Chasidut zu Mischlej 31:32

I will now quote the holy words of the Avodas Yisrael (Parshas Chayei Sarah). “Veyih’yu – and they were⁷⁵Bereshis, 13:1 the first word of the parsha. – is the numerical equivalent of ‘zol,’ which means, ‘of little value.’ When a person is broken hearted and embittered over his transgressions, and feels his life is of little value, in particular on the long nights of winter after midnight when he rises and is alone before his Creator, and admits before God that he leads a vain and worthless life, his years passing by like clipper ships on a windy sea,⁷⁶See Iyov, 9:26. that he has not done anything to please God, to the contrary, his actions have been destructive and blemished from head to toe. And the day is short; he can almost feel his encroaching departure from the world, and he has come to stand in judgment for all the moments of his life. In this way he consoles himself, regretting his actions, and cries with a broken heart before his Father in Heaven. Through this he sees himself as worthless and miserable. “Zol – זל” or “of little worth,” is the numerical value of 37, the milui of the name Sa’g.⁷⁷One of the expansions of the Tetragrammaton is יוד הי ואו הי , called Sa”g (ס"ג) as the sum of the ten letters equals 63. The four root letters of God’s name are Yud Hei Vav Hei, but the rest of the letters of Sa”g (such as the vav and dalet after the first Yud) are called the milui, or filling letters. If you take all the filling letters from the name Sa”g and add them up, you get זל, 37. That is to say, he says that his heart is full of impurities.⁷⁸This is a play on words, as impurities, “sigim,” has the letters for “sag,” which is the name of God representing the world of Beriah, which is the genesis of the separation of good and evil. Above Beriyah, in the world of Atsilut, there is no evil and no impuiries, as in Atsilut, “He and his life are one, He and His causations are one.” This is a kabbalistic representation of the idea that the Avodas Yisrael is presenting, namely that the worthlessness (זל) is coming from the beginning of evil and impurity in the world of Beriyah. Indeed, the main purpose of the confession before God (viduy, also equaling 37) is the abandoning of sin and the acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven from that day onward. In this way he will not be counted among the wicked who are considered dead while they are alive, but among the righteous who are considered alive even after their body dies. That is to say, for the Tsaddik, every moment of his life he is prepared for that moment when he will depart from this worldly existence in a state of kedushah and purity. This is as the Zohar says, “the Tsaddik always thinks in his heart that today he may be leaving the world.” Indeed, people who led meaningless lives still have a chance to rectify their lot by waking up and doing teshuvah before the sun goes down. And the real sign of teshuvah and earnest regret is when a man remembers his many transgressions and feels his own worthlessness. In this way he receives a resurgence of life energy on account of the coming days when he will sin no more. For this reason Veyih’yu – and these were – is the numerical equivalent of ‘zol,’ of little value. (The verse continues) ‘Chayei Sarah – the lives of Sarah,’ The juxtaposition of the words Veyih’yu (representing worthlessness) and Chayei Sarah, is to show us how one who truly recognizes the meaningless vanity of his life is the one who is called alive. (The verse continues) ‘A hundred years,’ is the mystery of the Crown – (Keser). This follows because after the teshuvah he feels a renewed and revitalized will to serve God, and this new will is called, ‘Keser.’⁷⁹The sefirah of Keser (Crown) signifies God’s will. It is also the tenth sefirah from below to above, thus, “a hundred,” as each sefirah contains ten. (The verse continues) ‘And Twenty years.” Meaning, when it is carved into his mochin⁸⁰Mochin – the intellectual-spiritual life force. to serve God on the level of Chochmah (wisdom) and Binah (understanding),⁸¹Chochmah and Binah each include ten sefiros, hence “twenty years.” which are called gates based on the estimation of the heart.⁸²This is alluding to the passage in the Zohar (Vayeira, 103b): "Yet certainly, 'her husband is known in the gates.' (Mishlei 31:23) 'Her husband,' is the Holy One, blessed be He. He is 'known' and connected to every one according to how much a person estimates God in his heart. (The word for 'gate – sha'ar' is the same letters as the word for estimation – sha'er.) God is known in a man's heart in direct correspondence to how much he cleaves himself to God in the spirit of wisdom." For this (Chochmah) provides guidelines for fixing that which he had corrupted in its way, and this (Binah) provided guidelines to fix in other ways. And then (once it is fixed in his mind) he comes to the aspect of (the continuation of the verse), “seven years,” which are the seven middos. These are the seven lower sefiros which he uses to crown God as the Sovereign King, through love (chesed), fear (gevurah), glory (tiferet), victory (netsach) thanks (hod) and connection (yesod).”

