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his entire being into his actions, which consequently lead to the £The Reward for Humility and the The Reward for Humility and the
££The Reward for Humility and the
reestablishment of peace between God and the Jewish people.
Devastating Cost of P
Devastating Cost of P
The possibility of achieving peace is even more deeply grounded in Devastating Cost of Pride and Angerride and Angerride and Anger
the fabric of creation than we might think. According to the teachings
of the Arizal, during the process of creation, a cataclysmic event
called “the breaking of the vessels” occurred. This fragmentation is According to tradition ten archetypal songs are sung throughout
alluded to by the broken vav, which serves to remind us that this history. The children of Israel spontaneously sang one these songs in
event was not a onetime event with no further repercussions but a the Torah portion of Chukat after God saved them from their enemies
cataclysmic event that altered the very fabric of nature and reality. and gave them water: “Then Israel sang this song: ‘Come up O well
The very purpose of our world is to rectify the broken vessels and and announce it! The well that the princes dug, that the nobles of
bring peace to creation. the people dug, through a lawgiver, with their staff. A gift from the
wilderness’” (Numbers 21:17-18). Rashi explains that the princes are
The inherent difficulty of achieving peace and the never-ending
striving for it are alluded to by the first and last letters of the Moses and Aaron and the staff is the one used to draw water. The
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word “shalom.” The first letter, a shin, is shaped like a flame and Talmud teaches that all references to water in the Torah allude to
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represents fire, while the last letter, a mem is shaped like a body of Torah itself (Ta’anit 7a). Therefore the song can be understood on
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water. The shin appears in the word “aish” (fire), while the mem two levels: as praise for receiving water in the desert and as praise for
appears twice in the word “mayim” (water). These two letters are receiving Torah in the desert.
also found in the Hebrew word for “heaven” (shamayim), which is After recording the song, the Torah recounts that the people
comprised of the Hebrew word for water (mayim) preceded by letter journeyed “from Midbar to Mattanah, and from Mattanah to
“shin,” representing fire. Symbolically, fire and water dwell in a state Nachaliel, and from Nachaliel to Bamot, and from Bamot to Hagai,
of harmony and peace in heaven. However, in the physical world in the field of Moab, at the top of the peak, overlooking the surface
fire and water are constantly at war; they are incompatible – water of Yishimon” (Numbers 21:20). While these names are the official
extinguishes fire and fire evaporates water. The binary opposites of names of these locations, they also have literal meanings that we
fire and water symbolize the dualistic nature of much of our perceived should note: Midbar means desert; Mattanah, a gift; Nachaliel, my
world. Yet the mystical tradition teaches us that an underlying inheritance from God; Bamot, a high place; Hagai, a valley; and
oneness, a consciousness of “heaven on earth,” underlies the reality Yishmon, a desolate place.
of this world as well. Glimpses of true peace are to be found and Rava, one of the greatest Talmudic sages, explains that on a
experienced in the here and now, yet most of the time it seems just derash level these are not just names of geographic places; rather,
beyond our grasp.
the names’ literal meanings allude to their symbolic significance,
Pinchas merited a covenant of peace, a truly awesome achievement. as the verse subtly recounts a profound spiritual journey that any
Yet, the broken vav of the word “shalom” reminds us of peace’s limits person can take: When a person makes himself like a desert (Midbar)
in this world as it is presently constituted and the great promise of and acts humbly before all, then the Torah is given to him as a gift
peace at the End of Days. When that day arrives, as a reward for (Mattanah) from the wilderness. When he receives the Torah as a
observing the Torah, God promises the people of Israel to “prolong gift, then it becomes his inheritance from God (Nachaliel), and when
your days and the days of your children upon the earth that God has it becomes an inheritance, it raises him to greatness (Bamot). But if
sworn to your ancestors to give them, like the days of the heavens on a person takes pride in his position then God will cast him down to a

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