Chasidut su Deuteronomio 5:78
Mevo HaShearim
And yet: even this act of filling of the world with holiness was done for the sake of Israel. For only exceptional individuals are able to stand apart [l’hitboded] and remove themselves from the world, becoming sanctified and prophetic despite the materiality of the world. Only to Moses did God say ‘but you, remain here with Me.’219Deuteronomy 5:28. This is not so of the rest of the nation, who could become prophets while yet ensconced in the world (something Moses desired when he said ‘Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets,’220Numbers 11:29. small and great alike according to their stature). This is only possible when both the world in which they exist and their very bodies are sanctified by the influence of prophecy. For how could it be possible that the prophets, windows of the heavens, could bring down portions of Beriyah and Yetzirah to this world [Note: See the Zohar, Vayetzeh 149, and in M’M there, and other places in the Zohar; cf. Shaarei Kedushah 3:6,221This entire section (as well as those surrounding it) of Vital’s Shaarei Kedushah analyzes the nature of prophecy. In the passage referenced, Vital states that only Moses prophesized on the unmitigated level of Atzilut. All the other prophets prophesized on the lower, filtered levels of Beriyah and Yetzirah. that the holy prophets received their prophecy from the worlds of Beriyah and Yetzirah.] and to the people in it, without the world and the very bodies of the people in it rising in turn?
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Kedushat Levi
Another possible way of explaining the opening line of our Parshah is based on a statement in the Talmud B’rachot 9 according to which although we have a rule that there must not be an interruption of any kind between the conclusion of the b’rachah “concluding with the words גאל ישראל, and the Amidah which follows, the words א-דוני שפתי תפתח, “Lord, open my lips” (in prayer), do not constitute an interruption. The reason is that the sages declared the Amidah as a “long prayer,” i.e. the line beginning with “Lord open my lips,” are considered an integral part of the Amidah rather than merely an introduction. Although the members of the “Great Assembly” who composed the Amidah prayer had not included these words in their formula, subsequent religious authorities decided to add this line. Apparently during the era of the “great Assembly,” a period beginning with the coming of Ezra to Eretz Yisrael, there was no need for people to ask for Divine assistance before they could concentrate on saying their prayers. By the time of the Mishnah 200-250 years later approx., in line with the principle of ירידת הדורות, “the gradual but constant decline of the spiritual level of the Jewish people,” it had become necessary to ask for assistance from heaven to enable us to pray with the mental concentration without which our prayers are not a compliment for G’d, but G’d forbid, an insult.
From the above it follows that our prayers must be viewed as consisting of two separate components. One consists of the actual prayer, as composed by the members of the Great Assembly, and the second consists of a plea to enable us to pray in such a way that our prayers may find the desired response from G’d.
There can be no question that Moses did not require these “artificial” assists not only to formulate his prayers but to pray with the appropriate mental concentration. His prayers on behalf of his people had always found a receptive ear, but now when for the first time his prayer had not been accepted, it is clear that the reason must have been that the prayer itself was somehow defective, did not flow from his mouth as it had been on all other occasions. He therefore found it necessary to ask G’d to assist him in formulating his prayer appropriately. The word לאמור in the verse quoted above reflects this need of Moses to ask for assistance to his entreaty to be allowed to enter the Holy Land. The word לאמור on this occasion in connection with Moses’ prayer shows us that this was the only time in his career as the leader of the nation that he felt the need for assistance in this.
Moreover, as a rule, when the Torah reports Moses as speaking, it reports merely that G’d’s voice was speaking through his throat.
This also helps us answer the question of why Moses, during the revelation at Mount Sinai was angry at the people who had heard G’d speak to them directly when they requested that instead of having to listen to His voice they preferred to listen to it as relayed to them through Moses as His interpreter. At that time (Deuteronomy 5,24) the Israelites had addressed Moses as if he were a female by using the feminine pronoun את, for “and you,” instead of the masculine ואתה. Our sages, quoted by Rashi, commenting on this, observe that Moses felt that he personally had been weakened by the people, because they had failed to display the ability to serve the Lord from love, else they would not have had to be afraid of G’d’s voice causing them to die, as they claimed.
In light of what we said i.e. that generally G’d’s voice spoke out of the throat of Moses, we could have understood Moses’ reaction very well, as hearing Torah from the Rabbi’s student cannot be compared to hearing it from the Rabbi himself. But If G’d was indeed speaking through the throat of Moses, there should have been no difference to hearing it that way or hearing it without Moses as the intermediary. Why then would Moses have been displeased at their request, especially as G’d Himself told him (Deut. 5,26) that the people had done well in requesting a change of venue by asking that Moses be their intermediary? We must therefore fall back on a statement by our sages that there were three things that Moses had done without having consulted G’d.
From the above it follows that our prayers must be viewed as consisting of two separate components. One consists of the actual prayer, as composed by the members of the Great Assembly, and the second consists of a plea to enable us to pray in such a way that our prayers may find the desired response from G’d.
There can be no question that Moses did not require these “artificial” assists not only to formulate his prayers but to pray with the appropriate mental concentration. His prayers on behalf of his people had always found a receptive ear, but now when for the first time his prayer had not been accepted, it is clear that the reason must have been that the prayer itself was somehow defective, did not flow from his mouth as it had been on all other occasions. He therefore found it necessary to ask G’d to assist him in formulating his prayer appropriately. The word לאמור in the verse quoted above reflects this need of Moses to ask for assistance to his entreaty to be allowed to enter the Holy Land. The word לאמור on this occasion in connection with Moses’ prayer shows us that this was the only time in his career as the leader of the nation that he felt the need for assistance in this.
Moreover, as a rule, when the Torah reports Moses as speaking, it reports merely that G’d’s voice was speaking through his throat.
This also helps us answer the question of why Moses, during the revelation at Mount Sinai was angry at the people who had heard G’d speak to them directly when they requested that instead of having to listen to His voice they preferred to listen to it as relayed to them through Moses as His interpreter. At that time (Deuteronomy 5,24) the Israelites had addressed Moses as if he were a female by using the feminine pronoun את, for “and you,” instead of the masculine ואתה. Our sages, quoted by Rashi, commenting on this, observe that Moses felt that he personally had been weakened by the people, because they had failed to display the ability to serve the Lord from love, else they would not have had to be afraid of G’d’s voice causing them to die, as they claimed.
In light of what we said i.e. that generally G’d’s voice spoke out of the throat of Moses, we could have understood Moses’ reaction very well, as hearing Torah from the Rabbi’s student cannot be compared to hearing it from the Rabbi himself. But If G’d was indeed speaking through the throat of Moses, there should have been no difference to hearing it that way or hearing it without Moses as the intermediary. Why then would Moses have been displeased at their request, especially as G’d Himself told him (Deut. 5,26) that the people had done well in requesting a change of venue by asking that Moses be their intermediary? We must therefore fall back on a statement by our sages that there were three things that Moses had done without having consulted G’d.
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Kedushat Levi
Another possible way of explaining the opening line of our Parshah is based on a statement in the Talmud B’rachot 9 according to which although we have a rule that there must not be an interruption of any kind between the conclusion of the b’rachah “concluding with the words גאל ישראל, and the Amidah which follows, the words א-דוני שפתי תפתח, “Lord, open my lips” (in prayer), do not constitute an interruption. The reason is that the sages declared the Amidah as a “long prayer,” i.e. the line beginning with “Lord open my lips,” are considered an integral part of the Amidah rather than merely an introduction. Although the members of the “Great Assembly” who composed the Amidah prayer had not included these words in their formula, subsequent religious authorities decided to add this line. Apparently during the era of the “great Assembly,” a period beginning with the coming of Ezra to Eretz Yisrael, there was no need for people to ask for Divine assistance before they could concentrate on saying their prayers. By the time of the Mishnah 200-250 years later approx., in line with the principle of ירידת הדורות, “the gradual but constant decline of the spiritual level of the Jewish people,” it had become necessary to ask for assistance from heaven to enable us to pray with the mental concentration without which our prayers are not a compliment for G’d, but G’d forbid, an insult.
