המותר לחסידיו, "The death of His pious ones is a precious event in the eyes of G—d." Elsewhere I explained the meaning and nature of death at length. The letter מ is an allusion to the angel of death. It is the very letter from the word מפריו from Genesis 3,6 :"ותרא האשה…ותקח מפריו ותאכל ותתן". We have the letter ו and ת four times in that verse plus the letter מ. This is an allusion to Eve having surrounded herself with the angel of death from all four sides. I have written more about this in my treatise תולדות האדם. Anyone who wants a deeper understanding of this must take the trouble to read the entire introduction even though it is lengthy.

The tenth commandment, that of not coveting what is not yours, is none other than the one and only commandment G–d gave to Adam and Eve in גן עדן. The tree of knowledge was described in Genesis 3,6 as נחמד להשכיל, "desirable as a source of wisdom," i.e. she coveted it. Eve separated its fruit from the tree, i.e. she tore apart the fruit which represents the emanation מלכות from the trunk which represents the emanation דעת. We have observed that violating any one of these five commandments involves separating things which ought to remain joined together.

The purpose of these garments was to be לשם ולתפארת, "for dignity and adornment," as stated by the Torah in Exodus 28,2. Genesis 2,28 reports: "Adam and Eve were nude; they did not experience a sense of shame." The serpent became jealous when it saw their nudity. This is the mystical dimension of all the forbidden sexual unions. The serpent had infected humans with a pollutant. The priests were warned by the Torah not to climb the altar by means of steps so as not to reveal even part of their bodies in the process (Exodus 20,23). It is a natural tendency of man to want to climb steps, to become G–d-like, the vision held out to Eve by the serpent in Genesis 3,4. This tendency became outlawed, i.e. ערוה. Adam later was מושך בערלתו tried to conceal the fact that he was circumcised, as stated by our sages in Sanhedrin 38b. The seven days of inauguration of the Tabernacle before Aaron took over in his capacity as High Priest were symbolic of the seven days of creation. On the eighth day Moses called upon Aaron; on that day he was crowned with ten crowns (Rashi on Leviticus 9,1). He was considered as if he had been created anew on that day. On that date Adam was resurrected, so to speak, because Aaron fulfilled the commandment of "sacrificing his own personality," i.e. אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן, performing an act which reversed the direction Adam had taken, when, instead of cementing his close relations with G–d, he had distanced himself from G–d by eating from the tree of knowledge and bringing death into the world. Nonetheless death henceforth would occur when someone, who was close to G–d (i.e. a priest) would fail to observe all the strictures on the performance of the service in the Tabernacle G–d had placed on the priests, just as death was the consequence of non-observance of G–d's law in the macrocosm, so now death would be the penalty for failing to observe G–d's law within the Tabernacle, the microcosm. At the creation G–d had warned with the words מות תמות; now two sons of Aaron died because they had approached G–d in a forbidden manner, as will be explained in due course.

When the Talmud asked how we know from the Torah that there would be a Moses, a Haman, a Mordechai and an Esther, these are not idle questions. From the answer the Talmud gives it is evident that there must be a deeper reason for such enquiries. In the case of Moses, the Talmud cites Genesis 6,3 בשגם הוא בשר, that G–d indicated that He made an allowance for the spiritual inadequacies of man inasmuch as part of man is physical. The letters in the word בשגם have a numerical value of 345, the same as the numerical value of the name משה. The Torah alludes to an eventual Haman with the words המן העץ in Genesis 3,11. The letters of Haman are the same as the word Ha-min. When answering the question where Esther is alluded to in the Torah, the Talmud cites ואנכי הסתר אסתיר את פני, "I will keep My face hidden" (Deut 31,18). We have an allusion to Mordechai in the Torah, as we mentioned earlier, based on Exodus 30,23 ואתה קח לך בשמים ראש מר דרור, "And you, take yourself choice spices Mor deror." The translation of this spice in Aramaic is מירא דכיא.

