Chasidut su Levitico 19:78
Kedushat Levi
Levitcus 19,2. “Be holy, etc.!” Vayikra Rabbah 24,9, considering the words: כי קדוש אני, “for I am holy,” asks whether it is possible that the Torah demands that we, the Jewish people, are to be as holy as He is? The Midrash’s answer is that, on the contrary, the words כי קדוש אני, indicate that true sanctity is something reserved for the Creator alone. However holy we can become, His holiness will always be superior to ours.
Earlier commentators have already dealt with the meaning of this verse at length, i.e. the question of how serving the Lord can be performed by means of holiness, and they concluded that this refers to serving the Lord with one’s heart. As to precisely how this is to be done, we have learned in Taanit 2 that prayer is the best means of serving the Lord with one’s heart. The “prayer” meant by the Talmud there is not that we address our requests to the Lord, but that we express our awareness of His greatness and at the same time our inadequacy to express with words what we really feel about Him. By stating that compared to Him we are only dust and ashes, that we are sullied by our sins, and that we accept the yoke of serving Him as our Master, we can begin to gradually develop the level of holiness that it is possible for any of His creatures to attain.
When Solomon in Proverbs 1,5 speaks of ישמע חכם ויוסף לקח, a wise man will hear and (each time) increase his learning, he speaks of how continuous, and even more so, repetitive Torah study will increase our level of spirituality, holiness.
In this connection our author refers to the well known dispute about the proper procedure in lighting the Chanukah candles. (Shabbat 21) The school of Shammai held that we start with eight candles on the first night and progressively light one candle less each evening. The school of Hillel takes the opposite view, ruling that we light only one candle on the first night but increase this by an additional candle each night until on the last night we light eight candles. The school of Hillel explains that the reason why they want to increase the number of lights each night, is although the amount of miracle oil has steadily declined, the appreciation of the miracle increases with each night that we pronounce the blessing when lighting the candles as an act of gratitude for G’d’s miracle at the time. With increasing recognition of the miracle of Chanukah there comes an increased awareness of our relationship to the Creator, or expressed differently, מצוה גוררת מצוה, “the performance of one of G’d’s commandments brings in its wake the desire to fulfill more of His commandments.” Recognition of the greatness of G’d inevitably leads to an awareness of the puniness of man when compared to Him. It is this awareness of our own limitations that gradually brings us closer to understanding and emulating the virtue of the אין סוף, ultimate form of humility. The school of Hillel, disciples of Hillel who was world renowned for his personal modesty and humility, followed their mentor when they formulated the concept of מוסיף והולך, that a spark of holiness feeds upon itself and makes ripples like a pebble thrown on the surface of the water.
This idea is also reflected in the opening words of our portion קדושים תהיו, “commence the process to become holy, as it is continuous and feeds on itself.” An additional factor helping you to progress along this route is כי קדוש אני, “for I am holy,” i.e. when you contemplate My holiness this will inspire you to emulate My holiness to the extent that this is humanly possible. In fact, G’d says that His own holiness will increase proportionate to the amount of holiness to be found amongst His people on earth.
[This is not a surprising statement, as in matters of purity and impurity as well as in matters of holiness and secularity we do not apply objective yardsticks but subjective, relative ones. A good example is to be found in Leviticus 14,36 where despite the fact that according to reason the furnishings in the afflicted house would be ritually impure as the house is impure, the inhabitants are allowed to remove them before the arrival of the priest. Ed.]
One of the most welcome phenomena on earth that G’d looks upon with the greatest pleasure is the virtue of humility. This thought is reflected in Proverbs 22,4 עקב ענוה יראת ה', “the natural result of humility is fear of the Lord; the more people practice humility the greater the holiness of G’d.”
[The virtue of humility is not only great but is most difficult to acquire. First one must possess qualities that are the result of building one’s character; once one does possess these qualities which others boast about, one must go about one’s business as if unaware of possessing such qualities. If Moses had responded to the accusation of his sister Miriam (had he heard them), he would have done so at the expense of his humility. Ed.]
