Chasidut do Hioba 28:29

Let us first deal with a question raised by most commentators, i.e. ‎the reason why Moses’ name has not been mentioned in this ‎portion. In Proverbs 10,1 we read ‎בן חכם ישמח אב‎, “a wise son ‎brings joy to his father.” What precisely is this “wisdom” ‎Solomon speaks of in that verse? Furthermore, what is the nature ‎of “wisdom” that Job speaks of in Job 28,28 where we read ‎הן יראת ‏א-דוני היא חכמה‎, “here the awe of G’d is wisdom!”‎
We must remember that the Creator created all the ‎phenomena in all the parts of His universe, and that when His ‎creatures look at the world and realize that they themselves are ‎totally powerless, they look at their own “lives” and are overcome ‎by a feeling of awe for this Creator.‎
They also realize that the Creator in His wisdom has created ‎phenomena that are direct opposites of one another such as fire ‎and water, night and day, wind (air) and earth. When reflecting ‎on this they realize that even these opposites possess a common ‎denominator, they emerged into existence as an expression of the ‎will of the One and only Creator. It follows that they should ‎perceive themselves as being part of one great whole.‎
The word ‎הן‎ as explained by Rashi on Genesis 3,22 refers ‎to man in the lower universe being as unique as G’d is unique in ‎the higher universe. In Greek the word for “one, uniformity,” is ‎also “hina” (compare ‎ערוך‎). Unity in our world is the result of the ‎recognition that we all share the same root. The fear inspired by ‎this realization inspires unity, or at least should inspire unity, the ‎common goal of all of G’d’s creatures being to serve the Creator. ‎The well known verse, (Job 25,2):‎עושה שלום במרומיו הוא יעשה שלום ‏עלינו וגו'‏‎, “He who makes peace in His lofty heights may He also ‎make peace among us, etc.;” alludes to the peace in the higher ‎worlds being the result of the creatures in that world having ‎realized that they are all part of the same root, something that ‎alas, we on earth have so far failed to realize, or at least we have ‎failed to let our actions reflect that realization.‎
Our sages (Bamidbar rabbah 12,7) when commenting on ‎this verse says that the archangel Michael is made of snow ‎whereas the archangel Gavriel is made of fire. In spite of this ‎neither angel causes any harm to his colleague or celestial ‎counterpart.

The root of faith,which leads to the fear of God, is for man to wholeheartedly believe that God brought forth the entire creation ex nihilo, out of absolute non-existence.²²⁵The proper expression of faith leads one to believe in the absolutely autonomous power of God to create the world. One who lacks this faith will see only inflexible, natural laws of an eternal universe. As the author explained above, this approach will ultimately lead to idolatry, which is a fear born of deficiency; that is, the fear of losing one’s own absolute truths. He carved the laws of the universe, established all its systems, and arranged all of its orders. He meted out knowledge and wisdom to every aspect of His creation, with everything received its proper amount. He gave every creature the amount of wisdom perfectly suited to its attributes, and gave mankind the ability to know and comprehend, each person according to his own measure. All was emenated, created, formed, and made²²⁶These four terms parallel the basic concept of the Kaballah of the four worlds, atzilut, beriyah, yetsirah, and asiyah. See Yeshayahu, 43:6. out of nothing. Everything was established only in order to create the appearance of separate entities in the world, with each being acting on its own accord, based upon the consciousness that God has granted us. Still, we need to know and believe that our own human knowledge does not come close to the root of God’s knowledge. We may only contemplate that which we are permitted to know. Even the prophet’s knowledge is limited by the way God created him and the power of comprehension granted unto him. His prophecy is only according to his knowledge, as it is written (Hoshea, 12:11), “I have multiplied their visions, and I shall use images through the prophets.” This idea is found in the Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 19, page 40a). When God wants to draw prophecy into the world, then all of the Sefirot are included in a man, and he is called a prophet. The Sefirah of Malkhut (sovereignty) is a representation of all of the Sefirot. This is as it is written, “I shall use images through the prophets.” And as it is written (Hoshea, 12), “I have spoken to the prophets,” where Malkhut is like a mirror in which you can see all of the various faces.