ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף איוב 28:12

Mah Nishtanah: Why does this passage begin with mah (How is this night different) and not lama (Why is this night different)? In a number of places, the word lama implies a negative response, as in, “Why (lama) should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that God delivered them from Egypt,’”⁴⁰Exodus 32:12 “Why did you bring harm upon this people,”⁴¹Exodus 5:22 and, “Why should the nations say.”⁴²Psalms 115:2 In each of these cases, the question implies a rhetorical question to which there is a negative answer. The word mah on the other hand implies that the question wants an explanation for the practice. Even though the wicked child’s question begins with the word mah, his question still has a negative implication. First, he wants to know the reason for the rituals but his question implies that even if he knows the reason, he is not going to perform this act. He asks, “What does this service mean to YOU,” and not to HIM.
Three of the four children begin their question with the word, mah: “What are these statutes,” “What is the reason for this service,” and “What is this.” Therefore, the author of the Haggadah begins the four questions with the word mah as well. The opening words of Mah Nishtanah are an allusion (remez) to the story of Esther. “On that night, sleep deserted the king…”⁴³Esther 6:1 This took place on the night of Passover – it inaugurated the downfall of Haman. The first letters of Mah nishtanah halailah spell the name Haman, a reminder that this is a night of redemption in many generations.
According to the ways of esoteric interpretation (sod), the word mah is a reference to the sephirah of Divine Wisdom (chokhmah). The word chokhmah, comes from the words koach mah – the potential for mah.⁴⁴There are ten Sephirot or divine manifestations in classical Kabbalah: Keter, Chochmah, Bina, Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Hod, Hadar, Yesod, Malchut or Shechinah. Each of these different manifestations of God has a variety of different symbols and words which are outer manifestations of the inner life of God. Chokhmah, or divine wisdom is associated with the word mah. Rabbi Moshe Miller writes: “The Zohar breaks up the word chochma into two words: "koach" and "mah". "Koach" means "potential", and "mah" means "what is". Thus chochma means "the potential of what is", or "the potential to be". This aspect of chochma describes the state of chochma in relation to the sefira of keter. As chochma emanates from keter, it "appears" in an obscure and undefined state. It is only potential being. It is virtually non-being. Thus the verse states, "and chochma emerges from nothingness" (Job 28:12). In other words, it is in a state of constant flux between being and non-being - between revelation, the first point of immanent being, and non-revelation as it returns to its state of potential and merges in its source, keter. Chochma flashes in and out of existence. The Infinite Light thus becomes unified in the world of Atzilut through clothing itself first in the sefira of chochma.” The wise child then is connected to the attribute of divine wisdom. It is also connected to the Sephirah of Malchut; this night is a night of mah, Malchut.

Let us now turn to the mystical aspects of Torah, קבלה, revealed in our verses thus far. The words בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ contain within them an allusion to the ten sefirot, "emanations." The "Heaven and Earth" referred to here are the celestial counterparts of our terrestrial universe. These are not part of the planetary system. They are referred to in Psalms 68,34 as שמי קדם וארץ החיים, "the ancient heavens." The term ארץ החיים, refers to what is known in Psalms 142,6 , "the land of (eternal) life." The word בראשית, on the other hand, is an allusion to the true wisdom, similar to what the Psalmist describes asיראת ה' ראשית חכמה, "the beginning of true wisdom is reverence for the Lord." The letter ב in בראשית refers to the "second" of the emanations, i.e. חכמה, counting from אין, the highest emanation downwards. You will observe therefore that both the word ראשית and its first letter ב, are testimony to the Supreme wisdom which was at work when the universe was created. Seeing that everything is derived from this wisdom, the letter is written in larger script to alert the reader to this thought. Although this is the second letter in the alphabet it is the first one when it comes to what we can comprehend. [seeing that it is beyond us to comprehend the essence of the One represented by the letter א Ed.] The meaning of the phrase then is: "the wisdom with which the universe was created is known as אין." Anything preceding that act of creation is out of bounds for us to investigate. This is why the emanation above that of חכמה is known as אין, nothing. [In our days this emanation is known as כתר. Ed.]. The reason that the tenth emanation was named אין is based on Psalms 111,10 ,והחכמה מאין תמצא "How could you find the (type) of wisdom which is beyond (physical) existence?" The line in Psalms would have to be understood as an announcement rather than as a question when accepting this interpretation.
At any rate, even this ultimate aspect of wisdom is somehow alluded to in the shape of the protruding bottom of the letter ב. This is what the Kabbalists had in mind when they said: "if they ask the letter ב 'who has created you?' it will point its protrusion in the direction of where the letter א should have preceded it (Bereshit Rabbah 1,14)." This letter is the true כתר, "the crown of the universe."

