I learned from the Jewish Scriptures (Talmud, oral law) and the Hebrew Tanach that we have two Messiah's.
I learned from the Jewish Scriptures (Talmud, oral law) and the Hebrew Tanach that we have two Messiah's.
'A Spark of Moshiach
Source: https://tinyurl.com/2gx7yanl
The Messiah is:
In the past I studied Koine Greek and the history of the text of Koine Greek of the NT.
The 'background' of Koine Greek is definitely Hebrew.
I said 'background' what makes it very difficult to study her text.
The historical facts of the text are very accurate.
Pro 10:25 When the whirlwind passed, the wicked is no more; but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
All ‘…..His commands and His laws which are written in this Book of the Torah…..’ Deu. 30: 10 All the Words spoken from between the Cherubim from ‘before His Presence…..’
1. Hiyya b. Abba also said in the name of R. Johanan: Even for the sake of a single righteous man does the world endure, as it is said: But the righteous is the foundation of the world. 26
2. Hiyya himself infers this from here: He will keep the feet of His holy ones’ 27 ‘Holy ones’ means many? — R. Nahman b. Isaac said: It is written: His holy’ one. 27
26 Pro 10:25 As the whirlwind passes by, the wrong one is no more, But the righteous (in Hebrew וצדיק יסוד עולם׃ ‘and the Righteous’ –singular-) has an everlasting foundation.
27 1Sa 2:9 “He guards the feet of His kind ones (in Hebrew חסידו ‘His Righteous One’ –singular-) but the wrong are silent in darkness, for man does not become mighty by power.
The passing of a tzaddik “effects salvations in the midst of the earth,” atoning even for intentional sins.
Epistle 28 Tanya: English
By Rabbi
Schneur Zalman of Liadi, elucidated by Rabbi Yosef Wineberg
Published
and copyrighted by Kehot
Publication Society
In
the previous epistle, written to console the Chasidic brotherhood
after the passing of the saintly R. Mendele Vitebsker, the Alter
Rebbe quotes from the Zohar to
the effect that a tzaddik is
even more accessible in this world after his passing than while he
was still alive. Moreover, after his passing, his Chasidim continue
to receive from him both spiritual benefactions, which enhance
their Torah study and Divine service, and protection in
material matters.
Following
that epistle the sons of the author1 placed
the present epistle, which the Alter
Rebbe wrote
by way of consolation to his illustrious colleague,
relative-by-marriage, and dear friend, R. Levi Yitzchak of
Berditchev, following the tragic passing of his son. Here, the
Alter Rebbe explains how the passing of a tzaddik “effects
salvations in the midst of the earth,” atoning even for intentional
sins.
This letter was written [by the Alter Rebbe] to his
relative-by-marriage—the famous rabbi and Gaon, the Gdly man,
the holy man of Gd,2 Lamp
of Israel, pillar of the right hand, mighty hammer3—
our
master, R. Levi Yitzchak (may his soul rest in Eden),
head of the Rabbinical Court of the holy community of Berditchev,
to console him on the passing4 of his son, the pious rabbi, R. Meir (may his soul rest in Eden).
“Why was the passage concerning the passing of Miriam5 adjoined to the passage concerning the Red Heifer6?
”To teach you that just as the Heifer effects atonement, [so does the passing of the righteous].”
‘Commenting
on this quotation from the Gemara,7 Tosafot8 explains
that the Red Heifer atones for the sin of the Golden Calf, and
in the same way, the passing of the righteous effects
atonement.’
Now,
it needs to be understood why [the passage concerning the passing of
Miriam] was adjoined specifically to [the passage concerning] the Red
Heifer
(which
was prepared outside the
three camps,9 and
as such was not a sacrifice proper, except that the Torah calls
it10 a
sin-offering),11
and
it was not adjoined to the passage concerning the sin-offering that
was prepared within, on the altar, [and as such effects] actual
atonement.
‘Alternatively,
the Hebrew text could be understood to mean “on the actual altar of
atonement,” or (preferably) that the sin-offering was
“actual atonement,” unlike the Red Heifer, which was primarily a
rite of purification.
