There were two trees in the garden...
In the Garden of Eden, G-d planted two trees. One was the Tree of Life. The other was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which the Zohar calls the Tree of Death. G-d told Adam that he could eat of any tree in the Garden except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If he ate of it, he would surely die. Then He made Eve. Some time later, the next day or a thousand years, who knows, the serpent convinces Eve to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, "And the serpent said unto the woman: 'Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.'" She eats, then turns to Adam who was obviously there already, listening to all of this, and hands him the fruit. He eats, too. They realize they are naked and cover themselves with leaves. G-d comes and the hide, ashamed. G-d calls out and Adam said that he hid because he afraid and was naked. G-d asks who told him he was naked and asks if he ate of the Tree. Adam blames Eve (and G-d: 'The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.'). Eve blames the serpent. G-d curses the serpent and punishes Adam and Eve. G-d clothes them in animal skins (the first shed blood, ie, sacrifice). "And the LORD God said: 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.'" G-d kicks them out of the Garden and places cherubim and a flaming sword that turns every way to guard it to keep them away from the Tree of Life. This is a summary of the last of Chapter 2 and all of chapter 3 of Genesis.
There's many interesting things in this passage, but I'm not going to go into them now. What I want to discuss is the Shekhinah. Which Tree would you think the Shekhinah would be associated with in Kabbalah? I would have thought the Tree of Life, but I would have been wrong. Kabbalah associates the Shekhinah with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (I read this in the notes in the edition of the Zohar I have. When I tried to find more information online, I found a document that said the Shekhinah is associated with the Tree of Life by many Kabbalists, However, this document was on a general occult site, not a Jewish Kabbalah site.) Why? I'm not sure, but I'll take a guess. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (TKGE) was created to give man freewill. Without freewill, there is no Geburah, Judgement. Without freewill, there is only Chesed, Mercy. But without freewill, man cannot choose G-d, for there is no choice. Freewill introduces the ability to choose. But it brings along with it Judgement. There is a penalty for not choosing G-d. Choosing Him brings union with G-d, or, more accurately, a return to union with G-d, for all things started in union with Him. Choosing other than Him is choosing separation from Him, or to continue in separation. When Adam and Eve ate of the TKGE, the first separation occurred. Shekhinah contains within herself both Chesed and Geburah, Mercy and Judgement. She is the method G-d's Mercy and His Judgement come to the earth, to man. In eating the TKGE, in eating of Da'ath, man was separated from G-d but became like G-d. Adam and Eve left the realm of Ze'ir Anpin, of Tipherah, and entered the realm of Shekhinah, of Malkuth. The TKGE is the realm of the Shekhinah, a realm where both her Mercy and her Jrdgement are possible. It is through the Shekhinah that we can come to be more like G-d, the upside of eating of the TKGE. And it is through her that we can find our way back to union with G-d and eat of the Tree of Life.
FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss
There's many interesting things in this passage, but I'm not going to go into them now. What I want to discuss is the Shekhinah. Which Tree would you think the Shekhinah would be associated with in Kabbalah? I would have thought the Tree of Life, but I would have been wrong. Kabbalah associates the Shekhinah with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (I read this in the notes in the edition of the Zohar I have. When I tried to find more information online, I found a document that said the Shekhinah is associated with the Tree of Life by many Kabbalists, However, this document was on a general occult site, not a Jewish Kabbalah site.) Why? I'm not sure, but I'll take a guess. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (TKGE) was created to give man freewill. Without freewill, there is no Geburah, Judgement. Without freewill, there is only Chesed, Mercy. But without freewill, man cannot choose G-d, for there is no choice. Freewill introduces the ability to choose. But it brings along with it Judgement. There is a penalty for not choosing G-d. Choosing Him brings union with G-d, or, more accurately, a return to union with G-d, for all things started in union with Him. Choosing other than Him is choosing separation from Him, or to continue in separation. When Adam and Eve ate of the TKGE, the first separation occurred. Shekhinah contains within herself both Chesed and Geburah, Mercy and Judgement. She is the method G-d's Mercy and His Judgement come to the earth, to man. In eating the TKGE, in eating of Da'ath, man was separated from G-d but became like G-d. Adam and Eve left the realm of Ze'ir Anpin, of Tipherah, and entered the realm of Shekhinah, of Malkuth. The TKGE is the realm of the Shekhinah, a realm where both her Mercy and her Jrdgement are possible. It is through the Shekhinah that we can come to be more like G-d, the upside of eating of the TKGE. And it is through her that we can find our way back to union with G-d and eat of the Tree of Life.
FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss