Chasidut על פסחים 223:12
Kedushat Levi
30,9. “and then the Lord your G’d will make you over-abundant in all the work of your hands, the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your domesticated animals for good; for the Lord will again rejoice over your success as He has done for your forefathers.”
In order to truly understand the unusual expression והותירך, “He will make you overabundant,” it will help to look at Avot 3,15: הכל צפוי והרשות נתנה ובטוב העולם נידון, “everything is foreseen yet freedom [of choice] is given and the world is judged according to the good;” one of the difficulties in that Mishnah is that the word נידון “is judged,” which refers to the word עולם, is in the masculine mode, although the word עולם which it defines is a feminine noun, so that we would have expected the author of the Mishnah to have said נידונה, in the feminine mode.
However, we can explain this masculine mode of the word נידון seeing that in our prayers on New Year’s day and Yom Kippur, the days on which G’d sits in judgment when He hopefully decides to provide us with an abundance of blessings and good things in the year just beginning. Our author quotes Tikkuney Hazohar 68 according to which on New Year’s Day all of mankind implores G’d for His largesse to be generous in the year just commencing. There are, however, two classes of human beings who ask for this, i.e. those who truly deserve it on the basis of past performance, and those who in the past did not deserve it, but on the basis of their promise to improve their ways in the year commencing, expect to receive this largesse of G’d “on credit,” as it were.
When the souls of the Jewish people “line up” to be judged on New Year’s Day, G’d derives a great deal of satisfaction from the ones immediately inscribed for a good year. G’d’s pleasure is described in a proverb cited in Pessachim 112 which says that the mother cow is more anxious to provide its new born calf with milk than the calf is to suckle it. The Zohar II 32 describes the following scenario, (Kings I 22,19) where Michayoh, the only true prophet in the Northern Kingdom advises King Achav against trying to recapture Ramat Gilad, as it would cost the king’s life. We read there: ראיתי את ה' יושב על כסאו וכל צבא השמים עומד מימינו ומשמאלו, “I have seen a vision of G’d sitting on His throne whereas all the heavenly hosts stood above Him.” [not around him. Ed.] The unusual phrase of the angels being above G’d, prompt the Zohar to understand this verse as the angels being about to “judge” G’d. This also makes more plausible something that we have read in a book reportedly given to Adam by the angel רזיא'ל in which G’d is referred to as מלך עלוב, “a king in a miserable, wretched frame of mind.” [more about this angel in מלאכי עליון by Rabbi Reuven Margolies. Ed.]
In order to truly understand the unusual expression והותירך, “He will make you overabundant,” it will help to look at Avot 3,15: הכל צפוי והרשות נתנה ובטוב העולם נידון, “everything is foreseen yet freedom [of choice] is given and the world is judged according to the good;” one of the difficulties in that Mishnah is that the word נידון “is judged,” which refers to the word עולם, is in the masculine mode, although the word עולם which it defines is a feminine noun, so that we would have expected the author of the Mishnah to have said נידונה, in the feminine mode.
However, we can explain this masculine mode of the word נידון seeing that in our prayers on New Year’s day and Yom Kippur, the days on which G’d sits in judgment when He hopefully decides to provide us with an abundance of blessings and good things in the year just beginning. Our author quotes Tikkuney Hazohar 68 according to which on New Year’s Day all of mankind implores G’d for His largesse to be generous in the year just commencing. There are, however, two classes of human beings who ask for this, i.e. those who truly deserve it on the basis of past performance, and those who in the past did not deserve it, but on the basis of their promise to improve their ways in the year commencing, expect to receive this largesse of G’d “on credit,” as it were.
When the souls of the Jewish people “line up” to be judged on New Year’s Day, G’d derives a great deal of satisfaction from the ones immediately inscribed for a good year. G’d’s pleasure is described in a proverb cited in Pessachim 112 which says that the mother cow is more anxious to provide its new born calf with milk than the calf is to suckle it. The Zohar II 32 describes the following scenario, (Kings I 22,19) where Michayoh, the only true prophet in the Northern Kingdom advises King Achav against trying to recapture Ramat Gilad, as it would cost the king’s life. We read there: ראיתי את ה' יושב על כסאו וכל צבא השמים עומד מימינו ומשמאלו, “I have seen a vision of G’d sitting on His throne whereas all the heavenly hosts stood above Him.” [not around him. Ed.] The unusual phrase of the angels being above G’d, prompt the Zohar to understand this verse as the angels being about to “judge” G’d. This also makes more plausible something that we have read in a book reportedly given to Adam by the angel רזיא'ל in which G’d is referred to as מלך עלוב, “a king in a miserable, wretched frame of mind.” [more about this angel in מלאכי עליון by Rabbi Reuven Margolies. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
[I have decided to omit the balance of this lengthy paragraph as, in my opinion it does not add anything to what the author has previously written about at length. Ed.].
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Kedushat Levi
Yet another approach to the above verse. In this verse the Torah speaks of the performance of righteousness preceding the performance of justice, i.e. לעשות צדקה ומשפט, whereas elsewhere we find the reverse order of עושה משפט וצדקה. [Actually, in connection with G’d we do not find that order anywhere, we only find the sequence of עושה חסד, משפט וצדקה,“performing deeds of loving kindness, justice and righteousness,” in that order. David, on the other hand is described as :ויהי דוד עושה משפט וצדקה, “David used to mete out justice and righteousness.” Ed.] It is a rule that G’d always dispenses His largesse to the Jewish people, this being His only pleasure. The fact that the Jewish people are the recipients of His goodness gives Him satisfaction. Our sages in Pessachim 112 phrased it thus: “the mother cow is more desirous of suckling her calf than the calf is anxious to drink her milk.” [I am omitting the balance of this paragraph, as I have not understood it. Ed.]
We know that Yitzchok personified the characteristic/virtue of גבורה, steadfast bravery in face of overwhelming odds. We also know that G’d in His love for the Jewish people, arranged for the “cure” before the onset of the disease. (Megillah 13) (Compare Rashi who describes the period of the Jews’ exile and bondage as having commenced with the birth of Yitzchok. Exodus 12,40) The Torah’s describing the birth of Moav and Ammon, even before the birth of Yitzchok, is another example of the redemption being prepared by G’d even before the onset of exile, seeing that the messiah will be a descendant of Moav, Ruth in David’s maternal ancestry.
We know that Yitzchok personified the characteristic/virtue of גבורה, steadfast bravery in face of overwhelming odds. We also know that G’d in His love for the Jewish people, arranged for the “cure” before the onset of the disease. (Megillah 13) (Compare Rashi who describes the period of the Jews’ exile and bondage as having commenced with the birth of Yitzchok. Exodus 12,40) The Torah’s describing the birth of Moav and Ammon, even before the birth of Yitzchok, is another example of the redemption being prepared by G’d even before the onset of exile, seeing that the messiah will be a descendant of Moav, Ruth in David’s maternal ancestry.
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