"Male and female He created them"

366. "Male and female He created them" (Beresheet 1:28). Rabbi Shimon said that supernal secrets have been revealed by the two verses, "THIS IS THE BOOK" AND "male and female He created them." THE LATTER VERSE COMES to teach US the supernal glory of the secret of Faith, by which secret man was created. THIS IS THE SECRET OF SUPERNAL ZEIR ANPIN AND THE NUKVA CALLED 'HEAVEN AND EARTH.'

367. Come and see: in the same concealed manner in which heaven and earth were created, SIGNIFYING THE SUPERNAL MALE AND FEMALE, so man was created. Of the heaven and the earth it is written: "These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth" (Beresheet 2:4); of man, "This is the book of the generations of Adam;" of THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, "when they were created;" and of Adam, "in the day when they were created" (Beresheet 5:2). THE TWO ARE EQUAL AS THEY WERE CREATED BY THE SAME PRINCIPLE.

368. From the words "male and female He created them" we learn that any figure not comprised of both male and female is not a supernal figure. We have explained this with the secrets of Mishnah.

369. Come and behold: the Holy One, blessed be He, cannot reside in a place where there are no male and female together. Blessings can be found only in a place where male and female are together. As it is written: "And He blessed them and called their name man (Heb. Adam), on the day when they were created" (Ibid.). It was not said that He blessed him and called him man. THIS TEACHES US that he was not even called BY THE NAME OF man, except as a male and female combined.

370. Rabbi Yehuda said that ever since the destruction of the Temple, there are no blessings on earth and they are lost every day. As it is written: "The righteous perishes" (Yeshayah 57:1). What is the meaning of "perishes?" It means the blessings that used to dwell in the righteous perished, as in the words, "Blessings are on the head of the righteous" (Mishlei 10:6), and, "Truth has perished" (Yirmeyah 7:28), MEANING THE NUKVA, WHICH RECEIVES BLESSINGS FROM YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, THE RIGHTEOUS, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE MALE. Similarly, AT THE TIME OF PERFECTION, it is written: "And Elohim blessed them AND CALLED THEIR NAME ADAM," BECAUSE THEY WERE WHOLE.

371. It is to Seth that all the generations of earth and all the truly righteous of the world trace their descent. Rabbi Yosi said that those two final letters of the Torah, SHIN AND TAV, were left intact even after Adam had transgressed against all the letters of the Torah, BECAUSE THE SIN OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE AFFECTED THE WHOLE TORAH. And when he repented before his Master, he cleaved to those two LETTERS, SHIN AND TAV, WHICH HAD REMAINED WHOLE, and, at that point, the original letters returned in the reverse order of Tav, Shin, Resh, Kof, and so on.

372. He then called the son he begot in his own likeness, after his image, Seth, a name composed of the last two letters of the alpha bet and the only two letters with which he was left. The order of the letters was not fully constructed, THAT IS, PROPERLY ORDERED, until Yisrael stood at Mount Sinai. Then the letters returned to their proper order - the order they had when heaven and earth were created - THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEARED PRIOR TO THE SIN OF EATING OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE Then, the world was appeased and more securely established.

373. Rabbi Aba said that on the day that Adam transgressed his Master's command, heaven and earth wanted to be uprooted from their places. Why? Because they are based only on the covenant, as it is written: "If My covenant be not day and night, it were as if I had not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth" (Yirmeyah 33:25). Adam broke the covenant, as it is written: "But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant" (Hoshea 6:7). HENCE, THEY LOST THEIR FOUNDATION AND ASKED TO BE UPROOTED.

374. Were it not for the fact that it was clear to the Holy One, blessed be He, that Yisrael would stand at Mount Sinai to keep the covenant, the world would not have survived THE SIN OF EATING OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE. Rabbi Chizkiyah said that the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives and pardons the iniquities of he who confesses his sins. HENCE, CONTRARY TO WHAT RABBI ABA SAID, IT IS BECAUSE ADAM CONFESSED HIS SINS AND REPENTED THAT THE WORLD SURVIVED AND HE DOES NOT WANT TO SAY THAT THE REASON IS, THAT IT WAS CLEAR TO THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, THAT YISRAEL WOULD STAND AT MOUNT SINAI.