Earlier commentators have already dealt with the meaning of this verse at length, i.e. the question of how serving the Lord can be performed by means of holiness, and they concluded that this refers to serving the Lord with one’s heart. As to precisely how this is to be done, we have learned in Taanit 2 that prayer is the best means of serving the Lord with one’s heart. The “prayer” meant by the Talmud there is not that we address our requests to the Lord, but that we express our awareness of His greatness and at the same time our inadequacy to express with words what we really feel about Him. By stating that compared to Him we are only dust and ashes, that we are sullied by our sins, and that we accept the yoke of serving Him as our Master, we can begin to gradually develop the level of holiness that it is possible for any of His creatures to attain.
When Solomon in Proverbs 1,5 speaks of ישמע חכם ויוסף לקח, a wise man will hear and (each time) increase his learning, he speaks of how continuous, and even more so, repetitive Torah study will increase our level of spirituality, holiness.
In this connection our author refers to the well known dispute about the proper procedure in lighting the Chanukah candles. (Shabbat 21) The school of Shammai held that we start with eight candles on the first night and progressively light one candle less each evening. The school of Hillel takes the opposite view, ruling that we light only one candle on the first night but increase this by an additional candle each night until on the last night we light eight candles. The school of Hillel explains that the reason why they want to increase the number of lights each night, is although the amount of miracle oil has steadily declined, the appreciation of the miracle increases with each night that we pronounce the blessing when lighting the candles as an act of gratitude for G’d’s miracle at the time. With increasing recognition of the miracle of Chanukah there comes an increased awareness of our relationship to the Creator, or expressed differently, מצוה גוררת מצוה, “the performance of one of G’d’s commandments brings in its wake the desire to fulfill more of His commandments.” Recognition of the greatness of G’d inevitably leads to an awareness of the puniness of man when compared to Him. It is this awareness of our own limitations that gradually brings us closer to understanding and emulating the virtue of the אין סוף, ultimate form of humility. The school of Hillel, disciples of Hillel who was world renowned for his personal modesty and humility, followed their mentor when they formulated the concept of מוסיף והולך, that a spark of holiness feeds upon itself and makes ripples like a pebble thrown on the surface of the water.
This idea is also reflected in the opening words of our portion קדושים תהיו, “commence the process to become holy, as it is continuous and feeds on itself.” An additional factor helping you to progress along this route is כי קדוש אני, “for I am holy,” i.e. when you contemplate My holiness this will inspire you to emulate My holiness to the extent that this is humanly possible. In fact, G’d says that His own holiness will increase proportionate to the amount of holiness to be found amongst His people on earth.
[This is not a surprising statement, as in matters of purity and impurity as well as in matters of holiness and secularity we do not apply objective yardsticks but subjective, relative ones. A good example is to be found in Leviticus 14,36 where despite the fact that according to reason the furnishings in the afflicted house would be ritually impure as the house is impure, the inhabitants are allowed to remove them before the arrival of the priest. Ed.]
One of the most welcome phenomena on earth that G’d looks upon with the greatest pleasure is the virtue of humility. This thought is reflected in Proverbs 22,4 עקב ענוה יראת ה', “the natural result of humility is fear of the Lord; the more people practice humility the greater the holiness of G’d.”
[The virtue of humility is not only great but is most difficult to acquire. First one must possess qualities that are the result of building one’s character; once one does possess these qualities which others boast about, one must go about one’s business as if unaware of possessing such qualities. If Moses had responded to the accusation of his sister Miriam (had he heard them), he would have done so at the expense of his humility. Ed.]
