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THE ZOHAR |
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VAYELECH Deuteronomy XXXI, 1-30 AND MOSES WENT AND SPAKE THESE WORDS UNTO ALL ISRAEL. R. Hizkiah cited here the verse: "That caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, that divided the water before them" (Isa. LXIII, 12). 'Happy', he said, 'are Israel in that God chose them, and because He chose them He called them sons, [283b] firstborn, holy, brothers, and came down to dwell among them and sought to establish them after the supernal pattern, and spread over them seven clouds of glory. Three holy brethren accompanied them, Moses, Aaron and Miriam, and for their sakes God gave them precious gifts. All the days of Aaron the clouds of glory did not depart from Israel, and Aaron, as we have stated, was the right hand of Israel, and therefore it is written, "that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses": this refers to Aaron. Therefore Aaron being dead it says now that Moses "went", like a body without an arm, as it says, "and they went without strength before the enemy" (Lam. I, 5). 'All the days of Moses the children of Israel ate bread from heaven, but as soon as Joshua came "the manna ceased on the next day ... and they ate of the produce of the land" (Joshua v, 12). What is the difference between them? One is from the higher source and the other from the lower. As long as Moses was alive the orb of the sun was in the ascendant and illumined the world, but as soon as Moses departed the orb of the sun was gathered in and the moon came forth. We have learnt that when God said to Moses, "Behold my angel shall go before thee" (Ex. XXIII, 23), Moses said, "Shall the radiance of the sun be gathered in and the moon lead us? I desire not the orb of the moon, but that of the sun". Then the orb of the sun shone forth and Moses became like the orb of the sun to Israel; and when Moses was gathered in the orb of the sun was gathered in and the moon shone and Joshua used the light of the moon. Alas for this degradation! 'AND HE SAID TO THEM, I AM AN HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS OLD THIS DAY. This bears out what R. Eleazar said, that the sun illumined Israel for forty years and was then gathered in, and the moon commenced to shine.' R. Simeon said: 'This accords with the verse: "There is that is destroyed without justice" (Prov. XIII, 23), which has caused some difficulty to the Companions. The explanation is this. It has already been stated that all spirits issue from heaven in pairs, male and female, and then separate. Sometimes the spirit of the female goes forth before the male which is her mate, and as long as the time of the male has not come to be united with her another can come and marry her, but when the time of the first one arrives to marry her, when Zedek (Righteousness) arises to visit the sins of the world, this other that married her is gathered in and the first comes and marries her. And even though his works were not particularly evil, he is gathered in before his time and not in accordance with judgement, and the doom of Zedek lights on him for his sins because die time of the other to whom she belongs has come.' R. Eleazar asked; 'Why should he die? Cannot God separate them and let the other come and give her to him?' He replied: 'This is the kindness that God does with a man, that he should not see his wife in the hand of another. Observe, too, that if the first [284a] is not deserving, even though the woman is his by rights, the other is not removed to make way for him. In the same way Saul obtained the kingdom, because the time of David, to whom it rightfully belonged, had not yet come. But when" David's time arrived to come into his own, Zedek arose and gathered in Saul on account of his sins, and he had to make way for David. If it is asked, Could not Saul have lost the kingdom without also dying, the answer is that God did him a kindness in gathering him in while he was yet king so that he should not see his servant ruling over him and taking what was formerly his. So here too. Therefore a man should pray to God that he be not thrust out to make way for another. So, too, God said to Moses: Do you want to overturn the world? Have you ever seen the sun serving the moon? Have you ever seen the moon shining when the sun is still high? BEHOLD THY DAYS APPROACH THAT THOU MUST DIE, CALL JOSHUA; let the sun be gathered in and the moon rule. Nay more, if thou enterest the land the moon will be gathered in before thee and have no sway. The time has come for the dominion of the moon, but it cannot rule while thou art in the world. 'THAT I MAY GIVE HIM A CHARGE. We find, in fact, that God gave no charge to Joshua, but only to Moses. Why, then, does it say, "that I may give him a charge"? What it means is this. God said to Moses: Although thou liest with thy fathers, thou wilt still be existing to give light to the moon, just as the sun even after it has set continues to give light to the moon. Therefore I will charge Joshua to be illumined, and therefore it says also, "command Joshua and encourage him" (Deut. III, 28): charge him, that is, to give light. 