Chasidut sobre Números 12:17

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.

‎(Compare Shabbat 87) In the event, G’d agreed with Moses, ‎i.e. approved of his initiative after the event. One of the three ‎things was that he added an additional day for the people to ‎prepare themselves mentally, (spiritually) for the Revelation and ‎the receiving of the Torah. The second was that he smashed the ‎first set of the Tablets containing the Ten Commandments. He ‎applied logic when doing this, reasoning that if a Jew who has not ‎been circumcised is forbidden to partake of the Passover due to ‎his status, and this is only one commandment, how much less do ‎they deserve the entire Torah, having just been guilty of idolatry? ‎This logic is flawed, as in the case of the Passover, the Torah ‎forbids participation in a ritual which provides the participant ‎with pleasure, i.e. the eating of the lamb, something not ‎applicable to most other commandments of the Torah. We have a ‎general rule that the commandments of the Torah have not been ‎given to us for whatever physical pleasure performance of it ‎would yield.‎
‎Tossaphot on that folio query how the sages could ‎describe this decision of Moses as being made by himself when he ‎had used the Torah as the yardstick by which he had arrived at ‎this decision? They answer that since Moses’ logic in that ‎instance was flawed, the decision must be viewed as his and not as ‎inspired by his study of the Torah. The third example of Moses ‎making a high-handed decision without consulting G’d is his ‎separation from his wife, the subject for which Miriam criticized ‎him in Numbers 12,1-2. On that occasion also, according to the ‎Talmud, he used logic, a valid tool of interpreting the Torah, ‎saying that if the people who heard G’d speak for only a few ‎minutes had to separate from their wives for three days prior to ‎that, he, to whom G’d spoke almost on a daily basis, [prior ‎to the sin of the spies, Ed.] surely had to separate from ‎his wife permanently.‎
Concerning that logic the Talmud points out that seeing that ‎G’d had told Moses to send the Israelites home to their wives, ‎whereas at the same time He commanded him to remain at the ‎site of the revelation, surely in light of this Moses’ decision could ‎not be construed as being arrived at on his own? Here too, the ‎Talmud says that whereas Moses considered his logic as ‎unassailable and therefore based on the Torah, in fact his logic ‎can be challenged.‎
Moses was in a category by himself, having stated that during ‎‎40 days in the celestial regions (on top of Mt. Sinai) he had ‎neither eaten bread nor had drunk water. (Deut. 9,9) His ‎nourishment had consisted of the ‎זיו השכינה‎, “enjoying the ‎splendour of the Divine Presence.” Due to his extreme humility, ‎Moses presumed that the entire Jewish nation was entitled to a ‎similar experience, i.e. the ability to satisfy the body’s ‎requirements through infusions of spirituality from a celestial ‎source. This is what he built his logic (‎קל וחומר‎) on when drawing ‎conclusions from the three day period of the abstaining from ‎marital intercourse during the preparations for the Revelation at ‎Mount Sinai, as well as from the laws concerning who may ‎partake of the Passover. He reasoned that the Torah most ‎certainly did not address nitwits, but a people on the highest ‎spiritual level, else how could they be able to hear G’d speak to ‎them directly on that occasion. He considered it as certain that at ‎that time everything the people did was only for the loftiest ‎motives, i.e. ‎לשם שמים‎, why else would they keep their distance ‎from their spouses? He erred by comparing the whole people to ‎himself, so that the logic which formed the premise of his ‎decision was flawed. In other words, his decisions were not based ‎on correct interpretations of precedents in the Torah, so that the ‎sages in the Talmud were correct in describing his three decisions ‎as “homegrown.”‎

