Ramchal

Let’s explore the constellations and angels as agents of God’s governance as we said we would, and explore their relation to the Sephirot.

Angels were clearly understood early on as God’s agents who accompany Him and carry out His every wish, as when the prophets reported that they “saw God seated on His throne, with all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and left” (1 Kings 22:19), and witnessed “a river of fire flowing and emerging from before Him; (with) a thousand thousands (of angels) serving Him, and ten thousand ten thousands (of them) arising before Him” in His court (Daniel 7:10).

And we’re told that they were “the first of all created things, and were emanated from the splendor of His glorious Light” (Zohar Chadash, Breishit 9b), that they dwell in the seven Heavenly Halls (Zohar 1, pp. 11-45), and that God consults with them (Breishit Rabbah 8).

Let’s see now what Ramchal suggests about them.

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

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The best source for illustrations of basic Kabbalistic concepts is often the works of R’ Moshe Cordovero, and that’s certainly true when it comes to the Sephirot. So let’s draw now upon his depictions.

He describes the Sephirot as “the subtlest of things” (Pardes 4:7) that function as God’s “workman’s tools” (Pardes 4:1) if you will, and also filter His unbearably glorious presence, given that “the (various supernal and mundane) worlds couldn’t bear God’s abundance without the (mediation of the) Sephirot, so lofty is He” (Pardes 4:5). The ten of them are all interconnected, much “like sparks that emit from burning coal; for just as no one can imagine sparks existing without burning coals, as the two must exist at the same time, so too are the various Sephirot all interdependent” (Pardes 4:5).

And as to the question of how all the many changes in the Sephirot don’t indicate a change in God Himself who dwells in their midst, he compares it to the situation of “water running through variously colored vessels … For even though the water itself is colorless, nevertheless when it runs through the vessels the water assumes the colors of the vessel it’s running through”. That’s to say that God’s presence is of one sort and unchanging; the Sephirot that express His presence and will change in many ways, to be sure, but that says nothing of God’s unchanging presence — any apparent change there is “in the eye of the beholder rather than intrinsic to the water”, i.e., to God’s own presence (Pardes 4:4) [1].

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Note:

[1] Like R’ Cordovero, R’ Azriel (in his commentary to Sefer Yetzirah, p. 27b) and R’ Menahem Recanti (in Ṭa’amei HaMitzvot) considered the Sephirot to be utterly separate from God’s Being. But the anonymous author of Ma’arechet Elokut (p. 8b) took them to be parts of His Being. The Ari contends, however, that both views are correct, depending on circumstances (Eitz Chaim 1:3, 40:8, 47:1).

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

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Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

The Sefer Yetzirah also likens the ten Sephirot to ten fingers (1:3), thus alluding to God’s “hand’s-on” approach to creation, in keeping with the statement that the “heavens (are) the work of Your fingers” (Psalms 8:4), and to His governance, as when an instance of His intervention is taken to be an act of “the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19) [1].

There are a number of explanations offered as to the significance of the term Sephira itself. Some say that it refers to their sapphire-like purity, clarity, and luster, as the term is a cognate of Saphir, the Hebrew for sapphire [2]; it’s a cognate of Mispar, number, in light of the abstract nature of both the Sephirot and numbers themselves [3]; it’s related to sippur, to declare, as in “the Heavens declare God’s Glory” (Psalms 19:2) [4]; and more [5].

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Notes:

[1]       Also see Sefer Bahir 138.

[2]       Ra’avad’s comments to Sefer Yetzirah 1:2, Zohar Chadash, Yitro, p. 41b.

[3]       (As opposed to the concrete nature of actually counted-out things) see Cordovero’s Pardes Rimmonim 1:1 and Gra’s Yahel Ohr (6d).

[4]       Sefer Bahir 125.

[5]       See Cordovero’s Shiur Komah 2 for other explanations.

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

We’ll start with the Mishnayot of this section:

Petach 5

הספירות הם הארות שניתנו ליראות, מה שלא ניתן אור הפשוט א”ס ב”ה:

Sephirot are those illuminations that were allowed to be envisioned (prophetically), unlike God’s own simple light (and other lights that are more sublime than the Sephirot under discussion, which cannot be envisioned whatsoever).

Petach 6

כל ספירה היא מדה אחת מן המדות של א”ס ב”ה, אשר ברא בם את העולמות, ומנהג אותם. שברצותו שתהיינה נודעות, עשה שכל מדה תראה בסוד הארה אחת, שבראות אותה – מבינים המדה ההיא. ובראות תנועות ההארה ההיא – מבינים מה שנעשה בהנהגה במדה ההיא בזמן ההוא:

Each Sephira is an attribute of The Infinite that He used to create the (various esoteric and concrete) worlds and which He (now) uses to govern them.

