Musar do Daniela 12:3

"And those that bring many to be righteous will be like stars forever" (Daniel 12:3).

It teaches us that intellectually alert people who conduct themselves with the proper degree of discretion and caution will assure themselves of the blessing in Daniel 12,3: "The wise will shine like the radiance of the firmament, and those who make the many righteous, like the stars, forever and ever."

Eicha Rabbah interprets that in a verse in Kings II 25,9 in which Nevuzaradon is described as destroying Jerusalem and "the great house," "the great house" refers to Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. Since Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai lived over 600 years later than Nevuzaradan, it is clear that the Midrash views the person of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai in a sense similar to what Rabban Gamliel told us. The Talmud is replete with similar interpretations.

We therefore perceive that the candlestick symbolised the seven emanations which form the בנין, all of which in turn are nourished from a higher source. When the Torah speaks of אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות, "The seven lamps shall give light opposite the face of the candlestick" (Numbers 8,2), this means that the candlestick in the Tabernacle corresponded to and was "opposite" its counterpart in the Celestial Sanctuary. We view the candlestick as symbolising man. There are three arms or pipes on either side. The lower ones are longer than the middle ones, and the middle ones are longer than the upper ones which are nearer the centre-shaft. The lights all burned on the same level. The centre-shaft represented the גוף, torso or body of the candlestick. Man is like the candlestick. He has three projections on either side of him, the arms, the legs and the ears. The legs are longer than the arms, and the arms are longer than the ears, just as the lower arms of the candlestick were longer than the middle ones and the upper ones, respectively. The overall height of the candlestick was 18 handbreadths, the equivalent of three cubits, the height of an average-sized man from the ground to the shoulder (Tossaphot Shabbat 92).

Remember that heaven, - i.e. even the part that is visible to us, - is merely an expansion of a heaven that originates in "higher" emanations as high as the emanation תפארת, origin of the written Torah. The existing luminaries and stars may be viewed as branches of the Torah, as based on Daniel 12,3: והמשכילים יזהירו כזהר הרקיע ומצדיקי הרבים ככוכבים לעולם ועד, "And the wise will shine like the radiance of the firmament, and those who make the many righteous, like the stars, forever and ever."

This leaves us with the meaning of Abraham's saying עד כה, which had been interpreted as Abraham wondering how the promise of כה יהיה זרעך could now be fulfilled. Instead of understanding this as a degree of doubt on Abraham's part, we must understand this as Abraham hoping that Isaac would really be able to live up to the highest expectations one can make of human beings. He prayed that כה, "thus", i.e. of such superior calibre, would be his descendants. If G–d had meant that hyperbole in Genesis 15,5 to describe the physical dimensions of Abraham's offspring, He should have compared them to the dust of the earth or the sand on the beaches of the sea, as we repeatedly read. G–d, however, referred to the spiritual dimension, and that is why He told Abraham to look towards heaven, and chose the hyperbole of "like the stars in heaven."

Shemot Rabbah 15,31 describes Exodus 12,1 in a parable. A king betrothed himself to a girl, promising her a few gifts in writing. When the time arrived for the wedding, he guaranteed her many gifts, as is the custom for a husband. One must view this present world and the Hereafter in a similar light. In this world only few gifts are guaranteed. Our existence in this world is comparable to that of a bride who, though betrothed, is still awaiting the wedding. We are reminded of this by the formula we recite whenever we put on the phylacteries on our arm: וארשתיך לי לעולם, I will be betrothed to you forever" (Hoseah 2,21-22). It is an allegory that in this world Israel has only been given the moon, as we know from our verse in Exodus 12,1. In Messianic times, however, there will be a real wedding (between Israel and G–d) as we know from Isaiah 54,5: "For He who has made you will be your spouse." When that time arrives, G–d will hand over all His treasures to the Jewish people as is recorded in Daniel 12,3: "And the wise will shine like the brightness of the sky, and they that turn the many to righteousness will be as stars forever and ever." Thus far the Midrash. The meaning of the parable is clear. Israel is the bride; the mystical aspect of the betrothal is the gift of the moon, whereas the Torah represents the gift to be received at the time of the wedding. It is the wedding document popularly known as the כתובה, which spells out the obligations the groom assumes when marrying a bride. The obligations spelled out in the document can only be claimed in the Hereafter.

From here we see that one who gives the poor money does not receive as much merit as one who gives them bread, meat and wine, thereby sparing them the need to go and purchase these things and enabling them to benefit more readily. For this reason the ideal custom is to distribute flour to the poor. Although this overtaxes the charity officers, they receive more reward as a result. Moreover, our Rabbis have said of the verse, “And those who lead the many to righteousness are like stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3), — “This refers to the charity officers” (Baba Basra 8a).

Let us now return to our statement that פרשת ויקרא as well פרשת צו speak about the people offering the sacrifices as well as about the objects of these sacrifices. Among the latter there are some which serve as atonement for their owners, such as the קרבן חטאת, and the קרבן אשם. There is the קרבן חטאת קבוע, the purpose of which is to obtain forgiveness for a “מום קבוע,” the kind of sin which has become second nature to us due to the pollutant from the serpent. There are also sin-offerings for various leaders of the community and the community as a whole respectively. In each of these instances different elements are at the root of the sin committed. This is why separate sacrifices are needed to secure atonement and absolution of the residual pollutant of the serpent. There is even a type of sacrifice called אשם תלוי, a sin-offering of a suspended nature, which must be offered when the owner is in doubt whether he has become guilty of a certain transgression. One's duties were clear as the light of the sun, and being in doubt whether one had behaved in a circumspect manner or not is the kind of doubt that should never have arisen.

What all this has to do with Samael injuring the כף ירך יעקב, the thigh joint of Jacob, is simple. Our sages say on 32,26: וירא כי לא יוכל לו, ויגע בכף ירכו ותקע כך ירך יעקב, that the thigh joint of Jacob refers to the later descendants who experienced the harsh decrees by the various nations who were their hosts in exile. When the Hasmoneans overcame the Greeks, they reversed this injury, i.e. the כף became a פך a cruse of oil. What had been a vulnerable part of Jacob's ירך now became the solid basis of the candelabra, ירך מנורה.