잠언 30:35의 Chasidut

In that book this matter is illustrated by means of a parable. ‎When a very wise man asks someone a question about something ‎that is beyond his field of expertise, and he ignores the advice ‎given by proceeding to follow his own intuition, and it turns out ‎that he was wrong, this “wise man,” will no doubt feel deeply ‎ashamed for not having followed the sage counsel he had ‎received.
At the time when G’d was occupied with creating the ‎universe and all that it contains, He had consulted with the ‎angels about the advisability of creating the human species, i.e. a ‎species who was granted free will in determining if to obey the ‎Creator’s directives. (Compare Bereshit Rabbah 8,5). At that ‎time, G’d following His preponderant attribute of mercy, had ‎decided to ignore the advice given to Him by the angels who had ‎foreseen all of the imperfections of the human species and the ‎‎“heartache” this would cause the Creator so that they had advised ‎against this species being created. Now that unfortunately the ‎advice of the angels had proven far sighted, the Creator felt ‎עלוב‎. ‎‎[King Achav, though a nationalist, and repeatedly willing ‎to give up his own life in order to protect his people, had ‎nonetheless committed a foul judicial murder by framing the ‎owner of an ancestral vineyard as being guilty of a crime that ‎Navot, the owner of that vineyard had not committed. His only ‎‎“crime” had been his refusal to sell to the King. The verse cited ‎from Kings I 22,19 is the prelude to G’d sitting in judgment of ‎Achav for his crime. Ed.]
Incidentally, the parable from the sefer Rezie’l also ‎accounts for an anomaly in psalms 81,5 ‎כי חק לישראל הוא ומשפט ‏לאלוקי יעקב‎, “for it is a statute (immutable) for Israel and a ruling ‎‎(depending on circumstances) by the G’d of Yaakov” (compare ‎‎Rosh Hashanah 8) in that verse. The psalmist could have ‎been expected to write: ‎כי משפט לאלוקי יעקב הוא וחק לישראל‎. The ‎Talmud there explains the wording in that verse as meaning that ‎the first day of Tishrey serves as a date on which all ‎mankind is judged in heaven provided that Israel will be the first ‎nation to be so judged. For the Israelites who are basically ‎observing G’d’s laws and are therefore a holy nation, the meaning ‎of the word ‎חוק‎ is that their livelihood for the following year is ‎determined on that day as the sages taught in Beytzah 16‎‏ ‏‎ ‎‎(Compare Proverbs 30, 8 ‎הטריפני לחם חוקי‎, “feed me with the bread ‎allotted to me.” Or: Leviticus 10,13 ‎חוקך וחוק בניך היא מאשי ה'‏‎, “it is ‎your portion from the Lord’s fire-offerings and that of your ‎children.”) [The verse just quoted, addressing the priests, ‎begins with the words: ‎ואכלתם אותה במקום קדוש‎, “you are to ‎consume it in a sacred location.”] This leaves open the ‎possibility that in our verse in psalms the word might mean ‎‎“statute,” or something similar. How do we know that in psalms ‎too it means the same as in the verses we quote from Leviticus ‎and Proverbs, i.e. that it refers to parnassah, livelihood? The ‎unusual sequence of ‎חוק לישראל משפט לאלוקי יעקב‎ provides us ‎with the answer to this question.‎
The subject concerning which Israel is to be judged on New ‎Year’s day is their livelihood. The psalmist rejoices in the fact that ‎these decisions are not made by Israel’s detractors but are the ‎exclusive domain of ‎אלוקי יעקב‎. According to the Zohar, as ‎soon as our enemies understand this, they cease to demonize us.‎
The appropriate translation of the verse in psalms 81,5 ‎therefore is: “if our enemies, (be they celestial beings who ‎opposed the creation of mankind altogether, or just our perennial ‎opponents the forces of Amalek (in whatever guise they appear) ‎want to sit in judgment of Israel, ‎משפט לישראל‎, they are advised ‎by the psalmist Assaph that our ‎חוק‎, livelihood, is decided by the ‎G’d of Yaakov, ‎לאלוקי יעקב‎, no one else. As a result of this, our ‎detractors are seized with ‎חיל ורעדה יאחזון‎ they (our adversaries) ‎are seized with fright and trembling for (Deut. 29,19) G’d’s anger ‎would be aroused against them etc.; this is also what Job spoke ‎about in Job 15,15 when he stated that even His heavenly ‎entourage did not find favour in His eyes. ‎

