Chasidut su Genesi 37:44
Flames of Faith
According to Jewish mystics, Joseph was the paradigm of virtue and righteousness, the personification of tzaddik yesod olam, a man of such holiness that his merit sustains the entire world. Joseph was also Jacob’s favorite son, and they shared a special relationship.32See Gen. 30:25 and Rashi’s comment on that verse; Gen. 37:2 and the respective Rashi; also Gen. 37:11, 37:35, 45:27-28. When Jacob lay dying he called Joseph and requested burial in the Land of Israel. Although Joseph promised that he would ensure his father’s interment in Israel (Gen. 47:30), Jacob was not satisfied and demanded that an oath be sworn in God’s name: “And he [Jacob] said ‘Swear to me’ and he [Joseph] swore to him, and Israel [another name for Jacob] bowed back toward the head of the bed” (Gen. 47:31).
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Flames of Faith
According to Jewish mystics, Joseph was the paradigm of virtue and righteousness, the personification of tzaddik yesod olam, a man of such holiness that his merit sustains the entire world. Joseph was also Jacob’s favorite son, and they shared a special relationship.32See Gen. 30:25 and Rashi’s comment on that verse; Gen. 37:2 and the respective Rashi; also Gen. 37:11, 37:35, 45:27-28. When Jacob lay dying he called Joseph and requested burial in the Land of Israel. Although Joseph promised that he would ensure his father’s interment in Israel (Gen. 47:30), Jacob was not satisfied and demanded that an oath be sworn in God’s name: “And he [Jacob] said ‘Swear to me’ and he [Joseph] swore to him, and Israel [another name for Jacob] bowed back toward the head of the bed” (Gen. 47:31).
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Kedushat Levi
Leviticus 26,3. “if you will walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and carry them out.” At first glance there appears to be unnecessary verbiage in this verse. We would have expected the Torah to write simply: אם תשמרו את מצותי ונתתי גשמיכם בעתו, “if you will observe My commandments I will provide your rainfall at the appropriate time.” However, the reason for the additional words may be understood when we recall that the Talmud in Kiddushin 40 states that G’d will account a good intention as if it were a good deed, i.e. that the good intention is already accounted as fulfillment of a commandment. In other words, the good intention is accounted as if it had already been translated into action, so that if through an accident beyond one’s control actual performance of the good intention was prevented, one is still given credit for it.Leviticus 26,3. “if you will walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and carry them out.” At first glance there appears to be unnecessary verbiage in this verse. We would have expected the Torah to write simply: אם תשמרו את מצותי ונתתי גשמיכם בעתו, “if you will observe My commandments I will provide your rainfall at the appropriate time.” However, the reason for the additional words may be understood when we recall that the Talmud in Kiddushin 40 states that G’d will account a good intention as if it were a good deed, i.e. that the good intention is already accounted as fulfillment of a commandment. In other words, the good intention is accounted as if it had already been translated into action, so that if through an accident beyond one’s control actual performance of the good intention was prevented, one is still given credit for it.
From this it follows that when one performs a good deed (commandment) truly without any ulterior motive this may result in such a person being transported to a higher spiritual level than the one he had been on prior to performance of that commandment. As a result of such a spiritual “promotion,” one will be granted the opportunity to fulfill still other commandments. The process will continue as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is what the sages had in mind when they said that the reward of fulfilling a commandment is another commandment. (Avot 4,2) It is also the meaning of מצוה גוררת מצוה, “performance of one commandment drags an additional commandment in its wake.” (ibid.) Keeping this in mind we can also understand the meaning of the line in Niddah 73 quoted in the name of Tanna de bey Eliyahu that every person who makes it a rule to study at least one halachah daily, is assured that he will have a share in the world to come. The meaning is that that individual will progress daily ever closer to his ultimate objective of the world to come as he has not been deflected from his path. This is the meaning of the verse from Scripture quoted by the author of this saying, i.e. Chabakuk 3,6 הליכות עולם לו, “he will make steady progress towards another, eternal life.”
The words: אם בחקותי תלכו, mean that “if you cleave to My statutes,” you will be considered as “walking” on the right path, תלכו. The words: ואת מצותי תשמרו, refer to your planning, thinking of, performing My commandments, even if you have not succeeded for some reason to carry out your good intention, I will consider it as if you had done it, i.e. ועשיתם אותם. When understood in this manner, none of the words in our verse are superfluous or repetitious.
