Musar su Deuteronomio 28:13

There is a disagreement between Maimonides and Nachmanides regarding the nature of the eventual perfection of the world. Maimonides feels that this period will not include physical life and all that is entailed by it. Nachmanides understands all the prophecies concerning that distant future as applying both to the soul and to the body. Since we believe that Nachmanides is correct, let us quote some comments by the Midrash Rabbah on 2 ,90 פרשת מקץ on that subject. Pharaoh said to Joseph: "I will be greater than you only by the throne" (Genesis 41, 40). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that Moses recorded two paragraphs in the Torah in which we have to learn a lesson from the wicked Pharaoh. One paragraph (Deut. 28,13) tells us that as long as we observe the Torah והיה רק למעלה, "You will always be on top." This could have led one to believe that we would equal G–d; therefore the Torah adds the word רק, only, to drive home the point that "My holiness is superior to your holiness." The same applies to Leviticus 19, 2 where the Torah enjoins us to be holy because G–d is holy. The very words "because I am holy," alert us to the fact that G–d's holiness surpasses any holiness we can attain. We have learned these inferences from Pharaoh. Pharaoh said "I am Pharaoh." This could have led Joseph to believe that his greatness would be similar to that of Pharaoh, אתמהא. To make sure that Joseph did not misunderstand, Pharaoh added the word רק, "only" (41, 40).

These words of the Midrash are quite difficult: First of all, we must understand whether the word קדש, holy, implies something greater than the word גדול, great; if גדולה is a higher status than קדושה, then the restrictive word רק should have been written in Leviticus 19, 2 and we would have arrived at the logical conclusion that if we cannot attain G–d's level of sanctity we could certainly not attain G–d's level of greatness as set out in Deut. 28,13. On the other hand, if קדושה is the higher status, the question can be reversed. If both קדושה and גדולה rank equally, the word רק needed to be written only in one of the three instances where גדולה and קדושה are mentioned.

To get back to the two items mentioned in this Midrash, גדולה וקדושה. The term גדולה is applied to achievements by the soul, whereas the term קדושה is used to refer to achievements by the body. A terrestrial kingdom such as that of Pharaoh is in a manner of speaking an allusion to a Celestial Kingdom. Just as a human being consists of two different levels, his body and his soul, the visible and the invisible, so G–d is basically invisible by His very nature; however, G–d has assumed a degree of "visibility" by dint of His פעולות, actions. G–d's גדולה, greatness, is due to His Essence. His קדושה, holiness, becomes manifest to us through the guidance He exercises in our world. As far as G–d is concerned, His גדולה takes precedence over His קדושה, holiness. In our world, the priorities are reversed, because all our actions are a ladder which enables us to ascend intellectually, spiritually. In our world one proceeds from the נגלה, the visible, to the invisible, the concealed. This is why when we speak of a terrestrial kingdom which alludes to a Celestial Kingdom, the references to גדולה precede those to קדושה. In the absence of such considerations, however, קדושה precedes גדולה. When Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish describes גדולה, a spiritual quality, referring to the verse in Deuteronomy 28,13 he adds the word אתמהא to emphasize that it would be very strange even to suggest that the Jewish people could compare themselves in their thoughts to being on a level with G–d. To preclude such a strange idea we did not need the word רק in that verse as an exclusion. However, the word רק is meant to emphasize that the only spiritual level we cannot attain is that of G–d Himself. When it comes to other celestial forces that operate למעלה, in Celestial Regions, we can attain their spiritual level. In fact we will even be able to surpass the spiritual level of the angels in Heaven, as we have explained on repeated occasions. Had the Torah not written the word רק, and had it only written והיית למעלה, we would have assumed that the גדולה, greatness, that Israel could achieve would be short of that of the angels. As it is, we are told that the only spiritual height we cannot attain is that of G–d Himself.