From the above it follows that our prayers must be viewed as consisting of two separate components. One consists of the actual prayer, as composed by the members of the Great Assembly, and the second consists of a plea to enable us to pray in such a way that our prayers may find the desired response from G’d.
There can be no question that Moses did not require these “artificial” assists not only to formulate his prayers but to pray with the appropriate mental concentration. His prayers on behalf of his people had always found a receptive ear, but now when for the first time his prayer had not been accepted, it is clear that the reason must have been that the prayer itself was somehow defective, did not flow from his mouth as it had been on all other occasions. He therefore found it necessary to ask G’d to assist him in formulating his prayer appropriately. The word לאמור in the verse quoted above reflects this need of Moses to ask for assistance to his entreaty to be allowed to enter the Holy Land. The word לאמור on this occasion in connection with Moses’ prayer shows us that this was the only time in his career as the leader of the nation that he felt the need for assistance in this.
Moreover, as a rule, when the Torah reports Moses as speaking, it reports merely that G’d’s voice was speaking through his throat.
This also helps us answer the question of why Moses, during the revelation at Mount Sinai was angry at the people who had heard G’d speak to them directly when they requested that instead of having to listen to His voice they preferred to listen to it as relayed to them through Moses as His interpreter. At that time (Deuteronomy 5,24) the Israelites had addressed Moses as if he were a female by using the feminine pronoun את, for “and you,” instead of the masculine ואתה. Our sages, quoted by Rashi, commenting on this, observe that Moses felt that he personally had been weakened by the people, because they had failed to display the ability to serve the Lord from love, else they would not have had to be afraid of G’d’s voice causing them to die, as they claimed.
In light of what we said i.e. that generally G’d’s voice spoke out of the throat of Moses, we could have understood Moses’ reaction very well, as hearing Torah from the Rabbi’s student cannot be compared to hearing it from the Rabbi himself. But If G’d was indeed speaking through the throat of Moses, there should have been no difference to hearing it that way or hearing it without Moses as the intermediary. Why then would Moses have been displeased at their request, especially as G’d Himself told him (Deut. 5,26) that the people had done well in requesting a change of venue by asking that Moses be their intermediary? We must therefore fall back on a statement by our sages that there were three things that Moses had done without having consulted G’d.
From the above it follows that our prayers must be viewed as consisting of two separate components. One consists of the actual prayer, as composed by the members of the Great Assembly, and the second consists of a plea to enable us to pray in such a way that our prayers may find the desired response from G’d.
There can be no question that Moses did not require these “artificial” assists not only to formulate his prayers but to pray with the appropriate mental concentration. His prayers on behalf of his people had always found a receptive ear, but now when for the first time his prayer had not been accepted, it is clear that the reason must have been that the prayer itself was somehow defective, did not flow from his mouth as it had been on all other occasions. He therefore found it necessary to ask G’d to assist him in formulating his prayer appropriately. The word לאמור in the verse quoted above reflects this need of Moses to ask for assistance to his entreaty to be allowed to enter the Holy Land. The word לאמור on this occasion in connection with Moses’ prayer shows us that this was the only time in his career as the leader of the nation that he felt the need for assistance in this.
Moreover, as a rule, when the Torah reports Moses as speaking, it reports merely that G’d’s voice was speaking through his throat.
This also helps us answer the question of why Moses, during the revelation at Mount Sinai was angry at the people who had heard G’d speak to them directly when they requested that instead of having to listen to His voice they preferred to listen to it as relayed to them through Moses as His interpreter. At that time (Deuteronomy 5,24) the Israelites had addressed Moses as if he were a female by using the feminine pronoun את, for “and you,” instead of the masculine ואתה. Our sages, quoted by Rashi, commenting on this, observe that Moses felt that he personally had been weakened by the people, because they had failed to display the ability to serve the Lord from love, else they would not have had to be afraid of G’d’s voice causing them to die, as they claimed.
In light of what we said i.e. that generally G’d’s voice spoke out of the throat of Moses, we could have understood Moses’ reaction very well, as hearing Torah from the Rabbi’s student cannot be compared to hearing it from the Rabbi himself. But If G’d was indeed speaking through the throat of Moses, there should have been no difference to hearing it that way or hearing it without Moses as the intermediary. Why then would Moses have been displeased at their request, especially as G’d Himself told him (Deut. 5,26) that the people had done well in requesting a change of venue by asking that Moses be their intermediary? We must therefore fall back on a statement by our sages that there were three things that Moses had done without having consulted G’d.
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Mevo HaShearim
It is written in the book Maor vaShemesh on Parshat Titzaveh that when hasidim come to visit their rebbe, seeking the path of God, benefit accrues both to them and to the rebbe. This benefit is not only in the additional holiness added but also in new ideas in Torah and advice [etzot] and practices as to how to serve God. Their connection has an effect even after they have ‘returned to their tents,’397Deut. 5:27. and they are no longer physically proximate to each other. Their thoughts and will are elevated through the effect of their rebbe on them, and those of the rebbe through their effect. This is why sometimes when a rebbe says Torah, one hasid says ‘he directed these words to me’ and another hasid says the same, though sometimes the rebbe does not intend them for any particular person at all. But because their thoughts had an effect on their rebbe’s soul, the ‘shadow’ of their thoughts may be seen in his thoughts and Torah, to the point that each sees himself in them.398Avodat Yisrael is a work of homilies on the Torah and on Pirkei Avot, by the Maggid, R. Israel of Kozhnitz. * [Note: Avodat Yisrael on Avot 2:7 s.v. marbeh etzah].399In this passage, R. Israel explains how a rebbe is able to speak to the heart of his hasidim and offer guidance (etzot) on an individual basis, even if the hasid has not disclosed his particular situation to the rebbe.
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Sefat Emet
(Deuteronomy.5.19) "The Lord spoke those words to all of your congregation." The word 'all of' seems superfluous. The implication:
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Sefat Emet
This reality came into being at the time the Torah was given. As it says (Deuteronomy.4.10), "Gather the people to Me that I may let them hear My words" -- this was the needed preparation and illumination so that every gathering of Jews for all generations has the ability to awaken those words. As it says (Deuteronomy.5.19, see Targum): "A mighty voice that never stopped."
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 28,12. “Hashem will open for you His bounteous store, the heavens.” Although we have a statement by our sages in B’rachot 33 that G’d’s only “possessions” in His treasure chambers are the four cubits of “halachah,” i.e. reverence for Him displayed by meticulous observance of the laws of the Torah, [a statement based on Deuteronomy 10,12, Ed.], we also have a rule that although man’s spiritual journey in this world commences with a dose of reverence and awe for Hashem, this is followed by a feeling of pleasure which proves to have been “hidden” within the folds of the garment called יראה, awe. The reason why this is so is that had service of the Lord commenced with feelings of pleasure, its ethical value would have been null and void, as “serving” the Lord would have been turned into an entirely pleasurable act, not something that is the result of choosing this option in the knowledge that the alternative appeared to offer more immediate rewards. This is the reason why the pleasurable aspects of practicing reverence and awe for the Lord need to be hidden during life on this earth. When man “tires himself out” during a lifetime of service to his Creator, then G’d will open His treasure chamber in the heavens so that he will enjoy pleasure. This has been alluded to in the words of Isaiah 33,6 where the prophet said: יראת ה' היא אוצרו,”reverence for the Lord –that was her treasure. (Zion’s)
The word אוצר, usually translated as “treasure, or granary,” applies to something stored out of sight, hidden. This “treasure” normally concealed inside the attribute of יראה, “fear, awe,” will be released openly, i.e. in due course G’d will “open” these treasures previously kept hidden as a result of the recipient having served the Lord loyally. Our verse therefore concludes with the simile of beneficial rainfall, i.e. G’d’s treasures being openly revealed to the Jewish people as well as the world at large as His gift to them. [During early Jewish history, when Yitzchok, in a year of famine, and although not a farmer by vocation, could plant and his harvest was 100 fold the harvest in normal years, this convinced the Philistines to remain on good terms with him. (Genesis 26,12-14, and 26-31) Ed.] This is also the reason why the Torah once decrees that we observe the Sabbath by writing: זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, “remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy, (Exodus 20,8) and another time שמור את יום השבת לקדשו, “observe the Sabbath Day to keep it holy;” (Deuteronomy 5,12). The first time reference is made to serving the Lord by your actively observing the Sabbath; the second time it refers to the time when you will be passive, i.e. receive the reward for having observed the Sabbath here on earth.
