Еврейская мысль к Йешайау 5:12

And there are many wise individuals who have not studied the tradition, nor have they acquired a deep understanding of language; in their eyes, it is vanity. They have not even read the Scriptures, although they have only learned the nuances of the Talmud from their youthful days, which is an interpretation of the Mishnah. They follow various paths, and all of them are correct, for through the Talmud, we come to know all the commandments that a person must fulfill to live by them. However, it is not proper for a discerning individual to be devoid of the wisdom of Scripture. For when one finds in the Talmud a statement such as "it is not known in which book it is written," and whether it is to be understood literally, through interpretation, or through a mere allusion, due to their abundance of wisdom and their extensive analysis, they extract one thing from another. They understand the plain meaning better than all the generations that came after them. And behold, one who has not studied the Scriptures does not know how to read the verse, and he also needs to know the intricacies of language, for it will guide us to contemplate many things in the Torah that our predecessors, who were great sages in all wisdom, did not explicitly explain. Those who came after them will only understand their explicit words. There are also matters in the Talmud whose meaning they did not know, such as in Tractate Rosh Hashanah, which appears multiple times at length, and a secret is born before midnight, both for us and for them. And the ability of an intelligent person to know all of this is impossible if he does not study the wisdom of the constellations and understand the movements of the sun and the moon. He also cannot know the wisdom of the constellations if he does not first study the wisdom of the measurements, for it is like a ladder firmly planted on the ground, with its head reaching the heavens. And by standing on the constellations and the seasons, one will recognize the majestic work of the Lord. So it is said by our Sages, "Anyone who does not contemplate the seasons and constellations, the verse applies to him, 'They have not regarded the work of the Lord'" (Isaiah 5:12). Furthermore, if one does not know the wisdom of measurements, they will not understand the principles of measurements in the laws of Eruvin, including the forty-nine measurements of Rabbi Nathan. And the intelligent person will not comprehend how the soul of a person resembles its Creator in five aspects if they do not study the wisdom of the soul and become familiar with it. They will not understand it unless they first study the wisdom of the origins of the heavens and the earth, which is exceedingly profound. Additionally, it is necessary for the intelligent person to know the wisdom of logic, as it is the balance of all wisdom. Our predecessors already cautioned us in Pirkei Avot (2:14), "Be diligent in the study of Torah and know what to respond to the heretic."

The kind of tolerance G-d displays depends on who He needs to relate to. In the first instance there are the spiritual, completely disembodied beings inhabiting the "upper" world, who are closest to Him. Since these beings by their very nature are close to perfection, tolerating them does not require a major effort on G-d’s part. Also the bodies in outer space whose regular and constant orbit represent service of G-d on a non-stop basis, do not require a great deal of tolerance on the part of G-d. These heavenly bodies, which provide the four basic raw materials for our physical universe, in a sense support this earth. At the time of the garden of Eden being at man's disposal, G-d had a home in the material universe because His spirit was present within man. This was the connection between the worlds above the rakiyah, firmament, and the world "below." Both harbored the Divine spirit. The commandment, "Do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil," meant "do not become engrossed in the material world except to the extent of doing good. Engrossing yourself in evil will make you part of this finite world, make you mortal." Since we have defined mavet, death, as being equal to ra, evil, and chayim, life, as being equal to tov, good, it is quite clear that contact with ra is contact with death (Deut. 30,15, compare our Chapter 7). Breaking this commandment, then, had to result in the Shechinah, G-d’s Presence withdrawing. Shechinah cannot associate with death; since there did not remain any immortal human beings on earth, there was no alternative but to withdraw to a level further removed from earth. At this point, the author describes successive withdrawals of G-d from different planets in outer space as being connected with the individual functions of these planets in our world. Abraham made up for the commandment that Adam had transgressed, by taking upon himself to command his offspring to observe the commandments of the Lord. G-d acknowledged this when He said, "As a result of Abraham having listened to My voice etc." (Genesis 26,5). Isaac repaired the damage done by Cain who had committed murder, when he voluntarily submitted to the command of His Creator, in contrast to Cain who had acted as if there were no judge or judgment in the world. His deed was acknowledged when the angel instructed Abraham, "Do not lay a hand on the lad, do not touch him" (Genesis 22,12). Jacob, who had been able to prevail on all his children to remain loyal to G-d and to proclaim His Unity when they said, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d is One," enabled G-d to return His Presence still closer to earth. Jacob had thus repaired the damage done by Enosh who had been the first to introduce the concept of G-d not being One. When