Musar su Isaia 54:78

May the L-rd strengthen our hearts to emulate His chesed so that the greatness of His lovingkindness not depart from us. As Chazal have said (Vayikra Rabbah 36): "If you see the merit of the fathers and the merit of the mothers 'tottering,' cleave to gemiluth chasadim, as it is written (Isaiah 54:10): 'For the mountains will depart and the hills will totter, but My chesed shall not depart from you'" — this is gemiluth chasadim. (Ibid.) 'And the covenant of My peace shall not totter' — this is [i.e., refers to] one who makes peace between a man and his wife and between a man and his neighbor." For this, too, is gemiluth chasadim. And may there be fulfilled in us (Ibid. 14): "With tzedakah will you be established, etc."

May the L-rd strengthen our hearts to emulate His chesed so that the greatness of His lovingkindness not depart from us. As Chazal have said (Vayikra Rabbah 36): "If you see the merit of the fathers and the merit of the mothers 'tottering,' cleave to gemiluth chasadim, as it is written (Isaiah 54:10): 'For the mountains will depart and the hills will totter, but My chesed shall not depart from you'" — this is gemiluth chasadim. (Ibid.) 'And the covenant of My peace shall not totter' — this is [i.e., refers to] one who makes peace between a man and his wife and between a man and his neighbor." For this, too, is gemiluth chasadim. And may there be fulfilled in us (Ibid. 14): "With tzedakah will you be established, etc."

I have found among the various booklets of the Arizal that he defines the differences in these levels of the Hereafter as follows: "Know that the righteous enters into a marriage (union) both in this world and after his death. Every צדיק does so in accordance with his individual spiritual powers. There are also צדיקים who enter into a union (embracing the Hereafter) in this world such as בניהו בן יהוידע. (the exploits of this warrior who was among David's body-guards are listed in Samuel II chapter 23). Some enter into an union with the Celestial partner, i.e. אבא ואמא, already while in this world, since in those regions unions can be consecrated only through what we know as קדוש השם, martyrdom by glorifying the name of G–d. An example of this kind of זווג, union with one's partner in the Hereafter, were the Ten Martyrs tortured to death by the Romans including Rabbi Akiva. The same rule applies during any period Jews suffer religious persecution and defiantly go to their death as Jews." When we recite the קריאת שמע we experience a faint echo of such an affinity to the Hereafter. The name of בניהו בן יהוידע also alludes to the emanation בינה יה-ו י-ה למעלה. This is the deeper meaning of בניהו being described in Samuel II 23,20 as בן איש חי, someone who had established his claim to life in the Hereafter. When said בניהו is reported as having killed a lion, הארי, the numerical value of the word הארי=216 is equal to three times the fully spelled Ineffable Name 72. The prophet describes this encounter with the lion as having occurred on יום השלג, which has its own mystical dimension. When our sages say in Sanhedrin 90a: כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא, they mean that the soul of every Jew has access to the Hereafter. When the sages use the expression that someone is מזומן, "invited," they refer to the future when the light of the moon has become as brilliant as the light of the sun. This is the future we have in mind when we add to the words of the שמע ישראל the 24 letters of the formula ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, "May the Majesty of His glorious kingdom be blessed forever." Nowadays when we are in exile the twenty-four letters in that formula are reversed i.e. have become ד"ך. This is the mystical dimension of Psalms 74,21: אל ישוב דך נכלם, "Let not the downtrodden turn away disappointed." When the Holy Temple was standing, G–d's Majesty consisted of 24 letters; when it will be rebuilt it will again consist of 24 letters. This is meant in Isaiah 54,12: ושמתי כד-כד שמשותך, "I shall make your suns twice 24." [The standard rendition of this verse is: "I shall make your battlements of rubies." Ed.] During Solomon's reign the moon was considered as having reached its zenith, i.e. in the history of the Jewish people whose fate is compared to the fate of the moon. This is what is alluded to by the 24 letters in the formula we recite when saying the קריאת שמע, when we express our absolute faith in this future display of G–d's Majesty. This number 24 equals one third of the possible amount of light. In the messianic future the full extent of the light, i.e. the other two thirds i.e. the ones alluded to in Isaiah 54,12 as כדכד,=48 will be revealed. When combining the three times 24 we have the number 72, i.e. the Ineffable Name spelled fully as words. In other words, G–d's name will be whole when this light will be displayed in all its power. The mystical dimension of the destruction of the Temple is alluded to in its name. It is called בית, house. The numerical value of בית is 412. By adding the number 2 for the two kinds of light it represents we get 414. This is the numerical value of אור, light, multiplied by two, i.e. 207 x2. The removal (destruction) of the בית, robbed us of two thirds of the light in store for us. The root of this light remains in the domain of אצילות. In those regions the only ones who can derive pleasure from it are those who unite in a זיווג, marital "union," the creatures we know as אבא ואמא. Anyone who will be privileged to do so in the seventh millennium (the millennium during which according to Talmudic sources this world will undergo destruction prior to its re-emergence, totally renewed) are the people our sages have referred to as having been invited to the World to Come. This is the secret meaning of the voice from the Celestial Regions which called out to Rabbi Akiva: "hail to you for you have been invited to life in the World to Come" (Berachot 61b). When the sages speak of someone being assured of the World to Come, i.e. מובטח לו שהוא בן עולם הבא, this is the highest level of life in the World to Come. People of the caliber of בניהו בן יהוידע are slated for such a level of experience in the עולם הבא. People of this caliber experienced death on earth only because mankind as such was sentenced to such a fate, not because they individually became guilty of death. On the contrary, these people used their stay on earth in order to totally perfect their personalities.

