Chasidut zu Ijow 38:47

Numbers 30,3. “when a man utters a vow, etc.;”
In ‎a book called Shaarey Orah, (a kabbalistic volume by ‎Rabbi Joseph ben Avraham Giktalia, earliest printing 17th cent.) ‎the word ‎נדר‎ is broken down into ‎נון דר‎, the letter ‎נ‎ referring to ‎Israel’s faith in G’d, Who in turn supervises our fate in all His ‎Mercy at all times and wherever we are, not abandoning us for ‎even a second. When this letter is found in the Torah written in ‎an inverted form, as in Numbers 10,35 or in Job 38,1, it points to ‎G’d’s supervision of the various parts of His universe. While the ‎letter ‎נ‎ in that verse in Job is not inverted but rather is a final ‎letter in the middle of a word, our sages in Nedarim 8 concluded ‎that a vow applies even to the promise to perform a ‎commandment when it is the result of the person making this ‎vow having experienced proof of G’d’s supervising His universe. ‎On such an occasion the person who has had this religious ‎experience decides to abstain even from matters which-as far as ‎the Torah is concerned- he is within his rights to enjoy.‎
‎[In order to understand this, it is necessary to ‎remember that the vows discussed in the Torah and the Talmud ‎involve use of the name of G’d, something severely punished ‎when used in vain, as per the third of the 10 Commandments. ‎Although the Talmud in Nedarim uses a verse from psalms ‎as the justification, our author feels that the remarks by the ‎author of the book ‎שערי אורה‎ reinforce what we have learned in ‎the Talmud. Ed.]‎

"These are the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Pact, etc." For it is known that Torah is the names of the Holy Blessed One. The Name of the The Blessed One is, "Was, Is, and Will Be - Eternal, Alive, Everlasting for Eternity." And Torah is also this. So what does it mean that this was the time that the Tabernacle was made and what does it teach us about the path today? The Torah should be read in order to teach us to way we should go. Surely at every time and season the Torah is clothed for the needs of that particular time and season. There are those who say: God created the world for the sake of the Torah which is called (Proverbs 8:22) “The beginning (ראשית) of His (God’s) way”, and for the sake of Israel who are called (Jeremiah 2:3) “The beginning (ראשית) of His (God’s) increase’." This is explained by way of a parable: A King who has wise children, capable of running the kingdom bring the King more satisfaction and joy than if he were to run the kingdom himself. We are the children of the Ever-Present, and this explains the phrase "No good comes to the world except through Israel." (Israel) makes a path to bring down the abundant flow to the lower realms. This is "Ascribe might to God, whose majesty is over Israel" (Psalm 68:35) Israel adds strength to the Entourage of Above, and the Angels do not sing praises above until Israel is singing them below. "When the morning stars sang together and all the divine beings shouted for joy" (Job 38:7). Israel is likened to the stars, and thus aroused all of the Heavenly beings there. This is the intention of the Creator that created all that is found because of Torah and because of Israel. The content of this intention of the Holy Blessed One was that each person of Israel would be a "Tabernacle" of the Holy Blessed One. As it is written (Exodus 25:8) "Make for me a Sanctuary and I will dwell within them. Within "it" is not written, rather, I will dwell within the children of Israel. "The Temple of the Lord, the temple of Lord are these. (Jeremiah 7:4). But isn't it impossible for a person to be a Tabernacle of Hashem while the Evil Inclination is within a person? "The couch is too short for stretching out" (Isaiah 28:20). )(Rabbi Yonatan) said: This bed is too short for two counterparts. (Yoma 9b) Thus it is said "Turn from evil" (Psalm 34:15) That a person should burn the evil from within him and thus it could be that Hashem Baruch Hu who is called, "The Lord is good to all" (Psalm 145:9) will reside inside of the person. This happens after a person fulfills "Turn from evil" and thus makes the repair that the "Good of the Lord" will be within you. “All the end-times have passed, and the matter [now] depends only on teshuvah” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97b). And what is teshuvah? For when a person was in his mother’s belly, God’s “candle burned over his head, and he saw from one end of the world to the other… and they taught him the entire Torah” (Niddah 