욥기 1:11의 유대 사상

One might suppose at first, that just as in the case of Gideon, when only a few select men were left to go into battle, so the task of the Priests and the police would be to weed out all those that are afraid. In order not to cause embarassment to anyone in the first three categories, they were called out first. In this way, when men were seen returning from the mobilisation centres, they would be presumed to belong to either of the first three categories whose reasons for return were legitimate. Our sages, however, seem to have ruled out this approach by not mentioning it as a possible exegesis. (compare discussion in Talmud Sotah 43 and 44) Even though Rabbi Yossi suggests that the words "afraid and of faint heart," (21,8) refer to fear of being punished for sins committed,- thus vindicating our suggestion,- it would still leave us with the question why in this instance the "fearful ones" are listed last instead of first, as had been the case when Gideon had mobilised his men. Also the question of why the switch between the Priest and the military police addressing the soldiers, would remain. We approach the problem in a different way. Because the Jewish people are the chosen people, they are exposed to Divine guidance in a variety of ways: 1) Those whose conduct is based entirely on loyalty to G'd and His Torah. These people are subject to G'd intervening on their behalf as a matter of routine. 2) Those who are normally loyal to G'd, but who are not of the calibre to merit G'ds intervention on their behalf until after they have done everything to help themselves. In other words, the average Jew. 3) The group of Jews whose past conduct cannot allow them to expect to rely on anything better than their natural mazzal. They have spurned Divine help by their way of life. Therefore, Heaven would neither help nor hinder them. (see detailed discussion in chapter twenty six) Since there would be representatives of all these types amongst the Jewish people reporting for mobilisation, the address of the Priest and the military police takes this fact into consideration. The first proclamation of the Priest is addressed to group number one. The Priest tells that group not to worry; G'd would fight for them. The third proclamation of "who is the man that is afraid," obviously addresses itself to the third group, the ones who have only their physique and marital skills to rely on against any enemy. They are advised to go home as a reminder that they cannot count on Divine intervention on their behalf. The middle group, comprised of the "house builders, newly weds (betrothed) and the planters of orchards," are those whose moral conduct coupled with their own efforts entitles them to put their trust in Divine help. Such people need to be especially careful in their affairs, so that misdemeanours do not provoke the celestial attorney general to prepare a dossier against them. Such a dossier, -as long as it has not been disposed of,-leads to the review of all of their subject's past down to the minutest detail. When G'd had praised Job and his way of life to Satan, the latter remarked that Job's piety was not altruistic. We all know how that story ended. The Talmud Berachot 55, reports that there are three things which provoke G'd into ordering an audit into our affairs. A) Too much prayer. B) Living in a house with a damaged wall. C) Asking that a fellow human being be punished. The common denominator in all these three items is that we ask for more than midah keneged midah, measure for measure. Before such requests can be granted, the credentials of the person making such a request must be beyond reproof. On the other hand, the Talmud Yerushalmi in Bikkurim tells us that there are three categories of people whose sins have been forgiven. A) Anyone who has been chosen for a position of great honour. B) A groom or bride on the wedding day. C) Someone who has recovered from a serious illness. Since all those three groups of people had achieved their ambition/desire, their merit had been recognised by the Heavenly judges. People who have not yet experienced such confirmation that they possessed such merit, need to exercise extreme caution before venturing into obviously dangerous situations. This is why we have these three categories of people who are asked to return home and await confirmation that the undertakings they are engaged in will be crowned with success. After all, they represent the three major undertakings of a person in his life. Once they have received such confirmation of their merit, they can join the battle with confidence. In the first instance, upon coming face to face with numerically superior forces, the point of the war had to be explained. At this point, we note the double entendre that we have mentioned earlier. There is no better time to confront our enemies within than when one readies oneself to deal with enemies without. The enemy within is the human body. Frequently the body's demands are excessive; sometimes the body even wants to enslave the spiritual part of man. Frequently the body is not content to remain the servant at the call of man's spiritual aspirations. Since the building of a new home, establishing a family and planting a vineyard are the primary challenges in our physical life, one needs to come to terms with the relative importance of each of those activities, and assign the material values in life their proper place in the scheme of things. Anyone who has not yet done that, cannot hope to face the day of battle. The "day of battle" is of course, the day of death, the time of the final judgment. He who has not even started on this task, and has therefore reason to fear Heavenly judgment, must certainly address himself to his tasks on earth before he can face the ultimate battle, the one against his own yetzer hara, evil inclination. The Priest in his address in verse three, warns of four distinct frames of minds, although they all appear lumped together. "Let not your heart be faint,- fear not,- do not be alarmed,- do not be frightened." Each one of these four frames of mind, when present, can prevent repentance from becoming a turning point in one's life. These are the impediments for people who though they incline to return to their roots, do not have a firm determination to do so. 1) Man's fear of physical discomfort associated with acts that have an element of self torture by means of which he demonstrates his repentance. 2) The fear that repentance will not be accepted by His Maker; therefore such a person does not bother to undertake what he considers may be a futile effort. 3) Man may embark on his repentance in the wrong order. Instead of first abandoning his sinful way of life, he may merely concentrate on fasting and prayer; these steps, at that point are utterly useless. 4) A person who indulges in physical pleasures may decide that if as a result of his repentance he will forthwith have to forego these pleasures, it is not worth his while to repent and remodel himself. For the above mentioned reasons, the Torah exhorts man by listing all four possibilities. In view of this, the ten days of penitence our sages instituted in preparation for the annual battle on Yom Kippur, assume great significance. In addition, we prepare during the whole month of Ellul to give us a total of forty days preparation. The significance of the number forty in this context, goes back to the forty days Moses had spent on Mount Sinai both on the occasion he received the first set of tablets as well as on the occasion when he was to receive the second set. The forty days were employed in mending our spiritual fences. These had been severely damaged after the sin of the golden calf. The process of substituting one set of tablets for a new set of tablets was begun at Sinai. The concept introduced at that time is one of ongoing validity. Having defiled one set of "tablets" by our collective or individual misconduct, it is our task to substitute new "tablets" that will remain untarnished. The essential thing is that what is written on any subsequent edition be identical with what had been inscribed on the original version. Just as springtime is nature's time for renewal, so Rosh Hashanah is the season of man's renewal. Since after the summer when we have witnessed an abundance of the physical attributes of the universe, we experience a weakening of these physical phenomena, i.e. a weakening of the desires of the flesh, what better time could there be for our spiritual forces to reassert their preponderance in shaping our lives?