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) ‎

We hope to justify Akavyah’s using the language the ‎‎Mishnah recorded. Akavyah posits that a person in ‎evaluating himself, taking stock of himself, is tempted to look at a ‎list of his achievements first. If that person is a good person, ‎Akavyah reminds him that seeing that he is “descended” from an ‎evil smelling drop of semen he does not really have anything to ‎boast about. If he is a morally weak or inferior person, he is ‎reminded of his superior ancestors as his origin, something which ‎should make him ashamed for not living up to his forefathers’ ‎standards. Akavya was aware that there are two levels of “fear of ‎the Lord.” The lower level is called “fear of punishment,” whereas ‎the higher level is called ‎יראת הרוממות‎ “the awe of the ‎overwhelming superiority of the Creator.” He therefore addresses ‎both categories of individuals, assuming that each category finds ‎it difficult on occasion to resist the evil urge so that he may ‎commit a transgression. True ‎יראת השם‎ is only this latter category ‎of “awe and reverence of the Lord.” This is the level of ‎יראת שמים‎ ‎of the righteous, seeing that the ‎צדיק‎ always focuses on the ‎concept of the ‎אין סוף‎, “G’d as personification of infinity.” In Job ‎‎18,12 we have been taught that ‎חכמה ‏‎, “true wisdom,” is only ‎found in the realm described as ‎מאין‎, same letters as ‎אין‎ in ‎אין סוף‎. ‎The tzaddik always keeps reflecting on the fantastic ‎concept of the infinity of the Creator and how He is in charge of ‎millions of different categories of holy angels and a universe the ‎extent of which boggles the imagination. He thinks of how all ‎these angels are in constant awe of Him so that through his ‎preoccupation with such thoughts he does not fall victim to the ‎urge to taste the physical pleasures offered by the region into ‎which we have been placed by our fate. These physical urges, ‎after all, have become part of him only by genetic transmission ‎from his father and mother, whereas his divine soul, G’d’s ‎contribution to every human being as an integral part of Him, is ‎supplied by Him Who, most certainly is not subject to such urges. ‎It was Moses’ ability to concentrate on that “third” of his ‎ancestry, i.e. the ‎אין סוף‎, that resulted in his being described as ‎איש האלוקים‎, a “godly man.” (Deuteronomy 33,1) He had attained this ‎status by becoming what the Torah called: “the most humble ‎man on earth.” (Numbers 12,3) It follows from the Torah’s ‎definition of his personality that he had concentrated on the ‎closest possible connection with what was concealed from him, ‎‎(as well as from any living human being) i.e. G’d’s essence, so that ‎he considered himself as ‎אין‎, as if non-existent, immaterial.‎

Deuteronomy 9,15. “I turned around and descended ‎from the Mountain, etc.;……….. “I placed the tablets inside ‎the ark which I had constructed as G’d had commanded me.” ‎‎(Deteronomy 10,5)‎
Seeing that the entire Book of Deuteronomy consists of words ‎of rebuke by Moses to the people or commandments he relays ‎that G’d had told him to teach the people, why, all of a sudden, ‎does Moses relate something that does not fit either of the other ‎two criteria?
‎[The following, a concept that first occurs in the ‎‎sefer yetzirah the oldest Kabbalistic text, is based on the ‎need to define everything that G’d has created in terms known as ‎עולם,‏‎ ‎שנה, נפש‎, loosely translated as “space, location,” “time, ‎year,” “spiritual dimension.” Ed.]‎
The Torah prescribes that a number of occurrences must be ‎‎“remembered” at regular intervals. This includes the Exodus from ‎Egypt, an event notable for where it took place, i.e. Egypt. The ‎Sabbath must be remembered (in the Kiddush) primarily as ‎symbolizing the dimension of “Time.” The attack and eventual ‎defeat of Amalek must be remembered primarily as symbolic of ‎the struggle between opposing worlds of the Spirit. In order for ‎the Book of Deuteronomy to represent all these three elements of ‎G’d’s creation, the fact that the Essence of the written Torah, the ‎Tablets with the Ten Commandments had to be hidden, instead of ‎revealed, is symbolized by Moses having been commanded to ‎‎“hide” this spiritual heritage in the Holy Ark. Had the Jewish ‎people not been guilty of the sin of the golden calf, the Tablets ‎with the Commandments would have remained on display. [I ‎have taken the liberty to present this in an abbreviated version so ‎as not to confuse the reader. Ed.]‎ ‎

