Chasidut su Isaia 2:3
וְֽהָלְכ֞וּ עַמִּ֣ים רַבִּ֗ים וְאָמְרוּ֙ לְכ֣וּ ׀ וְנַעֲלֶ֣ה אֶל־הַר־יְהוָ֗ה אֶל־בֵּית֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יַעֲקֹ֔ב וְיֹרֵ֙נוּ֙ מִדְּרָכָ֔יו וְנֵלְכָ֖ה בְּאֹרְחֹתָ֑יו כִּ֤י מִצִּיּוֹן֙ תֵּצֵ֣א תוֹרָ֔ה וּדְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה מִירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃
E molti popoli andranno e diranno: 'Vieni e saliamo sul monte dell'Eterno, verso la casa dell'Iddio di Giacobbe; E ci insegnerà le sue vie, e cammineremo sui suoi sentieri.' Poiché da Sion uscirà la legge e la parola dell'Eterno da Gerusalemme.
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 13,17. “ascend from here in the south and climb the mountain from which you will be able judge the nature of the land.”
The rule is that when engaging in the attempt to elevate “sparks”, i.e. spiritually fallen people, one must first attach oneself firmly to G’d’s attribute of חסד, loving kindness. The location of that attribute traditionally is the south, דרום, another word for נגב, south, means חסד, i.e. breaking the hold of the evil urge over one’s various תאוות, lust and cravings. We have already explained this elsewhere in connection with psalms 119,98 מאויבי תחכימני מצותיך כי לעולם היא, “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, they always stand by me.” The “enemy” in this verse is the evil urge, Satan, a force that G’d employs to test man’s ability to resist temptation. Man’s basic error in relating to the satisfying of his cravings is that he imagines that by indulging his cravings he attains true satisfaction, well being without more cravings. He does not realize that the only craving that will result in such satisfaction is his desire to provide pleasure for his Creator. This is what the psalmist means when he describes the fulfillment of his craving for the service of the Lord as one that is enduring.
This idea is also alluded to when Moses said to the men “touring” the land of Canaan ועליתם את ההר, “you will ascend the Mountain,” the “mountain” being the evil urge.
We have a statement in Sukkah 52 in which the evil urge is referred to as הר, “mountain.” The Talmud there refers to the post-messianic era during which G’d is presented as “slaughtering” the evil urge in the presence of both the righteous and the wicked. The evil urge in that story appears to the righteous as a mountain, whereas to the wicked he appears as a thin hair. Both the righteous and the wicked weep when looking at the evil urge. The wicked weep as they cannot believe that they had been unable to overcome such a weak adversary, whereas the righteous weep as in retrospect they marvel at having conquered such a high mountain. According to the report in the Talmud, G’d agrees with the wicked having reason to berate themselves for failing to have conquered their cravings. The righteous’ amazement was due to their realizing that they had used the very efforts by Satan to indulge their material cravings as a tool to serve the Lord with the kind of overpowering desire that had enabled them to completely dehumanize, i.e. turning the ego, אני into an אין, a creature devoid of material desires, by concentrating on the source from which all the divine souls originate. There is an additional allusion to this subject when Moses added that the “tourists” are also to evaluate the cities in the land of Canaan i.e. ומה הערים? In the words of the Talmud in Pessachim 88, when discussing the difference between Moses and Avraham, the Talmud distinguishes between an early stage in serving the Lord, when to Avraham G’d appeared to have His residence on top of the mountain, i.e. (Isaiah 2,3) whereas to Yaakov He had already appeared as a “house-guest” (in the same verse). Moses had attained a level where he could completely divest himself of ego, as when he said of both himself and his brother Aaron: ונחנו מה, “what do we as personalities amount to?,” making sure that he omitted the letter א in the wordאנחנו , when referring to himself and Aaron. (Exodus 16,7-8). When the tzaddik is aware of all the three nuances in serving the Lord, he will succeed in elevating the “sparks” together with him and as a result subject Satan to a humbling experience.
