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Orchard of Delights
especially fitting theme for this Shabbat as it is the first of seven
consecutive Shabbats following the Ninth of Av that all echo the
theme of God comforting His people by reminding them that His
unique covenant with the Jewish people is eternal and that the
Messianic redemption will eventually take place
The Haftorah begins with the following verses: “‘Comfort, comfort
My people,’ says your God. ‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and
proclaim to her that her time has been fulfilled, because her iniquity
has been pardoned’” (Isaiah 40:1-2). Here, God, in the words of the
prophet, speaks of the “heart of Jerusalem.” According to Jewish
tradition, earthly Jerusalem, in its ideal form, mirrors heavenly
Jerusalem. That is why Jerusalem is different from every other city;
its very nature reflects a higher, more ethereal, Divine reality. Just
as Jerusalem is the Jewish people and the Land of Israel’s heart,
heavenly Jerusalem is earthly Jerusalem’s heart. On a symbolic
(derash) level the heart of Jerusalem and the heart of heaven can be
said to be one and the same “place” or concept.
This profound connection between Jerusalem and the heart of
heaven is also revealed in another prophecy: “For from Zion will
come forth Torah and the word of God from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).
The word of God first revealed to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai
when “the mountain was burning in fire till the heart of heaven” will
ultimately be revealed to the entire world from Jerusalem. Linking
Jerusalem and the revelation at Sinai, the Ramban actually explains
that the physical structures of the Tabernacle in the desert and
the Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the spiritual service that took
place in them, were an attempt to capture the awesome and unique
experience at Sinai on an ongoing basis.
It is fascinating to note other connections linking fire and
Jerusalem, or linking fire, Jerusalem, and Sinai. For one, the spiritual
essences, “the hearts,” of Israel’s four holy cities are each associated
with one of the four elements: fire, earth, air, and water. Jerusalem
is associated with fire because the sacrifices and holy incense offered
in the Temple were burnt and the Temple menorah was lit. Hebron
is associated with earth because the patriarchs and matriarchs were
buried there; Safed is associated with air because it is perched high
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Pinchas
at the beginning of the portion. We must emphasize that while the
daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly cycles of time encoded in the
Jewish calendar form the parameters of a Jew’s life, this World
of Rectification is ultimately symbolized by the straight lines of
the sefirot. Our inability to achieve genuine peace in this world
(symbolized by the broken vav), and the existential constraints of
present reality (symbolized by the lines) necessitate our connection
to the higher, more transcendent light, represented by circles, so that
we can elevate both ourselves and creation. The ongoing service of
God in the Temple and especially the experience of Shabbat and the
holidays connect us to a higher light, a more spiritual essence.
Indeed, we should note that the last letter in Pinchas’ name is a
samech. Even though Pinchas used a romach – a spear, symbolizing
a line – he was in fact drawing the source of his energy from a higher
imperative, from the surrounding light of his love for the people
(as discussed above in “Chariots of God”). By asking and receiving
Moses’ permission to act, we might add that he also received Moses’
surrounding light as well.
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The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, explained
that in order to bring Mashiach we must fill the vessels of this world,
the vessels of rectification, with the more ethereal, spiritual light of
the primordial World of Tohu. In doing so, we will heal and rectify
two cosmic problems. We will heal the problem of light that is too
powerful entering vessels that are not strong enough, which originally
lead to the “breaking of the vessels,” and we will rectify the present
reality of strong vessels that do not contain enough light. Our
contemporary situation, wherein strong vessels are not filled with
enough light, is reflected in the overemphasis on materialism that
pervades contemporary societies all over the world, at the expense of
morals, ethics, and spiritual development.
We can further connect these ideas to that of semichah, the transfer
of rabbinic authority mentioned above. Although today rabbinic
ordination is often far more impersonal than in ancient times, the
very notion of a teacher laying hands on his student testifies that
the student has not only learned the material required to qualify
as a rabbi but, even more profoundly, is a worthy receptacle for his
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