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The Arizal on the Torah |
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Parashat Shelach translation and commentary by Avraham Sutton At the end of our parashah, we are given the incredible commandment of Tzitzit: Bamidbar 16:37-41 The Torah tells us to "gaze" at the tzitzit. Interestingly, the word tzitzit itself comes from the root tzatz, meaning "to peer" or "to gaze." This is seen in a verse in the Song of Songs (2:9): "My Beloved is like a gazelle or a young deer. [I thought He had abandoned me forever, but] behold, He was near the entire time, standing behind our wall, supervising from the windows, peering (me-tzitz) through the lattices." Since the whole concept behind the tzitzit (and the tallit, the garment to which the tzitzit strings are attached) is Hashem's Providence, His Constant super-vision and over-seeing everything that happens, it is appropriate that in this verse it is Hashem who is peering deeply into our souls through the windows and lattices of this world. When we then reciprocate and look at the tzitzit, we remember this Providence, and get reconnected to why we are here. This is actually what the Rabbis taught about the sky-blue wool thread that once was (and is again becoming) part of the tzitzit ensemble. As in the above passage from the Torah, the word for sky-blue is techelet. In addition to signifying the color blue, the word techelet itself is identical with (contains the same consonants as) the word tachlit ["purpose"]. Capitalizing on this double meaning, the Sages said, "Techelet resembles [i.e. reminds one of] the ocean; the ocean resembles the sky; the sky resembles the Throne of Glory" (Sotah 17a). What color could the Throne of Glory possibly be? If they were just referring to the color blue, this third allusion wouldn't make sense. Rather, the blue of the techelet reminds us to raise our sights beyond this world if we wish to grasp its Purpose, which is to become a Throne for G-d's Glory. In other words, the sky-blue techelet is supposed to point to a higher tachlit (purpose) in life. It reminds us that Hashem is above us at all times and that His Providence is constantly leading Creation to its ultimate goal, the Great Sabbath. This is why the Sabbath is also called tachlit shamayim va'aretz, "the Purpose and Goal for which Heaven and Earth were created." As an introduction to the teaching of the ARI that we shall bring below, we now quote from Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's book, Tzitzith - A Thread of Light, for an even deeper insight into the meaning of the tzitzit: One of the most obvious points about Tzitzith is the fact that they involve a commandment directly related to clothing. They are not a mitzvah in their own right as are Tefillin, but one that pertains to the garments we wear. If we are to understand the meaning of Tzitzith, we must first explore the significance that clothing plays in human society... Homo Sapiens is the only species that wears clothing... When anthropologists studied primitive tribes in even the warmest climates... [they saw] that people covered their sexual organs in virtually every human society... One of the most intriguing stories in the Torah is that of Adam's sin. We all know the story: How the serpent tempted Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and as a result, both Adam and Eve were cursed and driven out of the Garden of Eden... Before Adam and Eve sinned, the Torah says of them, "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:25). Our sages comment that they were not ashamed because they had no sexual desire. Sex was as natural a body function as eating and drinking... As soon as man sinned, his sexuality was aroused. Immediately after Adam and Eve ate from the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, the Torah tells us, "The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves and made themselves loincloths" (Genesis 3:7)... It is interesting to note how closely the opinions of social scientists parallel the Torah. Where science seeks with an unprejudiced eye, it is merely another way of approaching truth... Even more interesting is the fact that some of these concepts are indicated by the very etymology of the Hebrew language... First of all, the Hebrew word for garment is Lebush. This comes from the word Bush, which means "to be ashamed." The very structure of the Hebrew language indicates that clothing is worn because of shame. Another Hebrew word for garment is Beged. This has the same root as the word Bagad, meaning "to rebel." This indicates that man wears clothing because he originally rebelled against G-d. Before man sinned and rebelled, he was perfectly content and unashamed of being nude. G-d also understood that in his fallen state man had a need for clothing. The Torah states that before ejecting them from the Garden of Eden, "G-d made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them" (Genesis 3:21). From all this, we see that the main function of human clothing is to act as a barrier against sexual desires. As such, it is particularly related to the sense of sight. The purpose of clothing is to cover the body in order that it not be visible as a source of sexual arousal. We can now understand the purpose of Tzitzith. Here again, we can actually see this in the etymological structure of the word. The word Tzitzith has the same root as the word Tzutz, meaning "to look." Tzitzith are therefore something that relate specifically to the sense of sight, something to look at. The Torah says of the Tzitzith, "You shall see them, and not stray after your heart and after your eyes, which lead you to immorality." The Talmud (Berachot 13a) explains that the injunction not to stray "after your eyes" refers to visual sexual stimulation. Clothing