יְהוָ֥ה שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ יְהוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ׃
Bóg stróżem twoim, Bóg cieniem twoim, po prawicy twojéj.
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 6,23. “the Lord spoke to Moses, saying speak to Aaron and his sons saying: thus you shall bless the Children of Israel saying to them.”
The Baal Shem Tov used the above verse repeatedly to tell his listeners that psalms 121,5 in which the psalmist describes the Lord as being our protective angel and likening Him to a shadow, i.e. ה' צלך על יד ימינך, “Hashem your shadow on your right side.” A shadow always follows precisely what the owner of the shadow is doing. Similarly, what G’d does reflects exactly what man had done before. Seeing that this is so, it is imperative that man donates to charity, displays compassion with the ones less fortunate than he by performing kind deeds for them, as G’d, seeing this will reciprocate in kind with people who do this. The attribute of G’d that we described as “shadow,” and which David called צל, is known as כה, usually translated as “thus.”
It is well known that the Creator, blessed be His name, is most concerned with doing “good” for His people Israel, as our sages said: “the mother cow is more concerned with giving milk to feed her calf than the calf is desirous of suckling at her teats.”
When man stands in prayer he must recite 18 benedictions, not because otherwise G’d would not grant him his requests, but we must do so in order for G’d to experience joy and satisfaction from us, His creatures.
We must always remember what the sages taught in Avot 2,8 that even if we think that we have studied a great amount of Torah we should not compliment ourselves for this, for all we did was what we have been created to do. Man’s deeds have one purpose and one purpose only, to provide satisfaction for the Creator who gave him life. When man prays (utters requests), he thereby turns himself into a “recipient.” When someone wishes to receive something he extends his hand heavenwards and the back of his hand earthward. When he prays intending to provide his Creator with satisfaction, instead of being a petitioner he turns himself into a “donor.”
The major symbol of the priestly blessings consists of their raising their hands with the backs of their hands facing their faces like someone about to dispense gifts, heavenwards, and the palms of their hands open, pointed earthwards, suggesting that they are about to dispense largesse.
The real interpretation of the verse: כה תברכו את בני ישראל, is: “thus you shall bless the Children of Israel in order that the Creator shall have pleasure from them and in order that thereby you will become dispenser of pleasure instead of remaining petitioners waiting for a Divine handout.” As a consequence of this, the Creator will feel encouraged to dispense all manner of blessings on Israel. This is the meaning of the attribute described here as כה, i.e. just as Israel does something for the pleasure of G’d, so He, in turn, will reciprocate by doing things for Israel, His people.
The Baal Shem Tov used the above verse repeatedly to tell his listeners that psalms 121,5 in which the psalmist describes the Lord as being our protective angel and likening Him to a shadow, i.e. ה' צלך על יד ימינך, “Hashem your shadow on your right side.” A shadow always follows precisely what the owner of the shadow is doing. Similarly, what G’d does reflects exactly what man had done before. Seeing that this is so, it is imperative that man donates to charity, displays compassion with the ones less fortunate than he by performing kind deeds for them, as G’d, seeing this will reciprocate in kind with people who do this. The attribute of G’d that we described as “shadow,” and which David called צל, is known as כה, usually translated as “thus.”
It is well known that the Creator, blessed be His name, is most concerned with doing “good” for His people Israel, as our sages said: “the mother cow is more concerned with giving milk to feed her calf than the calf is desirous of suckling at her teats.”
When man stands in prayer he must recite 18 benedictions, not because otherwise G’d would not grant him his requests, but we must do so in order for G’d to experience joy and satisfaction from us, His creatures.
We must always remember what the sages taught in Avot 2,8 that even if we think that we have studied a great amount of Torah we should not compliment ourselves for this, for all we did was what we have been created to do. Man’s deeds have one purpose and one purpose only, to provide satisfaction for the Creator who gave him life. When man prays (utters requests), he thereby turns himself into a “recipient.” When someone wishes to receive something he extends his hand heavenwards and the back of his hand earthward. When he prays intending to provide his Creator with satisfaction, instead of being a petitioner he turns himself into a “donor.”
