“God created the world out of love – in order to reveal His love – for without the creation, to whom would He show His love? Accordingly He brought about the entire creation from the beginning of the highest spiritual world of Atzilut down to the end of the center point of the material world, all in order to manifest His love. The world is based on divine compassion. When God wanted to create the world, there was no place to create it because everything was infinite. He therefore “contracted” the infinite light to the sides. As a result of this contraction, an empty void was formed within which time and space – the finite world – were created, as explained at the beginning of the Eitz Chaim of the ARI. In this vacuum there is an apparent absence of the Divine and therefore of speech, and existence. The empty void, Chalal Hapanui-the vacuum: This empty void was essential for the creation of the world, because without it there would have been no place to create the world. However, it is impossible to grasp or understand the “contraction” that brought about the empty void. This will only be possible in the future. For we have to postulate two opposites: existence and nothingness. This paradox is essential to understand Rabbeinu. This is because the empty void came about through the contraction of His Godliness from there, with the result that Godliness is not present there, as it were. For if this were not the case, the void would not be empty; everything would have been infinite and there would have been no room to create the finite world at all. Yet the real truth is that even so, Godliness is most certainly present there (let atar panui minei, Zohar) because nothing at all exists without His vitality. Due to this contradiction it is impossible to grasp the concept of the empty void. This will be possible only in time to come.
1
In the future there will be a rational explanation for this paradox of simultaneous divine and absence. For now there can be no explanation so the only way to experience the in the apparent absence of the divine is through paradoxical faith. Likutei Mehoran of Rabbi Nachman Torah I:64 Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said, "This is a difficult thing to say and it is impossible to say clearly. Once two athletes were wrestling before the king. If the king wants, they can be separated; but he did not want them separated. One overcame the other and killed him. The loser cried out as he died, 'Who will get justice for me from the king?' Thus: 'The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the land.'" Midrash, Genesis Rabba 22: 9 You God watch over all of creation and you're blaming me! This is like a thief who steals things at night and gets away with it. In the morning the watchman grabs him and says "Why did you steal those things?" He replied: "I'm a thief; I haven't been remiss in doing my trade, but you're a guard; why did you fail in your duties?" Then Cain said: "I killed him, true, but You created me with the evil urge in me. You watch over everything and You let me kill him. You killed him! You didn't accept my sacrifice and I was jealous." God answered: "What have you done?" The "voice of your brother's blood calls out..." Midrash, Tanchuma on Gen 9
In the sanatorium: Raphael also meets Cain, the one of whom God asked, Â
2 Â
“Where is your brother?” (Gen. 4:9) and “What have you done?” (Gen. 4:10). In murdering his brother, Cain murdered his own name and with it the Holy Name. Echoing the Midrash, Cain says to Raphael,
“When I killed my brother, it was really Him I wanted to kill. And He knows it. Any fool knows that whoever kills, kills God”
Perhaps that is why the patient who takes himself to be God asks Raphael to weep fo Perhaps there lies the immortality of the Immortal One: He can be murdered a million —even six million —times over. If children are God’s memory, as Issachar’s wife maintains perhaps that is what must be remembered. Elie Wiesel , Twighlight. Trans. Marion Wiesel. New York: Summit Books, 1988. 58 Elie Wiesel, A Jew Today. Trans. Marion Wiesel. New York: Random House, 1978.
