The Bat is
saying, "Comfort My people, comfort them, says your Lord." (Isaiah
1:40)
Rabbi Shimon
would say: Be meticulous with the reading of the Shemah and with prayer. When
you pray, do not make your prayers routine, but [an entreaty of] mercy and a
supplication before the Almighty, as is stated ``For He is benevolent and
merciful, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, and relenting of the
evil decree'' (Joel 2:13). And do not be wicked in your own eyes.
Tiferet shebeGevurah (balance and beauty within the context of discipline and judgment)
On the tenth week, the Bat reiterates G-d’s words,
asking that His people be comforted. (Isaiah 40:1) In this week, we fully enter
into the month of Kislev, which is represented by the tribe of Benjamin.
Benjamin is known for its ability to preserve Jewish values for future
generations and for its great capacity for self-sacrifice.[1]
The Bat has the ability to see in the dark, an important trait in this month of
long and cold nights. Yet it is also on this month, during Chanukah, that we
feel that G-d does indeed comfort us. On Chanukah, the Jews defeat the
spiritual darkness of the Greeks, and the light of the Temple is restored.
In Pirkei Avot, Rabbi Shimon states: "Be careful
with the reading of the Shemah and with prayer. When you pray, do not act as if
this were routine, but rather a plea for mercy and supplication before G-d… Do
not be evil in your own eyes." The Shemah is the greatest expression of
monotheism and of the acceptance by the Jewish people of G-d as One, and as the
King of the Universe. Similarly, the prayer shows our intimacy with our
Creator. These concepts are exactly what the Greeks wanted to destroy. They had
a problem with the people’s monotheism. They even accepted the concept of a
Cosmos - cold and indifferent to human behavior - but not of a G-d that was a
Merciful Father and King.
For Rabbi Shimon, in order to follow a righteous
path, it is very important to see what lies ahead, and to avoid not paying back
loans. He states that one who borrows from his friend is as if he borrows from
G-d. To be able to see what is about to happen (literally, “seeing what is
being born”) is one of the Talmudic definitions of being truly wise, and
achieving Chochmah. The Greeks were known for their wisdom. However, wisdom it
and of itself, is not sufficient. Wisdom must be tied to the ethics of
monotheism and to a firm relationship with a Merciful G-d. Not paying back
loans, for example, is not only unethical, it is a rejection of the great mercy
someone had towards us, an ultimate reflection of G-d’s mercy. Giving
interest-free loans to our neighbors is a Divine commandment from the Torah.
The sefirah combination for this week is tiferet
shebegevurah: beauty and balance within strength and discipline. As explained
above, tiferet also is known as rachamim, mercy. While we are more distanced
from Tishrei, we still remember the beauty of our Torah, we ask Hashem for
mercy, in order for us to maintain our strong our dedication to the spiritual
resolutions we had made on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
An important teaching of self-improvement to be
drawn from the words of the Bat is to always pray for mercy, and to remember to
support our fellow, especially the needy and the oppressed.
[1]
Ryzman, pp. 64, 232.
[Gematria Thought: The number ten represents a complete unit, an
intensification of the concept of unity reflected in the number one. Ten
represents the Ten Commandments, the ten sefirot, as well as the ten Divine
expressions.[2] In Pirkei Avot, ten is also associated
with mercy. G-d waited ten generations from Adam to Noah before punishing
humanity. The generations after Noah also sinned, and G-d also mercifully
waited ten generations from Noah to Abraham, who then began the process of
returning humanity back to the belief in One G-d.[3]
[2]
Pirkei Avot, 5:1.
[3]
Pirkei Avot, 5:2-6]
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