30b); for he was a dwelling-place [mishkan] for Blessed God, and this is [the meaning of] the candle that was over his head. But after he came out of his mother’s belly sin crouches at the door (Gen. 4:7), and an angel comes and slaps him on the mouth and makes him forget so that he will have free will, so he will have reward and punishment. And a person must do teshuvah to bring God back to him as at the beginning. And this is [the meaning of] Then the LORD your God will turn back to your captives (Deut. 30:3) – it does not say “return,” but rather “turn back to,” meaning that after the teshuvah Blessed God will return to dwell [lishkone] within the person. Now, the essence of teshuvah is abandoning sin with a full heart and regret. For what is written in the Books, that fasts correct sin, is because it is impossible for him truly to abandon the sin and truly regret until after he has afflicted himself; and then his uncircumcised heart will surrender and he will be able to regret and abandon the sin truly. And the root of the matter lies in the human’s being created by God’s Word. And he is called “engraving” on account of his being surely hewn in supernal holiness. Now, when a person sins he is made into a corpse; for on account of the sin, Blessed God’s life-force left him. But after verbal confession, along the lines of (incomplete)*

Our subject is explained by the Holy Ra’avad³¹⁸Twelfth century talmudist and kabbalist, Rabbi Avraham ben David of Posquieres. in his introduction to the Sefer Yetsira³¹⁹Hayim Vital (Introduction, Ets Hayim) states that this work was not actually written by the Ra’avad, but by another sage. Nonetheless, it is an authentic and trustworthy work of Kabbalah. where he explains the concept of the Fifty Gates of Binah. He says, “It is the contention of the philosophers that substance cannot come into being from nothing, but rather can only be created from a similar substance. It is our view, and the view of the Torah, that the world was created ex-nihilo. Based on this, the heretics ask us their impudent questions, for the world must now be understood in one of two ways. Either there was some primordial substance out of which God created the world (a view hinted at in Bereshit Rabbah, Chapter One, that God is a “Painter,” who found lovely paints, namely “chaos and void and darkness³²⁰See the second verse in the Torah. “), or that there was no material at all before the world’s creation, only the Cause of all Causes, God Himself. Now, the assertion that there was something that existed eternally, other than God, is a purely heretical notion. Yet, if we say that nothing existed – that God created His world out of His own essence – it means that His essence took on a physical form.³²¹This is an equally heretical statement. Concerning this mystery, God responds by saying (Iyov, 38:4), ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world? Tell me, if you possess understanding!’ Meaning, the world came into existence through the power of Hokhmah – Wisdom, and the power of Binah – Understanding. One can further ask, ‘Why was the world created with this exact measurement, no more or less?’ And, ‘How did a finite world consisting of substances with specific dimensions come forth from a power that is immeasurable by definition?’ Concerning these questions, God answers (Iyov, 38:5), ‘Who determined its measurements, do you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it?’ The inquirer can further raise the question, ‘Can the basic qualities of creation become opposite of their nature, or not? And if you say that it is possible,³²²The Ra’avad does not address the opposite possibility, that the basic qualities of creation cannot become opposite of their nature. Perhaps to do so would attribute to them a degree of necessary existence, which contradicts the principle of creation ex nihilo. then we may ask, seeing as there are four qualities – hot, wet, cold, and dry – from whence were they created? If they were created out of the very first Cause of all Causes, then how could this Primal Cause contain these opposite qualities? And if you say that the Primal Cause is a simple unity, then from were are these qualities and their opposites derived?’ In response to this, God says (Iyov, 38:6), “Upon what (mah) are its foundations fastened?” (Referring to the elementary materials of nature, which are garments for the foundation of Divine Sovereignty – Malkhut Shamayim.) The verse uses the words, “Upon what,” as a coded way of saying, “Upon Hokhmah – Wisdom, which is called ‘mah.’”