Chasidut su Salmi 48:78
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 44,18. “Yehudah came forward and said: ‘please my lord allow your servant to say something for your ears only, and do not become angry at your servant, for you are similar to Pharaoh himself.” When reading this introduction of Yehudah’s plea we are reminded of a statement in the Talmud Moed katan 16, when quoting Samuel II 23,3. [The following is misquoted in the Hebrew versions of several editions, and no Biblical source is given. Ed.]
David is speaking in his final address; אמר אלוקי ישראל לי דבר צור ישראל מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים. “Israel’s G’d said: ‘concerning Me, Israel’s Rock: “be ruler over mankind; be righteous, be a ruler practicing the fear of the Lord.” The Talmud understands the unspoken rhetorical question of G’d as to who “rules” Him, by answering that the righteous does so when he is able to squash decrees issued by G’d. [As the author has mentioned several times already. Ed.]
This also appears to be the meaning of the verse (psalms 48,5) כי הנה המלכים נועדו, “see the kings joined forces,” (strove against one another) quoted by the Zohar I, 206. The “kings” in our verse are understood as being Joseph and Yehudah respectively; Joseph is called there קדוש ברוך, whereas Yehudah is called כנסת ישראל, “the collective soul of the Jewish people.” In our verse the Torah describes the confrontation on a spiritual level of the collective soul of the Jewish people and the individual ruler represented by Joseph. The collective soul of the Jewish people, Yehudah, confronts G’d represented by Joseph. This collective soul of the Jewish people seeks to overturn an evil decree issued by G’d by prayer (concerning the detention of Binyamin in Egypt as a slave). When the tzaddikim, i.e. people normally content to live by the stringent standards of the attribute of Justice, resort to an appeal to the attribute of Mercy, they do so when they plead on behalf of others. Hence Yehudah prefaces his words with the word בי, an appeal not to justice but to do something beyond justice. These tzaddikim are at pains not to create the impression that they have lowered their standards concerning their own conduct. The category of tzaddikim to whom such power of squashing G’d’s decrees is attributed are the ones who relate to G’d from the vantage point of אין, “naught” [explained by the author as a negation of “self,” one’s own dignity, opposite Hashem.] This total negation of self is rewarded by G’d when they intercede on behalf of others in an effort to squash or soften a negative decree.
The sages, (introduction to the Zohar 10,) when commenting on Jeremiah 10,7 כי בכל חכמי הגוים ובכל מלכותם מאין כמוך, “for amongst all the wise men of the gentile nations and amongst all their kings there is none comparable to You,” the implication is that “but amongst the Israelites” there is someone comparable to You. When the prophet Elijah as well as the prophet Elisha revived the dead, this was considered as proof that the חכמי ישראל, the wise men of Israel, can perform acts that only G’d can perform. When the just succeed in squashing decrees of G’d that were meant to kill the victims, they too compare to G’d by that same criterion, i.e. they revive those that were “dead,” were it not for the prayers of the righteous. G’d is perceived of granting life or denying life just as He provides rainfall, without which we would not survive for long; the righteous’ prayers for rain when granted achieve exactly the same result.
According to the writings of the Ari’z’al the “attribute” אין is described in the Hebrew alphabet in the Holy Scriptures as the letter כ, whereas the “attribute” יראה, “awe and reverence” is represented by the letter י. The word כי in the verse from Jeremiah quoted in the previous paragraph therefore alludes to this quality of אין, total negation of self, that characterizes some of our tzaddikim in their relationship to G’d, and in their service of Him, when they completely deny their ego, or “self.” This very denial of self, obliteration of one’s ego, is capable of resulting in a commensurate degree of התגלות ה', “revelation” of aspects of G’d’s essence. When Yehudah described Joseph as כ-פרעה, where the כ symbolizes this negation of self found in the most exalted ruler, (who does no longer need to impress his peers with his “superiority,”) who can therefore reveal a different virtue, the revelation of an attribute superior to that of Justice, the attribute of Mercy.
David is speaking in his final address; אמר אלוקי ישראל לי דבר צור ישראל מושל באדם צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים. “Israel’s G’d said: ‘concerning Me, Israel’s Rock: “be ruler over mankind; be righteous, be a ruler practicing the fear of the Lord.” The Talmud understands the unspoken rhetorical question of G’d as to who “rules” Him, by answering that the righteous does so when he is able to squash decrees issued by G’d. [As the author has mentioned several times already. Ed.]
