Chasidut su Proverbi 10:33
Kedushat Levi
Let us first deal with a question raised by most commentators, i.e. the reason why Moses’ name has not been mentioned in this portion. In Proverbs 10,1 we read בן חכם ישמח אב, “a wise son brings joy to his father.” What precisely is this “wisdom” Solomon speaks of in that verse? Furthermore, what is the nature of “wisdom” that Job speaks of in Job 28,28 where we read הן יראת א-דוני היא חכמה, “here the awe of G’d is wisdom!”
We must remember that the Creator created all the phenomena in all the parts of His universe, and that when His creatures look at the world and realize that they themselves are totally powerless, they look at their own “lives” and are overcome by a feeling of awe for this Creator.
They also realize that the Creator in His wisdom has created phenomena that are direct opposites of one another such as fire and water, night and day, wind (air) and earth. When reflecting on this they realize that even these opposites possess a common denominator, they emerged into existence as an expression of the will of the One and only Creator. It follows that they should perceive themselves as being part of one great whole.
The word הן as explained by Rashi on Genesis 3,22 refers to man in the lower universe being as unique as G’d is unique in the higher universe. In Greek the word for “one, uniformity,” is also “hina” (compare ערוך). Unity in our world is the result of the recognition that we all share the same root. The fear inspired by this realization inspires unity, or at least should inspire unity, the common goal of all of G’d’s creatures being to serve the Creator. The well known verse, (Job 25,2):עושה שלום במרומיו הוא יעשה שלום עלינו וגו', “He who makes peace in His lofty heights may He also make peace among us, etc.;” alludes to the peace in the higher worlds being the result of the creatures in that world having realized that they are all part of the same root, something that alas, we on earth have so far failed to realize, or at least we have failed to let our actions reflect that realization.
Our sages (Bamidbar rabbah 12,7) when commenting on this verse says that the archangel Michael is made of snow whereas the archangel Gavriel is made of fire. In spite of this neither angel causes any harm to his colleague or celestial counterpart.
We must remember that the Creator created all the phenomena in all the parts of His universe, and that when His creatures look at the world and realize that they themselves are totally powerless, they look at their own “lives” and are overcome by a feeling of awe for this Creator.
They also realize that the Creator in His wisdom has created phenomena that are direct opposites of one another such as fire and water, night and day, wind (air) and earth. When reflecting on this they realize that even these opposites possess a common denominator, they emerged into existence as an expression of the will of the One and only Creator. It follows that they should perceive themselves as being part of one great whole.
The word הן as explained by Rashi on Genesis 3,22 refers to man in the lower universe being as unique as G’d is unique in the higher universe. In Greek the word for “one, uniformity,” is also “hina” (compare ערוך). Unity in our world is the result of the recognition that we all share the same root. The fear inspired by this realization inspires unity, or at least should inspire unity, the common goal of all of G’d’s creatures being to serve the Creator. The well known verse, (Job 25,2):עושה שלום במרומיו הוא יעשה שלום עלינו וגו', “He who makes peace in His lofty heights may He also make peace among us, etc.;” alludes to the peace in the higher worlds being the result of the creatures in that world having realized that they are all part of the same root, something that alas, we on earth have so far failed to realize, or at least we have failed to let our actions reflect that realization.
Our sages (Bamidbar rabbah 12,7) when commenting on this verse says that the archangel Michael is made of snow whereas the archangel Gavriel is made of fire. In spite of this neither angel causes any harm to his colleague or celestial counterpart.
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Tzidkat HaTzadik
“Blessings upon the head of a righteous man” (Proverbs 10:6). This is why the Talmud begins with Tractate Blessings (Berakhot), for it is the essence of everything: “Know the god of your father” (Chronicles I 28:9), and afterwards, “serve him,” for you have to know for whom you are serving. This is why a person says a blessing before each ritual act, to dedicate all of his actions to God, as the verse says, “In all your ways, know him” (Proverbs 3:6), as Maimonides wrote. This is accomplished by making the blessing, as the rabbis said the requirement [in terms of necessary age for making a blessing] is a child who knows to whom he is blessing (Bavli, Berakhot, 48a), as opposed to the rest of the mitsvot which have no requirement of knowing to whom one is making the blessing, such as phylacteries or the like. It is clear that the essence of a blessing is the knowledge of to whom the blessing is being made, and blessings were instituted for this purpose. This is the beginning of entering into Torah, as the verse says, “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God” (Psalms 111:10). Fear of God is achieved through “I have placed God before me always” (Psalms 16:8), as Rabbi Moses Isserles wrote in a comment at the beginning of Oraḥ Ḥayyim. This explains why all blessings begin with direct, second-person, address (lashon nokhaḥ), because right at the beginning of the blessing God must be present (nokhaḥ) before a person’s eyes, as if God is standing in front of and commanding him. The conclusion is in third-person, because God immediately disappears, as the verse says, “Over his nestlings he hovers” (Deuteronomy 32:11), making contact and then moving away, as is known.
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Kedushat Levi
Let us now explore what caused the scholars who claimed that these two sons of Aaron were drunk on the occasion mentioned in Leviticus 10,1-3, to arrive at that conclusion.. At first glance one shudders how these scholars could accuse these אצילי בני ישראל, “these noble souls” amongst the Israelites of having been guilty of such conduct when the Torah had not spelled it out! ? Had not the Torah in Leviticus 10,8-11 spelled out that entry into the Tabernacle in a state of inebriety is a capital sin? How could these sons of Aaron have ignored this?
I believe we can find the answer to this question by examining the text in Leviticus 10 more closely.
The words: זה הדבר אשר צוה ה' לעשות וירא אליכם כבוד ה', “this is the thing that you must do in order that the glory of Hashem will appear to you,” in that paragraph appear to be superfluous, or at least not connected to the subject under discussion. (Leviticus 9,6)
Rashi, in commenting on Leviticus 9,23 near the end of this paragraph where the Torah writes: ויצאו ויברכו את העם, “they came out (Moses and Aaron from the Tabernacle) and blessed the people,” writes that during the seven preceding days of the consecration rites for the Tabernacle the Shechinah had not manifested itself so that the people had complained why they had gone to such lengths to build the Tabernacle if after all this G’d had not seen fit to take up residence among them. Moses told them what they must do in order to merit that the Shechinah would manifest itself amongst them again as proof that the sin of the golden calf had been forgiven. He explained that seeing that his brother Aaron, who was the High Priest was more worthy than he, until Aaron had presented sacrifices in the Tabernacle, G’d’s glory would not become manifest. This is why in verse 24 we are told that Aaron performed his duties as a result of which the Shechinah manifested itself in that heavenly fire consumed the portions of the sacrifices on the altar. There does not appear to be an allusion to all this in the text of the Torah, so where did Rashi take his exegesis from?