From this it follows that when one performs a good deed (commandment) truly without any ulterior motive this may result in such a person being transported to a higher spiritual level than the one he had been on prior to performance of that commandment. As a result of such a spiritual “promotion,” one will be granted the opportunity to fulfill still other commandments. The process will continue as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is what the sages had in mind when they said that the reward of fulfilling a commandment is another commandment. (Avot 4,2) It is also the meaning of מצוה גוררת מצוה, “performance of one commandment drags an additional commandment in its wake.” (ibid.) Keeping this in mind we can also understand the meaning of the line in Niddah 73 quoted in the name of Tanna de bey Eliyahu that every person who makes it a rule to study at least one halachah daily, is assured that he will have a share in the world to come. The meaning is that that individual will progress daily ever closer to his ultimate objective of the world to come as he has not been deflected from his path. This is the meaning of the verse from Scripture quoted by the author of this saying, i.e. Chabakuk 3,6 הליכות עולם לו, “he will make steady progress towards another, eternal life.”
The words: אם בחקותי תלכו, mean that “if you cleave to My statutes,” you will be considered as “walking” on the right path, תלכו. The words: ואת מצותי תשמרו, refer to your planning, thinking of, performing My commandments, even if you have not succeeded for some reason to carry out your good intention, I will consider it as if you had done it, i.e. ועשיתם אותם. When understood in this manner, none of the words in our verse are superfluous or repetitious.
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 13,2. “send out men for your own satisfaction.”
We have a rule that when an Israelite arrives at a place where he serves the Lord, all the ”sparks” (that had fallen to earth from the Shechinah on account of some misdemeanour) that are scattered around him, feel ashamed in the presence of such people.
[The expression ניצוצות, sparks, occurs both as something material, though not tangible, in the writings of Maimonides for instance, examples hilchot Shabbat 28/25 and hilchot tefillin 4,18, whereas in Yalkut Shimoni, i.e. midrashic exegesis, it occurs as more esoteric, though not as applicable to purely spiritual beings as in kabbalah. Up until this point, our author always used the term for spiritual concepts such as “fallen angels.” At this point I am not quite sure how to understand his reference to it. Ed.]
In the Talmud Shabbat 31 we read that G’d created the universe only in order that His creatures be in awe of Him. (opinion of Rabbi Yehudah) The scriptural “proof” for this opinion quoted is Kohelet 3,14 והאלוקים עשה שייראו מלפניו, “and G’d has acted so that [man] should stand in awe of Him.” Accordingly, it appears that the author understands the word ניצוצות here as negative forces that obstruct man in his quest to fulfill the Creator’s commandments. When these negative forces (commonly called Satan) observe how man goes out of his way to fulfill G’d’s commandments, they become ashamed, and while in that state man can easily overcome their feeble efforts to distract him from serving G’d. (and, according to our author elevate these negative forces to a higher spiritual level in the process of his worshipping Gd.) There is, however, a limitation to the statement expressed in the rule expressed at the beginning of our exegesis, and this is that the rule that the person wishing to worship G’d can overcome external obstacles is based on the premise that he himself has freed himself of subjective, sensually influenced considerations when setting out to perform one of G’d’s commandments.
The choice of the words שלח, at the beginning of our portion is reminiscent of Genesis 37:32 where Onkelos translates the word וישלחו, commonly translated as: “they sent,” as ושלחו, “they stripped” [Joseph of his striped coat, the personification of his earthly aspirations. Ed.]
We have a rule that when an Israelite arrives at a place where he serves the Lord, all the ”sparks” (that had fallen to earth from the Shechinah on account of some misdemeanour) that are scattered around him, feel ashamed in the presence of such people.
[The expression ניצוצות, sparks, occurs both as something material, though not tangible, in the writings of Maimonides for instance, examples hilchot Shabbat 28/25 and hilchot tefillin 4,18, whereas in Yalkut Shimoni, i.e. midrashic exegesis, it occurs as more esoteric, though not as applicable to purely spiritual beings as in kabbalah. Up until this point, our author always used the term for spiritual concepts such as “fallen angels.” At this point I am not quite sure how to understand his reference to it. Ed.]