This also appears to be the meaning of the verse (psalms 48,5) כי הנה המלכים נועדו, “see the kings joined forces,” (strove against one another) quoted by the Zohar I, 206. The “kings” in our verse are understood as being Joseph and Yehudah respectively; Joseph is called there קדוש ברוך, whereas Yehudah is called כנסת ישראל, “the collective soul of the Jewish people.” In our verse the Torah describes the confrontation on a spiritual level of the collective soul of the Jewish people and the individual ruler represented by Joseph. The collective soul of the Jewish people, Yehudah, confronts G’d represented by Joseph. This collective soul of the Jewish people seeks to overturn an evil decree issued by G’d by prayer (concerning the detention of Binyamin in Egypt as a slave). When the tzaddikim, i.e. people normally content to live by the stringent standards of the attribute of Justice, resort to an appeal to the attribute of Mercy, they do so when they plead on behalf of others. Hence Yehudah prefaces his words with the word בי, an appeal not to justice but to do something beyond justice. These tzaddikim are at pains not to create the impression that they have lowered their standards concerning their own conduct. The category of tzaddikim to whom such power of squashing G’d’s decrees is attributed are the ones who relate to G’d from the vantage point of אין, “naught” [explained by the author as a negation of “self,” one’s own dignity, opposite Hashem.] This total negation of self is rewarded by G’d when they intercede on behalf of others in an effort to squash or soften a negative decree.
The sages, (introduction to the Zohar 10,) when commenting on Jeremiah 10,7 כי בכל חכמי הגוים ובכל מלכותם מאין כמוך, “for amongst all the wise men of the gentile nations and amongst all their kings there is none comparable to You,” the implication is that “but amongst the Israelites” there is someone comparable to You. When the prophet Elijah as well as the prophet Elisha revived the dead, this was considered as proof that the חכמי ישראל, the wise men of Israel, can perform acts that only G’d can perform. When the just succeed in squashing decrees of G’d that were meant to kill the victims, they too compare to G’d by that same criterion, i.e. they revive those that were “dead,” were it not for the prayers of the righteous. G’d is perceived of granting life or denying life just as He provides rainfall, without which we would not survive for long; the righteous’ prayers for rain when granted achieve exactly the same result.
According to the writings of the Ari’z’al the “attribute” אין is described in the Hebrew alphabet in the Holy Scriptures as the letter כ, whereas the “attribute” יראה, “awe and reverence” is represented by the letter י. The word כי in the verse from Jeremiah quoted in the previous paragraph therefore alludes to this quality of אין, total negation of self, that characterizes some of our tzaddikim in their relationship to G’d, and in their service of Him, when they completely deny their ego, or “self.” This very denial of self, obliteration of one’s ego, is capable of resulting in a commensurate degree of התגלות ה', “revelation” of aspects of G’d’s essence. When Yehudah described Joseph as כ-פרעה, where the כ symbolizes this negation of self found in the most exalted ruler, (who does no longer need to impress his peers with his “superiority,”) who can therefore reveal a different virtue, the revelation of an attribute superior to that of Justice, the attribute of Mercy.
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Kedushat Levi
In light of the foregoing it is appropriate to explain the words in Song of Songs 1,3 (page 297) in accordance with the words of the Baal Shem Tov of sainted memory. He first explains psalms 48,15 הוא ינהגנו על מות, “He will lead us beyond mortality,” by using a parable. A father teaches a very young son how to walk two or three steps at a time. When the little boy has walked a few steps toward his father, his father distances himself from him a little farther in order to encourage his son to “walk the extra mile.” The father repeats this maneuver every time his son is about to catch up with him. G’d encourages us to “catch up with Him” in a similar fashion, by appearing to be more and more out of our reach. The message we (the tzaddikim) are to receive from this maneuver is that we have not yet attained perfection. This is what David meant when he said הוא ינהגנו על מות, “in order for G’d to lead us into immortality.” He has to encourage us to “catch up with Him,” step by step.
[You the reader, may have noticed that the word: עלמות contains the same letters in the same sequence as the two words על מות in psalms 48,15. Ed.]
To get back to Song of Songs 1,3 לריח שמניך טובים, “for your oils are good as fragrance;” the Hebrew word שמן, oil, is used allegorically to describe a person’s good deeds. When Solomon in Kohelet 9,8 warns that ושמן על ראשך אל יחסר, “may your head never lack oil (ointment),” he does not refer to perfumed oils, but to the fragrance emanating from a person who has many good deeds to his credit. Under what circumstances are such fragrances compared to שמן תורק שמך, “Your name being poured forth like oil?,” when the tzaddik has the feeling again and again after having scaled a rung on the ladder of spiritual ascent, that he is empty and needs to replenish spiritual energies possession of which would bring him closer to perfection. When this is what the tzaddik worries about constantly, his head gives forth the fragrance of the oils mentioned by Solomon in Song of Songs.
[You the reader, may have noticed that the word: עלמות contains the same letters in the same sequence as the two words על מות in psalms 48,15. Ed.]
To get back to Song of Songs 1,3 לריח שמניך טובים, “for your oils are good as fragrance;” the Hebrew word שמן, oil, is used allegorically to describe a person’s good deeds. When Solomon in Kohelet 9,8 warns that ושמן על ראשך אל יחסר, “may your head never lack oil (ointment),” he does not refer to perfumed oils, but to the fragrance emanating from a person who has many good deeds to his credit. Under what circumstances are such fragrances compared to שמן תורק שמך, “Your name being poured forth like oil?,” when the tzaddik has the feeling again and again after having scaled a rung on the ladder of spiritual ascent, that he is empty and needs to replenish spiritual energies possession of which would bring him closer to perfection. When this is what the tzaddik worries about constantly, his head gives forth the fragrance of the oils mentioned by Solomon in Song of Songs.
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