Now, in order to better appreciate what iluy, what elevation, we’re talking about, we’ll first go back to the beginning of the history of mankind. And then, after we study it in a more general sense, we’ll come back to our subject, the Am Yisroel.
When Adam was expelled from Gan Eden, Hakadosh Baruch Hu informed him of what was now going to be mankind’s diet for the rest of history: ה∆„ַָּׂ̆ה בׂ∆̆≈ﬠ ̇∆‡ָּ̇¿לַכָ‡¿ו – You’re going to eat the grass of the field (Bereishis 3:18). It means that from now on your food will be available to you in the gardens and the fields.
Now, our Sages (Pesachim 118a) tell us that when Adam heard that decree, he was far from happy. ̇∆‡ָּ̇¿לַכָ‡¿ו םָ„ָ‡ָל ‡ּהו¿ךּרוָּב ֹׁ̆ו„ַָּ̃ה רַמָ‡ׁ∆̆ הָﬠָּׁ̆¿ב ה∆„ַָּׂ̆ה בׂ∆̆≈ﬠ – When Adam was told that from now on his diet would be the grass of the field, ֹ̇עוָמּ¿„ יוָינ≈ﬠּו‚¿לָז – his eyes flowed with tears; he wept copiously begging Hashem to reverse the decree.
