Musar su Isaia 40:78

There is no research into his wisdom and many of the heart research that is with him.

It is also beneficial for a man to gaze at the Heavens in order to behold the works of Hashem, may He be blessed. It written in the holy Zohar (Introduction 1b): Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said, One day I was by the shore of the sea when Eliyahu came and said to me, “Rabbi, do you know the meaning of what is written, ‘Raise your eyes on high and see who created these’ (Yeshayahu 40:26)?” I said to him, “These are the Heavens and their hosts, the works of the Holy One Blessed is He. For it is incumbent upon human beings to gaze upon them and bless Him, as it is written, ‘When I see Your Heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars that You estab- lished’ (Tehillim 8:4). Following which it is written, ‘Hashem, our Master, how mighty is Your name in all the earth’ (ibid. 8:10).”

Rabbenu Bachyah comments on the repeated use of the word משכן in 38,21, that this is a hint that the Tabernacle in our world stood "opposite" the Sanctuary in the Celestial Regions. We know this also from Exodus 15,17: מכון לשבתך פעלת ה', "You have made a place for You to dwell in." The word מכון should be read as מכוון, "corresponding" to the Sanctuary in Heaven. This places the importance of the Tabernacle on earth on a par with the creation of the universe. In connection with the universe, Isaiah 40,22, speaks about G–d "who spread out the skies like gauze, stretched them out like a tent to dwell in," whereas in connection with the Tabernacle on earth the Torah says: "You shall make cloths of goats' hair for a tent over the Tabernacle." In connection with the creation of the universe the Psalmist (Psalms 104,2) speaks about נוטה שמים כיריעה, "He stretches the heavens like a tent-doth." During the process of creation we read (Genesis 1,9) "Let the waters concentrate in one place," whereas in connection with the construction of the Tabernacle the Torah instructs the making of a copper basin to contain all the water used in the Tabernacle by the priests. During the creation the Torah speaks about the creation of luminaries, whereas during the construction of the Tabernacle the making of a candlestick is commanded. The winged creatures mentioned during the process of creation are matched in the Tabernacle by the cherubs spreading their wings over the Holy Ark. Whereas the creation of Adam represented the highlight of the act of creation, the highlight of the construction of the Tabernacle was reached when G–d told Moses to appoint Aaron as High Priest (Exodus 28,1). The completion of the work of creation was announced by the words: ויכלו השמים והארץ, whereas the completion of the work on the Tabernacle was described by the Torah as ותכל כל עבודת משכן (39,32). Whereas the Torah reported that G–d blessed the seventh day (Genesis 2,3), Moses blessed the Tabernacle and sanctified it and all its utensils (39,43). The Torah reported G–d as resting on the seventh day, (Genesis 2,3), whereas in connection with the Tabernacle the Torah stated: "You shall perform your work during six days and the seventh day shall be holy" (35,2). After all this the Torah said: "Take from yourselves a donation" Thus far the comment of Rabbenu Bachyah.

We must try and understand why Rabbenu Bachyah was so selective in his comparison of the creation with the construction of the Tabernacle. He could have cited additional parallels. A look at a lengthy Midrash in Shemot Rabbah 33,4 quotes Rabbi Berechyah as presenting a long list of parallels between the Tabernacle and מעשה בראשית. The list includes many items found in the heavens such as ערפל, זבול, עצי שטים, כרובים, אופנים and many others. In each case Rabbi Berechyah demonstrates that the Tabernacle contained something parallel.

Blessed is the Lord forever. Amen and amen. Blessed be He that gives power to the faint; and to him that has no right, he increases strength (Isaiah 40:29).

