Chasidut sobre Isaías 40:78

Yeshayahu 40:1 The first question is why does it say "your G-d"-- it should be just "G-d" [without the possessive]. The second question is: how come it says that we were punished doubly? How can G-d, who forgives us abundantly, punish doubly? The explanation: it says about Noah that "this one will comfort us from our work and the toil of our hands." What's the meaning of comfort in this context? The answer: the source of the all comfort for the Jewish people is that, despite us being in the lands of the exiles and are exiled from our father's table and don't know when He will reveal to us, G-d glory has not departed from us and G-d does not despise the Jewish people. The shechina is in our midst and Moshiach is standing behind the wall. He [G-d] is imprisoned with us and is close to all who call Him and He hastens to redeem us with an everlasting redemption. Besides the suffering and pain caused by the nations, the more difficult evil and pain is that Jewish people are in a state of sadness and despair because Hashem is above them and they don't know if G-d desires to redeem them (because what are we? How are we important to arouse G-d's love? Who knows if all of our efforts will ascend to cause favor before His Throne? Who knows if He'll listen to our voice). These thoughts and others sadden the Jewish people and make them weak in their service of Hashem as the Jewish people once said "what gain do we have to serve Hashem, how will it help us?" [from Iyov / Job]. Therefore, the first comfort is to show the Jewish people that Hashem is with them wherever they are and has not departed from them and He desires their service and listens to their prayers. And this is meaning of the Zohar about Ezekiel's Chariot: the reason why the chariot was shown in order to remind that, even during the exile, the entire Chariot is with them. This will strengthen the service of Hashem, and this strength will never leave because they'll feel Hashem with them. And this is the theme of prophecy of Aaron in Egypt: Aaron's path is to pursue peace and make peace between people and G-d. He would prophesize that G-d has seen their pain and knows their suffering so, G-d forbid, they wouldn't forget Him (and that's why Aaron was sent to Egypt). This concept is the foundation of all service of Hashem. To strengthen service in exile and show that G-d eyes are always towards His people and His hand is always outstretched to collect the teshuva [repentance] of His people. This is the meaning of Moses' statement "Why are you complaining about Aaron"-- complaining, here, can also mean to hang or be depend on. [Moses was saying:] 'look how great Aaron is; thanks to him, you believe in Hashem and all of you on depend on him to strengthen service to Hashem.' This also explains Yosef's statement to the Jewish people, "I'm going to pass away and G-d will remember you and will lift you of this land", and another statement, by Moses, "G-d had remembered you and what had been done to you." The Talmud says that the Messiah will use the expression of remembrance, which is why Moses used it. What's the reason for this? Remembrance also means to be united with, as it says "the husband must remember his wife, to be with his wife before he goes on the road." Yosef, who is yesod [the sefirah] , said that 'I'm passing away in exile, but G-d will still remember you and will unite with you even in exile and this is how you will be redeemed (by G-d being with you in exile).' That's why remembrance is the sign of redemption: redemption is a product of unification between G-d and the Jewish people. That's the meaning of the verse, "G-d saw the Jewish people and knew them"--- knowing means united with them. Also, regarding other exiles, "G-d saw their pain," and, because He saw their pain, He remembered their covenant and He was appeased by His great kindness. We also say in our prayers, "remember for us good and for blessing"--remember means to be with us. Also, during Rosh Hashanah services, we say "you remember the deed of the world," which refers to the divine flow elicited by the tzaddikim uniting with Hashem. It also says, in the end, "you remember all creatures from long ago"-- He remembers both tsaddikim and all creatures. The source of comfort of Jewish people, who are called tzaddikim, is telling them that their service is desirable before Hashem, they shouldn't be upset when He hides His face in the exile, and they need a great encouragement to keep steady. Yosef said "I haven't done anything here yet they put me in the pits"-- when he was in the pit, he didn't know all the good deeds that he did [he couldn't see the divine favor created by his deeds]. No one could tell him that until he was free forever. This is the meaning of the verse "those who plant with tears will reap with joy": Jewish people are planting with tears, not knowing if their deeds are good or impactful. When Moshiach comes, we will reap with joy, because no good deed will fall to the ground. And this is why we ask in our prayers "may our service always find favor", which means that the prayer should truly find favor and be revealed as such before the coming with Moshiach. This is also why we say "may the words of my mouth... find favor before You"-- there's a doubt if we're giving pleasure to Hashem, and this is first thing that needs to be told to Jewish people to strength them. This is what will comfort us, and the word "comfort" has "Noah" in it. Why? Because despite the evil of that generation, Noah found favour [in G-d's eyes]. In the future, we'll see how Hashem has desired our deeds. This is meaning of the doubly pained: one pain affects the body and the other affects the soul (anxiety about G-d's love), therefore we got double nechama (comfort), for the body and the soul. Even in galut "Hashem is your G-d."