Chapter 6⁴⁰⁴In Chapter 6, R. Shapiro distinguishes between the Zohar and the sacred works of Kabbalah which came after it. The nature and level of the Zohar’s revelation and text is sui generis, as explained below.
As we said above, pre-Beshtian Kabbalah ‘bent’ the world of Atzilut down to the Atzilut within a person, that is to his Hokhmah, while the revelation of the Besht had an effect on the vessels and the bodies, [in the sense of] “and all of the community are holy.”⁴⁰⁵Numbers 16:3. The citation is from Korah and his associates, in their rebellious charge against Moses. Some hasidic masters were sympathetic to this position of Korah, and perhaps R. Shapiro here alludes to this position. Through this, the Kabbalah and all its sacred systems inhered not only Above but also within the Israelite. [In all this,] we have not spoken of the essence of Kabbalah, which is above our grasp—for what am I and my lowly life to speak about and explain such sacred matters? We have merely spoken of our understanding in explicating these matters, as it says in the Zohar on the verse ‘and her husband is known in the gates [shearim],”⁴⁰⁶Proverbs 31:23. “each according to how his heart surmises [mishaer]…”⁴⁰⁷See Zohar I: 103b. Now we wish to clarify why we have primarily spoken of those kabbalistic works authored by the holy angels of God besides the Zohar. [In what follows, we delineate] the difference, as we understand it, between the Zohar and the sacred works of Kabbalah which came after it.

Said Rabbi Yochanan in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, what is the intent of the verse, Piha¹⁹⁹The Hebrew word piha, “her mouth,” can be divided to spell pi heh, “the mouth of the letter heh,” whose gematria is five. paschah be-chachmah, “She opened her mouth with wisdom” (Prov. 31:26)? Solomon intended this verse to serve as a statement about his father David who lived in five worlds and in each, sang a special song to God. He lived as a fetus within his mother’s womb and sang, Barchi nafshi, “My soul will bless God, and all of my insides will thank His holy name” (Psalm 103). He emerged from the womb and he looked upon the stars and their constellations and said, “Bless God, O His angels, strong warriors who fulfill His word…” (ibid.). He nursed from his mother and sang, “My soul, Bless God! Do not forget all the good that He did for you.” This refers, according to Rav Avahu, to the placement of the body’s repositories of milk at the place of wisdom [the heart]. He saw the fall of the wicked and he sang, “All sin will disappear from the earth, there will be no more sinners, my soul shall thank God. Hallelujah!” (Psalm 104). He looked at the day of death and sang, “My soul shall bless God, God my Lord, You are most exalted.”

We need not dwell at length on this subject in order to show that the Rambam’s opponents did not understand his intentions. In the third section of the Guide (Ch. 17) he provides the five prevailing views on the subject of Divine providence. The fifth is the view of the Torah. There he says that he does not believe that a leaf falls from a tree under the watch of God’s providence, or that when the spider catches a fly in its web it is a result of the Divine decree. When these statements are read in haste it seems that the Rambam does not believe in individual Divine providence. Yet in that which he says after these statements the Rambam provides us with a hint at the nature of Divine providence. There he continues, “In my opinion, and according to what I see, Divine providence is drawn after Divine effluence, and the same beings that are benefited to the latter so as to become intellectual, and to comprehend things comprehensible to rational beings, are also under the control of Divine providence, which examines all their deeds in order to reward or punish them.”¹⁰²This statement is from M. Friedlander’s translation of the Guide. In these words he hints at his conclusions in Chapter 52 of the third section, where he reveals his true views on the subject of Divine providence. There he writes, “I have arrived at an understanding of Divine providence that will remove all doubts concerning the subject, and reveal the Godly secrets. This is as we have explained in the Chapters on Divine providence (mentioned above), that God’s meets out His providence according to the intellectual level of the individual. For one who possesses a perfect understanding and does not remove his consciousness from God, God’s providence will be with him continually. The man of perfect understanding who occasionally turns his mind away from God, will experience God’s providence only when his mind is concentrated on God. Yet when he is occupied with other things, the providence will depart from him. Yet it will not depart from him in the same way as one who has no intellectual ability to contemplate God whatsoever. It will only be decreased from the intensity of the providence he had previously attained when he was actively concentrating on God.” In this way he explains the entire subject. The Rambam’s words are suited to the words of the Zohar (Vayeira, 103b): “Yet certainly, ‘her husband is known in the gates.’ (Mishlei 31:23) ‘Her husband,’ is the Holy One, blessed be He. He is ‘known’ and connected to every one according to how much a person estimates God in his heart. (The word for ‘gate – sha’ar’ is the same letters as the word for estimation – sha’er.) God is known in a man’s heart in direct correspondence to how much he cleaves himself to God in the spirit of wisdom.” This will be explained later in our introduction. There it will be explained that everything happens according to Divine providence only based on the extent to which one believes in and serves God, and this includes the leaf which falls from the tree. The Rambam himself expresses this view in his introduction to the Mishnah (Seder Zera’im, part six). There he describes a man who pays some builders to build a stone wall on a certain piece of land that will last many years. He knows, of course, that if the same foundation and wall were to be made of straw, it would not last very long. Is there any nonsense greater than this (building something that will not last)? … He commands his builders to make him a beautiful palace, and to plant a substantial vineyard beside it. … Later, in the end of days, long after the man had died and his palace left empty, a righteous man passed by during a storm, and took refuge in the building, whereby saving his life. Another time, another man passed by the vineyard and prepared a medicine from the wine to save the life of another honest and whole individual. … The point is, the whole purpose of this building lasting so many years, with God’s Providence watching over it all the while, was for the benefit of God’s beloved friend in years to come. So too, the whole purpose of God directing His providence over the vineyard was for the specific purpose of saving the honest fellow when the time would come.” In this way, it is written in the Gemara (Avoda Zara, 40b), “Rabbi suffered from gastroenteritis. He then found a flask of apple wine aged seventy years in the deep delved earth. He drank it and recovered. Whereupon he exclaimed, ‘Blessed is God who entrusts his world to watchers!’ “God’s Providence was upon this wine from the moment it the apple tree sprouted, and through the entire span of its preparation and aging. It was God’s Providence that its owners did not drink it all those years, considering that after seventy years it was no longer in the possession of its original owners. It was all a result of God’s individual providence.

It is written in the Zohar (Bo, 33a): “[G-d said to the Accuser, "Have you considered My servant Iyov? There is none like him on earth, a sincere and upright man, God-fearing and shunning evil. And he still maintains his integrity,] though you incite Me to him, to destroy him without cause” (Iyov, 2:3) If, as God says, there is no reason to afflict Iyov, then the punishment was unjust; the sole reason being the incitement of the Accuser, who wants him to falter. Yet, in reality, it is all according to justice. This is as Elihu said to Iyov (34:11), “For according to the work of a man shall God pay him back, and things happen to man according to his ways.” And so it was. Just as Pharaoh had decreed upon Israel, so did God decree upon him. As for that which God said, “though you incite Me to him, to destroy him without cause,” notice that the verse does not say, “you incite Me to destroy him,” but rather, “you incite Me to him, to destroy him.” That is, to him, to his own mind, it seems that “you incite Me against me.” This is like Iyov said, “[Is it good that You should oppress, despise the work of Your hands,] and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?” In a similar vein it says (Tehillim, 78:36), “They seduced Him with their mouths and lied to Him with their tongues.” For this reason it is not written, “They seduce Him and lie to Him.” But it says, “They seduce Him in their mouths,”⁴²⁰“B’fihem,” in Hebrew, could either mean with their mouths or in their mouths. to show us that their seduction and lies exists only in their mouths (i.e., in their minds, whereas God knows all).⁴²¹The point being, here, that the rebelliousness of the wicked is only from their perspective, but not from G-d’s. On the other hand, just as man fixes the faith in God in his soul, so does God deal with him. This is as it is written in the Zohar (Vayikra, 103b): “Her husband is known in the gates.” (Mishlei 31:23) “Her husband,” is the Holy One, blessed be He. He is “known” and connected to every one according to how much a person estimates God in his heart.