When man serves his Creator he experiences a feeling of great pleasure as he is aware that he thereby provides pleasure for his Creator. This is the allegorical meaning of Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם ישמח אב, “that an intelligent son provides pleasure for his father.” This pleasure or joy is not limited to one domain in the universe but spreads throughout the universe. A call goes out in all parts of the universe to honour the person who, through his devoted service to his Creator, has provided so much pleasure in the whole universe. There is no greater pleasure than this.
However, seeing that we are aware of this, this reduces our service to the Lord to one that is tied to the expectation of reward. Maimonides in his hilchot teshuvah chapter 10 goes so far as calling such service of G’d as being שלא לשמה, “keeping Torah commandments for ulterior motives.” The principal purpose of pure service of the Lord is that it is performed in recognition of the greatness of the Creator Who provides all forms of life in this universe and Who has endowed us with souls that contain Divine qualities.
We may well ask why no mention is made in the Torah of any reward for performance of the Torah’s commandments that accrues to the doer in the world beyond death of the body. Reward in the עולם הבא, the world to come, while discussed at length by our sages, is not dealt with in the written Torah at all. [The conclusion of the author’s paragraph is missing.]
I believe we can find the answer to this question by examining the text in Leviticus 10 more closely.
The words: זה הדבר אשר צוה ה' לעשות וירא אליכם כבוד ה', “this is the thing that you must do in order that the glory of Hashem will appear to you,” in that paragraph appear to be superfluous, or at least not connected to the subject under discussion. (Leviticus 9,6)
Rashi, in commenting on Leviticus 9,23 near the end of this paragraph where the Torah writes: ויצאו ויברכו את העם, “they came out (Moses and Aaron from the Tabernacle) and blessed the people,” writes that during the seven preceding days of the consecration rites for the Tabernacle the Shechinah had not manifested itself so that the people had complained why they had gone to such lengths to build the Tabernacle if after all this G’d had not seen fit to take up residence among them. Moses told them what they must do in order to merit that the Shechinah would manifest itself amongst them again as proof that the sin of the golden calf had been forgiven. He explained that seeing that his brother Aaron, who was the High Priest was more worthy than he, until Aaron had presented sacrifices in the Tabernacle, G’d’s glory would not become manifest. This is why in verse 24 we are told that Aaron performed his duties as a result of which the Shechinah manifested itself in that heavenly fire consumed the portions of the sacrifices on the altar. There does not appear to be an allusion to all this in the text of the Torah, so where did Rashi take his exegesis from?
When man serves his Creator he experiences a feeling of great pleasure as he is aware that he thereby provides pleasure for his Creator. This is the allegorical meaning of Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם ישמח אב, “that an intelligent son provides pleasure for his father.” This pleasure or joy is not limited to one domain in the universe but spreads throughout the universe. A call goes out in all parts of the universe to honour the person who, through his devoted service to his Creator, has provided so much pleasure in the whole universe. There is no greater pleasure than this.
However, seeing that we are aware of this, this reduces our service to the Lord to one that is tied to the expectation of reward. Maimonides in his hilchot teshuvah chapter 10 goes so far as calling such service of G’d as being שלא לשמה, “keeping Torah commandments for ulterior motives.” The principal purpose of pure service of the Lord is that it is performed in recognition of the greatness of the Creator Who provides all forms of life in this universe and Who has endowed us with souls that contain Divine qualities.
We may well ask why no mention is made in the Torah of any reward for performance of the Torah’s commandments that accrues to the doer in the world beyond death of the body. Reward in the עולם הבא, the world to come, while discussed at length by our sages, is not dealt with in the written Torah at all. [The conclusion of the author’s paragraph is missing.]
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Flames of Faith
The tzaddik is the foundation of the world (Prov. 10:25).
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Flames of Faith
Tzaddik yesod olam (Prov. 10:25) is the verse that teaches that the tzaddik is the foundation of the world. The physical world that we see is sustained by the spiritual gifts and flows of blessing that God continually pours into it. This shefa eloki—divine abundance of good—comes through the purest human soul, the tzaddik. The tzaddik loves every Jew and all of God’s creatures with thoroughly dedicated affection.77The Maharal (Rabbi Yehudah Loew of Prague, 1512-1609, a great Kabbalist, philosopher, and educator) in his commentary to the Aggadah explains that a Jewish leader such as the High Priest is the heart of the nation. All limbs are connected to the heart and receive their life from it, and all Jews are attached to the tzaddik and are nourished through him (Makkos 11a). “The tzaddik, the leader and shepherd of Israel, is the very heart of the people of Israel” (Chasidic Dimensions, pg. 115, quoting Tikkunei Zohar 21:50b).
The tzaddikim of all times share the common denominator of absolute attachment, commitment, and devotion to God, Torah and Israel. As such they follow and share in the qualities of the first and greatest leader and shepherd of Israel: Moses. In fact, they are regarded as extensions and reflections of Moses. Thus it is said that there is not a generation without a leader like Moses. This is not simply in terms of an analogy, but in a quite real sense: an extension and emanation of Moses exists in every generation, in every tzaddik….
This Moses-aspect goes further: Moses had a neshamah kelalit, a comprehensive soul. His soul was a root-soul which compounded all the souls of his generation: they were all rooted in his soul. Thus it is also with the tzaddikim-leaders of every generation: they, too, are comprehensive root-souls compounding the souls of their respective generations. In this sense they are the leaders and the shepherds of their generations in every respect that Moses was in his. For the head of the generation is the whole of that generation (Chasidic Dimensions, pgs. 101-102).