Thus, we may rightly say of the revelation of the Kabbalah, which is revelation of Atzilut, that the Zohar is its Keter and hasidism its Malkhut,⁴²⁶That is, hasidism transmits the Zohar’s revelation from its higher intellectualized manifestation, pulling it downwards and spreading it outwards, translating it into other modalities of expression, including the emotional and physical. the last of the messianic revelation through which the kingdom of heaven will be revealed. When Malkhut unites with Keter, it becomes the crown of kingship (Keter Malkhut), in the aspect of ‘a woman of valor⁴²⁷Proverbs 30:10. JPS renders “a capable wife.” is the crown of her husband⁴²⁸Reference to the liturgical sabbath poem Lekha Dodi, in which the [Sabbath] Bride is hailed as her Husband’s crown....thus ‘her husband is prominent in the gates.”⁴²⁹Proverbs ibid. v. 23. Understand this.

On the subject of the connection of faith, the Zohar writes (Beshalach, 52b): Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak, Pharaoh was smarter than all the sorcerers of his day. He looked into all of the crowns (Sefirot) and all of the knowledge, and didn’t see any sign of the Israel’s redemption. He did not see that the redemption was hinged on any of these crowns. However, though he looked into all the ways that Israel was connected to God, he failed to see the other connection – the connection of faith, which rules over all. For this reason his heart was hardened. Pharaoh knew that there was no place in the realm of Divine service³⁴⁶That is, within the created world, everything “under heaven,” as opposed to the level prior to creation, which he could not perceive. where Israel could overpower him. From this, he understood that he was given the authority to rule over them, enslaving Israel in their bodies and souls, and subjugating them to harsh labor. It is explained how he gradually accustomed the Israelites to ever greater levels of slavery, until they were thoroughly entrenched in bondage. This is as it is written in the Midrash (Mechilta Yitro 1), “No slave could ever escape from Egypt, because Egypt was filled with all the most powerful of worldly delights, to the point where it was more comfortable to be a slave in Egypt than a lord in another country.” In this way, he ruled over their minds and intellect.³⁴⁷It may be implied by this that even the Israelites themselves could not that escape from Egypt was possible, or even desirable – their minds and hearts having been so thoroughly enslaved. What they, and Pharaoh, did not realize is that Israel is connect to G-d on a level that transcends the intellect and the natural order - that is the dimension of faith and miracles. For this reason, he asserted that there was no way they could arouse the root of their souls in order to pray to God for deliverance, and as a result, God’s compassion would not be aroused to redeem them. To this, the Zohar responds, “He did not see the other connection – the connection of faith, which rules over all. ” All of the connection between Israel and God is through prayer and Divine service.³⁴⁸The author refers here to the revealed connection between Israel and G-d; not that of faith, which is concealed to the intellect. And all Divine service and prayer that is within man’s conscious grasp is only within the inclusion and unification of God’s revealed attributes (sefirot), as King David listed them when he said (Divrei HaYamim 1, 29), “Unto You, God, is the greatness, the strength, the splendor, the victory , and the majesty. For all that is in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, G-d, is the kingdom; and You are exalted over all.”³⁴⁹In this verse, King David alludes to the seven lower sefirot, from hesed to yesod: Greatness - hesed; strength - gevurah; , splendor - tiferet; victory - netzah; majesty - Hod; all - Yesod; kingdom - Malkhut. This is explained in the Sifri, on the verse (Devarim, 11), “If you keep all these commandments that I command you to do, to love the Lord, your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him.” Is it possible for man to cleave to God? asks the Sifri? Is it not written that God is a consuming fire? But the answer is: You should cleave to God’s attributes. Just as God is merciful, so you should be merciful (and in this way you cleave to Him).