Chasidut su Ecclesiaste 5:78

None of the prophets were satisfied with spreading their greatness to individuals alone. Rather, they tried to raise their entire generation to the messianic telos and the tikkun of the end times, as it says in the midrash above that is was not just individuals but rather all of them [who were prophets]. It says in the Zohar (Acharei Mot 79) about the generation of R. Simon b. Yokhai “Rabbi Yehudah taught, “The generation in which Rabbi Shimon b. Yokhai dwells are all virtuous, all devout, and sin-fearing, and Shekhinah dwells among them, which is not so in other generations...For when R. Shimon uttered the mystery of this verse, the eyes of all the Companions streamed tears , and all the words that he spoke were clear in their eyes...It has been taught: In the days of R. Shimon, a person would say to his fellow, ‘Open your mouth and let your words shine!’ After R. Shimon passed away, they would say, ‘Do not let your mouth make your flesh sin.’²¹⁶Ecclesiastes 5:5. If even the donkey of Rabbi Pinhas ben Yair was illuminated, observed the Torah, was stringent beyond the letter of the law, and apprehended through inspiration that its food was not tithed,²¹⁷See Talmud Hullin 7a-b. we can only imagine the extent of the prophet’s desire to make of Israel “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”²¹⁸Exodus 19:6.

The root of faith,which leads to the fear of God, is for man to wholeheartedly believe that God brought forth the entire creation ex nihilo, out of absolute non-existence.²²⁵The proper expression of faith leads one to believe in the absolutely autonomous power of God to create the world. One who lacks this faith will see only inflexible, natural laws of an eternal universe. As the author explained above, this approach will ultimately lead to idolatry, which is a fear born of deficiency; that is, the fear of losing one’s own absolute truths. He carved the laws of the universe, established all its systems, and arranged all of its orders. He meted out knowledge and wisdom to every aspect of His creation, with everything received its proper amount. He gave every creature the amount of wisdom perfectly suited to its attributes, and gave mankind the ability to know and comprehend, each person according to his own measure. All was emenated, created, formed, and made²²⁶These four terms parallel the basic concept of the Kaballah of the four worlds, atzilut, beriyah, yetsirah, and asiyah. See Yeshayahu, 43:6. out of nothing. Everything was established only in order to create the appearance of separate entities in the world, with each being acting on its own accord, based upon the consciousness that God has granted us. Still, we need to know and believe that our own human knowledge does not come close to the root of God’s knowledge. We may only contemplate that which we are permitted to know. Even the prophet’s knowledge is limited by the way God created him and the power of comprehension granted unto him. His prophecy is only according to his knowledge, as it is written (Hoshea, 12:11), “I have multiplied their visions, and I shall use images through the prophets.” This idea is found in the Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 19, page 40a). When God wants to draw prophecy into the world, then all of the Sefirot are included in a man, and he is called a prophet. The Sefirah of Malkhut (sovereignty) is a representation of all of the Sefirot. This is as it is written, “I shall use images through the prophets.” And as it is written (Hoshea, 12), “I have spoken to the prophets,” where Malkhut is like a mirror in which you can see all of the various faces.²²⁷The sefirah of Malkhut is the lowest in the arrangement of the sefirot. Thus, Malkhut serves as a sort of catch-basin, or mirror, that receives and reflects the potencies of the upper sefirot that descend into it. The prophet attains this consciousness, and is therefore able to receive God’s word, as it filters down through all the upper worlds and spheres. Similarly, all of the Sefirot show their power and forms to the prophet according to his ability to perceive the upper realms. In the same way it is enclothed below in the Throne of Glory, in all of the angels, the Ofanim, the holy Hayot, in all of their firmaments and thrones, and in all of the angels that are dependent on them. There are many levels of angels, one above the other, as it is written (Kohelet, 5:7), “For there is a higher one who watches over him that is high, and there are yet higher ones over them.” So too, with every Cherub and mazal (astrological force), as it is written (Tehillim, 145), “His sovereignty (Malchus) is in every dominion.” This is, “I shall use images through the prophets.” Each one sees the images (from the beyond) according to his power, which is his soul. It is said in the Midrash (Rabbah, Ta’azria, 15), “Even when Ruah haKodesh rests upon the prophets, it does so only according to a defined measure.” “To make a scale for the wind (spirit)” (Iyov, 28:25). This is all to say that the understanding of the prophets is also a force created by God and allocated to each prophet and sage according to God’s wisdom. His prophecies all follow the specific power of understanding granted at the root of his soul. All of man’s ability to understand is a force that God created and distributed to mankind.²²⁸The point here is that human wisdom – even the highest, prophetic wisdom – is a creation of God, which God emanates in accordance with the level of the prophet’s soul. That being the case, one must realize that there is something higher than all comprehension, whether knowledge is prophetic or intellectual.

And this is what our sages of blessed memory said: whoever averts their eyes from tzedakah is as if they serve idols (Ketubot 68a), "avert eyes" specifically, since the essence of tzedakah is the aspect of eyes, to continue the Providence of God's eyes on us, as it is written regarding gifts to the poor "look down from Your holy abode, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel" (Deut. 26:15). This is because the essence of poverty is a continuation of the hurt to the Moon, which is the aspect of darkness, "and his eyes were weak of seeing" (Genesis 27:1), which is the aspect of decrease and concealment of Providence. This is because all income and wealth is the aspect of eyes, as it is written "what good is there to their owner, saving the beholding of them with his eyes" (Eccl. 5:10). And as it is written "The eyes of all wait upon You; and You give them their food in due season"(Ps. 145:15). This is because wealth is a continuation of the aspect of Left, as it is written "on her left is wealth and honor" (Prov. 3:16), and the left is the aspect of after creation, as it is explained in the preceding Torah. And every time that the left is not included in the right, God forbid, meaning, when it is not included in the entirety of creation, which is the aspect of left, before creation, which is the aspect of complete right, then obviously it is impossible to receive the Flow and income, given that we are far away from the root which is the One Who Makes All Live.

The Zohar makes several mentions of statements that lack a foundation or accepted tradition from one’s Rav. (Yithro, 87a): Rabbi Yitzchak opened (Kohelet, 5:5), “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin.” How greatly does man need to be careful not to err in the words of Torah, and not to derive explanations of the Torah that he did not receive from his Rav. He who says a word of Torah that he did not know or receive from his Rav, of him it is written, “Do not make an idol or any image.” The Holy One, blessed be He, will exact punishment from him in the world-to-come. At the time when his soul wants to ascend to its place, it will be pushed outside, and will be destroyed from the binds of eternal life of all other souls. The Zohar then compares illegitimate innovations to fathering a bastard. As it is taught (in the continuation of Kohelet 5:5), “Why should God be angry at your voice.” “Voice,” is man’s soul. Rabbi Chiyya said, therefore it is written, “Hashem your God is a jealous God.” For what reason? It is because He is jealous for His name’s sake in everything. If it is because of the form of the face, (of the bastard) He is jealous for His name, since it is lying in His name. And the same is true for the Torah, (when one teaches that which he does not know and did not receive from his Rav.)”