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11 โ[1] ** ืื ืชืชื ืืฉืื ื ืืชืืืื, "And I will place My Sanctuary among you."** We must understand this in a sense similar to Psalms 78,60: "the tent He had set among men." The reference is to the souls of His holy people within whom G'd had made Himself at home.
โ[2] **ืืื ืชืืขื ื ืคืฉื ืืชืื, "and My soul will not abhor you."** It was not enough to say that G'd will make His home inside people's souls seeing G'd was afraid that people would not take such a promise seriously. It seemed to exceed their fondest hopes. They could not imagine how a creature of flesh and blood could become "home" to G'd's presence. They would have imagined that G'd merely exaggerated out of His love for the Jewish people. People imagined something akin to what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai explained in the *Zohar* volume 3 page 241 on Song of Songs 5,1: "I came to My garden My sister My bride, I ate My honeycomb and drank My wine, etc." The entire verse is a parable describing the relationship between a groom and his bride, i.e. G'd and the people of Israel. Rabbi Shimon's words are worth studying. Nothing in that verse is remotely comprehensible if we try and stick to the literal meaning. The very idea of someone such as G'd Who is totally spiritual being described in such physical terms is repulsive. What G'd is trying to say to the Jewish people is that although by definition His very Essence should be revolted at the mere thought of intimacy with His creatures made of flesh and blood, this will not be the case.
โ[3] ** ืืืชืืืืชื ืืชืืืื, "And I will walk among you, etc."** "Not only will I not find intimacy with you loathsome but I will continue to walk among you." The expression is one which one normally applies to kindred souls. It is remindful of a statement by our sages that seeing that the souls of the Jewish people originate in G'd's own Light, their having been despatched earthwards does not mean that they have become estranged from their sacred origin. The author continues in this vein elaborating on this concept of the intimacy that can exist between man and G'd and how through man's failure to choose the path of Torah this very intimacy turns into loathing.
โ[4] Another (**esoteric**) way of explaining our paragraph is to see in it both promises for success in this world as well as promises of even greater bliss in the hereafter. The paragraph commences with the promise of adequate food supply i.e. "I will provide your rains at the proper times," followed by a promise of a secure and serene existence in the Holy Land, i.e. "and you will dwell in it in safety."
โ[5] From here on in the Torah addresses blessings which will accrue in the hereafter. The most basic is "I will grant peace." Although man may live the life of the completely righteous, the fact is that the mere thought of leaving this life casts a pall over his serenity. This is especially so since man never knows when that day on which he will die will occur. G'd compensates us for this anxiety by promising that on the day such a person will depart this earth he will not experience fright of what lies beyond this physical life, i.e. "you will lie down and no-one will frighten you." G'd will see to it that the transition from one form of life to another will be smooth and painless.
โ[6] When the Torah speaks of "I will grant peace," you may understand this in light of the Talmud *Shabbat* 10 that the name of the Almighty is ืฉืืื. At the time death approaches, G'd's Light will approach the righteous; this is the mystical dimension of the term "the kiss of death" experienced by people such as Moses and Aaron. The experience of death will thereby be transformed into an experience similar to lying down to sleep, i.e. ืืฉืืืชื. The Torah has used this expression when describing the death of the patriarchs. The secret of this is that the soul which experiences the approach of that Light which is so welcome to it longs for a closer union with it so much that it is eager to tear itself loose from whatever still binds it to this life on earth. The process feeds upon itself. I have written more about this at the beginning of my commentary on ืคืจืฉืช ืืืจื ืืืช (page 1306). This is what Solomon had in mind when he said in Kohelet 5,11 that "the sleep of the labourer is sweet." The "sleep" he referred to is the departure of the soul from the body. The person who was a true ืขืืื, servant of G'd, will find this experience "sweet," i.e. pleasant. The Torah adds the words ืืืื ืืืจืื, to tell us that the angel of death who has the power to frighten ordinary people, making them afraid of death, does not possess the power to frighten the truly righteous.
