Chasidut · Izhbitz
Sha'ar HaEmunah VeYesod HaChasidut, Introduction to Beit Yaakov 1/שער האמונה ויסוד החסידות·
אדע את אלהי אביך ועבדהו, כי עיקר העבודה היא רק כפי הידיעה.
1The Principle of Service is based on Knowledge In this first chapter, R. Gershon Henokh discusses the centrality of knowledge in the path of serving God. This knowledge, however, has several aspects. On the one hand, it means exoteric knowledge: the knowledge of the Torah and its commandments, which enables a person to live a committed Jewish life and worship God according to the Codes of Jewish Law. On a deeper level, R. Gershon Henokh equates knowledge with faith; for the knowledge of God’s unity provides faith in times of adversity.1 Finally, in keeping with hasidic tradition, knowledge – da’at – also means an inner enlightenment, a direct awareness of Divinity.2 Thus, he refers to hasidism’s great principle: “In all your ways, know Him.” This is not merely the knowledge of how to serve God in all of life’s details – as defined by the Codes – but how to actually unite with His eternal presence, even as it manifests itself amidst the mundane aspects of reality. The goal of acquiring this knowledge reflects another important aspect of R. Gershon Henokh’s approach; that is, the descent of Divinity from the highest realms to the lowest, and the role of man and Torah study for investing the lowest levels with supernal wisdom, thus spreading the knowledge of God on earth.
באודה ה' בכל לבב, בסוד שרידים ואוהבים הצמאים לדבר ה' ואוהבי תורתו באמת ובתמים, לא למען חפור בה יעסקו בה, כאשר ילטוש איש קרדומו. ולא למען התעטר בה כלובשי אדרת שער. אך יכופו אזנם לשמוע דברי חכמים, ולבם ישיתו לדעתם:
2I thank God with all my heart,3 In the counsel4 hanisharim” in Hebrew, is a play on the words of Psalm 111, “b’sod yesharim,” “in the mystery of the upright of heart.” This leads us to the simple principle that the unknown becomes known through proper counsel, which is the aim of this treatise. It is also an allusion to the four major works penned by this author, collectively called Sod Yesharim, as mentioned in the introduction. As is often the case regarding the titles of Hasidic works, the numerical equivalent of the phrase, “sod yesharim,” is “Gershon Henokh.” (=630) It may be that this equation is the least significant of the mysteries contained in the pages of this book. of those who remain5 and those who love, 6 Those who thirst for God’s word, Those love His Torah with truth and wholeness. They do not learn the Torah as a woodsman sharpens his axe, in order to earn a living.7 Nor do they adorn themselves in it like a fur coat.8 Yet they bend their ears to hear the words of the sages. Their hearts yearn to know the truth.
גאף נושאים חרפה עליה וכלמתה תכסה פניהם. כל חורפיה גם אותם יחרפו ובוזיה אותם יבוזו. כל היום כלמה נגדנו, מקול מחרף ומגדף אויב ומתנקם, וכל זאת באתנו ולא שכחנוה, ולא נשקר בברית ה' אלהינו עמנו היא התורה אשר שם בריתו בינו ובינינו:
3They are shamed and disgraced due to [their love of Torah]. Yet, those who shame them will be put to shame, and those who scorn them shall be scorned! And as for us, we are shamed daily, by the voice of the reviler and the insulter, the enemy and the vengeful.9 Yet, regardless of all we suffer from them, we have not forgotten the Torah, for it is the covenant that God has forged with us.
דועם כי קנאתה אכלתנו וחרפת חורפיה נפלה עלינו, ילעגו עלינו באמרם מה יתן לכם ומה יוסיף הגות בתורה, הכי תוסיפו אם תגרעו בה הלא תורת ה' תמימה:
4Even though their envy of the Torah has consumed us, and the humiliation of those who blaspheme her have fallen upon us, and they mock us, by saying, “What will you gain, and what will your study of the Torah add for you? You will gain more if you reduce your efforts, for is not God’s Torah already perfect?”
