민수기 22:21의 Chasidut
וַיָּ֤קָם בִּלְעָם֙ בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וַֽיַּחֲבֹ֖שׁ אֶת־אֲתֹנ֑וֹ וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ עִם־שָׂרֵ֥י מוֹאָֽב׃
발람이 아침에 일어나서 자기 나귀에 안장을 지우고 모압 귀족들과 함께 행하니
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 23,21. “no harm is in sight for Yaakov no woe for Israel. The Lord their G’d is with them.” The true meaning of these words is hard to understand, [as the Israelites certainly had not been faultless throughout these 40 years. Ed.]
Bileam describes G’d’s attitude when Israel’s merits come to His attention and when, G’d forbid, their sins call for His attention. He says that Israel’s merits will immediately command G’d’s attention and He will respond to them without delay, whereas He does not wish to take a look at their sins immediately. The former is spelled out when Bileam adds: ה' אלוקיו עמו, Hashem, its G’d is with it.” The expression following, i.e. ותרועת מלך בו, “and their king’s acclaim is in their midst,” is a reference to the divisive nature of the teruah sound of the shofar. A king can be acclaimed by unbroken sounds of the shofar or by broken sounds. G’d reacts selectively to reports He receives about the conduct of His people.
The author proceeds to use the opportunity to explain the deeper meaning of the respective sounds תקיעה and תרועה which emanate from the ram’s horn, the shofar. The former sound is unbroken, symbolizing unity, continuity, whereas the latter signifies dissonance, friction, disharmony.
At the time when the Holy Temple stood and service was performed in it, this was an era distinguished by the תקיעה, the very letters in that word when examined meaning תקע י-ה meaning “G’d fastens, clasps, unites.” During periods of exile, however, this is symbolised by the broken sound תרועה; during the period when the Temple stood daily burnt offerings, known as תמידים were offered by the priests on behalf of the entire people (who had contributed on an equal basis to the cost of these animals) both mornings and evenings. All of this symbolised the inner adhesion of the various tribes to one another. The תרועה sound by its very nature calls attention to the fact that the Jews are dispersed among gentiles, lacking this inner cohesion. As a result of their sins and the subsequent exile, G’d delays looking at the sins of the Jewish people while they are in exile, as the conditions for them to observe the Torah in full measure do not exist and it is harder for them to accumulate collective merits. [Some of the words are mine, but the author whose fame rests on his being an advocate vis a vis G’d of his people in exile, is making the point I described. Ed.]. He sees in the sequence in which we blow the shofar a summary of our history which began in glory, i.e. תקיעה, was interrupted by decline, exile, i.e. תרועה, but will most certainly end again with the תקיעה to signal our redemption soon in our days.
In support of his theory, the author quotes the statement of our sages that G’d’s presence cannot rest on us permanently unless at least 600000 male adults are assembled. (Midrash Hagadol Vayishlach 32,3) The תקיעה symbolizes that thought. This explains that whenever the Jewish people made camp while in the desert, a תקיעה as blown as a reminder that the Shechinah, G’d’s presence, was at hand. On the other hand, breaking camp was signaled by the blowing of a תרועה, the broken sound, as breaking camp was a sign that the people had displeased G’d, and that this was why they had to pack up once more. According to the Ari z’al, the various journeys were inspired by the need to accumulate merits by picking up “fallen” sparks along the route and to become the instrument of restoring same to the celestial position before they had “fallen” out of grace. The fact that the Israelites offset their sins by these merits of picking up “fallen sparks,” was responsible for G’d not immediately turning His attention to the misdemeanours of the Israelites that had brought about their need to move on.
The sound of the תרועה, reminder that G’d had broken, interrupted His preoccupation with the Israelites’ sins, was also a reminder of the need to acquire merits by elevating themselves spiritually to offset the effect of their sins.
[Various commentators in dealing with the inverted way in which Moses reports the process of making camp and breaking camp in Numbers 33,1-33,2 refer to each move being testimony to the people having angered G’d. Ed.]
Bileam describes G’d’s attitude when Israel’s merits come to His attention and when, G’d forbid, their sins call for His attention. He says that Israel’s merits will immediately command G’d’s attention and He will respond to them without delay, whereas He does not wish to take a look at their sins immediately. The former is spelled out when Bileam adds: ה' אלוקיו עמו, Hashem, its G’d is with it.” The expression following, i.e. ותרועת מלך בו, “and their king’s acclaim is in their midst,” is a reference to the divisive nature of the teruah sound of the shofar. A king can be acclaimed by unbroken sounds of the shofar or by broken sounds. G’d reacts selectively to reports He receives about the conduct of His people.
The author proceeds to use the opportunity to explain the deeper meaning of the respective sounds תקיעה and תרועה which emanate from the ram’s horn, the shofar. The former sound is unbroken, symbolizing unity, continuity, whereas the latter signifies dissonance, friction, disharmony.
At the time when the Holy Temple stood and service was performed in it, this was an era distinguished by the תקיעה, the very letters in that word when examined meaning תקע י-ה meaning “G’d fastens, clasps, unites.” During periods of exile, however, this is symbolised by the broken sound תרועה; during the period when the Temple stood daily burnt offerings, known as תמידים were offered by the priests on behalf of the entire people (who had contributed on an equal basis to the cost of these animals) both mornings and evenings. All of this symbolised the inner adhesion of the various tribes to one another. The תרועה sound by its very nature calls attention to the fact that the Jews are dispersed among gentiles, lacking this inner cohesion. As a result of their sins and the subsequent exile, G’d delays looking at the sins of the Jewish people while they are in exile, as the conditions for them to observe the Torah in full measure do not exist and it is harder for them to accumulate collective merits. [Some of the words are mine, but the author whose fame rests on his being an advocate vis a vis G’d of his people in exile, is making the point I described. Ed.]. He sees in the sequence in which we blow the shofar a summary of our history which began in glory, i.e. תקיעה, was interrupted by decline, exile, i.e. תרועה, but will most certainly end again with the תקיעה to signal our redemption soon in our days.
In support of his theory, the author quotes the statement of our sages that G’d’s presence cannot rest on us permanently unless at least 600000 male adults are assembled. (Midrash Hagadol Vayishlach 32,3) The תקיעה symbolizes that thought. This explains that whenever the Jewish people made camp while in the desert, a תקיעה as blown as a reminder that the Shechinah, G’d’s presence, was at hand. On the other hand, breaking camp was signaled by the blowing of a תרועה, the broken sound, as breaking camp was a sign that the people had displeased G’d, and that this was why they had to pack up once more. According to the Ari z’al, the various journeys were inspired by the need to accumulate merits by picking up “fallen” sparks along the route and to become the instrument of restoring same to the celestial position before they had “fallen” out of grace. The fact that the Israelites offset their sins by these merits of picking up “fallen sparks,” was responsible for G’d not immediately turning His attention to the misdemeanours of the Israelites that had brought about their need to move on.
The sound of the תרועה, reminder that G’d had broken, interrupted His preoccupation with the Israelites’ sins, was also a reminder of the need to acquire merits by elevating themselves spiritually to offset the effect of their sins.
[Various commentators in dealing with the inverted way in which Moses reports the process of making camp and breaking camp in Numbers 33,1-33,2 refer to each move being testimony to the people having angered G’d. Ed.]
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