“And God spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, be holy, for I am holy, Hashem, your God.” (Vayikra, 19:1–2) “The congregation of the children of Israel” means any place where Israel gathers together for the sake of Heaven, as it is written in the Gemara (Sanhedrin, 38b), “whenever ten Jews gather together, the Shechina [Divine Presence] rests on them.” Every place where Israel gathers together for the sake of Heaven, there the Shechina dwells with them necessarily. This is as it is written (Devarim, 23:15), “For Hashem your God walks in the midst of your camp.” The term used for walk (mithalech, in the intensive form) denotes certainty, saying that it is certainly so. For this reason we are commanded to be refined and sanctified, as a king who says to one who loves him, “since you are obliging me to go with you, see to it that you do not lead me into any place of foulness.”

“… you shall be holy, for I am holy ….” (Vayikra, 19:2) The word for holiness, Kedusha, is a term denoting preparedness, meaning that God warns Israel to always be in a state of Kedusha, and thus always ready, expecting at all times the salvation of God where He will illuminate their eyes to the Torah, “For I am holy.” In other words, God is saying that He, may He be blessed, is always ready to bring salvation to Israel, and because of this Israel must be always prepared and always expecting the arrival of Hashem. Thus they should not disturb themselves with the affairs of this world. This is as it is written (Mishlei, 3:3), “let not loving-kindness and truth forsake you,” but it is not written, “do not forsake loving-kindness and truth.” In this way he is saying that a man must always stand before God, and expect him to illuminate his eyes. Then, at the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, effuses the kindness of truth, which is kindness that endures forever, then the kindness (itself) will apprehend the man who waits expectantly for it. It will not forsake everyone who waits for the Torah to enter his heart. Man must be careful not to turn his back, but rather should stand before God face to face.

“… you shall be holy, for I am holy ….” (Vayikra, 19:2) God commands Israel to sanctify themselves even concerning that which is permitted to them. He has already explained all forbidden actions, like certain foods and certain sexual relations, yet here the Holy One, blessed be He, adds that even that which is permitted to them they shall take care not to be steeped in lust. They will take care that where there is benefit derived in this world it should be done with a settled mind, and not in a state of panic. This is seen in the signs of pure birds as explained in the Gemara (Chullin, 65a), “a bird which seizes its prey is impure,” meaning that it does not have trust in God, so therefore all that it eats it clutches in its claws (for fear that it would lose it). Also from the second interpretation of “seizing its prey,” where it does not wait until its prey dies, but eats it immediately upon capture, we also see a lack of trust in God, for it fears that another would take from it that which it was given.

