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© Oct 2018 by Rabbi Dr. Zvi Aviner
IDOLATRY 13/With whom did ELKM consult before making Adam?
Know your creator, know yourself and know the difference
So, with whom did ELKM consult before making Adam, saying in plural voice “Let Us make Adam in Our Form and Our Image? ”?
Let’s recall that Moses thinks that we need to know this information, ELKM made us specifically to stand a judgment. Moses therefore thinks that to win this judgment we must know Who made us, How, when and from what materials. |we must know our selves and our attractions to understand our trial and win it.
The following story, based on the Talmud, captures ALL THE CONSULTATIONS THAT ELKM MADE BEFORE MAKING ADAM in one narrative. it summaries everything we’ve learned and more. .
The story goes like this:
When the Sixth Day of CREATION dawned, the Angles thought it would be another Day, no different than all Days before. And indeed, ELKM went on to create Cattle-like, then Beast-like then Crawling creatures which once ruled our planet.
But then, unexpectedly, while the Sixth Day was still in progress, ELKM passed a judgment on everything He had created earlier on that Day. (He had done that once, on the THIRD Day when Earth stood on a crossroad: would it see life on it, or not? ) ELKM\s Judgment is harsh and merciless, using the absolute justice. As the result of that Midday trial, most Earths’ inhabitants were wiped out as we know from science) but those whom He deemed ‘good’ survived. They could and would fit into the rest of the Sixth Day.
Hearing Him saying that it was good, the Angles thought that henceforth He would continue to create like before. How alarmed they became seeing that ELKM had lifted a huge sword on CREATION higher than ever before! Moreover, His Mighty Sword threatened to eliminate not only the last Day, but the entire Six Days, the whole CREATION from the Beginning to the End of the Sixth Day; the End of Time!
“What is ELKM seeking?” The worried Angels asked. They worried, since they too are part of CREATION, having been made on the Second Day. If the world is terminated, they would be terminated too.
“ELKM is seeking perfection,” said the Angel Gabriel who knows everything; “henceforth He would not be satisfied with a ‘good’ verdict anymore but only with a Very Good verdict…”
“What would happened if He won’t find CREATION Very Good?” The Angels asked.
“He would ‘finish’ it with wrath to nothingness, khalah,“ the Angel Gabriel said.
“But who could make CREATION Very Good in ELKM’s eyes?” The Angels wondered. They knew that hard as it is to be just good in ELKM’s eyes, how much more harder it is to be Very Good?
As if to answer their question, ELKM said to no one in particular, as if to the thin air:
“Let Us Make and Adam in Our Form and Our Image.”
The Angles relaxed. They understood that the new creature, Adam, would be the one who could make CREATION seen Very Good in ELKM eyes. But how would he accomplish that ? What exactly woudl make EKM Feel Very Good?
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1. ELKM Consulted with the Angels before making Adam
How surprised the Angels were when ELKM turned to THEM saying,
“Would you agree that I would make an Adam?”
“Our KING,” the Angels said, “why do you CONSULT us at all? Aren’t we your faithful messengers who execute your wish with no sense of discretion of our own?” Indeed, the word in Hebrew for an Angel, mal-ach, refers to any messenger, even a human one.
Moreover, the Angles related to ELKM as a KING, since they had noticed a change in the way He rules the world. Whereas during the six Days he rules Awesomely Alone, asking no one’s opinion, As hew spoke to them He was stepping down from His Pedestal and became a King Who Consults, “nimlach.” Why, they wondered, had He done that?
Answering them ELKM said: “I consult you my Angeles, nevertheless, to teach Adam how to rule in modesty: that the superior should consult the inferior before making a decision…” (Rashi)
The Angles understood that Adam is created to ’rule over,’ and for that he would need a large ego, self consciousness that would drive him to achieve things. Planting in Adam such a big ego brought ELKM to suspect that Adam would rebel. This is why ELKM in His Wisdom decided to teach Adam modesty first.
Had you build a humanoid robot today, you too would worry FIRST OF ALL about its ego and its potential rebellion .