The Problem with the Philosophical Notion of the Tzimtzum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJEW51mwJg&feature=em-share_video_user https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VfZ6s4kSa0&feature=em-share_video_user Tamar Ross on the Tzimtzum
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a4y4kkl5jzip24v/leshem%20lasry%20dec%2030%202014 81%29.wav?n=96152515 for my discussion of her thought, with George Lasry 12.29.14
3
4
G-d of awe, G-d of might, Grant us pardon in this hour, as Your gates are closed this night. Those who are few, raise their eyes to heaven's height Trembling, fearful in their prayer, as Your gates are closed this night. Pouring out their souls to You, erase their sins, Issue for them a verdict of forgiveness, as Your gates are closed this night. Be a strong refuge and rescue them from dreadful plight, Seal their destiny for joy, as Your gates are closed this night. Grant them favor, show them grace; but those who deny their right And who oppress them, You act as their judge, as Your gates are closed this night. Remember the merits of their ancestors and renew their days As of old, as Your gates are closed this night. Declare this year a year of divine grace and return Your lost people To Judah and Samaria, as Your gates are closed this night. May we all, both old and young, look forward to gladness and delight In the many years to come, as Your gates are closed this night. Micha’El, guardian angel of Israel, Gavriel and Eliyahu, Come bearing news of the redemption, as Your gates are
5
closed this night.1 The Leshem 2 suggests that in the OLAM Ha AKUDIM there are Gevurot , that the only way the Divine manifests itself is through restrictions and suffering and obstacles….for chassadim only return things back to the divine and it really wants to manifest itself in the real world of constriction. The manifestation of the divine must therefore take place in a world of restrictions, laws of nature, physics and the black and white world of no mercy. This the very paradox of
1 Kail Norah Alila-‐The activities of G-‐d incite fear. The phrase is borrowed from Tehillim
66, 5: Come and see the works of G-‐d; He is awesome in His doing toward the children of men. Misei Mispar Kruim-‐The word Msim is defined as people in the language of the Bible; the Jewish People is called to stand before G-‐d. Oo’Misaldim B’Chila B’Shas Na’N’Eilah-‐Standing in fear before G-‐d during Tefilas N’Eilah, which brings Yom Kippur and each person’s verdict to a close. MisaldimFalling back in fear; B’Chila-‐in fear; This wording is borrowed from Job 6, 10: I will beg of Him with shuddering. Hayei Lehem L’Sisra-‐A request to G-‐d that He be for them a refuge and shelter. V’Hatzei’Lem M’Maira-‐Protect the people from curses, troubles and calamity. V’Chol Locheitz V’Lochaim Asei Bahem Plila-‐Bring to justice all those who battle the Jewish People and who oppress them. This wording is borrowed from Yishayahu 16, 3: Take counsel, execute judgment. Shnas Ratzon-‐Redemption as is found in the verse Yeshayahu 61, 2: To proclaim a favorable year XI: 14. copyright. 2014. a. katz For more information and to download back issues, please visit www.beureihatefila.com6page 6 dltzd z` oiadl before the Lord. V’Hasev Sh’Ar Ha’Tzon-‐Return those who survived from among the Jewish People back to the land of Israel. L’Ahaliva V’Ahala-‐This is how Jerusalem (Yehuda) and Shomron (Israel) are described in the Bible. Micha’El Sar Yisroel-‐The angel Micha’El who was appointed to protect and guard the Jewish People. Eliyahu and Gavriel -‐Eliyahu the Prophet who in the future is expected to announce the redemption and the angel Gavriel, one of the ministering angels.
2
Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv, Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv, zt”l 12 Teves, 1841 - 27 Adar 1928 zt”l, was the grandfather of present-day Gadol HaDor, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, shlita. Since his seforim are known by the name, Leshem Shevo v’Achlamah (the names of three stones in the third row of stones in the Ephod), he is often referred to as ‘The Ba’al HaLeshem,’ or just ‘The Leshem.’ Ironically, the yarzheit of the Leshem tends to occur in one of the two weeks that the Torah actually mentions these three words (Parashas Tetzaveh and Parashas Pekudai). The Leshem was one of the greatest Kabbalists over the last couple of hundred years. However, what sets him apart from others, aside from his tremendous depth and breadth of Torah— revealed and hidden—was his phenomenal ability to synthesize all relevant material and lucidly present his discussions and conclusions. Rabbi Elyashiv wrote several seminal works, including Drushei Olam HaTohu (Dayah), in which he discusses, Kabbalistically, the creation of the world up until the version recorded in the Torah. Other seforim, such as Sefer HaKlallim, Hakdamos u’Sha’arim (HaKadosh), and Biurim, focus on similar matters, but also discuss details not mentioned in other works.
