Sha'ar HaEmunah VeYesod HaChasidut, Entrance to the Gate of Beit Yaakov 7

ענין ההסתר הוא שהקב"ה ברא ששה מדות שכשלעצמם אינם מבוררים, אבל ע"י בחירה שיעבוד ה' בכל מידה כראוי לה, שיגיע להם אור חב"ד בעולם שנה ונפש, אז הוא בנין שלם להאיר אור המלכות בשלימות. The Sin of Adam and that which Separates us from God
The author now seeks to explain how Adam’s sin in the Garden was an antecedent to Ben Zoma’s similar mistake. As explained above, the division between G-d and creation allows for human free will, and the ability to freely and autonimously accept G-d’s dominion. More specifically, the creation of the six sefirot (character traits, days of the week) from Hesed to Yesod, all allow for the existence of Malkhut (free will, Shabbat), though only when they are actively invested with the higher sefirot of Hokhmah, Binah, and Da’at. (the intellectual faculties). That is, when one’s actions and emotions are balanced by the intellect. Adam sinned by assuming that this process occurred within him automatically, which meant that his desire to eat from the Tree of Knowledge was actually G-d’s will. By following on his desire, he separated Malkhut (G-d’s explicit commandment and his own free will to heed it) from the upper sefirot.

וכדאיתא במדרש רבה קהלת (פרשה א') (דברים לב) זו מחצתי ואני ארפא, רבי חנינא בשם רבי שמעון בן לקיש ורבי יהושע דסיכנין בשם רבי יוחנן ורבי לוי בשם רבי יוחנן הכיתי אין כתיב כאן אלא מחצתי, מחיצה שעשיתי בין העליונים לתחתונים שהעליונים קיימים והתחתונים מתים בעולם הזה, אבל לעתיד לבא אין מיתה כל עיקר שנאמר (ישעיהו כ״ה:ח׳) בלע המות לנצח אמר רבי אבא אף אותה מחיצה אני חוזר ומרפא אותה, מחצתי מחיצתי אני ארפא. וענין המחיצה רומז על ההבדלה שיש בה מצד הטוב, כדי שיתחייב כח בחירה הנ"ל, ויצא מזה כבוד שמים. וכדאיתא במס' ראש השנה (לא.) בשני גדול ה' ומהלל מאד שחילק מעשיו ומלך עליהם, שע"י התחלקות מדותיו יצא מדת מלכותו יתברך ע"י בחירה הנ"ל, שקודם התחלקות אינו נקרא מלך כדאי' שם. בראשון לה' הארץ ומלואה, שקנה והקנה ושליט בעולמו, כי שליט היינו מושל בע"כ בלא מלוכה מכח בחירה, ולפי שמתחייב ממנה גם הסתרה המביאה לידי העלם וחשך לכן צריכה רפואה. וזה מרומז בזה"ק פ' בא (דף לה.) בענין מעשה בראשית ברזא דתנין הגדול וכדין כד האי אור אתגניז לעיולא ליה ההוא גנזא דקאמרן כדין נפיק חשך קדמאה ובטש על רישיה כו' דאתמתחא ביה ואתפרש חד חוטא בין ההוא נהורא ובין ההוא חשוכא דחשך דא דכתיב ויבדל אלהים בין האור ובין החשך האי תנין תב בההוא פרישו דהאי חוטא דאפריש ואפריש לאינון יאורין גו חשוכא וכו' עיי"ש. והענין שהש"י ברא העולם התחתון בחסדו כמ"ש (תהלים פט) כי אמרתי עולם חסד יבנה, והוא שקבע בהעולם ששה מדות גבולי אלכסון, אשר מכללות הסתעפות גבולי האלכסון יצא כח בחירה, שהבחירה מוציאה מדת המלכות כנ"ל. וכדאיתא בפרקי רבי אליעזר הגדול, שמלוכה אינה אלא ע"י בחירה ורצון, והמדות הם בהתחלקות חסד גבורה תפארת וכו'. אכן כבר כתבנו לעיל שכל מדה מצד עצמה אין בה בירור לטוב, שכשישתמשו בה בתורת מדה בלא דעת אז ירחם על אכזרי וכדומה. אבל כשיאיר בהם אור החכמה והבינה והדעת, אז כשישתמש בכוללות המדות בכל אחת במקומה ובזמנה, אז הוא בנין שלם ואז יצא מדת המלכות תשלום כל המדות בשלימות בגינה, ויאיר אור מלכות שמים בשלימות. אכן שיגיע האדם להמשיך חכמה ובינה ודעת למדות האלו, וזה אינו רק ע"י עבודה וידיעת הש"י, וצריך לעבור דרך זמן אחר ששת הימים יום השבת. וכן באדם כשיעבוד את הש"י וימליך את הש"י ויקבל עליו עול מלכות שמים, ובעולם רומז לזה מקום המקדש שהוא מקום עבודה בהירה ששם מאיר הש"י בגודל אורו. It is written in the Midrash Rabbah (Kohelet, Parsha 1), “‘I wounded, and I will heal.’ (Devarim, 32:39) … Rabbi Yohanan said, ‘I struck’ is not written, but rather ‘I wounded.’ I created a wound²⁷⁵The word for wound – mahatsti – is similar to the word mehitsah, “divider.” in that I made a division between the upper and lower realms whereby the upper realms exist forever, and the lower realms are subject to death. Yet in the time to come, there will no longer be death, as it is written (Yeshayahu, 25:8), ‘He will destroy death forever.’ Rabbi Abba said, furthermore, in the time to come I will return and heal the wound. It is precisely through the division that I bring healing.” The matter of division hints at the positive aspect of separation, which necessitates the existence of free choice, as mentioned above. The result of choosing the good, despite the concealment of God’s presence, is the revelation of the God’s glory in the world. This is as the Gemara says (Rosh Hashanah, 31a), “[What psalm did the Levites recite] on the second day of the week? ‘God is great and greatly praised,’ (Tehillim, 145:3) because He divided His works and ruled over them.” The division of God’s attributes led to the birth of the attribute of Malkhut – G-d’s Kingship – by means of human beings using their power of choice. Before the division, God could not be called, “King.”²⁷⁶Before the division of heaven and earth, God ruled alone. R. Gershon Hanokh uses the term moshel - – a ruler – to define G-d’s reign at that stage. This is unlike a king, who rules through the consent of the people. Thus, it was only on the second day, after the division in creation was formed and something “other” than G-d existed, could the creation willfully crown Him as its King. Thus, on the first day of the week [the Levites recited]; “The earth is God’s and the fullness thereof” (Tehillim, 24:1).²⁷⁷The song that the Levites sung each day of the week corresponded to the six primordial days in which G-d created the world. Since, on the first day of creation, there was not yet a division between heaven and earth, nor was there an independent creation to coronate G-d as King, so, the Levites, on Sunday, sang “The earth is God’s and the fullness thereof.” At that point, the creation belonged solely to G-d. It was then that He acquired, gave over acquisition, and ruled in His world. What does it mean that God, “ruled,” on the first day? He ruled against the will of the creation, without having His sovereignty built upon the free choice of the creation. But since concealment is a prerequisite for choice, it also leads to absence, darkness, and the need for healing. This is hinted at in the Zohar (Bo, 35a), with the secret of the great sea creature:²⁷⁸See Bereshit, 1:21 Then, when the light was hidden above from the gardener,²⁷⁹The Zohar is revealing the secrets of the mystery of creation, which begins on the first day, where God “divided between the light and the darkness.” Before this passage, the Zohar introduced the concept of the Tsaddik (Holy Man, also, alluding to the sefirah of Yesod) who is described as a gardener, who tends, cultivates, and facilitates growth. It also represents Divine providence, which “cultivates,” humankind in particular and the creation as a whole. as mentioned, the first darkness emerged, hitting [the sea creature] on the hole that had been made in its head. And a single thread emerged from between the light that had been hidden and the emerging darkness. This is as it is written, “And God divided between the light and the darkness.” This sea creature,²⁸⁰The sea creature is the Leviathan (see Bereshit 1), representing the highest levels of Hokhmah - Wisdom (ChaBaD of Hokhmah), which are the concealed forces in the upper waters. The Midrash teaches us that there were two Leviathans, the largest creatures of the sea, a male and a female. The female was killed after being created, and its meat was salted and preserved for the Righteous in the time to come. with the separation of the thread, was then divided into the rivers that flow within the darkness.