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Likutei Halakhot
And this is the aspect of tefillin, for tefillin are the aspect of memory, as written (Ex. 13), “ulzikaron bein `eyneikha/and for remembrance between your eyes” — and for remembrance between your eyes specifically, for memory depends mainly on Tikkun `Eynayim/Proper Repair of the Eyes, as discerned in this story, as this “blind” one — who was entirely blind to this world, who had no sight of this world at all, to the extent that he attained that the whole world did not amount to him so much as an eyeblink, which this is the essence of Tikkun `Eynayim — he attained the ultimate perfection of memory that has no perfection beyond it, as explained above, as this blind one remembers more than all of them etc., as written there in the story. Hence, memory depends mainly on the eyes, and thus it is explained in the Torah “Wayhi Miqetz — Zikaron” (LM #54), that memory depends mainly on the eyes, see there, and he brings there the verse, “ulzikaron bein `eyneikha”, see there, for tefillin are the aspect of Mochin deGadluth/Brains of Grown-Maturity, which is the essence of memory on the side of holiness, for memory is the aspect of consciousness and awareness, as explained in the Torah “Dirshu Hashem/Seek Hashem” (LM #37), and this is the aspect of head tefillin and hand tefillin, amongst which there are eight parshiyoth/text-passages, four of the head and four of the arm, corresponding to the eight holy elders who are masters of memory, which is the aspect of tefillin — “and for remembrance between your eyes” as mentioned. For, it is known in the Kawanoth that the head tefillin are in the Male aspect and the arm tefillin are in the Female aspect, and all together the tefillin are in the aspect of Mochin de`Ibur Sheini deGadluth/Second-Embryonic Mature Brainphase, and this is the aspect of these holy elders, who attained such Mature Brains that each one attained remembering and reaching more of the beginning; what happened with him before in the beginning. And the more that one of them attained, the earlier the beginning that he could remember and reach, as explained above. And behold, they are eight elders partitioned into two fours, corresponding to two fours of parshiyoth of arm and of head, for the four first elders who first boasted of their memory, their whole concern was with what happened with the child in its mother's womb: the emergence of the droplet until the cutting of the umbilical cord when it goes out into the world's air. Namely, the one one boasted he remembers them bringing the seed to plant the fruit, which is the passage of the droplet etc., the second remembers the beginning of the fruit's formation, the third remembers when the light was shining, which is all the days of the embryo, and the fourth, the last, remembers the essence of birth's conclusion, which is the cutting of the umbilical cord, which is the beginning of his entering this world. (And these four are written here from top to bottom, the opposite of how they are written in the book of stories, and this is because here I have to begin from the fourth, so due to the flow of language the order is reversed, but the intention is the same). Hence all these four stories tell of the great wonders of the Creator, Blessed Is His Name; what happens with the embryo in its mother, and so all these brains and perceptions that these four elders attained are in the aspect of Female Brains, which are the aspect of the four parshiyoth of the arm tefillin which are the Female Brains as mentioned. And these aspects that these four elders told about are the aspect of Light-Water-Firmament mentioned in the holy Zohar and the Qawanoth. For, at the beginning of the droplet's emergence, which is the aspect of the one who tells that he remembers them bringing out the seed etc., this is the aspect of Light, for it still has no Form, and then when it began to initially take form it is like Water, and then the embryo changes every day of pregnancy; this is the aspect of Firmament, as is known. And then when the aspect of Firmament is finished he goes out in the air of the world and is born, and all this is the aspect of tefillin, which are the aspect of incubation and birth, which is the aspect of Yetziath Mitzrayim, as is known. And the first four elders, all of what they told was what happened before the droplet descended into its mother's womb. For, they told that they remember when the droplet was still in its father's brain, and the Look, the Taste and the Smell which are the aspect of Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah, which is where is the beginning of drawing the thought from where it is drawn from the place where it drawn, from cause to effect, from world to world, from intellect to intellect, which are the aspect of Neshamah, Ruach and Nefesh, until the thought is generated, whereby the holy progenitive droplet is generated. And all these four aspects occur with the father, on the Male aspect, as mentioned. And so they are in the aspect of the head tefillin which are the Male brains as mentioned. For tefillin are drawn from the aspect of Tiqunei Diqna/Features of the Beard, as known, which is the aspect of these elders in holiness, who are all in the aspect of the Holy Beard's Features, which is the root of elderliness on the side of holiness, the aspect of, “wehadarta penei zaqen/and you shall honor the face of the elder” [Lev. 19:32], as is known. And the essence of the holiness of the tefillin's Brains are drawn from the Most Supernal Elder, the Oldest of Them All, who is the most suckling babe of them all, who is the blind beggar, who was “altogether a suckling babe” etc. as mentioned. For, from him is the essential holiness of elderliness, and all the eight elders who are the aspect of the eight parshiyoth in the tefillin, they all receive from this Most Supernal Elder, who is the blind one. But his aspect of Brains itself is impossible to enclothe even in the tefillin passages, so there is no parashah corresponding to him, for he is above it all and the root of it all, as they receive all the tefillin Brains from him, which are the aspect of all the elders in holiness, as mentioned. For, he is united in the Ein Sof, as mentioned, so his Brain is not called memory at all, which is the aspect of tefillin as mentioned, for he said that he remembers all this and remembers “Nothing At All.” That is, even though he remembers everything that they remember, for he is composed of all of them and they all receive their Brains and Memory only from him, nevertheless his Brain is impossible to call by the term “memory” at all, for he is above memory and the root of memory, for he is united in the Ein Sof, as written there, and so he is not alluded to in any parashah, for he is above everything and the root of everything, as mentioned.