We should remember that Aaron represented the mystical dimension of Adam. If this was so it is reasonable to regard his wife Elisheva as equivalent to the mystical dimension of Adam's wife Eve. Eve sinned primarily by allowing her eyes to seduce her. The Torah emphasises that "she saw that the tree was good as food, pleasant to behold, etc." This is simply a description of the urge to become honoured. This urge brings about the קליפה that women behave arrogantly. In explaining the verse in Psalms 75,5, the Midrash describes Elisheva's joys as the root of her experiencing some haughtiness. When the Midrash emphasises "Elisheva saw her husband elevated, etc.," it wishes to draw our attention to the fact that in contrast to his wife, Aaron did not "see," did not become haughty on account of the honours and joys he experienced on that day. Aaron acted as if he had not seen these honours which could have caused him to become haughty. When Nadav and Avihu died Elisheva suffered a similar disappointment to the one Eve experienced when death was decreed on mankind, i.e. on her sons and descendants. The Midrash begins with the word תדע, "Know!" meaning that if you want to understand the whole occurrence you would do well to study the chapter of Eve's seduction in גן עדן.

Reishit Chochmah queries how this is possible, seeing that both Adam and Cain had preceded Reuben in repenting for their respective sins. The answer given there does not satisfy the author, and he says that the difference is simply that Reuben's repentance was "self propelled," i.e. he had not needed to be told by G–d that he had sinned, and would face punishment, as had both Adam and Cain. Bereshit Rabbah 21,6, on Genesis 3,22, "and now man has become like one of Us," comments in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahane that G–d opened the gate of repentance for Adam by the use of the word "ועתה." We have other examples where that word introduces the concept of repentance, such as in Deut. 10,12, "and now Israel, what is the Lord your G–d asking of you except, etc."

Immediately Moses had heard all this he understood that all the exiles the Jewish people would have to suffer in the course of their history can be traced back to the original sin committed by Adam. This has been explained in the opening passage of Midrash Eichah Rabbah on Hosea 6,7: והמה כאדם עברו ברית בגדו בי, "They transgressed the covenant just like Adam, they betrayed Me." This is the reason why G–d Himself grieved over Adam and is quoted as saying איכה about his downfall (Genesis 3,9). Jeremiah simply paraphrased G–d when he commenced his famous elegy with the words איכה ישבה בדד. We can extend this allegory even further: Consider that immediately after the passage dealing with the בן סורר ומורה the Torah continues (21,22) that the body of a person found guilty of a capital offence who has been executed is to be hung on a tree. The verse is an allusion to Adam who had eaten from the tree of knowledge and thereupon experienced the death penalty. However, the Torah goes on in 22,1 that in the future the "ox of your brother who has broken down" will not remain outcast forever, that it is Israel's task to assist in the rehabilitation of Adam by keeping the Torah's commandments.

Eve's sin was due to her being seduced by the serpent which had mated with her and introduced its pollutant into her body. The potency of that evil-smelling drop of semen caused her to become subject to menstruation at regular intervals; she therefore had to remain in a state of impurity for seven days, corresponding to the days it took to create the universe. She, after all, had damaged the work of the six days of Creation. When a woman gives birth she is also subject to ritual impurity in a similar way to the impurity of menstruating women, as per Leviticus 12,2. This too is due to the original sin for which she has to suffer great pain when giving birth as per Genesis 3,16.

It is related in Midrash Rabbah, Parashas Bereishis (5:9) that when Adam committed the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge both the snake and Chavah were personally cursed, whereas for Adam’s sin the earth was cursed. As the verse states, “The earth shall be cursed on account of you” (Bereishis 3:17). This is because Adam was created from the earth.

When a woman experiences the pangs of birth, this results in impurity. After the birth, the impurity has been released through her pain. After the seven days of recovery from such impurity she no longer contains the ingredients that have caused it and therefore is free from any new impurity for a period longer than normal. Since, in the case of the birth of a female, the original impurity was stronger and lasted longer, the period during which she will be free from again contracting such impurity is correspondingly longer. [I have paraphrased the author's quotation of th anonymous source. Ed.] Another reason for that is that man lost his garments of light due to his sin and had to wear garments made of skin, i.e. something removed from the flesh of some animal. He became susceptible to נגע צרעת, afflictions of his skin. The Torah (Leviticus 13,1 expresses this by saying: נגע צרעת כי תהיה באדם … אדם כי יהיה בו נגע צרעת בעור בשרו. What all this means is that Adam, who was the cause of man having to wear clothing made of skin, is the cause of these skin diseases which afflict those who engage in slander. The serpent had been the one to indulge in slander against the Lord Himself when it said that Eve could safely eat from the tree of knowledge (Genesis 3,4) without incurring mortality. It seduced Eve and Adam to violate G–d's command.

