כִּֽי־תֵצֵ֥א מַחֲנֶ֖ה עַל־אֹיְבֶ֑יךָ וְנִ֨שְׁמַרְתָּ֔ מִכֹּ֖ל דָּבָ֥ר רָֽע׃
Apabila engkau keluar berkemah melawan musuh-musuhmu, maka engkau harus menjaga dirimu dari segala hal yang jahat.
Ibn Ezra
I am God God loves someone who withdraws from the world in order to serve Him and to understand His words (for example, men and women had to separate from one another three days before the revelation at Sinai). This mystery applied to the very first man [comment on Genesis 1:6] and is intrinsic to the human condition. Since human impulses are animalistic by nature, it was not feasible to forbid all women; but He did forbid all those with whom one is constantly in contact (In the parasha of Ki Teṣeh I shall further reveal a deep and hidden mystery [comment on Deuteronomy 23:10]). The phrase I am God suggests that by dirtying oneself carnally, one distances himself from the Holy and Revealed Name.
Rav Hirsch
Es bedarf nur des Einblicks in das Kap. 26 des Wajikra, mit welchem תורת כהנים, die auf den mit diesem Kapitel des Schmot beginnenden Bau der Stiftshütte folgende Gesetzgebung der Tempel- und Lebensheiligung, abschließt אם בחקתי תלכו וגו׳ וגו׳ וגו׳ ונתתי משכני בתוככם וגו׳, um sich mit entschiedenster Evidenz zu sagen: 1) daß das ושכנתי בתוכם unserer Stelle weit über die bloße Gottesgegenwart im Tempel hinausgehe und vielmehr die in dem ganzen Aufblühen des Einzeln- und Gesamtlebens schützend und segnend sich bekundende Bundesnähe Gottes in unserer Mitte begreife; zugleich aber auch: 2) daß diese schützende und segnende Schechinanähe Gottes nicht durch die bloße korrekte Herstellung und Unterhaltung des Tempelheiligtums bewirkt werde, sondern nur durch Heiligung und Dahingebung unseres ganzen Privat- und öffentlichen Lebens an die Erfüllung des göttlichen Gesetzes zu gewinnen sei. Eine Wahrheit, die sich nicht nur durch die einmalige Zerstörung des Heiligtums zu Schilo und zweimalige Zerstörung des Tempels zu Jerusalem faktisch historisch vollzog, sondern sowohl in dem Buche des Gesetzes selber, so namentlich auch noch bei den Spitzen der ganzen Gesetzgebung ג׳׳ע ע׳׳ז und ש׳׳ד, Wajikra 20, 3; Bamidbar 35, 34; Wajikra 15, 31; Dewarim 23, 10 u. 15), als auch sofort bei der Grundlegung und dem Aufbau des salomonischen Tempels (Kön. I. 6, 12 u. 9) und fast auf allen Blättern der Prophetenbücher, z. B. Jeremias 7, ausdrücklich warnend hervorgehoben wird.
Rabbeinu Bahya
Let me explain something about the differences between the four levels of prophetic power I have listed. There is a mystical element to the phenomenon known as בת קול which accounts for the name בת קול as opposed to the masculine בן קול. Similarly, there is a mystical reason why the Talmud speaks frequently of בנה אב to describe an exegetical method more familiarly known to us by a masculine expression, i.e. בנין אב (in the Baraitha de Rabbi Yishmael which we recite in our daily morning prayers). Why, for instance, do they not call it בנה אם? Similarly, the expression יש אם למקרא or יש אם למסורה is strange, seeing we might have expected the expression יש אב למסורה or יש אב למקרא to convey that there is a valid tradition justifying a certain way of reading or writing a word in the written Torah. All of these expressions have been formulated by our sages with extreme care and reveal a deep insight into the different levels of divine inspiration which they reflect. [Rabbi Chavell, in his notes, quotes a certain Rabbi Ezra bar Shlomoh (a kabbalist from Gerona, hometown of Nachmanides, author of commentary on aggadot in Talmud, disciple of Rabbi Yitzchak the blind (also Gerona) who found that the only five times the Talmud uses the masculine expression בנין אב is when it refers to a direct verse from the written Torah, i.e. a more direct link to the divine origin of such an exegetical tool.]
Actually, every single verse in the written Torah is in the nature of something directly revealed, and the sages could have been expected to refer to it in the masculine form every time, i .e. בנין אב, or בנה אב, but certainly not as אם למקרא, or אם למסורה. The fact is that matters handed down to us by the oral tradition, i.e. תורה ש-בעל פה, the sages usually preface with the word אם, in order to make the distinction of the origin of the tradition. If we keep these principles in mind, we can understand that the expression בת קול was used, seeing that the listener received his instructions via what the Torah itself describes as only a קול and not from the mouth of G’d. Compare Deut. 28,1 which states clearly and unambiguously והיה אם שמוע תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך, “it will be when you will surely heed the voice of the Lord your G’d.” Also in Numbers 7,89 the Torah speaks of Moses hearing the voice speaking with him from above the lid of the Ark.” It is appropriate to call that “voice” בת, “daughter” [like the subsidiary companies in Israel are called חברת בת, literally: “daughter companies.” Ed.], seeing that the instruction was heard through an intermediary. The author describes as yet another reason why the sages called this relatively low key form of divine communication בת קול, their perception of it as an illustration of the “throne” of G’d which is perceived as broad at the top, tapering off towards the bottom. He claims that אש, fire, is similarly perceived as broad at the top and narrow at the base. The term בת קול therefore reflects something which originates at the throne of G’d rather than in His Essence. This type of communication from celestial regions was a fairly commonplace one even during the period of the sages of the Talmud (Eruvin 12, et al). Moreover, the pious people during the second Temple experienced this kind of communication from celestial sources after there were no more prophets and the High Priest did not have the breastplate with the Urim veTumim embedded in them to facilitate direct communication with G’d. This latter form of communication from celestial sources was one rung higher than the Bat Kol. The form of this communication was representative of what is termed אספקלריא שאינה מאירה, “an unclear vision,” which characterized the type of prophetic visions experienced by most prophets in varying degrees. We had explained already in connection with Numbers 12,6 that the Urim veTumim were a device confirming the truth of the communication received, (compare author on Exodus 28,30). The word אורים itself suggests spiritual enlightenment. The function of the אורים was to visually make the High Priest aware of the letters representing the divine communication, whereas the function of theתומים was to enable him to arrange the letters in question in the appropriate order, to avoid misunderstanding the message.