²²⁷The sefirah of Malkhut is the lowest in the arrangement of the sefirot. Thus, Malkhut serves as a sort of catch-basin, or mirror, that receives and reflects the potencies of the upper sefirot that descend into it. The prophet attains this consciousness, and is therefore able to receive God’s word, as it filters down through all the upper worlds and spheres. Similarly, all of the Sefirot show their power and forms to the prophet according to his ability to perceive the upper realms. In the same way it is enclothed below in the Throne of Glory, in all of the angels, the Ofanim, the holy Hayot, in all of their firmaments and thrones, and in all of the angels that are dependent on them. There are many levels of angels, one above the other, as it is written (Kohelet, 5:7), “For there is a higher one who watches over him that is high, and there are yet higher ones over them.” So too, with every Cherub and mazal (astrological force), as it is written (Tehillim, 145), “His sovereignty (Malchus) is in every dominion.” This is, “I shall use images through the prophets.” Each one sees the images (from the beyond) according to his power, which is his soul. It is said in the Midrash (Rabbah, Ta’azria, 15), “Even when Ruah haKodesh rests upon the prophets, it does so only according to a defined measure.” “To make a scale for the wind (spirit)” (Iyov, 28:25). This is all to say that the understanding of the prophets is also a force created by God and allocated to each prophet and sage according to God’s wisdom. His prophecies all follow the specific power of understanding granted at the root of his soul. All of man’s ability to understand is a force that God created and distributed to mankind.²²⁸The point here is that human wisdom – even the highest, prophetic wisdom – is a creation of God, which God emanates in accordance with the level of the prophet’s soul. That being the case, one must realize that there is something higher than all comprehension, whether knowledge is prophetic or intellectual.

Our subject is explained by the Holy Ra’avad³¹⁸Twelfth century talmudist and kabbalist, Rabbi Avraham ben David of Posquieres. in his introduction to the Sefer Yetsira³¹⁹Hayim Vital (Introduction, Ets Hayim) states that this work was not actually written by the Ra’avad, but by another sage. Nonetheless, it is an authentic and trustworthy work of Kabbalah. where he explains the concept of the Fifty Gates of Binah. He says, “It is the contention of the philosophers that substance cannot come into being from nothing, but rather can only be created from a similar substance. It is our view, and the view of the Torah, that the world was created ex-nihilo. Based on this, the heretics ask us their impudent questions, for the world must now be understood in one of two ways. Either there was some primordial substance out of which God created the world (a view hinted at in Bereshit Rabbah, Chapter One, that God is a “Painter,” who found lovely paints, namely “chaos and void and darkness³²⁰See the second verse in the Torah. “), or that there was no material at all before the world’s creation, only the Cause of all Causes, God Himself. Now, the assertion that there was something that existed eternally, other than God, is a purely heretical notion. Yet, if we say that nothing existed – that God created His world out of His own essence – it means that His essence took on a physical form.³²¹This is an equally heretical statement. Concerning this mystery, God responds by saying (Iyov, 38:4), ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world? Tell me, if you possess understanding!’ Meaning, the world came into existence through the power of Hokhmah – Wisdom, and the power of Binah – Understanding. One can further ask, ‘Why was the world created with this exact measurement, no more or less?’ And, ‘How did a finite world consisting of substances with specific dimensions come forth from a power that is immeasurable by definition?’ Concerning these questions, God answers (Iyov, 38:5), ‘Who determined its measurements, do you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it?’ The inquirer can further raise the question, ‘Can the basic qualities of creation become opposite of their nature, or not? And if you say that it is possible,³²²The Ra’avad does not address the opposite possibility, that the basic qualities of creation cannot become opposite of their nature. Perhaps to do so would attribute to them a degree of necessary existence, which contradicts the principle of creation ex nihilo. then we may ask, seeing as there are four qualities – hot, wet, cold, and dry – from whence were they created? If they were created out of the very first Cause of all Causes, then how could this Primal Cause contain these opposite qualities? And if you say that the Primal Cause is a simple unity, then from were are these qualities and their opposites derived?’ In response to this, God says (Iyov, 38:6), “Upon what (mah) are its foundations fastened?” (Referring to the elementary materials of nature, which are garments for the foundation of Divine Sovereignty – Malkhut Shamayim.) The verse uses the words, “Upon what,” as a coded way of saying, “Upon Hokhmah – Wisdom, which is called ‘mah.’”