 |
Holy Days |
| Holy Days Archives | Blowing the Shofar in the writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria It is explained in Kabbalah and Chassidut that on Rosh HaShanah the act of the creation of the world is in a sense replayed. Although, since G-d made a covenant with Noah never again to destroy the world, the world will certainly continue to exist from year to year, the passage from old year to new year is still a critical nexus point. This is because the nature of the created universe is being determined at this time. The energy that powered the previous year is withdrawn and a new energy is drawn down. Since the creative energy that powers the world is being withdrawn to its source, there are no "rules," and everything is in a sense up for grabs. Evil can assert that it deserves to receive the new life force of the coming year, especially in view of the record of its so-called rightful recipients during the previous year. Therefore, in order that the life force of the new year be drawn down as it should, that is, channeled mainly into holiness (and its champions in this world, the Jewish people), it is necessary to ensure that G-d is "reminded," so to speak, of His original vision of creation, in which the Jewish people are His emissaries to make this world into His home. Psychologically, this is similar to the creative process followed by any creative act. There is the original insight of chochmah, which is then processed by binah. But in binah there is always danger of the original insight being lost in the sea of details and other, ulterior motives derailing the proper flow into spiritual dead-ends. It is therefore necessary to periodically refresh the intellectual process with a reliving of the initial insight, the original spark of pure, pristine idealism and holiness that was the initial flash of chochmah. As we will see, this is the essence of the blowing of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah. The word shofar may be analyzed as follows. The shin-vav together with the 14 joints of the hand holding the shofar are 320 sparks, which are awakened from "the candle of darkness." Shofar is spelled shin-vav-pei-reish. The numerical value of shin-vav is 300 + 6 = 306. The hand of the shofar-blower has 14 joints (3 in each of the 4 fingers and 2 in the thumb); 306 + 14 = 320. The number 320 is associated with the attribute of severe judgement (din). The "candle of darkness" (butzina d'kardinuta) is an appellation of the gevurah of Atik Yomin. In the cascading development of the partzufim, the higher partzuf always serves as the motivation or origin of the next lower partzuf. In this case, Atik Yomin, the partzuf of delight, motivates the partzuf of will, Arich Anpin. The way this "motivation" works is that the seven lower sub-sefirot of the higher partzuf enter and become vested within the lower partzuf. Chesed of the higher partzuf becomes vested in chochmah of the lower partzuf; gevurah of the higher partzuf becomes vested in the binah of the lower partzuf, and so on. What is relevant here is that the gevurah of Atik Yomin becomes vested in the binah of Arich Anpin. We thus see that binah is rooted in a higher gevurah. This is what gives binah its ability to act as the evaluating principle of the intelligence, weighing the implications of the insight of chochmah. The [other two] letters, pei-reish, signify the five states of gevurah indicated by [the five final letters] mem-nun-tzadik-pei-chaf, that are awakened from binah. The numerical value of pei-reish is 80 + 200 = 280. This number is also the combined numerical value of the five letters in the Hebrew alphabet that have final forms: mem (40) + nun (50) + tzadik (90) + pei (80) + chaf (20) = 280. The five final letters are also a phenomenon of gevurah or din (severe judgement), since they indicate a stop or limit of the flow of life-force or meaning indicated by the other letters. As we have explained previously, the five states of gevurah that originate within binah are the source of the five states of gevurah of da'at, which in turn inform the gevurah aspects of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva. We see from all this that the shofar is an expression of the attributes of severity and judgement. […] On Rosh HaShanah, the inner dimension of the lights of chesed-gevurah-tiferet-malchut ascend into binah. Chesed, gevurah, and tiferet are the three principle emotions, and thus signify the partzuf of Z'eir Anpin; malchut of course signifies the partzuf of Nukva. On Rosh HaShanah, these two offspring of Ima withdraw back into the womb where they originated, so to speak. The external dimension of the lights of these partzufim remains in place in order for creation to continue to exist. The renewed inner light returns when the shofar is blown. This is in order to sweeten all the aspects of severe judgement in the mouth of the one blowing the shofar and in the breath issuing from his mouth that enters into the shofar. This breath collides with the seven [aspects of] breath present in binah, and thus produces 260 lights, [this number being] 7 times the numerical value of the word for "breath" [hevel, hei-veit-lamed, 37, plus the kolel]. 