이사야 43:7의 Musar

It is obvious that anything that is desired testifies to the nature of him who desires it and that every deed testifies to the nature of him who performs it. It is, therefore, fitting for every intelligent person to engage in the choicest of occupations so that this will be a sign of his intelligence. From this we know that there is no occupation more choice and no deed more honored than the service of God, may He be exalted. For this testifies to the degree of intelligence that a man possesses and to his perfection. All the wise men of the world believe and understand that the intellect is able to grasp only two concepts: first, the Creator and second, that which was created. There is nothing else besides these. They thus believe that the Creator is first¹See Bahya Ibn Paquda, Hovat La-Levavot (Duties of the Heart), Book 1:10, (Jerusalem: Eshkol, 1969-5729), p. 75. and that that which was fashioned is created ex nihilo, that the Creator is without a beginning and an end, and that every living thing has a beginning and an end. They thus believe that the Creator has no need of anything. For one who is in need lacks the thing of which he is in need, and by securing the thing which he needs, he becomes complete. But since the Creator is perfect, He has no need of anything at all. Since. He has no need of anything, it follows that He did not create the world to fill any need of His. Since He did not create the world for any need of His, we can deduce that He created it as a loving act to reward the good who merit such reward. Even as it is said (Isaiah 43:7), “Everyone that is called by My name, [And whom I have created for] My glory, I have formed him.” Proof of this is in the way Scripture describes the Creation of the world. In the act of the Creation concerning the lights, it says (Genesis 1:17), “And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth”, and it does not say, “to give light to the heavens” or “toward the heavens,” but “upon the earth.” If this is so, we know that the luminaries were not created for any use of the Creator and not to give light to the heavens, but to give light to the earth and its inhabitants. We can also recognize logically that if that which was created was for the benefit of the Creator, then it would be just as eternal as He, for His benefit would not be separated from Him, but would be found with Him always. But since we know that the world is created and not eternal, we know that before there was a world the Creator did not have any need of it. Just as He had no need of it before it came into being, so did He have no need of it after it came into being; but all of His intent in His creation of the world was for our benefit.

Furthermore, we know and understand that the Creator did not create the world for the sake of the wicked or those who anger Him, for reason cannot lead us to such a conclusion, but He created it for the sake of the pious, who acknowledge His divinity and serve Him properly. His intent was only to create the pious, but the wicked were created by virtue of the nature of creation. Just as a piece of fruit has a peel³This metaphor seems to be Kabbalistic, especially the use of "peel" for "evil."²This is a possible allusion to a favorite theme in Jewish Mysticism. "Evil is the Kelipah, the ‘bark’ of the cosmic tree or ‘The shell of the nut’ ". Gershom G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York: Schocken, 1946), p. 239. and that which is choice is what is within the peel, so the pious are the fruit of the creation of the world and the wicked are the peel . Just as we see that the intent of the sower of the seed is to cause wheat alone to grow, but that the strength of the sprout brings forth evil weeds with the wheat⁴See Isaiah 5:2. and that with the rose come all sorts of thorns, thus it is the intent of the Creator to create the pious, but by the virtue of the nature of creation, the wicked are brought forth with the pious. There is nothing that is created that cannot be divided into three parts: the choice or the purest part, which is like the finest flour; the inferior part, which consists of offal and worthless parts, such as straw or rubbish, and there is the part in between⁵This refers to some kind of intermediary state between excellence and worthlessness.. Thus you find among human beings one part which is choice and pure, and these are the pious ones; they are like the fine flour or the choicest fruit. And then there is the less worthy and the rejected, and they are the wicked that are like the rubbish or straw. Therefore, we can say that the world was not created for the sake of the wicked, but for the sake of the pious. Just as in the case of a tree, its master did not plant it and labor for the sake of the peel, but for the sake of the choicest fruit that it will yield.⁶This paragraph sounds Kabbalistic, not only in the imagery but also in the idea that evil is a necessary part in the creation of the world. Theodore Friedman in his review of Ephraim E. Urbach’s The Sages—Their Concepts and Beliefs (Hebrew) Jerusalem, Magnes: 1969, in Judaism Vol. 21:4, p. 499 deals with the famous controversy between the Schools of Shammai and Hillel, whether or not it would have been better for man never to have been born (Eruvin 13b). Urbach said that the question that exercised the two Schools was whether or not it would have been better for [the wicked] never to have been born. Friedman feels "unconvinced" that such is the plain meaning of the text. It is interesting to observe that the text which Urbach uses (p. 226) taken from the Ethics of the Fathers VI: 11 "Whatsoever the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He created it only for His glory", as it is written, Everything that is called by my name and that I have created, I have formed it, yea, I have made it (Isaiah 43:7) contains the very same verse which was cited by our author in the beginning of this chapter. See p. 10, lines 21-22.

And know that there are sublime virtues given over in the positive commandments such as: The virtues of free choice, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 30:19), “and choose life”; and the virtues of Torah study, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:7), “and you shall speak about them;” and the virtues of walking in the ways of the Lord, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 28:9), “and you shall walk in His ways;” and the virtues of contemplation of the greatness of the Lord, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 4:39), “Know therefore this day and keep in mind that the Lord alone is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other,” and David said (Psalms 14:2), “The Lord looks down from heaven on mankind to find a man of understanding, a man who seeks God”; and the virtues of remembrance of His kindnesses,” as it is stated (Deuteronomy 8:2), “Remember the whole way,” and it is [also] stated (Deuteronomy 8:6), “And you shall know that the Lord your God disciplines you just as a man disciplines his son,” and David said (Psalms 107:43), “he will contemplate the kindnesses of the Lord,” and said (Psalms 26:3), “For Your kindness is across from my eyes”; and the virtues of holiness, as it is stated (Leviticus 11:44), “and you shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy”; and the virtues of worship, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), “and He shall you worship;” and the virtues of fear, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), “And you shall fear the Lord”; and the virtues of love, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:5), “And you shall love the Lord, your God;” and the virtues of clinging, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), ”to Him shall you cling.” There are several levels to each of these, as will be explained, with God’s help. And man was created for the sake of these virtues, as it is stated (Isaiah 43:7), “All who are linked to My name, whom I have created for My glory.” And what is the hope of a creation if it does not make the things for which it was created, the toil of his soul and his main occupation?