Musar su Isaia 3:32

The pride of a man in his body or person is, in turn, divided into two classifications, one good and one evil. And this is the pride of a man in his body which is evil. When arrogance becomes strong in the heart of a man, then it rules over him from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. In his head and in his throat, as it is written: "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks…" (Is. 3:16). In his hands and in his feet, as it is written: "Let not the foot of pride overtake me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away" (Ps. 36:12).

The third level is the negative commandment that is rectified by a positive commandment: Our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Chullin 141a) [that] we do not give lashes for a negative commandment that is rectified by a positive commandment - for example (Deuteronomy 22:6), “you shall not take the mother from over the young,” is rectified by a positive commandment, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 22:7), “You shall surely send away.” But even though they would not give lashes through the court [in such a case], there were some with weighty punishments, such that it would reach the heavens and their judgement would be raised to the clouds. For example theft - as it is stated (Leviticus 19:13), “you shall not rob” (Leviticus 5:23) - is rectified by a positive commandment, as it is stated “and returned what he robbed.” Yet they said (Sanhedrin 108a), “The final judgement of the generation of the Flood was sealed only because of robbery, as it is stated (Genesis 6:13), ‘The end of all flesh has come in front of Me, for the earth is filled with extortion.’” And even though sexual immorality is weightier than robbery, it is the characteristic of the punishment of robbery to bring close its day and to quicken the future [consequences] to it. And they [also] said (Vayikra Rabbah 33:2), “[If you have] a seah full of iniquities, there is no prosecutor among all of them like robbery.” And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said about treasures [acquired] from dishonesty and fraud (Proverbs 21:6), “Treasures acquired by a lying tongue are like driven vapor, heading for death.” The explanation is [that] treasuries [acquired from] dishonesty and fraud are vanishing vapor, for their end is destruction. And while they are still in his possession, they are his enemies and seek the life of their master and cause his death - like the matter that is stated, (Habakkuk 2:9-11) “Ah, you who have acquired gains to the detriment of your own house, etc. For a stone shall cry out from the wall.” And in [the case of] robbing the poor, one is liable for death at the hands of the Heavens on account of it, as it is stated (Proverbs 22:22-23), “Do not rob the indigent for he is indigent; and do not crush the poor man in the gate. For the Lord will take up their cause and despoil those who despoil them of life.” Its explanation is, “do not rob from the indigent” because “he is indigent” and has no one to help him; “and do not crush the poor man in the gate,” with shame and disgrace. And “in the gate,” is to say, in public. And it is like the matter that is stated (Isaiah 3:15), “How dare you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” “For the Lord will take up their cause,” since they have no support, or someone to argue and take up their cause. “And despoil those who despoil them of life” - since the cry of the indigent has been brought to Him, He will not take money from you in place of the loot that you robbed, but rather God will remove your soul. And it is stated (Job 27:8), “For what hope has the impious man when he is cut down, when God takes away his life?” And it is also stated (Proverbs 1:19), “Such is the fate of all who pursue unjust gain; It takes the life of its possessor.” And one who torments and pains a widow or an orphan - whether with robbery, or fraud or shame or any type of pain - is liable for death at the hands of the Heavens. And likewise the judges who are able to rescue someone robbed from him who defrauded him, and do not judge [the case of an] orphan, have a death sentence upon them - as it is stated (Exodus 22:21-23), “You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. If you do oppress them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me. And My anger shall blaze forth and I will put you to the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans.” Its explanation is, “and your wives shall become widows,” corresponding to the oppression of the widow; “and your children orphans,” corresponding to the oppression of the orphan - measure for measure. And even though these punishments are not written [about the following], one who pains any Israelite transgresses a negative commandment - as it is stated (Leviticus 25:17), “A man shall not oppress (tonu) his kinsman.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Metzia 58b) the verse is speaking about verbal oppression. And that is from the contents of pain and torment, like the usage “(Isaiah 49:26), “I will make your oppressors (monayich) eat their own flesh.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, [also] said (Bava Metzia 59a), “All the gates [of prayer] have been closed, except for the gates of [one who is praying as a result of his] oppression.” And where Scripture was speaking about financial oppression, it mentioned buying and selling, as it is stated (Leviticus 25:14), “When you sell property to your kinsman.” And they said (Bava Metzia 58b) [that] verbal oppression is greater than financial oppression, for this is upon his body and that is upon his money - and about [the former] it stated (Leviticus 25:17), “but you shall fear your God,” but about [the latter (25:14)], “but you shall fear,” is not stated.