³²³The sefirah of Hokhmah refers to a level of reality in which the entire creation exists as a single point of potential, before it unfolds in a downward process of expansion and formation. This is alluded to by very word Hokhmah, which can be divided into two words: ko’ah mah (כח מה) – the “potential” for “what is.” Nature’s foundations are fastened upon God’s Wisdom, which can contain all of these contradictory qualities, just as the Hiyuli³²⁴The Hiyuli is the primordial, formless substance of creation, which preceded the physical elements. The Ramban writes, “The heavens and all that is within them is one substance. And the earth and all that is within it is one substance. God created both of them out of non-existence. Only these two were created, and everything was made out of them. This substance is called the Hiyuli. In Hebrew it is called tohu – ‘formless matter.’” can contain the simple elements of creation. The heretics believe that it is impossible for material (homer) to exist without retaining some sort of form (tsura), or homer without tsura. Yet according to the Torah “Hokhma – Wisdom comes forth from nothing (Iyov, 28:12),”³²⁵Literally, the verse reads, “Wisdom, from whence is it found?” Interpreted Kabbalistically, however, the word “from whence” – m’ayin – is understood to refer to the highest sefirah of Keter, also called Ayin, “nothingness”; that is, the Divine “No-thingness” that precedes the creation. It is from here that the sefirah of Hokhmah emerges – m’ayin. In terms of the author’s discussion, Hokhmah is understand to be the pure, formless potential for creation, emanating out of Keter. Thus, it has the potential to hold all opposites, for it is only in Binah that reality attains a level of form and division. (Recall the discussion in the previous chapter, the Ben Zoma perceived the supernal traits only in their root in Binah, where they still maintained their independent forms, and not in Hokhmah, where they were united and absorbed in their root.”) and Binah – Understanding is its form. This is the matter explained above, through which one can well understand the teaching of the Ra’avad. For according to man’s limited understanding, there is neither matter without form, nor form without matter. Either the creation can not exist, or it exists through one of the two, erroneous conjectures provided by the philosopher, quoted by the Ra’avad. However, the man of perfect faith knows that his own intellect and knowledge are entities created by God, and he sees that his own intellectual conception of that which is possible and that which is impossible is only a veil of the limited human consciousness, which was created in order to establish a separation between the lower, human realm and the upper, Godly realm. God is one simple and absolute unity. All perception of division is only a product of the veil of creation.

Our subject is explained by the Holy Ra’avad³¹⁸Twelfth century talmudist and kabbalist, Rabbi Avraham ben David of Posquieres. in his introduction to the Sefer Yetsira³¹⁹Hayim Vital (Introduction, Ets Hayim) states that this work was not actually written by the Ra’avad, but by another sage. Nonetheless, it is an authentic and trustworthy work of Kabbalah. where he explains the concept of the Fifty Gates of Binah. He says, “It is the contention of the philosophers that substance cannot come into being from nothing, but rather can only be created from a similar substance. It is our view, and the view of the Torah, that the world was created ex-nihilo. Based on this, the heretics ask us their impudent questions, for the world must now be understood in one of two ways. Either there was some primordial substance out of which God created the world (a view hinted at in Bereshit Rabbah, Chapter One, that God is a “Painter,” who found lovely paints, namely “chaos and void and darkness³²⁰See the second verse in the Torah. “), or that there was no material at all before the world’s creation, only the Cause of all Causes, God Himself. Now, the assertion that there was something that existed eternally, other than God, is a purely heretical notion. Yet, if we say that nothing existed – that God created His world out of His own essence – it means that His essence took on a physical form.³²¹This is an equally heretical statement. Concerning this mystery, God responds by saying (Iyov, 38:4), ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world? Tell me, if you possess understanding!’ Meaning, the world came into existence through the power of Hokhmah – Wisdom, and the power of Binah – Understanding. One can further ask, ‘Why was the world created with this exact measurement, no more or less?’ And, ‘How did a finite world consisting of substances with specific dimensions come forth from a power that is immeasurable by definition?’ Concerning these questions, God answers (Iyov, 38:5), ‘Who determined its measurements, do you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it?’ The inquirer can further raise the question, ‘Can the basic qualities of creation become opposite of their nature, or not? And if you say that it is possible,³²²The Ra’avad does not address the opposite possibility, that the basic qualities of creation cannot become opposite of their nature. Perhaps to do so would attribute to them a degree of necessary existence, which contradicts the principle of creation ex nihilo. then we may ask, seeing as there are four qualities – hot, wet, cold, and dry – from whence were they created? If they were created out of the very first Cause of all Causes, then how could this Primal Cause contain these opposite qualities? And if you say that the Primal Cause is a simple unity, then from were are these qualities and their opposites derived?’ In response to this, God says (Iyov, 38:6), “Upon what (mah) are its foundations fastened?” (Referring to the elementary materials of nature, which are garments for the foundation of Divine Sovereignty – Malkhut Shamayim.) The verse uses the words, “Upon what,” as a coded way of saying, “Upon Hokhmah – Wisdom, which is called ‘mah.’”³²³The sefirah of Hokhmah refers to a level of reality in which the entire creation exists as a single point of potential, before it unfolds in a downward process of expansion and formation. This is alluded to by very word Hokhmah, which can be divided into two words: ko’ah mah (כח מה) – the “potential” for “what is.” Nature’s foundations are fastened upon God’s Wisdom, which can contain all of these contradictory qualities, just as the Hiyuli³²⁴The Hiyuli is the primordial, formless substance of creation, which preceded the physical elements. The Ramban writes, “The heavens and all that is within them is one substance. And the earth and all that is within it is one substance. God created both of them out of non-existence. Only these two were created, and everything was made out of them. This substance is called the Hiyuli. In Hebrew it is called tohu – ‘formless matter.’” can contain the simple elements of creation. The heretics believe that it is impossible for material (homer) to exist without retaining some sort of form (tsura), or homer without tsura. Yet according to the Torah “Hokhma – Wisdom comes forth from nothing (Iyov, 28:12),”³²⁵Literally, the verse reads, “Wisdom, from whence is it found?” Interpreted Kabbalistically, however, the word “from whence” – m’ayin – is understood to refer to the highest sefirah of Keter, also called Ayin, “nothingness”; that is, the Divine “No-thingness” that precedes the creation. It is from here that the sefirah of Hokhmah emerges – m’ayin. In terms of the author’s discussion, Hokhmah is understand to be the pure, formless potential for creation, emanating out of Keter. Thus, it has the potential to hold all opposites, for it is only in Binah that reality attains a level of form and division. (Recall the discussion in the previous chapter, the Ben Zoma perceived the supernal traits only in their root in Binah, where they still maintained their independent forms, and not in Hokhmah, where they were united and absorbed in their root.”) and Binah – Understanding is its form. This is the matter explained above, through which one can well understand the teaching of the Ra’avad. For according to man’s limited understanding, there is neither matter without form, nor form without matter. Either the creation can not exist, or it exists through one of the two, erroneous conjectures provided by the philosopher, quoted by the Ra’avad. However, the man of perfect faith knows that his own intellect and knowledge are entities created by God, and he sees that his own intellectual conception of that which is possible and that which is impossible is only a veil of the limited human consciousness, which was created in order to establish a separation between the lower, human realm and the upper, Godly realm. God is one simple and absolute unity. All perception of division is only a product of the veil of creation.

