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The Arizal on the Torah |
| Arizal Archives |
Parashat Re'eh In the portion of the Torah read this week, Moses gives the Jewish people the commandment to slaughter animals according to specific rules before eating their meat: “You must slaughter any of your herd or flock, which G-d has given you, as I have commanded you. Only then may you eat [of them] in your gates as much as you desire.”[1] In contrast to an everyday butcher, the ritual slaughterer (shochet) in Judaism is a position of great honor. In order to be a shochet, a person should ideally be of exemplary character, a Torah scholar, pious, and G-d-fearing—besides being well-versed in the laws of ritual slaughter and expert in their performance. This is because, as we will see, the act of ritual slaughter—the first stage towards the eventual consumption of the flesh by the Jew—is an intensely spiritual act, and the spiritualization of the physical flesh depends a great deal on the purity of thought and intentions of the shochet. The following are the meditations my master [the Arizal] of sainted memory taught to [the shochet] Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen, of blessed memory. As you know, regarding the mystical intentions one should have while eating, all creatures of this world need to be rectified and refined. This is in order that they reach the spiritual level of the primal matter of which they were made when the world was created. The primordial sin, that of eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, caused a spiritual fall in the ability of material creation to sustain spiritual consciousness. Our task in life is to refine the physical world so that it can once again be receptive to this level of Divine awareness. This [level of refinement] is similar to [that exemplified by] the donkey of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair. Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair was a Talmudic sage. His donkey refused to eat untithed barley.[2] In addition, it happens many times that human souls are reincarnated into animals. If the animal is slaughtered with the proper intentions, its helps extricate the reincarnated soul from the punishment it is undergoing. It can then re-enter a human body the next time it enters this world, as it was meant to originally. There are thus two basic objectives of ritual slaughter: to elevate the spiritual nature of the material animal flesh, and to help the reincarnated soul finish its process of rectification. The mystical purpose of ritual slaughter, then, is to sweeten all the judgements. Both the descent (i.e., de-spiritualization) of material reality and the rectification process of the reincarnated soul are manifestations of G-d’s attribute of judgement (which, of course, was invoked in the first place by the sin or wrongdoing of man). Counteracting this attribute by spiritualizing reality is called “sweetening” the judgement. The first step of ritual slaughtering is preparing the knife. The knife must be perfectly smooth and free of any nicks. The shochet must check the knife by running it gently over his thumbnail before proceeding with the ritual slaughtering. When you inspect the knife and sharpen it on the stone, your intention should be to remove all its defects [i.e., nicks]. The numerical value of the word for “defect” [pagam, pei-gimel-mem] is [123,] equivalent to three times the number of letters in the Divine Name Ekyeh when it is spelled in its simple form and two iterations of its spelling-out. When it is spelled out thusly, using the letter yud, there are 41 letters. When it is spelled out in the same way using the letter alef, there are again 41 letters. When it is spelled out in the same way using the letter hei, there are again 41 letters. This gives a total of 123 letters, the numerical value of the word for “defect.”
The problem here is, as is readily seen, that when the Name Ekyeh is spelled out with the letter hei, only 39 letters are used. The Arizal himself states this explicitly elsewhere.[3] (I have yet to find an explanation for this. —myw) These [iterations of the Name Ekyeh] are thus all manifestations of the attribute of judgement; you should intend to sweeten them. The Divine Name Ekyeh is associated with the sefirah of binah. Whereas chochmah is the pristine experience of transcendent insight, binah is the analysis of the insight and its integration into the pre-existing mental structures of the mind. The mental process of chochmah is an experience of wonder and openness, while that of binah is an experience of evaluation and judgement. Thus, the Name Ekyeh is associated with judgement. It is instructive to note that the only time this Name is used in the Bible is in the exchange between G-d and Moses at the burning bush. Moses asks G-d what he should tell the Jewish people G-d’s Name is. G-d answers: “I shall be who I shall be.” Rashi explains that G-d was telling Moses to reassure the Jewish people that G-d will be with them in future exiles, just as He was with them in the Egyptian exile. Thus, even the basic meaning of the Name Ekyeh is associated with exile, a manifestation of the Divine attribute of judgement. The way this is done is by raising the number 41 to the number 42. Forty-two is the number of letters in the Divine Name Havayah when it is spelled in its simple form and two iterations of its spelling-out. The Divine Name Havayah is associated with G-d’s attribute of mercy. As we have explained previously, there are four standard ways in which this Name is spelled-out:
If we consider the first three ways of spelling the Name, we note that the number of letters in the simple spelling and two iterations of spelling-out together is 42. [You should count only the number of letters in the spellings-out of] the Name Havayah whose numerical value are 72, 63, and 45. Three times 42 [= 126, which] is the numerical value of the word for “defect” [pagam, 123] plus one for each of the three letters that compose the word itself [pei, gimel, and mem]. These Names Havayah indicate Divine mercy, which you have now substituted for the attribute of judgement indicated by the 41 letters of the Name Ekyeh, as we said. The fourth spelling-out of the Name Havayah, whose numerical value is 52 and is spelled out using the letter hei, does not possess 42 letters [in its simple spelling and two iterations of spelling-out]. Therefore, it cannot “counteract” the 41 letters of the spelling out of the Name Ekyeh and does not figure in this meditation. Now, when you slaughter the animal, have in mind that the numerical value of the word for “the slaughtering” [ha-shechitah, hei-shin-chet-yud-tet-hei] is 337, which is three times the numerical value of the word “Yabok” [yud-beit-kuf, 112]. 3 x 112 = 336; adding 1 for the value of the word Yabok as a whole gives 337. Yabok is the name of the river next to which Jacob wrestled with the angel of Esau. Slaughtering is thus a specific case of the cosmic struggle between good and evil, Divine consciousness and gross material consciousness. Will the animal be slaughtered in order for man to satisfy his craving for meat, to aggrandize his animal nature? Or will it be slaughtered in order to heighten the awareness of G-d’s magnificence in creating the taste and satiation that accompany eating, and by utilizing the energy gained from eating to augment the world’s consciousness of G-d through Torah study and observance of the commandments? [112] is also the combined numerical value of the Names Havayah [26] and Elokim [86]. These two Names are situated in the throat, which is where the animal is slaughtered. This will be explained presently. Whereas during the sharpening of the knife, the negativity of the Name Ekyeh was sweetened by the Name Havayah, during the slaughtering itself, the negativity of the Name Elokim will be sweetened by the Name Havayah. Have in mind that the numerical value of the word for “throat” [garon, gimel-reish-vav-nun, 259] is three times that of the Name Elokim. 86 x 3 = 258; adding 1 for the value of the Name Elokim as a whole gives 259. These [three Names Elokim] are the three immature “brains” which descend there [i.e., to the throat], as part of the development process of Z’eir Anpin, as is known. As we have explained previously, Z’eir Anpin passes through three stage of consciousness in the course of its development as a partzuf. These are fetal consciousness, suckling consciousness, and mature consciousness. Mature consciousness is characterized by the mature influence of the intellect over the emotions. In other words, the consciousness of the intellect must, so to speak, descend into the realm of the emotions. Now, the conscious powers of the soul are all associated with corresponding locations of the body. Intellect, of course, is “in” the head, while the emotions are “in” the heart or torso. Between the head and the torso is the neck, which is of much smaller diameter than either the head or the torso. Thus, we may envision the ideas and consciousness of the intellect having to contract in order to pass through the neck on the way to the heart, where they can expand again to inform and permeate the emotions. This contraction is of course necessary, since intellect and emotion are two different worlds, and were the consciousness of the intellect to attempt to influence the emotions without any quantum leap of level (tzimtzum), the emotions would not be able to “relate to” or internalize any of the intellect’s level of awareness. This neck-stage is thus crucial for Z’eir Anpin’s (and by extension, every human being’s, who is a projection and manifestation of Z’eir Anpin) emotional maturation. So, first, the three brains (chochmah, binah, and da’at) descend into the neck region on their way to the heart. But, as we said, these are mentalities of constricted consciousness, created by the power of contraction of the Name Elokim. This Name indicates G-d’s power and strength of restraint. In order for these levels of consciousness to be able to influence the heart properly, they must be influenced here, before descending any further, by the Name Havayah, G-d’s mercy. At this point, these Names are manifestations solely of G-d’s judgement. Therefore have in mind to elicit three Names Havayah, indicating mature consciousness. [Combining the Names Havayah and Elokim thus] will give three times Havayah-Elokim, which as we said, is the numerical value of the word for “the slaughtering.” By removing the blood [which embodies] the attribute of judgement, you allow the three Names Havayah that embody mature consciousness to shine into the soul incarnated into the animal. This rectifies him. Blood is red, the color of severity and judgement (gevurah). After this, meditate on the fact that there are two channels in the throat [i.e., the trachea and the esophagus]. The numerical value of the word used here for “channel” [siman, samech-yud-men-nun, 160] is the same as that of the Name Ekyeh when spelled-out with the letter yud. The numerical value of the first iteration of the spelling out of the Name Ekyeh using the letter yud is 161. So this equivalence requires adding 1 for the value of the word for “channel” as a whole. The numerical value of the word for “trachea” [kaneh, kuf-nun-hei, 155] is the same that of the Name Ekyeh when spelled out with the letter hei, plus 4 for sweetening each of the four base-letters of this Name. The numerical value of the first iteration of the spelling out of the Name Ekyeh using the letter hei is 151. The numerical value of the word for “esophagus” [veshet, vav-shin-tet, 315] is seven times the numerical value of the word for “man” [adam, alef-dalet-mem, 45]. This number [315] is also related to the 320 states of severity associated with the blood of the throat, which is also a manifestation of severity. We are to picture the mentality of the brain figuratively descending through the two channels of the throat into the torso. The act of ritual slaughtering, which empties these vessels of their blood, neutralizes the negative forces that threaten to thwart the safe passage of Divine consciousness from head to heart. Seven is the number of emotions that compose Z’eir Anpin, who is the archetypal man-figure, as we have noted. It is these seven emotions whose rectification depends upon the successful transference of mind-consciousness through ritual slaughter. Thus, the seven man-emotions are rectified via the esophagus. The number 320 is derived from the 288 sparks of Divine light that fell from the world of Tohu and became embedded as self-oriented consciousness and egocentricity in the fabric of the lower worlds, including ours. To this number is added the number 32, the number of times the Name Elokim—the Name signifying Divine judgement and severity—appears in the story of creation. The “320 states of severity” thus signify the negativity and egocentricity inherent in creation since the fall accompanying the primordial sin, which our task is to counteract by eliciting Divine mercy and love. The equivalence of 315 and 320 is arrived at probably by adding the definite article (“the,” indicated by the Hebrew letter hei, whose numerical value is 5) to the word for “esophagus” (ha-veshet). Now, through ritual slaughter, the dross in these states of severity is sweetened and refined. One Thursday, we were sitting before my master, and a goat came up to us and placed its two front paws on the table. My master began to converse with it in its language.[4] He then told me to go buy this goat, and have it slaughtered for the Sabbath. He then told Rabbi Moshe Sofino to slaughter it according to the [above detailed] meditations. […] When I later asked my teacher what this soul did that it had to be punished by being reincarnated into this goat, he said that this soul was a great scholar from Talmudic times that had engaged in marital relations with his wife by candlelight. May G-d preserve us, Amen. Marital relations are supposed to be conducted in the dark, for reasons of modesty and intimacy. The Hebrew word for “goat” (eiz) also means “brash” (az). —translated from Sha’ar
HaMitzvot and Ta’amei HaMitzvot by Rabbi Moshe Wisnefsky |
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Ascent of Safed
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