I. What is the Meaning of
Torah and Mitzvot?
כוונת כלל התורה - שני דברים והם תקון הנפש ותקון הגוף: אמנם תקון הנפש הוא - שינתנו להמון דעות אמתיות כפי יכלתם. ומפני זה יהיה קצתם בפרוש וקצתם במשל - שאין בטבע ההמון לסבול הענין ההוא כפי מה שהוא: אמנם תקון הגוף יהיה בתיקון עניני מחיתם קצתם עם קצתם וזה הענין ישלם בשני דברים האחד מהם - להסיר החמס מביניהם והוא - שלא יעשה כל איש מבני אדם הישר בעיניו וברצונו וביכולתו אבל יעשה כל אחד מהם מה שבו תועלת הכל; והשני - ללמד כל איש מבני אדם מדות מועילות בחברה עד שיסודר ענין המדינה: ודע ששתי הכונות האלה - האחת מהם בלא ספק קודמת במעלה והיא - תיקון הנפש - רצוני לומר נתינת הדעות האמיתיות; והשנית קודמת בטבע ובזמן - רצוני לומר תקון הגוף והוא הנהגת המדינה ותקון עניני אנשיה כפי היכולת. וזאת השנית היא הצריכה יותר תחילה והיא אשר הפליג לדקדק בה ולדקדק בחלקיה כולם מפני שאין יכולת להגיע אל הכונה הראשונה אלא אחר שיגיעו אל השנית הזאת.
The general object of the Law is twofold: the well-being of the soul, and the well-being of the body. The well-being of the soul is promoted by correct opinions communicated to the people according to their capacity. Some of these opinions are therefore imparted in a plain form, others allegorically: because certain opinions are in their plain form too strong for the capacity of the common people. The well-being of the body is established by a proper management of the relations in which we live one to another. This we can attain in two ways: first by removing all violence from our midst: that is to say, that we do not do every one as he pleases, desires, and is able to do; but every one of us does that which contributes towards the common welfare. Secondly, by teaching every one of us such good morals as must produce a good social state. Of these two objects, the one, the well-being of the soul, or the communication of correct opinions, comes undoubtedly first in rank, but the other, the well-being of the body, the government of the state, and the establishment of the best possible relations among men, is anterior in nature and time. The latter object is required first; it is also treated [in the Law] most carefully and most minutely, because the well-being of the soul can only be obtained after that of the body has been secured.
Zohar 3:152a (all translations of Zohar by Daniel C. Matt)
Rabbi Shim’on said, “Woe to the person who says that Torah intended to present a mere story and ordinary words! For if so, we could compose a Torah right now with ordinary words, and more laudable than all of them. If to display matters of the world, even worldly potentates possess words more sublime. If so, let us follow them and make a Torah of them! But all the words of Torah correspond to the following pattern.
“Come and see: The upper world and the lower world are evenly balanced: Israel below, supernal angels above. Of the angels is written He makes His angels spirits… (Psalms 104:4). This pertains to the celestial realm. But when they descend below, although they descend, they don garments of this world. If they are not clothed in a garment befitting this world, they cannot not endure in this world, nor can the world endure them.
“If this is so with the angels, then concerning Torah—who created them and created all worlds, which exist for her sake—when she descends to this world, if she does not clothe herself in garments of this world, the world cannot endure.
“So this story of Torah is a garment of Torah. Whoever thinks that the garment is the real Torah and not something else, may his spirit expire! He will have no share in the world that is coming! Therefore David said: Uncover my eyes, so I can see wonders out of your Torah (Psalms 119:18)—what is beneath the garment of Torah.
“Come and see: There is a garment visible to all. Those fools, when they see someone in a good-looking garment, look no further. Yet the significance of that garment is the body; the significance of the body is the soul.
“Corresponding to this pattern, Torah has a body—and words of Torah called ‘bodies of Torah.’ This body is clothed in a garment, namely stories of this world. Fools of the world look only at that garment, the story of Torah. Those who know more do not look at the garment, but rather at the body beneath that garment. The wise—servants of the supernal King, those who stood at Mount Sinai—look only at the soul, root of all, real Torah. And in the world that is coming, they are destined to gaze upon the soul of soul of Torah.
