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Parashat Pinchas translation and commentary by Avraham Sutton 1. Some of the verses about the Laws of Land Inheritance
Some of the Laws of Land Inheritance in this week's Reading Bamidbar 27:1-11 (1) A petition was brought by the daughters of Tzelofchad, son of Chefer, son of Gil'ad, son of Machir, son of Menasheh… (4) Why should our father's name be flawed [blemished, deficient] in his family merely because he didn't have a son. Give us a portion of land together with our father's brothers. (5) Moshe brought their case before Hashem. (6) Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: (7) The daughters of Tzelofchad are correct [they have a just claim]. Give them a hereditary portion alongside their father's brothers. Let their father's hereditary property thus pass over to them. (8) Now speak to the children of Israel, saying: If a man dies and has no son, his inheritance shall pass over to his daughter. (9) If he has no daughter, his inheritance shall be given to his brothers. (10) If he has no brothers, you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers. (11) If his father had no brothers, you shall give his inheritance to the closest relative in his family. He shall inherit it. This shall remain as a decreed law for the children of Israel, as Hashem commanded Moshe.
The ARI on the Laws of Inheritance and their Spiritual Parallel - The Death of the Kings of Edom Rabbi Chayim Vital writes in Sha'ar HaMitzvot and Ta'amey HaMitzvot, Parashat Pinchas (Chumash HaAri, Bamidbar, pp. 236-241): The Laws of Inheritance - It is written, "Now speak to the children of Israel, saying: If a man dies and has no son…" (Bamidbar 27:8). This drush [explanation] is extremely profound, for it refers to the Zayin Melachim [Seven Kings of Edom] who died. The seven ancient "kings" who "died" are the seven primordial sefirot of Olam HaTohu [the Universe of Chaos] that shattered, one after the other. The eighth "king" [sefirah] is Hadar, who reigned, but whose death is not recorded in the Torah, and who therefore parallels Olam HaTikkun [the Universe of Rectification, i.e. Atzilut]. It is thus written at the end of parashat Vayishlach: Bereshit 36:31-39 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned among the children of Israel: In this highly cryptic passage, the Torah enumerates a total of eight kings. Seven of them reigned and died, as explicitly stated regarding each one. Regarding Hadar, the eighth king, on the other hand, the Torah does not state that he died. In addition, we are also informed that he was married, and that his wife's name was Meheitaval. Even if any of the others were married, not one of their wives' names is mentioned. See Appendix 1: "In the beginning, G-d created universes and destroyed them" First, we shall present the laws themselves: When a man dies, and has no sons, the inheritance reverts to his father, i.e. the one from whom he received his inheritance in the first place. The father's inheritance is then passed to his other sons, i.e. the first man's brothers. It is also known that a gift [matanah] is not passed down [past a certain point], whereas an inheritance never stops being passed down. The halachic sources for the above, based on the verses in our parashah, are Bava Batra 129b; Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Zechiyah U'matanah 5:3-6; Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 248:1. Having informed us of the basic laws involved on a pshat level, Rabbi Chayim Vital begins unveiling the sod (spiritual) level behind them: Know that one's father (Abba) and one's mother (Imma) parallel the letters Yod and Hei of the Havayah. The son and the daughter parallel the Vav and Hei of the Havayah. This set of correspondences is not limited to our particular discussion here. It teaches us that the family unit is the most perfect vehicle (chariot > throne > temple) for embodying and revealing the presence of Hashem in the world. Each individual family member is also created in the "image" of G-d, and thus constitutes one complete Havayah, just as Adam HaRishon was created Male (Yod/Vav) and Female (Hei/Hei) (see Zohar Bamidbar 3:117a on Bereshit 1:27). This is the meaning of the statement that the Avot (Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaacov) were "chariots" for the Shechinah for making G-d known in the world (Bereshit Rabbah 47:6, 82:6). This applies to each of them separately, but even more so to all of them together, with their wives. This is alluded to in the number of letters in the seven names: Avraham, Sarah, Yitzchak, Rivkah, Yaacov, Rachel, Leah (26), as well as in the total number of letters in the Hebrew phrase in the first blessing of the Shemoneh Esreh, "Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, V'elohei Yaacov" (26). When Ze'ir Anpin and Nukva were first emanated, they emerged as the seven "kings" mentioned above. [Immediately after emerging, however,] they all "died" in their "father's" lifetime. Again, this refers to the primitive sefirot or vessels of the Olam