Комментарий о цитате к Тегилим 133:3

AND THIS IS THE BLESSING WHEREWITH MOSES THE MAN OF G-D BLESSED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BEFORE HIS DEATH. It states the man of G-d in order to indicate that his blessing will be fulfilled because he was the man of G-d, and the prayer of the upright is His delight.¹Proverbs 15:8. Now Scripture calls Moses our teacher the man of G-d, and so also the rest of the prophets,²The Sifre, Brachah 342, lists eighteen prophets of whom Scripture speaks as ‘men of G-d.’ Elijah,³I Kings 17:18. and others,⁴Those not identified by name. Thus: And there came a man of G-d to Eli (I Samuel 2:27), and other similar cases. but it does not state “the man of the Eternal;” instead it says Moses the ‘servant’ of the Eternal.⁵Joshua 1:1. Moses is the servant of the Eternal Who has created everything, and Moses’ conception of Him was like that of a servant who is afraid to behold his master. Moses was also the man of G-d, since all his deeds and words came by command of the Almighty (Ma’or V’shamesh). The reason is known to every student learned in [the mystic lore of] the Torah. So also by way of the Truth, [the expression ‘v’zoth habrachah’ (and this is the blessing) means that] “v’zoth is the blessing” [as explained further on], for From the Eternal has ‘zoth’ (this) come.⁶Psalms 118:23. — “By way of the Truth,” another name for the teachings of the Cabala, thus begins a new thought of Ramban. First he intimated that the reason for Scripture stating the man of G-d and not “the man of the Eternal” is known to every student of the mysteries of the Torah. And now he begins to explain, on the basis of the Cabala, the unique expression of v’zoth habrachah. Similarly it is said in the case of Jacob, ‘v’zoth’ (and ‘this’ is) what their father [Jacob] spoke unto them.⁷Genesis 49:28. It was this blessing that David meant when he said, ‘Zoth’ (this) came to pass unto me, because I have kept Thy precepts,⁸Psalms 119:56. alluding to Zion the city of David, for there the Eternal commanded the blessing, even life forever.⁹Ibid., 133:3. The student learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand. Our Rabbis meant this secret in their interpretation in Bereshith Rabbah:¹⁰Bereshith Rabbah 100:13. “‘v’zoth’ (and this is) what their father spoke unto them.⁷Genesis 49:28. A man like me is destined to bless you, and, from the very place where I [Jacob] concluded — from there will he begin. At the moment Moses our teacher rose to bless them, he began with ‘v’zoth habrachah’ (and this is the blessing) — from the very place where their father concluded. This then is the meaning of the expression ‘v’zoth’ what their father spoke unto them⁷Genesis 49:28. [their father Jacob told them that the next blessing they receive would be from a man who will begin with v’zoth — v’zoth habrachah]. He [i.e., the patriarch Jacob] said to them: When will these blessings reach you? From the time you accept the Torah, in which is written, ‘V’zoth’ (And this is) the Law etc. ”¹¹Above 4:44. For this word zoth alludes to the blessing which is the Torah, and this is the covenant, as it is written ‘Zoth’ (this is) My covenant.¹²Genesis 17:10. I have already mentioned this.¹³Ibid., 2:20 (Vol. I, p. 79); Exodus 25:3 (Vol. II, pp. 437-438).

And from the fact that it says “in your storehouses,” “in all the undertakings of your hand,” and “He shall bless you in the land,” it can be inferred that separate matters are being taught here, and each is a blessing in its own right. Perhaps they correspond to what is said When you walk, it will guide you (Proverbs 6:22) — in this world; when you lie down, it will watch over you — in the grave; and when you awake, it will speak with you — in the World to Come (Avot 6:9).
