Kaisipang Hudyo sa Mga Awit 37:18: Akeidat Yitzchak

The animals supporting the throne of G-d in the vision of the prophet Yecheskel (1,3) have no idea of G-d’s appearance, nonetheless they praise Him at the appropriate times by saying "blessed be His glorious kingdom from wherever His place." However, the Israelites descending into the sea of reeds could proclaim "THIS is my Lord, I will glorify Him." Each one of them was able to point his finger at an image of G-d. In the future there will be a time when you will be able to say this twice, as we are told in Isaiah 25,9, "on that day he will say HERE is the Lord our G-d in whom we hoped that He would save us; THIS is the Lord we have placed our hope in, let us rejoice and be happy with His salvation." Man's position in the universe is between the sphere of the heavenly bodies and the lower creatures and inanimate matter on earth. Since he is composed of elements of either, these elements separate from one another when man dies. "Dust returns to the earth, and the spirit to the Lord." (Kohelet 12,7) Also, in nature there are gradations of animations such as corals, sponges etc. which are neither fully animate nor completely inanimate. Since we perceive that in all spheres of creation there are such gradations, the same is true also in the spiritual spheres. Everything is relative and measured against higher or lower levels of spirituality. The concept of tov, good, used in the Torah, such as when Moses demands from the people that they perform certain commandments, is always a relative "good" ("in order that you will be well of," for instance.) (Deut, 12,25) The "good" referred to is what it is possible for a human being to achieve within a certain framework. When Moses describes the task of a Jew as "what is it that the Lord your G-d asks of you, except to fear Him etc. (Deut, 10,12), he is telling us that we have been given the means to achieve a higher degree of spiritual perfection than other human beings, if we observe the laws of the Torah. It does not mean that this will make angels out of us, and remove us totally from any vestige of the animalistic within us. The mitzvot that are required of us, help us achieve our relative perfection. The same mitzvot are not required of the heavenly creatures, (angels) as they would not help them achieve their own relative perfection. "To be good for you,"- i.e. it is good for us, does not mean the same thing would be good for anybody else, (non humans.)- "to be good for us for all time." There are two kinds of "good" that apply to us. Acquisition of the "good" is divided into two categories, (a) activities, which while enhancing the self, the personality, have no impact on our environment, (b) activities which leave an imprint on our environment. Refinement of our intellectual faculties for instance, leaves the objects of our perceptions completely unchanged. If Job (Job 28,13) asks sarcastically about the value of true wisdom, which seems to him so ineffectual, the truth is, that what appears invisible is in reality the pure intellect. When Solomon states "that the advantage man enjoys over the animal is nil," he means to say that this very "nil," invisible intellect, is what separates man from the beasts. (Kohelet 3,19) Job, (28,12) asking "which is the site of understanding?" suggests that insight cannot be limited to spatial considerations, i.e. makom. "The deep said it is not to be found within me, and the ocean said it is not within me." This means that wisdom is not found in the physical part of the universe. Another distinction of the pure intellect, unencumbered by the physical, is the enduring nature of achievements of the pure spirit. Results of intellectual enquiry etc., are not subject to subsequent mutations through synthesis with something physical. The other accomplishments involving outside objects etc. are subject to whatever it is that happens to such material objects. Since material objects are subject to decay, accomplishments tied to matters material are similarly subject to decay and eventual disintegration. Actions by the Almighty fall into the aforementioned two categories. He is both an intellect, reigns supreme and is majestically separate; but there is also the “yad hachazakah” which while part of His intellect is what He employs when He wills happenings in this universe. By means of the latter, the yesh, is created from the ayin, the visible is created from the invisible, immaterial. The three worlds, the totally physical, the physical/spiritual, and the totally spiritual, abstract, are all part of this second part of intellect. Even the totally inanimate physical world that appears at first glance as everlasting, (planetary system, rocks etc.) is conceived already by our Torah and prophets as having a finite existence. (Isaiah 51,6) "Lift unto the heavens your eyes, and behold the earth; the heavens will melt like salt, the earth will rot like clothing. Similarly, its inhabitants will die were it not for My salvation that will last forever, as well as My righteousness which will not diminish." This and other examples teach us that all that is enduring is so only inasmuch as it uses the spiritual force it has been endowed with. Material things, even those of the most enduring kind, once devoid of spiritual stimulants- will ultimately disintegrate of their own accord. Our own concept of an enduring existence is based on hashgachah peratit, on G-d’s Personal attention to the creature or object in question. We do not hold that species as such are self perpetuating, independent of the specific will of the Creator. Despite the fact that we have described the purely intellectual as being superior to the physical, man's advance towards his relative perfection must proceed via the active, not merely the contemplative, since the latter is apt to lead to erroneous conclusions. This is why the Torah demands deeds, which through the system of reward and punishment, assure us of our nitzchiyut, perpetuity, or lack of it, G-d forbid. Aristotele is a prime example of the pure intellect arriving at faulty conclusions. Solomon says (Kohelet 7,16) "do not become too clever or you will be left desolate." The danger is that one may become a blasphemer, inadvertently. Our composition is such that we achieve our goal only through fulfilling the mitzvot. The prophet jeremiah sums it up when he says "let not the wise man boast of his wisdom...but let him who must boast, praise himself for knowing Me, for I do love kindness etc." (Jeremiah 9,23) G-d suggests that man imitate His attributes.