The major symbol of the priestly blessings consists of their raising their hands with the backs of their hands facing their faces like someone about to dispense gifts, heavenwards, and the palms of their hands open, pointed earthwards, suggesting that they are about to dispense largesse.
The real interpretation of the verse: כה תברכו את בני ישראל, is: “thus you shall bless the Children of Israel in order that the Creator shall have pleasure from them and in order that thereby you will become dispenser of pleasure instead of remaining petitioners waiting for a Divine handout.” As a consequence of this, the Creator will feel encouraged to dispense all manner of blessings on Israel. This is the meaning of the attribute described here as כה, i.e. just as Israel does something for the pleasure of G’d, so He, in turn, will reciprocate by doing things for Israel, His people.
Kedushat Levi
Before answering this question we must first understand a verse in psalms 34,16 in which David describes עיני ה' אל צדיקים ואזניו אל שועתם, G’d’s “eyes” as trained on the righteous, whereas His “ears” as tuned in to their prayers. How does an ordinary Jew, one who has been brought up to believe that G’d is not corporeal, does not possess a body, etc.,” relate to David describing physical organs as performing acts for which physical organs are required? Is it not one of the basic 13 “dogmas” of Maimonides that (article 3) “the Creator blessed be his name is not a body and He is free from all the properties of matter and that he has not any form whatsoever?”
Actually, King David, in the verse quoted from psalms 34,16 intended to convey to us a very important point. The Midrash speaking about psalms 121,5 ה' צלך על יד ימינך, “the Lord is your shadow, on your right side,” points out that just as the shadow of a human being accompanies him wherever he goes whenever he goes there, so G’d accompanies man. David’s message therefore is that when man, in his capacity of being a servant of the Creator acts accordingly, G’d on His part will act as if He were the “shadow” of this tzaddik, as if He were copying what the tzaddik does in the lower regions of the universe, in His own region in the celestial spheres. When man “enthrones” G’d by his words and actions, when his soul nightly ascends to the celestial regions it will find that the angels have prepared a great welcome for him as they have heard about his accomplishments on behalf of the Creator in the lower regions of the universe. If we were to illustrate this relationship by means of a parable, consider this.
A young son has performed an intelligent act, (according to his age and mental capacity). When this comes to his father’s attention, the father will boast about his son’s accomplishment, i.e. he will take some or most of the credit for his son’s achievement. He will do so, although, when measured by the father’s level of intelligence the son’s achievement is really insignificant.
The important factor here is that although the son is only five years old in our parable, and as such possesses the intellect of a five-year old, the father is entitled to rejoice over the fact that his son has fulfilled all the expectations a father could have of a five-year old. The same applies to human beings who serve their Creator. They are not expected by the Creator to display the intellectual maturity of the Creator Himself. Perhaps this is what David had in mind when he said in psalms 111,10 ראשית חכמה יראת ה' שכל טוב לכל עושיהם, “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, all who practice it gain sound understanding.” It makes perfect sense therefore that when G’d looks at the tzaddikim and He observes how these physical human beings perform the commandments in the Torah and how they live up to their potential, it gives Him an opportunity to demonstrate to the myriads of celestial servants of His, that in creating a human being and endowing this species with the ability to rebel against Him through the free will He granted them, He had not erred. When a human being does good with his eyes, i.e. he displays compassion for his less fortunate peers, G’d “engraves” this fact on His throne to serve Him as a constant reminder of this fact. The same is true when a Jew “listens” to the commandments of the Torah when he hears them read out, and as a result performs them. As a reminder, G’d engraves “ears” on His throne
Actually, King David, in the verse quoted from psalms 34,16 intended to convey to us a very important point. The Midrash speaking about psalms 121,5 ה' צלך על יד ימינך, “the Lord is your shadow, on your right side,” points out that just as the shadow of a human being accompanies him wherever he goes whenever he goes there, so G’d accompanies man. David’s message therefore is that when man, in his capacity of being a servant of the Creator acts accordingly, G’d on His part will act as if He were the “shadow” of this tzaddik, as if He were copying what the tzaddik does in the lower regions of the universe, in His own region in the celestial spheres. When man “enthrones” G’d by his words and actions, when his soul nightly ascends to the celestial regions it will find that the angels have prepared a great welcome for him as they have heard about his accomplishments on behalf of the Creator in the lower regions of the universe. If we were to illustrate this relationship by means of a parable, consider this.