Now, since He wanted them to be known of, He had each attribute appear as a single, mystical “illumination”. So by “envisioning” it we can understand the attribute itself, and by “envisioning” its movements we can understand what would be taking place in the governing process through that attribute at that time.

And we’ll add these essential points:

The Sefer Yetzirah is the first printed work to speak of the Sephirot. It speaks of  “ten Sephirot of ‘sheer nothingness’” referring to their utterly immaterial nature or, put another way, to “ten ineffable Sephirot” (1:2) [1].

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Notes:

[1]       The Sefer Yetzirah also speaks of close homonyms to Sephirot, “Sepher (book), S’phar (number), and Sippur (communication)” (1:1) which tell us something about their overall makeup.

For as Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan put it, “Like a book, each Sephira can record information. The Sephirot thus serve as a memory bank in the domain of the Divine. A permanent record of everything that has ever taken place in all of creation is thus made on the Sephirot…. The Sephirot (also) introduce an element of number and plurality into existence. The Creator, the Infinite Being, is the most absolute unity, and the concept of number does not apply to Him in any manner whatever…. It is only with the creation of the Sephirot that the concept of number comes into being. In this mode, ever event and action is measured and weighed by the Sephirot, and the appropriate response is conceived and calculated…. The Sephirot are (also) the means through which God communicates with His creation. They are also the means through which man communicates with God. If not for the Sephirot, God, the Infinite Being, would be absolutely unknowable and unreachable” (Sefer Yetzirah, Aryeh Kaplan, p. 21).

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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Recall that Ramchal introduced the Sephirot here with the statement that “each Sephira is an attribute (or “capacity”) of The Infinite that He used to create the (various esoteric and concrete) worlds”. But he then added that they’re the mechanisms “which He (now) uses to govern them” (Petach 6). So while we’ll necessarily be spending a lot of time on the creation process, as Kabbalists do, we’ll also spend a fair amount of time on the “more recent past” if you will, since creation, as well as on the present and future as God continues His governance.

We’ll first need to see how others who preceded Ramchal depicted the Sephirot and how his depiction differs. And we’d need to explore the role that angels play in this, as it’s commonly assumed that they’re God’s agents of governance, as well as the role of the constellations.

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Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

We’ve been taught that God alone created the universe and governs it; but how and with what mechanism? Well, we’re told quite simply that “the world was created through ten utterances” (Pirkei Avot 5:1) and by means of ten agencies termed “wisdom, understanding, reason, strength, rebuke, might, righteousness, judgment, loving-kindness, and compassion” (Chagigah 12a). Those then are the mechanisms, which the Kabbalists termed the ten Sephirot.

Based essentially on the verse found in 1 Chronicles 29:11, the Kabbalists termed them Keter (Crown), Chochma (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), Tipheret (Beauty), Chessed (Kindness), Gevurah (Severity), Netzach (Victory), Hod (Glory), Yesod (Foundation), and Malchut (Kingship). And the lot of them, in combination and individually, will be discussed at length in Klach [1].

Ramchal depicted them here as follows: “each Sephira is an attribute (or “capacity”) of The Infinite that He used to create the (various esoteric and concrete) worlds and which He (now) uses to govern them” (Petach 6).

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Notes:

[1]       Ramchal speaks of Sephirot in quite a number of his works including Da’at Tevunot 46; Klallim Rishonim 1, 23; Klallei Pitchei Chochma v’Da’at 2; Klallei Ma’amar HaChochma 2-6, 16; Klallalim m’Sefer Kinot Adonai Tziva’ot 5; Klallot Shorshei HaChochma; Klallim Mitoch Sefer Milchamot Moshe 2; Ma’amar Areimat Yadi; Sod HaYichud; Biurim l’Sefer Otzrot Chaim 2; Asarah Orot 6; Ma’amar HaVichuach 42-56, 126, 134, 152; Pitchei Chochma v’Da’at 27; Klallot HaIlan 1:1; Klallei Chochmat HaEmet 3 and onward; Iggerot Ramchal 3, 23; Tikkunim Chadashim 69; Adir Bamarom; and Derech Hashem 3:2:3, 4:6:13.

For earlier references see Sefer Yetzirah (especially 1:14), Zohar 2 p. 136b ff., Tikkunei Zohar 12b, Zohar Chadash, Yitro 33b; Moshe Cordovero’s Pardes Rimmonim 8:2, Elima Rabbati 6:2, Shiur Komah Ch. 2; and Ari’s Eitz Chaim 5:5.

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

We’ll be beginning Section 2 now, entitled Sephirot, which is comprised of Petachim 5 and 6.

