Halakhah su Salmi 16:11

Now I shall enlighten and illuminate for you the answer to this question. It is because when a person is taken up from this world to the world of souls, which is right as he dies, this is called k’vod Ha-Shem – “the Glory of theLord,”¹³⁸As is described in Is 58:8, when “Your Vindicator shall march before, and the k’vod Ha-Shem – the Glory (or Presence) of the Lord – shall gather you up.” (Chavel). and from there, the world of souls, the soul is elevated to take delight in tzrur ha-hayyim – “the bundle of life”¹³⁹From the expression in 1 Sam 25:28: “the soul … will be bound up in the bundle of life” (nefesh …tzrurah be-tzror ha-hayyim), which is used in the prayer for the dead El Male’ Rahamim to describe where the souls of the departed go. – which is called “netzah” – “forever” – like it is used in the verse “You will make known to me the path of life. In Your presence is perfect joy, delights are forever [netzah] in Your right hand.”¹⁴⁰Ps 16:11. And if it is fit to stay there forever, it stays there without a break, for this is what our rabbis z”l said,¹⁴¹B. Erubin 54a. “Every place where the words netzah, selah, and va-ed are used [in Scripture] it means without interruption forever.” And when the soul is not fit to stay there, but ought to receive what it deserves in the world of bodies measure for measure, you see it has to return to this world for the resurrection of the dead, to get its due with the body in the world of bodies. And this is why it is written, “Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake.”¹⁴²Dan 12:2. It didn’t say “all of those that sleep,” but “many of those” – and they, the ones who are not fit to prolong their days in the “bundle of life” return in the resurrection of the dead and there receive their due, and concentrate on comprehending Him (may He be blessed), and are refined in the elevation of their comprehension and knowledge, until they are fit to return there, and after returning there they are elevated to the invisible world, which is what is written: “He [God] will lead us beyond death.”¹⁴³Ps 48:15.

And you ought to know that at the intellectual meal which is for the soul alone, prepared for the righteous in the world of souls or in the life of the world to come, the righteous are not all equal in this, but there is a hierarchy of status, one above the other. And thus they interpreted “sove’a’ semahot“¹⁵³An expression in Ps 16:11: “You will teach me the path of life. In your presence is perfect joy – sove’a’ semahot.” – “perfect joy” in a midrash in Sifre:¹⁵⁴Sifre Devarim 10. “The faces of the righteous in time to come will be like the sun, the moon, the horizon, the stars, lightning, flowers, and the menorot of the Temple.” And likewise they said in Seder Eliahu Zuta,¹⁵⁵Chavel says he couldn’t find this tradition in Seder Eliahu Zuta, but it is in b. Baba Batra 75a. “The righteous have seven huppot in the Garden of Eden, as it is said, ‘The Lord will create over the whole shrine and meeting place of Mt. Zion cloud by day, and smoke with a glow of flaming fire by night, etc.”¹⁵⁶Is 4:5: “The Lord will create over the whole shrine and meeting place of Mt. Zion cloud by day, and smoke with a glow of flaming fire by night. Indeed, over each ‘glory’ (kavod) will hang a huppah.” Cf Is 4:1: “In that day seven women shall take hold of one man…” You can see where the midrash gets the idea of seven wedding huppot in the future to come. So Rashi explains in a comment to b. Baba Batra 75a: “Indeed over each glory (or honor ) will hang a huppah: (1) “the cloud by day,” (2) “smoke”, (3) “glow”, (4) “fire”, (5) “flaming”, (6) “over each glory”, and (7) “huppah.” But “over each glory” doesn’t seem to belong to this count, but rather the “sukkah which will serve for shade by day” which follows immediately in the next verse (Is 4:6), making seven. It was this that was referred to when the Holy One Blessed be He promised Abraham Our Father in the “Covenant between the pieces” when He said to him, “Count the stars,” and “So shall your offspring be,”¹⁵⁷Gen 15:5. that is to say, just as the stars are arranged by levels, each star’s light greater than its neighbor, with some below it and some above, so in time to come your offspring will be arranged in levels, based on their light of Torah and wisdom, each one greater than the other, each one above the other. And thus in the light of the world to come, the level of the righteous will be one above the other, some of them worthy of the “glass that does not reflect”¹⁵⁸That is, the least obstructed view of God. See the Second Gate (pp. 492-3)., others “the glass which does reflect,” some that go up inside, that is, have permission to, and others who do not go up inside. And all of this they described in a midrash in Tractate Sukkah,¹⁵⁹B.Sukkah 45b. “The row [of righteous men immediately] before the Holy One, blessed be He, consists of eighteen thousand, for it is said, ‘It shall be eighteen thousand round about,'”¹⁶⁰Ez 48:35. which Rashi explained as “eighteen thousand of the righteous surrounding the Shekhinah.”¹⁶¹Rashi’s comment to B.Sukkah 45b. And the explanation of his explanation is that they do so at each of the four winds of the world, and if so, each wind has four thousand five hundred righteous people, and this is what “eighteen thousand round about”¹⁶²Ez 48:35. refers to.