³²³The sefirah of Hokhmah refers to a level of reality in which the entire creation exists as a single point of potential, before it unfolds in a downward process of expansion and formation. This is alluded to by very word Hokhmah, which can be divided into two words: ko’ah mah (כח מה) – the “potential” for “what is.” Nature’s foundations are fastened upon God’s Wisdom, which can contain all of these contradictory qualities, just as the Hiyuli³²⁴The Hiyuli is the primordial, formless substance of creation, which preceded the physical elements. The Ramban writes, “The heavens and all that is within them is one substance. And the earth and all that is within it is one substance. God created both of them out of non-existence. Only these two were created, and everything was made out of them. This substance is called the Hiyuli. In Hebrew it is called tohu – ‘formless matter.’” can contain the simple elements of creation. The heretics believe that it is impossible for material (homer) to exist without retaining some sort of form (tsura), or homer without tsura. Yet according to the Torah “Hokhma – Wisdom comes forth from nothing (Iyov, 28:12),”³²⁵Literally, the verse reads, “Wisdom, from whence is it found?” Interpreted Kabbalistically, however, the word “from whence” – m’ayin – is understood to refer to the highest sefirah of Keter, also called Ayin, “nothingness”; that is, the Divine “No-thingness” that precedes the creation. It is from here that the sefirah of Hokhmah emerges – m’ayin. In terms of the author’s discussion, Hokhmah is understand to be the pure, formless potential for creation, emanating out of Keter. Thus, it has the potential to hold all opposites, for it is only in Binah that reality attains a level of form and division. (Recall the discussion in the previous chapter, the Ben Zoma perceived the supernal traits only in their root in Binah, where they still maintained their independent forms, and not in Hokhmah, where they were united and absorbed in their root.”) and Binah – Understanding is its form. This is the matter explained above, through which one can well understand the teaching of the Ra’avad. For according to man’s limited understanding, there is neither matter without form, nor form without matter. Either the creation can not exist, or it exists through one of the two, erroneous conjectures provided by the philosopher, quoted by the Ra’avad. However, the man of perfect faith knows that his own intellect and knowledge are entities created by God, and he sees that his own intellectual conception of that which is possible and that which is impossible is only a veil of the limited human consciousness, which was created in order to establish a separation between the lower, human realm and the upper, Godly realm. God is one simple and absolute unity. All perception of division is only a product of the veil of creation.

Another way of understanding the line: ‎ואתם הדבקים בה'‏‎ puts ‎the emphasis on Moses’ choice of the word: ‎היום‎, “this day.” The ‎Talmud in Eyruvin 22 states that as a rule, when there does ‎not seem to be any other reason for inserting this word, the ‎meaning is “that whereas you perform the commandment today, ‎your reward will be delayed until tomorrow,” i.e. some time in the ‎future. While it is a fact that the “principal” reward will be paid in ‎the hereafter, when a person performs a commandment such as ‎studying the Torah, for instance, he receives an additional and ‎almost tangible dimension of life as an immediate consequence of ‎having performed the commandment, plus an additional ‎dimension of wisdom. We know this from Job 28,28: ‎‏ הן יראת ה' היא ‏חכמה‎, “behold reverence for G’d results immediately in wisdom.” ‎This additional wisdom in turn provides an additional dimension ‎of life to those who are endowed with it. This is the meaning of ‎Moses’ telling the people that whereas their mitzvah ‎performance due to their having cleaved to Him has secured for ‎them a reward in the future, they could rest assured that there is ‎also an immediate benefit for mitzvah performance, i.e. ‎the additional dimension of one’s vitality; this latter aspect is ‎described as ‎היום אתם חיים‎, “a vitality that you experience already ‎this very day.” The word ‎אלוקיכם‎, “your G’d,” is an allusion to the ‎fact that all initiatives are indirectly traceable to the existence of ‎the Jewish people.‎

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.]‎

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.]‎

This point is made even more clearly in Genesis 13,14 where ‎we read: ‎וה' אמר אל אברם אחרי הפרד לוט מעמו שא נא עיניך וראה מן ‏המקום אשר אתה שם צפונה ונגבה וקדמה וימה‎, "and the Lord had said to ‎Avram after Lot had separated from him ‘raise your eyes and look ‎northward, southward, eastward and westward;’” this was a ‎promise first and foremost that he would see in his lifetime three ‎of the patriarchs of the Jewish people, i.e. himself, Yitzchok, and ‎Yaakov. The first three directions mentioned here symbolize the ‎attributes ‎חסד‎ ‎‏, גבורה, ‏and ‎תפארת‎, referring to Avraham, Yitzchok ‎and Yaakov in that order.
