신명기 5:4의 Chasidut
פָּנִ֣ים ׀ בְּפָנִ֗ים דִּבֶּ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה עִמָּכֶ֛ם בָּהָ֖ר מִתּ֥וֹךְ הָאֵֽשׁ׃
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Sefat Emet
In the parsha of "bread of faces (lechem hapanim), on Shabbat he shall arrange them etc" - and it is written "Come, eat My food" (Prov. 9:5). This is the receiving of the Flow of heaven, that clings to the Upper Root and this is the internalness (penimiut) of the Flow. As it is written in the Holy Zohar regarding the day of Shabbat, that even though manna did not come down on that day, all blessings are dependent on the seventh day, see there (Zohar 2:184a:7). And this is why the bread is called lechem hapanim, it is the internalness of the Flow, as it is written "not on bread alone does a person live, etc, comes out from God's mouth" (Deut. 8:3) - this is Torah. And a hint of this is what is written there: "Face to face did Hashem speak with you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire" (Deut. 5:4) - and here "bread of faces". And the root of the bread from heaven is that it flows from the holy Shabbat to all the days of the week, with the force of the Torah, according to the readiness of the children of Israel that Torah gave to them. And just as there are 53 parshiot in the Torah and in each Shabbat we read a different parsha, this is also true in heaven, see Zohar on Vayakhel. And this is that the Torah, being all made of Divine Names, still has the parsha that changes every week, and every Shabbat has different combination of phrases. This too is hinted by the bread of faces, that on every Shabbat is was set. And according to the 12 loaves that the children of Israel set in order, so too the Flow of heaven continues. And it is written "as face answers to face in water" (Prov. 27:19) and this is an aspect of the Torah, that is Oral and Written. And in our parshe it is written "on the day of Shabbat". There is Shabbat that comes from Above to Below and there is Shabbat that comes from Below to Above, as explained in the Holy Zohar. And therefore the Text said "according to the arranging of the of the bread on the day of Shabbat in a Awakening from Below, so too in the day of Shabbat from Above to Below it will be this arranging, and as it is written in Chagigah 26b "as its arranging is its taking away." And the Torah is a gift to the children of Israel, and according to their level is the Torah's revealing itself to them, since there are seventy faces to the Torah, and "face to face". And on every Shabbat the Flow is renewed through the force of the Torah. ["The One who renews each day Creation with goodness", Bereshit is Torah, which is called good, and regarding Shabbat it is written "it is good to thank Hashem", a hint that every moment a new interpretation is invited] and so too on Shavuot when the Torah was given there are two loaves of bread. And "on every Shabbat" is a level below "twelve loaves", since the Torah is understood and interpreted and gives life and sustenance to every level until this world. And twelve limits and twelve requests that are in the Prayer they are the Lower Supports of the Upper Root, as it is written in different places.
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Kedushat Levi
Everything that has been handed down to us about Avram suggests that he was unwavering in his faith in G’d from his very youth, and certainly did not have any theological relapses. Nachmanides stated with absolute certainty, basing himself on Genesis 25,8 that Avram had always considered anything that happened to him as being G’d’s desire and meant for his own good. Nachmanides understood this as being the meaning of the words: זקן ושבע ימים, “of old age, satisfied and satisfied in years.” Contrary to most people, who are described in Kohelet Rabbah, 5,9 as leaving behind many unfulfilled aspirations when they die, Avraham died fully fulfilled. In Baba Batra 117, as well as in Sanhedrin 91 the meaning of the word מורשה is discussed, there being different opinions of how the distribution of the ancestral plots in the Land of Israel was determined by lottery; if the lottery only applied to the tribal allocations, or to families. The discussion also concerns whether only Jews who partook in the Exodus or their offspring were allocated land, or whether the allocation included Jews who had lived before that period, including Avram, Yitzchok, etc. Avram’s question of במה אדע כי אירשנה, meant: “how will I know that I personally will be included in the distribution of the land at that time? He knew that he would not inherit a plot of land in Israel as part of his father Terach’s merit, as he had been the first convert to Judaism, something that was confirmed in Sukkah 49. Since he did not endure slavery in Egypt as did the generation of the Exodus, he was not sure that he would qualify at the time of the distribution.