A young son has performed an intelligent act, (according to his age and mental capacity). When this comes to his father’s attention, the father will boast about his son’s accomplishment, i.e. he will take some or most of the credit for his son’s achievement. He will do so, although, when measured by the father’s level of intelligence the son’s achievement is really insignificant.
The important factor here is that although the son is only five years old in our parable, and as such possesses the intellect of a five-year old, the father is entitled to rejoice over the fact that his son has fulfilled all the expectations a father could have of a five-year old. The same applies to human beings who serve their Creator. They are not expected by the Creator to display the intellectual maturity of the Creator Himself. Perhaps this is what David had in mind when he said in psalms 111,10 ראשית חכמה יראת ה' שכל טוב לכל עושיהם, “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, all who practice it gain sound understanding.” It makes perfect sense therefore that when G’d looks at the tzaddikim and He observes how these physical human beings perform the commandments in the Torah and how they live up to their potential, it gives Him an opportunity to demonstrate to the myriads of celestial servants of His, that in creating a human being and endowing this species with the ability to rebel against Him through the free will He granted them, He had not erred. When a human being does good with his eyes, i.e. he displays compassion for his less fortunate peers, G’d “engraves” this fact on His throne to serve Him as a constant reminder of this fact. The same is true when a Jew “listens” to the commandments of the Torah when he hears them read out, and as a result performs them. As a reminder, G’d engraves “ears” on His throne
Kedushat Levi
Another approach to the verse: ובצלאל בן אורי....עשה את כל אשר צוה ה' את משה, a look at Rashi who emphasizes the word כל in this verse as an allusion to Exodus 35,32 where Betzalel’s function is not only described as executive, i.e. someone meticulously carrying out instructions, but as לחשוב מחשבות, “contributing original ideas of his own.” This is explained even better when we look at psalms 119,59 חשבתי דרכי וגו', “I have considered my ways, etc.” On psalms 121,5 ה' צלך, “the Lord is your shadow,” a most difficult statement, the Midrash Shocher Tov explains that just as man’s actions are reflected by his shadow, so G’d also acts in a manner that reflects what man had done. For example; G’d says that “when you (the collective soul of the Jewish people) cry, I too join in your cries.” Therefore, as long as we (the collective soul of the Jewish people) do not forget Jerusalem (while we are in exile), we can be assured that G’d will not forget Jerusalem either. (psalms 137,5). Keeping this in mind we learn how important it is that we carefully consider every step we take in life, as if it is in the wrong direction, G’d may follow our footsteps to our detriment. This is not only a warning but also a compliment, so that we do not consider our actions as insignificant in this great universe, believing that what we do or do not do, does not matter to G’d anyways.
When these considerations are applied to Betzalel, whose very name meant that he had been in G’d’s shadow, he would certainly have to have in mind the appropriate thoughts when fashioning each one of the many vessels used in the Tabernacle. The word בצלאל can just as easily be translated as א-ל הוא הצל שלו, “G’d is his shadow.”
