Chasidut su Esodo 26:78

The Zohar writes concerning the goal of human completeness (Yitro 78b-79a): “You shall see the work of God that I shall do, it is awesome.” (Shemot, 34:10) Rabbi Elazar said, “It is the completion of everything.” … “It is awesome,” refers to Yaakov,²⁰³In the first of the eighteen benedictions we say, “God of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov, the Great, the Mighty, and the Awesome God.” “Awesome” (norah) signifies the main quality of the patriarch Yaakov, who thus represents a complete fear of the awesome power of God. It was Yaakov, after his dream of the ladder, who said, “how awesome (norah) is this place!” (Bereshit, 28:17) the ish tam, the man complete in all his attributes.²⁰⁴Generally, in the Zohar, Yaakov Avinu represents the Torah, or the sefirah of Tiferet, which is beauty, balance, and pride. Yaakov and Tiferet also represent completeness. See Bereshit, 25:27, “Yaakov was an ish tam (wholehearted, simple, complete), dwelling in tents.” Yaakov further represents completeness, in that all of his children were completely righteous, as opposed to Avraham who begat Yishmael and Yitskhak who begat Eisav. Wherever you find completeness, it is called “awesome.” … The fear of God rests only in a place of completeness.²⁰⁵“A place of completeness” – see note 185. And in the Zohar, Parshat Shlach (51b): “You have established equity” (Tehillim, 99:4). This is the “middle bar” (Shemot, 26:28),²⁰⁶This was inserted in the midst of the boards comprising the walls of the tabernacle. signifying the Holy One, blessed be He.²⁰⁷In the Zohar, the term “the Holy One,” refers to the sefirah of Tiferet, which corresponds to Yaakov, the Torah, and the trait of “completeness.” Rabbi Yitzhak said, “This is Yaakov.” It is really all the same matter. If the king is complete in all aspects, clearly his knowledge is complete in all aspects. What is the way of this king? He shines continually as the sun, for he is complete. When he judges, he judges for the good and for the bad. When a wise person sees the king’s face shining, he says, “Certainly the king is complete in all aspects; his knowledge is complete and his completeness is above all others. In this shining light of his face I see that he is judging more than I see, yet it is covered.” … So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, is ever complete … For this reason, one must take great care to guard himself from Him.²⁰⁸Meaning to honor God and adhere to His commandments. Fear that is not rooted in the Torah can fall to the low level of the fear of deficiency, as mentioned above. This is as the Tikkunei Zohar, above, explained the verse, “Another withholds unduly, but only comes to lack.” However, the true fear of God, rooted in the Torah and based on faith, is called, “the completion of holy faith.” This is as it is written in the Zohar (Yitro, 79a): What is the meaning of the verse (Bereshit, 28:17), “And Yaakov feared, and said, how awesome (norah) is this place!” What did Yaakov see that he could only describe as dreadful and awe-inspiring (norah)? He saw the absolute completion of holy faith which existed in that place, just as it is above in the upper worlds. Every place that is at such a level of perfection is called, “awesome (norah).”²⁰⁹That is, perfect faith results in an exalted type of fear, more correctly known as “awe.” The Torah is the straight path, and is called the “book of yashar,”²¹⁰Yashar means straight, direct, even. as it is written (Shmuel 2, 1:18), “Is it not written in the book of yashar?” The Torah comes from the middle column,²¹¹There are three columns in the array of the ten Sefirot – right, left, and middle. The middle column joins and synthesizes the opposing forces of right and left, . and is whole, for one who grasps onto the Torah lacks nothing. This is because it straightens and balances a person’s attributes so that he is not steeped in any one extremity, which is what brings him to deficiency. If a person is subjugated to any one of his attributes, and thereby lacks the strength of mind to balance its power and prevent it from becoming extreme, then the attribute is deficient, even if it is a good trait that could otherwise be the source of good behavior. If this attribute is taken to its extremity, and then becomes an involuntary mode of behavior, without any reckoning or deliberation, then the attribute, albeit good, will be used in the wrong way.