According to this it is clear that all that was mentioned in the above quote in the Zohar, Parshat Pinhas – that all of the names, appellations, and attributes, were all created for the purpose of directing the creation – falls within the realm of [God’s] desire to emanate the creation and everything that that includes,²⁴¹Note that the author now applies the concept of a contingent creation not merely to some past occurrence – the Genesis story of the Bible – but to an ongoing, constantly recurring state; meaning to say, just as God originally created the world and everything in it – including human cognition – so He continually creates and renews the world, so that their continued existence is also, at every moment, contingent and mutable. but not above this. For above this, there is no garment or attribute at all. This is as it is written in the Zohar (Parshat Bo, 42a): “To whom shall you liken me, that I shall be his equal, said the Holy One.” (Yeshayahu, 40:25) All of the holy Hayot (angels) are called in the letters of the holy name. This is as it is written (Yeshayahu, 43:6), “All that is called in My name, I have created for My glory.” Everything in the creation was created with the letters of God’s name, and there is no creation that does not have God’s name inscribed in it, in order that one may know who created it. For this reason it is written, “To whom shall you liken Me, that I shall be his equal, said the Holy One.” No creature shall be My equal. Even though I created it in the form of My letters, still, I can erase its form and re-create it as many times as I want, and there is no god above Me that can erase My “form.” Here it is clear that all created beings, even the holy Hayot (angels) and all the supernal powers, even the root of their spiritual forms are only arranged and ordered in holy likenesses, and renewed according to God’s desire. It is in the power of God’s desire to change these likenesses into different forms; for according to the changing of the supernal forms, so will the order of God’s governance change, from the loftiest of heights to the lowliest of levels. This is true even for the nature order of the physical world. There the Zohar concluded (Bo, 42b): If one were to propose a difficulty by quoting the verse (Devarim, 32), “for you saw no image,”²⁴²The verse says, “you saw no image,” not the letter yud, nor the letter vav, or any other letter. How, then, could one say, “Everything in the creation was created with the letters of God’s name, and there is not creation that does not have God’s name inscribed in it”? he will give the answer, “This image I did see, for it is written (Bamidbar, 12:8), “He shall see the vision of God.” “The vision of God,” but not any other vision that He created and formed out of letters.²⁴³That is, you see only the vision of the letters of creation, but no other vision. For this reason it is written (Yeshayahu, 40:25), “To whom shall you liken me, that I shall be his equal.” To whom can God be compared? What form could you possibly ascribe to Him? Even this “form” of God that is accessed by created beings through the letters of creation does not exist in God’s own place, but comes into being when He descends to reign over his creation. Then the vision spreads over the creation, and each one sees it according to his specific ability to perceive. This is as it is written (Hoshea, 12:11), “I have used images through the prophets.” For this reason, God will say to them that even though He appears to them in a vision that they can comprehend, still, “to whom can I be compared,” because before God created any image or formed any form in the world, God was alone without any form or semblance. We have mentioned how all names and appellations of God are created entities, and that before the creation, there was no name or form from the holy forms. This is as it is written Zohar (Bo, 42b): One who receives information about the state of existence before the creation²⁴⁴Despite the limited nature of human cognition, it can receive information about states of existence prior to creation; that is, beyond cognition. However, since that information pertains to unconstricted aspects of Divinity, it is forbidden to make an formal, limited likeness, even in terms of letters, Divine names or other abstract forms. – before there was any form of God’s being that was at all discernable to mankind – is forbidden to make any formal representation of that information, not with the letter Hei nor with the letter Yud. One cannot use a holy name, or even so much as a letter or point to describe this knowledge. This is as the Torah says (Devarim, 4:15), “You did not see any form.” You did not see anything which engenders a likeness or form. However, after God made the form of the holy merkava (chariot) of the supernal man, then God descended there, and He is called in the name of the Tetragrammaton (Yud Hei Vav Hei). This is in order that God may be comprehended through His attributes,²⁴⁵Seven lower Sefirot from Chesed to Malkhut, the supernal source of emotions such as love, fear, pride, and so forth. and perceived through each of His attributes.

