The commandments mentioned in this פרשה all revolve around the main subject-matter of the portion, the three marvelous gifts G–d has given to the Jewish people. They are: The Torah, the Holy Land, and the Hereafter. The commandment to study and teach Torah refers to the gift of Torah. I have explained the mystical dimension of Torah study in my treatise on Tractate שבועות.

The commandment to exterminate the seven Canaanite nations is directly connected with the sanctity of the Holy Land which is part of G–d Himself. G–d chose Israel as His nation because חלק ה' עמו, Israel is part of G–d's "share." You must appreciate something about the significance of these seven nations. Every single nation has its representative in the Celestial Regions. These representatives, usually known as שר, are also known as אלוהים אחרים "other deities." Due to its status as "G–d's share" Israel cleaves directly to Him, to part of what the Kabbalists call אצילות הבנין, the world of the "throne." It is from this domain that the 7 emanations of בנין evolve "downward" till they result in a physical world, מלכות. Each of the emanations comprises sub-categories of all ten emanations, representing all the concepts which the ten emanations symbolize. Thus we have a total of seventy for the seven emanations comprising בנין. Jacob came to Egypt with 70 people who formed the nucleus of the Jewish nation. These seventy are referred to in the Torah as a single נפש because they were the mystical dimension of this number seventy. The seven Canaanite nations between them also symbolize ten Gentile nations each, making a total of seventy, i.e. the well-known concept of the "seventy nations of the world." These seventy nations, however, do not represent the holiness which has its root in the world of אצילות, rather they represent the קליפות, the spiritual domain in which Satan is rooted. No wonder then that intermarriage with nations whose spiritual roots represent the חצוניות is forbidden. One must not even marry a convert from these nations. Intermarriage with other nations is prohibited only if the second party did not convert to Judaism first.

The Arizal explains the reason that the Torah (Deut. 20,16) has demanded that the Jewish people kill every member of these seven Canaanite nations: לא תחיה כל נשמה. When the Torah instructs us how to relate to other nations (such as שעיר, i.e. אדום, עמון, and מואב however), it only commanded (Deut. 2,9 et al) the Jewish people under Moses not to make war against those nations. The seven Canaanite nations represent seven קליפות, i.e. שבעה כלים שנשברו, negative aspects of the seven emanations which comprise what we called בנין, the constructive forces enabling the creation of a perfect physical universe. Although, as we explained in connection with the name "Samael," even Satan had his root in something holy, i.e. א-ל, the spiritual decline of these descendants of the original Canaan, the cursed, was such that no vestige of sanctity was left in them. This meant automatically that no נשמה, spiritually elevated soul of theirs, would survive. The other three nations whose land G–d had promised as part of ארץ ישראל still retained vestiges of holiness. These were the קיני, קניזי and קדמוני, whose lands G–d had also promised Abraham (Genesis 15,19) when He promised us the Holy Land. These nations had their origin in the "upper" three emanations. The promise that we will inherit their lands in the future can be fulfilled when the last vestiges of sanctity will have vanished from these three nations. At such a time the commandment not to let a soul survive will also be applicable to those three nations. The Arizal wants to equate the three nations Edom, Ammon and Moab with the Keynee, Kenizi and Kadmoni respectively. The very names of these three nations allude to their having had a superior origin, שעיר alludes to Deut. 33,2, where G–d is portrayed as coming from Se-ir to give Israel the Torah. The name Moab means "from the אב, "the father," another allusion to the higher emanation חכמה, seat of undiluted holiness. The name Ammon is close to the word נועם, an allusion to the emanation בינה. שעיר is none other than אדום. The seven kings whom the Torah describes in the Torah (Genesis 36,31-39) as having ruled in the land of Edom before Israel had a king were not part of that nation. Apparently they had subjugated the country. This is why the Torah, when telling us that a particular king ruled over Edom, informs us of his country of origin. We are told in 2,20: והעמונים קראו להם זמזומים, that the Ammonites called the Refa-im Zamzumim. The word זמזום is derived from זמם, planned, thought out. In other words these רפאים had the "superior" emanation חכמה somewhere in their background. Their descendants were the mixed multitude who joined the Jewish people at the Exodus and converted to Judaism. This explains why they still had enough of a spark of sanctity in them to recognize the spiritual rejuvenation that was taking place at the time of the Exodus. On the other hand, anyone who plans something evil and uses his superior intelligence negatively, is similarly descended from them. The name סיחון, one of the kings of the Canaanite nations, suggests the word סייח, a young ass. The Hebrew word for donkey is חמור, the same letters as חומר, matter. The Canaanites were concerned with matter to the exclusion of the spirit. The name Og, king of Bashan, evokes similar considerations. The Arizal concludes that because the lands of these kingdoms were situated East of the river Jordan which symbolized the foundation of the feminine aspect in the emanations, these kingdoms could not have been subdued by anyone but Moses. Spiritually speaking, Moses represented the "middle" line between the left (feminine) side of the diagram of the emanations and the right (masculine) side. Moses was the carrier of the symbol of the Holy Covenant. He broke the tablets and salvaged the sanctity contained in them. When the Torah describes the defeat of the שני מלכי האמורי, "the two kings of the Emorite" (3,8), the first letters of these three words form the name משה. G–d said to Moses (2,31): ראה החילותי תת לפניך את סיחון, "See, I have begun to hand over to you Sichon, etc." This means that the patron of this kingdom, the שר, had been subjugated by Moses. The land of Israel is perceived as the "feminine" part of the union between the people of Israel and its land. Taking possession of the land of Israel, ביאת הארץ, is a euphemism for the union between Israel and its land as husband and wife. [I have rephrased some of this. Ed.]

The seven Canaanite nations whose שרים are their gods, אלוהי העמים, are all אלילים, forms of idols. The same applies in different degrees to all the seventy nations of the world. Intermarriage with them is prohibited since all of them are liberally tainted by the pollutant introduced into Eve when she mated with the original serpent. This is why the Torah (29,17) describes the gods of these seven Caananite nations as שורש פורה ראש ולענה "a root sprouting poison weed and wormwood." Whereas intermarriage with these nations is prohibited even if they have converted to Judaism, the commandment לא תחנם, not to have pity on them or favor them in any other way, applies to all idol worshipers equally. The souls of such people are not rooted in the domain of חמלה or חנינה, pity or compassion; hence they do not qualify for pity and compassion on the part of the Jewish people. Their origin is in a domain of a very thick קליפה, peel, skin, i.e. something which effectively isolates them from the effect of radiation from holy sources. Thus far the Arizal.

מצות אחדות השם . I have explained both this commandment as well as the commandment to love G–d, to put on phylacteries both on one's arm and one's head, as well the need to affix a parchment containing the references to these commandments on our respective doorposts. Though each of these commandments has its own mystique, all of them are expressions of our close attachment to G–d. This דביקות ה' may be understood as the path that leads to the third great gift G–d has bestowed upon us, the Hereafter. The true closeness to G–d is achieved only in the Celestial Regions after we have attained everlasting life. This is both the "place" and the "time" by which we shall acquire a much deeper understanding of G–d. As a symbolism of the knowledge to be acquired we put one תפילה on the arm opposite the heart, the seat of most of our wisdom. We put the other תפילה on the head, the seat of the brain, our intelligence. Both our thoughts and our heart must be pure, devoted to the service of our Creator.

Performance of different מצות represents allusions to varying levels of our attachment to the Hereafter. In this regard the act of affixing a מזוזה ranks higher than the putting on of the תפילין. The act of expressing our belief in the unity of G–d as expressed by reciting the קריאת שמע including the paragraph about our love for G–d represents a still higher expression of our feelings in this regard. After all, the Hereafter is an abstract world, and belief is something spiritual, abstract. We find that the Hereafter itself comprises three different levels, just as the commandments alluding to it which we fulfill contain hints of the Hereafter on three different levels. We are basing ourselves on the three different expressions used by our sages when they speak about עולם הבא, the World to Come. Sometimes our sages use the expression יש לו חלק לעולם הבא, "he has a share in the World to Come." Other times the sages speak about someone being מזומן לעולם הבא, "invited to the World to Come." On still other occasions the sages use the expression מובטח לו שהוא בן העולם הבא, "he is assured of being a member in the World to Come."

