Behold, it is established in halakhah that for all blessings which the Sages instituted over specific things—even though the blessing Shehakol Nihyah Bidvaro (“By Whose word all came to be”) is a general blessing—nonetheless, for any item of significance, the Sages instituted a specific blessing: “fruit of the ground,” “fruit of the tree,” “fruit of the vine,” and so forth. And behold, it is a rule that fruits only retain their distinct blessings when they remain in their original form. But if they change from their original state and their original form is no longer recognizable, they are considered downgraded in status, and their specific blessings are lost—defaulting instead to Shehakol. However, this is not the case with grain and grapes: when these change from their original form, they are actually elevated in status. Through this transformation, they are raised to a higher level and receive more specific and elevated blessings: “Hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz” (“Who brings forth bread from the earth”) for grain, and “Borei p'ri hagafen” (“Creator of the fruit of the vine”) for grapes.This idea can help us understand the words of the prophet: “Those who sit in His shade shall return [in repentance]” (Hosea 14:8). That is, they dwell in the “shade of faith”—in the sukkah’s shadow—during the time of teshuvah(repentance) from love. Through this, they are transformed for the better, becoming enhanced with goodness and blessing.Therefore:“They shall revive like grain and blossom like the vine.”These two (grain and vine) are alike in that their transformation leads to an increase in elevation. So too, repentance out of love transforms intentional sins into merits—her commerce and her hire become holiness.Understand these things well.

“The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of hide [or], and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). In Rabbi Meir’s Torah, they found that “garments of or [light]” was written. These are the garments of Adam the first man, that were similar to the common rue, broad at the bottom and narrow at the top.
Rabbi Yitzḥak Ravya says: They were as smooth as a fingernail and as pretty as jewels. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It was like the thin linen garments that come from Beit She’an. [And they were called] garments of hide because they adhered to the skin. Rabbi Elazar said: Goat hides. Rabbi Aivu said: Garments that cover the skin. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Hare hides. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: Hides with their wool. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: Radiant hides [revealing + concealing]. And the firstborn sons would use them.Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: They were camel wool and hare wool. [And they were called] “garments of hide” because they were garments that come from hide.
Rabbi Levi said: The Torah teaches you proper conduct: Eat according to your means, wear clothing that is less than your means, and dwell in a place that is more than your means. Eat according to your means – “From every tree of the garden you may eat” (Genesis 2:16). Wear clothing that is less than your means –“The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife [garments of hide].” And dwell in a place that is more than your means – as two people resided in the entire world.

Elijah the prophet, Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah the Gil'adite. May he come soon to us with the Messiah, son of David.

Behold, you will see that all the senses are mentioned in connection with the sin of Adam and Eve, for each of them was involved in the transgression:“The woman saw...” — the sense of sight“She took from its fruit” — the sense of touch“She ate” — the sense of taste“They heard...” — the sense of hearingBut the sense of smell is not mentioned in that episode.From this we can infer that the sense of smell was not damaged in the same way as the other senses, for it was not used in the sin. Therefore, to this day, the sense of smell is spiritual—it is the soul, and not the body, that derives pleasure from it.

This explains the question raised in the Talmud (Berakhot 43b): “From where do we know that we bless over fragrances?” The verse cited is “Let every soul (neshamah) praise God” (Psalms 150:6). What is it that the soul enjoys but not the body? It is fragrance.Now this is wondrous to me. After all, the Sages generally said, “It is forbidden to benefit from this world without a blessing.” This rule is derived logically and then supported by verses such as “The earth and its fullness belong to God”(before a blessing), and “The earth He gave to humanity” (after a blessing). So why do we need a special derivation just for fragrance?If anything, we should ask the opposite question: why are there things we don’t bless over—like hearing beautiful music? Or, as later commentators ask, why isn’t there a blessing for the enjoyment of sexual intimacy?To me, the answer lies in the purpose of a blessing, which is to elevate and separate good from evil—a spiritual refinement. This is a continuation of the great mixture of good and evil that entered creation through the sin of Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge.Since all the senses were used in that sin, each became spiritually entangled, and therefore each now contains a sacred potential for clarification and refinement.Let me explain this through the example of eating (and you can apply the logic to the other senses): When a person eats physical food, the good and refined parts are absorbed into the blood and provide life-force, while the waste and coarse parts are expelled. This is a process of separation and elevation.But since the sense of smell was not corrupted during that primal sin, it does not require this kind of clarification. That’s why you’ll find that smell doesn't involve a process of bodily separation or waste. It is a pleasure for the soul, which is eternal, and not for the perishable body.And because this enjoyment doesn’t require clarification, we might have assumed no blessing was needed for it. Therefore, the Sages had to teach explicitly that we do in fact bless over fragrances. Why? Because “Alongside the thorn grows the rose”—even things in this physical world (the world of Asiyah, of action) require some form of elevation, and so a blessing is still needed.From this, we also learn that the sense of smell was not significantly damaged by the sin of Adam and Eve. That is why, regarding the Messiah, it is said that he will judge by the sense of smell—“He shall smell in the fear of the Lord”(Isaiah 11:3). This is the activity of the nose, which is the domain of the soul, which endures forever.This also explains the custom of smelling spices on Motza’ei Shabbat (Saturday night). According to the teachings about the Melaveh Malkah meal (the escorting of the Queen), the early sages said that from this meal the Luz bone(which will be used in the resurrection) derives nourishment. This bone, it is said, never benefited from the Tree of Knowledge and is therefore indestructible.And now you can understand the saying: “One who wants their possessions to endure should plant an adar tree in them.”(This is a midrashic play on words.) The adar represents the nose—which is associated with smell, a sense tied to the soul, the enduring part of a person—not the body, which decays.Understand this matter well. I have only touched briefly on it here, and with God’s help, it will be explained more fully elsewhere.

“And this is [the meaning of the blessing] ‘Who creates the lights of the fire’—for they are in the act of Havdalah (separation): the letters Yod–Heh separating man and woman.After they sinned, it is written: ‘And the Eternal God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and clothed them’(Genesis 3:21).And this is [again the meaning of] ‘Who creates the lights of the fire’—[referring to] the woman.And this is the skin of the serpent, to be purified through that which he sinned.And because of this, the righteous, who guard the covenant, no longer return to their dust—for that [dust] is the skin, the hide of the serpent, which was created from the dust, as it is said: ‘And dust shall be the serpent’s food’ (Isaiah 65:25).”

And because of this, one who does not guard the covenant is judged with the chibbut ha-kever (the shaking/turmoil of the grave) in that very dust.And these are they whose bodies are their graves while they yet live—for every day the hours press upon them,and in their labors their blood is split beneath their fingernails.And because of this, it was established to show the fingernails at Havdalah.For Adam was clothed in garments of fingernails, which shone like clouds of glory.

And He is in separation from them, as it is written (Genesis 3:7), ‘And they knew that they were naked.’[They were naked] in body, and in soul, and in spirit, and in life-force (nefesh), naked of the garments of light, which are the lights of the fire.And because on Shabbat they are revealed to them through the lighting of the Shabbat lamp with its two wicks of fire,and at the departure of Shabbat they pass away from them, it was therefore established to say the Havdalah blessing over fire at the close of Shabbat.

And because on Shabbat and on the festivals the souls are clothed in garments of light,the prophet said (Isaiah 24:15): ‘Therefore, in the fires give honor to YHVH.’And the Rabbis explained: ‘Give Him honor with a clean garment.’Immediately upon these words being spoken, all the companions of the Academy prostrated themselves before Him,for there is no joy among them like the joy when a new secret of Torah is revealed in their midst.