ספר שמות

The Talmud in Shabbat 133 urges each one of us to ‎‎“attach” ourselves to the virtues manifested by Hashem, by ‎emulating them whenever possible, giving as an example: “just as ‎He is merciful, you are to be merciful also.”‎The problem with this “moral imperative” posited by the ‎Talmud is that one of the attributes G’d has revealed to Moses in ‎our portion is called ‎א-ל‎, usually understood as a reference to G’d ‎being omnipotent, ‎תקיף‎; (compare Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim ‎‎ 5) how are we to emulate such an attribute? We need to ‎understand this slightly differently, i.e. that G’d has given the ‎‎tzaddik the power to “compel” Him to carry out the ‎‎tzaddik’s wishes. This is what the Talmud in Megillah ‎‎18 had in mind when it posed the rhetorical question of “how do ‎we know that G’d called Yaakov by the attribute ‎א-ל‎?” What ‎possible “omnipotence” did Yaakov possess, seeing that all he ‎could do was to abide by rules established in the Torah? Our sages ‎in the Talmud in Ketuvot 111 alluded to this problem when ‎they taught us that G’d made the Jewish people swear three oaths ‎at the time of the destruction of the Temple. One of them was: ‎‎“do not pressure Me to postpone the date of the coming of the ‎messiah.” [Our author prefers an alternate version of that ‎oath with the word ‎ירחקו‎ being replaced by the word ‎ידחקו‎, i.e. ‎pressuring G’d to advance the date of the coming of the messiah. ‎Ed.] The root ‎דחק‎ is well known as referring to someone ‎‎“hastening an event,” the best known example being the saying ‎in B’rachot 64: ‎כל הדוחק את השעה השעה דוחק אותו‎, “whosoever ‎tries to advance the timetable for events destined to occur later, ‎will find that it proves to have been counterproductive.”Concerning the appropriate time for the coming of the ‎messiah, the prophet Isaiah had predicted in Isaiah 51,4 ‎כי תורה ‏מאתי תצא ‏‎, “for a teaching will come forth from Me, etc.” The ‎prophet refers to a teaching which prior to that era could not ‎have been understood at all by man, [as his spiritual ‎horizons had not been sufficiently expanded. Ed.] This ‎‎“Torah” will be called superior to all.Besides, how is it possible to hasten the end of the exile, ‎seeing that if all of Israel‘s virtues are the result of emulating ‎G’d’s attributes, it follows that everything the Israelites do is ‎pattered on the Torah, so how could they possibly be able to ‎influence G’d’s timetable for the coming of the Messiah then? The ‎answer is that by conferring on Yaakov the title ‎א-ל‎, (Genesis ‎‎35,10, 33,20), He had conferred on him (and subsequent ‎‎tzaddikim) some of His powers so that He had to warn them ‎not to abuse these powers by making them take an oath. This ‎complimentary title that G’d bestowed on Yaakov and other ‎‎zaddikim after him was conditioned on his regarding the ‎Torah and its laws inviolate. G’d had decided on His timetable for ‎the coming of the messiah either at the same time as when He ‎bestowed the title ‎א-ל‎ on Yaakov, or even earlier, so that his ‎‎“powers” did not extend to overriding this. How could man then ‎interfere with G’d’s decree? If man, i.e. the tzaddik could ‎not interfere, why would the ‎בנות ישראל‎, “chronologically later ‎generations of Israelites,” have to swear an oath concerning ‎something that was beyond their power to do anyways?‎The apparent contradiction is resolved by an interesting ‎commentary on Song of Songs 2,10, (a few verses after the verse ‎in which G’d beseeches the “daughters of Jerusalem” to swear the ‎abovementioned oath); we read there, concerning G’d: ‎הנה זה עומד ‏אחר כתלנו משגיח מן החלונות מציץ מחרקים‎, “here He is standing ‎behind our walls looking down through the windows, peering ‎through the blinds.” This verse describes G’d, Who, on the one ‎hand is ‎לעילא מן כל‎, “towering high above all,” as also on occasion ‎retreating so far into the background that He only peers through ‎the lattices. The verse alludes to the varying degrees of light that ‎emanates from Him, tailored to what the situation requires. On ‎occasion, if warranted, the tzaddik can override G’d’s plan; ‎seeing that this is so, G’d had to protect His ultimate program for ‎mankind by making the ‎בנות ירושלים‎ swear that they would not ‎interfere with certain of His plans. ‎ ‎ ‎