โ[7] Still another meaning of the words ืื ืชืชื ืฉืืื may relate to the preservation of the body after death so that the 4 basic raw materials of which the body is composed do not disintegrate. You are familiar with the story of Rabbi Achai bar Yoshia related in *Shabbat* 152 whose remains were found in good shape by Rabbi Nachman many years after his death. Obviously this could only have been due to G'd commanding the basic raw-materials man is made of not to disintegrate in this instance. We are told that this could happen by Solomon in Proverbs 6,22: ืืฉืืื ืชืฉืืจ ืขืืื, "when you go to sleep (die) it will preserve you." The "it" are the Torah study and performance of good deeds by the person Solomon speaks of. When the Torah writes ืืฉืืืชื ืืืื ืืืจืื this may also be understood in the sense of what the prophet said in Isaiah 57,2 where he described the righteous as "resting comfortably in their slumber" meaning they will not be disturbed by their remains being worm-eaten. We have confirmation of this in a story in *Baba Metzia* 84 where it is related that the remains of Rabbi Eleazar bar Shimon which had been kept in an upper story in his house had remained intact for a number of years (18 or 22). His widow had examined them almost daily and they did not deteriorate. One day she found that a hair had fallen out and there was some blood at the spot where the hair had come out. We have numerous such stories all of which prove that when the conditions are right a body may rest in its grave without disintegrating. This may also be the reason why the Talmud *Shabbat* 13 describes the body's reaction to worms as being as if a living body would be pierced by a needle. Every creature is sensitive to an invasion of its body by an alien body in accordance with the general capacity for sensitivity with which it has been endowed by G'd.
โ[8] The words ืืืฉืืชื ืืื ืจืขื ืื ืืืจืฅ in verse 6 refer to the spirit of impurity which is called ืืื ืจืขื, a spiritually negative vitality which surrounds the body after death. The reason a priest is forbidden to remain in the roofed domain of a body is the very presence of that ืืื ืจืข around the dead body. This is why contact with the dead or even remaining under the same canopy with him results in such a person contracting ritual impurity for a period of not less than seven days. G'd promises here that if the lifetime of the person who has now died was marked by his observing all the commandments, his remains will not be surrounded by such a spiritually negative force so that anyone in touch with such remains would not contract ritual impurity.
โ[9] As to the meaning of the words ืืืจื ืื ืชืขืืืจ ืืืจืฆืื, "a sword will not traverse your land," this is the Torah providing the rationale why impurity will not be allowed to surround the corpses of such righteous people. Man's death is perceived as his succumbing to the flawed sword of the Angel of Death. This results in the body becoming ื ืืื, unfit to serve as a sacrifice as would a body which was slaughtered with a ritually pure and unblemished knife. The Torah has described a ื ืืื as the kind of corpse fit to feed to the dogs (Exodus 22,30). Impurity itself is often compared to a dog, an inferior animal, representative of all that is despised. The Torah assures us that people who live the kind of life they ought to live will not experience that the sword of the Angel of Death touches their bodies.
โ[10] The Torah goes on to write: ืืจืืคืชื ืืช ืืืืืืื, "And you will pursue your enemies." From this point on the Torah deals with the activities of the invisible spirituality which results through a person's having lived a life dedicated to Torah and its precepts. The purpose of studying Torah and performing its commandments with vigor is to pinpoint isolated "sparks" of holiness. These "sparks" are to be joined one to another so that they can reunite with their origin. They had become isolated as a result of Adam's sin and the power of the forces of the ืงืืืคื, the spiritually negative forces in our universe, to separate them from the main body of holiness. This is the mystical dimension of Isaiah 59,2: "your iniquities have created a division between yourselves and your G'd." Please read what I have written in connection with Exodus 19,5 ืืืืืชื ืื ืกืืืื and how the ืงืืืคืืช are described by such terms as ืฉืื ืืื and ืืืืืื. See my commentary on Psalms 92,10: ืื ืื ื ืืืืืื ืืณ ืืืืื. Here the Torah reveals how these forces of the ืงืืืคื can be pursued through the preoccupation with Torah and its commandments and how the pursuit will result in these forces collapsing, i.e. ืื ืคืื ืืืจื. In short, this paragraph describes the defeat of the phenomenon called impurity. The prophet Zachariah refers to this when he writes in Zachariah 13,2: "And I will abolish the spirit of impurity." We may understand the word ืืืจื in our verse in the same spirit as Song of Songs 3,8: ืืืฉ ืืจืื ืขื ืืจืื, "each with his sword at his side." Concerning this verse we read in *Tikkuney Hazohar* chapter 7 that people who keep the covenant with the Lord by never touching anything which is forbidden to them possess the power to kill the enemies of the Lord with the breath of their lips. This is the reason the Torah did not write here the usual ืืืจื, but ืืืจื.
โ[11] The words ืืจืืคื ืืื ืืืฉื ืืื, may be understood as a reference to the five Books of Moses. In other words, that which emanates from you, the teaching of the five Books of Moses, will pursue one hundred manifestations of the ืงืืืคืืช. You may apply Proverbs 16,26 to this situation. "A person who toils, toils for himself." Our sages in *Sanhedrin* 99 understand this verse as follows: "When a person toils by studying Torah in one place the Torah will toil on his behalf in another place by annihilating G'd's enemies.