The reason that repentance is such a powerful tool is that it ranks higher than all the accusers [in the Celestial Spheres], and those who address themselves to that "power" need not be afraid of any evil forces in the world. We know this from such verses as Isaiah 14,27: כי ה' צבאות יעץ ומי יפר, וידו הנטויה ומי ישיבנה. "For the Lord of Hosts has planned it, who could possibly foil it? We also read in Nachum 1,6:לפני זעמו מי יעמוד! "Who can stand up to His wrath!" The word Mee in both these verses refers to the institution of repentance. We know this from Isaiah 40,26: "שאו מרום עיניכם וראו מי ברא אלה" as well as from Isaiah 40,14: "את מי נועץ ויבינהו?" "Raise your eyes heavenwards and behold, who has created all these?" Or, "With whom did He consult, and who taught Him?". We have the verse מי א-ל בשמים ובארץ, which means that the Lord of Heaven and earth is called מי, "Who", seeing no one can comprehend His Essence. This is the mystical dimension of the word מי. When the prophet Isaiah 41,4 says: מי פעל ועשה, "Who has labored and brought to fruition," he reveals a deep secret. Heavenly decrees are reconsidered in the upper emanation of בינה or in the lower emanations of נצח and הוד respectively. The latter regions are known as G–d's צבאות. A righteous person who wants to annul someone else's vow concentrates on the region in which G–d annuls such decrees. Eicha Rabbah 3, explains the verse in Lamentations 3,44, סכותה בענן לך מעבור תפלה, "You have screened Yourself off with a cloud, so that no prayer may pass through." Our sages refer to the story involving Rabbi Chanina bar Papa. This rabbi approached Rabbi Samuel who had a reputation of being an expert in homiletics, asking him to explain this verse to him. The latter explained that the verse means that there are times when the gates of prayer are locked, and other times when they are open. He quoted Rabbi Yossi ben Chalafta who had said that there are times when it is propitious to offer prayer, based on the verse in Psalms 69,14: "As for me, may my prayer come to You My Lord, at a favorable moment." The gates of repentance however, are never locked, since repentance is compared to the ocean which is never sealed, and accepts waters from the rivers at all times.

The reason that repentance is such a powerful tool is that it ranks higher than all the accusers [in the Celestial Spheres], and those who address themselves to that "power" need not be afraid of any evil forces in the world. We know this from such verses as Isaiah 14,27: כי ה' צבאות יעץ ומי יפר, וידו הנטויה ומי ישיבנה. "For the Lord of Hosts has planned it, who could possibly foil it? We also read in Nachum 1,6:לפני זעמו מי יעמוד! "Who can stand up to His wrath!" The word Mee in both these verses refers to the institution of repentance. We know this from Isaiah 40,26: "שאו מרום עיניכם וראו מי ברא אלה" as well as from Isaiah 40,14: "את מי נועץ ויבינהו?" "Raise your eyes heavenwards and behold, who has created all these?" Or, "With whom did He consult, and who taught Him?". We have the verse מי א-ל בשמים ובארץ, which means that the Lord of Heaven and earth is called מי, "Who", seeing no one can comprehend His Essence. This is the mystical dimension of the word מי. When the prophet Isaiah 41,4 says: מי פעל ועשה, "Who has labored and brought to fruition," he reveals a deep secret. Heavenly decrees are reconsidered in the upper emanation of בינה or in the lower emanations of נצח and הוד respectively. The latter regions are known as G–d's צבאות. A righteous person who wants to annul someone else's vow concentrates on the region in which G–d annuls such decrees. Eicha Rabbah 3, explains the verse in Lamentations 3,44, סכותה בענן לך מעבור תפלה, "You have screened Yourself off with a cloud, so that no prayer may pass through." Our sages refer to the story involving Rabbi Chanina bar Papa. This rabbi approached Rabbi Samuel who had a reputation of being an expert in homiletics, asking him to explain this verse to him. The latter explained that the verse means that there are times when the gates of prayer are locked, and other times when they are open. He quoted Rabbi Yossi ben Chalafta who had said that there are times when it is propitious to offer prayer, based on the verse in Psalms 69,14: "As for me, may my prayer come to You My Lord, at a favorable moment." The gates of repentance however, are never locked, since repentance is compared to the ocean which is never sealed, and accepts waters from the rivers at all times.

