Chasidut su Salmi 122:8
לְ֭מַעַן אַחַ֣י וְרֵעָ֑י אֲדַבְּרָה־נָּ֖א שָׁל֣וֹם בָּֽךְ׃
Per amor dei miei fratelli e compagni, ora dirò: "La pace sia dentro di te".
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 38,28. “while she was in labor, one of them put out his hand, etc.;” “when he subsequently withdrew his hand, etc.,” “afterwards his brother emerged (completely); he called him Peretz, and he called his brother Zerach.” The name זרח, reflects what we are told in Niddah 30 that as long as an embryo is still within the womb of its mother, a light keeps shining above its head. This light enables the embryo to see from one end of the earth to the other. The Talmud uses this parable to describe that as long as the embryo is as innocent of sin as was Adam before he sinned when he could see all parts of the globe, the embryo is in a similarly sublime condition. When it enters our world upon leaving its mother’s womb, an angel slaps his face so that the infant promptly forgets all it had known thus far, and experiences a new awakening which includes its ability to dedicate itself exclusively to the service of its Creator. It is G’d’s will that man’s spiritual maturity will be attained not as a gift sent from heaven, but after he has undergone trials, so that the accomplishment, when it is attained, is the result of his own efforts though aided by G’d once man has initiated it.
This is what the Zohar 1,77 alludes to as אתערותא דלעילה, quoting Isaiah 62,6 and psalms 83,2 “do not keep silent,” or “you who make mention of Hashem take no rest,” so that there will always be an awakening from below, as a result of which an awakening from above is aroused. At the same time, so that man does not think that everything in our “lower” world is by definition, irreparably evil, and that all the pleasurable experiences on earth are not only transient, but contribute to our becoming victims of the evil urge, G’d maintains a “window of opportunity,” that is open to a higher world by means of which it is possible to sublimate experiences on earth, hallow them and thus make them instruments of our service of the Lord and our coming ever closer to Him. In other words, man has not been placed on earth in order to negate earth, but in order to be G’d’s tool that elevates the material universe to serve the aggrandizement of His name universally. In kabbalistic parlance, the tool G’d holds out to us humans is called “white light,” as opposed to the physical light that we make use of everyday that is perceived by contrast as “black light.” [I have rephrased some of our author’s words in order to make them easier to follow. Ed.]
The author proceeds to explain the description of the twins Peretz and Zerach in terms of the concepts we have just explained. The word פרץ, breaking forth, bursting out of one’s mould, describes that on doing this the infant suddenly sees brilliant light, זרח. A “dark” womb has suddenly been opened with a vista to overpowering light. In light of that experience the newly born is likely to opt for a denial of all that reminds him of his previous dark, opaque existence. When the infant extends his hand into this brilliant world, G’d extended to this newly born (not quite) a glimpse of overpowering light as encouragement, before the soul had a chance to taste all that is wrong and evil on earth. On the other hand, immediately thereafter, in order not to hand man his salvation on a platter so that he cannot claim a share in having personally achieved spiritual maturity, this “hand” was withdrawn and replaced by the “twin” brother, symbolizing that life on earth is a “two edged sword.” The author informs us that the Jewish people, though one people, are on occasion referred to as אחים, brothers, as in psalms 122,9 למען אחי ורעי, “for the sake of my brothers and companions,” so that his allegorical exegesis of why the Torah describes the birth of these twins in such detail appears amply justified.
This is what the Zohar 1,77 alludes to as אתערותא דלעילה, quoting Isaiah 62,6 and psalms 83,2 “do not keep silent,” or “you who make mention of Hashem take no rest,” so that there will always be an awakening from below, as a result of which an awakening from above is aroused. At the same time, so that man does not think that everything in our “lower” world is by definition, irreparably evil, and that all the pleasurable experiences on earth are not only transient, but contribute to our becoming victims of the evil urge, G’d maintains a “window of opportunity,” that is open to a higher world by means of which it is possible to sublimate experiences on earth, hallow them and thus make them instruments of our service of the Lord and our coming ever closer to Him. In other words, man has not been placed on earth in order to negate earth, but in order to be G’d’s tool that elevates the material universe to serve the aggrandizement of His name universally. In kabbalistic parlance, the tool G’d holds out to us humans is called “white light,” as opposed to the physical light that we make use of everyday that is perceived by contrast as “black light.” [I have rephrased some of our author’s words in order to make them easier to follow. Ed.]
The author proceeds to explain the description of the twins Peretz and Zerach in terms of the concepts we have just explained. The word פרץ, breaking forth, bursting out of one’s mould, describes that on doing this the infant suddenly sees brilliant light, זרח. A “dark” womb has suddenly been opened with a vista to overpowering light. In light of that experience the newly born is likely to opt for a denial of all that reminds him of his previous dark, opaque existence. When the infant extends his hand into this brilliant world, G’d extended to this newly born (not quite) a glimpse of overpowering light as encouragement, before the soul had a chance to taste all that is wrong and evil on earth. On the other hand, immediately thereafter, in order not to hand man his salvation on a platter so that he cannot claim a share in having personally achieved spiritual maturity, this “hand” was withdrawn and replaced by the “twin” brother, symbolizing that life on earth is a “two edged sword.” The author informs us that the Jewish people, though one people, are on occasion referred to as אחים, brothers, as in psalms 122,9 למען אחי ורעי, “for the sake of my brothers and companions,” so that his allegorical exegesis of why the Torah describes the birth of these twins in such detail appears amply justified.
