Chasidut do Wyjścia 33:23
וַהֲסִרֹתִי֙ אֶת־כַּפִּ֔י וְרָאִ֖יתָ אֶת־אֲחֹרָ֑י וּפָנַ֖י לֹ֥א יֵרָאֽוּ׃ (ס)
A gdy zdejmę rękę Moję, ujrzysz tyły Moje, ale oblicze Moje nie może być widzianém."
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 33,23. “You will see My back, but My face is not visible (to any creature).” In addition to the fact that of course, G’d’s “back” is also invisible, as He is not corporeal, the author quotes two verses from Job and Proverbs respectively, which require further clarification. We read in Proverbs 15,20: בן חכם ישמח אב, ”a wise son causes joy to the father.” We also read in Job 28,14: והחכמה מאין תמצא “but where does wisdom come from?“ We know that the most important ingredient of wisdom is acquired by man when he looks (with his mental eye) at the concept of אין, i.e. the “nothingness” from which the (perceptible) phenomena of the universe came into existence, emanated. When man trains himself to cleave ever more to the roots of his life, i.e. to the Creator, this aspect is known as אצל הבורא, being next to the Creator, Who Himself is garbed in a “garment,” i.e. a protective shield that prevents the powerful rays of light emanating from Him from harming those exposed to this. The prophet Isaiah 23,18 alludes to this when he said: ולמכסה עתיק (יומין) “dressed in primeval (of prehistoric origin) garments” (compare Talmud Pessachim 119) This is also the meaning of the allusion in the Talmud Chagigah 7 that Israel provides G’d with His “parnassah,” livelihood, basing itself on the word לבוש being used in that context, so that חכמה, “wisdom” in many instances refers to the אור חוזר, the “reflected light,” emanating from Israel in response to G’d’s largesse, as it requires חכמה, “wisdom or ingenuity,” for the original light beamed at His creatures by G’d to be aimed back accurately at its source. This is also referred to by way of allusion in Job 33,32, ואאלפך חכמה “I shall teach you wisdom.” The letters א-ל-פ when reversed spell פלא, miracle, something supernatural, as in the word נפלאות, and hint at the fact that the ability to reattach oneself to the original source that has given one life is something beyond man’s innate ability, and cannot be achieved without direct Divine intervention. The process by which this is achieved is known as תנועה, normally translated as “motion,” meaning in this context that G’d sets in motion some part of the word תנועה.
[I confess that from this point on I have not understood the author’s allusions on this subject based on the meaning of the vowels underneath the consonants. Ed.]
[I confess that from this point on I have not understood the author’s allusions on this subject based on the meaning of the vowels underneath the consonants. Ed.]
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