Nachmanides, in his book Igeret Hakodesh, has already written about the significance of the terms ידיעה and חיבור when used to describe sexual unions. Before man sinned and became polluted with the זוהמה, the filth of the evil urge, the act of copulation was considered the fulfillment of a מצוה, similar to all other מצות. Just as one employs one's hands to fulfill the commandment of building a סוכה, hut, or one takes a לולב, palm frond, in one's hands, so one uses a different organ to fulfil the commandment of being fruitful. The genitals were created to enable man to perform this commandment, and there was no feeling of shame or embarrassment attached to the act Only after the serpent had made man aware that he was nude, and that the very condition of nudity was something to be embarrassed about, did the act of sexual union become associated with feelings of shame and embarrassment. In the future, when G–d will remove the evil urge from us, and we shall again be as free from sin as Adam was before his sin, the act of physical union between man and wife will again be the performance of a מצוה like all other מצות.

Just as sexual union before the sin was an act which did not need to be performed in private, so the provision of food and clothing at that time was also something that did not involve man in preparation or hard labour.

The Sages relate in Bereishis Rabbah (Parashas Bereishis 20:12) regarding the verse, “And God made tunics of leather [ohr, spelled with an ayin (עור)] for Adam and his wife” (Bereishis 3:21): “In the Torah scroll of Rabbi Meir it was stated, ‘tunics of light’ [or, spelled with an alef (אור)].” This Midrash is very perplexing. Why did the spelling, “tunics of light,” appear specifically in Rabbi Meir’s Torah rather in any other? [See what my illustrious father Rabbi Shmuel Kaidenover writes about this matter in Birkas Shmuel, Parashas Bereishis, 6c, in the name of the illustrious Rabbi Leib Zunz, z”l.]

From all the above it is clear that the skin of Leviathan is a very great light indeed. I have found a statement in the commentary of Tziyoni on this portion, based on a Midrash that the skins used to make the כתנות עור for Adam and Eve were taken from the female of the original Leviathan, whom G–d reportedly slew, salting and preserving its "meat" for the righteous in the future (Baba Batra 74). This seems very plausible; G–d surely did not create that skin without assigning a purpose to it.

The flax and camels in the story in the Tanchuma that we quoted are metaphors. The example of the camels laden with flax refers to Cain, whose sacrifice (the one G–d rejected) consisted of flax (Tanchuma Bereshit 9). The example of the camel is a metaphor for Esau who had said to Jacob: הלעיטני נא מן האדום האדום הזה (Genesis 25,30). The expression הלעיטני is reminiscent of camels as we know from Shabbat 155, that whereas one must not stuff a lot of food down a camel's throat (on the Sabbath), one may feed it by a method called מלעיטין. The reason that Rabbi Levi in Bereshit Rabbah used the metaphor of קוצים, thorns, is because G–d told Adam after he had eaten from the tree of knowledge that the earth would respond to his efforts by bringing forth קוץ ודרדר, thorn and thistle (Genesis 3,17).

The flax and camels in the story in the Tanchuma that we quoted are metaphors. The example of the camels laden with flax refers to Cain, whose sacrifice (the one G–d rejected) consisted of flax (Tanchuma Bereshit 9). The example of the camel is a metaphor for Esau who had said to Jacob: הלעיטני נא מן האדום האדום הזה (Genesis 25,30). The expression הלעיטני is reminiscent of camels as we know from Shabbat 155, that whereas one must not stuff a lot of food down a camel's throat (on the Sabbath), one may feed it by a method called מלעיטין. The reason that Rabbi Levi in Bereshit Rabbah used the metaphor of קוצים, thorns, is because G–d told Adam after he had eaten from the tree of knowledge that the earth would respond to his efforts by bringing forth קוץ ודרדר, thorn and thistle (Genesis 3,17).