"Rabbi Hiyya opened, 'The blossoms have appeared on the earth, the time of singing has arrived; the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land' (Shir haShirim 2:12).
"'The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land', for the word of the blessed Holy One was absent from the world until Adam was created. As soon as Adam appeared, everything appeared. Once he sinned, everything disappeared from the world and the earth was cursed.
"Noah arrived, but later, 'he drank of the wine and became drunk' (Gen. 9:21). The inhabitants of the world came and sinned before the blessed Holy One, so the powers of the earth disappeared as before, and so they remained until Abraham arrived.
"As soon as Abraham arrived in the world, immediately, 'the blossoms appeared on earth' - all powers of earth were arrayed and revealed.
"'The time of pruning has arrived' - when the blessed Holy One told him to circumcise himself. The moment that the covenant manifested in Abraham through circumcision, this entire verse was fulfilled, the world was firmly established, and the word of the blessed Holy One was openly revealed, as is written, 'YHVH appeared to him' (Gen. 18:1)."
-- Sefer HaZohar 1:98a
Showing posts with label Abraham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abraham. Show all posts
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Friday, November 7, 2014
Midrash Rabbah Beresheet on Abraham's Circumcision as an Offering
"Rabbi Levi opened: 'And a bull and a ram for a peace-offering (shelamim) to slaughter before the Lord, ... for today the Lord appears to you' (Leviticus 9:4). Rabbi Levi said: Now if for this one who offered a bull and a ram for My sake, I will reveal Myself to him and bless him, then regarding Abraham, who circumcised himself for My sake, how much more so! This is why immediately after the story of the circumcision it is written: 'The Lord appeared to him in the plans of Mamre' (Genesis 18:1) to indicate that God came to bless him in reward for having performed the mitzvah of circumcision."
-- Midrash Rabbah Beresheet, 48.5
Implicit in Rabbi Levi's midrash is the idea of Abraham's circumcision being analogous to the ritual sacrifices offered by the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash.
-- Midrash Rabbah Beresheet, 48.5
Implicit in Rabbi Levi's midrash is the idea of Abraham's circumcision being analogous to the ritual sacrifices offered by the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
The Sotah and The Parah revealed through Beresheet 18:27
"And the Lord said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous men within the city, I will forgive the entire place for their sake.' And Abraham answered and said, 'Behold now I have commenced to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ash (עָפָר וָאֵפֶר). Perhaps the fifty righteous men will be missing five. Will You destroy the entire city because of five?' And He said, 'I will not destroy if I find there forty-five.'"
-- Sefer Beresheet 18:26-28
ALTHOUGH I AM BUT DUST AND ASH :
"As a result of this statement, Abraham's descendants merited the two mitzvot involving the ashes of the red cow, and the dust used for the sotah."
-- Baal HaTurim, Commentary on Beresheet 18:27
Moreover,
עפר = "dust"
=350
לשוטה = "for the sotah"
=350
ואפר = "and ash"
=287
בפרה = "regarding the cow"
=287
The "sotah" or suspected adultress, was forced to go through the ordeal described in Numbers 5:11-31.
The "red cow" is the Parah Adumah, whose ashes ashes are used for the purification ritual described in Numbers 19:1-22.
There is an entire tractate in the Mishnah called "Sotah" which deals with the laws of the suspected adultress. It is in the third order Nashim.
There is an entire tractate in the Mishnah called "Parah" which deals with the laws of the red cow. It is in the sixth order Taharot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordeal_of_the_bitter_water
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_heifer
-- Sefer Beresheet 18:26-28
ALTHOUGH I AM BUT DUST AND ASH :
"As a result of this statement, Abraham's descendants merited the two mitzvot involving the ashes of the red cow, and the dust used for the sotah."
-- Baal HaTurim, Commentary on Beresheet 18:27
Moreover,
עפר = "dust"
=350
לשוטה = "for the sotah"
=350
ואפר = "and ash"
=287
בפרה = "regarding the cow"
=287
The "sotah" or suspected adultress, was forced to go through the ordeal described in Numbers 5:11-31.
The "red cow" is the Parah Adumah, whose ashes ashes are used for the purification ritual described in Numbers 19:1-22.
There is an entire tractate in the Mishnah called "Sotah" which deals with the laws of the suspected adultress. It is in the third order Nashim.
There is an entire tractate in the Mishnah called "Parah" which deals with the laws of the red cow. It is in the sixth order Taharot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordeal_of_the_bitter_water
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_heifer
The Three Angels of Beresheet 18:2
From the beginning of Parashat Vayara, who are the three beings who appeared to Abraham?
"He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! three men were standing over him. He perceived, so he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and bowed toward the ground."
-- Beresheet 18:2
"Who were these 'three men'? They were the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Michael, who came to relay good tidings to Sarah that she would bear a son; Raphael, who came to heal Abraham; and Gabriel, who went to overturn Sodom."
