Yichudim: The Many Meanings of Unity in Judaism, pt. 1

Friday, September 30, 2011

Yichudim: The Many Meanings of Unity in Judaism, pt. 1

If you drop in the word yichud or yihud into your search engine, you will get a long list of links. Oddly, though, most of them take you to the issue of yihud in the sense of "seclusion," the norms governing when Jewish men and women can and cannot be together alone. In a related discussion, there is an element of a Jewish wedding called the yichud, during which the couple is allowed time alone and away from the guests. This actually fulfilled a Talmudic criteria for being married, that witnesses see the couple seclude themselves together for the purpose of marriage.

Ironically, what is much harder to find via search engine is the philosophical and mystical use of the term as it applies to God, which in certain circles is a far more critical issue for a Jew to know. It is even soterological - "salvation" depends on it (according to some). If one finds it used in its philosophic context, the site will discuss Maimonides (RaMBaM). This is wholly as it should be, because RaMBaM is really the first Jewish thinker to make understanding and affirming the unity of God a core issue of Jewish belief. That sounds strange, but it's true. Yes, Jews have recited the Deuteronomic declaration, the Sh'ma (Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God Adonai is one/alone/unique)[Deut. 6:4] since earliest times. But the Sages of the Talmud seem to make it's twice daily recitation mandatory because, well, the Scriptures says you should say it twice ("When you lie down and when you rise up"). They never say, for example, that the Sh'ma is "the essence of Judaism" or "the watchword of our faith," as becomes common in later centuries.

It's centrality is implicitly affirmed in an entirely other context, by Rabbi Akiba's decision to recite it at its designated time -- which happened to be the same time his skin was being raked off his back by a Roman executioner. Again, Akiba doesn't say - "Oh, this is the thing that must be affirmed at my death." Rather, he realizes that the time of day to recite the Sh'ma has arrived, and he's gonna do the Jewish thing, come hell or high water. Still, that commitment to say it at the moment of death gave affirming the unity of God a special significance. Akiba adds a coda, about finally understanding what the Sh'ma means in the following paragraph when it demands one must "Love Adonai your God with...all your being." (Elah Ezkara). Impending death both focuses the mind and makes what comes to mind seem very important indeed. Akiba's story certainly enhanced the significance of declaring God's oneness, but not on a philosophical level. Akiba's martyrdom highlights devotion to God, not any idea about God.

For centuries after Akiba, no one claimed that accepting/internalizing/grokking the oneness of the God of Israel was even a mitzvah until the RaMBaM said it was. In his list of commandments, this belief is the second mitzvah listed. In his Mishneh Torah, it is considered the first obligation and the foundation of the Torah.

Now this is a notable claim, given that the Torah lists a very limited number of commandments that demand of us certain thoughts - to love God utterly is one, to not covet other peoples' stuff is another. And the fact is....belief in God, or God's nature is not one of them, at least explicitly. But the RaMBaM turns a declarative sentence, "I am Adonai your God...." into an imperative, "[You must believe] I am Adonai your God..." He makes a great philosophic argument for that, though it remains contrived in light of what the Hebrew Bible actually does and does not say. But Maimonides goes even further, arguing that simply affirming the idea as creed is not enough - one must grasp it and all its implications on a philosophic level of understanding, one that erases all intellectual doubt. If this all sounds rather Christian, I agree, though historically speaking, the RaMBaM is mostly under the influence of Islamic scholastics who, like Christians, really made reasoned thoughts and belief the sina qua non of valid religious experience. So, more than any rabbi before him, RaMBaM is insisting Jews have to hold certain beliefs (at least 13 of them).

http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/content/module/2011/10/5/main-feature/1/who-owns-maimonides/

So, what does this have to do with Jewish mystical beliefs and rituals of power? I'll get to that next entry. Its just a steep learning curve for understanding what's coming. Key themes: For Akiba, the unity of God is linked to love, for Maimonides, its all about intellect.

How To Nullify a Decree

Adar 11, 5773 · February 21, 2013


Purim

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Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson

How To Nullify a Decree



The holiday of Purim celebrates the miraculous deliverance of the Jewish people from a threat of annihilation: the evil plan fomented by Haman and signed by King Achashveirosh, to "annihilate, kill and destroy all the Jews,"1 Heaven forbid.