The word אוצר, usually translated as “treasure, or granary,” applies to something stored out of sight, hidden. This “treasure” normally concealed inside the attribute of יראה, “fear, awe,” will be released openly, i.e. in due course G’d will “open” these treasures previously kept hidden as a result of the recipient having served the Lord loyally. Our verse therefore concludes with the simile of beneficial rainfall, i.e. G’d’s treasures being openly revealed to the Jewish people as well as the world at large as His gift to them. [During early Jewish history, when Yitzchok, in a year of famine, and although not a farmer by vocation, could plant and his harvest was 100 fold the harvest in normal years, this convinced the Philistines to remain on good terms with him. (Genesis 26,12-14, and 26-31) Ed.] This is also the reason why the Torah once decrees that we observe the Sabbath by writing: זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, “remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy, (Exodus 20,8) and another time שמור את יום השבת לקדשו, “observe the Sabbath Day to keep it holy;” (Deuteronomy 5,12). The first time reference is made to serving the Lord by your actively observing the Sabbath; the second time it refers to the time when you will be passive, i.e. receive the reward for having observed the Sabbath here on earth.
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Sefat Emet
This means: this love is the Torah, and the Holy One has ingrained these words into each Jewish soul. As it says (Deuteronomy.5.19), "The Lord spoke these words to all of your congregation... a mighty voice that *never stopped*." For all time, every Jew has the ability to find in his heart words of Torah. As it says (Megillah.6b) "If someone says to you 'I have struggled and I have found success,' -- believe him."
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Sefat Emet
In the parsha of "bread of faces (lechem hapanim), on Shabbat he shall arrange them etc" - and it is written "Come, eat My food" (Prov. 9:5). This is the receiving of the Flow of heaven, that clings to the Upper Root and this is the internalness (penimiut) of the Flow. As it is written in the Holy Zohar regarding the day of Shabbat, that even though manna did not come down on that day, all blessings are dependent on the seventh day, see there (Zohar 2:184a:7). And this is why the bread is called lechem hapanim, it is the internalness of the Flow, as it is written "not on bread alone does a person live, etc, comes out from God's mouth" (Deut. 8:3) - this is Torah. And a hint of this is what is written there: "Face to face did Hashem speak with you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire" (Deut. 5:4) - and here "bread of faces". And the root of the bread from heaven is that it flows from the holy Shabbat to all the days of the week, with the force of the Torah, according to the readiness of the children of Israel that Torah gave to them. And just as there are 53 parshiot in the Torah and in each Shabbat we read a different parsha, this is also true in heaven, see Zohar on Vayakhel. And this is that the Torah, being all made of Divine Names, still has the parsha that changes every week, and every Shabbat has different combination of phrases. This too is hinted by the bread of faces, that on every Shabbat is was set. And according to the 12 loaves that the children of Israel set in order, so too the Flow of heaven continues. And it is written "as face answers to face in water" (Prov. 27:19) and this is an aspect of the Torah, that is Oral and Written. And in our parshe it is written "on the day of Shabbat". There is Shabbat that comes from Above to Below and there is Shabbat that comes from Below to Above, as explained in the Holy Zohar. And therefore the Text said "according to the arranging of the of the bread on the day of Shabbat in a Awakening from Below, so too in the day of Shabbat from Above to Below it will be this arranging, and as it is written in Chagigah 26b "as its arranging is its taking away." And the Torah is a gift to the children of Israel, and according to their level is the Torah's revealing itself to them, since there are seventy faces to the Torah, and "face to face". And on every Shabbat the Flow is renewed through the force of the Torah. ["The One who renews each day Creation with goodness", Bereshit is Torah, which is called good, and regarding Shabbat it is written "it is good to thank Hashem", a hint that every moment a new interpretation is invited] and so too on Shavuot when the Torah was given there are two loaves of bread. And "on every Shabbat" is a level below "twelve loaves", since the Torah is understood and interpreted and gives life and sustenance to every level until this world. And twelve limits and twelve requests that are in the Prayer they are the Lower Supports of the Upper Root, as it is written in different places.
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 5,7. “You shall not have any other deities beside Me.” Regarding the expression: על פני, it is important to read Rashi’s comment on these words in Exodus 20,3. He understands these words literally, i.e. “as long as I (G’d) exist.” Rashi considers it necessary to explain his own words (based on the Mechilta) by saying that the Jewish people should not say that idolatry is forbidden only for the generation whom G’d addressed at that time. Anyone reading these words of Rashi surely must ask what could possibly have made Rashi think that we could misinterpret this commandment and pervert it in such a fashion? The answer is that when the Israelites heard this commandment from G’d’s own mouth at Mount Sinai, they were (temporarily) in a super terrestrial domain, something that could not be said of future generations, nor of the gentiles of the same generation. This is also why according to halachah, gentiles are not forbidden to also worship some kind of “junior partner” in addition to Hashem. [Catholics are not considered idolaters. Ed.] The Torah, according to Rashi based on the Mechilta, therefore warns future Jewish generations not to use the same excuse for worshipping “junior partners” of G’d based on this argument. The meaning of the words: על פני in the sense of “as long as I exist,” therefore is that this law is applicable for Jews eternally.
The positive part of the verse’s message is that seeing that G’d is eternal, deserving people have access to the Torah on the same plane as had the generation during which the Torah was first revealed at Mount Sinai. The most important step in this direction is to serve G’d exclusively as the only deity. The divine souls of all the Israelites, due to their status, are potentially able to attain the same spiritual plateau that the Israelites at the revelation at Mount Sinai had attained in their time. When Rashi said that the meaning of the words על פני is: “as long as I am alive,” he meant that G’d assures us in this verse that what could happen at Mount Sinai, i.e. that He could speak directly to man, basically can happen again provided that we are worthy and worship only Him with all our heart.
The positive part of the verse’s message is that seeing that G’d is eternal, deserving people have access to the Torah on the same plane as had the generation during which the Torah was first revealed at Mount Sinai. The most important step in this direction is to serve G’d exclusively as the only deity. The divine souls of all the Israelites, due to their status, are potentially able to attain the same spiritual plateau that the Israelites at the revelation at Mount Sinai had attained in their time. When Rashi said that the meaning of the words על פני is: “as long as I am alive,” he meant that G’d assures us in this verse that what could happen at Mount Sinai, i.e. that He could speak directly to man, basically can happen again provided that we are worthy and worship only Him with all our heart.
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Kedushat Levi
5,21. “you (the Jewish people) said, here the Lord has shown us……..we have seen (realized) this day that when G’d speaks with man he is able to survive this experience., etc.”
Why should we die when the great fire consumes us, etc,.? The difficulty in these verses must strike any reader! Why should a people who had survived the experience of being addressed by G’d personally, suddenly become afraid of the thunder and lightning which accompanied the revelation?
I believe that a look at the Zohar on Parshat Pinchas, will help us understand this enigma. Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair is quoted there as saying that when a member of the gentile nations says something spiritually significant his body does not automatically move as a result of his speaking. Not so when an Israelite speaks of the same subject. The fact is that an Israelite has a soul equipped with the sprit of life, רוח חיים, i.e. life of a spiritual dimension. [There is no such Zohar quoting Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair that this editor has been able to find. Ed.]
Following the concept outlined by our author, seeing that we have been equipped with a spiritually more sensitive soul than the gentiles, as soon as a Jew opens his mouth in order to utter matters related to sanctity, even his entire body reacts to this by moving, as it feels that contact has been established between it and its origin, i.e. the Creator, its ultimate root. On the other hand, if G’d were to address members of the gentile nations directly, their bodies would not respond at all, seeing that their souls lack the sensitivity to holiness that is second nature to the Jew. Seeing that Jews are so sensitive to being exposed to holiness, it is not surprising that they were afraid that this phenomenon was a prelude to their death, i.e. the separation of their souls from their bodies. This feeling expressed itself in the kind of ecstasy that burns within man threatening to engulf him totally and burn him.
