Sod Yesharim, Parshas Vayeira
Sod Yesharim, by Rav Gershon Chenoch of Radzin.
The Class in the Sod Yesharim takes place every Tuesday night, from 7 to 9 pm, at Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo, 18 HaGilboa Street, Nachlaot, Jerusalem. Israel
(The class is not free. Please speak with the administration about payment.) (02) 622-1456
Parshas Vayeira.
Translated and Annotated by B. Edwards
וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה' בְּאֵלנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא ישֵׁב פֶּתַח הָאהֶל כְּחם הַיּוֹם:
“And God appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, and he was sitting in the tent in the heat of the day.”
The Gemara (Baba Metzia, 86b) tells us that this was on the third day after his circumcision.
(And then at the end of the Parsha we find it written) “On the third day, He saw the place from afar.”[1]
It is written, “After two days He will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.”[2] This is the third day of the shvatim, the tribal ancestors , the children of Jacob.
And Joseph said unto them the third day: This do, and live.[3]
On the third day of Revelation:
And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning.[4]
On the third day of Joshua’s spies:
And hide yourselves there three days.[5]
On the third day of Jonah:
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.[6]
On the third day of those returning from the Babylonian Exile:
And we abode there three days.[7]
On the third day of resurrection:
After two days He will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up;
On the third day of Esther:
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel (Est. V, I)
She put on the royal apparel of her ancestor.
For whose sake did the relief and rescue come on the third day? The Rabbis say: For the sake of the third day, when Revelation took place.
R. Levi maintained: in all of these instances, relief came on the third day in the merit of what Abraham did on the third day, as it says, “And it was on the third day, He saw the place from afar …”
What did he see?
He saw a cloud enveloping the mountain, and said: ‘It appears that that is the place where the Holy One, blessed be He, told me to sacrifice my son.’
When explaining “shlishi l’milah,” the third day after circumcision, The Holy Isbitzer teaches us that by the third day it is fixed permanently. The Orlah (foreskin) has to be completely removed. This represents things that man has no use for and has to totally remove from his life. The second component of Milah is “Priah,” separating and moving the thin inner membrane to the side. (In the performance of a bris milah this is actually done before the removal of the orlah.) Priah is not the orlah, it is just adjacent to it. This represents klipas Noga, of which it is said in the book of Mishlei (4:15), פְּרָעֵהוּ אַל תַּעֲבָר בּוֹ שְׂטֵה מֵעָלָיו וַעֲבוֹ- avoid it, do not pass by it, turn from it and pass on.
The Radziner Rebbe mentions the discussion in the Talmud, Yevamos, 21b, about the decree of “divrei sofrim”) of certain marriages called, “shniyos l’arayos,” or secondary levels of forbidden marriages. Examples of “shiyos l’arayos,” are marriages between a man and his grandmother, or between a man and his child’s daughter in-law. The verse just quoted in Mishlei – where it says, avoid it - is the proof text for this rabbinic prohibition. The idea is as follows. A primary level of prohibition (Isurrei D’Oraita) is antithetical or even detrimental to the Jewish soul. A secondary level is no less forbidden, but its prohibition comes by close association with the primary level. (Of the rabbinic commandments we say, “your goodness is sweeter than wine.”) At the third level, we are not only free from danger, but enriching our souls. .
(The Sod Yesharim continues) Therefore at the third level, the kedushah is permanently instilled in the Jewish soul. At the third level, mans desires are in total agreement with the service of God.
This is as it is said in the Zohar (Kedoshim, 87a) on the verse “And in the fourth year, all of the land’s produce shall be holy and giving praise to God.” (Vayikra, 19:24), “The earth only gives its fruits because of another power that acts upon it, just as a woman does not give birth except by the power of the man. … Come and see! The fruit of her womb is only complete after three births.” (Re: Yehuda. Bear in mind that this is a spiritual idea regarding how forces in the upper world are created, and should in no way cast aspersions on people who only have two siblings or less, or on parents who have only had three children.)
