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
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
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 12:23 AM
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