Chasidut על חגיגה 28:13
Kedushat Levi
According to the Sefer Yetzirah the word המקום in this verse is a reference to the name of G’d, [as we are familiar with from the haggadah shel pessach, ברוך המקום. Ed.] The reason that this word serves as a euphemism for G’d’s name is to remind us that He is מקומו של העולם, “the One to Whom all of ‘Space’ belongs, seeing He has created it.” In keeping with this approach we must translate the words: וישם מראשותיו, as related to ראשית, “beginning of time,” i.e. the Jewish people featured first in G’d’s thinking, and the word וישכב, may be broken up into יש כ'ב, the material world i.e. יש, is based on the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. [The letter ו at the beginning, is of course, only a grammatical tool for turning the future tense into an immediate past tense. Ed.]
Still another way of looking at this verse is based on a statement in the Talmud Chagigah 14. We are told there about four sages who decided to investigate the mystical aspects of the Torah, commonly known as the pardes, (acronym for the four approaches to valid interpretations, פשט, דרוש, רמז, סוד) Of these 4 scholars only one returned unharmed either physically or mentally, i.e. Rabbi Akiva. After his experience Rabbi Akiva warned anyone who would emulate him that when he would come to אבני שיש טהור, “stones made of pure marble,” he should not be misled into considering this מים, מים, (mistaking the phenomenon for completely transparent and therefore pure water). Rabbi Akiva quoted a verse from psalms 101,7 דובר שקרים לא יכון נגד עיני, “he who speaks deceitfully shall not stand before My eyes.”
In order to gain an understanding of what Rabbi Akiva alluded to here, we must first of all remember a rule that governs all legitimate exegesis of the Torah. The rule is that the 288 sparks which descended into the material world from the primordial world of Tohu, i.e. a world in which the Shechinah was the only manifestation of a creative spirit, and attached themselves to one or the other outstanding human being, have one thing in common. The persons so endowed must believe without doubt or reservation that all parts of the universe wherever, are the product of the One and only Creator Who has infused them with “life” (according to their respective functions). Their continued existence is totally dependent on this Creator, and this Creator dispenses of His largesse not only to those who believe in Him but also to those who hate Israel. (and, by extension, hate Him) The difference between the former (the tzaddikim) and the latter consists primarily in the ability of the tzaddikim to “pull down” additional largesse from the celestial reservoir thanks to their standing in that hierarchy. In doing so, they divert some of this largesse away from the infidels, the wicked.
Still another way of looking at this verse is based on a statement in the Talmud Chagigah 14. We are told there about four sages who decided to investigate the mystical aspects of the Torah, commonly known as the pardes, (acronym for the four approaches to valid interpretations, פשט, דרוש, רמז, סוד) Of these 4 scholars only one returned unharmed either physically or mentally, i.e. Rabbi Akiva. After his experience Rabbi Akiva warned anyone who would emulate him that when he would come to אבני שיש טהור, “stones made of pure marble,” he should not be misled into considering this מים, מים, (mistaking the phenomenon for completely transparent and therefore pure water). Rabbi Akiva quoted a verse from psalms 101,7 דובר שקרים לא יכון נגד עיני, “he who speaks deceitfully shall not stand before My eyes.”
In order to gain an understanding of what Rabbi Akiva alluded to here, we must first of all remember a rule that governs all legitimate exegesis of the Torah. The rule is that the 288 sparks which descended into the material world from the primordial world of Tohu, i.e. a world in which the Shechinah was the only manifestation of a creative spirit, and attached themselves to one or the other outstanding human being, have one thing in common. The persons so endowed must believe without doubt or reservation that all parts of the universe wherever, are the product of the One and only Creator Who has infused them with “life” (according to their respective functions). Their continued existence is totally dependent on this Creator, and this Creator dispenses of His largesse not only to those who believe in Him but also to those who hate Israel. (and, by extension, hate Him) The difference between the former (the tzaddikim) and the latter consists primarily in the ability of the tzaddikim to “pull down” additional largesse from the celestial reservoir thanks to their standing in that hierarchy. In doing so, they divert some of this largesse away from the infidels, the wicked.
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Kedushat Levi
In the words of our author, the brilliance of the “sparks” which had not yet been sufficiently reduced in intensity for man, even an Adam, G’d’s personal handiwork, to be exposed to without being harmed by it, [absorbing it internally, Ed.] was the reason why G’d warned him on pain of death not to eat from it.
The author illustrates all this by means of a parable. A son had become estranged to his father, thereby losing the path he had walked and getting lost in all kinds of dead end alleys which he found difficult to get out of. When, in spite of these detours, he eventually found his way back to his father’s home, the joy of his having returned pleased the father immeasurably more than the satisfaction an obedient son who had never left the parental home in the first place could have afforded him.
When considering the relationship between the tree of knowledge and its roots in the celestial spheres, the words of warning issued by G’d, i.e. “on the day when you will eat from it you will die,” will become clearer. The tree of knowledge will remain alluring to its beholders as long as what they see reflects the thinly veiled brilliance of its celestial origin. Only after man violated G’d’s commandment did it cease to be such and assume more earthly proportions so that being exposed to it any further will spell eventual death as man had contaminated it. [“Death” may be perceived as the ultimate contraction of Divine glory on earth, G’d having veiled His spiritually illuminating light with so many veils that none of them reach man, and therefore cannot “revive” his spiritual resources. Ed.]
The good deeds performed by the righteous reverse this entire process and, ultimately, when brought to its successful conclusion, will enable a different world from the one we are familiar with to be revealed even on earth.
