Shoftim ~ The uncarved block

"shelim" (complete, perfect) you shall be in fear of Ad-nai your God.

There is a large letter "Taf", since if one goes wholeheartedly [temimut] it is as if he has kept [the entire torah] from Alef to Tav.

(9) These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, tamim in his generation; Noah walked with God.

(27) And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a tam man, dwelling in tents.

(8) The Torah of Ad-nai is temimah (perfect) restoring the soul; the testimony of Ad-nai is sure, making wise the simple.

(1) And when Avraham was ninety nine years old, Hashem appeared to Avraham, and said to him: ‘I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be tamim.

(15) And G-d said to Avraham "[As for] Sarai your wife, do not call her by the name Sarai (שרי), for Sarah (שרה) is her name. (16) I will bless her, and I will also give you a son through her. I will bless her, and she will be [a mother] of nations, kings of peoples will descend from her." (17) Avraham fell on his face and laughed . He said in his heart: "Can a hundred year old man have children? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old give birth?" (19) God said: "Indeed, your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Yitzchok. I will establish My covenant with him as an eternal covenant to his descendants after him.

(9) They said to him, "Where is Sarah, your wife?" He said "Here, in the tent." (10) He said "I will return to you next year, and Sarah, your wife will have a son." Sarah was listening at the door of the tent, that was behind him. (11) Avraham and Sarah were old, well on in years. Sarah no longer had the way of women. (12) Sarah laughed to herself saying, "Now that I have withered, I shall again have delicate skin? And my husband is old.” (13) God said to Avraham, "Why did Sarah laugh saying, 'Can I really give birth when I am old?' (14) Is anything hidden from God? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time of life, and Sarah will have a son." (15) Sarah denied it saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "Not so, for you did laugh."

(2) And He said, "Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you."(3) And Abraham arose early in the morning, and he saddled his donkey, and he took his two young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for a burnt offering, and he arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

(1) תמים תהיה עם ה' אלהיך YOU SHALL BE PERFECT WITH AD-NAI YOUR GOD — walk before him whole-heartedly, put thy hope in Him and do not attempt to investigate the future, but whatever it may be that comes upon thee accept it whole-heartedly[betemimut], and then you shall be with Him and become His portion (Sifrei Devarim 173:3).

Blessed is the Place [of all], Blessed is He; Blessed is the One who Gave the Torah to His people Israel, Blessed is He. Corresponding to four sons did the Torah speak; one [who is] wise, one [who is] evil, one who is tam and one who doesn't know to ask.

"Happy are the temimei in the way, who walk with the Torah of Ad-nai" (Ps. 119:1) King Shlomo, peace be upon him, said "He who walks in tumo [his integrity] is a just man, happy are his children after him" (Prov. 20:7) - and if his children are happy, all the more so he is happy. The Holy One of Blessing only asked of Abraham that he be tamim, as it is written 'walk before me and be tamim' (Gen. 17:1). And so Moshe said to the children of Israel 'be tamim with Ad-nai your God' (Deut. 18:13). It is not written: 'be tamim in front of Ad-nai your God', but 'with'. If you are tamim, behold you are with Ad-nai your God. Why? Because God is also tamim: "The Rock is tamim in His actions" (Deut. 32:4). Israel are temimim, and Torah is temimah as it says 'The Torah of Ad-nai is temimah' (Psalms 19:8). That's why it is written: Happy are the temimei in the way, who walk with the Torah of Ad-nai....

"An angel of Ad-nai appeared to him." It is written: "I sleep, but my heart is awake [Hark! My beloved knocks: 'Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled (tamati); for my head is filled with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.']" (Song of Songs 5:2). I am sleeping [from performing] the commandments, but my heart is awake to perform them. "Tamati" at Sinai, for they attached themselves [nitmemu] to Me at Sinai and said: ‘"Everything Ad-nai had spoken we will do and obey’" (Exodus 24:7). R. Yannai said: Just as twins [te'omim] feel one another's headaches, [so too] God said, as it were: "’I am with him in sorrow" (Psalms 91:15).

(4) But it is known that everything depends on Arousal from Below, which is the aspect of Feminine Water like the Desire of the Feminine for the Masculine. And we, the Nation of the Children of Israel, have the aspect of Feminine with respect to the Holy Blessed One; and when we arouse ourselves to attach to our Blessed Creator from Below to Above, we arouse (as if it were possible) Desire in our Blessed Creator to channel us all Good, selah! And the flow descends from Above to Below with abundance and blessing and compassion and life and peace. So we, the Assembly of Israel, along with the Holy Blessed One are a single complete entity, when we are attached to Blessed God. And one without the other (as if it were possible) is not called “complete,” as in the statement “The Name is not complete nor is the Throne complete” (Tanhuma, Ki Tetze 11). For we are called the Blessed Creator’s Throne, since (as if it were possible) without us the Blessed Creator is not called “complete” and obviously without Blessed God we [are not called “complete”]. Only when we first arouse the Feminine Waters, meaning our Desire from Below to Above to attach to Blessed God, through this we arouse Blessed God’s Desire from Above to Below. And then, when the two Desires come together then it is one complete entity. And this is the meaning of the verse You shall be complete with Adonai your God (Deut. 18:13), which is to say you with Blessed God are called a complete entity. And so the essence of Creation was on this condition, that we would walk to Blessed God by way of Arousal from Below initially. ...