More: even one who merely envisions being aroused in love and reverence, this too is good. As it says in the introduction to the Shaarei Yihud vehaEmunah of R. Aharon of blessed memory,³³⁰Commentary on Tanya by R. Aharon Hurwitz of Starosselje (1766-1829). in the name of the great Maggid, on the verse “to whom will you compare Me,”³³¹Isaiah 40:25. that even though it be merely imagination, it is still holy. For in truth, the Israelite, in his holy foundation, is truly aroused towards God. It is merely the externalities of physicality in which he is ensconced, through his actions and thoughts which are not directed towards God, which stop him. Now that he has overcome them and wishes to be aroused even through them, then it is only from their perspective that this awakening is limited to the imagination. But as to the ‘Israelite essence’ within him, it is a true arousal. When an Israelite is occupied with even his physical needs, such as business and labor—if he does them via the path of Torah, they are considered by hasidism to be forms of avodah.

The prophet Isaiah 40,10-11 teaches us something about ‎different levels of holiness. The prophet writes as follows: ‎הנה א-‏דוני אלוקים בחזק יבוא וזרועו משלה לו, הנה שכרו אתו ופעולתו לפניו. ‏כרועה עדרו ירעה בזרועו יקבץ טלאים ובחיקו ישא עלות ינהל.‏‎. ”Behold, ‎the Lord G’d comes in might, and His arm wins triumph for Him; ‎see, His reward is with Him, His recompense before Him. Like a ‎shepherd He pastures His flock; He gathers the lambs in His arms, ‎and carries them in His bosom, He drives the mother ‎sheep.”
When we conduct ourselves in a holy spirit then all ‎the largesse of the Lord that we experience contains holiness, so ‎that in effect, even when eating our daily bread, we are ‎participating at a meal served on a celestial table, the table of He ‎Who owns the earth and all there is on it.
Even though, as we have learned (based on a Midrash on ‎Genesis 33,13) Yaakov and Esau agreed to divide the universe ‎between them, Esau becoming heir to the earth and all its ‎material blessings, while Yaakov reserved for himself the world to ‎come a world of disembodied creatures, this did not mean that G’d ‎cannot provide largesse of a material kind for His people to be ‎enjoyed while their souls inhabit their bodies. When the prophet ‎says: “Behold the Lord comes in might,” he refers to G’d giving us ‎the Jewish people something that according to the division of ‎Esau and Yaakov we did not have a legal claim to. [Esau is ‎not being deprived by anything that G’d gives to us the Jewish ‎people, through His largesse. Ed.] The simile of the ‎shepherd used by the prophet, is reminiscent of a statement in ‎the Talmud Baba Metziah 5 according to which it is natural ‎for a shepherd who tends sheep that are his own, to treat them ‎with even more care than he does the sheep belonging to others. ‎There is therefore no reason why G’d should not treat His people ‎with especial concern.‎ ‎

In light of the above we can now also understand the verse in ‎Isaiah 40,4, where the prophet speaks of messianic times, ‎והיה ‏העקוב למישור‎, usually translated as “and what has been bent out ‎of shape will be straightened out.” Nachmanides quotes this verse ‎of Isaiah in his commentary on the verse of the Torah above. He ‎understands the word as equivalent to ‎סבה‎, the cause of future ‎developments.‎
Onkelos understands the word ‎עקב‎ positively, i.e. ‎compensation for merits acquired under difficult circumstances. ‎In other words, if the Jewish people observe the Torah’s ‎commandments even when in exile, when it is so much more ‎difficult to observe these commandments, the eventual reward ‎will be commensurate with the difficulties experienced in exile. ‎The word ‎עקוב‎ is an apt description for the difficulties facing the ‎Jewish people who want to remain or again become faithful to the ‎Torah while in exile. When something is twisted around and ‎around, making it next to impossible to get to what is within, this ‎describes the obstacles faced by Jews in exile when they want to ‎observe the Torah. Part of the reward for people observing the ‎Torah while in exile, when they do so out of pure faith, not ‎knowing if and when the redemption will come, will be that when ‎the redemption does come, they will be able to perform the Torah ‎without difficulty as the messiah will have taught them the ‎reason behind all the commandments. Isaiah 40,4 therefore ‎alludes to exactly the same phenomenon that Moses alluded to in ‎our verse above.‎

