Musar sobre II Reis 2:29

Students of esoteric meanings of the Torah are also aware that the root of roots of the soul reposes in the emanation בינה, as we know from ונשמת שדי תבינם, “and the soul of Shaddai that gives them (man) understanding” (Job 32,8). The three levels of our soul נפש-רוח-נשמה, correspond to the world on three different levels, the עולם העשיה, עולם היצירה,-and עולם הבריאה. In the still higher world of אצילות these parts of the soul are found in the emanations מלכות-תפארת,-and בינה respectively. The Kabbalists have explained at length that this is where the source of vows is found. The word שבועה oath, is closely linked to שבעה, i.e. the seven days of Creation. These seven days are the time frame of the “building” of the world, בנין, again a word almost identical with בינה. A vow, נדר, is called such when the person making the vow prefaces it with the words: הרי עלי וגו', meaning that it is an obligation over and beyond that which emanates from בנין. Our sages in Sifri Mattot 4, describe the difference between the relative strength of a vow and an oath as being that he who utters a vow is as if he swears by the “life of the king,” whereas he who utters an oath is as if he swears by “the king himself.” The author to buttress his contention, quotes Kings II 2, where Elisha says to Elijah: חי השם וחי נפשך אם אעזבך, “as the Lord lives, and as you live, I will not leave you!” This may be why the Talmud (Shabbat 32b) teaches that the death of one's under-aged children and possibly the death of one's wife are retribution for a person's failure to keep one's vows. All this is because בינה is the by אם על הבנים, “mother of the children.” When one violates that principle, either the mother or the children may disappear, i.e. die. Kabbalists have seen an acronym in the word נדר, dividing it into נ=50, and דר, “dwells.” The reference is to the emanation בינה, which is the source of the חמישים שערי בינה, “the fifty gates of insight.” We already stated that בינה is the location of נשמת שדי, and that the whole subject of נדרים) revolves around בינה which is the root of בנין, and that שבועה is part of בנין which is שבעה.

Let us now return to the repeated use of the word לאמור or אמור in 25,10 and 25,12 respectively. We have already mentioned that the first such expression concerns the exoteric aspect of Pinchas' exploits, whereas the second concerns the esoteric aspect of his deed, namely that he became Elijah.

And now listen to this wondrous wisdom! Just as God is the Most High and rules over man and over all the world above and below, so does man, as long as he does the will of his Creator. For at the time of the making of the golden calf, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses, "Let me alone, that I may destroy them" (Deut. 9:14). And in the affair of Korah, the earth swallowed them and all that belonged to them, by the word of his mouth (Num. 16:28—32). And in the case of Elijah, of blessed memory, he swore that there would be no dew or rain except at his word (I Kings 17:1), and he brought on fire (I Kings 18:36—38, II Kings 1:10—12), and he slew the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18:40), and he resurrected the dead (I Kings 17:17 — 24), and he decreed concerning Elisha, that Elisha should have twice his spirit (II Kings 2:9—10, and see Sanh. 47a and Hullin 7b).

Midrash Shemuel on Avot quotes the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Tzadok to the effect that the Rabbi Shimon who told us about the advantages of silence in the above quoted Mishnah was one of the Ten Martyrs. All these martyrs sanctified not only their souls but also their bodies. There are two methods of sanctifying the body. 1) The way of Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues who died on קדוש השם, a martyr's death.This kind of holiness is referred to in the Torah as: והייתם קדושים (11,45). The second method of achieving holiness of the body is referred to in the Torah as: אני ה' מקדשם (21,23). Nadav and Avihu acquired holiness of the body via the second method, i.e. their souls were burned whereas their bodies remained intact. Their departure from this world was similar to that of Chanoch (Genesis 5,24), and Elijah (Kings II 2,11). This is why I believe that the reason their bodies remained intact was that their death was due to the intimacy they had established with G–d. When Rabbi Shimon said that he had not found anything better for the body than silence, he alluded to the instruction given to Rabbi Akiva and the other Martyrs to be silent and accept G–d's decree without question. Only after having made this point does Rabbi Shimon explain in detail what this silence is all about. The Talmud (Berachot 61b) reports that when he was about to die, Rabbi Akiva told his students that he had wanted to fulfill the instruction (Deut. 6,5) to "love your G–d with all your heart, all your soul and all your might," as we recite three times daily. He had wondered when he would finally be able to fulfill the part of "loving G–d with all your soul." By dying a martyr's death he was satisfied that he had finally been granted the opportunity to also fulfill that dimension of loving G–d. It was in this connection that Rabbi Shimon – who was also to become a martyr – said: "study is not of the essence whereas practice is." He referred to the difference between displaying one's love for G–d in theory and displaying it in practice. He also wanted to teach that when the practical opportunity to die a martyr's death does not arise (as in 99% of all lives), G–d will consider the intention to do so, i.e. the fact that one has mentally and emotionally prepared oneself to love G–d to the point where one is ready to die for His Name, as if one had actually done so. This is the deeper meaning of: אני ה' מקדשם "I, the Lord, sanctify them."