And the prophet further said: "She has none to guide her out of all the sons she bore, none takes her hand of all the sons she raised" (Yeshaya 51:18). And "all flesh is grass, and all his kindness is as the blossom of the field" (Isaiah 40:6), which our sages of blessed memory, explained: "all the kindness they do is only for themselves" (Zohar Chadash 117a, Tikunei Zohar 30,63a), i.e. for their own good and benefit; they do not intend for this perfect intention and do not seek the raising of G-d's honor and the redemption of Israel.

This does not preclude a change in the future. Jacob was אוחז בעקב "holding on to the "heel" (Genesis 25,26) i.e. to humility already from the moment he was born. This is also the mystical dimension of ויבא יעקב שלם, that "Jacob attained perfection" (Genesis 33,18). When Jacob was called ישראל because he prevailed in a struggle with the Divine, this is an allusion to the World to Come, a domain even closer to G–d than the domain of the angels. This is alluded to in Numbers 23,23 by Bileam who said: כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל א-ל. "Jacob is told at once, Yea, Israel, what G–d has planned." [The author tries to demonstrate that when manipulating the spelling of the name יעקב the name ישרון which is the name used to describe the Jewish people on their highest spiritual level, can be obtained. When one omits the first letter of a "word" representing the "full" spelling of a letter such as the letter י being spelled יוד, this is called a concealed way of spelling the word, נעלם. In our example, if you spell the word יעקב "full" i.e י"וד-ע"ין-ק"וף ב"ית, and you then omit the letters I have highlighted i.e. י-ע-ק-ב, you will be left with ו"ד-י"ן-ו",-י"ת. The numerical value of the last 8 letters is 566, the same as the numerical value of ישרון. Ed.]. This is the mystical aspect of Isaiah 40,4: והיה העקוב למישור, "and the crooked will become straight," an allusion to the perception of Jacob as devious and engaging in deception as claimed by Esau. The "concealed" spelling of these names is a hint of the great good in store for the Jewish people. The three names יעקב-ישראל-ישרון correspond to the שלמות of Jacob in three areas: his body, גוף, his relationship with the material goods of this world, ממון, and his spiritual life, נפש (cf. Rashi on Genesis 33,18). These three areas are the subject of the manner in which we are to relate to G–d with love, i.e. "בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך. The body will be as much part of an everlasting life in the future we speak of as is the soul in our times. All the Kabbalists are agreed that this is so because the body has been created בצלם אלוקים, in the image of G–d. The names ישראל and ישרון allude to this dual "perfection" of body and soul, i.e. that both will gain everlasting life. The name ישרון symbolizes ישר, that G–d has created man ישר, upright, honest. He could not have done otherwise for ישרים דרכי ה', "the ways of the Lord are upright" (Hosea 14,10). It is relatively easy for a soul, רוח, to return to the Celestial Regions it has come from. When we speak about שלימות ממונו, the Torah means אלוהי כסף ואלוהי זהב לא תעשו (Exodus 20,23), that one must not elevate the value one places on silver and gold as something akin to a deity.