'FOR THOU SHALT BRING THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. And previously (V. 7) it says, "thou shalt come with this people". Why this variation? One was to announce to him that he would enter the land and remain on it, the other that he would have sway over Israel.' R. Simeon discoursed on the verse: "From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, glory to the righteous", etc. (Isa. XXIV, 16). 'These songs are the praises uttered by the Community of Israel before the Holy One, blessed be He, at night, at the time when He holds joyous converse with the righteous in the Garden of Eden. When is this? From midnight onwards. And for what purpose? To be united with the Holy One, blessed be He, [284b] and to be sanctified with the same holiness. The verse continues: "I pine away, I pine away, woe is me. The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously". Woe is me for the generation and for the world! For all are false to Him, and their children inherit their treachery and add to it their own, and so become defective both above and below. When Isaiah saw this, he gathered all who feared sin and taught them the way of holiness and the sanctity of the King that their sons might be holy; and therefore the sons they bore were called after his name, wherefore it says, "Behold I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and wonders in Israel" (Isa. VIII, 18). Another explanation of this verse ("From the uttermost part of the earth", etc.) is that when the Israelites came into the land with the Ark of the holy covenant before them, they heard from one side of the land the sound of joyful praises and the voice of sweet singers who were singing in the land. And this redounded to the praise of Moses, that wherever the ark rested in the land they heard a voice saying, "This is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel". But woe is me that the traitors have dealt treacherously, that Israel are destined to be false to God and to be uprooted from the land, and because their children persist in their falsehood they will be uprooted a second time until their guilt will be expiated in a foreign land. 'THAT IT MAY BE THERE FOR A WITNESS AGAINST THEE. Three things [are recorded in Scripture as] having been made witnesses, namely, the well of Isaac, the lot, and the stone which Joshua set up. This song, however, is the best witness of all.' Said R. Isaac: 'If so, there are four?' He replied: 'The term "witness" is not specifically applied to the lot in Scripture, though it says "by the mouth of the lot shall their inheritance be divided" (Num. XXVI, 55).' AND MOSES SPAKE THE WORDS OF THIS SONG UNTIL THEY WERE FINISHED. R. Eleazar asked: 'Why does it say here, "the words of this song" and not simply "this song"? The reason is that all the words which Moses spoke were traced with the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and then every word came to Moses to be traced by him and remained before him. How is it, it may be asked, that for the song of Solomon the masculine term shir (song) is used, and for the song of Moses the feminine term shirah? Seeing that, as we have learnt, all the other prophets were in comparison to Moses like an ape compared to a man, should not Moses have said shir and the other shirah? [285a] The answer is that Moses was speaking not for himself but for Israel.' R. Simeon said: 'This is not so, but the truth is that this itself is a proof of the superiority of Moses. For Moses went up, from the lower to the higher, but they came down, from the higher to the lower. Moses said shirah, which is the song of the Matrona in honour of the King, and he was attached to the King. They said shir, which is the song of the King in honour of the Matrona, and they were attached to the Matrona; and thus the superiority of Moses was here displayed. We may also say that Moses used the term "shirah" to connect his words with the place from which judgement could be visited on them, since he had already said, "For I know their imagination", etc. (V. 21), and also, "For I know that after my death", etc. (V. 29). We find it also written, however, "And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song (shirah, 2 Sam. XXII, 1). It is to the honour of David that he attained to this grade of inditing a shirah from the lower to the higher. This was towards the end of his days, when he had reached a higher stage of perfection. And why was he worthy to indite such a hymn, from the lower to the higher, at the end of his days? Because he had peace on all sides, as it is written, "On the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies" (Ibid.).' R. Simeon said: 'What is the most perfect hymn? One that is addressed both by the lower to the higher and by the higher to the lower, and which then combines the two. From whose example do we know this? From this song of Moses. First the lower addresses the higher in the words, "For I will call on the name of the Lord", and again, "Ascribe greatness to our God", the reference being to the Most High King. Afterwards he traces the degrees from higher to lower, as it is written, "righteous and upright". Finally the knot of faith is tied in the words "he is". This should be the example for every man in arranging the praises of his Master. At first he should ascend from the lower to the higher till he carries the honour of his Master to the place whence issues the stream of the most recondite fountain. Then he draws it downwards from that