The Talmud Ketuvot 110 states that anyone residing in ‎the Holy Land is comparable to someone who has a G’d. The ‎meaning of that statement is that everyone who physically lives ‎in the land of Israel views himself as serving the Lord by his very ‎presence in the Holy Land, a land of substance. On the other ‎hand, anyone residing outside the Holy Land, seeing that he lives ‎in a land lacking substance, views himself as if he did not have a ‎G’d. This means that such a person has not even begun to serve ‎the Lord, (even if he thinks he has). This is also the meaning of ‎Isaiah 40,31 ‎וקווי ה' יחליפו כח‎, “but those who trust in the Lord ‎will renew their strength (constantly);” the prophet assures the ‎servants of the Lord, that seeing that their service of the Lord ‎leads them to new insights on a daily basis, they will never stand ‎still, (spiritually speaking). This is why the prophet adds that ‎they will not experience fatigue, i.e. ‎לא ייעפו‎. The word ‎עף‎, which ‎primarily means “flying,” is used by the prophet here to indicate ‎that the true servant of the Lord does not view himself as “flying ‎high” spiritually, but the opposite, ‎לא ייגעו‎, they view themselves ‎as not yet having arrived at the first way station on the way to ‎their destination. This is also the meaning of psalms 103,5 ‎תתחדש ‏כנשר נעוריכי‎, “your youth will be renewed like that of the eagles.”

In the haftarah ('Comfort, comfort My people') it says (Isaiah.40.6-8), "What shall I proclaim? All flesh is grass." The Sages teach (Perek Shirah 1.49) that the fly declares this when Jews are not occupied with Torah. And the response: "Grass withers, flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever!" For no sin can extinguish Torah.

Genesis 27,38. “do you really have only one blessing ‎that you can dispense, my father?;While there is a rule ‎that life as well as blessings originate from one holy source, this ‎rule brings in its wake the possibility that the “left” side of the ‎emanations can also be the seat of life, as when G’d created the ‎universe He arranged that the forces of evil and those of good be ‎at par with one another least on the surface. [Otherwise ‎freedom of choice granted to man would be meaningless. ‎Ed.] Both the Ari z’al and others preceding him, ‎including Rashi, stated that holiness is also known as ‎אחת‎, ‎‎“a state of unity.” Rashi points out that when the ‎descendants of Yaakov set out on their journey to Egypt and ‎their names had been listed individually, the Torah (Genesis ‎‎46,27) concluded the list with ‎כל הנפש‎, “the sum total of the ‎soul,” (singular) when referring to this family. On the other hand, ‎when the Torah reports Esau and his family leaving the Holy Land ‎in order to settle in the region of Seir, (Genesis 36,6) Esau’s ‎descendants are referred to as ‎נפשות‎, “souls” (pl.). Such nuances ‎in the Torah reveal to us that not all souls originate in the same ‎region of the diagram portraying the emanations.‎Genesis 27,38. “do you really have only one blessing ‎that you can dispense, my father?”;While there is a rule ‎that life as well as blessings originate from one holy source, this ‎rule brings in its wake the possibility that the “left” side of the ‎emanations can also be the seat of life, as when G’d created the ‎universe He arranged that the forces of evil and those of good be ‎at par with one another least on the surface. [Otherwise ‎freedom of choice granted to man would be meaningless. ‎Ed.] Both the Ari z’al and others preceding him, ‎including Rashi, stated that holiness is also known as ‎אחת‎, ‎‎“a state of unity.” Rashi points out that when the ‎descendants of Yaakov set out on their journey to Egypt and ‎their names had been listed individually, the Torah (Genesis ‎‎46,27) concluded the list with ‎כל הנפש‎, “the sum total of the ‎soul,” (singular) when referring to this family. On the other hand, ‎when the Torah reports Esau and his family leaving the Holy Land ‎in order to settle in the region of Seir, (Genesis 36,6) Esau’s ‎descendants are referred to as ‎נפשות‎, “souls” (pl.). Such nuances ‎in the Torah reveal to us that not all souls originate in the same ‎region of the diagram portraying the emanations.‎
