Комментарий о цитате к Мишлей 9:3

We have to remember that if a person was successful in acquiring merits for himself through having performed G'd's commandments and having performed deeds of loving kindness while on earth, such a person has acquired the strength to rise from his grave when the day of resurrection arrives. Psalms 72,16 describes such a period as "men sprouting up in towns like country grass." Ketuvot 111 understands Solomon (the author of this Psalm) as speaking of the time of resurrection. When the Torah speaks of the slave leaving בגפו, the meaning of the word גף is similar to Proverbs 9,3 where the word describes "on the wings of high places." Man's good deeds lift him up to the spiritually high places. Shabbat 49 compares Israel to the dove, i.e. it is like a winged bird thanks to its good deeds. When the Torah writes יבא, the meaning is the same as Onkelos's translation of Genesis 28,11, that "the sun had set." The words בגפו יצא on the other hand, refer to the wing in question being able to rise once again from earth at the time of the resurrection. The reverse will be true of people who have not made the effort to accumulate the required merits during their time on earth. Ketuvot 111 spells this out in connection with Proverbs 3,18 "that Torah is the tree of life for those who uphold and grasp her." The non-observant will not take part in the resurrection of the bodies.

The Torah goes on to write אם בעל אשה הוא ויצאה אשתו עמו. The Torah alludes to a profound mystical element here. There are people who acquire their soul by dint of their good deeds so that such a person (personality) is transformed into the "owner" of its holy soul. In order to understand this concept one has to refer to the Zohar volume three page 91 on Leviticus 22,27 where the Torah discusses that when an ox or sheep is born it is to remain with its mother for seven days before it could be offered on the altar as a sacrifice. According to the Zohar animals acquire their intelligence at the moment of birth. [This is why the Torah refers to the ox as "ox" already at birth not as calf, for instance. The animal does not develop its personality, though it may develop its body. Ed.] Animals are different from human beings in this respect. Human beings acquire their souls only in ratio to the good deeds they have performed. The greater the number of good deeds performed by man the higher quality is his soul (or after having been alive at least for one Sabbath). The soul which such a מצוה -observant Jew acquires is called אשה in our context. Kabbalists such as the author of Tikkunyey Hazohar chapter 50 describe the soul as אשה. The Torah tells us here that if a person has acquired his "wife" i.e. soul, by reason of the performance of good deeds, his wife will remain with him also after death. Shabbat 152 tells an interesting story in this regard. There were certain grave-diggers who dug up the earth belonging to Rabbi Nachman. In the process they happened to disturb the grave of Rabbi Achai bar Yoshia. The latter protested that the diggers were disturbing his rest. The grave-diggers told Rabbi Nachman that they had been rebuked by a man. Rabbi Nachman went to investigate and asked the person in question who he was. He identified himself as Achai bar Yoshia. Thereupon Rabbi Nachman asked Rabbi Achai: "did not Rabbi Mori say that the truly righteous will turn to dust" [as opposed to decaying and becoming worm ridden Ed.], (so how come your body is intact)? Achai retorted: "Who is this Mori whom I have never heard of (that I should be concerned with his pronouncements)?" Thereupon Rabbi Nachman quoted a verse from Kohelet (inaccurately quoted and applied) according to which a body will return to the earth in the condition it had come from it. Rabbi Achai responded that whereas Rabbi Nachman appeared to be familiar with the verse composed by Solomon in Kohelet, he was apparently unfamiliar with a verse by the same Solomon in Proverbs 14,30 according to which "envy is like rottenness of the bones." The meaning of that verse is that people who harboured envy or jealousy in their hearts will experience that their bones decay and rot; those who did not harbour such feelings during their lives on earth will be spared this experience. Thereupon Rabbi Nachman touched Rabbi Achai and found that his body was indeed real. He suggested that Rabbi Achai get out of his grave and go home. Thereupon Rabbi Achai told Rabbi Nachman that he had just revealed that he had not even studied the Book of Prophets properly. We read in Ezekiel 37,13: "you will know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people." Rabbi Nachman countered that it is written in Genesis 3,19: "dust you are and to dust you will return!" Upon hearing this Rabbi Achai explained that the verse in Genesis was meant to apply only one hour before the arrival of the final resurrection. At that time all the dead would return to dust. The gist of the story is that the righteous are called alive even when they are in their graves (Berachot 18).