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Kedushat Levi
Another aspect of the words: וארא אל אברהם אל יצחק ואל יעקב, “I used to appear to Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov, etc.” We find among the writings of the Ari z’al that he does not understand Exodus 34,7 נוצר חסד לאלפים “He extends loving kindness to thousands,” in the generally accepted meaning, but that he understands the word אלפים as attributes of G’d beginning with the letter aleph. These attributes, though all being variations of the attribute Justice, are “sweetened” by G’d through an addition of a dose of חסד, loving kindness.
In order to understand the Ari z’al we refer first to a statement in Sh’mot Rabbah 47,11 according to which Moses acquired the ability to make the skin of his forehead shine, give forth light, (Exodus 34,29) because a drop of ink was left over from his quill when he had completed recording the portion of the Torah in writing. [Difficult to understand as Moses did not write the Torah on Mount Sinai. Ed.]
The author of the Or hachayim;Midrash had in mind when writing that Moses merited this reward from left over ink.
In order to illustrate the difference between a “humble” person spelled with the letter י, and a “humble” person spelled without the letter י, we need to make a few introductory remarks. On the Torah’s imperative for the Jewish people to strive to be “holy,”: (Leviticus 19,2) to be “holy,” i.e. קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה', “be holy for I the Lord am holy,” we could have misunderstood this line to mean that we must strive to be as holy as G’d. Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 24,9 therefore writes that the words: כי קדוש אני, “for I am holy,” in that verse are a reminder that only G’d is truly holy. G’d’s holiness transcends anyone else’s holiness. Anyone who endeavours to sincerely sanctify himself discovers that in spite of all the progress he makes in this direction that he is still far removed from his objective, i.e. total holiness. If a person is under the illusion that he is already a worthy servant of the Lord, this is proof that he is still far from having reached his goal, that in fact he has not even begun the journey leading to holiness. Anyone who has begun this journey is painfully aware of how far he still has to travel on that road. This is what the Midrash had in mind when the author wrote, explaining the words: כי קדוש אני ה' אלוקיכם, “for I the Lord your G’d am holy, קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם, “My holiness is superior to your holiness.” [The author’s version of this Midrash apparently had the word מסתלקת, “is receding,” instead of the word: למעלה “is superior”. Ed.]
Alternatively, this concept, instead of being expressed negatively, may be expressed positively, as we find in Eychah rabbah 11,3 where the author writes that whenever the Jewish people sanctify themselves they thereby strengthen the celestial entourage of the Lord, i.e. they add holiness to His holiness. The Midrash quotes psalms 60,14 in support of this where the psalmist writes באלוקים נעשה חיל, “we will strengthen G’d by acting valiantly.” (Compare likutim on that statement in the Midrash)
In order to understand the Ari z’al we refer first to a statement in Sh’mot Rabbah 47,11 according to which Moses acquired the ability to make the skin of his forehead shine, give forth light, (Exodus 34,29) because a drop of ink was left over from his quill when he had completed recording the portion of the Torah in writing. [Difficult to understand as Moses did not write the Torah on Mount Sinai. Ed.]
The author of the Or hachayim;Midrash had in mind when writing that Moses merited this reward from left over ink.
In order to illustrate the difference between a “humble” person spelled with the letter י, and a “humble” person spelled without the letter י, we need to make a few introductory remarks. On the Torah’s imperative for the Jewish people to strive to be “holy,”: (Leviticus 19,2) to be “holy,” i.e. קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה', “be holy for I the Lord am holy,” we could have misunderstood this line to mean that we must strive to be as holy as G’d. Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 24,9 therefore writes that the words: כי קדוש אני, “for I am holy,” in that verse are a reminder that only G’d is truly holy. G’d’s holiness transcends anyone else’s holiness. Anyone who endeavours to sincerely sanctify himself discovers that in spite of all the progress he makes in this direction that he is still far removed from his objective, i.e. total holiness. If a person is under the illusion that he is already a worthy servant of the Lord, this is proof that he is still far from having reached his goal, that in fact he has not even begun the journey leading to holiness. Anyone who has begun this journey is painfully aware of how far he still has to travel on that road. This is what the Midrash had in mind when the author wrote, explaining the words: כי קדוש אני ה' אלוקיכם, “for I the Lord your G’d am holy, קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם, “My holiness is superior to your holiness.” [The author’s version of this Midrash apparently had the word מסתלקת, “is receding,” instead of the word: למעלה “is superior”. Ed.]
