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Session Five
Kabbalah
TEXTS: Part I
Moshe Cordovero was one of the great Kabbalists of Tsfat (Safed)
in the mid-1500s. The theme of his book Tomer Devorah is that
we can become like God by being good to each other, the way God
is good to us. Because this is a Kabbalistic book, the explanation
of being like God has to do with the Ten Sefirot.
The author explains the qualities of each of the Ten Sefirot and how we can have those qualities in ourselves. Almost half of the book is about the qualities of the first Sefirah, Keter -- which is all love and compassion, with no strictness at all. The author explains that the last three verses of the book of Micah, Micah 7:18-20, which are read at the end of the book of Jonah during the afternoon service on Yom Kippur, and also as part of Tashlikh on Rosh Hashanah, describe the qualities of pure compassion which God shows to us through Keter.
"Who is a God like You, forgiving sin and passing by the transgression
of the remnant of His inheritance? He does not keep His anger
strong forever, because He delights in lovingkindness. He will
again have compassion on us, and conquer our sins. You will throw
all their mistakes into the depths of the sea. You give truth
to Jacob and lovingkindness to Abraham, as You swore to our ancestors
from the days of old."
This is my favourite section from this part of the book, interpreting
two words from this passage in Micah:
versus
"To the remnant of His inheritance..." a relationship of the flesh
The word "she'erit" means "remnant", but the author will interpret it differently. He connects it with the expression "she'er basar", which means "a relationship of the flesh", "a blood relationship". A teacher of mine, Joseph Cohen, says that "Kabbalah is a science which takes puns seriously" and this is a good example.
This indeed is the way God acts with the Jewish people -- saying:
"What can I do to the Jewish people, since they are My relatives?
I have a blood relationship (she'er basar) with them." For [the Jewish people] are God's spouse, and He calls her "My
daughter", "My sister", "My mother", as our Rabbis of blessed
memory have explained [in Midrash Shir HaShirim Rabbah, 9:4].
And it is written [in Psalm 148:14], "Israel, the people related
to Him". They are His actual relatives, and His children. In the
same way, "to the she'erit of His inheritance" is an expression of blood relationship [she'er basar]. And, no matter what, they are His inheritance. What does He say?
"If I punish them, the hurt is inflicted on Me." As it is written: This verse is one of several in the Bible that are written one
way and read another way. There are two traditions about the correct
reading of these verses, and in good Jewish fashion we hang onto
both -- we write it one way and read it aloud another way. (see
sidebar) With this particular verse, the difference is one of spelling;
it does not affect our pronunciation, but it does affect the meaning
that we have in mind when we read it aloud. "The Highest Wonder" is Keter; "the Two Faces" are Tiferet and
Malkhut. The author recognizes that, because many Jews are converts and
descendants of converts, we aren't actually all blood relatives
in a physical sense. But on the soul level, we are the closest
possible relatives. "Lo" is written with an Aleph [in which case "lo tzar" means,
"He did not add to [their] suffering". But mystically] this tells
us that their suffering reaches to the Highest Wonder [peleh, which is Aleph spelled backwards]. And how much more so, to the Two Faces which
contain the essence of [God's] guidance [of the world]. And we read "lo" with a Vav -- "lo tzar" meaning "He suffered".
And it is written, "His soul was stressed in the misery of the
Jewish people" [Judges 10:16] because He cannot bear their suffering
and shame, since they are "the she'erit of His inheritance." That is why "there is nothing like a multitude of people doing
mitzvot" [a rabbinic teaching from Sifra 26:8] -- because they
are included in each other. "A hundred people" is meant literally, because the [first] ten
are included in each other, so they are ten times ten -- so they
are a hundred. [Each of the ten people includes all ten, and ten
people who each include ten people are equal to a hundred people].
And each of them includes a hundred [because each of them includes
all of them] -- and so, even if a hundred arrive, [each of the
minyan-makers] gets the reward of a hundred. "Areivim zeh bazeh" means "guarantors for each other." But the
word "areivim" also has the meaning "mixed", so that the same
words would mean "mixed into each other." The author uses both
interpretations. Another Comment: "Areivim" also means "sweet", so Hasidic teachers add a third
translation of "areivim zeh bazeh" -- "Jews are sweet to each
other". Halevai (if only...!) That is why "Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh" (Talmud Shavuot 39a) This is why it is appropriate to desire the well-being of others
and not to speak to their discredit at all, or desire it. In the
same way that God does not desire our disgrace or our suffering,
because we are relatives, do not desire the disgrace of others
or their suffering or downfall, but let it feel bad to you as
if you yourself were in that suffering -- or in that good fortune.
Comment: The author's language at the end is very concise; of
course he means "and when things are going well for others, let
it feel good to you as if you yourself were in that good fortune."
Love Your Neighbour As Yourself -- from Tomer Devorah (The Palm
Tree of Deborah) by Moshe Cordovero, chapter 1 section 4
COMMENTARY
The author refers to God's special relationship with the Jewish
people and the special relationship of Jews to each other. We
will likely want to expand this to include all people, and I think
we should. However, it's good to expand things in this way without
forgetting the truth of the more limited view. In Judaism, each
Jewish person's connection with God is through being part of the
Jewish people; it is not an individualistic thing, unconnected
to the community. And there is a special obligation to love and
take care of your fellow Jews -- which is training for loving
all people. The fact is that Jews are not always the most lovable
people. If you can really love all your fellow Jews, you should
have no trouble loving the whole world. On the other hand, if
you think in terms of loving the whole world, check yourself --
how well do you actually love, say, for example, the people you
see at shul on the High Holidays?
By the way, this is one proof that the "Bible Codes" are not true.
The idea of "Bible Codes" assumes that the text of the Bible is
letter perfect. But actually there are quite a number of examples
where the tradition tells us that we don't know the correct text
for sure.
All this also applies to people's relationships with each other.
All of the Jewish people are blood relatives [she'er basar], one with another, because their souls are included in each
other: there is a portion of this one in that one, and a portion
of that one in this one.
Therefore, our Rabbis of blessed memory explained that one who
is counted among the first ten in the synagogue [someone who helps
make a minyan], even if a hundred people arrive later, receives
a reward equal to all of them. [This teaching is in the Talmud,
Berakhot 47b.]
"the Jewish people are areivim zeh bazeh" -- "mixed into each other" -- because there really is, in each
one, a portion of every other one. And when you sin you damage
yourself and the portion that others have in you; so as far as
that portion is concerned, the others are guarantors [areivim]
for you.
So they really are relatives [she'er].
This is why it is appropriate to take pleasure in the good fortune
of others and cast a good eye on others' good fortune, and let
their honour be as dear to you as your own -- because they really are you. For this reason we are commanded, "Love your neighbour as yourself."
(c) Justin Lewis, instructor
course offered through Kolel: The Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish
Learning