Chasidut su Isaia 63:26
Kedushat Levi
Another approach to the verse above, which appears to be a prelude to Yaakov experiencing painful experiences apparently linked to his settlement on holy soil.
We have a rule, (Avot 6,10) that all of G’d’s creations were designed only for His honour, from which it follows that all of man’s activities must be aimed at pleasing his Father in heaven. In order to illustrate what the author of the statement in the Mishnah had in mind when he said that whatever G’d created was designed to enhance His honour, consider that even when we sit down to perform a necessary activity such as eating in order to keep our bodies healthy, we must at the same time have in mind that by remaining healthy we can better serve our Creator. [If we do this consciously, every meal we eat is a סעודת מצוה, a meal that has been sublimated from being merely a mundane activity to performance of a sacred duty. Ed.] Such hallowing of what appear on the surface to be secular activities, also enables us to help the “sparks” of the “Shechinah” which had been condemned to enter our domain, to return to their origin having proved to their Creator that they had put their sojourn on earth to good use. (Compare our comments in square brackets on page 21). These “sparks” from the Shechinah, though in “exile,” on earth, had preserved the lower universe’s inhabitants’ ability to eventually find their way back to the innocence, the ideal state in which man had been created, before he had committed a capital sin. The “sparks” that had separated from the Shechinah at the time had become an almost integral part of the physical universe, having some presence in everything that serves man to continue to live on earth, so that all organic matter that serves man as food also contains parts of these “sparks.” When man sublimates this “food” by consuming it with the intention of enhancing his service of the Lord, he has “opened” a path for such a “spark,” or part of it, to return to the celestial regions from which it originated.
The deeper meaning of the halachah requiring us to wash our hands and to recite a benediction over this, i.e. something we do not do when we wash our hands in order to cleanse them from dirt, is also connected to the hopefully sublime nature of the food that we are about to consume. The prophet Isaiah 63,9 refers to this נטילת ידים, “washing one’s hands,” as a religious rite,” with the words: וינטלם וינשאם כל ימי עולם, “He washed them and exalted them, for ever.” According to the kabbalistic interpretation of that verse, the words יד הגדולה in that verse in Isaiah refers to “three types of hands,” when G’d uses His יד הגדולה, when performing redemption, the letter ג in the word הגדולה, alludes to three different levels of elevating, sublimating something that was mundane, secular. The benediction which ends with the words המוציא לחם מן הארץ, is accordingly understood as the raising of something that was merely earthly, bread, to a progressively higher status through the thoughts that will course through our hearts and minds while we eat the bread, i.e. the meal. The deeper meaning of the benediction is that although it is apparently pronounced over the most basic material component of the physical earth, bread, the staff of life, it contains within it, through being sublimated, the potential to enable one of the exiled sparks from heaven to begin its journey homeward, to its roots in the celestial spheres.
We have a rule, (Avot 6,10) that all of G’d’s creations were designed only for His honour, from which it follows that all of man’s activities must be aimed at pleasing his Father in heaven. In order to illustrate what the author of the statement in the Mishnah had in mind when he said that whatever G’d created was designed to enhance His honour, consider that even when we sit down to perform a necessary activity such as eating in order to keep our bodies healthy, we must at the same time have in mind that by remaining healthy we can better serve our Creator. [If we do this consciously, every meal we eat is a סעודת מצוה, a meal that has been sublimated from being merely a mundane activity to performance of a sacred duty. Ed.] Such hallowing of what appear on the surface to be secular activities, also enables us to help the “sparks” of the “Shechinah” which had been condemned to enter our domain, to return to their origin having proved to their Creator that they had put their sojourn on earth to good use. (Compare our comments in square brackets on page 21). These “sparks” from the Shechinah, though in “exile,” on earth, had preserved the lower universe’s inhabitants’ ability to eventually find their way back to the innocence, the ideal state in which man had been created, before he had committed a capital sin. The “sparks” that had separated from the Shechinah at the time had become an almost integral part of the physical universe, having some presence in everything that serves man to continue to live on earth, so that all organic matter that serves man as food also contains parts of these “sparks.” When man sublimates this “food” by consuming it with the intention of enhancing his service of the Lord, he has “opened” a path for such a “spark,” or part of it, to return to the celestial regions from which it originated.
The deeper meaning of the halachah requiring us to wash our hands and to recite a benediction over this, i.e. something we do not do when we wash our hands in order to cleanse them from dirt, is also connected to the hopefully sublime nature of the food that we are about to consume. The prophet Isaiah 63,9 refers to this נטילת ידים, “washing one’s hands,” as a religious rite,” with the words: וינטלם וינשאם כל ימי עולם, “He washed them and exalted them, for ever.” According to the kabbalistic interpretation of that verse, the words יד הגדולה in that verse in Isaiah refers to “three types of hands,” when G’d uses His יד הגדולה, when performing redemption, the letter ג in the word הגדולה, alludes to three different levels of elevating, sublimating something that was mundane, secular. The benediction which ends with the words המוציא לחם מן הארץ, is accordingly understood as the raising of something that was merely earthly, bread, to a progressively higher status through the thoughts that will course through our hearts and minds while we eat the bread, i.e. the meal. The deeper meaning of the benediction is that although it is apparently pronounced over the most basic material component of the physical earth, bread, the staff of life, it contains within it, through being sublimated, the potential to enable one of the exiled sparks from heaven to begin its journey homeward, to its roots in the celestial spheres.