²¹²This relates to the teaching of the Izhbitzer that there are no bad attributes, only bad applications of good attributes. For example, as R. Gershon Henokh explains here, kindness is neither an inherently good nor evil trait. Used correctly, it is good, but used improperly, as in the case of one who shows kindness to evil-doers, the trait becomes a sin. (This explains the Izhbitzer’s vindication of the sins of various biblical characters. According to him, they never intentionally sinned, but only mistimed the use of certain attributes.) The goal of the Torah is to produce perfected and balanced human beings (symbolized by Yaakov, Tiferet), who always know how to use their character traits in the right way, according to the needs of the situation. An imbalanced person, on the other hand, becomes stuck in a certain mode of behavior, and is unable to deviate from it, even when the situation calls for an alternative approach. This person is deficient in the other traits – a lack that engenders within him a fear of situations in which his innate character trait cannot apply. (See note 177, above.) According to Rav Mordechai Yosef, this person may objectify his lack in the form of an idol, which he will fear, though what he is actually fearing is his own, innate deficiency (his “dark side”). Thus, in praying to the idol to be saved from that which he fears, he is really only praying to his own fear and deficiency. This approach is most likely a Hasidic interpretation of the Kabbalistic concept of the death of the seven Edomite kings (based upon Genesis 36). Each king symbolizes a different trait, or sefirah, used by God to create the world. Nonetheless, these traits were flawed, inasmuch as each one sought to be an exclusive conduit for God’s creative energy: be it Hesed (Love), Gevurah (Severity), or Tiferet (Mercy). This led to the “breaking of the vessels,” and the current, fallen nature of reality, which demands repair. Each “king” said, “I, and only I, will rule.” However, the verses in Genesis do not record the death of the eighth king, Hadar, and they also mention that he had a wife (Meheitavel). In other words, he was the only one who made room for another perspective; thus he did not “die” (i.e. the trait did not shatter), and represents the attribute of “tikkun,” or rectification. This led to the new emanation of the sefirot in which each one contains all ten: love contains wisdom; understanding contains balance, and so forth. In this way, by adapting and being flexible, the vessels could contain God’s light and the world could survive. In the psychological terms used by R. Gershon Henokh, a person on the level of the seven kings will exhibit an inflexible commitment to one particular character trait, and lack the ability to negotiate situations that are not suited to that attribute; whereas the rectified approach means using the whole variety of shades of love, fear, etc, and adapting and relating to the plethora of stimuli one encounters in the world. Take, for example, the trait of kindness, which is clearly a good attribute. However, when it is used indiscriminately and bestowed generously upon cruel people, it becomes destructive; for there is no greater evil than acting kindly toward the cruel.²¹³This is based on the aphorisim of the Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah 7:16): “One who is kind to the cruel will eventually be cruel to the kind.” One who errs in this way upholds and even strengthens destructive forces in the world. Clearly, every attribute must be used with clear and conscious deliberation, at the proper time and in the proper place. In this way, he may “establish equity”²¹⁴As in the verse from Tehillim, 99:4, cited above. in every aspect of his behavior, according to the approach of the Torah. Then, he will be complete and lack nothing.²¹⁵Lacking nothing, he will be free from the lower level of fear. His actions will all be balanced and in line with God’s will. His fear of God will be like that of Yaakov – norah – an expression of awe and faith. Above all, the greatest deficiency a person can have is a lack of emunah (faith). On this it is written in the Zohar (Vayikra, 16b): “And it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty…” (Vayikra, 5:23). Because of this, God withdraws from everything; then God, so to speak, does not exist in creation, and Knesset Yisrael²¹⁶Knesset Yisrael means the “Congregation of the people of Israel,” and is synonymous with the Shechinah, the sefirah of Malchut, the attribute of faith, and the Divine presence which rests upon the Israelite nation. One could say, “God/the Shechinah/faith is hidden from that place.” has left her place. This is as it is written (Yeshayahu, 7:28), “Emunah has perished.” That means that Knesset Yisrael has perished.²¹⁷Meaning, separated from her place. Of this it is said (Tehillim 92:3), “To speak of Your emunah in the nights.”²¹⁸“Speaking of your faith at night,” means that if one has true faith, then even after the sin, when man sits in darkness, so to speak, he can still amend his ways and return to God.

