“A certain man once gave his slave to his friend to teach him a thousand different ways of making pap (various foods), but he taught him eight hundred. So he summoned him to a lawsuit before the rabbi. The rabbi said, ‘Our fathers said, ‘We have forgotten the good,’’” (meaning they already saw, but now they have forgotten, “but we have never even seen the good!”) (Nedarim 50b).
We should ask, Were our fathers so immersed in worldly lusts that Rabbi said, “We have forgotten the good, but we have never even seen it”?
We should interpret that “thousand” pertains to Hochma [wisdom], as in “I will teach you wisdom.” “Eight hundred” means Bina, as it is written, “The days of Bina, eight days,” and the Sefirot of Bina are hundreds, meaning Mochin de Neshama.
“That man who gave his slave” means that he gave himself to be a servant of the Creator, for “his friend” means “Your friend and your father’s friend,” that the Creator will give him Mochin de Hochma. Yet, he was rewarded with only Mochin de Neshama, which is Bina, and “hundreds” implies eight.
Rabbi said about this, “Our fathers said, ‘We have forgotten the good.’” That is, at the time of the Temple, there was Mochin de Hochma, called “the moon in its fullness.” But after the ruin of the Temple, the Mochin de Hochma departed. This is why he said, “We did not see with our eyes,” meaning vision, called Mochin de Hochma.