Tossaphot on Avodah Zarah 3 write concerning a question raised there on the exegesis of Deuteronomy 7,11: where the Torah writes that the commandments which had just been revealed to the people were to be preformed היום, “this day,” i.e. from this day onwards. The Talmud explains that the emphasis on performing the commandments “this day,” is meant to inform us that although performance of the commandments is scheduled for life in this world, the reward will be paid in a different world, i.e. the after death of the body.
According to the Talmud in Pessachim 56 it was the custom of the people of Jericho, when reciting the daily keriyat sh’ma in which we encounter line: היום על לבבך “this day, on your heart;” contrary to the Israelites in other cities not to pause before the words: על לבבך. Although the sages are on record as having disapproved of some of the customs of the people of Jericho, this was not one of the customs of which they disapproved. Tossaphot, in light of what we have written earlier, states that the word היום emphasizes the “here and now,” and ask why the sages while disapproving did not demand that they change their custom as they did concerning other matters they had disapproved of.
The answer offered is that whereas in Deuteronomy the Torah does not speak about the reward of the performance of the commandments but about the manner of their fulfillment, the words היום is to be understood literally. However, the performance of the commandment is obligatory daily, i.e. every “day” is היום, as far as the subject of the verse is concerned. When reward for performance of good deeds is the subject, there is a difference between Jews and gentiles, as the latter do not automatically qualify for an afterlife, so that G’d has to pay the their reward in this life.
In order to follow this subject better we must refer to the Talmud in Baba Metzia 114 where the point is made that whereas the Jewish people have been distinguished with the title, “אדם,” we never find that the gentiles are referred to by that complimentary title. The Talmud derives from this that when the Torah wrote in Numbers 19,14 that אדם כי ימות באהל that when a Jew, i.e. אדם, dies while in an enclosed space, house or tent, then the laws of ritual impurity that apply to people present in that same airspace apply only if the dead person was a Jew. A similar lesson can be learned from our verse here (5,21) where the Torah did not write אדם but האדם to alert us to the fact that not only Jews but any human being is included in the reminder that G’d may directly address any human being. The gentile, due to the limitations of his soul which we discussed, may not survive the experience of being addressed by G’d directly, whereas אדם, without the prefix ה i.e. a Jew, has no reason to be afraid of this. The line commencing with למה נמות, usually translated as “why should we die?,” is not to be understood as a question, but as a statement, albeit a reflexive one, meaning: “we, being אדם and not merely האדם, have no reason to fear that we will die, the reason being that we have been imbued with this great fire of religious fervor, האש הגדולה, which effectively shields us against the dangers faced by the souls of the gentiles if addressed by G’d directly. In fact, the Israelites, i.e. Moses as their mouthpiece, re-affirms that there is no other people than the Jewish people who is so endowed spiritually that they have survived the revelation at Mount Sinai with both mind and body intact. Moses spells out clearly that the reason why his people survived that tremendous experience was that enthusiasm, this fiery ecstasy, with which they acted at the time, [an example of which was their giving Moses a blank cheque by saying about the Torah to be received: נעשה ונשמע, “we will observe it as soon as we have studied it.” Ed.] This enthusiasm was so exhausting that they fainted and looked almost as if they had died.
Why should we die when the great fire consumes us, etc,.? The difficulty in these verses must strike any reader! Why should a people who had survived the experience of being addressed by G’d personally, suddenly become afraid of the thunder and lightning which accompanied the revelation?
I believe that a look at the Zohar on Parshat Pinchas, will help us understand this enigma. Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair is quoted there as saying that when a member of the gentile nations says something spiritually significant his body does not automatically move as a result of his speaking. Not so when an Israelite speaks of the same subject. The fact is that an Israelite has a soul equipped with the sprit of life, רוח חיים, i.e. life of a spiritual dimension. [There is no such Zohar quoting Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair that this editor has been able to find. Ed.]
Following the concept outlined by our author, seeing that we have been equipped with a spiritually more sensitive soul than the gentiles, as soon as a Jew opens his mouth in order to utter matters related to sanctity, even his entire body reacts to this by moving, as it feels that contact has been established between it and its origin, i.e. the Creator, its ultimate root. On the other hand, if G’d were to address members of the gentile nations directly, their bodies would not respond at all, seeing that their souls lack the sensitivity to holiness that is second nature to the Jew. Seeing that Jews are so sensitive to being exposed to holiness, it is not surprising that they were afraid that this phenomenon was a prelude to their death, i.e. the separation of their souls from their bodies. This feeling expressed itself in the kind of ecstasy that burns within man threatening to engulf him totally and burn him.
Tossaphot on Avodah Zarah 3 write concerning a question raised there on the exegesis of Deuteronomy 7,11: where the Torah writes that the commandments which had just been revealed to the people were to be preformed היום, “this day,” i.e. from this day onwards. The Talmud explains that the emphasis on performing the commandments “this day,” is meant to inform us that although performance of the commandments is scheduled for life in this world, the reward will be paid in a different world, i.e. the after death of the body.
According to the Talmud in Pessachim 56 it was the custom of the people of Jericho, when reciting the daily keriyat sh’ma in which we encounter line: היום על לבבך “this day, on your heart;” contrary to the Israelites in other cities not to pause before the words: על לבבך. Although the sages are on record as having disapproved of some of the customs of the people of Jericho, this was not one of the customs of which they disapproved. Tossaphot, in light of what we have written earlier, states that the word היום emphasizes the “here and now,” and ask why the sages while disapproving did not demand that they change their custom as they did concerning other matters they had disapproved of.
The answer offered is that whereas in Deuteronomy the Torah does not speak about the reward of the performance of the commandments but about the manner of their fulfillment, the words היום is to be understood literally. However, the performance of the commandment is obligatory daily, i.e. every “day” is היום, as far as the subject of the verse is concerned. When reward for performance of good deeds is the subject, there is a difference between Jews and gentiles, as the latter do not automatically qualify for an afterlife, so that G’d has to pay the their reward in this life.
In order to follow this subject better we must refer to the Talmud in Baba Metzia 114 where the point is made that whereas the Jewish people have been distinguished with the title, “אדם,” we never find that the gentiles are referred to by that complimentary title. The Talmud derives from this that when the Torah wrote in Numbers 19,14 that אדם כי ימות באהל that when a Jew, i.e. אדם, dies while in an enclosed space, house or tent, then the laws of ritual impurity that apply to people present in that same airspace apply only if the dead person was a Jew. A similar lesson can be learned from our verse here (5,21) where the Torah did not write אדם but האדם to alert us to the fact that not only Jews but any human being is included in the reminder that G’d may directly address any human being. The gentile, due to the limitations of his soul which we discussed, may not survive the experience of being addressed by G’d directly, whereas אדם, without the prefix ה i.e. a Jew, has no reason to be afraid of this. The line commencing with למה נמות, usually translated as “why should we die?,” is not to be understood as a question, but as a statement, albeit a reflexive one, meaning: “we, being אדם and not merely האדם, have no reason to fear that we will die, the reason being that we have been imbued with this great fire of religious fervor, האש הגדולה, which effectively shields us against the dangers faced by the souls of the gentiles if addressed by G’d directly. In fact, the Israelites, i.e. Moses as their mouthpiece, re-affirms that there is no other people than the Jewish people who is so endowed spiritually that they have survived the revelation at Mount Sinai with both mind and body intact. Moses spells out clearly that the reason why his people survived that tremendous experience was that enthusiasm, this fiery ecstasy, with which they acted at the time, [an example of which was their giving Moses a blank cheque by saying about the Torah to be received: נעשה ונשמע, “we will observe it as soon as we have studied it.” Ed.] This enthusiasm was so exhausting that they fainted and looked almost as if they had died.
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 20,8 “keep remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” In the review of the Ten Commandments by Moses in Deuteronomy 5,12 the Torah writes: שמור את יום השבת לקדשו, “observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
[Moses there adds the apparently unnecessary words: כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, “just as the Lord your G’d has commanded you.” Apparently, aware of the slight variation in the text from our verse, Moses reassures the people that this is not a deviation. Ed.]
[Most students in elementary school are already familiar with the line in the hymn of לכה דודי that שמור וזכור בדבור אחד השמיענו א-ל המיוחד, “shamor and zachor the One and only G’d has let us hear as a single word.” Ed.] The source of the words in the hymn are found already in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 27. The deeper meaning of this somewhat enigmatic statement is that the commandments of the Torah may be divided into two parts; 1) the actual physical performance of the commandment; 2) awareness at the time of performance of the underlying intention of the Creator when He gave us this commandment.. The qualitative difference between these two aspects of the commandment is that only the performance is of the essence, the underlying intention of G’d when formulating the commandment is secondary.
There is, however an exception to this rule, and this exception is the commandment of keeping the Sabbath holy. In this instance the Torah clearly spelled out what our thoughts must be when observing the Sabbath properly, i.e. the fact that it is a testimonial of G’d having created the universe in the 6 days preceding the first Sabbath. When a Jew refrains from doing any of the activities which are forbidden on the Sabbath but he fails to reflect on the fact that the sanctity of this day is due to G’d having bidden us to remember that he created the universe in the 6 days preceding the original Sabbath, such a Jew has not observed the commandment of “keeping the Sabbath.” Seeing that the זכירה, “the remembering,” primarily by reciting the Kiddush is an integral part of the Sabbath is cited first shows that as opposed to the other positive commandments where the performance by the body is the primary element, this is not the case in respect of the commandment of the Sabbath. The very expression זכר למעשה בראשית, “in commemoration of the process of creation,” (on several occasions (in both the shacharit and mussaph prayers) is proof that our sages viewed this element of the Sabbath day as an essential part thereof, no less so than the abstention from the type of work that G’d “rested” from, i.e. וינפש, on the original Sabbath of creation. The Sabbath is the symbol of our faith that G’d preceded the universe and therefore is the only Being in the universe deserving to be worshipped as Deity.
[Moses there adds the apparently unnecessary words: כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, “just as the Lord your G’d has commanded you.” Apparently, aware of the slight variation in the text from our verse, Moses reassures the people that this is not a deviation. Ed.]
[Most students in elementary school are already familiar with the line in the hymn of לכה דודי that שמור וזכור בדבור אחד השמיענו א-ל המיוחד, “shamor and zachor the One and only G’d has let us hear as a single word.” Ed.] The source of the words in the hymn are found already in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 27. The deeper meaning of this somewhat enigmatic statement is that the commandments of the Torah may be divided into two parts; 1) the actual physical performance of the commandment; 2) awareness at the time of performance of the underlying intention of the Creator when He gave us this commandment.. The qualitative difference between these two aspects of the commandment is that only the performance is of the essence, the underlying intention of G’d when formulating the commandment is secondary.
There is, however an exception to this rule, and this exception is the commandment of keeping the Sabbath holy. In this instance the Torah clearly spelled out what our thoughts must be when observing the Sabbath properly, i.e. the fact that it is a testimonial of G’d having created the universe in the 6 days preceding the first Sabbath. When a Jew refrains from doing any of the activities which are forbidden on the Sabbath but he fails to reflect on the fact that the sanctity of this day is due to G’d having bidden us to remember that he created the universe in the 6 days preceding the original Sabbath, such a Jew has not observed the commandment of “keeping the Sabbath.” Seeing that the זכירה, “the remembering,” primarily by reciting the Kiddush is an integral part of the Sabbath is cited first shows that as opposed to the other positive commandments where the performance by the body is the primary element, this is not the case in respect of the commandment of the Sabbath. The very expression זכר למעשה בראשית, “in commemoration of the process of creation,” (on several occasions (in both the shacharit and mussaph prayers) is proof that our sages viewed this element of the Sabbath day as an essential part thereof, no less so than the abstention from the type of work that G’d “rested” from, i.e. וינפש, on the original Sabbath of creation. The Sabbath is the symbol of our faith that G’d preceded the universe and therefore is the only Being in the universe deserving to be worshipped as Deity.
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Kedushat Levi
The author of the central paragraph in the mussaph prayer on the Sabbath, which commences with the words: תכנת שבת ...צוית פירושיה עם סדורי נסכיה, refers to the fact that the Torah in the Sabbath legislation not only spelled out the commandment of how to observe this day with one’s body, by allowing the body to “rest” (constructively), but also spelled out how to observe it with our soul.
When referring to the creative acts that G’d abstained from on the seventh day of creation on account of which we are asked to sanctify the Sabbath, both in connection with the word: זכור in our portion, and again in Deuteronomy 5,12 in connection with the word: שמור, we must remember that the “light” which is described in the Torah as G’d’s first act of intervention in the condition of the “world” before G’d created order from chaos, was “direct” light, i.e. an emanation from the Creator, a light which expands in all directions of the universe, performing its function commensurate with the needs of the region or domain which it reaches. It then assumes a character germane to that region or domain. In other words, this אור ישר, will assume a different intensity in the regions inhabited by the highest ranking angels, the שרפים, from the intensity it assumes in the celestial regions inhabited by a lower ranking group of angels known as חיות. The same is true when this אור ישר, arrives in the regions of the terrestrial parts of the universe, the region known as עולם העשיה. At the same time arrival of this “light” also resulted, as an unavoidable consequence, in “reflected” light, a response by the creature who had received it from the Creator. [Compare pages 364/365 where this subject has been discussed previously. Ed.] Each region of the universe receives the amount and intensity of this אור הישר appropriate to its needs.
In kabbalistic parlance the nature of the אור החוזר, the “reflected light,” is perceived as the remnant of the original light which did not remain in the universe as the various universes were unable to ”digest” it so that they could not make use of it as it was too intense and would have destroyed these worlds. Upon the return of this “light” to the Creator, the אין סוף, it will be condensed, i.e. its power will be restrained, but in a manner that in the words of Michah 7,18 make it “digestible” only for the holy Jewish people-as described in connection with Exodus 14,21, see pages (364-366).-
Our sages in Rosh Hashanah 17 alluded to this idea when they explained the term לשארית נחלתו, “to the remnant of His inheritance,” (His own people) in Michah 7,18, as those Jews who transform themselves into truly G’d fearing personalities. Concerning these types of people my sainted teacher Dov Baer has said that the expression שארית נחלתו applies only to those צדיקים who spend almost all of their lives trying to elevate themselves to the level of sanctity of their Creator.
The root of the concept of sanctity, קדושה, holiness, sanctity, is found where the צמצום, the voluntary restriction G’d imposed upon His essence occurs, so that He would not be a destructive force in His own universe. [If we in our parlance, following Rashi, translate holiness as “something apart,” this is no contradiction, but a reflection of the difficulty of translating celestial terminology into language used in the terrestrial part of the universe, the part we humans inhabit. Ed.]
When the Jewish people sanctify themselves by means permitted to them, and in that process separate themselves from the pleasures of this terrestrial world, they do so because they are aware that the so-called pleasures of this terrestrial world are intrinsically worthless, so that they try to elevate themselves to a region outside the domain of the terrestrial, physical universe. These “regions” are beyond our ability to define and therefore we are unable to describe them adequately. Seeing that the nations of the world have none of them been found worthy of being שארית נחלתו “a residue of His inheritance,” it cannot be expected of them to show the least bit of understanding of this subject.
Suffice it to say that the subject matter we called אור חוזר is the unabsorbed part of the אור ישר, the “direct” light that had left the Essence of G’d and dispersed in different regions of His universes, any “excess,” making a “return journey” in preparation for further use by its Dispatcher, the Creator.
This inability of the nations of the world to comprehend the nature of the Sabbath is the reason that while they understand the concept of the Sabbath being a day that symbolizes that the Creator had refrained from overt creative activity, they selected for themselves on an arbitrary basis a different day of the week, one that had not been sanctified by the Creator for that purpose. When the Torah, both in our portion and in Deuteronomy, stresses the element of the sanctity of this “Day of rest,” for the Jewish people, it alludes to the unbroken connection between the Jewish people and the celestial regions, in spite of the fact that our bodies (and, temporarily our souls) inhabit the terrestrial part of the universe. [I have used some of my own wording in the foregoing, for reasons of simplicity. Ed.]
When referring to the creative acts that G’d abstained from on the seventh day of creation on account of which we are asked to sanctify the Sabbath, both in connection with the word: זכור in our portion, and again in Deuteronomy 5,12 in connection with the word: שמור, we must remember that the “light” which is described in the Torah as G’d’s first act of intervention in the condition of the “world” before G’d created order from chaos, was “direct” light, i.e. an emanation from the Creator, a light which expands in all directions of the universe, performing its function commensurate with the needs of the region or domain which it reaches. It then assumes a character germane to that region or domain. In other words, this אור ישר, will assume a different intensity in the regions inhabited by the highest ranking angels, the שרפים, from the intensity it assumes in the celestial regions inhabited by a lower ranking group of angels known as חיות. The same is true when this אור ישר, arrives in the regions of the terrestrial parts of the universe, the region known as עולם העשיה. At the same time arrival of this “light” also resulted, as an unavoidable consequence, in “reflected” light, a response by the creature who had received it from the Creator. [Compare pages 364/365 where this subject has been discussed previously. Ed.] Each region of the universe receives the amount and intensity of this אור הישר appropriate to its needs.
In kabbalistic parlance the nature of the אור החוזר, the “reflected light,” is perceived as the remnant of the original light which did not remain in the universe as the various universes were unable to ”digest” it so that they could not make use of it as it was too intense and would have destroyed these worlds. Upon the return of this “light” to the Creator, the אין סוף, it will be condensed, i.e. its power will be restrained, but in a manner that in the words of Michah 7,18 make it “digestible” only for the holy Jewish people-as described in connection with Exodus 14,21, see pages (364-366).-
Our sages in Rosh Hashanah 17 alluded to this idea when they explained the term לשארית נחלתו, “to the remnant of His inheritance,” (His own people) in Michah 7,18, as those Jews who transform themselves into truly G’d fearing personalities. Concerning these types of people my sainted teacher Dov Baer has said that the expression שארית נחלתו applies only to those צדיקים who spend almost all of their lives trying to elevate themselves to the level of sanctity of their Creator.
The root of the concept of sanctity, קדושה, holiness, sanctity, is found where the צמצום, the voluntary restriction G’d imposed upon His essence occurs, so that He would not be a destructive force in His own universe. [If we in our parlance, following Rashi, translate holiness as “something apart,” this is no contradiction, but a reflection of the difficulty of translating celestial terminology into language used in the terrestrial part of the universe, the part we humans inhabit. Ed.]
When the Jewish people sanctify themselves by means permitted to them, and in that process separate themselves from the pleasures of this terrestrial world, they do so because they are aware that the so-called pleasures of this terrestrial world are intrinsically worthless, so that they try to elevate themselves to a region outside the domain of the terrestrial, physical universe. These “regions” are beyond our ability to define and therefore we are unable to describe them adequately. Seeing that the nations of the world have none of them been found worthy of being שארית נחלתו “a residue of His inheritance,” it cannot be expected of them to show the least bit of understanding of this subject.
Suffice it to say that the subject matter we called אור חוזר is the unabsorbed part of the אור ישר, the “direct” light that had left the Essence of G’d and dispersed in different regions of His universes, any “excess,” making a “return journey” in preparation for further use by its Dispatcher, the Creator.
This inability of the nations of the world to comprehend the nature of the Sabbath is the reason that while they understand the concept of the Sabbath being a day that symbolizes that the Creator had refrained from overt creative activity, they selected for themselves on an arbitrary basis a different day of the week, one that had not been sanctified by the Creator for that purpose. When the Torah, both in our portion and in Deuteronomy, stresses the element of the sanctity of this “Day of rest,” for the Jewish people, it alludes to the unbroken connection between the Jewish people and the celestial regions, in spite of the fact that our bodies (and, temporarily our souls) inhabit the terrestrial part of the universe. [I have used some of my own wording in the foregoing, for reasons of simplicity. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
Everything that has been handed down to us about Avram suggests that he was unwavering in his faith in G’d from his very youth, and certainly did not have any theological relapses. Nachmanides stated with absolute certainty, basing himself on Genesis 25,8 that Avram had always considered anything that happened to him as being G’d’s desire and meant for his own good. Nachmanides understood this as being the meaning of the words: זקן ושבע ימים, “of old age, satisfied and satisfied in years.” Contrary to most people, who are described in Kohelet Rabbah, 5,9 as leaving behind many unfulfilled aspirations when they die, Avraham died fully fulfilled. In Baba Batra 117, as well as in Sanhedrin 91 the meaning of the word מורשה is discussed, there being different opinions of how the distribution of the ancestral plots in the Land of Israel was determined by lottery; if the lottery only applied to the tribal allocations, or to families. The discussion also concerns whether only Jews who partook in the Exodus or their offspring were allocated land, or whether the allocation included Jews who had lived before that period, including Avram, Yitzchok, etc. Avram’s question of במה אדע כי אירשנה, meant: “how will I know that I personally will be included in the distribution of the land at that time? He knew that he would not inherit a plot of land in Israel as part of his father Terach’s merit, as he had been the first convert to Judaism, something that was confirmed in Sukkah 49. Since he did not endure slavery in Egypt as did the generation of the Exodus, he was not sure that he would qualify at the time of the distribution.
Avram’s question had been triggered by G’d saying to him:, לתת לך את הארץ הזאת לרשתה, “to give to you this land in order to inherit it.” (15,7) Avram wanted to know if he would live long enough to take part in the distribution of the land in Joshua’s time, or how he was to understand the words: לתת לך, “to give to you.” The Talmud in Sukkah 49 quotes psalms 47,10 where we encounter the expression עם אלוקי אברהם, “the nation that worships the G’d of Avraham”; a sage raised question whether G’d perhaps is not also the G’d of the people of Yitzchok and the G’d of the people of Yaakov.” The answer given is that Avraham was the first convert from which the Jewish people developed, so that he enjoys a special status. As a reward, G’d gave the land of Israel especially to him. Avraham wanted to know if, since the land of Israel becomes a מורשה, his share would be due to his father bequeathing it to him. The term ירש, “to inherit,” always implies that one inherits from a father. If Avram’s question had been במה אדע כי תתן לי, “how will I know that You give it to me,” it would have been inappropriate, of course. G’d had spoken about “giving;” Avram asked only about the hereditary aspect, אירשנה.
We will deal with the expression במה אדע, somewhat later in this paragraph. When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
Moses reminded the people in Deut. 5,4 how 40 years earlier, when most of them had not yet been alive, G’d had addressed the whole nation on the פנים אל פנים “face to face level,” [until the people asked Moses to be their interpreter instead. Ed.] At that time all creatures on earth were in awe of their Creator. When the people had consecrated the Tabernacle in the desert as a “home” for Hashem in the lower parts of the universe, G’d took delight in the world He had created, as we know from Taanit 26 where the Talmud understands Song of Songs 3,11 ביום חתונתו וביום שמחת לבו, “on His wedding day, the day when His heart rejoices,” as referring to G’d’s feelings on the day of the revelation at Mount Sinai, and the day when the Tabernacle was consecrated, respectively. This is the kind of נחת רוח, “pleasure, satisfaction,” that man in the lower part of the universe can contribute to G’d in the loftier spheres, in heaven. On both of these occasions the joy was reciprocal, G’d showing that He can associate with earthlings and take pleasure from this. The Israelites’ enthusiastic response after the splitting of the sea and their miraculous and escape from Pharaoh’s pursuing armies, was another occasion when the reciprocal nature of the relationship between G’d and His “chosen” people was demonstrated publicly. Nowadays, almost 4000 years later, we recall these events and praise the Lord every week when we pronounce the blessings over wine. Not a day goes by without our giving thanks to the Lord for the Exodus from Egypt.
At the time when Avram lived, the world, i.e. the planet earth and man on it, was still in a state of semi-collapse, its continued existence far from assured, until Yitzchok and Yaakov continued the work that Avram had started when he kept proclaiming the power and goodness of the Creator. This assurance of the earth’s continued existence was only confirmed with the creation of the Jewish people, and this people’s leaving Egypt as G’d’s people, after having slaughtered the Passover, and proven that they considered the Creator as their highest authority.
