Pemikiran Yahudi Bilangan 20:26: Akeidat Yitzchak

Shimon the Just mentioned only the pillars that ensure the survival of our soul. Had he referred to the needs of the body, he would have had to include food and other necessities for physical survival. On the Day of Atonement, culmination of ten days of preparation, the emphasis of this role of the Jew is even greater than at other times during the year, and we worship G'd in the manner of angels, abstaining from food and drink, just as spiritual beings. In fact, we desist from most physical functions that are not essential to our actual survival. Having thus approached a state of complete innocence, we are allowed to recite aloud, that which we dare no more than whisper during the rest of the year, namely the verse "blessed be the name of His glorious Majesty." Since this version is one that is plagiarised from the angels' liturgical repertoire, we would not dare do so without their consent. So far the Midrash. Since we note that the praise of G'd referred to is in indirect language, employing the pronoun "HIS," and since David in Psalms 145, and 72, has already employed similar terminology quite openly, one is tempted to ask why we cannot use said formula unabashedly all year round. The answer may be that all pronouns, or attributes, are merely a negative way of defining something. Since G'd is not understood by man, the nearest we can come to understanding Him, is the way He Himself explained it to Moses, i.e. "you will see My back." (Exodus 33,23) We arrive at a definition of G'd by a process of elimination. By comprehending what He is not, we form some idea of what He must be. The Talmud Berachot 31, states that Israel is more beloved than the angels, since the latter require three stages of elimination to arrive at G'ds name, whereas Israel needs only two such stages. The angels recite "holy, holy, holy," followed by the name of G'd, whereas Israel merely recites "Hear, O, Israel the Lord our G'd is One." The angels have to eliminate, i.e. separate themselves from three worlds, since they know both their own world, the one of abstract spiritual beings, as well as the two worlds which we know. Israel knows only two worlds, cannot distinguish what goes on in the world of the spirits. Therefore, it needs to separate itself only from the awareness of the two worlds containing matter before concentrating on praising the Lord. This gives the angels an advantage over the humans in that they can free themselves of even more encumbrance in order to come closer to the essence of G'd. When we commence the formula of the kedushah, the sanctification of G'd in our liturgy, we say "let us praise Your name O Lord just as they do in Heaven."..followed by the triple proclamation " holy, holy, holy," reflecting the havdalah, separation between the three worlds G'd has created, and the Creator Himself. Our own formula of praise is introduced by the words "Hear O Israel." The word "hear" describes a human function; humans employ physical ears to receive communications, since they can distinguish only the two worlds of the plants and the living bodies. But we do not praise the kinnuy, attribute, only the holy name itself. The angels, though they have a clearer comprehension, praise only "HIS" glorious Majesty, (not the actual NAME) In this respect we are more beloved than they are. In the words of the teachers of our Mishnah "chavivim yisrael, Israel is especially beloved. To sum up then: We address G'd directly in our formula of the keriyat shema, whereas the angels concern themselves only with some of G'ds attributes. Moreover, Israel recites the praises of G'd three times daily, whereas the angels do so only once a day. Many angels, individually get to do so only once in fifty years, (compare discussion in Chullin 91) We also have it on Talmudic authority that the angels are not permitted to recite their song of praise until after Israel has done so here on earth. Against this, we need to consider that the relatively infrequent occurrence of an event makes such an event more special, more distinguished. If it is true that the task of the angels is to promote G'ds work in the "lower" world, it makes sense that until Israel has praised the Lord, the angels are in no position to do so, having not yet completed their appointed task. In fact, it would be hypocritical for the angels to praise the Lord as long as Israel, G'ds standard bearer, has failed to do so. This is what the angel who wrestled with Jacob told him, when the Midrash quotes him as saying that he must now join in the Heavenly choir of praise to G'd. Only now, after he had found that Jacob did indeed possess integrity, had this angel accomplished his specific mission, and was able to re-join his colleagues. A second answer to our problem is that the verse "Blessed be Majesty, His kingdom forever and ever" is really talking about two separate aspects of Divine manifestations. The first half of the verse represents an acknowledgment of G'd as Creator and Supreme King, the second half talks about the manner in which He exercises His functions. Some people reach an understanding of the manner of G'ds guidance in the universe. Most people do not. Angels, however, when praising the Lord, automatically praise Him from both vantage points. Therefore, they use a formula which includes both aspects of the matter. On the Day of Atonement, when all of us reach a higher spiritual level than during the rest of the year, we can utter this formula with full voice, although the same thing would be presumptuous during the rest of the year. Pessachim 56, explains that since Moses had not used this formula of praising G'd, the sages were hesitant about arrogating such right to themselves. On the other hand, since Jacob was reputed to have used this formula according to the Midrash, they decided it should be used, but only sotto voce. The order of the service on the Day of Atonement, corresponds to the three principles laid down by Shimon the Just.