The Zohar writes (Vayera, 97a),
“And God appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, and he sad in the entrance to the tent in the heat of the day.” “Rabbi Chiya opened. “The buds are seen on the land, the time of pruning has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in the land.” (Song of Songs). “The buds are seen on the land.” When God created the world, he suited the perfect strength to each part of creation. Everything was in the land, but the land did not bring forth its fruits until man was created. Once man was created, all of the powers of creation appeared and the land brought forth its produce. In a similar way, the heavens did not give their powers to the land until the arrival of man. This is as it is written in Parshas Bereshis, “and all the plants of the fields had not yet grown from the land, and all the grasses of the field had not yet bloomed because Hashem Elokim had not brought the rains, and there was no man to work the land.” All of these generations were hidden and not revealed. The heavens were prevented and the rains did not fall because man was not on the land at that time … “The time of pruning has come,” (Zamir means both pruning and singing.) He established the power of singing in prayer before God, a power that was not there before man was created. “The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land,” this is the word of God that was not present in the world until man was created. (It was thought that) since man was there, everything was there. But when man sinned … the land was cursed. “when you work the land, it will not give of its powers, your efforts will grow thorns and thistles … Then Noach came and established with his plows and pruning hooks. He planted a vineyard and got drunk, exposing himself in his tent. Men came in the coming generation and sinned before God (with the tower of Babylon and the idolatry of Terach’s generation.) The powers of the earth departed once more. …
And then with the coming of Avraham, “the buds are seen on the land, the time of pruning has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.” The time of pruning refers to the bris Milah. When the time of this covenant arrived, the power was given to Avraham he circumcised himself. This bris Milah was the fulfillment of these words in the Song of Songs. The earth was sustained, and it bloomed. This revealed God’s word.
(The Sod Yesharim continues.) The world was created when God sent forth His word from His simple desire to create. In the place of His greatness, He brought forth His modesty and meekness. That is to say, He wanted rule over the lower world, known as the physical earth. He hid His Godly desire in the garments of the creation (with garment after garment) to the point where His Godly desire became completely hidden. He hid Himself with covering after covering, concealment after concealment, down to the creation of physical matter. The treasure of God’s desire was hidden so deeply in physical matter that the creation could not raise itself up and return face to face to unite with its source in God. For this reason God created man. Man was created so that the buds could be seen and the time of pruning and prayer could come to pass. That is to say, man was created in order to bring the power of the earth back God. He does this by using worldly and material existence, and raise them up through the path of Avodas Hashem. (Food is a simple example.)
Adam HaRishon’s sin (and the source of all deviation from God’s path) flowed from his mistaken belief that since the world is indeed conducted through man (Not just God’s partner, but as the direct creation of God, as Adam was God’s own handwork, as it were), then therefore he has a separate power to ascend, and also to elevate the entire creation. He mistakenly believed that there was nothing that he could not elevate and every place and every time. (This is “Tekifus.”)
Consider the commandment not to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge. The Pri Eytz Chaiim of the Arizal explains that this fruit was only forbidden until the onset of Shabbos. Once Shabbos came, it was to be permitted. This hints as how man becomes perfected through Avodas Hashem. (Practice makes perfect.) Completeness and perfection involves man taking the powers in the created world and using them in the service of God.
Everything in the creation is lacking. (See Sod Yesharim, Lech Lcha. People cannot exist without other people or without the powers of the earth.) This is as Isaiah said, “For with Yud Hei, Hashem formed the worlds.” (Why not with the complete four letter name? It is in order to show how the creation is incomplete.) This was in order to allow man to complete creation through his active service. “Everything that was created in the six days of creation needs fixing or preparation. Turmus (a kind of bean) needs to be cooked seven times before it can be eaten. It starts off inedible, and through man’s efforts, becomes sweet and nourishing.” We see how man needs to farm, mill, and make bread. He needs to grow flax and cotton in order to make clothing. In a similar way, God has to prepare His word in order for man to receive it. God’s word starts of as pure light (and light is only an analogy, we have no concept of God’s pure power), and is then dressed in layer after layer of concealment in world upon world, sefirah upon sefirah. The downward linkage and process of greater and greater concealment (tsimstusm) is the way God makes His word comprehensible to man.
