Sources:
Pesikta Rabbati 28:2; Midrash Tehillim 2:17; Eliyahu Rabbah 1:3, 30:150; Midrash Konen in Beit ha-Midrash 2:25; Zohar 1:210a-210b; Nefesh ha-Hayim 3:1.
57. GOD WALKS IN THE GARDEN
And they heard the voice of the Lord walking in the garden toward the cool of day.
This is the most anthropomorphic depiction of God in the Book of Genesis, who is “walking in the garden toward the cool of the day.” Not only is God portrayed as being on earth, and not in heaven, but God is said to be walking. This suggests that God has legs, which implies that God has some kind of human form. The added detail of “walking toward the cool of day” adds an additional humanizing element, as if God needed to cool off. After this, God ascends to heaven and remains there, except to descend to Mount Sinai to dictate the Torah to Moses.
Sources:
Genesis 3:8.
Studies:
God: A Biography by Jack Miles.
58. GOD’S LANTERN
When God took Israel out of Egypt, He took the lantern and went before them, as it is said, Yahweh went before them (Exod. 13:21). God escorted his descendants forty years in the wilderness. He was like a father holding a torch for his son, or like a master holding a torch for his servant. In this way God showed the nations of the world how dear the children were to Him, in that He Himself went before them so that the nations should treat them with respect.
In Exodus God Himself leads the children of Israel: Yahweh went before them in a pillar of cloud by day, to guide them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light (Exod. 13:21). In this passage from Exodus Rabbah, however, God guides them by holding a lantern and going before them. Even though the biblical verse from Exodus is quite anthropomorphic, the image of God holding a lantern is far more so, in that God’s presence can be hidden in a pillar of cloud or in a pillar of fire, but not when holding a lantern. Indeed, the suggested image is of a giant figure bearing a lantern who is leading the people. Rashi’s comment on this verse confirms God’s presence: “God Himself, in His glory, led the cloud before them.” However, this verse also lends itself to a metaphorical interpretation, where the image of God guiding the people with a lantern can also be understood to mean that God illumined their path. But this allegorical reading cannot diminish the powerful anthropomorphic image of God carrying a lantern and striding before the people through the wilderness.
Sources:
B. Avodah Zarah 11a; Exodus Rabbah 15:17; Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, be-Shallah 1:215-225; Rashi on Exodus 13:21.
59. GOD DESCENDS TO MOUNT SINAI
On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.
Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up.
All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. “You speak to us,” they said to Moses, “and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses answered the people, “Be not afraid; for God has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray.” So the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
This is one of the most vivid manifestations of God found in the Bible, where God descends to the top of Mount Sinai. Further, all of Israel is present at this time as witnesses of God’s existence. God’s overwhelming presence also underscores the importance of the transmission of the Torah. All in all, it is a key moment of bonding between God and Israel, confirmed by God’s explicit presence.
How did God bridge the gap between heaven and earth? Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, ba-Hodesh 4:45-52, states that “God bent down the heavens and lowered them to the top of the mountain, and thus the Glory descended.”
Sources:
Exodus 19:16-20, 20:15-18.
60. THE TENT OF MEETING
Now Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; and he called it the Tent of Meeting. And it came to pass, that every one who sought the Lord went out to the Tent of Meeting, which was without the camp. And it came to pass, when Moses went out to the tent, that all the people rose up, and stood, every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tent.
And it came to pass, when Moses entered into the tent, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of the tent; and the Lord spoke with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the tent, all the people rose up and worshipped, every man at his tent door. And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…
Then it happened that the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud abided within it, and God’s glory filled the tabernacle.
And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward with their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they waited until the day came when it was. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and there was fire within it at night, in the sight of all of the House of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Here God descends to fill the Tent of Meeting and Moses is unable to enter it. This image establishes that God’s presence takes up space. The key passage is: And Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud abided within it, and God’s glory filled the tabernacle. This passage, with its direct statement that God’s presence had a physical manifestation, must be counted as one of the most vividly mythic episodes in the Bible.