In the Talmud Shabbat 31 we read that G’d created the universe only in order that His creatures be in awe of Him. (opinion of Rabbi Yehudah) The scriptural “proof” for this opinion quoted is Kohelet 3,14 והאלוקים עשה שייראו מלפניו, “and G’d has acted so that [man] should stand in awe of Him.” Accordingly, it appears that the author understands the word ניצוצות here as negative forces that obstruct man in his quest to fulfill the Creator’s commandments. When these negative forces (commonly called Satan) observe how man goes out of his way to fulfill G’d’s commandments, they become ashamed, and while in that state man can easily overcome their feeble efforts to distract him from serving G’d. (and, according to our author elevate these negative forces to a higher spiritual level in the process of his worshipping Gd.) There is, however, a limitation to the statement expressed in the rule expressed at the beginning of our exegesis, and this is that the rule that the person wishing to worship G’d can overcome external obstacles is based on the premise that he himself has freed himself of subjective, sensually influenced considerations when setting out to perform one of G’d’s commandments.
The choice of the words שלח, at the beginning of our portion is reminiscent of Genesis 37:32 where Onkelos translates the word וישלחו, commonly translated as: “they sent,” as ושלחו, “they stripped” [Joseph of his striped coat, the personification of his earthly aspirations. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 42,5-6. “Joseph’s brothers arrived (in Egypt) and bowed down, and prostrated themselves to him.” (The ruler in charge of grain sales) וירא יוסף את אחיו ויכירם ויתנכר אליהם, “When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them and he acted as if he was a stranger to them.” We need to understand what the Torah intended to teach us by writing that Joseph acted as a stranger to them, when this would have become apparent as soon as we read about their dialogue.
I believe the line is introduced by the Torah to teach us that the Torah considers Joseph’s conduct at this time as justified. Joseph’s dream had shown him that his brothers would at one stage prostrate themselves before him. (Genesis 37,7) His brothers had opposed the idea that he would become king, ruling over them. It is the way of the world that if someone has been vanquished in a battle or duel, that if he knows who the victor is, he will aim to take revenge sooner or later. If the vanquished person does not know who has defeated him, his embarrassment and desire for revenge will be far less, as other people presumably are also unaware of his having been the loser in a conflict. In our story, Joseph had become the victor; now that his dream had been fulfilled and his brothers had prostrated themselves before him this was all that concerned him, as he no longer felt that his brothers’ accusations that he was an egomaniac, were true. Had the brothers been able to, they would have made every effort to prevent Joseph’s dream from becoming fulfilled. They would have harboured ill will against him as soon as they had realized that his dream had come true, just as they had imagined him as hoping that it would. Therefore, Joseph contented himself with the knowledge that his dream had indeed been fulfilled, making sure that this would not have been at the expense of his brothers becoming upset about this and probably hostile towards him. He therefore acted in a manner that would convince the brothers that the person before whom they had prostrated themselves had not been their long lost brother. Seeing that the person before whom the brothers prostrated themselves was a duly appointed king, -not even one who had come to the throne by revolution- they did not mind having to prostrate themselves before a king such as he, especially as he volunteered- against payment of course- to save them from total economic ruin. Joseph on his part did all that he could to not let the brothers feel that he had bested them. When the Torah describes the sequence of this encounter with the words: “they prostrated themselves and he recognized them, etc.,” this is to hint that it now dawned on Joseph that just as he had recognized them, they might recognize him; in order to avoid their becoming embarrassed he then devised a scheme to disguise himself in every way possible so that they did not recognize him. The Torah reports this to show that his disguise worked.
It is also possible to see in the sequence of these verses an explanation why during all these years (22) Joseph had never sent a message to his father showing that he was alive and even prosperous. He knew that his dreams would become true prophetic visions and that that as a result of this his brothers would become deeply saddened and frustrated. Once his father would have been informed of his being alive and well, this would become known to the brothers even if their father did not tell them outright. Yaakov’s whole bearing would change from that of a father grieving for a lost son, and the brothers would notice this.