The Tur, commenting on why we mention the Exodus of Egypt in the weekly Kiddush, as opposed to the Kiddush on the festivals whose link to the Exodus is self-evident, explains that the Sabbath harbours within it the כח המוליד, the power that enables creatures to regenerate themselves by producing offspring. This “power” is conditional on the observance of the Sabbath (in some form). Terach, Avram’s father, while able to produce physical offspring, was unable to produce offspring equipped with the kind of soul that would be active in spreading the message that G’d is the one and only Creator. [I have not been able to find where the Tur writes this, although he writes about man as well as most other living creatures becoming endowed with the ability to procreate bodies in his Torah commentary. (Genesis 2,3)
Avram’s question had been triggered by G’d saying to him:, לתת לך את הארץ הזאת לרשתה, “to give to you this land in order to inherit it.” (15,7) Avram wanted to know if he would live long enough to take part in the distribution of the land in Joshua’s time, or how he was to understand the words: לתת לך, “to give to you.” The Talmud in Sukkah 49 quotes psalms 47,10 where we encounter the expression עם אלוקי אברהם, “the nation that worships the G’d of Avraham”; a sage raised question whether G’d perhaps is not also the G’d of the people of Yitzchok and the G’d of the people of Yaakov.” The answer given is that Avraham was the first convert from which the Jewish people developed, so that he enjoys a special status. As a reward, G’d gave the land of Israel especially to him. Avraham wanted to know if, since the land of Israel becomes a מורשה, his share would be due to his father bequeathing it to him. The term ירש, “to inherit,” always implies that one inherits from a father. If Avram’s question had been במה אדע כי תתן לי, “how will I know that You give it to me,” it would have been inappropriate, of course. G’d had spoken about “giving;” Avram asked only about the hereditary aspect, אירשנה.
We will deal with the expression במה אדע, somewhat later in this paragraph. When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
Moses reminded the people in Deut. 5,4 how 40 years earlier, when most of them had not yet been alive, G’d had addressed the whole nation on the פנים אל פנים “face to face level,” [until the people asked Moses to be their interpreter instead. Ed.] At that time all creatures on earth were in awe of their Creator. When the people had consecrated the Tabernacle in the desert as a “home” for Hashem in the lower parts of the universe, G’d took delight in the world He had created, as we know from Taanit 26 where the Talmud understands Song of Songs 3,11 ביום חתונתו וביום שמחת לבו, “on His wedding day, the day when His heart rejoices,” as referring to G’d’s feelings on the day of the revelation at Mount Sinai, and the day when the Tabernacle was consecrated, respectively. This is the kind of נחת רוח, “pleasure, satisfaction,” that man in the lower part of the universe can contribute to G’d in the loftier spheres, in heaven. On both of these occasions the joy was reciprocal, G’d showing that He can associate with earthlings and take pleasure from this. The Israelites’ enthusiastic response after the splitting of the sea and their miraculous and escape from Pharaoh’s pursuing armies, was another occasion when the reciprocal nature of the relationship between G’d and His “chosen” people was demonstrated publicly. Nowadays, almost 4000 years later, we recall these events and praise the Lord every week when we pronounce the blessings over wine. Not a day goes by without our giving thanks to the Lord for the Exodus from Egypt.
At the time when Avram lived, the world, i.e. the planet earth and man on it, was still in a state of semi-collapse, its continued existence far from assured, until Yitzchok and Yaakov continued the work that Avram had started when he kept proclaiming the power and goodness of the Creator. This assurance of the earth’s continued existence was only confirmed with the creation of the Jewish people, and this people’s leaving Egypt as G’d’s people, after having slaughtered the Passover, and proven that they considered the Creator as their highest authority.
The Tur, commenting on why we mention the Exodus of Egypt in the weekly Kiddush, as opposed to the Kiddush on the festivals whose link to the Exodus is self-evident, explains that the Sabbath harbours within it the כח המוליד, the power that enables creatures to regenerate themselves by producing offspring. This “power” is conditional on the observance of the Sabbath (in some form). Terach, Avram’s father, while able to produce physical offspring, was unable to produce offspring equipped with the kind of soul that would be active in spreading the message that G’d is the one and only Creator. [I have not been able to find where the Tur writes this, although he writes about man as well as most other living creatures becoming endowed with the ability to procreate bodies in his Torah commentary. (Genesis 2,3)
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Kedushat Levi
Everything that has been handed down to us about Avram suggests that he was unwavering in his faith in G’d from his very youth, and certainly did not have any theological relapses. Nachmanides stated with absolute certainty, basing himself on Genesis 25,8 that Avram had always considered anything that happened to him as being G’d’s desire and meant for his own good. Nachmanides understood this as being the meaning of the words: זקן ושבע ימים, “of old age, satisfied and satisfied in years.” Contrary to most people, who are described in Kohelet Rabbah, 5,9 as leaving behind many unfulfilled aspirations when they die, Avraham died fully fulfilled. In Baba Batra 117, as well as in Sanhedrin 91 the meaning of the word מורשה is discussed, there being different opinions of how the distribution of the ancestral plots in the Land of Israel was determined by lottery; if the lottery only applied to the tribal allocations, or to families. The discussion also concerns whether only Jews who partook in the Exodus or their offspring were allocated land, or whether the allocation included Jews who had lived before that period, including Avram, Yitzchok, etc. Avram’s question of במה אדע כי אירשנה, meant: “how will I know that I personally will be included in the distribution of the land at that time? He knew that he would not inherit a plot of land in Israel as part of his father Terach’s merit, as he had been the first convert to Judaism, something that was confirmed in Sukkah 49. Since he did not endure slavery in Egypt as did the generation of the Exodus, he was not sure that he would qualify at the time of the distribution.
Avram’s question had been triggered by G’d saying to him:, לתת לך את הארץ הזאת לרשתה, “to give to you this land in order to inherit it.” (15,7) Avram wanted to know if he would live long enough to take part in the distribution of the land in Joshua’s time, or how he was to understand the words: לתת לך, “to give to you.” The Talmud in Sukkah 49 quotes psalms 47,10 where we encounter the expression עם אלוקי אברהם, “the nation that worships the G’d of Avraham”; a sage raised question whether G’d perhaps is not also the G’d of the people of Yitzchok and the G’d of the people of Yaakov.” The answer given is that Avraham was the first convert from which the Jewish people developed, so that he enjoys a special status. As a reward, G’d gave the land of Israel especially to him. Avraham wanted to know if, since the land of Israel becomes a מורשה, his share would be due to his father bequeathing it to him. The term ירש, “to inherit,” always implies that one inherits from a father. If Avram’s question had been במה אדע כי תתן לי, “how will I know that You give it to me,” it would have been inappropriate, of course. G’d had spoken about “giving;” Avram asked only about the hereditary aspect, אירשנה.
We will deal with the expression במה אדע, somewhat later in this paragraph. When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
Moses reminded the people in Deut. 5,4 how 40 years earlier, when most of them had not yet been alive, G’d had addressed the whole nation on the פנים אל פנים “face to face level,” [until the people asked Moses to be their interpreter instead. Ed.] At that time all creatures on earth were in awe of their Creator. When the people had consecrated the Tabernacle in the desert as a “home” for Hashem in the lower parts of the universe, G’d took delight in the world He had created, as we know from Taanit 26 where the Talmud understands Song of Songs 3,11 ביום חתונתו וביום שמחת לבו, “on His wedding day, the day when His heart rejoices,” as referring to G’d’s feelings on the day of the revelation at Mount Sinai, and the day when the Tabernacle was consecrated, respectively. This is the kind of נחת רוח, “pleasure, satisfaction,” that man in the lower part of the universe can contribute to G’d in the loftier spheres, in heaven. On both of these occasions the joy was reciprocal, G’d showing that He can associate with earthlings and take pleasure from this. The Israelites’ enthusiastic response after the splitting of the sea and their miraculous and escape from Pharaoh’s pursuing armies, was another occasion when the reciprocal nature of the relationship between G’d and His “chosen” people was demonstrated publicly. Nowadays, almost 4000 years later, we recall these events and praise the Lord every week when we pronounce the blessings over wine. Not a day goes by without our giving thanks to the Lord for the Exodus from Egypt.