Time is also a garment, or a force of concealment and preparation. God’s word must also pass through the garment of time. This is hinted at in Shabbos, the seventh day. Shabbos hints at the attribute of Malchus SHamayim, the sovereignty of Heaven. It is, “Reshis Chochma Yiras Hashem,” “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.” (Yirat Hashem means refraining from action based the awe of the Almighty, or at least, the belief that God is faithful to punish all wrongdoing. Refraining from work on Shabbos is an expression of Yiras Hashem. The Idea is that we can only have any real wisdom if we stop and look see how God is in charge.) Yiras Hashem causes man to serve God. Man realizes that all power comes from God, and without God’s power, the creation would be nullified. This is Malchus Shamayim, when we feel God’s leadership in all facets of our life. Of Malchus Shamayim, the Zohar tells us, “d’leit lei megarma clum – it does nothing and effects nothing.” (Malchus is a vessel which is filled by God, whose whole life and existence depends on receiving from God.) God does not need the creation. He is not beholden to the creation in any way. He creates us purely because He wants to and not because He needs to. From our point of view, from the point of view of Malchus, we could forget that we are created, and all the power of our life could return and be subsumed within Godliness. (Re: story of moth and flame, lehavdil.)
Therefore, man needs a constant awakening of Avodas Hashem. This comes with the consciousness knowledge that God is always renewing the power within the creation, and without God’s providence on all details of creation the world would cease to exist. There is no life in the foundation of creation unless man wakes up and looks (hebit) towards the Creator. This consciousness is revealed on Shabbos, because on it God ceased from all of His work. This cessation also nullified all forces which conceal and darken the light of God’s constant creation. This is the Gate of Heaven that man needs to enter, where he may look into all places that the power of God’s creation spreads forth, and there see the Pride of God’s Majesty. (Hashem malach, Geut lavesh - see Psalms.)
This is how the Arizal explains the sin of Adam. Adam wanted to enlarge the crown of Zeir Anpin before Shabbos, when there is still the “power of work.” At this time, Zeir Anpin did not yet have mochin (spiritual intelligence). When man still has the power to work (and think that he is doing the work), then his mochin is not complete. Mochin Mochin has to do with the light that we receive and gives us the ability to return and look at the (source of the light.) As it was with Zeir Anpin in the metaphysical realm, so it was with Adam HaRishon. He did not have the power of awakening needed in order to know that nothing can exist without receiving a constant flow of God’s abundance and power.
The Arizal also says that Adam also sinned with regards to the female. The female power is the power of reception. In the upper worlds, the female was not yet face to face with the male. When the force of reception does not stand face to face with God, the source of giving, then man thinks that he is separate from God, and has his own separate power. He makes the mistake of thinking that God created him with a separate power. Since all forces of creation need a vessel like man to receive their power and use them, then (God’s power within) creation cannot exist without him. (This was his mistake.)
However, when he stands face to face, then he has a connection to the supernal light. He then knows that his existence is just a gift of God’s Chesed. God desired to improve His creation. All of his power is only at the time when he receives God’s light.
This is the mystery of the case that the moon brought before God:
R. Simeon b. Pazzi pointed out a contradiction [between verses]. One verse says: And God made the two great light, and immediately the verse continues: The greater light . . . and the lesser light. The moon said unto the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Is it possible for two kings to wear one crown’? He answered: ‘Go then and make thyself smaller’. ‘Sovereign of the Universe’! cried the moon, ‘Because I have suggested that which is proper must I then make myself smaller’? He replied: ‘Go and thou wilt rule by day and by night’. ‘But what is the value of this’? cried the moon; ‘Of what use is a lamp in broad daylight’? He replied: ‘Go. Israel shall reckon by thee the days and the years’. ‘But it is impossible’, said the moon, ‘to do without the sun for the reckoning of the seasons, as it is written: And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years’. ‘Go. The righteous shall be named after thee4 as we find, Jacob the Small, Samuel the Small, David the Small’, On seeing that it would not be consoled the Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘Bring an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller’. This is what was meant by R. Simeon b. Lakish when he declared: Why is it that the he-goat offered on the new moon is distinguished in that there is written concerning it unto the Lord? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let this he-goat be an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller. (Soncino Translation)
The case of the moon is compared to the sin of Adam. The moon was blemished in order that the power of reception in creation would feel its own incompleteness. When man feels his own incompleteness, he understand that from his own side he has nothing, and how God doesn’t have to sustain us, but rather He desires to sustain us and improve us. This is why there are different seasons. Summer will see that the world does not always have to be summer, it could also be fall or winter. The world can change and still exist. In this way, man was created incomplete to drive him to go back and look at the word with God’s light.