And for a moment, the Angles thought that modesty alone would make Adam ‘Very Good’ in ELKM’s eyes. Since ELKM Himself had become a Modest King Who Consults, if Adam would emulate Him and rule over with modesty, ELKM would be very much pleased. .
But when they saw that ELKM’s Sword remained lifted high on CREATION with a threat of total annihilation, they understood that else was still missing in the Adam. Having a strong self-consciousness wouldn’t be enough to make him look Very Good in ELKM’s eyes. What could this missing feature be?
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2 ELKM consulted with the Six Days and made Adam
As they wondered, ELKM’s voice was still thundering in the air, saying “Let Us Make an Adam…”
“With who else is He speaking?” the Angels asked.
“To whoever is listening,” The Angel Gabriel said.
The Angels noticed that this time ELKM was addressing the Six Days of CREATION, mentioned earlier in the text, saying :
“Do you agree that I shall make an Adam who would rule over you?”
The Angles understood that ELKM was consulting the Six Days, instead of issuing an order, because He had become a Modest King Who Consults.
The Six Days answered: “Our King, we agree that you’d make an Adam, as long as Adam would be a part of us. How else could he rule over us as a king who consults?”
As Moses says: ‘from among yourself you shall appoint a king over you…’ A king must come from among his subjects. How else would he understand their whims? .
ELKM agreed and said to each Day:
““Let Us Make an Adam in Our Form and Our Image.”
He consulted each Day as a builder consulting his plan, and built Adam accordingly. He built Adam layer by layer; each Day contributing a layer. Thus
He consulted the First Day and made Adam. Adam is therefore made of the stuff that stars are made of.
He then Consulted the Waters Above and Below of the Second Day and made another layer in Adam. Our body therefore comprises mostly of waters.
He then Consulted the Vegetation of the Third Day and made another layer in Adam accordingly. You can see that in the way our blood vessels brunch and how our eyes can see by photosynthesis.
He then Consulted the luminaries of the Fourth Day and made another layer in Adam accordingly. Adam is therefore sensitive to biologic clocks and seasonal changes
He then Consulted the fish, birds and the crocodiles of the Fifth Day and made other layers in Adam accordingly. This is repeated in every human embryo developing in his mother’s uterus.
He then Consulted the Cattle, Beasts and the Crawling creatures of the Sixth Day and made another, new layer in Adam. You can see that in our biology.
Seeing the new dummy of Adam in the ground, the Angels thought that wow, this Adam would be able to rule over the Universe as its king and lead it forwards, so that ELKM would Feel Very Good.
But seeing ELKM’s \mighty Sword still lifted over the head of CREATION with a threat of annihilation, khalah, they knew that else was still missing in Adm. What could this be?
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3. ELKM consulted with His Wisdom and Science and made Adam
While the dummy of Adam, made of the Six Days, was in the ground,ELKM’s voice was still heard speaking in plural:
“Let Us Make an Adam in Our Form and Our Image”.
“With who does He consult this time?” The Angles wondered,
How surprised they were to see that ELKM was addressing someone whom he had never addressed before: “His Own Science and |wisdom, by which He had created the Universe.” :
ELKM said to them:
Wisdom and Science, would you agree that I shall make an Adam who would rule over you?”
He consulted His Wisdom and Science, rather then issue a command, for He had become a Modest King Who Consults. And He wished Adam to emulate Him.
“Our KING” Wisdom and Science said, “we agree, as long you’d make Adam like us. How else could he rule over us as our king who consults?”
ELKM agreed and said directly to Wisdom and Science:
“Let Us Make and Adam in Our Form and Our Image.”
He consulted Wisdom and Science the way a builder consults his plan, and made Adam’s mind accordingly.
You can see that in the verses. It is said that In The Beginning (be-reishit, at the Head of Times) ELKM created the Heavens and the Earth. The verse hints that ELKM created the Heavens an the Earth by His “Head” or “the Wisdom and Science in His Head.”