6
the exoteric Jewish philosophical description of a merciful divine and a world based on mercy (olam chessed yiboneh). This is encapsulated in the idea of NORA ALILUT (see piyut for Neilah service) composed by Rabbi Moshe ibn Ezra. Kail Norah Alila- “The activities of G-d incite fear.” The phrase is borrowed from Psalm 66, 5: מִ פְ עֲ לוֹת,וּראוּ ְ ה לְכוּ5 Come, and see the works of God; He עַ ל ְבּנֵי,נוֹרא עֲ לִילָה ָ ; אֱ ֹלהִ יםis terrible in His doing toward the . אָדָ םchildren of men.
Judah and Tamar, from “the School of Rembrandt” – attributed to a number of painters, including Gerbrand van den Eeckhout and Aert van der Gelder (circa 1650-1660)
7
The first notion of a scheming divine occurs in the commentaries on the Judah and Tamar story in Genesis. Based on a midrash in Genesis where God works His plan BY SCHEMING through the politics of daily life behind the scenes to achieve HIS goals, 3 the midrash states that while the other brothers were engaged in the sale of Joseph, and Jacob was occupied by his sackcloth and fasting (over the presumed death of Joseph), Judah was busily engaged in taking a wife, and God was engaged in creating the light of the Messiah (who will eventually issue from the union of Judah and Tamar) “Before she was in labor, she gave birth” (Isaiah 66:7)…“It happened at that time” (Gen. Rabba 85:1). This midrash teaches that people are involved in their own affairs and troubles and do not see the sweeping divine plan that takes form before their very eyes, one that is for their own good and that gives them a future and hope. Yet His working behind the scenes is a scheming of sorts. The midrash addresses the connection between the two chapters (37 and 38) of Genesis. Judah’s descent immediately follows the sale of Joseph into slavery and the presentation of the cloak dipped in goat’s blood, with the telling words to his father, “This we found, discern [haker na] whether this is your son’s cloak or not” (Gen. 37:32). Jacob’s diagnosis, “A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is torn, torn apart,” rends a deep tear in the fabric of the family. The brothers disband – Judah the first to initiate the rupture; their presence for each other would stir pangs of conscience they could not bear. Jacob withdraws into his sackcloth and fasting, the brothers greedily divvy up the profits of the sale, and Judah turns towards assimilation, through marriage to a Canaanite woman. The midrash concludes with a peculiar metaphor of a child born even before the mother is seized with pangs of labor. Conceived in the Great Mind, God lays out a plot to undermine Judah’s plan to assimilate, by thwarting his marriage and continuity through his wayward sons. As Robert Burns penned: “the best laid schemes o’
3 For instance in the story of Judah and Tamar, The Rabbis emphasize the hand of Divine Providence in Judah’s
turning aside to the tent of Tamar. Judah wanted to pass by her, without entering the tent. What did God do? He summoned for him the angel responsible for desire. He [the angel] asked him: “Where are you going, Judah [i.e., why are you passing by the tent]? From where kings stand? From where redeemers stand? [i.e., you should enter the tent, from where kings and redeemers will come forth].” Only then did he “turn aside to her” (v. 16), against his will (Gen. Rabbah 85:8). See also 85:1.
8
mice an’ men gone aft agley” [go often askew]. God’s meta-plot trumps them. Who is the agent of Judah’s return? The veiled daughter-in-law, Tamar. She re-aligns Judah on his path, diverts him from his “descent from the presence of his brothers” (Gen. 38:1). ‘How awesome is God in His dealings with mankind’ (Psalm 66:5).
