In the prayer of אָז יָשִׁיר that we recite each morning in Pesukei D’Zimrah, we find the verse (Shemos 15:2): זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ, This is my God and I will build Him a Sanctuary. This translation is based on Targum, which relates the word אַנְוֵהוּ to נָוֶה, house. Rashi, however, cites a second interpretation in which this word is related to נוֹי, beauty. The Gemara (Shabbos 133b) uses this definition to adduce the principle of הִתְנָאֶה לְפָנָיו בְּמִצְוֹת, Beautify yourself before Him in the fulfillment of mitzvos; i.e., one should use beautiful objects (succah, lulav, shofar, etc.) when performing a mitzvah.
The Gemara in Sanhedrin (42a) expounds this verse as relating to בִּרְכַּת הַחֹדֶשׁ, the blessing recited upon the new moon. In this exposition, וְאַנְוֵהוּ is understood as “I will glorify Him.” The Gemara states: כָּל הַמְבָרֵךְ עַל הַחֹדֶשׁ בִּזְמַנּוֹ כְּאִלּוּ מְקַבֵּל פְּנֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה, Whoever blesses the moon in its time is deemed as though he greeted the Shechinah. This is based on a gezeirah shavah (law derived from common language) between two verses: Regarding the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh, the verse says: הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם, This month is for you (Shemos 12:2); and at Krias Yam Suf, the Splitting of the Sea, when the Jews were at the peak of their closeness to Hashem, it says זֶה אֵלִי, This is my God … [Interestingly, this is not merely a homiletic exposition, but one that has a halachic ramification, in that one must recite the blessing on the moon while standing, in deference to the Shechinah (Tur and Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 426:2).]
The simple understanding of the Gemara’s requirement that the moon be sanctified בִּזְמַנּוֹ, in its time, is that this must be done during the prescribed period for blessing the moon (beginning either after the 3rd or 7th of the month, depending on custom, and extending until the first half of its cycle). There are, however, interpretations of this Gemara that suggest a different understanding.
Maharsha explains that the Gemara is addressing the Jewish people in their galus state, where they cannot merit to see the Shechinah and are distant from greeting It. Nevertheless, the waxing phase of the moon is a symbol of the Jews, who are destined to have a renewal similar to that of the moon. At that time, as the blessing states: שֶׁהֵם עֲתִידִים לְהִתְחַדֵּשׁ כְּמוֹתָהּ וּלְפָאֵר לְיוֹצְרָם עַל שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ, They are destined to renew themselves like it, and to glorify the Molder for the Name of His glorious Kingdom. In that sense, בִּזְמַנּוֹ refers to the time when each generation blesses the moon, which is considered as though they greeted the Shechinah.
Ksav Sofer relates this Gemara directly to a principle of faith that was established at the Splitting of the Sea. It is well known, he says, that even among believers in Divine creation there are those who deny hashgachah and claim that Hashem created the world but then left it alone to operate according to the rules that He established. We, however, maintain, as we recite in the prayer following בָּרְכוּ each morning: וּבְטוּבוֹ מְחַדֵּשׁ בְּכָל יוֹם תָּמִיד מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית, and in His goodness He renews daily, perpetually, the work of creation. Every event or happening, new or old, is deemed to be part of Hashem’s daily will and intervention in the world. [It is for this reason that we end the blessing following the above-mentioned prayer with the expression יוֹצֵר הַמְּאוֹרוֹת, Who fashions the luminaries, using the present tense, indicating a constant supervision.] In a similar affirmation of this concept, when we bless the moon each month, בִּזְמַנּוֹ, at this time, we acknowledge that its renewal is part of Hashem’s continuous hashgachah and not simply a recognition of a celestial phenomenon dictated at creation.
This knowledge came to us only as a result of our witnessing the miraculous events of the Exodus, and particularly the Splitting of the Sea, after which the Torah testifies: וַיַּאֲמִינוּ בַּה’ וּבְמֹשֶׁה עַבְדּוֹ, and they had faith in Hashem and in Moshe, His servant (Shemos 14:31). In their song of thanksgiving and praise they said זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ, which should be understood as each one pointing to the amazing spectacle [of the waters standing as walls for them to pass and then returning to drown the Egyptians] and declaring: This is clearly the work of Hashem. From this they understood that Hashem not only created the world but still controls and supervises all its affairs.
In that sense, each time one blesses the moon, he is greeting the Shechinah, for his blessing is an affirmation of his belief in hashgachah, the constant presence and involvement of Hashem in the world.
