{"id":136,"date":"2018-12-07T11:05:02","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T11:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/?p=136"},"modified":"2019-12-01T21:10:52","modified_gmt":"2019-12-01T21:10:52","slug":"nephesh-hachaim-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/2018\/12\/07\/nephesh-hachaim-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Nephesh Hachaim 1:8"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nephesh<\/em> Hachaim<\/em> 1:8<\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

R’ Chaim offers a rather complex discussion here about the positioning of the Cherubs in the Tabernacle and Holy Temple in order to illustrate his point 1<\/sup>. Let\u2019s follow his reasoning.<\/p>\n

Some sages stressed the fact that the two Cherubs faced each other 2<\/sup> while others stressed the idea that both Cherubs faced the Temple 3<\/sup>. And others reconciled the difference by saying that the Cherubs did indeed face each other, but only when the Jewish Nation was loyal to G-d 4<\/sup>, while they faced the Temple walls instead when the Jewish Nation wasn’t loyal to Him 5<\/sup> (see Baba Batra <\/em>99a).<\/p>\n

After noting all that, R\u2019 Chaim then refers us to Rashbam\u2019s position there 6<\/sup> that the statement to the effect that they faced each other refers to the Cherubs in Moses\u2019 Tabernacle, while the one that says that they faced the Temple instead refers to the Cherubs in Solomon\u2019s Temple. Rashbam also asserts that the Cherubs in the Tabernacle were originally configured to stand face to face, but that that configuration miraculously altered itself when the Jewish Nation became disloyal. He also argued that it could be said that they faced somewhat in both directions 7<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

R\u2019 Chaim then directs our attention to the comments of Tosephot <\/em>there, who offer that the Cherubs were originally set face to face in line with the fact that the Jewish Nation was indeed loyal to G-d 8<\/sup>. But, why then were the Cherubs in Solomon\u2019s Temple originally set at an angle rather than facing each other, R\u2019 Chaim wonders 9<\/sup>? It\u2019s because this last point actually alludes to something else 10<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

The point of the matter is that G-d told us to \u201cnot stray from it\u201d (Joshua 1:70) 11<\/sup>. But how then are we to earn a living if we\u2019re never to stop studying Torah? Based on a discussion in Berachot <\/em>(35b), we learn that some would argue that we\u2019re indeed to never stray from it while others say that we\u2019re to earn a living 12<\/sup>. Then we\u2019re told not to concern ourselves with earning a living since \u201cwhen the Jewish Nation is loyal to G-d 13<\/sup>, their work is done by others\u201d, while we\u2019ll be forced to provide for ourselves if we aren\u2019t <\/em>loyal to G-d that way 14<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

But how then can it be that we\u2019d ever be allowed to earn a living? The point of the matter, R\u2019 Chaim indicates, is that if we\u2019re forced to earn a living to get by, then we\u2019re to still-and-all concentrate on Torah study while we\u2019re working 15<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

In any event, while that\u2019s true of the majority of people — who have to work for a living — those rare individuals who have been chosen by G-d to study Torah all day long may not <\/em>earn a living and thus abandon Torah-study for however long 16<\/sup>. R\u2019 Chaim will now tie this last theme in with the situation of the Cherubs cited above.<\/p>\n

3.<\/p>\n

It comes to this: one of the Cherubs represents G-d, R\u2019 Chaim points out, while the other represents the Jewish Nation. And the degree of devotion that the Jewish Nation showed G-d evidenced itself in the positioning of the Cherubs. For, moment by moment and by miraculous means, they either faced each other straight on, when the Jewish Nation was devoted to Him, or they faced away from each other (either to a certain extent or altogether) when they weren\u2019t 17<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/p>\n

1<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Recall that R\u2019 Chaim had discussed G-d\u2019s \u201cshadowing\u201d our actions in the last chapter. He\u2019ll now discuss a dramatic and physical manifestation of that in the placement and movement of the Cherubs, who represent the relationship between G-d and the Jewish Nation as we\u2019ll see, and which was also discussed in the last chapter.<\/p>\n

