Tafsiran yang Mengutip untuk Keluaran 9:3

In this verse Solomon warns man not to give in to his various physical urges but to suppress them and to vanquish them. Anyone who succeeds in banishing his physical urges is considered on the spiritual level of an angel. Conversely, anyone who encourages his physical urges and wants to indulge them is on the spiritual level of an animal. When we take a look at the creatures created on the sixth day of creation we find that all the creatures created prior to man can be divided into two groups: 1) abstract intelligences; 2) creatures bound to earth by their bodies. The first group comprises the angels, creatures which are totally disembodied, divorced from anything material. The second group, such as the trees and other kinds of vegetation as well as living creatures are all composed of matter, totally devoid of intelligence. Each of the two categories of creatures performs the tasks allotted to them by their Creator, the former group using their intelligence, the latter using their instinct. Both these groups are not free agents but have to obey the instructions received from their Creator, using either their natural instincts or their G’d - given intelligence but neither being overtly interfered with.
It follows that on the sixth day a third category of creature was created, one which represents a blend of the previous two. It was a creature which embodied both intelligence similar to the disembodied angels, and at the same time is made up of a body and responds to natural urges similar to the animals. This category of creatures was the human species. Man is not dominated either by the dictates of his intelligence or those of his natural urges. The principal difference between man and other creatures it that he possess willpower, i.e. decisions made by him are free-willed. If he is circumspect he can successfully overcome the natural urges he has in common with the animals. In that event he frees himself of the influence exerted upon him by the physical raw material he is made of. If he fails to resist the urges which result from his being made up of physical matter, he negates the influence of his intelligence, the element which makes him similar to the angels.
As long as Adam did not sin and as a result became enmeshed in the urges common to animals he was a true angel of the Lord although possessed of a body. He was all intelligence, unblemished. As a result, he was fit to live forever (compare author’s comments on Genesis 2,17), similar to the angels who reside in the celestial regions. He had been placed in Gan Eden, the choicest location on earth.
Seeing that he did sin, decided to respond to physical urges, he was deprived of the intelligence which had covered him like a garment and was dressed in earth-grown material. As a result he was expelled from Gan Eden and given herbs as food, similar to the animals. This is the meaning of Genesis 3,18: “you shall eat the herbs of the field.” Prior to that he had been eating fruit grown on trees, products of plantings by G’d’s own hand. Keeping in mind how Adam was demoted, or demoted himself, we must realise that it is to our advantage to break the hold that these natural urges have on us, something which if achieved is תערב לנפש, “will be sweet for the soul;” Solomon speaks of greed and similar instincts which, if they have been “broken,” conquered by man, are something sweet and pleasant for man’s intellectual faculties. The word נהיה in that verse, an unusual word, is similar in construction to Daniel 8,27 נהייתי ונחליתי, “I was broken up and ill;” we also have a similar word in Exodus 9,3 הנה יד ה' הויה, “here the Lord’s hand is about to break, etc.” Solomon urges man to break the hold these natural instincts have over him seeing that they are רע, evil. The Torah already told us that such urges are evil in Genesis 8,21 כי יצר לב האדם רע מנעוריו, “for the instinctive urges man’s heart is exposed to are evil, ever since his early years.” Seeing that the person who does break the prison walls represented by these urges is in effect סר מרע, distancing himself from evil, Solomon adds that תועבת כסילים סור מרע, that “abandoning evil is something abominable in the eyes of the fools.” Whatever is pleasant for the soul is by definition an abomination for the body, the home of these baser instincts of man.