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In A Torah Thought for the Day we discussed the fact that the luminaries’ purpose is to provide a glimpse of Hashem’s open involvement in our mundane world, and detailed several ways in which the celestial bodies do this. Midrash Tehillim (19:6) [see also Midrash HaGadol (Bereishis 1:17)], commenting on a verse that we recite Shabbos morning during Pesukei D’Zimrah: הַשָּׁמַיִם מְסַפְּרִים כְּבוֹד-אֵל, The heavens declare the honor of Hashem (Tehillim 19:2), tells us of another way in which the sun, moon, and stars remind us of Hashem.
The role that the luminaries play in telling us of Hashem’s greatness, states the Midrash, may be compared to a mighty king who entered a country in which he had been previously unknown. As the people struggled to appraise their new ruler — was he wise or foolish, strong or vulnerable? — one wise person suggested that they examine the royal entourage that accompanied the king in his travels. If this procession of chariots and honor guards was fearsome and elegant, and inspired awe and respect, it could be concluded that the king whom they were surrounding was also powerful and majestic. The same is true, the Midrash explains, when man searches for Hashem, Whom he is of course unable to easily comprehend. We need only examine His “entourage,” namely, the celestial bodies of the heavens, for the heavens declare the honor of Hashem.
When a person examines the heaven’s most basic qualities — such as the tremendous size of the sun and moon, the moon’s precise recurring orbit, the vast mass of heat and energy of which the sun is composed, the light-years of distance between us and the luminaries that amazingly do not prevent us from benefiting from the light of the sun and seeing that of the stars, and the fact that these bodies remain constantly suspended in the heavens — he will realize that these awesome celestial spheres are objects that are totally beyond man’s grasp. Indeed, a person is unable to even gaze at the midday sun for more than a split second. Such objects, it can be concluded, could have been created by no one other than Hashem. By contemplating these creations, man will begin to become aware of the mighty power of the Creator.
Continuing with this idea, Midrash HaGadol explains that it is not merely happenstance that man is able to become more aware of Hashem by being inspired by the heavens. Rather, this goal is the very reason Hashem placed this awesome display of greatness in the world. We may understand this, comments Midrash HaGadol, from a phrase that we recite daily in Ashrei: יוֹדוּךָ ה’ כָּל-מַעֲשֶׂיךָ … כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתְךָ יֹאמֵרוּ וּגְבוּרָתְךָ יְדַבֵּרוּ, All of Your handiwork shall thank You, Hashem … Of the glory of Your kingdom they will speak, and of Your power they will tell. And what is the purpose of all these majestic creations? לְהוֹדִיעַ לִבְנֵי הָאָדָם גְּבוּרֹתָיו וּכְבוֹד הֲדַר מַלְכוּתוֹ, To inform man of His strengths and of the glorious splendor of His Kingdom. The reason Hashem created all these awesome luminaries is so that this open display of Hashem’s might and glory will allow us to realize and appreciate the total control that He enjoys over all of creation. This will also make us realize that the great acts of chesed from which we benefit in every area of our life also come from Him alone.
In short, the purpose of the luminaries is to inspire us to better recognize Hashem and serve Him. We can now understand why several verses extolling the greatness of Torah study immediately follow the praise of הַשָּׁמַיִם מְסַפְּרִים כְּבוֹד-אֵל, The heavens declare the honor of God, in Tehillim Ch. 19. R’ Eliyahu Gutmacher explains that David HaMelech is telling us that when a person comprehends the glory of the One Who created these celestial bodies and feels an awe of Hashem, his natural impulse should be to direct these feelings toward added Torah study. In this way, the person will be able to use the inspiration he gains from observing Hashem’s creations to become even closer to Him.
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On Rosh Chodesh, we recite the psalm of Borchi Nafshi (Tehillim Ch. 104) at the end of davening, after the Shir shel Yom, Song of the Day. The Vilna Gaon would recite only Borchi Nafshi on Rosh Chodesh and not the regular Shir shel Yom, maintaining that Borchi Nafshi is the ‘‘Song of the Day’’ for Rosh Chodesh.
In Borchi Nafshi, we recite a verse regarding the feast of the livyasan. It says (ibid. v. 26) that Hashem created the livyasan to ‘‘play with it.’’ According to the Vilna Gaon, the description of the seudas livyasan is not to be taken literally. There is no physical eating and drinking in Olam Haba, as Chazal say numerous times. When Chazal say that we will eat from a large fish, it does not literally mean that we will eat, nor does it mean that there will be a large fish. What does it mean?