כַּאֲ שֶׁ ר בָּא יוֹסֵ ף אֶ ל,כג וַי ְהִ י אֶ חָ יו; וַיַּפְ שִׁ יטוּ אֶ ת יוֹסֵ ף אֶ ת23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was אֶ ת כְּתֹנֶת הַ פַּ סִּ ים, כֻּתָּ נְתּוֹcome unto his brethren, that they stripped . אֲ שֶׁ ר עָ לָיוJoseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him; Gen 37:23 Come and see the work of God, who is held in awe by men for his acts [alilah] (Psalms 66:5)... and regarding Joseph it says his brothers saw that he was loved by his father - by [seeing] the purple swath from which was made the ornamented tunic [ketonet pasim]. Four wrongs were written upon it: PaSIM: הַ פַּ סִּ יםP - Potiphar; S - soharim [traders]; I - Ishmaelites; M Midianites. All the tribes went down to Egypt because of an ornamented tunic! And Rabbi Yodan said: The Holy One blessed be He wanted to fulfill the decree of know well [that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs... ] (Bereishit 15:13), [so] he brought about all these acts [alilah] so that Jacob would love Joseph, and his brothers would hate him and sell him to the Ishmaelites, and they would take him down to Egypt, and Jacob would hear that Joseph was alive in Egypt, and he would go down to Egypt with the tribes, and they would be enslaved there. That is: [when reading the verse] and Joseph was brought down [hurad] to Egypt, do not read it hurad, but rather horid [Joseph] brought down his father and the tribes to Egypt. Rabbi Tanchuma said: What is this similar to? To a cow on whose neck they
9
wish to place a yoke, but she refuses to let them. What did they do? They took her calf from her [and used it] to pull her to the place they wanted her to plough. She would hear her calf moo and she would move - against her own interests - for her calf's sake. That is how the Holy One blessed be He wanted to fulfill the decree of know well, setting all these things into motion [hevi alilah] so that they went down to Egypt and paid their debt. That is why it says and Joseph was brought down to Egypt - it is an example of the verse held in awe by men for his acts. The Holy One blessed be He sought to bring about the decree He had spoken of to Abraham, that ‘your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own.’ So He arranged that Jacob should love Joseph more than his other sons, that the brothers would be jealous and hate Joseph, that they would sell him to the Ishmaelites who would bring him down to Egypt, and that Jacob would hear that Joseph was still alive and living there. The result was that Jacob and the tribes went to Egypt and became enslaved. Rabbi Tanhuma said: To what can this be compared? To a herdsman who wishes to place the yoke on a cow, but the cow refuses to have it placed on her. What does the herdsman do? He takes a calf from the cow and leads it to the field where ploughing is to take place. The calf begins to cry for its mother. The cow, hearing the calf cry, rushes to the field, and there, while its attention is distracted and it is thinking only of its child, the yoke is placed upon it. Tanhuma, Vayeshev, 4 This dark view of the divine as scheming despite the moves of mankind forms the questioning of divine justice by the martyr Akiva. This explains why Rabbi Akiva’s dismay at seeing the righteous suffer and God’s response “shtok” “kach alah bemachshava” Silent! Thus it arose in MY thought…meaning this is MY plan, Nora Alila….is followed by his acceptance. When Moshe was receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai, he could not understand the meaning of the crownlets on top of the letters of the Torah.4 When he asked if there will ever be a 4 Talmud Menachot 29b
10
person who could understand them, he was shown a vision of Rabbi Akiva expounding mounds and mounds of Halachot – Jewish Laws, from the crownlets of the Torah etc. Moshe asked what the reward of such a great sage would be. He was then shown a vision of Rabbi Akiva’s brutal death at the hands of the Romans who flayed off his skin. He then asked, “Is this the Torah, and is this its reward?” He was answered by God, “Shtok, Kach Alla BaMachshava - Quiet! Thus it arose in thought.” This is to say that this was God’s essential desire which is above and beyond reason. However, it must be understood that, as Rabbi Akiva stated himself, his own personal essential desire was to have the opportunity give up his life, with total self- sacrifice, for the sake of sanctifying God’s name. This, then, was actually his reward. Moreover, the above statement by God, “Shtok kach alla BaMachshava” also translates as, “Quiet, Thus he arose in thought.” This may be understood to be an answer to Moshe’s question. That is, through the self sacrifice of Rabbi Akiva, in his service of God, in which he gave himself over totally to God’s will, literally to the point of death, he “arose” to the level of God’s essential desire. 