Exodus 26,14. “skins of Tachash, to be placed on top.” ‎Sometimes people make remarks in a jocular fashion, although ‎the deeper meaning of their remarks does reflect reverence for ‎G’d. These skins of Tachash used as the outermost coverings of the ‎‎“roof” of the Tabernacle, symbolized this ‎חצוניות‎, vernacular, ‎secular, which though not valuable by itself, was put to good use ‎as a cover, protection for the sacred content beneath the surface. ‎When people known to revere G’d properly, nonetheless indulge ‎in jocular remarks from time to time, this is not to be understood ‎as lack of reverence for G’d, but is meant to make the substance ‎of their remarks which are designed to bring people closer to G’d, ‎more readily acceptable, as their listeners respond to jokes ‎immediately. In the paragraph under discussion the words ‎שש ‏משזר‎, symbolize the real content of the conversation of people ‎who forego the need to “spice” up their words by making jokes ‎first. The words ‎יריעות עזים‎, “sheets or carpets of goat-hair,” refer ‎to people’s discussing their personal needs. ‎

Exodus 26,4. “you are to make loops made from blue ‎wool;” this verse can be understood when we consider the ‎following statement in the Talmud Sotah 17. “‎תכלת‎, wool ‎dyed blue, resembles the ocean, which in turn is a reflection of ‎the colour of the sky, which in its turn is a reflection of the ‎throne of G’d.”‎
Speaking allegorically, when a person begins with ‎constructing a building, he commences with an outline of the ‎appearance of the finished building in his mind. After that he ‎draws up plans for the building, and only as a last step does he ‎proceed with the actual construction. When the building is ‎complete it is assigned its original purpose, i.e. given to the ‎person or persons who will inhabit it. In other words, the project ‎has undergone four distinct stages. 1) original mental image of ‎the project; 2) clarification of the details, etc. 3) translating ‎thought into deed. 4) carrying out the intention which originally ‎prompted the project. When the original mental image of the ‎project is seen reflected after its successful completion, the ‎person inhabiting this building will experience a sense of ‎satisfaction and joy.‎
Speaking allegorically, when a person begins with ‎constructing a building, he commences with an outline of the ‎appearance of the finished building in his mind. After that he ‎draws up plans for the building, and only as a last step does he ‎proceed with the actual construction. When the building is ‎complete it is assigned its original purpose, i.e. given to the ‎person or persons who will inhabit it. In other words, the project ‎has undergone four distinct stages. 1) original mental image of ‎the project; 2) clarification of the details, etc. 3) translating ‎thought into deed. 4) carrying out the intention which originally ‎prompted the project. When the original mental image of the ‎project is seen reflected after its successful completion, the ‎person inhabiting this building will experience a sense of ‎satisfaction and joy.‎
The Creator experienced similar feelings from the moment He ‎had imagined the universe He was about to create and the ‎creatures which He planned would live in the completed universe. ‎Seeing that, as we pointed out repeatedly, the entire project ‎called “universe” had been planned only for the sake of the Jewish ‎people, it is clear that the Jewish people as the end-product ‎loomed large in His thinking. It follows that as soon as the Jewish ‎people realized that they had been the focal point of all of G’d’s ‎endeavours, they would be filled with immense joy. If G’d ‎performed so many overt miracles for the Jewish people, this was ‎in order to convince them of their pivotal role in this universe. ‎The author refers to a commentary on the word ‎מגילה‎ in the ‎benediction read before reading the scroll containing the Purim ‎story, in which he understood the word ‎מגילה‎ not simply as ‎‎“scroll,” but as a revelation, i.e. ‎מגלה‎ i.e. revealing events and ‎their purpose. The letter ‎י‎ in the word ‎מגילה‎ he understands as an ‎allusion to the heavenly involvement, though