נֹצֵ֥ר חֶ֙סֶד֙ לָאֲלָפִ֔ים נֹשֵׂ֥א עָוֺ֛ן וָפֶ֖שַׁע וְחַטָּאָ֑ה וְנַקֵּה֙ לֹ֣א יְנַקֶּ֔ה פֹּקֵ֣ד ׀ עֲוֺ֣ן אָב֗וֹת עַל־בָּנִים֙ וְעַל־בְּנֵ֣י בָנִ֔ים עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁ֖ים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִֽים׃
Przechowujący miłość tysiącom, przebaczający winę, i występek i grzech, a nie wytępia do ostatka, nawiedzając, winę ojców na dzieciach i wnukach, do trzeciego i czwartego pokolenia!"
Kedushat Levi
Another aspect of the words: וארא אל אברהם אל יצחק ואל יעקב, “I used to appear to Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov, etc.” We find among the writings of the Ari z’al that he does not understand Exodus 34,7 נוצר חסד לאלפים “He extends loving kindness to thousands,” in the generally accepted meaning, but that he understands the word אלפים as attributes of G’d beginning with the letter aleph. These attributes, though all being variations of the attribute Justice, are “sweetened” by G’d through an addition of a dose of חסד, loving kindness.
In order to understand the Ari z’al we refer first to a statement in Sh’mot Rabbah 47,11 according to which Moses acquired the ability to make the skin of his forehead shine, give forth light, (Exodus 34,29) because a drop of ink was left over from his quill when he had completed recording the portion of the Torah in writing. [Difficult to understand as Moses did not write the Torah on Mount Sinai. Ed.]
The author of the Or hachayim;Midrash had in mind when writing that Moses merited this reward from left over ink.
In order to illustrate the difference between a “humble” person spelled with the letter י, and a “humble” person spelled without the letter י, we need to make a few introductory remarks. On the Torah’s imperative for the Jewish people to strive to be “holy,”: (Leviticus 19,2) to be “holy,” i.e. קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה', “be holy for I the Lord am holy,” we could have misunderstood this line to mean that we must strive to be as holy as G’d. Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 24,9 therefore writes that the words: כי קדוש אני, “for I am holy,” in that verse are a reminder that only G’d is truly holy. G’d’s holiness transcends anyone else’s holiness. Anyone who endeavours to sincerely sanctify himself discovers that in spite of all the progress he makes in this direction that he is still far removed from his objective, i.e. total holiness. If a person is under the illusion that he is already a worthy servant of the Lord, this is proof that he is still far from having reached his goal, that in fact he has not even begun the journey leading to holiness. Anyone who has begun this journey is painfully aware of how far he still has to travel on that road. This is what the Midrash had in mind when the author wrote, explaining the words: כי קדוש אני ה' אלוקיכם, “for I the Lord your G’d am holy, קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם, “My holiness is superior to your holiness.” [The author’s version of this Midrash apparently had the word מסתלקת, “is receding,” instead of the word: למעלה “is superior”. Ed.]
Alternatively, this concept, instead of being expressed negatively, may be expressed positively, as we find in Eychah rabbah 11,3 where the author writes that whenever the Jewish people sanctify themselves they thereby strengthen the celestial entourage of the Lord, i.e. they add holiness to His holiness. The Midrash quotes psalms 60,14 in support of this where the psalmist writes באלוקים נעשה חיל, “we will strengthen G’d by acting valiantly.” (Compare likutim on that statement in the Midrash)
In order to understand the Ari z’al we refer first to a statement in Sh’mot Rabbah 47,11 according to which Moses acquired the ability to make the skin of his forehead shine, give forth light, (Exodus 34,29) because a drop of ink was left over from his quill when he had completed recording the portion of the Torah in writing. [Difficult to understand as Moses did not write the Torah on Mount Sinai. Ed.]
The author of the Or hachayim;Midrash had in mind when writing that Moses merited this reward from left over ink.
In order to illustrate the difference between a “humble” person spelled with the letter י, and a “humble” person spelled without the letter י, we need to make a few introductory remarks. On the Torah’s imperative for the Jewish people to strive to be “holy,”: (Leviticus 19,2) to be “holy,” i.e. קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה', “be holy for I the Lord am holy,” we could have misunderstood this line to mean that we must strive to be as holy as G’d. Midrash Rabbah Vayikra Rabbah 24,9 therefore writes that the words: כי קדוש אני, “for I am holy,” in that verse are a reminder that only G’d is truly holy. G’d’s holiness transcends anyone else’s holiness. Anyone who endeavours to sincerely sanctify himself discovers that in spite of all the progress he makes in this direction that he is still far removed from his objective, i.e. total holiness. If a person is under the illusion that he is already a worthy servant of the Lord, this is proof that he is still far from having reached his goal, that in fact he has not even begun the journey leading to holiness. Anyone who has begun this journey is painfully aware of how far he still has to travel on that road. This is what the Midrash had in mind when the author wrote, explaining the words: כי קדוש אני ה' אלוקיכם, “for I the Lord your G’d am holy, קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם, “My holiness is superior to your holiness.” [The author’s version of this Midrash apparently had the word מסתלקת, “is receding,” instead of the word: למעלה “is superior”. Ed.]
Alternatively, this concept, instead of being expressed negatively, may be expressed positively, as we find in Eychah rabbah 11,3 where the author writes that whenever the Jewish people sanctify themselves they thereby strengthen the celestial entourage of the Lord, i.e. they add holiness to His holiness. The Midrash quotes psalms 60,14 in support of this where the psalmist writes באלוקים נעשה חיל, “we will strengthen G’d by acting valiantly.” (Compare likutim on that statement in the Midrash)
Tzava'at HaRivash
It is a very important principle to know that everything that exists in the world possesses sparks of Holiness. There is nothing devoid of these sparks. Even trees and stones possess them, as well as all the deeds that a person does. Even when a person sins, God forbid, therein are sparks of holiness that fell into impurity with the shattering of the vessel (Shevirah). You might ask, what are the sparks of holiness in sin? The answer is repentance. That is, sin carries within it the potential to repent. When a person repents for his sins, he elevates the sparks of holiness that were imprisoned in the sin and returns them to the Supernal World. It is in this respect that the verse states,266Exodus 34:7 “He bears iniquity (Nos’e Avon-נושא עון).” The term “Nos’e-נושא” also means “uplifts,” indicating that HaShem, “uplifts iniquity” to the Supernal World above. This is also the meaning of the verse,267Genesis 4:13 “My sin is too great to bear-מנשא,” meaning, “too great to elevate and uplift to the Supernal World.”