Rashi comments upon the verse, "This is my G-d, and I will glorify him
"(Exodus
15:3): "He was revealed to them in His glory and they pointed Him out with their fingers
A maidservant beheld at the Reed Sea what even the prophets never saw."
Nahmanides comments upon the verse, "Hashem will reign forever and ever"(Exodus
15:18) - in the future.
He has now
shown that He is King and Ruler [over all]
so may it be
His will to do so in all generations forever [in the future, Z.H.L.]
such as: The Eternal will reign [in the future, Z.H.L.]
for ever, thy G-d, O Zion, unto all generations [Psalms
146:10].; Blessed be the name of the Eternal from this time
forth and forever [Psalms 113:2].; And the Eternal shall be
King over all the earth
[Zechariah 14:9].
Now Onkelos was
apprehensive [of translating this verse literally, which is
stated in a future tense], since G-d's sovereignty is [indeed] to
all eternity [and no prayer for its continuance is possible].
Therefore he rendered it in the present tense: "The
Kingdom of the Eternal endureth for ever to all eternity," just as
is expressed in the verse, Thy Kingdom is a Kingdom for all
ages [Psalms 145:13]. But I have not understood Onkelos'
opinion in this matter, for it is written: May the glory of the
Eternal endure forever [Psalms 104:31]; And let the whole
earth be filled with His Glory [Psalms 72:19]
It is possible
that the meaning of these [future tenses] is similar to the
secret of the benedictions
].
For Nahmanides further discussion of the secret of the benedictions, see his commentary
on Exodus 15:26:
IF 'SHAMO'A TISHMA' TO THE
VOICE OF THE ETERNAL THY G-D
FOR I AM THE ETERNAL THAT HEALETH
THEE: Now on the matter of Scripture making use here of two
expressions, saying, "His commandments, His statutes, " [in the
third person, Z.H.L.] and concluding, I will put none of the
diseases upon thee, for I am the Eternal [thus
using the third-person and the first- person pronouns in the same
verse], I have already written
on the explanation
thereof. [Here] it can be understood from the word 'l'kol' (to
the voice) and the word 'ani' (I), which convey the
thought that if we shall listen to the voice of our G-d to keep
G-d's commandments and His statutes, the Glorious Name will be our
healer. It is on the basis [of the verse] that the Sages
instituted [the formula of] benedictions [which contain two
different pronouns, thus: "Blessed art Thou O Eternal, our
G-d, King of the universe,] Who hast sanctified us with His
commandments and hast commanded us." The benedictions contain an
expression of acknowledgment of G-d's Sovereignty, [saying as we do,
"our G-d, King of the universe"], and the commandment have been
given to us from everlasting even to everlasting
. The student learned [in the mystic lore of the
Cabala] will understand.
And I will
enlighten you [on this matter]. All benedictions which
contain an expression of His Sovereignty are so formulated that they
show respect to the Sovereign of the universe, Who has sanctified us
[by His commandments] and Who has done [a certain deed] for us. But
where a benediction follows another one, in which case the
Sovereignty of G-d is not mentioned, it is formulated in the
second-person, such as [the benedictions beginning]: "Thou art
mighty," "Thou
art Holy," and so all the others
Understand this.
(Chavel, 1973, 206, 212, 213-215)
Awe and faith
seem to possess different aspects. The foundation for mans'
intellectual recognition of G-d's real presence in the world stems
from his awe of "the great hand" (the awe of G-d's exaltedness);
Nahmanides refers to this as the belief in G-d's Sovereignty in
keeping with the verse "And they believed in Hashem"(Ex 15:31). In
contrast, the Jewish peoples' faith in Moses, "and in Moses, His
servant"(Ex 15:31), was foundational to their belief in another
facet of G-d's presence, of their "standing before G-d." The
relationship established between the "I" -- the Self -- and the "Thou". A relationship in the
second-person, in keeping with the blessings "Thou art mighty,"
"Thou art Holy." On a further level, the first- person one, the
third way of relating "for I am the Eternal that healeth
thee"(Exodus 15:26) also enters the picture introducing a personal
relationship. No longer does man simply stand before G-d's presence;
rather, G- d's presence is within him, an element of his very Self
(in contrast to his Ego
).
Reality is not to be discovered in the object. Reality is not to be discovered in the other
standing before you, embodying an external reality (a "thou") to which the Self relates.
Rather reality is to be discovered within, shining forth from mans' inner space outwards.
"For I am the Eternal that healeth thee." The recognition and sense of the internal Self is
shaped and organized around the divine kernel found in the interiority of the Self. The
natural influences stemming from the general laws of nature cannot penetrate and disrupt
the interior energy source of the Self "for I am the Eternal that healeth thee" for
mans' interiority belongs to the supernal reality of the divine Self. The external natural
system does not exist within this interior source for within mans' interiority the divine
Self rules alone and "he healeth thee." The Self is dependant upon Him exclusively. No
external factor has sway over it.
"What a
maidservant beheld at the Reed Sea": This description serves not
only to praise the vision at the Sea but also to delimit it. G-d's
emergence from within utilizing a force capable of robbing the laws
of nature of their power gives birth to his Sovereignty. However,
this is a general force which does not have the power to penetrate
the internal Self of G-d fearing individuals, the interiority of
their very selves; rather, it creates an external impression (the
maidservant), or at most a belief which also applies to Moses, His
servant. It engenders an "I"-"Thou", second-person, relationship
still lacking in the intimacy stemming from the internal source of
the Self. Therefore, it is creates a superficial relationship which
disappears when the presence of the other fades, when the phenomenon
disappears. For this reason the nation sinned immediately following
the revelation at the Sea, notwithstanding its overwhelming glory.
Therefore, there was still a need to educate the people stamping
upon their hearts a relationship with G-d in keeping with the
injunction, "in every generation each individual must view
himself as if he had left Egypt"; in keeping with
the verse "for I am the Eternal that healeth thee."
A personal, private relationship in keeping with the notion
that He is my private G-d.
Manna in the morning and quail in the evening - "and in the morning you shall
see" (Ex 16:7)
Rather, this is what he said to them: In the evening you will
know that He has the capability to fulfill your desires, and he will give [you]
flesh! However, he will not give it to you with a pleasant countenance because
you asked for it in an improper manner (for you did not request it out of necessity)
But the bread you requested out of necessity, when it falls in the morning you
will see the glory of the radiance of His countenance. (Rashi, Exodus 16:7)
The meat which their lust for flesh demanded is the logical
consequence of a relationship influenced by external
factors, for when the internal Self does not guide and rule
over mans' behavior, the external forces govern him and guide his
actions: govern his Ego. The Ego is attracted by external
stimulations and is swallowed up by them. So too consuming food out
of desire swallows up the man who is eating it. For he is
one who lives in order to eat. His whole persona is
devoted to the consumption of food. In contrast, the manna, the food
the people requested in the morning, was chosen based upon their
realization that the consumption of food is vitally necessary to
prolong life, thus, enabling man to store up energy with which to
worship Hashem. The physical act of eating is concealed by
the man who eats
, when he does not lose his human dignity, does
not eat like an animal which has its very essence tied up in the act of eating. The verse,
"For man does not live by bread alone,"(Deut 8:3) is realized in the man who does not
live to eat. In the former case -- the meat in the evening -- the food, a central object, is the
presence; in the latter case -- the manna in the morning -- man is the central presence.
"And He further said, For
I am the Eternal that healeth thee
. This constitutes a
promise, "that I will remove from you sickness that comes in the natural course of
events, even as I healed the waters [at Marah]
Thus, it was shown that G-d does
things which are contrary to each other
"(Nahmanides, 1973, 213) "Thus, we
have learned that even at the time of G-d's wrath, G-d will shown them his
kindness and He will save them." (Or HaHaim, Ex 15:26)
He will decree badges of shame for one and cure the other. With the performance of a
single act, one will be stricken and the other healed.
"And the Eternal showed him a tree [a certain piece of wood]"(Ex 15:25): Our
Rabbis have said [in the Mekhilta, Z.H.L.] that the tree was [naturally] bitter, but
that this was a miracle within a miracle [i.e., that He healed the bitter waters with
something which was bitter], just as the salt which Elisha cast into the waters [2
Kings 2:21]
That is to say, He instructed him and taught him the way of the
Holy One, blessed be He, i.e., that He sweetens the bitter with the bitter.(Chavel,
1973, 211)
Notwithstanding the miracle which surpasses our
understanding of the divine presence as an autonomous entity
immersed in caring for Creation (This is my G-d and I will glorify
him [Ex 15:3]), this is not enough to get man involved. The divine
must relate to man directly in order to allow him to sense G-d
within his quality
Self, so that he can feel the
very presence of the Lord.
Paradox
Bridges Reality and the Self
The paradigm shift from
relating to presence as established in the object, outside man, to
presence within him requires a catalyst, the realization of the
paradox which points out the absurdity of the object's position. Man
expects external reality to be constructed transparently in a
methodical and consistent fashion; open to being defined clearly,
definitively and everlastingly. Mans' belief in this paradigm grants
him a feeling of security so he accepts its laws willingly, pins his
hopes upon it, counts upon it and depends upon it. Upon this belief
man constructs his sense of existence, love which is contingent upon
a thing. When mans' belief in this existential sense is suddenly
undermined because the objective construct has hit a dead end,
stumbled into a logical contradiction, struck by overwhelming terror
man withdraws, disconnects himself from the system of objective
reality and withdraws within himself into the subject, the
dark side of the object.
Western culture scurries to and fro from the object to the subject and
back again.
Existentialism and
phenomenology, an important branch within it, are the rotten fruit,
the radical results
of valorizing the object. Science also attempts to establish and
superimpose order on the object. The subject embodies impressionism, valorizing the
impressions of the subject as the only reality. Expressionism is the very embodiment of
phenomenology, searching for the essence of all things.
The
Torah speaks of a presence of mutual reciprocity
between the "I" and the "Thou." "As [you love] yourself" on the
way to the quality Self dwelling within man where there are the
tools, the tools of truth derived from the divine quality above, not
from the end. The Self establishes a relationship via Being, by carrying out an internal
assessment, wherein the object penetrates into and connects with the
Self not of its own volition, but rather through the Self's
intiative
which selectively joins with, and only with, material
from the object's realm which it requires to express its own unique, authentic self.
Indeed, when the Self rules the roost and
governs mans' behavior, it initiates contact with the object,
existing outside itself. When the Self is neglected, the Ego governs
mans' behavior; the Ego which belongs to the self-preservation system, belonging to the
object, subservient to external stimulation, is open to dictates
which erase the power to judge stemming exclusively from the
Self
. Therefore, all behavior stemming from the Ego is
firmly affixed in the object's purview including the subject's reaction that emerges when
the objective systems catastrophically break down.
The
mutually reciprocal presence of the "I" (the Self)
and the "Thou" is that of "This is my G-d and I will glorify Him"(Ex
15:3). A maidservant beheld at the Reed Sea what Ezekiel did not
behold etc. The Jewish people beheld the presence of Hashem
as an object, but this was not enough to enable them to
identify with Him. As the verse states, "You [Moses] speak with
us"(Ex 20:16), Your fear and Your terror has entered their hearts,
has penetrated into each and every Jew's Self as they stand face to
face with the presence of G-d, qua object. "And they believed in
Hashem"(Ex 15:31); they related to a reality which transcended them.
"And in Moses, His servant"(Ex 15:31), they were able to relate to
Moses so they drew an analogy between Moses and G-d, and between G-d
and Moses, so that their general state of awe transformed into
awe of G-d's exaltedness, a form of awe in which
the Self could relate to and evaluate the quality of the object it
was in awe of. In this manner, a personal way of
relating with the phenomenon known as G-d's presence was
formed. However, this awe was still not an integral part of
the Jews' individual personalities
, so under the pressures of coping with the existential
necessities it could not be sustained.
Drought.
Famine. The absurd entered the equation opening the
gateway through which the people managed to penetrate to
the Divine presence. A presence which they were capable of relating
to on a personal level via the existential necessities, which until
this time had been provided by the object. And furthermore, the
commandments which the Jews received at Marah aided them in their
quest to relate to the divine object and enable it to penetrate into
the Self, for these commandments were lacking, in part, the cold
hard logic, found, for instance, in the commandment to honor one's
father and mother. In part they were founded upon the ethical
imperative of gratitude (hakarat ha-tov
) for, in
contrast, the object pulls man forward toward the future, distancing him from his
connection with the past.
Shabbat also belongs to the category of the
absurd for it seems to oppose the current's forward motion. The red
heifer seems to embody the very essence of the absurd. So too,
sha'atnez (the interdiction forbidding wearing garments of
wool and linen), kila'yim (the interdiction against
planting two particular crops in one field, or yoking two different
types of animals together), and the interdiction against eating
pork. In this manner, the absurd begins to forge a bond of mutual
reciprocity between the inner space and reality, forming a reality
founded upon the basis of mutual reciprocity, of
awe. Love engenders true identification within, on the
level of Being with reality. Experiencing divine reality on the
level of Sovereignty, as Nahmanides writes, turns Him into my G-d.
This form of love had to wait to be born until the giving of the
Torah, thus giving birth to a process where this love was finally
instilled within man through his creative
toil in
studying and observing the Torah.
A construct
reflected in the verse, "For Your salvation, I have hoped, O Lord"
. A
paradigm encompassing the process we have just discussed wherein through a step-by-
step process man takes the journey from relating to G-d as an object, to relating to Him
within an "I"-"Thou" relationship, to focusing upon his own individual Self which
identifies with, cleaves to and unifies with the Divine object.
Translated by
Rabbi Meshulam Gotlieb
www.MGtransEd.com
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