I believe the line is introduced by the Torah to teach us that the Torah considers Joseph’s conduct at this time as justified. Joseph’s dream had shown him that his brothers would at one stage prostrate themselves before him. (Genesis 37,7) His brothers had opposed the idea that he would become king, ruling over them. It is the way of the world that if someone has been vanquished in a battle or duel, that if he knows who the victor is, he will aim to take revenge sooner or later. If the vanquished person does not know who has defeated him, his embarrassment and desire for revenge will be far less, as other people presumably are also unaware of his having been the loser in a conflict. In our story, Joseph had become the victor; now that his dream had been fulfilled and his brothers had prostrated themselves before him this was all that concerned him, as he no longer felt that his brothers’ accusations that he was an egomaniac, were true. Had the brothers been able to, they would have made every effort to prevent Joseph’s dream from becoming fulfilled. They would have harboured ill will against him as soon as they had realized that his dream had come true, just as they had imagined him as hoping that it would. Therefore, Joseph contented himself with the knowledge that his dream had indeed been fulfilled, making sure that this would not have been at the expense of his brothers becoming upset about this and probably hostile towards him. He therefore acted in a manner that would convince the brothers that the person before whom they had prostrated themselves had not been their long lost brother. Seeing that the person before whom the brothers prostrated themselves was a duly appointed king, -not even one who had come to the throne by revolution- they did not mind having to prostrate themselves before a king such as he, especially as he volunteered- against payment of course- to save them from total economic ruin. Joseph on his part did all that he could to not let the brothers feel that he had bested them. When the Torah describes the sequence of this encounter with the words: “they prostrated themselves and he recognized them, etc.,” this is to hint that it now dawned on Joseph that just as he had recognized them, they might recognize him; in order to avoid their becoming embarrassed he then devised a scheme to disguise himself in every way possible so that they did not recognize him. The Torah reports this to show that his disguise worked.
It is also possible to see in the sequence of these verses an explanation why during all these years (22) Joseph had never sent a message to his father showing that he was alive and even prosperous. He knew that his dreams would become true prophetic visions and that that as a result of this his brothers would become deeply saddened and frustrated. Once his father would have been informed of his being alive and well, this would become known to the brothers even if their father did not tell them outright. Yaakov’s whole bearing would change from that of a father grieving for a lost son, and the brothers would notice this.
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 45,24. “do not quarrel on the way.” Rashi does not follow the traditional translation, but says that Joseph told the brothers not to engage in halachic discussions, and the subsequent differences of opinions resulting while you are on the journey. If Rashi is correct, we must try and understand why the brothers’ father, Yaakov, did not give the brothers similar instructions governing their conduct during their journey to Egypt?
Besides, how could Joseph arrogate to himself the right to give such instructions, when we have it on the authority of Kidushin 30 that a person should strive to divide the activities he performs (equally) into the three parts of his life, devoting one third to the study of the written part of the Torah, another to the study of the oral part of the Torah, (Mishnah) and the third part to the discussions on the oral part of the Torah in the Talmud. One difficulty of that statement is that we do not know how long we are going to live, so how can we make the correct division? The Talmud therefore corrects itself, saying that what is meant is the way we divide each day of our lives. It follows that each one of us is duty bound to study some halachah on a daily basis. So how could Joseph forbid this to his brothers?
The statement in the Talmud can be seen as plausible if we first consider two premises upon which it is built. 1) Yaakov had a tradition that he need not fear ever being consigned to gehinom provided that none of his children died during his lifetime. (Rashi 37,35 based on a Tanchuma Vayigash 9. 2). A statement by our sages that the combined lifetimes of the patriarchs would be 500 years, corresponding to כימי השמים על הארץ, (Deut.11,21). [According to a number of commentators this verse describes the “distance” between earth and the celestial regions through the intervening רקיע, outer space, being equivalent to 502 “years.” The combined lifetimes of the patriarchs, were 502 years, though more than half of these overlapped, and we do not know the criteria applied here, i.e. “light years,” i.e. the time it takes light to traverse this distance, or whatever other criteria are referred to. Ed.]
If a human being were to know how long he was going to live on this earth, he would be able to apportion one third of his life to the respective study of Torah, Mishnah, and Gemara. Based on the above calculation, when Yaakov saw that Joseph had disappeared, he concluded that he must be dead, so that one of the premises, i.e. that he would not have to worry about spending time in gehinom had already lost its comforting meaning. From that moment on he became afraid that the second premise we have mentioned could also be compromised, as he had no idea how long he would live. He was therefore unable to instruct his sons to leave out the study of halachah, i.e. gemara, for a single day. Joseph, who was aware that his father had no reason to worry, as all his sons were alive and well, was able to issue such a command without endangering the spiritual future of his father. The brothers would have lots of time to make up for the halachot they had not studied while on the journey to bring good news to their father.