Curiously enough, unlike the previous chapters and most of them to follow, R\u2019 Chaim offers lamdanut <\/em>(subtle and close textual analysis) here, rather than enunciate his points outright. It seems that he\u2019s actually hiding<\/em> his main point, which a writer would only do either because what he has to say is too much of a secret to state outright, or for one other esoteric reason or another. We\u2019ll expand on this in note 17 below.<\/p>\n

2<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As it\u2019s said, \u201cThe Cherubs will face each other\u201d (Exodus 25:20) and \u201cThe Cherubs faced each other\u201d (Ibid. 37:9). Significantly, the wording in the Hebrew is that each Cherub will face its brother<\/em>. We\u2019ll expand on the significance of this, too, below.<\/p>\n

3<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rather than each other, as it\u2019s said, \u201cThey stood … facing the main hall\u201d (2 Chronicles 3:13).<\/p>\n

4<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And thus \u201cfaced\u201d G-d head on. We\u2019ll expand on what \u201cbeing loyal to G-d\u201d signifies here, too, in note 17 below.<\/p>\n

5<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And turned away from Him.<\/p>\n

6<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 R\u2019 Chaim actually directed us to Rashi\u2019s<\/em> comments, but as is well known, Rashi\u2019s comments to Baba Batra <\/em>ended at p. 29a and were completed by Rashbam.<\/p>\n

7<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is, at a 45 degree angle or so, facing neither the Temple itself nor the other Cherub directly.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d suggest then that R\u2019 Chaim\u2019s point here so far is to underscore just how varied the positioning of the Cherubs could be, depending on our deeds. And that that indicates just how far G-d\u2019s manifestation (represented by the Cherubs) could alter, thus \u201cshadowing\u201d our reactions to Him.<\/p>\n

8<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At the time, in the Sinai Desert.<\/p>\n

9<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 R\u2019 Chaim is actually segueing into another point here: about the vital importance of Torah study (which will be expanded upon later, most especially in Gate Four below). We\u2019ll see later on how the two themes complement each other.<\/p>\n

10<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As will be discussed in Ch. 9 below, in the days of the Tabernacle, the Jewish Nation was miraculously provided with food and drink, but that changed in the days of the Holy Temple (in ancient Israel).<\/p>\n

What\u2019s to follow also<\/em> isn\u2019t preceded by an out and out statement of R\u2019 Chaim\u2019s point (see end of our footnote 2 above).<\/p>\n

11<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I.e., from the Torah, which is to say, from Torah-study, as R\u2019 Chaim will point out. See Rambam\u2019s Hilchot Talmud Torah<\/em> 3:8-10.<\/p>\n

The term \u201cthe point of the matter\u201d which R\u2019 Chaim himself used here is puzzling, since it implies that what\u2019s to follow will explain what preceded it, which it doesn\u2019t seem to do!<\/p>\n

But as we\u2019ll explain below, it does<\/em> explain it, but only on the esoteric level we alluded to in note 1 above.<\/p>\n

12<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And thus necessarily set Torah-study aside for a part of the day.<\/p>\n

13<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By constantly studying Torah, it\u2019s implied.<\/p>\n

14<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The idea of things changing depending on whether or not the Jewish Nation is loyal to G-d or not, harkens back to the discussion of the Cherubs above, of course.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d thus offer that R\u2019 Chaim\u2019s point here is that when we\u2019re loyal to G-d and \u201cface Him\u201d in our day and age<\/em> just as in the past by engaging in Torah study He \u201cshadows\u201d and \u201cfaces us\u201d too, and provides for us.<\/p>\n

15<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is, we\u2019re to work with our hands and with the minimum amount of concentration we\u2019d need to do our work, yet we\u2019re to concentrate the better part of our minds on Torah matters.<\/p>\n

Now, couldn\u2019t it be argued that while that was easy enough to live up to in the sort of agrarian-economy-based society that the Talmud is speaking about in which most of the work was labor-intensive and called for little concentration, but that a modern economy would seem to call for a lot more mental concentration? So, is the principle no longer applicable?<\/p>\n

