Kaisipang Hudyo sa Mga Bilang 12:7: Akeidat Yitzchak, Derekh Hashem & Guide for the Perplexed

Since the highest attribute man can achieve is the power of prophecy, and a nation aspiring to an intimate relationship with its G'd, needs prophets in its midst in order to achieve that intimacy, extraordinary measures are called for to preserve the spiritual standards of such a nation. At Sinai, every individual Jew had achieved a degree of prophetic stature, if ever so briefly. Israel is distinguished from other nations in three ways. 1) Its collective fate is subject to G'ds Personal guidance, hashgachah peratit. 2) They are aware that it is possible to achieve prophetic stature on a national basis, having experienced Divine revelation. 3) They are in possession of the holy Torah, something that transcends prophetic instruction, since it addresses itself to any facet of life, and its teachings are available to all those who study it. It is these three things G'd had in mind, when He said to Moses (Exodus 19,9) "Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." This verse embodies the three ways in which Israel was distinguished. Since Moses was so important to our faith that even G'd made an effort to ensure that the people would have enduring faith in the authenticity of everything Moses conveys to them in His name, any attempt to challenge His stature must be disproved beyond any doubt. Just as an architect's reputation cannot be based merely on the excellence of his designs on the drawing board, but can be confirmed only after execution of his plans has stood the test of time, so the reputation of Moses could be confirmed only after it had stood up to the challenges of would-be competitors. In order to make the point that Moses was indeed superior beyond any doubt, the challenge to his leadership had to emanate from the highest quarters. 2) The nature of the challenge had to be plausible, so that if refuted, Moses would emerge as even greater in stature than had been believed up to that point. 3) The insincerity of the challengers' motives had to be demonstrated by showing that their actions had been at variance with their avowed purpose. It is true that after reading the glowing terms in which Korach and his followers are described, the reader may conclude that possessing all the intellectual and material assets of a Korach may be a handicap in life rather than an asset. However, the Torah teaches that the piety displayed by some people may only mask a wicked interior, on occasion. Such a wicked interior comes to light when one carefully observes the actions of the "pious person." It may be found that the mantle of piety is worn only in order to help one achieve some nefarious design. It is this the Talmud Nedarim 62, condemns, when it discusses a person who learns Torah in order to amass wealth, or earn a title. When we see such a person commit a sin, it is not the Torah scholar who commits the sin, but it is a sinful person whose personality has not changed in spite of the Torah knowledge he has absorbed.

