Pemikiran Yahudi Kejadian 1:3: Kuzari, Ner Mitzvah, Guide for the Perplexed & Gevurot Hashem

25. The Rabbi: To this belongs the 'Book of Creation' by the Patriarch Abraham. Its contents are very profound, and require thorough explanation. It teaches the unity and omnipotence of God by means of various examples, which are multiform on one side and uniform on the other. They are in harmony with regard to the One, their Director. This results in the three factors: S’fār, Sēfer, and Sippūr (Sefer Yetzirah 1:1). As to S’fār it means the calculation and weighing of the created bodies. The calculation which is required for the harmonious and advantageous arrangement of a body is based on a numerical figure. Expansion, measure, weight, relation of movements, and musical harmony, all these are based on the number expressed by the word, S’fār. No building emerges from the hand of the architect unless its image had first existed in his soul. Sippūr signifies the language, or rather the divine language, 'the voice of the words of the living God.' This produced the existence of the form which this language assumed in the words: 'Let there be light,' 'let there be a firmament.' The word was hardly spoken, when the thing came into existence. This is also Sēfer, by which writing is meant, the writing of God means His creatures, the speech of God is His writing, the will of God is His speech. In the nature of God, therefore, S’fār, Sippūr, and Sēfer are a unity, whilst they are three in human reckoning. For man wills with his reason, speaks with his mouth, and writes such speech with his hand. These three factors characterize one of God's creatures. Man's will, writing, and word are marks of the thing, but not the nature of the same. The will, however, expressed in the word of God signifies the essence of the thing, and is at the same time His script. Imagine a silk weaver considering his work The silk obeys him, accepts the colours and patterns which he has contrived. The garment therefore comes into existence by his will and design. If we were able when speaking of, or drawing a human figure, to produce a human form, then we should have the word of God in our power and could create, just as we are able to do partially in forming objects in the mind. Spoken or written words have certain advantages over each other. In some cases the name fits the object exactly; in others less so. The language created by God, which He taught Adam and placed on his tongue and in his heart, is without any doubt the most perfect and most fitted to express the things specified, as it is written: 'And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof' (Genesis 2:19). This means that it deserved such name which fitted and characterized it. This shows the excellence of the 'holy tongue' as well as the reason why the angels employed it in preference to any other. Writing is judged from a similar point of view. The shapes of the letters are not the result of accident, but of a device which is in harmony with the character of each letter. Thou shouldst not, now, deem it impossible that names and combinations of letters, whether spoken or written, have certain effects. In either case, calculation, viz. the thought of the pure, angelic soul precedes the act. Thus the three factors: S’fār, Sippūr, and Sēfer become a unity, and the calculation appears as if a being, endowed with a pure soul, had made, spoken, and written it. The book further states with regard to God: He created His world with three Sefīrāh factors: S’fār, Sippūr, and Sēfer. In God's nature they are all one, but this one forms the beginning of the 'thirty-two miraculous and mysterious ways of the divine wisdom,' composed of the ten Sefirōth and the twenty-two letters [of the Hebrew alphabet]. This points to the actuality of existing things and their differences with regard to quantity and quality. Quantity means a number. The mystery of the number is in the number ten, as is expressed in the passage: 'Ten Sefīrōth without anything else; ten and not nine, ten and not eleven' (Sefer Yetzirah 1:4-5). A deep secret lies in the fact that the counting stops at ten, neither more nor less. The next sentence, therefore, runs: 'Understand judiciously and judge intelligently, examine and search them, mind, weigh, and consider, render everything lucid, and place the Creator in His sphere; their measure is ten in endless progression' (ibid. 4-5). This is followed by a division as to quality. The twenty-two letters are divided into three groups, viz. three mothers, seven double, twelve single [consonants]. The three mothers are alef, mem, shin. They cover a great and profound secret; for from them emanate air, water, and fire by means of which the universe was created. The grouping of these consonants united with the order of the macrocosm and the microcosm, viz. man, and the order of time into one line, called 'true witnesses,' viz. universe, soul, year. This also demonstrates that the one order is the work of a one-Master, who is God. And although things are multifarious and different from each other, their difference is the result of the difference of their material, which is partly of higher and partly lower order, and of impure or pure character. The giver of forms, designs and order, however, has placed in them all a unique wisdom, and a providence which is in complete harmony with this uniform order, and is visible in the macrocosm, in man, and in the arrangement of the spheres. It is this that is called the 'true witnesses' of His Oneness, viz. universe, soul, year. This yields approximately the following table--