7 x 37 = 259, adding 1 for the word itself gives 260. "Binah," says the Zohar, "is the heart, and through it the heart understands." Although understanding is obviously a facet of the intellect, the intellect will produce-if all is functioning well-an emotional response, and thus binah may be seen as the origin of the emotions. Emotions are felt in the heart, and therefore the Zohar calls binah the heart. The arousal of the emotions, which is physically manifest as the warming of the heart, produces "breath," i.e., the beginnings or raw material of expression. This breath may ultimately be expressed as words (when the breath is acted upon and "processed" by the five organs of speech in the mouth-which themselves manifest the five states of gevurah of binah), or as a scream, a sigh, or a kiss. In any case, the "seven aspects of breath" of binah are the seven proto-emotions as they exist within binah. […] The first set of blasts is tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah. The first blast is the straight tekiah. One should have in mind [during this blast] that the numerical value of the [root of the] word tekiah [taf-kuf-ayin, 570] is [the same as that of the word for "ten," eser (ayin-shin-reish), and that the numerical value of the rest of the letters (yud-hei) is 15,] and that 10 times 15 equals 150. The word tekiah can thus be seen as a shorthand for 10 x 15 = 150. In other words, intend to elicit the 150 lights from Abba-who is associated with the Name Kah-to Z'eir Anpin, and from him to Nukva. 15 is the numerical value of the Divine Name Kah (spelled yud-hei). Since this Name is associated with a sefirah of the intellect, it is considered completely iterated in its ten sub-sefirot, giving 10 x 15 = 150. […] In the three blasts of the shevarim, have in mind that they express the states of severe judgement situated in the throat. As we have explained previously, the throat is the narrow passageway from the intellect (the head) to the emotions (the torso). The transformation from intellect to emotion is a contraction of the original light or consciousness of the intellect. This process is "dangerous" in that the emotions can be sidetracked along the way into all other sorts of contexts. These dangers are the states of din situated in the throat. Although the Arizal does not mention it here, these states of din are generally identified with the three ministers of Pharaoh (the butcher, the baker, and the butler), who are associated with the esophagus, the trachea, and the jugular vein. Pharaoh himself is associated with the neck, since the word for "neck" (oref) is spelled with the same letters as is the word Pharaoh. Pharaoh (and Egypt in general) signify the constricted state of intellectual bondage, in which the intellect is prevent from giving birth to emotions (this is why the Egyptians threw the Jewish babies into the Nile). […] These three blasts then expand into the nine blasts of the teruah. Intend through these [latter] to sweeten these states of judgement [manifested by the shevarim] by means of the chesed situated in the throat. Specifically, the [throat is the origin of the] guttural letters alef-chet-ayin-hei, whose combined numerical value is 84. This number is 2 times 42, the number of letters in the two Names Havayah spelled out with the letter yud. Again, since we are at the level of intellect, the three states of gevurah expand into their full iteration of 3 x 3 = 9. The letters of the Hebrew alphabet are divided in terms of their origin in the mouth into the dentals, labials, gutturals, palatals, and linguals (Sefer Yetzirah 2:3). The numerical value of the Name Havayah when spelled out with the letter yud is 72, as we have explained previously. Spelling out this Name in two iterations requires 42 letters (4 for the Name itself, 10 for the first iteration, and 28 for the second iteration):
These [two Names Havayah] are the two drops of 42-letters situated in binah, that is, in the throat, and they are Names Havayah spelled out with the letter yud. As we said, the breath of the lungs, warmed by the heart/binah, rises to the throat in search of expression. As we have explained previously, each of the four spellings-out of the Name Havayah is associated with a specific partzuf, and this one is associated with chochmah, i.e., the initial insight on which the analysis of binah operates. The presence of binah in the throat is thus the presence of the insight of chochmah at the core of binah. This presence of original insight acts to mollify (i.e., sweeten) the severity of the binah-process and allows it to remain inspired by the recollection of the original insight. This is a manifestation of chesed, which is also