וְהֵבֵאתִ֤י אֶת־הַשְּׁלִשִׁית֙ בָּאֵ֔שׁ וּצְרַפְתִּים֙ כִּצְרֹ֣ף אֶת־הַכֶּ֔סֶף וּבְחַנְתִּ֖ים כִּבְחֹ֣ן אֶת־הַזָּהָ֑ב ה֣וּא ׀ יִקְרָ֣א בִשְׁמִ֗י וַֽאֲנִי֙ אֶעֱנֶ֣ה אֹת֔וֹ אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ עַמִּ֣י ה֔וּא וְה֥וּא יֹאמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָֽי׃ (ס)
At dadalhin ko ang ikatlong bahagi sa apoy, at dadalisayin ko sila gaya ng pagdadalisay sa pilak, at susubukin ko sila gaya ng pagsubok sa ginto. Tatawag siya sa aking pangalan, at sasagutin ko siya. Sasabihin ko: “Siya ay aking bayan,” at sasabihin niya: “Ang Walang-Hanggan ang aking Diyos.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
In this verse Solomon warns man to refine his thoughts and to improve his character traits. Seeing that the heart is the most important one of our organs and all other organs depend on it and it is situated at the center of the body, it governs the other parts of the body, guides them and inspires them with its energy. All other organs of the body are subservient to the heart. Symbolically speaking, the heart is comparable to the king of a country who resides in its center, supervises all the more peripheral parts of the country, and who issues decrees telling his subjects how to conduct themselves.
Seeing that all other organs depend on the heart for their continued existence, G’d, who is the source of life to all His creatures is also referred to as “heart.” This is the meaning of Psalms 73,26: “the Rock of my heart and the Lord is forever my portion.” Just as the human heart exercises its power and influence on other organs of the body so G’d exerts influence on all parts of His universe to the farthest corners of it. This is confirmed in Exodus 8,18: “for I the Lord am active in the midst of the earth.”
Similarly, the most important element in relating to Torah and how one observes it is the heart. The entire written Torah is bracketed between the letters of the word לב, heart, i.e. between the letter in ב-ראשית at the beginning and the letter ל in ישרא-ל at the end. This symbolizes that the Torah itself was taken from the attribute (emanation) חכמה which has לב, 32 paths, (as we pointed out earlier in our discussion of the symbolisms of the phylacteries). Seeing that all man’s actions are so inextricably intertwined with the heart, Solomon warns that the character traits of the heart are of the utmost importance and he warns that all the thoughts man considers as private, i.e. secrets of his heart, are in fact known to G’d as if they were public, seeing that He examines every heart to determine whose heart is good and whose is not. This then is the meaning of the verse we quoted at the beginning of our commentary. Just as the silversmith and the goldsmith must examine the purity of the silver and gold he works with and wants to fashion into jewelry by using the tools used by the jeweler to refine silver and gold respectively, so G’d employs His own tools to examine the purity of man’s hearts. In language familiar to the silversmith and goldsmith these tools are known as crucible and furnace respectively. We learn from this verse that when the heart is good it is comparable to pure silver or pure gold. Eventually, such a good heart will result in the owner performing good deeds. Conversely, if the heart is defective, the owner will commit sins sooner or later just as impure silver will not stand up for long when put to the use for which it had been intended.
The expression בוחן לבות, “He examines hearts,” also includes a reference by Solomon to the day of judgment on which G’d decides who is to participate in the resurrection. Solomon speaks of people who fall into the category of בינונים, being neither wicked nor righteous; their merits and debits are in balance and G’d needs to find if such people, or their souls had been guilty of severe sins which would preclude them from participating in a future life on earth. If, during their life on earth, these people had not committed heretical sins involving their bodies such as deliberately failing to put on phylacteries, they will be inscribed as צדיקים גמורים, perfectly righteous people whose participation in eternal life is assured, seeing we accept the view of the school of Hillel (Rosh Hashanah 17). That school interpreted the words ורב חסד in Exodus 34,6 to mean that when engaged in judging, G’d has a tendency, an inclination, to find according to the principles of the attribute of Mercy. If however, amongst the sins of such a בינוני there are heretical sins committed with his body, it is impossible for such a soul to escape at least a temporary abode in gehinom, in purgatory, even according to the lenient view taken by the school of Hillel. The crucibles and furnaces mentioned by Solomon are the period in gehinom during which such souls are being cleansed of the stains on their souls. The word כור is a reference to the fires of Hades, the instrument which removes all dross. Proof that Solomon speaks of the בינונים, the people whose sins and merits were in balance, is the expression בוחן, “examines.” The righteous and the wicked do not need such an examination; G’d knows immediately which category they belong to. The former qualified for immediate eternal life whereas the latter have already forfeited it.
Another concept which is included in Solomon’s description of בוחן לבות, is that G’d makes such hearts submit to tests. Not only does He not examine them for His own benefit, but He subjects them to tests to demonstrate to their peers that these people deserve the fate that awaits them. If such people are found worthy of an hereafter the fact has to be demonstrated to their peers. The scriptural verse relating to this is Zecharyah 13,9: “and I will smelt them as one smelts silver and test them as one tests gold.” it is well known that G’d only tests the righteous as David said in Psalms 11,5: “the Lord seeks out the righteous man to test him.” The matter can best be understood by a parable. A potter who sells his wares does not demonstrate the worth and quality of his inferior products but he demonstrates the quality of his finest products.” These tests and examinations are not needed to demonstrate anything to G’d Who know it all. He knows what goes on in the heart of each of His creatures. This is why Solomon speaks of G’d being an “Examiner of hearts.” He confirms this also in Proverbs 15,11: “Hell and destruction are in front of G‘d; how much more the hearts of men.” The logic of this verse is simple. If G’d can see what goes on within the bowels of the earth, how could He fail to be aware of what goes on in the hearts of men above the earth? After all the heart is the abode of G’d’s own soul, the part of man which has been emanated from the celestial regions! If, in spite of all these considerations, G’d does subject men to tests it can only be in order to demonstrate to other creatures who are unable to look into a person’s heart and can judge only by what their eyes behold. We know that man is limited in his perceptions to what his eyes behold from Samuel I 16,7: “man sees only what is visible, but the Lord sees into the heart.” Once the righteous has been tested and his potential goodness has become manifest so that he was able to translate pure thoughts and intentions into actions, such actions are a sanctification of the name of the Lord. This was the type of test G’d subjected Avraham to when the Torah wrote (Genesis 22,1) “and G’d tested Avraham.” The whole purpose of the test was to demonstrate the quality of Avraham’s service to G’d to those around him. When G’d said to Avraham at the conclusion of the test:: “for now I know that you are G’d-fearing, etc.,” the meaning is that “now G’d had been able to demonstrate to one and all how G’d-fearing Avraham was.”
When the Jewish people left Egypt and G’d performed innumerable miracles for them in the desert, most of these miracles were designed to be tests. When G’d split the sea for them to enter into, He did not show them a path which led from one side to the other; rather He split the sea a little at a time, keeping them anxious all the time, wondering if G’d would continue to dry out that path until they came to the other bank. The Israelites saw the sea in front of them all the time they were traversing it. This is what David meant when he said (Psalms 114,3) “the sea saw and fled.” Something similar occurred with the manna. G’d never supplied more than enough for one day or one day plus the Sabbath (Exodus 16,4). Desert travelers would normally carry a supply of several weeks’ provisions with them. G’d acted as He did in order to instill the habit of faith in the people. The meaning of faith is to make oneself dependent on G’d’s largesse. He wanted to know if they were going to criticize His way of doing things. This is why when Pharaoh finally released the Israelites G’d made them travel through the desert. This was all designed to test if their hearts were pure, if they trusted G’d or felt they knew better than He what was good for them (Yuma 67). G’d could have let the people travel a closer route through civilized parts of the world, through the land of the Philistines, However, He wanted to strengthen their faith in Him through letting them travel through inhospitable country and looking after them.
Seeing that all other organs depend on the heart for their continued existence, G’d, who is the source of life to all His creatures is also referred to as “heart.” This is the meaning of Psalms 73,26: “the Rock of my heart and the Lord is forever my portion.” Just as the human heart exercises its power and influence on other organs of the body so G’d exerts influence on all parts of His universe to the farthest corners of it. This is confirmed in Exodus 8,18: “for I the Lord am active in the midst of the earth.”
Similarly, the most important element in relating to Torah and how one observes it is the heart. The entire written Torah is bracketed between the letters of the word לב, heart, i.e. between the letter in ב-ראשית at the beginning and the letter ל in ישרא-ל at the end. This symbolizes that the Torah itself was taken from the attribute (emanation) חכמה which has לב, 32 paths, (as we pointed out earlier in our discussion of the symbolisms of the phylacteries). Seeing that all man’s actions are so inextricably intertwined with the heart, Solomon warns that the character traits of the heart are of the utmost importance and he warns that all the thoughts man considers as private, i.e. secrets of his heart, are in fact known to G’d as if they were public, seeing that He examines every heart to determine whose heart is good and whose is not. This then is the meaning of the verse we quoted at the beginning of our commentary. Just as the silversmith and the goldsmith must examine the purity of the silver and gold he works with and wants to fashion into jewelry by using the tools used by the jeweler to refine silver and gold respectively, so G’d employs His own tools to examine the purity of man’s hearts. In language familiar to the silversmith and goldsmith these tools are known as crucible and furnace respectively. We learn from this verse that when the heart is good it is comparable to pure silver or pure gold. Eventually, such a good heart will result in the owner performing good deeds. Conversely, if the heart is defective, the owner will commit sins sooner or later just as impure silver will not stand up for long when put to the use for which it had been intended.
