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An adaptation by Yitzchok Wagshul of a discourse in Likutei Torah
The Thirteen Attributes of Divine Mercy are
particularly active during the Hebrew month of Elul, which precedes the
High Holiday season. Torah study is associated with the immanence of G-d in
Creation, while mitzva performance is associated with G-d's transcendent aspect,
a higher spiritual level. Failure to perform mitzvot leaves a gap in the
spirituality allotted to the individual from G-d's transcendent level, but
sincere repentance arouses the divine attributes of mercy, a level that
transcends the transcendent, and which can fill in the gaps. It is not possible
for us to reach such a complete level of repentance without Heavenly assistance,
and during Elul we pray for mercy to attain this.
In Song of Songs, which is a metaphorical love poem
between the Jews and G-d, we find the statement, "I am to my Beloved [i.e. G-d]
and my Beloved is to me: He who grazes among the roses". (Songs 6:3)
The
thirteen petals of the rose allude to the Thirteen Attributes of Divine mercy,
which were taught to Moses by G-d when Moses prayed for forgiveness for the
Jews.
G-d showed Moses how, by invoking these thirteen G-dly attributes in prayer, a
worshipper would be able to arouse heavenly mercy (see Ex. 34:6), and it is
because these same thirteen attributes are especially active during the Hebrew
month of Elul, the month preceding the High Holidays, that the verse alludes to
them in the context of "I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me", the initial
letters of which Hebrew phrase spell out the name of this month.  | | " The heavenly mercy associated with the Thirteen Attributes is the quality by which G-d forgives penitents..." | | |
It is necessary to understand, however, what
connection the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy have with Elul in the first place.
The heavenly mercy associated with the Thirteen Attributes is the quality by
which G-d forgives penitents, so it is clear that they play an important role
during the High Holiday season and the Ten Days of Repentance, between Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Why, however, is it also necessary to have G-d's mercy
especially active during the preceding month of Elul?
To appreciate this, we must analyze, by way of
introduction, the Talmudic dispute on which is greater: study of Torah or
practice of its teachings. After some debate, the Sages reached the
conclusion that study is the greater of the two, for study leads to practice.
(End of first chapter of tractate Kiddushin). The esoteric significance
of their dispute is as follows:
It is known that G-d, although Himself One and
indivisible, relates to Creation in a number of different ways. A human king,
being one person yet relating to his subjects in a number of ways, provides a
fitting analogy. On the one hand, there is an element of sovereignty, of
"kingship", that is completely divorced from the physical person of the king:
the citizens are his subjects whether they are in his physical presence or not.
The mere proclamation "in the name of the king" is sufficient, even in his
absence, to enact laws and otherwise impose his rule over them. Many citizens
may never have set eyes on the king in their lives, yet this intangible aspect
of kingship causes them to revere and serve him. | | " Every single object in the universe is infused with something of that Divine creative energy..." | | |
This idea, the fame of the king, his abstract
sovereignty, pervades the entire kingdom yet affects each subject differently.
Citizens residing in the capital city very naturally sense this kingship to a
greater degree than do the inhabitants of the outermost provinces; a patriotic
person may feel more a subject of the king than might a non-patriotic
individual. On the other hand, the actual presence of the king takes in
everybody equally. Wherever they live in the kingdom, or no matter how patriotic
they are, everyone in the room is just as much in the presence of the king
himself as anyone else during a public appearance. And, looking at it in yet a
third way, neither of the abovementioned aspects of the king - his glory and
fame throughout the kingdom and his bodily presence - are only manifestations of
the king to the public. The king as a man - his personality, his likes and
dislikes, his emotions - is usually not accessible to any but his closest
intimates.
The above analogy may help us to understand some of
the ways in which G-d - the King of Kings - relates to us. It stands to reason
that since G-d created the universe and everything in it every single object in
the universe is infused with something of that Divine creative energy, a "spark
of G-d" that enables it to exist. Everything, from the simplest stone to the
most complex brain, has an underlying spiritual essence that is its
"life-force", and it is this that causes the object to exist as we know it. It
is obvious, though, that this G-dly vitality, which pervades every object to the
core, nevertheless is infused into the various objects of Creation to different
degrees: a stone has much less spiritual life to it than does a plant, which has
less than an animal, which in turn has less than a human being. This aspect of
G-d - that He animates every object in a manner tailored to its particular
nature - is comparable to the fame, the abstract sovereignty, of a king, which
applies to each subject differently and is separate from the actual person of
the king.
[This answers a fundamental question of philosophy: if
the Creator is One and indivisible, how can there be multiplicity in Creation?
We now understand from the analogy that there is an element of "kingship" which
permeates each and every individual thing to a different extent, yet has no
bearing on the oneness of the king himself; in a similar fashion, spiritually,
G-d brings the universe into being. While He is, of course, the Creator of all
the many things that exist, none of this implicates G-d's actual "Self", so to
speak.] | | " All of Creation, from the most sublime spiritual realms to the lowest of the low, is in the presence of the King..." | | |
This immanence of G-d in Creation is called in Hebrew
"Memaleh Kol Almin", that element of G-dliness that, literally, "fills
all realms".
