“Had Adam not sinned, his body would have been pure; it would have been perfected in an instant” (Ramchal’s comments to Petach 41). Body and soul would have joined in blissful combination right there and then, and that would have been it [1]. But having been granted the will to do as he saw fit, Adam — along with Eve — erred, and as a result body and soul were wrenched apart, and perfection needed to be fought for and won by us, their progeny.
Note:
[1] See Derech Hashem 1:3-5-8; Da’at Tevunot 40; Da’at Tevunot 2, p. 64 (also see p. 35 there); and Adir Bamarom 2, p. 32.
(c) 2012 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org
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