The expression בוחן לבות, “He examines hearts,” also includes a reference by Solomon to the day of judgment on which G’d decides who is to participate in the resurrection. Solomon speaks of people who fall into the category of בינונים, being neither wicked nor righteous; their merits and debits are in balance and G’d needs to find if such people, or their souls had been guilty of severe sins which would preclude them from participating in a future life on earth. If, during their life on earth, these people had not committed heretical sins involving their bodies such as deliberately failing to put on phylacteries, they will be inscribed as צדיקים גמורים, perfectly righteous people whose participation in eternal life is assured, seeing we accept the view of the school of Hillel (Rosh Hashanah 17). That school interpreted the words ורב חסד in Exodus 34,6 to mean that when engaged in judging, G’d has a tendency, an inclination, to find according to the principles of the attribute of Mercy. If however, amongst the sins of such a בינוני there are heretical sins committed with his body, it is impossible for such a soul to escape at least a temporary abode in gehinom, in purgatory, even according to the lenient view taken by the school of Hillel. The crucibles and furnaces mentioned by Solomon are the period in gehinom during which such souls are being cleansed of the stains on their souls. The word כור is a reference to the fires of Hades, the instrument which removes all dross. Proof that Solomon speaks of the בינונים, the people whose sins and merits were in balance, is the expression בוחן, “examines.” The righteous and the wicked do not need such an examination; G’d knows immediately which category they belong to. The former qualified for immediate eternal life whereas the latter have already forfeited it.
Another concept which is included in Solomon’s description of בוחן לבות, is that G’d makes such hearts submit to tests. Not only does He not examine them for His own benefit, but He subjects them to tests to demonstrate to their peers that these people deserve the fate that awaits them. If such people are found worthy of an hereafter the fact has to be demonstrated to their peers. The scriptural verse relating to this is Zecharyah 13,9: “and I will smelt them as one smelts silver and test them as one tests gold.” it is well known that G’d only tests the righteous as David said in Psalms 11,5: “the Lord seeks out the righteous man to test him.” The matter can best be understood by a parable. A potter who sells his wares does not demonstrate the worth and quality of his inferior products but he demonstrates the quality of his finest products.” These tests and examinations are not needed to demonstrate anything to G’d Who know it all. He knows what goes on in the heart of each of His creatures. This is why Solomon speaks of G’d being an “Examiner of hearts.” He confirms this also in Proverbs 15,11: “Hell and destruction are in front of G‘d; how much more the hearts of men.” The logic of this verse is simple. If G’d can see what goes on within the bowels of the earth, how could He fail to be aware of what goes on in the hearts of men above the earth? After all the heart is the abode of G’d’s own soul, the part of man which has been emanated from the celestial regions! If, in spite of all these considerations, G’d does subject men to tests it can only be in order to demonstrate to other creatures who are unable to look into a person’s heart and can judge only by what their eyes behold. We know that man is limited in his perceptions to what his eyes behold from Samuel I 16,7: “man sees only what is visible, but the Lord sees into the heart.” Once the righteous has been tested and his potential goodness has become manifest so that he was able to translate pure thoughts and intentions into actions, such actions are a sanctification of the name of the Lord. This was the type of test G’d subjected Avraham to when the Torah wrote (Genesis 22,1) “and G’d tested Avraham.” The whole purpose of the test was to demonstrate the quality of Avraham’s service to G’d to those around him. When G’d said to Avraham at the conclusion of the test:: “for now I know that you are G’d-fearing, etc.,” the meaning is that “now G’d had been able to demonstrate to one and all how G’d-fearing Avraham was.”
When the Jewish people left Egypt and G’d performed innumerable miracles for them in the desert, most of these miracles were designed to be tests. When G’d split the sea for them to enter into, He did not show them a path which led from one side to the other; rather He split the sea a little at a time, keeping them anxious all the time, wondering if G’d would continue to dry out that path until they came to the other bank. The Israelites saw the sea in front of them all the time they were traversing it. This is what David meant when he said (Psalms 114,3) “the sea saw and fled.” Something similar occurred with the manna. G’d never supplied more than enough for one day or one day plus the Sabbath (Exodus 16,4). Desert travelers would normally carry a supply of several weeks’ provisions with them. G’d acted as He did in order to instill the habit of faith in the people. The meaning of faith is to make oneself dependent on G’d’s largesse. He wanted to know if they were going to criticize His way of doing things. This is why when Pharaoh finally released the Israelites G’d made them travel through the desert. This was all designed to test if their hearts were pure, if they trusted G’d or felt they knew better than He what was good for them (Yuma 67). G’d could have let the people travel a closer route through civilized parts of the world, through the land of the Philistines, However, He wanted to strengthen their faith in Him through letting them travel through inhospitable country and looking after them.