Shema: Aspiring to Love of Hashem
Save
Copy
Add to Collection
Export to Google Docs
Share״ברוך...יוצר אור ובורא חושך, עושה שלום ובורא את הכל.״
״ברוך...יוצר המאורות.״
״ברוך...הבוחר בעמו ישראל באהבה.״
״ברוך...יוצר המאורות.״
״ברוך...הבוחר בעמו ישראל באהבה.״
(ז) יוֹצֵ֥ר אוֹר֙ וּבוֹרֵ֣א חֹ֔שֶׁךְ עֹשֶׂ֥ה שָׁל֖וֹם וּב֣וֹרֵא רָ֑ע אֲנִ֥י ה' עֹשֶׂ֥ה כָל־אֵֽלֶּה׃ (ס)
(7) I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe— I the LORD do all these things.
Rav S.R. Hirsch, The Nineteen Letters, Third Letter:
"...Now, look at this entire host of creations — how, though greatly differing from each other in their properties and purpose, they have been linked in one great harmonious system, each one functioning in its particular place, in its time, using the resources apportioned to it; none functioning at cross-purposes to the others, but rather, each supporting the whole and the whole supporting each one. Who, then, mediates between the opposites and unites the myriads into one?
ויבדל אלקים בין האור ובין החשך. It is the selfsame One Alone, Who stands as conciliator between light and darkness, life and death. Thus His love provides matter and energy for the world to function, while His justice sets limits, goals and boundaries...
Thus ... the seed, after germination in the ground, is taken from the earth to become the ripened fruit, so that the earth will have to receive again in order to give again. Thus one immense bond of love, of receiving and giving, unites all beings. None exists by itself and for itself; there is a constant striving of each creature with, through and for the others, on behalf of the whole, and of the whole on behalf of every creature. Everything receives strength and resources not for itself as such but merely in order to give, to give and thereby to attain fulfillment of the purpose of its existence.
"ה stands for love," say our Sages; "love, sustained and sustaining, characterizes the Creation of the earth."
Everything in it whispers to you: "Love."
"...Now, look at this entire host of creations — how, though greatly differing from each other in their properties and purpose, they have been linked in one great harmonious system, each one functioning in its particular place, in its time, using the resources apportioned to it; none functioning at cross-purposes to the others, but rather, each supporting the whole and the whole supporting each one. Who, then, mediates between the opposites and unites the myriads into one?
ויבדל אלקים בין האור ובין החשך. It is the selfsame One Alone, Who stands as conciliator between light and darkness, life and death. Thus His love provides matter and energy for the world to function, while His justice sets limits, goals and boundaries...
Thus ... the seed, after germination in the ground, is taken from the earth to become the ripened fruit, so that the earth will have to receive again in order to give again. Thus one immense bond of love, of receiving and giving, unites all beings. None exists by itself and for itself; there is a constant striving of each creature with, through and for the others, on behalf of the whole, and of the whole on behalf of every creature. Everything receives strength and resources not for itself as such but merely in order to give, to give and thereby to attain fulfillment of the purpose of its existence.
"ה stands for love," say our Sages; "love, sustained and sustaining, characterizes the Creation of the earth."
Everything in it whispers to you: "Love."
(ז) וַיִּיצֶר֩ ה' אֱלֹקִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃
(7) the LORD God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.
