“Purifying our Minds”
(Chapter 1)
“And Hashem Who is G-d, said (to the angels), “See, now that man (has eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad), he has become like one of you, able to know good and evil, and now, lest he stretch his hand forth and take also from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever...” Therefore, Hashem sent him out of Gan Eden,” (Bereishis 3:22-3), to prevent him from eating the fruit of the Tree of Life.
"וַיֹאמֶר ה' אֱלֹקִים, הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה כְאַחַד מִמֶּנּוּ לָדַעַת טוֹב וָרָע, וְעַתָּה פֶּן יִשְׁלַח יָדוֹ כוּ'" (פָּרָשָׁתֵנוּ ג, כב):
We need to understand:
Q1: What is the idea that by eating from the Tree of Knowledge Adam and Chava’s eyes were opened, making them like angels, who know good and evil?
א': מהו שעל ידי עץ הדעת נפקחו עיניהם להיות "כאלקים יודעי טוב ורע".
Q2: What is the meaning of what Hashem, Who is G-d, said (ibid.), “And now, lest he stretch forth his hand and take also from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever.” Why would that bother Him?
Actually, the fact that He already commanded him not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge was also in order that he not die and instead live forever, so why would it bother Hashem now if Adam would live forever by eating from the Tree of Life?
Q3: From where did the snake know that “on the day that you eat of it, your eyes will become opened,” which turned out to be actually true?
If Adam, who heard this command from Hashem Himself, did not recognize this, and only realized the basic meaning that Hashem, G-d, said, “For on the day that you eat from it you will surely die,” and the snake is not mentioned at all as having heard this command, how did the snake know about the effect of the Tree of Knowledge?
Also, even if the snake did hear when Adam was commanded, from where did he have the additional comprehension to extrapolate a deeper level of understanding than Adam himself? Unless we say that the snake was on a higher level than Adam, which itself would be something incomprehensible.
A1: Explanation of “Adam will be like one of us, knowing good and evil”
Now, first we will explain what is written, “Adam will be like one of us, knowing good and evil,” which Hashem said to the angels. This implies that Above, they know both the good and the evil. But, nevertheless, they are not mixed one with the other, for it is revealed and known that this one is good and that one is evil. The evil is separate from the good, even though both the good and the evil are known there, Above.
Which is not the case for the level of “the Tree of knowledge of good and evil,” meaning the level of the mixture of good and evil, where the evil feeds off of the good and the good and evil become combined.
We must understand: The meaning of “the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” is an expression of knowledge, and, if so, why would the knowledge of good and evil create a mixture of good and evil, when also Above it is known the good and the evil, yet, Above, that knowledge doesn’t create an actual mixture of good and evil?
Makif (Encompassing) vs. Pnimi (Internalized) Knowledge
However, the difference here is the same idea as the difference between Makif-Encompassing and Penimi-Internal:
For the level of knowledge of good and evil Above is only Makif-Encompassing, and therefore, it is possible to retain a separation between good and evil, whereby one can know about evil and not incorrectly swap it or mistake it for good, G-d forbid.
This is similar to the idea that (Mishlei 30:28) “A spider climbs with her arms [on the ceiling] inside the king’s palace [and remains unharmed],” meaning, that even though she is in the king’s palace, where she doesn’t belong, but one knows and recognizes her as a spider, and since it is distant from the people in the palace and doesn’t affect them at all, they don’t bother to remove it.
Similarly, Above, there is a separation between good and evil, as in the expression, “He Who separates between the holy and the mundane.” This separation comes from knowing good and evil in a way that is Makif-Encompassing them, and therefore they do not mix together.
Just as the people in the palace see the spider on the ceiling but don’t remove it because it doesn’t affect them in any way (since it is far removed from them), so too, Hashem’s knowledge, (and to a certain extent the angels’ knowledge) of evil doesn’t have a negative effect, since this knowledge is only on an encompassing level and is thus removed from them.
Obviously, there is a fundamental difference in this regard between Hashem and the angels. In regards to Hashem, He is not affected or changed by anything since He is above and beyond the entire category of existence of all creation, and all knowledge comes from Him. In fact, His knowledge of all existence is from the inside out, since it is His knowledge that creates everything. (Meaning, it’s not because He sees what the creations are doing therefore, he knows about them, like we know things, rather, because He is thinking about the creations that is why they exist and do things.) Therefore, His knowledge does not make any change in Him whatsoever since His knowledge of creation isn’t adding anything to him, as His knowledge is derived from His True Being.
In the case of angels, they are not affected simply because the knowledge of evil is not internalized in them, they only have an encompassing knowledge of it. If their knowledge of evil would be internalized then they would also be affected, as in the case of the “fallen angels” of Azael and Shemchazai who had an internalized awareness of evil and got sucked into evil conduct.
The Ketores and the Concept of Makif
This is also similar to the idea of the “Pure Levona,” which is one of the eleven spices of the Ketores [incense offering]: Ten of the spices are corresponding to the ten sparks of holiness which are swallowed up in kelipah-unholiness, and the eleventh spice which is Levona, is corresponding to the spark of holiness that is Makif-encompassing over them that does not become invested internally in the kelipah.
(The “Levona”, i.e., the Makif-encompassing aspect of kelipa, is also the main lifeforce for the kelipah. However, since this lifeforce that it gives to them is only Makif-encompassing over them, it does not become mixed with them at all, and it therefore remains entirely good).
The Ketores-Incense represents the power to do Teshuva, which is why it is the most important service on Yom Kippur, the offering of Ketores in the Holy of Holies, representing the highest level of Teshuva attained on Yom Kippur. Teshuva (repentance) means to transform sins into merits, which is the idea of transforming evil into good.
