Wednesday, June 25, 2008

A thought on פרשת קרח

"...va'yiplu al p'neihem...""...and they fell on their faces..." (16:22)

When a group confronted Moshe and Aharon, HaShem's response was one of imminent judgment. The response of Moshe and Aharon was one of pleading for Divine clemency. This plea was offered with the posture depicted in our verse: they fell forward with their faces hidden against their outstretched arms. This pleading is known as techina, and that prayer posture is called Tachanun.

The Recanati advises that a profound message is present here: the sequence which Moshe modeled for all time was that this prayer, pleading and supplicant posture are tandem processes. If there is to be a techina prayer, a tachanun posture is proper. This is related to a principle which we discussed in an earlier parsha email in explaining the principle of "somech ge'ula l'tefilla" - one must first assert a conviction in HaShem's promise of salvation before turning to Him in prayer. Likewise, prayer must precede the techina for forgiveness and clemency. We pray first, then we take the supplicant posture, then we plead for forgiveness and compassion.

What are the metaphysics of this sequence? The Recanati explains that this is known as "assembling the tent into one entity," a kabbalistic way of saying that we are asserting our understanding that HaShem is One and that all of His attributes are unified. How so?When we pray, we are turning to HaShem as we understand His middas rachamim. He is the source of kindness, and so we ask Him for the things we seek. In contrast, when we fall forward with techina, we express our awareness that there is also middas din, justice, with which His Presence in manifest in our world. The immediacy of tefila with techina in sequence proclaims our acknowledgment that He is One and that there are no separate factors or attributes. Even His judgment is a manifestation of kindness. This is how we "assemble the Tent into One entity." There is no distinction Above between HaShem and what we experience as His Presence, and there is no distinction Above between His Mercy and His Justice.

It is for this reason, writes the Recanati, that we do not recite Tachanun at night. Nighttime is when middas din is often apparent in the universe. To devote a prayer focused on that midda would imply that din is separate from the other middos, which is a distorted belief which other faiths have that there is Good and there is Evil, there is the Kindness from Above and there is Harshness from elsewhere ch'v. To pray with a focused recognition of the middas din when the world is being judged might suggest that din has a power or is an entity unto its own.

This is why we couple our rachamim-focused prayers with the din-focused techina. We know that din and rachamim are from a single and unified One Source.

Good Shabbos. D Fox

Thursday, June 19, 2008

A thought on פרשת בשלח

"...al kanfei bigdeihem...""...on the wings (corners) of their garments..." (15:38)
There are a number of words for "corner" in the Holy Tongue, and one of them, kanaf, happens to mean "wing" as well. What does the Torah reveal in using this word here in discussing the four cornered garments which need tzitzis?The Recanati reminds us that this world is an unfinished replica of the higher realm. We spend our lives down here trying to refine our selves, and our planet, in drawing closer to that higher realm.

"Wing" (kanaf) is used to describe the "four corners of the world" (Iyov 38:13) and is used in describing the Heavenly realm as well, such as "mi'kanaf ha'aretz zemiros shomanu" - from the corner of the universe we heard the songs (Yeshayahu 24:16). What is with those wings up above?The Recanati writes that the malachim, those higher angelic entities which are the forces and energies in the universe which "carry out" HaShem's will, make two kinds of "noises" in the mystical dimension. They "sing" and they "flap their wings." Each of these "sounds" serve a purpose. When the malachim are in their dormant form, which is when the Divine Will has not been manifest, they "stand at attention, very close to HaShem, and their only "sound" is the reverberation of their trembling "wings." When the angels are in process, which means when the Divine Will is enacted and actualized, the melachim are, in the mystical metaphor, singing His praise.

The universe is filled with the sounds of the melachim, whether their latent song or their manifest song. This is what the verse in Yeshayahu above means: from the corner of the universe we hear the songs. The navi exclaims that the awesome Presence of HaShem seems vivid to us in the abstract, and in the actual sense, as we apprehend the world in motion and all that fills it is streamlined and flowing. These are the "sounds and songs" of His angelic forces and energies at work.

This is what Shlomo HaMelech pleads for (Shir HaShirim 2:14) - "oh, let me hear your voice!" This is also what Iyov (35:10) is told, that there is a "Giver of songs at night."

The Recanati explains further. As the night begins to fade, the Jewish nation begins offering its own praise to HaShem. This is when the universe shifts from being judged through the Attribute of Justice to feeling the renewal and compassion of the new light. As day breaks, the world starts afresh. With the rooster's crow, the pressures and fears lift. That rooster's crow is a lower-world trace of the angelic hymns which signal the shift from Din to Rachamim. If we capture that moment and hear that crowing harkening to dawn as if bringing the world to life, we can perceive a hint of the song and sound which echo from the higher realms.