10. The Rabbi: It runs parallel with the history of creation. The words: 'He who covereth Himself with light' (Psalms 104:2), correspond to 'Let there be light, and there was light' (Genesis 1:3). The words: 'He stretcheth out the heavens like a carpet' run parallel to 'Let there be a firmament'; the words: 'He who layette the beams' to 'the water above the firmament' (Psalms 104:3). He then describes the atmospheric phenomena, clouds, winds, fires, lightnings, and thunder, which all stand under God's guidance, as it is written: 'For by them judgeth He the people' (Job 36:31). In the psalm this is described in the words: 'He who maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the winds, who maketh the winds His messengers, and His ministers a flaming fire' (Psalms 104:3-4). This means that He dispatches them whither and on what errand He desires. Thus far the phenomena of the atmosphere. The psalm, then, passes on to 'let the waters . . . be gathered . . . and the dry land appear' (Psalms 104:9), which is parallel to: 'He founded the earth on its bases.' According to its nature water would close up above the earth, covering it completely, hills and dales, like a garment, as the psalm hath it: 'With the flood, as with a robe, Thou coveredst it; waters stand above the mountains.' Divine Providence, however, obviated its natural inclination, and sent it down to the ocean's deep, to let animals arise and God's wisdom appear. The words: 'At Thy rebuke they flee,' describe the retirement of the water in the seas and underneath the earth. The same condition is alluded to in the words: 'To Him that spread out the earth above the water' (Psalms 136:6), a sentence which seemingly contradicts the other: 'With the flood as with a robe Thou coveredst it,' the latter corresponding to the nature of the water, whilst the former describes God's wisdom and omnipotence. Then the psalm continues: 'Thou didst appoint a bound, that they might not pass over, nor turn again to cover the earth' (Psalms 104:9). All this is intended for the benefit of mankind. By means of certain clever works and dykes man keeps off the floods of rivers, utilising only so much water as is required for mills and irrigation. The psalm now says: 'He sends forth springs into the valleys' (Psalms 104:10), that they should 'give drink to every beast of the plain' (Psalms 104:11), as soon as the wild beasts were created. The words: 'Upon them dwell the birds of the heaven' (Psalms 104:12) refer to the creation of the birds. The psalm, then, passes on to 'Let the earth bring forth' (Genesis 1:11) in the words: 'To the mountains He gives drink from His upper chambers' (Psalms 104:13). This is only another expression for: 'But there went up a mist from the earth' (Genesis 2:16) likewise for the benefit of Adam and his posterity. The psalm says: 'He causes grass to spring up for the cattle' (Psalms 104:14), lest the grass be despised, since it is of service for the domestic animals, oxen, sheep, and horses. This is described in the words: 'Service of man,' (ibid.), viz. agriculture, by means of which he produces corn for himself, as is expressed in the words: 'To bring forth bread from the earth.' This is parallel to the verse: 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, viz. the corn for man, and the chaff for the rest of creatures' (Genesis 1:29), as it is said: 'And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heaven . . . every green herb for meat' (Genesis 1:30). The psalm then mentions the three foods gained from the soil, viz. corn, wine and oil, which are comprised in the term leḥem, and their usages as follows: 'Wine which gladdens man's heart, to make his face shine more than oil,' 'and bread,'--viz. the loaf--sustains man's heart' (Psalms 104:15). Then he mentions the importance of rain for the trees in the words: 'The trees of the Lord have their fill' (Psalms 104:16). These high trees have a use for some animals, as is expressed in the words: 'Wherein the birds make their nests' (Psalms 104:17), just as the high mountains serve other animals, viz. 'The high mountains are for the wild goats, the crags a refuge for the coneys.' Thus far the description of the dry land. The psalm then discusses the Biblical words: 'Let there be lights' as follows: 'The moon He made to measure time,' (Psalms 104:19). After this is mentioned the utility of the night which is not the work of accident, but of intention. There is no trifling in His work, nor even in the accidental consequences of the same. The night is but the time of the absence of sunlight, yet instituted for a purpose. This is expressed in the words: 'Thou makest darkness, and it is night' (Psalms 104:20). This is followed by the description of beasts dangerous to man, which go forth at night and hide by day, whilst man and domestic animals sleep at night and walk abroad during the day. 'Man goes forth to his work and to his labour until the evening' (Psalms 104:23). Having thus included all terrestrial animals in the discussion of the rivers and heavenly lights, and having also mentioned man, there only remain the animals which live in water, the life of which is very little known to us, because Divine Wisdom lavished on them is not so manifest to us as in the former. Speaking of the wisdom which is visible, the psalmist breaks out in praise and says: 'How manifold are Thy works, O Lord!' (Psalms 104:24). He then resumes the subject of the ocean and what is therein, concluding with the words: 'Let the glory of the Lord endure for ever; let the Lord rejoice in His works' (Psalms 104:31). This is a rendering of the words: 'And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good' (Genesis 1:31). At the same time it is an allusion to the seventh day in the words: 'He rested,' 'He blessed,' 'He sanctified,' because it marked the completion of the works of nature, which had a time limit, and placed man on a par with angels, which, being spirits, are above natural impulses, and not bound by time in their works. Intellect can, as we see, picture heaven and earth in one moment. This is the world of celestial life and bliss where the soul finds ease at the moment when it reaches it. The Sabbath is, therefore, called 'a taste of the world to come.'