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Kedushat Levi
Another way of interpreting the peculiarity of the verse citing specifically “the G’d of Yitzchok his father,” addresses the statement of the Talmud on the same folio, when it quotes a verse in Isaiah 63,16 כי אתה אבינו כי אברהם לא ידענו וישראל לא יכירנו אתה ה' אבינו גואלנו מעולם שמך, “for You are our Father, for though Avraham did not know us and Israel has not recognized us, You O Lord, are our Father.” The Talmud explains the background to this perplexing verse. It states that in the future, when G’d would say to Avraham: “your children have sinned against Me,” Avraham’s response was “let them atone by having to die for the sanctification of Your name.” The Talmud quotes Yaakov at that time as adopting a similar attitude. Only Yitzchok is quoted as challenging G’d, describing the Jews as the children of Avraham and Yaakov and himself, without at the same time describing them also as His children. When Yaakov presented his offerings at Beer Sheva in honour of the G’d of Yitzchok, he meant to remind G’d of this concern of his father Yitzchok for his children even if at the time they were sinful.
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Toldot Yaakov Yosef
And let us first explain "is there Ad-nai among us, or isn't? And Amalek came." (Exodus 17:7-8) And the famous question is what is the connection between the issues. And it seems to me that it is known what the rabbis said (Sotah 31a) "in all their troubles He is troubled" (Isaiah 63:9) is written and the reading is with an alef [making in all their troubles He was not troubled." And a sage and smart person will pay attention and understand that suffering for a human being is a suffering for the Shechinah, as it is written (Sanhedrin 6:5) "My head hurts, My arm hurts", and so the person will pray over the distress of the Shechinah, and immediately the distress of the human will pass, and this is what [I say] if a person understands that in all their sufferings God suffers, then there is no suffering. This is what the verse says "Isn't it because Ad-nai is not in me that all these evils befell me?" (Deut. 31:17)- if I had paid attention that this is suffering for the Shechinah then Ad-nai would be in me, and then those evils would not have befallen me. And this is easy to understand. And through this we can understand "because they tested, is there Ad-nai among us or isn't?" and then "Amalek came", since once my God is not in me, this event happened to me. And this is easy to understand.
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Noam Elimelech
And Moses returned to Hashem etc and since I came to speak in Your name, evil [it is] for this people, and saving, You haven't saved (Exodus 5:23). And on a first glace "saving, You haven't saved"(Exodus 5:23) is a double expression, since he said "evil [it is] for this people"(Exodus 5:23) - in any case He did not save them. And here is its explanation, that we in this bitter exile, in which in our pain He is pained (see Isaiah 63:9), and the Shechinah is exiled with us (see Eicha Rabbah 1:32 and Megillah 29a) - the only thing we should worry and complain about is the exile of the Shechinah, and not think at all about our sufferings, but only regarding the suffering and exile of the Shechinah. And if our direction and our suffering were only regarding the suffering of the Shechinah and not on our suffering, obviously we would be redeemed immediately, but we are flesh without the ability to tolerate our pain an grief, and so our days lengthen in this bitter exile due to our many sins, because we partner our suffering with the suffering of the Shechinah, and we worry about our suffering. And if there was one tzaddik like this he would be able to save the entire world from this exile. And this is what Moses our master peace be upon him said "and since I came to speak in Your name"(Exodus 5:23) - the explanation is that all my speaking was not only for Your great and holy Name, which is in exile, and not only due to our own exile; and the sign and the proof that the truth is with me, that my intent was not only due to Your holy Name is that I see that Pharaoh has done "evil to this people"(Exodus 5:23); that this is the sign to the person who wants to rebuke one's fellow or to say holy words: how does one know that one's intention was only for the sake of Heaven without any other thought or position? If one sees that when one speak in front of people who are not sincere and they get angry over those words, it is obvious that the intention of the words was completely only toward Heaven, and with the Help Of The Highest Name one's words will make a mark - and this is what Moses our Master may peace be upon him said: all my words were not for any other intention but Your Name, truly, and this is the proof - evil came to this people. And since my words were only for the holiness of Your Name, it would have been deserving that Israel be redeemed immediately "and why saved, You haven't saved (Exodus 5:23)"? And this is what King David peace be upon him said: "Return to me the happiness of Your salvation"(Psalms 51:14) - meaning, redeem us and return us speedily to our land, because all my intention is solely for "the happiness of Your salvation", that we should be redeemed quickly for Your salvation, to return Your captivity (Lamentations 2:14) which is the Holy Shechina, and not because of us, but only because of You. And the Name will redeem us speedily, and we will be joyful and be happy in His salvation. Amen.
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