To revert to the question concerning the juxtaposition of the two passages, the Alter Rebbe explains that an offering connoted an “arousal from below,” from the soul of the animal that derives from kelipat nogah. This, in turn, elicited a reciprocal “arousal from Above,” drawing down a finite order of Divine light that can permeate the finite world and be integrated and ingested within it. (This characteristic explains why offerings are referred to as the “food of the altar.”) Being finite, this contracted order of Divine light was only able to effect atonement of unwitting sins, those that derive from undue domination by the animal soul, which derives from kelipat nogah.
The Red Heifer, by contrast, produces the “sanctifying purification waters” (kiddush mei chatat); i.e., it draws down an illumination from the most supremely sanctified levels of Divinity (kodesh ha’elyon) that utterly transcend this world. This intense illumination can transform the darkness of Tohu into the light of Tikkun and secure purification for even the harshest degree of impurity (Avi Avot Hatumah), which is far lower than kelipat nogah.
In the same way, the passing of a tzaddik draws down a Divine illumination that transcends the world, deriving as it does from that element within the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, which is called the Tikkun of notzer. The name of this Tikkun, which comprises the same letters as ratzon, brings about an et ratzon, “an auspicious time,” and secures atonement for the sins of the generation, even those that are committed willfully and that derive from the three completely impure kelipot.
In this regard, the passing of
a tzaddik is
thus more akin to the Red Heifer than to a sin-offering.’
Now,12 the
mystical principle of the sacrifices offered on the altar is known
from the sacred Zohar13 and
from Rabbi Yitzchak Luria,14 of
blessed memory:
They
are an instance of the elevation of mayin
nukvin (lit.,
“feminine waters”; i.e., a mortally initiated spiritual
arousal) deriving from the animal soul, [which receives its
life-force from] kelipat
nogah,
[this elevation ascending] to their root and source,
i.e., the forms of the four Animals of the Celestial Chariot which bear the Throne,15 as described in Ezekiel, ch. 1:
the Face of the Ox, and the Face of the Eagle, and so on.
‘The former level of Divinity is the source of the souls of all animals, and the latter is the source of the souls of all birds, these being the two categories of creatures from which offerings are brought. (The other two categories, the Face of the Lion and the Face of Man, are alluded to in the closing phrase, “and so on.”) Offerings thus constitute an elevation and an “arousal from below” from a willing recipient toward the level of Divinity (here called the four Animals of the Chariot, which is the Source of all things within the finite world and which hence has a connection with it.’
As a result, reciprocating this arousal, the mayin duchrin (the “male waters” from the benefactor Above) are elicited and descend from the level of Divinity called (in Ezekiel) “the Man upon the Throne,” Who is [also] referred to as malka (“king”) and z’eyr anpin (i.e., the bracket of six “masculine” attributes preceding the recipient or “feminine” sefirah of malchut).
‘The
resultant illumination flows down to the world and becomes vested and
integrated within it. Hence, as mentioned above, offerings are termed
“food for
the altar,” for they draw down a level of Divine light which can be
spiritually ingested.’
As for the burning of the Red Heifer, however, it is on account of the throwing in of the cedar wood and the hyssop, and so on, the function of both of which is hamshachah, i.e., drawing down sanctity from Above,16
and [moreover] the placing of running water into the ashes,
that in the Mishnah,17 [this process] is called the “sanctification (Kiddush) of the purifying waters.”
This relates—not only etymologically—to kodesh ha’elyon (“the supreme sanctity”), referred to as Tala Dibedulcha (lit., “the Dew of Bdellium”; cf. the Torah’s descriptions of the manna18).
Unlike the heavenly benefactions that are termed “rain,” for rain results from an “arousal from below” (as it is written, “And a vapor rose from the ground and watered…”19), the above-described “dew” is a spontaneous “arousal from Above” that transcends dependence on any antecedent “arousal from below.”
As stated in the sacred Zohar,20 this [Tala Dibedulcha] is an expression of the supreme chochmah and the mocha setimaah of arich anpin; i.e., it is the level of chochmah within keter which entirely transcends the world.