Alternatively, this concept, instead of being expressed negatively, may be expressed positively, as we find in Eychah rabbah 11,3 where the author writes that whenever the Jewish people sanctify themselves they thereby strengthen the celestial entourage of the Lord, i.e. they add holiness to His holiness. The Midrash quotes psalms 60,14 in support of this where the psalmist writes באלוקים נעשה חיל, “we will strengthen G’d by acting valiantly.” (Compare likutim on that statement in the Midrash)
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Bnei Yissaschar
And Hillel comes close to this would be convert, because Hillel is the embodiment of Kindness and Love. He teaches him about love, “What is hateful to you, [do not do to others]” which is the mitzvah of “Love your fellow as yourself...” (Lev. 19:18).
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Flames of Faith
It was most important for the blind man to walk and the invalid to ride. Imagine if the order had been inversed, would they have achieved their goal? If the blind man had ridden atop the invalid, he would not have been able to see afar in order to protect the invalid from robbers who lay in ambush, nor would the invalid with his atrophied legs have been able to carry the blind man’s weight. The soul must control the body and have the body serve it. People in whom the soul serves the body lack the correct perspective on life, they enslave their moral thinking to legitimize base behaviors, and they torment their soul with the lowest desires.101The highest point of the soul is concentrated in the mind, that is why the prayer recited before placing tefillin (phylacteries) on the arm and head declares,
“[the tefillah box] on the head stands opposite the brain so that the neshamah she-be-mochi, the soul, whose location is in the head, together with my other proclivities and abilities will be fully committed to the service of God.” Thus, thought is associated with the soul, while impulses are expressions of the body.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that many of the commandments are in fact measures to insure that man’s soul (his logical thoughts) rule his lower animal self (his impulses and desires). See his commentary to Lev. 19:27, and Horeb Chapters 65, 68, and 69; see also his Jewish Symbolism (vol. 3 of his Collected Writings), pgs. 175-178 (where he interprets the commandment of shaatnez).
“[the tefillah box] on the head stands opposite the brain so that the neshamah she-be-mochi, the soul, whose location is in the head, together with my other proclivities and abilities will be fully committed to the service of God.” Thus, thought is associated with the soul, while impulses are expressions of the body.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that many of the commandments are in fact measures to insure that man’s soul (his logical thoughts) rule his lower animal self (his impulses and desires). See his commentary to Lev. 19:27, and Horeb Chapters 65, 68, and 69; see also his Jewish Symbolism (vol. 3 of his Collected Writings), pgs. 175-178 (where he interprets the commandment of shaatnez).
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Kedushat Levi
Leviticus 19,3. “every person is to revere his or her mother and father and you are to observe My Sabbath days.” It is a psychological rule that when someone is afraid of something or someone, a small portion of the fear is transmitted and radiated by his personality when he is in contact with others. Clearly, he is not able to reflect the full extent of his fear, especially when the subject is fear of the Lord, as the whole concept of G’d is a concept that cannot be adequately expressed in mere words.
As a practical example of what we mean, take the powerful phenomena in nature, all of which through being His creatures are clearly in a state of awe vis a vis their Creator, so much so that a small portion of this awe is transmitted to the person or persons looking at these powerful phenomena such as the sun, electrical storms, the vast firmament filled with stars, etc. At the same time, none of these phenomena are able to transmit the full extent of their awe for the Creator to the people who look at them.
[The way that various parts of the physical universe reflect a minute part of the fear of the Lord with which they relate to Him is that they appear to us as sources of outpourings of blessings or curses. It is possible to err and to feel that this reflected fear of the Lord emanated by them is the “real” thing, i.e. that these phenomena though mere creatures are Divine. This is a “chance” that the Creator has taken, relying on our common sense not to mistake the agent for the originator. This also was G’d’s answer to the questioner who accused G’d of misleading us by providing a sun which could be mistaken as a deity. I have felt it necessary to insert this paragraph. Ed.]