Now, creating Adam on the Sixth Day, He ‘looked’ backwards in the verses and Consulted the Beginning, the Head of Events, or the Wisdom and Science in His Head, and made Adam accordingly.
henceforth Adam’s mind would be able to decipher all the mysteries of the Universe. There would be nothing in the Universe that could evade Adam’s searching mind.
The watching Angels were delighted. They thought that the new, smart Adam, the Homo Sapience, would be enough to make ELKM Feel Very Good.
But when they noticed that ELKM’s Sword remained lifted over the entire CREATION with a threat of annihilation, they understood that something else was still missing in Adam. What could this be?
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4. ELKM consulted Passions and Desires and made Adam
It is said that ELKM Consulted the Torah and made Adam. More specifically, He consulted everything that is mentioned in Chapter One and made Adam.
First He consulted things in the past; The Angels, the Six Days, the Wisdom and Science by which He had created the word.
Next He turned to thing written in the Chapter ahead of Adam, in the future. He consulted them too in order to plant in Adam motives that would push him forwards , to create and achieve things.
First ELKM turned to Passions and Desires and asked:
Would you like me to make Adam?
like before, ELKM was talking as a Modest, KING Who Consults, wishing Adam to emulate Him. .
“Our KING,” Passions and Desires answered, “We agree, as long you make him like us. How else would he rbe able to rule over us?”
ELKM agreed and said to Passions and Desires:
“Let Us Make an Adam in Our Form and Our Image.”
He consulted Passions and Desires like a builder consulting his plan and made Adam’s heart accordingly. Moreover, ELKM blessed Adam “Be fruitful and multiply and rule over..” making Adam’s Sex Drive and the Drive for Power paramount in Adam’s life.
\which Drive is stronger? When you have two horsed pulling a carriage, you would place the stronger horse up front. Since the blessing Rule Over is placed in the verse up front, the Drive for Power would dominate Adam’s life more than his Sex Drive. Professor Young prevails over Sigmund Freud.
The Angles realized that Adam’s Desires and Passions would enrich his life with poetry, music and art. Hence they were sure that this fascinating Adam in the ground would be enough to make ELKM Feel Very Good. But when they saw that ELKM’s Sword remained lifted high on CREATION with a threat of khalah, total annihilation, they knew that something else was still missing in Adam. What could this be?
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5. ELKM consulted Y-H-V-H and made Adam
The Angels watched the dummy of Adam. It had already a strong Self Consciousness, it was made out of the Six Days, it had a smart mind, and it had a heart blessed with strong Passions and Desires, in particular a strong Sex Drive and a Drive to gain Power and rule over. Yet, it wasn’t ready to be Very Good.
ELKM’s voice was still heard, saying “Let Us…”
“With whom will He consult next?” They wondered. What should make Adam capable of pleasing his CREATOR, ELKM, so much?
“ELKM always steps up His deeds in CREATION,” said the Angel Gabriel, “He always builds on things He had built before. Hence ELKM’s new Consultation should be based on his heart, Passions and Desires… ”
“Moreover,” The Angel Gabriel continued, “to be Very Good, Adam should give the world something that the All Mighty ELKM would not provide..”
“Is there such a thing?” The Angels called up in a great wonder .
“Yes! Look there! What is ELKM seeking? ” The Angel Gabriel said.
As he spoke, the angels noticed a new ‘Look of Longing’ appeared in ELKM’s eyes, not unlike the longing of a groom to meet his bride.
“Who is His Bride?” The Angels asked. They had never heard of Her before. .
“His Bride is the Queen of the Sabbath,” the Angel Gabriel said.
“What is the Sabbath?” They asked. Having been born on the Second Day, they had never heard about the Sabbath.
“The Eternal Sabbath is the next Day of CREATION” the Angel Gabriel said. “It is a Day like no other Day. When the Sabbath Day arrives, ELKM will cease His Work, cease His Judgement and abstain from doing more work and more judgment…”
Indeed, Shabath in Hebrew means “ceased from work, or “abstaining from more work.”
You can see the hint for the Bride in the verse. It says that at the end of the Sixth Day “ELKM finished khalah, all the work that He had done.”
