Chasidut sobre Números 24:31
Likutei Halakhot
2. And when da'at disappears, as seen above - in other words, no one knows, G-d forbid - that everything {in the world} runs only on the providence of Hashem Yisbarach, and {they} believe that things take their natural course, G-d forbid, this is the aspect of sleep, which is the absence of da'at, the aspect of night and darkness. The essence of the light of day is the aspect of da'at, as shown. In other words, light is only {from} Hashen Yisbarach, so to speak, in the aspect of (Psalms 27:1) "The Lord is my light and my salvation", corresponding to (Psalms 118:27) "The Lord is G-d, and He gave us light". This is the essence of the sun's light, the aspect of (Psalms 84:12) "For a sun and a shield is the Lord G-d". In other words, when one knows that Hashem Yisbarach rules the world only with providence, this is the essence of light. For the essence of light, in every place where light is found, like the light of the sun and similar {places}, is only the Light of Hashem Yisbarach, so to speak, that illuminates us, as explained above. When we fall, G-d forbid, from this knowledge and we attribute things to nature, G-d forbid, this is the aspect of the absence of light. Then it corresponds to night and darkness, G-d forbid. And this is the aspect of (Isaiah 13:10) "the sun has become dark in its going forth", etc., the aspect of (Joel 2:10) "the sun and moon darken", etc. and other similar verses like these. All of them were said regarding the time of the exile; in other words, because in exile it seems like the light of the sun has darkened because the exile is similar to night, as explained by Rashi. In other words, in the time of the exile, which is evoked only because we attributed things to nature, G-d forbid. Then 'the sun has become dark in its going forth' because immediately when we relied on nature, G-d forbid, then the light escaped from the sun, as if the sun actually darkened. For in reality, the sun has no light at all except from Hashem Yisbarach, as explained above. Therefore the exile resembles night and darkness. For the essence of the exile is only because we attribute things to nature, G-d forbid. The it is the aspect of night and darkness, the disappearance of the light, as explained above. This corresponds to sleep, the disappearance of da'at to know that everything is divine providence, which is the essence of the light, etc., as explained above. Therefore, at the time of sleep, the forces of evil descend upon a person, and the essence is on the hands, as is written in the Holy Zohar (Vayeshev 184b). For the essence of the Other Side is the aspect of the gentiles as is known, who draw nourishment only from the aspect of heresies, which is the essence of the Evil Inclination, which is called 'going after atheism', as is brought; in other words, they attribute {everything} to nature, as explained above. Then the aspect of the gentiles increases, the aspect of power of the exile which resembles night and sleep and which they absorbed from the aspect of the strengthening of nature, as explained above. This is the aspect of the spirit of impurity which rests upon a person {at night}. Therefore, the essence of the rectification of sleep in holiness is through faith, as is brought in the words of Rabbeinu, z"l (Likutei Moharan 35). In other words, when da'at disappears, corresponding to sleep, when man sees that his knowledge is confused and is not perfect, and he is not able to ascertain and to understand that everything is by divine providence from Hashem Yisbarach alone, as it is now in exile amidst the gentiles who resemble night and darkness, and when the knowledge of natural science has increased, G-d forbid - then it is incumbent upon every Jew to cast out and to remove his knowledge completely and to strengthen himself in faith alone, to believe with perfect faith that everything is only through divine providence alone and there is no nature in the world at all. This is the aspect of rectifying sleep through faith. In other words, at the time of sleep, as explained above one must enter into the midst of the aspect of faith, to rely on faith alone after his da'at has fled, just as now in the exile. We must always strengthen ourselves in faith alone, since now we have not elevated da'at perfectly to know that everything is done with divine providence. Therefore, one must clear his mind and rely only on faith alone, in the aspect of (Psalms 92:3) "and Your faith at night". And since at night, at the time of sleep, the disappearance of knowledge strengthens the knowledge of natural science, G-d forbid, which is the aspect of darkness, as explained above, in the aspect of (Genesis 15:12) "and a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and behold, a fright, a great darkness...", etc. This is demonstrated by the power of the exile. In other words, at the time of sleep, and deep sleep, the disappearance of da'at strengthens the power of the exile, from which they nourished, in the aspect of the strengthening of natural science, as explained above. And this is why a spirit of impurity rests upon a person at the time of sleep, as explained above. Therefore, as soon as one awakens from sleep one must wash his hands with water, because the spirit of impurity rests mainly upon the hands, as it is written in the Holy Zohar. For the hands corresponds to heaven, שָׁמַיִם - fire and water, אֵשׁ וּמַיִם, on the right side and left side, corresponding to (Deuteronomy 32:40) "For I raise up My hand to heaven" as is brought in the words of Rabbeinu in another place (Likutei Moharan 56). This is the aspect of the grasp of the Other Side, the aspect of natural science, the aspect of hands, for they attribute causes to the arrangement of constellations, which corresponds to 'hands'. Therefore the essence of the strengthening of the Other Side is at the time of sleep, which corresponds to nature and is with the hands specifically, as explained above. Because the hands have 28 phalanges which correspond to the 28 letters of the act of creation, through which the heavens and the earth were created, in the aspect of (Isaiah 48:13) "Even My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand measured the heavens". And therefore the main way to subdue the forces of evil, represented by the gentiles of the world, the aspect of natural science through which they are strengthened, as explained above, the aspect of their submission is only through the hands of holiness, when one merits to elevate them to da'at. And this is the aspect of (Exodus 17:11) "It came to pass that when Moses would raise his hand, Israel would prevail, and when he would lay down his hand, Amalek would prevail", etc. which was said regarding the war with Amalek. Because Amalek is in general all of the gentiles and the other side, in the aspect of “Amalek was the first of the nations“ (Numbers 24: 20). And Amalek was the essence of atheism and completely attributed everything to nature, G-d forbid. They would discern the hours based on their astrology as is brought in the