The rule is that when engaging in the attempt to elevate “sparks”, i.e. spiritually fallen people, one must first attach oneself firmly to G’d’s attribute of חסד, loving kindness. The location of that attribute traditionally is the south, דרום, another word for נגב, south, means חסד, i.e. breaking the hold of the evil urge over one’s various תאוות, lust and cravings. We have already explained this elsewhere in connection with psalms 119,98 מאויבי תחכימני מצותיך כי לעולם היא, “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, they always stand by me.” The “enemy” in this verse is the evil urge, Satan, a force that G’d employs to test man’s ability to resist temptation. Man’s basic error in relating to the satisfying of his cravings is that he imagines that by indulging his cravings he attains true satisfaction, well being without more cravings. He does not realize that the only craving that will result in such satisfaction is his desire to provide pleasure for his Creator. This is what the psalmist means when he describes the fulfillment of his craving for the service of the Lord as one that is enduring.
This idea is also alluded to when Moses said to the men “touring” the land of Canaan ועליתם את ההר, “you will ascend the Mountain,” the “mountain” being the evil urge.
We have a statement in Sukkah 52 in which the evil urge is referred to as הר, “mountain.” The Talmud there refers to the post-messianic era during which G’d is presented as “slaughtering” the evil urge in the presence of both the righteous and the wicked. The evil urge in that story appears to the righteous as a mountain, whereas to the wicked he appears as a thin hair. Both the righteous and the wicked weep when looking at the evil urge. The wicked weep as they cannot believe that they had been unable to overcome such a weak adversary, whereas the righteous weep as in retrospect they marvel at having conquered such a high mountain. According to the report in the Talmud, G’d agrees with the wicked having reason to berate themselves for failing to have conquered their cravings. The righteous’ amazement was due to their realizing that they had used the very efforts by Satan to indulge their material cravings as a tool to serve the Lord with the kind of overpowering desire that had enabled them to completely dehumanize, i.e. turning the ego, אני into an אין, a creature devoid of material desires, by concentrating on the source from which all the divine souls originate. There is an additional allusion to this subject when Moses added that the “tourists” are also to evaluate the cities in the land of Canaan i.e. ומה הערים? In the words of the Talmud in Pessachim 88, when discussing the difference between Moses and Avraham, the Talmud distinguishes between an early stage in serving the Lord, when to Avraham G’d appeared to have His residence on top of the mountain, i.e. (Isaiah 2,3) whereas to Yaakov He had already appeared as a “house-guest” (in the same verse). Moses had attained a level where he could completely divest himself of ego, as when he said of both himself and his brother Aaron: ונחנו מה, “what do we as personalities amount to?,” making sure that he omitted the letter א in the wordאנחנו , when referring to himself and Aaron. (Exodus 16,7-8). When the tzaddik is aware of all the three nuances in serving the Lord, he will succeed in elevating the “sparks” together with him and as a result subject Satan to a humbling experience.
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Kedushat Levi
The sages in Rosh Hashanah 12 alluded to this when they stated that “the Jewish people are in the habit of counting Biblical calendar dates as based on the view of Rabbi Eliezer when speaking of the deluge, (solar year), whereas they do so according to the view of Rabbi Joshua when counting the seasons the seasons of the year.” (lunar “year”). The Talmud adds that the astronomers of the gentile nations also count the deluge according to the opinion held by Rabbi Joshua. [The whole statement is extremely puzzling, our author contributing a novel interpretation by understanding it as relating to the mystical dimension of life on earth. Ed.]
Our author raises the question that seeing that the astronomers of the gentile nations adopt an opinion that is contrary to halachah, how can they be described as “sages of gentile nations?” We have a rule that anyone contradicting what is written in the Torah or recorded as wisdom by King Solomon is an absolute fool.