indicated by the fact that 72, the numerical value of this Name (in its first iteration), is also the numerical value of the word chesed (chet-samech-dalet, 8 + 60 + 4). Finally, in the last tekiah [of this series], intend to combine all these elements together. The [states of severity] first appeared as three [in the shevarim], and were then expanded into nine [in the teruah], and are now united into one simple blast [indicating that they have become sweetened. Just as the first tekiah is the sweetening light of Abba/chochmah, the original insight. * * * In describing the next two sets of blasts, tekiah-shevarim-tekiah and tekiah-teruah-tekiah, the Arizal states that the intentions for the tekiahs that frame each set at the beginning and end are the same as described above, i.e., eliciting the light of Abba into Z'eir Anpin and thence to Nukva. The middle blasts (shevarim and teruah) also indicate various aspects of severe judgement, differing based on the numerical values of the number of beats in each as reflected in the various Divine Names possessing equivalent numerical values. Specifically, the shevarim indicate the "hard severe judgements" while the teruah blasts indicate the "soft severe judgements," presumably because they are more "pulverized" than the shevarim. In any case, it is clear that the overall idea is to sweeten the judgements of the middle blasts by the simple straightforward blast of the tekiah. In Chassidut, it is explained that the tekiah indicates the "primal scream" of the soul expressing its ineffable yearning and absolute desire for G-d in His essence. The shevarim and teruah blasts reflect the brokenhearted crying that results when the revelation of the tekiah-consciousness focuses then on the individual's actual behavior in the here and now. * * * […] All three sets-tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, and tekiah-teruah-tekiah-are blown three times, giving a total of 30 blasts. The tekiah is sounded for 9 beats, the shevarim are sounded for 3 beats each, making 9 beats, and the 9 blasts of the teruah are each 1 beat long, again giving 9 beats. Thus- In the set of 30 blasts there are 270 short beats. Now, 270 is the numerical value of the word for "evil" (ra, reish-ayin). The entire set of thirty blasts is sounded three times: (1) before Musaf, (2) during the silent recitation of Musaf, and (3) during the repetition of Musaf, totaling 90 blasts. In addition, the three sets are again blown-once each, i.e. 10 blasts-during the kaddish after Musaf. The grand total is thus 100 blasts. [During the 270 beats of the 30 blasts before Musaf] intend annihilate the evil inclination toward idol worship. During the 270 beats of the 30 blasts of the silent Musaf, intend to annihilate the evil inclination toward sexual aberration. During the 270 beats of the 30 blasts of the repetition of Musaf, intend to annihilate the evil inclination toward murder. During the final ten blasts after the prayers, during the kaddish, intend to annihilate the evil inclination towards slander. Normally, if a person is faced with the choice of committing a sin or being killed, he may commit the sin in order to save his life. There are three exceptions to this, however: idol worship, major sexual offenses, and murder. Although one is not required to lay down his life rather than speak slander, we are nonetheless taught that slander is such a heinous crime that it is considered as grave as these three cardinal sins. The technical term for "idol worship" is avodah zarah, which literally means "foreign worship," i.e., any type of worship that is foreign to a Jew. The Jew's natural object of worship is of course G-d and G-d alone, so any type of obeisance to any other pursuit or ideal is-subtly, at least-a form of "idol worship." Since the diversion of focus on G-d is the source of all evil, this idea is focused on during the main, central shofar blasts. Sexual aberration is a cardinal sin since, as we have explained previously, it is a "blemishing of the covenant" between G-d and the Jew, a betrayal of the source of the Jew's creative gifts as he wastefully channels them into dead-end illusions of purpose and fulfillment. Since this is usually a personal, private sin, it is focused on during the silent recitation of Musaf. Murder is again the betrayal of the Divine image in man, but here in the social context. Any act that neutralizes the ability of someone else to function fully in the social sphere is a sort of "murder"; he is rendered dead and has been "killed" as a social animal. So it is focused on during the communal recitation of Musaf. Slander is considered a milder, though perhaps more insidious form of all of these. The slanderer serves the idol of public opinion, channels his creative talents for spurious ends, and "kills" the object of his slandering. -translated and highly abridged from Sha'ar HaKavanot (Rosh Hashanah 9) by Rabbi Moshe Wisnefsky |
 |
Ascent of Safed
|
|