Chasidut zu Bamidbar 7:90
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 7,2. בהעלותך את הנרות, “when you are about to kindle the lights, etc.;” it happens on occasion that a tzaddik has fallen from his spiritual level. Seeing that G’d is the essence of loving kindness He wishes for the “sparks” from the Shechinah that have at different times fallen into our domain of the קליפות, “the peels,” i.e. ritually impure parts of the globe to facilitate their rehabilitation and return to their habitat. He uses the proximity of the “fallen” tzaddik, who is still firmly attached to his holy roots and therefore will make strenuous efforts at doing penance, to be the means by which this will be brought about.
Our verse is an allegorical description of such an event. The נרות, “lights,” referred to, are the fallen sparks which are facing the menorah, the source of their light before they had fallen off the Shechina, when the penitent sinner kindles the menorah he will also include the “penitent sparks” who use this opportunity to restore the Shechinah to its former glory when all of its seven lights were burning.
Our verse is an allegorical description of such an event. The נרות, “lights,” referred to, are the fallen sparks which are facing the menorah, the source of their light before they had fallen off the Shechina, when the penitent sinner kindles the menorah he will also include the “penitent sparks” who use this opportunity to restore the Shechinah to its former glory when all of its seven lights were burning.
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Chovat HaTalmidim
As Rashi, may his memory be blessed, explains the word chinukh (education), in the verse (Deuteronomy 20:5), "who built a house but did not dedicate it (chankho) - "Chinukh is a term for beginning." But it is obvious that we would not say, chinukh, about any beginning. For example, when the Gemara (Pesachim 116a) says about the order of the Haggadah, "One begins with disgrace and ends with praise," we would not say, "One is mechanekh with disgrace, etc." And likewise regarding the Sanhedrin (Sanhedrin 32a) - that we begin from the side - we would not say that, we are mechankhin from the side. However in Parashat Lech Lecha (Rashi on Genesis 14:14), Rashi explains it further to us, as follows: Chanikhiv, etc. whom he had trained in the commandments. It is a term for introducing a person or a thing, for the first time, to some particular occupation in which it is intended that he should remain. It has a similar sense in (Proverbs 22:6), "Chanokh the lad," in (Numbers 7:84) "the dedication (chanukat) of the altar" and in (Psalms 30:1) "The dedication (chanukat) of the house."
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Kedushat Levi
“the princes” (a term that appears again and again from Numbers 7,2-7,84) The leader of each tribe was accorded the title נשיא, “chieftain or prince.” The word is derived from the root נשא, “to carry, lift, elevate,” suggests that it was the task of these tribal leaders to elevate the people spiritually so that they would serve the Lord better.
This is also the meaning of Deuteornomy 7,2: “those who were in charge of the people who had been counted.” We have explained previously that the root פקד describes something that was missing, lacking, empty (Samuel I 20,27.) The righteous are perceived as standing fast, i.e. העומדים like an iron wall seeing to it that the common people not become guilty of sins of omission. If we were to ask what merit did the princes possess which resulted in their occupying such high office? The answer is that instead of complimenting themselves on their elevated status they were constantly concerned that they would not lack any of the attributes that are necessary for people occupying such high office.
This is also the meaning of Deuteornomy 7,2: “those who were in charge of the people who had been counted.” We have explained previously that the root פקד describes something that was missing, lacking, empty (Samuel I 20,27.) The righteous are perceived as standing fast, i.e. העומדים like an iron wall seeing to it that the common people not become guilty of sins of omission. If we were to ask what merit did the princes possess which resulted in their occupying such high office? The answer is that instead of complimenting themselves on their elevated status they were constantly concerned that they would not lack any of the attributes that are necessary for people occupying such high office.
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 19,3. “meanwhile Moses had ascended to G’d, [lowest of the celestial domains, Ed,], and Hashem called out to him from the Mountain, saying: ‘thus you shall speak to the house of Yaakov and tell in detail to the Children of Israel.’”
We need to analyze a number of points in this verse (paragraph). 1) What precisely is the meaning of the word כה? Why could the Torah not simply write: ויקרא אליו ה' לאמור לבית יעקב, “Hashem called to him to say to the house of Yaakov, etc.?” 2) Why, in verse 4, does G’d refer only to the Exodus from Egypt as examples of what He had created? 3) What is the meaning of the line (verse 5) והייתם לי סגולה מכל העמים, “you have become more precious to Me than any of the other nations,” after the condition: "if you will surely listen to My voice and observe My covenant?“ Are we to assume, G’d forbid, that if we had not been given the covenant and had accepted it enthusiastically, that we would not be superior to the other nations? Does G’d love us only on account of our being loyal to the covenant? Moreover, G’d should have said that if we observe the covenant we are also dearer to Him than all the angels, as when we –who are free to choose- observe the covenant, we are on a spiritually higher level than the angels, even?