Our subject is explained by the Holy Ra’avad³¹⁸Twelfth century talmudist and kabbalist, Rabbi Avraham ben David of Posquieres. in his introduction to the Sefer Yetsira³¹⁹Hayim Vital (Introduction, Ets Hayim) states that this work was not actually written by the Ra’avad, but by another sage. Nonetheless, it is an authentic and trustworthy work of Kabbalah. where he explains the concept of the Fifty Gates of Binah. He says, “It is the contention of the philosophers that substance cannot come into being from nothing, but rather can only be created from a similar substance. It is our view, and the view of the Torah, that the world was created ex-nihilo. Based on this, the heretics ask us their impudent questions, for the world must now be understood in one of two ways. Either there was some primordial substance out of which God created the world (a view hinted at in Bereshit Rabbah, Chapter One, that God is a “Painter,” who found lovely paints, namely “chaos and void and darkness³²⁰See the second verse in the Torah. “), or that there was no material at all before the world’s creation, only the Cause of all Causes, God Himself. Now, the assertion that there was something that existed eternally, other than God, is a purely heretical notion. Yet, if we say that nothing existed – that God created His world out of His own essence – it means that His essence took on a physical form.³²¹This is an equally heretical statement. Concerning this mystery, God responds by saying (Iyov, 38:4), ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world? Tell me, if you possess understanding!’ Meaning, the world came into existence through the power of Hokhmah – Wisdom, and the power of Binah – Understanding. One can further ask, ‘Why was the world created with this exact measurement, no more or less?’ And, ‘How did a finite world consisting of substances with specific dimensions come forth from a power that is immeasurable by definition?’ Concerning these questions, God answers (Iyov, 38:5), ‘Who determined its measurements, do you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it?’ The inquirer can further raise the question, ‘Can the basic qualities of creation become opposite of their nature, or not? And if you say that it is possible,³²²The Ra’avad does not address the opposite possibility, that the basic qualities of creation cannot become opposite of their nature. Perhaps to do so would attribute to them a degree of necessary existence, which contradicts the principle of creation ex nihilo. then we may ask, seeing as there are four qualities – hot, wet, cold, and dry – from whence were they created? If they were created out of the very first Cause of all Causes, then how could this Primal Cause contain these opposite qualities? And if you say that the Primal Cause is a simple unity, then from were are these qualities and their opposites derived?’ In response to this, God says (Iyov, 38:6), “Upon what (mah) are its foundations fastened?” (Referring to the elementary materials of nature, which are garments for the foundation of Divine Sovereignty – Malkhut Shamayim.) The verse uses the words, “Upon what,” as a coded way of saying, “Upon Hokhmah – Wisdom, which is called ‘mah.’”³²³The sefirah of Hokhmah refers to a level of reality in which the entire creation exists as a single point of potential, before it unfolds in a downward process of expansion and formation. This is alluded to by very word Hokhmah, which can be divided into two words: ko’ah mah (כח מה) – the “potential” for “what is.” Nature’s foundations are fastened upon God’s Wisdom, which can contain all of these contradictory qualities, just as the Hiyuli³²⁴The Hiyuli is the primordial, formless substance of creation, which preceded the physical elements. The Ramban writes, “The heavens and all that is within them is one substance. And the earth and all that is within it is one substance. God created both of them out of non-existence. Only these two were created, and everything was made out of them. This substance is called the Hiyuli. In Hebrew it is called tohu – ‘formless matter.’” can contain the simple elements of creation. The heretics believe that it is impossible for material (homer) to exist without retaining some sort of form (tsura), or homer without tsura. Yet according to the Torah “Hokhma – Wisdom comes forth from nothing (Iyov, 28:12),”³²⁵Literally, the verse reads, “Wisdom, from whence is it found?” Interpreted Kabbalistically, however, the word “from whence” – m’ayin – is understood to refer to the highest sefirah of Keter, also called Ayin, “nothingness”; that is, the Divine “No-thingness” that precedes the creation. It is from here that the sefirah of Hokhmah emerges – m’ayin. In terms of the author’s discussion, Hokhmah is understand to be the pure, formless potential for creation, emanating out of Keter. Thus, it has the potential to hold all opposites, for it is only in Binah that reality attains a level of form and division. (Recall the discussion in the previous chapter, the Ben Zoma perceived the supernal traits only in their root in Binah, where they still maintained their independent forms, and not in Hokhmah, where they were united and absorbed in their root.”) and Binah – Understanding is its form. This is the matter explained above, through which one can well understand the teaching of the Ra’avad. For according to man’s limited understanding, there is neither matter without form, nor form without matter. Either the creation can not exist, or it exists through one of the two, erroneous conjectures provided by the philosopher, quoted by the Ra’avad. However, the man of perfect faith knows that his own intellect and knowledge are entities created by God, and he sees that his own intellectual conception of that which is possible and that which is impossible is only a veil of the limited human consciousness, which was created in order to establish a separation between the lower, human realm and the upper, Godly realm. God is one simple and absolute unity. All perception of division is only a product of the veil of creation.