“A man shall fear his mother and father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths ….” (Vayikra, 19:3) Here in this verse as it appears in our Parsha the honor of the mother comes first, followed by honoring the father, and afterwards the guarding of Shabbat. In the Ten Mitzvot, guarding the Sabbath comes first, followed by honoring the father, and afterwards honoring the mother. The holy Zohar explains (Shemot, 200a), “there are three points to the Torah.” This is, that in all the things that a man does and from which he receives benefit, he must consider his way, and make three birrurim. First, that the action should not involve any deviation from God’s will, even to a boundary from later sages. This is called “guarding the Shabbat,” for Shabbat is itself a name of God as explained in the holy Zohar (Shemot, 88b), “What is Shabbat? It is a name of the Holy One, blessed be He.” Furthermore, on Shabbat it becomes clear that nothing is really done from the actions of man. It is also necessary to clarify concerning the entire community of Israel, that it should not receive any harm from this action. This is called honoring the father. The father teaches knowledge to the son. He does not concern himself with the understanding of the son, to whom it seems that his father is doing evil to him in obliging him to go in the way of good, since the father knows that in the end it will be good for him. He does not worry about his son’s temporary distress, for the father is only looking at the depths. For the third birrur (clarification), the one doing the action must clarify concerning himself that he will not cause himself any harm from this action. This is called honoring the mother, for the mother’s desire while she is teaching the son to go in the path of good, is that even if it is goes against the wishes of the son, he will not see it as if she is causing him to suffer. Thus are we commanded concerning these three warnings, which are guarding Shabbat, and honoring the father and the mother, which means to make these three birrurim for all matters. These birrurim are in the mind of everyone for every matter, as we see that a man’s conscience will not let him satisfy his palate for temporary benefit. On this it is said (Mishlei, 25:27), “it is not good to eat too much honey.” Even though at the time when one is eating it it is pleasing to the taste, he needs to make sure that actions will not harm the rest of the organs and limbs of his body, for if damage is done to the rest of his body, then eventually the damage will reach his palate. So it is that the man who thinks only of the moment is inferior in the eyes of the world. We find that the man who has a greater intellect will not only look at what is pleasing to his tongue, but will look after the good of his entire body all the days of his life. Even though this level is more honorable than the first, he still has not reached the final form of completion, for one must look towards God. With Him, may He be blessed, there is a depth far deeper than all the life of this world, for God endures from eternity until eternity. Therefore the most complete mind will take all matters and consider whether they will benefit him for all eternity. Thus it is also with the entire community of Israel, for they are, as it were, the limbs and organs of the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore, if one member of Israel wants to do an action from which he will receive benefit, he must make all of these birrurim, for if he looks only after his own benefit and not for the benefit of the community of Israel, then he himself will be, God forbid, harmed by that action. This is like praying for a cessation of rain for the convenience of travelers when rain is needed. Then he too will be harmed by this among the whole community of Israel, like one who eats much honey—the damage that is done to the rest of his body will eventually reach his tongue. If he considers his way enough so that his action will not affect all of Israel adversely, but still it is against God’s will, even down to a boundary instituted by a latter codifier of the law, then he also will not derive any benefit from this. But if it is God’s will, then he may do what his heart desires. Therefore one must clarify himself with these three birrurim, regarding God, regarding all of Israel, and regarding himself. Only with the Ten Commandments, meaning at the beginning of one’s acceptance of the yoke of the Torah, when he wants to do something from which he will benefit, then the first birrur must be regarding God, then regarding all of Israel, and finally regarding himself. That is why there the mitzvah of keeping Shabbat comes first, then honoring the father, and then honoring the mother. Yet here, the Parsha speaks of a one who is holy in his heart, refined, and drawn after God’s will. Here we are discussing one who does not want anything that is against God’s will, and all that comes to his mind is only that which God’s will had influenced upon him. For when it occurs to a man who is this holy to do something, even though it may seem as if it is against the community as a whole, he need not look on this, for he is the main principle and foundation of all Israel. All the community as a whole are before him as if each one individually were in his mind. This is as it says in the Gemara (Berachot, 6b on the final verse in Kohellet, “the conclusion of the matter in which everything is included, fear God and keep his mitzvot, for that is the whole man”), “[’For this is the whole man’ means] all the world was only created to command him to do it,” since he is its main point. All the world is before him like one’s garments, and what is good for him is good for all Israel at the depths, even though to the mortal eye it seems like the opposite, and this is also God’s will. So therefore the order here is first the mother, then the father, last the Shabbat. This is because when he has the will to do something it is surely for the good of the whole of Israel and God’s will. This is like the prayer of King David (Tehilim, 90:17), “May the pleasantness of Hashem be upon us, and the world of our hands be established for us, and the work of our hands be established.”²⁷

footnotes: ²⁷ That is to say, the first thing he is asking for with every matter is that it be will of God, to such an extent that even his personal desires are God’s will.

“Do not turn to the idols and do not make molten gods for yourselves, I am Hashem your God.” (Vayikra, 19:4) “Idol” means fear based on nonsense. This is because the word for idol, elil, is reminicesnt of the word for tail, aliah, which is the limb of the body that is furthest away from the head, and thus its consciousness is greately constricted. This is said only for the perfect Tsaddikim is their heart drawn after God’s will. When any kind of desire comes to their heart, they constrict themselves through much careful consideration of the fear of God, and only act while trusting in God that He will not let anything evil befall them, God forbid. This is as it is written (Kohollet, 7:16), “Do not be overly righteous; nor make yourself too wise; why should you destroy yourself?”