5 Akiva accepts it fully when he steps in on behalf of the divine when Antoninus asks as to the sale of Joseph and the punishment as yet to be meted out to the substitutes of the brothers, the 10 martyrs…but the tenth judge was none other than the divine according to Pirke deReb Eliezer6, so who will stand in for the divine…”I will” exclaims Akivah, realizing that even his martyrdom was meant to occur as acceptance of the nora alila… 7 I am struck by the rabbinic interpolation of Moses’ desire to know Rabbi Akiva’s reward as if to highlight the differences between the two great leaders, one representing the written law and he other the oral interpretive law. Rabbi Akiva we are told desired nothing more than to be able to fulfill the divine command to love God with all ones’ soul to the point of martyrdom with no reward other than death, whereas Moses asks God “what will be his reward” as if the narrator wishes us to be informed of the martyr’s untimely and seemingly 5 See more from Mittele Rebbe of Habad,
http://www.truekabbalah.com/SHY/Chapter21.pdf 6 God is drawn into the conspiracy of silence around the sale of Joseph Gen. 37:27-‐30, Amos 2:6, Ps. 147:19 7 Tanhuma
VaYeshev 2, Test. of Zeb. 1:5, Ps-Jon Gen. 37:28,
11
unjustified death. The other literary motif is the retort; ‘Be silent, for such is My decree’. Which will be repeated when the angels cry out in dismay watching rabbi Akiva’s slow torture. The story regarding his martyrdom is told in the Talmud and in other midrashim. In the following pericope as to the question of reward and punishment being raised by the angels not man. Our Rabbis taught: Once the wicked (Roman) Government issued a decree forbidding the Jews to study and practice the Torah. Pappus b. Judah came and found R. Akiva publicly bringing gatherings together and occupying himself with the Torah. He said to him: Akiva, are you not afraid of the Government? He replied: I will explain to you with a parable. A fox was once walking alongside of a river, and he saw fishes going in swarms from one place to another. He said to them: From what are you fleeing? They replied: From the nets cast for us by men. He said to them: Would you like to come up on to the dry land so that you and I can live together in the way that my ancestors lived with your ancestors? They replied: Art thou the one that they call the cleverest of animals? Thou art not clever but foolish. If we are afraid in the element in which we live, how much more in the element in which we would die! So it is with us. If such is our condition when we sit and study the Torah, of which it is written, For that is thy life and the length of thy days, (Deut. 30:20) if we go and neglect it how much worse off we shall be! It is related that soon afterwards R. Akiva was arrested and thrown into prison, and Pappus b. Judah was also arrested and imprisoned next to him. He said to him: Pappus, who brought you here? He replied: Happy are you, R. Akiva, that you have been seized for busying yourself with the Torah! Alas for Pappus who has been seized for busying himself with idle things! When R. Akiva was taken out for execution, it was the hour for the recital of the Shema’, and while they combed his flesh with iron combs, he was accepting upon himself the kingship of heaven. His disciples said to him: Our teacher, even to this point? He said to them: All my days I have been troubled by this verse, ‘with all thy soul’, [which I interpret,] ‘even if He takes thy soul’. I said: When shall I have the opportunity of fulfilling this? Now that I have the opportunity shall I not fulfill it? He prolonged the word ehad until he expired while saying it. A bath kol went forth and proclaimed: Happy art thou, Akiva, that thy soul has departed with the word ehad! The ministering angels
12
said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Such Torah, and such a reward? [He should have been] from them that die by Thy hand, O Lord. (Ps. 17:14) He replied to them: Their portion is in life. A bath kol went forth and proclaimed, Happy art thou, R. Akiva, that thou art destined for the life of the world to come. Talmud Berachot 61b In both Talmudic passages the dissonance between the reward supposedly due and the cruel martyrdom is highlighted. Rabbi Akiva clearly represents an archetype of suffering and martyrology : In the following pericope, Rabbi Akiva in his own words welcomes suffering in a parable of a king upset with his four sons.8 מסכתות קטנות מסכת שמחות פרק ח הלכה יא ואחד, ואחד לוקה ומבעט, אחד לוקה ושותק,רבי עקיבא אומר ארבעה בנים למלך שנאמר קח נא, אברהם לוקה ושותק. ואחד לוקה ואומר לאביו הלקני,לוקה ומתחנן את בנך את יחידך אשר אהבת את יצחק ולך לך אל ארץ המוריה והעלהו שם שנאמר, ושותק, כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע, אתמול אמרת לי, היה לו לומר,לעולה איוב.