Compassion, Ethics, and How Virtues Can Cause Harm
Today we will talk about compassion, my dear brothers and sisters. For example: if someone wants to kill one of our relatives (a son, a brother), our reaction, at that moment, should be to defend the son they are attacking, defend the brother. As heads of families, we must know how to respond. But if we say: “No, I will not raise a weapon against anyone!”, and if we say to the bandit who is murdering the son or raping the daughter: “I bless you, my son, I forgive you all the crimes you are doing”; with such an attitude we are taking compassion to the extreme and it is obvious that one is becoming an accomplice to that crime.
If a man has his wife and some bandits come to rape her, and he responds by saying: “God bless you!”, what would they say about such a man? It would be a “chocolate man”, who is useless. Obviously, that's compassion pushed to the extreme, which makes us accomplices to the crime.
If someone puts a child in our care and someone comes to kill it, and we only know how to turn our backs on this (those who come to run over the child), that is complacency with the crime and nothing more...
There has been much talk against weapons in the various esoteric or pseudo-esoteric schools, but all this depends on the level of understanding, because even the weapons themselves are usually useful when needed.
Let's take an example. Let us suppose that someone comes to kill one's mother. By holding to the teachings, is that child going to allow their mother to be killed? Will one not, for this reason, be able to rely on a weapon to defend the life of the one who brought us into the world? Or will we just bless those who want to kill our mother? Obviously, if one (in this case) becomes so "compassionate" that one blesses those who come to assassinate the author of one's days, well, one is a coward and becomes an accomplice to the crime. If (at that moment) one has to resort to arms, if one has no other choice, well, one has to defend her. If not, one would accrue karma for not defending her.
On the other hand, if one is truly following the "path of the razor's edge", one has to kiss the executioner's whip and return good for evil, bless those who persecute you, and if one is struck on the right cheek, put the left, so that they help you more.
That is a bit hard, but (of course) one who has already resolved to live within the "path of the razor's edge" is already seeking the intimate Self-realization of the Being; that one wants to follow the rigorous ordeals of initiation, and that is different. But, if they come to harm your little sister, your wife, your children, the creatures that are in your care, if they come to murder them, will you treat the bandits like little brothers? It would be absurd, right? The best thing, in this case, is to appeal to defense, do your duty, die on the battlefield if necessary.
This question was once asked to Krishnamurti, and he frankly did not know how to answer it exactly. “If you were going with a sister (they asked him), suddenly someone came to harm her, what would you do?” He replied that he would wait for that to happen, to see what he would do. That he would wait for that to actually happen. Well, Krishnamurti went off on a tangent; the answer should have been more specific, the answer should have been that he would defend her at any cost.
I am not advocating violence. No, I am pointing out to what extent it would cause harm if, for example, compassion when taken to the maximum is turned into a vice; yes compassion can be turned into a vice, because a virtue, no matter how beautiful, beyond a certain point becomes a vice, a defect.
Thus, for example, the Kabbalah tells us about the Sephiroth and their virtues, but it also tells us about the "Klipoth" which are nothing more than the inverted Sephiroth, the antithesis of the virtues that the Sephiroth personify. Klipoth is the obverse of the medal etc.
So, my dear brothers and sisters, what we need is comprehension, to get out of so many modern codes of ethics, and act differently.
There is, for example in Tibet, a special action book for the initiates (we will call it “ethics”, although that word is not even known there). Such a book is not a code of ethics, but the truth is that it is beyond good and evil. Do not forget that in everything good there is something bad and in everything bad there is something good; do not forget that among the incense of prayer, crime is also hidden. Crime is dressed as a martyr, as an apostle, and even officiates in the most sacred temples. So, there is a lot of virtue in the wicked and a lot of evil in the righteous; there is the good of the bad and the bad of the good.
In Tibet, I repeat, there is a very special book for initiates, a book of unique action. Many of the ways of acting of these initiates surprise us, they do not fit (completely) within the ways of being that we have here, in the Western world. Over there, there is a saying that says: "Let's not do good things that seem bad, or bad things that seem good", but the Tibetans do not allow their minds to be conditioned by such a saying; they act in such a way that many of us are surprised. The initiates of Tibet do not act in accordance with the codes that exist about good and evil, but with the dictates of their own consciousness, and that is different.