โ[12] The end of this verse i.e ืืืื ืืื ืจืืื ืืจืืคื, may be understood in light of a comment by *Tanchuma* at the end of *Parshat Korach* on Deut. 10,12: ืื ืืณ ืืืืงืื ืฉืืื ืืื, "What does the Lord your G'd ask of you, etc.?" the *Midrash* suggests that we substitute for the word ืื, "what," the word ืืื, "one hundred." The word would refer to the recital of one hundred benedictions daily. The Torah promises that the merit of reciting 100 benedictions daily enables us to pursue and destroy ten thousand manifestations of the power of the ืงืืืคืืช.
โ[13] When the Torah repeats the words ืื ืคืื ืืืืืืื ืืืจื a second time this reflects a statement by our sages in *Berachot* 5 according to which anyone who recites the ืงืจืืืช ืฉืืข is compared to someone who seizes a double-edged sword. This is based on Psalms 149,6: "when they have the exaltations of the Lord in their throats this is equivalent to being armed with a double-edged sword." The first verse mentioning the enemies falling by the sword detailed the result of performing sacred **deeds**. The second verse speaks of the result of uttering holy **words**.
โ[14] The Torah goes on: ืืคื ืืชื ืืืืื, "and I will turn to you." This is a description of the purpose of the destruction of G'd's and Israel's enemies. As a result of the destruction of these enemies all the "sparks" of holiness will return to their roots, i.e. the "umbrella" called ืื ืกืช ืืฉืจืื, the concept of the Jewish people. They will resume their classification as being part of the domain of G'd whence they had originated. From then on they will increase and multiply. Please read what I have written at the end of ืคืจืฉืช ืืืืฉ on Genesis 47,27 (page 382).
โ[15] Another meaning of the words ืืคืืืชื ืืืืื is that inasmuch as the iron curtain dividing Israel from its G'd has collapsed with the defeat of the concept of impurity, G'd can once more turn to us and cleave to us.
โ[16] Furthermore, there is a message here that if Israel has made the first move in battering the wall between it and G'd, G'd in turn will help us so that we shall become ever more successful in tearing down that wall.
โ[17]
โ[18] The words ืืืคืจืืชื ืืชืื, "and I will make you fruitful" are an allusion to the "sparks" of our holiness which had become prematurely lost and had been aborted and had therefore lost their "sparkle;" they would now resume their appointed function. The Torah adds: "and I will multiply you," to reassure us that we should not think that due to our lengthy sojourn in the domain of the ืงืืืคื we have sustained permanent impairment of our ability to develop. The Torah states that this is not so, but that our light would shine forth like the "Light of the King's face."
โ[19] Another interpretation of the words ืืืจืืืชื ืืชืื is based on the root of the word being ืจื, in the sense of ืจืื ืืช, authority, or superiority. Accordingly, the promise here is similar to G'd's promise in Exodus 19,6 where G'd defines our purpose as a nation to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." We have explained in that context that the reference is to the Jewish people exceeding even the angels in holiness. The Torah continues with the words ืืืงืืืืชื ืืช ืืจืืชื ืืชืื; this is a reference to the promise that the dead will be resurrected. G'd restricts this promise to those who have studied Torah. We base this on *Ketuvot* 111 ืื ืืขืืกืง ืืื ืื ืชืืจื ืืืืืื, "everyone who is preoccupied with dew, the dew of Torah will revive him." [Actually, this is an inaccurate quotation. The Talmud first said that the word ืื may refer to the Light of Torah basing itself on a verse in Isaiah 26,19 i.e. that G'd's dew is equivalent to illumination. In an extrapolation of this, the Talmud continues by saying that if one did not study this divine illumination, i.e. Torah, one cannot look forward to resurrection. Ed.]
โ[20] The promise contained in the words: "and I will keep My covenant" may also refer to something we learned in *Sanhedrin* 90 that the patriarchs personally will arise and take possession of the land of Israel as G'd had promised to each one of them separately in different chapters of the Book of Genesis. In Exodus 6,4, G'd made a specific promise that the patriarchs would be resurrected and receive the land He had promised to them. G'd is on record here that everyone who keeps the covenant with G'd will be resurrected; G'd will keep with Him the covenant pertaining to making the land of Israel his eternal possession.