When telling Avraham that he ‎would see ‎את כל הארץ‎, “the whole of the land” (future Eretz ‎Yisrael), this refers to David, whose attribute is ‎מלכות‎, Royalty, ‎David representing this symbol on earth, the Jewish people. David ‎is directly linked to the patriarch Avraham, was shown “the ‎whole land,” so that he would be aware that the glory of the ‎Kingdom of David would be directly traceable to him. This is the ‎reason why north and south, east and west are listed here in this ‎order. According to Ari za’l, ‎ימה‎, “west,” refers to the ‎emanation ‎יסוד‎, the emanation directly above the emanation ‎מלכות‎, the one symbolized by the kingdom of ‎David.
[Malchut, as the “lowest” of the emanations, is ‎the one closest to the physical universe. Rabbi Elie Munk (Ascent ‎to Harmony) has described the emanation Malchut as ‎‎“History” (of man), thus seeing it as the bridge between the ‎actual physical universe and the celestial domains, since when ‎something becomes “history,” it has either receded or ascended ‎‎(depending on whether the persons making history made ‎constructive or destructive contributions) to a domain beyond ‎the physical but robbing it of the “substance” common to ‎phenomena in the earthly domain of the universe. ‎Ed.]
According to the Zohar, tzaddik and tzedek, ‎the righteous person and the performance of righteous deeds, are ‎indivisible, i.e. the emanations ‎מלכות‎ and ‎יסוד‎ always go hand in ‎hand. We find this concept first alluded to in the Torah when ‎‎Malki Tzedek, King of Shalem, (Jerusalem) in Genesis 14,18 ‎congratulates Avram on his victory, blesses him in the name of ‎the Lord, and presents him with bread and wine. The word ‎לחם‎, ‎commonly understood as “bread,” is used to describe ‎חכמה‎, ‎‎“wisdom,” whereas the word ‎יין‎, commonly understood as “wine” ‎means ‎בינה‎, “insight,” in this context. Malki Tzedek presented ‎these items as symbols of the two highest emanations man can ‎usually attain, both of which Avraham employed in his service of ‎the Lord.
[As on previous occasions, the author sees in such ‎apparently irrelevant details as a King bringing bread and wine ‎from hundreds of kilometers from Jerusalem. According to Genesis ‎‎14,15, Avraham had pursued the armies of Kedorleomer all the ‎way to Damascus) an allusion to something far more profound. ‎Ed.]
The Zohar I,199 traces the fact that a tzaddik ‎serves the Lord with ‎חכמה‎ and ‎בינה‎ to Job 28,28 ‎יראת ה' היא חכמה ‏וסור מרע בינה‎, “Reverence for the Lord is wisdom, to shun evil is ‎understanding, insight.” The two blessings that Malki Tzedek, ‎who was viewed as G’d’s High Priest in those days, most likely ‎Shem, Noach’s oldest son, bestowed on Avram, represent the two ‎emanations that Avram had been able to use in his service of the ‎Lord, and are reflected in Targum Yonathan’s translation of the ‎Torah, in the first verses of the Torah in which they appear. [In ‎our verses, instead of commending Avraham to G’d, as we would ‎translate the words ‎ברוך אברם ל..‏‎, Yonathan ben Uzziel translates: ‎ברוך אברם מ...‏‎, “Avram has been blessed by the supreme G’d, etc.” ‎Ed.] Targum Yerushalmi translates already the first words of the ‎Torah, i.e. ‎בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ‎, as “in the ‎beginning G’d used the emanation of ‎חכמה‎ to create heaven and ‎earth.” ‎

[At this point, some editions of the Kedushat ‎Levi contain an additional lengthy paragraph dealing with ‎what Moses had in mind when he told the people that G’d’s ‎demands on them were minimal, i.e. ‎‏ ועתה מה ה' אלוקיכם שואל ‏ממכם‎ in 10,12.