At the time when Avram lived, the world, i.e. the planet earth and man on it, was still in a state of semi-collapse, its continued existence far from assured, until Yitzchok and Yaakov continued the work that Avram had started when he kept proclaiming the power and goodness of the Creator. This assurance of the earth’s continued existence was only confirmed with the creation of the Jewish people, and this people’s leaving Egypt as G’d’s people, after having slaughtered the Passover, and proven that they considered the Creator as their highest authority.
The Tur, commenting on why we mention the Exodus of Egypt in the weekly Kiddush, as opposed to the Kiddush on the festivals whose link to the Exodus is self-evident, explains that the Sabbath harbours within it the כח המוליד, the power that enables creatures to regenerate themselves by producing offspring. This “power” is conditional on the observance of the Sabbath (in some form). Terach, Avram’s father, while able to produce physical offspring, was unable to produce offspring equipped with the kind of soul that would be active in spreading the message that G’d is the one and only Creator. [I have not been able to find where the Tur writes this, although he writes about man as well as most other living creatures becoming endowed with the ability to procreate bodies in his Torah commentary. (Genesis 2,3)
Avram’s question had been triggered by G’d saying to him:, לתת לך את הארץ הזאת לרשתה, “to give to you this land in order to inherit it.” (15,7) Avram wanted to know if he would live long enough to take part in the distribution of the land in Joshua’s time, or how he was to understand the words: לתת לך, “to give to you.” The Talmud in Sukkah 49 quotes psalms 47,10 where we encounter the expression עם אלוקי אברהם, “the nation that worships the G’d of Avraham”; a sage raised question whether G’d perhaps is not also the G’d of the people of Yitzchok and the G’d of the people of Yaakov.” The answer given is that Avraham was the first convert from which the Jewish people developed, so that he enjoys a special status. As a reward, G’d gave the land of Israel especially to him. Avraham wanted to know if, since the land of Israel becomes a מורשה, his share would be due to his father bequeathing it to him. The term ירש, “to inherit,” always implies that one inherits from a father. If Avram’s question had been במה אדע כי תתן לי, “how will I know that You give it to me,” it would have been inappropriate, of course. G’d had spoken about “giving;” Avram asked only about the hereditary aspect, אירשנה.
We will deal with the expression במה אדע, somewhat later in this paragraph. When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
Moses reminded the people in Deut. 5,4 how 40 years earlier, when most of them had not yet been alive, G’d had addressed the whole nation on the פנים אל פנים “face to face level,” [until the people asked Moses to be their interpreter instead. Ed.] At that time all creatures on earth were in awe of their Creator. When the people had consecrated the Tabernacle in the desert as a “home” for Hashem in the lower parts of the universe, G’d took delight in the world He had created, as we know from Taanit 26 where the Talmud understands Song of Songs 3,11 ביום חתונתו וביום שמחת לבו, “on His wedding day, the day when His heart rejoices,” as referring to G’d’s feelings on the day of the revelation at Mount Sinai, and the day when the Tabernacle was consecrated, respectively. This is the kind of נחת רוח, “pleasure, satisfaction,” that man in the lower part of the universe can contribute to G’d in the loftier spheres, in heaven. On both of these occasions the joy was reciprocal, G’d showing that He can associate with earthlings and take pleasure from this. The Israelites’ enthusiastic response after the splitting of the sea and their miraculous and escape from Pharaoh’s pursuing armies, was another occasion when the reciprocal nature of the relationship between G’d and His “chosen” people was demonstrated publicly. Nowadays, almost 4000 years later, we recall these events and praise the Lord every week when we pronounce the blessings over wine. Not a day goes by without our giving thanks to the Lord for the Exodus from Egypt.
At the time when Avram lived, the world, i.e. the planet earth and man on it, was still in a state of semi-collapse, its continued existence far from assured, until Yitzchok and Yaakov continued the work that Avram had started when he kept proclaiming the power and goodness of the Creator. This assurance of the earth’s continued existence was only confirmed with the creation of the Jewish people, and this people’s leaving Egypt as G’d’s people, after having slaughtered the Passover, and proven that they considered the Creator as their highest authority.
The Tur, commenting on why we mention the Exodus of Egypt in the weekly Kiddush, as opposed to the Kiddush on the festivals whose link to the Exodus is self-evident, explains that the Sabbath harbours within it the כח המוליד, the power that enables creatures to regenerate themselves by producing offspring. This “power” is conditional on the observance of the Sabbath (in some form). Terach, Avram’s father, while able to produce physical offspring, was unable to produce offspring equipped with the kind of soul that would be active in spreading the message that G’d is the one and only Creator. [I have not been able to find where the Tur writes this, although he writes about man as well as most other living creatures becoming endowed with the ability to procreate bodies in his Torah commentary. (Genesis 2,3)
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 31,48. “whereas Yaakov named it Galed.” This verse contains an allusion to the thirty third day of the counting of the Omer, [significant to us only since the time of Rabbi Akiva, Ed.] The subject is elaborated on in Pessikta rabbati, chapter 21. The letters in the word גל, numerical value 33, symbolizes the first 33 days after the Exodus during which G’d is supposed to have appeared to the Jewish people as if a young man, a mighty warrior, whereas at the giving of the Torah He is supposed to have appeared to them in the guise of an aged scholar. The parable is meant to describe a young child whose father takes him by the hand when he brings him to school and his father trains him to like school by presenting school as an image of something he knows the child longs for. As the child learns more Torah his spiritual horizon expands so that when in his early youth the image of a young man had the greatest appeal for him, gradually he aspires to become like a revered elderly scholar. [The Midrash endeavours to explain the expression פנים בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, “G’d spoke to you once with one face and once with another face.” (Deut. 5,4.) Ed.]
The 33rd day of counting the Omer represents the point at which the Jewish people after having experienced G’d performing a string of supernatural miracles began to experience a longing for the Holy Torah, after receipt of which they could serve the Lord with all their hearts having gained more insight into His thinking after they would study His Torah. As of then their service would be whole-hearted. By naming the pile of stones גל עד, “the thirty third would serve as witness,” Yaakov alluded to an event in the future, just as he did many more times, especially when he blessed his children before his death. The word עד also is derived from עדי, עדיים, as in Ezekiel 16,7 where it signifies puberty, adolescence, or as in Exodus 33,4 עדיו, “its jewelry,” where the phylacteries are described as the Jewish people’s jewelry, and having sinned grievously against the Torah they were not allowed to display that jewelry which symbolized Torah. In other words, until the 33rd day after the Exodus the people were still primarily under the influence of the events accompanying the redemption, whereas from that time on, [probably including the partial Torah legislation at Marah, Ed.] they were under the impending revelation of G’d’s Torah at Mount Sinai. This stage is hinted at in the letters עד of the word גלעד.
The 33rd day of counting the Omer represents the point at which the Jewish people after having experienced G’d performing a string of supernatural miracles began to experience a longing for the Holy Torah, after receipt of which they could serve the Lord with all their hearts having gained more insight into His thinking after they would study His Torah. As of then their service would be whole-hearted. By naming the pile of stones גל עד, “the thirty third would serve as witness,” Yaakov alluded to an event in the future, just as he did many more times, especially when he blessed his children before his death. The word עד also is derived from עדי, עדיים, as in Ezekiel 16,7 where it signifies puberty, adolescence, or as in Exodus 33,4 עדיו, “its jewelry,” where the phylacteries are described as the Jewish people’s jewelry, and having sinned grievously against the Torah they were not allowed to display that jewelry which symbolized Torah. In other words, until the 33rd day after the Exodus the people were still primarily under the influence of the events accompanying the redemption, whereas from that time on, [probably including the partial Torah legislation at Marah, Ed.] they were under the impending revelation of G’d’s Torah at Mount Sinai. This stage is hinted at in the letters עד of the word גלעד.
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