{"id":157,"date":"2019-04-04T19:15:51","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T19:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/?p=157"},"modified":"2019-04-04T19:15:57","modified_gmt":"2019-04-04T19:15:57","slug":"nephesh-hachaim-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/2019\/04\/04\/nephesh-hachaim-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Nephesh Hachaim 1:9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nephesh Hachaim <\/em>1:9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following\nthrough on the discussion of the previous chapter, R\u2019 Chaim contrasts the\nsituation of the generation that dwelt in the Sinai Desert 1<\/sup> with\nthat of those who lived in King Solomon\u2019s time 2 <\/sup>in terms of their\nneed to earn a living or not 3<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\noffers that those Jews who merited living in the Sinai Desert who were\nsustained each and every day on manna from Heaven 4<\/sup> and whose\nclothing never moldered 5 <\/sup>had absolutely no need to earn a living 6<\/sup>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\nthus served G-d completely, truly, and in awe, and dwelt wholeheartedly and\nexclusively upon Torah study and Divine service day and night, and had to do\nnothing whatsoever to earn a living. They thus embodied the statement of our\nsages that \u201cthe Torah was given exclusively to those who ate manna\u201d (Michilta<\/em>,\nBishalach <\/em>17). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as\na consequence, the Cherubs that functioned in their generation faced each other\ncompletely, given that the people themselves \u201cfaced\u201d G-d all of the time, and\nHe likewise \u201cfaced\u201d them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who lived in King Solomon\u2019s time, on the other hand, needed to earn something of a living to get by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in fact it was R\u2019 Yishmael\u2019s position that mostof us are to earn a living. After all, isn\u2019t it said in Pirkei Avot <\/em>(2:2) that Torah study along with a career<\/em> was the best situation, and doesn\u2019t Pirkei Avot <\/em>describe the path to piety <\/em>rather than just what\u2019s required (see Bava Kama <\/em>30a) 7<\/sup>? The one stipulation though, as was pointed out in the previous chapter, was that one is to dwell upon and study Torah while working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so the Cherubs in the Holy Temple there and then were\nturned somewhat to the side rather than facing each other, though they looked\nlovingly upon each other and embraced 8<\/sup>. And that was in order to\nindicate just how beloved the people were by G-d, given that their situation\nembodied what His intentions for most of us are 9<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why, though, did both<\/em> of those Cherubs turn somewhat\nto the side? Shouldn\u2019t the one that represented G-d have faced forward 10<\/sup>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point of the matter as we\u2019d said is that G-d\u2019s\ninterconnections with the universe itself, the forces and designs behind it,\nand His own providence of it, all depends on the degree of the promptings of\nour actions. And He either favors us or not according to those actions. Thus the\nCherub that represented Him turned somewhat away from the one that represented\nus 11<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so at the time of the crossing of the Red Sea Moses was\nreprimanded by G-d for praying to Him to see to it that they would all cross it\nsafely when He should have been addressing the people\u2019s own trust in G-d\u2019s promise\nthat they would (see Exodus 14:15). G-d\u2019s point was that if they strongly\nbelieved in and trusted in the fact that He would split the sea before their\neyes as they courageously approached it, that that itself would have stimulated\nthings in the heavens above to have the sea split miraculously 12<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For something else miraculous happened there, R\u2019 Chaim points\nout. The Egyptian horses chasing after them were miraculously able to take\ncharge of the chariots and their drivers 13<\/sup>. And he makes the point\nthat this is analogous to our being able to \u201ctake charge\u201d of G-d\u2019s connections\nto this world through our good deeds 14<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1                <\/sup>I.e., who\ndwelt with the Tabernacle in its midst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2                <\/sup>I.e.,\nwho dwelt with the Holy Temple in its midst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3                <\/sup>Note\nthat the generation of the desert not only singularly lived in the shadow of\nthe Tabernacle and didn\u2019t need to earn a living — they were also freed from\nslavery, crossed the Red Sea, and also received the Torah at Mount Sinai. Note\nthen the rarity of such a generation! Why doesn\u2019t R\u2019 Chaim cite all of that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              We contend it\u2019s because he\u2019s well aware that the reader\nknows those things, but that R\u2019 Chaim is subtly allowing us to recognize for ourselves\nthe point we made in note 17 of the previous chapter: that only those of such a\nrare generation — and rare individuals like them throughout the ages who can\nconcentrate on Torah study all of the time — are the ones who have mastery of\nthe Divine powers focused on in the previous chapters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4                <\/sup>R\u2019\nChaim also depicted them as having \u201ceaten from a grand table\u201d, an expression\ntypically used to refer to Cohanim<\/em> who would eat from the sacrifices offered\non the Altar (see Beitzah<\/em> 21a for example). By doing this R\u2019 Chaim is\nagain underscoring just how unique such individuals were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5                <\/sup>See\nDeuteronomy 8:4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6                <\/sup>R\u2019\nChaim purposely refers to them at the beginning of the paragraph as having merited<\/em>\ntheir fortunate situation to once again underscore their unique and privileged\nstatus (see Rambam\u2019s Hilchot Shmitta V\u2019Yovel<\/em> 13:12 as cited in note 16\nof the previous chapter).