[1] Gen. XXII, 4
[2] Hos. VI, 2
[3] Gen. XLII, 18
[4] Ex. XIX, 16
[5] Josh. II, 16
[6] Jonah II. 1
[7] Ezra VIII, 32
The Class in the Sod Yesharim takes place every Tuesday night, from 7 to 9 pm, at Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo, 18 HaGilboa Street, Nachlaot, Jerusalem. Israel
(The class is not free. Please speak with the administration about payment.) (02) 622-1456
Parshas Vayeira.
Translated and Annotated by B. Edwards
וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה' בְּאֵלנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא ישֵׁב פֶּתַח הָאהֶל כְּחם הַיּוֹם:
“And God appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, and he was sitting in the tent in the heat of the day.”
The Gemara (Baba Metzia, 86b) tells us that this was on the third day after his circumcision.
(And then at the end of the Parsha we find it written) “On the third day, He saw the place from afar.”[1]
It is written, “After two days He will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.”[2] This is the third day of the shvatim, the tribal ancestors , the children of Jacob.
And Joseph said unto them the third day: This do, and live.[3]
On the third day of Revelation:
And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning.[4]
On the third day of Joshua’s spies:
And hide yourselves there three days.[5]
On the third day of Jonah:
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.[6]
On the third day of those returning from the Babylonian Exile:
And we abode there three days.[7]
On the third day of resurrection:
After two days He will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up;
On the third day of Esther:
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel (Est. V, I)
She put on the royal apparel of her ancestor.
For whose sake did the relief and rescue come on the third day? The Rabbis say: For the sake of the third day, when Revelation took place.
R. Levi maintained: in all of these instances, relief came on the third day in the merit of what Abraham did on the third day, as it says, “And it was on the third day, He saw the place from afar …”
What did he see?
He saw a cloud enveloping the mountain, and said: ‘It appears that that is the place where the Holy One, blessed be He, told me to sacrifice my son.’
When explaining “shlishi l’milah,” the third day after circumcision, The Holy Isbitzer teaches us that by the third day it is fixed permanently. The Orlah (foreskin) has to be completely removed. This represents things that man has no use for and has to totally remove from his life. The second component of Milah is “Priah,” separating and moving the thin inner membrane to the side. (In the performance of a bris milah this is actually done before the removal of the orlah.) Priah is not the orlah, it is just adjacent to it. This represents klipas Noga, of which it is said in the book of Mishlei (4:15), פְּרָעֵהוּ אַל תַּעֲבָר בּוֹ שְׂטֵה מֵעָלָיו וַעֲבוֹ- avoid it, do not pass by it, turn from it and pass on.
The Radziner Rebbe mentions the discussion in the Talmud, Yevamos, 21b, about the decree of “divrei sofrim”) of certain marriages called, “shniyos l’arayos,” or secondary levels of forbidden marriages. Examples of “shiyos l’arayos,” are marriages between a man and his grandmother, or between a man and his child’s daughter in-law. The verse just quoted in Mishlei – where it says, avoid it - is the proof text for this rabbinic prohibition. The idea is as follows. A primary level of prohibition (Isurrei D’Oraita) is antithetical or even detrimental to the Jewish soul. A secondary level is no less forbidden, but its prohibition comes by close association with the primary level. (Of the rabbinic commandments we say, “your goodness is sweeter than wine.”) At the third level, we are not only free from danger, but enriching our souls. .
(The Sod Yesharim continues) Therefore at the third level, the kedushah is permanently instilled in the Jewish soul. At the third level, mans desires are in total agreement with the service of God.
This is as it is said in the Zohar (Kedoshim, 87a) on the verse “And in the fourth year, all of the land’s produce shall be holy and giving praise to God.” (Vayikra, 19:24), “The earth only gives its fruits because of another power that acts upon it, just as a woman does not give birth except by the power of the man. … Come and see! The fruit of her womb is only complete after three births.” (Re: Yehuda. Bear in mind that this is a spiritual idea regarding how forces in the upper world are created, and should in no way cast aspersions on people who only have two siblings or less, or on parents who have only had three children.)