-- Talmud Bavli, Bava Metzia 86b
והנה שלשה = "and behold! three men (=701)"
אלו מיכאל גבריאל ורפאל = "these are Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael (=701)"
-- Ba'al HaTurim, Commentary on Beresheet 18:2
"He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! three men were standing over him. He perceived, so he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and bowed toward the ground."
-- Beresheet 18:2
"Who were these 'three men'? They were the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Michael, who came to relay good tidings to Sarah that she would bear a son; Raphael, who came to heal Abraham; and Gabriel, who went to overturn Sodom."
-- Talmud Bavli, Bava Metzia 86b
והנה שלשה = "and behold! three men (=701)"
אלו מיכאל גבריאל ורפאל = "these are Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael (=701)"
-- Ba'al HaTurim, Commentary on Beresheet 18:2
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Talmud Bavli Ta'anit on Reading Scriptural Sections on Offerings to Atone for Sins
"Abraham said: Master of the Universe! Perhaps Israel will sin before
You and You will do to them as You did to the generation of the Flood
and the generation of the Dispersion. God answered him: No! Abraham
said before God: Let me know by what means shall Israel atone for their
sins and thereby be saved from destruction. God answered Abraham:
'Bring Me three calves and three goats...' (Genesis 15:9).
"Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe! That is fine for the times when the Holy Temple will be in existence, but in the times when the Holy Temple will not be in existence, what will be with them? God answered Abraham: I have already established for them the Scriptural section of offerings. Whenever they read from them before Me, I will consider it as if they had brought offerings before Me, and I will forgive them of all their sins."
"Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe! That is fine for the times when the Holy Temple will be in existence, but in the times when the Holy Temple will not be in existence, what will be with them? God answered Abraham: I have already established for them the Scriptural section of offerings. Whenever they read from them before Me, I will consider it as if they had brought offerings before Me, and I will forgive them of all their sins."
-- Talmud Bavli, Ta'anit 27b
This teaches that there is something significant about reciting the sections of Torah that describe the priestly rituals. The way the Torah works is that it is a vibrationally coded instruction manual. The word "sacrifice" comes from a root meaning "to be made close to", in other words, the sacrifices are the means by which we can be made close to God. The sacrifices are not meant to be carried out physically, but instead through speech, as it is the vibrational effects of the sounds of the words that are significant. Thus, the morning prayer service contains several readings of the Torah passages detailing the rituals of the Kohanim.
This teaches that there is something significant about reciting the sections of Torah that describe the priestly rituals. The way the Torah works is that it is a vibrationally coded instruction manual. The word "sacrifice" comes from a root meaning "to be made close to", in other words, the sacrifices are the means by which we can be made close to God. The sacrifices are not meant to be carried out physically, but instead through speech, as it is the vibrational effects of the sounds of the words that are significant. Thus, the morning prayer service contains several readings of the Torah passages detailing the rituals of the Kohanim.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Talmud Bavli Megillah on Studying the Laws of Sacrifice
"Abraham said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the
Universe! Perhaps, Heaven forbid, Israel will sin before you, and You
will do to them as You did to the generation of the flood and the
generation of the Dispersion. He said: No! Abraham said before God:
Master of the Universe! Whereby shall I know? With what will they
atone for their sins? God said to Abraham: 'Bring Me three calves'
(Genesis 15:9).
"Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe! That is fine for the times when the Holy Temple will be in existence, but in the times when the Holy Temple will not be in existence, what will be with them? God said to Abraham: I have already established for them the Scriptural section of offerings. Whenever they read from them, I will consider it as if they were bringing an offering before Me, and I will forgive them of their sins."
"Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe! That is fine for the times when the Holy Temple will be in existence, but in the times when the Holy Temple will not be in existence, what will be with them? God said to Abraham: I have already established for them the Scriptural section of offerings. Whenever they read from them, I will consider it as if they were bringing an offering before Me, and I will forgive them of their sins."
-- Talmud Bavli, Megillah 31b
Perhaps the Temple never existed as a historical reality. But the plan of the Temple exists eternally in the divine mind. Then all the laws of sacrifice are seen as coded formulas for theurgic enactment.
The Torah teaches us how to become like Moses, whereby we receive instructions from the divine mind and teach them to others, and how to become like Aaron, whereby we serve as priests in the temple and perform blessings and prayers and rites of purification, atonement and mystical elevation.
Perhaps the Temple never existed as a historical reality. But the plan of the Temple exists eternally in the divine mind. Then all the laws of sacrifice are seen as coded formulas for theurgic enactment.
The Torah teaches us how to become like Moses, whereby we receive instructions from the divine mind and teach them to others, and how to become like Aaron, whereby we serve as priests in the temple and perform blessings and prayers and rites of purification, atonement and mystical elevation.
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