SONG
OF THE SEA: the depths congealed in the heart of the sea. [Because] the enemy
said, I will pursue,
HAFTARAH:
The open cities ceased, in Israel they ceased, until I Deborah arose;
I
arose as a mother in Israel.
TALMUD
SOTAH: Daf 9 - Bitter Waters /Samson
GENERATIONS
FROM ADAM TO THE LAST KING OF JUDAH: Lamech
JOURNEYS
IN THE DESERT: They journeyed from the desert of Zin and camped in Dophkah.
Week nine sometimes
falls completely within the month of Cheshvan, while at other times it
already includes Rosh Chodesh Kislev. (See Book 2, regarding the
concept of how this week represents half of the Tribe of Menashe) The verses of
the Song of the Sea for this week appear to be split into two different themes.
The first half is still related to the Flood, while the second already enters a
new theme, related to the “pursuit” of the enemy. The struggle to fight off the
spiritual persecution of the Greek enemy is one of the main themes of Chanukah.
The verses of the Haftorah are
also split. The first part speaks of how “open cities ceased” (a reference to
how civilization ceased during the Flood). The second part speaks of how
Devorah arose, “a mother in Israel.” Devorah’s battle against Sisera parallels
the Maccabee’s battle in the times of Chanukah. More than that, a
fundamental role of the Jewish mother is to preserve the sacred identity of her
child. As mentioned in both Book 1 and Book 2, Hannukah also comes
from the word chinuch, which means education. The verse also seems to
continue the theme of mothers and important women related to the month of Cheshvan.
Rachel, Anath, Yael, and now Devorah.
Daf Tet (Folio
9) of Sotah also appears to be split in two major topics. The first
is the continuation of the description of how a Sotah would be
punished and tested with bitter waters. The second half contains a discussion
of Shimshon, Samson. Although Samson and the Tribe of Dan are represented
by the next month, Teveth, nevertheless, the theme of Chanukah and Kislev is
also apparent also in the description of Samson, since he was supposed to be
pure, and that his downfall came from impure actions, including intermarriage.
It is worth noting that Teveth also contains several days of Chanukah.
Lamech, the father of
Noah, appears to be a “kosher” version of Lamech the descendant of Cain, who
ends up killing Cain, along with his own son. While Cain’s descendant kills his
ancestor and his progeny, Seth’s descendant, from the moment his son is born,
expresses the hope that the entire world will be comforted through him. Through
his son, his entire line of ancestors is saved from destruction, and with it,
the entire human race.
Similarly, Lamech
descendant of Cain represents a key element of moral depravity, and of an
unchecked worship of aesthics and pleasure typical of Greek culture at the time
of Chanukah. Lamech had two wives. Rashi explains that one wife
was used for reproduction purposes, while the other was kept barren so that she
could stay pretty and youthful. In contrast, the son of Lamech descendant of
Seth saw the whole world be destroyed due to moral depravity.
Interestingly, both the
Lamech from Cain and the Lamech from Seth have their statements recorded in the
Torah. Lamech from Cain says: “Now Lemech said to his wives, "Adah and
Zillah, hearken to my voice; wives of Lemech, incline your ears to my words,
for I have slain a man by wounding (him) and a child by bruising (him). If Cain
shall be avenged sevenfold, then for Lemech it shall be seventy seven
fold." (Genesis, Chapter 4, v. 23, 24) The verse related to Lamech
descendant of Seth states as follows: “And he named him Noah, saying,
"This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands
from the ground, which the Lord has cursed." (Genesis, Chapter
5, v. 29)
Lamech descendant of
Cain also represents the unchecked use of science and technology, also typical
of Greek culture at the time of the Maccabees. Rashi’s commentary on the
above verse explains that “Before Noah came, they did not have plowshares, and
he prepared [these tools] for them.” While Cain’s line develops technology to
improve weapons and ways of killing people (including Cain himself), Seth line
uses technology to improve the lives of those around him.
Science and aesthetics
can be very positive things, but, as Noah himself states in Chapter 9 of
Genesis, these ideals have to be contained within the greater ideals of
morality and truth:
26. And he said,
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be a slave to them.
27. May God expand Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may
Canaan be a slave to them."
Japheth (ancestor
of Yavan, Greece, and whose name comes from the Hebrew word Yoffi,
beauty) may increase, but in the house of Shem (ancestor of Abraham, whose name
itself means “name,” an indication of his connection to truth).
In the ninth week, the
Jews journey from the desert of Zin and camp in Dophkah. The personal journey
is to internalize the coming of the new moon, Rosh Chodesh, and feel the
“knocking” (from the verb dofek) in our hearts, the call to return to
Zion, to the Holy Temple. The verse “Kol Dodi Dofek” (Song of Songs 5:2)
represents the idea that “Divine Providence was ready to restore everything as
it had been at first [during the first Temple] if they had all willingly
consented to return. But only a part was ready to do so, whilst the majority
and the aristocracy remained in Babylon, preferring dependence and slavery, and
unwilling to leave their houses and their affairs.…”[1] This
is the challenge of assimilation, getting too comfortable in exile.
An important lesson we
learn from Lamech in our approach to prayer and Divine service is the need to
connect to Hashem in ways that are above the reason. There is a well-known
teaching by our sages that in Hebrew word king, Melech, the letter Mem represents
the Moach (the mind), and the Lamed, the Lev, the
heart. When the Mem and the Lamed are inverted,
instead of Melech you get Lemech, which means
"fool." As is also emphasized in Chabad Chassidic
philosophy, the mind must control the heart. However, when it comes to
prayer and to our connection to G-d, there is such a concept, also emphasized
in Chabad Chassidic philosophy, of Shtus d’Kedusha, “Holy
Folly.” Ultimately, prayer is the service of the heart, not the mind, and our
connection to G-d is above nature and above all logic.
[1] A Note on the Title of [Rav Joseph’s
Soloveitchik’s work] Kol Dodi Dofek, David Z. Gordon; available
at http://www.rabbis.org/news/article.cfm?id=100833