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7                <\/sup>Piety actually isn\u2019t the highest goal. See the Beraita<\/em>\nupon which Messilat<\/em> Yesharim<\/em> is based and elsewhere for higher\nspiritual levels. This again alludes to the point that only those who learn\nTorah all of the time — and who thus achieve even greater levels than piety —\nfulfill G-d\u2019s will most especially. \u201cTorah study alongwithacareer\u201d\nis the best situation for the rest of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8                <\/sup>R\u2019 Chaim cites 1 Kings 7:36 for an illustration of that\nphenomenon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9                <\/sup>As opposed to His intentions for those who are able to\nconcentrate on Torah study exclusively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              R\u2019 Chaim adds that while this depiction\nfollows R\u2019 Yishmael\u2019s opinion, it was R\u2019 Shimon Bar Yochai\u2019s opinion that the\nCherubs should have actually faced each other, given the people\u2019s way of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10              <\/sup>That is, shouldn\u2019t the Cherub that represented the Jewish\nNation have remained facing the one that represented G-d while the latter would\nhave turned somewhat away from them?<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11              <\/sup>R\u2019 Chaim\u2019s recondite point once again here is that only those\nwho didn\u2019t then and don\u2019t now need to earn a living, and spend all of their\ntime studying Torah have such power; only their<\/em> actions and way of life\naffected the heavens to an ultimate degree. And that\u2019s why the Cherub\nrepresenting G-d in Solomon\u2019s time — when the people had to earn a living — turned\nsomewhat away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  <\/sup>R\u2019 Chaim offers an\ninsight here in his own footnote into a statement made by Tosephot <\/em>in Shabbat\n<\/em>88a. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

12              <\/sup>See 3:12 below for another instance of instigating a miracle\nthrough sure faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Several students of R\u2019 Chaim\n(including R\u2019 Yaakov Meir Yeshurun, R\u2019 Yaakov Zundel of Salant, and others)\ncited their teacher\u2019s contention that trust in G-d alone can have Him alter the\nworkings of the world (see Keter<\/em> Rosh<\/em> p. 567-5789).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13              <\/sup>See Shemot Rabbah <\/em>23 and Shir Hashirim Rabbah <\/em>1:50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14              <\/sup>We contend that the use of the term \u201cAnd so\u201d at the beginning\nof this section indicates that R\u2019 Chaim is about to wrap things up — and to\nthus reiterate the point we\u2019ve been making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              For one thing, we have the specific\nstatement here that the people crossing the Red Sea — the very ones who were\nto dwell in the desert and study Torah all day long<\/em> — were capable of stimulating\nthings \u201cin the heavens above\u201d (by their sure faith and trust), unlike others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              And for another, in his commentary\nto Song of Songs 1:9 (cited here in the text), R\u2019 Chaim likens the Jewish\nNation to the hub of a (chariot) wheel, which while small compared to the rest\nof the wheel nonetheless controls<\/em> it, to the small Jewish Nation which likewise\ncontrols the world — thanks to our Torah-study and performance of mitzvot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              His contention here is that even\nthough the Jewish Nation is a small entity, still and all, it — and\nspecifically the small number of us who study Torah all of the time without\nearning a living, like those who crossed the Red Sea and dwelt in the Sinai\nDesert<\/em> — are the true power-source of the universe.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              See\n1:21 below for another discussion of exceedingly rare individuals alone\naffecting changes to Heaven and earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Not\nto make too much of the point, it\u2019s important to note that R\u2019 Chaim\u2019s perspective\nabout the centrality of Torah-study is entirely opposite to that of the early\nChassidim who were contemporary with him. (See the Introduction, note 3 to\nChapter 1:2, and note 4 to 1:4 above with reference to R\u2019 and the early\nChassidic Movement.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              In\ndistinct contrast to what we contend R\u2019 Chaim is alluding to here and in the\nprevious chapter that only those who constantly study Torah and perform mitzvot\naffect great and fundamental spiritual changes in the universe, the Ba\u2019al Shem\nTov taught that the same vitally important spiritual phenomena can be brought\nabout by proper eating and drinking, and other material acts<\/em> rather than\nexclusively through Torah study and the performance of mitzvot (see Toldot<\/em>\nYaakov<\/em> Yoseph<\/em>, Parshiot<\/em> Bereishit<\/em> and Bo<\/em>)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              It\ncould in fact be said that R\u2019 Chaim has been arguing against such a point of\nview here, and was doing so discreetly so as not to discourage people who are not\nprivileged to study Torah constantly whom Chassidim were drawing into their midst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(c) 2019\nRabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

———————————————————-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes torah.org\nentitled \u201cSpiritual\nExcellence<\/a>\u201d\nand \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d that can\nbe subscribed to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nephesh Hachaim 1:9 1. Following through on the discussion of the previous chapter, R\u2019 Chaim contrasts the situation of the generation that dwelt in the Sinai Desert 1 with that of those who lived in King Solomon\u2019s time 2 in … 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-157","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-2x","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157","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=157"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157\/revisions\/159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}