The tzaddik’s overwhelming love for creation leads him to be gentle to all. As a result, even when rebuking sinners he will express his displeasure in muted terms:
I remember that they once related to my father, of blessed memory, that when our great master, Rabbi Ahron Rokeach of Belz, may his merit protect us, was in Munkatch policemen came to arrest him. These evildoers beat him, pushed him, and treated him so roughly that he could not stand their evil, and he said, “They are slightly strange, these Goyim.” This was already a very harsh critique for his standards. I remember when they related this to my father he smiled slightly. This is the way of tzaddikim, they are good to all (Rabbi Yekutiel Yehudah Halberstam [1905-1994], the Rebbe of Tzanz-Klausenberg, in his book Imros Tzaddikim, pg. 22, Story 5). His love of existence connects all of creation to the tzaddik, and they receive their life through him.78See Tanya, Chapter 2. Even the sinners are connected to the tzaddik, and they benefit from him. The Almighty will periodically cause the tzaddik to sin, so that he can fall to the realm of sinners, connect with them, and then mystically elevate their souls with his subsequent return and elevation.
The Rebbe of Klausenberg explained that the tzaddik loves his nation; that is why his personal penances for his own misdeeds are performed for the sake of all the sinners in the nation, and thousands of souls are uplifted in a hidden and mystical manner through his personal improvement.
The true path of the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples was that they would perfect themselves first before they would pass judgment on others. When the Baal Shem isolated himself in the Carpathian Mountains, he rolled in the snow to atone for his misdeeds, and he broke the frozen ice atop the river in order to immerse himself in the waters beneath the ice. During those moments tens of thousands of Jews felt the removal of the foreskins covering their hearts and remembered their Maker. This is the meaning of the verse, “There is no speech and there are no words; their sound is unheard” (Ps. 19:4) and despite that, “Their line goes forth throughout the earth, and their word reaches the farthest ends of the land” (v. 5). In this manner the Baal Shem’s students made thousands of returnees to the faith. The masters R. Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1786) and Rabbi Aharon of Karlin (1736-1772) brought eighty thousand Jews back to observance. They accomplished this through the maxim of Hillel, “Love the creations and bring them closer to Torah.” They loved all. They knew to defend and find merit in the behavior of Jews, and they accepted all guilt upon themselves. As Rabbi Yishmael stated in the Mishnah, “Children of Israel, I am your atonement.” Through fixing their own internal minute flaws, they caused the entire world to be filled with a spirit of teshuvah, return to God (Imros Tzaddikim, pg. 23-24).
Our forefather Abraham brought people to observance through meeting them and impressing upon them the truth of monotheism. Our forefather Isaac was very restricted; he did not venture forth into human society, yet he too brought thousands of strangers under the rubric of observance. Isaac’s influence was affected in the tzaddik mode. When he learned Torah, or improved himself, these acts caused thousands of others to move closer to monotheistic belief and practice (Rav Wolfson).
Even as the tzaddik is the channel for the Divine effluences to the world in general, so he is also an intermediary for the people of his generation to ascend to Divinity.
A common denominator establishes a relationship. On the spiritual level, any commonality, even if limited to a single aspect, already establishes an inherent oneness. When joining different parts of water they become one for every species attaches itself to its own kind. So, too, the tzaddik is unified with those who became sanctified through his holiness and is able to raise them along with him. Moreover, as he is the comprehensive soul of his generation, he can elevate all and everything that is rooted in his soul. By means of his own good deeds and service of G-d he can elevate even the souls of the wicked.
In this context, the tzaddik will sometimes appear involved with mun-dane affairs. He is seen engaging in mundane speech or the telling of seemingly inconsequential stories, or otherwise dealing with the masses on their own level. This behavior would seem incompatible with his sub-lime status. Externally he appears to have lowered and degraded himself, to have stepped aside from his attachment to G-d. In truth, however, he is and remains in a constant state of deveikus [attachment to God] in all he does. His anomalous behavior is but for the establishing of a relation-ship with the simple and the lowly. Thus he is able to raise them to higher levels (Chasidic Dimensions, pgs. 109-110).
R. Aryeh Leib, the author of Aryeh de-Bei Ila’ah, once said,
When I was a young man I thought that I would lead the entire world to a path of holiness. As the years went by I realized, I cannot change the entire world, but I thought that at least I will change my entire hometown. Eventually I saw that this too was unattainable so I decided that I will correct my entire family. Now in my old age I say, “I wish and hope that I will be able to fix myself.” I believe that the meaning of this saying was that in his older years he recognized that when he learns Torah in holiness and purity he does not need to seek out sinners and impress upon them to return to observance, the holiness that shines in the world from his Torah will accomplish that job for him (Imros Tzaddikim, pg. 32).
The tzaddikim of all times share the common denominator of absolute attachment, commitment, and devotion to God, Torah and Israel. As such they follow and share in the qualities of the first and greatest leader and shepherd of Israel: Moses. In fact, they are regarded as extensions and reflections of Moses. Thus it is said that there is not a generation without a leader like Moses. This is not simply in terms of an analogy, but in a quite real sense: an extension and emanation of Moses exists in every generation, in every tzaddik….
This Moses-aspect goes further: Moses had a neshamah kelalit, a comprehensive soul. His soul was a root-soul which compounded all the souls of his generation: they were all rooted in his soul. Thus it is also with the tzaddikim-leaders of every generation: they, too, are comprehensive root-souls compounding the souls of their respective generations. In this sense they are the leaders and the shepherds of their generations in every respect that Moses was in his. For the head of the generation is the whole of that generation (Chasidic Dimensions, pgs. 101-102).
The tzaddik’s overwhelming love for creation leads him to be gentle to all. As a result, even when rebuking sinners he will express his displeasure in muted terms:
I remember that they once related to my father, of blessed memory, that when our great master, Rabbi Ahron Rokeach of Belz, may his merit protect us, was in Munkatch policemen came to arrest him. These evildoers beat him, pushed him, and treated him so roughly that he could not stand their evil, and he said, “They are slightly strange, these Goyim.” This was already a very harsh critique for his standards. I remember when they related this to my father he smiled slightly. This is the way of tzaddikim, they are good to all (Rabbi Yekutiel Yehudah Halberstam [1905-1994], the Rebbe of Tzanz-Klausenberg, in his book Imros Tzaddikim, pg. 22, Story 5). His love of existence connects all of creation to the tzaddik, and they receive their life through him.78See Tanya, Chapter 2. Even the sinners are connected to the tzaddik, and they benefit from him. The Almighty will periodically cause the tzaddik to sin, so that he can fall to the realm of sinners, connect with them, and then mystically elevate their souls with his subsequent return and elevation.
