A thought on פרשת כי תבא
"...u'baruch atoh ba'sadeh...""...and blessed are you in the field..." (28:3)
This lovely verse, promising us HaShem's benediction whether we find ourselves in the city or in the field, has been interpreted by many commentaries in many ways. Even in my own parsha emails, in years past, I have offered some of these interpretations. Most of them ponder the meaning of "city" and "field" and find one symbolic thought or another.
The Recanati takes us back to a thought which I introduced in Parshas Chayei Sara almost a year ago. Some of you may remember the words "chakal tapuchin" or "field of apples." We sing about that field in the Askinu Se'udasa hymn on Shabbos. The Recanati has explained that this "field" is on the outskirts of the Garden of Eden, gan eden. It is the place which Adam and Chava entered as they left the Garden and began their exile. In kabbalistic writing, the field of apples is also a euphemism for our own exile. Our nation is meant to feel at peace and whole when we are safely within the Garden. This means when we are living in a manner which promotes an enduring consciousness of the Divine. When we sense HaShem's closeness, this spiritual attainment means that we are "back in the Garden."
The Field of Apples is when our spiritual consciousness is no longer acute. When we have wandered and strayed out of the Garden, we have entered the Field. This is exile. This is where we sense HaShem's Presence, but only in faint manifestations. This is a result of our diminished spiritual state, something which is the consequence of straying. This is when we are more likely to experience those events, that ennui of exile, which we perceive as middas din.
Can anything good happen in golus? Can anything good come of golus?
The Recanati writes that this is the promise of our parsha. HaShem pledges that even when our nation has strayed, even when our spirit has dimmed and we feel so distant from the Above, our efforts and our deeds will not go unrecognized by HaShem. His bracha will still reach us. This is the promise of "blessed are you in the Field!"
The "field" refers to the Field of Apples. With bracha, middas din can be transposed into middas rachamim.
May we taste that blessing as we head towards a sweet New Year. Good Shabbos. D Fox
This lovely verse, promising us HaShem's benediction whether we find ourselves in the city or in the field, has been interpreted by many commentaries in many ways. Even in my own parsha emails, in years past, I have offered some of these interpretations. Most of them ponder the meaning of "city" and "field" and find one symbolic thought or another.
The Recanati takes us back to a thought which I introduced in Parshas Chayei Sara almost a year ago. Some of you may remember the words "chakal tapuchin" or "field of apples." We sing about that field in the Askinu Se'udasa hymn on Shabbos. The Recanati has explained that this "field" is on the outskirts of the Garden of Eden, gan eden. It is the place which Adam and Chava entered as they left the Garden and began their exile. In kabbalistic writing, the field of apples is also a euphemism for our own exile. Our nation is meant to feel at peace and whole when we are safely within the Garden. This means when we are living in a manner which promotes an enduring consciousness of the Divine. When we sense HaShem's closeness, this spiritual attainment means that we are "back in the Garden."
The Field of Apples is when our spiritual consciousness is no longer acute. When we have wandered and strayed out of the Garden, we have entered the Field. This is exile. This is where we sense HaShem's Presence, but only in faint manifestations. This is a result of our diminished spiritual state, something which is the consequence of straying. This is when we are more likely to experience those events, that ennui of exile, which we perceive as middas din.
Can anything good happen in golus? Can anything good come of golus?
The Recanati writes that this is the promise of our parsha. HaShem pledges that even when our nation has strayed, even when our spirit has dimmed and we feel so distant from the Above, our efforts and our deeds will not go unrecognized by HaShem. His bracha will still reach us. This is the promise of "blessed are you in the Field!"
The "field" refers to the Field of Apples. With bracha, middas din can be transposed into middas rachamim.
May we taste that blessing as we head towards a sweet New Year. Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 12:52 AM
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