Kedusha in the Wilderness
Author: Esther Ehrman, Sivan 5772/June 2012Parashat Naso with comments by Ramban, studied at one of the Etta Kossowsky Study Groups.
The camp of the Israelites in the wilderness is strictly organised. The beginning of the Book of Numbers tells us how the tribes with their standards were arranged around the Tabernacle. Moses and the Princes of the tribes take a census, which accounts for everyone except the tribe of Levi. That tribe is counted separately. Unlike the other tribes, who are counted for military purposes, the tribe of Levi is allocated the task of serving the Mishkan (Tabernacle) when it moves with the Israelites from one place to the next. This count of Levites begins in the section Bamidbar, perhaps because it completes the picture of the Israelite camp, singling out the family of Kehath that is in charge of the main components of the Mishkan.
Parashat Naso finishes the census of the tribe of Levi according to their tasks in transporting the Mishkan. The Israelites had been promised that the Lord would communicate with them from above the Ark, between the Cherubim. It is therefore essential that not only the Tabernacle itself, but the entire camp within which it is situated, be not defiled. Ensuring its kedusha is the first concern of the Torah section known as Naso (Numbers 4,21 – 7,89), since 'I shall dwell among them' (Num.5,3) Ramban comments: 'that their camp shall be 'kadosh'.fit for the 'Shechina' ( the Divine Presence), a commandment that applies now (in the wilderness) and in future generations'.
We next learn about the sanctity of all things that are 'kadosh'. Having benefit from anything that is holy is termed meila. Since it is seen as stealing from the Lord, it is treated as stealing. Its value must be restored and a fifth added. If the person to whom the restitution is to be made has died, it is given to the next kinsman. If there is no kinsman, the Torah states, that which was stolen is to be given to the Cohen. Ramban explains that the Israelite who has no kinsman is the convert and that meila is committed by the thief who takes an oath, using the Name of the Lord, that he has not committed the theft, although he has. His lie is the meila; he is trying to benefit from, as it were, a fraudulous use of the Lord's Name.
After a section on what belongs to the Cohen and what is due to him, we learn about the sotah (Num.5,11-31), a woman whose husband suspects her of being unfaithful. Her husband will bring an offering of plain oats on her behalf and she is made to drink special bitter waters; if she is guilty, the curse of the bitter water takes effect, 'her stomach shall distend and her thigh will collapse'; is she is innocent, she will bear children. Ramban interestingly associates the placing of the Sotah here as related to the census that has just been taken, since the Israelites need to be warned who among them might be a mamzer, a child of a forbidden marriage. The people need to assure their Kedusha. Ramban also explains that the offering that is brought is callled 'a meal offering of jealousies' in the plural, the jealousy of the husband and the jealousy of the Lord, who will, the husband hopes, be jealous on his behalf and reveal the truth of the matter through the miracle of the bitter water. Ramban emphasizes the unique quality of this miracle; it applies only at a time when the Israelites obey the Law. Once husbands are themselves given to immorality, the miracle ceases and the procedure is discontinued.
The Torah text follows the account of the Sotah with that of a Nazir. This is someone who vows to take upon him or herself not to partake of any produce from the grape, not to cut his or her hair and to avoid all contact with the dead, even those who are close relatives. Ramban explains that this section is juxtaposed to the Sotah because the Nazirite woman is the opposite of a Sotah, the latter is frivolous, the former pious. Moreover, says Ramban, anyone who sees the dishevelled Sotah and her disgrace will want to abstain from anything that leads to levity. Ramban has his own understanding of the sin-offering, the chataat, one of the sacrifices that the Nazir brings upon completing the period of his being a Nazir. Rashi explains that a chataat is due because the Nazir is denying himself the blessings that the Lord grants us. Ramban states that he is guilty because he decides to stop being in a state of sanctity; 'he is abandoning his kedusha and his service to the Lord'. The kedusha of the Nazir is a kedusha assumed by an ordinary Israelite; he is placed, Ramban tells us, next to the prophet.