The abstract phenomenon reflecting fear of the Lord, i.e. reverence for the Lord in this universe, is called Shabbat, on account of it signifying the Creator projecting His supremacy by abstaining from His primary function of creative activity. We, His people, by abstaining from actual work on the Sabbath but still thinking about it, reflect that we have absorbed the concept which the Sabbath is meant to convey. When the Torah links fear of one’s parents to observance of the Sabbath, it alludes to the fact that just as our parents are not really our creators but are each only a “shadow” of the Creator, [אדם בצלם נברא, “man was created as a “shadow, image,” Avot 3,14.Ed.] so the Sabbath is a concept that transcends our ability to fully understand, as it is a Divine concept and we can only understand certain parts of it. By emulating to the best of our ability what He did on the Sabbath of creation, we are able to absorb some of the true meaning of the Sabbath concept.
As a practical example of what we mean, take the powerful phenomena in nature, all of which through being His creatures are clearly in a state of awe vis a vis their Creator, so much so that a small portion of this awe is transmitted to the person or persons looking at these powerful phenomena such as the sun, electrical storms, the vast firmament filled with stars, etc. At the same time, none of these phenomena are able to transmit the full extent of their awe for the Creator to the people who look at them.
[The way that various parts of the physical universe reflect a minute part of the fear of the Lord with which they relate to Him is that they appear to us as sources of outpourings of blessings or curses. It is possible to err and to feel that this reflected fear of the Lord emanated by them is the “real” thing, i.e. that these phenomena though mere creatures are Divine. This is a “chance” that the Creator has taken, relying on our common sense not to mistake the agent for the originator. This also was G’d’s answer to the questioner who accused G’d of misleading us by providing a sun which could be mistaken as a deity. I have felt it necessary to insert this paragraph. Ed.]
The abstract phenomenon reflecting fear of the Lord, i.e. reverence for the Lord in this universe, is called Shabbat, on account of it signifying the Creator projecting His supremacy by abstaining from His primary function of creative activity. We, His people, by abstaining from actual work on the Sabbath but still thinking about it, reflect that we have absorbed the concept which the Sabbath is meant to convey. When the Torah links fear of one’s parents to observance of the Sabbath, it alludes to the fact that just as our parents are not really our creators but are each only a “shadow” of the Creator, [אדם בצלם נברא, “man was created as a “shadow, image,” Avot 3,14.Ed.] so the Sabbath is a concept that transcends our ability to fully understand, as it is a Divine concept and we can only understand certain parts of it. By emulating to the best of our ability what He did on the Sabbath of creation, we are able to absorb some of the true meaning of the Sabbath concept.
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Chovat HaTalmidim
Good lads and young men, please judge for yourselves - you have begun to internalize our words up to this point, in which we have made you understand what a Jewish young man [actually] is, how God is inseparably connected to him and the yoke that he must bear in developing His holy people - please tell me, is there any greater grief than the grief from these haughty ones; is there any blemish like their blemish? Jewish young men, we do not need to warn you about this terrible character trait. We are certain that the words of God - "A man must fear his mother and father" (Leviticus 19:3); and "The fear of your teacher should be like the fear of the Heavens" (Avot 4:12) - are engraved upon your hearts. You know quite well that it is God who is teaching you Torah; and that the voice of God is encased in the voice and words of your rabbi when he speaks to you about matters of Torah, divine service and even about proper behavior according to the Torah. And the fear and joy, the fright and terror that the people of Israel experienced at the time they were at Mount Sinai and heard the voice of God in flames of fire - some of that is also with you now when you are in the yeshiva: When you remind yourselves that the room in which you are in now is full of angels and seraphim and that God's voice comes out from among them - encased in the voice of your rabbi entering your ears and your heart - fright and joy, fear and love shake your body and roil your heart, and you humble yourselves to the Torah of our God heard in the words of your rabbi.