³⁵⁰The author is relying upon an implicit connection between the Divine attributes of loving-kindness, compassion, etc, their human parallels, and the sefirot. The seven lower sefirot are “revealed” – that is, their influence can be felt in the world. When man serves G-d by actualizing these potencies within himself (loving-kindness, mercy), so he clings to the supernal manifestation of these attributes. However, there are worlds far higher than these attributes, to which a human being cannot consciously connect to. Due to man’s limited knowledge, his Divine service only reaches these revealed attributes, which are included under the aegis of Tiferet (splendor), the Sefirah which contains the six lower attributes, which is also called Zeir Anpin (the microprosopus, or the “small face”). This attribute is Israel’s connection,³⁵¹Tiferet is in the center of the middle column and connects to all of the six lower Sefirot: Hesed is to its upper right; Gevurah, its upper left; Nezah, at the lower right, Hod, at the lower left, and Yesod directly below, on the middle column. for through Tiferet, Israel is called, “my firstborn son Israel” (Shemot, 4:). As it is written in the Zohar (Balak, 191b): The secret of the matter is the secret above, “What is his name and what is his son’s name that I should know him?” (Mishlei, 30:4). His name is known, and it is Hashem Tziva’ot (the Lord of Hosts). His son’s name is Israel, as it is written, “My firstborn son Israel.” All of the keys of faith depend on Israel, who takes pride in this and says (Tehillim, 2), “God said to me, you are My son.” It is certainly like this, in that Abba and Imma³⁵²“Father and Mother” – the supernal constellations of sefirot that correspond to Hokhmah and Binah. crowned their son and blessed him with many blessings, telling him and commanding him for everything. They kissed their son’s hand, as it were, and gave him dominion over all, that all should serve him. It is also written in the Zohar (Yitro, 79a), And how does the verse end? “What is his name and what is his son’s name that I should know him?” He told him the secret of this matter. It is written, “My firstborn son Israel,” and it is written (Yeshayahu), “Israel, I shall pride Myself in you.” His name is Hokhmah (wisdom), and His son’s name is Tiferet (Adornment, Pride).³⁵³Here, the Zohar links the supernal persona of Israel to the sefirah of Tiferet, which is connected to Hokhmah, a higher sefirah, representing the Divine.

[Notes Following the Story]
[Rabbi Nachman said:] This story is very hard for me to tell, but because I've already begun telling it, now I have to finish it. [But he did not actually finish telling it.] In this story there is not one word that will be void of meaning, and whoever is adept and versed in sefarim [mystical Judaic texts] can at least understand some of the hints. And the arrows — of which that [character] boasted he could pull back arrows — this is found in the verse, "[Im shanothi beraq charbi/ If I have twofold [unleashed] My sword [like] lightning {i.e. as lightning flashes from one end of the sky across to the other end, against My people in retribution}, wethochez bemishpat yadi/ My hand will yet have hold on [strict] justice..." [Deut. 32:41], and as Rashi explains, "Flesh and blood shoots an arrow and cannot retrieve it, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, shoots an arrow and does have the ability to retrieve it [as if He were holding them in His hand]." And the charity which safeguards against the walls of water — this is also found in a verse: "[Lu hikshavta lemitzvothai; wayhi kanahar shelomekha/ If you would listen to My commandments then your peace would be as a river] wetzidkathekha kegalei hayam/ and your charity (righteousness) as the waves of the sea." [Isa., 48:18]. And the wind — his grasping it in is hands — this is found in, "Mi asaf-ruach bechofnaw/ Who has grasped the wind in his fists?" [Prov. 30:4] (Which is an aspect of producing melody, as explained elsewhere [Likutei Moharan #54].) And the ten types of pulses and ten kinds of melody — this is already explained in the Zohar [and see LM IIpg. 32a (#24)]. [Rabbi Nathan adds:] All this we heard explicitly. But who, when and what? (Beyond this he said nothing more, that is to say, who they all are, what this is, and when this all took place — this is unknowable.)