I have found among the various booklets of the Arizal that he defines the differences in these levels of the Hereafter as follows: "Know that the righteous enters into a marriage (union) both in this world and after his death. Every צדיק does so in accordance with his individual spiritual powers. There are also צדיקים who enter into a union (embracing the Hereafter) in this world such as בניהו בן יהוידע. (the exploits of this warrior who was among David's body-guards are listed in Samuel II chapter 23). Some enter into an union with the Celestial partner, i.e. אבא ואמא, already while in this world, since in those regions unions can be consecrated only through what we know as קדוש השם, martyrdom by glorifying the name of G–d. An example of this kind of זווג, union with one's partner in the Hereafter, were the Ten Martyrs tortured to death by the Romans including Rabbi Akiva. The same rule applies during any period Jews suffer religious persecution and defiantly go to their death as Jews." When we recite the קריאת שמע we experience a faint echo of such an affinity to the Hereafter. The name of בניהו בן יהוידע also alludes to the emanation בינה יה-ו י-ה למעלה. This is the deeper meaning of בניהו being described in Samuel II 23,20 as בן איש חי, someone who had established his claim to life in the Hereafter. When said בניהו is reported as having killed a lion, הארי, the numerical value of the word הארי=216 is equal to three times the fully spelled Ineffable Name 72. The prophet describes this encounter with the lion as having occurred on יום השלג, which has its own mystical dimension. When our sages say in Sanhedrin 90a: כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא, they mean that the soul of every Jew has access to the Hereafter. When the sages use the expression that someone is מזומן, "invited," they refer to the future when the light of the moon has become as brilliant as the light of the sun. This is the future we have in mind when we add to the words of the שמע ישראל the 24 letters of the formula ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, "May the Majesty of His glorious kingdom be blessed forever." Nowadays when we are in exile the twenty-four letters in that formula are reversed i.e. have become ד"ך. This is the mystical dimension of Psalms 74,21: אל ישוב דך נכלם, "Let not the downtrodden turn away disappointed." When the Holy Temple was standing, G–d's Majesty consisted of 24 letters; when it will be rebuilt it will again consist of 24 letters. This is meant in Isaiah 54,12: ושמתי כד-כד שמשותך, "I shall make your suns twice 24." [The standard rendition of this verse is: "I shall make your battlements of rubies." Ed.] During Solomon's reign the moon was considered as having reached its zenith, i.e. in the history of the Jewish people whose fate is compared to the fate of the moon. This is what is alluded to by the 24 letters in the formula we recite when saying the קריאת שמע, when we express our absolute faith in this future display of G–d's Majesty. This number 24 equals one third of the possible amount of light. In the messianic future the full extent of the light, i.e. the other two thirds i.e. the ones alluded to in Isaiah 54,12 as כדכד,=48 will be revealed. When combining the three times 24 we have the number 72, i.e. the Ineffable Name spelled fully as words. In other words, G–d's name will be whole when this light will be displayed in all its power. The mystical dimension of the destruction of the Temple is alluded to in its name. It is called בית, house. The numerical value of בית is 412. By adding the number 2 for the two kinds of light it represents we get 414. This is the numerical value of אור, light, multiplied by two, i.e. 207 x2. The removal (destruction) of the בית, robbed us of two thirds of the light in store for us. The root of this light remains in the domain of אצילות. In those regions the only ones who can derive pleasure from it are those who unite in a זיווג, marital "union," the creatures we know as אבא ואמא. Anyone who will be privileged to do so in the seventh millennium (the millennium during which according to Talmudic sources this world will undergo destruction prior to its re-emergence, totally renewed) are the people our sages have referred to as having been invited to the World to Come. This is the secret meaning of the voice from the Celestial Regions which called out to Rabbi Akiva: "hail to you for you have been invited to life in the World to Come" (Berachot 61b). When the sages speak of someone being assured of the World to Come, i.e. מובטח לו שהוא בן עולם הבא, this is the highest level of life in the World to Come. People of the caliber of בניהו בן יהוידע are slated for such a level of experience in the עולם הבא. People of this caliber experienced death on earth only because mankind as such was sentenced to such a fate, not because they individually became guilty of death. On the contrary, these people used their stay on earth in order to totally perfect their personalities.

ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא . Our פרשה begins by extolling the virtues of the Holy Land, i.e. the second of G–d's gifts to the Jewish people. The atmosphere of ארץ ישראל which our sages (Baba Batra 158) have described as contributing to one's knowledge and intelligence is a necessary step for someone who wishes to acquire the "crown" of Torah, i.e. become a true Torah scholar. We have it on the authority of Isaiah 2,3 that: כי מציון תצא תורה, ודבר ה' מירושלים, "Torah comes forth from Zion and the word of G–d from Jerusalem." Thence it proceeds to the Celestial counterpart of ארץ ישראל, also known as עולם הבא. We know that this is so from Isaiah 60,21: ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ, "As to your people, they are all righteous and will inherit ארץ forever." This is the context in which the land of Israel is mentioned at the beginning of our portion. The middle and last sections of the portion deal with the subject of how the Torah was given to the Jewish people.

Let me now arrange the three "gifts" in their proper sequence. In 3,25: "Let me please cross and see this good land," Moses describes the nature of the land as being "good." Afterwards, he begins to extol the gift of Torah and the fact that studying it will lead to observing its commandments. 4,1 begins: "And now, O Israel, give heed to the laws and rules that I am instructing you to observe see, I have taught you social laws and statutes….for what great nation is there that has G–d close at hand as is the Lord our G–d whenever we call upon Him? Or what great nation has laws and rules as perfect as all this Teaching that I set before you this day?" Following this description of the gift of Torah, Moses continues by recalling the overwhelming experience of G–d's revelation at Mount Sinai when He gave Israel the Torah. This is followed by 4,25 when Moses looks into the future, warning the nation not to abandon the Torah which was a gift from Heaven.

This is followed by a paragraph outlining the laws of the city of refuge. In chapter five Moses addresses the whole people, recalling in detail the giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments. In other words, most of this portion is concerned with the gift of the Torah. We find allusions to the World to Come in this last chapter recalling the giving of the Ten Commandments. Moses reminds the people (5,22) that they had said to him: "And now, why should we die and have the great fire consume us, for if we continue to listen to the sound of the voice of the Lord our G–d we will surely die?" Rabbi Moses Almosnino explains that the Israelites said: "G–d has shown us His Majesty, etc., that terrestrial man can survive hearing G–d speak to him. Since this is so, why does He not do away with the experience of death altogether? Had we not undergone the experience at Mount Sinai we would have thought that death is a necessary prelude to our experiencing a revelation by G–d. Now that we have experienced such a revelation without death, what further use is death? Now death can only become an anti-climax, a negative experience! Granted that G–d will not let us experience death as a negative experience we must conclude that after physical death further, more profound revelations are in store for us! If that is so, we will accept death very willingly" The people understood therefore that there must be a World to Come, a world which man participates in after his body has died. This World to Come contains several layers. Every person who merits to become part of it does so according to his respective spiritual level attained on earth. The paragraph commencing with שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד, alludes to this עולם הבא, when G–d and we will be truly united. That which in this world is only an object of our faith, our belief, will then have become reality. We will see it with our eyes and will rejoice.

This is followed by the paragraph starting with: והיה כי יביאך ה' אלוקיך אל הארץ. Even though on the פשט level this paragraph speaks about terrestrial ארץ ישראל, the paragraph contains allusions to the ארץ ישראל למעלה, the corresponding land of Israel in the Celestial Regions, the land of everlasting life. When the Torah continues in 6,12: "Be careful not to forget, etc.," this must be understood along the lines Rashi explained Leviticus 26,12: "I shall walk amongst you and I will be your G–d, whereas you will be My people." Rashi says that it means G–d will go for a stroll with us in גן עדן as if He were one of us and we would have no cause to be afraid of Him. To emphasize this point, Leviticus 26,13 continues: "I am the Lord your G–d, etc." We are left to explain why the Torah interrupted the various paragraphs dealing with our having received the Torah with the report that Moses proceeded to set aside three of the cities of refuge which would serve would-be murderers as an escape from revenge-seeking relatives of the victim.

I have found a beautiful commentary [concerning this] amongst the writings of the Arizal. We must understand why Moses bothered to set aside these three cities, seeing they could not perform their function until the other three cities of refuge on the West Bank of the Jordan had been set aside as well (Numbers 35,13; compare Makkot 9). When we understand the Arizal's commentary on the problem of the cities of refuge, we will also understand the relevance of the [adjacent] verse, "And this is the Torah which Moses placed before the children of Israel" (Deuteronomy 4,44), to Moses setting aside the three cities of refuge [which were to be on the East Bank of the Jordan]. The Arizal sees the secret understanding of Moses' setting these cities aside as an attempt at rehabilitation for when he had committed manslaughter and had taken it upon himself to slay the Egyptian [who had tortured a Jew] (Exodus 2,12) before his time. He had considered this killing in the category of a murder inadvertently committed because he had felt at the time that he was performing a מצוה by doing so. The first letters of the words הירדן מזרחה שמה, which describe what Moses did, form the acronym משה. The following words, אשר ירצח את רעהו, are also an allusion to Moses. [We have already described that Moses was the reincarnation of Abel.] This is also alluded to in Exodus 2,11, when the Torah describes Moses as observing an Egyptian man: מכה איש עברי מאחיו, "torturing a Jewish man, one of his brothers." The Torah hints that the Egyptian was a former brother of Moses, i.e., a reincarnation of Cain. In this instance, the evil that had been part of Cain's character had resurfaced in the character of this Egyptian. The נפש of Cain, i.e. his lowest spiritual part, was reincarnated in the body of this Egyptian, whereas Cain's רוח, the superior part of his soul, was re-incarnated in the body of Yitro. The highest part of Cain's soul, i.e. the נשמה, was re-incarnated in the body of Korach. But Korach made his own mistake of quarreling with Moses [which resulted in his גלגול failing to achieve its ultimate purpose]. Yitro was of mixed components. When he purged the evil, he converted to Judaism. At the end of the paragraph dealing with the cities of refuge, the Torah writes: וזאת התורה אשר שם משה, And this is the Torah which Moses placed. This means that Moses determined the need to set aside these three cities of refuge at this time for his own sake.

Perhaps I may be so bold as to say that Moses personally observed what Avtalyon in Avot 1,11 warned against when he said: הזהרו בדבריכם שמא תחובו חובת גלות, "Be very careful with your words lest you become guilty of having to exile yourselves." We have another Mishnah, Avot 4,14, in which Rabbi Nehorai warns that it is better to exile oneself to a place where Torah is studied. When Moses saw that he was guilty of exile, he decided to become a constant source of Torah so that any place that he found himself at would fit the description of מקום תורה. By positioning the paragraph about the cities of refuge, i.e. exile, between two paragraphs extolling the gift of Torah he vicariously complied with the advice of Rabbi Nehorai.

We have spoken about the three gifts G–d bestowed upon the Jewish people, i.e. the land of Israel, the Torah, and the Hereafter. Moses received the best possible portions of all of these gifts. I will explain how these respective gifts can be assimilated on different levels. The allusion to the World to Come is mentioned in the Torah chronologically, i.e. after the mention of ארץ ישראל and תורה when the Israelites asked: "why should we die, etc". The Israelites said to Moses: קרב אתה ושמע, "you approach and listen!" G–d also had said to Moses (5,27): ואתה פה עמוד עמדי, "you stand here next to Me!" The letters in the word אתה form the acronym ארץ-תורה-הבא. Even though Moses never entered terrestrial ארץ ישראל he did enter the equivalent of the terrestrial ארץ ישראל in the Celestial Regions even while his soul still lived inside his body. The Zohar in its commentary on פרשת ויחי explains that something similar happened to Jacob. I have copied the comments of the Zohar in my commentary on פרשת ויחי. The reason Jacob succeeded to be buried in terrestrial ארץ ישראל, was due to his close affinity to Celestial ארץ ישראל which represents the attribute of מלכות. What Jacob achieved only after his death, Moses already achieved during his lifetime because he was איש אלהים as he had demonstrated when he ascended to the region of Matronita, described in Pardes Rimonim as the guardian of Gan Eden. After Moses died he ascended to a still higher region called יובל עליון, part of the emanation of בינה. This is what we had in mind when we said that Moses succeeded in penetrating or assimilating the innermost secrets of the three concepts ארץ ישראל, תורה, עולם הבא.

In light of the aforesaid we can understand a puzzling question posed by Rabbi Chanina son of Rabbi Agil who asked Rabbi Chiya son of Rabbi Abba in Baba Kama 54b why the word טוב, "good," never appeared in the text of the first set of tablets (Ten Commandments), whereas it does appear in the text of the second set of tablets. Rabbi Chiya answered that before raising the question why the word טוב appears, Rabbi Chanina should have asked if the word טוב appears in the second version of the Ten Commandments. Rabbi Chiya added that he was not at all sure that the word טוב does in fact appear in the text of the second tablets. He therefore referred the questioner to Rabbi Tanchum son of Chanilai who was a regular companion of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, an expert in aggadic matters. Rabbi Chanina went to ask Rabbi Tanchum who told him that he had not personally heard anything on this from Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, but that he had heard from Rabbi Shemuel the son of Rabbi Tanchum the maternal uncle of Rabbi Acha bar Chanina that the reason the word טוב did not appear was that these tablets were ultimately going to be smashed. To the rejoinder: "so what?" Rabbi Ashi explained that the Rabbi meant that the symbolism in the destruction of the word טוב would have left a residue of permanent hopelessness among the Jewish people. The obvious question that arises is: how could a learned Rabbi not know whether the word טוב appeared in the text of the second set of tablets. This is something that any student in an elementary school can check! Besides, why did the questioner not quote the verse he had in mind to demonstrate that it did in fact exist? Also, what is the relevance of the question: "Before you ask me about one thing ask me about another?" Furthermore, why is the statement that the Rabbi "did not know" repeated twice?

The subject of the three gifts the Jewish people received must be understood on two levels. One level is the manifest one, i.e. נגלה, a gift which everyone can see as having been received. The other level is what we call the נסתר the hidden aspect of these gifts. We find that the word Tov is spelled with different vowels on different occasions. Most of the time it is spelled with the vowel חולם i.e. Tov, whereas sometimes it is spelled with the vowel שורוק i.e. Tuv.

Whenever it is spelled as Tov the reference is to the manifest good. When it is spelled Tuv the reference is to the hidden good. [The author discussed this in Parshat Ba'halotecha, in connection with Moses' offer to Yitro to join the Jewish people. Ed.] In connection with Torah we find the word spelled טוב with both the vowels חולם such as in Proverbs 4,2: כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם, as well as in Psalms 119,72: טוב לי תורת פיך. It is also spelled with a שורוק as in Psalms 119,66: טוב טעם ודעת למדני. In connection with ארץ ישראל we find ארץ טובה in Deut. 8,7 spelled with the vowel חולם, whereas in Isaiah 1,19 we are promised by the prophet "טוב הארץ תאכלו," spelled with the vowel שורוק. With respect to עולם הבא, we find in Deut. 5,16: למען ייטב לך, which our sages (Kidushin 39b) explain as a reference to a world which is totally good.

We also find in Psalms 31,20: מה רב טובך אשר צפנת ליריאך, "How abundant is the good that You have in store for those who fear You," where the word טוב is spelled with the vowel שורוק. The relationship between the words Tov and Tuv may be understood as similar to the difference between "good" and "best." What is manifest is termed "good" what is hidden is termed "best." That which is "hidden" from our eyes is what is visible in a domain where the original light which G–d withdrew from earth to the Celestial Regions after Adam's sin is active. Man can experience both levels of "good" also in this world. In the future, however, there will no longer be two kinds of "good," because the "hidden" light will have become manifest. All "good" will then be spelled with the vowel חולם. There will be no reason to hide the תוכיות, "the content of the innermost regions." It is this future our sages had in mind when they referred to part of the World to Come as עולם הנעלם or עולם שכולו טוב. They found the verse in Deut. 5,16 difficult because the word ייטב in that verse is derived from the word tov spelled with the vowel חולם. In view of this they could not understand why the Torah should refer to the World to Come by spelling the word tov with this vowel. They ultimately came to the conclusion that the reference must be to a world which had become "כולו טוב," had achieved its ultimate objective, a world which is totally good. Whereas the verse in Psalm 31,20 speaks of a time prior to this ultimately good world here on earth and therefore uses the word טוב spelled with the vowel שורוק referring to the hidden good, the word ייטב foresees an even higher level of עולם הבא.

To get back to the puzzling discussion in Baba Kama 54. Rabbi Chiya bar Abba understood the question of Rabbi Chanina ben Agil as a twofold one. If he would give one kind of answer this would raise a new problem. If he gave the other answer it would also result in a further question. If the mention of "good" in 5,16, i.e. in the second set of the tablets, referred to "good" in the World to Come, this kind of "good" should have been mentioned in the first set of the tablets. If, on the other hand, the word ייטב in 5,16 refers to the good to be experienced in this world and it is therefore logical that it was omitted in the first set of tablets since these tablets represented the entire Torah [and we do not expect reward for Torah observance in this world Ed.], it should also have been omitted from the text of the second set of tablets. Rabbi Chiya replied that before assuming glibly that what was written in the second set of tablets referred to a "true good," one must first establish if that indeed is what the word ייטב in 5,16 is all about. He added that he himself had another query to which he did not have the answer, namely the exact meaning of "true good," הטוב האמיתי. He meant that he did not know whether to understand the word ייטב in 5,16 as being spelled with the vowel שורוק and thereby referring to the "hidden" good, or whether it was spelled with the vowel חולם and referred to manifest "good." In the latter case the question why it was not written in the first set of tablets is much stronger. If the only reason it was left out from the text of the first set of tablets was because it was in a domain which no human eye has ever beheld, then the very need to give the Jewish people a second set of tablets had itself removed such "good" even further from any human eye due to the sin of the golden calf. It should therefore certainly not have been written on the second set of tablets at all. This is why Rabbi Chiya sent the questioner to Rabbi Tanchum. Eventually the response was received that it had been foreseen that the first set of tablets would be smashed. What this meant was that there was both a נגלה, revealed, and a נסתר, hidden element in the tablets. The tablets i.e. the material, represented the נגלה aspect, whereas the letters i.e. the spiritual part, represented the נסתר aspect of the Ten Commandments. Our sages (Pesachim 87) are on record that when Moses smashed the tablets the letters "flew away." These letters were then stored in the Celestial Regions together with other things which are all "good." At the beginning of Creation, when G–d had created light and had surveyed His activity (Genesis 1,4), He described the light as "good." At that point there was only a single טוב, i.e. it was כולו טוב. G–d then took a look at what the wicked would do in the future and He decided to hide this "good" for a future when the wicked would no longer be active. This original light had returned to earth at the time of מתן תורה, but when the Jewish people committed the sin of the golden calf Moses broke the tablets as a sign that the recently restored original light was once more being withdrawn. There will come a future, however, when this light will be restored and the world will then qualify for the description כולו טוב, totally, absolutely good. The word "good" appears as part of the text of the second tablets then to serve as a beacon of hope for us of this future we can still look forward to. Had the word appeared first on the first set of tablets and been smashed, the impression might have been created that there would never again be a return to the idyllic state of affairs at the time G–d had created the absolute good, i.e. the original light. The absolute "good" is an allusion to the Unity of the Creator; were one to believe that there would not be a future of "absolute good," this would be tantamount to giving up on G–d's great Name ever becoming manifest again. This concludes our "overview" of the three great gifts we have received from G–d. Now let us turn to the details of these gifts.

The beginning of the פרשה speaks about the gift of the land of Israel which is a patently "good" gift both in its manifest and in its hidden aspects. The land is situated "opposite" a corresponding ארץ ישראל in the Celestial Regions. Both the terrestrial land of Israel and the Celestial land of Israel has areas of varying degrees of sanctity. We have learned (Keilim 1,6) about the ten respective layers of sanctity of terrestrial ארץ ישראל culminating in the Holy of Holies. Moses thought that the lands of the kings Sichon and Og, i.e. the East Bank of the Jordan, already contained some level of the sanctity common to the whole of ארץ ישראל. We will explain why he thought so later on. A leader who leads the people to take possession of the Holy Land acquires great spiritual advantages. The authority of Jewish leaders is not of the same caliber as that of the Gentile kings or rulers. While the Gentiles derive their authority from physical power and material attributes, this is not so in the case of leaders of the Jewish people. Their authority is rather of the caliber of Heavenly authority. To be more specific: Leaders are appointed according to superior intellectual qualities, according to the ability of the individual in question to lead the people in Torah observance. As soon as the first Jewish king, Saul, was anointed king by the prophet Samuel he was granted Holy Spirit, as we know from Samuel I 10,11-12: הגם שאול בנביאים, "Saul too has joined the ranks of the prophets." One of the reasons the kingdom was transferred to David was that there was no one as qualified as David as far as Torah scholarship was concerned. G–d was with him to such an extent that any religious rulings pronounced by David were always accepted by his colleagues as binding. In addition, no one excelled like David in singing the praises of the Lord. These are the considerations that made Moses so desirous of remaining the leader who would bring the Jewish people into the Holy Land. He knew that if he were to be granted this request he would further perfect his personality, would be granted even greater insights by G–d. He wanted to fulfill those commandments which can only be fulfilled on the soil of the land of Israel, and he was certain that by doing so he would ascend still higher spiritually (Sotah 14a).

In the words of our sages there: "Surely Moses did not plead with G–d to let him enter the Holy Land merely to taste its fruit!" While on this subject let me explain Rashi's comment on 3,24. He divides his comment into פשט and דרוש. As far as the דרוש is concerned I find it difficult to follow him because, if he is correct, the Torah should have written אתה החילות והראית, "You have begun and shown me." I therefore prefer to deal with the פשט part of his commentary: that Moses felt that because he had been allowed to defeat the kings Sichon and Og on the East bank of the Jordan, this was a sign that G–d had rescinded His decree (Numbers 20,12) that he, Moses would not be allowed to lead Israel to the Holy Land. He considered the lands ruled by these kings as part of the land of Israel. Rashi quotes 2,31 where G–d had said: ראה החילותי תת לפניך את סיחון as proof that Moses thought that the decree had been rescinded. If Rashi's reasoning is correct, why did the Torah add the words בעת ההיא "at that time," in 3,23?

Rashi as well as other commentators also explain the words רב לך אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה "Enough for you; do not continue to speak to me about this subject" in a variety of ways. Seeing that so many commentators have had their say on this subject, I will add something of my own. This was part of the wars of conquest. The fact that Moses distributed these lands to some of the tribes who made their homes there proved that it was part of the land of Israel. If G–d did not allow all the land to be conquered by Joshua surely this was because He had relented from the decree in Numbers 20,12! Moses had good reason to believe this. When Moses quoted G–d (3,27) as having said to him: "You will not cross this Jordan," he was guilty of an inaccuracy. The Torah had not mentioned this. When he quoted G–d as saying: "instruct Joshua, imbue him with strength and courage, for he shall go across at the head of the people, and he shall allot to them the land that you only see," this too is something that seems quite irrelevant at this juncture. Moses said: "You have begun," i.e. the beginning of conquest and distribution of the land of Israel has been carried out by me. Why did You not let Joshua do the whole thing seeing that he is prepared for this task? Moses' reasoning here is similar to what he had said to G–d (Exodus 4,13) at the burning bush: שלח נא ביד תשלח, which the Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel understands as a reference to Pinchas, i.e. the prophet Elijah who will proclaim the advent of the final Redemption in the future. Moses had felt then that Pinchas was the suitable candidate to lead the Jewish people into the Holy Land also on the first occasion. When considering the fact that he had been allowed to commence the conquest and the distribution of the land we understand why Moses thought that the decree to deny him this task had been lifted. Although Moses had been told the exact boundaries of ארץ ישראל in Numbers 34,3-12, and these boundaries did not include the lands formerly occupied by Sichon and Og, Moses thought that there had been no need for the Torah to list those boundaries as the lands had already been distributed Moses was convinced that these lands were part of the Holy Land, and he was proven right when the Jews returning from the Babylonian exile sanctified them. Moses surmised that the reason that G–d had rescinded His decree against his leading the Jewish people in the conquest could only have been to enable him to acquire still greater insights into the phenomenon of a G–d who rules in Heaven and on Earth as described in 3,24. As a result of such considerations he prayed: "Please let me cross and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan, the good Mountain and the Lebanon" (3,25). He prayed to remain the leader. The expression אעברה is basically the same as when Moses said in Numbers 27,17 that the leader of the Jewish people should be at their head when going to war and should be the last one to return from war. Moses' major concern was not that he wanted to continue to exercise authority, but that this authority would be the means whereby he would gain greater insights. As a result of Moses, Israel's leader, gaining greater spiritual insights, the spiritual level of the whole people would also be raised. When we look at Moses' request in this light we appreciate that he asked not only for himself but also for his people.

He continued by emphasizing ואראה את הארץ הטובה, "So that I may see the good land." I have already mentioned that there are many different levels of sanctity. Even though Moses thought that the lands of Sichon and Og were already part of the Holy Land, he was well aware that the West bank was of a higher level of sanctity than the East bank of the Jordan. Terrestrial ארץ ישראל is situated "opposite" ארץ ישראל של מעלה, Celestial Eretz Yisrael. The most holy part of terrestrial ארץ ישראל may be presumed to be "opposite" the holiest part of Celestial ארץ ישראל. Moses longed for the holiest part of ארץ ישראל למטה in order to be closest to the holiest part of ארץ ישראל למעלה. This is why he spoke of "the good Mountain, Lebanon," meaning the Temple Mount and site of the Holy of Holies on that Mount. He wished to be able to fulfill the commandments calling for one's presence in the Holy Land and, more specifically, in the Temple. When Moses continued (3,26) ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם, this means that G–d denied Moses' request precisely because granting it would result in the whole people being spiritually raised to a level even with Moses who had despised the angel. Israel was simply not worthy of such a level on its own merits. Only under Joshua, who enjoyed the assistance of the angel (Joshua 5,14) who introduced himself with the words "now I have come," could the conquest of the remainder of the land proceed. Moses had rejected that very angel in Exodus 33,15 as an inadequate level of Divine guidance. Moses therefore had to tell the people that his departure was due to their not meriting direct Divine guidance such they had enjoyed during his leadership. The scholars who specialize in רשומות, see in the respective first letters of the words גם בי התאנף ה' בגללכם an allusion to גרשוני מסתפח בנחלת ה' "G–d has expelled me from participating in His heritage."

When G–d told Moses not to belabor the point any further, we must understand this reply on two levels, as G–d addressing Himself to two arguments. First G–d addressed Moses' desire to enter terrestrial ארץ ישראל in order to fulfill מצות התלויות בארץ. Concerning this request he told Moses "רב לך." Rashi explains this as G–d telling Moses that there is a great deal more in store for him where he was going (עולם הבא) than he could hope to achieve by performing commandments in the land of Israel on earth. These words of Rashi need further elucidation.

My late father of blessed memory has provided me with a brilliant insight into the words of Rashi (author talking). Briefly, he said that man has to perfect himself, i.e. his 248 organs and 365 tendons by performing 248 positive and 365 negative commandments. This is obviously impossible for any individual. [The author elaborated on this in his introduction.] Even a Moses could not fulfill all these commandments personally. As an example, he could not perform the priestly duties because he was not a priest. Numerous other commandments, such as a levirate marriage, simply did not present themselves for him to fulfil. We have therefore explained that the only way a person can gain credit for fulfilling these commandments is when he studies their details with a view to fulfilling them if given the opportunity. This Moses had already done to the best of his ability. Not being allowed to enter terrestrial ארץ ישראל would therefore not deprive him of these merits and the resultant new spiritual insights. G–d assured Moses then that he had already been credited with the merits of having fulfilled all of the commandments he had been unable to fulfill in person. Concerning Moses' second consideration, that of gaining a deeper understanding of the manner in which G–d guides the universe, etc., something which he thought the atmosphere of the land of Israel would provide, G–d said: אל תוסף. Whereas it is true that living in terrestrial ארץ ישראל adds to one's understanding of Celestial ארץ ישראל as far as Moses was concerned he had already reached the limits of what man on earth could achieve, even in the Holy Land. He had qualified as the "husband" of Matronita, a symbol of the attribute of מלכות ארץ ישראל של מעלה, as we have explained previously as the meaning of בכל ביתי נאמן הוא, "He is fully trusted in all parts of My house" (Numbers 12,7).

עלה ראש הפסגה ושא עיניך ימה וצפונה ותימנה ומזרחה. In this verse (4,27) G–d begins to explain to Moses that he had erred when he thought that his being allowed to defeat Sichon and Og was proof that He had rescinded His decree against his leading the Jewish people in their conquest of the West bank of the Jordan. G–d wanted to show Moses with his own eyes that the lands of Sichon and Og were not part of the Holy land, i.e. the area of 400 by 400 Parsot that are traditionally considered the area of ארץ ישראל (Rashi Numbers 17,8). Moses could encompass a tremendous area with his eyes. This is why the Torah uses the extra word בעיניך. When someone is told to raise his eyes and see, it is clear that he is meant to use his eyes to see with. The Torah wanted us to know that Moses' eyes were special. Only he was able to see the whole extent of the land of Israel with his physical eyes, unassisted by something supernatural. He could convince himself that the 400 square Parsot made up the land west of the Jordan, without including any part of the lands formerly owned by Sichon and Og. The מלחמת מצוה, the "holy war" to conquer those 400 square Parsot across the river Jordan, was a task wholly reserved for Joshua. G–d's decree had not been rescinded. G–d added that He would actually have allowed Joshua also to lead in the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og although they did not belong to ארץ ישראל proper, had it not been for the need to strengthen Joshua by visual example, as described in 4,28. Once Joshua had witnessed how Moses had successfully defeated the mighty kings Sichon and Og and conquered their lands he would be able to summon the courage to lead the people of Israel in their battles with the 31 kings on the West bank of the Jordan. This is why the Torah had mentioned at the end of the last פרשה, (3,21) that Moses had commanded Joshua not to be afraid since he had seen with his own eyes what the Lord had done to those two kings.

The words: ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם in 3,26 also contain a mystical dimension. This also touches upon the subject of the great gift of Torah G–d has bestowed on the Jewish people. I have found the following comment among the writings of a great Kabbalistic scholar Rabbi Chayim, the leading disciple of the Arizal. [I will paraphrase his comments Ed.] "As a consequence of Moses' accepting the mixed multitude as converts, he became involved in the סוד העיבור, the calculations pertaining to leap months, leap years, etc., as well as their halachic implications of the time conceptions can take place. One of these calculations involves determining when a Jubilee year occurs (the fiftieth year after the conclusion of seven periods of seven years). G–d had not wanted to accept this mixed multitude as converts. Had they not been accepted, Israel would neither have experienced death nor exile, since the acceptance of the Tablets would have signified everlasting life, as our sages (Eruvin 54 on Exodus 32,16) have taught us when they said: אל תקרא חרות אלא חירות, "do not read 'engraved' i.e. Charut but 'Free' (from death) i.e. Cheyrut." Moses had not consulted G–d before accepting this mixed multitude, thinking that he was performing a good deed by bringing them closer to G–d (which had been Abraham's lifework). In addition he had developed a personal interest in the conduct of these people as he had hinted when he referred to them (Numbers 11,21) as העם אשר אנכי בקרבו, "the people amongst whom I find myself." He had also foretold that these people would convert when he told Pharaoh in Exodus 11,8 that כל העם אשר ברגליך ישתחוו לי, "all these people who now sit at your feet will bow down to me." This meant that Moses was anxious to convert these people. Alas, not only did Moses fail to truly convert them, but they also infected the Israelites proper with their lack of faith during the episode of the golden calf, so that G–d told Moses: לך רד כי שחת עמך, "Go and descend, for your people have become corrupt" (Exodus 32,7). These people and their offspring by now made up the majority of the Jews in the desert. This is why Moses was forced to insert an extra year after every 49 years. This extra year serves as a warning that Israel must not again err by accepting converts wholesale and be misled by them. [I suspect that the association between "freedom" which is emphasized in the יובל- year legislation of the Torah -although the Torah calls it דרור- (Leviticus 25,10), forms the background to the סוד העיבור which Rabbi Chayim calls "this involvement of Moses in each generation in the determination of the Jubilee year." He must mean that the need to proclaim freedom would not have arisen but for Moses' accepting the mixed multitude when he did Ed.]

Moses himself had attained the fiftieth level of moral and intellectual perfection, i.e. the fiftieth of the fifty שערי בינה before the sin of the golden calf. As soon as Israel committed that sin Moses was no longer able to access the fiftieth level of בינה. This is alluded to in G–d's words in Exodus 32,7, לך רד, i.e. descend from the לך=50. This is also what the sages had in mind when they said that the world was provided with fifty "gates" of insights, all of which were granted to Moses until he lacked one of them" (Rosh Hashanah 21). Moses had originally been granted all fifty שערי בינה. Moses suffered this spiritual setback due to his indirect involvement in the sin of the golden calf. This would also be the meaning of Psalms 8,6: ותחסרהו מעט מאל-הים, "You have made him a little less than divine." This is an allusion to the letter א being the only part of א-לוהים that Moses lacked. Normally we understand this verse in Psalms to mean that no one ever quite penetrated the "highest" gate of בינה. However, we may also understand the verse to mean that Moses was deprived of a great deal and retained only 49, as the Yalkut Shimoni suggests when he interprets that the word מעט in this verse in Psalms should now be read as מט,=49. This would mean that though Moses had attained 49 gates of insights, the one gate which had escaped him was of paramount importance.

In view of the fact that Moses had acted with good intentions, and G–d does not withhold His goodness from people who act with pure motives, He does not deny such צדיקים the spiritual achievements they are entitled to at the time they die. This is what the Torah (Deuteronomy 34,1) alludes to when it reports Moses' death in these words: ויעל משה מערבות מואב אל הר נבו, "Moses went up from the steppes of Moav to Mount Nebo." We may divide the name of the Mountain into נ-בו, suggesting that at this point in his life Moses regained the fiftieth level of בינה. We may also understand this as if the letter נ from the word נבו detached itself and joined the letters in the name of משה, making his name equivalent to נשמה, soul. The word נשמה is usually understood as being equivalent to בינה. [Compare Pardes Rimonim in his chapter 14 under the heading of שערי ערכי הכנוים. Ed] Moses prayed many times not to be involved in this עיבור in every generation, all to no avail. He referred to this when he said: ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם, "G-d made me become involved in this סוד העיבור for your sake." He blamed the Jewish people for his predicament of becoming involved in this mystical aspect of becoming part of every generation. The word למענכם, means "for your sake," i.e. in order to help you attain your תקון, your rehabilitation. The word בי which has a numerical value of 12, refers to the need to consider leap months or leap years every 12 months. [In that connection the word עיבור may also refer to pregnancy, as per Yevamot 80 where Rabba Tosaphoa is reported to have declared a baby born 12 months after the husband's departure as being legitimate, not a bastard, i.e. the result of an infidelity by the mother. Ed.]

When G–d said to Moses: רב לך אל תוסף דבר, this amounted to the rejection of Moses' prayers not to be saddled with such problems as the סוד העיבור. Originally Moses had been the "father of all the prophets." When G–d said: רב לך, He indicated that in subsequent generations [if Moses were to go on living Ed.] he would need to consult other Torah scholars, i.e. רב לך since his own intellectual powers would decline. We have a hint of this in Isaiah 40,14. Even in Moses' own lifetime the Torah has him say לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבא (Deut. 31,2) "I no longer can master the intricacies of Torah studies" (Sotah 13b). He did not refer to his physical prowess, since the Torah itself (Deut. 34,7) testifies that לא נס לחה that Moses had not lost any of his physical vitality. On occasion he had to draw on the memory or resourcefulness of Joshua. This is another meaning of the words רב לך, i.e. "you already have another teacher." There is also a hint of the entire development of Moses' prophecy, his rise and decline, in Deut. 18,18: נביא אקים להם מקרב אחיהם כמוך, "I will raise up a prophet for them from their own people like yourself." The respective first letters in the opening three words of this verse form the acronym אלם, silent, dumb, suggesting that at the beginning of his prophetic career Moses was silent and the entire input was G–d's. Later on, prophetic utterances would flow from him directly, i.e. מקרב. Still later he would rise to an even higher level when G–d would command him and speak with him publicly.

All this is alluded to in Psalms 39,3: נאלמתי דומיה, החשתי מטוב וכאבי נעכר. "I was dumb, silent; I was very still while my pain was intense." The word דום-י-ה must be broken up so that we see that G–d decreed dumbness on the speaker in the verse. Being "silent from טוב," is an allusion to not having Torah inspiration; the only true טוב is Torah. The end of the verse describes Moses' reaction to this diminution of his intellectual/spiritual powers. According to סדר הדורות, at the beginning of his career Moses' name was שממה; it subsequently became משה. This is what is meant by Isaiah 52,13: "Indeed My servant shall prosper," meaning that Moses will be the משיח, the numerical value of the letters משה=345 being equal to the numerical value of the letters in the name שילה (a reference to Genesis 49, 10 where the word is understood to refer to the Messiah). Our sages in Bamidbar Rabbah 11,3 comment on the above that the first Redeemer will have the same name as the Ultimate Redeemer. The Ultimate Redeemer will be revealed to them only to be subsequently hidden from them, just as was the case with the first Redeemer. This is supposedly also alluded to in Kohelet 1,4: "A generation goes and a generation comes."

It is the mystical dimension of Michah 7,15: כימי צאתך מארץ מצרים אראנו נפלאות "I shall then show him miracles as I did when you came out of Egypt." The wording should have been: "I shall then show you miracles, etc." However, the prophet wanted to emphasize that the generation which will experience those miracles would be the same as the one that experienced the Exodus. [I presume that the generation of the Exodus which perished in the desert will experience a transmigration of souls prior to the final redemption which will then enable them and Moses to share the experiences they should have shared the first time around. Ed.] We have to understand Isaiah 52,13 as describing a gradual development, i.e. first הנה ישכיל עבדי, "Here My servant will prosper;" ירום, "he will be exalted;" next: ונשא, "he will be elevated," and afterwards וגבה, "to a height," and finally מאד, "very much." This last word is the transposition of the word אדם. The prophet describes the process of Man's rehabilitation. Man had originally been perfect only to decline spiritually and physically due to the sin. Isaiah then describes the climb back to his erstwhile spiritual height culminating in his achieving his original status אדם i.e. מאד. The final מעשה i.e. rehabilitation will be the completion of what had been G–d's plan for Man at the very outset of Creation. The verse in Isaiah describes the vicissitudes of Moses throughout these many generations as compensation for which he will emerge as the ultimate Redeemer.

This is described in verse 14 where the prophet says: כאשר שממו עליך רבים כן משחת מאיש מראהו ותוארו מבני אדם. "Just as the many were appalled at him, so marred was his appearance, unlike that of man, his form beyond human semblance." The מראהו מאיש the appearance unlike man that the prophet speaks of refers to Moses. The תוארו, "semblance" refers to Moses after his forehead radiated light. Alas, during the many generations which form the subject of the verse described by the prophet he was אחד מן העם, just like one of the common people. The whole of chapter 53 in Isaiah commencing with מי האמין refers to Moses and graphically describes his experiences; he even shared a grave outside the Holy Land as did the wicked people of the generation of the Exodus. When verse 12 speaks of: לכן אחלק לו ברבים this is an allusion to Moses' being involved in the סוד העיבור "the secret of possible existence" [my translation. Ed.] of all these generations who were "wicked people" compared to him. Moses will receive some reward in respect of each of these generations because of his share in whatever merits any generation accumulated. This is how we must understand the Mechilta Beshalach 15,1: that Moses was "equal" to all of the people of Israel. He provided spiritual input into every generation following him because G–d involved him in the סוד העיבור. When Isaiah 53,12 speaks about: ואת עצומים יחלק שלל, "He shall receive the powerful ones as his spoils," the meaning is none other than that G–d directly will give Moses his reward, whereas the other righteous people will receive it by way of Moses. The prophet goes on to say: תחת אשר הערה למות נפשו, "because he exposed himself to death," i.e. in each and every one of the generations since he died until the advent of the Messiah. Perhaps the fact that G–d repeated his name during their first encounter at the burning bush (Exodus 3,4) [unlike when the angel called to Abraham in Genesis 22,11, where the Torah has a line separating the two names i.e. אברהם৷ אברהם. Ed.] maybe an indication that there will be a "Moses" in every generation. When Isaiah continues: ואת פשעים נמנה, והוא חטא רבים נשא ולפשעים יפגיע, "and he was numbered among the sinners, whereas he bore the guilt of many and made intercession for sinners," this means that the final forgiveness of these sinners will be achieved through Moses' intercession. Thus far the comments in the writings of Rabbi Chayim.

The events referred to by Moses when he said ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם, occurred after Israel had sinned by worshipping the golden calf. Moses had ascended to G–d (Exodus 19,3), i.e. before the sin of the golden calf. Concerning that time Moses himself reported that he ascended אל הא-לוהים, in other words that he had achieved the fiftieth gate which is the emanation of בינה. Even though the people of Israel were on a very high level at that time, Moses towered above them.

This is the secret dimension of Deut. 5,5: ואנכי עומד בין ה' וביניכם "I stand between G–d and you." It is well known to students of the Kabbalah that the root of אנכי stems from the emanation בינה. We have explained that בינה=יובל=דרור=50, freedom, i.e. גאולה = redemption. When Moses was in Heaven, i.e. had attained the 50th level of בינה, he had a "clear vision." This means that he viewed things through the original light which G–d had withdrawn from earth after Adam's sin. This is another way of explaining that G–d spoke to both Moses and the people of Israel פנים בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, "G–d spoke to you face to face" (Deut 5,4). If the Jewish people were on such a level it suggests that there were no מחיצות, no barriers between them and G–d. How do we explain that Moses is supposed to have provided a barrier between them, i.e. "I was standing between G–d and you?" We must conclude that there was indeed no barrier, that once Moses utilized the original light this removed his presence as a barrier. By receiving the Torah and attaining the above described level of בינה, Moses had fulfilled his mission as the re-incarnation of הבל. He added the letter ה from הבל to his name. He ascended the Mountain which was burning with fire until the very heart of Heaven, i.e. עד ל"ב השמים (Deut 4,11). The word לב is a reference to the total of 32 paths that lead to these insights, the basis of the whole Sefer Yetzirah (chapter 1, section 1) The letter ה which was added to Moses' name further symbolized that he had received and assimilated all the five books of the Torah. I have found the following in the writings of the Arizal: When the Torah quotes Moses saying: בבעלותי ההרה לקחת לוחות האבנים "When I ascended Mountain in order to receive the stone tablets, etc." (Deut 9,9), you can take the first letters of the first three words and construct the acronym הבל. This supports our contention that Moses completed the task of הבל by attaining the fiftieth level of בינה.

Hillel was known for his humility and modesty, a character-trait he shared with Moses who was known as the most humble man on earth. Hillel was able to prove this modesty because he held high office, was the elected prince of Israel during his time, just as Moses had been in earlier times. When you examine Exodus 14, 19-21 [the three verses containing 72 letters each which traditionally form the "great" name of G–d, Ed.], you will find that the letters of the name משה and הלל appear next to one another. [In his commentary the Tzror Hamor explains this in detail, as well as the three times 72=216 equals אריה, the force G–d used. The three verses 19,20,21 are placed one under the other so that they are divided into 72 three lettered units. Take the ו from ויסע; next take the first letter of the last word in the next verse, i.e. ה, and the first letter of the last verse in the regular sequence, i.e. the letter ו. Your first threesome then is והו. When you repeat this with the respective second letters following the same system you will get ילי. By proceeding along these lines you will find that the letters of the name משה i.e. מהש will appear next to the letters of the name הלל, i.e. ללה]. This is an allusion to the fact that Hillel in his age represented what Moses had represented in his time. This is also why Hillel lived to be 120 years old. The respective first letters in the words לקחת לוחות האבנים also spell הלל.

This is the allusion contained in the words: על הארץ הראך אשו הגדולה, "On the earth He showed you His great fire" (4,36). The Torah (which was given surrounded by a great fire) is best fulfilled by those who humble themselves to be like the earth. "The Mountain was burning right up to the heart, לב, of the heavens." Moses ascended and merited receiving the לב, i.e. the 32 paths of wisdom, the entire Torah. In this way he perfected the erstwhile personality of הבל i.e. ה+לב.