“… do not make molten gods for yourselves ….” (Vayikra, 19:4) A “molten god” is a composite of melted metals that cannot move. So too we find in man that he becomes so accustomed to receiving benefit from this world to the point where he cannot even do without a small delight. This is called a “molten god.” Therefore God commanded us not to say that we are so used to something that we cannot be separated from it. Rather, with all the enjoyable things in life that man receives, he must remove himself from any negiot (personal motive, partiality),.²⁸, under “and the children of Israel camped at Ovot,” for more on this. Then, after the negia is removed, if the desire still remains, then he knows clearly that it is from God. This is as we find with the prophet Yirmiya (see Yirmiya, Ch. 42), when they asked him if they could return to Egypt, and he warned them to heed his voice and trust him, not to turn from his counsel in any way. Then when he said to them not to return to Egypt they said, “Baruch ben Neriya incites you against us” (Yirmiya, 43:3). This was because they suspected that it was not God’s command to tell them this, but rather from his own mind, for they esteemed him as a prophet of God, and this matter was not written in the Torah. Thus they suspected that he wanted them to remain in Israel out of his love of Baruch ben Neriya. This was because he wanted Baruch to attain the level of prophecy, and all levels of prophecy begin only in the land of Israel, as is known. So out of his love he leaned in this way, and it seemed also as if God’s will leaned in this direction. Prophecy must also undergo great birrurim (clarifications), in order to verify that it is truly from God. We find this with Yirmiya himself at the time when he was in prison, and he received a prophetic message that he should buy a field from his uncle Chanamel ben Shalom. Then after, when his uncle came and offered to sell his field, Yirmiya said, “And I know now that this is the word of God” (Yirmiya, 32:8). The meaning is that until now he was uncertain whether the matter was really from God, or if he just wanted to buy the field. Therefore (with the matter of the people wanting to go to Egypt), it seemed to him that this was also God’s will. This is called “a molten god,” meaning stubbornness over a single desire. Therefore with all matters a man needs to undergo birrurim within himself, and to remove any personal negiot (personal motives, partiality), that may impede the clarity of his vision. Yirmiya also went through this process of self-refinement, and afterwards it is said, “and it was, at the end of ten days,” he answered them not to go back, saying (Yirmiya, 42:10), “If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you, and not pull you down.”²⁹ He then received a prophecy that Baruch would not attain the level of prophecy, as it is written (Yirmiya, 45:4–5), “Thus shall you say to him … And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them,” etc. In this, he clarified and proved his righteousness to them, for he was no longer swayed (in this case, his negia) by his feelings for Baruch, for all he wanted was for Baruch to become a prophet, and now he knew that this would never happen. All the effusion of prophecy to the prophets was only for Israel, and while Israel is in exile the spirit of prophecy does not come to the prophets. Even though his warning not to go to Egypt (in Chapter 42) happens before this birrur took place (in Chapter 45), (this is of no consequence,) because “there is no before or after in the Torah.”

footnotes: ²⁸ “Affliction” means a personal motive that would sway him from clearly seeing God’s will. See above, Parshat Chukat ²⁹ In other words, it took him ten days to make sure that this was what God wanted and not just what he wanted.

“You shall not defraud your neighbor ….” (Vayikra, 19:13) Any time when one could provide something good for his fellow man. but does not, he is defrauding him. Even when he has the opportunity to pray for his fellow man, but does not, this too is called defrauding him. We find this regarding Shmuel, who said (Shmuel 1, 12:23), “God forbid that I would sin against God by refraining from praying for you.” The Gemara interprets this by saying (Berachot, 12b), “anyone who has the opportunity to pray for another and does not is called a sinner.”

“You shall guard my statutes. You shall not breed-together two different kinds of your cattle. You shall not sow together two different kinds of seeds in your field. You shall not wear a garment woven of both wool and linen.” (Vayikra, 19:19) “In your field” means the abundance that man sows and then uses to influence his surroundings. In this God is warning man to take care that there is no admixture of evil, God forbid, in all the influence that he puts forth. “Your cattle” means reception. Wherever man receives good, as in eating and the like, it shall not be mixed (with evil).

“A man who has sexual relations with a woman, and she is a slave betrothed to a man, she has not been redeemed or given her freedom, the matter shall be investigated, and she shall not be put to death, for she was not free.” (Vayikra, 19:20) In this we see the depth of the sin of Zimri with Cosbi daughter of Tsur. This is (Vayikra, 19:22) “and the Cohen shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering … and he shall be forgiven.” This hints at Pinchas,³⁰ who killed Zimri, and then it is said, “the plague was stopped.”

footnotes: ³⁰ Here Pinchas is the Cohen.

“Do not defile your daughter by making her into a whore, do not prostitute the land, and fill it with perversity.” (Vayikra, 19:29) “Your daughter” is like the expression “the pupil [literally, ‘daughter’] of the eye.” The Holy One, blessed be He, is warning us to guard the eye, lest, God forbid, it should bring perversity to the heart, for the land is hinted at in the heart, and “the muscles of the eye are connected to the heart” (Avodah Zara, 28b), and also “the eye is the pimp of the heart,” as it is said in the Gemara (Yerushalmi, Berachot, Ch. 1, Halacha 5).