The kedusha of the commandment that follows is self-evident. 'Thus shall you bless the Children of Israel: May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord shine His countenance upon you and be gracious unto you; may the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and grant you peace. Let them place My Name upon the Children of Israel and I shall bless them'. (Num.6, 23-27). The priestly blessing conveys the kedusha of the Lord to the Israelites. Ramban makes the point that Aaron had previously blessed the people, 'raising his hand towards them', a reference to Lev.9.22-24, The text of the blessing had not been given on that occasion. Aaron may or may not have known it. The wording is given here, explains Ramban, as the text that is to be used in all generations. Ramban adds the information that, in the Temple, the full Name of the Lord was used, while in the provinces that was not the case; moreover, the text was recited as one blessing in the Temple, outside of it as three sections.
The Torah section of Naso now reverts to the ceremony of the Dedication of the Tabernacle . The twelve Princes who had assisted Moses in the census now bring their individual offerings. The twelve are all identical; each Prince is given a separate day and the text repeats the list of the gifts of each Prince every time. After the twelve repetitions, the text gives the total of each of the items. Every commentary notes the impression of equality that this account conveys. Ramban notes the miraculous tally of the individual gifts and the total, saying that if the gold of the individual items were to be melted down and then reconstituted, one might well have arrived at a different total, something would probably have been lost in the process; but here it was important that the identical share of each would be reflected in the accurate total. He adds that a separate day was perhaps allocated to each Prince, since each may have had his individual motive for his gift; thus, the silver bowl of one might be intended to symbolise the world, the silver bowl of another may have been intended to represent the seas.
The kedusha of the dedication is completed with these offerings. Now Moses enters the Mishkan 'he hears the voice speaking to him from above the cover of the ark, from between the two Cherubim and He spoke to him' (Num. 7,69). The Divine promise was being fulfilled.
Kedusha
Author: Esther Ehrman, Sivan 5772/June 2012Thoughts on completing the learning of the Talmud Order of Kodshin (Holy Things).
Kedusha, central to Jewish thinking and worship, has a number of meanings and degrees of intensity. Whatever connotation applies, the source of kedusha is unquestionably G-d, as is clear from statements such as 'Kedoshim tiheyu, ki kadosh ani, You shall be holy because I am holy' (Lev.19,2) and 'kadosh yiheyei lecha, he – the priest – shall be holy to you kii kadosh ani H'mekadishechem, because I, the Lord who sanctifies you, am holy' (Lev. 21,8). Yet we do also 'sanctify'. The beginning of the verse just cited is 've kidashto – and you shall sanctify him – ki et lechem elokeicha hu mekarev - because he is offering the bread of your Lord'.
Most importantly, we can bring about our sanctity: 'If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant' then 'atem tiyehu li mamelechet kohanim ve goy kadosh – you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation' (Ex. 19,6).
So far, the Divine attribute of kedusha can, it would appear, be conferred upon us. We have not yet been told what kedusha is; only that it is Divine.
One of the accepted meanings of kedusha entails 'separation'. Rashi's comment on Lev 19,2 above is separation from forbidden marriages because that is the context of that particular phrase. Ramban suggest that it is separation from wrongdoing in a more general sense.
We are also familiar with the blessing that we recite at the going out of every Sabbath, 'ha mavdil bein kodesh le chol, bein Israel le amim, bein yom ha shevi'i le sheshet yemei ha ma'asei, Who distinguishes between the kadosh and the everyday, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of creation'. There is nothing bad about the every day life, the nations or the six days of creation; they, too, are the work of the Almighty. Yet the kodesh, Israel and the Sabbath have been shown as different, given a separate status by the Lord.
The separate status of kedusha is granted to all things that are exclusively the domain of G-d, specifically the Temple, its service, its location, its sacrifices, the Kohanim that officiate there.
All these have sanctity, an inherent sanctity. It is not acquired by a moral 'good'; it can be lost or forfeited by conduct that is not 'right', that is incorrect. It forms the subject of the Talmudic Tractates that constitute the Order of Kodshin. Every procedure is examined, down to the last detail of intent and action.
Amazingly, the attention to the detail that must be assured or avoided, is embraced enthusiastically. In Tractate Tamid we see the priests vying with one another for the privilege of having a share in every possible stage, from cleaning out the ashes of the altar to holding a single limb of the sacrifice. There is great awe, indeed there must have been dread of desecrating that which is kadosh, and yet it is inspires the very great eagerness for the privilege of coming close to the kedusha. The loss of the Temple has meant the loss of a whole area of Kedusha.