Avram’s question had been triggered by G’d saying to him:, לתת לך את הארץ הזאת לרשתה, “to give to you this land in order to inherit it.” (15,7) Avram wanted to know if he would live long enough to take part in the distribution of the land in Joshua’s time, or how he was to understand the words: לתת לך, “to give to you.” The Talmud in Sukkah 49 quotes psalms 47,10 where we encounter the expression עם אלוקי אברהם, “the nation that worships the G’d of Avraham”; a sage raised question whether G’d perhaps is not also the G’d of the people of Yitzchok and the G’d of the people of Yaakov.” The answer given is that Avraham was the first convert from which the Jewish people developed, so that he enjoys a special status. As a reward, G’d gave the land of Israel especially to him. Avraham wanted to know if, since the land of Israel becomes a מורשה, his share would be due to his father bequeathing it to him. The term ירש, “to inherit,” always implies that one inherits from a father. If Avram’s question had been במה אדע כי תתן לי, “how will I know that You give it to me,” it would have been inappropriate, of course. G’d had spoken about “giving;” Avram asked only about the hereditary aspect, אירשנה.
We will deal with the expression במה אדע, somewhat later in this paragraph. When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
Moses reminded the people in Deut. 5,4 how 40 years earlier, when most of them had not yet been alive, G’d had addressed the whole nation on the פנים אל פנים “face to face level,” [until the people asked Moses to be their interpreter instead. Ed.] At that time all creatures on earth were in awe of their Creator. When the people had consecrated the Tabernacle in the desert as a “home” for Hashem in the lower parts of the universe, G’d took delight in the world He had created, as we know from Taanit 26 where the Talmud understands Song of Songs 3,11 ביום חתונתו וביום שמחת לבו, “on His wedding day, the day when His heart rejoices,” as referring to G’d’s feelings on the day of the revelation at Mount Sinai, and the day when the Tabernacle was consecrated, respectively. This is the kind of נחת רוח, “pleasure, satisfaction,” that man in the lower part of the universe can contribute to G’d in the loftier spheres, in heaven. On both of these occasions the joy was reciprocal, G’d showing that He can associate with earthlings and take pleasure from this. The Israelites’ enthusiastic response after the splitting of the sea and their miraculous and escape from Pharaoh’s pursuing armies, was another occasion when the reciprocal nature of the relationship between G’d and His “chosen” people was demonstrated publicly. Nowadays, almost 4000 years later, we recall these events and praise the Lord every week when we pronounce the blessings over wine. Not a day goes by without our giving thanks to the Lord for the Exodus from Egypt.
At the time when Avram lived, the world, i.e. the planet earth and man on it, was still in a state of semi-collapse, its continued existence far from assured, until Yitzchok and Yaakov continued the work that Avram had started when he kept proclaiming the power and goodness of the Creator. This assurance of the earth’s continued existence was only confirmed with the creation of the Jewish people, and this people’s leaving Egypt as G’d’s people, after having slaughtered the Passover, and proven that they considered the Creator as their highest authority.
The Tur, commenting on why we mention the Exodus of Egypt in the weekly Kiddush, as opposed to the Kiddush on the festivals whose link to the Exodus is self-evident, explains that the Sabbath harbours within it the כח המוליד, the power that enables creatures to regenerate themselves by producing offspring. This “power” is conditional on the observance of the Sabbath (in some form). Terach, Avram’s father, while able to produce physical offspring, was unable to produce offspring equipped with the kind of soul that would be active in spreading the message that G’d is the one and only Creator. [I have not been able to find where the Tur writes this, although he writes about man as well as most other living creatures becoming endowed with the ability to procreate bodies in his Torah commentary. (Genesis 2,3)
Avram’s question had been triggered by G’d saying to him:, לתת לך את הארץ הזאת לרשתה, “to give to you this land in order to inherit it.” (15,7) Avram wanted to know if he would live long enough to take part in the distribution of the land in Joshua’s time, or how he was to understand the words: לתת לך, “to give to you.” The Talmud in Sukkah 49 quotes psalms 47,10 where we encounter the expression עם אלוקי אברהם, “the nation that worships the G’d of Avraham”; a sage raised question whether G’d perhaps is not also the G’d of the people of Yitzchok and the G’d of the people of Yaakov.” The answer given is that Avraham was the first convert from which the Jewish people developed, so that he enjoys a special status. As a reward, G’d gave the land of Israel especially to him. Avraham wanted to know if, since the land of Israel becomes a מורשה, his share would be due to his father bequeathing it to him. The term ירש, “to inherit,” always implies that one inherits from a father. If Avram’s question had been במה אדע כי תתן לי, “how will I know that You give it to me,” it would have been inappropriate, of course. G’d had spoken about “giving;” Avram asked only about the hereditary aspect, אירשנה.
We will deal with the expression במה אדע, somewhat later in this paragraph. When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
When G’d introduced His reply to Avram’s question with the words: ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך, “you must truly realize that your descendants will be strangers, etc.,” this can best be understood when referring to a commentary by the Zohar I 87 on the verse: (Genesis 2,4)אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם . The letter ה in smaller script in the middle of this word alerts the reader not to read the word as a single word, but as באברהם ברא, i.e. G’d created the universe on account of, or with the eventual assistance of Avraham.” Had G’d not foreseen that someone like Avram will be born, He would not have considered it worth His while to create the human race. The fact that Avraham, on his own, without prompting, would proclaim the name of the Creator, made it worth G’d’s while to put up with all the sins man would commit. Avraham would be the one to acquaint his peers with the concept that G’d is One, is unique, is in charge of the universe and yet had granted the creatures he made in His image freedom of choice to choose their own path in life. The fact that this Avraham would sire a Yitzchok, and Yitzchok in turn would sire a Yaakov who raised 12 sons who would form the nucleus of the Jewish nation, a nation of priests, made it all worthwhile for G’d. When the Jewish people collectively accepted G’d’s Torah, without critically examining what was written therein first, this was a crowning moment not only for the Jewish people, but it enabled G’d to converse with a mortal human being, Moses, as if he were on His own level, i.e. פנים אל פנים, face to face.
Moses reminded the people in Deut. 5,4 how 40 years earlier, when most of them had not yet been alive, G’d had addressed the whole nation on the פנים אל פנים “face to face level,” [until the people asked Moses to be their interpreter instead. Ed.] At that time all creatures on earth were in awe of their Creator. When the people had consecrated the Tabernacle in the desert as a “home” for Hashem in the lower parts of the universe, G’d took delight in the world He had created, as we know from Taanit 26 where the Talmud understands Song of Songs 3,11 ביום חתונתו וביום שמחת לבו, “on His wedding day, the day when His heart rejoices,” as referring to G’d’s feelings on the day of the revelation at Mount Sinai, and the day when the Tabernacle was consecrated, respectively. This is the kind of נחת רוח, “pleasure, satisfaction,” that man in the lower part of the universe can contribute to G’d in the loftier spheres, in heaven. On both of these occasions the joy was reciprocal, G’d showing that He can associate with earthlings and take pleasure from this. The Israelites’ enthusiastic response after the splitting of the sea and their miraculous and escape from Pharaoh’s pursuing armies, was another occasion when the reciprocal nature of the relationship between G’d and His “chosen” people was demonstrated publicly. Nowadays, almost 4000 years later, we recall these events and praise the Lord every week when we pronounce the blessings over wine. Not a day goes by without our giving thanks to the Lord for the Exodus from Egypt.
At the time when Avram lived, the world, i.e. the planet earth and man on it, was still in a state of semi-collapse, its continued existence far from assured, until Yitzchok and Yaakov continued the work that Avram had started when he kept proclaiming the power and goodness of the Creator. This assurance of the earth’s continued existence was only confirmed with the creation of the Jewish people, and this people’s leaving Egypt as G’d’s people, after having slaughtered the Passover, and proven that they considered the Creator as their highest authority.
The Tur, commenting on why we mention the Exodus of Egypt in the weekly Kiddush, as opposed to the Kiddush on the festivals whose link to the Exodus is self-evident, explains that the Sabbath harbours within it the כח המוליד, the power that enables creatures to regenerate themselves by producing offspring. This “power” is conditional on the observance of the Sabbath (in some form). Terach, Avram’s father, while able to produce physical offspring, was unable to produce offspring equipped with the kind of soul that would be active in spreading the message that G’d is the one and only Creator. [I have not been able to find where the Tur writes this, although he writes about man as well as most other living creatures becoming endowed with the ability to procreate bodies in his Torah commentary. (Genesis 2,3)
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 31,48. “whereas Yaakov named it Galed.” This verse contains an allusion to the thirty third day of the counting of the Omer, [significant to us only since the time of Rabbi Akiva, Ed.] The subject is elaborated on in Pessikta rabbati, chapter 21. The letters in the word גל, numerical value 33, symbolizes the first 33 days after the Exodus during which G’d is supposed to have appeared to the Jewish people as if a young man, a mighty warrior, whereas at the giving of the Torah He is supposed to have appeared to them in the guise of an aged scholar. The parable is meant to describe a young child whose father takes him by the hand when he brings him to school and his father trains him to like school by presenting school as an image of something he knows the child longs for. As the child learns more Torah his spiritual horizon expands so that when in his early youth the image of a young man had the greatest appeal for him, gradually he aspires to become like a revered elderly scholar. [The Midrash endeavours to explain the expression פנים בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, “G’d spoke to you once with one face and once with another face.” (Deut. 5,4.) Ed.]
The 33rd day of counting the Omer represents the point at which the Jewish people after having experienced G’d performing a string of supernatural miracles began to experience a longing for the Holy Torah, after receipt of which they could serve the Lord with all their hearts having gained more insight into His thinking after they would study His Torah. As of then their service would be whole-hearted. By naming the pile of stones גל עד, “the thirty third would serve as witness,” Yaakov alluded to an event in the future, just as he did many more times, especially when he blessed his children before his death. The word עד also is derived from עדי, עדיים, as in Ezekiel 16,7 where it signifies puberty, adolescence, or as in Exodus 33,4 עדיו, “its jewelry,” where the phylacteries are described as the Jewish people’s jewelry, and having sinned grievously against the Torah they were not allowed to display that jewelry which symbolized Torah. In other words, until the 33rd day after the Exodus the people were still primarily under the influence of the events accompanying the redemption, whereas from that time on, [probably including the partial Torah legislation at Marah, Ed.] they were under the impending revelation of G’d’s Torah at Mount Sinai. This stage is hinted at in the letters עד of the word גלעד.
The 33rd day of counting the Omer represents the point at which the Jewish people after having experienced G’d performing a string of supernatural miracles began to experience a longing for the Holy Torah, after receipt of which they could serve the Lord with all their hearts having gained more insight into His thinking after they would study His Torah. As of then their service would be whole-hearted. By naming the pile of stones גל עד, “the thirty third would serve as witness,” Yaakov alluded to an event in the future, just as he did many more times, especially when he blessed his children before his death. The word עד also is derived from עדי, עדיים, as in Ezekiel 16,7 where it signifies puberty, adolescence, or as in Exodus 33,4 עדיו, “its jewelry,” where the phylacteries are described as the Jewish people’s jewelry, and having sinned grievously against the Torah they were not allowed to display that jewelry which symbolized Torah. In other words, until the 33rd day after the Exodus the people were still primarily under the influence of the events accompanying the redemption, whereas from that time on, [probably including the partial Torah legislation at Marah, Ed.] they were under the impending revelation of G’d’s Torah at Mount Sinai. This stage is hinted at in the letters עד of the word גלעד.
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