The more we free ourselves from all of the many codes of ethics, the more individual we become, the more we will understand the need to dissolve the ego, the "myself", the "oneself". And it is that our "I", as I have told you, is a book of many volumes, a book that we have to study, because it is not possible to dissolve the ego, the "myself" without having fully comprehended it, totally.
It is in the field of practical life where we must discover ourselves. The errors that we carry inside come out precisely in practical life, and if we are in an alert state, then we discover them as they are. A discovered defect must be fully comprehended through the technique of meditation. Once comprehended, it must be eliminated with the annular serpentine power that develops in the body of the ascetic, that is, with the power of Devi-Kundalini.
The more the ego is disintegrated, the more the consciousness will become stronger and stronger and at last it will be introduced to a permanent center of gravity, a center of authentic individuality that will liberate us, totally, from the actions and reactions that come from the outside world. But we need to create that permanent center of gravity within ourselves, and that is only possible by dissolving the ego. By creating that center of gravity, we will have individuality. But, today, we are not individual subjects, we are machines controlled by “I's”; everyone plays with us, we have no real individuality.
Satan
When we have dissolved the ego, the "myself," we will discover with mystical astonishment that there is something that cannot be dissolved, and that "something" is hated by the people of all religions. I am referring to the biblical Satan (this word naturally horrifies many... we already know the role played by the devil in the old testament). But we must understand it. That devil, who scares us so much, is the least harmful, as Goethe said in one of his poems (words that he puts in the mouth of God):
“The like of thee have never moved My hate. Of all the bold, denying Spirits, the waggish knave least trouble doth create.” – Goethe
That “Of all the bold, denying spirits”, Mephistopheles (Satan, the waggish knave), is the one that “least trouble doth create”? It seems incredible, right? All religious people think that Satan is the most harmful thing, and if we pronounce ourselves in favor of Satan, they declare us "satanists", "black magicians", "sorcerers", "wizards", "cursed people", etc… this is how humanity is.
However, remember that Satan is the shadow of the Eternal One. We could dissolve the ego, reduce it to dust, but we cannot dissolve Satan because he is the shadow of the Eternal One. If we go down a street, we cast our own shadow, right? So, too, the Eternal casts his shadow on each one of us.
Remember that each one of us has a divine, virginal, ineffable spark (which is our innermost Logoi, our Seity) who projects its shadow in our psyche, and that shadow is precisely Satan, Mephistopheles, the Latin Lucifer, who among the Aztecs is named Xolotl, the shadow of our Lord Quetzalcoatl.
Lucifer: from Latin Lucifer "morning star," (Venus, Phosphorus). Literally "light-bringing," from lux (genitive lucis) "light" (from PIE root *leuk- "light, brightness") + ferre "to carry, bear"; also "morning star, Venus in the morning sky before sunrise," also an epithet or name of Diana.
Let us reflect, my dear brothers and sisters. That Satan, the shadow of the Eternal One in each one of us, must be transformed into Lucifer. Obviously, Lucifer is the "giver of light", the "morning star", and also the "evening star". We must, therefore, transform the devil into Lucifer. When we (in the superior worlds of cosmic consciousness) see our own devil, we understand the need to transform him. The devil of any profane, the Mephistophelian shadow (speaking in the terms of Goethe) of any subject, is black as coal, and it is clear that he exudes a sinister fire (which is his diabolical fohat). But that is the great thing: transforming, converting that black shadow, that devil into Lucifer, becomes possible when we eliminate the animal ego, when we destroy the “inhuman elements” that we carry inside. Then he can, that shadow of the Eternal One, dress himself with the robe of glory and become an archangel of light.
Do not forget that Lucifer has power over the heavens, over the earth and over the infernos.
Reflect, then, become more individual...
Disciple: Master, we have always seen people who have the purpose of seeking peace between two individuals who are fighting. For a gnostic student, is it permissible for him to intervene in some way, either through prayer or some rite?