The third level of divine communication is commonly known as רוח הקודש, which is equivalent to or an outgrowth of the tenth emanation. The author appears to feel that a person is able to attain this level of spirituality if he applies to himself Deut. 23,10 ונשמרת מכל דבר רע, “to guard yourself against anything evil.” This level of divine inspiration appears as if it was self-generated by the recipient, who was granted insights without hearing any outside voice or seeing any vision as do prophets. People who experience this level of spirituality are apt to make statements regarding future events without appearing in the least captive to outside communicators. They neither dream the message nor go into a trance or anything like that. It is simply that what they say is perceived as inspired from a higher source. The person uttering such messages has no idea of where they originated from.
The fourth level of prophetic insights is prophecy uttered by an acknowledged man of G’d, someone who, while doing so, completely divests himself of his normal personality, becomes merely an instrument of G’d communing exclusively by means of his disembodied intellect with the source from whom he receives his message/instructions. Once he has divested himself of his bodily functions so that they do not represent an impediment to his receiving clear and undistorted messages from a celestial origin, this may occur either in a dream or even during his waking hours. There is no point in elaborating on this at this point as I have already done so in a book called חשן משפט. [The book does not seem to be extant. Ed.]
Actually, every single verse in the written Torah is in the nature of something directly revealed, and the sages could have been expected to refer to it in the masculine form every time, i .e. בנין אב, or בנה אב, but certainly not as אם למקרא, or אם למסורה. The fact is that matters handed down to us by the oral tradition, i.e. תורה ש-בעל פה, the sages usually preface with the word אם, in order to make the distinction of the origin of the tradition. If we keep these principles in mind, we can understand that the expression בת קול was used, seeing that the listener received his instructions via what the Torah itself describes as only a קול and not from the mouth of G’d. Compare Deut. 28,1 which states clearly and unambiguously והיה אם שמוע תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך, “it will be when you will surely heed the voice of the Lord your G’d.” Also in Numbers 7,89 the Torah speaks of Moses hearing the voice speaking with him from above the lid of the Ark.” It is appropriate to call that “voice” בת, “daughter” [like the subsidiary companies in Israel are called חברת בת, literally: “daughter companies.” Ed.], seeing that the instruction was heard through an intermediary. The author describes as yet another reason why the sages called this relatively low key form of divine communication בת קול, their perception of it as an illustration of the “throne” of G’d which is perceived as broad at the top, tapering off towards the bottom. He claims that אש, fire, is similarly perceived as broad at the top and narrow at the base. The term בת קול therefore reflects something which originates at the throne of G’d rather than in His Essence. This type of communication from celestial regions was a fairly commonplace one even during the period of the sages of the Talmud (Eruvin 12, et al). Moreover, the pious people during the second Temple experienced this kind of communication from celestial sources after there were no more prophets and the High Priest did not have the breastplate with the Urim veTumim embedded in them to facilitate direct communication with G’d. This latter form of communication from celestial sources was one rung higher than the Bat Kol. The form of this communication was representative of what is termed אספקלריא שאינה מאירה, “an unclear vision,” which characterized the type of prophetic visions experienced by most prophets in varying degrees. We had explained already in connection with Numbers 12,6 that the Urim veTumim were a device confirming the truth of the communication received, (compare author on Exodus 28,30). The word אורים itself suggests spiritual enlightenment. The function of the אורים was to visually make the High Priest aware of the letters representing the divine communication, whereas the function of theתומים was to enable him to arrange the letters in question in the appropriate order, to avoid misunderstanding the message.
The third level of divine communication is commonly known as רוח הקודש, which is equivalent to or an outgrowth of the tenth emanation. The author appears to feel that a person is able to attain this level of spirituality if he applies to himself Deut. 23,10 ונשמרת מכל דבר רע, “to guard yourself against anything evil.” This level of divine inspiration appears as if it was self-generated by the recipient, who was granted insights without hearing any outside voice or seeing any vision as do prophets. People who experience this level of spirituality are apt to make statements regarding future events without appearing in the least captive to outside communicators. They neither dream the message nor go into a trance or anything like that. It is simply that what they say is perceived as inspired from a higher source. The person uttering such messages has no idea of where they originated from.
The fourth level of prophetic insights is prophecy uttered by an acknowledged man of G’d, someone who, while doing so, completely divests himself of his normal personality, becomes merely an instrument of G’d communing exclusively by means of his disembodied intellect with the source from whom he receives his message/instructions. Once he has divested himself of his bodily functions so that they do not represent an impediment to his receiving clear and undistorted messages from a celestial origin, this may occur either in a dream or even during his waking hours. There is no point in elaborating on this at this point as I have already done so in a book called חשן משפט. [The book does not seem to be extant. Ed.]