In the dialogue just described by the Torah, the first difficulty is the meaning of the word אף with which the serpent commences. Normally, we understand this word to mean: “although, in spite of,” or something to that effect. Why would the serpent begin the conversation by using this as an introductory word? Furthermore, why did the serpent “quote” G’d as having said פן תמותון, “lest you will die,” when in fact G’d had said [concerning a single tree Ed.] כי ביום אכלך ממנו תמות “for on the day you eat from it you will die.”(Genesis 2,17) G’d had made an absolute statement “you will die,” whereas the serpent changed the statement to a warning rather than a threat, i.e. “lest you may die,” describing death as a possible rather than as a definite result of eating from the tree.'
Prior to the sin, both Adam and Chavah did not appreciate the concepts of ascent and descent of “sparks” of the Shechinah, so that when they heard G’d mention the word “death,” they had understood it as a merely temporary condition, such as unconsciousness. They had not understood it as referring to the “death” of worlds, and that is why the serpent’s argument made sense to them, as they felt that the Creator would be contradicting all that He had created if He were to allow it to disintegrate so easily by a relatively insignificant action such as eating from the fruit of the tree.
When our sages in Chagigah 14 relate that four people “descended” into the pardess, (acronym for “peshat, drush, remez, sod) the four disciplines used to explore the depths of the Torah, and that only Rabbi Akiva, returned unscathed, they meant to warn us not to embark on such excursions as they might result in our death. Adam and Chavah entertained doubts about the exact meaning of the result of disobeying G’d’s prohibition and its consequences for anyone disregarding this command. These doubts made them potential victims of the serpent, who phrased the ”threat” in such a manner that Chavah thought there was logic to the serpent’s words, especially when by repeating: לא מות תמותון, the serpent claimed that no manner of “death” would result from her eating from the fruit of the tree. The serpent implied that creatures who are ranking as high in G’d’s hierarchy as Chavah and her husband, did not have any reason to fear “death.” The serpent implied that the unscreened “light” emanating from the Shechinah was not beyond their ability to digest without harm, on the contrary, they would gain additional wisdom, and become able to tolerate even more intense rays of Divine “light.”
The author illustrates all this by means of a parable. A son had become estranged to his father, thereby losing the path he had walked and getting lost in all kinds of dead end alleys which he found difficult to get out of. When, in spite of these detours, he eventually found his way back to his father’s home, the joy of his having returned pleased the father immeasurably more than the satisfaction an obedient son who had never left the parental home in the first place could have afforded him.
When considering the relationship between the tree of knowledge and its roots in the celestial spheres, the words of warning issued by G’d, i.e. “on the day when you will eat from it you will die,” will become clearer. The tree of knowledge will remain alluring to its beholders as long as what they see reflects the thinly veiled brilliance of its celestial origin. Only after man violated G’d’s commandment did it cease to be such and assume more earthly proportions so that being exposed to it any further will spell eventual death as man had contaminated it. [“Death” may be perceived as the ultimate contraction of Divine glory on earth, G’d having veiled His spiritually illuminating light with so many veils that none of them reach man, and therefore cannot “revive” his spiritual resources. Ed.]
The good deeds performed by the righteous reverse this entire process and, ultimately, when brought to its successful conclusion, will enable a different world from the one we are familiar with to be revealed even on earth.
In the dialogue just described by the Torah, the first difficulty is the meaning of the word אף with which the serpent commences. Normally, we understand this word to mean: “although, in spite of,” or something to that effect. Why would the serpent begin the conversation by using this as an introductory word? Furthermore, why did the serpent “quote” G’d as having said פן תמותון, “lest you will die,” when in fact G’d had said [concerning a single tree Ed.] כי ביום אכלך ממנו תמות “for on the day you eat from it you will die.”(Genesis 2,17) G’d had made an absolute statement “you will die,” whereas the serpent changed the statement to a warning rather than a threat, i.e. “lest you may die,” describing death as a possible rather than as a definite result of eating from the tree.'
Prior to the sin, both Adam and Chavah did not appreciate the concepts of ascent and descent of “sparks” of the Shechinah, so that when they heard G’d mention the word “death,” they had understood it as a merely temporary condition, such as unconsciousness. They had not understood it as referring to the “death” of worlds, and that is why the serpent’s argument made sense to them, as they felt that the Creator would be contradicting all that He had created if He were to allow it to disintegrate so easily by a relatively insignificant action such as eating from the fruit of the tree.
When our sages in Chagigah 14 relate that four people “descended” into the pardess, (acronym for “peshat, drush, remez, sod) the four disciplines used to explore the depths of the Torah, and that only Rabbi Akiva, returned unscathed, they meant to warn us not to embark on such excursions as they might result in our death. Adam and Chavah entertained doubts about the exact meaning of the result of disobeying G’d’s prohibition and its consequences for anyone disregarding this command. These doubts made them potential victims of the serpent, who phrased the ”threat” in such a manner that Chavah thought there was logic to the serpent’s words, especially when by repeating: לא מות תמותון, the serpent claimed that no manner of “death” would result from her eating from the fruit of the tree. The serpent implied that creatures who are ranking as high in G’d’s hierarchy as Chavah and her husband, did not have any reason to fear “death.” The serpent implied that the unscreened “light” emanating from the Shechinah was not beyond their ability to digest without harm, on the contrary, they would gain additional wisdom, and become able to tolerate even more intense rays of Divine “light.”
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