Samael Aun Weor: Everyone is everyone. Discord will exist as long as each subject carries (within himself, in his psyche) the “elements” that provoke conflicts. Obviously, as long as discord exists within us, it will exist outside of us as well. So, it is useless for us to try to appease others; they will continue to fight, because they carry discord within. It is absurd that we try, by means of esoteric and magical procedures, to stop two people fighting. That won't do any good, because they could stop fighting for the moment, and then continue to do so. The truth is that we must be ourselves; we must be more self-reflective, more individual, not identify ourselves with such scenes, but live discovering ourselves. That's what's important.
Disciple: Wouldn't that attitude be somewhat selfish? Because as a result of the discussion, those two people could kill each other and the intervention of another could prevent it....
Samael Aun Weor: Our intervention can sometimes be useful and sometimes not. The harsh reality of the facts is that the dispute, the discord, exists in each one of us, and as long as it continues to exist, the conflicts will continue. No one has turned us into police officers to go and break up other people's riots. As things are, the only thing we can and should do is watch over ourselves, eliminate our own mistakes. We cannot eliminate the mistakes of others; each one is each one, we cannot change anyone. We could admonish, but that is not enough for others to change. For example, I am here talking to you, but I could not change you; you have to change yourself. Likewise, we cannot serve as policemen here, there and everywhere. Everyone has to answer for their own actions.
Mistaken Affections
Disciple: Master, what can you tell us about affections? That is something that by nature all human beings possess. Some are even capable of giving their lives for a loved one and also use certain means of expression to express that affection, that love. Is it lawful for these little affections, thus demonstrated, to exist between children or between spouses, etc.?
Samael Aun Weor: Love is great, but a Spanish saying goes: “Regarding love, actions speak louder than words.” I have known very loving homes that have disintegrated overnight. I recently met one, apparently very happy. All the children of that home were affectionate to their parents, but that home is now over: the man divorced the woman, and the woman divorced her man, and the children have divided between one side and the other (and they were very affectionate!)
In general, if affections degenerate into lust, they are of no use. Do not forget that the heart is also an erotic center. The best thing is love, and love does not accept selfish attachments. Love is pure, dazzling, beautiful and selfless; love is confirmed in the facts.
What is the use of a man telling a woman: “I love you”, “I adore you”, and he doesn't even give her money for the newspaper? What use are so many kisses, so many hugs, and things like that, if the man doesn't worry, let's say, that the woman has enough to buy a pair of socks, because she needs something to wear? Is that love? Instead of so much smooching, so many caresses, hugs, etc., it is better that you give her clothes, that you pay her rent, that is, that you give her for all things in life, that you fulfill your duties, and do not treat her badly; don't hit her, don't pull her hair, don't hurt her... “Actions speak louder than words.”... Undoubtedly: "it is as bad to be stiff as to have a rubber backbone."
It's fine for a man to be natural with his wife and for a woman to be very natural with her man, but all those homes where there are so many kisses and hugs, and things like that (so much affection, in a word), end up wrong and we have already shown that in practice. I have seen homes where everything was pure affection, and today it is over, and I have seen homes where men and women are not like that. They do not have a “rubber backbone” either, but they are not hard-hearted; they are not too affectionate, but they know how to fulfill their duties; their love shows it with facts, with simplicity and with tact. Those homes go very far, they never end; only death destroys them, which is very natural.
Let us watch our own actions. Where do affections come from and what are affections? If the affections are based on lust, they are vices. The heart is also an erotic center that inevitably leads to abuse of sex; all those sentimentalities of men and women degenerate into fornication, lust, morbidity. So, affections are the result, the product of lust.
Love is the most beautiful, the purest, it is like a newborn child; it does not seek anything for itself, but everything for the being the child loves. This love does not include affection but knows how to fulfill his duty. It is demonstrated with facts and not simply with empty idle talk of ambiguous chattering.
The one who promises the poor lady of our dreams all the riches in the world even though she doesn't have them, he pulls down the sky and puts it at her feet, usually turns out to be totally false; but those men who do not promise women much, but who fulfill them, who watch over them, who do not abandon them, are undoubtedly magnificent.
The same thing happens with regard to women. Those who are very affectionate, very flattering, well, in short, who live full of affection, almost always give their husband a good pair of horns. Those women who are not affectionate, fulfilling their duties, who do all their chores daily with great judgment, who care for their children, who take care of their husbands, undoubtedly turn out to be magnificent wives, faithful and sincere, incapable of betraying; but the very flattering, sentimental ones, full of affections, end up giving the poor man a good pair of horns.
