The Gemara in Chagiga (13b) compares the content
of different prophecies and how they differ. In one vision the prophets states
that the angels had six wings, while another prophet makes note of only four.
In a similar comparison one Navi exclaims, "היש מספר לגדוגיו"
- The legions of Hashem are limitless! Yet in another place a definite number
is in fact stated: "אלף אלפים ישמשוניה ורבוא רבבון קדמוהי יקומון"
- A million serve Him and one-hundred-million shall rise in His Honor. While
that is an incomprehensible number, it is still finite and not nearly up to par
with the endlessness of the first vision.
The Gemara explains that the difference is a
result of the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. When the Temple stood, the
angles were countless and six-winged. Now, post-destruction they have lost
their bottom wings and the Pamalia Shel Ma'alah (the heavenly majesty of
angels) has been diminished.
We are going deep now.
There is a simple problem with all of this.
Hashem's name is י-ה-ו-ה, which is an ineffable reference to the fact
that G-d Was, Is and Always Will Be. If he is unaffected by time then there is
no room for cause-and-effect because change requires a field of before and an
after; neither which exist by Hashem. There is no concept of time when it comes
to Hashem and thus He is not subject to change.
With this being said, how is it possible to say
that the Malchus was diminished as a result of the Churban? The Maharal
explains (Netzach Yisrael 22) that the while it is indeed true that the Majesty
did not intrinsically change - the human capacity to perceive the Kingship was
adversely effected. And thus each prophet saw what was allowed to be seen in
relationship to standing of the Temple.
Let's add another layer of profundity.
You may be led to think the following thought: If
the Divine itself is left in tact and the only change is in the perception of
the creations, then what's the big deal? The lack is in me, but that's not to
say that Hashem Himself takes any pain in it. Are we at all mourning a loss of
His?
This is not true. The thing that matters most to
Hashem, as it were, is that we perceive Him. The whole world was built just so
that He could be received. Without that creation is pointless. Listen to a
Midrash (Vayikra Rabah, 19): When man was created, all of the animals lined up
before him to receive their names. The elephant became פיל because man dictated that it should be. At the
end of this process, Hashem "got on the line" and asked to be named
as well. Man declared that G-d's name should be י-ה-ו-ה.
Hashem agreed, and so it was.
Here comes the mind-boggling absurdity. As we
explained before, the name י-ה-ו-ה means that Hashem is not subject to change.
Nothing is new or old. With that said, how could it be that Hashem had a name
introduced to Him - let alone a name that means nothing is new! What is more
new that a new identity?!
The answer is found in a paradox. The novelty is
Hashem's desire to be recognized as the Ultimate. He wants for there to be a
creation - man - who internalizes that he stands before that which is Endless
and Unfathomable. Man cannot understand Hashem Himself, but he does have the capacity
to have the awareness that there is Hashem of whom he cannot fully be aware.
(This could be a deeper meaning of דע לפני מי אתה עומד - "Know before Whom you are standing."
Why doesn't it simply say, 'Know that you stand before G-d'? The answer is that
even as we are aware that we are standing in front of the Lord, we
simultaneously know that we do not perceive what that really means. It is the
ultimate paradox. We stand before Him, yet He remains without clear identity. דע לפני מי אתה עומד can also mean, Know that you are standing before
"Who?". We understand that there is that which cannot be understood.)
When man called G-d by the name of י-ה-ו-ה he
was fulfilling the ultimate desire of the universe. In that moment there was
God and a man who recognized that there was a Supreme Being, above all
rationalization. When the prophet saw into the heavens and proclaimed, היש מספר לגדוגיו, "His majesty is endless" - he
was touching the untouchable, he was recognizing that which is beyond
understanding... he was fulfilling Hashem's Ultimate will; just as Adam
originally had done.
(ובדרך אגב: כל זה הוא העומק במה שכתוב בנפש החיים שכוונת שם הויה היא ההתייחסות בין אין סוף לבין העולמות, והמבין יבין)
This in one level of mourning that should stand
in the forefront of our minds when we cry over the loss of the Beis HaMikdash.
The destruction of the Temple signified a halt in the ultimate Divine plan for
man to accomplish דע לפני מי אתה עומד in
its most profound context. The constriction of man's ability to perceive - his מוחין דקטנות - is
what pains Hashem the most. And we beg that Hashem re-open our minds and hearts
to receive Him.
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