We need to explain above statement allegorically. We have already explained in connection with a statement in the Talmud Pessachim 118 that when Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yossi, (a sage of the fifth generation of the sages that belonged to the Mishnaic period) fell ill Rabbi Yehudah (hanassi?) sent to him asking him to tell them one or two Torah insights of his father that he had not previously revealed. He responded by offering an interpretation of a difficult passage in psalms 117,1 where the psalmist appears to invite the nations of the world to praise G’d, saying: הללו את ה' כל גויים שבחוהו כל האומים, “praise the Lord all you nations; extol Him all you peoples!” Seeing that the next verse describes the miracles G’d has performed on behalf of the Jewish people, what reason would the gentiles have to praise G’d for this? He answered that if the gentiles are required to praise the Lord for having been witnesses to miracles performed for the Israelites, how much more so must the Israelites be duty bound to praise Him on account of this! How much loving kindness have we experienced at the hands of G’d without having thanked Him adequately! Thereupon Rabbi asked for another pearl of wisdom that Rabbi Yossi had not yet revealed. He told them that at the time when the messiah would come, the gentiles would welcome him with gifts. It seems clear that the words שבחוהו, “praise Him,” in the psalm are not meant as acknowledgement of what G’d had done for the gentiles, but for what He had done for His people, the Israelites. It is the overriding duty of all of G’d’s creatures, including the beasts in the field to praise the Creator in accordance with the manner in which they are capable of doing this. This includes even the flora that appear tied to the place in which they grow, and which do not even enjoy the ability to move freely on G’d’s earth. How much more so must the more advanced forms of life on earth praise their Creator, seeing that they are able to enjoy so much more of the world they have been born into?
We may take a cue from the words of Rashi on Shabbat 50, “whatever G’d created, He created for the greater glory of His name.” When Jews are killed for the sanctification of the Lord’s name (having had the opportunity to save themselves by denying Judaism, as happened frequently during the crusades) they do so joyfully.
It is therefore not difficult to comprehend that the psalmist reminds the gentiles of their duty to praise the Lord as He has given them an opportunity to carry out His will. Miracles which G’d performed for the Israelites frequently were at the expense of the gentiles who had oppressed them. The psalmist warns these gentiles that they are obligated to praise the Lord for having been privileged to experience His greatness even while they perish in the process. The fact that they had been chosen to be G’d’s means of showing His might to the Israelites is something they have to acknowledge, not grudgingly, but joyfully. The fact that they deliberately try to blind themselves to such recognition, stamps them as utter fools. The perennial problem with fools is that they do not wish to be enlightened, believing that they are wise.
However, there will come a time, when G’d will open the eyes of the blind and all of them [those who have survived the cataclysmic events occurring first, Ed.] will turn into servants of the Lord.
At the time of the Exodus, when G’d performed miracles that enabled the Israelites to be redeemed, He revealed His power to the Egyptians at the same time, of course. However, the latter, almost until their last breath did not acknowledge that it was G’d Who was fighting them when the waves of the sea of reeds came crashing over them. (Exodus 14,25)
The Jews have not always been better, so that Isaiah 2,5 tells us that the time will come when –after the gentiles have already acknowledged all this in Isaiah 2,3 – they too will experienced the “light” of the Lord. In psalms 118 David foresees all this already hundreds of years before the prophet Isaiah.
Let us revert to the passage in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 12, and the strange statement referring to the astronomers of the gentiles as “sages.” Traditionally, the month of Tishrey symbolizes that G’d’s attribute of Justice, sits in judgment of His creatures on the first day of that month. The month of Nissan, however symbolizes the attribute of Mercy, loving kindness, as it is the month during which the Jewish people, who had a minimum of merits to their credit, were redeemed after hundreds of years of persecution. When looked at from the perspective of the gentiles, the month of Nissan symbolizes the attribute of Justice, as during that month G’d brought retribution on the leading nation of the gentiles, reducing a world power, Egypt, to becoming a “banana republic,” practically overnight. The effect of this was so overwhelming that Rahab from Jericho, who harbored Joshua’s spies, was still in awe of that event. (Joshua 2,9-11).
Rabbi Eliezer correctly realized that for the gentiles what we perceive as unmitigated disaster, actually is the catalyst that brings them to recognize G’d in the end, by seeing in the month of Tishrey also a harbinger of the attribute of Mercy, seeing it is the gentiles’ last opportunity to change their ways and survive as servants of G’d.