HaTohu, the world of chaos. As the ARI explains, these vessels "shattered" in succession when the Light (the NeHY of Adam Kadmon that emerged from Adam Kadmon's eyes) entered them. As a result of this concatenation of shatterings, the broken shards of these vessels descended downwards to create what would later become the lower dimensions of Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. In addition, "sparks" of that Light accompanied the broken shards in their descent. In every instance, however, the major part of the Light recoiled above. The Torah refers to this Light as "the spirit of Elokim hovering over the waters." This is the light that remained above in what was to become Atzilut. The ARI speaks about this at length in the first chapter of Sha'ar Drushei Ha'Nekudot, the 8th Gate of Etz Chayim. See also the 18th Gate of Etz Chayim, called Sha'ar Anach. The term "Anach" is an acrostic for Orot (Lights), Nitzotzot (Sparks), Kelim (Vessels). See Innerspace, p. 83. Now, behold, when a man dies, his physical remains decompose and return to the earthly element from which they came. The spirit, on the other hand, returns to G-d, the One who originally placed man's soul within him. [This accords exactly with the verse, "The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to G-d who gave it" (Kohelet 12:7).] The same principle applies to these "kings" [primitive sefirot]. They also consisted of an aspect of "body" and an aspect of "soul." The soul aspect is called Orot [Lights] and Atzmut [Essence], and the body aspect is called Kelim [Vessels]. The Kelim [Vessels] descended to [what would eventually become] the universe of Beriyah, which is called afar, earth/dust [as in the expression, "afar from the floor of the Mishkan" (cf. Bamidbar 5:17)] relative to the universe of Atzilut that precedes it. It was in this afar/dust that they were "buried." Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan: The spiritual aspect within the vessels, the Orot HaAtzmut [Lights of the Essence of Divinity] which is designated Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah, remained in Atzilut, thus fulfilling the verse, "And the spirit returns to Elohim who gave it" (Kohelet 12:7). It returns, in other words, to the level of Imma Ila'a [Supernal Mother, Binah], which is called "Elokim" in the Creation narrative. They [the Lights] returned there to Imma, in the mystery of Ibur [Gestation], as we have explained elsewhere at length. Nevertheless, sparks of these Lights accompanied the vessels that descended. These are called the RaFaCh Nitzotzot shel Orot [288 Sparks of the Lights]. This was necessary in order to maintain the existence of vessels until they would be resurrected. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (continued): "In the same way, the Light that once filled the Vessels did not leave them completely. Nitzotzot, literally 'sparks' of the original light accompanied the shattered vessels as they fell into Beriyah and below. These sparks would provide just enough spiritual life-force to insure that the broken vessels could be restored later as Partzufim. In the meantime, they represent the sparks of holiness in all things that must be elevated and brought back to the realm of the holy. "According to the ARI, this entire process of death and resurrection is hinted at in the verse, 'G-d's spirit merachephet [hovers] over the waters' (Bereshit 1:2). The first and last letters of merachephet, mem and tav, spell Met, which means literally 'dead.' The three remaining letters are reish, phe and chet [pronounced RaFaCh]. The numerical value of these three letters is 288. These are the 288 sparks of holiness that descended ['died'] with the shattered vessels. "The symbolic significance of the number 288 is alluded to in the word Ibur [ayin, yod, beth, vav, reish], whose numerical value is also 288. Ibur means 'gestation' or 'pregnancy,' thus indicating that the broken vessels with their 288 sparks are similar to seeds that are planted in the ground. Although they may appear to be rotting, they are going through a process which is necessary to bring forth new life. The 288 sparks thus represent the profound concept of death and resurrection. On the level of Atzilut, it is by virtue of these sparks that the shattered vessels of Nekudim will be rectified as Partzufim" (Innerspace, p. 83). The ARI now ties the entire discussion back into the concept of inheritance: We thus see that the "shattered" vessels are none other than the "bodies" of the "dead" kings. Their "inherited wealth," on the other hand, refers to the Lights that reverted back up to Abba and Imma [of Atzilut]. They are the "legal inheritors" in this case. They, in turn, give part of their inheritance to their children in the form of the 288 sparks that remain within the Vessels. It is now necessary to explain the difference between a gift and an inheritance. We must also clarify who the "brothers" of the dead man are. In order to do this, the ARI now continues with a brief review lesson of what happened subsequent to the Shattering of the Vessels of the Olam HaTohu [world of Chaos], to bring about a completely rectified system, i.e. the Olam HaTikkun [world of Rectification, i.e. Atzilut]. To be continued…. Appendix 1: "In the beginning, G-d created universes and destroyed them" Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv writes (Leshem Sh'vo Ve'achlamah, Derushei Olam HaTohu, Section One, p. 1a): The Sod [Mystery] of these eight "kings" is the mystery of what our Masters referred to in the Midrash: Bereshit Rabbah 3:7 Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: It is not written "Yehi erev" ("It was evening [and it was morning, day one]") but "Va'yehi erev" ("And it was evening...") (Bereshit 1:5). We learn from this that an "order of times" existed prior to our present world. Rabbi Abahu said: It teaches us that He created worlds and destroyed them, until He created these. He [G-d] said, "These are pleasing to Me; these are not pleasing to Me." Bereshit Rabbah 9:2 "And Elokim beheld all that He had completed, and behold it was very good" (Bereshit 1:31)... Rabbi Abahu said: From here we learn that [prior to our present creation] the Holy One blessed-be-He was creating universes and destroying them, creating universes and destroying them. When He finally created these, He said, "These are pleasing to Me; these are not pleasing to Me." Perush Ma'harazu: "These are pleasing to Me..." - This is not meant to say that G-d regretted or changed His Mind about having made those prior universes. That is not why He "destroyed" them. Rather, this was part of a process that He used to bring about the kind of world He desired, so that it could exist as it does now in its present [lower] state. Prior to creating This-World, the Holy One thus created worlds and destroyed them. This is what is meant, when referring to the Kings of Edom, that such-and-such a king "reigned" and afterwards "died". This is clear in the Zohar, in the Idra Rabba Naso (3:135a): Tana - We have learned in the Sifra d'Tzeniuta: Before [the Partzuf of] Atika Kadisha was rectified, He built kings, He gathered kings, He engraved kings, and He measured kings. But they didn't exist for long, for He pushed them away and stored them for a future time. This is the meaning of "These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom..." The land of Edom (like Adom-Red) refers to the place where all judgments exist. And yet, none of them continued to exist for long... (see there; also 3:128a, 3:142a). See also Zohar Idra Zuta Ha'azinu (3:292a): It is written, "These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom..." This is the meaning of the verse, "For, behold, the kings assembled; together they passed away. They beheld, and they were sorely confounded; they panicked; they hastened [to flee]" (Tehillim 48:5-6). Where did they assemble? In the "land of Edom," in the place where judgments unite together. "They passed away" - as it is written, "[…] died... and […] reigned in his stead." "They beheld..." that they could not exist in their places - because the rectifications of the kings had not yet been completed... For this reason, [we have learned that] the Primitive Universes were destroyed... They are called the Primitive Universes... that is why they were destroyed and had no continuance, until they were rectified. We see clearly from all the above that the Kings of Edom mentioned at the end of Vayishlach are verily the universes or dimensions that were created and destroyed prior to our present creation. This is the reason that each "king" is said to have "reigned" and "died." This tradition [about prior levels or dimensions of existence] is also alluded to in the teaching that "It arose in G-d's Thought to create the world with Attribute of Din [Judgment, Justice]. When He beheld that it would not have continuance, He brought forth the Attribute of Rachamim [Mercy, Love] and joined it to the Attribute of Din" (Bereshit Rabbah 12:15; Rashi, Bereshit 1:1). The fact that the thought to create the world with the Divine Attribute of Justice preceded its being joined by the Attribute of Mercy corresponds exactly to the fact that these Kings ruled in the land of "Edom." As the Idra Rabba (above) continues and states, the codeword "Edom" refers to the place where all judgments are bound and rooted. This is why each "king" was destroyed and died immediately [without suspension of judgment, i.e. mercy]. Obviously, none of the above implies a change of mind on G-d's part, G-d forbid. Rather, the entire reason for having "created and destroyed" these prior universes or dimensions was so that they could become the primeval [primal, primordial] foundations and roots of the entire creation. Since, however, all of these universes or dimensions were powerful judgments, only destruction could ensue from them, causing almost endless fragmentation and separation in the process. [All this, according to plan.] In this way, the primal roots of all that was to exist for the entire period of six thousand years of this world emerged from them - "fruit from fruit, and derivative from derivative." They all came into existence at once and in a single instant, with the reign and death of each successive "king." This is precisely the meaning of the concept that each of these "kings" reigned. The sovereignty of each one consisted in his performing a particular task and fulfilling a certain function - bringing forth his complete potential to actuality in one instant. The only reason that this whole process could not be brought to fruition and complete existence [with continuance] is because it totally lacked any semblance of order. Nevertheless, the desired effect was achieved, namely, the emergence of the primal roots of all that was to ever return and exist and attain its final perfection during the entire six thousand year period set for this world. We thus learn that all that G-d did before the six days of creation of This-World - during which time the Kings of Edom [Primitive Sefirot] "reigned" and "died" - was not for naught, G-d forbid. Rather it was all a preparation and a foundation for the entire creation that was to ensue. This is confirmed in Pirkey d'Rebbi Eliezer (Chapter 3)… Appendix 2: The Laws of the Torah - A Kabbalistic Perspective According to Kabbalah, our souls descend into this physical plane of existence from a higher, spiritual dimension that transcends and precedes it. The reason our souls come here to this-world (Olam Ha'zeh) is to attain the very thing that Hashem wants to give us, Eternal Life in the World-to-Come (Olam Ha'ba). Hashem knows (for He made us this way), that without attaining Eternity through our own efforts, it would never really be ours. He therefore created this lower physical dimension as a stage upon which each of us could work out our own particular soul destiny and mission, and at the same time, participate in the collective mission which will culminate in the complete transformation of this-world (Olam Ha'zeh) into its higher counterpart, the World-to-Come (Olam Ha'ba). In the meantime, there is only one problem. Our souls fall asleep the moment they enter and encounter the gross materiality of this physical plane. Subject to (and overwhelmed by) the laws of space, time and matter, we are soon effectively cut off from our spiritual source. The voice of physical consciousness whispers in our ears, "This is all there is." Without some assistance from Above, we could never overcome the mind-set of Mitzrayim. ["Mitzrayim" is the double form of the word "meitzar" (narrow strait), and represents the double binds and constricted consciousness that characterize this lower dimension.] In order to help us awaken from within the dream, and to know that this-world is NOT all there is, Hashem gave us the Torah and its commandments. On its most basic level, the Torah guides us as to how to rectify this lower physical plane. This is why one of the stated goals of Judaism is the rectification of human existence (and by extension, all aspects of physical reality), through the wisdom of the Torah and the application of its commandments in every sphere of life. In addition to this, but in a much more subtle way, it also reconnects us to our spiritual origin. Thus, in order to imbue the commandments with the power to rectify and transform reality, the stated goal of Kabbalistic study is the understanding of how the Torah's commandments, which apply to physical people living down here in this gross physical world, have an extra-dimensional spiritual aspect that connects us to the higher reality from which we came. By learning the Torah on this level, we begin to "remember" that higher reality, and actually "see" it behind and in the lower reality. The lower reality then becomes transformed and ultimately transluscent by the higher reality that was there the entire time but hidden. This is the meaning of the Zohar's famous teaching that the Torah has "garments," a "body," a "soul," and a "soul of a soul": Zohar Be'ha'alot'cha (3:152a) "Come and see... The Torah has a 'body' and a 'soul.' The Torah's 'body' is its commandments which are called gufei Torah, literally, 'limbs of the Torah.' This 'body' itself is covered with 'garments,' which are none other than the mundane stories of the Torah... Fools do not attempt to see beneath these outer garments. Those who understand more do not look at the 'garments,' but at the 'body' underneath. Those who are truly wise, the servants of the Supernal King... look at the 'soul' of the Torah, its essence. In the Ultimate Future, they are destined to behold the 'soul of the soul' of the Torah... Woe to those who think that the Torah is nothing but its stories... Happy are those who see the Torah as it is meant to be seen..." The intention is not to discard the "garments" (the stories) and the "body" (the physical commandments of the Torah), but, once having perceived and appreciated the "soul" (the higher dimensional aspect of the stories of the Torah and its commandments), to bring as much of that down into our lives as possible. |
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Ascent of Safed
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