From The Masters Of Kabbalah and Chumash (5 Books of
Moses)
13th century - "RambaN" - Rabbi Moshe ben
Nachman
14th century - "Bachya" - Rabbi Bachya ben
Asher
16th century - "Alsheich" - Rabbi Moshe
Alshech of Tsfat
17th century - "Shelah" - Rabbi Yeshaiya
Horowitz
18th century - "Ohr HaChayim" - Rabbi Chaim
Ben Attar
Ramban
"Moshe said to Aharon, 'Approach the altar…' and Aharon
approached…" [9:7-8]
Some Rabbis say that Aaron saw the (horned) altar as having the form
of a bull [which the Jews had worshipped] and was frightened. So Moses
said to him. "Do not be afraid. Strengthen yourself, draw near; were
you not chosen by G-d to be High Priest? Do your priestly duties."
That is why [the two consecutive verses say], "Moshe said to Aharon,
'Approach the altar…' and Aharon approached…" with zeal.
The reason for this (apparition which Aharon saw) is that since Aaron
was 'the holy one of the Eternal,' having no sin on his soul except for
the incident of the golden calf, therefore the sin was firmly fixed in
his mind, something like that which King David said (Ps. 51:5), "My
sin is continually before me." Thus, Moses encouraged Aaron and taught
him that the guiltless should come and effect atonement for those who
are guilty.
(credits)
Rabbeinu Bachya
"..they put fire in them (the censers) and placed incense in
them." [10:1]
A kabbalistic approach: We can gain a clearer picture of the sin of thee
sons of Aaron when noting that the Torah wrote, "they placed on it"
instead of: "they placed on them" [there had been two censers,
each brother having entered with his own censer]. When you compare what
the Torah writes in connection with the 250 men who offered incense (Numbers
16:18) you will find that the fire and incense is described with the words
"they placed it on them, (the censers, plural). When the instruction
as to the correct procedure is issued in the Torah (Numbers 16:17) Moses
had told these men "place on them incense." (No mention had
been made of fire although the 250 men added their won fire). The word
on it (aleyha) as distinct form on them (aleyhem) is an
allusion the attribute of Justice. The Torah is trying to give us an insight
into the thinking of Nadav and Avihu at that time. They knew that incense
was intended to counter, to stop the attribute of Justice in its tracks,
as we know from Moses in Deuteronomy 33:10 "they place incense to
placate Your anger." The word k'toret itself means "establishing
a spiritual affinity." The Aramaic translations of the words "she
tied" (Genesis 38:25) is vekataret. The spiritual affinity
established by means of the incense is meant to draw down an abundance
of heavenly blessings by means of the attribute of Justice, which in turn
will confer these blessings on the person burning up the incense. The
sin of the person offering incense with such considerations consists in
the fact that it is not permissible to direct one's offering to any other
attribute of G-d than the tetragram, i.e., HaShem. Seeing that
Nadav and Avihu erred in the address to which the offered their incense,
we do not find it described as "as a fire offering of pleasing fragrance
to the Lord," but the very attribute of Justice to whom they addressed
their offering smote them. This is the meaning of the words "fire
came forth from the presence of the Lord and consumed them so that they
died."
(credits)
Alsheich
"Moses and Aaron..came out and blessed the people."
[9:23]
G-d displayed sensitivity for the honor of Moses. After Aaron had blessed
the people, the glory of G-d did not manifest itself until Moses had joined
him in blessing the people. (compare verse 22)
Another lesson from this verse may be the importance of the merit of joining
hands when performing a mitzvah (commandment). Even the High Priest's
blessing was reinforced when Moses joined him in blessing the people,
and only their combined efforts achieved what they had aimed at, the manifestation
of G-d's glory in the tabernacle. Similarly, all mitzvot, when
the result of combined efforts, are more effective in bringing us closer
to G-d.
(credits)
Shelah
"This is the animal which you should eat - but this you should
not eat." [Lev. 11:2]
The impure spirit of the External Forces rests on the forbidden foods,
and anyone who eats them ingests this spirit, thereby detrimentally affecting
his own soul. Consumption of pure foods, however, confers upon the person
eating them some of the spirit of purity and holiness resting on those
foods. This is what is meant by the verse "The righteous man eats
to satisfy his soul" (Proverbs 13:25). Talmud (Chagiga 27) teaches
us that as long as the Temple was standing, the sacrifices offered on
the altar were the instruments of atonement for the Jewish people. Nowadays…it
is our table which has to serve as the instrument for our atonement…
Nowadays, when we do not have a Temple and an altar, it is our table
which has to serve as the instrument for our atonement. The author of
Emek Ha-Beracha also states that a heavenly sanctity rests on foods which
are pure and permitted, and this is alluded to in the verse "This
is the animal which you should eat - but this you should not eat."
(Lev. 11:2)
(credits)
Sources
Ramban
- credits
Adapted from the 13th century classic by the illustrious scholar, philosopher
and defender of the faith, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman-known as 'RAMBAN' or
'Nachmanides', a master kabbalist in his own right and a major link in
the transmission of Jewish mysticism-based on the excellent annotated
English translation, Nachmanides on the Torah, by Rabbi Dr. Charles B.
Chavel
Bachya
- credits
Selected with permission from the seven-volume English edition of The
Torah Commentary of Rabbeinu Bachya, as translated and annotated by Eliyahu
Munk. Rabbi Bachya ben Asher [1255-1340] of Saragosa, Spain, was the outstanding
pupil of Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet (the "Rashba"), a main disciple
of Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (the "Ramban"). Several books have
been written about the Kabballah-based portions of R. Bachya's commentary.
Alsheich
- credits
Adapted from Torat Moshe - the 16th commentary of Rabbi Moshe Alshech,
the "Preacher of Zefat" on the Torah, as translated and condensed
in the English version of Eliyahu Munk)
Shelah
- credits
Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz was born in Prague around the year 1565. He served
as Rabbi of Cracow and other congregations before he was appointed as
the Rabbi of the community of Frankfurt on Main in the year 1610. In 1916,
Rabbi Horowitz moved to Prague where he became the Chief Rabbi of the
city. He moved to Eretz Yisrael about 1621. He was rabbi in Jerusalem
and in Tiberias, where he died in or about 1630. In addition to his magnus
opus, Shenei Luchot HaBrit, he also compiled an edition of the prayer-book
with a comprehensive commentary. Many of his innovations, including his
formulation of the Kol Nidrei prayer, have become part and parcel of the
Ashkenazi Siddur.
Ohr HaChayim
- credits
Selected with permission from the five-volume English edition of Ohr HaChaim:
the Torah Commentary of Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar, as translated and annotated
by Eliyahu Munk.
The holy Rabbi Chayim ben Moses Attar was born in Sale, Western Morocco,
on the Atlantic in 1696. His immortal commentary on the Five Books Of
Moses, Or Hachayim, was printed in Venice in 1741, while the author was
on his way to the Holy Land. He acquired a reputation as a miracle worker,
hence his title "the holy," although some apply this title only
to his Torah commentary.
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