That which teaches that the first two kinds are evidence of genuine love of G-d in a person, we can see from what Satan said: "Does Iyov fear G-d for nothing? Have not you made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? you have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions are increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now, [and touch all that he has, surely he will blaspheme You to Your face]" (Iyov 1:9), which he meant: "he is like a merchant doing business with You, since with his love and fear of You, his price from you in return is honor and wealth of the world. But if You take away from him what You have bestowed on him and he remains in his piety with You - then he is faithful in genuine love of You". The Creator answered the Satan: "behold, everything of his is in your hands..." (Iyov 1:12). And then Satan did what you know from the text with his money and his children, and Iyov did not change, neither inwardly or outwardly towards G-d. He maintained his faithful love to G-d, as he said: "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return [to the grave]: the L-ord gave, and the L-ord has taken away; blessed be the name of the L-ord" (Iyov 1:21).

Another meaning of the word is “the presence and existence of a person”; comp. “He died in the presence (pene) [i.e., in the lifetime] of all his brethren” (Gen. 25:18); “And in the presence (pene) of all the people I will be glorified” (Lev. 10:3); “He will surely curse thee in thy very presence” (paneka) (Job 1:11). In the same sense the word is used in the following passage, “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face,” i.e., both being present, without any intervening medium between them. Comp. “Come, let us look one another in the face” (2 Kings 14:8); and also “The Lord talked with you face to face” (Deut. 5:4); instead of which we read more plainly in another place, “Ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude: only ye heard a voice” (ib. 4:12). The hearing of the voice without seeing any similitude is termed “face to face.” Similarly do the words, “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face” correspond to “There he heard the voice of one speaking unto him” (Num. 7:89), in the description of God’s speaking to Moses. Thus it will be clear to you that the perception of the Divine voice without the intervention of an angel is expressed by “face to face.” In the same sense the word panim must be understood in “And my face (panai) shall not be seen” (Exod. 33:23); i.e., my true existence, as it is, cannot be comprehended.