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How
goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O
(Bamidbar
24:5)
The Mishkan [Tabernacle] as Mashkon [Collateral]
On the day that Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle (Bamidbar 7:1): This relates to that which is
written: How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O
If [he mentions] your tents, why [mention] your dwellings, and if [he mentions] your dwellings, [why mention] your tents?
Rather, how fair are your tents refers to the tents. [As for] your
dwellings - mishkenotekha - do not read mishkenotekha, but
rather mashkonotekha [your collateral]. God told Moses: "Tell
(Tanhuma Naso 14)
How goodly are your tents R. Yohanan said: From the blessings of that wicked man you may learn his intentions: Thus he wished to curse them that they [the Israelites] should possess no synagogues or houses of study - [this is deduced from] How goodly are your tents, O Jacob; that the Shekhinah should not rest upon them - and your dwelling places, O Israel; that their kingdom should not endure - As the valleys are they spread forth; that they have no olive trees and vineyards - as gardens by the river's side; that their odor not be fragrant - as aloes which the Lord has planted; that their kings not be tall - and as cedar trees beside the waters; that they not have a king the son of a king - He shall pour the water out of his buckets; that their kingdom not rule over other nations - and his seed shall be in many waters; that their kingdom not be strong - and his king shall be higher than Agag; that their kingdom not be awe-inspiring - and his kingdom shall be exalted. R. Abba b. Kahana said: All of them reverted to a curse, excepting the synagogues and houses of study, for it is written, But the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved thee; the curse, but not the curses.
(Yalkut Shimoni
Balak 247)
And to walk modestly with your God
Deborah
Weissman
The haftora for parashat Balak contains one of Scripture's best known and most quoted verses: He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord demands of you; but to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk modestly with your God (Micah 6:8). It seems that this verse is usually interpreted in very narrow terms - "modesty" is understood as referring to proper relations between males and females; sometimes it is even further restricted to the notion that women must take care not to entice men with their manner of dress or behavior. During the 1980s Rabbi Elyakim G. Ellinson, z"l, produced a series of three books under the title Ha'Isha VeHaMitzvot [Woman and the Commandments]. The second book was called Hatznei'a Lekhet [Walk Modestly] and it was entirely concerned with separation of the sexes, dress, and various prohibitions against yihud [a man and a woman being together in a private space]. It must be said to R. Ellinson's credit that he did make some comments upon proper male attire as well; however, he was only concerned about what men wear while praying or studying Torah. Interest in these matters seems to have intensified among religious Zionists over the past few years, and it has also been the subject of deep and critical discussion within the Kolekh organization.
Interestingly, in Sukka 49b, we find the Sages interpreting the verse from Micah along different lines: "do justice - that is the law; to love loving-kindness - that is acts of kindness; and to walk modestly with your God - that is attending to funerals and paying a bride's wedding-dowry."
Rashi's
commentary on the Talmudic dictum points out that the term walking is
used in relation to both attending to the dead and provisioning a bride:
"For [in the verse] is written [the word] 'walk': Better to walk to the
mourner's house than to the house of feasting (Kohelet 7:2). Modesty is required there as well;
to eat in moderation and rejoice in moderation... and some say: If he has to
spend [money] on the funeral of a poor person or the wedding expenses of a poor
bride - let him do it modestly [or: discreetly]."
In
his discussion of this topic, Rabbi Adin Even-Yisrael [Steinsaltz] adds that
"the Me'iri's explains that this is talking generally about funerals and
eulogies for the dead and the wedding expenses of a bride; that even though
these take place publically and before a large number of people, in any event
everything should be done moderately and within limits. Even in these matters,
one should not go overboard." That is to say: walk modestly is not
necessarily concerned with the length of a girl's sleeve or skirt, but rather with
what has been called "conspicuous consumption."
Conspicuous
consumption is no less a social problem today than it was in the Middle Ages or
in the days of the Sages. Many people try to display their material wealth in
weddings and funerals, events that actually require modesty and simplicity. It
is not hard to imagine huge weddings involving hundreds or even thousands of
participants, taking place in magnificent halls, in which there is no contact -
not even eye-contact - (God forbid!) between men and women, and hardly any
between the bride and groom themselves. Are these "modest weddings"? Lest
I be suspected of attacking a particular community, I must immediately add that
there have been ultra-Orthodox leaders - including, for instance, the Gerer
Rebbe - who commanded their followers to limit both the number of people
invited to weddings as well as the cost of food served there. Ostentatiousness
is a problem that crosses the lines that divide Jews from each other and from
other peoples.