There is an additional important allusion in this verse which is seized upon by the Zohar in a different context. Accordingly, the performance of a מצוה enhances the "image" of G–d, whereas when one sins one damages G–d's "image" both in the Celestial Regions and on earth. Man's sins leave noticeable imprints on his face; this is the reason that Isaiah 3,9 speaks of: הכרת פנים ענתה בם, "Their faces reflect their sins. Rabbi Moshe Alshich, commenting on Genesis 45,28: אלכה ואראנו בטרם אמות, "I will go and see him (Joseph) before I die," writes that Jacob wanted to determine if Joseph had remained loyal to the Abrahamitic tradition by looking at his face. As soon as Jacob looked at Joseph's face (Genesis 46,29) he expressed willingness to die. The Torah phrases this peculiarly when it writes: "After I have seen that you are alive." At first glance the words "that you are alive" seem superfluous. Jacob indicated by his words that being "alive" in itself was quite meaningless unless Joseph had remained loyal to his father's teachings. Joseph's face reflected G–d's approval, i.e. G–d made Joseph's face light up. One of the ways which result in man's face being illuminated is by means of repentance. When the Jewish people are reminded (Deut. 5,4) that G–d spoke to them פנים אל פנים, "face to face," this is a compliment telling us that their facial features had undergone a change for the better, and that the ugly lines on their faces reflecting their sinful behavior had been erased. Psalms 42,12 speaks of the hope of the sons of Korach. There is no point in being downcast when repentance can cause us to reflect G–d's salvation on our own face; not only this, but we will simultaneously remove the tarnish caused to G–d's "image" by our own sins. The commandment to appear in the Temple three times a year (16,16), caused our sages in Chagigah 2a to say that the word יראה can be read both passively or actively, i.e. "to be seen" or "to see." Their message is that if one comes to the Temple with a positive attitude, i.e. in order to "see" G–d, then one will also be positively "seen" by G–d. This also enables us to understand another verse which is generally held to be almost beyond comprehension.

Jacob made Joseph swear by his own "root," seeing Joseph symbolized the ברית, the covenant with G–d, as we have pointed out on numerous occasions. Placing his hand on his father's organ then was not symbolic of the covenant of circumcision, but of the ברית העליון, the covenant between G–d and man that ensures the continued existence of the universe. The word ירך in that context represented the seat of reproductive activity, the root of physical man, not merely its sanctification by circumcision. When Joseph made his brothers swear, he merely made them swear by his own מדה, attribute, not in his capacity as symbol of something higher. Since Joseph considered himself as an "extension," a pipeline of the domain of his father, he merely made sure that his bones would be moved from the ארץ התחתונה, the lowest level of earth (in this case Egypt), to the "lowest" level of היכל השם, Sanctuary, to the land of Israel. It is precisely because Joseph was that pipeline between the ארץ עליונה, the equivalent of earth in the Celestial Regions, that Jacob blessed Joseph's children by invoking their father. This is the meaning of ויברך את יוסף, "He blessed Joseph," before the line: המלאך הגואל אתי מכל רע הוא יברך את הנערים, "May the angel who blessed me bless the lads" (48,16). No רע, evil, stuck to our patriarch Jacob. Evil is the very reverse of maintaining the Holy Covenant as we know from: ויהי ער רע בעיני השם, "Er was evil (same letters reversed) in the eyes of the Lord" (38,7). Concerning people who are evil, it is written: לא יגורך רע, "Evil cannot abide with You" (Psalms 5,5), seeing Evil has no foothold in ארץ העליונה, the celestial equivalent to earth. That ארץ is known only as ארץ טובה, and טוב is the צדיק, the foundation of the universe as we know from: אמרו צדיק כי טוב הוא, "Say (about) the righteous he is good" (Isaiah 3,10). This is why the seed of Joseph, the keeper of the Covenant, was more sacred than any other, and as a result merited to be counted among the other founders of the tribes.