Well, on the other hand there was a master who made the mistake of underestimating the Christian qualities, or the virtues taught by the gospel, and who will only keep the characteristics of Geburah (severity; rigor, the law), therefore, he did not manage to enter the superior order...
I also know of many interesting cases: magnificent people, very sincere, very Christian, who only dedicated themselves, exclusively, to achieving in themselves the virtues of the Christian gospel, but completely underestimating the characteristics of Geburah. They usually ended up misusing the virtues, putting them out of place; and I already said, and I repeat it again: a virtue, no matter how good it may be, when out of place becomes something pernicious, something bad.
For example: hate is something that is out of place, because what is natural is love. Envy is something that is out of place. Why should we feel envy for the good of others? On the contrary: We should rejoice for the good of our fellow men. Unfortunately, envy has become, we could say, the axis of our entire social organism, in these times of human degeneration.
Charity is great! But what would be said of someone who went out to give alms to drug addicts so that they would buy drugs, or alcoholics to get drunk in taverns; to the greedy so that they could continue to get rich, etc., etc. It is logical that such a precious virtue as charity is, out of place, well, it smells like madness, right? Something abnormal, something absurd. However, charity is one of the most precious virtues, but it must always be in its place.
We ourselves are founding the institute of universal charity, and we are doing it with pleasure to serve our fellow human beings, to help those who truly deserve it: the elderly who cannot work, widows, orphans, the underprivileged, etc. Selfishness, for example, is something that is out of place, because what is natural is altruism; that's clear.
Freedom is magnificent. But the misuse of freedom becomes licentiousness, and licentiousness is out of place because what is normal is cognizant freedom, not licentiousness, which is the negative aspect. And so on.
So, it is very easy to err; that is why the dissolution of the ego is frighteningly difficult.
Now, there is a very marked tendency to self-consideration: Many subjects who apparently live a chaste life suddenly fornicate out of self-consideration, and justify themselves by saying: “Yes, it was a necessity to have to fornicate”, etc., etc., etc.
A certain woman who on some occasion who committed the crime of adultery justified her crime by saying: “Yes, my husband did not satisfy me sexually, right? And I had to look for another person with whom I could satisfy a very natural, very normal need”. That is to say, she justified her crime, it seemed to her that she had not committed any fault.
There is therefore a very marked tendency to self-consideration and self-justification. It is not possible to eliminate the inhuman elements that constitute the ego, as long as self-consideration and self-justification exist; that's clear. One has to become (if one wants to dissolve the ego) a ruthless enemy of oneself: to treat oneself without self-regard of any kind, be crudely realistic with oneself.
Normally, people would like to escape from the prison where they are (at least some, a few would like to escape), but they cannot find the door; and if they find it, they do not want to escape: when seeing the door, they do not see the door. This is how humanity is...
There are those who manage to escape from this horrible prison of samsara for a while. But instead of looking for the path that truly suits them, they go another way. So, the lords of the law return them, again, to the prison of samsara.
For all this and many other reasons, it is difficult to eliminate the inhuman elements that one carries within.
Now, you understand why it is so difficult to enter the superior order. When one has achieved the death of oneself in every way—in his thoughts, in his feelings, in his volitions, in his desires—when oneself has truly died in all its aspects, when there is nothing left of the ego, then comes the intimate self-realization of the Being. And that is when one truly earns the right to enter the supreme order of the immortal masters; and that's it. That is why, frankly, I invite all my brothers and sisters to self-reflection...
It is necessary to become serious. I cannot consider serious a person who is not dedicated to the death of myself, of the ego.
There are many masters who have worked on their intimate self-realization. However, I have already said it and I will repeat it: Not everyone has managed to enter the higher order. Only a few belong to that order, a few immortals, a handful of men and women of good will.
Well, my talk ends here, my estimable brothers and sisters.
Inverential peace!
An Instructor's Elaboration on the Lecture
Quotes from scriptures with commentary by a gnostic instructor, as an elaboration on the lecture by Samael Aun Weor.
Mysteries of Iod י, Hei ה, Vav ו, Hei ה.