This, quoth the Recanati, is why Chazal instituted the first blessing of birchas ha'shachar "HaNosen l'sechvei bina le'havchin bein yom u'bein layla" - Blessed HaShem who has given the rooster the understanding to discern day from night. With that prayer, we allude to the shifting forces above and how the world below yearns to serve Him raptly and carry out His will with nimble allegiance.

Good Shabbos. D Fox

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

A thought on פרשת בהעלתך

"...v'atzalti min ha'ruach asher alecha...""...and I will spread some of the spirit which is upon you..." (11:17)

HaShem refers to His bestowing prophetic experience upon the elder sages as diverting or extending the spirit of Moshe and channeling it to others. Surely there were more direct means of granting these elders the spirit of prophecy! We would expect HaShem to avail this powerful experience of nevu'a through revelation or other levels of making the Divine Presence known and His words received. What does this verse teach us, in introducing the word, and concept, of atzilus - the emanation of prophetic spirit from one to another?

The Recanati offers that the Torah teaches us here that all of the prophetic visions and messages attained by every one of the nevi'im were already contained within Toras Moshe. Not only was Moshe the greatest of our prophets - av ha'nevi'im - ; he was the source for all of the prophetic activity which followed him. The spirit of Torah which HaShem sent down to us by way of our teachers, the nevi'im, served to amplify and extend the supreme teachings of the Torah which was given to Moshe on Har Sinai.

The Recanati reminds us of the Chazal (Ta'anis 9a) which asserts that "nothing is found in the Prophets which is without allusion or reference in the Torah of Moshe." We have always understood this assertion as "you can always find a hint somewhere in the Torah about information learned elsewhere." The Recanati refines our understanding. "You can always find a reference in the Torah to all other Torah matters, for all that is Torah is introduced in the Torah." The Torah Sh'b'al Peh - the Oral Torah itself is an emanation of the Scripture.

Thus, the bestowing of prophecy to other sages was always a matter of revealing to them the messages and lessons awaiting discovery within the pure and infinite Torah Temima.
This is why HaShem declares that He will "take from the spirit of Moshe" and "extend it to others."

Good Shabbos. D Fox

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

A thought on פרשת נשא

"...l'mo'al bo mo'al...v'hisvadu es chatosam..."
"...to sin treacherously...they must confess their errors..." (5:6-7)

An important subtext in this week's Torah reading involves the remedies for people's mistakes. We are given the protocol for seeking atonement, which includes the confession mentioned in the verse cited first. The Torah also acquaints us with the concept of me'ila - that a sinful deed is considered treachery. This is mentioned in the second verse.

The Recanati offers some valuable perspective here. The Torah's use of a doubled expression (mo'al - mo'al) in reference to sinful behavior is to remind us that our straying and deviation from the True Path has two dreadful consequences. The "spiritual" one is that we have defied the Word of HaShem. This is treacherous. It makes a "dent" in our connection with Above. That is one dimension of me'ila.

Our misguided acts and our sinful deeds has a second level of impact. It lowers the overall status and integrity of our nation. The Jewish people needs each one of us. Each one of us whose behavior veers from the covenantal path decreases that cohesiveness. This is the second dimension of me'ila. This is the Recanati's interpretation of the doubled expression.

The obverse of this concept is the principle of teshuva - repentance. The Torah prescribes the steps of repenting, which revolve around a sincere verbalized confession about our acts and our regrets. We can understand the impact of such teshuva on ourselves. Confessing from the heart and mind can impact the soul. We begin to feel cleansed and able to regain a state of sanctity. This is one dimension of teshuva.

This process, however, goes further and higher, if you will. There is a familiar phrase found in the book of Chabakuk the prophet (3:4): v'tzadik be'emunaso yichyeh - "the righteous (person) shall live by his faith. The Recanati offers a variation to our understanding of those words. "Tzadik" does not mean a righteous person. It refers to "the Righteous One," HaShem. We have already described how people who sin detract from their connection with HaShem. People who cling to HaShem by allegiant behavior strengthen their bond with Him. The prophet's message is that through steadfast faith in HaShem (emuna refers to enduring commitment), one's sense of their connection with the Divine is invigorated. He translates the words as "through enduring commitment, the Righteous One seems vibrant and real." This is the second dimension of teshuva.

The Recanati introduces a lesser know midrash (Aicha Rabati 3:35) with the reassuring message that "Sharei Teshuva l'olam pesuchim" - the Gates of Repentance are open forever. In these dark times of golus, so much of our sense of the sacred has dimmed and diminished. We have explored the Recanati's explanations of this in past parsha thoughts.
We must know, despite all of the dead ends and closed doors to spirituality, that one path is always lit. The path to sanctity passes through the ever-open Gates of Repentance. This is because our efforts to return bring us closer to our people and its legacy, and make the supernal light seem brighter as we aim for the highest ascent.

Good Shabbos and good yom tov. D Fox