Besides, how could Joseph arrogate to himself the right to give such instructions, when we have it on the authority of Kidushin 30 that a person should strive to divide the activities he performs (equally) into the three parts of his life, devoting one third to the study of the written part of the Torah, another to the study of the oral part of the Torah, (Mishnah) and the third part to the discussions on the oral part of the Torah in the Talmud. One difficulty of that statement is that we do not know how long we are going to live, so how can we make the correct division? The Talmud therefore corrects itself, saying that what is meant is the way we divide each day of our lives. It follows that each one of us is duty bound to study some halachah on a daily basis. So how could Joseph forbid this to his brothers?
The statement in the Talmud can be seen as plausible if we first consider two premises upon which it is built. 1) Yaakov had a tradition that he need not fear ever being consigned to gehinom provided that none of his children died during his lifetime. (Rashi 37,35 based on a Tanchuma Vayigash 9. 2). A statement by our sages that the combined lifetimes of the patriarchs would be 500 years, corresponding to כימי השמים על הארץ, (Deut.11,21). [According to a number of commentators this verse describes the “distance” between earth and the celestial regions through the intervening רקיע, outer space, being equivalent to 502 “years.” The combined lifetimes of the patriarchs, were 502 years, though more than half of these overlapped, and we do not know the criteria applied here, i.e. “light years,” i.e. the time it takes light to traverse this distance, or whatever other criteria are referred to. Ed.]
If a human being were to know how long he was going to live on this earth, he would be able to apportion one third of his life to the respective study of Torah, Mishnah, and Gemara. Based on the above calculation, when Yaakov saw that Joseph had disappeared, he concluded that he must be dead, so that one of the premises, i.e. that he would not have to worry about spending time in gehinom had already lost its comforting meaning. From that moment on he became afraid that the second premise we have mentioned could also be compromised, as he had no idea how long he would live. He was therefore unable to instruct his sons to leave out the study of halachah, i.e. gemara, for a single day. Joseph, who was aware that his father had no reason to worry, as all his sons were alive and well, was able to issue such a command without endangering the spiritual future of his father. The brothers would have lots of time to make up for the halachot they had not studied while on the journey to bring good news to their father.
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 8,1. “The entire commandment that I enjoin upon you this day is so that you will live (thrive) and multiply and be able to take possession of the land, etc.";
We have a rule that even if a person is unable to observe all of the commandments of the Torah, especially in exile, when we are all unable to fulfill the commandments which are applicable to people resident in the Holy Land, as long as such people yearn for the day when they will be able to observe these commandments, G’d will help them to be able to fulfill these commandments in the Holy Land in due course.
This is the message Moses conveys to the people at this juncture when speaking of כל המצוה, “the entire complex of commandments.” If you will yearn, starting now, to perform these commandments as soon as the opportunity will present itself, you will surely enjoy the merit of doing so in person.
The word תשמרון in this verse is to be understood in the same way as when Yaakov is reported when reacting to Joseph’s dream in which 11 stars and sun and moon bow down to him. At that point (Genesis 37,11) the Torah writes: ואביו שמר את הדבר, “his father looked forward expectantly to the matter.” [Contrary to Joseph’s brothers, who were outraged by Joseph’s dream of lording it over them, his father did not dismiss it out of hand, although he pointed out that Joseph’s deceased mother could certainly not bow down to him. Ed.]
We have a rule that even if a person is unable to observe all of the commandments of the Torah, especially in exile, when we are all unable to fulfill the commandments which are applicable to people resident in the Holy Land, as long as such people yearn for the day when they will be able to observe these commandments, G’d will help them to be able to fulfill these commandments in the Holy Land in due course.
This is the message Moses conveys to the people at this juncture when speaking of כל המצוה, “the entire complex of commandments.” If you will yearn, starting now, to perform these commandments as soon as the opportunity will present itself, you will surely enjoy the merit of doing so in person.
The word תשמרון in this verse is to be understood in the same way as when Yaakov is reported when reacting to Joseph’s dream in which 11 stars and sun and moon bow down to him. At that point (Genesis 37,11) the Torah writes: ואביו שמר את הדבר, “his father looked forward expectantly to the matter.” [Contrary to Joseph’s brothers, who were outraged by Joseph’s dream of lording it over them, his father did not dismiss it out of hand, although he pointed out that Joseph’s deceased mother could certainly not bow down to him. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
This is the true meaning of what the Mishnah in Avot 6,11 tells us when the author states that everything the Lord has created has as its objective the enhancing of His glory. Maimonides in the Moreh Nevuchim when explaining the line in our prayers about G’d being יוצר אור ובורא חושך, “fashioning light, while having created the element of darkness,” explains the word ברא, as related to the word בור, as in Genesis 37,24 והבור רק אין בו מים, “the pit was empty and did not contain any water;” in other words, by withdrawing light there remains darkness. This “darkness” would be what is left from the original chaos, תהו ובוהו, of which the Torah speaks in the first verse of Genesis prior to G’d creating light.
