Musar do Daniela 4:35

It is this thought which Vayikra Rabbah quotes in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish when the latter saw in the words (11,9): את זה תאכלו a warning to the Jewish people that if "you merit it, you will consume the Gentile nations, if not, you will be consumed by them. In Vayikra Rabbah 13,5 we are told that the reference of the Torah to the גמל, "camel which is chewing the cud" in 11,4 is an allusion to the kingdom of Babylonia which praised the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar, as reported in Daniel 4,31, praised the Lord for giving him back his sanity. The Talmud also reports that this king once made a runner run for 4 miles after a scribe to retrieve a letter to King Chizkiyahu in which he had greeted the king before greeting G–d Almighty. He changed the form of address, realizing that it would be an insult if he mentioned G–d only in second place. In 11,5 the Torah uses extra words to describe that the שפן, daman, also chews the cud though it does not have split hooves. This is an allusion to the empire of the Medes whose king Cyrus praised the Lord as reported in Ezra 1,2. The reference of the Torah to the ארנבת, hare, in 11,6 which is similarly chewing the cud, and to which the Torah allots a whole verse, is an allusion to the Greek empire whose emperor Alexander the Great also paid homage to the Lord. The Talmud Yuma 69 reports how this emperor deferred to the High Priest Shimon Ha-Tzaddik, praising the Lord. When referring to the חזיר, pig, in 11,7, the Torah mentions that it does not chew the cud; it is an allusion to the Roman empire none of whose rulers paid homage to the Lord. Not only did the Romans not pay homage to G–d, but they blasphemed against Him, as we know from the sarcastic remark in Psalms 73,25: "Who is there for me in Heaven?" which is attributed to the Romans.

We find a strange statement by Avital the scribe reported in the name of Rav in Moed Katan 18: "The Pharaoh in Moses' time was one cubit, his beard was one cubit, and his male organ was a cubit plus one זרת, (span between thumb and little finger). This is in keeping with Daniel 4,14: 'And the lowest of men he will raise over it.' The same Avital went on to say that this Pharaoh was also a magician, because the Torah reports that he would go out to the river Nile in the mornings (Exodus 7,15).” This statement certainly demands analysis since we cannot explain it away by simply saying that it is only allegorical. The words of the sages must also be capable of being understood at face value. Let me explain the reason G–d created רמזים, hints or allusions, describing a person in such a form and size.

We know from Tossaphot in Shabbat 92, that the average size of a human being is 3 cubits, not including the head. These three cubits are a metaphor for the three worlds, in all of which man (Israel) or part of man is more or less at home. The head serves as the מרכבה, carrier for the נשמה, soul, which corresponds to the domain of the Ineffable Name. That domain is one to which Israel cleaves eternally, hence it is not subject to measurement. This explains why the Talmud does not give a measurement for the head. The Gentiles externally look no different from the Jews, and yet there is a world of difference. They are like apes with a human face. They have no access to what we have described as the ראש העליון. The definition from Daniel 4,14, ושפל אנשים יקים עליה applies to them. Israel, by comparison is called אדם.