⁴²²The word for “gate” – sha’ar is the same letters as the word for estimation – sha’er. Directly corresponding to how much one can cleave himself to God in the spirit of wisdom, so is God known to him. As we have written in the introduction, God’s providence is according to man’s faith. This is as it is written in Torat Kohanim (on Vayikra, 26:21), “‘If you go with me haphazardly,⁴²³B’keri also, “by chance.” Rashi translates this as “in opposition.” That is, they harden their hearts to prevent themselves from coming close to God. The meaning here, however, is “by chance”; that is, if a person imagines that the world runs haphazardly, without supernal direction, then G-d indeed allows the world to run that way for a person, and he lacks divine providence. then I too will only go with you haphazardly.’ If you consider Me to be impermanent in the world, then I will make you impermanent in the world.” That is, if a person believes that the world runs by chance, then God relates to him according to his faith, and his life is subject to chance. However, when one believes that God’s providence extends to every detail of creation, then, from His side, God’s providence extends to every detail of creation for the person’s benefit. This is as it is written in the Talmud (Yevamot, 63a, and Midrash Rabbah on Lekh Lekha 39:11), “Even barrels of impure wine⁴²⁴Yayin nesech – wine used for idolatrous rituals. being brought from Gaul to Spain were blessed in the merit of Avraham Avinu.” You may ask how this could be as they were barrels of impure wine (and thus not worthy of being blessed). The answer is that even vinegar brings down the price of wine.⁴²⁵That is, even good quality vinegar drives down the price of wine – all the more so, wine itself (even if it is non-kosher). In other words, God blesses the efforts of idolatrous wine merchants coming from distant lands, all in order that Avraham receive benefit from the lower prices that result. Here we see that in the merit of Avraham, whom G-d wanted to benefit, He directed the events of even distant places, so that Avraham might derive even a minute benefit, even through a very distant connection, or a lengthy series of causes and effects. In this way, with regards to Avraham, the entire creation and all of its minutiae were intimately led by God’s providence, even though each of those details themselves were only led by general providence. However, to the man of faith, all the minutiae of creation are led by an intimate, individual providence. We find that each person has his own frame of reference, and within the boundaries of his frame, he is led according to his level of preparedness and faith, with no person on the level of any other.⁴²⁶The disbeliever, though led by general providence, could be used for the benefit of the believer, and at this time be influenced by the individual providence of the believer. Thus from the perspective of the believer he is led by individual providence.

Genesis 29,11. “Yaakov gave Rachel a kiss, etc;” ‎‎[note that the Torah does not refer to Rachel’s physical ‎appearance until verse 17 after Yaakov had already worked for ‎him for over a month. Ed.]‎
Genesis 29,17. “and Rachel was shapely and ‎beautiful.” At first glance it is surprising that the Torah ‎appears to link Yaakov’s falling in love with Rachel in verse 18, ‎ויאהב יעקב את רחל‎, “Yaakov loved Rachel,” to the description ‎of her physical assets in verse 17. Is it possible that Yaakov, the ‎most highly admired of our patriarchs, was attracted by Rachel’s ‎physical features, and that this is why the Torah reports matters ‎in this sequence? Our sages called our attention to Yaakov’s ‎message to his brother Esau in Genesis 32,4 where he told him ‎עם ‏לבן גרתי‎, ”I have remained a stranger while with Lavan, etc.” The ‎numerical value of the letters in the word ‎גרתי‎, equals 613, the ‎number of commandments in the Torah. Yaakov reminded his ‎brother that during the entire period that he spent in Charan he ‎had observed the Torah, and therefore had little to fear. A man ‎who could make such a statement certainly did not marry Rachel ‎because he was smitten by lust to possess her shapely body. ‎Anyone who observes the 613 commandments is well aware of ‎the statement by Solomon in Proverbs 31,30 that ‎שקר החן והבך ‏היופי‎, that external attributes such as physical beauty or even a ‎graceful walk, etc., are deceptive and offer no clue to the owner’s ‎character.‎