הכל אלה נחתו בנו, לא רק מאובינו שונאינו ומנדינו, אך אף מאחינו בעלי גמרא גמור זמרתא. גם המה בעוכרינו, באמרם, מה לכם להביט ולחפור בעומק, הלא די דברים ככתבן וכהוייתן, ולמה לנו להגות ולהבין תעלומה:
5All of these descend upon us, and not only from our enemies. We are insulted even by our brothers, masters of the Talmud.10, who studied Torah in an abstract way (an approach he rejects much later in the introduction), who failed to bring their learning down to the level of observance, and who clearly had a personal vendetta against him. They too sully our name, saying, “What business do you have digging to the depths of the Torah? The plain meaning is enough! Why should we contemplate and seek to understand that which is hidden?”11(Johns Hopkins Jewish Studies) if you want to quote an academic source] Later, the author himself will agree that not everyone can penetrate to the Torah’s depth. Yet, in that he sees the entire thrust of Jewish history as the bringing down of supernal knowledge to the lowest level, he sets this as the goal of all true Torah scholars – a goal that was eminently achieved by his grandfather, Rav Mordechai Yosef, founder of the Izhbitzer hasidic dynasty, and the latter’s successors.
וולא ישימו לב לאזהרת התורה (דברים ד) וידעת היום והשבת אל לבבך כי ה' הוא האלהים בשמים ממעל ועל הארץ מתחת אין עוד ושמרת את חוקיו וגו':
6They pay no attention to that which the Torah admonishes us (Devarim, 4:39), “You shall know this day and take unto your heart that Hashem is Elo-him,12.” This knowledge is not merely of the fact of revelation, but the very ongoing act of revelation. Thus, the knowledge is not merely intellectual, but mystical. It is the awareness that the Transcendant God is also immanent, and that the All-Powerful has the capability to reveal something of Himself through the vessels of finite creation. For R. Gershon Henokh, this verse is also the source of faith, which, to the Hasidic masters, was a trans-cognitive faculty that enabled one to breech the opposites of God and reality, infinity and finitude. As R. Gershon Henokh will explain below, faith is the realization God’s mercy and compassion, represented by the ineffable name YHVH is itself E-lohim, representing God’s judgment. God’s Judgment is God’s Mercy. Faith in God’s Goodness in the midst of adversity is the sign of a truly believing person. For God to ask man to know that Hashem is E-lohim requires man to know that there is a spiritual wisdom beneath or beyond the surface of the hard facts of life. This depth of belief opens up the ability to know mysteries of God and the Torah. The notion that God’s judgment is God’s mercy is termed in the Zohar as, “the mystery of faith,” as will be more fully discussed in chapters seven and eight. in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is no other. And you shall guard his statutes …”13
זוכן הזהירנו (דברים לב) ויאמר אליהם שימו לבבכם לכל הדברים אשר אנכי מעיד בכם היום אשר תצום את בניכם לשמר לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת,. כי לא דבר ריק הוא מכם כי הוא חייכם ובדבר הזה תאריכו ימים וגו':
7So too, are we cautioned (Devarim, 32:47), “And he said to them, take to your hearts all that I testify to you today, that you shall command your children to guard all the words of this Torah in order to do them. It is not an empty thing for you, for it is your life.14 And in this you may increase your days …”
חוכן אמר דוד המלך ע"ה לשלמה המלך ע"ה (דברי הימים א כח) ואתה שלמה בני דע את אלהי אביך ועבדהו בלב שלם ובנפש חפצה כי כל לבבות דורש ה' וכל יצר מחשבות מבין אם תדרשנו ימצא לך:
8This is as David HaMelech said to his son, Shlomo HaMelech (Divrei HaYamim 1, 28:9), “And you, Shlomo my son, know the God of your fathers and serve him with a whole heart and a willing soul. For all hearts seek God, and all intellects understand (this principle). If you seek Him, you shall find.”15, the classic work of Kabbalistic piety by Elijah DeVidas, a student of the Arizal, uses this same verse – “Know the God of your father and serve him” – to explain the prerequisite of attaining knowledge for divine service. The Dor Yesharim, the official family history of the Isbitza-Radzin dynasty, records that Rabbi Gershon Hanokh Lainer always kept a copy of the Reshit Chochmah on his bedside table, and his grandson, the author of the family history, writes that his grandfather would learn the Reshit Chochmah by candlelight when he would wake in the middle of the night.