The Talmud introduces a reference to the period during which the deluge occurred, i.e. in Marcheshvan, although neither Rabbi Joshua nor Rabbi Eliezer had made reference to that event at all. When the “sages” of the gentile nations are described as taking their cue from the deluge as being in accord with Rabbi Joshua, even when referring to the deluge, what the Talmud means is that these “gentile sages” recognized that the disasters that had struck them was also an outpouring of G’d’s love, as this enabled the survivors to recognize G’d as a G’d of love after all. [According to the Talmud there the gentile sages recognized what Yitro recognized later also, (Exodus 18,11) i.e. that when G’d brings on retribution He makes the punishment fit the crime. Ed.]
Our author raises the question that seeing that the astronomers of the gentile nations adopt an opinion that is contrary to halachah, how can they be described as “sages of gentile nations?” We have a rule that anyone contradicting what is written in the Torah or recorded as wisdom by King Solomon is an absolute fool.
We need to explain above statement allegorically. We have already explained in connection with a statement in the Talmud Pessachim 118 that when Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yossi, (a sage of the fifth generation of the sages that belonged to the Mishnaic period) fell ill Rabbi Yehudah (hanassi?) sent to him asking him to tell them one or two Torah insights of his father that he had not previously revealed. He responded by offering an interpretation of a difficult passage in psalms 117,1 where the psalmist appears to invite the nations of the world to praise G’d, saying: הללו את ה' כל גויים שבחוהו כל האומים, “praise the Lord all you nations; extol Him all you peoples!” Seeing that the next verse describes the miracles G’d has performed on behalf of the Jewish people, what reason would the gentiles have to praise G’d for this? He answered that if the gentiles are required to praise the Lord for having been witnesses to miracles performed for the Israelites, how much more so must the Israelites be duty bound to praise Him on account of this! How much loving kindness have we experienced at the hands of G’d without having thanked Him adequately! Thereupon Rabbi asked for another pearl of wisdom that Rabbi Yossi had not yet revealed. He told them that at the time when the messiah would come, the gentiles would welcome him with gifts. It seems clear that the words שבחוהו, “praise Him,” in the psalm are not meant as acknowledgement of what G’d had done for the gentiles, but for what He had done for His people, the Israelites. It is the overriding duty of all of G’d’s creatures, including the beasts in the field to praise the Creator in accordance with the manner in which they are capable of doing this. This includes even the flora that appear tied to the place in which they grow, and which do not even enjoy the ability to move freely on G’d’s earth. How much more so must the more advanced forms of life on earth praise their Creator, seeing that they are able to enjoy so much more of the world they have been born into?
We may take a cue from the words of Rashi on Shabbat 50, “whatever G’d created, He created for the greater glory of His name.” When Jews are killed for the sanctification of the Lord’s name (having had the opportunity to save themselves by denying Judaism, as happened frequently during the crusades) they do so joyfully.
It is therefore not difficult to comprehend that the psalmist reminds the gentiles of their duty to praise the Lord as He has given them an opportunity to carry out His will. Miracles which G’d performed for the Israelites frequently were at the expense of the gentiles who had oppressed them. The psalmist warns these gentiles that they are obligated to praise the Lord for having been privileged to experience His greatness even while they perish in the process. The fact that they had been chosen to be G’d’s means of showing His might to the Israelites is something they have to acknowledge, not grudgingly, but joyfully. The fact that they deliberately try to blind themselves to such recognition, stamps them as utter fools. The perennial problem with fools is that they do not wish to be enlightened, believing that they are wise.
However, there will come a time, when G’d will open the eyes of the blind and all of them [those who have survived the cataclysmic events occurring first, Ed.] will turn into servants of the Lord.
At the time of the Exodus, when G’d performed miracles that enabled the Israelites to be redeemed, He revealed His power to the Egyptians at the same time, of course. However, the latter, almost until their last breath did not acknowledge that it was G’d Who was fighting them when the waves of the sea of reeds came crashing over them. (Exodus 14,25)
The Jews have not always been better, so that Isaiah 2,5 tells us that the time will come when –after the gentiles have already acknowledged all this in Isaiah 2,3 – they too will experienced the “light” of the Lord. In psalms 118 David foresees all this already hundreds of years before the prophet Isaiah.