The Rebbe of Klausenberg explained that the tzaddik loves his nation; that is why his personal penances for his own misdeeds are performed for the sake of all the sinners in the nation, and thousands of souls are uplifted in a hidden and mystical manner through his personal improvement.
The true path of the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples was that they would perfect themselves first before they would pass judgment on others. When the Baal Shem isolated himself in the Carpathian Mountains, he rolled in the snow to atone for his misdeeds, and he broke the frozen ice atop the river in order to immerse himself in the waters beneath the ice. During those moments tens of thousands of Jews felt the removal of the foreskins covering their hearts and remembered their Maker. This is the meaning of the verse, “There is no speech and there are no words; their sound is unheard” (Ps. 19:4) and despite that, “Their line goes forth throughout the earth, and their word reaches the farthest ends of the land” (v. 5). In this manner the Baal Shem’s students made thousands of returnees to the faith. The masters R. Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1786) and Rabbi Aharon of Karlin (1736-1772) brought eighty thousand Jews back to observance. They accomplished this through the maxim of Hillel, “Love the creations and bring them closer to Torah.” They loved all. They knew to defend and find merit in the behavior of Jews, and they accepted all guilt upon themselves. As Rabbi Yishmael stated in the Mishnah, “Children of Israel, I am your atonement.” Through fixing their own internal minute flaws, they caused the entire world to be filled with a spirit of teshuvah, return to God (Imros Tzaddikim, pg. 23-24).
Our forefather Abraham brought people to observance through meeting them and impressing upon them the truth of monotheism. Our forefather Isaac was very restricted; he did not venture forth into human society, yet he too brought thousands of strangers under the rubric of observance. Isaac’s influence was affected in the tzaddik mode. When he learned Torah, or improved himself, these acts caused thousands of others to move closer to monotheistic belief and practice (Rav Wolfson).
Even as the tzaddik is the channel for the Divine effluences to the world in general, so he is also an intermediary for the people of his generation to ascend to Divinity.
A common denominator establishes a relationship. On the spiritual level, any commonality, even if limited to a single aspect, already establishes an inherent oneness. When joining different parts of water they become one for every species attaches itself to its own kind. So, too, the tzaddik is unified with those who became sanctified through his holiness and is able to raise them along with him. Moreover, as he is the comprehensive soul of his generation, he can elevate all and everything that is rooted in his soul. By means of his own good deeds and service of G-d he can elevate even the souls of the wicked.
In this context, the tzaddik will sometimes appear involved with mun-dane affairs. He is seen engaging in mundane speech or the telling of seemingly inconsequential stories, or otherwise dealing with the masses on their own level. This behavior would seem incompatible with his sub-lime status. Externally he appears to have lowered and degraded himself, to have stepped aside from his attachment to G-d. In truth, however, he is and remains in a constant state of deveikus [attachment to God] in all he does. His anomalous behavior is but for the establishing of a relation-ship with the simple and the lowly. Thus he is able to raise them to higher levels (Chasidic Dimensions, pgs. 109-110).
R. Aryeh Leib, the author of Aryeh de-Bei Ila’ah, once said,
When I was a young man I thought that I would lead the entire world to a path of holiness. As the years went by I realized, I cannot change the entire world, but I thought that at least I will change my entire hometown. Eventually I saw that this too was unattainable so I decided that I will correct my entire family. Now in my old age I say, “I wish and hope that I will be able to fix myself.” I believe that the meaning of this saying was that in his older years he recognized that when he learns Torah in holiness and purity he does not need to seek out sinners and impress upon them to return to observance, the holiness that shines in the world from his Torah will accomplish that job for him (Imros Tzaddikim, pg. 32).
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Kedushat Levi
It is also significant that the Torah describes Aaron as descending from the altar on which the sin offering, the total offering and the peace offering had been presented, whereas when reporting Moses and Aaron “leaving” before blessing the people, the Torah does not mention what they had been doing inside the Tabernacle before leaving it.
Before answering our question it is necessary to explain a Mishnah in Avot 2,1 in which the author of the tractate Rabbi Yehudah hanassi answers his rhetorical question: “what is the correct course in life that a person must walk?” (how must he organize his daily life), The Rabbi answered: כל שהיא תפארת לעושיה ותפארת לו מן האדם, “he should only do what reflects credit (distinction) upon himself who adopts it as well as confers credit upon himself in the eyes of other people.”
We know from psalms 135,4 that the Jewish people achieved great distinction when we read כי יעקב בחר לו קה ישראל לסגולתו, “for G’d chose Yaakov for Himself, Israel as His treasured possession.” We also know how highly esteemed are the righteous in His eyes who make it their primary concern to serve Him with a sincere heart, so that in the parlance of our sages they are considered as exercising a dominating influence on G’d Himself, as we know from Moed Katan 16 where the Talmud views the source of the righteous dominating influence on G’d as his very fear and awe of G’d. This position of the Jewish people, collectively, is perceived as a higher rank in the celestial regions than that accorded to the angels, and this is why the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61,10) was able to say שוש אשיש בה', “I greatly rejoice in the Lord,” seeing that Solomon had said in Proverbs 10.1 בן חכם ישמח אב, “a wise son provides his father with joy,” and we, the Jewish people, have been called G’d’s children in Deuteronomy 14,1 where the Torah writes: בנים אתם לה' אלוקיכם, “you are the children of the Lord your G’d.” From this it follows that the righteous child (son) who serves His Father sincerely and meticulously provides G’d with true pleasure.
Let us describe our relationship to G’d in terms of a parable of a father who has a son and this son is so perfect that he does not lack for anything, seeing that his father is blessed with unlimited material wealth and the son provides his father with constant pleasure as he watches his development to manhood. In other words, the father is completely happy. G’d in His capacity of being our “father,” is in a similar position when we serve Him as He deserves to be served, seeing that our obedience and love are the only assets in the universe over which He did not exercise absolute control from the moment they came into existence. Similarly, there is no greater satisfaction for the son than to serve his father lovingly as he is aware that this is the only gift that his father could not have given himself. This is why the prophet Isaiah chose the expression שוש אשיש, “I will rejoice and cause joy”, (אשיש, in the causative mode) emphasizing the reciprocal relationship between us and our father in heaven. Isaiah describes the great joy the Jewish people feel for being privileged to provide this feeling of satisfaction that G’d has when one or more of His free-willed creatures relates to Him in this way. Thousands of angels that obediently carry out G’d’s orders cannot provide Him with a similar feeling of joy, as the angels have not been equipped with a freedom of will, and have to do His bidding regardless of feeling so inclined or not.
