230. "Yah is my strength and song" (Shemot 15:2). Rabbi Chiya opened the discussion, saying: "You have beset me behind and before, and You placed Your hand on me" (Tehilim 139:5). How much must a person honor the Holy One, blessed be He, because when He created the world, He saw that man would dominate everything, and he was similar to those above and those below. He lowered him to the world in a glorious form and the creatures saw him, gathered, and bowed before him. And a fear and terror fell upon them because of the fear of him. This is the meaning of, "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air" (Beresheet 9:2).
231. He brought him into the garden that He planted to guard it, and so that he should have joy upon joy, and delight in it. He made for him a canopy covered with precious stones, and the supernal angels used to rejoice before him. Afterwards, He commanded him not to eat of one tree, but he did not heed the commandment of his Master.
232. I found in the Book of Enoch that, after the Holy One, blessed be He, elevated ENOCH and showed him all the treasures of the King, those above and those below, He showed him the Tree of Life and the tree that Adam was cautioned against. And He showed him the place of Adam in the Garden of Eden. And he saw that if Adam had observed this commandment, OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, he could have lived forever and always been there. He did not observe the commandment of his Master, so he was judged and punished.
233. Rabbi Yitzchak said, Adam was created with two faces, and this was the way they explained it: "And He took one of his sides" (Beresheet 2:21). The Holy One, blessed be He, has sown it and it became two, from the east and from the west, ADAM FROM THE EAST AND EVE FROM THE WEST. This is what is written, "You have beset me behind and before." "Behind" is west and "before" is east.
234. Rabbi Chiya said, What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He prepared that female, perfected her beauty, and brought her to Adam. This is what is written, "And of the side, which Hashem Elohim has taken from the man, He made a woman" (Ibid. 22). Come and behold, it is written above, "And He took one of his sides." What is "one?" It is as in, "My dove, My undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother" (Shir Hashirim 6:9), WHICH IS MALCHUT. "Of his sides," MEANING from his sides, as it is written, "And for the second side of the tabernacle" (Shemot 26:20), BECAUSE SHE WAS TAKEN FROM THE LEFT SIDE.
235. Rabbi Yehuda said, The Holy One, blessed be He, placed a supernal soul in Adam and included in it wisdom and understanding to know everything. HE ASKS, From which place did He give him a soul? Rabbi Yitzchak said, From the place the other souls come from, NAMELY BINAH, FOR THE LIGHT OF BINAH IS CALLED 'NESHAMAH.'
236. Rabbi Yehuda said, We understand it from here, as it is written, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures (lit. 'Nefesh')" (Beresheet 1:24). HE ASKS, From which place in the earth? HE ANSWERS, From the place where the Temple is located, BECAUSE EARTH IS MALCHUT, AND THE PLACE OF THE TEMPLE IS BINAH, THAT IS IN IT. "Living soul" (Heb. Nefesh) is simply written, "living soul," WITHOUT EXPLAINING WHOSE SOUL. AND HE SAYS, This is the Nefesh of Adam who was first of all.
237. Rabbi Chiya said, Adam knew supernal Wisdom more than the supernal angels, and he gazed into everything and knew and recognized his Master more than all the inhabitants of the world. After he sinned, the wellsprings of Wisdom became stopped for him. It is written, "And Hashem Elohim sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground" (Beresheet 3:23).
238. Rabbi Aba said, Adam emerged from Male and Female, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN AND NUKVA. This is what is written, "And Elohim said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness'" (Beresheet 1:26). Therefore, EVEN BY MAN male and female were made united, and were separated FROM EACH OTHER afterwards. You may question why it says, "The earth from where he was taken," AND NOT FROM THE SUPERNAL MALE AND FEMALE. HE ANSWERS, It is certainly so, THAT HE WAS TAKEN FROM THE EARTH, but this refers to the Nukva OF ZEIR ANPIN. And the Holy One, blessed be He, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN, was Her partner. These are the Male and Female THAT WE MENTIONED. And it is all one thing.
239. Rabbi Yosi said, "Yah is my strength and song," REFERS TO those that are included one with the other and do not separate one from the other. They are always in love with one desire, FOR THEY ARE ABA AND IMA THAT ARE CALLED YUD-HEI. From them spring the currents of the rivers and springs to supply everyone and to bless everything, and the waters of these springs do not fail. This is the meaning of, "And like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (Yeshayah 58:11). Therefore, "He is become my salvation" (Shemot 15:2). For this reason does the Holy King draw and cause to inherit below, and the right becomes aroused to perform miracles.