GOOD OF THE GENERATION: There is another primary principle regarding intention in Chasidut, namely, the good of the generation. For, it is proper for every Chasid to be motivated in his deeds for the good of his entire generation, to bring merit to them and to shield them. This is the intent of the verse: "Say of the righteous man that he is good, for they shall eat the fruits of their deeds" (Isaiah 3:10), that all of the generation eats of his fruits.

The use here of (the word) "eyes" shows that the quality of pride is to be attributed to the sense of sight. Of meekness it is said (Hab. i. 13), "Thou art of humbler eyes than to behold evil," and so forth. With regard to the impudent, thou observest in most cases that his eyes stare and he is indifferent to shame; thus it is said of them (Isa. iii. 9), "The shew of their countenance doth witness against them." Thus thou wilt notice that the eyes of the unrighteous, the impudent, are troubled and restless, like those of whom it is said (Job xi. 20), "The eyes of the wicked shall fail." Again it is said of the impudent (Jer. v. 3), "They have made their faces harder than a rock." On the other hand, thou wilt find that the prudent man lowers his eyes so that he may merit, by reason of this, the abundant favor of God and men, as it is said (Prov. iii. 34), "He giveth grace unto the lowly"; and as we, with the help of God, exalted be He, will explain very clearly in the successive chapters. This favor can be acquired only by means of (the faculty of) sight, having regard to him that sees and that which is seen. Thus it was said of Moses our Master, peace be unto him (Num. xii. 3), "The man Moses was very meek." Previously it was said, corresponding to this (Ex. xi. 3), "The man Moses was very great."

Until now we have spoken about the beginning of the verse (Psalms 34:13-15): "Who is the man who wants life, etc., Guard your tongue from evil, etc." And now, with the help of the L-rd, we shall explain the end of the verse: "Depart from evil and do good," as it applies to the beginning of the verse. It is well known what our sages of blessed memory have said about this, viz.: "Who is the man who wants life" — in the world to come, "who loves days to see good" — in this world. "Guard your tongue, etc. Depart from evil and do good." We shall precede [the explanation of this verse] with what is said in the name of the GRA on the verse (Isaiah 3:10-11): "Say of the tzaddik that [he is] good, for the fruits of their deeds shall they eat. Woe to the rasha [the wicked one], for he is evil. For the recompense of his hands shall be rendered him," viz.: If one fulfills the mitzvoth between a man and his Maker, the essence of his reward is in the world to come; and so, his punishment, when he transgresses them. And for the mitzvoth between a man and his neighbor, where he benefits his fellow men, he receives his reward in this world, too. Similarly, if he transgresses them, aside from the punishment awaiting him in the world to come, he is punished in this world too, for by his acts he also causes suffering to men. The terms "tzaddik" and rasha" apply to the relationship between a man and his Maker, and the terms "good" and "evil," to that between a man and his neighbor. And the verse is now resolved, viz.: "Say of the tzaddik that [he is] good," i.e., that by his acts he benefits also his fellow men — "for the fruits of their deeds [(those of the tzaddikim)] shall they [(their fellow men)] eat." "Woe to the rasha, for he is evil," i.e., even in the area of "between man and his neighbor" — "for the recompense of his [the rasha's] hands shall be rendered him [his fellow man]." And now, the aforementioned verse is also resolved, viz.: "Who is the man who wants life" — in the world to come; "who loves days to see good" — even in this world. "Depart from [doing] evil and do good," i.e., also the mitzvoth between a man and his neighbor, to do good to his fellow man, and through this to see good, even in this world. Now, "Depart from evil" includes all aspects of evil: theft, violence, wronging, interest, cheating, "whitening" one's face, and the like. And "do good," includes all aspects of good: charity, lovingkindness, supporting the indigent, burial of the dead, visiting the sick, welcoming guests, returning lost objects, returning a pledge, paying a hired worker on time, and many other such mitzvoth between a man and his neighbor. A man must set his heart on all of them and spur himself to fulfill them. As we have seen with the mitzvah of shofar, that all run to fulfill it, so should it be with all mitzvoth, to pursue them and to rejoice in their fulfillment. As we say every day: "Therefore, O L-rd our G-d, in our lying down and in our rising, let us speak in Your statutes and rejoice in the words of Your Torah and in Your mitzvoth forever." [And, in our many sins, we say to the Holy One Blessed be He that we shall do this, but we transgress it. And in us there is fulfilled what our sags of blessed memory have said (Berachoth 6b) on the verse (Psalms 12:9): "…when the vile are exalted over the sons of men" — "these [i.e., mitzvoth] are the things that stand at the height of the world, and the sons of men cheapen them."]