Our physical universe is arranged in such a way that the sun shines somewhere all the time, due to the earth revolving on its own axis once in twenty-four hours. Our spiritual universe has been arranged similarly by G-d, so that spiritual light is always available somewhere. Abraham thought that due to the fact that he appealed in public and used such language as "give me," the bystanders would ask for clarification of the conditions he had in mind. Abraham would then have been able to explain that though he was prepared to pay handsomely, he would still consider the townspeople's approval as a gesture of kindness and friendship. (1,2,5) Since from a halachic point of view, i.e. Jewish law, a mourner preoccupied with arranging the funeral of his next of kin must preoccupy himself exclusively with the needs of the dead about to be buried, Abraham is reported as having only that purpose in mind when negotiating the purchase of the cave of Machpelah. His emphasis on his status as a resident implies his preparedness and ability to pay, whereas his reference to his status as a stranger implies that he depends on the goodwill of his immediate neighbors. Abraham understood the nuance of "no one will deny you his grave since you are a prince," as meaning that though your request will be granted, it will be granted only grudgingly. (3) "No one will deny," is not equivalent to "we will each one of us volunteer." Their emphasis on "to bury your dead," further emphasizes that only due to the immediate need would they concur in this transfer of land to Abraham. Abraham understood very well what was in their minds, though he addressed himself only to their spoken thoughts. He explained that he did not want any burial ground, but that the reason he was asking in public was to enlist everyone's support to persuade Ephron to sell the cave of Machpelah. He did not want to appropriate the cave in the hope that he would not be denied after the event, but he wanted to pay full value, and still consider the acquisition as if it had been a present to him. (4) Ephron, as one of the Hittites present, had said previously, "No Sir, I did offer my grave willingly, and if you want the cave, I will not retract. Neither did I expect money, since you had not mentioned that previously. Concerning your wish that my fellow citizens entreat me, there is no call for this. I have given it to you in their presence, go ahead and bury your dead in the meantime." By this he hinted, that at a later stage one could negotiate compensation. Abraham acknowledged his words, bowing, however insisting that he too had originally planned payment, and could not in good conscience profit now by accepting Ephron's generous gift. Only under such terms, i.e. full payment, could he proceed to bury his dead. After all these subtleties, Ephron finally spelled out the price, emphasizing that considering Abraham's immediate need, the price was ridiculously low, purely nominal. Since he had found a willing listener in Abraham, the latter had the amount weighed at the most respected money merchant, whereupon the land became Abraham's for all time. The public character of the sale was intended by Abraham from the outset, to forestall any subsequent complaints either by groups or individuals. This was to become his permanent home, here he and Sarah were to have their last resting places. Just as a man's body was not divided up to be buried in several places, so man and wife who had shared a happy marriage were never to be parted in death either. Abraham had delayed the purchase to await an opportunity such as the need for a burial ground, which would make it impossible for his request to be denied. (6) "After he buried his wife." He was not willing to proceed until the transaction had been completed. When a tzaddik is careful in all the minutiae of a transaction, this is called mishpat, justice. When a rasha, wicked person plans deviously, it is called mirmah, deceit (Proverbs 12,5). Thus we find by the end of the transaction, that the spelling of Ephron's name shows a letter missing, to show us that he had been too greedy. Abraham, however, had a letter added to his name indicating that his approach to life was the opposite of Ephron's. He appeared to offer little, but in fact gave a great deal. Compare Proverbs 28,22, "In the haste of the greedy to acquire more wealth, he overlooks the fact that he stands to lose that which he already owns."