The Zohar writes (Vayera, 97a),
“And God appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, and he sad in the entrance to the tent in the heat of the day.” “Rabbi Chiya opened. “The buds are seen on the land, the time of pruning has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in the land.” (Song of Songs). “The buds are seen on the land.” When God created the world, he suited the perfect strength to each part of creation. Everything was in the land, but the land did not bring forth its fruits until man was created. Once man was created, all of the powers of creation appeared and the land brought forth its produce. In a similar way, the heavens did not give their powers to the land until the arrival of man. This is as it is written in Parshas Bereshis, “and all the plants of the fields had not yet grown from the land, and all the grasses of the field had not yet bloomed because Hashem Elokim had not brought the rains, and there was no man to work the land.” All of these generations were hidden and not revealed. The heavens were prevented and the rains did not fall because man was not on the land at that time … “The time of pruning has come,” (Zamir means both pruning and singing.) He established the power of singing in prayer before God, a power that was not there before man was created. “The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land,” this is the word of God that was not present in the world until man was created. (It was thought that) since man was there, everything was there. But when man sinned … the land was cursed. “when you work the land, it will not give of its powers, your efforts will grow thorns and thistles … Then Noach came and established with his plows and pruning hooks. He planted a vineyard and got drunk, exposing himself in his tent. Men came in the coming generation and sinned before God (with the tower of Babylon and the idolatry of Terach’s generation.) The powers of the earth departed once more. …
And then with the coming of Avraham, “the buds are seen on the land, the time of pruning has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.” The time of pruning refers to the bris Milah. When the time of this covenant arrived, the power was given to Avraham he circumcised himself. This bris Milah was the fulfillment of these words in the Song of Songs. The earth was sustained, and it bloomed. This revealed God’s word.
(The Sod Yesharim continues.) The world was created when God sent forth His word from His simple desire to create. In the place of His greatness, He brought forth His modesty and meekness. That is to say, He wanted rule over the lower world, known as the physical earth. He hid His Godly desire in the garments of the creation (with garment after garment) to the point where His Godly desire became completely hidden. He hid Himself with covering after covering, concealment after concealment, down to the creation of physical matter. The treasure of God’s desire was hidden so deeply in physical matter that the creation could not raise itself up and return face to face to unite with its source in God. For this reason God created man. Man was created so that the buds could be seen and the time of pruning and prayer could come to pass. That is to say, man was created in order to bring the power of the earth back God. He does this by using worldly and material existence, and raise them up through the path of Avodas Hashem. (Food is a simple example.)
Adam HaRishon’s sin (and the source of all deviation from God’s path) flowed from his mistaken belief that since the world is indeed conducted through man (Not just God’s partner, but as the direct creation of God, as Adam was God’s own handwork, as it were), then therefore he has a separate power to ascend, and also to elevate the entire creation. He mistakenly believed that there was nothing that he could not elevate and every place and every time. (This is “Tekifus.”)
Consider the commandment not to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge. The Pri Eytz Chaiim of the Arizal explains that this fruit was only forbidden until the onset of Shabbos. Once Shabbos came, it was to be permitted. This hints as how man becomes perfected through Avodas Hashem. (Practice makes perfect.) Completeness and perfection involves man taking the powers in the created world and using them in the service of God.
Everything in the creation is lacking. (See Sod Yesharim, Lech Lcha. People cannot exist without other people or without the powers of the earth.) This is as Isaiah said, “For with Yud Hei, Hashem formed the worlds.” (Why not with the complete four letter name? It is in order to show how the creation is incomplete.) This was in order to allow man to complete creation through his active service. “Everything that was created in the six days of creation needs fixing or preparation. Turmus (a kind of bean) needs to be cooked seven times before it can be eaten. It starts off inedible, and through man’s efforts, becomes sweet and nourishing.” We see how man needs to farm, mill, and make bread. He needs to grow flax and cotton in order to make clothing. In a similar way, God has to prepare His word in order for man to receive it. God’s word starts of as pure light (and light is only an analogy, we have no concept of God’s pure power), and is then dressed in layer after layer of concealment in world upon world, sefirah upon sefirah. The downward linkage and process of greater and greater concealment (tsimstusm) is the way God makes His word comprehensible to man.