So, the ultimate spiritual source of evil and unholiness is in the Ketores, the desire that enables our Teshuva. The reason that the Ketores has specifically eleven spices is as follows: In the realm of holiness everything exists in tens, corresponding to the Ten Sefiros of Atzilus. Everything in this world also has ten aspects, since it was created through the Ten Sefiros. However, evil has ten plus one, meaning ten aspects corresponding to the Ten Sefiros, and one additional force. This is because its ten aspects are the exact opposite of holiness, and therefore cannot receive their lifeforce directly from their source in holiness in an internalized manner. They can only receive their life from holiness at a distance, from an encompassing, holy Light, which gives them life without “touching” them, as it were. This encompassing Light is represented by the spice of “Levona,” which comes from the word “lavan-white,” representing purity, since this encompassing level remains pure and unaffected by the kelipa that it enlivens.
The Makif and the Chitzonim
Now, the Makkif also pushes away the “Chitzonim-external forces” that oppose Holiness. This is apparent from the image of the tree in Pardes, drawn with Makkifim and Pnimiim, that the state and situation of the Kelipos is with their backs toward the Makkif.
The sefer referred to here is Asis Rimmonim, written by the Ramak, author of the Pardes. This is the picture:
In the picture we see a map of the Sefiros. At the bottom of the tree-like map, after "Malchus" there are several worlds, Olam HaMerkavot, Olam HaMalachim, Olam HaSechelim, Olam HaShafel. These refer to the spiritual worlds of souls and angels, and the lowest level is the lowly physical world, where kelipa exists. On the left of Yesod and Malchus and the worlds, there is a picture of concentric circles, representing the Makkifim-encompassing levels of Hishtalshelus that come down through Malchus to encompass the created worlds.
In the picture we see that Malchus and the created worlds that extend downwards from Malchus are positioned so that their outside perimeter, their “backs,” are “facing” the outside of the concentric circles of the Makkifim-encompassing levels. However, the kelipa and the other creations receive their flow of life from “Penimi,” the internalized flow of Light coming through Malchus.
Since they cannot receive their life directly from the Makif, since it is “outside” of their perimeter, when the Makif shines in the Penimi it also blocks out the ability of kelipa to receive life. This is explained in Eitz Chayim Gate 42 chapter 13, that from Bina, which is a much higher level than Malchus, there comes a Makif that shines around Malchus and prevents kelipa from receiving too much life from the Penimi Light shining from Malchus. This is called the Chashmal, as mentioned in Tanya chapter 2 regarding the garments of Adam HaRishon.
The point we are bringing is that from the level of Makif, kelipa cannot receive life. This is why when the angels know about evil (kelipa) it doesn’t give them any additional life, because the angels operate on a level of Makif. In other words, their knowledge of evil isn’t internalized in them and therefore doesn’t affect them, and since the evil isn’t mixed into them it also doesn’t give any additional life to unholiness, similar to how kelipa in general doesn’t receive life from a Makkif.
This is not the case regarding Adam. Since Adam, and all people, operate on a level of Penimi, internalizing what they know to the extent that it becomes part of them, when they know about evil, it becomes a part of them. As a result, this creates a flow of life on the level of Penimi to the kelipa, giving additional life to unholiness. (In Eitz Chayim quoted above, it adds that when Adam sinned, it also removed the Makkif of the Chashmal that was blocking out the kelipos from receiving life from Malchus on the level of Penimi).
The Internalization of Good and Evil
This is not the case for the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil,” which is on the level of Pnimi-Internalized, and the good is literally mixed with the evil.
And this is the meaning of what is written, “And the Adam will be like one of us, [knowing good and evil].” Meaning that he is also “Like one of us,” that just like on the level of Oneness of Hashem, referring to Atzilus Above, it is known both good and evil. So too, Adam would also know good and evil, having tasted from the Tree of Knowledge, which combines good and evil. However, for him, this knowledge is harmful.
This is because Adam comes from the level of Pnimius-Internalized knowledge, and immediately upon knowing about evil, having tasted from the Tree of Knowledge, the evil became mixed into his consciousness, and the evil would literally be mixed into him.
This is unlike how it is Above, where even though they know about evil there as well, it remains separate and distant from good and does not approach it, since it remains on the level of Makif-encompassing awareness.
However, Adam, who comes from the level of Pnimi-Internalizing, upon knowing about evil, then he himself became literally mixed up with the evil.
Because on the level of Pnimius, it is impossible to remain entirely separated from evil, as was previously explained, and then it is very difficult to separate the evil, only by way of an intense battle, as in the verse, (Bereishis 25:23) “One nation overpowers the other nation,” referring to Yaakov-holiness and Eisav-unholiness, where sometimes one side, holiness, dominates, and other times the other side, unholiness, dominates.
Like we find and see by the souls of Jewish people from the first generations until now, that there were many different periods: Sometimes in a single generation there were many exalted souls who overcame the evil within them. In other generations there were wicked people who were very much overcome by evil.
This is because they all descend from Adam HaRishon, and he had all of these changes within him. Sometimes he was victorious and other times the evil won over him. All of this was because he functioned on the internal level and as soon as he knew about evil, it became mixed into his psyche, and with that came a very great and arduous battle to separate the evil. Therefore, it was sometimes one way, overcoming the evil, and at other times the other way.
And similarly, we find according to the simple meaning of the verses, that before he ate from the Tree of Knowledge, his awareness of evil was encompassing, since before eating from the Tree of Knowledge they were unclothed and were involved in relations to bear offspring, and as the verse says, (Bereishis 2:25) “And they were not ashamed,” just as when they were eating or drinking unabashedly, since this act of bearing children is a mitzvah from Hashem, and they did not at all know that there is a self-oriented desire for this. Rather, they did this solely to fulfill Hashem’s command.
