Musar su Isaia 49:3

Just as we know that when an artisan does a task he has only one intention, to do it to the very best of his ability, and that according to the greatness of his skill will be the accuracy of his work, and since we see that the world is created with the utmost accuracy, we know that God created it with the utmost wisdom. Just as the good artisan has but one intent, to do lovely and good work, and just as a good and wise potter* whose whole intention is to fashion very beautiful vessels; if one of them should come forth unattractive, crooked or imperfect, he will reject it and he will not include it with the beautiful vessels, but he will cast it aside or will break it—so, too, the Creator, blessed be He, had only one intent, to create in His world the good and the pious. And if there exists sinners, God rejects them, for they do not perfect the work of creation. Just as the wise artisan when he produces a beautiful piece of work boasts of it to all who see him, so does the Creator, blessed be He, glory in His pious ones, as it is said (Isaiah 44:23), “And he doth glorify Himself in Israel.” And it says further (ibid., 49:3), “Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” He vaunts Himself in His pious ones, for they testify to the perfection of His work and offer clear evidence to the righteousness of His deeds. As for the wicked, they are the opposite of which we have spoken. They place a blemish on His creation. They are a cause of the profanation of His glorious name. So that those who see them say that the work of the Creator, blessed be He, is not good, as it is said (Ezekiel 36:20), “And when they came unto the nations, whither they came, they profaned My holy name; in that men said of them: These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of His land.”

And a Torah scholar that does not act modestly is liable, because he distances the Torah from the love of the creatures. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 114a), “About this is it stated (Proverbs 8:36), ‘all who hate me love death.’” The explanation of haters is, those that cause hate - as they cause the creatures to hate the Torah. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Yoma 86a), “[When a man] reads [Torah], studies [Mishnah, ...]; and he speaks pleasantly with other people, is pleasant with [them] in his business transactions in the marketplace and gives and takes faithfully - what do people say about him? Fortunate is his father [and his mother] who taught him Torah, [...], woe to the people who have not studied Torah. So-and-so who was taught Torah - see how [beautiful] are his ways, how proper are his deeds. About him does the verse state (Isaiah 49:3), ‘You are My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’ [But when a man] reads [Torah], studies [Mishnah, ...]; but he does not speak pleasantly with other people, is not pleasant with [them] in his business transactions in the marketplace and does not give and take faithfully - what do people say about him? Woe to so-and-so who studied Torah, woe to his teacher and to his father who taught him Torah. So-and-so who studied Torah - see how [ugly] are his deeds, and how [corrupted] are his ways. About him, the verse states (Ezekiel 36:20), ‘they caused My holy name to be profaned, in that it was said of them, “These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave His land.”’”

And if a man is careful in guarding himself from these things and if his words are gentle with all people and he is pleasant and sociable with them, is abused by them but does not abuse them, honors them — even those who make light of him — and deals with every person honestly and does not spend too much time in the gatherings of the ignorant and their parties, and is not seen flitting about, but occupies himself with Torah, wrapped in his fringed Tallit and crowned with his Tefillin, and does more than is required of him by the letter of the law, but at the same time, does not separate himself utterly from the community and make himself a hermit, and if as a result of his behavior every one will praise him and love him and long to emulate his deeds — such a person sanctifies the Name of God and about him Scripture says! "And he said to me 'You are my servant Israel through whom I will be glorified' " (Is. 49:3).

This solves all the problems in the Midrash we have quoted. Before addressing other parts of the פרשה, allow me some remarks about the פרשה in general, after which I will deal with specific matters raised in this portion. We shall be guided by the approach in Midrash Tanchuma which commences its commentary on our פרשה with the verse: ויגבה ה' צבאות במשפט, והאל הקדוש נקדש בצדקה, "The Lord of Hosts is exalted by judgment, the Holy G–d proved holy by righteousness" (Isaiah 5,16). The Midrash says: "When is G–d perceived as exalted in His world? When He performs justice with the Gentile nations." The Midrash, at the end of the paragraph, cites Isaiah 49,3: "He (G–d) said to me: 'You are My servant, Israel in whom I glory.'"

Nachmanides has this to say on the expression of לכבוד ולתפארת, in 28,2: "As far as the mystical dimension of these instructions, i. e. ועל דרך האמת, is concerned: They should make prestigious garments for Aaron so that he could perform service in them to the G–d who represents true glory and splendour and who dwells amongst the Israelites. The might and glory of the Jewish people is their G–d, as we know from Psalms 89,18: כי תפארת עוזמו אתה, "For You are their strength in which they glory." We also know this from Isaiah 64,10 בית קדשנו ותפארתנו אשר הללוך אבותינו, "Our Holy Temple and the site of our glory where our forefathers praised You." The word קדשנו refers to our כבוד, honour, the word תפארתנו to the glory of Israel. We also have a verse in Psalms 96,6: עוז ותפארת במקדשו, "Strength and glory in His Sanctuary." Isaiah 60,13 speaks of לפאר מקום מקדשי ומקום רגלי אכבד, "To glorify the site of My Sanctuary and the place where My feet rest." The prophet evidently describes that the site of the Temple is to reflect G–d's splendour and honour. G–d is glorified through Israel viz: Isaiah 49,3: ישראל אשר בך אתפאר, "I glory in you Israel."

When Isaiah 49,3 quotes G–d as saying of Israel: ישראל אשר בך אתפאר, "Israel, you, in whom I glory," the reference may well be to Jacob in his capacity of ישראל סבא who dons the phylacteries of the head. Those phylacteries are known as פאר, as glorious headdress, as is well known. I have already mentioned that the whole Torah is compared to תפילין. Torah itself is subsumed in the word את, which the Talmud in Shabbat 55 understands as referring to people who observe Torah from א-ת. The extra letters את in אתפאר refer to such people.

The reason that the Midrash also quoted the verse from Proverbs 4,9 describing the crown on G–d's head as His תפארת, glory, is, that it wishes to alert us to the fact that there are times -such as when Israel is on its own land- when G–d actively desires our prayers. At such a time the prayers are both עטרת and תפארת. During such times G–d is perceived as courting כנסת ישראל, the spiritual equivalent of the people of Israel, much as a groom courts a bride. This is understood in kabbalistic circles as the union of the emanation תפארת and מלכות.