Chasidut su Esodo 33:20
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לֹ֥א תוּכַ֖ל לִרְאֹ֣ת אֶת־פָּנָ֑י כִּ֛י לֹֽא־יִרְאַ֥נִי הָאָדָ֖ם וָחָֽי׃
E soggiunse: Non potrai vedermi in faccia [vedere cioè la parte anteriore dell’apparizione], poiché non può l’uomo vedermi e restare in vita.
Kedushat Levi
[Before continuing, it is important for the reader to remember that of all the sensory perceptions at our disposal, the eyes, i.e. “seeing,” are considered by the Torah as the most reliable, and therefore testimony given at court must always be based on what has been witnessed by one’s eyes. Ed.]
We need to appreciate also that there are two ways of examining what one has seen, i.e. ראיה. One is merely a category of visually perceiving the outline and colour of the object “seen,” whereas the other includes the person seeing being able to understand the deeper meaning of what his eyes have “seen.,” examining its essence, something known as ידיעה, “knowing”, understanding. This latter category of visual perception is known as בחינת אותיות, examining the “letters,” i.e. the structure of what the image consists of. When Adam had marital relations with his wife Chavah for the first time, (Genesis 4,25), the Torah describes the experience with the words: וידע אדם את אשתו, “Adam gained intimate knowledge of the essence of his wife.” Whereas “seeing” implies that one perceives from the “outside,” ידיעה, understanding the essence of something, implies a much more intimate connection to the matter which is the subject of one’s knowledge. This kind of intimate knowledge is possible only in domains that are completely spiritual, disembodied, i.e. beyond the world of the אותיות, “letters.” True “knowledge” (in the sense of identifying with the essence of the subject or object), presupposes negating any personal, ego-oriented relation to it. This also accounts for prophets appearing to act as if they had taken leave of their senses while they were receiving messages from the transcendental domains. As a result of these transcendental messages these prophets could feel greatly distressed when receiving messages concerning the gentile nations, as these messages originated in a domain that knows only “goodness,” (as we explained) so that the prophet would assume that what would be “good” for the gentiles in the long run would also be good for them in the immediate future, and therefore harmful for the people of Israel. This is one of the limitations every prophet labours under, as G’d explained to Moses in Exodus 33,20, כי לא יראני האדם וחי, i.e. that as long as the prophet’s soul is still within his mortal body, he cannot “see” i.e. completely understand what G’d is doing.
The difference between these two levels of “seeing,” is also the difference between כלל ופרט, “a general principle and its application to a specific situation.” [The 13 methods of exegesis of the Torah composed by Rabbi Yishmael, by means of which texts in the written Torah can be understood as halachically accepted. Ed.]
Our author explains this as the difference between “category 10 and not 11,” (Mishnah 4) a term used in the Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest kabbalistic text.
We need to appreciate also that there are two ways of examining what one has seen, i.e. ראיה. One is merely a category of visually perceiving the outline and colour of the object “seen,” whereas the other includes the person seeing being able to understand the deeper meaning of what his eyes have “seen.,” examining its essence, something known as ידיעה, “knowing”, understanding. This latter category of visual perception is known as בחינת אותיות, examining the “letters,” i.e. the structure of what the image consists of. When Adam had marital relations with his wife Chavah for the first time, (Genesis 4,25), the Torah describes the experience with the words: וידע אדם את אשתו, “Adam gained intimate knowledge of the essence of his wife.” Whereas “seeing” implies that one perceives from the “outside,” ידיעה, understanding the essence of something, implies a much more intimate connection to the matter which is the subject of one’s knowledge. This kind of intimate knowledge is possible only in domains that are completely spiritual, disembodied, i.e. beyond the world of the אותיות, “letters.” True “knowledge” (in the sense of identifying with the essence of the subject or object), presupposes negating any personal, ego-oriented relation to it. This also accounts for prophets appearing to act as if they had taken leave of their senses while they were receiving messages from the transcendental domains. As a result of these transcendental messages these prophets could feel greatly distressed when receiving messages concerning the gentile nations, as these messages originated in a domain that knows only “goodness,” (as we explained) so that the prophet would assume that what would be “good” for the gentiles in the long run would also be good for them in the immediate future, and therefore harmful for the people of Israel. This is one of the limitations every prophet labours under, as G’d explained to Moses in Exodus 33,20, כי לא יראני האדם וחי, i.e. that as long as the prophet’s soul is still within his mortal body, he cannot “see” i.e. completely understand what G’d is doing.
The difference between these two levels of “seeing,” is also the difference between כלל ופרט, “a general principle and its application to a specific situation.” [The 13 methods of exegesis of the Torah composed by Rabbi Yishmael, by means of which texts in the written Torah can be understood as halachically accepted. Ed.]
Our author explains this as the difference between “category 10 and not 11,” (Mishnah 4) a term used in the Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest kabbalistic text.
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