Of this [level of chochmah and mocha setimaah], it is said in many places in the sacred Zohar that “through chochmah they are refined” and rectified21;
and then, when by means of the “sanctification of the purifying waters,” Divine light is drawn down from this level, darkness is converted to light, that is, [to] the World of Tikkun,
which becomes refined and rectified by means of the mocha setimaah of arich anpin;
[i.e., the World of Tikkun is refined and rectified] from the World of Tohu and the breaking of the vessels [whose sparks] fell into [the Worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, and so on,
as is known.
The spiritual task of the Jew is to extract, refine, and elevate these sparks.
This is why [the Red Heifer] purifies one from defilement [contracted by contact] with a corpse,
even though this [corpse] is the ultimate degree [of impurity] and far, far lower than nogah.
For the “sanctification of the purifying waters” is drawn down from the supreme chochmah and the mocha setimaah of arich anpin, an illumination that transcends the world so utterly that it is able to transform the world’s darkness into light.
The Alter Rebbe will now explain how this relates to the passing of a tzaddik, for this likewise draws down a degree of illumination that utterly transcends the world, transforming its darkness into light and bringing about atonement for the sins of the generation.
Now, it is known22 that abba (lit., “father,” a Kabbalistic name for the sefirah of chochmah) draws its sustenance from the eighth mazal.
I.e., the eighth in the Torah’s enumeration of the Thirteen Attributes of Divine Mercy,23 which correspond to the thirteen “tufts” of the celestial “beard,” the individual hairs of which are conduits for the emanation of a tenuous flow of life-force.
This24 is the tuft of notzer chesed that appears in the above listing: notzer chesed la’alafim (“He guards chesed for thousands [of generations]”).
[The Hebrew word] notzer (“guards”) is composed of the same letters as [the Hebrew word] ratzon (“Divine favor”).
This is the et ratzon (“the time of Divine favor,” i.e., “the auspicious time”) that becomes revealed and radiates in a manifest way, from above downward, at the time of the passing of tzaddikim of stature,
who serve G d out of love, surrendering their soul to G d during their lifetime every evening and morning when reading the Shema.
For thereby they would elevate mayin nukvin (lit., “feminine waters”; i.e., they would initiate a spiritual arousal expressing their desire to receive a flow of Divine energy) to abba and imma (i.e., to chochmah and binah) during the Reading of the Shema, as is known.
(25The same applies to their study of the Torah, which derives from chochmah; this, too, results in an elevation of mayin nukvin toward chochmah.)
Thereby, the mayin duchrin (lit., the “masculine waters” which thereupon flow from above) were elicited and drawn down from the tuft of notzer chesed since it is from this Divine attribute that chochmah draws its sustenance, as stated above.
And, indeed, it is these [illuminations] that radiate in a manifest way at the time of the passing [of tzaddikim].
The illuminations that are drawn down through the self-sacrifice of tzaddikim during their lifelong recitation of the Shema and their Torah study become revealed at the time of their passing.
For as is known, all the effort of man, in which his soul toiled during his lifetime [and which remains] above, in a hidden and obscured state,
is revealed and radiates in a manifest way, from above downward, at the time of his passing.
Thus, all the unseen spiritual effects of the tzaddik’s Reading of the Shema and of his Torah study are revealed in the world below at the time of his passing.
Now, by the illumination from the tuft of notzer chesed that is revealed at the time of the passing [of tzaddikim],
the chesed of G d radiates from world to world—from the World of Concealment down to the World of Revelation—over those who fear Him,26
and “effects salvations in the midst of the earth,”27 to atone for the sin of the generation,
even for the deliberate sins which are of the three impure kelipot that are inferior to nogah, for kelipat nogah can give rise only to unwitting sins, whose atonement is secured through sacrificial offerings.
For the mazal of notzer chesed is of the mochin setimin of arich anpin, i.e., the chochmah of keter, which is the source of the task of beirurim, the refinement of the material world by extracting and uplifting the Divine sparks within it.
The darkness incurred by the breaking of the vessels is thereby converted into the light of the World of Tikkun.