Levi appeared, risking his life to avenge the shame of the rape of his sister Dinah, he repaired the damage done by the generation of the deluge, who had practiced immorality, incest etc. Kehot was the leader of the Jewish people when the latter were forced to commence performing slave labor for the Egyptians. The Jews who had been singled out for this cruel treatment, because they had failed to assimilate to the Egyptians, maintained a profile of being different by keeping their Hebrew names, language, and religion in spite of persecution suffered. This fact enabled G-d to move still closer to earth, as the damage done by the collective insubordination of the generation that built the tower of Babel had now been repaired. Amram in turn repaired the damage done by the people of Sodom, who through lack of concern for their fellow man, had driven the Shechinah still further away. Amram demonstrated his concern for the future of his nation when he responded to the admonition of his daughter not to stop having children, even at the risk of a baby boy being drowned by the Egyptians. When Moses finally made his appearance, and instead of persecuting the just, stood up against terror, injustice, and "might is right," he repaired what Nimrad/Amrafel had destroyed when he made war against the weak who had not provoked him. G-d was thus able to feel at home again on earth since the counterweight to everything the serpent had helped ruin had appeared on earth, and had made its impact. The Talmud Yevamot 112 says that when Israel stood at Mount Sinai, their "filth" departed from them. What is meant is that they reverted to the state of innocence that existed when Adam had just been created. The book of Exodus deserves to be called the book of redemption, since it tells of the redemption of the Jewish people from a cruel and barbaric fate at the hands of a cruel and barbaric nation. Apart from the physical redemption from slavery, the promise of being given the land of Israel with all its abundant natural wealth, would enable the Jewish people to live a life of ease and to be tested if they would indeed prove obedient to G-d, so that He could allow His Presence to dwell amongst them. Moses’ss accomplishment in restoring G-d’s Presence to earth, made him the intermediary between G-d and His people. To be a good intermediary requires that the intermediary himself feels in harmony with the objectives and methods of the one who has made him intermediary. Such rapport can exist either naturally, or in spite of one's natural inclinations. When Moses was shown a kind of wood that sweetens the waters at Marah (Ex. 15,25), our sages are in two minds about the nature of this wood. Some say that it was sweet wood, and that the resultant sweetening of the waters was a natural process. Others maintain that the wood itself was bitter, in which case the transformation of the waters was miraculous (Mechilta Beshalach). We find that G-d employs both kinds of agents as leaders of the Jewish people at different times. Gideon, who abandoned his preoccupation with salvaging his harvest, and who challenged the angel about G-ds apparent abandonment of His people, demonstrated selflessness and lack of concern with his private business to such an extent that the angel could say to him "go forth with this strength of yours and save the Jewish people." (Judges 6,14) He succeeded because he possessed the major ingredient needed for leadership. The reverse may be the case when the emissary of G-d is motivated by a feeling of obedience to G-d, but lacks the characteristics that put him in harmony with the purpose of his Sender. When attacking Amalek, Saul allowed considerations of economic gain to persuade him not to kill the best of the herds; he also displayed pity just when G-d had forbidden pity. This led to tragic results for his dynasty (Samuel I Chapter 15). His downfall can be traced not to lack of basic obedience, but to internal conflict between his own aims and methods, and G-ds aims and methods. Therefore, G-d looked for another man, David, who would be in tune with His objectives heart and soul, and who is held up as a model human being whose inner strivings coincide with G-d’s. When Jerobam is chastised by Achyah (Kings I 14,8-9), the point emphasized is that he failed to be with G-d "like My servant David, who observed My commandments, who followed Me with his whole heart to do only what is right in My eyes." This same David describes his own world outlook in Psalms 139,20 in the following words, "Those who hate You O G-d, I hate, and those who rebel against You, I quarrel with." When the Messiah is described, three characteristics are described as essential (Psalms 72,12-14). "For he will deliver the defenseless man who cries, and the poor who has no helper; he will care for those who have been brought low." "He will redeem their souls from malice and violence, and their blood will be precious to him." Our Parshah tells us that Moses possessed the qualities enumerated in Psalms and that therefore he was the ideal intermediary and saviour for Israel. When Moses, on his first outing to his brethren, saw an Egyptian torture a Jew, he could not stand this and he slew the Egytian. This corresponds to the line, "He will deliver the defenseless man who cries out." On the second day, when he observed injustice being perpetrated among his Jewish brethren, he stood up for the victim, the defenseless, as he did when he helped the daughters of Yitro at the well. In each case he risked his life or safety. Despite his disappointing experiences, he continued to involve himself in other peoples' problems. It is clear then that with the advent of Moses, G-d had found the person who was likely to lead the Jewish people successfully.