“You shall guard My Sabbaths and be in awe of My sanctuary, I am God.” (Vayikra, 19:30) “My Sabbaths,” because wherever the Shechina dwells (every place of Divine inspiration), at all times, even temporarily, is called “Shabbat.” God commanded us to respect all places of Divine inspiration, even if it is only temporary. “And you shall be in awe of My sanctuary” is rendered in the Aramaic translation “and you shall have the fear [of God] in the Holy Temple,” which means to expect the depth of good that exists in each commandment. At present, Shabbat is greatly constricted, but in the future, God will bestow upon us a day that is entirely Shabbat where there will be no need of work. We must greatly anticipate this. But for now, we must honor it also according to how God commanded us. This is likened to a king who is passing from place to place. Though his arrival home is anticipated, still, the place where he lodges on his way must be respected. There is satisfaction and desire in the Torah, as it is written (Tehilim, 145:16), “and satisfies the desire of every living being.” This means temporary satisfaction, and desire for the good in the depth. This was the error of Chofni and Pinchas when they saw that the Shechina only rested temporarily on the Tabernacle in Shilo. Therefore it was less significant in their view, and of this it is said, “you have shamed My sanctuary.” Therefore the verse, et shabtotai tishmoru, contains thirty letters, and if the words shabtorai tishmoru are spelled out with two vavs, then the verse contains thirty-two letters; it is then the numerical equivalent of lev—“heart.” (“Desire for the good in the depth.”) This is as it is written, (Yeshayahu, 63:4), “for the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come,” and the Gemara explains (Sanhedrin, 99a), “I have revealed it to my heart, but not to my other limbs.”³¹] resides in the heart [mind], and spreads forth to all the extremities of the heart? He said to him, ‘My son, of this it is written (Ruth, 3:7), ‘she uncovered her feet, and laid down.’ According to the actions of man, thus the soul goes out of her place, and descends below her place. This is like the Shechina, of whom it is written (Yeshayahu, 50:1), “for your transgressions your mother was sent away.” Complete teshuva returns her to her initial place. At the time that the neshama is in the heart she is called the queen. With one’s sins, it descends, until it reaches the feet. This is why certain parts of the body move more than others.’ ” (And whoever has the two vavs in the words, שַׁבְּתותַי תשְׁמורוּ, clearly before him will know when the Messiah will come. Tashlum Mei Hashiloach.)³² 99a, that interprets the verse in Yeshayahu deals with the question of when the Messiah will come; see there for a clearer understanding.

footnotes: ³¹ It is written in the Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 70, “ ‘Come and See! There are those who speak with eye movements, others with hand gestures, others with head movements, others with body movements, and others with leg movements. This is, everywhere his soul is, there that place moves more.’ Rabbi Elazar said, ‘father, is it not known that the soul [neshama ³² The section of the Gemara, Sanhedrin

“You shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy, for I am Hashem your God.” (Vayikra, 20:7) “And you shall sanctify yourselves” is God warning Israel to sanctify themselves and to place themselves in all the boundaries that are commanded to us, like forbidden foods or forbidden sexual relations, and the like. Then, after all the boundaries, if the heart of man is still not refined and drawn after God’s will, accordingly He assures us, “and you shall be holy.” In other words, God gives us a promise that we will be sanctified. For truly, the refinement of the heart to be drawn after God’s will is not in the ability of man, but comes only from God’s assistance.

“Do not walk in the ways of the nation that I have cast out before you, for these they have done and I have loathed them. And I say to you that you will inherit the land, and I am the one who is giving it to you to inherit it ….” (Vayikra, 20:23–24) If Israel guards themselves from the lusts of the nations and from their desires, then God will give them all the delights that he has given the nations. Only they shall recognize that God is the one who is giving, and all the delights shall be in a state of Kedusha. This is as the Holy One, blessed be He, promises them, “I am the one who is giving it to you.”

