Kaisipang Hudyo sa Genesis 3:5: Akeidat Yitzchak, Guide for the Perplexed & Nineteen Letters

Man is not only a creature who combines opposite extremes of creation in a state of fusion, but his powers of perception also are twofold, consisting of cognitive processes by his senses as well as cognitive processes based on his intellect. Yediah, knowledge, is what we perceive by means of our intellect. This is the result of using the upper extremes of our powers of perception. Hakkarah, on the other hand, is perception by means of feeling, sensual perception, the lower end of our range of perceptual tools. The two processes work in different ways from one another, and what is perceived intellectually is not comprehended by the senses nor is what is sensually perceived understood intellectually. Intellectual perception extends to the general, whereas sensual perception extends to the particular. Intellectually, one can perceive the nature of the earth, but not all the innumerable details in it; sensually one can feel all these infinite little details without thereby arriving at any conclusions concerning their overall nature and purpose. Children proceed empirically when learning to distinguish between sensations and between different phenomena. Only much later do they become able to form overall concepts. Intellectual beings devoid of bodies proceed in the opposite manner. Our sages view man as enveloped in darkness, but able to recognize phenomena bathed in light. Angels, on the other hand, are situated within an ocean of light, unable to recognize what is immersed in darkness. The Almighty, of course, possesses the ability to perceive both what is bathed in light and what is surrounded by darkness. In this allegory, intellect is equated with "light." Man's advantage over the angels is, that in addition to intellect, he also possesses senses, enabling him to perceive the particular as well as the general by means of these senses. This is why Adam could distinguish correctly between animals, recognizing their individual characteristics. To return to the parable of light and darkness. If matter is perceived as an impediment to pure light (matter being opaque), then angels being unencumbered by matter due to their being purely spiritual beings have difficulty distinguishing different shades of matter, i.e. darkness. It is not unlike the difficulty experienced by a white man when trying to distinguish the features of, say, the Chinese. The Almighty, having created both light and matter, is thoroughly familiar with His creation. His powers of perception are entirely different from those of either man or angels. Adam had demonstrated his superior conceptual powers by naming both himself, the animals and his Creator. Since the terms "good," i.e. proper, or "gratifying," apply to both general concepts of knowledge as well as to particular objects of one's perception, the same needs to hold true for "bad," i.e. improper and "unpleasant," if we are to give meaning to the term "knowledge." Interestingly, the tree of knowledge is called the tree of knowledge of "good" and "evil," not the tree of knowledge of what is "true" and what is "false." The serpent refers to G-d as being able to distinguish between "good" and "evil." In Samuel II 14,17, we read of angels being defined as knowing "good and evil." Why then do our sages seem to deny that angels possess the power to distinguish between good and evil? Maimonides claims that man was unique in creation because he was the only creature to possess this ability. He claims that angels recognize only objective values such as truth and falsehood, not relative values such as "good" and "evil." If Adam called himself "Adam," this was because since the raw material that he himself was made of was "adamah," earth, i.e. davar murkav, matter composed of several elements. Hence, he was able to correctly identify other creatures composed of similar raw materials. He could also perceive in which way each differed from another. When the Midrash describes man's knowledge as merubah, this does not mean "greater," but "more variegated." A scholar who is an expert farmer at the same time, possesses a wider range of knowledge than his counterpart who is merely a theoretician. However, this advantage is merely quantitative, not qualitative. It does not mean that man's wisdom is superior to that of the angels. Since the terms "good,” “beautiful,” “dignified” etc. are intrinsically intellectual definitions, angels naturally must know them also as well as their opposites, although they need not be capable of possessing these characteristics. Since this is so, there is no good reason not to understand "and you will be like G-d knowing good and evil," as referring to the angels' ability in this regard (Genesis 3,5). In Samuel II 14,17, the wise woman from Tekoah also uses the term "elokim" for angels, just as G-d seems to do in our Parshah. The author rejects all those commentaries which avoid the peshat in the verses under discussion. He devotes many pages to disprove other commentators' opinions about the angels' powers of perception.