--Let us now resume the discussion on the opinion held by philosophers that the elements having entered various combinations relative to the variety of climes, atmosphere, and constellations, received a variety of forms from the Giver of forms. All minerals are, therefore, but the sum total of the specific powers and faculties. Others assert that the powers and qualities of minerals are the product of combination only, and consequently do not require forms of divine origin. The latter are only necessary for plants and animals to which a soul is attributed. The finer this mixture is, the nobler is the form proper for it in which the divine wisdom manifests itself in a higher degree. It becomes a plant which is possessed of some feeling and perception, penetrates the earth, and derives nourishment from good, moist soil and sweet water, avoiding the contrast. Thus it grows, until it comes to a stand-still, having given life to another like it and produced seed. This seed, then, according to a wisdom implanted in it, pursues a similar course. Philosophers call this nature, or rather powers which guard the preservation of the species, since the essence of the individual cannot be preserved, it being composed of various component parts. A thing which possesses these powers of growth, propagation and nourishment, is devoid of the power of motion, and is, in the opinion of philosophers, guided by nature. As a matter of fact, it is God who controls it in a certain condition. Call this condition what thou wilt, nature, soul, power, or angel. If the mixture is still finer, and fit to be impressed by the divine wisdom, it is favoured with a higher form than the bare physical power. It is able to bring its food from a distance, and is possessed of organs subject to it, which cannot move except by its desire. It has more control over its parts than the plant with which the wind plays, which cannot ward off damage, nor obtain what is useful to it. The animal has limbs to move about from place to place. The form allotted to it above its physical life is called soul. The souls vary greatly according to the preponderance of one or the other of the four elements. The wisdom of Providence has also constituted each living being for the benefit of the whole world. We may not be aware of the use of most of them, any more than we know of the use of ships' implements, and consider them therefore useless, whilst the master and builder of the ship knows it. We would not know the purpose of many of our bones and other organs if they lay detached before us, and so we are in ignorance of the purpose of every bone and limb, although we use it, and are convinced that if we lacked one, our actions would be impaired, and we could not do without it. All atoms of the world are known to, and mustered by, their Creator, and nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken away from it. It is necessary that souls should differ from each other, and that the organs of each soul should be suitable to it. For this reason He endowed the lion with organs for seizing its prey, such as teeth and claws, in addition to courage; but to the hart He gave the means of flight as compensation for its timidity. Every soul instinctively uses its faculties according to their nature, but nature does not reach perfection in any part of animal life, and consequently has no desire to obtain a form higher than the living soul. This, however, is possible in man, in whom it strives for a higher form. The Divine Influence grudges nothing. It bestows on him a higher form, called material or passive intellect. Men differ from each other, because most of them are physically of different constitutions, and the intellect follows the latter. If his gall be yellowish, he is quick and alert; if blackish, he is quiet and sedate. The temperament follows the mixture of humours. If an individual is found of evenly balanced humour, which controls his contrasting dispositions (like the two scales of a balance in the hand of the person who weighs and regulates them by adding or subtracting at his will), such a person possesses without doubt a heart which is free from strong passions. He covets a degree of divine character above his own. He is perplexed, not knowing which inclination should have preponderance. He does not give way either to anger, or to lust, or to any other passion, but controls himself, and seeks divine inspiration to walk the right path. This is the person on whom the divine and prophetic spirit is poured out, if he is fit for prophecy, but if he stands below that degree, he is only endowed with inspiration. In the latter case he is a pious man, but no prophet. There is no niggardliness with God, who allows every one his due. Philosophers call the giver of this degree Active Intellect, and regard it as an angel below God. If a man's intellect is in conjunction with the former, this is called his paradise and lasting life.

And because these empires have importance within the world, therefore there must be within the world exactly four empires corresponding to the differentiation inherent in this world [as we've seen, represented by the number 4]. And there does exist in the world an aspect of unity, and corresponding to this is Yisrael, who are unified. However, in truth, it's fitting that there should be these four empires connected and joined together with Yisrael, and enjoined to Yisrael until everything is one! But on account of the lack inherent in a created entity, which is inherent within creation, which definitionally must lack perfection, it's impossible for our creation to be as such, for [as we have seen] the creating entity must be distinct from the created entity. And specifically in our time before the Kingship of Yisrael. On account of this [the lack of Kingship of Yisrael] we deviate from the Unity of Hashem until the four empires end and the King, the Messiah, comes. Therefore vis-a-vis this lack, the four empires became distinct, but when their rulership ends, so the world will indeed become complete as has always been fitting. Therefore, in conjunction with the creation of the world, these four empires were hinted at and concealed. And also Yisrael, as it's written in the verse: "And the LORD said Let there be light etc..", and this is the light of the Messiah. For all this [the unfolding of world history in this order] was necessary from the outset of creation, no later than when Hashem actually made his world. Therefore Daniel said in his prophecy: “In my vision at night, I saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. Four mighty beasts different from each other emerged from the sea." He [Daniel] said that these four winds were stirring up the great sea, as we have said, that these four are lie the four directions which differ, as we have explained. As such, it was said in Daniel (7:2-7)- “In my vision at night, I saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. Four mighty beasts different from each other emerged from the sea." And it is said these [specifically] four winds stirring up the sea as we explained, for these four are like the four directions which [represent] differentiation [in this world] as we have explained.