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Orchard of Delights
of life), they inferred that the tent in our portion refers to the tents
of Torah as well. Therefore, they came to the conclusion that the
passage about a person dying in a tent comes to teach us that one can
only achieve proficiency in one’s Torah studies by “killing one’s self
for them,” that is to say, either by studying very hard or by “killing”
– sublimating – one’s ego (Berachot 43b). Paradoxically, the Torah,
which we are called upon to “kill” ourselves for, is referred to in the
Amidah, the essential prayer recited three times daily, as a Torah of
life! This, in a sense, confirms the well-known idiom that life is only
worth living when we have something worth dying for.
£The Mysterious Nature of ParadoxThe Mysterious Nature of Paradox
££The Mysterious Nature of Paradox
As we established in the previous section, Chukat touches on those
paradoxical matters that are beyond the boundaries of human
reason. By its very nature paradox is inherently mysterious, and
when deeply contemplated, forces us to develop pathways in our
minds and souls that we hardly knew were there. Sometimes, in these
moments, when we grapple with those existential issues in our lives
that perplex us, life’s profoundest mysteries are revealed. Perhaps
this portion is directing us to ponder these issues, as a number of
other highly paradoxical and mysterious incidents occur in it. In
this section, we will not investigate each and every narrative in-
depth; instead, we will focus on their paradoxical natures and the
paradoxical web linking them.
One of the most difficult matters to understand in the Torah is
God denying Moses and Aaron entry into the Land of Israel because
Moses hit the rock to bring forth water instead of speaking to it as
God had commanded. Many commentators have expressed surprise
and wonder that such a seemingly small error would result in such
a drastic punishment. Indeed, given that Moses was commanded to
hit the rock with his staff on a previous occasion and God instructed
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Pinchas 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 16 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Cyan
imperative tone, cites the following Midrash: “The Holy One Blessed
Is He said to him: ‘Instead of giving Me a command regarding My
children, command My children regarding Me!’” (Rashi on Numbers
28:2). In addition to responding somewhat ironically to Moses
commanding God, the Midrash also implicitly provides an answer
for the juxtaposition of the section regarding offerings to this one. In
response to Moses’ somewhat commanding tone, God instructs the
people to bring offerings. However, this does not explain why God
gave this particular command now. Consequently, we need to search
for a deeper connection between the two sections.
One aspect both semichah and the offerings share is the idea
of cycles and circles. The word “semichah” begins with the letter
samech and both words – “semichah” and “samech” – have the
same root letters. The samech is shaped like a circle and many of the
words that contain a samech are in some way related to the notion of
coming full circle. In this case, Moses’ life is almost over and he has
almost completed his mission; Joshua’s appointment represents the
changing of the guard and the beginning of a new historic cycle. In
fact, the next portion of Mattot begins with Moses speaking to the
heads of the tribes, another indication that that the torch is being
passed on. Similarly, the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly holiday
offerings also fundamentally fulfill the concept of coming full circle,
of completing a cycle.
The notion of circles and cycles at the end of the portion is
intrinsically connected to the symbolism inherent in three straight
lines we discussed earlier in the portion: Pinchas’ romach (spear), the
word shalom’s broken letter vav, and the unusually large final nun in
“mishpatan” (in the case of the daughter’s of Zelophehad). However,
to understand how these circles and lines relate, we must first digress
and explore several Kabbalistic concepts.
The relationship between circles and lines in fact appears in several
fundamental Kabbalistic concepts. To begin with, the very act of
creation is predicated on God contracting His infinite presence to
leave, as it were, an empty vacuum where finite worlds could be
created. This vacuum is conceptually envisioned as a circle. Into this
circular space God caused a singular line or ray of light to enter from
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