() וייצר שְׁתֵּי יְצִירוֹת, יְצִירָה לְעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וִיְצִירָה לִתְחִיַּית הַמֵתִים, אֲבַל בִּבְהֵמָה שֶׁאֵינָה עוֹמֶדֶת לָדִין לֹא נִכְתַּב בִּיִצִירָתָהּ שְׁנֵי יוּדִי"ן: ... () לנפש חיה אַף בְּהֵמָה וְחַיָּה נִקְרְאוּ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה, אַךְ זוּ שֶׁל אָדָם חַיָּה שֶׁבְּכוּלָן, שֶׁנִתּוֹסֵף בּוֹ דֵעַה וְדִבּוּר:
(1) וייצר AND GOD FORMED — Here the letter yod is written twice to intimate that there were two formations — a formation of man for this world, and a formation of man for resurrection; in the case of animals, however, which will not stand after death for judgment before God the word referring to their formation— ויצר —(Genesis 2:19) is not written with two yods (Midrash Tanchuma, Tazria 1). (2) עפר מן האדמה DUST OF THE EARTH — He gathered his dust (i. e. that from which he was made) from the entire earth — from its four corners — in order that wherever he might die, it should receive him for burial (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 3). Another explanation: He took his dust from that spot on which the Holy Temple with the altar of atonement was in later times to be built of which it is said, (Exodus 20:24) “An altar of earth thou shalt make for Me” saying, “Would that this sacred earth may be an expiation for him so that he may be able to endure” (Genesis Rabbah 14:8). (3) ויפח באפיו AND BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS — He made him of both, of earthly and of heavenly matter: the body of the earthly, and the soul of the heavenly. For on the first day were created heaven and earth, on the second, He created the firmament for the heavenly beings, on the third He said, “Let the dry land appear” — for the earthly beings, on the fourth He created the lights for the heavenly beings, on the fifth He said, “Let the waters swarm…” — for the earthly beings. Consequently on the sixth there had to be created a being composed of both, of heavenly and of earthly matter, for otherwise there would have been envy (lack of harmony) among the works of Creation, in that there would have been devoted to one class of them one day more of the Creation than to the others (Genesis Rabbah 12:8). (4) לנפש חיה A LIVING SOUL — Also cattle and beasts are called נפש חיה (1:20, 22, 24), but the נפש of man is the most highly developed of all of them, because to him was granted understanding and speech.
Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, Ch. 50, "Falsehood, Lying, Flattery, Hypocrisy":
"But just as God has endowed the human mind with the faculty of mirroring the reality of its owner's external world, so also has He given him the faculty of revealing to others the reality as known to him by means of his language. And thus, the individual can live not only according to his own experience, but the whole of mankind can co-operate for the improvement of the human mind, the individual can inherit the spiritual treasure of all mankind, and, by becoming richer in truth, also become richer in justice, and lead a life of action instead of a life of mere experience. In such manner, by means of that supreme blessing, God has knitted together the community of man with the vital thread of love, and has ordained that man should rely on his brother for the spiritual good — namely, truth.
"But he who, instead of truthfully expressing in words what he has experienced to be real, communicates a false image of it to his brother, who accepts it and bases his behavior on it ... that man turns into a curse that supreme blessing of the Creator .... For to appreciate the nature of things you rely on your knowledge of them; and if somebody deceives you about their true nature, he robs you of a support or causes you to lean on a support that is insecure.
"And by stealing from another directly something precious — truth — and so indirectly the most precious thing — justice — the liar also kills himself spiritually; for he extinguishes in himself that Divine spark which alone makes of him a human being created for the benefit of his fellow-men."
"But just as God has endowed the human mind with the faculty of mirroring the reality of its owner's external world, so also has He given him the faculty of revealing to others the reality as known to him by means of his language. And thus, the individual can live not only according to his own experience, but the whole of mankind can co-operate for the improvement of the human mind, the individual can inherit the spiritual treasure of all mankind, and, by becoming richer in truth, also become richer in justice, and lead a life of action instead of a life of mere experience. In such manner, by means of that supreme blessing, God has knitted together the community of man with the vital thread of love, and has ordained that man should rely on his brother for the spiritual good — namely, truth.
"But he who, instead of truthfully expressing in words what he has experienced to be real, communicates a false image of it to his brother, who accepts it and bases his behavior on it ... that man turns into a curse that supreme blessing of the Creator .... For to appreciate the nature of things you rely on your knowledge of them; and if somebody deceives you about their true nature, he robs you of a support or causes you to lean on a support that is insecure.
"And by stealing from another directly something precious — truth — and so indirectly the most precious thing — justice — the liar also kills himself spiritually; for he extinguishes in himself that Divine spark which alone makes of him a human being created for the benefit of his fellow-men."
Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, Ch. 5, Self-Appraisal.
(יד) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, חָבִיב אָדָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא בְצֶלֶם. חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַעַת לוֹ שֶׁנִּבְרָא בְצֶלֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ט) כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹקִים עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם.