The following is a quote from the commentary of the Rekanati on the subject of צדקה: "It is well known that a great many commandments are bound up with the commandment to give charity. The matter is similar to the number of organs in man's body which all depend on the soul for his survival. Some of man's organs more than others depend on the health of the central life-sustaining force. Were it not for the dispensation of charity, the poor would be forced to engage in thieving, robbery and a host of other transgressions. We have pointed out on numerous occasions that when good deeds are performed "down here" in our world, positive forces are created in the Celestial Regions. Even a small coin donated to charitable causes in our world is called צדקה. This enables the צדיק to unite with the emanation צדק [otherwise known as מלכות. Ed.] and to establish harmony with it. This is the meaning of Isaiah 32,18: והיה מעשה הצדקה שלום, ועבודת הצדקה השקט ובטח עד עולם, "For the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness calm and confidence forever." The prophet Hosea 10,12 also states: זרעו לכם לצדקה, קצרו לפי חסד, "Sow righteousness for yourselves; reap the fruits according to goodness." We have other verses such as וצדקה תציל ממות, "And (the performance of) righteousness saves from death" (Proverbs 10,2). When people sin and the earth dies out (as a result), then the "feet" of the emanation מלכות descend towards "death" and anyone who causes any damage [in the sense of spiritually undermining the basis. Ed.] to the feet of this "מלכות" will die without mercy and pity. Woe to such a time! When someone, however, causes the צדיק to be united with צדק, beneficial rainfall for the earth will result bringing life in its wake. From this we learn that he who donates to charity in our world causes acts of righteousness to be performed in the Celestial Regions. This is the mystical dimension of the statement in Proverbs 10,2 that "righteousness saves from death." Were it not for the union established with the emanation מלכות, anyone who would do something prejudicial to it would die. This is the meaning of Proverbs 16,12: כי בצדקה יכון כסא, "For a throne is firm if based on righteousness;" we have other verses in the same sense such as Isaiah 1,27: ושביה בצדקה, that the repentant sinners will be redeemed through righteousness. A similar thought is expressed in Isaiah 54,14: בצדקה תכוננו, "You shall be established through righteousness." The secret of domestic peace and harmony is also anchored in the practice of צדקה.

Another practice that interferes with the acceptability of a person’s holy endeavors is the donning of two garments together, namely, donning one of them when the other is already inside it. According to an oral tradition handed down to us from the disciples of the Ari (Pri Eitz Chayim, Sha’ar HaTefillah, Ch. 2) this practice is very injurious to a person, for it allows the Sitrah Acharah a certain degree of access to him. This is especially true regarding the donning of one’s Sabbath clothes, which require extra care, as we have already mentioned. For the Sitrah Acharah surrounds a person striving to cling to him, especially when he is dressed in his Shabbos clothing. Therefore the Ari advised that as a person dons them he should recite the verse, “No weapon that is fashioned will succeed against you and every tongue that rises up against you in judgment will you condemn. This is the inheritance of the servants of Hashem and the recompense from Me for their righteousness, says Hashem” (Yeshaya 54:17). It is also appropriate to recite this verse as one dons one’s outer garment to pray. One should thoroughly examine one’s garments at other times, too, and not only when one is about to pray, because sanctity does not devolve upon any place that is repulsive or soiled.

Shemot Rabbah 15,31 describes Exodus 12,1 in a parable. A king betrothed himself to a girl, promising her a few gifts in writing. When the time arrived for the wedding, he guaranteed her many gifts, as is the custom for a husband. One must view this present world and the Hereafter in a similar light. In this world only few gifts are guaranteed. Our existence in this world is comparable to that of a bride who, though betrothed, is still awaiting the wedding. We are reminded of this by the formula we recite whenever we put on the phylacteries on our arm: וארשתיך לי לעולם, I will be betrothed to you forever" (Hoseah 2,21-22). It is an allegory that in this world Israel has only been given the moon, as we know from our verse in Exodus 12,1. In Messianic times, however, there will be a real wedding (between Israel and G–d) as we know from Isaiah 54,5: "For He who has made you will be your spouse." When that time arrives, G–d will hand over all His treasures to the Jewish people as is recorded in Daniel 12,3: "And the wise will shine like the brightness of the sky, and they that turn the many to righteousness will be as stars forever and ever." Thus far the Midrash. The meaning of the parable is clear. Israel is the bride; the mystical aspect of the betrothal is the gift of the moon, whereas the Torah represents the gift to be received at the time of the wedding. It is the wedding document popularly known as the כתובה, which spells out the obligations the groom assumes when marrying a bride. The obligations spelled out in the document can only be claimed in the Hereafter.