The gazelle is saying, "And I shall sing of Your strength, I shall
rejoice of Your kindness in the morning, for You were a refuge to me, and a
hiding place on the day of my oppression." (Psalms 59:17)
Rabbi Yossi would say: Whoever honors the Torah, is himself honored by the
people; whoever degrades the Torah, is himself degraded by the people.
Chesed
shebeYesod (kindness within the
context of foundation and firmness)
Week thirty-six in the Jewish
calendar marks the holiday of Shavuot.
The entire week is also known as “Shivah
Yemei Miluim,” in which Shavuot
sacrifices could still be brought to the Temple. On this week in Perek Shirah, the gazelle praises Hashem’s kindness in the morning, a
shelter and refuge in times of trouble. (Psalm 59: 17)
The Hebrew word for gazelle is Tzvi, which has the same gematria as the word emunah, complete faith in Hashem. The word tzvi is composed of three letters, tzadi, beit, yud, and is an acronym for the phrase “tzadik b'emunatoh yichieh,” "a tzadik lives through his faith," a verse from the prophet
Habakkuk. The Talmud explains that this verse is actually a summary of the
entire Torah that was given to Moses on Mount Sinai on Shavuot.[1]
The song of the gazelle expresses its
faith in Hashem, both in the morning
and in times of trouble (“night”). A similar concept is found in the beginning
of Psalm 92, which states, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing
to Your name, O Most High; To declare in the morning Your kindness and Your
faith at night.”[2]
After the troubles we encountered during the Counting of the Omer, which is associated with the night, on Shavuot, we witness the revelation of Hashem, clear as day.[3]
The horns of the gazelle are like a
double crown, and we know that the Jewish people also received a double crown
on Shavuot, as a reward for their
faith in G-d. The Midrash teaches
that while other nations refused to accept the Torah, the Jews did not even
first ask what was in it. They simply stated, "Na'aseh veNishmah," "We will do and we will listen."
The Jewish people willingly accepted to fulfill the commandments of the Torah
even before knowing and understanding what they entailed. Hashem therefore gave each Jew two crowns, one for “Na'aseh” (we will do) and another for “Nishmah” (we will hear/understand).
Unfortunately, these crowns were later removed after the sin of the golden calf.
The number thirty-six represents the
thirty-six secret tzadikim that
sustain the world. The number thirty-six is also the
total number of Chanukah candles that
are lit during the eight days of the holiday. These two concepts seem connected
to the light revealed to us on Shavuot,
when, due to our efforts during the Counting of the Omer, we are
all closer to being on the level of tzadikim.
These thirty-six tzadikim are literally the foundation of the
world.
This week’s lesson in Pirkei Avot comes from Rabbi Yossi, who
teaches that one who honors the Torah will be honored by others, while one who
dishonors the Torah, will be dishonored by others. (IV: 8) This lesson is
strongly related to the giving of the Torah, as well as to the unfortunate
events that took place shortly thereafter. When we accepted the Torah, we were
shown great honor, but when we dishonored the Torah with the sin of the golden
calf, that honor was taken away.
On this week, the combination of sefirot is chesed shebeyesod, kindness within foundation. On Shavuot, the Jewish people had to stand
firm (by not getting too close to the mountain and not letting their souls
expire completely from the tremendous Divine revelation), in order receive from
G-d the great good that is the Torah. (As the week of Shavuot and the Shivah Yemei
Miluim, this week also represents the “eighth week” of the cycle of Hod)
A lesson in self-improvement we may
learn from the gazelle is that we must have faith in Hashem at night (during difficult times), knowing full well that
the night will eventually pass and we will be able to thank Hashem in the openly revealed light of
day.
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