Daily Zohar # 5242 – Beresheet – Drawn to sin by the scent of the tree

Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Beresheet
Continued from previous DZ
#447
Immediately after she touched the Tree of Knowledge, “וַתֵּרֶא הָאִשָּׁה כִּי טוֹב” “And the woman saw that it was good…” (Genesis 3:6). Rabbi Yehuda said, This tree raised scents, as it is written, “כְּרֵיחַ שָׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרֲכוֹ יְהוָה” “as the scent of a field which YHVH has blessed” (Genesis 27:27). And because of the scent that rose from it, she desired to eat from it.
Rabbi Yossi says that her seeing gave her the desire to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, not the scent, for it is written, “And the woman saw.” Rabbi Yehuda said to him, After the sin it is written, “וַתִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי שְׁנֵיהֶם” “And the eyes of both of them were opened” (Genesis 3:7). So she did not attain seeing except after the eating, but before the eating she attained only scent.
Rabbi Yossi said to him, This seeing that was before the eating was in the measure of the tree, which is the aspect of the light of the female. This seeing brought her the desire. But the seeing that she attained after the eating was in a greater measure than the aspect of the tree, and about this it is said, “And the eyes were opened…” For it is written “And the woman saw,” and the word “the woman” is exact, to show that the seeing was in the light of the aspect of the female.
Notes:
Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yossi discuss whether Eve was drawn by scent or by seeing. The seeing before the sin was limited to the female light of the tree itself and awakened desire. After eating, a greater seeing opened, as the verse later says their eyes were opened.
#448
“And the woman saw that the tree was good…” She saw, and she did not see that the tree was good. She saw that the tree was good and she could not decide. What is written after this? “וַתִּקַּח מִפִּרְיוֹ” “And she took of its fruit” (Genesis 3:6), and it is not written, “and she took from it,” that is, from the tree, for she did not decide in her mind that the tree was good.
By this that she took from its fruit and not from the tree, she clung to the place of death and caused death to the whole world, and she separated life from death. The meaning is that Yessod, which is joined to the Nukva, is called a tree that makes fruit, and the Nukva is called fruit. And the Nukva, when she is by herself alone without Yessod, is death. And since she took from the fruit and not from the tree, it is found that she clung to the place of death, and she separated Yessod, which is life, from the Nukva, which is death, at the time she is separated from Yessod.
And by this sin, she caused a separation between the Nukva and her Husband, Zeir Anpin. For Voice, which is Zeir Anpin, from Speech, which is the Nukva, are never separated. And whoever separates Voice from Speech, that is Zeir Anpin from the Nukva, becomes mute and cannot speak. And once speech is taken from him, he is given to the dust. And therefore it was said to him, “וְאֶל עָפָר תָּשׁוּב” “and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).
Notes:
Eve took the fruit and not the tree itself, clinging to the Nukva alone without Yessod. This separated life (Yessod) from death (the Nukva when alone) and also separated Voice (Zeir Anpin) from Speech (Nukva). One who makes this separation loses speech and returns to dust.

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