“Thus shall you say to the house Jacob, and tell the children of Israel.” In the Midrash, “‘Thus shall you say’ are the women, tell them the abstract [summary]. ‘And tell the children of Israel,’ tell them the details of the matter, since they can hear. And why to the women? It is because they hurry with the Mitzvot [commandments].
“Another interpretation: They lead their sons to learn the Torah. Rabbi Tachlifa deKeisarin said, ‘When I created the world, I commanded only Adam HaRishon. Afterward, Eve was commanded, and she transgressed and corrupted the world. Now, if I do not call the women first, they will cancel the Torah. This is why it was said, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob.’’ And Rabbi Yochanan said, ‘‘The house of Jacob’ are the Sanhedrin, as was said, ‘House of Jacob, let us walk.’’”
We should interpret the above-said in the work. It is known that man consists of a quality of reception, called “woman,” and a quality of bestowal, called “man.”
When Adam HaRishon was created, the order of his creation was from above downward, meaning from Zach [fine] to Av [coarse], where first there was the quality of bestowal and then emerged the quality of reception in him. As is explained in The Zohar, Adam HaRishon did not have anything from this world, meaning that before the sin, he did not have the complete desire to receive.
Man has three souls, as is explained in the words of the ARI: 1) a Nefesh [soul] of Kedusha [holiness], which is a Kli [vessel] of holiness, 2) a Nefesh from the Kli of Noga, which is half and half, 3) a Nefesh of the three impure Klipot [shells/peels].
“Half and half” means that if a person performs a Mitzva [commandment], the second Nefesh connects to Kedusha. If he performs a transgression, she connects to the third Nefesh. Adam HaRishon was born circumcised, meaning he did not have the third Nefesh, and only by the sin was his foreskin pulled, meaning he extended upon himself the third Nefesh, called “this world.”
Hence, when the world was created, Adam HaRishon was commanded first because the order is from Zach to Av. But at the time of the giving of the Torah, when they already had the foreskin, which is filth extended from the serpent, one must begin from below upward, meaning from Av to Zach.
We should interpret Av in relation to the time of Katnut [smallness/infancy], for during the Katnut, which is the quality of Nukva [female], the will to receive has the governance. At that time, we must say that acceptance of Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] is regarded as a “soft saying.”