Let us return to the concept of the basic equality of the concepts of משכן and שבת. It is logical therefore that all the forbidden work-activities on the Sabbath are derived from activities performed in constructing the Tabernacle. This is also why in order to be culpable for transgressing these prohibitions they must have been performed intentionally. The Torah states that the construction of the Tabernacle involved לחשוב מחשבות, thoughtful planning (35,32). This means that everything that was made for use in the Tabernacle was designated to perform its function already when it was merely being processed, long before it became an integral part of the Tabernacle. The various artisans involved had to be familiar with the true significance of the parts they were fashioning, possibly even their mystical aspects. The author proceeds to point out the significance in the wording of the opening משנה of the tractate שבת, (which describes different elements of the act of transferring property from one domain to another), as applicable to the comparison between work performed on the Sabbath and work performed for the construction of the משכן. The work is described as , שתים שהן ארבע בפנים, ושתים שהן ארבע בחוץ, "two categories which are really four, internally, and two categories which are really four, externally." The expression חוץ, outside, is a reference to the negative prohibitions whose purpose is to keep the קליפות, negative, Satan-inspired, influences outside. The expression פנים refers to the positive commandments and their function to bring additional sanctity into our personality. This is also the reason the sages refer to the two different "headlines" of the Sabbath, i.e. זכור ושמור, as having been said בדבור אחד, "in one word." They view the observance of the negative commandments of the Sabbath legislation as no more than the other side of the coin called Sabbath, the first side symbolising the positive commandment זכור את יום השבת לקדשו. [compare Exodus 20,8 and Deuteronomy 5,12 respectively.] Matters concerning the performance of positive commandments are two-fold, i.e. they involve body and soul respectively. Both body and soul consist of hidden as well as revealed aspects. Thus we see that there are a total of four categories. The revealed aspect of the soul is the Torah. Our sages phrased this by stating לא איברי שבתות אלא לגירסא, "The only reason the Sabbath days were created is to enable Torah study to be pursued on those days." The Zohar elaborates that upon its return to the Celestial Regions after the Sabbath, the נשמה יתירה is asked what new Torah insights it had gained during its stay on earth on the Sabbath. By coming up with such new insights the soul is considered as having created new heavens. This is why the Midrash we quoted earlier compared Isaiah 40,22 to the construction of the tent-cloths for the Tabernacle in Exodus 26,1. The message in both statements is that man is able to perform creative acts.

Therefore it is important to inform you of the power and might of the soul, and then you will devote your intelligence to the uppermost foundation of all. And this matter is like the case of the king's son, a boy of a year or two, who was kidnapped and taken a distance of a thousand parasangs or more. And he was raised in the house of a villager and was taught the work of a villager and he did not think about or remember the time of his royal state, for he did not recognize or know anything of it. And after he had reached maturity of thought, someone came to him and informed him, "You are a king's son!" But he did not tell him what manner of prince he was. Then his heart swelled with pride but he did not pay too much attention to this information for he did not know who his father was. And after this another bearer of tidings came to him and told him which king was his father and told him his country and his land. Then his heart became even more proud and he longed to go there. Nevertheless, his heart felt suddenly cast down as he thought, "Even if I do go there, they will pay no attention to me for they will not recognize me." After this the king heard where his son was and he sent members of his household who knew certain signs on his body, and he sent with them nobles and garments of royalty with the command to bring his son to him. And when these emissaries came to him and saw him and recognized him and showed him the royal garments, then his heart became exceedingly proud. And after they had dressed him and mounted him on the horse that the king was accustomed to ride, then he knew his power and his might and there was now within him the heart of a king and he was exceedingly proud. So it is with the soul. The soul is the daughter of the king, breathed into man from the very Throne of Glory and brought into a body that is soiled, and which has a great desire for this world and many sorts of longings. Before the soul is aware that she is the daughter of the king, she is drawn after all the longings of the body and forgets her Exalted Father. But when they show her the heavens and the stars, and the sun and the moon, how they move with even and precise motion, and they tell her that she was created by the Same One who created them, she feels herself more and more exalted. And when they teach her the secret of the Unity of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the secret of the wisdom of the soul, then she clothes herself in her royal garments and enters into the secret of reverence. And even a man who does not know all this, but who thinks about this lofty concept from the depths of his heart, and discerns the might of God, Blessed be He, then such a one will clothe himself with awe in his heart, as it is written, "Lift up your eyes on high, and see : who hath created these? He that bringeth out their host by number, He calleth them all by name; By the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one faileth" (Is. 40:26).