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Kedushat Levi
Leviticus 19,32. “you shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old, you shall fear your G’d.” Seeing that we have pointed out that the principal element in what is called “fear of the Lord,” is the awe with which we should relate to His sublimity and awesomeness, רוממות, a title which stems from the fact that He is the Originator of all the phenomena that we can perceive with our senses as well as the ones we cannot perceive, He deserves our utmost respect. When a human being has attained that level of insight he is called בן אהוב למקום, “a beloved son of G’d.” When a mortal father has a son whom he loves beyond all else in life, that son will be most careful not to cause his father any grief whatsoever. Conversely, this son will go out of his way to cause his father only pleasure and satisfaction. Paraphrasing this example, our sages in the Zohar III,7 state that Israel provides parnassah, sustenance, for the Almighty. This sustenance consists of their studying Torah, serving Him with prayers and by performing charitable deeds for their peers, as well as keeping the other commandments of the Torah. If they were, G’d forbid, to fail to do all this, our sages in Chagigah 15 lament, “what would become of the Shechinah”?
The wording in the Talmud describing the Shechinah’s reaction to Israel’s failing to serve the Lord and to observe His commandments, is קלני מראשי, “I feel that my head is confused, wobbly.” In other words, our misconduct causes G’d the equivalent of physical pain and confusion.
A tzaddik will worry all his life that he should not cause his father in heaven any grief or pain. He constantly endeavours to only be the cause of his Father in heaven feeling well and satisfied with His creatures.
The condition known as יראת שמים, when applied to the tzaddik, is his fear of the attribute of Mercy, i.e. that G’d would have to apply that attribute when judging him in order that he would not come to harm. [When Yaakov awoke from his dream of the ladder he vowed that if he would return to his father’s home safely, he would tithe all his acquisitions henceforth, and that he was henceforth ready to be judged by the attribute of Justice instead of having to hope for the attribute of Mercy dealing with his shortcomings. (Compare Genesis 28,21). Ed.] Ordinary people generally are afraid of the attribute of Justice dealing with their transgressions.
The tzaddik’s philosophy is not limited to his personal relationship with G’d, but he hopes that his meticulously observing G’d’s commandments without his looking for reward, will encourage G’d to increase the flow of His largesse to the Jewish people and that as a result these will benefit in all spheres of life from that largesse. He is aware that nothing pleases the Lord as much as having an excuse to direct an ever increasing flow of this largesse to His people. The termsזקן as well as שיבה, are synonyms for the attribute of mercy as we know from Pessikta Rabbah 21 where G’d is perceived as having appeared to the Jewish people at the revelation in the guise of a bearded old man, one who is full of compassion. Keeping this in mind, we can understand the commandment to treat the aged and old with deference and respect as an exhortation to relate to G’d with such feelings. The words: והדרת פני זקן, may therefore be understood as a command not to cause the Shechinah to call out in pain קלני מראשי, “my head is in turmoil.” Instead, we should ensure that the verse speaking of הוד והדר לפניו עוז וחדוה במקדשו, that “glory and majesty are before Him and strength and splendour in His Temple.” (Compare psalms 96,6)
The wording in the Talmud describing the Shechinah’s reaction to Israel’s failing to serve the Lord and to observe His commandments, is קלני מראשי, “I feel that my head is confused, wobbly.” In other words, our misconduct causes G’d the equivalent of physical pain and confusion.
A tzaddik will worry all his life that he should not cause his father in heaven any grief or pain. He constantly endeavours to only be the cause of his Father in heaven feeling well and satisfied with His creatures.
The condition known as יראת שמים, when applied to the tzaddik, is his fear of the attribute of Mercy, i.e. that G’d would have to apply that attribute when judging him in order that he would not come to harm. [When Yaakov awoke from his dream of the ladder he vowed that if he would return to his father’s home safely, he would tithe all his acquisitions henceforth, and that he was henceforth ready to be judged by the attribute of Justice instead of having to hope for the attribute of Mercy dealing with his shortcomings. (Compare Genesis 28,21). Ed.] Ordinary people generally are afraid of the attribute of Justice dealing with their transgressions.