Both Mordechai, the leader of the Jewish people at that time, and his relative, Queen Esther, played a central role in nullifying the dastardly decree. The manner in which they did so is most instructive.



At that time, Mordechai was part of Achashveirosh's court, serving as a close advisor to the king.2 Moreover, he had recently saved the king's life.3 Esther was, of course, Achashveirosh's wife, a woman the king found "gracious and charming."4 Given that the two were so well connected, it might seem that the first thing to be done to save the Jews would be to use these connections to try and annul the decree.



Yet, as soon as the decree became known, Mordechai "garbed himself in sackcloth and ashes and went out to the midst of the city [of Shushan],"5 calling on all Jews to repent.6 Only after doing so did he instruct Esther to "go to the king, to supplicate him and beseech him regarding her people."7



Esther conducted herself in a similar fashion. Before seeking an audience with the king, she conveyed the following message to Mordechai:8 "Go and assemble all the Jews. fast on my behalf. Do not eat or drink for three days." Moreover, she said: "I too. shall fast in like manner."



Now, Esther desperately needed to be found appealing to the king, especially so since her visit would be unauthorized,9 and thus fraught with personal danger.10 She had not been called into the king's presence for 30 days.11



So why did she decide to fast for three days - an act that would cause her to appear much less physically appealing?



The answer is that both Mordechai and Esther realized that the decree regarding the Jews was the result of improper Jewish behavior.12 Since it is abundantly clear that one cannot nullify an end result (the decree) without first nullifying the cause (the erroneous Jewish conduct), their first act was to call Jews to repentance and fasting.



Once the spiritual cause of the decree had been ameliorated through repentance, and because G-d desires that one act through natural means,13 the two only then went to Achashveirosh in an attempt to abolish the decree.



Because the appeal to Achashveirosh was thus merely the natural vessel for the true salvation which came from above, it is understandable that Mordechai and Esther were not overly concerned by physical appearance or human diplomatic skill.



The lesson is obvious: There are those who think that during times of distress, G-d forbid, natural remedies should be the first course of action.



The story of Purim teaches us that natural means are only a secondary step; the first step must be to strengthen our bond with G-d by studying His Torah and performing His mitzvos. Then, and only then, should we turn to natural means to extricate ourselves from our difficulties.



When we act in this manner, we can be secure in the knowledge that whatever natural garment we employ will act to convey the supernatural miracle which is ultimately responsible for getting us out of trouble.



Just as this is so regarding Israel as a whole, so too is it in regard to individual Jews. Every Jew must know14 that he is bound up with G-d, who totally transcends nature. While G-d's blessing must be clothed in the natural vessel of human action ("all that you do"),15 human activity is, after all, no more than a garment. The main emphasis must not be on the garment,16 but on stimulating G-d's abundant blessings through the study of Torah and the performance of mitzvos.



Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. VI, pp. 191-193



FOOTNOTES

1. Esther 3:13.

2. See Esther 2:19; Megillah 13a.

3. Esther ibid., verse 21ff.

4. Ibid., 2:17.

5. Ibid., 4:3.

6. Targum Sheini ibid., verse 1.

7. Esther ibid., verse 8.

8. Ibid., verse 17.

9. Ibid., verse 16.

10. Ibid., verse 11.

11. Ibid.

12. See Rambam , Hilchos Taanios 1:2-3.

13. See Devarim 15:18.

14. See Derech Mitzvosecha p. 107ff.; Maamar titled VeYadaata HaYom 5657 , et al.

15. Devarim ibid.

16. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. VII, p. 184 and places cited there.

“The kindnesses of G‑d have surely not ended....”

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Today's Tanya Lesson


Iggeret HaKodesh, end of Epistle 10

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The Alter Rebbe now returns to the verse quoted at the outset of this Iggeret HaKodesh: חסדי ה׳ כי לא תמנו וגו׳ — “The kindnesses of G‑d have surely not ended....”



There he had asked: If the verse refers only to G‑d’s kindness, why does it use the verb tamnu (in the first person plural), which would make the phrase mean, “we have not been brought to an end,” rather than tamu (in the third person plural), which would mean that “the kindnesses have not ended”?