וישכם אברהם בבקר ויחבש את חמורו ויקח את שני נעריו אתו ואת יצחק בנו חזקיה. שנאמר אומר אל אלוה אל תרשיעני הודיעני על מה תריבני,לוקה ומבעט שנאמר והטוב, ויש אומרים אף היה מבעט,' שנאמר ויתפלל אל ה,לוקה ומתחנן . שנאמר הרב כבסני מעוני ומחטאתי טהרני, דוד אמר לאביו הלקני,בעיניך עשיתי This mashal, authored by Rabbi Akiva, encodes his whole approach to suffering: “A king had four sons: one would be silent when beaten, one would entreat forgiveness; one would kick out and the last one would ask for more punishment”. These four sons represent our four ways of reacting to pain and suffering. We often suffer in isolation and silence, we often beg for forgiveness for our sins feeling guilty and accepting the suffering as punishment, often we rebel and “kick” feeling the universe is unjust and worse absurd. Four key historical figures are used to explicate the parable’s four sons. Abraham represents that aspect of suffering in silence. Job represents the sufferer who complains, Chizkiyahu the king represents the sufferer who pleads and prays for healing, and finally David represents the sufferer who welcomes suffering. Rabbi Akiva teaches us his path, 8 Masechet Semachot chapter 8
13
the way of suffering as welcomed guest by quoting King David’s psalm (51:4) whereby the fourth son/ King David says to his father/Father in heaven “hit me (again!) “ Quoting from verse 4 in Psalm 51 as follows;
נָתָ ן הַ נָּבִיא, ב בְּבוֹא אֵ לָיו2 When Nathan the prophet came unto him, . אֶ ל בַּת שָׁ בַע,כַּאֲ שֶׁ ר בָּא after he had gone in to Bath-sheba. ג חָ נֵּנִי אֱ ֹלהִ ים3 Be gracious unto me, O God, according to , כְּחַ סְ דֶּ ָך; כְּר ֹב ַרחֲ מֶ יָךThy mercy; according to the multitude of Thy . מְ חֵ ה פְ שָׁ עָ יcompassions blot out my transgressions. ַכּבְּסֵ נִי,( ד הרבה )הֶ ֶרב4 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, . מֵ עֲ וֹנִי; וּמֵ חַ טָּ אתִ י טַ הֲ ֵרנִיand cleanse me from my sin. 1. To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, 2. When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 3. Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loving kindness; according to the multitude of your mercies blot out my transgressions. 4. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 5. For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is always before me. 6. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight; so that you are justified in your sentence, and clear in your judgment. 7. Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 8. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts; therefore teach me wisdom in the inmost heart. 9. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 10. Let me hear joy and gladness; that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. 11. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
14
12. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a constant spirit inside me. 13. Do not cast me away from your presence; and do not take your holy spirit from me. 14. Restore to me the joy of your salvation; and uphold me with a willing spirit. 15. Then I will teach transgressors your ways; and sinners shall return to you. 16. Save me from blood guiltiness, O God, you God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 17. O Lord, open you my lips; and my mouth shall declare your praise. 18. For you do not desire sacrifice; or else would I give it; you do not delight in burnt offering. 19. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 20. Do good in your good will to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem. 21. Then shall you be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then shall they offer bulls upon your altar. Rabbi Akiva is interpreting the loving kindness and mercy of Hashem in verse 3 with the need to be washed and cleansed of sin in verse 4 rereads the psalm away from its literal meaning (as a plea for forgiveness per se as noted in 13,14,15, etc. or admission of guilt in verses 5,6,7 or even a desire for cleansing in verse 4,9,14, or finally a plea for saving grace in verse 16.) For Rabbi Akiva it is clear that none of the washings and cleansings could not be possible without the purifying effect of suffering that David obviously went through. Rabbi Akiva reads this psalm as welcoming suffering! We know his approach well from other comments of his elsewhere 9 Our Rabbis taught: When R. Eliezer fell sick, four elders went to visit him, viz., R. Tarfon, R. Joshua, R. Eleazar b. Azariah, and R. Akiba. R. Tarfon observed, ‘Thou art more valuable to Israel than rain; for rain is [precious] in this world, whereas thou art [so] for this world and 9 Sanhedrin 101a, Pesikta deRav Kahana, Parah 39b., Pesikta rabbati, ed Friedmann 64b.
