How does man acquire or become a part of a state of holiness? While it is true that a seed grows according to its kind with man it is only his physical growth that works from the ground upwards.
Spirituality, however, doesn’t work from the bottom up but rather works from the top down. In Parasha Ki Tisa we describe the elevation of holiness for the Tent of Meeting and the Ark of the Covenant via the special incense mentioned previously. The incense is used for annoiting basically an applied holiness if you will.
While man may partake of this holiness by association there is something else going on that is determined by man's initial relationship with Hashem-Elohim.
The action of Hashem-Elokim in connection with man is a deep mystery. We will explore this further.
Man represents a special circumstance in the arc of creation for it is not until shortly before man comes into being not just as a template of awareness but also as an actual being, a template of creation that Hashem Elokim is able to expresse itself fully. How does this happen?
Bereishis: 2: 4 These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.
A clue to what is happening is given by the phrase 'generations of the heaven and of the earth '(ToLDoS HaSHaMiM VHaAReTZ). It is at first Bereishis Bara Elokim that is used to describe this initial awakening of creation. Then everything that follows afterwards including the making of 'man in the image of' takes place due to the action of Elokim.
Creation expresses itself as a natural progression above and below, within and without until finally after generations of this same kind of process there is a significant change.
Gen: 2:6 but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
The earth is watered from within ascending and then settling on the ground. Essentially the waters below become the waters above reminiscent of Bereishis 1:6And God said: 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.'
Prior to this mist produced out of the earth itself everything that had been made resided as an image, an idea in the mind of Elokim, even up to the image of man described as just such an image. Even though man appears as image he does not appear as a formed being.
Gen: 2: 5 No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
It is only after man comes forth that there is something to tend to; notably Gan Eden.
Gen: 2: 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.
Man is formed (Yotzar) in this section and created (Bara) in the earlier section where he is made in the image of Elokim. So we have two levels of creation, Bara where Elokim envisions that which is to come to be and then Yotzar when Hashem-Elokim actualizes the creation into the formation of a thing. The results are the forms of plants, birds, animals, etc., and then man.
We seem to have three elements of interest; Elokim, Hashem, and man, however these three are all one thing. Here is how.
Hashem is hidden within Elokim, which is the instrument of creation while everything that is being envisioned is coming to be. Then when man is about to enter the picture Hashem appears in front of Elokim showing itself to be the leading edge not just of creation but of formation as well. The culmination as far as we are concerned with this creation-formation is man who turns out to be the image of Elokim and is therefore in every way an instrument of Hashem. Just as Hashem remains hidden inside of Elokim after a fashion until actualization takes place so too does Hashem reside within man after another fashion when there is action about to take place.
There is one more thing to add in order to punctuate this relationship between Hashem and Elokim. If you take the numerical value of the Elokim (86) we find that Hashem (26) plus Keli -vessel (60) equals (86) as well. What this is saying is that Elokim is the vessel of Hashem. Since man is made in the image of Elokim then man also is the vessel for Hashem expressing through him in connection and holiness while turning him (man) towards godliness.
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