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Kedushat Levi
Another way of understanding the word אתה, at the beginning of this blessing, is the fact that when a person approaches the King of the universe in prayer, (עמידה) before doing so he must overcome the trepidation felt by any creature at the very thought of facing his Creator. He must summon the unshakable faith that this Creator does not relate to him as someone irrelevant, deserving to be despised, as otherwise how can he hope that his prayer will be effective? This is especially so, as he himself immediately begins to extol the attributes of G’d, referring to Him as הגדול, הגבור, הנורא, וגו', “the great One, the Mighty One, the awesome One, etc;”- although all this praise is due to G’d and is expressed for Him by His people, the words uttered by His people are precious in His eyes, even the simplest and least educated of His people is granted this “familiarity” with his G’d of addressing Him as if He were his most intimate friend, by using the form of address one uses when speaking to one’s closest friends. It is appropriate that each one of us be aware before beginning to recite our prayers in what a privileged position G’d has placed us by being willing to listen to our prayers. A person must not be misled into thinking that if he is so dear to his G’d, why does he have to pray to Him at all? We should reflect on the millions of angels that G’d has at His beck and call. According to our sages each angel is equivalent to one third of the world, and yet they are like a single kernel of mustard before a single angel called אופן, a group of angels which in turn is very inferior to the Chayot, (a superior group of angels) all of whom do not even know where G’d has His locale, i.e. איה מקום כבודו).
If only we would pay attention to what our lips recite daily! [in the yotzer or prayer before the kriyat sh’ma, when we recite how beloved these angels are of G’d. Ed.] Nonetheless, these angels are portrayed as being in a constant state of awe before the Lord, whereas we human beings adopt an almost irreverent attitude vis a vis the Creator although we are sinful, whereas our counter parts in heaven have not committed any sins for which to reproach themselves. We should be in a state of trembling at the mere thought of Him to Whom we direct our prayers. Even if we have done so during our prayers, we would be well advised to reflect on the enormity that we expect G’d in Heaven to listen to our prayers and to concern Himself with our individual problems. How can we arrogate to ourselves the right to engage in meaningless conversations, passing the time of day in chit chat, as if life did not present us with daunting challenges, the greatest of these being how to effectively serve our Creator! If we keep reflecting on all these points it becomes more realistic to hope that G’d will indeed accept not only our expressions of admiration and gratitude but also our requests, with favour.
Thoughts such as the above are expressed in a liturgical poem recited on Yom Kippur beginning with the words אשר אומץ תהלתך,“ continuing in the second verse responsively with ורצית שבח. The thrust of the author’s poem is that although the greatness of G’d’s reputation is proclaimed ceaselessly by His angels, He nonetheless desires the praise offered by His creatures on earth. There is a similar poem also in the Mussaph service of Yom Kippur. The composers of these stanzas pay tribute to the great love G’d has for us, His people.
Another example of this feeling of G’d for us is found in psalms 122,8 למען אחי ורעי אדברה נא שלום בך, “for the sake of My brothers and friends I pray for your well being;” in this hymn the holy spirit speaking as G’d’s voice refers to the Jewish people as G’d’s “brothers.” When such a relationship between G’d and His people has been documented, it is not surprising that we address Him in the otherwise overly familiar personal pronoun אתה.
If only we would pay attention to what our lips recite daily! [in the yotzer or prayer before the kriyat sh’ma, when we recite how beloved these angels are of G’d. Ed.] Nonetheless, these angels are portrayed as being in a constant state of awe before the Lord, whereas we human beings adopt an almost irreverent attitude vis a vis the Creator although we are sinful, whereas our counter parts in heaven have not committed any sins for which to reproach themselves. We should be in a state of trembling at the mere thought of Him to Whom we direct our prayers. Even if we have done so during our prayers, we would be well advised to reflect on the enormity that we expect G’d in Heaven to listen to our prayers and to concern Himself with our individual problems. How can we arrogate to ourselves the right to engage in meaningless conversations, passing the time of day in chit chat, as if life did not present us with daunting challenges, the greatest of these being how to effectively serve our Creator! If we keep reflecting on all these points it becomes more realistic to hope that G’d will indeed accept not only our expressions of admiration and gratitude but also our requests, with favour.
Thoughts such as the above are expressed in a liturgical poem recited on Yom Kippur beginning with the words אשר אומץ תהלתך,“ continuing in the second verse responsively with ורצית שבח. The thrust of the author’s poem is that although the greatness of G’d’s reputation is proclaimed ceaselessly by His angels, He nonetheless desires the praise offered by His creatures on earth. There is a similar poem also in the Mussaph service of Yom Kippur. The composers of these stanzas pay tribute to the great love G’d has for us, His people.
Another example of this feeling of G’d for us is found in psalms 122,8 למען אחי ורעי אדברה נא שלום בך, “for the sake of My brothers and friends I pray for your well being;” in this hymn the holy spirit speaking as G’d’s voice refers to the Jewish people as G’d’s “brothers.” When such a relationship between G’d and His people has been documented, it is not surprising that we address Him in the otherwise overly familiar personal pronoun אתה.
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