טכי עיקר העבודה הוא רק כפי הידיעה כי תפלה נקראת עבודה שבלב, כדאיתא בגמרא (תענית ב.) ולעבדו בכל לבבכם (דברים יא) איזו היא עבודה שהיא בלב הוי אומר זו תפלה. כי עבודה היא ביראה ואהבה כדאיתא בזוה"ק (שלח קסה.) חד בחדוה וכו' לקיימא עבדו את ה' בשמחה וחד ביראה וכו' לקיימא עבדו את ה' ביראה. ואיך יעבוד ויירא ויאהב את אשר לא ידע, כדאיתא בהקדמת תקוני הזהר (דף ה) דרגא עשיראה ביראת ה' אית יראה ואית יראה לאו כל אפיא שוין אית יראה דדחיל בר נש לקב"ה בגין דלא ילקה ליה ברצועה וכו' אוקמוה עלה אין בור ירא חטא בתר דלית ביה יראת ה'. מאן דאיהו דחיל מגו אורייתא דאיהו תפארת דמיניה נפקת וכו' בגין דאיהי יראה דנפקת מגו תורה דאיהו עמודא דאמצעיתא דאיהו הוי"ה דבגיניה אוקמוהו מארי מתני' גדולה תורה שמביאה לאדם לידי מעשה, דאי בר נש לא ידע אורייתא ואגרא דפקודיא דילה וענשין דילה למאן דעבר על פקודיא ומאן הוא דברא אורייתא ומאן הוא דיהיב לה לישראל איך דחיל ליה ונטיר פקודוי, ובגין דא אמר דוד לשלמה בנו דע את אלהי אביך ועבדהו דאי בר נש לא אשתמודע ההוא דיהיב ליה אורייתא ומני ליה לנטרא לה איך דחיל מניה ועבוד פקודוי:
9Indeed, the essense of serving G-d depends upon the level of one’s knowledge.16 Prayer is called “the service of the heart,” as the Gemara (Ta’anit 2a) asks on the verse (Devarim, 11:13), “If you heed My mitzvot … to serve Him with all your heart.” “What is considered the service of the heart? This is prayer.” For in order to serve God, one needs two qualities – the love of God and the fear of God,17), translates as the “fear of God.” It can similarly be understood as awe, reverence, or awareness of God’s presence, which to varying degrees, affects one’s behavior and concern for the proper adherence to God’s laws. as it states in the Zohar (Shlach, 165a), “One who serves God with joy fulfills the verse (Tehillim, 100:2), ‘Serve God with joy,’ and one who serves God with fear fulfills the verse (ibid, 2:11), ‘Serve God with fear.’” Clearly it is impossible for a person to serve, fear, and love something that he does not know.18 We find in the introduction to the Tikunei Zohar (5b): The tenth level19 tree. That is, classic Kabbalah views reality in terms of a gradual ten-step descent from the infinite Godhead to the physical world. Each step, or sefirah, dims and colors the Divine Light, until it can be perceived in our world. These ten stages are further divided into four worlds, known as Atzilut (Emanation), Beriyah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Asiyah (Action). Furthermore, these correspond to the Tetragrammaton – the four letter Name of God – .י – ה – ו – ה The “tenth level” discussed here is the sefirah of Malkhut (Sovereignity). Being the lowest and furthest step from the Godhead, it is also the sefirah of greatest concealment and constriction. On this level – as it corresponds to the human psyche – fear is the product of a lack of true knowledge, and means simply “fear of punishment” for transgressing Divine law. Such an attitude reflects a distance from God, and a relationship to Torah’s laws as external, imposing commandments. in the fear of God is as follows. There is fear, and there is fear. Not all expressions of fear are the same. One person’s fear of God may be largely motivated by the fear of Divine punishment. Of this it is taught (Pirkei Avot 2:5), “An unlearned person cannot fear sin.”20 A higher level of fears derives from the Torah itself, which is Tiferet,21 (Beauty) is the sefirah of harmony and balance. In the center of the Sefirotic tree, it connects all points on the map: above and below, right and left. Kabbalistically, Tiferet corresponds to the Torah, which also connects and harmonizes all levels – man and God, man and his fellow, man and himself. Knowledge of Torah brings one into connection with the sefirah of Tiferet, which results in a higher type of fear: not the fear of punishment, but an awe and recognition of God’s glory, which automatically causes a person to cling to and fulfill the commandments. called the “middle column,”22 are organized in three columns, right, left, and middle. The middle column joins the right and the left together. It is closely related to Tiferet (see previous note.) which is the name Havay’ah (the Tetragramaton,י-ה-ו-ה). Because of this, the authors of the Mishnah taught, “Great is the Torah in that it brings a person to action.”23 together and enables communication between them, and hence, generates action. In the same way, true fear of God is the first impetus for all Divine service. If a person does not know the Torah, or the reward for keeping its commandments and the punishment for transgressing its commandments, nor is he aware of the One who created the Torah and gives it to Israel, how can he fear God and guard His commandments? For this reason David said to his son Shlomo, “Know the God of your fathers and serve him.” For if one does not know the one who gave him the Torah and commanded him to guard it, how then can he fear Him and fulfill its commandments?