moistening stream to each grade in turn down to the lowest grade, so that blessings are drawn to all from on high. Then he has to knit all firmly together with the knot of faith, and this is the man who honours the name of his Master by unifying the Holy Name. Of such a one it is written, "Them that honour me I will honour" (I Sam. II, 30), that is, them that honour Me in this world I will honour in the next. "But", the verse goes on, "they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed". This applies to one who does not know how to unify the Holy Name, to bind the knot of faith, and to bring blessings to the proper place; for whoever does not know how to honour the name of his Master were better not to have been born. R. Judah says that these words apply to one who does not answer "Amen" with devotion, since we have learnt: Greater is he that answers "Amen" than he that says the blessing. [1] For so we have explained in the presence of R. Simeon, that Amen draws blessings from the Source to the King and from the King to the Matrona; in the inscribed letters of R. Eleazar, from A to M and from M to N, and when the blessings come to N, from there [285b] they issue forth to higher and lower and spread through all, and a voice proclaims, "Drink from the stream of blessings that So-and-so the servant of the Holy King has sent forth". And when Israel below are careful to answer "Amen" with fitting devotion, many doors of blessing are opened for them above, many blessings are spread through all worlds, and great is the joy throughout. For this Israel receive a reward in this world and in the next. In this world because when Israel are oppressed and offer up prayer a voice proclaims in all worlds, "Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth truth may enter in" (Isa. XXVI, 2): as Israel open for you gates of blessing, so open the gates for them and let their prayer be received for deliverance from their oppressors. In the next world what is their reward? That when a man who was careful to answer Amen departs from this world, his soul ascends and they proclaim before him: Open the gates before him [2] as he opened gates every day by being careful to answer Amen. But if one hears a blessing from the reader and is not careful to answer Amen, what is his punishment? As he did not open blessings below, 80 they do not open for him above, and when he leaves this world they proclaim before him: Close the gates in the face of So-and-so that he enter not, and do not receive him -- woe to him and to his soul! We have learnt that the sinners of Gehinnom are in different storeys, and that Gehinnom has a number of gates corresponding to those of the Garden of Eden, each with its own name. There is one storey lower than all the rest which consists of a storey on a storey, and this is called the nether Sheol, "sheol" being one storey and "nether" another below it. We have learnt that he who descends to Abadon, [286a] which is called "nether", never ascends again, and he is called "a man who has been wiped out from all worlds". To this place they take down those who scorn to answer Amen, and for all the amens which they have neglected they are judged in Gehinnom and taken down to that lowest storey which has no outlet, and from which they never ascend. Of such it is written, "As the cloud is consumed and withereth away, so he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more" (Job VII, 9); this refers to that nether storey.' R. Jose cited the verse: "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jer. II, 13). ' "They have forsaken me", by refusing to sanctify the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, with Amen; and their punishment is "to hew out broken cisterns", by being taken down to Gehinnom storey after storey till they reach Abadon, which is called "nether". But if one sanctifies the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, by answering Amen with all his heart, he ascends grade after grade till he is regaled with that World-to-come which perennially issues forth.' R. Eleazar said: 'Israel will one day indite a chant from the lower to the higher and from the higher to the lower and tie the knot of faith, as it is written, "Then shall Israel sing (yashir) this song" (Num. XXI, 17), from the lower to the higher. "Spring up, O well, sing ye to it": that is, ascend to thy place to unite with thy Spouse. This is from the lower to the higher; then from the higher to the lower in the words, "The well which the princes digged" -- for it was begotten of the Father and the Mother, "which the nobles of the people delved", as a place for the King to join her with blessings. And through what shall be their union?" "With the sceptre": this is Yesod; "And with their staves": these are Nezah and Hod. Thus we have from the higher to the lower. Then the song proceeds: "And from the wilderness to Mattanah and from Mattanah to Nahaliel and from Nahaliel to Bamoth": this is the complete bond of faith, the permanent bond wherein is all.' R. Jose said: 'Israel will one day utter a complete song comprising all other songs, as it says: "And in that day shall ye say, Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples" (Isa. XII, 4).' _______________ Notes: 1. T.B. Berachoth, 57b. 2 v. T.B. Shabbath, 119b.
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