Time is also a garment, or a force of concealment and preparation. God’s word must also pass through the garment of time. This is hinted at in Shabbos, the seventh day. Shabbos hints at the attribute of Malchus SHamayim, the sovereignty of Heaven. It is, “Reshis Chochma Yiras Hashem,” “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.” (Yirat Hashem means refraining from action based the awe of the Almighty, or at least, the belief that God is faithful to punish all wrongdoing. Refraining from work on Shabbos is an expression of Yiras Hashem. The Idea is that we can only have any real wisdom if we stop and look see how God is in charge.) Yiras Hashem causes man to serve God. Man realizes that all power comes from God, and without God’s power, the creation would be nullified. This is Malchus Shamayim, when we feel God’s leadership in all facets of our life. Of Malchus Shamayim, the Zohar tells us, “d’leit lei megarma clum – it does nothing and effects nothing.” (Malchus is a vessel which is filled by God, whose whole life and existence depends on receiving from God.) God does not need the creation. He is not beholden to the creation in any way. He creates us purely because He wants to and not because He needs to. From our point of view, from the point of view of Malchus, we could forget that we are created, and all the power of our life could return and be subsumed within Godliness. (Re: story of moth and flame, lehavdil.)
Therefore, man needs a constant awakening of Avodas Hashem. This comes with the consciousness knowledge that God is always renewing the power within the creation, and without God’s providence on all details of creation the world would cease to exist. There is no life in the foundation of creation unless man wakes up and looks (hebit) towards the Creator. This consciousness is revealed on Shabbos, because on it God ceased from all of His work. This cessation also nullified all forces which conceal and darken the light of God’s constant creation. This is the Gate of Heaven that man needs to enter, where he may look into all places that the power of God’s creation spreads forth, and there see the Pride of God’s Majesty. (Hashem malach, Geut lavesh - see Psalms.)
This is how the Arizal explains the sin of Adam. Adam wanted to enlarge the crown of Zeir Anpin before Shabbos, when there is still the “power of work.” At this time, Zeir Anpin did not yet have mochin (spiritual intelligence). When man still has the power to work (and think that he is doing the work), then his mochin is not complete. Mochin Mochin has to do with the light that we receive and gives us the ability to return and look at the (source of the light.) As it was with Zeir Anpin in the metaphysical realm, so it was with Adam HaRishon. He did not have the power of awakening needed in order to know that nothing can exist without receiving a constant flow of God’s abundance and power.
The Arizal also says that Adam also sinned with regards to the female. The female power is the power of reception. In the upper worlds, the female was not yet face to face with the male. When the force of reception does not stand face to face with God, the source of giving, then man thinks that he is separate from God, and has his own separate power. He makes the mistake of thinking that God created him with a separate power. Since all forces of creation need a vessel like man to receive their power and use them, then (God’s power within) creation cannot exist without him. (This was his mistake.)
However, when he stands face to face, then he has a connection to the supernal light. He then knows that his existence is just a gift of God’s Chesed. God desired to improve His creation. All of his power is only at the time when he receives God’s light.
This is the mystery of the case that the moon brought before God:
R. Simeon b. Pazzi pointed out a contradiction [between verses]. One verse says: And God made the two great light, and immediately the verse continues: The greater light . . . and the lesser light. The moon said unto the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Is it possible for two kings to wear one crown’? He answered: ‘Go then and make thyself smaller’. ‘Sovereign of the Universe’! cried the moon, ‘Because I have suggested that which is proper must I then make myself smaller’? He replied: ‘Go and thou wilt rule by day and by night’. ‘But what is the value of this’? cried the moon; ‘Of what use is a lamp in broad daylight’? He replied: ‘Go. Israel shall reckon by thee the days and the years’. ‘But it is impossible’, said the moon, ‘to do without the sun for the reckoning of the seasons, as it is written: And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years’. ‘Go. The righteous shall be named after thee4 as we find, Jacob the Small, Samuel the Small, David the Small’, On seeing that it would not be consoled the Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘Bring an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller’. This is what was meant by R. Simeon b. Lakish when he declared: Why is it that the he-goat offered on the new moon is distinguished in that there is written concerning it unto the Lord? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let this he-goat be an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller. (Soncino Translation)
The case of the moon is compared to the sin of Adam. The moon was blemished in order that the power of reception in creation would feel its own incompleteness. When man feels his own incompleteness, he understand that from his own side he has nothing, and how God doesn’t have to sustain us, but rather He desires to sustain us and improve us. This is why there are different seasons. Summer will see that the world does not always have to be summer, it could also be fall or winter. The world can change and still exist. In this way, man was created incomplete to drive him to go back and look at the word with God’s light.
[1] Gen. XXII, 4
[2] Hos. VI, 2
[3] Gen. XLII, 18
[4] Ex. XIX, 16
[5] Josh. II, 16
[6] Jonah II. 1
[7] Ezra VIII, 32
posted by Betzalel Philip Edwards @ 4:52 PM
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