This light is therefore able to atone even for the deliberate sins that derive from the three impure kelipot—the lowest level that resulted from the breaking of the vessels.
This is not the case, though, with the sacrifices that are [offered] upon the altar.
They atone only for inadvertent sins, which come about because of the strengthening of the animal soul [whose life-force derives] from nogah,
as is stated in Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parashat Vayikra.
This, then, is why [the passage concerning Miriam] was adjoined expressly to the passage concerning the Red Heifer:
“[To teach you that] just as the Heifer [effects atonement, so does the passing of the righteous].”
The Yalkut, Parashat Shemini, [for “the Heifer”] reads “the waters of purification….”
This is more in keeping with the explanation provided above, for the Red Heifer’s atonement and its impact on the three impure kelipot is not a result of burning the Heifer, which is spiritually symbolic of elevation, but a result of the “sanctification of the purifying waters,” an act which draws down benefactions from above, just as water flows downward from above—from supernal holiness and chochmah of keter, the source of refinement and purification.
FOOTNOTES
Note by the Rebbe: “See the ‘Approbation of the…sons…of the…author’ which appears at the beginning of the Tanya [and which states that they were responsible for arranging the manuscript letters of Iggeret Hakodesh for publication].”
This is similar to the metaphors used by the Sages in Berachot 28b to denote resounding scholarship.
Note by the Rebbe: “In the year 5566 [1806].”
Numbers 20:1 ff.
Ibid., ch. 19.
Moed Katan 28a.
S.v. Mah parah. See also Rashi on the beginning of Parashat Chukat.
Cf. Rashi on Numbers 19:3, based on Yoma 68a.
Cf. Rashi on verse 9, based on Avodah Zarah 23b and Chullin 11a.
In the Glosses and Emendations, the Rebbe places this phrase in parentheses. Following this phrase, the text states that a variant ms. omits six of the Hebrew words here, translated as “the three camps, except that the Torah calls it a sin-offering.” In the original Yiddish edition of Lessons in Tanya, the Rebbe refers the reader to the “Important Notification” (Modaah Rabbah) at the beginning of the edition of 5660 [1900], which states that Iggeret Hakodesh was carefully proofread against various mss. for that edition, which was not the case with earlier printings.
Note by the Rebbe: “Concerning the text which follows, see at length in Likkutei Torah, beginning of Parashat Chukat.”
I, 64b.
Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parashat Vayikra.
Bechaye, Parashat Terumah 25:10, et al.
Note by the Rebbe: “So it is explained here. But see Likkutei Torah, Chukat, loc. cit., especially the conclusion of the passage beginning Tosefet Biur on the maamar beginning Veyikchu Eilecha (61b) [where the Alter Rebbe explains that the cedar wood and the hyssop relate to the avodah of elevation whereas only the addition of the waters is an avodah of drawing Divine energy downward].”
Parah, ch. 6.
Numbers 11:7 and Exodus 16:13.
Cf. Zohar III, 128b.
Gloss of the Rebbe to Likkutei Biurim L’Tanya by Rabbi Yehoshua Korf: “See Torah Or, Parashat Bereishit, the discourse beginning Vayomer…Hein Ha’adam; ibid., Megillat Esther, the discourse beginning Uvevoah; in the supplements there, the discourse beginning L’Havin Inyan Chalav U’Dvash, sec. 2. See also Zohar II, 254b; Etz Chaim, Portal 18, sec. 5; Mavo She’arim, Shaar 5, 1:2; Sefer Hamitzvot by the Tzemach Tzedek, Issur Avodat Baal-Mum; et al.—where these contradictions are resolved.”
Etz Chaim, Portal 16, ch. 6; et al.
Exodus 34:6-7.
Text here follows the Rebbe’s Table of Corrections.
Parentheses are in the original text.
Cf. Psalms 103:17.
Cf. op. cit. 74:12.
By Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, elucidated by Rabbi Yosef Wineberg
Elucidations translated from Yiddish by Rabbi Levy Wineberg and Rabbi Sholom B. Wineberg. Edited by Uri Kaploun.
Published and copyright by Kehot Publication Society, all rights reserved.
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