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Orchard of Delights
soul’s grasp on life was. This realization caused him to always walk
the fine line between despair and ecstatic joy, sentiments expressed
so profoundly in the Psalms. Yet, no matter what upheavals he went
through in life, David continually cleaved to God, always speaking
to Him as if He was right there in front of him “today.”
All these interpretations of the word “today” – the day of Moses’
death, Rosh Hashanah, every day we stand before God, the Torah is
given anew every day, and the day of Mashiach’s arrival – contain
an aspect of rebirth. Moses’ death by the “kiss of God,” as discussed
in Chukat, stresses that death is only a transition to a new level of
living; on Rosh Hashanah a new year begins with the opportunity
of renewal; and the revelation at Sinai is ongoing. Ultimately,
Mashiach’s arrival at the End of Days will lead to a total rebirth
of human consciousness; however, even before we reach that point,
every day, in essence, contains the potential of true rebirth.
The word “standing” in our verse also has much to teach us. We
recite the Amidah, Judaism’s quintessential prayer, three times a
day. This prayer is recited while standing, and, indeed, the word
“Amidah” actually means “standing.” Although we all stand before
God on Rosh Hashanah, we do so every day as well, albeit in a less
intense manner. Despite the fact that we bow seven times in all during
the recitation of the Amidah, including the three steps we take at the
end, Jewish tradition emphasizes that our relationship with God is
primarily based on our standing before Him, not on our prostrating
ourselves before Him. In fact, we only prostrate ourselves during
prayer twice a year – on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This
combination of standing and bowing or prostrating reflects the crucial
message that God created us in His image, and therefore within the
context of our attempting to reveal the tremendous Divine potential
implanted within us, we must also exhibit a fundamental humility.
The notion of standing before God “today,” wherein “today” refers
to Rosh Hashanah, sheds profound light on Rosh Hashanah’s essence.
When we stand before God on Rosh Hashanah, all the dimensions of
time – past, present, and future – manifest themselves simultaneously.
We stand in the present, “today,” asking for forgiveness for our past
misdeeds and shortcomings, and committing ourselves to behaving
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Vezot Haberachah
applauded. Had Rashi not made this comment, we certainly would
have assumed that the verse was referring to one of the many miracles
Moses performed for the people during the exodus from Egypt and
the crossing of the Reed Sea. We certainly would not have thought
of the tragic incident of the Golden Calf that led to the breaking of
the tablets. What deeper matter is Rashi alluding to?
According to the Arizal, before God brought the current World
of Rectification into being a cataclysmic “breaking of the vessels”
occurred in the World of Tohu (World of Chaos). The World of
Rectification could only come into being after this cataclysmic event.
The breaking of the tablets, mentioned by Rashi, seems to allude
on a mystical sod level to “the breaking of the vessels,” which thus
brings us full circle by linking the end of the Torah to the creation
of the world, as per our reading of the verse: “Before the eyes of
all Israel in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
In a certain sense, Moses’ breaking of the tablets was an archetypal
and painful reenactment of “the breaking of the vessels,” which
paradoxically allowed for the process of rectification, already begun
by the patriarchs and matriarchs, to continue. The tablets fashioned
for the Jewish people – just like the “vessels” in the previous World
of Tohu which broke – were also unable to hold the holy light that
God placed in the first tablets.
The Torah’s last letter is a lamed, while its first letter is a beit.
Together, they spell the word “lev” (heart). Rabbi Yochanan Ben
Zakkai once asked his students what attitude towards life a person
should adopt. Of all the approaches suggested, he preferred “a good
heart,” as he felt that this approach encompassed all the others as well
(Pirkei Avot 2:13). On Simchat Torah, we hint at this truth, because
as soon as we finish reading Vezot Haberachah we immediately roll
the Torah scroll back to Bereishit and start over again. Thus, we link
the lamed and the beit and begin a new cycle with a “good heart,”
hopefully purified by the prayers of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur,
and Sukkot.
Chassidut teaches us that “there is no vessel as whole as a broken
heart” (Degel Machaneh Efrayim, Parashat Va’etchanan). Usually,
before true repentance and real personal change can occur, we must
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