Commentaire de citation sur Les Psaumes 40:13

Bands of death have encompassed me On many occasions wicked men have surrounded me. אפפוני is like סבבוני. Similarly (below 40:13), “For countless evils...have encompassed (אפפו) me.”

Unity and Spirituality (Page 93b – 96a): “The awesome power as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes:” Rabbi Jehiel taught that God performed many miracles in Egypt in order to prepare the Israelites for the giving of the Torah at Sinai, as it says, “When you are brought forth from Egypt you shall worship God at this mountain.” The receiving of the Torah was only possible when the people had attained a state of unity; the people camped together like one person and with one heart. This is one the verse means: He performed all these awesome acts “before your eyes” so that you would attain a state of unity and become one group. The word l’aynekha, before your eyes, is singular, an expression of their unity. This was the nature of the events that took place in the time of Achashveros . After the Exodus the Israelites had time to prepare themselves for the giving of the Torah and its acceptance. They did not yet understand the preciousness of their unity as a nation. By the time of Purim, the Jewish people understood the importance of this quality. They accepted the Torah without any special preparation. They realized that the miracle of Purim that was performed for them was a great miracle because it united the nation, and therefore they accepted the fasts and prayers freely. This was the greatest miracle of all: that in a place of impurity and sin like Egypt the light of God appeared to them and opened the eyes of the blind. This is what Rashi explained concerning the verse in Deuteronomy 4:35: “To you it was shown…” God opened seven firmaments and revealed Himself. When God revealed Himself in Egypt, He took from the Egyptians whatever divine sparks they may still have had. This is what the Torah means when it says, “They despoiled the Egyptians.” They became like a pool emptied of fish. That is, they took all the divine sparks that were within them and they were revealed in the Israelites. What’s more, the Israelites began to recognize the hidden sparks that were within themselves. These divine sparks were like the chaff of the wheat or the clouds that cover up the sun. That is why the verse says that God revealed these mighty acts before your very eyes. For the first time, they began to recognize the presence of God within themselves. This made them even more worthy of the many miracles and the redemption itself. Rabbi Jehiel taught that one who separates himself from the Jewish people because he doesn’t think there is anyone as worthy as him and considers everyone else to be nothing is like someone who is blind in one eye. He can only see the faults in others. Such a person is impaired. He has damaged the first letters of the divine name Yud-Hay, which are associated with the Divine and the human mind. A person who has impaired in the first letters of the divine name has also impaired in the five senses (since these senses are a product of the mind). He cannot see his own faults. As it says in Psalms, 40:13: “My iniquities have taken hold of me; I am unable to see.” And as the Ari of blessed memory taught: when a person sins, the vitality of that particular limb with which he sinned is now impaired. Since the mind controls the body, his entire self is impaired. That is why the word melekh, king, is an abbreviation for moach (mind), lev (heart) and kaved (liver). These are the organs that rule over the human body. Just as the mind rules over the body, if a person has bad attitudes his entire body is impaired; he cannot see as he should or hear, as he should. Such a person cannot see or hear the truth that God is the one who directs the world and the cause of all causes. Not only that but an arrogant person believes that he can arrive at all truths with the human intellect. This of course is impossible; as Job said, “Can you find out deep things about God? Can you find out the purpose of the Almighty?” Even the angels and the Seraphim cannot discern the deep secrets of God. No, only the person who recognizes his own limitations will realize the extent of our ability. He will come to understand that only by implanting in his own heart faith in God that is both simple and complete without any doubts, will his strong faith become a healing balm in his life. A person who thinks he is wiser than everyone else and believes that all other people are fools is called “sick in his legs/feet.” This is because ‘feet’ are associated with wisdom. In the Sephirotic chart, netzach, eternity, and hod, beauty, are also the two legs. In Midrash Hazit, there is a story about a person whose legs became diseased. The person went from doctor to doctor seeking a cure. Finally one of them told him to put cow turds on his legs and he would be healed. This is really a symbolic story. A person whose faith is weak is called one with sick feet. And by putting turds on his legs he would acknowledge the limits of his own intellectual ability. Only by recognizing the limits of our intellect can we gain true faith. This is what the Baal Shem Tov meant when he said before he died, “I am but a simple lad who has faith,” and then he was healed. Only by humbling ourselves and abnegating our ego can we gain the merit of simple faith for the lowly person sees the exaltedness of God. “As the lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes.” Now we can understand the significance of this verse in the Torah. It begins with lachem, for you, which is plural, and it ends in the singular ainechem, your very eyes. Through unity and friendship the people of Israel will see with their own eyes the precious light of the face of the living God in all its glory. When we put aside our self-interests and abnegate ourselves, we become one in the presence of God.