G’d Himself has stated in Genesis 8,21 that man is exposed to evil urges from the day he is born, כי יצר לב האדם רע מנעוריו, and that the evil urge lies in wait for him before he sets foot outside his home, לפתח חטאת רובץ, so that He certainly makes allowance for this when comparing man serving Him with the angels serving Him. He, as man’s Creator, is familiar with the obstacles man has to overcome in order to become not only a loyal servant of His, but one who is overjoyed to have been granted the privilege to demonstrate this. Man’s greatest achievement is to humble the evil urge [or better, the urge predisposed to lead man into becoming evil, as being G’d’s creature this urge cannot be evil per se. Ed.]
Before answering our question it is necessary to explain a Mishnah in Avot 2,1 in which the author of the tractate Rabbi Yehudah hanassi answers his rhetorical question: “what is the correct course in life that a person must walk?” (how must he organize his daily life), The Rabbi answered: כל שהיא תפארת לעושיה ותפארת לו מן האדם, “he should only do what reflects credit (distinction) upon himself who adopts it as well as confers credit upon himself in the eyes of other people.”
We know from psalms 135,4 that the Jewish people achieved great distinction when we read כי יעקב בחר לו קה ישראל לסגולתו, “for G’d chose Yaakov for Himself, Israel as His treasured possession.” We also know how highly esteemed are the righteous in His eyes who make it their primary concern to serve Him with a sincere heart, so that in the parlance of our sages they are considered as exercising a dominating influence on G’d Himself, as we know from Moed Katan 16 where the Talmud views the source of the righteous dominating influence on G’d as his very fear and awe of G’d. This position of the Jewish people, collectively, is perceived as a higher rank in the celestial regions than that accorded to the angels, and this is why the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61,10) was able to say שוש אשיש בה', “I greatly rejoice in the Lord,” seeing that Solomon had said in Proverbs 10.1 בן חכם ישמח אב, “a wise son provides his father with joy,” and we, the Jewish people, have been called G’d’s children in Deuteronomy 14,1 where the Torah writes: בנים אתם לה' אלוקיכם, “you are the children of the Lord your G’d.” From this it follows that the righteous child (son) who serves His Father sincerely and meticulously provides G’d with true pleasure.
Let us describe our relationship to G’d in terms of a parable of a father who has a son and this son is so perfect that he does not lack for anything, seeing that his father is blessed with unlimited material wealth and the son provides his father with constant pleasure as he watches his development to manhood. In other words, the father is completely happy. G’d in His capacity of being our “father,” is in a similar position when we serve Him as He deserves to be served, seeing that our obedience and love are the only assets in the universe over which He did not exercise absolute control from the moment they came into existence. Similarly, there is no greater satisfaction for the son than to serve his father lovingly as he is aware that this is the only gift that his father could not have given himself. This is why the prophet Isaiah chose the expression שוש אשיש, “I will rejoice and cause joy”, (אשיש, in the causative mode) emphasizing the reciprocal relationship between us and our father in heaven. Isaiah describes the great joy the Jewish people feel for being privileged to provide this feeling of satisfaction that G’d has when one or more of His free-willed creatures relates to Him in this way. Thousands of angels that obediently carry out G’d’s orders cannot provide Him with a similar feeling of joy, as the angels have not been equipped with a freedom of will, and have to do His bidding regardless of feeling so inclined or not.
G’d Himself has stated in Genesis 8,21 that man is exposed to evil urges from the day he is born, כי יצר לב האדם רע מנעוריו, and that the evil urge lies in wait for him before he sets foot outside his home, לפתח חטאת רובץ, so that He certainly makes allowance for this when comparing man serving Him with the angels serving Him. He, as man’s Creator, is familiar with the obstacles man has to overcome in order to become not only a loyal servant of His, but one who is overjoyed to have been granted the privilege to demonstrate this. Man’s greatest achievement is to humble the evil urge [or better, the urge predisposed to lead man into becoming evil, as being G’d’s creature this urge cannot be evil per se. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
We hope to justify Akavyah’s using the language the Mishnah recorded. Akavyah posits that a person in evaluating himself, taking stock of himself, is tempted to look at a list of his achievements first. If that person is a good person, Akavyah reminds him that seeing that he is “descended” from an evil smelling drop of semen he does not really have anything to boast about. If he is a morally weak or inferior person, he is reminded of his superior ancestors as his origin, something which should make him ashamed for not living up to his forefathers’ standards. Akavya was aware that there are two levels of “fear of the Lord.” The lower level is called “fear of punishment,” whereas the higher level is called יראת הרוממות “the awe of the overwhelming superiority of the Creator.” He therefore addresses both categories of individuals, assuming that each category finds it difficult on occasion to resist the evil urge so that he may commit a transgression. True יראת השם is only this latter category of “awe and reverence of the Lord.” This is the level of יראת שמים of the righteous, seeing that the צדיק always focuses on the concept of the אין סוף, “G’d as personification of infinity.” In Job 18,12 we have been taught that חכמה , “true wisdom,” is only found in the realm described as מאין, same letters as אין in אין סוף. The tzaddik always keeps reflecting on the fantastic concept of the infinity of the Creator and how He is in charge of millions of different categories of holy angels and a universe the extent of which boggles the imagination. He thinks of how all these angels are in constant awe of Him so that through his preoccupation with such thoughts he does not fall victim to the urge to taste the physical pleasures offered by the region into which we have been placed by our fate. These physical urges, after all, have become part of him only by genetic transmission from his father and mother, whereas his divine soul, G’d’s contribution to every human being as an integral part of Him, is supplied by Him Who, most certainly is not subject to such urges. It was Moses’ ability to concentrate on that “third” of his ancestry, i.e. the אין סוף, that resulted in his being described as איש האלוקים, a “godly man.” (Deuteronomy 33,1) He had attained this status by becoming what the Torah called: “the most humble man on earth.” (Numbers 12,3) It follows from the Torah’s definition of his personality that he had concentrated on the closest possible connection with what was concealed from him, (as well as from any living human being) i.e. G’d’s essence, so that he considered himself as אין, as if non-existent, immaterial.