The gist of that paragraph is that the author, ‎instead of as is customary distinguishing between two levels of ‎יראת ה'‏‎, “fear of the Lord,” viewing the lower level of that as fear ‎of punishment for sins committed, whereas the loftier level being ‎a recognition and feeling overwhelmed by the greatness of G’d, ‎does not consider fear of punishment as even a “low” level of ‎יראת ‏ה'‏‎. As this editor has not attained the author’s level of ‎comprehending such concepts sufficiently, I have not dared to ‎try to translate his words into English. Ed.]‎

An additional meaning based on the verse quoted ‎above, linked to Moses telling the people (verse 3) as ‎an introduction to this legislation ‎זכור את היום הזה וגו'‏‎, ‎‎“Keep on remembering this day, etc.;”.‎
The Ari’zal writes that the reason why ‎Moses introduced relaying the legislation about the ‎sanctity of the firstborn with the words: ‎זכור את היום הזה‎, ‎followed by the line: ‎והעברת כל פטר רחם‎, “you are to set ‎apart for the Lord every first issue from the womb, ‎etc,” only 9 verses later, is that when G’d told him ‎about this legislation He appeared to include only the ‎natural born Israelites in the sanctity of the firstborn, ‎בבני ישראל‎, in verse 2, not the mixed multitude of new ‎converts that Moses had accepted. The mixed ‎multitude had not yet attained a level of spirituality ‎that would allow their firstborn to be included in the ‎additional degree of sanctity accorded to them when ‎compared to the ordinary Israelite who was not a ‎firstborn. Moses was afraid that the existing situation ‎would result in jealousy of the mixed multitude as they ‎would feel as second class Jews. In order to bridge this ‎gap, Moses instructed the Israelites with an additional ‎commandment to be observed when they would enter ‎the Holy Land, a commandment that would apply to ‎every Jew crossing the Jordan whether a natural born ‎Jew or a convert This additional commandment ‎concerned the observance of the Exodus for seven days ‎on the anniversary of the dates on which it took place, ‎and the eating of matzot and the offering of ‎the Passover lamb on the eve of the first day‏ ‏‎Matzot would be eaten for seven days; this ‎commandment was to apply to all Jews be they be ‎natural born Jews or converts. It was a compliment to ‎the mixed multitude as this group of people had not ‎been “redeemed” from Egypt since they had not been ‎slaves there, having placed themselves voluntarily ‎under the protective “umbrella” of the Jewish G’d, the ‎Creator of the universe. As a result of their embracing ‎these commandments, the mixed multitude would ‎cross the threshold of being ushered into the Jewish ‎people as full partners as soon as they would cross ‎into the Holy Land. (verse 11)‎
The author adds, that he feels that the reason that ‎Moses did not immediately convey the commandment ‎of the sanctification of the firstborn and first inserted ‎the commandment of the Passover lamb and the eating ‎of matzot on the anniversaries as something ‎that would continue for all future generations, was that ‎the period of the Exodus, the 10 plagues, the removal ‎of one nation from amidst another nation with whom ‎the first nation had felt inextricably interwoven, had all ‎been part of what our sages describe as ‘re-enactment” ‎of the 6 days of the creation of the universe, a ‎חדוש ‏העולם‎, creation of a new world. It resembled the ‎creation of the ‎יש מאין‎, the tangible emerging from the ‎totally intangible. We acknowledge this concept of G’d ‎renewing the universe constantly in our daily prayers ‎before the recital of the ‎קריאת שמע‎, when we say ‎המחדש ‏בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית‎, that “the Creator renews ‎the whole universe on a daily basis, constantly, ‎innumerable times.” When Job asks rhetorically in Job ‎‎28,12 ‎והחכמה מאין תמצא‎, “from where did wisdom ‎originate?,” he clearly cannot mean that the word ‎אין‎ ‎means the same as the Greek: “nihil,” i.e. “nothing,” but ‎refers to domains beyond those accessible to creatures ‎rooted in the ‎יש‎, the domain of the tangible, physical ‎world. Our author explained already on the first two ‎pages of Genesis that unless man first negates his ego ‎completely, he does not have access to the source of ‎wisdom in the domain called ‎אין‎, or “eyn,” “negation,” ‎for want of a better