“ויאמר אלקים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותינו וירדו בדגת הים ובעוף השמים ובבהמה ובכל הארץ ובכל הרמש הרמש על הארץ” (כו א)
The passuk does not reveal the reason why Adam Harishon was thus named, but the sages of the Midrash explain (Tanchuma 96 14) that Adam was called this name because he came from “afar min ha’adamah” (Bereishis 2:7). But we find that the Midrash Chachamim (Yalkut Shimoni 943) explains the opposite, that the adamah is called so because Adam was created from its earth, and if that is the case, we need to explain why Adam Harishon was given this name.
In the introduction to his sefer Shu”t Sefer Yehoshua, Rav Yehoshua Babad, the Rav of Tarnopol, explains that the name “Adam” has a deep significance: Of the thirteen ikrei emunah determined by the Rambam, there are three primary ikrim relating to the difference between the Creator and His creations, and their acronym is “אדם”. The first is achdus – to believe that the Creator is the Absolute One and there is none other like Him in the world. The second is dmus – to believe that the Creator has no body or any image of a body. The third is metzius – to believe in the metzius haBorei, and that His existence sustains all the others in the world. Because a person is created with a Tzelem Elokim, it was in place that at the time of his creation, to emphasize these principles, in order to hone in on the point that like the other creations, a person is also separated from his Creator with these three principles, and therefore he is called “adam” because this name alludes to these three principles.
For this reason, the ministering angels and Am Yisrael say “kadosh kadosh kadosh” three times, one after the other, because “kadosh” means separate distinct (Rashi Vayikra 19:2), and when saying “kadosh” three times, the angels declare – and we follow – the three fundamental differences between the Creator and His creations.
Rav Yehoshua concludes his wonderful explanation with halachic ruling: “It is fitting for every simple person who is not engaged in hidden things [Kabbalah] to have this kavanah when saying Kedushah.”
Shu”t Sefer Yehoshua, Introduction
