Chasidut do Rodzaju 3:1
וְהַנָּחָשׁ֙ הָיָ֣ה עָר֔וּם מִכֹּל֙ חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה אַ֚ף כִּֽי־אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹ֣א תֹֽאכְל֔וּ מִכֹּ֖ל עֵ֥ץ הַגָּֽן׃
A wąż był chytry, bardziej niż wszelki zwierz dziki, który był uczynił Wiekuisty Bóg; i rzekł do niewiasty: "Alboż powiedział także Bóg: Nie pożywać wam z żadnego drzewa ogrodu?"
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 25,28. “Yitzchok loved Esau for he had a taste for game;” (normal translation). Our author, following a kabbalistic approach demonstrated ever since his approach to Genesis 3,1 (page 22) where he referred to certain sparks that fell off the Shechinah and landed somewhere in our world, has considered it the task and intense desire of the tzaddik to snare (hunt and capture) some of these 88 sparks of the Divine and make them his own in order to restore them to their origin. Accordingly, Yitzchok views Esau as in pursuit of this valuable “game,” hoping that his son Esau, the hunter, could help him in his quest. Although he was aware that Esau’s “hunting” was concerned with physical bounty, he hoped to sublimate his skills to pursuing something more spiritual by teaching him Torah, thus elevating him spiritually. After all, according to our tradition, the souls of famous converts to Judaism such as Shemayah and Avtalyon as well as the great scholar Rabbi Meir, are all reported to be descendants of Esau’s soul. There are more such “sparks” to be found on this planet until the messiah will come. (Sanhedrin 96)
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Kedushat Levi
He (serpent) said to the woman; ‘although G’d has said you must not eat from any of the trees, etc;’ lest you die.” ….The serpent said: “you will surely not die, etc.”'.
Furthermore, it is clear from what follows that Adam and his wife did not die on the day they ate from the tree of knowledge. In fact Adam lived for close to 1000 years! (Genesis 5,5). Our sages have already had difficulty in reconciling these two verses.
In order to understand the whole episode, we must first of all understand what wiles the serpent used in order to seduce the woman. How could the serpent, a mere creature, persuade a human being to defy the law of its Creator? We must understand the serpent’s argument as follows: the serpent made it clear that it was aware that everything in this universe was created by G’d through a directive issued by word of mouth as when He said: “let there be light.” The continued existence of the universe is dependent every second since it began, and continues to depend on this original light created by G’d through His first directive. It follows that the tree of knowledge which also came into being by Divine command could not possibly be a source of harm and even death, seeing it too had been created subsequent to the original life-giving force in the universe, the light created on the first day. The serpent therefore argued that it follows that when G’d issued instructions not to eat from the trees in the garden, the reason for this command could not have been that it was a source of death for anyone eating from its fruit. Since this was so, why should man listen to a latter command, instead of to His initial command, as a result of which they had become living human beings!
This, however, was part of the perverted logic employed by the serpent. The truth of the matter is that the “root” of the tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden goes back to a period preceding creation of the physical universe and the “falling off” of 288 “sparks” from the Shechinah into the world of the קליפות, regions polluted by impurity, i.e. our physical universe.
Furthermore, it is clear from what follows that Adam and his wife did not die on the day they ate from the tree of knowledge. In fact Adam lived for close to 1000 years! (Genesis 5,5). Our sages have already had difficulty in reconciling these two verses.
In order to understand the whole episode, we must first of all understand what wiles the serpent used in order to seduce the woman. How could the serpent, a mere creature, persuade a human being to defy the law of its Creator? We must understand the serpent’s argument as follows: the serpent made it clear that it was aware that everything in this universe was created by G’d through a directive issued by word of mouth as when He said: “let there be light.” The continued existence of the universe is dependent every second since it began, and continues to depend on this original light created by G’d through His first directive. It follows that the tree of knowledge which also came into being by Divine command could not possibly be a source of harm and even death, seeing it too had been created subsequent to the original life-giving force in the universe, the light created on the first day. The serpent therefore argued that it follows that when G’d issued instructions not to eat from the trees in the garden, the reason for this command could not have been that it was a source of death for anyone eating from its fruit. Since this was so, why should man listen to a latter command, instead of to His initial command, as a result of which they had become living human beings!
This, however, was part of the perverted logic employed by the serpent. The truth of the matter is that the “root” of the tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden goes back to a period preceding creation of the physical universe and the “falling off” of 288 “sparks” from the Shechinah into the world of the קליפות, regions polluted by impurity, i.e. our physical universe.
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 15,8.“at the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up;” Onkelos translated the words נערמו מים as: “the waters acted intelligently.” This may be understood with the help of Proverbs 8,12: אני חכמה שכנתי ערמה, “I, wisdom, live with prudence;” we have discussed that if a person wishes to gain an understanding of the superior nature of G’d, he must first of all divest himself of all the materialistic “garments” that are part of his daily outfits. This is the first step in approaching the degree of awe and reverence. Having reached that degree, he may consider himself as possessing some חכמה, wisdom. This is also the meaning of Job 28,28: הן יראת אד-ני היא חכמה וסור מרע בינה, ”See fear of the Lord is wisdom ; to shun evil is understanding.” The root of the word נערמו in the verse quoted at the beginning of this paragraph is ערום,” intelligent, smart, as in Genesis 3,1 where the serpent is described as the smartest of all the creatures of the field. The sea possessed awe and reverence for G’d, being eager to fulfill the will of the Creator; this is what Onkelos wished to convey when he translated the “sea” as being intelligent, smart. [Possibly, as opposed to the earth, which had buried the blood of Hevel, thereby hiding a monstrous sin by Kayin. Ed.]
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