²⁸¹The thread of light that that the Zohar tells us is emerging from the darkness provides the power of choice and the ability for man in the lower world to choose the good, thereby revealing God’s glory in the world. God created the lower world purely out of His kindness. This is as it is written (Tehillim, 89:3), “For I have said, the world will be built on kindness.” God divided space into six directions.²⁸²North, south, east, west, up, down. Each direction representing one of the six lower attributes (Sefirot), and from the division of these six attributes comes the power of choice, which brings forth the seventh and final attribute of Malkhut – Kingship.²⁸³Malkhut is the ability to receive God’s light and thereby crown Him as King of the world. This is related to the statement in the Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer, that Kingship only comes about through choice and will. Now, the attributes are divided into Hesed - Lovingkindness, Gevurah - Strength, Tiferet - Beauty, etc.²⁸⁴The revelation of God’s sovereignty is achieved through man actively choosing through which of the six lower attributes that Sovereignty will be revealed. To reveal the aspect of Sovereignty in any one of the attributes, one must draw the light of ChaBaD into that attribute. We have mentioned above that each of the attributes on its own is not intrinsically good. Thus, when any one of the attributes is used without Da’at – Consciousness²⁸⁵Da’at, or Divine consciousness, originates in the intellect, or the upper three sefirot, and is ideally drawn down and infused into the lower revealed sefirot, the attributes of action. The drawing of divine consciousness allows for spiritual growth, much as water and nutrients that flows through the tree allows for the tree to grow. one could make grave blunders, such as showing mercy to cruel people.²⁸⁶This would be a misuse of the trait of Hesed - lovingkindness. See above, Part 2, chapter 2, for a discussion of the misuse or “unclarified” used of the attributes. However, when the six lower attributes²⁸⁷The six lower “revealed” Sefirot are Hesed – Lovingkindness, Gevurah – Strength, Tiferet – Beauty, Netzah –Eternity, Hod – Majesty, and Yesod – Foundation. Each of these corresponds, as well, to elements of the human personality. are illuminated with the light of HaBaD,²⁸⁸HaBaD is the initials of the three upper “intellectual” or “hidden” Sefirot, Hokhmah – Wisdom, Binah – Understanding, and Da’at – Consciousness. HaBaD is the spiritual root of man’s intellectual faculties. and as a result, the sum total of the attributes are used in their proper time and place, then the structure is complete. Then the attribute of Malkhut comes forth as the true completion and perfection of all the attributes, and the light of the Kingship of Heaven shines in its full completeness. Indeed, when a man reaches the point where he is drawing HaBaD into the lower attributes, which is possible only through his concerted efforts in Divine service and striving to know God, it must occur in the same way that Shabbat follows the six days of the week.²⁸⁹The six work days correspond to the six attributes (sefirot), from Hesed to Yesod, with Shabbat corresponding to the Sefirah of Malkhut. Just as free will needs the engagement of all six of these attributes (without which, a person would be emotionally imbalanced, and fall into idolatry, as explained above), which leads to the creation of Malkhut – the willing acceptance of G-d’s kingship – so too, does Shabbat follow the six days of the week. Similarly, with man, this is only possible through efforts at the service of God, crowning God over him as his King, and accepting upon himself the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven. In the world, this idea is hinted at in the place of the Holy Temple, which is a place of lucid Divine service, for it is at that place that God shines His light in its fullness.