When it speaks of blessing in your storehouses [asameicha], it alludes to the World to Come, which is hidden [samui] from the eye, for blessing is only found in things that are not measured or counted, but rather hidden from sight (Bava Metzia 42a). This hints that the prosperity of this world is not a complete blessing, because all worldly things are measured and counted, having limit, boundary, and end, and are not eternal. The exception is the reward of the World to Come, which “no eye has seen,” which is eternal and is the essence, as it says Like the dew of Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion (Psalms 133:3). This is the dew with which the Holy One, Blessed be He, will revive the dead, and it descends upon the mountains of Zion, for there is the gate of heaven and the place for souls to ascend to the Garden of Eden. And it says, For there the Lord commanded the blessing, life everlasting. Because those lives are eternal and everlasting, there is the essence of the blessing, but not in things that are measured and counted, which have an end and limit.
Regarding this blessing it says, The Lord will command the blessing to be with you in your storehouses, referring to the World to Come which is hidden from the eye. Therefore it says with you, because this acquisition is with you and attached to you, as the immortality of the soul is not separate from the person but is always with him. This is not the case with the reward of this world, which is sent away from him, as Maimonides wrote [in Shemonah Perakim] that monetary acquisition is external to a person and not attached to him, but rather passes from hand to hand, for it is a wheel that turns in the world. And about this it says, and in all the undertakings of your hand, which is the reward for when you walk in this world.

YE SHALL KEEP ‘CHUKOTHAI’ (MY STATUTES). “And these are they: thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind, etc. Chukim (statutes) are the decrees of the King for which there is no reason [given].” This is Rashi’s language. But our Rabbis have not mentioned that the reasons for the commandments [mentioned in this verse] are hidden from us, and that the evil inclination and the idolaters raise objections against them, except in [the case of the prohibition against] wearing a garment made of wool and linen, but not in the case of mating of animals of diverse kinds [for which there is a reason, as will be explained later on].⁹⁵And so why did Rashi mention this prohibition of mating diverse kinds of cattle, as an example of a “statute.” when the Rabbis never mentioned it as such? And the intention of the Rabbis [in defining “statutes” as the laws of the King for which there is no reason] was not that these are decrees of the King of kings for which there are no reasons whatever, for every word of G-d is tried.⁹⁶Proverbs 30:5. [They meant] only that “statutes” are like the enactments which a king promulgates for his kingdom, without revealing their benefits to the people, and the people, not sensing these reasons, entertain questions about them in their hearts but they accept them nonetheless out of fear of the government. Similarly, “the statutes” of the Holy One, blessed be He, are His secrets in the Torah, which the people by means of their thinking do not grasp as they do in the case of mishpatim [“ordinances” — laws which conform to the human conception of justice], but yet they all have a proper reason and perfect benefit.
Now the reason for [the prohibitions against] kilayim [“mixed kinds,” as will be explained further on], is that G-d has created in the world various species among all living things, both plants and moving creatures, and He gave them a power of reproduction enabling them to exist forever as long, as He blessed be He, will desire the existence of the world, and He further endowed them with a power to bring forth [only] after their kind, and that they should never be changed, as it is said with reference to all of them [at the time of Creation], after its kind.⁹⁷Genesis 1:11, 21, 24. This driving force in the normal mating of animals is for the sake of preserving the species, even as human beings engage in sexual activity for the sake of having children. Thus one who combines two different species, thereby changes and defies the work of Creation, as if he is thinking that the Holy One, blessed be He, has not completely perfected the world and he desires to help along in the creation of the world by adding to it new kinds of creatures. Moreover, the mating of diverse species of animals does not produce offspring, and even in the case of those that are by nature close to each other [such as the horse and the ass], from which offspring are born, such as mules, their seed is cut off, for they themselves [the mules] cannot produce offspring. Thus from the point of view of these two matters [i.e., the changing in the order of Creation and the sterility of the product, we see that] the act of combining different species is despicable and futile. Even when diverse species of vegetation are grafted together, their fruits do not reproduce afterwards, and they too are prohibited because of the two above-mentioned reasons [for the prohibition of mixing different species together]. This is the meaning of the prohibition [stated here in the verse], thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed, which in the opinion of our Rabbis⁹⁸Kiddushin 39 a. constitutes a prohibition against grafting [diverse kinds of trees, or trees and vegetables, and is not a prohibition against merely sowing together diverse kinds of seed].