Although as a rule the parable is used to help the reader or listener understand a difficult subject by means of illustrating concepts familiar to him, there are occasions when the parable is used in reverse. An example of the former usage is the verse "as a father chastises his son, so does the Lord chastise you." (Deut. 8,5.) On the other hand, the line "you will be like G'd, knowing good and evil," (Genesis 3,5) is an example of the use of the parable in reverse. Although we have no concept of the essence of G'd, we do understand the concepts of "good" and "evil;" ergo it helps to define G'd by saying that this knowledge is one of His attributes. Or, as the Talmud Berachot 10, says "just as G'd fills the universe, so does our soul fill our body." The subject "G'd" can be brought closer to our understanding, although the essence of G'd remains a mystery. Drawing conclusions from the known microcosm regarding the nature of G'd, the great unknown, is only possible with the aid of the Torah, G'ds revealed law. Since Greek philosophers have no such terms of reference they cannot draw any valid conclusions. The latter, observing three kinds of life in our world, i.e. plants, animals and humans, and noting that man comprehends all three kinds of life, concluded that man has three souls, one each to enable him to comprehend the various forms of life respectively. They did not realise that a single soul can govern all three aspects of life, (provision of food, motion and intelligent planning) Shimon the Just tells us that since man is heir to such a tripowered soul, one that governs vegetable, animal and human abilities, he must therefore assume a threefold moral obligation corresponding to his endowments. These obligations are the promotion of Torah, Avodah, i.e. service in matters relating to the man/G'd relationship and the performance of kind deeds, i.e. building social relationships with his fellow human beings. This is a suitable introduction to the whole tractate of Avot. When the Talmud says "the kingdom of earth is similar to the kingdom of Heaven," (Berachot 58) the meaning may well be that just as we find in the "upper" world both purely spiritual beings as well as bodies, (galaxies) although the essence of that world is spiritual, abstract, so we find in our "lower" world creatures possessed of spiritual capabilities, although by definition these creatures belong to an essentially physical world. Human beings have been equipped with a soul to aid them in performing their physical functions properly, just as the galaxies have been equipped with bodies to enable them to perform their spiritual functions properly. At the same time, just as there are completely disembodied spirits in the "upper" world, so there are completely lifeless bodies in our "lower" world, such as stones etc. Just as the planets in the galaxies have bodies to help them perform the tasks assigned to them by the Creator, so the animal kingdom has a kind of "soul" to help it perform the task assigned to it by the Creator in the scheme of things in our world. It is however, impossible to classify the soul of man as having been designed to serve his body, else one would have to believe that man's soul perishes at the same time his body dies, seeing it has no longer a function to perform. In that latter event, man would hardly possess an advantage over the animals. Rather, man is to be viewed as the counterpart to the angels, who appear in human form on occasion, i.e. equipped with a body, in order to perform a task that requires them to become visible to man. We refer to such apparitions as have been granted to Hagar, Lot, Gideon, Manoach and others. In all those instances, the bodies were corollaries to the angels' spirits. By the same token, man, or especially Jews, have been given a body to assist their souls to perform their tasks. The task of the Jewish people is to perform a mission on behalf of G'd, and the task of the High Priest is to do the same in an even more intensive and specific manner. The High Priest wears the special garments when he performs service in the holy Temple. These garments are worn only once, and were not passed on even to his successor. They had to be removed immediately upon termination of the respective service performed in the Temple. Angels appeared in one kind of human garb only once, since each angel was entrusted with only one mission at a time. A number of Midrashim elaborate on this parallel between the "upper" world and our own world down here. (Vayikra Rabbah 21) Once we accept this comparison, the statement that the Jewish people are to be a kingdom of priests illustrates the functions we are to perform even better. The function of the Jewish people is to act as messenger/priest for mankind. We are given a special equipment to help us perform this task, i.e. Torah etc. If we abuse this equipment for personal advancement instead of employing it to perform our tasks, we are guilty of treason both vis a vis G'd and vis a vis mankind. Our punishment in such an eventuality will reflect the severity of the crime.

3) It is on the third plane, man's relationship with society at large, that man's duty to act morally is most evident. Concerning all his business dealings, man needs to observe justice and fairness, as well as to ensure that no fellow human being suffers physical harm on his account. When David dispatched a servant to Naval, (Samuel I 25,6) bidding him "may you be at peace, may your household be at peace, may all that is yours be at peace," he may well have referred to the three areas in which man has to assure himself of his moral well being. "Peace is only attained when one has satisfied the moral demands made upon one." When Michah identifies the Lord's demands on mankind, (Michah 6,5) he refers to the very same thing when he proclaims "what does the Lord demand of you except to do justice, loving kindness and to walk humbly with your G-d." Justice refers to one's conduct vis a vis society at large, loving kindness to one's conduct vis a vis one's family who may not have a legal claim on one. Finally, humility is an area in which one is least restricted, namely one's conduct vis a vis oneself. When Moses describes G-d’s attributes, (Deut. 32,4) he refers to the same thing. "All His ways are justice," refers to G-d’s conduct in His very own domain. "A G-d of faithfulness," refers to His relationship with His creatures. "He is righteous and upright," refers to His relationship with the universe at large. Psalms 145,17, "G-d is just in all His ways, fair in all His deeds," explains that there are two kinds of justice. Tzedek is the justice that applies to most men in similar circumstances. Chessed is the allowance made for special circumstances when the law, which is after all designed to cover only most situations, fails to allow for special circumstances. The right to grant pardon is based on the recognition that strict application of the law does not always mean that true justice is being meted out. G-d, of course, is the ultimate judge who can make allowances for all exceptions, since He is the only one aware of all circumstances. Tzaddik, just means the norm are His guidelines. Chassid, He adjusts for individual need. Here are some examples of the inadequacies of normal assumptions which Jewish law is based on. "Debtors do not repay loans before the due date." (Baba Batra 5) The underlying assumption of this statement may not always be correct. "Claimants have to furnish proof of their claim." G-d has instructed Jewish judges in Deut. 17,10, that if doubts arise as to the adequacy of existing provisions in law, the Supreme Court may give a decision based on their deliberations, and such decision is binding, even (as the Sifrey puts it) if "they say that left is right or right is left." The idea is: even if the decision of the Supreme Court appears in direct conflict with normative Jewish practice. Of course, all this is applicable only when the Supreme Court's decision is based on accepted Jewish guidelines. Anyone who disputes the authority of such a Jewish Supreme Court, i.e. Sanhedrin, is liable to the death penalty. The Talmud Shabbat 10, states "whosoever judges truly, is a partner to G-d." This is also the reason that Torah frequently refers to judges by the term "elohim." This is also what the serpent had in mind when it said to Eve "you will be like elohim, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3,5) The Midrash explains the meaning as "like creators of worlds." He who invariably feels himself bound to the general rules, even though he may be meticulous in applying them, is destroying worlds rather than building them. The Talmud Baba Metzia 38, claims that it was this kind of bureaucratic zeal that caused the destruction of Jerusalem.