word. Although G’d, as pointed out ‎in our daily prayers, renews the creation every single ‎day, on the occasion of the first of Nissan, He ‎does so especially for the Jewish people, and at the ‎same time even the “year” for the count of the number ‎of years that a Jewish king rules, is considered as ‎renewing its cycle on that day. We know this from the ‎‎Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah, 1,1 ‎Although the names of the months in the Jewish ‎calendar are generally understood to reflect the names ‎in the Persian calendar, our author sees in the word ‎ניסן‎, the month in which the Exodus occurred, an ‎allusion to the ‎נסים‎, earth shaking miracles that ‎occurred in that month at that time. The reason why ‎the Seder evening must conclude with the eating or the ‎Passover lamb, or its substitute the ‎‎“afikoman,” is so that the taste lingers in our ‎mouth, and we can draw inspiration from it during the ‎many months to come. [The reader is referred ‎to pages 1-4 where the author explained the ‎allegorical meaning in the letters of such words as ‎אין, ‏מצוה וגו'‏‎. Based on this he feels that the linkage of ‎months and years in our verse, i.e. ‎לחדשי השנה‎ is entirely ‎justified. Ed.]‎

‎Genesis 15,2. “Avram said: ‘My Lord, what will You give me., ‎seeing that I walk on earth without a biological ‎heir?’”
15,7. G’d responded immediately, by saying:‎והנה דבר ה' ‏אליו לאמור וגו'‏‎, it is difficult to understand the word ‎לאמור‎, ‎‎“saying, or to say,” since to whom was Avram supposed to tell ‎what follows next?
We may better understand this ‎formulation by looking at Numbers 14,13-20 where Moses asks ‎G’d how by wiping out the Jewish people at that time, His name ‎would be exalted amongst the gentiles; on the contrary the ‎gentiles would interpret this as a sign of G’d’s inability to keep His ‎promise to His people. Upon listening to Moses’ argument at that ‎time, G’d relented and forgave the people in accordance with ‎Moses’ argument. On the last words, Rashi comments: “on ‎account of Moses having said due to G’d’s inability, etc.” It is ‎difficult to see in what way Rashi added anything to what Moses ‎had said, as reported by the Torah.
Upon reflection, Moses’ ‎comment to G’d about what the Egyptians would say if G’d were ‎to wipe out the Jewish nation is difficult. Did Moses really think ‎that omniscient G’d needed him to tell Him about this? It appears ‎from the fact that Moses bothered to mention this to G’d that the ‎words of a tzaddik do have an influence on G’d’s decisions. ‎This is confirmed in Job 22,28, ‎ותגזר אומר ויקם לך‎, “you will decree ‎and it will be fulfilled;” In the verses quoted from Numbers 14 we ‎find that G’d immediately responded to Moses’ argument by ‎changing the decree. Had G’d wanted to prevent the Egyptians to ‎make the kind of comments Moses had assumed they would make ‎if Israel would be destroyed, He could have brought this about. ‎The fact that He did not, and preferred to cancel His own decree, ‎bears witness to the effectiveness of Moses’ prayer. Moses’ prayer ‎prompted G’d to say: ‎סלחתי‎, “I have forgiven, etc.” It is this that ‎‎Rashi had in mind when he commented on our verse above ‎by saying. “on account of Moses having said, etc.”; Rashi ‎meant if Avram not mentioned the fact that he had no biological ‎heir to G’d, G’d would not have changed a heavenly decree that ‎had been in existence since before he had been born. In order for ‎the decree that Avram would not sire any children to be rescinded ‎or altered, he himself had to mention his grief about such a ‎decree in a prayer. Only then could G’d respond to this prayer. ‎G’d had to use provocative statements in order to get the ‎obedient and unquestioningly loyal Avram to be provoked into ‎making a comment that appeared to question G’d’s promise that ‎he would have children to be converted. The word ‎לאמור‎ in verse ‎‎1 is the Torah’s hint that G’d engaged Avram in the conversation ‎following in order for him in the course of this conversation to ‎reveal to Him that he experienced mental anguish at not having ‎children of his own. Once Avram had revealed this in an ‎unmistakable manner, G’d was able to take into consideration the ‎prayer of a tzaddik and to change the decree Avram had ‎read in the stars. Accordingly, Avram had to be induced to say ‎that Eliezer would be his heir.