“Come and see: So, too, above there is garment, body, soul, and soul of soul. The heavens and their hosts are the garment. Assembly of Israel is the body who receives the soul, Tif’eret Yisra’el (Beauty of Israel), so She is the body for the soul. The soul that we have mentioned is Tif’eret Yisra’el, who is real Torah. The soul of soul is the Holy Ancient One, and all linked to one another.
“Woe to the wicked who say that Torah is merely a story! They look at this garment and no further. Happy are the righteous who look at Torah properly! As wine must sit in a bottle, so Torah must sit in this garment. Therefore, concerning Torah, one should look only at what is beneath the garment. So all these words and all these stories are garments.”
II. How Does Prayer Work?
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
R. Joseph Albo’s (c. 1388-1444, an outstanding devotee of Maimonidean philosophy) central argument on the topic of prayer is that it influences a person’s status by causing an internal change within that person. This change raises the person to a level where he receives constant divine inspiration through God’s benevolence. The basic assumption of this concept is that prayer cannot cause any change in God, since such an assumption would detract from divine perfection. Thus we should conceive of prayer as the internal act of a person upon the self, raising the self to a higher spiritual level (Treatise 4, Chapters 16–18).
(ו) אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהַתְּשׁוּבָה וְהַצְּעָקָה יָפָה לָעוֹלָם. בַּעֲשָׂרָה הַיָּמִים שֶׁבֵּין רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה וְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים הִיא יָפָה בְּיוֹתֵר וּמִתְקַבֶּלֶת הִיא מִיָּד שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה נה-ו) "דִּרְשׁוּ ה' בְּהִמָּצְאוֹ". בַּמֶּה דְּבָרִים אֲמוּרִים בְּיָחִיד אֲבָל צִבּוּר כָּל זְמַן שֶׁעוֹשִׂים תְּשׁוּבָה וְצוֹעֲקִין בְּלֵב שָׁלֵם הֵם נַעֲנִין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ד-ז) "כַּה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ בְּכָל קָרְאֵנוּ אֵלָיו":
(6) Even though teshuva and crying out are desirable all year, on the ten days between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, they are more desirable, and are immediately received, as it says: "Seek out G-d and you will find him. Call to him, and he will be close." This is talking about someone who is doing teshuva alone. But if someone if doing teshuva as part of a quorum, anytime that they do teshuva with a full heart, they are answered, as it says, [For what great nation is there, that has God so near to them,] as the Lord our God whenever we call to Him (Deuteronomy 4:7).
(א) מצות עשה להתפלל בכל יום שנאמר ועבדתם את ה' אלהיכם, מפי השמועה למדו שעבודה זו היא תפלה שנאמר ולעבדו בכל לבבכם אמרו חכמים אי זו היא עבודה שבלב זו תפלה, ואין מנין התפלות מן התורה, ואין משנה התפלה הזאת מן התורה, ואין לתפלה זמן קבוע מן התורה.
(1) It is a positive commandment to pray every day, as it is written: "You shall worship the Lord your God" (Ex. 23:25). By tradition, they learned that this worship is prayer, as it says: "and to worship God with all of your heart" (Deut. 11:13)—the sages said what is worship of the heart? This is prayer. The number of prayers is not biblical, the form of prayer is not biblical, and prayer has no biblically fixed time.
Zohar 2:133b-134a
“When Israel enacts the unification of the mystery of שמע ישראל (Shema Yisra’el), Hear O Israel! (Deuteronomy 6:4) with perfect intention, one radiance issues from secrecy of the upper world, and that radiance strikes a spark of darkness and scatters into seventy lights, and those seventy flash into seventy branches of the Tree of Life.
“Then that Tree wafts fragrances and aromas, and all the trees of the Garden of Eden waft fragrances and praise their Lord, for then Matronita is adorned to enter the canopy with Her Husband. All those supernal limbs unite in one desire, in one aspiration, to be one with no separation. Then Her Husband is arrayed for Her, to bring Her to the canopy in single union, to unite with Matronita.
“Therefore we arouse Her, saying שמע ישראל (Shema Yisra’el), Hear, O Israel! (Deuteronomy 6:4)—Adorn Yourself! Behold, Your Husband is near You in His array, ready to meet You.