When Esau, at this point questions his father if he has only ‎ברכה אתת‎, he asks whether his father cannot dispense a blessing ‎for people whose origin is not in the holy section of the ‎emanations, the section known as ‎אחת‎. He feels, that surely ‎seeing that he is his father’s son, his father must also be able to ‎have reserved a blessing for him! By asking this question he ‎contradicted the words of his father who had told him that the ‎blessing he had already bestowed on Yaakov that made him senior ‎to his older brother, i.e. ‎הוה גביר לאחיך‎, made this impossible. If he ‎were to give Esau a similar blessing he would in effect deprive ‎Yaakov of the blessing he had just given him. When Yitzchok ‎heard what Esau demanded of him, seeing that he had told him ‎that in his blessing he had made Yaakov the senior of the two, he ‎realized the full extent of Esau’s wickedness, and that is why he ‎added, now, without reservation, ‎גם ברוך יהיה‎, “he shall also ‎remain blessed!” Up until that moment Yitzchok had not realized ‎that Esau was a product of the ‎סטרא אחרא‎, the “left side” of the ‎scheme of emanations. Having found that out, he now gave Esau ‎a blessing that was in keeping with the “blessings” perceived as ‎such by souls that originate in that realm, i.e. ‎על חרבך תחיה‎, ‎‎“seeing that you are loyal to the principle that might is right,” ‎the principle espoused by people whose souls originate in the left ‎side of the emanations, people who believe in the survival of the ‎fittest, Yitzchok could only bless his son Esau by wishing him ‎‎“success” (death) when he would be involved in such lethal ‎encounters. He meant it in the sense that “until you pay the ‎price with your physical life you will not be able to secure for ‎yourself any life in the hereafter”. When such people lose their ‎lives when engaged in what they perceive as a “holy” war, they ‎may redeem themselves and secure life in the hereafter. ‎‎[This editor has often wondered it the concept of our ‎sages of a Mashiach ben Yoseph, a messiah who will die in battle ‎before the advent of the Mashiach ben David, the ultimate ‎redeemer, may not originate among the gentiles and earn his ‎right to his hereafter in the manner just described. Ed.]‎
Genesis 27,40. Let us turn now to the next part of Yitzchok’s ‎‎“blessing” to Easu, the words ‎והיה כאשר תריד ופרקת עולו מעל ‏צוארך‎, “but when you humble yourself you will be able to ‎remove the his yoke from around your neck.” ‎‎
According to Or Hachayim on our verse the word ‎והיה‎ in ‎the above verse is to be interpreted as a form of joy, ‎שמחה‎. ‎Contrary to the accepted translation of this line, Rashi ‎understands the word ‎תריד‎, as “when you will suffer pain.” ‎According to Proverbs 11,10 ‎באבוד רשעים רנה‎ “when the wicked ‎perish there is jubilation.” Isaiah 1,3 speaks about the ox ‎recognizing his owner. The fact is that when the ox wears a yoke ‎he does not recognize (in the sense of welcoming) his master ‎voluntarily, but only because he is forced to wear a yoke. When ‎the yoke is removed he will honour his master by still respecting ‎and welcoming him. Something parallel occurs in history about ‎the Israel/Esau relationship. As long as the Temple in Jerusalem ‎was standing, the gentile nations paid reluctant respect to the ‎Jewish people. Nowadays, when there is no longer a Temple in ‎Jerusalem, the yoke which had restrained the Gentiles has been ‎lifted from them, although their obligation, as a free willed ‎creature created in the image of G’d to respect G’d’s people has ‎not been lessened. G’d, after all, created this universe only for the ‎sake of His people, the Jewish people. According to Isaiah 40,17 ‎כל ‏האומות כעין נגדו מאפס ותוהו נחשבו לו‎, “All nations are as naught in ‎His sight; He accounts them as less than nothing.” This is in ‎essence what Yitzchok told Esau when he said ‎ופרקתו עולו מעל ‏צווארך‎, “even when you will divest yourself of the yoke of Yaakov, ‎in times when the Jewish people are in exile, as Rashi explains, ‎you will only remove this yoke from your neck, i.e. temporarily ‎during the time Israel is in exile, but inherently, your duty ‎toward G’d, whose representative on earth the Jewish people are, ‎will continue, just as an ox knows his master regardless if he is ‎restrained by a physical yoke or not.” Upon hearing this, Esau ‎raised his voice and wept, feeling frustrated that his father would ‎not give him a blessing that would neutralize the one he had ‎given to Yaakov. He had fully understood all the implications of ‎the few words Yitzchok had said to him.‎