We must look further for the reason why the Torah made a ‎point of mentioning Rachel’s physical attributes. I have heard ‎from my revered teacher the Maggid of Mezeritch Dov Baer, of ‎sainted memory, that we must understand this as follows. We ‎know that the principal attribute used by Yaakov in serving the ‎Lord is the attribute known as ‎תפארת‎, harmony, located in the ‎center of diagrams of the 10 emanations, ‎ספירות‎. Any physical ‎matter on earth, containing a “spark” from this emanation, is ‎spiritually elevated by the presence of this spark, regardless of ‎how secular it is by nature. Through this spark of the attribute of ‎תפארת‎, its host is brought closer to its roots in the celestial ‎regions, and engages in some degree of service to the Lord.‎
We must look further for the reason why the Torah made a ‎point of mentioning Rachel’s physical attributes. I have heard ‎from my revered teacher the Maggid of Mezeritch Dov Baer, of ‎sainted memory, that we must understand this as follows. We ‎know that the principal attribute used by Yaakov in serving the ‎Lord is the attribute known as ‎תפארת‎, harmony, located in the ‎center of diagrams of the 10 emanations, ‎ספירות‎. Any physical ‎matter on earth, containing a “spark” from this emanation, is ‎spiritually elevated by the presence of this spark, regardless of ‎how secular it is by nature. Through this spark of the attribute of ‎תפארת‎, its host is brought closer to its roots in the celestial ‎regions, and engages in some degree of service to the Lord.‎
When the Torah (Genesis 39,13) reports that Joseph ‎וינס ויצא ‏החוצה‎, “fled and went “outside,” to escape the efforts of ‎Potiphar’s wife to seduce him, he did so because he realized that ‎that woman had used her mode of dress to lure him into a sinful ‎relationship (Yuma 35). She had employed whatever holy ‎spark she possessed in a reverse manner, instead of a means to ‎come closer to her Creator. When Joseph escaped from her ‎presence he took with him this “holy spark” thereby serving his ‎Creator and paving the way for this “spark” that had escaped ‎from the Shechinah to find its way back to its roots.‎
It is known that Joseph, though, of course also serving the ‎Lord, did not do so by using principally the attribute of harmony ‎as his father was in the habit of doing. However, at this critical ‎juncture, in his fateful seclusion with the wife of his master ‎Potiphar, he resorted to the attribute of ‎תפארת‎ as the means to ‎avoid sinning.‎
It is also known that every tzaddik who serves the Lord, ‎regardless of which of the attributes in the diagram of the ‎emanations he uses as his primary model, will be granted a vision ‎of the tzaddik who had made that attribute his primary role ‎model in serving the Lord. When the Talmud Sotah 36 ‎relates that at the critical moment before the seduction, Joseph ‎had a vision of his father, it is a vision of the emanation of ‎תפארת‎ ‎that the Talmud refers to as having been seen by Joseph.‎

It is written, “for with You is the source of life, in Your light we will see light” (Psalms 36:10). For every member of Israel must first awaken themselves through the light of the Blessed God that is within them. For each and every one possesses this, each according to their own state and level. But it is merely buried and covered up by nonsense and worldly vanities. And one must first awaken themselves with all their strength, to cause this light to shine, each according to their own level. And then, the light from above will reach them to cause them to shine more and more. And this is [the meaning of the words] “in Your light” (Psalms 36:10) meaning in the light of the Blessed God that is within us, “we will see light” (ibid) referring to the light of abundance that pours upon one from above. And [the Karliner Rebbe] spoke above this in terms of the statement from the Holy Zohar: “The white light does not dwell until there is a dark light below.” As we see, that the bottom of a candle is black, and there is a white light that rests upon the black light from above. And this relates to what is mentioned in a number of places in the Holy Zohar, “the darkness of the morning.” For before the light of day arrives, it becomes increasingly dark, as we see with our own eyes. And likewise within a person. For the arousal from below is called “a black light”, for a person needs to awaken themselves specifically in their time of darkness. As the verse says, “and she rises when it is still night” (Proverbs 31:15). And when one is roused sufficiently, then a white light from above rests upon them. And this is [the meaning of] “arise, My light” - the black light from below - “for your light has arrived” - the white light from above is ready to pour upon you. And what is the meaning of “arise” [kumi]? For a person needs to be a complete edifice [komah shleima]. And this is [the meaning of], “arise [kumi] My light” - you shall seek to cause your entire stature to shine.