Musar su Salmi 82:78

The purpose of Israel's exile and enslavement in Egypt was to refine the nation in the "iron crucible," to enable it to receive the Torah so that the contamination caused by the original serpent would be purged from them. At that point (מתן תורה), the whole of the universe would rejuvenate itself and become like it had been at the time G–d had created Adam. It would have remained in that state had the Jewish people not sinned during the episode of the golden calf. Proof of this theory is found in Psalms 82,6-7: "I said, I had taken you for Divine beings, (immortal) sons of the most High, but you have to die as men do…"

“You shall not place a stumbling block before the blind” (Leviticus 19:14). And we were warned with this not to give a ruling to the Israelites which is not like the doctrine and not like the law (halakha). And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Avot 1:1), “Be deliberate in judgement.” And the ones who are impatient to understand and give a ruling will not save their souls from putting a stumbling block before the blind; and their sin is very heavy, as it is written (Psalms 82:5), “They neither know nor understand, they go about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth totter.” And they also said (Avot 4:13), “Be careful in study, for an error in study counts as deliberate sin.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Sotah 22a), “‘For she has cast down many wounded’ (Proverbs 7:26); this is [referring to] a Torah scholar who has not yet attained the ability to issue rulings, and yet issues rulings. ‘And a mighty host are all her slain’; this is referring to a Torah scholar who has attained the ability to issue rulings, but does not issue rulings.”

What has happened instead is best described by Assaph in Psalms 82,6: "I had taken you for divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you; but you shall die as men do, fall like any prince." When Moses is described as אלוהים over Pharaoh, this means that he is superior to the spiritual representative of Egypt, its שר, in the Celestial Spheres. The שר של מצרים is the highest of all the שרים; this shows that Moses did indeed occupy a lofty position. When Assaph, in the Psalm quoted, refers to Israel as אלוקים אחת, "you are divine (plural)," it is a reference to Moses being perceived as equal to the 600,000, i.e. all of Israel. The expression ובני עליון כולכם in the Psalm refers to the people of Israel who were on a spiritual level qualifying them to be the "army" in the Celestial Regions with Moses as their leader compared to a divine force in charge of that "army." Israel's failure during the episode of the golden calf reduced them to a human level, made them mortal. Just as G–d had overthrown divine forces (such as the protective angel of Egypt) before Moses, now it would be the Jewish people's turn to be overthrown.

What has happened instead is best described by Assaph in Psalms 82,6: "I had taken you for divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you; but you shall die as men do, fall like any prince." When Moses is described as אלוהים over Pharaoh, this means that he is superior to the spiritual representative of Egypt, its שר, in the Celestial Spheres. The שר של מצרים is the highest of all the שרים; this shows that Moses did indeed occupy a lofty position. When Assaph, in the Psalm quoted, refers to Israel as אלוקים אחת, "you are divine (plural)," it is a reference to Moses being perceived as equal to the 600,000, i.e. all of Israel. The expression ובני עליון כולכם in the Psalm refers to the people of Israel who were on a spiritual level qualifying them to be the "army" in the Celestial Regions with Moses as their leader compared to a divine force in charge of that "army." Israel's failure during the episode of the golden calf reduced them to a human level, made them mortal. Just as G–d had overthrown divine forces (such as the protective angel of Egypt) before Moses, now it would be the Jewish people's turn to be overthrown.

We have a perfect example of the principle of מדה כנגד מדה, that retribution fits the crime, in the legislation about עדים זוממים, false witnesses trying to frame someone. These "witnesses" who testify to something they have not seen must suffer the fate their intended victims would have suffered had it not been that the truth was revealed in time (19,19). People must be judged by applying the same yardstick by which they judge others. The hidden message in this legislation is that when G–d created the universe, He created opposites. Just as He created domains of sanctity, He also created the alternative, i.e. a domain of impurity, קליפה. He who performs good deeds establishes his affinity to the domain of sanctity, whereas he who engages in sinful conduct establishes ties with the domain of impurity. All this is part of the concept: שכר מצוה מצוה, ושכר עברה עברה, that the "reward" of a good deed is another good deed and vice versa (Avot 4,2). The reward is the spiritual impact of the performance of the good deed. When the Torah ties the punishment of such a "witness" to כאשר זמם לעשות, "what he intended to accomplish" instead of to "what he did accomplish," it is to teach us the rule that we are measured by the same yardstick we apply to others. The Rekanati endeavors to explain how our sages dared arrive at the conclusion that if the intention of the עדים זוממים had in fact been accomplished, (i.e. that their victim had already been executed before discovery of the fact that they had not been at the scene of the crime to which they testified), that they then go out scot-free from a human tribunal (Chulin 11). This is what he writes: "I have to explain to you why the sages in Chulin arrived at such a ruling from something the Torah did not actually state. Did they presume to know everything that was in G–d's mind? First of all, let us be clear that the statement in Chulin כאשר זמם ולא כאשר עשה applies only in cases where a death penalty had been administered. If the subject of the testimony was something not involving a possible death penalty the witnesses in question will have to make restitution even if their victim has already been convicted. This is why our sages used as their example the words: הרגו אין נהרגים, "if they have killed they will not be executed." Having said this, know that G–d does not allow miscarriages of justice, i.e. that an innocent person be put to death by a Court. Anyone who has not committed a sin carrying the death penalty will not be convicted by the testimony of false witnesses. If such an accused is executed this merely proves that he was guilty of another sin for which he deserved to die, but that the other sin he was guilty of had not been witnessed, and that therefore no judicial proceedings could have been instituted. In view of this the false witnesses had actually accomplished G–d's purpose when they testified against the accused in question. They had actually merely caused the death of a person who -legally speaking- was already considered "dead" in G–d's books. How could we execute a witness for having caused the execution of someone already legally dead? All of the foregoing is based on our conviction that the Sanhedrin only confirm judgments already made in Heaven, that they are the representatives of the שכינה. If the witnesses were found out before their victim was executed, it is clear in retrospect that they were about to shed innocent blood. Clearly, for such a crime they must face retribution in kind. When judges perceive themselves as agents of G–d, it can be said of them that אלוקים נצב בעדת א-ל, 'G–d stands in the divine assembly'" (Psalms 82,1). Thus far the Rekanati.