Exodus 15,8.“at the blast of Your nostrils ‎the waters piled up;” Onkelos translated the ‎words ‎נערמו מים‎ as: “the waters acted intelligently.” This ‎may be understood with the help of Proverbs 8,12: ‎אני ‏חכמה שכנתי ערמה‎, “I, wisdom, live with prudence;” we have ‎discussed that if a person wishes to gain an ‎understanding of the superior nature of G’d, he must ‎first of all divest himself of all the materialistic ‎‎“garments” that are part of his daily outfits. This is the ‎first step in approaching the degree of awe and ‎reverence. Having reached that degree, he may ‎consider himself as possessing some ‎חכמה‎, wisdom. ‎This is also the meaning of Job 28,28: ‎הן יראת אד-ני היא ‏חכמה‎ ‎וסור מרע בינה‎, ”See fear of the Lord is wisdom ; to ‎shun evil is understanding.” The root of the word ‎נערמו‎ ‎in the verse quoted at the beginning of this paragraph ‎is ‎ערום‎,” intelligent, smart, as in Genesis 3,1 where the ‎serpent is described as the smartest of all the ‎creatures of the field. The sea possessed awe and ‎reverence for G’d, being eager to fulfill the will of the ‎Creator; this is what Onkelos wished to convey when he ‎translated the “sea” as being intelligent, smart. ‎‎[Possibly, as opposed to the earth, which had ‎buried the blood of Hevel, thereby hiding a monstrous ‎sin by Kayin. Ed.]‎

Another approach to the line:‎ מי כמוך באלים ה'...נורא ‏תהלות עושה פלא‎, “Who is like You o Lord, among the ‎celestials, …awesome in splendour, working wonders!” ‎It is an accepted criterion of our faith that when a ‎person denies his ego the way is paved to his ‎becoming wise. This concept is spelled out in Job ‎‎33,33: ‎אם אין אתה, שמע לי החרש ואאלפך חכמה‎, “if you are ‎‎(prepared to be) ‘nothing’, listen to Me, and be still, ‎and I will teach you wisdom.” As the author has ‎mentioned several times, ‎חכמה‎, true wisdom, is the ‎result of divesting oneself totally of one’s “ego;” as we ‎know from another verse in Job 28,12 ‎והחכמה מאין תמצא‎, ‎‎“and wisdom you will find through negating “ego”, ‎becoming “nought,” i.e. ‎אין‎. A closer look at the word ‎אלף‎ which symbolizes the beginning of everything in ‎our world, will show you that when read backwards it ‎reads ‎פלא‎, “something transcendental, miraculous.” ‎Moses alludes to this when describing G’d as the ‎source of ‎פלא‎, “wonders.” What we have previously ‎described as ‎אין‎, is also a reference to ‎בינה‎, insight, ‎which, as the word indicates, is something internal, ‎therefore invisible, hidden, another aspect of the root ‎פלא‎ or ‎מופלא‎. Negation of self, of ego, results in one’s ‎becoming privy to the hidden insights, ‎פלא‎.‎
The author sees in Exodus 31,14, ‎‏ ושמרתם את השבת כי ‏קודש היא לכם‎, “you shall “observe” the Sabbath for it is ‎holy for you,” an allusion to our “viewing” the concept ‎of the Sabbath as our looking at its holy origin. The ‎word “seeing” is understood as the person who “sees” ‎receiving an image, i.e. he is a recipient of revelations ‎of one sort or another. A painter cannot paint a ‎painting until he has first seen an image which he tries ‎to reproduce on canvas, or paper, or any other suitable ‎surface. In the case of “observing” the Sabbath, we are ‎privy to receiving “images” from the ‎אין‎, from a ‎dimension of the universe, the celestial dimension, ‎that is devoid of a body and its attendant limitations. A ‎Sabbath properly “observed,” is a day in which we ‎distance ourselves from most of our physical needs, ‎‎[except, of course, fulfilling the ‎commandments that are prescribed and make our ‎bodies participants in this holy experience. ‎Ed.].‎