It appears to me that the answer to all these questions can be found already in the Midrash. [I have not found this Midrash. Ed.] which describes Moses’ reception in the lowest of the seven layers of the celestial regions. When Moses arrived at that level he found himself surrounded by many thousands of different categories of angels, including the holy seraphim, all of whom were standing in awe and reverence [before the Lord, I assume, Ed,] so that he was overcome by a great fright and was trembling not knowing with whom he should commence to speak. He remained in this condition until G’d Himself spread some of the brilliance of His Presence over him.
We find numerous occasions when other prophets when addressed by G’d, stood in awe and trembling before G’d so much so that their normal senses became totally disoriented and dysfunctional.
On Leviticus 1,1 ויקרא אל משה אליו מאהל מועד, “G’d called to Moses from the Tent of Meeting,” Rashi comments that the words following: וידבר אליו, “He spoke to him,” might be understood as a repetition as at first G’d’s voice was not loud enough, therefore the Torah writes both in Numbers 7,89 and Deuteronomy 8,20, את הקול, “the ‘well known’ voice.” G’d’s voice was powerful but could not be heard outside the confines of the Tabernacle. The Bible repeatedly refers to the powerful voice of G’d being such that it felled cedars. (psalms 29) If a human being is fortunate enough to hear the voice of G’d proclaim the words: אנכי ה' אלוקיך אשר הוצאתיך וגו', “I am the Lord your G’d Who has taken you out, etc.;” each Shavuot, this is proof of how one must prepare oneself in order to hear the Lord’s voice. [Alas, none of us has been found meritorious enough to hear that voice. Ed.] We have a tradition that the tens of thousands of angels were overcome with trembling whenever they heard the voice of G’d. How much more so must we mortal human beings be overcome with such tremors if even the angels are described as being in such a state of terror? The three days of preparation described in the Torah as preceding G’d’s revealing Himself to the people at Mount Sinai are totally inadequate. Even if we were to prepare ourselves for a whole year this would not suffice for us to tolerate G’d’s voice without becoming seriously disoriented. Our verse indicates that although Moses had prepared himself for the encounter with G’d that he would face, and he had assumed that what G’d had to say to him was on a level that the people could not comprehend, G’d told him that this was not necessary, as what He had to say to him was intended for him to teach to the people.
We need to analyze a number of points in this verse (paragraph). 1) What precisely is the meaning of the word כה? Why could the Torah not simply write: ויקרא אליו ה' לאמור לבית יעקב, “Hashem called to him to say to the house of Yaakov, etc.?” 2) Why, in verse 4, does G’d refer only to the Exodus from Egypt as examples of what He had created? 3) What is the meaning of the line (verse 5) והייתם לי סגולה מכל העמים, “you have become more precious to Me than any of the other nations,” after the condition: "if you will surely listen to My voice and observe My covenant?“ Are we to assume, G’d forbid, that if we had not been given the covenant and had accepted it enthusiastically, that we would not be superior to the other nations? Does G’d love us only on account of our being loyal to the covenant? Moreover, G’d should have said that if we observe the covenant we are also dearer to Him than all the angels, as when we –who are free to choose- observe the covenant, we are on a spiritually higher level than the angels, even?
It appears to me that the answer to all these questions can be found already in the Midrash. [I have not found this Midrash. Ed.] which describes Moses’ reception in the lowest of the seven layers of the celestial regions. When Moses arrived at that level he found himself surrounded by many thousands of different categories of angels, including the holy seraphim, all of whom were standing in awe and reverence [before the Lord, I assume, Ed,] so that he was overcome by a great fright and was trembling not knowing with whom he should commence to speak. He remained in this condition until G’d Himself spread some of the brilliance of His Presence over him.
We find numerous occasions when other prophets when addressed by G’d, stood in awe and trembling before G’d so much so that their normal senses became totally disoriented and dysfunctional.
