מָֽה־אֱנ֥וֹשׁ כִּֽי־תִזְכְּרֶ֑נּוּ וּבֶן־אָ֝דָ֗ם כִּ֣י תִפְקְדֶֽנּוּ׃
Qu’est donc l’homme, que tu penses à lui? Le fils d’Adam, que tu le protèges?
Mei HaShiloach
"When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child..." In the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 14:2), "I will bring forth My righteousness; it is not far off, and My salvation shall not delay" (Isaiah 46:13). Rabbi Nathan said, "We calculate for the sake of our forefather Abraham. He who comes from afar." As it is written: "He renews His wonders" (Psalms 136:4), "Who makes new every day." Indeed, according to the simple understanding, what newness is there in a mother who gives birth every day? Then even renewal should become ordinary. But the matter is this: that the Holy One, blessed be He, makes something new out of the ordinary, and wonders will come into the hearts of those who await Him on everything to say, 'Who has created these?' As with our forefather Abraham, peace be upon him, for the world behaved as such for many years before Abraham came into the world, and there was no one to inquire and wonder about His conduct. And in the heart of Abraham, peace be upon him, there was a very great wonder (Genesis Rabbah 39:1). It can be said that the city without a leader: who is the owner of the city? And when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that his question was not like the natural inquiries, but because he truly wanted to know who created these, in order to worship Him, and because of this, he despised all the pleasures of this world. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, had to reveal Himself to him and show him that He is the Owner of the city. And regarding this matter, it says, "When a woman conceives," because there is no value in the term "woman" in the world of nobility, as is explained in the Gemara (Shabbat 88a): "What is the significance of a female birth among us?" And it is said, "When a woman conceives," etc. That is, one who has a true desire with strength and vigor for the Holy One, blessed be He, and gives birth to a male child, and he is the one who clearly achieves true salvation. For the birth of a male indicates true salvation because all the good is included in the soul of the Jewish person. And this is the matter of the Midrash: "We calculate for the sake of our forefather Abraham." That is, Abraham recognized from himself that there is a leader in the world, and we too can recognize when we turn our minds to Abraham to contemplate his ways, for the awakening of Abraham's heart caused amazement to everyone who understood why he was awakened in his heart to inquire and wonder who created the world and its fullness, and how many thousands of souls were before, and it did not occur to them to ask this. From this awakening itself, we can understand that there is a Creator and Leader, for the desire that came to Abraham's heart was also from what the Holy One, blessed be He, sent to him in his heart. For if this had happened naturally, why did it not happen to all the world? And this is what the Midrash says: "We calculate for the sake of our forefather Abraham," for his name indicates his will, as is found in people who are called by their actions and professions because all their will is in the matter they are involved in. And also his name in the Gemara is will. And this is "I will bring forth My righteousness from afar," for His name indicates His will, as found in people who are called by their actions and professions, for their entire will is in the matter they are involved in, and His name in the Gemara is will.
Kedushat Levi
Another exegesis of our verse draws attention to the word וילדה, “she gives birth,” not having been preceded by the usual ותהר, “she conceived and became pregnant.”
Rabbi Yossi, in the above quoted paragraph of the Zohar, stated that G’d distinguishes between a drop of semen containing predominantly alkaline sperm and that which is more acidic, affecting the eventual sex of the infant born. G’d, as the third partner in every human being born, enters the picture after the woman has received seminal ejaculation by her male partner. He then decides the sex of the baby that will result.
Another exegesis of our verse draws attention to the word וילדה, “she gives birth,” not having been preceded by the usual ותהר, “she conceived and became pregnant.”
Rabbi Yossi, in the above quoted paragraph of the Zohar, stated that G’d distinguishes between a drop of semen containing predominantly alkaline sperm and that which is more acidic, affecting the eventual sex of the infant born. G’d, as the third partner in every [clearly a reference to the sacrificial offerings by the Jewish people. The word used in the Zohar is סעודה, “meal.” Ed.] He understood this statement as a hyperbole, similar to when Solomon says in Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם ישמח אב “a wise son causes the father joy.” He meant that the actions performed by the wise son result in his father deriving pleasure from this. Similarly, the Torah’s commandments performed by the Israelites provide their Father in heaven with similar satisfaction and joy. In other words, the word תענוג can also be translated as פרנסה, “livelihood,.” If that were so we must ask ourselves how it is that G’d Who has millions of angels at His command in the celestial spheres should have to look to the Israelites to provide Him with His parnassah?” In our daily prayers (kedushah) we quote the angels who in a celestial choir proclaim the holiness of G’d in awe and fear so that in the words of the psalmist: מה אנוש כי תזכרנו, of what significance is man that You should even make mention of him?” (psalms 8,5)
We have to resort to a parable in order to better understand the Zohar. Imagine that leaders of the gentile nations have undertaken a program to teach a specific bird the language spoken by humans. When somebody hears about this he is so amazed that he tells his colleagues about it, inviting them to personally examine the truth of this statement. The moral of this parable is quite obvious. The human species (gentiles) are invited to observe the effect of the Jewish people observing the commandments of the Torah and the effect of their performing kind deeds towards their fellow man, so that those observing the exceptional success of the Jewish nation will henceforth consider the angels as insignificant by comparison to the Jewish people.
Rabbi Yossi, in the above quoted paragraph of the Zohar, stated that G’d distinguishes between a drop of semen containing predominantly alkaline sperm and that which is more acidic, affecting the eventual sex of the infant born. G’d, as the third partner in every human being born, enters the picture after the woman has received seminal ejaculation by her male partner. He then decides the sex of the baby that will result.
Another exegesis of our verse draws attention to the word וילדה, “she gives birth,” not having been preceded by the usual ותהר, “she conceived and became pregnant.”
Rabbi Yossi, in the above quoted paragraph of the Zohar, stated that G’d distinguishes between a drop of semen containing predominantly alkaline sperm and that which is more acidic, affecting the eventual sex of the infant born. G’d, as the third partner in every [clearly a reference to the sacrificial offerings by the Jewish people. The word used in the Zohar is סעודה, “meal.” Ed.] He understood this statement as a hyperbole, similar to when Solomon says in Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם ישמח אב “a wise son causes the father joy.” He meant that the actions performed by the wise son result in his father deriving pleasure from this. Similarly, the Torah’s commandments performed by the Israelites provide their Father in heaven with similar satisfaction and joy. In other words, the word תענוג can also be translated as פרנסה, “livelihood,.” If that were so we must ask ourselves how it is that G’d Who has millions of angels at His command in the celestial spheres should have to look to the Israelites to provide Him with His parnassah?” In our daily prayers (kedushah) we quote the angels who in a celestial choir proclaim the holiness of G’d in awe and fear so that in the words of the psalmist: מה אנוש כי תזכרנו, of what significance is man that You should even make mention of him?” (psalms 8,5)
We have to resort to a parable in order to better understand the Zohar. Imagine that leaders of the gentile nations have undertaken a program to teach a specific bird the language spoken by humans. When somebody hears about this he is so amazed that he tells his colleagues about it, inviting them to personally examine the truth of this statement. The moral of this parable is quite obvious. The human species (gentiles) are invited to observe the effect of the Jewish people observing the commandments of the Torah and the effect of their performing kind deeds towards their fellow man, so that those observing the exceptional success of the Jewish nation will henceforth consider the angels as insignificant by comparison to the Jewish people.