Let me explain this subject at greater length: Our sages (Berachot 32b) have said that as of the day the Temple was destroyed the gates of prayer have been locked. We know this from Lamentations 3,8: Even though I cry and plead, He shuts out my prayer." Our portion revolves around this problem. Let me first quote something from the book קול בוכים on Lamentations 5,11: "They have ravished women in Zion." The author comments as follows: We find in the Zohar that the plural "women" which Jeremiah refers to in this verse refers to two specific women, paragons of seduction, i.e. Lilith and Machalat (daughter of Ishmael). Kabbalists write that Lilith is accompanied by 480 groups of destructive agents corresponding to the numerical value of her name לילית. They follow her and indulge in wailing, etc. Machalat is accompanied by 478 groups of destructive agents corresponding to the numerical value of her name מחלת. All these 478 groups follow their mistress dancing and generally making merry. These two women never collide with one another throughout the year; they do not inflict harm on each other though there is constant warfare between them. [their philosophical outlook. Ed.] The only day in the year when they are confrontational is the Day of Atonement. Due to the confrontation these two women and their followers are engaged in on the Day of Atonement they have no time to interfere with our prayers enabling our prayers to rise heavenwards. Usually, whenever a person sins these women are alerted and told "why are you at peace at a time when there sin is about? Arise and destroy the universe!" This is the meaning of Isaiah 3,12: נשים משלו בו, "Women ruled over him" (the people of Israel). I have heard from my teacher that the women referred to in the verse in Isaiah are the wives of the two spies. They are the two "spies" of the earth mentioned in the Zohar which are identical with the two male goats used in the service on the Day of Atonement. As soon as Joshua wanted to enter the land of Israel these two "spies" submitted to the authority of Joshua, prostrated themselves before him and offered to be his servants. Joshua expressed his dissatisfaction with this arrangement, insisting that he would only use the services of Pinchas and Caleb as spies to reconnoiter the land of Canaan. However, he asked these two "spies" to spread feelings of demoralization among the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in order to facilitate the conquest of the land by the Jewish people. The "spies" agreed and complied with Joshua's instructions. We can derive all this from the text in the relevant verses in the Book of Joshua. In Joshua 2,3 the spies Joshua sent out are described as having come לחפור את הארץ, "To spy out the land," whereas in actual fact we do not find any word in the whole story about their having performed the mission of spying out the country. The inhabitants simply seem to have melted away much as wax melts in the presence of fire. The spies are reported as having arrived in Jericho by climbing the outer wall of the house of Rachav. They immediately became aware that the whole country was demoralised at the prospect of being invaded by the Israelites. The inhabitants simply had no backbone left. The Talmud Zevachim 116b derives from the statement of Rahav – the city's most prominent harlot – that: ולא קמה עוד רוח באיש מפניכם, "that the men of the country had all become incapable of having an erection due to their fear of the Israelites." Clearly then the two "spies" had performed their task in advance of the arrival of Pinchas and Caleb.