375. Come and behold: When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE NUKVA, He made the covenant, WHICH IS YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN. He established the world upon it, AS THE NUKVA RECEIVES HER SUSTENANCE FROM ZEIR ANPIN. From where do we know that? From the word 'BERESHEET,' WHICH IS A COMBINATION OF bara (created) and sheet (six). SHEET IS the covenant upon which the world rests. This sheet, WHICH STANDS FOR YESOD, is the place from where all blessings are drawn into the world, and by it the world was created. Adam, BY HIS SIN OF EATING OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE, broke that covenant and removed it from its place. HENCE, HEAVEN AND EARTH ASKED TO BE UPROOTED.

376. This covenant is symbolized by the smallest letter, which is Yud, which is the essence and the foundation of the world. BASED ON IT, THE WORLD WAS STRUCTURED. And when ADAM bore a son, he confessed his sin, called him Seth, and did not include the letter Yud in his name. If his name had included Yud, it would have been sheet. Because Adam broke THE COVENANT, AS WAS SAID EARLIER, "THEY LIKE ADAM HAVE TRANSGRESSED THE COVENANT," HE NAMED HIS SON SETH, SPELLED WITHOUT YUD, THEREBY CONFESSING TO HIS SIN. Because HE CONFESSED HIS SIN, the Holy One, blessed be He, populated the world from him, and he was made forefather to all the generations of righteous people in the world. THUS, BECAUSE OF HIS CONFESSION OF HIS SIN, THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, FORGAVE HIM AND THE WORLD SURVIVED.

377. Come and behold: When Yisrael stood before Mount Sinai, a letter was inserted between the letters SHIN AND TAV. This was the letter Bet, which is the secret of the covenant (Heb. brit). THIS IS THE BET OF BERESHEET. It was inserted between the two letters that remained AFTER THE SIN OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE, NAMELY BETWEEN SHIN AND TAV, AND SHABBAT was given to Yisrael. And when the letter Bet, which is the secret of the covenant, was inserted between the two letters Shin and Tav, they became Shabbat, as it is written: "Wherefore the children of Yisrael shall keep the Shabbat, to observe the Shabbat throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant" (Shemot 31:16), FOR THEY DESERVED TO RECEIVE THE SHABBAT PERPETUALLY FOR ALL THEIR GENERATIONS. AS in the beginning of the world, the lineage of all future generations was determined by those two letters. So, BY THE INSERTION OF THE LETTER BET, THOSE TWO LETTERS PERPETUALLY ENLIGHTEN THE GENERATIONS. Shin and Tav were in suspension until the world was adequately completed. THEN, WITH THE GIVING OF THE TORAH, the world was fully completed. Then, the Holy covenant came in between the letters, and they became Shabbat.

378. Rabbi Yosi said that because those two letters were fully perfected by the letter Bet, THEY ARE NOW ABLE TO RECEIVE DIRECT LIGHT AT THE GIVING OF THE TORAH. THOSE letters began falling into their proper order on the day that Seth was born, NOT RECEIVING LIGHT FROM ABOVE DOWNWARD, BUT DRAWING ONLY FROM BELOW UPWARD. THIS HAS REMAINED THE CASE in each and every generation, SHINING ONLY UPWARD, WHICH IS THE LIGHT OF NEFESH, until Yisrael reached Mount Sinai. Then, the letters were fully corrected, BECAUSE THE LETTER BET ILLUMINATED THEM FROM ABOVE DOWNWARD, AND THEY BECAME SHABBAT.

379. Rabbi Yehuda said: They started TO RADIATE again FROM ABOVE downward, WHICH IS THE LIGHT OF RUACH. THUS, HE DISAGREED WITH RABBI YOSI, WHO MAINTAINED THAT THEY ONLY SHONE FROM BELOW UPWARD, WHICH IS THE LIGHT OF NEFESH, BEFORE THE TORAH WAS GIVEN. And in each and every generation BEFORE THE GIVING OF THE TORAH, the world was manipulating those two letters, and they could not settle in their appropriate place. Only when Torah was given to Yisrael was everything established. Rabbi Elazar said that at the time of Enosh, people were skilled in magic and divination and in the wisdom of controlling the heavenly forces, SO THAT THESE FORCES SHOULD NOT HAVE AFFECTED THE WORLD. When Adam left the Garden of Eden and brought out with him the wisdom of the fig leaves (WHICH IS WITCHCRAFT), there was no one to use this knowledge, because Adam, his wife, and all those born from them, until Enosh came, stayed clear of this KNOWLEDGE AND DID NOT USE IT.

