Chasidut do Powtórzonego Prawa 4:35

The following passages of the Zohar express the central principle that knowledge is the prerequisite to any true Divine service. Everyone who goes to the next world without knowledge will be thrown out of each and every gate of that world, even though he has many good actions to his credit. (Zohar Chadash, Shir HaShirim, 77a) If a person is in this world, and does not strive to know Him, it would have been better had he never been created. For this reason, be seen before the Holy King, in order to know Him in this world. Strive to serve God in the mystery of faith, as it is written (Devarim 4), “You have been shown in order to know that Hashem is Elo-him, there is none besides Him.” God brought man into this world precisely in order to know that God is Elo-him. This is the principle of every secret of faith in the entire Torah.²⁴Notice how this passage of the Zohar equates knowledge with faith – two concepts usually considered to be opposites. To R. Gershon Henokh, however, true knowledge means the realization that the compassionate and loving God, referred to by the name Hashem (Y-H-V-H) and the God that brings upon human beings trials and adversity (E-lohim), are really one, and that even life’s afflictions are an expression of God’s love and compassion. He will return to this theme later, in chapters six and seven. On a related note, the Mei HaShiloach explains that human beings suffer, due to a lack of knowledge. That is to say, if a person truly understood the meaning behind the fulfillment of the commandments, then there would be no suffering whatsoever in the service of God. (Terumah, 161b)

On the famous question, posed by the commentators: How could Choice be taken from [Pharaoh], when it was supposed to be free? And based on our way we should pay attention to read precisely the word these in [God’s] statement, that I may show these signs of mine among them (Ex. 9:1) – it is as if [God] points with a finger at the signs, that here they are before [Moses’] eyes; but in truth they were not visible to his eyes. However, the point of the Exodus from Egypt was that Awareness was in exile with Pharaoh; and that meant that the nation, although they were the Children of Israel, did not know God even though they had a tradition from the mouth of their holy ancestors, the fathers of the world. Nevertheless, since they were the fourth generation they had forgotten the true Awareness about which King David, peace be upon him, said to his son Solomon, know the God of your father (1 Chron. 28:9). And that is the essence of the exile, that Awareness was in exile in Egypt. And therefore wicked Pharaoh said Who is the LORD? etc. (Ex. 5:2), that he denied the essential principle and believed only in sorcery. For he was a great sorcerer and did not know God or that it is written, “there is none but [God] (Deut. 4:35), even sorcery,” “which contradicts the power of Heaven” (Sanhedrin 67b); they have no ability to act beyond Blessed God’s will, as is explained in the Talmud in the incident of Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa. And therefore when Blessed God wanted to redeem [God’s] nation the Children of Israel from Egypt so that they would have the true Awareness, and to teach them that the LORD is God (Deut. 4:35), powerful and master of all abilities and powers, [God] said that I may show these signs of mine among them. That is to say, it was with [Pharaoh] in exile, and through this combination the word “Elohim” will be in wholeness and, and it will be known that the LORD is God, [God] is powerful and master of ability, and there is none but [God], even sorcery as we have stated.

The Purpose of the Mystery of Faith
Having established that true knowledge is the knowledge of God’s revelation on earth, the author now shows how this to be the meaning of the Shema Yisrael prayer: “Hashem Elo-heinu, Hashem Echod.” That is, Hashem, the Transcendent God, is also Elo-heinu, the imminent God. In R. Gershon Henokh’s eyes, this defines the mystery of faith, for true faith is the ability to perceive God’s light and providence in each detail of creation. In the chapter following this one, R. Gershon Henokh refers to this knowledge as Ma’aseh HaMerkava, “the Workings of the Chariot.”⁴⁷In Hebrew, merkava is related to the word markiv, meaning “to join or assemble.” Thus, the “Work of the Chariot” means a perception of the union of God and creation. This was a term coined by the Sages of the Talmud in references to Yehezkel’s vision of a supernal throne, carried by angels, on which sat an image of the Divine. Talmudic mystics, who delved into the depths of this topic were known as “Descenders of the Chariot.” However, R. Gershon Henokh defines Ma’aseh HaMerkava in a novel way.⁴⁸In keeping with other teachings from the school of Izhitz. The merkava is not the chariot in Yehezkel’s, but the entirety of creation, which, when viewed through the lens of faith, becomes a dwelling place for the revelation of God in the world.
Concerning the meaning of the Shema Yisrael the Zohar writes (Terumah, 160b): The two words Shema Yisrael (Hear O Israel) express a unification of three sides, which are the three words Hashem Elo-heinu Hashem (Hashem is our God, Hashem), since it is all one. Further in the Zohar, it is written (Terumah, 161a): Rabbi Hiya spoke after him and said (Devarim 4:35), “It was shown to you, so you may know that Hashem is God, there is none other besides Him”; (Devarim 4:39) “And you shall know this day, and take into your heart, that Hashem is God, in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is none other.” The entire mystery of faith depends on these words. From this one can know the secret of all secrets, the most hidden of all mysteries, which is that “Hashem Elo-him,” is one full name, and it is all one. And in the Zohar (Pekudei, 260a): One who knows how to combine similar things (min b’mino) – to make connections, connecting chamber to chamber, level to level⁴⁹Meaning, he possesses the wisdom necessary to unite the effect with its cause. In this way, he unifies this world with the upper worlds. – has a share in the world-to-come, as we have established. Therefore, it is the completeness of all. And when the levels are completed, one joined to the other, then it is all one action, and the completeness that comes out of this combination (min b’mino) is called Ma’aseh Merkava,⁵⁰The root of the word, “to assemble, to combine” (הרכבה)and the word for chariot (מרכבה) is the same. the workings of the Divine Chariot. This is the secret of (Bereshit, 2:7), “and Hashem Elo-him formed man.” “Hashem Elo-him” is one complete name, and the resulting action of combining the two names into one is the formation of man. In this way we say, “Hashem is Elo-him.” This is as the Zohar states above, that the mystery of fatih is found in the commandment: “And you shall know this day, and take into your heart, that Hashem is God (which is the same as saying Hashem is Elo-him), in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is none other.”

Advanced student, I am concerned that you have been startled by my words here. Up until now, you thought that the improvement that we demanded of you before, and about which we said that you are not free and exempted, was only [regarding] how to cleanse your character traits and how to remove the poisonous dust that we just mentioned - and that this would be enough for you to do, in order to climb to the level of being a true Jewish adult - and that you understood us. But this can no longer the case; since even after the cleansing and improvement of bad traits, we are still demanding that you elevate yourself and come closer [to God]. We are demanding that you elevate yourself greatly - such that your whole being approaches God. Yet this is something [optional] in your eyes; something that only the most spiritual people and the great tzaddikim need to make efforts towards reaching, whereas every other simple Jew is exempt. [But then] you have made a big mistake. It is true that the closeness [to God] and elevation of the souls of the great tzaddikim is much greater than that of the simple Jew. Yet even every simple Jew - however he may be - cannot possibly be a Jewish servant of God with a dry heart and an old and covered over spirit. Hence he must raise himself, at least occasionally - above himself and above the whole world. Our teacher, Moses, said to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 4:35), "You have been shown, to know that the Lord is God; there is none else beside him." He did not say this to his generation alone. For the Torah is eternal and our teacher, Moses, is our eternal leader. So even now is he announcing and making it known to all Jewish hearts and spirits, "You have been shown, to know that the Lord is God; there is none else beside him." It is not enough for us to have the knowledge that God, may He be blessed, is found above, outside of us. Rather, you have been shown to know - what is central is that you sense and feel Him, may He be blessed. And you, advanced student, have already been shown a little bit to know this. And if you will not sense the Divine Presence of His glory in front of your eyes like the prophets and the great tzaddikim - our teacher, Moses, already hinted to us [what to do, when he said] (Deuteronomy 4:39), "And you shall know this day, and you shall set it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God, in the heavens above and on the earth below; there is none else." "And you shall set it to your heart" - so set it to your heart, and know that "the Lord, He is God, etc." For please note the nature of your trembling in your heart for God and your yearning for Torah, the commandments and true prayer. And why is it that when you think about how great it would be for me if I could be a great tzaddik that is close to God, like the tzaddikim of earlier days; and how happy I would be if I could make my prayers like those of the Maggid of Kozhnitz, may the memory of the tzaddik be for a blessing for life in the world to come, and I would be united with God in great purity through them - your heart trembles so much, and your entire body quakes from this yearning that is like a torch fire inside of you? From where does all of this come to you, if not from that which your spirit is struck by being in front of the Master, the Lord of hosts? It is for Him that you yearn and melt. "And you shall know this day, and you shall set it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God" - when you set [the matter] to your heart, then you will know that the Lord, He is God!

And therefore, you, avreikh, besides those esoterica which you have heard from the Zohar, “as has been clearly demonstrated to you”⁵⁹³Deuteronomy 4:35. that hasidism is entirely dependent on avreikhim. For to serve God passively, by avoiding transgression and fulfilling commandments,⁵⁹⁴It is striking that R. Shapiro categorizes fulfillment of positive commandments alongside avoidance of violating negative prohibitions, terming both ‘passive.’ the elderly along with the avreikhim are capable. But to enter all our warmth, feelings, actions, and even human imaginative faculty into God’s house, turning them into wings and soaring as angels- for all this, avreikhim, with their warmth, feelings, actions, and human imaginative faculties, are more capable. Is such avodah, with its exercises, possible, if not for avreikhim supported by their parents, free from labor and business?

