זוהר ויקרא — דף מח ע”א

We learned: at how many levels is the son of man called? Adam, Gever, Enosh, Ish. The greatest of all is Adam, for it is written "God created man in His image," and it is written "for in the image of God He made man" — and it is not written Gever, Enosh, or Ish. Rabbi Yehuda asked: if so, is it not written "a man (Adam), when he brings from among you an offering to the Lord"? So it is specifically in the matter of the offering that the one who offers it is called "Adam," and not "Gever" or "Ish." The answer: who needs to bring an offering? One who is a sinner — and so it is written Adam.<br />
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Rabbi Yitzchak said: the sustaining of the world, of upper and lower beings, is the offering, the satisfaction of the Holy One, blessed be He. And who is fit to offer Him this satisfaction? It is Adam, who is more precious than all. It was then asked: if so, behold it is written "a man (Adam), when there shall be on the skin of his flesh etc., and there shall be on the skin of his flesh a plague of leprosy" — how does this fit the greatness of man? The answer: it is precisely this one whom the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to purify more than all, for one who is at the highest level of all should not remain so — it is precisely because of man's greatness that the affliction upon him demands immediate and careful attention.<br />
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And therefore it is written concerning man: "he shall be brought to the priest" — it is not written "he shall come," but "he shall be brought," for whoever sees him is obligated to bring him before the priest, since the holy image must not remain so. Yet it is written "a man or a woman, when there is in them a plague etc.," and "a man or a woman, when there shall be on the skin of their flesh bright spots etc." — and it is not written of them "he shall be brought," for this communal obligation is stated only in regard to "Adam."<br />
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It was asked further: is it not written "and the man Moses," "for this Moses, the man" — why is he not called Adam? The answer: because he is called servant of the King, as it is written "not so is My servant Moses," and it is written "Moses, My servant" — and so too he is called "man" (Ish) in relation to the Adam above. It was asked again: if so, is it not written "the Lord is a man of war," and not Adam? The answer: "the secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him" — to which the questioner humbly replied: if so, among them I have been seated in everything, but in this place I have not merited.<br />
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He was then told: go to Rabbi Abba, for it was from him that I learned this, on condition that it not be revealed. He went to Rabbi Abba, and found him teaching and saying: "when is the perfection above called"? — "when the Holy One, blessed be He, sits upon the throne, and until He sits upon the throne, perfection is not found" — for it is written "and above the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man (Adam), upon it from above." This implies that it is written Adam, who is the totality and the perfection of all. Rabbi Yehuda said: "blessed is the Merciful One that I found you in this!" And he again posed his question about "the Lord is a man of war," and Rabbi Abba answered: "well have you asked."<br />
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Come and see: there, the perfection of the whole was not found, and therefore he is called "man" (Ish). But here, it is the perfection of the whole and the totality of the whole, and therefore he is called Adam. Of this it was proclaimed: "Your Torah's teaching is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces."<br />
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It was further said: it is written "man and beast" (Adam and behema), and not "man (Ish) and beast." The answer: "is that not so?! Is it not written (Exodus 11) from man to beast"! But what is written "Adam and beast" is in the manner of what is written "from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall" — this is the way of Scripture, to take the highest of all and the lowest of all. Here too, the highest of all is Adam, and the lowest of all is the beast.<br />
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It was asked further: is it not written "and there was no man (Adam) to work the ground"? The answer: come and see that everything in the world exists only for the sake of man, and everything endures for his sake and is not seen in the world, and everything waited until the one called Adam would come. This is what is written "and every plant of the field was not yet on the earth etc." — "not yet": meaning "not until," according to its Aramaic translation, because the upper likeness had not yet appeared. This is what is written "and Adam was not" — that is, everything waited, for the sake of this image, until it appeared.<br />
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And therefore this image did not appear except in the form fitting for it. This is what is written "and the Lord God formed man (Adam)," with the full Name — as we have explained, for he is the perfection of all and the totality of all.<br />
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We learned: on the sixth day Adam was created, at the hour when the throne was completed. And it is called a throne, for it is written "six steps to the throne" — and therefore man was created on the sixth day, for he is fit to sit upon the throne. And we learned: once Adam was created, everything was established, all that is above and below, and everything was included in Adam.<br />
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We learned, Rabbi Yossei said: it is written "and the likeness of their faces was the face of a man (Adam)" — the totality of all, and all are included in this image. Rabbi Yehuda asked: is it not written "and the face of a lion on the right for the four of them, and the face of an ox on the left for the four of them"? The answer: all of them were faces of man, and within that same image of man all the colors and all the likenesses are seen. As we learned: "his face is the face of an eagle" — not that he is an eagle, but that he appears in the image of man, because it includes all the colors and all the likenesses.<br />