The Vilna Gaon explains that Hashem will derive pleasure in sharing amazing and new Torah insights with Klal Yisrael in Olam Haba. This is what the Midrash means when it says that Hashem hid the אוֹר הַגָּנוּז, supernal light, for the righteous ones in the World to Come. He saved the ultimate revelation of the secrets of Torah for Olam Haba. This is also what is meant by the Gemara in Bava Basra (75a), which states that Hashem will make a succah of livyasan skins for the tzaddikim in Olam Haba. The succah does not refer to a literal succah. Rather, it refers to an all-encompassing sanctity full of the knowledge of Hashem, which will encircle the pious ones.
Even Sheleimah explains that the seudas livyasan refers to דַּעַת שֶׁתִּתְרַבֶּה בָּאָרֶץ, true, complete, and all-encompassing knowledge that will increase in the world. This will bring שִׂמְחָה גְּדוֹלָה שֶׁאֵין לְמַעְלָה מִמֶּנָּה, a great and unbelievable joy, which has no parallel. The word לִוְיָתָן means attachment, and comes from the root לְוָיָה, to escort or become close to. Eating from the big fish of livyasan means that we will ‘‘ingest’’ a tremendous amount of knowledge of Hashem, thereby attaching ourselves to Him. This knowledge of Hashem will be a limitless, ever-increasing experience and will last for eternity. From moment to moment, we will feel an indescribable bliss of constant insights into the essence of Hashem.
Rabbeinu Bachya (to Bereishis 1:21) says that although one can understand the seudas livyasan to be an actual physical feast, the goal of such a feast is not for any physical pleasure. Rather, the physical eating, comprised of special foods created from שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית, the six days of creation, and saved for the rewards of future times, will enable us to gain spiritual insights that we are unable to attain in this world. This food will be similar to the manna that Klal Yisrael ate in the desert, which allowed them to maximize their intelligence. Thus, whether there is a literal physical feast or not, the purpose of the livyasan is the same — closeness with Hashem.
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In Krias Shema, which we recite during both the Shacharis and Maariv services each day, we conclude with the expression: ה’ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֱמֶת, Hashem your God — it is true. This is derived from the Gemara (Berachos 14a), which says that even though the third parashah of Shema (the mitzvah of tzitzis) ends with אֲנִי ה’ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, while the word אֱמֶת is the beginning of the following paragraph of וְיַצִּיב וְנָכוֹן, And certain and established, we do not pause between אֱלֹהֵיכֶם and אֱמֶת, because we wish to echo the verse in Yirmiyah (10:10) that states: וַה’ אֱלֹהִים אֱמֶת, But Hashem, God, is True.
Eitz Yosef explains that the fundamental message of אֱמֶת, which is Hashem’s seal, is that He is “first and last, and there is no other God.” In this light, such a declaration is a fitting ending for Krias Shema, whose central purpose is the acceptance of the fact that ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה’ אֶחָד, Hashem is our God, Hashem, the One and Only!
He elaborates on this theme in his commentary to the Midrash in Bereishis Rabbah (§1). The Midrash cites R’ Yitzchak, who says that the verse רֹאשׁ-דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת, Your very first utterance is truth (Tehillim 119:160), refers to the beginning of Creation, where it states: בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים. Eitz Yosef explains that this phrase teaches us the inviolable truth that Hashem is the One and Only God, to dispel the claim of the heretics that the plural form of אֱלֹהִים implies more than one god. This truth is conveyed by the fact that the verb used for Creation is בָּרָא (singular) rather than בָּרְאוּ (plural). [Furthermore, the last letters of the first three words of the Torah also spell אֱ-מֶ-ת].
Torah Temimah, however, suggests a different interpretation of the Midrash, which helps clarify a difficult Gemara. Talmud Yerushalmi (Chagigah 2:1) says that the world was created with a ב (alluding to the first letter in the Torah) rather than with an א, because a ב is used for בְּרָכָה, blessing, whereas an א is used for אָרוּר, curse, and the world can succeed with blessing and not with a curse. The simple understanding of this Gemara, which implies that the letter ב is associated with blessing and the letter א with curses, seems difficult, for there are many words beginning with ב that are negative (such as בְּכִיָּה, crying, and בְּגִידָה, betrayal) and many that begin with א that are positive (such as אַהֲבָה, love, and אַחֲוָה, brotherhood). Furthermore, the Gemara does not offer any suggestions as to what word beginning with א might have been used to begin the Torah.