⁹⁹This interpretation is based upon the fact that Scripture states, thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind; thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed. By placing these two prohibitions together, Scripture is teaching that just as in the case of cattle, the verse refers to well-definable objects [cattle], so in the case of sowing the field, Scripture refers to well-definable objects — trees, vegetables, etc., — and is not a mere prohibition against sowing diverse kinds of seed [although that too is forbidden], since these are not yet distinguishable. But He has prohibited also the mere sowing together of diverse kinds of seed, because their nature and form change when they derive nutrition from each other, and thus each kernel of it is as if it were grafted together from two kinds. Similarly, He has forbidden to plow with an ox and an ass together,¹⁰⁰Deuteronomy 22:10. because it is customary among tillers of the soil to bring their working animals into one cattle-shed, and there they might come to mate with a diverse kind.¹⁰¹This reason is also stated by Maimonides in the Guide of the Perplexed, III, 49 (p. 267 in Friedlander’s translation). And one of our colleagues¹⁰²This thought which appears in the following text is expressly mentioned in the commentary on the Songs of Songs ascribed to Ramban but actually authored by Rabbi Ezra, one of the chief Cabalists of the period (see my introduction to this book in Kithvei Haramban, Vol. II, p. 474). Ramban’s expression here “and one of our colleagues etc.” thus clearly indicates that there was a group of scholars in Gerona who were dedicated to the study of the Cabala; and Ramban was one of that group. — Several points worthy of note are to be made with this expression “one of our colleagues.” It indicates the reticence with which the study of Cabala was regarded at that time. For even when crediting the thought to another scholar Ramban avoids identifying him by name. The role of Rabbi Ezra as one of the leading Cabalists at that period is indeed an undefined one, although it is known for a certainty that his influence was far-reaching. Additionally, the term chaveireinu (our colleague) indicates the closeness with which the group kept together, so that anyone who was part of them was called a chaveir (a colleague). The expression “one of our colleagues” may perhaps also indicate that Rabbi Ezra and Ramban were regarded as equals, for otherwise he would have referred to him as a teacher or master. adds to the reason for the prohibition against mixing seeds, that it is in order not to throw into disorder the primary forces which bring about the growth of the plants, when they derive nutrition from each other,¹⁰³A sense of the importance of ecology, of maintaining a proper well-ordered relationship between the primary forces of nature, is clearly discerned here. as is indicated in the saying of our Rabbis in Bereshith Rabbah:¹⁰⁴Bereshith Rabbah 10:7. See Vol. I, pp. 40, 70-71, where the same text is quoted. “Said Rabbi Simon: There is not a single kind of herb that does not have a constellation in heaven which smites it and says to it, ‘Grow.’ It is with reference to this that Scripture says, Knowest thou ‘chukoth shamayim’ (the statutes of heavens)? Canst thou establish ‘mishtaro’ (the dominion thereof) in the earth?¹⁰⁵Job 38:33. — [mishtaro being derived from the root shoter (executive officer)].” Now he who grafts diverse kinds of plants or sows seeds of diverse kinds with the intention that they derive nutrition from each other, thereby destroys ‘chukoth shamayim’ (the statutes of heavens). This is why He has said, Ye shall keep ‘chukothai’ (My statutes), as they are the statutes of the heavens. And so did Rabbi Chanina in the name of Rabbi Pinchas say,¹⁰⁶Vayikra Rabbah 35:4. that [the statutes mentioned here in the verse] are because of “the statutes with which I formed My world.” I have already written in the section of Bereshith¹⁰⁷Genesis 2:8. Vol. I, p. 70. that all plants have their foundations in higher [forces], and it is from there that the Eternal commanded them the blessing, even life forever.¹⁰⁸Psalms 133:3. Thus he who mixes different kinds of seeds, denies and throws into disorder the work of Creation.