Musar sobre Provérbios 8:30

And it is written (Mishlei 4:2): "For a good taking have I given you; My Torah shall you not forsake." The intent of "good," "My Torah," is as follows: It is known that something that is so significant to a poor man that he calls it "good" may not be significant to one who is not poor; and that something which is significant to him may not be significant to one who is very wealthy; and that something which is significant to him, may not be significant to a king; and that something which is significant to him, (like the conquering of a country) may not be significant to an angel [(It is known that the size of some angels is several thousand parasangs, as stated in Chullin 91b)]. Therefore, the verse comes to say: "For a good taking, etc." That is, see and reflect upon the greatness of its [Torah's] good, to the point that it is called "good" by Me, who have created all of the worlds, all of which are insignificant to Me — notwithstanding which I have called Torah "good." And it is the secreted treasure with which the Holy One Blessed be He disports Himself at all times, as it is written (Mishlei 8:30): "and I [Torah] was His plaything every day." And it is "My Torah." Therefore, "do not forsake it."

And now let us see: Is not a meth-mitzvah mere matter, without life, spirit, or soul, in spite of which, because this matter was once the receptacle of a living Jew, the Torah was so concerned about its shame and permitted [its burial] even to the high-priest or to a Nazirite, and [permitted one] not to slaughter the Pesach offering or to circumcise his son, to render himself unclean for it [the dead body] and to see to its needs — a fortiori, with the holy Torah, which is more precious than pearls, and which is the "plaything" of the Holy One Blessed be He, as it is written (Mishlei 8:30): "And I [Torah] was His plaything every day" — if one of its mitzvoth, G-d forbid, lies in shame, how much more so are we obligated to strengthen ourselves in it, so that it not cry out against us in Heaven!

Another allusion to this triple concept of G–d-Torah-Israel is found at the very beginning of Bereshit Rabbah, where Rabbi Aushiyah deals with Proverbs 8,30: ואהיה אצלו אמון, ואהיה שעשועים, יום משחקת לפני בכל עת, "Then I was with Him as an artisan; I was His delight daily, always rejoicing before Him." Rabbi Oshiyah says that the word אמון in that verse means both פדגוג, "a male nurse or tutor," a term used by Moses when he complained to G–d how he was expected to play nursemaid to the Jewish people (Numbers 11,12). He also understands the same word to mean something מוצנע, hidden, based on Esther 2,7 describing Mordechai as "hiding" Esther so that she would not have to participate in the Royal beauty contest. Rabbi Aushiyah adds that some understand the word אמון to mean "big." This is based on Nachum 3,8: התיטבי מנא אמון, "Were you any better than No Amon?" which the Targum renders as: הא את מבא מאלכסנדריא רבתא דיתבא בין נהרותא "are you better than the important city Alexandria which is situated between two rivers?"

When we explained earlier that G–d's "day" comprises the equivalent of one thousand years in our world, and that Torah was created two thousand "years" prior to the universe, this means that two important concepts had to precede the creation of the physical universe.

Let me try and explain part of the mystique of the story of Creation, and in the process reveal part of the mystery of two of G–d's names, namely the ineffable four-lettered name [the author uses the letter ד in his spelling instead of the letter ה] i.e. א-ד-י-ד and the same name i.e. אדי"ד, with the letter ו added. Rabbi Aushiyah had quoted Proverbs 8,30 at the beginning of Bereshit Rabbah in which this name occurs twice: ואהיה אצלו אמון ואהיה שעשועים, יום יום משחקת לפניו בכל עת. Although the acts of creation described in Proverbs in that chapter clearly refer to the creation of the physical universe, the language implies allusions to the spiritual universe. If the Mishnah in Avot 5,1 tells us that the physical universe was created by ten מאמרות, directives issued by G–d, the same applies to the creation of the Spiritual Universe. Already Nachmanides and Ibn Ezra comment on the Torah's description of גן עדן and the four rivers issuing forth from it which preceded it, that the language of the text also implies what went on in the heavenly regions.

Since the word ו-א-ה-י-ה, that we have quoted from Proverbs 8,30 totals 27, i.e. one beyond the 26 of the Ineffable Name, this suggests that all development or ראשית דרכו, as Solomon describes G–d's activity in Proverbs 8,22, commences after the name of י-ה-ו-ה (which totals 26) by resorting to the Aleph Bet as G–d's tool.