Mystery of the letter Iod י:
"Thy hands (Iodi ידי) have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding (Binah בינה), that I may learn thy commandments." - Psalm 119: 73
The mystery of the letter Vav ו represents our spinal medulla:
And (in the Vav ו, the spinal medulla) let (יהי yay) the (two Iod י of) pleasantness of Adonia אֲדֹנִיָּ our goddess Elahi אלהי be upon us, And (in the Vav ו, the spinal medulla) the work of our (two physical Iods י) hands (Iodi ידי) be established on us, Yea, the work of our (two physical Iods י) hands (Iodi ידי) be established!" - Psalm 90: 17
Genesis states:
וירא אלהים את־האור כי־טוב
“And (in the Vav ו, the spinal medulla) (ירא אלהים) Elohim saw (HaAur האור) the light (of the seven chakras enlightened by Ath את, the Schekinah שכינה), that it was good (Tob טוב)." – Genesis 1: 4
Zohar states:
"It has been handed down from our ancestors that dreams in connection with a good object are presages of peace and blessings, especially when letters composing words are seen by the dreamer in their right order and sequence. For instance, the letters Tet ט, Vav ו, Beth ב, of the word Tob טוב seen in their order denote good, so that the one who sees the initial letter Tet ט may take it as a favorable sigma or token, and as a synonym of Tab טב, signifying peace.
The numerical value of Teth ט, initial letter of the word Tob טוב (good), is nine and symbolizes the ninth Sephirah Yesod יסוד, which letter Iod י within Malkuth, receives its light from the first Sephira Kether (crown). The letter Vav ו of the word Tob טוב (good), is a symbol of the light of Binah proceeding from (Iod-Hei יה) the first two sephiroth (Kether and Chokmah). The letter Beth בית (meaning home) of the word Tob טוב (good), is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and therefore, symbol of the sephirah Chokmah (wisdom) which contains Arich Anpin אריך אנפין (Aramaic for huge head-rosh ראש) and therefore (Beth Rosh בית-ראש) is the headquarters of the first triangle, the Trinity or Triamatzikamno, namely, Kether, Chokmah, Binah); behold, Beth Rosh בית-ראש have the same letters of the word with which scripture commences, Berashith בראשית." - Zohar
This why Proverbs state:
“The fear (יראת) of יהוה (is the awe of the tenth letter Iod י of Irath יראת and the Iod י of the passion of Havah הוה, Eve, the Malka מלכה, in Yesod יסוד, the genitalia, in Malkuth, our physicality, which) is the beginning of (Ra רא and Ath את, where) wisdom (Chokmah חכמה stands): and (the letter Vav ו) is the knowledge (ודעת) of the Kadoshim קדשים, the two Holies (יה Iod-Hei of יהוה, since the letter Vav ו) Binah בינה is understanding.” – Proverbs 9: 10
The letter Iod י of יהוה is represented below by the Iod י of Teth טית and by the tenth sephirah Malkuth מלכות, the Sod סוד, secret, of the tenth letter Iod י of Yesod יסוד, in the passion of Havah הוה - Eve, the Queen, Malka מלכה, the genitalia in Malkuth, our physicality. During Min מין, sex, the Iod י of Min מין, becomes the Iod י of Teth טית, which in Yesod יסוד receives its light from above, from the first Iod י or Sephirah Kether (crown), meaning, from the head, Rosh ראש, the home or Beth בית of יהוה, namely, Kether, Chokmah, Binah and Ain Soph, respectively.
The letter Vav ו between the Iod י above and the Iod י below, is the symbol of our spine where the light of Binah illuminates Tiphereth, our human soul; both sephiroth (Binah and Tiphereth) are represented by the letter Vav ו, because in the tree of life, both are proceeding from (Iod-Hei יה) the first two sephiroth, namely, Kether and Chokmah. This is how the Iod י from our head and the Iod י from our genitalia along with the Vav, the spine, form the letter Aleph א within the alchemists. All of this thanks to the Iod י of the letter Teth טית.
Aleph א is an Alpha A, Tet ט is an inverted Omega Ʊ and the Vav ו that connects them is an Iota I. That is why it is written in Revelation:
“I am Alpha and Omega (Aleph א and Teth טית), the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord (יהוה), which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty (Iod י of Shaddai שדי).” – Revelation 1: 8.