Considering all the efforts made in the Bible to combat tendencies toward idol-worship, the fact that the first commandment given to the Jewish nation should be the sanctification of the moon, seems puzzling. The ceremonies connected with observing this commandment raise the specter of this being akin to idolworship. There are special sacrifices in the temple, benedictions must be recited only when the moon is visible, hallel must be recited; all these observances must seem strange to the uninitiated. Rashi's statement in Genesis 1,1 that the Torah could really have commenced at this point, were it not for the fact that G-d wanted the nations to know that the Jewish people have a valid claim on the land of Israel, is even more puzzling when viewed in light of the above. Even stranger is the observation of Ben Azzai (Chullin 60) that the Almighty decreed a male goat to be offered on the new moon, to atone for the fact that he had diminished the size of the moon. Anyone who dares to withhold from a people items long considered as life sustaining such as bread, milk etc., must be prepared to face the wrath of the people. It requires skill and wisdom to teach that people that the very things which they had for long considered to be life sustaining were in fact most detrimental to their continued wellbeing. In Jeremiah Chapter 44, we find that the people upraid the prophet for warning them against idolworship, that they claim that their recent troubles had been due to their having forsaken their former idols. In such circumstances, one needs to enlighten a few intelligent leaders of the people about the true nature of things, and hope that these leaders in turn will be able to persuade the masses, once they themselves have been convinced of the error of their previous thinking. Idolatry can be divided into three kinds: 1) Belief that the object worshipped is itself a deity; in that event worship of that deity is the real thing. 2) One considers the object in question as close enough to the real deity to exercise some influence on said deity's decision-making process; in that event one worships the object as a sort of intermediary. One hopes that the object worshipped will intercede on one's behalf with the inaccessible deity. In such instances, worship is not a form of adulation, but rather a form of labor, service. 3) One worships the object in question only for the specific visible function it performs; one considers the continued performance of that function by said object as vital to the welfare of the worshipper. In this latter case, worship is merely a form of thanksgiving. All of the above, has been fully explained by Maimonides. When we consider the kiddush hachodesh legislation, the sanctification of the new moon, and the commandment concerning the observance of a leap year, i.e. an extra month at certain intervals, we observe that the mitzvah addresses itself 1) to the moon itself; 2) its motion, its movements; 3) the unique ritual involved. The moon itself, after reflecting progressively more light until full moon, reflects progressively less light until at the end of its cycle it does not reflect any light at all. It proves by its behavior that it is not a primary source of light at all. Astronomy has proved that unless the face of the moon is turned towards the sun, it cannot reflect any light. This teaches the Jewish people that the moon cannot possibly be a deity, since it has nothing of its own to contribute. Deities, by definition, are givers, not recipients. During a lunar eclipse, when neither face of the moon reflects anything, its impotence as a possible deity is demonstrated even more forcibly. What is valid for the moon, is equally true of other heavenly bodies, even the sun, since the sun's light too is eclipsed from time to time. As the prophet exclaims, "Do not be scared for they cannot cause any harm" (Jeremiah 10,5). At the time of the new moon, both moon and sun appear close to one another in the West around sunset time; it seems clear to the beholder that both follow a path imposed upon them, that they are not free to move in the direction of their choice. Which free individual moves forever in a single direction? In the third aspect of the mitzvah of kiddush hachodesh, we are no longer concerned with the moon or its orbit, but rather with the use we can make of it for the needs of our calendar. Since our holy days are determined in large measure by the calendar, the Almighty uses the moon to demonstrate His sovereignty over it. Jewish law provides leeway to use the moon in such a way that it accomodates itself to the needs of the Jewish people, instead of the other way around. The outstanding example of this phenomenon is found in Rosh Hashanah 20, where we are told, "When it is like this, sanctify!" This means that only when the moon is visible can the ceremony be performed. Since the moon is a minimum of eighteen hours into its new cycle before it becomes visible, we do not actually welcome the arrival of the new moon on time. Should the astronomic time for the new moon be less than eight hours before sunset, the ceremony is delayed for fully twenty-four hours. In such an event, the festival of the new moon would actually not be declared until forty-two hours after its advent. All this shows clearly that to think that any star or heavenly body has dominion over the Jewish people, is completely erroneous. On the contrary, if we follow Saadiah Gaon, that visual observation of the new moon has never been a factor determining when Rosh Chodesh would be declared, the mitzvah would demonstrate that we can exert influence on the calendar. The Torah grants the Jewish Supreme Court the right to proclaim the dates of the Jewish holy days, although calendar dates have been spelled out in the Torah. This means that the Jewish Supreme Court has the authority to manipulate the calendar to suit its purpose. "The seasons of the Lord which you will proclaim they will be My seasons" (Leviticus 23,4). The Almighty said in effect, "Even if you err, or even if you deliberately change the correct date by manipulation of the festival of the new moon, My holy days are yours to determine." The elders who are charged with the intricacies of the new moon observance, and who cannot fail to realize that this commandment is the very antithesis of idolworship, will in turn persuade the people of this profound truth. The reason that we add songs and praises to the Lord in our liturgy on that day, is to reflect the awareness that He alone is Master of the Universe, and all that exists therein. Rashi's comment that the Torah could have commenced with this chapter now becomes clearer. Had we not read about the creation and the whole book of Genesis, and only used the commandment regarding the new moon as our introduction to G-d as the sole ruler of the universe and the prime Cause and Creator, that would have been quite sufficient. The unchanging nature of the orbits of all the planets testify to their very impotence as potential deities. The male goat offered as a sin offering is to atone for any lingering subconscious doubts that may have been entertained about the true nature of the heavenly bodies. Isaiah 5,12 castigates those people who, while enjoying all that life has to offer to the senses, fail to give thought to the handiwork of the Lord. Anyone who does not conduct himself properly, is somehow influenced by the thought that the Lord does not observe his conduct. This is a form of heresy which requires the powers of atonement inherent in the offering of the male goat.