In this verse Solomon speaks in the name of the emanation חכמה, wisdom. This is the level of wisdom which is concealed even from the מלאכי השרת, “the ministering angels.” Job referred to this elusive wisdom when he said: ”but where can wisdom be found?” (Job 28,12) Concerning this level of wisdom we also have a verse in Job 28,21 “it is hidden from the eyes of all living, concealed from the fowl of heaven.” Our sages interpreted the words: “from the fowl of heaven” as a reference to the ministering angels. This is the “wisdom” which preceded creation of heaven and earth. We have an allusion to this fact in Proverbs 3,19: “The Lord founded the earth by wisdom; He established the heavens by understanding.” We have a further verse in Scripture alluding to this in the very next verse. “By His knowledge the depths burst apart, and the skies distilled dew.” All the verses we have just quoted prove that heaven and earth, the depths and all that is contained within them have been created by G’d using this חכמה, “wisdom” as His instrument. This is also what Solomon meant to say in Proverbs 8,25-29: “Before [the foundations of] the mountains were sunk, before the hills I was born. He had not yet made earth and fields of the world’s first clump of clay. I was there when He set the heavens into place; when He fixed the horizon upon the deep. When He made the heavens above firm, and the fountains of the deep gushed forth; when He assigned the sea its limits so that its waters never transgress His command.”
If you want to examine the various expressions used by Solomon in greater depth, the expression “the deep” refers to what our sages call the קו ירוק, another word for the emanation בינה, “insight.” The word הרים, “mountains” is a reference to the patriarchs. (the emanations חסד, גבורה and תפארת represented by the patriarchs.) The word ארץ is a reference to the emanation סוף [an alternate name for the emanation מלכות, Ed.]
Solomon called this חכמה by the name ראשית, seeing that it preceded the creation of the universe popularly known as מעשה בראשית. This was also the reason that when the Torah commenced its report about the creation of the universe it had to commence with the word בראשית. The word ראשית not only refers to the beginning of something in terms of time, but it also means that something is superior in quality. An example is found in Amos 6,6: וראשית שמנים ימשחו, “and anoint themselves with the best oils.” Just as superior oil floats to the top of all other liquids so wisdom rises to the top of all other forms of existence. This is what is meant by the words in our opening verse: “He has created (acquired) me at the beginning of His discourse.” In other words, wisdom proclaims that it had been G’d’s first acquisition, something G’d has secured for Himself from a hidden source. This mysterious source is the region in which wisdom originates. Inasmuch as the words “and from the fowl of heaven it is hidden,” were understood to be a reference to the angels, it is clear that the word קנני of which Solomon spoke in Proverbs 8,22, has its root in the word קן, i.e. a bird’s nest. The nest is the place in which the bird originates. Solomon explained that the original “site” of wisdom gave birth to wisdom which is its first “nest.” Wisdom relates to all other phenomena in this universe as does the nest to all the chicks hatched in it, i.e. it is its origin. If all this is true then wisdom was not created out of a total void as some of the philosophers have thought, but it is a phenomenon and a derivative of the original אין, void or nothingness, the supreme and hidden source. This is what Job spoke about when he said: “where can wisdom be found?” These words of Job must not be understood as an inquiry, a question expressing hopelessness, but as a piece of information. The Torah has informed us that “wisdom” emanates from a hidden source. The Torah itself was created by drawing on that hidden source. Seeing that the Torah originates in that domain it is called לקח טוב, “good instruction” (Proverbs 4,2) and the ministering angels are envious that it was entrusted to man.
Our sages in Shabbat 85 confirmed this when they described that when G’d was about to give the Torah to Moses the angels were upset and remonstrated with G’d how He could entrust such a hidden treasure to mere man, a creature that defiles himself so often, a creature dominated often by its evil urge? We derive the fact that such a conversation took place from David’s remark in Psalms 8,2: “O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name throughout the earth, You Who have covered the heavens with Your splendor!“ This statement reflects the angels’ argument that G’d’s splendor should remain in the heaven and not be made available on earth. G’d answered the angels with rhetorical questions such as: “it is written in the Torah ‘you should remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.’ It is written: ‘honor your father and your mother!;’ it is written in the Torah: ‘you shall not steal, etc., etc.’ Is there any need for such instructions for celestial beings? Do you suffer from either an evil urge or exposure to defilement? Are there foods which are permitted to you and others which are not?” Thus far the Midrash.