יובמדרש שוחר טוב (קיט) במה יזכה נער את ארחו לשמור כדברך, אמר שלמה (משלי ג) בכל דרכיך דעהו, אם ידעת להקב"ה בכל דבר ודבר הוא יישר ארחותיך וכן אמר (תהלים טז) תודיעני ארח חיים. וכן משה אמר להקב"ה (שמות לג) ועתה אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך הודיעני נא את דרכך. וכתיב (תהלים כה) הדריכני באמתך ולמדני כי אתה וגו'. וכן הוא אומר (תהילים פ״ו:י״א) הורני ה' דרכך וגו' וכתיב (ירמיה ו) כה אמר ה' עמדו על דרכים וראו ושאלו לנתיבות עולם אי זה דרך הטוב ולכו בה. ראו באיזה דרך הלך אברהם ובאיזה דרך הלך נמרוד ואיזה מהן הצליח וכו'. וכן היה דוד אומר לשלמה בנו ואתה שלמה בני דע את אלהי אביך ועבדהו וגו':
10Similarly, we find in the Midrash Sochar Tov: “How may a young man make his path pure? By serving according to Your word” (Tehillim 119), Shlomo said, “In all your ways know Him.” If you know and are conscious of God in all that you do, He will straighten the paths before you. Thus, it is said (Tehillim, 16), “Make the path of life known to me.” So too, Moshe said to God (Shemot, 33), “Now, if I have found favor in your sight, let me know Your ways.” And also (Tehillim, 25), “Lead me in Your truth, and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation.” And (Tehillim, 86), “God, teach me Your way.” And it is written (Yermiyahu, 6), “Stand on the roads and see, and ask about the ways of the world, and see which is the good way. Then walk in it, and find rest for your soul.” Look at the path that Avraham took, and look at the path that Nimrod took, and see who succeeded. So too did David say, “And you, Shlomo my son, know the God of your fathers, and serve him.”
יאובזהר חדש שיר השירים (דף עז.) כל מאן דאזיל לההוא עלמא בלא ידיעה אפי' אית ביה עובדין טבין סגיאין מפקין ליה מכל תרעין דההוא עלמא. ובזה"ק (תרומה קסא:) דכל מאן דהוי בהאי עלמא ולא אשתדל למנדע ליה טב ליה דלא יתברי בג"כ אתחזי קמי מלכא קדישא למנדע בהאי עלמא ולאשתדל ביה בקב"ה ברזא דמהימנותא הה"ד (דברים ד) אתה הראית לדעת וכו' דהא בגין דא אייתי ליה קוב"ה לבר נש בהאי עלמא. לדעת כי ה' הוא האלהים דא איהו כללא דכל רזא דמהימנותא בכל אורייתא:
11The following passages of the Zohar express the central principle that knowledge is the prerequisite to any true Divine service. Everyone who goes to the next world without knowledge will be thrown out of each and every gate of that world, even though he has many good actions to his credit. (Zohar Chadash, Shir HaShirim, 77a) If a person is in this world, and does not strive to know Him, it would have been better had he never been created. For this reason, be seen before the Holy King, in order to know Him in this world. Strive to serve God in the mystery of faith, as it is written (Devarim 4), “You have been shown in order to know that Hashem is Elo-him, there is none besides Him.” God brought man into this world precisely in order to know that God is Elo-him. This is the principle of every secret of faith in the entire Torah.24 (Terumah, 161b)