The fourth period, the one we have termed עשיה, commenced with the exile of Edom (Roman exile), when the only communications from Celestial Regions were what the Talmud refers to as בת קול, heavenly echoes. Such communications emanate from the domain עשיה. This period lasted until the conclusion of the Talmud. Henceforth the only source of our illumination would be the Torah itself, i.e. what we attain by studying it. We can now understand the comments of the Talmud in Avodah Zarah 5a concerning the role of the red heifer in purification rites required after incurring impurity through contact with a dead body. Rabbi Yossi says there that the only reason the Jewish people received the Torah was to overcome the sovereignty of the angel of death, of other nations or tongues. We know this from Psalms 82,6/7: אמרתי אלוקים אתם ובני עליון כולכם, אכן כאדם תמותו וכאחד השרים תפולו, "I had considered you divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you; but you shall die as men do, fall like any prince."

The fourth period, the one we have termed עשיה, commenced with the exile of Edom (Roman exile), when the only communications from Celestial Regions were what the Talmud refers to as בת קול, heavenly echoes. Such communications emanate from the domain עשיה. This period lasted until the conclusion of the Talmud. Henceforth the only source of our illumination would be the Torah itself, i.e. what we attain by studying it. We can now understand the comments of the Talmud in Avodah Zarah 5a concerning the role of the red heifer in purification rites required after incurring impurity through contact with a dead body. Rabbi Yossi says there that the only reason the Jewish people received the Torah was to overcome the sovereignty of the angel of death, of other nations or tongues. We know this from Psalms 82,6/7: אמרתי אלוקים אתם ובני עליון כולכם, אכן כאדם תמותו וכאחד השרים תפולו, "I had considered you divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you; but you shall die as men do, fall like any prince."

At the time the Jewish people accepted the Torah they were freed from the need to die, i.e. from the influence of Satan. They had become totally free from the influence of other nations as alluded to in Psalms 82,6: "I had taken you for divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you; but you shall die as men do, fall like any prince." This is an allusion to death and exile. This sin of the golden calf is the reason that even when we experienced redemptions at a later stage, such redemption is always characterised as being feminine, incomplete. When we give thanks for such a redemption we sing שירה חדשה, a new song (feminine gender) as distinct from when we received the Torah where the Torah was referred to as masculine. An example for the dual function of the פרה is found in Samuel 16,12 where the cows are described as וישרנה, "they walked straight (masculine form). Kimchi points out that the grammar here is a combination of the masculine and the feminine gender, i.e. the ending is feminine, whereas the first half of the word is masculine. This is an allusion to the שיר, song, which is sometimes masculine and sometimes feminine as the situation requires. We have written more about this both in our treatise on פרשת פרה, on פרשת ויקהל-פקודי, as well as on פרשת חוקת.

At the time the Jewish people accepted the Torah they were freed from the need to die, i.e. from the influence of Satan. They had become totally free from the influence of other nations as alluded to in Psalms 82,6: "I had taken you for divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you; but you shall die as men do, fall like any prince." This is an allusion to death and exile. This sin of the golden calf is the reason that even when we experienced redemptions at a later stage, such redemption is always characterised as being feminine, incomplete. When we give thanks for such a redemption we sing שירה חדשה, a new song (feminine gender) as distinct from when we received the Torah where the Torah was referred to as masculine. An example for the dual function of the פרה is found in Samuel 16,12 where the cows are described as וישרנה, "they walked straight (masculine form). Kimchi points out that the grammar here is a combination of the masculine and the feminine gender, i.e. the ending is feminine, whereas the first half of the word is masculine. This is an allusion to the שיר, song, which is sometimes masculine and sometimes feminine as the situation requires. We have written more about this both in our treatise on פרשת פרה, on פרשת ויקהל-פקודי, as well as on פרשת חוקת.

When that time arrives, the Talmud's statement about the three "finds" that G–d has made will really be true. The word תלפיות, is the reference to that ideal world when all the potential G–d has placed in man will become realized. At that time the word תולדות, will once again be spelled plene, just as it had at the time when the Torah could still write אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם. The reason Israel is mentioned as the last of these finds -contrary to the chronological order- is, that at that time Israel will truly fulfill its function, only then will Israel truly be a “find.”

Jacob and family experienced exile in all its forms and became so refined that a whole nation of 600,000 pure souls emerged. We have stated several times that these 600,000 souls correspond to the letters in the Torah, that Torah essentially represents Israel and that the Torah comprises the 70 "faces" in the Celestial Regions. Since Israel is called אדם, it was created in order to service and preserve the terrestrial part of the universe, to observe the Torah (Targum Yonathan on Genesis 2,16). Israel unfortunately aborted its mission by sinning during the episode of the golden calf. This is reflected in Psalms 82,7: אכן כאדם תמותון, alas, you shall die as man; (instead of living indefinitely just like the angels). David began to repair the damage caused by that aberration, but did not complete the repair. Only when the Messiah comes will the remainder of that damage be repaired.