Chasidut zu Bamidbar 10:40
Kedushat Levi
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.]
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.]
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Kedushat Levi
Leviticus 10,35. “It would be whenever the Holy Ark would begin its journey, etc.;” this paragraph is inserted between two letters נ each facing in the wrong direction. The reason for this that the letter נ symbolizes the attribute of יראה , “fear, awe.” People who are ashamed are afraid of facing one another. We have a principle according to which each one of us must be humble when facing the Lord with awe. We repeat this idea in our prayers every morning when we recite:לעולם יהא אדם ירא שמים בסתר וגו', “Man should ever be G’d-fearing in private, etc.;”(Tanna de bey Eliyahu Rabbah chapter 21) On the other hand, when a person endeavours to extract and elevate fallen sparks from the shechinah which are mired in the terrestrial regions, he has to publicly demonstrate his reverence for G’d in order to arouse a similar desire in these “fallen” sparks.
This idea is illustrated by our verse which commences with the words: ויהי בנסוע הארון, which describes the journey of the G’d fearing Israelites through the spiritual wilderness trying to locate such “fallen” sparks and be instrumental in bringing them back to their celestial habitat. When the two letters נ have been inverted so that they face each other, they symbolize that the Israelites are now displaying their awe of the Lord publicly in order to encourage any stray fallen sparks of the shechinah to begin their journey back to their original habitat.
This idea is illustrated by our verse which commences with the words: ויהי בנסוע הארון, which describes the journey of the G’d fearing Israelites through the spiritual wilderness trying to locate such “fallen” sparks and be instrumental in bringing them back to their celestial habitat. When the two letters נ have been inverted so that they face each other, they symbolize that the Israelites are now displaying their awe of the Lord publicly in order to encourage any stray fallen sparks of the shechinah to begin their journey back to their original habitat.
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Flames of Faith
Our dimension of reality has seven points that correspond to these seven Sephiros: south, north, east, west, above, below, and the point of reference, which is the inner point that all the directions surround. Our world bears traces of the seven lower Sephiros, which is why most physical items in our world have these seven directions and not eight or nine directions. According to the Talmud357Shabbos 115b-116a. the section of the Torah, Va- yehi Bi-nsoa, “And when the ark traveled” (Num. 10:35-36), is a separate book of the Torah. According to that classification, there are seven books to the Torah instead of five. Rabbi Tzadok Ha-Cohen of Lublin358See Pri Tzaddik to Parashas Devarim. explains that there are seven books in the Torah to correspond to the seven lower Sephiros. Each book of the Torah is a reflection of a different one of the Sephirah lights. The Torah is the means through which God is revealed in this world. Since our world, primarily, only accesses the seven lower Sephiros there are only seven books and not eight. At special times, forces and atmospheres from another realm enter our world, and then we too might taste a product of the first three Sephiros.
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 23,21. “no harm is in sight for Yaakov no woe for Israel. The Lord their G’d is with them.” The true meaning of these words is hard to understand, [as the Israelites certainly had not been faultless throughout these 40 years. Ed.]
Bileam describes G’d’s attitude when Israel’s merits come to His attention and when, G’d forbid, their sins call for His attention. He says that Israel’s merits will immediately command G’d’s attention and He will respond to them without delay, whereas He does not wish to take a look at their sins immediately. The former is spelled out when Bileam adds: ה' אלוקיו עמו, Hashem, its G’d is with it.” The expression following, i.e. ותרועת מלך בו, “and their king’s acclaim is in their midst,” is a reference to the divisive nature of the teruah sound of the shofar. A king can be acclaimed by unbroken sounds of the shofar or by broken sounds. G’d reacts selectively to reports He receives about the conduct of His people.
The author proceeds to use the opportunity to explain the deeper meaning of the respective sounds תקיעה and תרועה which emanate from the ram’s horn, the shofar. The former sound is unbroken, symbolizing unity, continuity, whereas the latter signifies dissonance, friction, disharmony.
At the time when the Holy Temple stood and service was performed in it, this was an era distinguished by the תקיעה, the very letters in that word when examined meaning תקע י-ה meaning “G’d fastens, clasps, unites.” During periods of exile, however, this is symbolised by the broken sound תרועה; during the period when the Temple stood daily burnt offerings, known as תמידים were offered by the priests on behalf of the entire people (who had contributed on an equal basis to the cost of these animals) both mornings and evenings. All of this symbolised the inner adhesion of the various tribes to one another. The תרועה sound by its very nature calls attention to the fact that the Jews are dispersed among gentiles, lacking this inner cohesion. As a result of their sins and the subsequent exile, G’d delays looking at the sins of the Jewish people while they are in exile, as the conditions for them to observe the Torah in full measure do not exist and it is harder for them to accumulate collective merits. [Some of the words are mine, but the author whose fame rests on his being an advocate vis a vis G’d of his people in exile, is making the point I described. Ed.]. He sees in the sequence in which we blow the shofar a summary of our history which began in glory, i.e. תקיעה, was interrupted by decline, exile, i.e. תרועה, but will most certainly end again with the תקיעה to signal our redemption soon in our days.
In support of his theory, the author quotes the statement of our sages that G’d’s presence cannot rest on us permanently unless at least 600000 male adults are assembled. (Midrash Hagadol Vayishlach 32,3) The תקיעה symbolizes that thought. This explains that whenever the Jewish people made camp while in the desert, a תקיעה as blown as a reminder that the Shechinah, G’d’s presence, was at hand. On the other hand, breaking camp was signaled by the blowing of a תרועה, the broken sound, as breaking camp was a sign that the people had displeased G’d, and that this was why they had to pack up once more. According to the Ari z’al, the various journeys were inspired by the need to accumulate merits by picking up “fallen” sparks along the route and to become the instrument of restoring same to the celestial position before they had “fallen” out of grace. The fact that the Israelites offset their sins by these merits of picking up “fallen sparks,” was responsible for G’d not immediately turning His attention to the misdemeanours of the Israelites that had brought about their need to move on.
The sound of the תרועה, reminder that G’d had broken, interrupted His preoccupation with the Israelites’ sins, was also a reminder of the need to acquire merits by elevating themselves spiritually to offset the effect of their sins.
[Various commentators in dealing with the inverted way in which Moses reports the process of making camp and breaking camp in Numbers 33,1-33,2 refer to each move being testimony to the people having angered G’d. Ed.]
Bileam describes G’d’s attitude when Israel’s merits come to His attention and when, G’d forbid, their sins call for His attention. He says that Israel’s merits will immediately command G’d’s attention and He will respond to them without delay, whereas He does not wish to take a look at their sins immediately. The former is spelled out when Bileam adds: ה' אלוקיו עמו, Hashem, its G’d is with it.” The expression following, i.e. ותרועת מלך בו, “and their king’s acclaim is in their midst,” is a reference to the divisive nature of the teruah sound of the shofar. A king can be acclaimed by unbroken sounds of the shofar or by broken sounds. G’d reacts selectively to reports He receives about the conduct of His people.
The author proceeds to use the opportunity to explain the deeper meaning of the respective sounds תקיעה and תרועה which emanate from the ram’s horn, the shofar. The former sound is unbroken, symbolizing unity, continuity, whereas the latter signifies dissonance, friction, disharmony.
At the time when the Holy Temple stood and service was performed in it, this was an era distinguished by the תקיעה, the very letters in that word when examined meaning תקע י-ה meaning “G’d fastens, clasps, unites.” During periods of exile, however, this is symbolised by the broken sound תרועה; during the period when the Temple stood daily burnt offerings, known as תמידים were offered by the priests on behalf of the entire people (who had contributed on an equal basis to the cost of these animals) both mornings and evenings. All of this symbolised the inner adhesion of the various tribes to one another. The תרועה sound by its very nature calls attention to the fact that the Jews are dispersed among gentiles, lacking this inner cohesion. As a result of their sins and the subsequent exile, G’d delays looking at the sins of the Jewish people while they are in exile, as the conditions for them to observe the Torah in full measure do not exist and it is harder for them to accumulate collective merits. [Some of the words are mine, but the author whose fame rests on his being an advocate vis a vis G’d of his people in exile, is making the point I described. Ed.]. He sees in the sequence in which we blow the shofar a summary of our history which began in glory, i.e. תקיעה, was interrupted by decline, exile, i.e. תרועה, but will most certainly end again with the תקיעה to signal our redemption soon in our days.
In support of his theory, the author quotes the statement of our sages that G’d’s presence cannot rest on us permanently unless at least 600000 male adults are assembled. (Midrash Hagadol Vayishlach 32,3) The תקיעה symbolizes that thought. This explains that whenever the Jewish people made camp while in the desert, a תקיעה as blown as a reminder that the Shechinah, G’d’s presence, was at hand. On the other hand, breaking camp was signaled by the blowing of a תרועה, the broken sound, as breaking camp was a sign that the people had displeased G’d, and that this was why they had to pack up once more. According to the Ari z’al, the various journeys were inspired by the need to accumulate merits by picking up “fallen” sparks along the route and to become the instrument of restoring same to the celestial position before they had “fallen” out of grace. The fact that the Israelites offset their sins by these merits of picking up “fallen sparks,” was responsible for G’d not immediately turning His attention to the misdemeanours of the Israelites that had brought about their need to move on.
The sound of the תרועה, reminder that G’d had broken, interrupted His preoccupation with the Israelites’ sins, was also a reminder of the need to acquire merits by elevating themselves spiritually to offset the effect of their sins.
[Various commentators in dealing with the inverted way in which Moses reports the process of making camp and breaking camp in Numbers 33,1-33,2 refer to each move being testimony to the people having angered G’d. Ed.]
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