15
the next.’ R. Joshua observed, ‘Thou art more valuable to Israel than the sun's disc: the sun's disc is but for this world, whilst my master is for this world and the next.’ R. Eleazar b. Azariah observed, ‘Thou art better to Israel than a father and a mother: these are for this world, whereas my master is for this world and the next. But R. Akiba observed, ‘Suffering is precious.’ Thereupon he [the sick man] said to them, ‘Support me that I may hear the words of Akiba, my disciple, who said, "Suffering is precious.’ Akiba,’ queried he, ‘whence dost thou know this?’ — He replied, ‘I interpret a verse: Mannasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem etc. and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.(II Kings 21,1) Now it is [elsewhere] written, These are also the proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.( Prov.25,1). Now, would Hezekiah king of Judah have taught the Torah to the whole world, yet not to his own son Manasseh? But all the pains he spent upon him, and all the labors he lavished upon him did not bring him back to the right path, save suffering alone, as it is written, And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people: but they would not hearken unto him. Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon (II Chron. 33:10) And it is further written, And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And prayed unto him, and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem unto his kingdom, and Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God. (ibid.12) Thus thou learnest how precious is suffering.’ All three of the Tannaim who visited the ailing Rabbi Eliezer used the same approbation and rhetorical devices. “you are more precious than rain/sun/father and mother” for those only do X where as you have many times X.! In a move to make him feel better they praised his life’s accomplishments. However he asks to be raised in his bed after the astonishing remarks of his disciple Rabbi Akiva “Suffering is precious” and demands where here derived such a notion. Again it is directly from his method of exegesis he replies. Interpreting the chapter from II Kings 21, he recounts how after raising a fine young king (Mannasseh) the boy went after evil ways despite the obvious proper upbringing by his father King Hezekiah! What kind of response
16
to such a righteous man! Yet by bringing the chapter from II Chronicles to bear Rabbi Akiva is able to show how Hashem sent Mannasseh torment and suffering which then brought him back to the Lord. The suffering had a precious purpose especially for the Father Hezekiah the righteous. From this plain exegesis Rabbi Akiva tells his teacher how precious suffering is! What kind of message is encoded here! His teacher was none other than Rabbi Eliezer who suffered the ignominy of being place in cherem/excommunication at the end of his life! Did he need suffering for such a purpose, was he wicked!! Furthermore this kind of exegesis is very uncharacteristic of rabbi Akiva! His mystical tendencies led much further astray than the mere side-by-side placement of two texts one from Kings and one from Chronicles. Where is the drush here! The plain meaning itself is obvious! God’s punishing of Manasseh led to his repentance! But Rabbi Akiva’s Torah was different. His exegesis and drush lead directly to his notion of mesiras nefesh and even martyrdom. I would like to suggest that his target was not Manasseh rather the righteous king himself! The drush leading rabbi Akiva to make his bold paradoxically comforting statement to the dying Rabbi Eliezer was precisely that sufferings are precious but to only to the righteous themselves!!! King Hezekiah felt the preciousness of suffering the wicked son despite all his efforts to raise him as a righteous man for despite his efforts the Lord had other plans that included his suffering this son. It is the very suffering of the king that was precious. We began with the Talmudic peripcope regarding R. Akiva’s martyrdom and above we have discussed the Torah/ drush of Rabbi Akiva10. I believe both that his method of exegesis leads directly and naturally to the notion of self-sacrifice. His exegesis as well as his life and death were devoted to mesiras nefesh the notion that martyrdom and self-sacrifice is the proper posture for the God-fearing disciple. 10
משכני אחריך נרוצה ואף רבי עקיבא בקשו מלאכי השרת לדוחפו אמר להם הקדוש+'שיר השירים א+ רבי עקיבא עלה בשלום וירד בשלום ועליו הכתוב אומר ברוך הוא הניחו לזקן זה שראוי להשתמש בכבודי Hashem says “ Let this elder be, for he is worthy to avail himself of My glory.” “Let this elder be” meaning “leave him alone, or put him aside for now” since he will avail himself of My glory later, when he will give his life for My glory in the sanctification תלמוד בבלי מסכת חגיגה דף טו10 of My name!”