On the other hand, G-d Himself (as opposed to His
sovereignty) is so exalted, so sublime over the entirety of Creation, that He
does not "lower" Himself to relate to individual things; to cause one object to
exist as a stone, for example, and another as a human being. To G-d, Who is so
sublime, there is no difference between a person and a stone, after all, for He
utterly transcends them both. This transcendent element of G-d over Creation,
called " Sovev Kol Almin", literally "surrounds all realms", may be
compared to the manner in which the bodily presence of the king in the analogy
encompasses everyone and everything equally, whether they be nobility, peasant,
stone, etc. (Note well that this transcendent level of G-dliness is
"transcendent" only in the sense that it is equally present throughout all
Creation, but not in the sense that it is not found at all within Creation - for
indeed, there is no place which is devoid of G-d. As in the above analogy, all
of Creation, from the most sublime spiritual realms to the lowest of the low, is
in the "presence of the King", so to speak, which encompasses everything
equally.) | | " The Torah is associated with Memaleh Kol Almin, the immanent aspect of G-d's relation to the universe..." | | |
Now, the Torah is associated with Memaleh Kol Almin,
the immanent aspect of G-d's relation to the universe. This is because the Torah
is the Wisdom and Will of G-d Himself relating to material existence. In the
Torah we find laws pertaining to everyday life (i.e. something may be permitted
while in a different case forbidden), and this phenomenon of G-d's abstract and
sublime wisdom coming down and clothing itself in everyday material objects and
situations is an element of G-d's immanence. For this reason, when a Jew studies
the Torah, taking it into his or her mind and making it a part of his or her own
knowledge, that person draws down upon him- or herself a revelation of G-dliness,
the holiness of "Memaleh Kol Almin".
Mitzvot, by contrast, are associated with "Sovev
Kol Almin", G-d's transcendent aspect, a higher level spiritually than "Memaleh".
When a Jew performs a mitzvah, carrying out in actual practice the Will of G-d -
not merely studying about what G-d wants done but actually doing it - the
holiness he or she brings into the world, and upon himself in particular, is so
great that it cannot become internalized within the person like Torah knowledge
can.
In light of the above, we can now appreciate a deeper
significance to the Talmudic dispute mentioned earlier. The opinion that.
practice of mitzvot is greater is based on the fact that mitzvah observance
draws down upon the individual the holiness of "Sovev", a more sublime
spiritual level than that associated with Torah study, "Memaleh".
In spite of this, though, the Rabbis reached the
conclusion that Torah study is greater. This is because it would simply be
impossible for us to link up with such a high level as "Sovev" by
performing physical, worldly actions, without some kind of "stepping stone",
something having aspects of both the material and the spiritual, to bridge the
gap. The Torah (in which the mitzvot are taught), the essence of which is
spiritual yet which relates to material existence, as explained above, is that
stepping stone that allows "Sovev" to associate with us at all. This is
what the Talmud meant by the statement, "Study [of Torah, associated with 'Memaleh']
is greater, for study leads to practice [of mitzvot, associated with 'Sovev']."
That is, Torah study is the "bridge" that allows the holiness of mitzvot
to be drawn down upon us to begin with, and must therefore be regarded as
superior. | | " It is only in this material world that one can progress from level to level..." | | |
What has all the above got to do with the Thirteen
Attributes of Divine Mercy being revealed during the month of Elul? The answer
lies in the fact that the concepts of "Memaleh" and "Sovev" are of
particular significance for this earthly existence. The World to Come - Heaven -
is a place of reward for one's conduct in this present world, and whatever level
a person has brought himself to in this life determines his or her reward and
spiritual level in the next life. In the next world, in other words, one's
spiritual standing is static; it remains fixed at the level determined by the
person's conduct in this life. It is only in this material world that one
can progress from level to level as time goes on, improving his or her service
to G-d, or (G-d forbid) the opposite.
This spiritual fluidity in the material world is only
possible because of mitzvah performance. Mitzvah observance, as explained above,
draws into this world the G-dly revelation of "Sovev", which, being
transcendent, is not limited to any individual level. It is for this very reason
that the soul comes into the world to begin with: to draw the holiness of
Sovev into the world through mitzvah observance, thereby elevating oneself
and the entire universe from one spiritual level to the next.
Indeed, each person has a certain amount of this
holiness to draw into the world, a quota set in accordance with his or her
capacity. That is one reason that transgressing a mitzvah (G-d forbid) is such a
terrible thing - even though G-d may forgive the transgressor, there is still
something missing from the amount of holiness that he or she was supposed to
bring into the world through mitzvah observance. Even the transcendent level of
Sovev, which ordinarily makes it possible to go from one level to
another, cannot fill in the gap, for it is from Sovev itself that the
holiness is missing!
Out of His unbounded love for us, however, G-d makes
it possible, not only to be forgiven, but to "fill in the gaps" as well. This is
accomplished through the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, which are on a much
higher level than either Memaleh or Sovev: they are united with
G-d Himself, like the personality of the king in the above analogy. Since this
is such a sublime spiritual level, transcending even Sovev, it can make
up for what is missing in Sovev.
It is appropriate that the Thirteen Attributes of
Mercy are revealed, not only during the Ten Days of Repentance, when they are
instrumental in bringing G-d's merciful forgiveness upon the Jews, but during
the month of Elul as well. In order for one to merit being forgiven - and more
than that, that any "gaps" in one's spiritual quota should be miraculously
repaired - one must succeed in achieving such a sincere and heartfelt level of
repentance that G-d is moved, as it were, to a "heartfelt" response in kind,
arousing His Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in dealing with that individual.
Unfortunately, it may be difficult for a person to
bring himself to such a genuine level of repentance. For this reason, G-d also
makes the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy accessible to us during Elul, which is a
month-long period of preparation for the High Holiday season to follow. Mindful
of the G-dly mercy manifest during this month, we should spend this time praying
for the merciful heavenly assistance that will bring our heartfelt repentance
during the upcoming Ten Days of Repentance to the level at which it will indeed
arouse the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, so that G-d not only forgives us but
even fills in our gaps.
Copyright 2001 Yitzchok D. Wagshul /
www.likuteitorah.com
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