Note: A ma'amar on Shavuos follows this one.
“אִישׁ
אוֹ אִשָׁה כִּי יַפְלִא לִנְדֹר נֶדֶר נָזִיר לַה' .../A man or woman who
expresses a Nazirite vow to God …” (Bamidbar 6:2) The pasuk uses an apparently extra word, “יַפְלִא/expresses.” The Zohar explains that this word, from the
root peleh which means wondrous and hidden, connotes separate as well.[1] The Nazirite vow is no ordinary vow. The Nazirite is one who distances himself
from physical desires and pleasures even as he lives in the physical world
surrounded by these desires and pleasures.
The Torah is teaching us that even though we are physical beings living
in the physical world, we are, to an extent, able to separate from the physical
and connect to the hidden spiritual aspect inherent in every physical thing and
action. We can lead spiritual lives in a
physical world.
We find other references to these various meanings of the
word peleh. For example, in
Tehillim, God is referred to several times as “Osei nifla’os/He does wondrous
things.”[2] David HaMelech is teaching us that God infused the
seen physical world with an unseen spiritual aspect. In the bracha Asher Yatzar we find
that God is, “mafli la’asos/He does things wondrously.” In Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 6, the Rema
explains this as meaning that God created man – a physical being – and hid a
soul in him. Again, the word mafli
whose root is peleh connotes hidden.
How can we, physical beings living within the confines of
space and time, live a life style distanced from the physical and connected to
its hidden spiritual roots? The Midrash[3] on this pasuk addresses this
very issue. The Midrash explains a pasuk
from Shir HaShirim (5:15), “שׁוֹקָיו עֲמוּדֵי שֵׁשׁ מְיֻסָדִים עַל אַדְנֵי פַז .../His
thighs are pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold …” The Midrash says that “שׁוֹקָיו/His thighs” refers to
this world. This is because “שׁוֹקָיו/His
thighs” has the same root as “תְּשׁוּקָה/desire”
and God yearned to create the world as we find in another pasuk in Shir
HaShirim (7:11), “... וְעָלַי תְּשׁוּקָתוֹ/… his desire is upon
me,” referring to God yearning for the Creation. How do we know that this pasuk refers to the
Creation? The Midrash answers with a
pasuk describing the completion of the Creation, the Shabbos, “וַיְכֻלוּ הַשָׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ .../The
heavens and the earth were completed …” (Breishis 2:1) “וַיְכֻלוּ/They were completed” has the same root as
the Hebrew word for yearning.[4] From here we know that God yearned to create
the world.
How, though, can “וַיְכֻלוּ/They were completed” prove this, though? If anything, “וַיְכֻלוּ/They were completed”
refers to the Creation yearning, not God yearning. The Sfas Emes explains that God created a
physical world far removed from spirituality.
He created it this way in order to afford us the possibility of yearning
for Him. We long for that which we do
not have, not for the things that we already have. On the first Shabbos with the completion of
the Creation, every part of the Creation yearned to do the will of God, in
essence, to come close to Him. And in
fact, on every Shabbos, everything is naturally elevated and yearns to come
closer to God. When the Midrash says
that God yearns for this world, then, it means that He yearns for our yearning
to come close to Him. This is why the
pasuk of, “וַיְכֻלוּ/They
were completed” meaning that the Creation longs for God, is followed by, “וַיְכַל אֱ-לֹהִים/The
Lord completed,” suggesting that God also longed for the Creation. In fact, the implication is that because the
Creation yearned for God, God in response yearned for the Creation.
Once we long to come close to God, how do we do it? The Midrash continues, “... מְיֻסָדִים עַל אַדְנֵי פַז/…
set upon sockets of fine gold.” Sockets
of fine gold are the base upon which the world rests. This is a reference to three things on which
the world is based, chochma/wisdom, bina/understanding, and da’as/knowledge. Since the Creation is defined as that which
yearns for closeness to its Creator, it follows that the base of the Creation
is that which can be used to come close to the Creator. We need to use our wisdom to realize that we
cannot fathom God and we need to subordinate our will to His. Realizing this, leads to awe of God as the
pasuk states, “הֵן יִרְאַת
ה' הִיא חָכְמָה .../Behold, fear of God is wisdom ...” (Iyov 28:28)
Understanding means that we internalize our awe of God to prevent us
from sinning as the pasuk continues, “... וְסוּר מֵרַע בִּינָה/… and turning from
evil is understanding.” Finally,
knowledge means applying the wisdom and understanding drawing them into our
actions and midos.