The holiness of the entire nation has also suffered greatly by the loss of the world of Kodshin. Tractate Kareitot gives a list of categories of conduct that constitute breaking the covenant that conferred kedusha on the nation, conduct such as idol worship, violating the Sabbath, eating chametz on Pesach, eating on Yom Kippur and the like. A person guilty of these acts is no longer part of the covenant of kedusha, s/he is excluded by the punishment of 'kareit', being cut off from the people. If, however, the wrongdoing was inadvertent, the covenant is not broken and the person owes a 'chataat' offering. Likewise, in Tractate Meila, an 'asham meila' sacrifice is due when making reparation for the thing that was kadosh and has been wrongfully used. We no longer have the opportunity to, as it were, reinstate the kedusha physically. We have kept the concept of penitence, teshuva, which was always there. But we do not associate teshuva with kedusha, as we did when we were allowed to follow the dictates of Kodshin.
Mesilat Yesharim
Author: Esther Ehrman, Heshvan 5773/November 2012How to serve the Lord according to the Ramchal in Mesilat Yesharim
The 18th century in Europe is generally associated with the Age of Enlightenment, the age of reason. It is not until the 19th century that the cultural/philosophical pendulum swings towards the non rational, the mystic and affective perspective on life. Jewish thought and writing of the time largely echo the current culture, with Moses Mendelssohn seen as the champion of Jewish Enlishtenment and figures like the Baal Shem Tov inspiring the Chassidic mindset. Chaim Moshe Luzzatto (1707-1746) seems to bridge both trends. Living, as he did, in the University city of Padua, Italy, he could not have been oblivious of the influence of the Enlightenment, yet in many of his writings he is a professed Kabbalist. It is fascinating to see the traces of contemporary culture in his work, Mesilat Yesharim, 'The Path of the Just'. The RaMChaL, as he is known, (Rabbi CHaim Moshe Luzzatto), here writes a guide for the Jew who wishes to serve G-d, to become a Tzaddik, a righteous or just person. Whereas Biblical commentators had analysed the Divine commandments as they teach us how society and the individual should conduct themselves, the Ramchal is looking at human behaviour that is required in order to know how to view the mitzvot (commandments) so that we may properly fulfil them. His guide is grounded in the Bible, the Talmud and Midrash, from which he gives many examples of role models and sayings. If we wish to conform to the standard set by these, we need to be aware of our shortcomings and to be willing to work tirelessly to improve ourselves, - a teaching that was later to be given great emphasis in the Mussar movement. An example of a topic discussed in 'Mesilat Yesharim' will illustrate the Ramchal's approach.
In Chapters 6 -9, the subject is zerizut, the zeal or alacrity that is essential in serving G-d. Sometimes, the Ramchal will stress the role of the heart, sometimes he will address the intelligent reader and show how the mind can create control of one's behaviour. The Kabbalistic approach is not articulated, but it is there in the presentation.
Chapter 6 defines zerizut as 'the swiftness of one's approach to a mitzvah and its speeedy consummation' and describes the serious consequences of a lack of zerizut . Man's earthy (literally, i.e. made from dust) nature means the he is lazy and 'not at all enthusiastic about effort and work'...'He needs to overcome his own nature;...'A person needs great strength to transform his nature so completely'. If that is not done, the situation is bound to become damaging. As the Book of Proverbs (24,v.30ff) tells: 'I passed by the field of an indolent person and the vineyard of an unintelligent person and it was overgrown with thorns, its surface was covered with thistles...' The Ramchal points out that the Midrash takes this passage and applies it to Torah learning. ' Because he has not toiled over [the words of the Torah], he sits [in judgment] and declares the pure to be impure and the impure to be pure, thereby undermining the enactments of Torah scholars'. Laziness, thus, can lead to perversion of Torah. It interesting to note that, in Kabbalistic thinking, man's character is related to the four basic elements of air, fire, earth and water. The laziness of man is due to his earthy nature; earth is heavy and pulls one down.
We also need to be aware, the Ramchal continues, how this works in life. The indolent person will rationalise his behaviour, 'it is too hot, too cold, rainy etc., as reasons for not attending to a mitzva, which is accompanied by a certain arrogance in believing that one is all right – and then, again, lacking knowledge, perverting the teaching of the Torah. Moreover, the Bible praises angels and people for their speedy fulfilment of mitzvot. Zerizut is a positive virtue, essential to a Jew.
