80. His other son opened the discussion with the verse, "And Hashem Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground" (Beresheet 2:7). In "And Hashem Elohim formed (Heb. vayyitzer)," 'VAYYITZER' IS SPELLED with two Yuds TO INDICATE MAN WAS BORN with two inclinations, the Good Inclination and the Evil Inclination. The GOOD INCLINATION CORRESPONDS TO WATER, and THE EVIL INCLINATION CORRESPONDS TO FIRE. Hashem Elohim is a full name. "The man" includes male and female, SINCE THE (HEB. ET) ALLUDES TO THE FEMALE. "Dust of the ground" is the dust of the Holy Land, whence he was created. It is the place of the Temple.

81. "And breathed into his nostrils the breath (Heb. Neshamah) of life" (Ibid.). This is the holy Neshamah that is drawn from the supernal life, FROM BINAH. "And man became a living Nefesh" (Ibid.), since man includes a holy Nefesh from the supernal living creature, WHICH IS BINAH, that produced the earth, MALCHUT, as it is written, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures (lit. 'Nefesh')" (Beresheet 1:24), the Nefesh of that supernal living creature BINAH.

82. Come and see, as long as that holy soul cleaves to man, he is beloved of his Master. He is well kept from every direction, he is marked for the good above and below and the holy Shechinah rests on him.

83. When he deviates in his ways, the Shechinah is gone from him and the holy Neshamah does not cleave to him. From the side of the harsh serpent, a spirit is aroused that roams and walks the world, which rests only on a place supernal holiness has departed from, AND IT DWELLS ON THAT MAN. That man is then defiled and is blemished in his flesh, in everything, and in his countenance.

84. Come and see, since this living Nefesh is holy and supernal, NAMELY FROM BINAH, when the holy earth MALCHUT draws it and becomes a part within it, it is called Neshamah, SINCE THE LIGHT OF BINAH IS CALLED NESHAMAH. It t ascends and speaks before the Holy King and enters through all the gates with no one to detain it. It is therefore called 'a speaking spirit' IN THE ARAMAIC TRANSLATION, since no other Nefesh has permission to speak before the King except this one FROM BINAH.

85. The Torah therefore proclaims, saying, "Keep your tongue from evil..." (Tehilim 34:14), and, "He who guards his mouth and his tongue..." (Mishlei 21: 23), since if his lips and tongue speak evil things, these things rise up, and when they do, everybody declares, 'Be gone from the proximity of the evil speech of so and so, give way to the path of the harsh serpent.' The holy Neshamah is then removed from him. It is gone and cannot speak, as it says, "I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, and had no comfort" (Tehilim 39:3).

86. That Neshamah rises in contempt, in trouble of every kind. It is not given place as before. Of this it is written, "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul (Heb. Nefesh) from trouble." Surely his Nefesh, who used to speak, is not silent because of the evil words IT UTTERED. Then the serpent comes, since everything returned to its place, ITS ORIGINAL STATE, AS BEFORE HE ATTAINED A NESHAMAH. When the evil speech rises through certain paths and rests before the harsh serpent, many spirits are stirred in the world and a DEFILED spirit descends from that side OF THE SERPENT, and finds the man who roused it through evil speech and the speaking spirits removed from him. The DEFILED spirit defiles him, and he then becomes a leper.

87. Just as punishment is afflicted on man because of evil speech, so is he punished because he could have pronounced good words but did not. For he blemished that speaking spirit, which is composed so as to speak above and speak below, and everything is in holiness. It is even more true if the nation walks the crooked path and he can talk to them and reprove them yet he is silent and does not speak. As I said, IT IS STATED OF HIM, "I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, and had no comfort, and my pain was stirred up," stirred up by plagues of impurity. This is why it was said that King David was plagued WITH LEPROSY, AND THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, turned away from him, as it is written THAT HE ASKED, "Turn You to me, and be gracious to me" (Tehilim 25:16), WHICH MEANS HE TURNED AWAY FROM HIM. What is "Turn You to me?" It resembles the words, "And Aaron looked (or: 'turned')" (Bemidbar 12:10). JUST AS THE LATTER VERSE ALLUDES TO LEPROSY, SO HERE IT ALLUDES TO LEPROSY. Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Yosi alighted and kissed him. They went together all that way. Rabbi Chiya said of them, "But the path of just men is like the gleam of sunlight, that shines ever more brightly until the height of noonday" (Mishlei 4:18).