חֲבִיבִין יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנִּקְרְאוּ בָנִים לַמָּקוֹם. חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַעַת לָהֶם שֶׁנִּקְרְאוּ בָנִים לַמָּקוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים יד) בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם.
חֲבִיבִין יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנִּתַּן לָהֶם כְּלִי חֶמְדָּה. חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַעַת לָהֶם שֶׁנִּתַּן לָהֶם כְּלִי חֶמְדָּה שֶׁבּוֹ נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי ד) כִּי לֶקַח טוֹב נָתַתִּי לָכֶם, תּוֹרָתִי אַל תַּעֲזֹבוּ:
(14) He would say: Beloved is man, since he is created in the image [of God]. A deeper love - it is revealed to him that he is created in the image, as it says (Genesis 9:6): "for in God's image He made man." Beloved are Israel, since they are called children of the Omnipresent. A deeper love - it is revealed to them that they are called children to God, as it says (Deuteronomy 14:1): "You are children of the Lord, your God." Beloved are Israel, since a precious instrument has been given to them. A deeper love - it is revealed to them that the precious instrument with which the world was created has been given to them, as it says (Proverbs 4:2): "For a good lesson I have given to you; do not forsake my teaching."
Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, Ch. 9, Love of God.
"Would that you could but grasp the deep happiness enshrined in the proud thought: 'I am an entity in God's world.' Would that from the blade of grass, the flower and the breeze you could learn to become imbued with the sublimeness which permeates all created things, which possesses the angels and which fills one with serenity and blessedness — would that, even for a fleeting moment, you occupied the place which God has allotted to you! ... If only you could be elevated into serenity, into a condition which absorbs your whole self and provides you with serenity only in God and in the Torah which expounds your mission in life – then would you cast aside your idols of silver and your idols of gold and your arch-idol 'pleasure' and all the baubles of your age — to speed to God, so that you may realize yourself. You would then become one who loves God. Cast them aside? No! Perhaps you would at last really grasp them, turning the idol into an instrument, the bauble into something useful, by devoting your whole being and energies to God and the fulfillment of His will; you would love God with all your heart and all your soul, and all your might.
"'To love God with all your heart, with mind and heart' — ... To strive to reach God with your mind, employing all the mental faculties which have been lent to you for recognizing God, for learning to know His will as expressed in His law and also His world, in order that you may know how to fulfill His will in it. 'With your heart' — in order that you may be able to go through the fight to which God calls you between the impulse which leads you upwards and the impulse with drags you downwards; that you may be able to make peace between the brute and the man in yourself; that you may be able to lift up the brute to the human level and make both impulses take one direction — to serve God, to call only that good and honourable which God calls so, and to avoid that which He wishes to be avoided; that your heart should feel only on attraction: to your Father in heaven."
"Would that you could but grasp the deep happiness enshrined in the proud thought: 'I am an entity in God's world.' Would that from the blade of grass, the flower and the breeze you could learn to become imbued with the sublimeness which permeates all created things, which possesses the angels and which fills one with serenity and blessedness — would that, even for a fleeting moment, you occupied the place which God has allotted to you! ... If only you could be elevated into serenity, into a condition which absorbs your whole self and provides you with serenity only in God and in the Torah which expounds your mission in life – then would you cast aside your idols of silver and your idols of gold and your arch-idol 'pleasure' and all the baubles of your age — to speed to God, so that you may realize yourself. You would then become one who loves God. Cast them aside? No! Perhaps you would at last really grasp them, turning the idol into an instrument, the bauble into something useful, by devoting your whole being and energies to God and the fulfillment of His will; you would love God with all your heart and all your soul, and all your might.
"'To love God with all your heart, with mind and heart' — ... To strive to reach God with your mind, employing all the mental faculties which have been lent to you for recognizing God, for learning to know His will as expressed in His law and also His world, in order that you may know how to fulfill His will in it. 'With your heart' — in order that you may be able to go through the fight to which God calls you between the impulse which leads you upwards and the impulse with drags you downwards; that you may be able to make peace between the brute and the man in yourself; that you may be able to lift up the brute to the human level and make both impulses take one direction — to serve God, to call only that good and honourable which God calls so, and to avoid that which He wishes to be avoided; that your heart should feel only on attraction: to your Father in heaven."
Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, Ch. 16, Love.