Starting off with a review of the classical sources of the concept of the Sephirot, we’ll then present some pre-Ari definitions, and then offer Ari’s own, given that Ramchal’s approach is rooted in Ari’s.

After that we’ll offer our translation of the Mishnayot of Petachim 5 and 6, then an analysis of the section en toto, bit by bit.

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

As we’d pointed out a few paragraphs back, Ramchal contends that one of the major factors of the God Yichud is the detail that all bad will revert to goodness once His Yichud is revealed; we’ll end this section with a discussion of that.

As Ramchal words it here, “in the end all harm will be rectified and all wrong will revert to actual goodness. And God’s Yichud will thus be revealed” (Petach 4) [1]. For in fact, “wrongfulness reverting to goodness is itself the mystery of the complete (revelation of God’s) Yichud” (comments to Petach 4).

But the idea of all wrong reverting to goodness seems highly problematic to say the least; for one thing, because Ramchal seems to say something else at other points. He indicates a number of times that wrong will eventually be undone after having been defeated by goodness, both in every individual’s lifetime and in the course of human history [2], which is far less radical and much more consistent with the prevailing view. But that’s clearly not his contention here in Klach.

The notion that all wrong will revert to goodness is also challenging because it seems to imply that everyone will “get off scot-free” in the end, if you will [3]; or that the breakdown of right versus wrong will ultimately prove to be meaningless or useless. So let’s see how Ramchal addresses those issues.

One point to be made is that wrongdoers will not “get away with murder” whatsoever, as the expression goes, in that “everything will (eventually) be utterly perfected and rectified … either through repentance or retribution” (commentary to Petach 1), and thus fairly and deservedly rather than arbitrarily [4]. And each person will indeed be made to answer for his or her deeds [5].

Why then did God create evil in the first place if it’s only going to be destroyed in the end? Because God’s ultimate “goal wouldn’t be reached otherwise” (commentary to Petach 2). For wrong will prove to have functioned as a “straw man” if you will, who seems to thwart God’s wishes. Once it is done away with, though, it will be clear that “whatever we perceive as ostensibly thwarting His will only does so because He permitted it to” (commentary to Petach 1).

As such, wrong was created to be destroyed, and God’s having done that was comparable to someone “breaking (something) so as to fix (it later on)” (commentary to Petach 4), meaning to say on purpose and for a constructive end. And as a consequence, “whatever is initially wrongful (by all appearances) … will undoubtedly (prove to be) good in the end (Petach 2), and “and it will (thus) be realized and clear in retrospect that there is only one Ruler” (commentary to Petach 2) [6].

This completes “On the Revelation of God’s Yichud and His Beneficence”. Ramchal provides us with this fine encapsulation of it:

“Several things are involved here. First, God’s Yichud will actually be revealed. Since this involves having evil revert back to goodness, that couldn’t actually come about until evil was actualized in the lower realms. Secondly, the revelation of God’s Yichud will be so precious that (those who experience it) will enjoy great delight when they attain it. Thirdly, since this revelation involves an initial concealment, that fact allows a place for (our Divine) service (in life) and it allows for reward when it’s experienced…. But as soon as God’s Yichud will be revealed, there will no longer be a need for (our Divine) service” (comments to Petach 4) [7].

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Notes:

[1]       See the statement that all “wrong was created to be undone (in the end)” Da’at Tevunot 124. Also see Ginzei Ramchal p. 247.

[2]       See for example Iggerot Ramchal 4, 14, 23; Klallim Rishonim pp. 294-295; Ma’amar HaGeulah, and elsewhere. See Y. Avivi’s analysis on pp. 98-100 of Zohar Ramchal with examples offered, as well as his argument there (as well as on pp. 206-208, 289) that Ramchal’s views evolved over time to the one expressed here. But see R’ Shriki’s arguments against that chronology in Rechev Yisrael p. 180 note 53*. Also see R’ Friedlander’s statement at the end of the first paragraph on p. 36 (English pagination) in his edition of Klach.

But one need only read the following statement by Ramchal to understand his intentions: “The left (side; i.e., the side of wrong) will (first) be subdued by the right (side; i.e., the side of goodness) when good will dominate, and (then) wrong will revert to goodness” (Sod HaYichud in Ginzei Ramchal p. 264). Also see the discussion near the end of BT Yoma (86b) to the affect that one’s sins will be turned to merits rather than just atoned for when he repents out of a true love of God, which will presumably be true of all of humankind when God’s Yichud will become manifest.

[3]       As Ramchal puts it here, “In the end, all people, whether righteous or wrongful, will enjoy (God’s) largess” (commentary to Petach 2).