One can read ‘finished,’ khalah, as a threat to consume everything to nothing, Or ‘khalah’ a bride. Either he would meet His Bride, or, otherwise, He would consume the world back to nothingness.
Indeed, the two concepts are intertwined. what is a bride if not someone who consumes your heart with a passion and desire and longing to meet?
Here Love and Jealousy came down bundled as two sides of the same coin.
“Who will escort ELKM to the Sabbath, the Groom to His Bride?” The Angels asked. They knew that ELKM does not and would not cease His work as long He rules awesomely alone.
“Adam is made to accomplish that honorable task,” the Angel Gabriel said “No other creature in the Universe can do this. No other creature can even identify the Sabbath!”
“How could Adam identify the Sabbath?” The Angels wondered, since they too could not perceive Her They knew that in the past, a creature was deemed ‘good’ at the end of each Day, only if it was found fit to enter, live and support the following Day. In the same token, Adam should be found Very Good only if he could enter, live and support the next Day which is the Eternal Sabbath.
As if to answer their wonder, ELKM turned to another Attribute of the Infinite CREATOR, namely the Attribute of MERCY whose Name is the acronym Y-H-V-H. “She Controls,Dwells and Rest in the Eternal Sabbath,” the Angel Gabriel explained. “Her Day is full of Compassion, Mercy , Forgiveness, Joy, Love, warmth and holiness. When ELKM will cease His work and enter the Sabbath, She will reign awesomely alone!”
then, not unlike a Groom inviting His Bride; ELKM turned to Y-H-V-H and said softly
Would you join me in ruling my world?.
The Merciful Y-H-V-H agreed, and entered ELKM’s world from Her Domain, the Sabbath. She entered our Sixth Day as a Thin Ray of Light, a Modest Dove or a beautiful Cherub. She entered, observed and assessed our world and said: .
You can see Her penetration into or Sixth Day in the text as follows
And ELKM said let us make an Adam in Our Form and Our Image
And ELKM saw that it was Very Good.
Y-om (Day)
H ashssi (Sixth)
………………...The Sabbath begins
V–ayechulu (they ended)
H-ashamayim and the Earth (the Heavens and the Earth
And all their hosts...
Here the red color signifies the world of ELKM
the blue color signifies the world of YHVH
The part of YHVH- YH- that enters and dwells in our world, is called Yah (like in Jerema-yah) or “The Dweller,” the Shekhinah in Hebrew.
Observing our world, what did the Bride YHVH say?
Like a Bride entering Her Groom’s home for the first time, examining the furniture and surroundings to see whether or not she would feel comfortable there, so did Y-H-V-H enter our world shyly and modestly as an Acronym, observed it and said :
“How can I share your world, ELKM, when I see no one in it who can understand me, or do my work?
“How can I share your world, ELKM, when I see no heart that can comprehend me?
“How can I share your world, ELKM, when I see in it no Place to rest my Wing?
Indeed, would the spider, the ant, the beast or the snake know MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS? Would the volcano or bacteria know it?
Hearing Her, ELKM said, almost begged
“Let Us Make an Adam in Our Form and Our Image…”
Instead of issuing a command like before, He changed His tone, like a Groom speaking to his beloved Bride. And He meant:
“Adam, our child, will know you. In His heart you may dwell and in his Sabbath you may rest…he may spread your light of MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS into my world of Absolute Justice. If he accomplishes that, he would make me Feel Very Good about my entire work, the whole CREATION. Then I would cease from work and judging and allow my world to enter your Domain, the Eternal Sabbath, where you reigns alone…”
Consolidating the world
Although YHVH had never done such a thing before, She agreed this time to join ELKM and together they flew over CREATION and consolidated in in their Love and Oneness. Like two Cherubs in Love, holding Wing against Wing, (having face of a boy and a girl looking at each other in love, the way Moses depicted them on the Holy Ark) they flew backwards from the Sixth Day to the Beginning and consolidated the entire CREATION by their mutual Love and Oneness.
As the Levite Choir used to chant every sixth day of the week: “YHVH has reigned, the World was consolidated, henceforth it won’t falter..”
Making a room in Adam’s heart
ELKM then set Himself to make the last layer in Adam.
At first, ELKM made Adam in His Image, as it is said immediately afterwards “And ELKM created Adam in His Image, in the Image of ELKM He did create him…”
By this, ELKM gave Adam the precious gifts like a strong Self Consciousness, a strong Free Will, a Smart Mind and a sensitive Heart full of Passions and Desires- especially Sex Drive and the Drive to rule over. Created in that fashion, as an Image of ELkM, Adam could rule his habitat like ELKM
But this alone would not make Adam Very Good. Thus, in order to enable Adam to become Very Good in His eyes, ELKM carved out a ‘room’ in Adam’s heart capable of perceiving YHVH’s features, namely MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS. No other creature in the world has been given that precious gift.
ELKM would not plant in Adam the perception of YHVH and Her features as a natural reflex. YHVH is never seen in Nature as a natural reflex. On the contrary, items in Nature thrive when they ignore or unaware of MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS.
It would be up to Adam to recognize YHVH and Her features, invite Her into His heart, something that is entirely unnatural, and it is up to him to enthrone Her on himself alongside ELKM.
It comes out that what makes Adam so unique is not our smart mind and a heart full of passions and desires. Other creatures. given enough time, would evolve to that smart stage on their own, .
But no creature in the world, however smart it may become, would not perceive YHVH and Her features. This is because YHVH came into our world to participate in Adam creation only. . , .
seeing the earth consolidated under YHVH and ELKM, the Angles thought that the Adam was ready to be Very Good. But then they heard ELKM still saying
6. Let Me and you, Adam, make an ideal Adam
“Let Us Make an Adam in Our Form and in Our Image”
“Does He have any Form and Image?” They wondered.
“He is referring to an image and form of an idea Adam, that He carries on His Mind…” (see Rashi) said the Angel Gabriel. “Adam should thrive to become this Image and Form of him, that the CREATOR has on His Mind. Only then Adam would be deemed Very Good and allowed to see the next Day.”
“How long will it take him to reach that goal?” The Angels asked,
“The entire human history,” the Angel Gabriel said.
“Why not right away?” They asked.
“Because recognizing Y-H-V-H and Her features is a learned process, And this will take time and maturity..Adam is like a child growing in his parent’s home, to mature and learn to be on his own. he needs to learn to recognize YHVH, accept Her as His King, and prepare himself to live in the Sabbath. This process of maturity may take many human years…”
“Who will guide Adam in his historical path?” The Angels asked.
“His Parents, YHVH ELKM, will give him a Torah by which he’d travel in history towards the Sabbath…” The Angel Gabriel said.”Now listen again to what ELKM is saying…”
The Angels focused on each of ELKM words. He was talking now TO ADAM, saying
“Let Us, (Adam, me and you)
Make an (ideal) Adam
In the Form and Image (that we, YHVH and ELKM, have on you in our mind)
“By following the path of the Torah, Adam would become that “Form and Image” which the CREATOR had on him on His Mind at his creation,” the Angel Gabriel said.
“What is the Torah?” the Angels asked.
“It comprises a ladder of moral commandments, on which Adam should climb- personally and as a species- in history, to become Very Good. Without the Torah he would not get there.”
“Which Commandment is the first?” They asked.
“The First Commandment of Adam is IDOLATRY,” the Angel Gabriel who knows everything said.
“Would ELKM allow IDOLATRY to exist?” the Angles wondered.
“Listen again!” The Angel Gabriel said. “Pay attention to ELKM’s words and you get the answer…” .
“Does the world has a chance to survive His harsh scrutiny?” The Angels asked.
“Look!” The Angel Gabriel said, pointing at the direction of ELKM’s Throne.
How surprised again the Angles were when they noticed a new Look appearing in ELKM’s eyes, a Look of Longing, not unlike the longing of the groom to meet the bride. That Look in ELKM’s eyes, they knew now, gave CREATIION a new chance to withstand His trial and win.
“What is He seeking?” The Angles asked in a great winder.
“He is seeking ro meet His Bride,” the tw
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