When G–d said to Moses: רב לך אל תוסף דבר, this amounted to the rejection of Moses' prayers not to be saddled with such problems as the סוד העיבור. Originally Moses had been the "father of all the prophets." When G–d said: רב לך, He indicated that in subsequent generations [if Moses were to go on living Ed.] he would need to consult other Torah scholars, i.e. רב לך since his own intellectual powers would decline. We have a hint of this in Isaiah 40,14. Even in Moses' own lifetime the Torah has him say לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבא (Deut. 31,2) "I no longer can master the intricacies of Torah studies" (Sotah 13b). He did not refer to his physical prowess, since the Torah itself (Deut. 34,7) testifies that לא נס לחה that Moses had not lost any of his physical vitality. On occasion he had to draw on the memory or resourcefulness of Joshua. This is another meaning of the words רב לך, i.e. "you already have another teacher." There is also a hint of the entire development of Moses' prophecy, his rise and decline, in Deut. 18,18: נביא אקים להם מקרב אחיהם כמוך, "I will raise up a prophet for them from their own people like yourself." The respective first letters in the opening three words of this verse form the acronym אלם, silent, dumb, suggesting that at the beginning of his prophetic career Moses was silent and the entire input was G–d's. Later on, prophetic utterances would flow from him directly, i.e. מקרב. Still later he would rise to an even higher level when G–d would command him and speak with him publicly.

As we have said, the measurements of such physical phenomena gradually decrease until only a single cubit remains. This cubit which comprises 6 handsbreadths corresponds to the 6 wings with which each of the angels that we read about in Isaiah 6,2 were equipped. Those angels developed "downwards," to eventually form the 70 שרים representing the 70 Gentile nations in the Celestial Spheres which we have called the army of the Heavens. It is said of G–d (Isaiah 40,12) that He established the Heavens with a זרת, the span between the thumb and little finger. When Avital the scribe mentioned the אמה+זרת as the size of Pharaoh's male member, he alluded to the שר של מצרים and the fact that he had some influence in the Celestial Regions. We, the Jewish people, extend to the ראש העליון.

When the Tziyoni in his commentary on Parshat Noach deals with the generation of the Tower of Babel, he discusses the subject of שיעור הקומה at length. Kabbalists interpret Psalms 147,5: גדול אדוננו ורב כח לתבונתו אין מספר, "Great is our Lord and full of power; His wisdom is beyond reckoning." They see in the numerical value of the words ורב כח (236) an allusion to 236 times 10 million פרסאות as the distance spanned by the Celestial Regions. The פרסה equals מילין 4, the מיל equals 2000 cubits. The cubit consists of 6 handbreadths, which in turn consist of 4 זרתות each. The זרת of the Celestial Regions is the distance covered by a person in 500 years' walking, as we know from Isaiah 40,12: ושמים בזרת תכן, He gauged the Heavens with a span. From the above and other slightly divergent commentaries on the same subject it emerges that when we talk about שיעור הקומה we mean the dimension of certain manifestations in the spiritual world. There is general agreement amongst the Kabbalists that all these so-called measurements apply only to Mattatron. Any spiritual force in the Celestial Regions which is on a higher level than Mattatron is beyond the realm of measurement, even symbolically. Concerning more highly placed spiritual beings we apply Isaiah 40,18: "To whom do you want to compare Him (G–d)?" Any Celestial Region beyond the one in which Mattaron functions is "forbidden territory," beyond our right to investigate. This means that the שער, gateway is closed to us. שיעור is thus related to שער. The term שיעור הקומה is a reference to and more precise definition of the 7 emanations which between them executed the בנין, the actualisation of G–d's directives to bring this physical universe into existence. The mind-boggling measurements referred to are beyond man's ability to comprehend. They have been cited by Kabbalists to drive home this very point.[The people who built the Tower, or at least their leaders, possessed some knowledge of these matters and wanted to establish something on earth which would reflect what existed in heaven, albeit in miniature. Their endeavour was similar to that of the Israelites when they built the Tabernacle, except that they had not been bidden to do so and wanted to rival G–d rather than draw Him into their midst, (cf. Bereshit Rabbah 38,6) Ed.]

