Genesis 3:5

To interpret this verse from a broader perspective, it is worth starting by reflecting on the numerical values that gematria assigns to the words: אֱלֹהִ ים (Elohim): Numerical value 86, טוֹב (Tov, Good): Numerical value 17, רָּ ע (Ra, Evil): Numerical value 270, and עֵינֵיכֶם (Eineikhem, Your eyes): Numerical value 346. Thanks to the equivalents that these figures provide, we can analyze other expressions with the same gematric value, which are fundamental for understanding the Biblical teaching.

Our current consciousness is dual because it was nourished by the forbidden tree, which causes our views on life to contain that transgression that cannot fully integrate with divine order. This duality is the central axis of our life perspectives, which is why our free will constantly struggles with these forces to achieve balance.

The concept of "עֵינֵיכֶם " (Eineikhem, "your eyes") leads us to understand that we must go beyond our senses to open our perception, not to the reflection of sunlight, but to the divine light, the primary source that makes all the stars reflect it. This spiritual opening to the dualities of good and evil, which had not been experienced until that seed was introduced into us, generated a transformation and even an involution that we must repair today.

To return to divine harmony, being part of the balance of all forces, "אֱלֹהִ ים " (Elohim) we must consume the fruit from the Tree of Life, which is now guarded by cherubim, until our return, guided by our Messiah, who is the only one who can help us overcome the influence of these electromagnetic fields that pollute our will and lead us to perceive the complexity of creation, these dual forces, but not the nature of divine justice.

The gematric value of "עֵינֵיכֶם" (346) leads us to the root "ענן" (Anan, cloud), which has a value of 120, to accept that state of confusion or concealment, which contains a gradual revelation, as long as we do not continue inclining towards perceptions that distance us from Him and take away the clarity necessary to attend to and understand Him.

And although we could continue taking other references from gematria and its symbolism, so that with the word "אֱלֹהִ ים" with a value of 86, which can be broken down into 8 (chet) and 6 (vav), we associate these concepts with other terms like life (chai), it is important to understand that our sensory bias, which keeps us trapped in the knowledge of good and evil, can lead us to an opening through a more intimate connection, where we also envision the consequences of our decisions, always considering our relationship with the divine.

When their eyes were opened, Adam and Eve not only acquired the ability to discern, but they also assumed responsibility for their actions. This dual knowledge of good and evil is both a gift and a burden, allowing us to participate in designing our destiny, while also exposing us to the consequences of disobedience. Thus, it depends on us whether we draw closer to or move away from unity with the divine.

Kabbalah understands that before sin, human beings lived in a higher state of consciousness, called "mochin de gadlut" (expanded intellect), where spiritual perception was direct, where the physical senses did not dominate experience, since human beings saw reality from a divine perspective, without duality, without shame, without ego.

The body was not an object of desire or concealment, but a luminous vessel. But when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their conscience fell: perception opened to the world of duality. Shame, the separate self, and the judgment between "good" and "evil" appeared. The body was seen as something "other," and the perception of concealment (הסתר – hester) was born.

עֵינַיִם (einaim – eyes). Gematria of עֵינַיִם =170. This is the same value as the word עץ (etz – tree) + טוב (tov – good): עץ =160 ,טוב =9, Total = 169 (very close to 170, and with a minimal symbolic difference, like a "veil"). This suggests that when the eyes were opened, what was perceived was the limited, fragmented good. The perception of the Whole was still lacking.

The Zohar (Beresheet, vol. 1) teaches that before the sin: "Adam saw from one end of the world to the other"—that is, his spiritual vision encompassed all of reality, even the higher spheres (Olamot Elyonim). After the sin: The light of the spiritual eyes was darkened. They no longer clearly perceive divine emanations. They are limited to what we now call sensorial reality. The Zohar says that the serpent introduced a form of “mixture” (tov vea – good and evil), and that mixture clouded the spiritual lens.

In Kabbalah, knowing (ידע) is an act of fusion: it unites subject and object. But after the sin, “knowledge” became external, divided. Instead of being direct wisdom (da’at elyon), it became da’at tachton, that is, knowledge “from below.” Thus began the reign of the klipah (shell): an external reality that hides the inner light.

Before the sin: The body was full of light. It was not perceived as “other” that needed to be hidden. Sexual energy was completely aligned with Divinity. After: Consciousness fragments. The light withdraws. Sexuality becomes an ambivalent force: capable of connecting with the divine, but also with selfish desire. This is why they "realize they are naked" → the awareness of the ego, of the separate self, of desire as something personal, awakens.

When "their eyes were opened," it was not a gain, but a fall: they passed from the unitary and luminous perception of the Ein Sof (Divine Infinity) to a dual, fragmented, and sensorial perception. What we call "reality" today is largely an illusion, constructed by the senses and the fallen mind. Spiritual work, according to Kabbalah, is to close those "eyes of judgment" and open the "eyes of the soul."