It is a well known fact that he who allows himself to follow these base instincts is thereby violating all of the Torah’s precepts. Following one’s instincts may be divided into four categories, four levels; 1) one does so theoretically, allowing himself to feel the urge and be titillated by it. 2) One speaks about these urges, a form of coming closer to giving in to them; 3) one indulges these urges by consuming the object of the temptation with one’s mouth, tasting it; 4) one abandons one’s entire body to the delights offered by such allure. As to fantasizing about sin Solomon already taught us that such fantasies are culpable as if the sin had actually been committed in deed. In Proverbs 15,13 he told us that “a happy heart makes for a cheerful face, whereas a sad heart causes a despondent spirit.” Solomon did not want to tell us the obvious, rather he meant that there is a direct relationship between fantasizing about sin and translating the fantasy into practice. Just as the thoughts of the heart influence the body and its appearance, so sinful thoughts influence the organs with which these thoughts are carried out. The heart is to those organs what the root of a tree is to its branches.
The second category of following one’s instincts, i.e. speaking about such fantasies involves such sins as gossiping, character-assassination, using foul language. It is forbidden by Biblical decree. Solomon refers to it when he said that “the mouth of fools expresses folly” (Proverbs 15,2). Immediately following that verse he wrote that “the eyes of G’d are everywhere; they behold the good and the wicked.” What Solomon meant was that G’d pays close attention to the power of speech being abused as well as to those who use that power judiciously and constructively. G’d will punish the guilty. The prophet Isaiah also castigated people who abuse their mouths to speak foul words when he said: “(G’d) will not spare their youths...for all are ungodly and wicked and every mouth speaks impiety” (Isaiah 9,16).
The third category, i.e. eating forbidden things in response to one’s instincts, overriding G’d’s laws, is also a violation of a Biblical law. Concerning such lapses David said (Psalms 40,9) “Your teaching is in my entrails.” David congratulated himself that he never fell victim to the temptation to fill his entrails with forbidden food. David did not merely refer to food which was forbidden per se, but to gorging himself on permitted food, indulging his appetite instead of eating only in order to meet the requirements of his health. Solomon described a righteous person as someone who אוכל לשבוע נפשו, “eats in order to satisfy his soul (as opposed to his body)” Proverbs 13,25. In Proverbs 21,23 Solomon elaborates further saying that “he who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”
The fourth category of temptation one may fall victim to is the one involving one’s entire body. It concerns indulging one’s carnal instincts indiscriminately. There is no need to dwell on the list of incestuous relations the Torah has already outlawed. The temptation to overindulge in sexual activity with a partner who is officially permitted is what one has to suppress, conquer. This concludes the four categories of temptations that the body is exposed to and which it is incumbent upon us to resist. Whence do we know that if someone allows himself to pursue these various pleasures available to the flesh that he thereby violated the entire Torah legislation? Solomon provided us with the answer to this question when he wrote (Proverbs 18,1) לתאוה יבקש נפרד, בכל תושיה יתגלע, “a man exclusively concerned with satisfying his desires separates himself from all wisdom (Torah).” The word נפרד, “alone, abandoned,” used in that verse means that he who pursues physical gratification will find himself isolated, alone. He will lose his friends and companions in the process as his friends will not want to expose themselves to these temptations. A person guilty of such pursuits is in effect “kicking” at the Torah. This is what is meant by the words בכל תושיה יתגלע. This is why the Torah asks us not only to refrain from what is forbidden but to refrain from and to suppress desires as these might ultimately lead us to violate what is forbidden outright. Considerations such as this led our sages (Yevamot 20) to formulate the slogan: קדש עצמך במותר לך, “sanctify yourself by refraining from that which is permitted to you!” Anyone who deliberately separates himself from such urges is described as “holy.” The Torah applies this flattering description to the Nazir who undertook to abstain from intoxicating drink (wine) and all grape-products as well as from contact with ritual impurity, and who lets his hair grow to show that he is doing this. The Torah (Numbers 6,5) writes concerning such a person: “holy shall he be, the growth of his hair on his head shall grow.” Just as such a Nazir is holy, the Israelites at Mount Sinai were holy as we know from Exodus 19,6: “and you shall be unto me a Kingdom of Priests, an holy nation.” The Israelites were commanded to be holy in order that they should separate themselves from the cravings of this world.