[4]       See Derech Hashem 2:3:5, 9; Messilat Yesharim Ch. 5; and R’ Friedlander’s note 461, on p. 187 of his edition of Da’at Tevunot.

[5]       After indicating that “all people, whether righteous or wrongful, will enjoy (God’s) largess” as we cited in our note above Ramchal then indicated there that “however, God has to deal with each individual according to his ways” (commentary to Petach 2). His point there is to not only underscore Divine Justice but to also indicate how that too helps explain God’s Yichud. For as he goes on there to say, “for (while) it’s necessary to punish the wrongful, (that’s only) in order to exonerate them afterwards. (After all,) if His intention was to reject the wrongful, they should actually be destroyed rather than be punished so as to be purified later on. The fact that they are punished to benefit them later is clear proof that His will is only for good” (commentary to Petach 2).

[6]       See Ramchal’s comments to Petach 49 on p. 180.

Also see R’ Shriki’s thorough treatment of the matter on pp. 168-180 of his edition of Da’at Tevunot, and on pp. 229-281 in Rechev Yisrael

We contend, though, that at bottom Ramchal’s point is that given that God Himself is goodness itself (see Derech Hashem 1:2 and Klach 30 p. 101, and the statement that “there’s no wrong either in ‘The Beginning’ or ‘The End’, as everything is good (i.e. God) then” [Sod HaYichud in Ginzei Ramchal p. 264]), it thus follows that when wrongfulness is undone, reality as we know it will implode upon itself as well (see our note 2 to this section), and “all wrong will revert to actual goodness” (Petach 4), i.e., Godliness.

[7]       Also see Adir Bamarom p. 393.

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

In any event, the idea of wrongfulness then descended downward until it concretized into acts of veritable wrong, injustice, and evil. And that’s where we come in.

Our being faced with and challenged by wrong is what allows us free choice, as we said, which gives us the wherewithal to reject it for our own good, and to eventually achieve true transcendence and perfection. So we see that as far as we’re concerned, wrong is meant to act as a prod for us to grow ethically and spiritually (much the way personal challenges often enable their sufferers to transcend their physical and emotional limitations) [1].

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Notes:

[1]       As he writes, “the Divine service that was granted to humankind rests on the idea that both right and wrong (actions) were created in the world and that humans were placed in the (ethical) middle so as to chose right (actions)” (Derech Hashem 2:3:1), so “it became necessary for there to be a yetzer harah that could control a person (and have him make wrong ethical choices), which he might nonetheless sometimes overcome as well” (Adir Bamarom p. 88).

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

First of all, where did wrong, injustice, and evil ever come from anyway if God is all-good [1]? Like everything else, it too was created by God, as it’s written, “I form the light and create darkness… I, the Lord, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7); “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?” (Lamentations 3:38); and “are we to accept good from God and not trouble?” (Job 2:10). And as Ramchal puts it here, “Wrong isn’t a power onto itself God forbid, but rather something that He Himself created” (commentary to Petach 2).

So at what point was wrong created if it isn’t inherent to God Himself? At the creation of non-Godliness, when God allowed for the constriction of His being known as the Tzimtzum and then in what’s referred to as the Reshimu. We’ll delve into these arcane phenomena at length later on but that’s our point for now [2]. Ironically enough, though, the ultimate source of the creation of wrong and evil was God’s own desire to benevolent [3].

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Notes:

[1]       The Hebrew term “rah” denotes all of these. The term “evil” is overused and is often inappropriate as a translation as not all instances of rah are evil. There are some that are analogous to misdemeanors, others to felonies, and others to acts of out-and-out wickedness with many shades of gray in between. While Halacha certainly recognizes the difference, the idea of rah itself often isn’t spelled out when under discussion, hence our use of wrong, injustice, and evil depending on circumstances.

Ramchal discusses rah at great length in several Petachim beyond this first section including 30, 33, 37, 44, 45, 47, 53, 63, 83, and 108; also see Da’at Tevunot 96-133; Derech Hashem 1:2:5, 1:3:6, 1:5:7-9, 3:2:8, 4:1:3, 4:4:1,9, and 4:9:1; and in various other writings to be cited.

[2]       The Tzimtzum will be discussed in Petachim 24-25, 30; see Petachim 26-27 for the Reshimu (as well as Klallim Rishonim 5). Also see Adir Bamarom pp. 457-458.

[3]        As Ramchal worded it elsewhere, “Know that God is utterly good and wants to express utter benevolence; but know as well that the ultimate act of benevolence would be to have even wrongfulness revert to goodness“(Adir Bamarom p. 393) and to reveal His Yichud in the process.

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

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Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.