וזה היה חטא אדם כדאיתא בכתבי האר"י ז"ל עץ החיים ובליקוטי תורה (בראשית) שחטא אדם היה שחשב להגדיל כתר זעיר אפין קודם זמנו ולא הכניס בו אור. וכן חטאו בנוקבא שהחזיר מדכורא נוקבא. ולהיות כי אין כאן מקום אריכות ויתבאר אי"ה במקומו. אכן שורש חטאו הוא כדאי' בתיקוני הזהר (תיקון ס"ט דף קיז.) בענין חטא אדם ועיקר דארבע אתוון ועשר אתוון איהו מלכותא דאיהו כלילא מכל עשר ספירין וביה צריך כלא לאכללא דכל מאן דנטיל מלכות בלא תשעה ספירין איהו מקצץ בנטיעות ומאן דנטיל עשר ספירין בלא מלכות איהו כופר בעיקר ובתיקון י"ט (דף מא:) שאמר ליה ר"ש לרבי אלעזר אמר ליה ברי בכלא חאב במחשבה ובמחשבה סתימא וכו' את לרבות שכינתא תתאה וכו'. והענין שבשורש נמצא בכוללות ששת המדות, נמצא מדת מלכות שהיא תשלום כולם, כדאי' בכמה מקומות בתיקונים ובזוה"ק. וכן גם נמצא בהם השלשה מדות העליונים חכמה בינה דעת כדאי' ברעיא מהימנא פנחס (דף רנז.) ולית שביעי אלא מסטרא דאת יו"ד עטרה על רישיה חכמה עלאה אות הוא חכמה תתאה אות היא וכו': The sin of Adam was the failure to achieve what was spelled out in the previous section. This is explained in the Etz Hayyim and the Liqutei Torah (Bereshit) of the Arizal.²⁹⁰Namely, failing to draw Da’at – Consciousness into the lower attributes, and the mistake of creating a separation between Malchut – Kingship – and the upper attributes. Adam’s sin was that he wanted to magnify the size of the crown (Keter) of Zeir Anpin (which contains the six attributes) before its time, and did not draw light into it.²⁹¹The crown needs to receive the proper intensity of light in order to be adequately illuminated. Increasing the size of the vessel of the crown without increasing the intensity of the light only reduces the illumination. An analogy in this world would be a person opening a charity organization without having the funds to distribute. Similarly he sinned with regards to the Nukva (female) of Zeir Anpin, in that he turned the female away from the male. This is not the place to explain this complex Kabbalistic idea in full, and God willing, we will return to it in its place. The root of Adam’s sin is mentioned in the Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 69, page 117a): The central principle of the four letters and the ten letters²⁹²The “four letters” refers to the Tetragrammaton, spelled Yud Hei Vav Hei. The ten letters are the expansion of the name, with each letter spelled in full - Yud Vav Dalet, Hei Aleph, Vav Aleph Vav, Hei Aleph. is Malkhut – Sovereignty. Malkhut is comprised of ten Sefirot, and all must be included within Malkhut. Anyone who takes the nine upper Sefirot without Malkhut is, “cutting the plantings” (committing heresy). And similarly, in the Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 19: Rabbi Shimon said to Rabbi Elazar, “Elazar my son, they sinned in them all: in their thoughts, and in their hidden thought. The word “et”²⁹³This whole passage requires kabbalistic knowledge. The Zohar refers to the commandment to send away the mother bird (Devarim 22:7): “v’et habanim tikach lach – and take the chicks.” The chicks represents Kingship-Malkhut. Meaning to say, always take Malkhut together with the upper sefirot. In R. Gershon Hanokh’s terms, a person must exercise his free will in a balanced way – by allowing the light of the intellect to shine into the attributes. Adam’s sin lay in his eating impulsively from the Tree of Knowledge, rather than carefully examining his motivations, in light of G-d’s commandment. As R. Gershon Hanokh will explain, Adam did this because he assumed that his innate desires were G-d-given, and thus always accurate. In the verse from Devarim, the direct object “et” is understood to be referring to the Shechina, which went into exile when the Israelites sinned. is said in order to include the lower Shekhina. Meaning to say, within the totality of the six attributes can be found the trait of the Malkhut, which completes them all. This is said in several places in the Zohar and the Tikkunei Zohar. The three upper Sefirot are also found in the six lower attributes, as is said in the Raya Mehemna (section of the Zohar), Parshat Pinhas (257a): The seventh is only from the side of the letter Yud ( י ), the crown on his head, Supernal Wisdom is a sign,²⁹⁴“Ot,” as in a sign of the covenant, like Shabbat or Brit Milah. Lower Wisdom is a sign … ²⁹⁵See Shemot 31:13, “The Sabbath is a sign – ot hi – beween you and Me.” The pronoun hi is spelled with the letter yud (היא), which represents Hokhmah – supernal Wisdom. The seventh sefirah - Malkhut, Kingship – is considered to be derived from the sefirah of Hokhmah (אבא יסד ברתא). The point on the top of the letter Yud represents