וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים תַּֽדְשֵׁ֤א הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ דֶּ֔שֶׁא עֵ֚שֶׂב מַזְרִ֣יעַ זֶ֔רַע עֵ֣ץ פְּרִ֞י עֹ֤שֶׂה פְּרִי֙ לְמִינ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעוֹ־ב֖וֹ עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃
האָט גאָט געזאָגט: זאָל די ערד אַרױסגראָזן גראָז, קרײַטעכץ װאָס גיט אַרױס זאָמען, פֿרוכטבײמער װאָס טראָגן פֿרוכט אױף דער ערד לױט זײערע מינים, װאָס זײער זאָמען איז אין זײ. און עס איז אַזױ געשען.
Kedushat Levi
Nonetheless the elders and nobles, etc., had experienced visions, which according to our sages equaled those of Ezekiel and Amos (compare Nachmanides’ commentary on the spot). Our verses try to give us an inkling of the above, the word לבנת “whiteness of,” being an allusion to the closeness to the essence of the Creator in a state when colour had not yet been part of the emanations which commenced at the beginning of the creative process in Genesis. In other words, and in consonance with what the author had described when describing the creation of light, they were close to the essence of G’d, the אין סוף.
According to our author, the word ידו in verse 11 where G’d’s reaction to the conduct of the elders, etc., as a result of their being granted such lofty visions, is described by the words: ואל אצילי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו ויחזו את האלוקים ויאבלו וישתו, “but G’d did not stretch out a punitive hand against the nobles of the Children of Israel who had eaten and drunk while experiencing a vision of G’d,” as G’d did not consider their action as lack of respect for the visions they had been granted, but realized that it was due to their not having attained the necessary level of יראה גדולה, “awe of the first order,” as we described earlier. According to our author, at this juncture the qualitative superiority of the tribe of Levi and the priests that emerged from it began. This paralleled a development that had commenced when Yaakov acquired the additional name of Yisrael, when he surpassed certain spiritual boundaries that both his father and grandfather had not surpassed. Our author quotes Deuteronomy 33,9 where Levi is reported as not having seen his father, as an allusion to the tribe of Levi having attained a superior spiritual status not attained by his forbears or his siblings. The Levites, or some of them at certain times, were able to completely negate the limitations imposed upon mortal man who inhabits this physical part of the universe. As a result of this achievement, an entirely new Jewish nation came into existence, i.e. the 12 tribes that comprise this nation.
According to our author, the word ידו in verse 11 where G’d’s reaction to the conduct of the elders, etc., as a result of their being granted such lofty visions, is described by the words: ואל אצילי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו ויחזו את האלוקים ויאבלו וישתו, “but G’d did not stretch out a punitive hand against the nobles of the Children of Israel who had eaten and drunk while experiencing a vision of G’d,” as G’d did not consider their action as lack of respect for the visions they had been granted, but realized that it was due to their not having attained the necessary level of יראה גדולה, “awe of the first order,” as we described earlier. According to our author, at this juncture the qualitative superiority of the tribe of Levi and the priests that emerged from it began. This paralleled a development that had commenced when Yaakov acquired the additional name of Yisrael, when he surpassed certain spiritual boundaries that both his father and grandfather had not surpassed. Our author quotes Deuteronomy 33,9 where Levi is reported as not having seen his father, as an allusion to the tribe of Levi having attained a superior spiritual status not attained by his forbears or his siblings. The Levites, or some of them at certain times, were able to completely negate the limitations imposed upon mortal man who inhabits this physical part of the universe. As a result of this achievement, an entirely new Jewish nation came into existence, i.e. the 12 tribes that comprise this nation.