it was covert, in all ‎that happened at that time. He follows up by interpreting the ‎word ‎תכלת‎ usually translated as “wool dyed blue,” as being a ‎derivative of the word ‎תכלית‎ i.e. ‎תכלת‎ with the letter ‎י‎ added; this ‎conveys the same idea as the letter ‎י‎ in the word ‎מגילה‎ as we just ‎explained. When the sages in Sotah 17 referred to four sages ‎of tracing back the end-product ‎תכלת‎+‎י‎, they taught us about the ‎four stages involved in creating the world, the four stages also ‎paralleling the four letters in the holy name of G’d in the ‎tetragram as well as the name spelled ‎א-ד-נ-י‎. The final letter ‎ה‎ in ‎the tetragram alludes to the stage of the actual building, whereas ‎the first letters ‎יה‎ alludes to G’d’s thought processes, and the ‎letter ‎ו‎ refers to the stage when the plans are drawn up. The ‎name ‎א-ד-נ-י‎ refers to the completed product fulfilling its ‎function, ‎תכלית‎.‎

Exodus 39,3. “they hammered out sheets of gold and cut ‎threads to be worked into the blue wool, etc.;” ….., “the work ‎of a skilful craftsman.”
A major criterion of the ‎categories of work prohibited to be performed on the Sabbath is ‎called ‎מלאכת מחשבת‎, “work requiring skill.” In order to obtain a ‎more detailed definition of this, the Talmud refers us to all the ‎kinds of work needing skill that were performed in the ‎construction of the Tabernacle. (Compare Beytzah, 13) ‎What the Talmud means is the kind of work performed by ‎Betzalel in connection with the Tabernacle, all of which required ‎for him to be inspired by G’d specifically so that he could carry it ‎out. Seeing that the Tabernacle symbolized the creation of the ‎universe, it is plausible that the type of work, [creative ‎activity, for want of a better expression. Ed.] performed ‎by G’d during those 6 days, (though He only uttered the directive ‎by word of mouth) is what we are to abstain from on the day that ‎G’d abstained from creative activity.‎
According to Bereshit Rabbah 12,15, G’d commenced ‎creating the universe by employing only the attribute of Justice, ‎but when He saw that the universe would not be able to be stable ‎and could not endure, He co-opted the attribute of Mercy.‎
When G’d created the universe, He had also prepared all the ‎materials that would be required to ensure that the “work” was ‎carried out successfully, i.e. all the gold, silver and copper, etc; ‎originally, He had planned to use only gold. Upon reflection, He ‎decided that it would be better to use primarily silver. Betzalel ‎similarly, used many different kinds of materials in order to create ‎a Tabernacle that would be a fair replica of the universe G’d had ‎created at the time. Just as G’d decided to co-opt the attribute of ‎Mercy to the attribute of Justice when He was in the process of ‎creating the universe, so Betzalel and his assistants proceeded ‎after first working with chunks of gold to beat the gold into thin ‎sheets, i.e. [as when covering the wooden boards with sheets of ‎gold, (Exodus 26,29) not make them nor the shittim wood ‎the exclusive material, and to make golden threads to interweave ‎with blue wool, etc., so that the precious metal gold would not be ‎the exclusive or even predominant raw material. The composition ‎of different materials used in the making of the Tabernacle ‎demonstrated that though gold may be the most precious ‎material, unless the universe also contained less precious ‎materials it just would not be a “universe.”
‎‎[This editor finds it difficult to accept that G’d, Who ‎according to all of our sages, intended for man, and amongst man ‎Israel, to be the crowning achievement of the creation, originally ‎intended to only use the attribute of Justice. It is much easier to ‎understand the fact that the term Hashem is not mentioned ‎in the Torah until G’d had created a free-willed human being, one ‎that could rebel against Him, made the involvement of the ‎attribute of Mercy necessary, is much more plausible, especially ‎when we accept the principle of ‎סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה‎, “the ‎final product was the original vision of the Creator”, as we sing in ‎לכה דודי‎ every Friday night. Ed.].‎