The tzaddik’s philosophy is not limited to his personal relationship with G’d, but he hopes that his meticulously observing G’d’s commandments without his looking for reward, will encourage G’d to increase the flow of His largesse to the Jewish people and that as a result these will benefit in all spheres of life from that largesse. He is aware that nothing pleases the Lord as much as having an excuse to direct an ever increasing flow of this largesse to His people. The termsזקן as well as שיבה, are synonyms for the attribute of mercy as we know from Pessikta Rabbah 21 where G’d is perceived as having appeared to the Jewish people at the revelation in the guise of a bearded old man, one who is full of compassion. Keeping this in mind, we can understand the commandment to treat the aged and old with deference and respect as an exhortation to relate to G’d with such feelings. The words: והדרת פני זקן, may therefore be understood as a command not to cause the Shechinah to call out in pain קלני מראשי, “my head is in turmoil.” Instead, we should ensure that the verse speaking of הוד והדר לפניו עוז וחדוה במקדשו, that “glory and majesty are before Him and strength and splendour in His Temple.” (Compare psalms 96,6)
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Kedushat Levi
Moses prefaces his remarks with the word: ועתה, “and now,” to hint that just as G’d in His capacity of Hashem has imposed upon Himself restrictions in as much as He treats you as if you deserved that He consults you before acting, i.e. שואל, much as a student who seeks clarification from his teacher, this very characteristic of not acting high-handedly but consulting higher authority first, is a characteristic that G’d expects of you to be practiced unreservedly, i.e. you will prove this in the manner in which you revere Him. This is also what Rashi (Leviticus 26,12) where the Torah writes of G’d saying: והתהלכתי בתוככם, “I will be walking amongst you,” had in mind, when he paraphrased Moses by saying: אטייל עמכם, “I shall go for a walk with you,” i.e. although you will feel so familiar with Me, you must not forget for one moment that in spite of this I must be related to with utmost reverence, יראה.
A third interpretation of our verse, is one that portrays Moses as making maximal demands on the Jewish people, instead of minimal ones, as a superficial reading of our verse would imply.
The axiom that the Creator is אין סוף, “a Being the extent of whose multifaceted attributes knows no limits,” [my translation, Ed.] includes the inability of His angels to fully comprehend Him also. This is already alluded to in the commentary of Vayikra rabbah Leviticus 24,9 where the author, in trying to explain the line:קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני , commonly translated as “strive to be holy for I am holy,” states “you will never be able to be as holy as I am, as My holiness will progressively appear to you as just beyond reach, the closer you have come to Me.” Not only that, but as you attain greater insights, you will realise how far beyond I am. At the same time, the more you endeavour to become holy, the more of My holiness will become part of you.
A third interpretation of our verse, is one that portrays Moses as making maximal demands on the Jewish people, instead of minimal ones, as a superficial reading of our verse would imply.
The axiom that the Creator is אין סוף, “a Being the extent of whose multifaceted attributes knows no limits,” [my translation, Ed.] includes the inability of His angels to fully comprehend Him also. This is already alluded to in the commentary of Vayikra rabbah Leviticus 24,9 where the author, in trying to explain the line:קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני , commonly translated as “strive to be holy for I am holy,” states “you will never be able to be as holy as I am, as My holiness will progressively appear to you as just beyond reach, the closer you have come to Me.” Not only that, but as you attain greater insights, you will realise how far beyond I am. At the same time, the more you endeavour to become holy, the more of My holiness will become part of you.
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Kedushat Levi
Another of aspect of the significance of the tone sign shalshelet above the word וימאן, can be understood from Rashi’s comment on Leviticus 19,2 where the Torah commands us to strive and be holy. He writes that wherever the subject of illicit sexual relations in the Torah is mentioned, the subject of holiness is found nearby. Rashi quotes three examples, (Leviticus 21,7;21,15, and 21,6). The Jewish people (when at their best) have been “crowned” with two levels of holiness, something that is spelled out in a liturgical poem recited on the first day of Rosh Hashanah immediately before we recite the “kedushah,” where the author says that two of these levels of holiness have been granted to the Jewish people, i.e. מידו נתן שתי קדושות, whereas He, G’d is garbed in an additional level of holiness, i.e. ויקדש באחת משלוש קדושות.
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Toldot Yaakov Yosef
(221) "now these days were the days of the first ripe-grapes" (Numbers 13:20) meaning, that all this a person needs to hurry, and do this in the days of first-fruits, that is, when one is young, which is before the old days, as the Zohar explains regarding "In the face of the gray-hair, you are to rise" (Leviticus 19:32), [meaning, rise yourself spiritually when you are young] and so it will be good when one comes [to the next world] (Zohar 3:87b:6), and do not overthink this.
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