156. Lest He Took from the Tree of Life

I heard on Shevat 15

“Lest he took from the tree of life, and ate, and lived forever.” Baal HaSulam interpreted that perhaps he would take from the covered Hassadim [mercy], considered from the Chazeh [chest] and above. This is because in that, there is complete sufficiency, and by that the sin of the tree of knowledge, considered from the Chazeh down, will not be corrected. It follows that the tree of life is called “from the Chazeh upward,” where there are covered Hassadim. And I think that we should accordingly interpret what we say, “a life that has fear of heaven and a life that has fear of sin.”

The difference between them, as Baal HaSulam interprets, is that what he takes from life is for fear of sinning, meaning that he has no other choice. But fear of heaven means that he has other choices. That is, even if he does not take this discernment, he will still not sin; but still he chooses it due to fear of the Creator.

But, accordingly, we cannot say that covered Hassadim is considered Katnut [smallness/infancy]. This is precisely when he has no other choice. But when he achieves the revealed Hassadim from the discernment of Rachel, then the discernment of Leah, which is covered Hassadim, is called GAR and Gadlut [greatness/adulthood].

And this is called “fear of heaven,” that he has revealed Hassadim, but he nevertheless chooses covered Hassadim. Thus, there are two kinds of covered Hassadim: 1) when he does not have the quality of Rachel, when he is called VAK; 2) when he does have the quality of Rachel, called “Leah,” GAR.