โ[21] We also find an allusion to where the souls will be stored during the time they wait for resurrection. The ืืจืืช the Torah speaks about is the ultimate ืืจืืช, i.e. ืฉืืื. The domain in which the souls of the Israelites will repose during that period of awaiting resurrection of their assigned bodies is what we usually refer to as the ืฆืจืืจ ืืืืื.
โ[22] The Torah continues ืืืืืชื ืืฉื ื ืืฉื, this is a hyperbole for the meal G'd will serve the righteous in the hereafter when wine dating back to the days of Adam in ืื ืขืื will be served as well as the meat of the Leviathan which G'd had salted away since time immemorial. There is nothing more ancient seeing it dates back to a time preceding the creation of man himself.
โ[23] The meaning of the words ืืืฉื ืืคื ื ืืืฉ ืชืืฆืืื "that you will clear out the old on account of the new," may refer to a verse in Job 38,15 which is the subject of discussion in *Chagigah* 12. G'd speaks about the wicked being deprived of their light. The Talmud understands that this refers to the original Light G'd created by means of which Adam was able to see from one end of the earth to the other. As a result of his sin, he and subsequent human beings were deprived of this Light. Our verse may allude to the withdrawal of the "new" light which substituted ever since for the original Light. G'd promises that in the future under discussion He will make available the original Light for the righteous.
โ[24] The Torah continues: ืื ืชืชื ืืฉืื ื ืืชืืืื, "And I will make My Sanctuary among you;" this means that in the future G'd will lower a Sanctuary from the Heaven as we learned in *Baba Batra* 75. Some of our rabbis claim that that Sanctuary will be made of Shoham stones. Others claim it will be made of Joshpeh stones, each one basing himself on scripture, i.e. Exodus 15,17: "The Sanctuary of the Lord which You have established with Your own hands." G'd promises that this Sanctuary which He has fashioned with His own hands He will erect among us and this is why it will endure forever. The reason G'd will not loathe us is because He will have done away with the spirit of impurity in this world.
โ[25] Another meaning of this statement is based on what we explained in conection with Numbers 23,23 that the Israelites will form the inner circle around the Presence of G'd so that the angels will have to ask us what G'd is in the process of doing.
โ[26] ** ืืืชืืืืชื ืืชืืืื, "And I will walk among you."** This is best understood as reflecting the promise of the prophet in Yoel 3,1 that "your sons and daughters will all prophesy." G'd's Light will walk among them i.e. a reference to the spirit of prophecy. This reminds us of Moses' wish that all the Jewish people should be granted the spirit of prophecy (Numbers 11,29).
โ[27] The promise may also refer to something we learned in *Taanit* 31 that in the future G'd would provide a circle for the righteous and He would take up a position amongst them so that everyone of them would look at G'd and exclaim "This is My G'd let me glorify Him." The reason the Torah chose the expression ืืืชืืืืชื "I will **walk** is that His Light will travel to provide spiritual nourishment to the souls who are sitting around Him. This is called ืืืืื. The Torah continues with: "I shall be your G'd," referring either to the verse we have just equated the righteous as proclaiming, or that the very dwelling [ื ืื in the verse ืื ืงืื ืืื ืืื Ed.] of the righteous is considered something of a divine nature. The additional promise: "and you will be My people" means that the Jewish people will be closer to G'd than any of the hosts of the heavens.
โ[28] The words: "and I will be your G'd," may also reflect the contrast between then and now. Nowadays the faith in G'd is due to G'd having provided prophets for us who help us maintain our faith. In the future described in our verse there will no longer be a need for prophets as G'd will be recognised as such directly by everyone without any external assist. This is in line with the prophet's Zachariah's promise that "on that day G'd and His name will be one." The words: "and you will become My people" refer to the fact that the degree of recognition of G'd by various layers of the population will be the same; there will no longer be such distinctions as ืขื on the one side and ืื ื ืืฉืจืื on the other.
โ[29] ** ืื ื ืืฉื. "I am the Lord."** We may understand this in light of the comment in *Berachot* 12 that in the future the outstanding attribute of G'd will no longer be the fact that He took us out of Egypt but His new manifestation as the G'd who brought the Messiah (compare Jeremiah 23,7). The first half of our verse refers to G'd who manifested Himself through orchestrating the Exodus from Egypt, whereas the second half refers to G'd redeeming us from any kind of exile, i.e. the final redemption. Please compare what I have written on Exodus 20,2.
Version: Or Hachayim, trans. Eliyahu Munk
Source: http://www.urimpublications.com/or-hachayim-commentary-on-the-torah-5-vols.html
License: CC-BY