He answers this by saying that חסדי ה׳ (“the kindnesses of G‑d”) refers also to the giving of tzedakah without limitation. Accordingly, the verse may be understood, as he now goes on to explain:



והנה מדת חסד זו, בלי גבול ומדה, נקראת על שמו של הקב״ה



Now, since this is G‑d’s manner of practicing benevolence, this mode of unlimited kindness is known by the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, [viz.,]



חסדי ה׳



“The kindnesses of G‑d,”



כדכתיב: וחסד ה׳ מעולם ועד עולם כו׳



as it is written,1 “and G‑d’s Chesed is everlasting....”



כי הגם שכל ישראל הם רחמנים וגומלי חסדים



For though2 “All of Israel are compassionate and practice kindly deeds,”



ברם יש גבול ומדה לרחמי האדם



nevertheless there is a limit and measure to man’s compassion.



אבל הקב״ה נקרא אין סוף ברוך הוא



But the Holy One, blessed be He, is called the Ein Sof — “the Infinite One,”



ולמדותיו אין סוף



and His attributes (like Himself) have no end,



כדכתיב: כי לא כלו רחמיו



as it is written,3 “...for His mercies never cease.”



When a Jew echoes G‑d’s boundless kindness and compassion, his actions are thus termed “G‑d’s acts of kindness.”



וזהו שאמר הנביא אחר החורבן והגלות: חסדי ה׳, כי לא תמנו



And this is the meaning of the prophet’s words,4 after the Destruction and the exile: “The kindnesses of G‑d have surely not ended (ki lo tamnu).”



פירוש: לפי שלא תמנו, שאין אנו תמימים ושלמים, בלי שום חטא ופגם בנפש ובעולמות עליונים



That is: “Because we are not perfect,5 inasmuch as we are not perfect (temimim) and whole, without any sin or blemish in our soul nor in the higher worlds,



על כן צריכין אנו להתנהג בחסדי ה׳, שהם בלי גבול ותכלית



we therefore need to conduct ourselves in accordance with ‘G‑d’s kindnesses,’ that are without limit or end,



כדי לעורר עלינו רחמים וחסד עילאה, שהוא רב חסד ורחמים, בלי גבול ותכלית



in order to call down upon ourselves Supreme compassion, i.e., rav Chesed, and unlimited, infinite compassion,



כמו שכתוב: כי לא כלו רחמיו



as it is written, at the conclusion of this verse, ‘for His mercies never cease....’”



Since we are in need of drawing down this level of compassion, our own practice of kindness must echo “G‑d’s kindness.”



Thus the Prophet is telling the generations that follow the Destruction that they should practice unbounded kindness because they are not in a state of tamnu. Being imperfect, we need to arouse G‑d’s infinite kindness and compassion in order to rectify any sins and blemishes.



(Moreover, since these latter generations are too weak to engage in fasting and self-mortification, the only means now available to secure full atonement is through tzedakah.6)


וזהו שאמרו רז״ל: אין ישראל נגאלין אלא בצדקה



And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, meant by saying that7 “Israel will be redeemed only through charity.”


שיעשו גם אם יהיו פטורים מדינא



[This refers to the charity] that they will perform even if they are legally not obligated,



כי אין בן דוד בא כו׳



for8 “[Mashiach] the son of David will not come [until the pocket will be empty of even the smallest coin].”



I.e., even if (Heaven forfend) there will not be a solitary coin left in one’s pocket, tzedakah will still be given. And it is this boundless level of tzedakah that secures a complete atonement for the sins of our people, after which9 “they will immediately be redeemed.”



The Rebbe explains that the Alter Rebbe does not conclude the above-mentioned quotation about the precondition for the coming of Mashiach because it is quite possible that he did not want to write out the last words (viz., “until the pocket will be empty of even the smallest coin”); and this precondition of the Sages can be fulfilled on the spiritual level, by conducting oneself with the humility of the destitute.


This could also explain why the Alter Rebbe does not say...כשיהיו (“when they are legally not obligated”), but rather...אם יהיו (“if they are legally not obligated”).



FOOTNOTES

1. Tehillim 103:17.

2. Yevamot 79a.

3. Eichah 3:22.

4. See above, footnote 3.

5. Note of the Rebbe: “The proof being the Destruction and the exile.”

6. This is explained at length in Iggeret HaTeshuvah, ch. 3 (in Vol. III of the present series).

7. See above, Epistle 9, footnote 16.

8. Sanhedrin 97a.

9. Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 7:5.