the connection between the infinite and the lower finite world (“the crown on his head”). The implication is that the connection to the infinite is hidden within the world. When Malchut, which is the Shechina or the presence of God dwelling in the community of Israel, is revealed as, “the crown on His head,” meaning, when God’s sovereignty that was hitherto hidden among Israel is seen as connected to the Infinite and revealed in the supernal world and as a vehicle for the effluence of supernal wisdom, then malchut – G-d’s sovereignty – is complete. The author’s commentary on the Torah, the Sod Yesharim (Noah, beginning with the words “et kashti”), also heavily based on the Zohar, explains Adam’s sin in the following way: The Arizal writes that the sin of Adam was in attempting to enlarge the crown of Zeir Anpin before its proper time. This means that Adam wanted to draw Hokhmah – Wisdom – into the rest of his body in order for all of his actions would be a direct expression of God’s own will. In this way Adam seized Malkhut, meaning he held onto the power of nature disconnected from the nine upper Sefirot. If he had seized Malkhut through the nine Sefirot, he would have thus built the Kingdom of Heaven in a state of completeness together with the Keter-Crown of Zeir Anpin. In other words, then a permanent reverence for God would have been fixed in his being and in the being of all of creation. Then it would have followed automatically that the Keter of Zeir Anpin would have also been instilled with such awesome reverance. There would have been a complete state of consciousness (da’at shleima) in all one’s powers so that man would know where it was forbidden to enter, because that place would separate man from his roots and he would not see the presence of his Creator. So too, he would see where he was permitted to enter … However, since Adam took it before its time, rushing in with the desire to elevate the matters of this world at the outset, he fell into a state of concealed consciousness and forgetting, remaining in the physical aspect of the world. This is the meaning of, “taking Malkhut without the upper nine Sefirot.”

וענין זה, שחשב אדם הראשון, שמאחר שבהעלם נמצא במדות הגלוים גם משורש החכמה והבינה והדעת, וכיון שהש"י בראו, הרי חפץ להיקרא מלך בתחתונים, וכיון שכן עלה הרצון וא"כ לרצון הזה נדמה לו שהוא מחויב המציאות, ולכן אינו צריך לעבודה. וממילא כיון שהוא כלול מהמדות, ממילא יצא ממנו כבוד שמים מכל פעולותיו, אלו הם שורש דברי האר"י ז"ל בקיצור. Adam HaRishon reasoned in this way. Since a force from the root of HaBaD exists also in the revealed attributes, and since he was created by God, God thus desired to be called King also in the lower realm of creation (the physical world). As a result of all of this, Adam’s desire was stimulated, and it occurred to him that his desire was in fact God’s own desire. ²⁹⁶The author writes in his commentary on the Zohar, Tiferet Ha-Hanokhi, (Parshat Lekh, on Zohar 83, section beginning, “ve’lo”): The Tikkunei Zohar states that the sin of Adam lay in his taking the ten Sefirot without Malkhut. Consider the following explanation. Adam did not sufficiently establish God’s Sovereignty, to crown God over all of His creation. Truly, even in the final garment [of creation], that is, the place that seems the furthest and most hidden from God, what we loosely call “evil,” also in this place, man must see himself and conduct himself as a slave. Adam’s sin was in that it seemed to him that as the very handiwork of God, all his feelings of desire and yearning [to eat from the Tree of Knowledge] must also be coming directly from God. However, the essential quality of Malkhut is to serve God through one’s own choice, by limiting one’s behavior in order to increase Godliness in the world, and to accept upon himself the responsibility for sin. [Thus, Adam should not have eaten it, even if he was correct.] In understanding that everything that he felt like doing was the expression of the Divine will,²⁹⁷Thus, he desire to eat from the Tree of Knowledge must also have been a manifestation of G-d’s will. the necessity for active service through Adam’s power of choice became void. And it follows, that since all of the revealed attributes (sefirot) were innately within him,²⁹⁸In must be stressed here that the six revealed Sefirot are all the ways we serve God in the world, with love - Hesed, with fear - Gevura, with splendour - Tifferet, etc. then everything he would do would automatically express God’s glory in the world. This is a brief synopsis of the Arizal’s understanding of Adam’s sin.