“You shall be holy for Me, for I am holy ….” (Vayikra, 19:2) (Here the word for I, Ani, is voweled with a patach.) At the end of Parshat Shmini, while discussing forbidden foods (Vayikra, 11:45), where it says, “for I am holy,” then the word for I is voweled with a kamats. With the Kedusha of foods that man receives, where it is written, “for I am holy,” I, Ani, voweled with a kamats, in order to show man to draw that which he receives from the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, for He, may He be blessed, is void of any physical qualities. Therefore Israel is enjoined to sanctify and constrict themselves only in the Kedusha of the Holy One, blessed be He.³³, which is related to the word for restricting, delineating, like the komets offering, a hand measurement of grain. Also, in the kabbalistic understanding of the vowel, kamats represents the Crown, Keter, which is wholly connected to what is above, Malchut, of the upper level. In a sense, separated from and encircling the body of its own arrangement of sefirot as a crown is on top of the head. The word for I in the present Parsha is voweled with a patach, because we are discussing the Kedusha of Divine effusion (which reaches the physical world). All the influences that exist in the world are only from God, for it is His way to improve all of His creations and to effuse unto them from His great good. Therefore he warns Israel to only direct this effusion to a place where God desires. This is one of the meanings of the prohibition of certain sexual relations, meaning incest. That is to say, it is the nature of man to give foremost to his own family, and to restrict himself in giving to others. Therefore He forbade incest in order for man to bring his influence to a different family, in His will to improve His creation. The name of the vowel, patach, means to open, so “for I am holy” with a patach means that God opens his hands to bring His effusion of goodness to all of His creations.

footnotes: ³³ This is hinted at in the name of the vowel, kamats

“You shall be holy, for I am holy, Hashem, and I will separate you from the nations to be Mine.” (Vayikra, 20:26) This verse greatly reinforces Israel, bringing them holy brazenness (tekifut).³⁴ for more on tekifut. This is needed; after all the fear of God warranted in the mitzvot throughout the Parsha to be sanctified with all kinds of holiniess, boundaried within all kinds of borders, and refined from all dross and refuse. If this verse were formulated in the opposite way, “and I will separate the other nations from you,” it would mean, like one separating the refuse out of the food, and then all that would be left is to good and cleaned. And now, since it is said, “and I will separate you from the nations,” this is as if one is separating the food out of the refuse, and all that can be called “food” he leaves to eat. In this way God promises us that He will separate us out from the nations, meaning that He will refine us in against the nations, so that even the smallest of Israel is good. Therefore the Haftorah, the reading of the Prophets, read with this Parsha, is (Amos, 9:7), “are you not like the Cushites [Ethiopians], children of Israel, says Hashem. Did I not bring Israel out of the land of Egypt? And the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Aram from Kir?” Then it says (Amos, 9:9), “For, behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like grain is sifted in a sieve, and not even the smallest grain fall upon the earth.”