The spelling of the letter Teth טית contains two ‘Ts’, namely, Teth and Tav.
"Thus, each of the letters in this word Tob טוב are symbols of the three highest sephiroth (Kether י, Chokmah ה, Binah ו, who in the first triangle is ruled by Kether, in both husband and wife) and designate the just and upright in the world (of Tiphereth, who in the second triangle is ruled by Chokmah, in both husband and wife), in themselves (husband and wife are united during their sexual intercourse, thanks to the Iod י of the letter Teth טית, which in the third triangle is ruled by Binah).
The mystery of the letter Hei ה:
Husband and wife represent physically the two letters Hei ה of יהוה, they by means of their letter Vav ו (their spine) unite their Iod י above and their Iod י below. Behold, within husband and wife, these two letters Hei ה represent, Ath את, the Schekinah שכינה in heaven above, and Ath את, the Schekinah שכינה in the earth below, namely, Ath HaShamayim VeAth HaAretz את השמים ואת הארץ, therefore it is written:
“Say unto the righteous, that it shall be good (Tob טוב) with them: for they shall eat (from their Vav ו, their spine) the fruit of their doings.” – Isaiah 3: 10
As the divine light and life (of their Vav ו) dwell within them, manifesting as goodness from above and mercy and compassion or unselfishness from below as saith scripture:
“Good (Tob טוב) is יהוה to all, (meaning: good is the Iod י of passion הוה Havah, Eve, to all,) and (the Vav ו, or) her (רחםיו) womb is for all of His works.” – Psalm 145: 9
In the words "for all" is expressed the prophecy that the day will dawn upon the world when every human's eyes shall be opened, and the light (of the Iod י of passion הוה Havah, Eve, will be) seen by all. Such is the mystic meaning of these words:
"Berashith Bara Elohim Ath HaShamayim בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים, meaning, the Iod י of Berashith בראשית, the beginning created the Iod י of Elohim אלהים within Ath את the Hei ה and the Iod י of the Heavens השמים. VeAth HaAretz ואת הארץ, meaning, and in the Vav ו, the spinal medulla (which is the womb of Ath את the Hei ה of the earth (husband and wife made Aleph א by uniting their Iod י from above and their Iod י from below)." - Zohar
Explanation of heavens and earth:
Within our physical organisms, the cephalic-rachis fluids are the waters of the heavens, and the genital fluids are the waters of the earth. These are the two poles of the sexual energy. Angels have the two poles upward, towards their head. The common and ordinary human beings and the demons have one pole upward and the other downward. They form the brain with the upward pole (the right), and they fornicate with the downward pole (the left).
Ath את, the Schekinah שכינה, the Kundalini of any angel goes upwards; yet, the demons’ Kundabuffer organ, named Lilith, goes downwards, this is the tail of the devil.
Zohar continues:
Rabbi Joseph said: "It is written, 'And it repented יהוה that he (the Iod י of passion הוה Havah, Eve) had made Ath HaAdam את־האדם on the earth and it grieved him at his heart' – Genesis 6: 6
'Woe unto them that draw the darkness (from Klipoth) through their (ganglionic) cords of vanity and sin (fornicate with their left cord) as it were with a cart-rope' – Isaiah 5: 18
The words, 'that draw the darkness,' refer to those who sin against (Iod-Havah Elohim יהוה אלהים, Binah בינה) their "Lord every day and imagine their wrong- doing (sexual misconduct) is of less consequence and worth than a cart-rope. With this class of wrong doers, the Holy One is exceedingly patient and long-suffering, and punishes them not until their misdeeds get beyond endurance. When the Holy One executes judgment upon sinners in the world yet is he unwilling they should perish; since notwithstanding their transgression, they are his children, the work of his (two) hands (two Iods, Iodi ידי). Though their punishment is inevitable, yet like as a father pities his children, so doth he pities them; so great is his love and compassion towards them that even when punishment and suffering overtake the erring and sinful, he is full of compassion and grieved in heart, if we may so express it, like the Persian monarch who sought to deliver Daniel, of whom it is written:
"Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep went from him." - Daniel 6: 18
Rabbi Isaac said: "The words, 'And it repented יהוה that he had made Ath HaAdam את־האדם on the earth,' have the same meaning as the words:
“And יהוה repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people (the Neshamoth Chayim נשמת חיים or soul archetypes, named, children of Israel).” – Exodus 32: 14
Rabbi Yusa said: "The interpretation of the rabbi is favorable to Adam, but in the opinion of Rabbi Hezekiah it is otherwise."