From the aforegoing we can stipulate three things: 1) On Rosh Hashanah, G'd considers only deeds already committed previously. 2) Only fitness to survive is judged on that day, just as would be the function of a human tribunal. This eliminates the thoroughly wicked people who, having already lost their share in the hereafter, could not regain it by submitting to the death penalty decreed on them in the physical world. 3) Since death decreed on man on Rosh Hashanah is due to the evil nature of his deeds, such death will not be due to natural causes when it occurs, since death is something that is part of everyone's fate anyways. Keeping this point in mind, we can approach the solution of the apparent paradox of tzaddik ve-ra lo, rasha ve-tov lo, the righteous and his misery and the wicked and his being well off. When G'd makes mankind parade before Him on Rosh Hashanah, the nations that have not stood at Mount Sinai are excluded. "All the nations are like nothing vis a vis Him." (Isaiah 40,17) Of the Jews, all who have sinned but have merits offsetting the sins, or have repented their sins, and all those whose sins are not the kind that deserve death, are immediately inscribed for a year of life. This is what is meant by the expression tzaddikim gemurim; they are now considered righteous. Those whose mortal sins are not offset by merits or repentance, are inscribed for death. Naturally, these sentences are not carried out at once, so as not to arouse the feeling that the judgment is cruel. However, the Personal Divine Providence is withdrawn from these guilty people, and from that moment on every one of them is subject to the caprice of natural law. Should natural law not result in their death, G'd despatches a messenger to terminate the guilty peson's life, as we read in Samuel I 26,10, "or the Lord will smite him, or his day will come and he will die, or by warfare." Since the judgment had been based on past conduct, one may assume that a change of conduct on the part of the person under sentence of death would change the sentence, possibly even cancel it. Just as the person who has been inscribed for life, would not be kept alive were he foolishly to attempt to commit suicide, so a person who has been inscribed for life did not buy an insurance policy permitting him to commit felonies, and remain free from death until the following Rosh Hashanah. By the same token, repentance is acceptable even from persons who are under sentence of death, irrespective of whether they are aware of such sentence or not. The exceptions to this rule are those sins that cannot be expiated for by repentance alone, as per Isaiah 22, 14, "this sin will not be atoned for you until you die." We learn that remission for people under sentence of death is possible, from Achav king of Israel. (compare Kings 1 21, 29) Also king Chiskiyahu's sentence of death was revoked. (compare Isaiah 38, 5 and our comments in chapter 36.) It pays to read chapter eighteen in Ezekiel, where the process of guilt and punishment is discussed in detail, as well as the reversal of evil decrees. When we encounter an apparently thoroughly wicked person, who enjoys long and successful years, it is clear that he has not been judged on Rosh Hashanah. This is so, a) because he no longer qualifies for hashgachah peratit, b) presumably he has some merits to his credit which, since they cannot be compensated for in the hereafter, must be compensated for in this life, i.e. el panav yeshalem lo. "G'd will pay him off to his face," (Deut. 7, 11) This is also what David means in Psalm 92, 8, “when the lawless spring up like grass, where all the abusers of might flourish, in order to be destroyed in the end. When an apparently righteous person dies prematurely, we assume that although he had been righteous last Rosh Hashanah, something that he has done since last Rosh Hashanah caused a change in his judgment. Examples are both Moses and Aaron, and Nadav and Avihu, who surely on the Rosh Hashanah prior to their respective deaths had been inscribed for life, but whose specific actions resulted in their deaths before the year was out. Other examples would be Gedalyah ben Achikam, who ignored warnings of danger (Jeremiah 40, 13), or Achitofel, who committed suicide, (Samuel II 17, 23), or people who chose to die on kiddush hashem sanctification of the Lord's name. These deaths come under the heading of "everything is in the hands of Heaven except the common cold," i.e. they are the direct result of free volition of the party involved, not due to prejudgment on Rosh Hashanah of sins committed in the past. Similarly, old people do not die from the effects of a decree issued on account of their sins, on the contrary, they enjoy both "tables," i.e. they have had a good life in this world and can look forward to their full share in the world to come. The principle that once G'd has decreed something good, positive, He does not revoke it, is not in conflict with the position we have taken, since a) nowhere is it stated that the inscription on Rosh Hashanah "for life," covers the entire year. It merely means that since the person