But see the Introduction to the esteemed Chayai Adam <\/em>where R\u2019 Danzig, its author, who lived in the 19th Century, spoke of always having one Torah thought or another in mind even as he worked for some years in industry. Others can do so, too, then.<\/p>\n

16<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See Rambam\u2019s Hilchot Shmitta V\u2019Yovel<\/em> 13:12.<\/p>\n

R\u2019 Chaim offers a footnote of his own here which is likewise an instance of lamdanut <\/em>(see footnote 1 above) rather than of philosophical or ethical insight like his other footnotes. It analyses the verses in the Torah and the Talmudic statements that differentiate between the needs and obligation of the masses versus those of the rare individual when it comes to Torah study.<\/p>\n

17<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 R\u2019 Chaim cites Yoma<\/em> 54a, Zohar 3: 152b, 3:59b, and Zohar Chadash<\/em>, Teruma<\/em> 36a which all illustrate that.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll now try to tie in all the points we made above about R\u2019 Chaim\u2019s hidden point here. The first thing to bring to mind is a statement made by R\u2019 Chaim\u2019s son, R\u2019 Yitzchak, in the latter\u2019s introduction to Nephesh<\/em> Hachaim<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo humble was R\u2019 Chaim that he had no compunctions about drawing close to the poor and unlettered, he\u2019d lecture about things that would not only speak to scholars but to those same simple individuals, and he\u2019d somehow purposefully and unpretentiously address both in the course of his public teachings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, one would have to be exceedingly subtle in his choice of words in order to be understood — and not misunderstood<\/em> — by either class of listener. And therein lies our argument about what R\u2019 Chaim was saying and not saying<\/em> in this curious chapter.<\/p>\n

At bottom he\u2019s insinuating that only<\/em> \u201cthose rare individuals who have been chosen by G-d to study Torah all day long\u201d affect the Cherubs– and by extension, the entire universe. Because the mitzvah par excellence is Torah-study, and they alone are the ones who truly engage in it (there will prove to be an even greater narrowing down of the field enunciated in Gate Four, but now isn\u2019t the place for that).<\/p>\n

The rest of us can certainly study Torah and indeed must, but we\u2019re restricted by the need to earn a living (the reader should note that R\u2019 Chaim speaks in the text itself as the need to work only enough to have what to eat<\/em>, which very, very few of us manage to restrict ourselves to). While our need to earn a living can be accommodated, too, it\u2019s still and all not really the best.<\/p>\n

Thus while those in R\u2019 Chaim\u2019s audience who worked for a living were certainly encouraged to do the best they could and were reminded that they could do a lot, his more sophisticated listeners understood that it was they<\/em> alone<\/em> who were truly loyal to G-d and thus affecting the Cherubs and the course of the universe. And that they alone are truly G-d\u2019s \u201cbrother\u201d or partner (see note 2 above).<\/p>\n

Hence, that point wasn\u2019t expressed outright because it would have discouraged the others, and would seem to demean less than total Torah-study.<\/p>\n

See the contemporary Chassidic counterpoint that only Tzaddikim<\/em> (the righteous, learned or otherwise) have the ability to affect such changes. See Me\u2019or<\/em> Ainayim<\/em>, Yitro<\/em> and Avodot<\/em> Yisrael<\/em>, Avot<\/em> 4:6.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

(c) 2018 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n

———————————————————-<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman’s new annotated translation of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag\u2019s \u201cIntroduction to the Zohar\u201d is available as \u201cThe Kabbalah of Self\u201d on Kindle here<\/a>. His annotated translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> and his annotated translation of Rabbeinu Yonah\u2019s “The Gates of Repentance” is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes torah.org entitled \u201cSpiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d that can be subscribed to.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nephesh Hachaim 1:8 1. R’ Chaim offers a rather complex discussion here about the positioning of the Cherubs in the Tabernacle and Holy Temple in order to illustrate his point 1. Let\u2019s follow his reasoning. Some sages stressed the fact … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8YhFQ-2c","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":187,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions\/187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}