“YHVH our God, YHVH is one (ibid.)—in one unification, in one aspiration, without separation; for all those limbs become one, entering into one desire. As soon as Israel says one, arousing six aspects, all those six become one. This mystery is ו (vav), one extension alone, with no other attachment, expanded by all, one.
“At that moment, Matronita prepares and adorns Herself, and Her attendants escort Her to Her Husband in hushed whisper, saying ‘Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever!’ This is whispered, for so must She be brought to Her Husband. Happy are the people who know this and compose the supernal arrangement of faith!
“As Husband and Wife unite as one, a proclamation issues from the south: ‘Present yourselves, hosts and camps, who manifest love to your Lord!’ Then one celestial officer arouses—Boel, master of camps—in whose hand are four keys that he has obtained from the four corners of the world. One key is engraved with the letter י (yod), one key is engraved with the letter ה (he), and one key is engraved with the letter ו (vav). Another key, engraved with the letter ה (he), he places beneath the Tree of Life. Those three keys, engraved with these three letters, become one. As soon as they become one, that other key ascends, stands, and joins with the other, totality of three. All those camps and hosts bring these two keys into the Garden, and they all enact unification, corresponding to the pattern below.
“יהוה (YHVH)—inscription of the letter י (yod), supernal head of the Holy Name. אלהינו (Eloheinu), our God—mysterious inscription of the supernal letter ה (he), second letter in the Holy Name. יהוה (YHVH)—a flow conducted below by mysterious inscription of the letter ו (vav), for those two letters are drawn here, and it is one. All these three are one in one unity.
“Once all this has been unified as one, and all remains in mystery of the letter ו (vav) complete, from the source of the spring and the innermost chamber, and He inherits from Father and Mother, then they bring Matronita to Him; for now He is complete with all sublime goodness, and can sustain Her, providing Her with nourishment and satisfaction fittingly. All those limbs of His are all one; then they bring Her to Him in a whisper. Why in a whisper? So that a stranger will not mingle in this joy, as is said: In his joy no stranger will share (Proverbs 14:10).
“Once He unites above in six aspects, She too unites below in six other aspects, so that there will be [134a] oneness above and oneness below, as is said: YHVH will be one and His name one (Zechariah 14:9). One above in six aspects, as is written: שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד (Shema Yisra’el YHVH Eloheinu YHVH ehad), Hear O Israel! YHVH our God, YHVH is one (Deuteronomy 6:4)—six words corresponding to six aspects. One below in six aspects: ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד (Barukh shem kevod malkhuto le-olam va-ed), Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever!—six other aspects in six words. YHVH one, above; and His name one, below.
III. The Chosen People
Maimonides, Letter to Obadiah the Convert
Thus says Moses, the son of Rabbi Maimon, one of the exiles from Jerusalem, who lived in Spain:
I received the question of the master Obadiah, the wise and learned proselyte, may the Lord reward him for his work, may a perfect recompense be bestowed upon him by the Lord of Israel, under whose wings he has sought cover.
You ask me if you, too, are allowed to say in the blessings and prayers you offer alone or in the congregation: “Our God” and “God of our fathers,” “You who have sanctified usthrough Your commandments,” “You who have separated us,” “You who have chosen us,” “You who have inherited us,” “You who have brought us out of the land of Egypt,” “You who have worked miracles to our fathers,” and more of this kind.
Yes, you may say all this in the prescribed order and not change it in the least. In the same way as every Jew by birth says his blessing and prayer, you, too, shall bless and pray alike, whether you are alone or pray in the congregation. The reason for this is, that Abraham our Father taught the people, opened their minds, and revealed to them the true faith and the unity of God; he rejected the idols and abolished their adoration; he brought many children under the wings of the Divine Presence; he gave them counsel and advice, and ordered his sons and the members of his household after him to keep the ways of the Lord forever, as it is written, “For I have known him to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice” (Gen. 18:19). Ever since then whoever adopts Judaism and confesses the unity of the Divine Name, as it is prescribed in the Torah, is counted among the disciples of Abraham our Father, peace be with him. These men are Abraham’s household, and he it is who converted them to righteousness.
In the same way as he converted his contemporaries through his words and teaching, he converts future generations through the testament he left to his children and household after him. Thus Abraham our Father, peace be with him, is the father of his pious posterity who keep his ways, and the father of his disciples and of all proselytes who adopt Judaism...