Exodus 7,16. “and behold so far you have ‎not listened.” The words: “so far,” appear ‎strange, and sound as if G’d had already performed a ‎number of miracles, whereas in fact He had only ‎brought on one plague, i.e. the waters of the Nile ‎turning into blood. We may be able to understand this ‎turn of phrase when considering a statement by our ‎sages when they compared Moses’ prophecies as ‎characterized by the word ‎זה‎ and that of the other ‎prophets by the word: ‎כה‎. (Sifri Mattot, 2) On ‎the face of it this statement appears strange as Moses ‎frequently introduced his prophecies with the words: ‎כה ‏אמר ה'‏‎.‎
This apparent contradiction has been dealt with by ‎the Rivash, (Rabbi Yitzchok bar Rabbi Sheshet) ‎in his commentary on Exodus 19, 9 ‎‏ בעבור ישמע העם בדברי ‏עמך וגם בך יאמינו לעולם‎ “in order that the people can hear ‎when I speak with you (Moses‏(‏‎ and they will also have ‎complete faith in you forever.” The Rivash writes that ‎there is a difference between what a person sees with ‎his own eyes and between what he knows through use ‎of his intelligence to be the truth. In spite of what his ‎brain tells him is the truth, he still tends to trust his ‎eyes more than he trusts his intellect. This principle ‎also became manifest during the Exodus of the Jewish ‎people from Egypt, and again during the revelation at ‎Mount Sinai when they received the Torah. In spite of ‎the people having witnessed any number of miracles ‎during the period immediately preceding the Exodus ‎so that their faith in G’d should have become absolute, ‎there was a further need to strengthen their belief at ‎Mount Sinai. In spite of all the miracles that Moses had ‎been instrumental in performing ever since he ‎returned from Midian to Egypt, G’d still found it ‎necessary to make the people hear Him speak to Moses ‎directly, before they would believe in him absolutely. ‎The famous proverb: “seeing is believing,” applied to ‎the Jewish people also.‎

To understand this matter we will begin with the verse, they have forsaken me, the source of living waters (Jeremiah 2:13). Its meaning is that Blessed God is the source from whom comes the flow of life-force to all living things in all manners, there is no other besides [God] (Deut. 4:35); and anyone who is attached to [God] is attached to the root of life-force whose waters do not fail (Isaiah 58:11) – but only so long as there is no blockage from his side. For if, God forbid, on account of his sins he blocks himself from the source, his life-force will become absent; but from Blessed [God’s] side there is no blockage as the verse says, but your iniquities have made a separation [between you and your God] (Isaiah 59:2). But one whose life-force is from the Other Side, who are called broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13) since they are gathered waters into which fell sparks of life-force at the moment of breaking, and for this reason they are called broken cisterns – such a person is blocked from his Upper Root and is called separator of close friends (Proverbs 16:28, 17:9). And therefore the Ancestors of the World, who opened the pipelines of intelligence in the world and taught awareness to all people, how to dig himself into the aspect of a well of living water (Gen. 26:19), to be attached to the source from which comes the root of his life-force. And [the Ancestors’] disciples are called by the name “servants,” as the verse says, Isaac’s servants (Gen. 26:32), since their service of the Blessed Creator came by way of the Ancestors.

But after Abraham’s death, these springs of wisdom were stopped up, because they were stopped by the Philistines (Gen. 26:18) who are the aspect of evil which is set in a person, who had overpowered the world; and the element of Earth had overpowered [the others] and in proportion the spiritual and intellectual powers weakened. But when Isaac, his son, came and held to his father’s path, he taught this awareness to the people of his generation as well – to return and dig to the aspect of a well of living water through many types of intelligences and great and concealed counsels – until Isaac dug again the wells of water (Gen. 26:18). All this comes by way of faith, which is the precursor to this: that one believes with complete faith that Blessed God, the whole earth is filled with [God’s] Glory (Isaiah 6:3) and no place is void of [God], there is no other besides [God] (Deut. 4:35). And then, by way of this faith, he yearns for [God] and desires to hold to and attach himself to Blessed God, who has the aspect of valley [nahal] (Gen. 26:19), which is an acronym for Our soul waits for the LORD [nafsheynu hiktah la-ADONAI] (Psalm 33:20), which [means] by way of faith. And then, through this, he comes to his root, which is the spring of the well of living waters that we have described. And that is [the meaning of] when Isaac's servants dug in the valley (Gen. 26:19) – the aspect of valley as we have stated – and found there a well of living water (Gen. 26:19), etc., The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled … so he called the name of the well Esek etc. (Gen. 26:20), Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah (Gen. 26:21), And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now [the LORD has made room for us]” etc. (Gen. 26:22).