On Leviticus 1,1 ויקרא אל משה אליו מאהל מועד, “G’d called to Moses from the Tent of Meeting,” Rashi comments that the words following: וידבר אליו, “He spoke to him,” might be understood as a repetition as at first G’d’s voice was not loud enough, therefore the Torah writes both in Numbers 7,89 and Deuteronomy 8,20, את הקול, “the ‘well known’ voice.” G’d’s voice was powerful but could not be heard outside the confines of the Tabernacle. The Bible repeatedly refers to the powerful voice of G’d being such that it felled cedars. (psalms 29) If a human being is fortunate enough to hear the voice of G’d proclaim the words: אנכי ה' אלוקיך אשר הוצאתיך וגו', “I am the Lord your G’d Who has taken you out, etc.;” each Shavuot, this is proof of how one must prepare oneself in order to hear the Lord’s voice. [Alas, none of us has been found meritorious enough to hear that voice. Ed.] We have a tradition that the tens of thousands of angels were overcome with trembling whenever they heard the voice of G’d. How much more so must we mortal human beings be overcome with such tremors if even the angels are described as being in such a state of terror? The three days of preparation described in the Torah as preceding G’d’s revealing Himself to the people at Mount Sinai are totally inadequate. Even if we were to prepare ourselves for a whole year this would not suffice for us to tolerate G’d’s voice without becoming seriously disoriented. Our verse indicates that although Moses had prepared himself for the encounter with G’d that he would face, and he had assumed that what G’d had to say to him was on a level that the people could not comprehend, G’d told him that this was not necessary, as what He had to say to him was intended for him to teach to the people.
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 25,15. “the staves shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it” “you shall place within the ark the testimony (Tablets), etc.”
The reason why the Torah emphasized only in connection with the holy ark that the staves by means of which the ark will be carried must not be removed from it [although also the table was carried by means of such staves, and the boards of the Tabernacle itself were held in place by staves, Ed.] requires analysis.
The author says that in order to explain this he must give a lengthy introduction. He takes it for granted that man, i.e. a human being, is viewed as a microcosm of the universe
He also takes it for granted that the reader is aware that the 613 commandments are divided into 365 negative commandments and 248 positive commandments and symbolize the human body i.e. are expressions in tangible form of 613 different spiritual concepts, both 248 positive ones and 365 negative ones. Similarly, the various parts of the Tabernacle are also to be viewed as representing these 613 concepts that form part of the universe and are placed before our eyes as the universe in miniature. In other words, each component part of the Tabernacle represented one of the 613 commandments.
When analyzing these 613 commandments, the reader will find that not all of them are essential, in the sense that not all of them can be fulfilled by each Israelite, and some of them are in the nature of “rearguard actions,” i.e. when certain sins have been committed they are designed to repair the spiritual damage the universe, i.e. the collective soul of the Jewish people, has suffered and the performance of the commandment is designed to repair that damage. Other commandments are so important that we must never lose sight of them, and we are told to remember certain events on a 24/7 basis during all our waking hours. One of these is the commandment to remain aware that there is only one Creator and that it is He Who is the source of all the phenomena that we observe in the universe. The second such commandment is that He has no partners, senior or junior, and is the Only Deity. The third such commandment is that we are commanded to love Him, i.e. that it is our duty as an expression of our love for Him to perform acts that will please Him. The means we are to employ to please Him are observance of the laws of the Torah, turning to Him in prayer, performing charitable deeds for the needy, all of whom have also been created in G’d’s image. At the same time as loving G’d, we must also remain in awe of His presence, i.e. be on guard against transgressing any of the negative commandments in the Torah. Under no circumstances are we to commit acts that we know to contradict His expressed wishes. All the above-mentioned commandments are absolute and apply to each one of us at all times. Faith in the Lord includes that we remain constantly aware of these cardinal points of Judaism.
There are other positive commandments, i.e. wearing four-cornered garments with fringes, ציציות; putting on phylacteries, which are to be performed only during hours of daylight. The same applies to the offering of sacrifices, something that is not acceptable when performed at night. Nowadays, owing to our exile these commandments are incapable of being performed altogether.
The ארון, holy ark, represented the totality of all the commandments, [seeing that the written Torah was deposited within it in addition to the Tablets. Ed.]. In order to symbolize the concept that Torah is indispensable to the Jewish people at any time day or night, Sabbath or weekday, the staves which served as the supports for carrying the ark on the shoulders of the priests, (compare Joshua 3,15) therefore had to remain firmly attached to the rings that enabled them to perform their function.
There are still other words of G’d which are also hinted at in the text of the Ten Commandments, on the Tablets which were the principal item inside the holy ark. These too ought to be remembered at all times as if they were commandments that had been spelled out as such.
