다니엘 12:3의 Chasidut

Chapter 2²⁸⁷In Chapter 2, R. Shapiro defines Kabbalah as a form of divine revelation, as he has done vis a vis Talmud study in Chapter 1. Encounter with kabbalistic texts and learning is therefore encounter with divinity, accessing latent capacities for such connection within the learner and ultimately transforming him.
In the holy books, “Kabbalah” is called “the learning of Kabbalah” or “wisdom of Kabbalah.” In fact, when referring to the kabbalistic masters, the Zohar applies the idiom “a sage is superior to a prophet.”²⁸⁸Talmud Bava Batra 12a. All this could cause us to erroneously imagine that (kabbalistic learning) is merely an intellectual, analytic activity; and certainly an individual person could imagine this, as he perceives intellectual material before him when studying Kabbalah. In the beginning of the aforementioned introduction to Tikkunei Zohar, the author explains the verse “And the knowledgeable (maskilim) will be radiant like the bright expanse of sky:”²⁸⁹Daniel 12:3. “And the maskilim: These are R. Shimon and his fellows. Heaven granted permission to all the souls dwelling above to descend among them, and to all the angels to descend in hidden fashion, by way of the intellect. The Holy Blessed One gave permission to all the holy names… and monikers to each reveal its hidden secrets, according to their respective levels. Permission was granted to the ten sefirot to reveal to them their hidden secrets, not to be revealed further till the generation of the Messiah.”

This is not true of the Zohar, including the Zohar Hadash and Tikkunei Zohar,⁴¹⁰Sections of the Zoharic corpus of an apparently later provenance than the core of the Zohar. in which prophecy is apparent. This is due, first and foremost, on account of the actual prophetic visions which our sages saw and the utterances they heard. Secondly, the tales in these texts—as much as those of the Sages are wondrous and obviously prophetic, above human intelligence—those of the Zohar, along with its tales, are much more wondrous. Almost none of them have any relation to this world and human intellect. Almost all of them speak of the upper worlds, and not only of Eden and Gehenna but of the other worlds as well: of the desire of Knesset Yisrael [i.e. Shekhinah] for her beloved the Holy Blessed One, and how it is wearied in exile from its great desire, and His desire for her; and how in the future He will raised her up; and of the songs of the angels above; and the descent of the soul to this world at the time of birth; and of its ascent at the time of death. This is why the talmudic sage [tanna, i.e. R. Shimon b. Yokhai] began the Zohar and Tikkunei Zohar with the verse, ““And the knowledgebale (maskilim) will be radiant like the bright expanse of sky”⁴¹¹Daniel 12:3. For this is a heavenly work, telling of all that happens above, as well as all the effects of all that happens below on the world Above. It contains not just snippets of what happens above but rather describes things in such detail that the reader becomes like a resident of the world above, able to describe everything in full detail. When one learns Zohar, he feels as if he has been removed to that holy world.

If I have dwelt at length on this subject is has only been in the honor of our master the Rambam of blessed memory. However, it must be clearly understood that the Rambam is not closer to my heart than those who had serious questions about his views, for they are all holy. Even though I feel a kinship with the Rambam in that we both have suffered intellectual persecution spurned on by groundless hatred, it is not for this reason that am so concerned with defending the Rambam against his detractors. The pure reason is that I feel that his detractors simply did not understand what the Rambam truly intended in his teachings. I have come only to defend the righteous and close the mouths of those who speak derisively and arrogantly against the tsaddik. I have come to expose the lies they speak. Even in our generation we find scholars who possess mistaken traditions which erroneously explain various matters of Torah. And still they feel a duty to come down harshly on him with their derision. May they be utterly ashamed, put their feet in their mouths, and be seen by the world mumbling, “we have sinned.” This is all due to the great limitations of their understanding. All who feel drawn to return to the Zohar do so because their souls are connected to its teachings. Yet one who has no soul connection to the Zohar and tries to learn it will only see its external form and not its inner content. Similarly, one who looks into the Guide for the Perplexed and does not do so with a willingness to accept its ethical teachings out of fear that he may rebel, is actually prone to be stubborn and rebellious with any holy Torah writing. Take the following word of encouragement. If you learn the Torah with strong faith, you shall not be ashamed before any man nor fall off the path. All who seek truth will find it. Therefore, if you yearn for the truth, put your mind on the Zohar as you would behold the brilliance of the firmament.¹²⁹This is also a play on words. Zohar means “brilliant light” – taken from the verse in Daniel (12:3), “And they who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament.” The intelligent person who is confident in his direction, will see that the Guide both quenches thirst and points the way.¹³⁰This is a play on words. Guide is “Moreh.” “Quenches thirst” is “Marveh.” Pointing the way (literally instructing) is “Yoreh.” In the generation of the Rambam, anyone privileged to know the mystery of God was careful to keep it greatly hidden.