Musar su Isaia 62:76

מי האיש אשר בנה בית חדש ולא חנכו ילך וישוב לביתו . The same rule applies to someone who has planted a vineyard and not consecrated it, or to someone who is betrothed to a girl and has not yet wed her. Remember that there are three periods each of which is described as עולם הבא, "the World to Come," as we know from the Sabbath morning prayer הכל יודוך. In our liturgy we describe these various periods of time as 1) חיי העולם הבא, 2) ימות המשיח, 3) תחיית המתים. The period described as חיי העולם הבא refers to a "home," i.e. a dwelling equipped with the type of furnishings that are in keeping with the relative merit each righteous person has achieved during his lifetime on earth. The period called ימות המשיח refers to the period when man and woman join in matrimony, i.e. when G–d and the mystical equivalent of the Jewish people called כנסת ישראל form a permanent bond. This period is referred to by the prophet Isaiah 62,5: "As a youth espouses a maiden, your sons shall espouse Me; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your G–d rejoice over you." After this period called תחיית המתים, "the resurrection of the dead," there comes the period of eternity, something which has not been described by any prophet since none have been shown it. Our sages have alluded to this period as the period of the יין המשומר בענביו מששת ימי בראשית והוא כרם השם צבאות, a period when wine will be served which has been preserved in its grapes ever since the six days of Creation. G–d regards this as His personal vineyard. A sinner has to return home instead of fighting in the war called מלחמת רשות. A sinner is a person who has not yet completed his preparations for entry into any of these phases of the World to Come. The Torah merely alludes to this by giving examples of people who have undertaken three different types of crucial enterprises without having completed their tasks. When the Torah stresses that anyone of these three categories of people is to ישוב לביתו "return" home, this is a not so subtle hint to the sinner to engage in repentance, תשובה.

We must therefore refer to the Zohar who explains on Genesis 11,31 (Sullam edition Lech Lecha page 11) in which the Torah reports Terach, Abraham, Lot and family as having left Ur Kasdim with the intention of moving to the land of Canaan, that the intention to move to Canaan sufficed for G–d to offer Abraham assistance. Up to that point Abraham's intellectual achievements in the field of philosophy had been unassisted. From this point on he received Divine guidance. The crucial factor in bringing about G–d's manifest involvement was that Abraham had made the first move. We learn from here that deeds in our world act as the catalyst that evokes heavenly responses. As soon as Abraham had demonstrated his intention to move to Canaan, G–d told him לך לך. We can apply the same to the ultimate redemption, i.e. until "black light" wakes up, "white light" will not be able to merge with it and suffuse it, i.e. restore the state of the world to what it had been prior to Adam's sin.. This is the message in Isaiah 62,6 that המזכירים את ה' אל דמי לכם, "when (you -the watchmen-) mention G–d, do not practice silence." The prophet cautions the watchmen that silent contemplation is not enough. Whenever man makes the first move towards Him G–d can be depended on to respond and lead man on to greater things. Thus far the Zohar.

I have found in the book Ba-assarah ma-amorot chapter 3, an article that explains the source of this legislation. The author writes as follows, quoting Isaiah 62,6: "Upon your walls O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen." These are four watchmen corresponding to the four-lettered name of G–d, their דינים are three, since the watchmen of the "Upper World" never abandon Jerusalem, and concerning them the prophet says "all day long and all night long" (ibid.). They are never without supervision.

I have found in the book Ba-assarah ma-amorot chapter 3, an article that explains the source of this legislation. The author writes as follows, quoting Isaiah 62,6: "Upon your walls O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen." These are four watchmen corresponding to the four-lettered name of G–d, their דינים are three, since the watchmen of the "Upper World" never abandon Jerusalem, and concerning them the prophet says "all day long and all night long" (ibid.). They are never without supervision.

This enables us to see important allusions to future events in these words. At this time, when Jacob went out to get married, he alluded to the deeper meaning of the union of man and woman, which is extolled as something that, in the future, will even provide joy for G–d Himself. We know this from Isaiah 62,5. In Yevamot 61, Rabbi Yossi is reported to have met Elijah and to have asked him about the meaning of the word כנגדו in Genesis 2,18 which reports G–d as saying: אעשה לו עזר כנגדו, "I shall make for him (Adam) as helpmate kenegdo." Rabbi Yossi wanted to know in what way a woman can help man do something he is not able to do himself. Elijah asked: "When a man brings home wheat, does the wheat grind itself? When a man brings home flax, does the flax convert itself into a garment? Do you not realize that a woman makes a man's eyes light up? Does she not put him on his feet?" Elijah's answer was an appropriate one to point out woman's role in our world. In the future, however, everything will be ready-made for man, as we have learned in Shabbat 30. What is woman's role then? [The Talmud describes hot rolls and other delicacies as being served up for man without any human input being required. The finest garments would also be available without the need for tailors, seamstresses, spinners, etc.] Jacob's references to לחם לאכול, ובגד ללבוש, referred to the time when man would not have to work for a living, when all the tedium associated with our present lives would be removed. He meant that bread would be "ready to eat, clothes ready to wear." I have already outlined that Jacob's marriages, which produced the twelve tribes, are an allusion to the eventual union between G–d and Israel. These considerations explain Jacob's choice of words.