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Copy Right 2022
Rabbi Dr Zvi Aviner
IDOLATRY- 10/
ELHM’s Concessions Towards Adam
Know your CREATOR, know yourself, and know the difference
To win his “End of Days” Judgment, to be Very Good in ELHM’s eyes,
Adam should win the comprehensive IDOLATRY trial,
and prepare himself on the Sixth Day of CREATION,
to enter the Eternal Sabbath Day.
But as long as Adam lives under the harsh rule of ELHM,
who ruled the world with the upper hand,
with no MERCY and no FORGIVENSS,
paying back “measure for measure,”
the chance for Adam to win, would be very slim indeed.
Adam, equipped with a strong Free Will and bad inclinations,
would most likely fail his trial, fail to be Very Good,
and ELHM would terminate him with the entire Universe,
as He had done to numerous other Universes before ours.
This time, still ruling over our Universe,
ELHM LONGS to enter the Eternal Sabbath,
like a Groom longing to meet his Bride.
Therefore, unlike in all previous Universes,
He made several concessions towards Adam.
1: ELHM Stepped Down
Knowing that Adam would not survive His harsh scrutiny,
ELHM decided to “soften” it.
For long Six Days, till that moment of creating Adam,
He ruled the world with the upper hand, as a Dictator,
giving commands that no one dared to refuse,
consulting no one’s opinion, for who is wiser than Him?
asking no one’s permission, for who has a higher authority?
tolerating no opposition, for He is the Absolute Truth.
Thus, He ordered “let it be grass,” and grass was there.
He ordered “let the luminaries be seen from Earth in a regular fashion,” and they did.
But before making Adam, ELHM changed the way he rules.
Instead to giving another order such as: “Let there be an Adam!”
He spoke, the first time ever, in plural voice, saying:
“Let Us Make an Adam in Our Form and Our Image”
His tone changed.
Speaking in plural made Him sound as if He consulted someone,
or invited someone to join Him in making Adam.
In other words, He was no more a Dictator.
Thus, as a first concession towards Adam,
ELHM descended from His High Pedestal as a Supreme JUDGE, a Dictator,
and spoke in plural as a KING Who Consults His ‘councilors’ or ‘His subjects,’
in other words – a ‘Democratic’ KING.
Henceforth, ELHM would tolerate different opinions,
even tolerate an opposition. He would listen to others,
although the final verdict ‘belongs’ to Him.
By this, ELHM gave Adam a better chance to win his trial,
for as a King Who Consults, He would be more patient with Adam,
and would not exercise his retributions readily.
But this concession came with a price:
by relinquishing His Absolute Power,
by becoming a KING Who Consults,
ELHM also opened the door for IDOLATRY to exist.
One lesson we may derive from the story is,
That although Tyranny and Dictatorship may be efficient and good,
It would never ever become very good.
For the Dictator would always end up wishing to destroy his own kingdom.
If ELHM would have done that, who wouldn’t?
2: ELHM Invited the Attribute of MERCY, YHVH
Stepping down and acting as a KING was an important step towards Adam,
yet it wasn’t enough to help Adam to win.
ELHM then made another concession,
since, after all, ELHM LONGS to reach the Sabbath,
and He wouldn’t get there if Adam fails!
How amazing it is, that Adam, a tiny creature of flesh and blood,
can accomplish something that the All Mighty ELHM would not do!
ELHM then turned to the Attribute of MERCY, YHVH,
who control the Eternal Sabbath,
and invited Her to join Him in ruling the World (Rashi.)
Her advent – the advent of MERCY and FORGIVENESS in the Heavenly Court,
would offer Adam a chance to repent, ask forgiveness and start all over again,
thereby increasing Adam chance to win and see the next Day.
Moreover, the participation of the Merciful YHVH in the making Adam,
would allow Adam to comprehend Her values, invite Her into his heart,
thereby enabling him to support the next Day, the Sabbath.
That was a great concession by ELHM towards Adam,
but it came with a price: for henceforth, Adam would have
to withstand YHVH’s assessment of him,
in addition to ELHM’s judgment of him.
Thus, the advent of the Merciful YHVH in the Heavenly Court
was a ‘gift’ from ELHM, yet it has also increased Adam’s liability.
For Adam would have to comply with the demand of both Attributes.
For instance: on Noah it is said that
- he found face in YHVH’s eyes
- he walked in ELHM’s ways. (Genesis
Hence, to be deemed Very Good, Adam should comply by both Attrributes!
3: YHVH Entering the Heavenly Court
No one was there to record the Attributes’ consultation,
yet it must have sounded like that:
Turning to YHVH, ELHM asked, so to speak,
would you come over into my world and share it with me?
By this, ELHM made a major concession towards Adam.
Not only He had descended from Supreme Judge to become a King Who Consults,
He also agreed to share His Court with the Attribute of MERCY
and listen to Her input.
They say that hearing ELHM’s plea, so to speak,
YHVH entered our world, from ‘Her’ Sabbath Day,
like a thin Ray of Light,
like a Shy Dove, or
like a Beautiful Cherub.
Entering our Sixth Day, ‘She’ observed it, scrutinized it,
not unlike as a Bride entering her Groom’s home for the first time,
wondering whether or not ‘She’ would be comfortable dwelling in it,
whether or not She would find a Place to ‘rest’ for ‘Her Wings’ in His world.
You see YHVH entrance in the text.
At the End of the Sixth Day, the acronym YHVHis seen
to enter our world from the Sabbath,
part of it – YH – is in our Sixth Day, the VH is still in the Sabbath.