The table, which was also equipped with rings and staves as a means to carry it, symbolizes other commandments, and the Levites were charged with carrying it by using them (Numbers 7,9). The table too, had to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites who were descendants of Kehat, not transported on the wagons like the boards and roof coverings of the Tabernacle. The commandment to carry certain parts of the furnishings of the Tabernacle on the shoulders of the Levites charged with performing service in or around the Tabernacle shows how these furnishings symbolized the commandments, i.e. what is most sacred to the Jewish people. During the wanderings in the desert when the Tabernacle and its constituent parts were being moved regularly, carrying these parts on the shoulders was the way the need to observe the commandments at all times was being demonstrated. The Levites were agents, messengers, of the Jewish people and at the same time agents, i.e. messengers of G’d. The holy ark which symbolized the most important commandments, the ones that apply on a year round basis to every Israelite reminded its carriers of this fact when they considered the prohibition to detach the staves by taking them out of their rings.
The reason why the Torah emphasized only in connection with the holy ark that the staves by means of which the ark will be carried must not be removed from it [although also the table was carried by means of such staves, and the boards of the Tabernacle itself were held in place by staves, Ed.] requires analysis.
The author says that in order to explain this he must give a lengthy introduction. He takes it for granted that man, i.e. a human being, is viewed as a microcosm of the universe
He also takes it for granted that the reader is aware that the 613 commandments are divided into 365 negative commandments and 248 positive commandments and symbolize the human body i.e. are expressions in tangible form of 613 different spiritual concepts, both 248 positive ones and 365 negative ones. Similarly, the various parts of the Tabernacle are also to be viewed as representing these 613 concepts that form part of the universe and are placed before our eyes as the universe in miniature. In other words, each component part of the Tabernacle represented one of the 613 commandments.
When analyzing these 613 commandments, the reader will find that not all of them are essential, in the sense that not all of them can be fulfilled by each Israelite, and some of them are in the nature of “rearguard actions,” i.e. when certain sins have been committed they are designed to repair the spiritual damage the universe, i.e. the collective soul of the Jewish people, has suffered and the performance of the commandment is designed to repair that damage. Other commandments are so important that we must never lose sight of them, and we are told to remember certain events on a 24/7 basis during all our waking hours. One of these is the commandment to remain aware that there is only one Creator and that it is He Who is the source of all the phenomena that we observe in the universe. The second such commandment is that He has no partners, senior or junior, and is the Only Deity. The third such commandment is that we are commanded to love Him, i.e. that it is our duty as an expression of our love for Him to perform acts that will please Him. The means we are to employ to please Him are observance of the laws of the Torah, turning to Him in prayer, performing charitable deeds for the needy, all of whom have also been created in G’d’s image. At the same time as loving G’d, we must also remain in awe of His presence, i.e. be on guard against transgressing any of the negative commandments in the Torah. Under no circumstances are we to commit acts that we know to contradict His expressed wishes. All the above-mentioned commandments are absolute and apply to each one of us at all times. Faith in the Lord includes that we remain constantly aware of these cardinal points of Judaism.
There are other positive commandments, i.e. wearing four-cornered garments with fringes, ציציות; putting on phylacteries, which are to be performed only during hours of daylight. The same applies to the offering of sacrifices, something that is not acceptable when performed at night. Nowadays, owing to our exile these commandments are incapable of being performed altogether.
The ארון, holy ark, represented the totality of all the commandments, [seeing that the written Torah was deposited within it in addition to the Tablets. Ed.]. In order to symbolize the concept that Torah is indispensable to the Jewish people at any time day or night, Sabbath or weekday, the staves which served as the supports for carrying the ark on the shoulders of the priests, (compare Joshua 3,15) therefore had to remain firmly attached to the rings that enabled them to perform their function.
There are still other words of G’d which are also hinted at in the text of the Ten Commandments, on the Tablets which were the principal item inside the holy ark. These too ought to be remembered at all times as if they were commandments that had been spelled out as such.
The table, which was also equipped with rings and staves as a means to carry it, symbolizes other commandments, and the Levites were charged with carrying it by using them (Numbers 7,9). The table too, had to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites who were descendants of Kehat, not transported on the wagons like the boards and roof coverings of the Tabernacle. The commandment to carry certain parts of the furnishings of the Tabernacle on the shoulders of the Levites charged with performing service in or around the Tabernacle shows how these furnishings symbolized the commandments, i.e. what is most sacred to the Jewish people. During the wanderings in the desert when the Tabernacle and its constituent parts were being moved regularly, carrying these parts on the shoulders was the way the need to observe the commandments at all times was being demonstrated. The Levites were agents, messengers, of the Jewish people and at the same time agents, i.e. messengers of G’d. The holy ark which symbolized the most important commandments, the ones that apply on a year round basis to every Israelite reminded its carriers of this fact when they considered the prohibition to detach the staves by taking them out of their rings.
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