Summary of the Maamar:
Q1 What is the idea that by eating from the Tree of Knowledge then Adam and Chava would like the angels and like Hashem, knowing good and bad?
A1 Adam and Chava were on such a high spiritual level that they were above needing to know about the existence of evil. By eating from the Tree of Knowledge, this caused them to descend to a lower spiritual level where they also know about the existence of evil. (However, for Hashem and the angels it isn’t a descent to know about evil, since it doesn’t affect them negatively in any way.)
Q2 If the reason for not eating from the Tree of Knowledge is to prevent Adam and Chava from dying, then why did Hashem say that after they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, they are not allowed to eat from the Tree of Life so that shouldn’t live forever? If eating from the Tree of Life would grant them eternal life then it should fix the problem caused by eating from the Knowledge, so why did Hashem say that after they ate from the Tree of Knowledge they are forbidden to eat from the Tree of Life?
A2 Once Adam and Chava ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the evil and unholiness became mixed into them and internalized into their very being. Now that the unholiness is bound up them, it receives life from them, and if they would live forever then unholiness would also live forever. In order that unholiness not live forever Hashem forbade Adam and Chava at that point to eat from the Tree of Life.
Q3 How did the snake know that by eating from the Tree of Knowledge that Adam and Chava would end up dying?
A3 The snake was actually an agent of an angel referred to as Samech Mem, who was jealous of Adam’s high spiritual level and wanted to bring him down. This angel knew that man is fundamentally different than angels: Angels can know about evil and it doesn’t affect them because they grasp that knowledge in an encompassing manner, without it becoming part of their being. However, man takes everything personally and internalizes whatever he knows, and therefore if he would know about evil it would bring him down spiritually and make him connected to unholiness. This is why the angel Samech Mem used the snake to trick them into knowing about evil (by eating from the Tree of Knowledge).
Q4 After Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, he descended to the physical world and had it extract the sparks of holiness that fell there because of his sin. He accomplishes this by working the land, growing produce, eating the produce, and using that energy to serve Hashem in prayer and Torah study. But even if he would not have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge there would still be Sparks of Holiness trapped in evil and unholiness of the physical world resulting from the “Shattering of the Keilim of Tohu.” If Adam and Chava would have stayed in Gan Eden, how would they elevate those trapped Sparks of Holiness from the physical realm?
A5 If they would not have sinned and remained in Gan Eden, they would have been able to extract those Sparks through flooding the world with intense Divine Light of Hashem. The Light would draw those Sparks into itself, like a huge fire draws small flames into itself. Through their prayer and Torah study in Gan Eden, they would bring down tremendous Light into Gan Eden, which would flow down into the physical world and extract all the Sparks automatically. This would also nullify evil and unholiness, since once their source of life in holiness is removed, they cease to have any life and existence.
