אלשיך — נעשה אדם / וירדו בדגת הים

Q — Was man really created just to be a fisherman, herdsman, and ruler of creeping things? Why does the Torah describe his entire purpose as ruling 'over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky'?

A — The Alshich answers that man is composed of all four worlds — body from the lowest physical world, nefesh from the world of the galgalim, ruach from the world of angels, and neshama from the upper world. His function is to draw shefa down through every level of creation. 'וירדו בדגת הים' is not about hunting fish; it expresses that the influence of the three upper worlds present within him reaches all the way down to the lowest yesodot (water, air, earth). Without man as the connector, no shefa from above could reach the lowest matter. The plural 'נעשה אדם' is God addressing all four worlds together — for only their combination can produce an adam capable of unifying them through avodat Hashem and Torah.