Man’s body, according to our sages, consists of 248 limbs, an allusion to the 248 positive commandments in the Torah, as well as of 365 tendons, corresponding to the 365 negative commandments in the Torah. This has been explained in Kohelet Rabbah (Kohelet 1,3) on the words: והארץ לעולם עומדת, “but the earth endures forever,” as an allusion to the structure of the celestial regions, i.e. just as man has 248 limbs and 365 tendons there are parallel phenomena in heaven. Both the inhabitants of heaven and those of earth share components that correspond to the positive and negative commandments found in the Torah, [and enumerated as such by our sages. Ed.] Seeing that the Tabernacle was designed as the home of the Shechinah on earth, it is natural that it contained components that are parallel, [otherwise how would G’d feel “at home,” in it? Ed.] This is what is meant when the Torah wrote that Betzalel constructed all the components in strict compliance with what G’d had commanded Moses. All the individual components of the Tabernacle conformed to the commandments of the Torah.
When understood along these lines, Rashi’s query how this was possible, seeing that at the time Moses was given these instructions most of the commandments in the Torah had not yet been revealed and communicated to the people; in fact they were only communicated to Moses when the latter was in the Tabernacle. (Compare Leviticus 1,1 ויקרא אל משה וידבר ה' אליו מאהל מועד לאמור, “He called (invited) to Moses, and spoke to him from the Tabernacle saying, etc.” (instructing him to communicate G’d’s commandments to the people.) Betzalel’s having stood in G’d’s shadow at the time when Moses had heard the instructions while on Mount Sinai, was aware of what G’d had told Moses at the time, so that he was able to query what he thought was a lapse of memory on the part of his great leader. The laws of the Torah were first communicated to Moses as a potential, whereas once the Tabernacle had been erected (also called Tent of Testimony), G’d repeated His instructions as an actual, i.e. as applicable as and when capable of being performed.
When these considerations are applied to Betzalel, whose very name meant that he had been in G’d’s shadow, he would certainly have to have in mind the appropriate thoughts when fashioning each one of the many vessels used in the Tabernacle. The word בצלאל can just as easily be translated as א-ל הוא הצל שלו, “G’d is his shadow.”
Man’s body, according to our sages, consists of 248 limbs, an allusion to the 248 positive commandments in the Torah, as well as of 365 tendons, corresponding to the 365 negative commandments in the Torah. This has been explained in Kohelet Rabbah (Kohelet 1,3) on the words: והארץ לעולם עומדת, “but the earth endures forever,” as an allusion to the structure of the celestial regions, i.e. just as man has 248 limbs and 365 tendons there are parallel phenomena in heaven. Both the inhabitants of heaven and those of earth share components that correspond to the positive and negative commandments found in the Torah, [and enumerated as such by our sages. Ed.] Seeing that the Tabernacle was designed as the home of the Shechinah on earth, it is natural that it contained components that are parallel, [otherwise how would G’d feel “at home,” in it? Ed.] This is what is meant when the Torah wrote that Betzalel constructed all the components in strict compliance with what G’d had commanded Moses. All the individual components of the Tabernacle conformed to the commandments of the Torah.
When understood along these lines, Rashi’s query how this was possible, seeing that at the time Moses was given these instructions most of the commandments in the Torah had not yet been revealed and communicated to the people; in fact they were only communicated to Moses when the latter was in the Tabernacle. (Compare Leviticus 1,1 ויקרא אל משה וידבר ה' אליו מאהל מועד לאמור, “He called (invited) to Moses, and spoke to him from the Tabernacle saying, etc.” (instructing him to communicate G’d’s commandments to the people.) Betzalel’s having stood in G’d’s shadow at the time when Moses had heard the instructions while on Mount Sinai, was aware of what G’d had told Moses at the time, so that he was able to query what he thought was a lapse of memory on the part of his great leader. The laws of the Torah were first communicated to Moses as a potential, whereas once the Tabernacle had been erected (also called Tent of Testimony), G’d repeated His instructions as an actual, i.e. as applicable as and when capable of being performed.