A kabbalistic approach to our verse: The words: “I will go down with you,” are an allusion to the Presence of G’d, the שכינה, which would go down to Egypt with the Israelites. Our sages in Shabbat 89 and elsewhere say that G’d’s Presence descended with the Israelites. In order to hint at this, Onkelos translates the words as אנא אחות [a “physical” as opposed to a merely spiritual descent, in anthropomorphic terms, of course. Ed.], instead of as אנא אתגלי which is his usual translation for the word ירד, such as in Exodus 19,11 when applied to G’d. This is especially remarkable considering the care Onkelos takes not to apply anthropomorphic terms to G’d or His activities.
The reason the Torah writes מצרימה instead of למצרים, i.e. concluding with the letter ה, and also writing the word עלה in a form ending with the letter ה, is to provide tangible proof that G’d’s Presence, i.e. “ה,” will accompany the Israelites to Egypt. The letter ה, the last letter in the Ineffable Name, is the attribute which provided sustenance for Egypt during the years of famine.
Joseph already hinted at this attribute when he told the Egyptians in 47,23 הא לכם זרע, “here is seed for you.” In the following verse Joseph speaks of the חמישית, “fifth” or “hand” which G’d used to enact retribution from the Egyptians for abusing the Israelites during their exile there. This “hand” of G’d was in evidence when the livestock of the Egyptians was struck in Exodus 9,3, and it was the attribute the Israelites witnessed at the sea 14,31. It is also the attribute which Ezekiel mentioned when he described G’d’s anger during the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple (Ezekiel 16,43). We also find the words לא אחמול, “I shall not display pity,” five times in connection with that destruction (commencing in Ezekiel 5,11) after having described such scenes as parents eating the flesh of their children and children eating the flesh of their parents, to illustrate this lack of G’d’s pity for the state His people were in at that time.
We find that Daniel 2,43 refers to this attribute when he speaks about iron not blending with earthenware. Daniel mentions five different categories of materials which cannot form a blend, an alloy. This word הא occurs a total of three times in the Bible, once in the Torah, once in the Books of Prophets (Ezekiel 16,43), and once in the Hagiographa (Daniel 3,25). The message is that this attribute of G’d will accompany the Israelites through all the various exiles. The very word עמך, “with you,” which G’d uses to describe Himself as accompanying Yaakov to Egypt, is also associated with צרה, distress, sorrow, trouble, as we know from עמו אנכי בצרה, Psalms 91,15 “I am with him when it is in trouble.” In our verse the choice of that word then is a double-entendre. It means that even when the Israelites were exiled to Babylon the שכינה was with them also. Our sages base this on Isaiah 43,14: “for your sake I send (the redeemer) to Babylon.” We have a similar situation regarding the exile under the Edomites, (the present exile). Isaiah 63,1 describes the redeemer as coming from Edom, his clothing full of blood, etc., an allusion to G’d taking His vengeance on our oppressors. The word זה in that verse is a reference to G’d Himself being that redeemer. The word זה referred to our redeemer, i.e. G’d, already when the Israelites had crossed the sea and watched the Egyptians drown. At that time they broke out in a song of thanksgiving adulating G’d by saying זה א-לי ואנוהו “this is my G’d and I want to enshrine Him.” The word זה, of course, also ends with this letter ה, the attribute we have been discussing. Interestingly enough, even Joseph phrased his invitation to his father to come to him in Egypt in a word ending with the letter ה, when he said (45,9) רדה אלי אל תעמוד, “come down to me, do not delay.” He added the letter ה instead of saying רד אלי, which would have been quite sufficient. He meant to convey his confidence that the attribute of G’d represented by the letter ה would accompany his father and his family. Keeping all this in mind, the phenomenal increase of the Jewish people from 70 souls to over 600,000 arms-bearing men at the time of the Exodus (only 210 years later) becomes much less surprising. Clearly the Presence of G’d’s benevolent שכינה must be credited for this. (the author had referred to the addition of the latter ה in Avraham’s name in Genesis 17,5 as supplying the element which would enable his descendants to multiply prolifically). This element came into its own while the Jewish people were in Egypt and actually was also a prime factor in their eventual enslavement (compare Exodus 1,7-13). Once they had attained the required number of 600.000 men over 20 years of age they qualified for G’d revealing Himself to them openly at Mount Sinai.

That which scripture ascribes physical form to G-d, such as "the hand of G-d" (Shemos 9:3), "the eyes of G-d" (Devarim 11:12), is also for this reason - so that everyone will understand together, the wise man and the fool, that there is a Creator and Master, as explained at length in Gate #1 chapter 10.

enlarge his hand May He enlarge His hand with His plague like (Exod. 9:3), “Behold God’s hand is.”

באדם ובבהמה UPON MAN AND UPON CATTLE — If you ask, “Whence did they obtain these cattle”? Has it not already been stated, (v. 6) “And all the cattle of Egypt died”? I reply that this judgment was decreed only against the cattle that were in the fields, as it is said, (v. 3) “[The hand of the Lord is] upon thy cattle which is in the field”, and everyone who feared the Lord took his cattle in-doors. So it is taught in the Mechilta in the comment on (Exodus 14:7) “And he took six hundred chosen chariots.”