Rabbi Hiya said: "When the Holy One created Adam to dwell upon the earth, he formed him after the likeness of Adam Kadmon, the heavenly Adam, when the angels gazed upon him, they exclaimed:
“Thou hast made him almost equal to Elohim and crowned him with glory and honor.” As it is written:
“This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that ‘Elohim Adam’ was created, in the likeness of Elohim was he made.” – Genesis 5: 1
After the transgression and fall of Adam, it is said the Holy One was grieved at heart because it gave occasion for repeating what they had said at his creation:
“What is Enosh אנוש, that you are mindful of him? and (Seth שת) the son of Adam, that you care for him?” – Psalm 8: 4
Rabbi Jehudah said: "It grieved the Holy One that he must punish Adam severely and thus appear as acting in contradiction to the greatest of his attributes, (Chesed, mercy, goodness or compassion), as it is written:
“And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto יהוה, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise יהוה; for his mercy (Chesed) endures forever.” – 2Cronicles 20: 21
Rabbi Isaac said: "Why was this song of praise composed like those psalms that begin with the words, Praise the Lord for he is good, was it not because the term 'good' (tob) might not be used when Israel (Tiphereth, the human soul) was compelled to destroy people whom the Holy One made and created?
When Israel (Tiphereth, the human soul) passed through the waters of (Havah הוה, passion) the Red Sea, the angels on high assembled round the throne of the Holy One and sang praises. Then spoke he and said: wherefore sing ye (Exodus 15:1) a song of praise, seeing so many (demons), the work of my hands (Iodi ידי), are drowned in the depths of the sea? So is it when a sinner perishes; the Holy One is grieved at heart, when he (the sinner) is cut off from the face of the earth."
Said Rabbi Abba: "It is of a truth so; for when Adam fell through transgressing the divine commandment, the Holy One said: 'Oh Adam! thou art become dead unto the higher divine life.' At these words, the light of the (Iod of Zayin זין, Malkuth, Ath את, the Schekinah שכינה) the Sabbath candle (the seventh day) became extinguished, and Adam was driven out of the garden of Eden. Moreover, the Holy One further said: 'I made thee ascend and placed thee in Eden to offer sacrifices; but seeing thou hast profaned the altar (the genitalia), it is my decree that henceforth thou shalt be a tiller of the ground and die at last--for from it was thou taken, and unto it shall thou return.'
Ere, however, this occurred the Holy One had compassion on him and permitted him to live and be buried in the vicinity of Paradise; for Adam had discovered a cave (the womb of Eve, Havah הוה) from which emitted a light which he recognized as coming from out of the garden of Eden; and there he, along with his wife, lived and died. Observe that no one goes out of the world without seeing immediately after death his ancestor Adam, who seeks to know the cause of his decease and what his moral and spiritual state to which he has attained. Then says the deceased one; Woe unto thee, for thou art the cause wherefore I have ceased to live; to which Adam replies: I transgressed but one only of the commandments and suffered therefrom, but what must be thy punishment who hast broken so many by thy misdeeds."
Said Rabbi Hiya: "Adam was seen on different occasions by the patriarchs, to whom he confessed and acknowledged his sin and showed them the place (the womb of Eve, Havah הוה) where he had enjoyed the divine light and glory from on high and also where his descendants, the righteous, and those who obeyed the Good Law, through their good deeds now live the diviner life in the garden of the celestial Eden. Then praised they the Lord and said:
“How excellent is thy compassion, O Elohim! therefore the children of Adam put their trust under the shadow (Satan ש-טית-ן) of thy (יונה Jonah's) wings" – Psalm 36: 7" - Zohar
“An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign. Yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah (יונה), because just as Jonah (יונה) was in the stomach of the sea creature for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look—something greater than Jonah (יונה) is here! The queen of the south will stand up and condemn the people living today, because she came from so far away to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But look! Something greater than Solomon is here!” – Matthew 12: 38-42