Numbers 12,1-9, “Miriam and Aaron spoke (critically) ‎of Moses; etc.”, “when a prophet of Hashem arises amongst ‎you, I make Myself known to him in a blurred vision, I speak ‎to him in a dream;” I do not speak to Moses in riddles but in ‎a vision as clear as a mirror.”
The wording is unclear, ‎G’d could have been expected to say: ‎אם יהיה נביאכם ה' בחידות אליו ‏אתודע‎, i.e. that the difference between their degree of prophecy ‎and that of Moses was that G’d makes Himself crystal clear when ‎speaking to Moses.
In order to understand the wording of the ‎Torah here it is pertinent to review a statement in the ‎‎Mechilta on Parshat Bo, 1,1 where we have been ‎taught that every time when the Torah commences a paragraph ‎with the words: ‎וידבר ה' אל משה ואל אהרן‎ “Hashem spoke to ‎Moses and Aaron,” G’d addressed only Moses directly, whereas ‎Moses immediately made Aaron privy to what G’d had told him. It ‎is most likely that also when other prophets received prophetic ‎insights they received those only after Moses had acted as G’d’s ‎intermediary. In order to understand this we must substitute the ‎words: “Moses’ Torah,” for “Moses,” as the prophets we referred ‎to lived after Moses had died. This has all been alluded to in the ‎Talmud Yevamot 49 where the Talmud describes Moses as ‎having seen G’d’s instructions through a clearly transparent ‎window pane, i.e. the source from which all prophets’ visions had ‎emanated, whereas the other prophets received their visions ‎through a blurred transparency. i.e. after having been filtered by ‎Moses.‎
We find a similar allusion in our verse above, where G’d tells ‎Miriam and Aaron that if indeed they are prophets this was only ‎due to their visions having first been “filtered” through Moses.‎

Numbers 12,1-9, “Miriam and Aaron spoke (critically) ‎of Moses; etc.”, “when a prophet of Hashem arises amongst ‎you, I make Myself known to him in a blurred vision, I speak ‎to him in a dream;” I do not speak to Moses in riddles but in ‎a vision as clear as a mirror.”
The wording is unclear, ‎G’d could have been expected to say: ‎אם יהיה נביאכם ה' בחידות אליו ‏אתודע‎, i.e. that the difference between their degree of prophecy ‎and that of Moses was that G’d makes Himself crystal clear when ‎speaking to Moses.
In order to understand the wording of the ‎Torah here it is pertinent to review a statement in the ‎‎Mechilta on Parshat Bo, 1,1 where we have been ‎taught that every time when the Torah commences a paragraph ‎with the words: ‎וידבר ה' אל משה ואל אהרן‎ “Hashem spoke to ‎Moses and Aaron,” G’d addressed only Moses directly, whereas ‎Moses immediately made Aaron privy to what G’d had told him. It ‎is most likely that also when other prophets received prophetic ‎insights they received those only after Moses had acted as G’d’s ‎intermediary. In order to understand this we must substitute the ‎words: “Moses’ Torah,” for “Moses,” as the prophets we referred ‎to lived after Moses had died. This has all been alluded to in the ‎Talmud Yevamot 49 where the Talmud describes Moses as ‎having seen G’d’s instructions through a clearly transparent ‎window pane, i.e. the source from which all prophets’ visions had ‎emanated, whereas the other prophets received their visions ‎through a blurred transparency. i.e. after having been filtered by ‎Moses.‎
We find a similar allusion in our verse above, where G’d tells ‎Miriam and Aaron that if indeed they are prophets this was only ‎due to their visions having first been “filtered” through Moses.‎

The members of the chevraya should make sure to sit together at Shalosh Seudos, the third meal at the conclusion of the Shabbos, as was previously described in depth. The Shalosh Seudos is like the Yom Kippur of the week. The day of Yom Kippur reveals the soul, cleanses it, and heals it of its illnesses for the entire year. So too, Shalosh Seudos, the Yom Kippur of the week, purifies the soul, reveling it and all of the yearnings, aches and pains that were hidden throughout the week. In the middle of the week the soul also aspires to take off and fly, but it is weakened from the harassment of adversaries and marauders who trample it, forcing its mouth shut so its voice is not heard. In such a state no one is aware that his own soul is sick with love. And then when Shabbos comes, man leaves behind the din of the world and all of its multitude, especially at the time of Shalosh Seudos, when he enters the inner sanctum of the Kodesh HaKodashim, delivering over his whole being to the Holy One. Then all of the yearnings of the nefesh show themselves. The nefesh cries over the pain it suffered throughout the week, days and nights, sometimes with aggressive desire, calling, “draw Your servant to Your will,”²³¹Yedid Nefesh. sometimes with terrible pain crying out from the depths, “look God how they have beat me and wounded me,²³²See Shir HaShirim, 5:7 bringing me so far away from you,” and crying, “God, please heal her.”²³³Bamidbar, 12:13