The Torah writes: (4,33-5,20) הקול מתוך החשך וההר בוער באש." Seeing that fire and darkness are almost exact opposites, how do we explain that the Israelites heard the voice of G–d both from out of darkness and from out of fire? Clearly there is a mystical dimension to this. Another word for fire is שלהבת. This word divides into הבל and שת, the names of the two people reincarnated in Moses. The word חשך, darkness, on the other hand, refers to Cain who ended up in darkness. The Arizal explains the relationship between אדם, חוה, קין, והבל still better. אדם is perceived as having emerged from the second highest emanation חכמה which in turn is equivalent to כח מ"ה. This means the combination of the soul, נשמה plus the "junior" power symbolized by the number 45, the numerical value of אדם, the concept of Man. חוה emerged from the next lower emanation בינה. She was אם כל חי, "the mother" of all subsequent human beings. קין והבל originated in the domain of דעת, [an emanation in the center line of the diagram, below כתר but above תפארת. Ed.] הבל had received input from the emanation חסד, as suggested by his name (as we demonstrated before) whereas קין had received 5 units of input from the emanation גבורה, which is fed by the emanation בינה. This גבורה is sort of a קן, i.e. nest, receptacle for the חכמה. The combined units of input from the emanations בינה and חכמה are 10; they account for the letter י in the middle of his name. This is the deeper meaning of Psalms 84,4: ודרור קל לה, where the letter ק is written larger and which separates between דרוד and the letter ן. This is to alert us to the fact that דרור, freedom is equated with בינה, i.e. יובל =50. קין was predominantly part of חוה, who represented בינה; this is why she said קניתי איש את ה' when she bore him. By this she meant to say: "I have acquired a man with G–d, i.e. as distinct from "with Adam." Having said that קין was the "receptacle" of input from both חכמה and בינה, and in view of the letter ן at the end of his name alluding to the fifty gates of בינה, we can understand what G–d meant when He asked Cain אי הבל אחיך, "Where is your brother Abel?" G–d criticized Cain who should have remembered that he was the שומר, the receptacle for his brother. Cain represented the female, Abel the male. The female is the receptacle for the male. The word אי may be understood as an acronym of אינך יודע "Don't you know?" Furthermore, the letter א alludes to בינה, whereas the letter י alludes to חכמה. When G–d's name is spelled א-ה-י-ה, this symbolizes His manifestation in the emanation בינה, whereas when it is spelled י-ה-ו-ה it symbolizes His being manifest in the emanation חכמה. Seeing that the reference to אחיך most definitely refers to someone male, G–d made it clear that Cain represented the female in that pair, i.e. the sister, אחות. When G–d had told Cain previously -when the latter was upset that his offering had been rejected- (Genesis 4,5-7), הלא אם תיטיב שאת, "Surely if you do right there is uplift (forgiveness)!" the word שאת could be read as אשת, "wife of." In the future the אשת חיל, woman of valor, will be described as the crown of her husband, and at that time G–d will govern the world using the emanation גבורה i.e. דין, seeing that mankind will be on such a high level that G–d does not have to make allowances for man's weakness and employ the attribute of רחמים as He does in this present world.

This is the mystical element of our sages (Rashi on Genesis 21,12) describing Abraham as טפל, subsidiary to his wife Sarah (in prophetic insights). We learn from all this that once the emanation גבורה is "sweetened," it will surpass the spiritual plateau represented by the emanation חסד. Alas, we have not yet reached that stage in mankind's development, or better, in his process of rehabilitation. G–d therefore conducts the world using the emanation of חסד, the emanation associated with הבל.

This is the mystical dimension of the first words of Kohelet where Solomon cries out: הבל הבלים הכל הבל, that in this world everything is no better than הבל! He bemoans the fact that in this world Divine guidance must be based on the attribute of חסד! a testimony to man's inadequacy. Solomon clearly implies that the way G–d deals with the present world is הבל, totally inferior to the way G–d will be dealing with the world of the future when He will be able to employ the yardstick of גבורה. This is what our sages meant when they said in in Midrash Kohelet 11,12 "the Torah (insights) which man studies in this world is הבל when compared to the Torah of the Messiah." What our sages had in mind is that the Torah which we learn in this world is based on the intelligence of the emanation associated with הבל, whereas the Torah of the Messiah will be based on the wisdom garnered from the emanation of גבורה, i.e. the domain from which Cain originated. Our own eyes behold regularly that a person whose origin is in the domain of גבורה is apt to be strong and valorous whereas people whose origin is in the domain of חסד are apt to be sensitive and weak. The relationship between חסד and גבורה is not unlike the relationship between silver and gold. Even among the קליפות, the spiritually negative forces, we find that the force גבורה equals אריה=216, whereas the force חסד is equivalent to חמור (donkey, symbolic of all that is earthly). This is the mystical dimension of Genesis 22,3: ויחבוש את חמרו, where Abraham is described as saddling his donkey on the way to the binding of Isaac. The word חמרו is spelled defective (without the letter ו) to indicate that by the act of saddling the donkey, symbol of everything material, Abraham assumed dominance over it. The numerical value of the letters in the name of אברהם is the same as the numerical value in the letters of the word חמר, =248. Abraham had to establish his authority over this קליפה so that it should not hinder him in executing G–d's command to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. He arose early in the morning (Genesis 22,3) in order to "awaken" i.e. to anticipate the emanation חסד and to subdue the קליפה aspect associated with it. Rabbi Akiva represented the type of personality based on גבורה, the domain Cain came from after the emanation גבורה i.e. had already been "sweetened." This is why Moses had suggested to G–d that, since He already knew there was going to be a man of such caliber, it would be appropriate to give the Torah to the Jewish people by means of a man such as Rabbi Akiva. Thus far the Arizal. Since Cain represented darkness it is no more than appropriate that light when it comes should originate in darkness.

We can find a very interesting allusion to this principle in Deut. 4,6: כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים אשר ישמעון את כל החוקים האלה ואמרו רק עם חכם ונבון הגוי הגדול הזה, "For that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say: 'Surely that great nation is a wise and discerning people.'" We have a principle that the words אך and רק are invariably used when the Torah wants to exclude something from consideration which was previously assumed to fall under a general category. We therefore have to try and understand what precisely the word רק in this verse is to exclude. Our sages commented on the word רק in this verse and others that even the least learned of the Jewish people are far superior to the Gentiles because they have the Torah and the wisdom contained in it. Our sages describe this graphically when they say "even the 'empty' ones (least observant) amongst you are as full of commandments as a pomegranate is full of pips" (Berachot 57a). So it will be in the future after all of Israel will be rehabilitated, a future described as a result of the rehabilitation of Cain. This will be in the nature of a חק, i.e. the kind of legislation which appears contrary to all logical considerations. Only G–d Himself knows the logic of the emergence of light from darkness just as only He understands the logic of the purity that emerges from the ashes of the red heifer while all those handling these ashes become impure by contact with it. In a similar way the same Cain who is known to us as the prototype of sin and impurity will eventually be the source of purification from sin and rehabilitation. The word חק may also be read as an acronym of the first letters in the words חוה קין, alluding to Eve who had said that she acquired Cain with G–d, as we mentioned earlier.

Now to the subject of the Hereafter. Israel had been afraid that if they were to continue to acquire greater insights, i.e. over and beyond what they were spiritually and intellectually equipped to digest, they would surely die. They therefore had asked Moses that he should approach G–d and serve as their intermediary. They did this because, since Moses had already experienced the insights other people achieve only in the Hereafter, he had no reason to fear premature death. They realized that Moses had attained the fiftieth of the שערי בינה. When you take the letter ה which symbolizes the 5 Books of Moses and the letter י which symbolizes the Ten Commandments and you multiply them which each other the result is 50, an allusion to the fact that between the Ten Commandments and the five Books of the Torah you have the wisdom contained in the fifty שערי בינה. When Israel sinned at the golden calf, G–d told Moses: לך רד, "go and descend from the lofty platform of לך=50," as we have outlined earlier. Now G–d said: אל תוסף (3,26). The message was that during one's lifetime on earth the fiftieth level of בינה would not again be attained. This had to await a person's death. Only when separated from his body would one's soul-personality be able to attain that level of insights. To demonstrate that Moses did attain this level again when he died, the Torah describes his death as an ascent, i.e. ויעל משה … אל הר נבו (34,1). I have already mentioned that the name of the Mountain can be read as נ-בו, "50 is attainable through this Mountain." The choice of the word ויעל here is, of course, the reverse of the word רד G–d used when He told Moses about the sin of the golden calf. Moses attained during his lifetime what other צדיקים achieve only after their death. Once their bodies are left behind on earth their souls may behold what the Psalmist describes in Psalms 17,15: אשבעה בהקיץ תמונתך, "When I awake I will behold a vision of You." Concerning Moses, the Torah has testified that already during his lifetime: ותמונת ה' יביט, Moses was able to behold visions of G–d at will (Numbers 12,8). No one has an idea of the quality of עולם הבא in store for Moses; it is beyond anything we can imagine seeing that only G–d knows where even his body is buried.