Chasidut zu Jonah 1:3
וַיָּ֤קָם יוֹנָה֙ לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֑ה וַיֵּ֨רֶד יָפ֜וֹ וַיִּמְצָ֥א אָנִיָּ֣ה ׀ בָּאָ֣ה תַרְשִׁ֗ישׁ וַיִּתֵּ֨ן שְׂכָרָ֜הּ וַיֵּ֤רֶד בָּהּ֙ לָב֤וֹא עִמָּהֶם֙ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהוָֽה׃
Aber Jonas machte sich auf, vor dem Herrn nach Tarschisch zu fliehen. Er ging nach Jafo, wo er ein Schiff fand, das nach Tarschisch gehen sollte; da gab er den Fährlohn und bestieg es, um mit ihnen nach Tarschisch zu gehen, fort vor dem Herrn.
Sha'ar HaEmunah VeYesod HaChasidut
The Case of Yonah.
It is written in the Zohar (Terumah, 170b): “And Yonah rose up to flee to Tarshish, from before the presence of God” (Yonah, 1:3); “For the men knew that he was fleeing from before the presence of God” (1:10). Why did Yonah decide to run away? Can one flee from the presence of God? Yonah wanted to go outside the borders of the Holy Land, because the Divine Presence only rests in the land of Israel. Yonah thought that in this way the Divine Presence would not rest upon him (and he would not have to prophesize for the detriment of Israel ...) Notice that the verse reads, “milifnei - from before,” and not, “lifnei - before.” Yet the point is precisely, “milifnei - from before,” because the spirit of prophecy does not come from the Shekhina,430Shekhina: the Divine Presence; the sefirah of Malkhut – alluded to by the word lifnai. but rather from before the Shekhina. Whether the prophecy is, “before,” or, “from before,” are two distinct levels of prophets that rest upon the Shekhina.431This passage is part of a larger discussion in the Zohar as to the significance of the word milifnei. The Zohar states that it alludes to the sefirah of Binah. However, from the verses in Yonah, it seems to allude to the sefirot of Netzach and Hod. According to the Zohar, the word lifnei (“before”) alludes to the sefirah of Malkhut. Therefore, the word milifnei – “from before” – alludes to the sefirot that precede that of Malkhut; i.e. Netzach and Hod. In Kabbalah, these two sefirot are considered the source of prophecy. Thus, the Zohar reads the verse: “And Yonah rose up to flee to Tarshish, from before the presence of God” – that is, from before the source of his prophecy, which are Netzach and Hod. The author will relate to this idea in the following chapter. At present, his point is to show that Yonah sought to flee from G-d’s prophecy by confusing his own mind; that is, by detaching his mind from G-d, he consciousness fell to a lower level, and thus, he no longer experienced prophecy. This is in line with the chapters discussion of two parallel levels of awareness – the Divine and the human Yonah was afraid to be on this level in the Holy Land. Therefore, about Yonah it says, “milifnei – he was fleeing from before the presence of God,” since Yonah knew that prophecy only comes, “from before.”
It is written in the Zohar (Terumah, 170b): “And Yonah rose up to flee to Tarshish, from before the presence of God” (Yonah, 1:3); “For the men knew that he was fleeing from before the presence of God” (1:10). Why did Yonah decide to run away? Can one flee from the presence of God? Yonah wanted to go outside the borders of the Holy Land, because the Divine Presence only rests in the land of Israel. Yonah thought that in this way the Divine Presence would not rest upon him (and he would not have to prophesize for the detriment of Israel ...) Notice that the verse reads, “milifnei - from before,” and not, “lifnei - before.” Yet the point is precisely, “milifnei - from before,” because the spirit of prophecy does not come from the Shekhina,430Shekhina: the Divine Presence; the sefirah of Malkhut – alluded to by the word lifnai. but rather from before the Shekhina. Whether the prophecy is, “before,” or, “from before,” are two distinct levels of prophets that rest upon the Shekhina.431This passage is part of a larger discussion in the Zohar as to the significance of the word milifnei. The Zohar states that it alludes to the sefirah of Binah. However, from the verses in Yonah, it seems to allude to the sefirot of Netzach and Hod. According to the Zohar, the word lifnei (“before”) alludes to the sefirah of Malkhut. Therefore, the word milifnei – “from before” – alludes to the sefirot that precede that of Malkhut; i.e. Netzach and Hod. In Kabbalah, these two sefirot are considered the source of prophecy. Thus, the Zohar reads the verse: “And Yonah rose up to flee to Tarshish, from before the presence of God” – that is, from before the source of his prophecy, which are Netzach and Hod. The author will relate to this idea in the following chapter. At present, his point is to show that Yonah sought to flee from G-d’s prophecy by confusing his own mind; that is, by detaching his mind from G-d, he consciousness fell to a lower level, and thus, he no longer experienced prophecy. This is in line with the chapters discussion of two parallel levels of awareness – the Divine and the human Yonah was afraid to be on this level in the Holy Land. Therefore, about Yonah it says, “milifnei – he was fleeing from before the presence of God,” since Yonah knew that prophecy only comes, “from before.”
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy