민수기 21:17의 Chasidut
אָ֚ז יָשִׁ֣יר יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את עֲלִ֥י בְאֵ֖ר עֱנוּ־לָֽהּ׃
그 때에 이스라엘이 노래하여 가로되 우물물아 솟아나라 너희는 그것을 노래하라
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 21,17. “then Israel sang this song: ‘come up, well sing to it- the well which chieftains dug which the nobles of the people started, etc;’” We need to understand why the song that the people under the leadership of Moses sang after the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea, were words that we could easily understand, whereas this song is shrouded in mystical allusions none of which are easy to decipher.
The answer to this question may lie in the fact that at the sea of Reeds, Moses had seen revelations by G’d in what is known as אספקלריא המאירה, “a clear vision” (compare Yevamot 49) so that he could announce his prophecies without having to resort to allusions.
The song we read here was not composed by Moses, but the Torah wrote: “then Israel sung, etc.” In other words, the people had been divinely inspired, but being only people, not Moses, they had seen prophetic insights only through the prism of אספקלריא שאיננה מאירה, a vision which was distorted through reflections. Rashi on 21,20 already asks the question why the name of Moses is not mentioned in this paragraph. He answers that the reason is that on account of this well, or rather its having failed after Miriam’s death having caused him to be punished, it would not have been fitting to associate his name when singing the praises of this well.
Let us now proceed to explain the allusions contained in this poetic song extolling the well.
Sometimes G’d will perform a miracle for the Israelites in response to their cry to Him for help, and this is the manner in which He responds to their outcry. The splitting of the sea of Reeds at the time was an example of G’d’s responding by means of an impressive miracle. We have read in Exodus 14,10: ויצעקו בני ישראל וגו', “the Israelites cried out, etc,” The splitting of the sea was G’d’s response to that outcry.
On other occasions G’d performs a miracle for the people without their being in need, i.e. according to their perception. The people had not even been aware at that time that deadly danger was near them. When wondering why G’d had performed a miracle for them, they investigated what danger could have lurked near them without their having been aware of it. This was the case in the paragraph above where the people only belatedly became aware of the Canaanites that G’d had killed.
We are entitled to ask what prompted G’d to reveal these details in the Torah which Rashi describes as the Canaanites having been hidden in clefts of rock overhanging the Arnon river that were invisible to people passing underneath along its banks. In the kedushah formula according to the Sefardi nussach which begins with the word: כתר, we encounter the line הן גאלתי אתכם אחרית כראשית, “see I will redeem you in the future just as I have redeemed you in the past.” At first glance this does not seem much of a promise; we had surely hoped that the ultimate redemption will be something far superior to the partial redemptions we have experienced from time to time! In light of that why would the author of this line link the final redemption to previous redemptions? Who has ever heard of the major event being linked to the minor event?
Did not our sages (Tannah de bey Eliyahu 14) state that the meaning of the opening word of the Torah, בראשית is בשביל ראשית, “on account of the people of Israel who are called ראשית, the Lord created heaven and earth?” If all parts of the universe were created on account of the Jewish people, this surely means that there is a constant injection of additional essence of life into the earth itself, on account of the pre-eminence of the Jewish people? It would follow that the earth is therefore obligated to conform to the expressed will of the Jewish people, since its very existence hinges on the well being of the Jewish people. Keeping the universe in a condition that ensures its continued existence, i.e. תקון העולם is the earth’s self interest.
It is true that only after the final stage of the universe’s creation had been revealed, i.e. the earth and its inhabitants, had it become clear what had been in the mind of the Creator from the moment He had contemplated creating a universe. At that time all could see that the intervening stages of creation had all been leading up to the creation of the Jewish people as the crowning achievement. This is what the author of the line we quoted from the kedushah had in mind when he wrote: אתכם אחרית כראשית, “you in the end as at the beginning.” Only after the final redemption will G’d’s plan for the Jewish people become revealed as having been His plan from the earliest moment of the creative process.
As long as Jewish history on this earth has not yet come to its successful conclusion (history in the sense of development) G’d’s original intentions could not have become manifest to one and all. During the period leading up to this point in Jewish history miracles have to be performed at the request of the Jewish people. Once that period has passed successfully, miracles will be performed by nature on behalf of the Jewish people without their having to ask for them. The day (not literally) prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, when the design of G’d that the Jewish people are the objective of His creation of the universe had become manifest, this had not yet been common knowledge. This is why we read in Exodus 14,10 when Pharaoh had caught up with the Israelites, that ויצעקו בני ישראל, “the Children of Israel cried out,” i.e. asked to be saved by means of a miracle. Now at the time of or after the giving of the Torah when G’d’s original plan that His people would be the Jewish people had become well known, there was no need for them to cry out even if the enemy had lain in ambush. At this time and subsequently, the earth, for reasons of self preservation, would not allow fatal harm to befall Israel as it would suffer the consequences itself. Calling on the source of water to arise, i.e. to become manifest, was therefore a command directed at the earth rather than to G’d.
The Israelites reminded the earth of its self-interest in providing the Jewish people with a source of water for their needs in the desert. This is what Rashi had in mind when he commented on the words ענו לה, (verse 14-15) that the mountain addressed was part of Eretz Yisrael. The song was in recognition of what the earth had done, (performed miracles) on behalf of the Jewish people without having been asked to do so.
The answer to this question may lie in the fact that at the sea of Reeds, Moses had seen revelations by G’d in what is known as אספקלריא המאירה, “a clear vision” (compare Yevamot 49) so that he could announce his prophecies without having to resort to allusions.
The song we read here was not composed by Moses, but the Torah wrote: “then Israel sung, etc.” In other words, the people had been divinely inspired, but being only people, not Moses, they had seen prophetic insights only through the prism of אספקלריא שאיננה מאירה, a vision which was distorted through reflections. Rashi on 21,20 already asks the question why the name of Moses is not mentioned in this paragraph. He answers that the reason is that on account of this well, or rather its having failed after Miriam’s death having caused him to be punished, it would not have been fitting to associate his name when singing the praises of this well.
Let us now proceed to explain the allusions contained in this poetic song extolling the well.
Sometimes G’d will perform a miracle for the Israelites in response to their cry to Him for help, and this is the manner in which He responds to their outcry. The splitting of the sea of Reeds at the time was an example of G’d’s responding by means of an impressive miracle. We have read in Exodus 14,10: ויצעקו בני ישראל וגו', “the Israelites cried out, etc,” The splitting of the sea was G’d’s response to that outcry.
On other occasions G’d performs a miracle for the people without their being in need, i.e. according to their perception. The people had not even been aware at that time that deadly danger was near them. When wondering why G’d had performed a miracle for them, they investigated what danger could have lurked near them without their having been aware of it. This was the case in the paragraph above where the people only belatedly became aware of the Canaanites that G’d had killed.
We are entitled to ask what prompted G’d to reveal these details in the Torah which Rashi describes as the Canaanites having been hidden in clefts of rock overhanging the Arnon river that were invisible to people passing underneath along its banks. In the kedushah formula according to the Sefardi nussach which begins with the word: כתר, we encounter the line הן גאלתי אתכם אחרית כראשית, “see I will redeem you in the future just as I have redeemed you in the past.” At first glance this does not seem much of a promise; we had surely hoped that the ultimate redemption will be something far superior to the partial redemptions we have experienced from time to time! In light of that why would the author of this line link the final redemption to previous redemptions? Who has ever heard of the major event being linked to the minor event?
Did not our sages (Tannah de bey Eliyahu 14) state that the meaning of the opening word of the Torah, בראשית is בשביל ראשית, “on account of the people of Israel who are called ראשית, the Lord created heaven and earth?” If all parts of the universe were created on account of the Jewish people, this surely means that there is a constant injection of additional essence of life into the earth itself, on account of the pre-eminence of the Jewish people? It would follow that the earth is therefore obligated to conform to the expressed will of the Jewish people, since its very existence hinges on the well being of the Jewish people. Keeping the universe in a condition that ensures its continued existence, i.e. תקון העולם is the earth’s self interest.
It is true that only after the final stage of the universe’s creation had been revealed, i.e. the earth and its inhabitants, had it become clear what had been in the mind of the Creator from the moment He had contemplated creating a universe. At that time all could see that the intervening stages of creation had all been leading up to the creation of the Jewish people as the crowning achievement. This is what the author of the line we quoted from the kedushah had in mind when he wrote: אתכם אחרית כראשית, “you in the end as at the beginning.” Only after the final redemption will G’d’s plan for the Jewish people become revealed as having been His plan from the earliest moment of the creative process.
As long as Jewish history on this earth has not yet come to its successful conclusion (history in the sense of development) G’d’s original intentions could not have become manifest to one and all. During the period leading up to this point in Jewish history miracles have to be performed at the request of the Jewish people. Once that period has passed successfully, miracles will be performed by nature on behalf of the Jewish people without their having to ask for them. The day (not literally) prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, when the design of G’d that the Jewish people are the objective of His creation of the universe had become manifest, this had not yet been common knowledge. This is why we read in Exodus 14,10 when Pharaoh had caught up with the Israelites, that ויצעקו בני ישראל, “the Children of Israel cried out,” i.e. asked to be saved by means of a miracle. Now at the time of or after the giving of the Torah when G’d’s original plan that His people would be the Jewish people had become well known, there was no need for them to cry out even if the enemy had lain in ambush. At this time and subsequently, the earth, for reasons of self preservation, would not allow fatal harm to befall Israel as it would suffer the consequences itself. Calling on the source of water to arise, i.e. to become manifest, was therefore a command directed at the earth rather than to G’d.
The Israelites reminded the earth of its self-interest in providing the Jewish people with a source of water for their needs in the desert. This is what Rashi had in mind when he commented on the words ענו לה, (verse 14-15) that the mountain addressed was part of Eretz Yisrael. The song was in recognition of what the earth had done, (performed miracles) on behalf of the Jewish people without having been asked to do so.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 13,16. “Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Yehoshua.” Rashi comments on this verse that this means that Moses prayed that G’d should protect him against being swayed by the evil advice offered by the majority of the men who were part of this mission.
This commentary is strange, as whence did Moses know already that these men would turn out to be spies counseling that the land was beyond their ability to conquer? Surely, if Moses had been aware of the tragic outcome of this mission he would never have allowed it to go forth? This is also why Rashi says that at the time when this mission set out all the members partaking in it were beyond suspicion of wanting it to fail. If Rashi is correct, we must then ask what made Moses pray for Joshua’s being protected against the “spies’” evil influence?
It appears that the answer to the above questions is that G’d had told Moses to send out men to “tour” the land of Canaan, whereas in Deuteronomy 1,22 when the whole incident is recalled by Moses he describes the intiative for this to have been the people, who had, however, demanded that the mission be one of spying, i.e. ויחפרו את הארץ לנו את הארץ “who will spy out the land for us.” the Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 1,9 in relating to this request states that just as a human being has 248 bones and 365 tendons, so the earth is similarly made up of as many constituent parts. [The text there only speaks about man and the earth having certain organs in common. Ed.] It elaborates by saying that just as the Torah speaks of ערות הארץ, לב הארץ, טבור הארץ, עין הארץ, “the nakedness of the earth, the heart of the earth, the navel of the earth, an the eye of the earth, etc.; these are only a few examples of the earth possessing parts which serve it in a manner similar to the way that the bones and tendons serve the human being.
It follows that when the Israelites perform G’d’s commandments on this land, that the land itself will develop a fondness for this people. We are entitled therefore to view in the expression לתור את הארץ, Moses’ way of instructing these men to establish a personal relationship with this land based on Torah (תור) observance. By doing so the Jewish people would assume the role of dispensing spiritual largesse of their own to this land. The land, seeing that it had become a recipient of largesse from the Jewish people would also become indebted to them. This explains Moses’ command to the subterranean waters in the part of the land of Canaan already captured by the Jewish people to give forth its waters, i.e. Numbers 21,17 אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת עלי באר ענו-לה באר חפרוה שרים, “then Israel sang this song: ‘spring up O well-sing to it-, the well which the princes dug.’ The word חפרוה is derived from חפר “to dig,” and is completely analogous to the expression ויחפרו את הארץ in Deuteronomy 1,22 where we can then translate it “in order to dig for us in the land.” The wish expressed by the Israelites when singing this song was meant to convince the earth of the land of Canaan (in this instance the east bank of the Jordan) that complying with Israel’s request was for its own benefit.