examined had not at that time deserved the death penalty for past errors, he is confirmed for continued life. There cannot therefore be a question of G'd having reversed Himself, should that individual have become guilty of a capital offence prior to the next day of judgment. b) The rule of G'd not reversing a decision favourable to an individual or individuals, is generally misunderstood. This will be dealt with in detail when we discuss false prophets in chapter ninety six. There we address the question "how will we know that G'd has not spoken to him?" Should one argue that this latitude on the part of G'd would make the day of judgment quite meaningless, since decisions taken on that day are subject to all kinds of reversals, the answer is simple. It is the kindness of G'd who endeavours to treat all His children like a clever doctor. He is not only concerned about restoring his patients to health, but also engages in the practice of preventive medicine. "For I the Lord am your Healer" (Exodus 15, 26.) A doctor may prescribe preventive treatment to forestall many minor disorders. Nevertheless, when a particularly violent strain of disease hits a person, special measures are called for. Most sins, committed daily, are not each in itself deserving the death penalty. However, if allowed to accumulate, they would combine to attract the death penalty. It is similar with the function of Rosh Hashanah. The day of judgment, in conjunction with repentance, disposes of myriads of minor sins. However, should a person have committed a major crime during the year, stern measures may be called for immediately. Anyways, the call of the shofar is to warn each of us to regain our spiritual health by taking the pertinent drugs, and cleansing our system to prevent future contamination. The spring, Passover time, is reserved for our physical renewal, whereas the autumn, i.e. Rosh Hashanah, is reserved for our spiritual renaissance. Spring being nature's renewal season, is suitable for physical renewal. Fall, on the other hand, is the period when due to harvesting, man considers himself most independent and he is at the height of his self reliance. It is at that time that he needs to be reminded that he is still in need of G'ds protection. Making the day of the shofar occur at this juncture, is most appropriate in counteracting man's frivolity at that time of year. "Yeshurun waxed fat and kicked," Deut 32, 15, or "lest you eat, be satisfied and your heart become haughty." Deut 8, 14. Encouraging man to repent before the day of judgment is ever so much more helpful than to wait for the judgment, and then attempt to reverse it. Therefore, the knowledge of when the day of judgment occurs, affords us a chance to prepare for that day. When David proclaims "hail the nation that knows the teruah, they walk in the light of Your countenance," (Psalms 89, 16), he merely points out how fortunate we are to be able to put this knowledge to our advantage. The Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16, discusses timing of celestial judgments. Rabbi Yossi emphasizes that daily judgment of man occurs also, whereas Rabbi Yochanan makes the point that repentance even tears up the evil decree. When the question is raised that even myriads of sacrifices, if they are offered after the Day of Atonement, can no longer change the evil decree, the answer given is that this is so only in the case of individuals. Collective repentance of a congregation is accepted at all times. Since we have the opinion of Rabbi Meir that prayer, i.e. repentance is effective even after G'd has passed sentence, then the original opinion offered by him, that man is judged on Rosh Hashanah, does not mean that Rosh Hashanah is the only day judgment can be pronounced on man. He therefore, does not disagree with Rabbi Yossi and Rabbi Nathan who claim that the judgment process can occur any day, even at any hour. We rely on scriptural proof from the verse "to carry out the judgment of His servant as a daily matter." (Kings 1, 8, 59) There remains to be explained the status of the beynonim, the people whose actions leave them hanging in the balance, and how they are being dealt with. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is reserved for this category of people as the day when their status is examined and a decision is made whether to inscribe them (seal) in the book of life. The discussion in Rosh Hashanah 16, between Rabbi Avin and Rabbi Nachman, centers around the fine point whether having been inscribed (on Rosh Hashanah) they might need to be erased from the book of life (or the book of death as the case may be), or whether there is no need for that since people of that category had not been inscribed at all on Rosh Hashanah. A practical difference between these two viewpoints would occur only, if the person who was a beynonion Rosh Hashanah, still remains a beynoni by the time Yom Kippur has arrived. According to the view that he had never been inscribed for life on Rosh Hashanah, such a person would have nothing to look forward to, since he had not improved his status during the days of penitence.