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Kedushat Levi
Another exegesis of our verse draws attention to the word וילדה, “she gives birth,” not having been preceded by the usual ותהר, “she conceived and became pregnant.”
Rabbi Yossi, in the above quoted paragraph of the Zohar, stated that G’d distinguishes between a drop of semen containing predominantly alkaline sperm and that which is more acidic, affecting the eventual sex of the infant born. G’d, as the third partner in every human being born, enters the picture after the woman has received seminal ejaculation by her male partner. He then decides the sex of the baby that will result.
Another exegesis of our verse draws attention to the word וילדה, “she gives birth,” not having been preceded by the usual ותהר, “she conceived and became pregnant.”
Rabbi Yossi, in the above quoted paragraph of the Zohar, stated that G’d distinguishes between a drop of semen containing predominantly alkaline sperm and that which is more acidic, affecting the eventual sex of the infant born. G’d, as the third partner in every [clearly a reference to the sacrificial offerings by the Jewish people. The word used in the Zohar is סעודה, “meal.” Ed.] He understood this statement as a hyperbole, similar to when Solomon says in Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם ישמח אב “a wise son causes the father joy.” He meant that the actions performed by the wise son result in his father deriving pleasure from this. Similarly, the Torah’s commandments performed by the Israelites provide their Father in heaven with similar satisfaction and joy. In other words, the word תענוג can also be translated as פרנסה, “livelihood,.” If that were so we must ask ourselves how it is that G’d Who has millions of angels at His command in the celestial spheres should have to look to the Israelites to provide Him with His parnassah?” In our daily prayers (kedushah) we quote the angels who in a celestial choir proclaim the holiness of G’d in awe and fear so that in the words of the psalmist: מה אנוש כי תזכרנו, of what significance is man that You should even make mention of him?” (psalms 8,5)
We have to resort to a parable in order to better understand the Zohar. Imagine that leaders of the gentile nations have undertaken a program to teach a specific bird the language spoken by humans. When somebody hears about this he is so amazed that he tells his colleagues about it, inviting them to personally examine the truth of this statement. The moral of this parable is quite obvious. The human species (gentiles) are invited to observe the effect of the Jewish people observing the commandments of the Torah and the effect of their performing kind deeds towards their fellow man, so that those observing the exceptional success of the Jewish nation will henceforth consider the angels as insignificant by comparison to the Jewish people.
Rabbi Yossi, in the above quoted paragraph of the Zohar, stated that G’d distinguishes between a drop of semen containing predominantly alkaline sperm and that which is more acidic, affecting the eventual sex of the infant born. G’d, as the third partner in every human being born, enters the picture after the woman has received seminal ejaculation by her male partner. He then decides the sex of the baby that will result.
Another exegesis of our verse draws attention to the word וילדה, “she gives birth,” not having been preceded by the usual ותהר, “she conceived and became pregnant.”
Rabbi Yossi, in the above quoted paragraph of the Zohar, stated that G’d distinguishes between a drop of semen containing predominantly alkaline sperm and that which is more acidic, affecting the eventual sex of the infant born. G’d, as the third partner in every [clearly a reference to the sacrificial offerings by the Jewish people. The word used in the Zohar is סעודה, “meal.” Ed.] He understood this statement as a hyperbole, similar to when Solomon says in Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם ישמח אב “a wise son causes the father joy.” He meant that the actions performed by the wise son result in his father deriving pleasure from this. Similarly, the Torah’s commandments performed by the Israelites provide their Father in heaven with similar satisfaction and joy. In other words, the word תענוג can also be translated as פרנסה, “livelihood,.” If that were so we must ask ourselves how it is that G’d Who has millions of angels at His command in the celestial spheres should have to look to the Israelites to provide Him with His parnassah?” In our daily prayers (kedushah) we quote the angels who in a celestial choir proclaim the holiness of G’d in awe and fear so that in the words of the psalmist: מה אנוש כי תזכרנו, of what significance is man that You should even make mention of him?” (psalms 8,5)
We have to resort to a parable in order to better understand the Zohar. Imagine that leaders of the gentile nations have undertaken a program to teach a specific bird the language spoken by humans. When somebody hears about this he is so amazed that he tells his colleagues about it, inviting them to personally examine the truth of this statement. The moral of this parable is quite obvious. The human species (gentiles) are invited to observe the effect of the Jewish people observing the commandments of the Torah and the effect of their performing kind deeds towards their fellow man, so that those observing the exceptional success of the Jewish nation will henceforth consider the angels as insignificant by comparison to the Jewish people.
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Tzofnat Paneach
Said Rabbi Meir: we consider from where the vegetable lives. (Baba Metzia 10:6) I heard from my teacher (the Baal Shem Tov) regarding the verse "behold, darkness will cover the land etc" (Isaiah 60:2) and on the verse "love covers all sins" (Prov. 10:12) that the base is the center and the root of all construction. If the base is unstable and weak the building will fall. So too a person whose base is unstable and weak, such as when a person has arrogance, then all that person's good deeds are built on a basis that is weak and unstable. This is not the case with a strong base, that is able to deal lovingly with hatred and sin, covering them. And those are words of a wise mouth. And this is "from where the vegetable lives" - whether the source that nurtures it comes from a weak and unstable base of not, as above.