‎Looking at our verse from a different perspective, we need to ‎remember that pious Jews serving G’d, experience a constant ‎ascent, elevation in their spiritual level. Still, they do not, in their ‎lifetime, begin to properly understand the workings of G’d’s ‎mind, much less His greatness. When the Torah (Numbers 12,3) ‎tells us that ‎והאיש משה עניו מאד וגו'‏‎, “the man Moses was ‎extremely humble, etc.,” such a compliment could only be paid to ‎someone who had attained almost superhuman stature. It does ‎not take a great effort for the ordinary individual surrounded by ‎people of far greater accomplishments, to remain humble. When ‎one has attained the stature of a Moses with whom G’d carried on ‎conversations as if he were His equal, the challenge to remain ‎humble is incomparably greater. The meaning of ‎ואנכי אעלך גם‎, ‎is a reminder to Yaakov, that regardless of where he finds himself, ‎the task of climbing the ladder of spiritual ascent ever higher will ‎remain with him for as long as he lives. Just as G’d is known as the ‎אין סוף‎, inexhaustibly profound, beyond our comprehension, so ‎the task of serving Him is never one that one may “retire” from, ‎thinking that one has done one’s duty.‎

Exodus 38,23. “and at his side, Oholiov son of Achisamach ‎of the tribe of Dan, carver and designer, etc.;” Our sages in ‎‎Chagigah 14 comment on the words ‎חרש וחושב‎ by ‎explaining that the word ‎חרש‎, or ‎חרשים‎ refers to a wise student, ‎who as soon as he opens his mouth causes his teachers to become ‎even wiser when they hear his questions, whereas ‎חרשים‎ are ‎people who when they open their mouths cause others to fall ‎silent, acknowledging superior knowledge.‎
Perhaps the Talmud refers to two levels of serving G’d; the ‎first uses his intellect, i.e. the common sense G’d has endowed ‎him with to do so, whereas the second does so by contemplating ‎the enormity of the ‎אין סוף‎, the indescribable superiority of the ‎Creator, something that our common sense cannot even try to ‎comprehend. This distinction has been alluded to in Numbers ‎‎12,8 [where the subject is Miriam and Aaron having ‎compared their statures as prophets to that of Moses, ‎Ed.] When G’d explains to them that Moses’ stature of ‎prophecy enables him to ‎תמונת ה' יביט‎, “to conceptually visualize ‎the Creator as if he saw a picture of Him,” He alluded to the ‎Divine assistance Moses enjoyed when visualizing such difficult ‎concepts. He would only have been able to do so if he had first ‎abandoned and negated any attempt to comprehend G’d’s essence ‎by applying ordinary human intellect. People on that level are ‎described in the Torah as ‎חרש‎, having made themselves deaf to ‎‎“normal” ways of perceiving and comprehending phenomena ‎they see. When a person, after having been granted such ‎superhuman perceptions and insights, reverts to his day to day ‎routine, a residue of his experiences while he was on a higher ‎level remains, i.e. he is filled with ‎שפע‎, divinely transmitted ‎spiritual largesse. As a result he is able to perform the work ‎performed by embroiderers both on blue woolen fabrics, ‎תכלת‎, ‎and on purple and crimson coloured woolen fabrics, ‎ארגמן‎. ‎‎[The finished product of Oholiov’s handiwork reflected ‎that he had been divinely inspired. Ed.]‎

‎שלש עשרה מדות א-ל‎ “13 Divine attributes;” let us come ‎back to Rabbi Dov Baer’s comparison of G’d’s 13 attributes of ‎Mercy in their various nuances and the 13 categories of valid ‎Torah interpretations of Rabbi Yishmael, and the statement that ‎the category of ‎קל וחומר‎, logical deductions, such as inferences ‎from a minor to a major, corresponds to the Divine attribute ‎א-ל‎ ‎in our verse. This may become clearer when we recall a statement ‎by our sages in the Talmud Baba kamma 25. The Talmud ‎there deals with Moses’ prayer in Numbers 12,13 after his sister ‎Miriam had been struck with tzoraat, (a punitive skin ‎eczema). He said: ‎א-ל נא רפא נא לה‎, usually translated as: “please O ‎G’d heal her!” G’d’s answer includes the reminder that if one has ‎behaved so badly that one’s own father has spat in one’s face, ‎does one not deserve at least a week during which one will be ‎ostracized from society? It follows that one deserves at least the ‎same level of punishment when one is guilty of such behaviour ‎against the Creator! G’d thereupon decrees seven days of ‎exclusion of Miriam from the main body of the people. This is a ‎classic example of the logic called ‎קל וחומר‎, and it was used by ‎G’d’s attribute ‎א-ל‎ to which Moses had appealed at that time.‎
We may expand on this theme by citing the Talmud ‎‎Sanhedrin 91 where we are told that when a cure occurs as ‎overt intervention by heaven this is comparable to the ‎application of the exegetical tool called ‎קל וחומר‎, “logic.” When ‎someone doubted G’d’s ability to resurrect man, the doubter who ‎admitted believing that G’d had created man, was told that if G’d ‎had created man out of nothing, how much easier is it for Him to ‎restore the dead to life seeing that they had already been alive ‎once. This is another example of how the attribute of ‎א-ל‎ is linked ‎to the exegetical tool called ‎קל וחומר‎.‎
Seeing that we have stated repeatedly that it is impossible for ‎a creature, including the most spiritually oriented one such as ‎Moses, to truly understand the essence of the Creator, the ‎question of how the authors of the prayers could make ‎statements about G’d’s attributes, etc.; is obvious. The answer is ‎equally obvious. The sages who composed the liturgy observed ‎attributes possessed by man, i.e. G’d’s creature, and concluded ‎that these attributes must reflect similar attributes possessed by ‎the Creator, else where did they originate? In other words, the ‎attributes of G’d are closely related to the use of the ‎קל וחומר‎, the ‎exegetical tool known as “logic.” It is “logical” therefore to speak ‎of ‎הא-ל הגדול‎, etc., “the great Divine power,” in our prayers, the ‎introductory words of the ‎עמידה‎, the central prayer on all three ‎occasions that we pray communally each day. When continuing ‎to list specific attributes of G’d, this is in the nature of describing ‎how the Creator has practiced ‎צמצום‎, “self-restraint,” for the sake ‎of His creatures. Expressed allegorically, this “self restraint” of G’d ‎may be compared to the hair on one’s body, a ‎לבוש‎, “garment,” ‎designed to tone down the overwhelming light emanating from ‎G’d’s essence, something that man cannot endure, and the reason ‎why the Israelites at Mount Sinai asked G’d to make Moses their ‎intermediary. When acquainting Moses with 13 of His attributes ‎in our portion, our sages have described the grand total of these ‎attributes mentioned here as ‎תקונא דיוקנא‎, “the beard and ‎‎peyot, sideburns,” of the Creator.‎
Seeing that the list of these attributes extends [i.e. ‎beyond the word ‎א-ל‎], all the way until the words ‎רב חסד‎, ‎‎“abundant in the dispensation of loving kindness,” (to His people ‎Israel) David alludes to this when he said in psalms 118,5 ‎מן המצר ‏קראתי י-ה ענני במרחב י-ה‎, “When I called upon G’d out of my ‎distress, He answered me in the most expansive manner.”‎

It seems quite clear from several places that the Rambam had possession of a clear tradition of the mysteries of the Torah. Another example is the following. He wrote in the Guide in chapter 45 of the second section, that the eleventh level of prophecy involves, “seeing an angel speaking to one in a vision, as experienced by Avraham Avinu during the binding of Yitzhak. In my opinion this is the highest of the degrees of the prophets – with the exception if Moshe Rabeynu - whose states are attested by the prophetic books, provided he has, as reason demands, his rational faculties fully developed.” In this the Rambam is saying that the level of prophecy experienced by Avraham is the highest degree of prophecy. It follows that the prophecy (of Avraham) recorded in the Torah is of the highest degree known to mankind, save that of Moshe himself, who possessed the absolute highest prophetic perceptions ever. This is what is meant when God describes Moshe by saying (Bamidbar, 12:8), “I will speak to him mouth to mouth,” which attests to the fitness and worthiness of Moshe’s soul. The Mishnah Torah further explains the difference between the prophecy of Moshe and all other prophets.¹¹³See Mishnah Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah (7:6), which spells out the difference between Moshe and other prophets. According to the Rambam, the difference lay in the degree to which the imaginative faculty played a role. When other prophets experienced God speaking to them, they did so through the power of the imagination. Moshe, however, had a direct, intellectual perception of the Divine, without the intermediary of the imaginative faculty, as the verse implies: “And God spoke to Moshe face to face…” (Shemot 33:11) When studying the passages of the Torah concerning prophecy, it is understood that the highest level of prophecy is that which is emanates from the supreme source of prophecy. This is in line with the following passage in the Zohar (Idrat Nasso, 130a), “We have leaned that the name of Atika (the Ancient Holy One)¹¹⁴Atika is one of the highest of the Divine Partsufim (modes of God’s governance) representing absolute and total compassion, beyond the distinctions of good and evil. is hidden above all the rest. It is nowhere explained in the Torah save one place. This is in God’s promise to Avraham (Bereshit, 22:17), where the Lord says, ‘I swear on Myself, saith the Lord.’ Myself is Atika, meaning Ze’ir Anpin¹¹⁵Ze’ir Anpin is the lower more accessible of the Divine Partsufim. It is a level where God’s concealment is broken only through the performance of Mitsvot, prayer, and ethical behavior. swore on Atika.” This is explained in the Beit Yaakov (haKollel, parshat Vayeira, sec. 57).

And this is (Ex. 1), “And it came to pass, when the midwives feared God, and He made them houses.” This is the aspect of the housings of the tefillin. For the midwives are the aspect of the children's mother, drawing the light of tefillin, which are the aspect of mother, upon the son, who are the aspect of giving birth to the brains, the aspect of (ibid. 13), “Sanctify to Me all the male firstborns, whatsoever opens any womb” as mentioned. And this is, “And it happened, when they feared” specifically. For tefillin are the aspect of fear, as written, “And all the people of the land shall see that Hashem's name is called upon you, and they will fear you.” And our Rabbis z”l explained these are the head tefillin. For the midwives are the mother of Aharon and Moshe. And Miriam their sister was the second midwife, from whom royalty issued, as Rashi explained there. For Moshe and Aharon are the essence of the tefillin. Aharon the Kohen Gadol is the aspect of the Eight Tiqunei Diqna of the Kohen Gadol, which are the aspect of the eight elders, the aspect of the eight head and arm tefillin passages as mentioned. Moshe Rabbeinu is the aspect of the Supernal Elder, who boasted that he is extremely old and yet is young and suckling entirely etc. and the whole world does not amount to him so much as an eyeblink etc. This is the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu a”h who is the aspect of (ibid. 2), “And behold, a crying youth,” that even tough he reach what he reached, the perfect aspect of the Elder in Holiness, still he was entirely in the aspect of youth and suckling, in the aspect of (Ps. 37), “I have been young and also old,” that even though I have become so much an elder, still I am entirely young and suckling, which this is the aspect of the boasting of the foremost level elder who is the Blind One as mentioned. And therefore Moshe attained that it was written of him (Deut. 34), “His eye was not dim and his natural force was not abated” — even after death. For no oldness jumped upon him at all, even when dying at 120 years age. For he attained the ultimate elderliness, yet remained entirely suckling, as if he still had not begin living at all, as written (ibid. 3:24), “You have begun to show” etc.; that is, he still did not grasp at all; Hashem Yithbarakh only began showing him his greatness etc. Which, all this is the above aspect, always beginning anew as mentioned. For Moshe is the aspect of “MaN/Manna,” as is known, of which it says (Ex. 17:15), “For they did not know MaH/what it is.” It is impossible to at all know what he is, that someone born of a woman should attain what he attained. And this is the letters of MoSheH being Shin MaH — Shin, the three fathers who are the entirety of the brains, entirety of the tefillin; but everything is drawn from the aspect of MaH, the aspect of, “For they did not know what it is,” which this is the essence of the aspect of Moshe, who is the aspect of the aforementioned elder, who was elder and suckling etc. as mentioned, who is the root of everything and above everything as mentioned. As written (Num. 12), “And the man, Moshe, was extremely humble” etc., which is the aspect of (Ps. 131), “Like a weaned child with his mother; my soul is with me like a weaned child,” which David said. And this is that it is written in the Zohar, regarding Moshe, that amongst the Sabas/Supernal Elders he is the Elder, and amongst the sucklings he is the suckling, that is, as mentioned, that he is old and suckling etc. as mentioned. And this is his saying (Deut. 31), “I am one hundred and twenty years old today” — today my days and years are filled, for he can longer go, as our Rabbis z”l said (Sotah 13b), “this teaches that [the gates of wisdom] were closed to him. For he needed to live the aforementioned long life, going each time further and further, and when he cannot go further he was forced to pass away, as discerned in the holy talks of Rabbeinu z”l. And therefore (ibid. 34), “And no man knew his burial-chamber,” for they did not know what he is, as mentioned. Hence Moshe is the aspect of the aforementioned Supernal Elder, who is the root of tefillin, which are the aspect of the face's skin beaming, which Moshe attain, which are the aspect of the light of tefillin, as Rabbeinu z”l said in the torah, “Markevoth Par`oh..” (LM #38), from the aspect of that Elder. And Aharon is the aspect of the eight Tiqunei Diqna, which are the aspect of the eight tefillin passages that are drawn from Moshe's aspect, from the aspect of that Elder. And this is, “And He made them houses” — houses of priesthood and royalty (Sh”R 1). Houses of priesthood are the aspect of tefillin, which are the aspect of the priesthood's sanctity as mentioned, the aspect of the sanctity of the firstborn, to give him to the Kohen as mentioned. And houses of royalty are the aspect of kingship of David Mashiach, the aspect of Emunah, which all this is the aspect of tefillin as mentioned. And the essence of tefillin's sanctity is the aspect of grasping Godliness, which the true tzaddiqim, who are from the aspect of Moshe, draw upon us, through many constrictions, which this is the main thing, that they manage to attain such a high and enormous perception, that they can constrict and clothe the perception in many constrictions and vestments until we too can manage to grasp Godliness as mentioned. And this is the aspect of tefillin housings, for it is impossible for us to receive the light of the passages themselves except by way of the housings and straps, which are the aspect of limitations and vessels of `Olam haTiqun, to receive the light by degree and measure. For they are able to enter the aspect of the “Empty Space" and reveal His Godliness there, and thereby make holy vessels. For the essence of these vessels' genesis is by means of repair of the Empty Space which is the beginning of the limitation, which is the root of all the vessels and masks generated from the coarsening of the light and its becoming distant from the Emanator. For if there was no Empty Space then the coarsening of the light and its distancing would be irrelevant etc., as explained and discerned in the Writings. Hence the essence of the vessels' genesis derives from the aspect of the Empty Space. But by means of Adam haRishon's failure he was seized in his vessels, the essence of which is in the aspect of the skin, which is the ultimate vessel, the exterior of the exterior; and that is where he was seized the most as mentioned, which this is the aspect of the “Serpent's bite,” from whence is the grip of all the Qelipoth/Husks, God forbid. And therefore the main repair is by means of purifying and processing the hide in sanctity, which is the aspect of repair of the imagination, repair of the Empty Space, which the aforementioned great Tzaddiqim attain repairing, to the point that from it, specifically, they make the aspect of holy vessels to receive the light in degree and measure. Which, this is the aspect of the hide of a pure beast, insofar as the essence of writing the Torah and tefillin is on the hide specifically, and as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the housings made of hide. For we need to receive the light through limitations and vessels that are made by the repair of the Empty Space which is the aspect of repairing the imagination, which is the aspect of hide, as mentioned. And this is the aspect of (Gen. 3), “And Hashem-God made Adam and his wife garments of skin and clothed them” — garments of skin specifically, for the main repair is repairing the skin etc. as mentioned. For, the garments of skin are the aspect of Tallith and Tefillin, which come from skin and from the hair that grows on the skin, as explained in the Etz Chayim. Which, this is the aspect of (Ex. 22:26), “ki hu kesutho levaddah/for that is his only covering” — this is tzitzith; “hi simlatho le`oro/it is his garment for his skin” — this is tefillin (Tiqqunim #69), which are more internal and lofty than tzitzith, as written there. And all this is the aspect of repair of the imagination, which is repair of the Empty Space, as the essence of the repair is by means of Emunah as mentioned. And this is, “And it came to pass, as the midwives feared God” — feared specifically. For holy piety is the aspect of repair of the constriction and stricture of the Empty Space, which is sweetened at it root by means of holy piety, which is the aspect of a “holy decree,” as is known. Therefore by the aspect of piety are made housings, which are the aspect of fixing the vessels and limitations to receive the tefillin's light by degree and measure as mentioned. And this is, “And it came to pass, as they feared... [God] made them housings” as mentioned.