in general acts as a natural barrier to such arousal, and the Tzitzith serve to reinforce this barrier... The passage of Tzitzith tells us to "look at them and remember all of G-d's commandments, and not stray after your heart and after your eyes." Sexual desire is the one thing that is most often responsible for leading a person away from religious observance... [Thus, in addition to telling us that going astray "after your eyes" refers to visual sexual stimulation] the Talmud adds that when the Torah says, "You shall not stray after your heart," the reference is to atheism... [In other words, as we have said:] There is nothing that will draw a person away from G-d more than sexual promiscuity... The verse dealing with Tzitzith then says, "In order that you remember and keep all My commandments, and be holy to your G-d." Here again, the Torah is telling us that the main path to holiness is mastery of one's sexuality. In protecting the individual from promiscuity, Tzitzith can lead him to holiness. The passage ends with a reference to the Exodus. The Exodus represents both a physical and spiritual liberation, but in an important sense, it also involves the liberation from domination by one's sexual appetites... Egypt was known as a place of extreme sexual immorality. When the Jews left Egypt, this was one of the things that they were to leave behind (cf. Yoma 75a). In serving to check our passions, the Tzitzith tend to reinforce this aspect of the Exodus (R. Aryeh Kaplan, Tzitzith, NCSY, pp. 43-52). Rabbi Kaplan has emphasized the necessity of guarding one's eyes from seeing things that arouse his or her passions, in order to attain a higher level of holiness. This is actually a general rule in Torah: The negative never stands on its own, but is always a preparation for the positive. Closing one's physical eyes and guarding them from seeing certain things, is an important training and preparation for opening one's spiritual eyesight. The two go hand in hand. We find an example of opening and developing spiritual vision in many places. At the very beginning of the Shulchan Aruch (the Code of Jewish Law), we find the following instructions: Rama (Rabbi Moses Isserles' Gloss on Shulchan Aruch) In his gloss on the above passage, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan HaCohen, the Mishnah Berurah, writes: Visualize in your mind's eye at all times how you are standing before the Blessed Name, for the radiant glory of the Blessed Holy One fills the entire world. It is also written in the name of the ARI, that one should visualize the Name YHVH constantly before his eyes with the vowelpoints of the word Yirah ("Awe"), namely, Chirik (eee), Shva (eh), Kamatz (ah). This is the mystery of the verse, "Shiviti Hashem le'negdi tamid - I place G-d before me at all times!" and it is a powerful aid in experiencing true Awe. The source of the above citation is Sha'ar Ruach HaKodesh, Yichud 21. There, Rabbi Chayim Vital writes in the name of the ARI: A person should always visualize in his mind's eye the letters of the Shem Havayah as they are written (in a Sefer Torah, i.e. in Ashurit script). This is a tried and tested way of bringing the Awe of the Blessed One into one's heart, and of thereby refining one's nefesh. This is the meaning of what King David said, "Shiviti Hashem le'negdi tamid - I place G-d before me at all times!" Rabbi Chayim Vital writes in Sha'ar HaMitzvot, Parashat Shelach (Chumash HaAri, Bamidbar, pp. 130-131): Concerning the misuse of the power of sight, it is written, "Stop going astray after [the base desires of] your hearts and your eyes, after which you are wont to lust" (Bamidbar 15:39). It is also written, "Eyneycha le'nochach yabitu - Let your eyes look straight ahead" (Mishle 4:25). Know that this verse contains an allusion to a particular practice of Rav [the great Amora]. Rav [disciplined himself until he] was accustomed not to look outside of his own 4 cubits (approximately 8 feet). Now, it is known that the eyes have only frontal and lateral [peripheral] vision. [We usually do not see in back of ourselves unless we turn around.] Certainly, when a person is walking forwards, he doesn't look backwards! We thus say that a person's visual field is limited to these 3 sides - front, right and left. [Within this visual field] one should not cast his eyes outside of his own 4 cubits. Multiplying 3 sides by 4 cubits, we get 12, which is the number of letters in 3 Havayot (YHVH, YHVH, YHVH) - one in front, one to the right, and one to the left, where each Havayah contains 4 letters, paralleling the 4 cubits. We thus learn that not casting one's eyes about outside of one's 4 cubits involves seeing and contemplating these 3 Havayot constantly before one's eyes. Since the ARI did not spell out the connection between this practice and the verse, "Eyneycha le'nochach yabitu - Let your eyes look straight ahead," Rabbi Chayim Vital's son, Shmuel adds: This is the connection to the verse "Eyneycha le'nochach yabitu," for the gematria of the word nochach (nun-chaf-chet) is 78, the same as 3 Havayot (26 x 3 = 78). Accordingly, the meaning is now: "Let your eyes look at nochach, i.e. 3 Havayot" - and not outside of them. In other words, do not get caught up in the external appearance of things, in what the Zohar calls Chizu d'Hai Alma ["the illusion of this-world"] (Zohar 3:169a). Rather, train yourself to look more deeply, to look within, to penetrate through the external facade of things. If you do this, you will feel Hashem's Presence above you at all times and His Providence constantly surrounding you and protecting you wherever you go, and directing the events of your life. This is the meaning of visualizing the Four-Letter Name of Havayah before you at all times. Shabbat Shalom |
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