footnotes: ³⁴ See note 61, Sefer Shemot

In this Sedra we find mentioned twenty times “I am Hashem,” in a passage or series of verses that will also say “I am Hashem your God.” With each of these instances, in each sub-Parsha, there are differences in where this declaration occurs. Sometimes at the beginning of the section and at the end of the section we find “I am Hashem,” and in the middle of the section is mentioned “I am Hashem your God.” Sometimes we find the opposite. The declaration “I am Hashem” teaches of a place where it seems to the consciousness of man that he can perform a pure and refined action according to God’s will. Thus it will there say, “I am Hashem,” meaning that if I, God, join with you, and clarify you, then it will prove (the value of) your action, if it is correct before Me. This is as it is said, “who can say, ‘I have refined my heart?’ ” For “I am Hashem” is God saying I, between Me and Myself, and My will was not involved in this action, so how could the action be shown to be just? But if it says, I am Hashem your God,” then it means that God promises man that He dwells in his heart. (Or that he dwells in His heart.) This brings great tekifut (holy brazenness) to man. Then in a place where man becomes dejected, and it looks as if he, God forbid, has withdrawn from the realm of God’s will, then the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to him and assures him, “I am Hashem your God.” This is expounded on in the Gemara (Bava Metsia, 61b), where it says, “What is the need of the commandment, ‘You shall not steal,’ which the Torah wrote?—For that which was taught: ‘You shall not steal,’ in order to distress someone; ‘you shall not steal,’ even in order to repay double [and thus be giving him a gift].” Even though the one who steals from his fellow man did it with the intention of bringing him benefit, and not as one who would steal in order that his fellow man would lack (and he would gain), nonetheless, since God enjoins us not to steal, it is forbidden to try to be overly clever with God’s words and say that his intention was good. In every place where God forbade something, even if one does it with a good intention, it is called deviating from God’s will. Sometimes we find the ramifications of God’s law reaching a place that seems to man to be extraneous. We find in the Gemara (Ketubot, 49a), “you cunning man [related to the word for thief], why do you go round and round? If you assert that the law is according to Rabbi Meir, then say that the law is according to Rabbi Meir.” Therefore it says, “I am Hashem,” meaning, know who decreed this over you, and thus you will not exaggerate the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, and you will not be overly clever with all that God has decreed forbidden. This is why this first order is used with the commandment (Vayikra, 20:27), “a man or woman who has a familiar or is a wizard.” Even though it has already been written (Vayikra, 19:31), “do not turn to the familiars,” this additional verse comes so that one would not say, “I know the meaning of the mitzvot, for a familiar, ov, comes from the word for father, av, as in, ‘a father in wisdom,’ and a wizard, yedoni, comes from the word for knowing (yedia), meaning knowing how God conducts the forces of His world.” In this way he could trick himself into devising ways around the warnings of God. This is like the passage in the Gemara about Shlomo haMelech (Sanhedrin, 21b), where he said, “I will increase my number of wives, and my heart will not be perverted.”³⁵ Therefore God warns, “I am God,” know who decreed this over you.” This was written before the warnings about the familiar and the wizard. “And you shall keep My statutes, for I am Hashem who sanctifies you” (Vayikra, 20:8), this means that all the words of God’s are on the level of immutable, inscrutable statutes, which may not be disputed or questioned. If a man were to come and say, “since the words of God are so detailed down to a hair’s breadth, how can it be possible for a man to guard them?” To this our Parsha says, “I am Hashem your God,” which is saying, “I am with you. All that is in your power, go ahead and do.” Then everyplace where our actions can reach, there the Holy One, blessed be He, promises us that we will not transgress His will. Therefore the Haftorah, the reading Prophets for this Parsha, says (Amos, Ch. 9), “are you not like the Cushites [Ethiopians], children of Israel, says Hashem. Did I not bring Israel out of the land of Egypt? And the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Aram from Kir? Except that I will not completely destroy the house of Yaakov, and not even the least grain shall fall upon the earth.” This is to say, everywhere that the intention of man was for the sake of Heaven, even though the action itself seemed the opposite, like stealing in order to pay back double, there God promises that this intention will not fall down to the earth, as in “and not even the least grain shall fall upon the earth.” Corresponding to the twenty declarations of God’s name in this Parsha, “I am Hashem,” Shlomo haMelech listed twenty things that he did not know (see Mishlei, 30:18–33).

footnotes: ³⁵ Rabbi Yitzchak also said: Why were the reasons for Torah laws kept hidden?—Because in two verses reasons were revealed, and they caused Shlomo haMelech the greatest sage in the world, to stumble. Thus it is written, “He shall not multiply wives for himself.” To which Shlomo haMelech replied, “I will multiply wives yet let my heart not be perverted.” However, we read, “When Shlomo haMelech was old, his wives turned his heart away.” It is further written, “He shall not multiply to horses for himself”; concerning which Shlomo said, “I will multiply them, but will not let Israel return to Egypt.” However we read, “And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver.”

“Do not round off the corners of your head, or the corners of your beard.” (Vayikra, 19:27) “Corners” (referring to peyot, earlocks) teaches of the fear of God. At the very place where peyot extend out, there is the birth of thought, and then the thought descends down to the heart. Thus this verse teaches that whenever one experiences an evil thought, he is immediately to enter into a state of the fear of God, and not let the thought rest in his heart.³⁶ teach of the essential connection between the intellectual and the heart, or kindness. For “heart” refers to thought with greater strength. This is as David haMelech said (Tehilim, Ch. 5), “a song of victory on the ‘nechilot.’ ” The matter of nechilot refers to hearing one’s cry.³⁷ as related to nahala, or inheritance, meaning, crying out for what God gives us based on our actions. The Meiri relates it to the sound of the crying itself, for the word nechila is related to the word for the drone of a swarm of bees. “Listen to my words, Hashem, understand my contemplation.” “My words” relates to one’s thoughts, that God listen to them so they will be pure. “Understand my contemplation” means to ask God to bring an effusion of understanding to all my thoughts, and that I may purify them all so they will not turn from God’s will. “Listen to the voice of my cry, my King, my God.” “My King” means that God is king over all men, and can cause an effusion of thought to man according to His holy will. E-lohi—“My God” is that God causes an effusion of wisdom, because God’s name, E-lohim, teaches of wisdom.

footnotes: ³⁶ This also shows how peyot ³⁷ R. Hirsch understands nechila