Consider the way our Torah predecessors gave great honor to the unique among them, even though they were all holy individuals. We find a certain agadata in the Talmud (see Megilla, 15b) is interpreted in nine different ways, and Eliyahu haNavi agrees that all of them are true. “Raban Shimon ben Gamliel said, ‘still, we need the Moda’ii.’ “ Though the interpretation of Elazar HaModa’ii was different from the rest, he still found it essential to honor him and include his words. This being so, how could anyone in our generation have the audacity to do away with the opinion of Rabbi Elazar haModa’ii? I will give the order to punish those guilty of this rebellion and trespass. They do not know the great implications of their sin. Suffice that the heavens shall reveal it, and the earth below will rise up against them. It is a grave offence. He is like one who waits to ambush others, but in the end he will afflict his soul with pennitentiary fasting until his teeth turn black. We find this in the Gemara (Chagiga, 22b), where Rabbi Yehoshua once claimed that he was ashamed that a certain opinion of Beit Shammai concerning the laws of purity had ever been stated, claiming that it did not make sense. After Beit Shammai’s opinion was properly explained, Rabbi Yehoshua threw himself on the graves of Beit Shammai to beg forgiveness, and it was said that in the coming years his teeth turned black from penitential fasts he endured for this incident. In another passage concerning the laws of purity Rabbi Akiva taught that coming into contact with two halves of a revi’it of blood from two separate dead bodies imparts ritual impurity. The Sages disagreed with this opinion, claiming that only a complete revi’it of blood from one body departs impurity. Rebbi taught in the name of Bar Kapara, “do not count the ruling about the revi’it of blood among the rulings that Rabbi Akiva retracted.” Rabbi Shimon then jeered at this by saying, “as long as he was alive he ruled that it makes one impure, but whether or not he retracted it after he died, I am not sure.” The Gemara says that eventually Rabbi Shimon’s teeth turned black from fasting, and that he would fill his eyes with clods of earth from the floor of Rabbi Akiva’s house of study. [However, when the Gemara says (Chullin 24a), “even if Yehoshua bin Nun had said it, I would not have accepted it,” – it is a case where the law had been accepted a certain way, and no opposition can change it. This is how the law is established in the Shulchan Aruch (Yore Deah, 242:36), “One who says of his fellow, I would not accept the law from him even if he was like Yehoshua bin Nun, is worthy of niddui (excommunication, shunning). This is not so when he says this of an opinion contrary to a law that is universally accepted.” (The Rambam explains this his introduction to seder Zeraim, part 2.)] The disregard for the words of any of the sages is a result of a limited understanding and an insufficient tenure in the house of study. This is as the Zohar say (Balak, 193b), “When one praises himself, it is a sign that he does not know anything.” Such misguided people err in the very method of the sages of the Gemara. They are mistaken in that they believe that each sage would explain as he saw fit and however his spirit moved him. They do not know that our holy predecessors did not say anything from their own minds, but only taught that which they had received in the tradition from a faithful source. Who would have the audacity to offer his own opinion in a place where he does not understand their words? “For I am more boorish than a man, and I do not have the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom,” and I do not have the understanding of the holy. (Mishlei 30:2) Furthermore, the words of Rabbi Elazar HaModa’ii are also found in Targum Yonatan (one of the Aramaic translations of the Torah), and the Targum claims that when one thinks he is doing a great service to explain difficult passages with contrived solutions not based on tradition he is only making them more incomprehensible.

The essence of unification is not to separate the mind from speech, and not to mix evil into the good. This is the meaning of (Genesis 2:9) "The tree of knowledge of good and evil," and (Proverbs 30:23) "A slave-girl who supplants her mistress -" all hinting at the upper waters.