NASHAPHTA’ WITH THY WIND. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that nashaphta is derived from the root nesheph (twilight),¹⁵³“For there are two kinds of nesheph (twilight): the nesheph after sundown, and the nesheph before sunrise” (Ibn Ezra)! Here the nesheph before sunrise is referred to. for it was at twilight that He brought the wind which caused the water to return and drown the pursuers. Rashi explained it “as an expression for ‘blowing,’ similar in usage to the verse, When ‘nashaph’ (He bloweth) upon them, they wither.”¹⁵⁴Isaiah 40:24. Rashi has explained it well.
My opinion, furthermore, is that the purport of nashaphta, [written with the letter phei], is like [that written] with a beth: Thou ‘nashavta’ (didst blow) with Thy wind. The usage of the word is similar to: Because the breath of the Eternal ‘nashva’ (bloweth) upon it;¹⁵⁵Ibid., Verse 7. ‘yasheiv’ (He bloweth) His wind, and the waters flow.¹⁵⁶Psalms 147:18. These two letters — [the phei or pei and the beth] — are of similar usage, just as in the verses: ‘al gapei’ (Upon) the highest places of the city,¹⁵⁷Proverbs 9:3. which is like al gabei; ‘im b’gapo’ (if by himself),¹⁵⁸Further, 21:3. which is like im b’gabo. Similarly: And substance ‘yivzor’ (he shall scatter) among them;¹⁵⁹Daniel 11:24. ‘bizar’ (He hath scattered) the peoples.¹⁶⁰Psalms 68:31. These are expressions of pizur (scattering), [with the letter beth serving here as phei]¹⁶¹See Vol. I, pp. 505-506, for a similar interchange of letters between the gimmel and the kuph. In proper names, these letters also interchange, e.g., Shovach, and Shophach.¹⁶²II Samuel 10:16; I Chronicles 19:16. And our Rabbis say in the Mishnah:¹⁶³Peah 6:1. “[If produce is proclaimed] hevkeir (ownerless) for the benefit of the poor [only], it is deemed hevkeir (ownerless).”¹⁶⁴If a person gives up his ownership of the produce of his field, he is free from the obligation of giving the Tithe. But if he proclaimed it ownerless only for the poor and not for the rich, the School of Shammai say it is deemed ownerless and is therefore Tithe-free. The Mishnah continues that the School of Hillel say that it can be deemed ownerless only if it is proclaimed ownerless equally for the rich. Ramban here is interested only in the language of the Mishnah using a veth (hevkeir) for a phei, and therefore he quotes only the beginning of the Mishnah. [The word hevkeir] is like hephkeir (ownerless). From the expression, The grains ‘avshu’ (shrivel)¹⁶⁵Joel 1:17. comes the word ipush (musty). The term ben p’kua,¹⁶⁶Chullin 69a. Literally: “a child [of an animal] which is ripped open.” [an animal taken alive out of the slaughtered mother’s womb], is used in place of ben b’kua, because the mother was “ripped open” and there was found in it a living offspring of nine months.
In my opinion also, ‘hichpishani’ in ashes¹⁶⁷Lamentations 3:16. is like ‘hichbishani’ (He presses me) [or “He made me cower”] in ashes, the usage of the word being similar to: And replenish the earth, ‘v’chivshuha’ (and subdue it);¹⁶⁸Genesis 1:28. ‘yichbosh’ (He will subdue) our iniquities.¹⁶⁹Micah 7:19. In the language of the Rabbis we also find: “a measure which is k’phushah,”¹⁷⁰Yebamoth 107b. meaning k’vushah, [a measure into which the contents have been “compressed”, and which therefore contains more than its normal measure].
The purport of the verse is thus: “with Your strong and mighty wind, the waters of the sea were piled up, and when You blew the wind with which You control the sea, the sea covered them.” This is the intent of the verse, And the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared,¹⁷¹Above, 14:27. for He caused the wind to blow on it as He does at His strength when He ruleth the proud swelling of the sea.¹⁷²Psalms 89:10.