A3: And with this we can explain the answer to the question at the beginning of the maamar, “how did the Snake know about the effects of eating from the Tree of Knowledge, when even Adam didn’t know, and Hashem never told the Snake?”
Because Adam HaRishon himself, who was entirely holy, above the level of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil,” did not know about the existence of evil, whatsoever.
However, the Snake, who was himself from the level of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” and knew about evil, knew that when Hashem had commanded Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, it was in order to prevent Adam from having any knowledge of evil at all, so that he would not need to enter any battle with the evil at all, and would instead nullify the evil automatically, through flooding the world with Divine Light.
The snake was very angry that Adam was so protected from evil, to the point that he shouldn’t even know about it, in order that he not come to stumble with it.
Since when a person knows about evil, it becomes mixed into him and has a negative effect on him.
So, the snake decided that it was preferable for Adam to become involved in this evil and battle with it, and then sometimes also the snake [and Evil in general] would dominate and win, as is written, (Koheles 8:9) “There are times when a man rules over another man, but eventually it will be to his detriment.”
On this verse, Rashi explains that sometimes unholiness rules over holiness, like Pharaoh, who enslaved the Jewish People. But ultimately it brought about his downfall, since the nation of Mitzrayim was devastated as a punishment for their oppression of the Jews. Similarly, the unholiness sometimes has temporary control over holiness, but only until the unholiness is destroyed.
The Snake thought that this would be better for it than if Adam did not know about evil at all. Because then the good [holiness] that was included in the snake would be absorbed by Adam HaRishon, like a flame by a torch, and the snake would then die and be completely destroyed.
Therefore, he came with deception to Chava, as it says, (Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer ch. 13) “The Samach-Mem (the Satan) came “riding” on the snake, etc.”
The Midrash of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkonus explains that in heaven there was an angel called ס-מ -א -ל, (which we refer to in short as just ס"מ-Samech-Mem). This angel was jealous of the greatness of Adam and wanted to lower him from his spiritual level. He found that the best agent he could use to trick Adam into sinning was the snake. So he descended and possessed the snake, like a man possessed by an evil spirit. Thus, everything the snake said was really the Samech Mem talking through the snake. It was as if the Samech Mem was “riding” on the snake, as it were.
And the snake said, “For Hashem knows that on the day that you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like Hashem, knowing good and evil.”
Now, in truth it is actually the case, and the snake did not tell a complete lie, he only spoke deceptively.
For he said, “You will be like Hashem,” in the positive sense, but in truth it is actually a deficiency.
Because, even though Adam would know good and evil like Hashem, but Above it does not cause a defect at all, since even though He knows good and evil, the evil remains separate, because Above, things operate in the way of Makkif-encompassing.
This is unlike if man, who comes from the level of Pnimi-internalizing, would know good and evil - for him, this knowledge is harmful, since it becomes mixed into his consciousness.
To summarize the answer: First of all, the snake wasn’t the one with plan of how to get Adam to sin; it was the angel, Samech-Mem, who was jealous of Adam’s spiritual level and wanted to bring him down. This angel, who operated on the level of Makkif-encompassing, was aware of evil and it didn’t affect him. However, he knew that Adam, who was on the level of Penimi-internalizing, would be brought down spiritually if he knew about evil. He realized that the reason Hashem told Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge was for this reason. He therefore tricked Chava into eating by saying that angels and Hashem know about evil and it only adds to their knowledge, but doesn’t harm them. So too, she would know about evil and only become smarter. But this was a trick, because it caused Adam and Chava’s spiritual downfall.
Adam’s Spiritual Level and the Chambers of Impurity
In Likkutei Torah of the Arizal it explains this concept:
Adam HaRishon was exploring the Supernal Chambers, i.e., lofty spiritual levels, and he was able to, because the level of Adam was above even Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and he was in a completely different league, since he was formed by the “Hands” of Hashem.
There, it continues to explain that he had no interest in peeking into the Chambers of Impurity, and the snake persuaded him to look into them anyway, just to see what was inside, and, as a result, he stumbled and fell into desiring what was in them.
So too, I heard from the Holy Rebbi Avraham HaMalach, the son of the Mezeritcher Maggid z”l, on the verse “And Yehuda veered to the Adulamite man, whose name was Chira.” Because of the event with the selling of Yosef, Yehuda veered.
This means that he “veered” below into the Chambers of Impurity, “to the Adulamite man,” in order to elevate sparks of Kedusha from there.
This is also the idea intended by Nefilas Apayim [in the Tachanun Prayer].
As a result of the sin of selling Yosef, Yehuda had to correct this by descending into the world and elevating the sparks of holiness trapped in the physical world.