380. But when Enosh came, he saw those FIG LEAVES that their wisdom contradicts the holy beings, THAT IS, IT DENIES HOLINESS. Then, people once again practiced magic and sorcery, and they shared their knowledge WITH OTHERS. This wisdom spread widely in the generation of the flood, when magic and sorcery were practiced for evil purposes.

381. The people defied Noah with this wisdom WHEN HE WARNED THEM OF THE IMPENDING FLOOD. They said that no punishment could ever be executed upon them, because they could avoid, by use of this knowledge, any execution of judgment. From the time of Enosh onward, everyone began practicing these skills. Thus, it was written: "then men began (Heb. huchal) to call on Hashem by name" (Beresheet 4:26). THE WORD HUCHAL MEANS THAT THEY MADE A PROFANE (HEB. CHULIN) USE OF THE NAME OF HASHEM, THROUGH THE WITCHCRAFT THEY EMPLOYED.

382. Rabbi Yitzchak said that all those righteous people who lived after that generation OF ENOSH, such as Jared, Methuselah, and Enoch, tried hard to rebuke them, but were unsuccessful. The world became full of sinners who rebelled against their Master saying, "What is Shadai, that we should serve Him?" (Iyov 21:15).

383. HE ASKS: How could they have been so foolish as to say, "WHAT IS SHADAI, THAT WE SHOULD SERVE HIM?" HE ANSWERS THAT THIS WAS because they had vast wisdom and knew and had faith in the ministers responsible for ruling the world. THEY HAD FAITH IN THEIR WISDOM AND BELIEVED THAT BY MEANS OF OATHS THEY COULD BIND THOSE MINISTERS AND PROTECT THEMSELVES SO THAT NO HARM COULD BEFALL THEM. Then, the Holy One, Blessed be He, restored the world to its original state, THROUGH THE FLOOD OF WATER. IN ITS ORIGINAL STATE, AS ON THE SECOND DAY OF CREATION, the world was water upon water; THIS WAS BEFORE THE DRY LAND WAS CREATED. After THE FLOOD, He again reestablished the world and not everything was destroyed BY THE FLOOD, because He treated them with mercy as indicated by the fact that it is written: "Hashem sat at the flood" (Tehilim 29:10). The word "Hashem" SIGNIFIES THE ATTRIBUTE OF MERCY, whereas the word "Elohim" WOULD HAVE SIGNIFIED JUDGMENT. BECAUSE HE JUDGED THEM WITH MERCY, NOT ALL WAS DESTROYED BY THE FLOOD.

384. In the days of Enosh, even children were acquainted with this supernal wisdom, which they learned AND OBSERVED. Rabbi Yesa said that if this is so, they were stupid, because they did not know that the Holy One, blessed be He, was bound to bring the waters of the flood upon them, and they would die.

385. Rabbi Yitzchak said that although they knew, foolishness grabbed hold of their hearts. They thought that by knowing the name of the angel in charge of fire and the angel in charge of the waters, they could prevent them from executing judgment upon them. HENCE, THEY HAD NO FEAR OF PUNISHMENT. But what they did not know was that the Holy One, blessed be He, controlled the earth, and from therein judgment would come upon the world.

386. They only saw that the world was entrusted to those ministers and that all worldy matters depended upon them. Thus, they took no notice of the Holy One, blessed be He, nor did they observe His works until the earth was demolished. And the Holy Spirit proclaimed upon them every day, "let sinners be wiped out of the earth and let the wicked be no more" (Tehilim 104:35).

387. And the Holy One, blessed be He, waited for them while those righteous men, like Jared, Methuselah, and Enoch lived. And when they passed from the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, then released judgment upon the wicked, and they perished, as it is said: "They were blotted out from the earth" (Beresheet 7:23).