In this manner, the Alshich hakadosh explains why Adam HaRishon had to die after sinning with the Eitz HaDa’as—fulfilling the pronouncement (Bereishis 2, 17): "ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו כי ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות"—but of the Eitz HaDa’as Tov VaRa, you must not eat thereof, for on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die. Here is a pertinent passage from the Midrash Tanchuma (Nasso 16): When HKB”H created the world, He yearned to have an abode among those below like He has among those above. He created the man, and commanded him, and said to him: “Of every tree of the garden you may eat freely; but of the Eitz HaDa’as Tov VaRa, you must not eat thereof.” But he transgressed His command. HKB”H said to him, “This is what I longed for, that I should have a dwelling among those below like I have among those above. One thing have I commanded you, and you have neglected to keep it.” HKB”H immediately removed His Shechinah to the first firmament.
Now, we know that before Adam HaRishon sinned, his body was pure and refined; it did not have any negative inclinations. This is evident from Rashi’s comment (Bereishis 2, 25): "לא נתן בו יצר הרע עד אכלו מן העץ ונכנס בו יצר הרע וידע מה בין טוב לרע"—he was not endowed with a yetzer hara until he ate from the tree; then the yetzer hara entered his being; then he knew the difference between good and bad. Thus, prior to partaking of the Eitz HaDa’as, he was not destined to die, since the divine soul within him had no reason to loathe its physical abode, which was pure and holy. Furthermore, it did not yearn to abandon the human body and reattach itself to its divine source, since HKB”H longed to dwell down below. Indeed, after creating Adam, He rested His Shechinah down below.
However, after Adam HaRishon sinned by eating from the Eitz HaDa’as, he brought about two negative consequences: 1) The yetzer hara entered his being, and his body was contaminated by the perversion of the nachash and 2) the Shechinah departed the earth and ascended to the first firmament. At that point, the neshamah began to loathe its abode in the human body, which it found to be foul and repulsive. And seeing as the Shechinah had also left Adam, there was nothing preventing it from also leaving. Hence, she yearned to abandon the body. Nevertheless, she remained, because she was bound to comply with her Creator’s decree. This then is the implication of HKB”H’s warning to Adam HaRishon: “For on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die,” because the neshamah in your body will loathe its situation and will flee in order to reattach itself to the Creator above. This is the gist of his comments.
With much joy, we can now appreciate the combination of these two rationales for women lighting candles in honor of Shabbas. Because the woman induced Adam HaRishon to eat from the Eitz HaDa’as, the Shechinah abandoned him. As a consequence, death became a reality of life in this world, because the neshamah yearns to abandon the body and to reattach to the Creator. Thus, the two rationales complement each other beautifully.
This also explains very nicely why the Midrash describes the death caused by the woman as: “She extinguished the lamp (candle) of the world.” They did not simply say: “She extinguished the lamp (candle) of man”—as it is described in the Midrash Tanchuma (Noach 1). They wished to emphasize that as a consequence of her sin and causing Adam HaRishon to sin, “she extinguished the lamp of the world”—namely, the holy Shechinah with which HKB”H illuminates all of creation. In the aftermath of the “cheit Eitz HaDa’as,” it left the earth and returned to the heavens. Therefore, it is the woman’s responsibility to rekindle the light of the world in order to bring back the Shechinah through the mitzvah of kindling the candles.