In spite of this commentary by Maimonides, what the Mishnah meant refers only to the creatures. i.e. man, to whom G’d had given בחירה, the ability to make their own decisions as to whether they would live their lives in accordance with the wishes of the Creator or not. When man rises above the temptations offered in this world and chooses to serve his Creator this adds to G’d’s glory.
We know that by carrying out G’d’s will as expressed by the commandments He gave us in the Torah, we establish a “lifeline” to Him, and as the Talmud says in B’rachot 18, the righteous are considered as “great,” because they are called “alive” even after their bodies have already been interred. The same is not true for the wicked, who our sages describe as “dead” even while still walking around on earth. The wicked, by choosing a path which eventually results in their forfeiting their afterlife, have already identified themselves with “death,” even while onlookers do not yet realize this. [We hardly need any proof for his after reminding ourselves that Esau declined the benefits of birthright for precisely this consideration (Genesis 25,32). Ed.]
In spite of this commentary by Maimonides, what the Mishnah meant refers only to the creatures. i.e. man, to whom G’d had given בחירה, the ability to make their own decisions as to whether they would live their lives in accordance with the wishes of the Creator or not. When man rises above the temptations offered in this world and chooses to serve his Creator this adds to G’d’s glory.
We know that by carrying out G’d’s will as expressed by the commandments He gave us in the Torah, we establish a “lifeline” to Him, and as the Talmud says in B’rachot 18, the righteous are considered as “great,” because they are called “alive” even after their bodies have already been interred. The same is not true for the wicked, who our sages describe as “dead” even while still walking around on earth. The wicked, by choosing a path which eventually results in their forfeiting their afterlife, have already identified themselves with “death,” even while onlookers do not yet realize this. [We hardly need any proof for his after reminding ourselves that Esau declined the benefits of birthright for precisely this consideration (Genesis 25,32). Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 31,13. “I am the G’d of Betel to Whom you have vowed, etc.” The spelling of the word ביתאל both here and in 35,1 suggests that a house may serve more than one function. It may serve a person to dwell in, just as clothing serves the body as a “house” to surround him with a feeling of security and familiarity. When you see the clothes a person wears, this serves as a preparation to making the acquaintance of the personality behind these clothes. When you see the house a person lives in, you get an initial impression of what kind of a person lives in such a house.
When a person prepares to “meet” his Creator, in prayer, etc., he also has to prepare himself for what to expect, by performing certain commandments that serve his soul, much as his clothing serves his body. One of the most appropriate “introductions” prior to addressing G’d is to do so in a house designated for this purpose, i.e. a synagogue. The type of “preparations” used, depend on the importance of the “interview” one expects to have with one’s Creator. Issues involving life and death, obviously deserve a more careful preparation.
In psalms 84,2 and 84,3 respectively, the authors (sons of Korach) describe their yearning for entering either the dwellings of G’d on earth, or at least to be allowed to enter the courtyards of these dwellings. They speak of both their body (flesh) and their “heart,” (spirit) yearning for this. They hope that admission to these sites will enable them to shout for joy to the living G’d. Their yearnings reflect the fact that they are in exile, and they pray that they not be treated worse than birds that always can return to their nest. They are aware that in order to really come close to G’d, they must first make the appropriate preparations, i.e. build a Temple with the courtyards surrounding it. The psalmist clearly suggests, at the end of verse 3, that only after these preparations have been made can his heart and body rejoice having come closer to His Creator. He can then approach G’d being certain that he, on his part, has made the appropriate preparations.
Our author sees in the word נכספה at the beginning of verse 3 an additional spiritual plus of the psalmist, as he made plain that he had made the necessary preparations that would entitle him to have the desired “interview” with Hashem, but he emphasizes, that contrary to performing such a commandment as putting on phylacteries, an act that does not involve pleasurable sensations of his body, what he did when building a courtyard and temple for G’d involved him emotionally on the highest level. He was literally yearning for the spiritual experience no less than the body on occasion yearns for satiating physical urges.