This commentary is strange, as whence did Moses know already that these men would turn out to be spies counseling that the land was beyond their ability to conquer? Surely, if Moses had been aware of the tragic outcome of this mission he would never have allowed it to go forth? This is also why Rashi says that at the time when this mission set out all the members partaking in it were beyond suspicion of wanting it to fail. If Rashi is correct, we must then ask what made Moses pray for Joshua’s being protected against the “spies’” evil influence?
It appears that the answer to the above questions is that G’d had told Moses to send out men to “tour” the land of Canaan, whereas in Deuteronomy 1,22 when the whole incident is recalled by Moses he describes the intiative for this to have been the people, who had, however, demanded that the mission be one of spying, i.e. ויחפרו את הארץ לנו את הארץ “who will spy out the land for us.” the Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 1,9 in relating to this request states that just as a human being has 248 bones and 365 tendons, so the earth is similarly made up of as many constituent parts. [The text there only speaks about man and the earth having certain organs in common. Ed.] It elaborates by saying that just as the Torah speaks of ערות הארץ, לב הארץ, טבור הארץ, עין הארץ, “the nakedness of the earth, the heart of the earth, the navel of the earth, an the eye of the earth, etc.; these are only a few examples of the earth possessing parts which serve it in a manner similar to the way that the bones and tendons serve the human being.
It follows that when the Israelites perform G’d’s commandments on this land, that the land itself will develop a fondness for this people. We are entitled therefore to view in the expression לתור את הארץ, Moses’ way of instructing these men to establish a personal relationship with this land based on Torah (תור) observance. By doing so the Jewish people would assume the role of dispensing spiritual largesse of their own to this land. The land, seeing that it had become a recipient of largesse from the Jewish people would also become indebted to them. This explains Moses’ command to the subterranean waters in the part of the land of Canaan already captured by the Jewish people to give forth its waters, i.e. Numbers 21,17 אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת עלי באר ענו-לה באר חפרוה שרים, “then Israel sang this song: ‘spring up O well-sing to it-, the well which the princes dug.’ The word חפרוה is derived from חפר “to dig,” and is completely analogous to the expression ויחפרו את הארץ in Deuteronomy 1,22 where we can then translate it “in order to dig for us in the land.” The wish expressed by the Israelites when singing this song was meant to convince the earth of the land of Canaan (in this instance the east bank of the Jordan) that complying with Israel’s request was for its own benefit.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Sha'ar HaEmunah VeYesod HaChasidut
With the splitting of the Red Sea, it is written, “and [the people] believed in God and in Moshe, His servant.” This is as it is written in the Zohar (Beshalach, 53b): It is written, “and they believed in God and in Moshe, His servant.” Did they not believe in God until now? We find that when Moshe first told of the redemption to the children of Israel, the verse says (Shemot, 4:21), “And the people believed; and when they heard that the God had remembered the people of Israel… they bowed their heads and prayed.” Furthermore, they must have believed after witnessing all of the mighty acts God did in Egypt. If so, what does it mean when the Red Sea split that the Torah says, “and they believed?” [The difference is that here] God told them (Shemot, 14:13), “Do not fear, stand still, and see the salvation of the God which He will show to you today.” … Rabbi Yeisa asked, “It is written (ibid, 14:13), ‘Do not fear, stand still… for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall not see again forever (ad olam),’ and it is also written (ibid. 14:30), ‘And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.’”379In other words, there is a contradiction in the verses. In verse 14:13, Moshe promises the Jewish people that they will never see the Egyptians again, yet verse 14:30 states that they did see them again, albeit dead on the shore. (In the original Zohar passage, verse 30 is cited before verse 13. The order is reversed here for greater clarity.) Rabbi Yossi said, “In the second verse, they saw them dead.” Rabbi Yeisa said, “If so, the verse should have said, ‘you shall not see them again alive.’” Rabbi Abba said, “You have asked a good question, but come and see. It is written (Divrei HaYamim 1, 16:36), “Blessed is God forever and ever’ – ‘min ha-olam ve’ad ha-olam,’ which could also mean, ‘from the world to the world.’ On this we are taught, there is a world above, and a world below. ‘The world above,’ is the place from which the candle is first lit. ‘The world below,’ is the completion, which includes everything.380The “world below” refers to the sefirah of Malkhut (“Sovereignty”), which is the last of the ten sefirot. Positioned directly above our material world, Malkhut receives all the spiritual light and energy from the upper worlds, and transmits it to us. From ‘the world below,’ God’s mighty acts wake up for the denizens of the lower realm.381Malkhut, being feminine, is also a world of dinim – strict judgments. In this lower world, God does wonders for Israel, bringing about a miracle. When this [lower] world is aroused to perform miracles, it had the effect of drowning all of the Egyptians, and produced a miracle for Israel with the splitting of the Red Sea. For this reason it is said, you shall not see them again forever– ad olam. That is to say, “until the world which is below is aroused’382Thus, Rabbi Abba interprets the verse’s use of the word “forever” as an allusion to the upper words, reading ad olam – (“forever”) as ad d’itar hahu olam – “until that world (Malkhut) is aroused” to destroy the Egyptians. and they are delivered into the hands of its judgment. And since they are given over to it to be judged, it is written, ‘And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea shore’ as it is written “min ha-olam v’ad ha-olam” – from the time the lower world is awoken. This is the meaning of, ‘And they believed in God and in Moshe, his servant.’” The children of Israel believed, in the beginning of Moshe mission, as it is written, “and the people believed.”383Even though the statement “and they believed” refers to the Israelites immediately after the splitting of the sea, that Zohar also applies it retroactively to the belief of the Israelites after meeting Moses and learning of G-d’s intention to redeem them from Egypt (Mtok M’dvash). The faith was fixed in their hearts, and through their faith they connected to God. Their faith aroused God’s salvation in a place beyond all human understanding. This is the meaning of the statement in Parshat Beshalach, at the splitting of the Red Sea, “and they believed in God and in Moshe, His servant.”384This is an ironic rereading of the verses. The straightforward meaning is that the Jewish people believed more in G-d after they passed through the sea. According to R. Gershon Hanokh, it was their faith in G-d that actually caused the sea to split, as faith reaches a level above the laws of nature. This is as it is written in the passage in the Zohar above, that they clearly saw the revelation of the supernal light.385During the splitting of the sea. It was from this place that miracles happened for the Jews and defeat for the Egyptians, to the point where their entire redemption was miraculous. This is because miracles are the revelation of the Supernal light far above any revealed governance.386That is, the way G-d runs the world through the revealed elements of creation. This is as it is written in the Zohar (Beshalach, 54a): “Then Moshe and the children of Israel sang this song to God.” Rabbi Abba opened and said: I looked into all of the praises sung to God and saw that they all started with, “az (then).” “Az – Then Israel sang.” (Bamidbar, 21); “Az – Then Yehoshua spoke” (Yehoshua 10); “Az – Then Shlomo said” (Melachim 1, 8). Why is this? It is taught that with all of the miracles and mighty actions are performed for Israel, when the light of Atika Kadisha387Atika, or Atikia Kaddisha (the “Holy, Ancient One”) is one of the highest levels of reality, in the order of the supernal worlds. It lies at the interface between creation and transcendent Divinity. It is reflected in the consciousness by that which transcends all cognitive perception. When the light of Atika breaks into reality, it breaks the bonds of nature, causing miracles, and illuminates human consciousness with the ability to grasp that which is paradoxical and impossible. illuminated in its crowns, they are carved and inscribed with “Az – Then.” With aleph, and then aleph with zayin, pierces the darkness and illuminates all sides. When the two letters are joined, the illumination of the aleph reaches the zayin, … this is how miracles and mighty actions happen. When we say that miracles happen from a place that is above man’s ability to comprehend, we call this the light of “Atika Kadisha.” When this light illuminates and breaks through the border of man’s understanding and enclothes itself in a lower garment, then the governance of the supernal light is revealed in the world, and we can clearly see miracles.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy