Musar su Geremia 32:38

Consider the greatness of their punishment. Because of the greatness of their sin, it is almost impossible for Gehinnom to cleanse them of it, as explained in Tanna d'bei Eliyahu 18: "Just as the wicked speak lashon hara, which ascends until the Throne of Glory, so, angels descend from the mouth of the Omnipotent One and take those evildoers and cast them into the [nethermost] depths of Gehinnom. At that time, Gehinnom responds and says to the Holy One Blessed be He: 'Master of the universe, I cannot punish them as much as they deserve to be punished, and the whole world cannot punish them enough. Did this speaker of lashon hara not sin from the earth until the heavens? But first send Your arrows from above, and then they will get from me coals of the broom bush from below, as it is written (Psalms 120:3-4): 'What will He give you and what will He add to you, you tongue of deceit? Sharpened arrows of the Mighty One, together with coals of the broom bush.' 'the Mighty One' is none other than the Holy One Blessed be He, as it is written 'the G-d who is great and mighty, etc.'" (We find the same in Arachin 15b.) And how much must the man of heart strengthen himself and stand guard against this bitter sin, in reflecting upon this awesome punishment, which the great prison house of Gehinnom itself is powerless to inflict unless it also be assisted from above!

I shall now proceed to explain the subject of blessing and Priest, Levite and Israelite respectively. It is accepted that the attributes represented by כהן, לוי, ישראל respectively, are the attributes חסד, גבורה, תפארת. These in turn are the mystical dimensions of our patriarchs. Abraham symbolizes חסד; Isaac symbolizes גבורה; Jacob symbolizes אמת, which we have repeatedly explained as corresponding to תפארת. Jacob is described as איש תם, a man of perfection, התם ומתמם, "someone who is perfect and kind to the blameless," a יושב אהלים, "dweller of tents," i.e. the median between the tent of Abraham and the tent of Isaac, embodying within himself the respective outstanding characteristics of both his father and grandfather. I have already explained at length in פרשת חיי שרה how all the patriarchs served as a force furthering G–d's objective to make this world perfect. True, the world had been created by the attribute of חסד, as we know from עולם חסד יבנה, in Psalms 89,3. It had always been G–d's intention to eventually base the world on the attribute of דין, Justice, so that man could experience a system of לתת לאיש כדרכיו וכפרי מעלליו, "to repay each man in accordance with his ways and with the fruit of his deeds" (Jeremiah 32,19). Isaac represented this latter ideal, and he was the first human being to whom G–d could successfully apply that yardstick. Since the world as a whole could not measure up to such a demanding standard, Jacob combined within his person a blend of both attributes to serve as a role model for future generations of mankind. There is a slight tilt towards the attribute of חסד, Justice and Mercy are not evenly balanced.

It is a duty to recite a benediction when setting out to study or to read the written Torah as well as to recite a benediction when setting out to study the oral Torah. The two benedictions are different, however, in their mystical dimensions. The benediction recited over the written Torah focuses on the awakening of the hidden light, imploring G–d to expand some of it so we may be enlightened by it. It is an example of the fact that any blessing is by definition an expansion of an already existing measure of blessing granted by G–d. The fact that we recite this blessing "awakens" the blessing, so to speak. The same will happen in the future when we can access this light completely. The benediction recited before studying oral Torah is an acknowledgement that this Torah has already developed like a fountain that keeps on gushing forth water, constantly adding new water. Similarly, our preoccupation with the oral Torah constantly affords us new insights, some of them never before articulated. It is these new insights which our Rabbis referred to when they said that G–d Himself quotes such insights taught by the scholars. The discussion in the Talmud as to why the earth was destroyed revolves around this concept. The purpose of creating the earth was that the earth should be "good," i.e. the world should be refined and that man should be clothed in garments of light, and that the light which is now hidden should pervade the whole universe. G–d hid this light upon observing the deeds of man. As a result the whole material the earth was constructed of coarsened, and man was forced to wear garments made of hide, etc. In spite of this coarsening process there was a small part of the earth which retained its original holiness, i.e. ארץ ישראל. Even this small corner of the earth which had retained its original holiness lost it, however, due to our sins, i.e. at the time of the destruction of the Holy Temple. At that time darkness descended even on this part of the earth, as the prophet Jeremiah tells us in Lamentations 3,6. Just as the light was removed immediately Adam had sinned, so in the case of Jerusalem. We read in Jeremiah 32,31: "This city has aroused My anger and My wrath from the day it was built until this day; hence it must be removed from My sight." This condition will continue until the land laid waste will be restored to be like גן עדן. I have repeatedly explained that terrestrial ארץ ישראל is "opposite" Celestial ארץ ישראל which is the mystical dimension of the oral Torah.