He therefore posits that the Gemara means to answer a difficulty in another Gemara (Megillah 9a), which recounts the following: King Ptolemy gathered seventy-two sages and placed them in separate rooms, ordering them to translate the Torah. All of them (through Divine inspiration) wrote אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא בְּרֵאשִׁית, the reverse of the correct version (so that Ptolemy would not be able to claim that בְּרֵאשִׁית was the name of a deity that created אֱלֹהִים). This rendering seemingly has two advantages: (1) The Name of Hashem is deferentially written first; and (2) the letter א, the first letter of the aleph-beis, has its rightful place as the first letter writ-ten. The obvious question, then, is: Why did the Torah not use this order?
The answer, says Yerushalmi, is that אֱלֹהִים (which begins with an א) is a reference to the מִדַּת הַדִּין, the Attribute of Justice, through which the world would be unable to exist unless it is tempered by מִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים, The Attribute of Mercy (see Rashi 1:1). Thus, Hashem did not wish to begin the Torah with this Name for, as the Yerushalmi states: “How can the world exist with a word that implies a curse and destruction of the world?” However, this answer begs another question: According to this, why was the name אֱלֹהִים kept even as the third word of the Torah, and not replaced by the compassionate Name of Hashem (י-ה-ו-ה)?
Torah Temimah explains that it is this very question that R’ Yitzchak is addressing in the Midrash: רֹאשׁ-דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת — the beginning of the Torah must declare truth. It therefore uses the word אֱלֹהִים, the Attribute of Justice, for that is the fundamental aspect of truth, as it states in the verse: וַה’ אֱלֹהִים אֱמֶת, and this was in fact the ideal method that Hashem had originally envisioned for creating the world.
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The point has been made by many philosophers that the most precious gift endowed to mankind is the gift of time. Now, the businessman hurrying from one commitment to another can certainly appreciate this thought, but as we see from Ohr HaChaim, time is much more than the twenty-four hours in the day. Life itself consists of no more than bits and pieces of time, wrapped together in a box labeled “Opportunity” and “Responsibility.” Every day provides a person with the opportunity to accomplish extraordinary things, and the responsibility to rectify anything that goes awry.
Ohr HaChaim develops this thesis further in the beginning of Parashas Chayei Sarah (Bereishis 23:1). The Torah twice mentions there the term חַיֵּי שָׂרָה, the lifetime of Sarah. Ohr HaChaim uses this repetition to underscore the difference between how righteous persons view the opportunities presented by life and the irresponsibility with which pleasure-seekers pursue it. “The lifetime of Sarah,” he writes, emphasizes the fact that Sarah constantly breathed life into her days. She made full use of the gift that time gave her, imbuing her days with life rather than allowing the moments to govern her. This is in contrast to the attitude of the wicked. “What a lousy day!” they might mutter, watching a storm develop, ruining their plans. They allow the environment to decide their mood. The righteous, however, use the environment that surrounds them in a way that is conducive to good thoughts and deeds, and indeed work against hostile surroundings with the goal of conquering them.
R’ Moshe Feinstein once related that some of his main growth in Torah occurred at a time when he was fleeing the Communist authorities in Soviet Russia. Living in an unheated tiny apartment with little to eat, he managed to detach himself totally from his environment, studying and writing for the majority of his time. He did not allow adverse circumstances to decide his growth.
Sifrei (§31) comments on the verse that we recite in Krias Shema: וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ You shall love Hashem, your God, with all your heart, saying that your heart should not be separate from Hashem. Sifrei uses the term הַמָּקוֹם when referring to Hashem in this statement. Now, the word הַמָּקוֹם literally means the place. Thus, by translating this dictum according to its literal rendition, Sifrei is saying: Your heart shall not be separate from the place. R’ Shlomo of Karlin, quoted in various sefarim, understood this homiletically to mean that one should not separate himself from his situation, but work along with it. If life deals him a specific circumstance, it is Hashem testing him, watching and observing how he will deal with it.
There are some people, explains R’ Shlomo, who blame their circumstances for their level of observance. If they would have been placed in a different place or given different talents, they say, then their service to Hashem would have been much better. No, emphasizes R’ Shlomo. Hashem placed each person in a specific environment precisely because He desired his efforts from just that spot or situation; and one’s job is to do the best he can in the given circumstances.
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