The principle that God’s presence takes space was drawn upon in the sixteenth century as the basis of Isaac Luria’s kabbalistic theory of tzimtzum, which assumes that prior to Creation, God’s presence filled the universe, and there was no room for anything else. So, in order to make space for the world to exist, Luria posited the contraction of God prior to the creation of the world. See “The Contraction of God,” p. 13.
In Midrash Tanhuma, Shoftim 8 it is said that Moses would enter the Tent of Meeting and stand there, and the voice of God would descend from the heavens as a type of pillar of flame between the cherubim, and Moses heard the voice speaking to him as if it were within himself.
Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 1:1 comments on God’s reducing His size as follows: “Thus did God surrender to His people Israel, for their sake shrinking His presence in order to dwell among them in the Tabernacle. Nevertheless, though God dwells in the Tabernacle, He does not confine His Presence to it. He is present everywhere, even in the lowliest thorn bush. He comes and goes as He pleases. His power is endless.”
Sources:
Exodus 33:7-11, 40:34-37.
61. THE COTTAGE OF CANDLES
There once was a Jew who went out into the world to seek justice. Somewhere, he was certain, true justice must exist, but he had never found it. So he set out on a quest that lasted for many years. He went from town to town and village to village, and everywhere he went, he searched for justice, but never did he find it.
In this way many years passed, until the man had explored all of the known world except for one last, great forest. He entered that dark forest without hesitation, for by now he was fearless, and he went everywhere in it. He went into the caves of thieves, but they mocked him and said, “Do you expect to find justice here?” And he went into the huts of witches, where
they were stirring their brews, but they laughed at him and said, “Do you expect to find justice here?”
The man went deeper and deeper into that forest, until at last he arrived at a little clay hut. Through the window he saw many flickering flames, and he was curious about them. So he went to the door and knocked. No answer. He knocked again. Nothing. At last he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Now, as soon as he stepped inside that cottage, the man realized that it was much larger on the inside than it had seemed to be from the outside. It was filled with hundreds of shelves, and on every shelf there were dozens of oil candles. Some of those candles were in precious holders of gold or silver or marble, and some were in cheap holders of clay or tin. And some of the holders were filled with oil and the flames burned brightly, while others had very little oil left.
All at once an old man, with a long, white beard, wearing a white robe, appeared before him. “Shalom aleikhem, my son” the old man said. “How can I help you?” The man replied, “Aleikhem shalom. I have gone everywhere searching for justice, but never have I seen anything like this. Tell me, what are all these candles?”
The old man said, “Each of these candles is the candle of a person’s soul. As long as the candle continues to burn that person remains alive. But when the candle burns out that person’s soul takes leave of this world.”
The man asked, “Can you show me the candle of my soul?”
“Follow me,” the old man said, and he led him through that long labyrinth of a cottage, which the man now saw must be endless. At last they reached a low shelf, and there the old man pointed to a candle in a holder of clay and said, “That is the candle of your soul.”
Now the man took one look at that flickering candle, and a great fear fell upon him, for the wick of that candle was very short, and there was very little oil left, and it looked as if at any moment the wick would slide into the oil and sputter out. He began to tremble. Could the end could be so near without his knowing it? Then he noticed the candle next to his own, also in a clay holder, but that one was full of oil, and its wick was long and straight and its flame burned brightly. “And whose candle is that?” the man asked.
“I can only reveal each man’s candle to himself alone,” the old man said, and he turned and left.
The man stood there, quaking. All at once he heard a sputtering sound, and when he looked up, he saw smoke rising from another shelf, and he knew that somewhere, someone was no longer among the living. He looked back at his own candle and saw that there were only a few drops of oil left. Then he looked again at the candle next to his own, so full of oil, and a terrible thought entered his mind.
He stepped back and searched for the old man in every corner of the cottage, but he didn’t see him anywhere. Then he picked up the candle next to his own and lifted it up above his own. At that instant the old man appeared out of nowhere and gripped his arm with a grip like iron. And the old man said: “Is this the kind of justice you are seeking?”
The man closed his eyes because it hurt so much. And when he opened his eyes, he saw that the old man was gone, and the cottage and the candles had all disappeared. And he found himself standing alone in the forest and he heard the trees whispering his fate. And he wondered, had his candle burned out? Was he, too, no longer among the living?