explanation of Rashi and as shown in the words of Rabbeinu z"l. Therefore, the essence of their subjugation is through the raising of the hands. The raising of the hands, the 28 phalanges that are in the hands, to the head, in the aspect of (Psalms 134:2) "Lift your hands in the holy place". In other words, when the hands, with their 28 phalanges, are raised to da'at to know that all is divine providence, because Hashem Yisbarach created everything through the 28 letters of מַעֲשֵֹה בְרֵאשִׁית, which are the aspect of the 28 phalanges, as explained above. And then they are elevated - the aspect of heaven, because they are also the aspect of the hands, as explained above - to their root which is in knowledge, in the aspect of the 28 letters, as seen above. Because everything was created by G-d with the 28 letters and He gives life and established the heavens and all of their hosts and the land etc. through His divine providence alone and there is absolutely no nature or influence of the arrangements of the constellations at all. And then Amalek and the Other Side are subdued, as seen above. And this is the aspect of (Exodus 17:12) "so he was with his hands in faith until sunset". The essence of the subjugation of Amalek is through faith in divine providence which is drawn down through raising the hands, as explained above. Therefore at the time of sleep da'at disappears, for then nature is strengthened, G-d forbid. This is the root of the Other Side that is on a person. Therefore the essence of its grasp is with the hands, as seen above. Then, immediately after one wakes from sleep one must wash his hands with water with corresponds to the waters of da'at, the waters of Chesed/Loving-kindness, the aspect of (Isaiah 11:9) "for the land shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as water covers the sea bed". In other words, through the washing one brings down the purifying waters of the waters of knowledge, in the aspect of "The whole world will know that then the world is filled with knowledge like water covers the sea bed". Then everyone will know that everything is only through divine providence alone, for {the concept of} nature will be nullified completely. And even now, at any time when one needs salvation and purification, to be saved from the midst of the Other Side, which is nourished from the aspect of the knowledge of nature, one draws down divine providence from the ends of the earth, as explained above in the lesson, as seem above. This corresponds to the water of washing the hands, which draws down the waters of knowledge from the ends of the earth, in the aspect of 'The whole world will know that then the world is filled with knowledge', etc. This is the aspect of Mikveh, which corresponds to the World of the Future (because Mikveh, מִקְוֶה, in Gematria is 151, corresponding to Binah, the World of the Future, as is brought). This corresponds to (Jeremiah 14:8) "O hope, ,מִקְוֶה of Israel, his Savior at time of trouble". Because all of the troubles and tribulations are only due to the lack of knowledge, in the aspect of the knowledge of nature, as explained above. In other words, they do not know, G-d forbid, that everything is divine providence, etc. This is the essence of the impurity, as seen above. Therefore the salvation from the trouble and the purification from the impurity is through Mikveh, which is the aspect of 'the World of the Future', the aspect of the waters of wisdom, the aspect of 'for the land shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as water', etc. Through entering the mikveh and occluding the eyes it blocks out the world and one ignores {the world} and covers himself there in the waters of the mikveh, which is the aspect of the waters of knowledge, the aspect of 'the Future World'. Through this one is included within the aspect of da'at, in the aspect of providence for he covers his eyes to the world which strengthens the errors of the wisdom of nature, from whence comes all trouble and impurities. Through this the eyes are damaged, whose root and vitality are from the aspect of the Eyes of G-d, which are the aspect of divine providence, as is understood in the lesson above. And when one falls from da'at and believes that there is nature, G-d forbid, this is the aspect of the damaging of the eyes and from this come all the troubles, etc., as seen above. Therefore one must cover his eyes completely from what goes on in this world and to lose himself and be included in the waters of the mikveh, which is the aspect of the knowledge of the World of the Future. For then the divine providence will be revealed and nature will disappear completely. And through this divine providence will be drawn down from the ends of the earth, in the aspect of mikveh. And through this salvation will come to him, for everything that he needs, the aspect of 'Hashem is the hope of Israel, his Savior in times of trouble', etc. This is the aspect of the washing of the hands in the morning, which draws down purified water which comes from the aspect of mikveh. Through this he purifies his hands, which are the aspect of the 28 phalanges, the aspect of the 28 letters of the act of creation. The essence of the defect of the aspect of the knowledge of nature, which is strengthened through sleep at night, and darkness afflicts them specifically, as seen above. For through the knowledge of nature the 28 letters are flawed, as seen above, and one associates with the order of the universe, G-d forbid, as seen above. This is the aspect of impurity which takes hold in the hands specifically at the time when da'at flees; in other words, at the time of sleep, as seen above. Therefore, we purify them through the waters of knowledge drawn down from the aspect of 'the World of the Future', etc., as explained above.
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 25,11. Pinchas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest has turned back My wrath.”
Before elaborating on this verse we need to explain a verse in Lamentations 111,8: חטא חטא ירושלים על כן לנדה היתה, “Jerusalem has become guilty of a sin; this is why she has become a wanderer (homeless).”
We have a rule that if someone commits a transgression of G’d’s law due to his natural urges having proved too strong for him to resist them, he is not subject to the same penalty as someone who has committed the same transgression in order to anger G’d. Concerning this distinction between penalties for the same transgression the prophet Ezekiel 20,38 speaks when he says: וברותי מכם המורדים והפושעים בי מארץ מגוריהם....ואל אדמת ישראל לא יבוא וידעתם כי אני ה' “I will separate from you those who rebel and those who transgress against Me; but to the soil of Israel none shall come. Then shall you know that I am the Lord.” The prophet makes clear that sins committed deliberately in order to anger G’d are not subject to repentance, i.e. the penalty of exile, for example, will not be reversed not even for a single one of such sinners. Not so when the sin was committed merely due to the weakness of the flesh to resist temptation.
Jeremiah, in the above quoted verse from Lamentations, makes it plain that the sin of Jerusalemites which was punished by exile, i.e. נדה, was not due to the arrogance of defying G’d deliberately, but was only the result of weakness of the flesh; hence in due course repentance of the sinners or their descendants, will enable them to return to their ancestral homeland. The prophet chose the word נדה to describe the Jerusalemites’ punishment, as we all know that a woman who is temporarily out of bounds to her husband due to her menses, will in due course, after immersion in a mikveh, ritual cleansing bath, be reunited with her husband. The purification of such a woman is unique amongst cleansing from ritual pollutions, as in all other cases of ritual pollution, -for instance the contact with any of the eight שרצים, “teeming creatures (listed in Leviticus chapter11)- the source of the contamination is not rehabilitated by the ritual bath, only its victim.
In fact there exists blood of a menstruating woman or a woman that has just given birth which is not considered as contaminated at all.
It is axiomatic (in our faith) that when G’d dispenses of His largesse to us this is invariably for our benefit, though sometimes it is not immediately manifest.
[If I understand the author correctly, he means that both these categories of blood come forth from the same part of the woman’s body. When a woman gives birth this indicates that her ovulation resulted in something positive, a new life, this is proof that what turns into something polluted when not resulting in pregnancy, can become the opposite when resulting in pregnancy. Ed.]
The prophet hints at this when describing Israel’s state after the destruction of Jerusalem as that of a נדה, the message being that just as a woman having her menses may become pregnant during her next cycle, so this status of the Israelites is also capable of resulting in redemption in due course.
When we apply this concept to the deed of Pinchas who had spilled Jewish blood, (without legal action having preceded his act), enabled the Israelites to realize that the result of his act was the saving of an untold amount of more Jewish blood. What had at first glance appeared as an act of cruelty, turned out to be a vehicle for thousands of acts of loving kindness.
Before elaborating on this verse we need to explain a verse in Lamentations 111,8: חטא חטא ירושלים על כן לנדה היתה, “Jerusalem has become guilty of a sin; this is why she has become a wanderer (homeless).”
We have a rule that if someone commits a transgression of G’d’s law due to his natural urges having proved too strong for him to resist them, he is not subject to the same penalty as someone who has committed the same transgression in order to anger G’d. Concerning this distinction between penalties for the same transgression the prophet Ezekiel 20,38 speaks when he says: וברותי מכם המורדים והפושעים בי מארץ מגוריהם....ואל אדמת ישראל לא יבוא וידעתם כי אני ה' “I will separate from you those who rebel and those who transgress against Me; but to the soil of Israel none shall come. Then shall you know that I am the Lord.” The prophet makes clear that sins committed deliberately in order to anger G’d are not subject to repentance, i.e. the penalty of exile, for example, will not be reversed not even for a single one of such sinners. Not so when the sin was committed merely due to the weakness of the flesh to resist temptation.
Jeremiah, in the above quoted verse from Lamentations, makes it plain that the sin of Jerusalemites which was punished by exile, i.e. נדה, was not due to the arrogance of defying G’d deliberately, but was only the result of weakness of the flesh; hence in due course repentance of the sinners or their descendants, will enable them to return to their ancestral homeland. The prophet chose the word נדה to describe the Jerusalemites’ punishment, as we all know that a woman who is temporarily out of bounds to her husband due to her menses, will in due course, after immersion in a mikveh, ritual cleansing bath, be reunited with her husband. The purification of such a woman is unique amongst cleansing from ritual pollutions, as in all other cases of ritual pollution, -for instance the contact with any of the eight שרצים, “teeming creatures (listed in Leviticus chapter11)- the source of the contamination is not rehabilitated by the ritual bath, only its victim.
In fact there exists blood of a menstruating woman or a woman that has just given birth which is not considered as contaminated at all.
It is axiomatic (in our faith) that when G’d dispenses of His largesse to us this is invariably for our benefit, though sometimes it is not immediately manifest.
[If I understand the author correctly, he means that both these categories of blood come forth from the same part of the woman’s body. When a woman gives birth this indicates that her ovulation resulted in something positive, a new life, this is proof that what turns into something polluted when not resulting in pregnancy, can become the opposite when resulting in pregnancy. Ed.]
The prophet hints at this when describing Israel’s state after the destruction of Jerusalem as that of a נדה, the message being that just as a woman having her menses may become pregnant during her next cycle, so this status of the Israelites is also capable of resulting in redemption in due course.
When we apply this concept to the deed of Pinchas who had spilled Jewish blood, (without legal action having preceded his act), enabled the Israelites to realize that the result of his act was the saving of an untold amount of more Jewish blood. What had at first glance appeared as an act of cruelty, turned out to be a vehicle for thousands of acts of loving kindness.
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Kedushat Levi
When the Talmud in Shabbat 156 states that אין מזל לישראל, commonly translated as “the Jewish people’s fate is not subject to the influences of zodiac constellations,” the true meaning of the statement is that when a person considers himself as insignificant to the point of אין, as amounting to nothing, then he does not need to worry about negative zodiac constellations spelling trouble for him. According to our author the word מזל in that context does not really refer to zodiac constellations, but is derived from a root meaning השפעה, G’d’s largesse, as we read in Numbers 24,7 יזל מים מדליו, “water may flow bountifully from its buckets;” when a human being disregards the limitations imposed upon him by nature, then G’d can bestow upon him unlimited amounts of His largesse emanating in transcendental regions. On the other hand, as long as he is “firmly rooted” in nature, seeing in nature the bulk of his supply of sustenance, this limits G’d in His ability to make available to him the bulk of His largesse. The relationship between man’s receiving G’d’s largesse and his depending on natural sources for his needs, is in direct proportion to his reliance on the one or the other. If follows that when a person is an atheist, he will not become the beneficiary of any of G’d’s largesse. The reason is that such people consider themselves as in command of nature rather than as recipients of G’d’s generosity.
Seeing that we –the rgihteous- are not entitled to view ourselves as צדיקים, who may eschew the natural elements into which we have been born, we must not be arrogant enough to always wait for external divine stimuli such as we receive on our festivals, but must rather endeavour to generate such spiritual stimuli ourselves.
This brings us back to the discussion in the Talmud as to whether a kid tastes better than a lamb. The king who said that the kid tastes better understood the word גדיא, i.e. “kid,” as related to the word מזל, a word which, as we explained, alludes to G’d’s largesse. Such largesse is earned when the human being considers himself as “nothing,” i.e. denigrated his ego completely. This state of אין, “nothingness,” is the result of Divine influence as a reward for one’s ultimate humility.
The queen who had said that אימרא, sheep or lamb tastes better, used a word derived from אמר alluding to speech, alluded to worship of G’d in the commonly accepted way by mortal human beings. She credited these people with having generated their own spiritual elevation without having been “awakened” to do so by a heavenly assist. When both the king and the queen in the story agreed to let the High Priest become the arbiter of their disagreement, and the High Priest raised his hands and waved heavenwards, he meant to point to the source of heavenly inspiration, and pointed out that such inspiration occurs rarely and that therefore it is far better to rely on self-generated inspiration. The moral lesson is that we must not be content to wait for the advent of the festivals to be awakened into worshipping our Creator.
Seeing that we –the rgihteous- are not entitled to view ourselves as צדיקים, who may eschew the natural elements into which we have been born, we must not be arrogant enough to always wait for external divine stimuli such as we receive on our festivals, but must rather endeavour to generate such spiritual stimuli ourselves.
This brings us back to the discussion in the Talmud as to whether a kid tastes better than a lamb. The king who said that the kid tastes better understood the word גדיא, i.e. “kid,” as related to the word מזל, a word which, as we explained, alludes to G’d’s largesse. Such largesse is earned when the human being considers himself as “nothing,” i.e. denigrated his ego completely. This state of אין, “nothingness,” is the result of Divine influence as a reward for one’s ultimate humility.
The queen who had said that אימרא, sheep or lamb tastes better, used a word derived from אמר alluding to speech, alluded to worship of G’d in the commonly accepted way by mortal human beings. She credited these people with having generated their own spiritual elevation without having been “awakened” to do so by a heavenly assist. When both the king and the queen in the story agreed to let the High Priest become the arbiter of their disagreement, and the High Priest raised his hands and waved heavenwards, he meant to point to the source of heavenly inspiration, and pointed out that such inspiration occurs rarely and that therefore it is far better to rely on self-generated inspiration. The moral lesson is that we must not be content to wait for the advent of the festivals to be awakened into worshipping our Creator.
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 22,32 “the angel of the Lord said to Bileam: ‘why did you strike your she-ass three times?’” We have to examine why it bothered the angel that Bileam struck his ass? As long as he had not been aware that the angel had blocked the path, why does an owner of a domestic animal not have the right to discipline it when it does not obey its master’s instructions?
We must assume that when G’d instructed the angel to act as hindrance to Bileam, He had told the angel under what conditions Bileam had been allowed to accompany Balak’s emissaries, i.e. that he was restricted to do and speak only words that G’d would put in his mouth. (verse 20) The angel’s task was to check if Bileam conformed with the conditions G’d had stipulated for his journey. When someone sets out on an errant in order to perform a command of G’d and he encounters unforeseen difficulties, he must examine the reason for this. If he cannot find a reasonable explanation for the obstacles, he should conclude that G’d may no longer wish for him to pursue that errant and return home. When the angel became aware that in spite of three such covert warnings Bileam had chosen to press on with his mission, he recognized that this was due to Bileam’s evil intentions, and he became angry, challenging him and telling him that he had actually already forfeited his life by his conduct. Bileam’s stature as a prophet, and his boast of being familiar with G’d’s ways, (Numbers 24,4) should certainly have alerted him that the ass’s strange behaviour was a warning from G’d for his own benefit, to desist from this enterprise. The angel therefore was completely justified in asking Bileam why he had struck his ass three times.
We must assume that when G’d instructed the angel to act as hindrance to Bileam, He had told the angel under what conditions Bileam had been allowed to accompany Balak’s emissaries, i.e. that he was restricted to do and speak only words that G’d would put in his mouth. (verse 20) The angel’s task was to check if Bileam conformed with the conditions G’d had stipulated for his journey. When someone sets out on an errant in order to perform a command of G’d and he encounters unforeseen difficulties, he must examine the reason for this. If he cannot find a reasonable explanation for the obstacles, he should conclude that G’d may no longer wish for him to pursue that errant and return home. When the angel became aware that in spite of three such covert warnings Bileam had chosen to press on with his mission, he recognized that this was due to Bileam’s evil intentions, and he became angry, challenging him and telling him that he had actually already forfeited his life by his conduct. Bileam’s stature as a prophet, and his boast of being familiar with G’d’s ways, (Numbers 24,4) should certainly have alerted him that the ass’s strange behaviour was a warning from G’d for his own benefit, to desist from this enterprise. The angel therefore was completely justified in asking Bileam why he had struck his ass three times.
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Kedushat Levi
In the writings of the Ari, z"l, regarding the secret of the 36 candles of Hanukkah and the connection with the 8 shamashim, behold that makes 44, which corresponds to the name Ehyeh אהי"ה in degrees, that is, א' + א"ה + אה"י + אהי"ה + - which is in gematria 44, and adding the name itself, 45, and behold it is 88 with the kollel (?), which is the first letters of "to light the Hanukkah light"; up to here are his words. And on a general overview it is not understood, what is the idea behind adding those two names to the issue of Hanukah light? I think it can be explained as follows:
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 3,2. “An angel of Hashem appeared to him within the flame of fire, etc.;” whereupon Moses said to himself: “I will turn away to investigate why this bush is not consumed by the fire;” when G’d noticed that Moses had, after all, turned to investigate the phenomenon, He called out to him, warning him not to approach closer while wearing his sandals as the location was holy soil.
There is a strange story in Pessachim 57 according to which one of the Kings of the Hasmoneans and his queen had an argument during their meal as to whether meat from a lamb is tastier than meat from a fully grown sheep. When they could not agree, they asked the High Priest to settle the argument, as he had experience from eating the sacrificial meat of both many times. The High Priest upon being consulted, waved with his hand pointing heavenwards: saying: “if the meat of a lamb would be tastier surely the Torah would have commanded that the daily communal offering should consist of a lamb?”
The Talmud relating this incident must not be taken at face value, of course, but the argument described concerned the question if the fate of the Jews is influenced by astrological considerations, or if the Jewish people are quite independent of the configurations of the stars. When the High Priest pointed heavenward, he implied that the “Mazzal” of the Jewish people is אין, the word describing the essence of G’d. This also explained the statement in the Talmud Shabbat 156 that אין מזל לישראל, commonly translated as “the Jewish people’s fate is not determined or influenced by constellation of the zodiac.” The true meaning of the statement is that the celestial force determining the fate of the Jewish people is none other than אין, “the essence of G’d Himself.” Moreover, the word מזל is closely related to יזל as in יזל מים מדליו, ”water flows out of its buckets,” (numbers 24,7). This verse alludes to what the queen in above parable had in mind when she said that a lamb tastes better, i.e. she was referring to people who depend on nature, water, etc., for their sustenance, a largesse from G’d which originates in a celestial domain known as האותיות עולם.
[Heaven, not unlike the physical universe, consists of several layers, one of which is known as עולם האותיות, another, ”lower” layer is better known as עולם האצילות, to which the Torah referred when the highest echelon of the Jewish people accompanied Moses immediately prior to his ascending Mount Sinai to receive the Tablets (Exodus 24,9-11) where these people are called for short אצילי בני ישראל .Ed]
When G’d warned Moses not to approach the “domain” הלום this refers to the domain of מלכות, “Royalty,” a domain which Moses wished to attain. It was not granted to him, i.e. he functioned as Royalty only during the generation of the Israelites who had participated in the Exodus, but did not found a dynasty. The function of a king is to dispatch “spiritual sparks” for them to attach themselves to the Creator, and this is what is meant when the Torah describes the function of a king to wage war. When he succeeds in doing this he is perceived as having been victorious in “war”. Within the parameter of his task, a king sometimes of necessity has to elevate some people’s status, whereas at the same time he will demote others. The king, in order to be successful, has to surround himself with advisers, i.e. he must be part of the people. The function of a prophet is the reverse, he must isolate himself.
We have already explained on a previous occasion that when the righteous engages in dispatching “spiritual sparks” ניצוצות, heavenward, he may himself “dress up” in these holy thoughts in order that his “holy clothes” carry him with the sparks on their “wings.”
There is a strange story in Pessachim 57 according to which one of the Kings of the Hasmoneans and his queen had an argument during their meal as to whether meat from a lamb is tastier than meat from a fully grown sheep. When they could not agree, they asked the High Priest to settle the argument, as he had experience from eating the sacrificial meat of both many times. The High Priest upon being consulted, waved with his hand pointing heavenwards: saying: “if the meat of a lamb would be tastier surely the Torah would have commanded that the daily communal offering should consist of a lamb?”
The Talmud relating this incident must not be taken at face value, of course, but the argument described concerned the question if the fate of the Jews is influenced by astrological considerations, or if the Jewish people are quite independent of the configurations of the stars. When the High Priest pointed heavenward, he implied that the “Mazzal” of the Jewish people is אין, the word describing the essence of G’d. This also explained the statement in the Talmud Shabbat 156 that אין מזל לישראל, commonly translated as “the Jewish people’s fate is not determined or influenced by constellation of the zodiac.” The true meaning of the statement is that the celestial force determining the fate of the Jewish people is none other than אין, “the essence of G’d Himself.” Moreover, the word מזל is closely related to יזל as in יזל מים מדליו, ”water flows out of its buckets,” (numbers 24,7). This verse alludes to what the queen in above parable had in mind when she said that a lamb tastes better, i.e. she was referring to people who depend on nature, water, etc., for their sustenance, a largesse from G’d which originates in a celestial domain known as האותיות עולם.
[Heaven, not unlike the physical universe, consists of several layers, one of which is known as עולם האותיות, another, ”lower” layer is better known as עולם האצילות, to which the Torah referred when the highest echelon of the Jewish people accompanied Moses immediately prior to his ascending Mount Sinai to receive the Tablets (Exodus 24,9-11) where these people are called for short אצילי בני ישראל .Ed]
When G’d warned Moses not to approach the “domain” הלום this refers to the domain of מלכות, “Royalty,” a domain which Moses wished to attain. It was not granted to him, i.e. he functioned as Royalty only during the generation of the Israelites who had participated in the Exodus, but did not found a dynasty. The function of a king is to dispatch “spiritual sparks” for them to attach themselves to the Creator, and this is what is meant when the Torah describes the function of a king to wage war. When he succeeds in doing this he is perceived as having been victorious in “war”. Within the parameter of his task, a king sometimes of necessity has to elevate some people’s status, whereas at the same time he will demote others. The king, in order to be successful, has to surround himself with advisers, i.e. he must be part of the people. The function of a prophet is the reverse, he must isolate himself.
We have already explained on a previous occasion that when the righteous engages in dispatching “spiritual sparks” ניצוצות, heavenward, he may himself “dress up” in these holy thoughts in order that his “holy clothes” carry him with the sparks on their “wings.”
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Kedushat Levi
לא ישכב עד יאכל טרף, “It will not lie down until having eaten prey.” If we follow the interpretation of Israel’s progressive elevation to higher spiritual accomplishments, this line would refer to its ability to elevate the fallen “sparks” after having attained a level of serving the Lord without expecting a reward. [The author has repeatedly demonstrated how even consuming, eating, the flesh of a properly slaughtered animal and the nutrients being absorbed by our bloodstream, elevates such an animal to a higher spiritual level. Ed.] When that happens, (killing the enemies of G’d) the very slain having become a vehicle for glorifying G’d’s name, become חיים, as if alive, their lives having served a sacred purpose in retrospect.
Numbers 24,3. “word of the man whose eye is true. (closed)” There are eyes that are “good,” i.e. the owner wishes to do good for Israel. When G’d created the universe He created positives, matched by negatives, i.e. He also gave some people “bad” eyes, i.e. jealous, envious use of one’s eyesight.
Although, generally speaking Bileam was certainly equipped with eyes that singled out everything negative, in this instance he was unable to put his jealous eyes to such use. On the other hand, he had also not been provided with עין טובה, eyesight of a benevolent, generous nature. Even though he had blessed Israel, these blessings had not originated from the depth of his heart, his personality. He therefore had to describe himself as of a blind eye. This is why he adds: נופל וגלוי עינים, “prostate but with eyes unveiled.” He admits that the visions he has been granted are due to his having “fallen.” His evil eye had become the reason that he had been forced to bless Israel. When our sages describe the symptoms of a person that possesses an evil eye, they mention that one of the differences between visions which Moses received and visions which Bileam received was that whereas Moses could remain standing upright while being addressed by G’d, Bileam had to prostrate himself in order to receive any communication from G’d.
Numbers 24,3. “word of the man whose eye is true. (closed)” There are eyes that are “good,” i.e. the owner wishes to do good for Israel. When G’d created the universe He created positives, matched by negatives, i.e. He also gave some people “bad” eyes, i.e. jealous, envious use of one’s eyesight.
Although, generally speaking Bileam was certainly equipped with eyes that singled out everything negative, in this instance he was unable to put his jealous eyes to such use. On the other hand, he had also not been provided with עין טובה, eyesight of a benevolent, generous nature. Even though he had blessed Israel, these blessings had not originated from the depth of his heart, his personality. He therefore had to describe himself as of a blind eye. This is why he adds: נופל וגלוי עינים, “prostate but with eyes unveiled.” He admits that the visions he has been granted are due to his having “fallen.” His evil eye had become the reason that he had been forced to bless Israel. When our sages describe the symptoms of a person that possesses an evil eye, they mention that one of the differences between visions which Moses received and visions which Bileam received was that whereas Moses could remain standing upright while being addressed by G’d, Bileam had to prostrate himself in order to receive any communication from G’d.
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 24,5. “how fair are your tents , O Yaakov, your dwellings O Israel.” This may best be understood in light of the sages urging us to set aside definitive hours each day for Torah study. (Avot 1:15). “Yaakov” is the name used for Israel when it is at “low” ebb spiritually, whereas “Israel,” is the name applied to the Jewish people when they are spiritually at their best. When Torah study is only an occasional activity of the Jewish people, they are on the level of “Yaakov.” [The word: אהל always denotes a temporary abode, as opposed to משכן which always describes permanent dwellings. When Torah study comprises a major part of their waking hours, i.e. it is a fixture, they are referred to as Israel. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 24,8. “it will consume nations that are its oppressors.” The meaning of this verse is that G’d’s intervention on behalf of His people Israel who are being oppressed by the gentile nations, occurs in order to glorify His name. He helps the Israelites in a variety of ways. All the people who have at one time jeeringly asked the Israelites: “where is your G’d?, will be shown G’d’s power when they observe the Israelites consuming all the “goodies” G’d provides for His people. Seeing that G’d will do all this for the sake of His glory, none of these acts of generosity of G’d will be offset against merits that the Israelites had previously accumulated. In other words, the Israelites benefit indirectly from the hostile actions of the gentile nations, as they will be more than compensated for their suffering.
“and they will crush their (enemies’) bones.” Bileam uses the word עצמות as a double entendre, to indicate that the very personalities, their independence, עצמיות, will be crushed. This will be a punishment for the uncalled for cruelty with which the gentiles treated the Israelites. G’d treats people according to the yardsticks with which the sinners had treated their victims.
Incidentally, this is also one of the reasons why the Torah describes G’d as being so angry at Bileam for going with Balak’s second set of emissaries, when a superficial reading of the text would have led us to believe that G’d had approved of Bileam’s journey.
The real reason why G’d was so angry at Bileam was –as the text clearly says- כי הולך הוא, “he went of his own accord, “ i.e. he signaled that he welcomed the opportunity to harm the Jewish people who had never harmed him. Cruelty is not always expressed physically. In the case of Bileam he expressed it, or tried to express it, spiritually, metaphysically. Whereas G’d always tried to “awaken” love and sympathy for Israel, as well as hatred against its enemies, Bileam, on the other hand, tried to do the opposite. No wonder that G’d’s anger was inflamed by this. It follows that a single attribute, i.e. loving kindness, can be split into two branches, love for Israel and simultaneous hatred against its enemies.
The word וחציו, literally translated as: “and its arrows,” in this instance is indicative of strife, as Rashi has already explained on Genesis 49,23 where Yaakov refers to the brothers’ hatred of Joseph. He explains the word as referring to divisions, basing himself on Onkelos who links חץ, “arrow,” to מחצה, “half.” Israel is able to divide the single attribute of חסד, love, into two halves, i.e. love for G’d and hatred toward G’d’s’ enemies. Rashi’s major contribution is that he considers the subject of the word וחציו, to be Israel.
“and they will crush their (enemies’) bones.” Bileam uses the word עצמות as a double entendre, to indicate that the very personalities, their independence, עצמיות, will be crushed. This will be a punishment for the uncalled for cruelty with which the gentiles treated the Israelites. G’d treats people according to the yardsticks with which the sinners had treated their victims.
Incidentally, this is also one of the reasons why the Torah describes G’d as being so angry at Bileam for going with Balak’s second set of emissaries, when a superficial reading of the text would have led us to believe that G’d had approved of Bileam’s journey.
The real reason why G’d was so angry at Bileam was –as the text clearly says- כי הולך הוא, “he went of his own accord, “ i.e. he signaled that he welcomed the opportunity to harm the Jewish people who had never harmed him. Cruelty is not always expressed physically. In the case of Bileam he expressed it, or tried to express it, spiritually, metaphysically. Whereas G’d always tried to “awaken” love and sympathy for Israel, as well as hatred against its enemies, Bileam, on the other hand, tried to do the opposite. No wonder that G’d’s anger was inflamed by this. It follows that a single attribute, i.e. loving kindness, can be split into two branches, love for Israel and simultaneous hatred against its enemies.
The word וחציו, literally translated as: “and its arrows,” in this instance is indicative of strife, as Rashi has already explained on Genesis 49,23 where Yaakov refers to the brothers’ hatred of Joseph. He explains the word as referring to divisions, basing himself on Onkelos who links חץ, “arrow,” to מחצה, “half.” Israel is able to divide the single attribute of חסד, love, into two halves, i.e. love for G’d and hatred toward G’d’s’ enemies. Rashi’s major contribution is that he considers the subject of the word וחציו, to be Israel.
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 24,17. “a star emerging from Yaakov has begun its journey, a scepter from Israel. It smashes the corner posts of Moab the foundation of all the descendents of Sheth.” The poetic language of Bileam becomes clearer when we look at psalms 22,29 כי לה' המלוכה ומושל בגויים, “for dominion belongs to Hashem and He rules the nations;” This will be demonstrated when ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון לשפוט את הר עשו והיתה לה' המלוכה, “when the liberators (exiles that have been freed) will march up Mount Zion to wreak judgment on Mount Esau and dominion shall be the Lord’s.”(Ovadiah 1,21)
We need to understand the difference between the words ממשלה and מלוכה, both of which refer to the exercise of authority, rule. The word מלוכה, when used in Scripture, refers to rule by a king whose subjects have submitted to it willingly, whereas the word ממשלה is used in Scripture when the subjects are unwilling, but unable to shake off the rule by the monarch or dictator. As a general rule, only the Jewish people are described as willingly submitting to G’d’s rule, whereas the gentile nations described in these verses as being in exile, submitted to G’d’s rule under protest, and rebelled against it whenever possible. G’d imposes His rule upon them in order to frustrate their evil designs against His people. In the eras described, both in psalms and Ovadiah, this situation will have changed and the gentile nations will willingly appoint G’d as their king also. (Compare Rashi on Deuteronomy 6,4,on שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד.( He quotes both Zecharyah 14,9 and Tzefaniah 2,9 in support of his statement.
We are aware that it is impossible for mortal man to have a true concept of the essence of G’d as we know from Tikkuney Hazohar chapter 11. When we recite daily in our prayers the line ברוך אתה ה', “blessed are You Hashem,” this is because through making judicious use of the letters, i.e. concentrating on the written text of our prayers, Jews can achieve comprehension of concepts that are incapable of comprehension to human beings if one would think about them only in the abstract. The letters, i.e. the sacred letters of the printed or written words: אתה וגו', illuminate for us the concept of G’d’s dominion over the Jewish people. As a result of this advantage we possess, tzaddikim are able to use the 22 letters in the aleph bet at will for the furtherance of loving kindness, mercy and life through our prayers which will then become engraved in the throne of Hashem.
The numerical value of the tetragram, i.e. י-ה-ו-ה is 26. When you add to this the 22 letters in the aleph bet, you will get the numerical value of the word כוכב, “star” in our verse. Homiletically speaking, Bileam refers to the emergence of a person in Israel who, by judicious use of the name of the Lord and the 22 letters He has used to create the universe, has tremendous influence on the decision making process in the celestial regions. His power will extend to smashing Moab and other enemies of Israel. When Bileam speaks of וקם שבט בישראל, the word שבט is to be understood as a simile for the rule by the Jewish people, whereas the word פאתי in the line ומחץ פאתי מואב, refers to צמצום, contraction as opposed to largesse, i.e. a major aspect of דין, application of the attribute of Justice, which severely impairs the freedom granted to human beings as long as they have not abused it (grossly) by rebelling against G’d. [Some of these words are mine. Ed.] The word מואב in our verse also alludes to the source of these disasters befalling Moab being G’d, i.e. Israel’s spiritual “Father,” מ-אב emanating from the father.
A recurring theme in the author’s definition of true service of the Lord is that when pertaining to service of the Lord, ecstasy is not only permitted but desirable, whereas ecstasy when applied to anything material, secular, is strictly forbidden. Furthermore, true service of the Lord is performed in a “hidden” manner, i.e. must not attract public attention, so as not be seen as arrogant behaviour. Whatever man does publicly, i.e. to draw attention to himself, is by definition חצוניות, externalism, not reflecting the sanctity of the soul. Bileam refers to the קרקר, extreme coldness, to be maintained when engaged in secular but necessary activities, so that any show of enthusiasm for the performance of such tasks will not be mistaken as religiously inspired.
We need to understand the difference between the words ממשלה and מלוכה, both of which refer to the exercise of authority, rule. The word מלוכה, when used in Scripture, refers to rule by a king whose subjects have submitted to it willingly, whereas the word ממשלה is used in Scripture when the subjects are unwilling, but unable to shake off the rule by the monarch or dictator. As a general rule, only the Jewish people are described as willingly submitting to G’d’s rule, whereas the gentile nations described in these verses as being in exile, submitted to G’d’s rule under protest, and rebelled against it whenever possible. G’d imposes His rule upon them in order to frustrate their evil designs against His people. In the eras described, both in psalms and Ovadiah, this situation will have changed and the gentile nations will willingly appoint G’d as their king also. (Compare Rashi on Deuteronomy 6,4,on שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד.( He quotes both Zecharyah 14,9 and Tzefaniah 2,9 in support of his statement.
We are aware that it is impossible for mortal man to have a true concept of the essence of G’d as we know from Tikkuney Hazohar chapter 11. When we recite daily in our prayers the line ברוך אתה ה', “blessed are You Hashem,” this is because through making judicious use of the letters, i.e. concentrating on the written text of our prayers, Jews can achieve comprehension of concepts that are incapable of comprehension to human beings if one would think about them only in the abstract. The letters, i.e. the sacred letters of the printed or written words: אתה וגו', illuminate for us the concept of G’d’s dominion over the Jewish people. As a result of this advantage we possess, tzaddikim are able to use the 22 letters in the aleph bet at will for the furtherance of loving kindness, mercy and life through our prayers which will then become engraved in the throne of Hashem.
The numerical value of the tetragram, i.e. י-ה-ו-ה is 26. When you add to this the 22 letters in the aleph bet, you will get the numerical value of the word כוכב, “star” in our verse. Homiletically speaking, Bileam refers to the emergence of a person in Israel who, by judicious use of the name of the Lord and the 22 letters He has used to create the universe, has tremendous influence on the decision making process in the celestial regions. His power will extend to smashing Moab and other enemies of Israel. When Bileam speaks of וקם שבט בישראל, the word שבט is to be understood as a simile for the rule by the Jewish people, whereas the word פאתי in the line ומחץ פאתי מואב, refers to צמצום, contraction as opposed to largesse, i.e. a major aspect of דין, application of the attribute of Justice, which severely impairs the freedom granted to human beings as long as they have not abused it (grossly) by rebelling against G’d. [Some of these words are mine. Ed.] The word מואב in our verse also alludes to the source of these disasters befalling Moab being G’d, i.e. Israel’s spiritual “Father,” מ-אב emanating from the father.
A recurring theme in the author’s definition of true service of the Lord is that when pertaining to service of the Lord, ecstasy is not only permitted but desirable, whereas ecstasy when applied to anything material, secular, is strictly forbidden. Furthermore, true service of the Lord is performed in a “hidden” manner, i.e. must not attract public attention, so as not be seen as arrogant behaviour. Whatever man does publicly, i.e. to draw attention to himself, is by definition חצוניות, externalism, not reflecting the sanctity of the soul. Bileam refers to the קרקר, extreme coldness, to be maintained when engaged in secular but necessary activities, so that any show of enthusiasm for the performance of such tasks will not be mistaken as religiously inspired.
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 24,18. “at that time Edom will become a conquest , and Seir will become the conquest of its enemies, whereas Israel will perform deeds of valour.” In order to understand the apparent repetition in our verse, it will help to refer to psalms 115,1 where David (addressing the holy spirit) says: לא לנו ה' לא לנו כי לשמך תן כבוד, “not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name bring glory.”
According to Tanna de bey Eliyahu zutta chapter 19, Yaakov and Esau divided the world between themselves, Esau claiming the present material world, whereas Yaakov claimed the world beyond physical death.
The problem with this division is that we also ask G’d to provide for us in this life, as otherwise we would not be able to keep the commandments of the Torah which was given to be observed in this life. This does not detract from Yaakov not claiming any part of this world. In fact, seeing that the gentiles abuse us in this life and demean us, they could ascribe our fate on earth as due to our having foresworn the advantages of this life on earth. If we were not asking G’d for sustenance and G’d would accede to our request, the gentiles, seeing that they do not believe in our G’d and His concern for us, His people, would never be able to change their attitude. David therefore explains to the holy spirit that when we ask G’d for something that appears to contradict what Yaakov had foresworn, the reason is not that we wish to enjoy life on this earth per se, but we wish the gentiles to see that G’d is able to provide for us, and that therefore they should take note of this and change their attitude to the Creator, our G’d. We merely wish to be the vehicle through which the gentiles will come to recognize the glory of our G’d, Who should also be their G’d. By repeating the words לא לנו, the psalmist proceeds to explain how in spite of our asking G’d for sustenance and reprieves from persecution, we do not do so for our sakes, but for the sake of the glorification of His great name. We do not wish that the gentiles are in a position to jeeringly ask us: “where is your G’d about Whom you boast so much?”
Bileam, in the verse above, refers to the wheels of fortune for Israel and Esau respectively, having changed as an illustration; he repeats mentioning the fate of Esau, in order to show that the purpose of Israel’s success even in this world is designed to forestall the gentiles making fun of our G’d, claiming that He is powerless.
According to Tanna de bey Eliyahu zutta chapter 19, Yaakov and Esau divided the world between themselves, Esau claiming the present material world, whereas Yaakov claimed the world beyond physical death.
The problem with this division is that we also ask G’d to provide for us in this life, as otherwise we would not be able to keep the commandments of the Torah which was given to be observed in this life. This does not detract from Yaakov not claiming any part of this world. In fact, seeing that the gentiles abuse us in this life and demean us, they could ascribe our fate on earth as due to our having foresworn the advantages of this life on earth. If we were not asking G’d for sustenance and G’d would accede to our request, the gentiles, seeing that they do not believe in our G’d and His concern for us, His people, would never be able to change their attitude. David therefore explains to the holy spirit that when we ask G’d for something that appears to contradict what Yaakov had foresworn, the reason is not that we wish to enjoy life on this earth per se, but we wish the gentiles to see that G’d is able to provide for us, and that therefore they should take note of this and change their attitude to the Creator, our G’d. We merely wish to be the vehicle through which the gentiles will come to recognize the glory of our G’d, Who should also be their G’d. By repeating the words לא לנו, the psalmist proceeds to explain how in spite of our asking G’d for sustenance and reprieves from persecution, we do not do so for our sakes, but for the sake of the glorification of His great name. We do not wish that the gentiles are in a position to jeeringly ask us: “where is your G’d about Whom you boast so much?”
Bileam, in the verse above, refers to the wheels of fortune for Israel and Esau respectively, having changed as an illustration; he repeats mentioning the fate of Esau, in order to show that the purpose of Israel’s success even in this world is designed to forestall the gentiles making fun of our G’d, claiming that He is powerless.
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