17
In a way he accepts the notion of norah alila full heartedly, in accepting his martyrdom on behalf of the divine complicity in the sale of Joseph, as well as his acceptance of the divine plotting and scheming implying a cosmic flaw in creation that mankind must bear in the personality of Akiva. Kabbalah of Suffering For the Leshem, then, the definition of faith or Emunah (ZOHAR Noach 65) for all people is then the acceptance of the concept of NORA ALILA the setup, despite the suffering entailed. It is the acceptance of the divine roadmap as HIS game, HIS wire diagrams, HIS spiritual physics and the catastrophe of the “breakage of the vessels” and the death of the seven kings [sheva melachim] and the shevira despite the possibility HE could have done some other less painful way. The Leshem suggests that in the OLAM Ha AKUDIM there are Gevurot That the only way the Divine manifests itself is through restrictions and suffering and obstacles….for chassadim only return things back to the divine and it really wants to manifest itself in the real world of constriction. This is encapsulated in the idea of NORA ALILUT (see piyut for Neilah service) Based on a midrash in Genesis where God works His plan BY SCHEMING through the politics of daily life behind the scenes to achieve HIS goals, Taken on a cosmic level this requires us to endure the millennia of exile to further His manifestation. Akiva accepts it fully when he steps in on behalf of the divine when Antoninus asks as to the sale of Joseph and the punishment as yet to be meted out to the substitutes of the brothers, the 10 martyrs…but the tenth judge was none other than the divine according to Pirke deReb Eliezer, so who will stand in for the divine…”I will” exclaims
18
Akivah, realizing that even his martyrdom was meant to occur as acceptance of the nora alila… Taken on a cosmic level, for the Leshem, this requires us to endure the millennia of exile to further His manifestation. His scheming which took place on the family dynastic level in genesis, is now taken to reveal His scheming on the cosmic plane whereby He is forced to work behind the scenes in the laws of physics and history in forcing His hand as against the mind and desire of mankind and history. Which brings us back to Wiesel’s comment at the beginning of this essay. If we integrate these teachings in a post Holocaust world where the divine was absent in Auschwitz, then the radical implication of Wiesel’s midrash that whoever kills the human kills the divine. Whoever kills… as in the midrashim quoted from Genesis Rabba and Tanchuma: You God watch over all of creation and you're blaming me! This is like a thief who steals things at night and gets away with it. In the morning the watchman grabs him and says "Why did you steal those things?" He replied: "I'm a thief; I haven't been remiss in doing my trade, but you're a guard; why did you fail in your duties?" Then Cain said: "I killed him, true, but You created me with the evil urge in me. You watch over everything and You let me kill him. You killed him! You didn't accept my sacrifice and I was jealous." God answered: "What have you done?" The "voice of your brother's blood calls out..." God’s inaction, watching from behind the stage, able to prevent the murder, haunting Wiesel’s works now comes to focus in the Leshem. It is precisely this very question that haunts all of history, and can only be answered “in the future” leased lavo according to Rebbe Nachman. In this world only the questions remain So that the only appropriate response is a holy dis-belief.
19