Let us revert to the passage in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 12, and the strange statement referring to the astronomers of the gentiles as “sages.” Traditionally, the month of Tishrey symbolizes that G’d’s attribute of Justice, sits in judgment of His creatures on the first day of that month. The month of Nissan, however symbolizes the attribute of Mercy, loving kindness, as it is the month during which the Jewish people, who had a minimum of merits to their credit, were redeemed after hundreds of years of persecution. When looked at from the perspective of the gentiles, the month of Nissan symbolizes the attribute of Justice, as during that month G’d brought retribution on the leading nation of the gentiles, reducing a world power, Egypt, to becoming a “banana republic,” practically overnight. The effect of this was so overwhelming that Rahab from Jericho, who harbored Joshua’s spies, was still in awe of that event. (Joshua 2,9-11).
Rabbi Eliezer correctly realized that for the gentiles what we perceive as unmitigated disaster, actually is the catalyst that brings them to recognize G’d in the end, by seeing in the month of Tishrey also a harbinger of the attribute of Mercy, seeing it is the gentiles’ last opportunity to change their ways and survive as servants of G’d.
The Talmud introduces a reference to the period during which the deluge occurred, i.e. in Marcheshvan, although neither Rabbi Joshua nor Rabbi Eliezer had made reference to that event at all. When the “sages” of the gentile nations are described as taking their cue from the deluge as being in accord with Rabbi Joshua, even when referring to the deluge, what the Talmud means is that these “gentile sages” recognized that the disasters that had struck them was also an outpouring of G’d’s love, as this enabled the survivors to recognize G’d as a G’d of love after all. [According to the Talmud there the gentile sages recognized what Yitro recognized later also, (Exodus 18,11) i.e. that when G’d brings on retribution He makes the punishment fit the crime. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
From all the above we learn that the term מלוכה, “Royalty,” or “dominion,” in order for it to truly possess meaning, implies that opposition to such “Royalty,” is allowed for. It follows that despots who do not tolerate opposition to their rule cannot be considered as “kings.” This explains why G’d allows the seventy nations to develop in their various ways without overtly interfering in their affairs of state. Were they to remain constantly aware of their dependence every second on G’d’s tolerant attitude or they would perish, His “standing,” enhanced through those of His creatures who serve Him without fear of immediate punishment for failing to do so, would not result in His being glorified. If they were indeed conscious of their dependence on Him, their service even when performed most meticulously, would not add to G’d’s greater glory. If they serve G’d, even partially, although feeling almost omnipotent themselves, arrogant, then this does add to G’d’s greater glory.
When Isaiah 2,3 describes a scenario when the gentile nations offer to accompany the Jewish people on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the One and only G’d, describing this as באור ה', this contributes to G’d’s greater glory. The full text of that verse, after the prophet’s introduction of what will occur “in the days to come,” translated reads: “Come, let us go up to the Mount of the Lord to the House of the G’d of Jacob, etc.” The same thought is repeated slightly differently in verse 5 of the same chapter. Seeing that the nations will be doing this without having been compelled to do so, G’d’s almost everlasting patience will have been rewarded at that time, a period which the prophet had described as an era when war as a means of settling ego trips, or even legitimate disagreements will have become an anachronism.
When Isaiah 2,3 describes a scenario when the gentile nations offer to accompany the Jewish people on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the One and only G’d, describing this as באור ה', this contributes to G’d’s greater glory. The full text of that verse, after the prophet’s introduction of what will occur “in the days to come,” translated reads: “Come, let us go up to the Mount of the Lord to the House of the G’d of Jacob, etc.” The same thought is repeated slightly differently in verse 5 of the same chapter. Seeing that the nations will be doing this without having been compelled to do so, G’d’s almost everlasting patience will have been rewarded at that time, a period which the prophet had described as an era when war as a means of settling ego trips, or even legitimate disagreements will have become an anachronism.
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