When the Tziyoni in his commentary on Parshat Noach deals with the generation of the Tower of Babel, he discusses the subject of שיעור הקומה at length. Kabbalists interpret Psalms 147,5: גדול אדוננו ורב כח לתבונתו אין מספר, "Great is our Lord and full of power; His wisdom is beyond reckoning." They see in the numerical value of the words ורב כח (236) an allusion to 236 times 10 million פרסאות as the distance spanned by the Celestial Regions. The פרסה equals מילין 4, the מיל equals 2000 cubits. The cubit consists of 6 handbreadths, which in turn consist of 4 זרתות each. The זרת of the Celestial Regions is the distance covered by a person in 500 years' walking, as we know from Isaiah 40,12: ושמים בזרת תכן, He gauged the Heavens with a span. From the above and other slightly divergent commentaries on the same subject it emerges that when we talk about שיעור הקומה we mean the dimension of certain manifestations in the spiritual world. There is general agreement amongst the Kabbalists that all these so-called measurements apply only to Mattatron. Any spiritual force in the Celestial Regions which is on a higher level than Mattatron is beyond the realm of measurement, even symbolically. Concerning more highly placed spiritual beings we apply Isaiah 40,18: "To whom do you want to compare Him (G–d)?" Any Celestial Region beyond the one in which Mattaron functions is "forbidden territory," beyond our right to investigate. This means that the שער, gateway is closed to us. שיעור is thus related to שער. The term שיעור הקומה is a reference to and more precise definition of the 7 emanations which between them executed the בנין, the actualisation of G–d's directives to bring this physical universe into existence. The mind-boggling measurements referred to are beyond man's ability to comprehend. They have been cited by Kabbalists to drive home this very point.[The people who built the Tower, or at least their leaders, possessed some knowledge of these matters and wanted to establish something on earth which would reflect what existed in heaven, albeit in miniature. Their endeavour was similar to that of the Israelites when they built the Tabernacle, except that they had not been bidden to do so and wanted to rival G–d rather than draw Him into their midst, (cf. Bereshit Rabbah 38,6) Ed.]

On the day the Tabernacle was erected in our world, the נער, i.e. Mattatron, was established in the corresponding Celestial Regions. We have explained on a different occasion that the angel Mattaron is called נער in connection with his function. Just as Joshua -even at the age of 56 years- is still referred to by the Torah as נער because of the duties he performed for his master Moses, so Mattatron performs a similar function in Heaven.

Let us begin with love of Torah. This means studying only for the sake of the Holy One Blessed is He and His Shechinah and not for personal gain such as to be considered a scholar or even to earn reward in the World to Come. Concerning the person who studies for his own benefit and honor it was stated (Yeshayahu 40:6), “And all of his lovingkindness is like the grass of the field” (Tikkunim 30, 73b; Tikkunei Zohar Chadash 117a).

I have found additional allusions to my claim that Abraham was the end-purpose of Creation and that Creation, i.e. בריאה, is under the aegis of the name אלוקים, in a number of places in the commentary of the Zohar, when he discusses the deeper meaning of the words מי and מה respectively when used in connection with Creation. Isaiah 40,26 says: שאו מרום עיניכם וראו מי ברא אלה, "Raise up your eyes high and behold who has created all these?" We also find in Psalms 8,4: כי אראה שמיך מעשה אצבעתיך … ה' אדונינו מה אדיר שמך בכל הארץ, "When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,…O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name throughout the earth!" The word מה also appears in connection with G–d's Creation in מה רבו מעשיך ה' כולם בחכמה עשית, "How many are the things You have made, O Lord, You have made them all with wisdom" (Psalms 104,24). In the Zohar a great deal more attention is paid to the deeper meaning of the word מי, than to that of the word מה.