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Baal Shem Tov
I heard from my teacher (the Baal Shem Tov) regarding the verse "behold, darkness will cover the land etc" (Isaiah 60:2) and on the verse "love covers all sins" (Prov. 10:12) that the base is the center and the root of all construction. If the base is unstable and weak the building will fall. So too a person whose base is unstable and weak, such as when a person has arrogance, then all that person's good deeds are built on a basis that is weak and unstable. This is not the case with a strong base, that is able to deal lovingly with hatred and sin, covering them. And those are words of a wise mouth. (Tzfonat Paneach, Terumah, 5:36)
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Kedushat Levi
Another approach to the last paragraph. it is the duty of every Jew to serve his Creator at all times from feelings of awe and fear and to look at fellow Jews with a benevolent attitude, interpreting actions that appear inappropriate in a favourable light, and not to harm any fellow Jew; the first step in serving G’d is always based on fear, awe. Man’s awe when serving G’d results in a mixture of awe and satisfaction, pleasure. Moses had attained this level of possessing wisdom while at the same time remaining in awe of the Creator, as we know from psalms 111,10 ראשית חכמה יראת ה', “all wisdom has its beginning in a feeling of awe and respect of G’d,” and is therefore symbolic of יראה, while Aaron’s name contains the letters נהר א, i.e. the letter אלף of the word יראה, and the letters spelling “water” in the sense of a blissful stream, providing irrigation, the first such water that we find in Genesis 2,10 i.e. ונהר יוצא מעדן, “and a river originated from Eden, and irrigated, etc.” Awe and fear lead to satisfaction תענוג. Seeing that the term יראה, awe, cannot be an attribute of the Creator, and תענוג, the feeling of pleasurable satisfaction preceded the dispensation by G’d of His largesse to Israel, (the process being comparable to what our sages meant when they said that “the cow is more intent of nursing the calf than the calf is consciously looking for its mother’s milk,”) when it comes to the results of Moses and Aaron intervening in the process of preparing Pharaoh to release the Israelites, Moses is mentioned first when the Torah writes: הם המדברים אל פרעה מלך מצרים להוציא את בני ישראל ממצרים, “they were the ones speaking to Pharaoh to permit the Children of Israel to leave Egypt.”[By mentioning Aaron last, the Torah associated him with the execution directly; he was mentioned immediately before the word להוציא, “to release,” i.e. the type of largesse about to be dispensed by G’d to the Jewish people. Ed.].
I have heard in the name of my revered teacher Rabbi Dov Baer from Mezerich that he explained Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם משמח אב, “a wise son brings joy to his father,” as Solomon paraphrasing the relationship between Jews loyal to Torah and their Father in heaven. When a Jew serves his Father in heaven he causes Him satisfaction and joy. Similarly, when someone makes complimentary remarks about fellow Jews, G’d also derives pleasure from such compliments. We are not to serve G’d for selfish reasons at all, such as the reward we have been promised for doing this. We must strive to provide G’d with satisfaction from our service to Him. This is so although there are a few benedictions in the 19 benedictions of the amidah, the central prayer, in which we ask for something for ourselves, such as intelligence to serve G’d properly, the ability to repent our sins, and a cure for our diseases. Seeing that G’d derives pleasure from our prayers, even these benedictions in which we turn to Him for help, also give Him pleasure. G’d derives pleasure from the very fact that we, His people, enjoy our existence on earth. This is what the sages had in mind when they responded to the question (Bereshit Rabbah 3,4) ,מהיכן נבראת האורה “from where did the light in which G’d garbed Himself originate?” The word for “light” in that Midrash is אורה as opposed to אור, the light G’d had created on the first day (Genesis 1,3) [There the word for “light” was in the masculine mode, whereas in the Midrash it is in the feminine mode, reminding us that it was something passive, received. Ed.] The answer given by Rabbi Shmuel ben Nachman in that Midrash is that it originates from the site on which the Holy Temple was built. The Talmud, pursuing this subject also asked whence the light originated from.
[I have not been able to authenticate what follows, supposedly in the Talmud. Ed.]
The Talmud wonders whence the light in which G’d drapes Himself originates. Seeing that the word אורה used for “light,” is in the feminine mode it must have been created at some time, having been the recipient of input from another source. Seeing that man needs to serve the Lord for the sake of providing Him with pleasurable satisfaction, תענוג, as opposed to our receiving blessings and material benefits in the earthly part of the universe, the question is logical. The answer given in the Talmud to the question posed is that G’d derives pleasure from man’s service which enables Him to dispense His largesse to man. He even enjoys prayer when it is offered as a means to secure this largesse. The reason He does so is because the very fact that He has reason to dispense this largesse is a source of satisfaction for Him.
I have heard in the name of my revered teacher Rabbi Dov Baer from Mezerich that he explained Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם משמח אב, “a wise son brings joy to his father,” as Solomon paraphrasing the relationship between Jews loyal to Torah and their Father in heaven. When a Jew serves his Father in heaven he causes Him satisfaction and joy. Similarly, when someone makes complimentary remarks about fellow Jews, G’d also derives pleasure from such compliments. We are not to serve G’d for selfish reasons at all, such as the reward we have been promised for doing this. We must strive to provide G’d with satisfaction from our service to Him. This is so although there are a few benedictions in the 19 benedictions of the amidah, the central prayer, in which we ask for something for ourselves, such as intelligence to serve G’d properly, the ability to repent our sins, and a cure for our diseases. Seeing that G’d derives pleasure from our prayers, even these benedictions in which we turn to Him for help, also give Him pleasure. G’d derives pleasure from the very fact that we, His people, enjoy our existence on earth. This is what the sages had in mind when they responded to the question (Bereshit Rabbah 3,4) ,מהיכן נבראת האורה “from where did the light in which G’d garbed Himself originate?” The word for “light” in that Midrash is אורה as opposed to אור, the light G’d had created on the first day (Genesis 1,3) [There the word for “light” was in the masculine mode, whereas in the Midrash it is in the feminine mode, reminding us that it was something passive, received. Ed.] The answer given by Rabbi Shmuel ben Nachman in that Midrash is that it originates from the site on which the Holy Temple was built. The Talmud, pursuing this subject also asked whence the light originated from.
[I have not been able to authenticate what follows, supposedly in the Talmud. Ed.]
The Talmud wonders whence the light in which G’d drapes Himself originates. Seeing that the word אורה used for “light,” is in the feminine mode it must have been created at some time, having been the recipient of input from another source. Seeing that man needs to serve the Lord for the sake of providing Him with pleasurable satisfaction, תענוג, as opposed to our receiving blessings and material benefits in the earthly part of the universe, the question is logical. The answer given in the Talmud to the question posed is that G’d derives pleasure from man’s service which enables Him to dispense His largesse to man. He even enjoys prayer when it is offered as a means to secure this largesse. The reason He does so is because the very fact that He has reason to dispense this largesse is a source of satisfaction for Him.