In Chapter 7, the Ramchal analyses the virtue of zerizut; it has two elements: the speedy fulfilment and completing the mitzva. Here, too, the models are taken from the Biblical narrative:King David tells his officer Benayahu to take Solomon down to the river Gihon to be crowned king( 1 Kings, 1,33); David is showing his concern for immediacy, having told Bath Sheva that he would see to the matter 'this day' (v.30). Likewise, Solomon is praised in the Midrash for his speedy building of the Temple, as is Moses for the same concern in the building of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Indeed, a saying in Tractate Berakhot (6B) tells us that 'one should always run to perform a mitzvah, even on Shabbat', - the Gemara there contrasts this to leaving the Synagogue on Shabbat, always 'with small steps'. Equally vital is the concern for completing a mitzvah. The Ramchal chooses a highly dramatic great saying from the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah, 85,3) to make his point: 'He who commences a mitzvah and does not complete it will bury his wife and children'. One explanation is that if we do not give to the Almighty all that is His due, we, and ours, will also lose part of what we could have had. Another explanation is that a wife and children that G-d gives complete a man. That completeness will be curtailed if we fail to complete what is due. A mitzvah is ascribed to the one who completes it (ibid). This must be done speedily, in case something comes to prevent it. Therefore, says the Ramchal, of the person who wishes to serve his Creator' his movement will be as rapid as fire for he will neither rest nor be silent until the matter is brought to completion'. The association of fire with the speedy action is seen as assuming that the element of fire is the cure for the element of earth - laziness; earth is heavy and pulls down; fire is light and rises.
Most important, as the Ramchal stresses both at the beginning and at the end of the chapter, is that the zerizut comes from the heart and is not the result of wanting to be rid of a burden. However, a person to whom this does not come naturally can work at it; 'the external movement will stimulate the inner one', 'to know G-d, one needs to pursue knowledge'; such a person will then attain simcha penimit, inner joy (Hosea 6,3). The aim of that pursuit is to rouse the heart.
Chapter 8 follows up on the idea that zerizut may need to be deliberately acquired. Motivation is essential. The Ramchal teaches that the best motivation is an awareness and appreciation of the great good that the Lord bestows on us. The thinkers of the Enlightenment had used the wonders of nature as an argument for the existence of G-d, and the counter argument had stated that a person who was in some way disabled might not be capable of such awareness. The Ramchal does not fall into that trap. The rich and healthy appreciate what they have; the poor man appreciates that 'the Eternal, miraculously and wondrously, does not allow him to die of hunger'; the sick person, likewise, appreciates the strength to live that G-d grants him. Our desire to show appreciation will fuel the zerisut. Not every person will be motivated in the same way. The Ramchal believes that there are three categories to be considered:
1. the wise who gain an intellectual awareness of the value and importance of the mitzvot;
2. the less wise, who look to the world to come and consider their merit or lack of merit there;
3. the masses, who are motivated by their concern for reward and punishment in this world.
It is interesting to recall that Maimonides, in the 12th century (Mishne Torah, Bk1, ch.10), had similarly categorised the motivation for learning Torah into those who do so out of love for the Torah and those who have not reached to that stage, who should be taught to heed reward and fear. A teacher may use sweets and punishment when children are young until they have the understanding and ability to appreciate real values.
In Chapter 9, The Ramchal returns to the subject of what may undermine our zerizut anad discusses how to counter this. The Ramchal's approach here is largely intellectual.. Intellectual awareness of our inherent indolence, the need to learn control are essential. We should know that we are here on earth to toil, 'Man is born to labour' (Job 5,7) and we should realise that practise makes things easier. Another impediment is fear. An indolent person will say 'a lion is on the road' (Proverbs 26,13). Fear is associated with sin, but, says the Ramchal, there is stupid, uncalled for fear and there is intelligent fear. G-d gave fear to man to enable him to keep away from harm. We need to have the intelligence (sechel) to distinguish between these fears. 'There is trusting in the Eternal and there is recklessness' and we have an obligation to take care of ourselves. Awareness of the problem and the practice of zerizut will show to the intelligent mind (navon) the truth of the matter.
The Ramchal has clearly crafted his exposition of zerizut so that it convinces a variety of readers. His use of Biblical and related texts is not an embellishment of his arguments, but forms part of the argument and will appeal to the learned person; his stress on the role of the rational mind in the control of behaviour will please philosophical contemporaries; his certainty that the zerizut must come from the heart if it is to have any real value will inspire the religious readers that will dominate much of the century that was to follow.