So this book is now finished, built upon precious sayings. With these words the enlightened¹⁸²Lit., ha-maskil be-hakhmah, one “enlightened with wisdom, i.e., the wisdom of Kabbalah (Chavel). will discern when they’re eating, may they make themselves holy and their minds burnished fully. With these words engaged, may they be at their table; raise their table’s renown so that “all shall say ‘Glory!'”¹⁸³An allusion to Ps 29:9: kulo ‘omer kavod. Let their hearts be made pure, to withstand any test. “By these raise up the table,”¹⁸⁴Ex 28:28 so that “before the Lord”¹⁸⁵Ez 41:22 is its label. This table is greater than the table of kings, “he shall be permitted to join those attending,”¹⁸⁶An allusion to the reward of the faithful promised in Zech 3:7: “Thus said the Lord of Hosts: If you walk in My paths and keep My charge, you will in turn rule in My house and guard My courts, and I will permit you to move about among these attendants.”and to be lifted in honor to gaze on¹⁸⁷Or “envision,” because the Hebrew is ye-hazeh, as in hazon “vision,” like the verb in Ex 24:11, with connotation of prophetic vision. the face of “David among the lilies grazing,” to earn “the three-legged table” ¹⁸⁸An allusion to what is referred to in B. Ta’anit 25a: “The righteous will in time to come eat at a golden table with three legs.” See R. Bahya’s Preface, where he explains this idea in his discussion of the fourth reason he gives for calling his book Shulhan Shel Arba. There’s an untranslatable wordplay here with the Hebrew word ro‘e’ (“grazing” or “shepherd”) and the Aramaic word ker’a’ (“leg”): “David among the lilies grazing (ro‘e’)” to earn the table of three legs (ker’a’).” of gold ablazing. They will earn the physical and intellectual meals, and be counted among the benei aliyah. Blessed is the Lord who has refined His servants to perfect us, whose love for us even preceded us; may He bring us to see wonders from His Torah, the foundation of His Temple, the place of the ark and the tablets, the menorah and table and the altars. May our betrayals and sins be atoned for and forgiven, may prosperity be ours – from God’s hand gladly given.¹⁸⁹An allusion to Is 54:10. Among the saints may He raise and lift us, “west and south”¹⁹⁰An allusion to Dt 33:23. may He gift us. From the abundance of His love may He redeem our soul¹⁹¹An allusion to Ps 22:21. from Sheol when He takes it, by His counsel may He guide us¹⁹²An allusion to Ps 73:24. to the “delights ever in His right hand.”¹⁹³An allusion to Ps 16:11. May he encompass us with favor, ¹⁹⁴An allusion to Ps 5:13. in the “bundle of life” may He hide us,¹⁹⁵As opposed to She’ol – “hell” – as in Job 14:13: “O that You would hide me in Sheol.” in the path of life may He guide us, and grant us what is written, “For God is our God forever; He will guide us even beyond death.”¹⁹⁶Ps. 48:15.