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