End of Genesis Chapter One
And ELoHiM made the animals…cattle…and everything creeping
And ELoHiM that is was good…
And ELoHiM let us make Adam
in our form and our image…
And ELoHiM them saying be fruitful and multiply…
And said behold, I have given you all the grass…
And ELoHiM saw everything that He had done and behold, it was
Very good (Tov Meod) And it was evening, and it was morning,
Y om (Day)
H a Shishi, (Sixth) (Genesis 1:31)
………………………… The Sabbath Day ………………………………………
V aYechulu (and they ended)
H aShamyim (the Heaves)And the Earth, VeHaaretz, and all their hosts,
And ELoHiM finished all the work he had done,
And ELoHiM finished on the Seventh Day His work which He had done,
And He abstained on the Seventh Day from all His work which He had done
And ELKM blessed the Seventh Day…”
Here the acronym YHVH
is stretched like a bridge over the “gap” between
the Sixth Day and the Seventh Day.
YHVH is the ‘bridge’ connecting the Sixth to the Seventh Days.
YHVH is like a ‘lighthouse’ directing our world ‘s journey
towards the Sabbath.
The Y-H
is the part of YHVH that dwells in our Word,
and is called “The Dweller” – the Shechinah in Hebrew.
While YHVH can’t be pronounced as a name, since it is an acronym,
the Y-H can be uttered as YaH,
hence the biblical names like IsaYaH, JeremiYaH, NetanYaH and the like.
The VH
is the part of YHVH that is still in the Sabbath.
We do not refer to it in our prayers and classes
Since it lies in another world
3: The Two Attributes Creating Adam
As YHVH – the Attribute of MERCY- entered our World,
‘She’ OBSERVED it, SCRUTINIZED it from Her point of view.
We can imagine the ensuing dialogue with ELHM as follows:
YHVH said to ELHM, so to speak –
How can I share with you the rule over your world,
where I see no one who CAN know me?
Where I see no Place to rest my Wing?
Note, that YHVH seeks to REST in our world,
as She had rested in Her Day, the Eternal Sabbath.
In Her Domain, the Eternal Sabbath,
the Attribute YHVH just rests, or ‘dwells,’ radiating holiness and Joy.
In Her Domain, She never creates nor judges,
showering only Love.
ELHM, in contrast, never rests.
Even when ELHM will enters the Sabbath Day, Its pyramidal shape and slanting walls assured that
the rain water would wash off to the sea.
The Ark also did have neither front or a back,
since it was not supposed to go anywhere, just stay afloat.
He would ABSTAIN from more work, not REST.
As it says in the Ten Commandments:
“And He (YHVH) rested on the seventh day…” (Exodus 20: 11)
That is why YHVH objected to ELHM’s invitation
to come over and rule our world.
For who is the creature in ELKM’s world,
who could offer YHVH a heart, where She can DWELL and REST?
Who could perform Her MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS?
Yes, there is an iota sense of compassion
In mothers in nature towards their offspring,
but only as a limited reflex, made by ELHM,
in order to preserve the species.
ELHM then said to YHVH, so to speak,
“Let Us Make and Adam in Our Form and Our Image.
Our child Adam, would be capable of knowing You and Me.
In Adam’s heart you could dwell, if he lets you in.
In his Sabbath you would rest!
ELHM would make Adam like Him,
but in Adam’s heart He would carve a room for YHVH to Dwell
if Adam invites Her inside.
Note that ELHM would not plant MERCY and COMPASSION
in our heart, as a natural reflex,
since MERCY is none of His features.
But ELHM would prepare our heart to have MERCY in it,
pending on our Free Will.
Isn’t it amazing that Adam, flash and blood creature,
can do what ELKM would never do,
meaning: exercise MERCY, COMPASSION AND FORGIVENESS in this world?
That alone can explain why if Adam wins, ELHM would deem him Very Good,
above what He, ELHM, had made him!
(Note that Hassidic teaching refers to that “room” in Adam’s heart
as the “holly soul” compared to the “animalistic soul” we share with the animals.)
A clue to those ideas is given in the verses.
Before making Adam, ELHM said in plural:
“Let Us Make an Adam in Our Form and Our Image.”
After the consultation was over, the verse says:
“And ELHM created the Adam in His Image,
In the Image of ELHM did He created him.” (1: 27)
The verse repeats the idea twice, because of its importance,
saying that although the consultation was conducted
between the two Attributes, YHVH and ELHM,
agreeing to make Adam in the image and form of both,
The fact was, that ELHM made Adam only in His Image,
while preparing in Adam a room in his heart to accept YHVH in it.
But it would be up to Adam to complete the plan
by accepting YHVH into his heart.
To be Very Good, Adam would have to
implement YHVH ELHM Oneness in his heart,
Overcome IDOLATRY, and
prepare himself to live in the Sabbath.
5: Consolidating the World in Oneness
YHVH agreed, so to speak,
and the two Attributes, like two cherubs,
flew over CREATION, Wing holding Wing,
and together they consolidated the world
by their Oneness. As it says:
“On the Day that YHVH ELHM
re-created Earth and Heavens.” (Genesis 2: 2)
Here YHVH’s Name appears in the text, the first time ever,
in the open, as YHVH, yet only side by side with ELHM
as two Cherubs holding “Wing against Wing” in Heavenly Love.”
Henceforth the entire world would proceed toward the sabbath
and it would not falter.
You see that in the Psalm song that the Levite Choir
chanted every Friday before the Sabbath:
“YHVH has garbed Himself with grandeur…
The World was consolidated,
It would not falter…”
We too chant that Psalm when our sixth day of the week
enters our Sabbath.
Thus to be Very Good, Adam would have to
Win the IDOLATRY trial,
Exercise mercy and compassion in this world
Enjoy the Sabbath day while he lives here on the sixth day
YHVH and ELHM, in Oneness, would give Adam a Torah
To guide him on his way to his final judgment and the eternal Sabbath