The references to man as beloved of G'd do not mean that the love of G'd was demonstrated before its recipient had demonstrated some personal accomplishment in the field of yir-at shamayim, fear of Heaven. All men are created with equal opportunity in this respect, though G'd provides blandishments to attract those who choose His way, whereas no incentives are provided for the potential sinner. The fact that we find ba-aley teshuvah, repentant sinners on the one hand and on the other hand one encounters people who have lived a devout life most of their years only to suddenly forsake that path, shows clearly that we are all free agents in this respect. The initial amount of Divine love each person is endowed with at birth, is augmented as man pursues the path of righteousness. emet me-eretz titzmach, truth grows from the earth. (Psalms 85,12) This means the recognition of truth is rooted in our world. "Righteousness however, is subsequently looking down from above." Solomon's prayer at the beginning of his career, (Kings I 3,6) is the best illustration of our contention. Solomon said: "You have done great kindness with Your servant David my father, when he walked before You in truth and righteousness and with upright heart; You preserved this kindness for him, and gave him a son who sits on his throne as of this day." Solomon talks of two acts of kindness by G'd. The first is the kindness extended to all men at birth, the second that which accrued due to David's personal conduct. In chapter sixteen we have explained in detail why in the case of Abraham, G'ds special love is reported before we know of Abraham's good deeds. The initial endowment of man by G'd at birth can be divided into three categories. 1) The physical aspect; the gift of life, a sound body. 2) Endowment with certain character tendencies that will help to smooth his path in life. 3) Endowment with certain intellectual powers. When we quoted the Talmud in Makkot at the outset, the three types of decrees the rabbis instituted may reflect these three categories. (1) The reading of the megillah annually, is an act of appreciation that our physical lives had been preserved at the time of Haman. When Jews found that this basic gift of G'd had become endangered, they did penitence, a gift G'd had granted mankind prior to man having been created. This act therefore awakens the bond that links man to G'd. By fasting, i.e. denying oneself the needs of the body, Jews atoned for having indulged their bodies at the feast of Ahasverus some years previously. (2) When the Rabbis expanded the tithes legislation, they imposed restraints on certain character traits, primarily greed. The giving of alms is proof that one is able to restrain one's natural greed. Once man makes a move in this direction, he can be sure that G'ds kindness will respond in equal or even far greater measure. Also, the dispensation of alms, tithes, on a regular basis, eventually results in such acts of kindness becoming part of our very nature. When one observes good deeds being performed, one cannot always be sure of the motive of the person performing such good deeds. It may be an outgrowth of a mature personality, or it may still be motivated by ulterior considerations. The only criterion that offers guidance in this respect is the donor's facial expression at the time he performs the deed of kindness. If he seems to genuinely enjoy performing the deed, we can be sure he has attained the personality level when this mitzvah has become a natural for him. Such a person is called nadiv, generous, the other kind is merely called noten, a donor. David expressed this thought very clearly in Chronicles I 29,17. After having acknowledged that all the silver and gold man has amassed is in truth G'ds, he continues "and I am aware my Lord that you examine the heart, that you are desirous of uprightness; I have donated all these items from the uprightness of my heart; and now Your people present here, I have observed that they donate for You joyfully." G'd can tell motivation by examining the heart. David only has the venue of watching people's faces when they make their donations to tell how genuine their motivation may be. The verse commencing with the words asser te-asser, tithe repeatedly, (14,22) just like the words naton titten, give repeatedly, (14, 10) reminds us that only repeated action of that kind leads to generous gestures becoming second nature to us. Alternately, the repetition could mean that for every act of generosity we perform, a compensating act is performed in Heaven.

From all this it seems clear, that if the red heifer contaminates all that it comes in contact with, surely the heifer itself must be the source of the contamination! The whole matter seems to defy our normal way of reasoning. Therefore, the use of the words "this is the statute of the Torah", at the beginning of this paragraph is to remind us that logic cannot be employed if we want to comprehend the meaning of this commandment. This is why our sages quote the wisest of men, Solomon, as admitting that comprehension of this mitzvah, or rather its mechanics, its halachic rulings, escapes him. People who try to philosophise about Torah, fall into two categories. Group one believes that everything written in the Torah needs to be understood at face value, literally. For instance, if the Torah refers to G'd "smelling the sweet fragrance of a sacrifice," they perceive G'd literally employing His sense of smell. Or, if the Torah reports G'd as descending on Mount Sinai, they understand this to have been a physical descent. The second group is aware that statements in the Torah are subject to interpretation. Some members of this group will interpret on the basis that the Torah employs human idiom in order to facilitate our understanding of certain concepts. This group will not interpret in a manner that conflicts with known Torah principles. A sub group of category number two, arrogates to itself the right to make its interpretations primary and Torah principles only secondary. This is done by most Christian and a few Jewish philosophers. Making one's own intellect supreme in the matter of exegesis is heretical, of course. Solomon refers to all three groups in Proverbs 14, 14-16. (1) The fool will believe anything. (2) The crafty one will understand in line with his principles. (3) The haughty fool will come to grief through exaggerated self confidence. The manner in which the Torah portrays the laws of the red heifer is a clear hint not to try and unravel that which is conceptually beyond the human intellect. The contradictions have been built into this legislation to warn us off trying to comprehend it.