Do not consider your origin as inferior. While we are the descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, you derive from Him through whose word the world was created. As is said by Isaiah: “One shall say, I am the Lord’s, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob” (Is. 44:5).
A Rose (translation by D. C. Matt)
Rabbi Hizkiyah opened, “Like a rose among thorns, so is my beloved among the maidens (Song of Songs 2:2). Who is a rose? Assembly of Israel. For there is a rose, and then there is a rose! Just as a rose among thorns is colored red and white, so Assembly of Israel includes judgment and compassion. Just as a rose has thirteen petals, so Assembly of Israel has thirteen qualities of compassion surrounding Her on every side. Similarly, from the moment אלהים (Elohim), God, is mentioned, it generated thirteen words to surround Assembly of Israel and protect Her; then it is mentioned again. Why again? To produce five sturdy leaves surrounding the rose. These five are called Salvation; they are five gates. Concerning this mystery it is written: I raise the cup of salvation (Psalms 116:13). This is the cup of blessing, which should rest on five fingers, no more, like the rose, sitting on five sturdy leaves, paradigm of five fingers. This rose is the cup of blessing.
Zohar 2:21b-22a
Rav Dimi said, “But it is written: Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 34:10), about which Rabbi Yehoshu’a son of Levi said, ‘In Israel none did arise, but among the nations of the world one did. Who was that? Balaam.’”
He replied, “Surely you raise a good point!”
He was silent.
When Rabbi Shim’on son of Yohai arrived they asked him about this matter. He opened, saying, “Foul resin mixed with fine balsam? Heaven forbid! Rather, certainly it is as follows: Among the nations of the world one did arise. Who was that? Balaam. Moses’ actions on high; Balaam’s down low. Moses wielded the holy crown of the supernal King, above; Balaam wielded the lower crowns, unholy, below. In precisely this vein it is written: [the Israelites] slew Balaam son of Be’or, the sorcerer, with the sword (Joshua 13:22). Should you imagine he was any higher, go and ask his ass!”
Rabbi Yose came and kissed his hands. He said, “The coveting in my heart has disappeared, for herein is implied: there is high and low, right and left, compassion and judgment, Israel and the nations of the world. Israel wields high and holy crowns; the nations of the world nethermost crowns, unholy; these on the right, those on the left. In every aspect high prophets and low prophets, holy prophets and unholy prophets differ!”
Rabbi Yehudah said, “As Moses was [22a] distinct from all prophets in holy prophecy on high, so Balaam was distinct from other prophets and sorcerers in unholy prophecy, below. From every aspect Moses was high, Balaam low, countless levels separating between them!”
Zohar 1:131a-b
Rabbi El’azar and Rabbi Yeisa were sitting one night, engaged in Torah.
Rabbi El’azar said, “Come and see: When one day the blessed Holy One revives the dead, all those souls presenting themselves before Him will stand in distinct images, the exact same image they bore in this world. The blessed Holy One will bring them down and call them by name, as is said: He will call them each by name (Isaiah 40:26). Every soul will enter her site and abide enduringly, fittingly in the world. Then the world will be perfect. Of that time is written: He will remove the disgrace of His people (ibid. 25:8). What is the disgrace of His people? The evil impulse, who besmirches creatures’ faces and overpowers them.”
Rabbi Yeisa said, “We see that as long as a human being abides in this spirit he does not impart impurity, but as soon as his soul departs, he does.”
He replied, “Certainly! As already explained, when that evil impulse seizes a person’s spirit, he defiles him and the body is left impure. Other nations while still alive are impure, since their souls derive from the impure side, so once that impurity is poured out, the body is left without any impurity at all. Therefore [131b] whoever cleaves to a woman of the other nations is defiled, and the son born to him receives an impure spirit.
“Now you might say, ‘Look! On his father’s side he descends from Israel. Why should he receive an impure spirit?’
“Come and see: He became defiled previously, the moment he cleaved to that woman who is impure. Since he was already defiled and became impure and that woman is impure, all the more so the son who is born will receive an impure spirit. Furthermore he has violated Torah, as is written: Do not bow down to another god! For YHVH: His name is Jealous… (Exodus 34:14), since He is jealous for this covenant.”