On folio 40 in Kidushin 40, where the Talmud deals with the relative moral/ethical value of appropriate intentions when compared to performance, but not necessarily with appropriate intentions, we are told that if someone planned sincerely to perform a certain commandment but was prevented from carrying out his intention by forces beyond his control, he is credited with having performed the commandment. In emphasizing the value of a constructive attitude, the Talmud adds that planning to commit a transgression, and carrying it out, brings in its wake a penalty only for the execution, not for the planning that preceded carrying out the foul deed. [The planning of idolatry is the only exception to this rule. ibid. Ed.]
This is also the meaning of Deuteronomy 6,6: והיו הדברים האלה אשר אני מצוך היום על לבבך, “these matters that I command you this day shall be on your heart.” Even commandments that are not capable of being fulfilled in exile should remain part of our constant consciousness through discussion between father and son, pupil and teacher, so that we are not deprived of receiving a reward for them as if we had actually performed them. The desire to be able to perform the respective commandments in reality is the principal criterion used by G’d to judge our mitzvah performance. Even King David in Chronicles I 22,14 already referred to this when he said (concerning his desire to build a Temple) והנה בעניי הכינותי לבית ה' זהב ככרים מאה אלף כסף וגו', “and here through denying myself, I have set aside for the house of the Lord one hundred thousands talents of gold, and one million talents of silver, etc;” what David meant was that the commandment of charity cannot only be fulfilled by the actual handing out of sums of money, but can also be carried out by preparing such monies to be ready when the need arises. David adds that even while he was not able to hand out sums that were needed because he was temporarily short of even bare essentials for himself, i.e. בעניי, his sincere desire to be of help would be accounted for him as if he had actually carried out his desire, as we know from psalms 119,106 נשבעתי ואקימה לשמור משפטי צדקך, “I have sworn to keep Your just rules.” [As soon as the opportunity will arise. Ed.] Yaakov had similar thoughts when he vowed that if G’d would be with him and grant him even minimal comforts he would turn what is now merely a stone into a building designed to serve G’d. G’d reminds him (31,13) of this vow by describing Himself as אנכי הא-ל ביתאל, saying that His presence will not only be with him in his heart, but that he can now carry out his desire to convert the stone he had anointed into a house of G’d.
When a person prepares to “meet” his Creator, in prayer, etc., he also has to prepare himself for what to expect, by performing certain commandments that serve his soul, much as his clothing serves his body. One of the most appropriate “introductions” prior to addressing G’d is to do so in a house designated for this purpose, i.e. a synagogue. The type of “preparations” used, depend on the importance of the “interview” one expects to have with one’s Creator. Issues involving life and death, obviously deserve a more careful preparation.
In psalms 84,2 and 84,3 respectively, the authors (sons of Korach) describe their yearning for entering either the dwellings of G’d on earth, or at least to be allowed to enter the courtyards of these dwellings. They speak of both their body (flesh) and their “heart,” (spirit) yearning for this. They hope that admission to these sites will enable them to shout for joy to the living G’d. Their yearnings reflect the fact that they are in exile, and they pray that they not be treated worse than birds that always can return to their nest. They are aware that in order to really come close to G’d, they must first make the appropriate preparations, i.e. build a Temple with the courtyards surrounding it. The psalmist clearly suggests, at the end of verse 3, that only after these preparations have been made can his heart and body rejoice having come closer to His Creator. He can then approach G’d being certain that he, on his part, has made the appropriate preparations.
Our author sees in the word נכספה at the beginning of verse 3 an additional spiritual plus of the psalmist, as he made plain that he had made the necessary preparations that would entitle him to have the desired “interview” with Hashem, but he emphasizes, that contrary to performing such a commandment as putting on phylacteries, an act that does not involve pleasurable sensations of his body, what he did when building a courtyard and temple for G’d involved him emotionally on the highest level. He was literally yearning for the spiritual experience no less than the body on occasion yearns for satiating physical urges.
On folio 40 in Kidushin 40, where the Talmud deals with the relative moral/ethical value of appropriate intentions when compared to performance, but not necessarily with appropriate intentions, we are told that if someone planned sincerely to perform a certain commandment but was prevented from carrying out his intention by forces beyond his control, he is credited with having performed the commandment. In emphasizing the value of a constructive attitude, the Talmud adds that planning to commit a transgression, and carrying it out, brings in its wake a penalty only for the execution, not for the planning that preceded carrying out the foul deed. [The planning of idolatry is the only exception to this rule. ibid. Ed.]