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Kedushat Levi
Another approach to the last paragraph. it is the duty of every Jew to serve his Creator at all times from feelings of awe and fear and to look at fellow Jews with a benevolent attitude, interpreting actions that appear inappropriate in a favourable light, and not to harm any fellow Jew; the first step in serving G’d is always based on fear, awe. Man’s awe when serving G’d results in a mixture of awe and satisfaction, pleasure. Moses had attained this level of possessing wisdom while at the same time remaining in awe of the Creator, as we know from psalms 111,10 ראשית חכמה יראת ה', “all wisdom has its beginning in a feeling of awe and respect of G’d,” and is therefore symbolic of יראה, while Aaron’s name contains the letters נהר א, i.e. the letter אלף of the word יראה, and the letters spelling “water” in the sense of a blissful stream, providing irrigation, the first such water that we find in Genesis 2,10 i.e. ונהר יוצא מעדן, “and a river originated from Eden, and irrigated, etc.” Awe and fear lead to satisfaction תענוג. Seeing that the term יראה, awe, cannot be an attribute of the Creator, and תענוג, the feeling of pleasurable satisfaction preceded the dispensation by G’d of His largesse to Israel, (the process being comparable to what our sages meant when they said that “the cow is more intent of nursing the calf than the calf is consciously looking for its mother’s milk,”) when it comes to the results of Moses and Aaron intervening in the process of preparing Pharaoh to release the Israelites, Moses is mentioned first when the Torah writes: הם המדברים אל פרעה מלך מצרים להוציא את בני ישראל ממצרים, “they were the ones speaking to Pharaoh to permit the Children of Israel to leave Egypt.”[By mentioning Aaron last, the Torah associated him with the execution directly; he was mentioned immediately before the word להוציא, “to release,” i.e. the type of largesse about to be dispensed by G’d to the Jewish people. Ed.].
I have heard in the name of my revered teacher Rabbi Dov Baer from Mezerich that he explained Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם משמח אב, “a wise son brings joy to his father,” as Solomon paraphrasing the relationship between Jews loyal to Torah and their Father in heaven. When a Jew serves his Father in heaven he causes Him satisfaction and joy. Similarly, when someone makes complimentary remarks about fellow Jews, G’d also derives pleasure from such compliments. We are not to serve G’d for selfish reasons at all, such as the reward we have been promised for doing this. We must strive to provide G’d with satisfaction from our service to Him. This is so although there are a few benedictions in the 19 benedictions of the amidah, the central prayer, in which we ask for something for ourselves, such as intelligence to serve G’d properly, the ability to repent our sins, and a cure for our diseases. Seeing that G’d derives pleasure from our prayers, even these benedictions in which we turn to Him for help, also give Him pleasure. G’d derives pleasure from the very fact that we, His people, enjoy our existence on earth. This is what the sages had in mind when they responded to the question (Bereshit Rabbah 3,4) ,מהיכן נבראת האורה “from where did the light in which G’d garbed Himself originate?” The word for “light” in that Midrash is אורה as opposed to אור, the light G’d had created on the first day (Genesis 1,3) [There the word for “light” was in the masculine mode, whereas in the Midrash it is in the feminine mode, reminding us that it was something passive, received. Ed.] The answer given by Rabbi Shmuel ben Nachman in that Midrash is that it originates from the site on which the Holy Temple was built. The Talmud, pursuing this subject also asked whence the light originated from.
[I have not been able to authenticate what follows, supposedly in the Talmud. Ed.]
The Talmud wonders whence the light in which G’d drapes Himself originates. Seeing that the word אורה used for “light,” is in the feminine mode it must have been created at some time, having been the recipient of input from another source. Seeing that man needs to serve the Lord for the sake of providing Him with pleasurable satisfaction, תענוג, as opposed to our receiving blessings and material benefits in the earthly part of the universe, the question is logical. The answer given in the Talmud to the question posed is that G’d derives pleasure from man’s service which enables Him to dispense His largesse to man. He even enjoys prayer when it is offered as a means to secure this largesse. The reason He does so is because the very fact that He has reason to dispense this largesse is a source of satisfaction for Him.
I have heard in the name of my revered teacher Rabbi Dov Baer from Mezerich that he explained Proverbs 10,1 בן חכם משמח אב, “a wise son brings joy to his father,” as Solomon paraphrasing the relationship between Jews loyal to Torah and their Father in heaven. When a Jew serves his Father in heaven he causes Him satisfaction and joy. Similarly, when someone makes complimentary remarks about fellow Jews, G’d also derives pleasure from such compliments. We are not to serve G’d for selfish reasons at all, such as the reward we have been promised for doing this. We must strive to provide G’d with satisfaction from our service to Him. This is so although there are a few benedictions in the 19 benedictions of the amidah, the central prayer, in which we ask for something for ourselves, such as intelligence to serve G’d properly, the ability to repent our sins, and a cure for our diseases. Seeing that G’d derives pleasure from our prayers, even these benedictions in which we turn to Him for help, also give Him pleasure. G’d derives pleasure from the very fact that we, His people, enjoy our existence on earth. This is what the sages had in mind when they responded to the question (Bereshit Rabbah 3,4) ,מהיכן נבראת האורה “from where did the light in which G’d garbed Himself originate?” The word for “light” in that Midrash is אורה as opposed to אור, the light G’d had created on the first day (Genesis 1,3) [There the word for “light” was in the masculine mode, whereas in the Midrash it is in the feminine mode, reminding us that it was something passive, received. Ed.] The answer given by Rabbi Shmuel ben Nachman in that Midrash is that it originates from the site on which the Holy Temple was built. The Talmud, pursuing this subject also asked whence the light originated from.
[I have not been able to authenticate what follows, supposedly in the Talmud. Ed.]
The Talmud wonders whence the light in which G’d drapes Himself originates. Seeing that the word אורה used for “light,” is in the feminine mode it must have been created at some time, having been the recipient of input from another source. Seeing that man needs to serve the Lord for the sake of providing Him with pleasurable satisfaction, תענוג, as opposed to our receiving blessings and material benefits in the earthly part of the universe, the question is logical. The answer given in the Talmud to the question posed is that G’d derives pleasure from man’s service which enables Him to dispense His largesse to man. He even enjoys prayer when it is offered as a means to secure this largesse. The reason He does so is because the very fact that He has reason to dispense this largesse is a source of satisfaction for Him.
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