I
would like to bring up the link between "modesty" [tzniyut]
and "humility" [anava]. In this connection, let us consider
one of my favorite piyyutim [liturgical poems] - Ha'aderet Veha'emuna
["Wondrous power and faithfulness"]. This piyyut is an acrostic
twenty-two lines long, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is also
called Lehai Ha'olamim, an expression bearing multiple meanings. The
Hebrew word olam can refer to both time and space, as in the title of an
even more popular piyyut: Adon Olam. Our Sephardic brothers include Ha'aderet
Veha'emuna in the Psukei Dezimra [psalms of praise] recited on
Shabbat morning, following Psalm 136. Ashkenazim sing the piyyut in a rather
jocular fashion during the Hakafot on Simhat Torah, inserting the
Yiddish words Tzu vemen? Tzu vemen? In the middle of each line. This
creates pairs of questions and answers: "Wondrous power and faithfulness -
To Whom? To Whom? - To the One Who lives forever." Both Sephardim and
Ashkenazim sing the piyyut on Yom Kippur, using a variety of tunes:
Wondrous power and faithfulness belong to the One Who lives forever.
Deep understanding and blessing belong to the One Who lives forever.
Mystical power and grandeur belong to the One Who lives forever.
Knowledge and speech belong to the One Who lives forever.
Awesome beauty and majesty belong to the One Who lives forever.
Time and reliability belong to the One Who lives forever.
Clarity and radiance belong to the One Who lives forever.
Strength and abundance belong to the One Who lives forever.
Order and purity belong to the One Who lives forever.
Oneness and awe belong to the One Who lives forever.
Crown and glory belong to the One Who lives forever.
Teaching and rapture belong to the One Who lives forever.
Kingship and dominion belong to the One Who lives forever.
Pure beauty and timelessness belong to the One Who lives forever.
Sublimity and transcendence belong to the One Who lives forever.
Might and humility belong to the One Who lives forever.
Splendor and miracle belong to the One Who lives forever.
Desire and just measure belong to the One Who lives forever.
Calling “Sacred” belongs to the One Who lives forever.
Melody and exaltedness belong to the One Who lives forever.
Song and praise belong to the One Who lives forever.
Psalm and magnificence belong to the One Who lives forever.
(Translation: Prof. David R. Blumenthal, http://www.js.emory.edu/BLUMENTHAL/Ha-Aderet%20veha-Emuna.htm
)
Ha'aderet Veha'emuna comes from Judaism's mystical literature; it has roots in Hekhalot Rabbati, a text that has apparently has its origins in the days of the Talmudic Sages. The medieval Hassidei Ashkenaz thought it was an angelic song. I have come across two approaches to its interpretation. Prof. Daniel Goldschmidt, following the celebrated Kabbalah researcher, Gershom Scholem, claims that there is no logical connection between the poem's various lines and that it is simply intended to praise God.
An alternative interpretation has it that
each pair of attributes combines two opposites. God can contain all these
contradictions within Himself, an impossible feat for us mere mortals. This internal
tension is perhaps most salient in the line of the letter nun: Hanoy
vehanetzah: "Pure
beauty and timelessness."
The
19th century English poet John Keats did write: "A thing of
beauty is a joy forever," but as mere mortals we are all too aware that
life is but a "wilting bud," to quote the author of the piyyut, Unetaneh
Tokef. The most beautiful of flowers do not last more than a few days. Pure
beauty and timelessness conflict with each other in our human world. This motif
of contradiction might be found in other lines of the piyyut, such as the
juxtaposition of "Deep understanding and blessing" when considered in
the light of the saying "More knowledge, more worries." "Mystical power and grandeur" are
also in tension with each other. "Knowledge and speech" form a funny
pair, since we sometimes see that people who talk a lot have nothing
interesting to say.
I want to claim that there is one pair of attributes which we must strive to achieve in combination. These are found in the line of the letter ayin: Ha'oz veha'anava ["Might and humility"]. We must be strong at many levels - individual, communal, and national. That is "might." But we must also be cognizant of the limitations of power, and certainly of the limitations of aggressiveness. By mere coincidence or divine providence (I will leave it up to you to decide which) we find ourselves in the year TaShA [ending with the letter ayin]. May it be God's will that at least the remainder of this year be one of might but also of humility.
Dr. Deborah Weissman is a founder of
Kehilat Yedidya in
Why Have You Beaten Your She-donkey? The Torah Wants to Promote Moral Sensitivity towards all Creatures
The angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you beaten your she-donkey...?" (Bamidbar 22:32) The angel came to him to redress a she-donkey's humiliation, and said to him: Even though this she-donkey lacks merit or the patriarch's covenant, I claim its redress from you, all the more so [will I act on behalf of] the entire nation which you seek to annihilate.
(Tanhuma Balak 10)
As for their dictum: "[To avoid causing] suffering to animals is [an injunction to be found] in the Torah" (Shabbat 128b) - in which they refer to its dictum - Why have you beaten your she-donkey (Bamidbar 22: 32) - it is set down with a view to perfecting us so that we should not acquire moral habits of cruelty and should not inflict pain gratuitously without any utility, but that we should intend to be kind and merciful even with a chance animal individual, except in the case of need - for you have the urge to eat meat (Devarim 12: 20) - for we must not kill out of cruelty or for sport.
(RaMBaM, Guide of the Perplexed 3:17, based on Pines' translation)
Balaam's Ass: Reality, Dream or Prophecy?
And
the Lord opened the ass's mouth: It seems that this was also a
demand of the moment. It was needed in order to show him that he was like
the ass, for whom it was not natural to speak, but whose mouth was opened
by the Lord for
(Kli Yakar Bamidbar 22:23)
And the Lord opened the ass's mouth: According to the plain meaning, the ass's speech was a great miracle and unnatural, and it occurred for Israel's sake, for the Holy One blessed be He performed a wonder and changed the plan of Creation by having an animal speak in order to say that even an animal can recognize and know that this mission [of cursing Israel] was improper. It is like a man who says that the mountains should cover him over and the hills should fall on him, and there is no need to mention the human race, for it is intelligent, for even the mindless animal understands that it is wrong to curse the people, for it is blessed.
And if you understand the passage's hidden meaning, you will find that the ass's speech is like the snake's speech; in neither case does it come from themselves for they have no faculty of speech. It is for this reason that the Lord juxtaposed [the verses] and the Lord opened the ass's mouth and the Lord uncovered Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord, for as soon as she spoke and died the angel was revealed to him and spoke with him, for her swerving from the path and pressing his leg and crouching down were three signs. Each of hem occurred because of the angel, and there is no need to even mention the fourth sign, i.e., [the ass's] speech.
(Rabbeinu Behayey Bamidbar 22:28)
We have explained that wherever it is mentioned that an angel was seen or had spoken, this has happened only in a vision of prophecy or in a dream whether this is explicitly stated or not... And there is no difference between a statement in which the prophet literally affirms from the first that he saw the angel and a statement according to whose external sense the prophet at first thought that an individual had appeared to him, whereas at the end it became clear to him that it was an angel. For inasmuch as you find in the course of the event that he who was seen and had spoken was an angel... And likewise the whole story of Balaam on his way and of the she-ass speaking: all this happened in a vision of prophecy, as it is finally made clear that an angel of the Lord spoke to him.
(RaMBaM, Guide of the Perplexed II:42, Pines translation)
Five things occurred to our ancestors on the 17th of Tammuz... On the 17th of Tammuz the tablets were broken and the daily offering was cancelled and the city was breached and Apostomos burned the Torah and placed an image in the sanctuary.
(Mishna Taanit 4:6)
The tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing, incised upon the tablets. (Shemot 32)
Before the eyes of all Israel - His spirit moved him to smash the tablets before their eyes, as is written, I smashed them before your eyes, and The Holy one, Blessed Be He, assented, as is written (Shemot 34:a) Which (asher) you broke - Yasher kokacha (may your strength continue) for smashing them.
(Rashi, Devarim 34:12)
...Do not imagine that the
Yet more, the tablets are the writing of the Lord; they, too, are not inherently holy, but are such only for you, and when the bride is unfaithful under the canopy, they are considered as an earthen pot with no intrinsic sanctity, only for you who watch over them.
In summation: There is nothing holy in the world deserving of service and submission, only the Holy One, Blessed Be He, is holy in his inevitable existence, for him is glorious praise; all holinesses derive from the commandment which the Creator commanded to build a Tabernacle to offer sacrifices and offerings to The Name, Be He Blessed, alone.
(Meshekh Hokhma, Shemot 32:19)
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