ספר שמות

The word ‎כלל‎ in the list of exegetical tools of Rabbi Yishmael, ‎corresponds to the Divine attribute of ‎רחום‎, “the Merciful One,” ‎which the author had previously described as corresponding to ‎the exegetical tool of ‎גזרה שוה‎, whereas the Divine attribute of ‎חנון‎, “tireless,” corresponds to the exegetical tool known as ‎בנין ‏אב‎, the original verse in the Torah formulating a law, may be ‎understood as follows.‎The concept that G’d’s relates to man with Mercy may be ‎compared to the exegetical tool of ‎גזרה שוה‎ which involves using ‎textural parallels that are not supported by contextual ‎similarities nonetheless being equated halachically, i.e. being used ‎as a guideline. G’d’s “lowering Himself,” to the level of human ‎beings is something parallel, i.e. He equates Himself to us ‎although basically, how can a Creator compare Himself to His ‎creature?‎The Zohar 257 on Pinchas points out that ‎attributes of G’d such as ‎רחום חנון דיין‎, “The merciful One, the ‎patient One, the Judge,” were totally meaningless before He ‎created the universe, as who was there to judge, or to practice ‎mercy on? It follows that these attributes reflect His relations ‎with His creatures after these had been created. In other words, ‎all of the attributes are figures of speech taking into ‎considerations that G’d had first “restrained Himself,” manifested ‎Himself in far less than all His glory, as His creatures could not ‎have survived “looking” at Him in all His glory. Hence, an ‎attribute such as ‎ארך אפים‎, “being able to put up with man’s sins ‎patiently”, resulted in His being “accorded” the attribute of ‎רחום ‏וחנון‎, merciful and extremely patient, i.e. not withdrawing His ‎grace, ‎חן‎ from people although they had sinned against Him.‎Actually, although the Zohar is correct in principle, the ‎attributes ‎רחום וחנון‎ were appropriate attributes for G’d even ‎before He created the universe, as unless He had been prepared ‎to be ‎מצמצם את עצמו‎, “tone down, understate” His essence, as we ‎explained repeatedly, He would have risked destroying all the ‎creatures He was about to create at the moment these creatures ‎‎“set eyes” on their “father in heaven.” The attribute of ‎ארך אפים‎, ‎however, most certainly became necessary only after creation, ‎seeing that as long as there were no free-willed creatures, i.e. ‎man, there was no sin that G’d had to apply this attribute to the attributes ‎רחום וחנון‎ may be understood as applying ‎before the creation, whereas the attribute ‎ארך אפים‎ is the name ‎used after the creation, when due to man’s sins g’d adjusted the ‎manner in which he dealt with man.‎ There is a difference in the way G’d makes allowances for sins ‎committed by a community, and those committed by an ‎individual. What appears like G’d’s leniency will be seen far more ‎often in His dealings with multitudes, whereas individuals will not ‎find Him as accommodating.‎‎[This does not mean that looked at objectively the ‎individual sinner is worse off; as lenience may result in the ones ‎who are the beneficiaries of leniency misinterpreting this, thus ‎continuing in their wicked ways, whereas the individual, because ‎of G’d’s strictness will improve his ways thus benefiting in the ‎long run. Ed.]‎The Talmud in B’rachot, 19 cites examples of ‎‎tzaddikim who had committed sins but were not ‎immediately punished, explaining that a tzaddik, when he ‎does sin, can be expected to repent immediately, so that this act ‎of “leniency” worked in his favour, whereas a similar act of ‎leniency if applied to a habitual sinner would only result in that ‎sinner becoming more deeply enmeshed in his sinful ways. This is ‎hinted at by Rabbi Yishmael’s category of exegesis known as ‎כלל ‏ופרט וכלל‎, referring to the community, followed by referring to ‎the individual and thereby ultimately bringing that individual ‎around so that he is a member of the community in good ‎standing again.‎According to our author, the word ‎כלל‎ is a simile for the ‎Creator, as He combines within Himself aspects of the entire ‎universe, i.e. the “entirety, the whole.” The word ‎פרט‎ on the ‎other hand, refers to the individual worlds, each of which is being ‎treated as “individuals,” as G’d deals with each one of them on the ‎basis of the conditions that prevailed when they were created. To ‎summarize: the wicked as a group, once they have departed from ‎the righteous community will not be likely to return to it, ‎whereas the individual sinner who has sinned not by design but ‎through carelessness, will use any delay in punishment as a ‎reason to do penitence immediately. The second word ‎כלל‎ in the ‎exegetical tool known as ‎כלל ופרט וכלל‎ alludes to the “additional” ‎time G’d allowed the “righteous” sinner to rehabilitate himself, it ‎being understood that a righteous person even when he did sin ‎will repent as soon as he has become is ware of his error.‎ Concerning the exegetical tool in the list of Rabbi Yishmael ‎known as ‎פרט וכלל‎, a specific detail appearing in the Torah prior ‎to a generalization, that the generalization must conform to ‎points mentioned in that detailed example, this is a simile for the ‎Divine attribute of ‎ארך אפים‎, as the process of finding grace is ‎combined of the grace Israel has found originally in the eyes of ‎the Lord, and the virtues practiced by the Israelites in order to ‎warrant maintaining their state of grace. This is also the reason ‎why the attribute ‎רחום‎ and ‎חנון‎ require two separate verses in ‎the Torah, whereas even a “complicated” exegetical tool such as ‎כלל ופרט וכלל‎ is derived from a single verse.‎