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In the book of Exodus we find an innovation fundamental to the foundations of religion,
bearing a message obligating both G-d and man. The small coterie of spiritual heroes, the
three pillars, chief supporters of divinity in the world, are transformed into a nation that is
fated to carry the divine message to the world. The nation that left Egypt becomes a
kingdom of priests, a holy nation. Pharoah himself senses the birth of this phenomenon.
A tribal unit, an expanded family unit becomes the nation of the children of Israel. A
religion worthy of being represented by a nation by the very nature of this process
undergoes fundamental changes.
The Awakening of the Lower Realm and the Awakening of the Upper Realm
The covenant HaKadosh Baruch Hu established with each one of the three patriarchs
included the division of labor between them and the Creator. They carried upon their
shoulders the responsibility, for the good and even for the betterment, of the
administration of the world. A responsibility manifesting itself in the performance of
positive and negative commandments: keep and remember, to work and to guard.
Commandments comprising the obligation to preserve that which exists and nurture and
develop the ecosystem and watch over the balance of powers so that no one creature
harms or disturbs another. Encouraging positive elements in creation and repressing
negative ones. This role generally manifests itself in the lives of the patriarchs through
their unmediated relationship with the Creator of the World, for the saintly forefathers did
not require these particular elements to guide them on significant occasions in their lives.
The rest they understood by dint of applying their holy and extensive insight. This insight
was crucial in their ascending the path to G-d's house. The initiative taken by them
expressed their sense of the divine presence within them. The divine image within them
was manifested.
This human
initiative received the appellation the awakening of the lower realm
; it is the
primary foundation of man's connection with G-d. The book of Genesis is dedicated to
illustrating this holy human endeavor. In contrast, this theme does not fill the pages of the
book of Exodus.
As the small coterie of individuals grew into a nation, faith in the Creator could no longer
rest on the shoulders of a few individuals. The need for a broader base for faith grew, this
base turned into a carefully crafted system with its own positive elements, fulfilling the
credo that "the living creature [on Shabbat] carries itself". A substantive religious feature
came into being which answered the human need for ritual and practical commandments
demanding adherence in all eventualities - guidelines for everyday behavior, not just for
conflict situations. The judgment of the lone individual stemming from his free will and
based upon his emotions was no longer to be trusted. The need for detailed guidelines
from above was born. Direct divine initiative is called for. Unambiguous divine
leadership, closed to the whimsical interpretations of man.
In brief, the process
of the awakening of the upper realm involves direct
divine intervention in Creation, particularly intervention that
shapes human behavior. The divine initiative taking the form of the
Torah comprises instructions for the head, the heart and the hand while at the
same time taking great care to safeguard individual freedom; direct
divine initiative that still leaves man room to undertake his own
initiatives. The amazing relationship between the two foundation of
religion takes shape: divine providence marching hand in hand with
free will
, where each one encourages and supports its fellow,
neither disrupting the others steps.
The Jewish religion is founded upon the miracle of divine presence. The Written Torah –
the awakening of the upper realm – acts as the basis for the Oral Torah which itself is
comprised entirely of mans' response to that divine initiative. The awakening of the
lower realm is founded upon the Written Torah and affords it concrete expression which
transforms it, the Written Torah, into the will of G-d, to a tangible presence in the
tangible world. This combination reaches the point where the integration of the two
Torahs is so successful that the presence of the two Torahs cannot be felt separately.
They are made of one whole cloth.
In the book of Exodus the Torah was given and the sanctuary was built. Both these events
followed the miraculous Exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the Reed Sea both of
which provided even the commonest of folk the opportunity to grasp the divine presence.
The opportunity was so great that those of little faith were referred to as erev rav, their
failure to believe attributed to themselves and not to the inherent difficulty of grasping
the Divine. Their failure attributed to their lack of desire to accept the divine fiat, their
deficiency in being willing to initiate the connection.
The description of this new process by the Torah does not conceal human weaknesses. As
in any national framework there are some who are strong and some who are weak, some
who are righteous and some who are evil. In order to cope with this reality it is necessary
for any system designed to apply equably to all to include reward and punishment, and,
therefore contain laws dictating some obligations that an individual must perform in
relation to his fellowman and other obligations that he must perform in relation to G-d.
However these two categories cannot be separated leaving the individual with the choice
of choosing one or the other; rather, they are integrated into one whole cloth so that the
divine fiat commanding man to relate with G-d also applies to and legitimates the divine
fiat commanding man in his relationship with other men, and vice versa.
This important principle distinguishes Judaism from the other religions which arose out
of human weaknesses and unthinkingly copied the integration as part of the message
which Judaism brought to the world.
The narrative in the
book of Exodus carries within its very sinews the tale of the
weaknesses, the failures, and the backsliding which occur during
mans' journey. The story express the difficulties that man – who is
habituated to grappling with the tangible, guided by his animal
instinct arising from the survival mechanism imprinted upon him,
arising from his evil inclination – has when the Torah appears on
the scene and demands that he express in an organized methodological
fashion the supernal dimension
within
him, the ideal side, the impulse asking "for what purpose have I been created" within
him, the values stemming from the spiritual dimension, from the good inclination.
This could be said of the entire Torah; however, these matters were first formulated in the
book of Exodus and given to an entire people in order to endow it with a destiny which
has never waned – "For you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation"; an
ally bearing the burden of mutual responsibility, carrying upon its shoulders
responsibility for Creation itself.
Translated by
Rabbi Meshulam Gotlieb
www.MGtransEd.com
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