This is also the meaning of Deuteronomy 6,6: והיו הדברים האלה אשר אני מצוך היום על לבבך, “these matters that I command you this day shall be on your heart.” Even commandments that are not capable of being fulfilled in exile should remain part of our constant consciousness through discussion between father and son, pupil and teacher, so that we are not deprived of receiving a reward for them as if we had actually performed them. The desire to be able to perform the respective commandments in reality is the principal criterion used by G’d to judge our mitzvah performance. Even King David in Chronicles I 22,14 already referred to this when he said (concerning his desire to build a Temple) והנה בעניי הכינותי לבית ה' זהב ככרים מאה אלף כסף וגו', “and here through denying myself, I have set aside for the house of the Lord one hundred thousands talents of gold, and one million talents of silver, etc;” what David meant was that the commandment of charity cannot only be fulfilled by the actual handing out of sums of money, but can also be carried out by preparing such monies to be ready when the need arises. David adds that even while he was not able to hand out sums that were needed because he was temporarily short of even bare essentials for himself, i.e. בעניי, his sincere desire to be of help would be accounted for him as if he had actually carried out his desire, as we know from psalms 119,106 נשבעתי ואקימה לשמור משפטי צדקך, “I have sworn to keep Your just rules.” [As soon as the opportunity will arise. Ed.] Yaakov had similar thoughts when he vowed that if G’d would be with him and grant him even minimal comforts he would turn what is now merely a stone into a building designed to serve G’d. G’d reminds him (31,13) of this vow by describing Himself as אנכי הא-ל ביתאל, saying that His presence will not only be with him in his heart, but that he can now carry out his desire to convert the stone he had anointed into a house of G’d.
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Kedushat Levi
Once we have appreciated this, we will also understand the opinion of Nachmanides who writes that it is a commandment to mention the Sabbath on each of the days preceding it. This is the reason why when we recite the daily psalm at the end of our daily morning prayers we commence with mentioning what day of the week it is by linking it to the Sabbath, i.e. “today is the first day of the Sabbath.” [We do not say: “this is the first day of the week,” for instance. Ed.] According to Nachmanides this is the reason that the Torah writes זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, “remember the day of the Sabbath to sanctify it,” instead of merely writing: “remember the Sabbath to sanctify it.” (Exodus 20,8). The message is that we are to remember the Sabbath every day of the week, the word זכור not being in the imperative mode but in the infinitive mode. By doing so we indicate how we look forward to keeping the Sabbath at the end of the week. Having looked forward to the Sabbath in such a fashion ensures that when the day arrives we will honour it with all our heart and will not, G’d forbid, commit any act which would desecrate its holiness. From all the above it follows that if Moses had announced the fact that the manna would not descend on the Sabbath as soon as He had been told about this by G’d, the people could have prepared themselves for this day until Friday and the desecration by some people of the Sabbath might well have been avoided. The sudden announcement shortly before the onset of the Sabbath took everyone by surprise and resulted in some people not treating the Sabbath with the respect due to it.
The word לשמור in our verse need not be understood as “to observe,” but may equally well be understood as “to await,” as it is understood in Genesis 37,11 where it describes Yaakov’s reaction to Joseph’s dream in which he saw sun and moon bowing down to him. It means that Yaakov awaited further developments before deciding if there was any substance to Joseph’s dream. This is also how Rashi understands the word לשמור in our verse, when he writes that Moses was punished by G’d not excluding him from the accusation leveled at the community at large. He was the indirect cause of the desecration of the Sabbath by the people, as he had failed to prepare the people for the advent of the Sabbath. They should have eagerly awaited that day, i.e. have looked forward to it with great expectations.
The word לשמור in our verse need not be understood as “to observe,” but may equally well be understood as “to await,” as it is understood in Genesis 37,11 where it describes Yaakov’s reaction to Joseph’s dream in which he saw sun and moon bowing down to him. It means that Yaakov awaited further developments before deciding if there was any substance to Joseph’s dream. This is also how Rashi understands the word לשמור in our verse, when he writes that Moses was punished by G’d not excluding him from the accusation leveled at the community at large. He was the indirect cause of the desecration of the Sabbath by the people, as he had failed to prepare the people for the advent of the Sabbath. They should have eagerly awaited that day, i.e. have looked forward to it with great expectations.
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