This story is a folk example of a divine test. The identity of the old man who tends the soul-candles and conducts the test remains a mystery, although his supernatural aspect is quite clear. As the Keeper of the Soul-Candles, he functions as an Elijah-type figure or perhaps as one of the Lamed-vav Tzaddikim, the Thirty-Six Hidden Saints, who are said to be the pillars of the world and are often described as living in the forest. See “The Thirty-Six Just Men,” p. 397. It is also possible to view the old man as the Angel of Death, who has come to take the man’s soul. Or the old man might even be identified as God, who has descended to this world to administer the test Himself. In any case, the test surely takes place at the behest of God, so it remains a divine one, similar to the divine tests found in Bible, such as those given to Adam and Eve concerning the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3), the Binding of Isaac (Gen. 22), and the trials of Job. Adam and Eve fail the divine test when they eat the forbidden fruit, but Abraham and Job pass the tests given them. Abraham demonstrates his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, and Job retains his faith in God despite a series of tragic events.
The man in this story, who is never named, is clearly attempting to fulfill the biblical injunction, Justice, justice, shall you pursue (Deut. 16:20). One way of reading the tale is to see that in arriving at this cottage, the man is on the verge of completing his lifelong quest to find justice, but he is first tested to see if he himself is truly just. It is interesting to note that his quest in this tale is in many ways parallel to that of the man from the country in Kafka’s famous parable, “Before the Law,” from The Trial, who comes seeking justice at the gates of the Law. See “Before the Law,” p. 179.
In this folktale the man who seeks justice sins when he attempts to steal oil from the soul-candle next to his own. But there are other Jewish tales in which the reverse is true. See, for example, “The Enchanted Inn” in Gabriel’s Palace, where a boy finds a candle about to burn out and pours additional oil into it as a good deed, only to discover later that it was the candle of his soul. Another variant, IFA 8335, tells of a cave in which there are bottles of oil, where a person lives until the oil is exhausted. Nor is the motif of soul-candles limited to Jewish folklore. Variants are found in Latin American folklore, as well as in Spanish tales, among others.
There is an implicit parallel between the soul-candles, which burn as long as a person lives, and the Jewish custom of lighting yahrzeit candles on the anniversary of a person’s death. These memorial candles are intended to last for twenty-four hours, and remain lit until they burn out. The lighting of the yahrzeit candle is done to symbolize the verse, The soul of man is the lamp of God (Prov. 20:27), and this same verse is strongly echoed in this folktale. Note how the two verses from Deuteronomy and Proverbs serve as the foundation of this story. Justice, justice shall you pursue sets in motion the quest that propels the story, and The soul of man is the candle of God is the focus of the climactic episode about the cottage of candles. The quest is one of the most popular types of Jewish (and universal) folktales, especially fairy tales, but here
the quest is not a conventional one for a lost princess, the sword of Moses, or a golden bird, but for an abstraction—justice. The fact that this story comes from Afghanistan seems entirely appropriate, for that is a harsh land where justice is very hard to find.
One way of reading this tale is to see that in arriving at the cottage, the man is on the verge of completing his quest to find justice, but he is first tested to see if he himself is just. Instead of proving worthy, he attempts to lengthen his life by depriving another of the years of life allotted to him. But he is caught and made to face the consequences of his action. In this sense he finds justice, for justice is exactly meted out. His error was to continually seek justice out in the world, but never to search for it within himself.
Sources:
IFA 7830, 8335; Ha-Ba’al ha-Ketanah.
62. THE CREATION OF WISDOM
Wisdom was the first of God’s creations. Older than the universe, Wisdom was created two thousand years before the creation of the world. She came forth in the beginning from the mouth of God, and will exist for all eternity. Some say that God is the father of Wisdom, and she is God’s ever-virgin daughter, whose true nature is intact and undefiled. Others identify Wisdom as the daughter of God and the firstborn mother of all things. Still others say that God is the husband of Wisdom, who lives with God, for God loves her.
Wisdom was present at the Creation of heaven and earth, as it is said, I was there when He set the heavens into place and when He fixed the foundations of the earth (Prov. 8:27-29). Some say that Wisdom was an observer in Creation, while others say that God created the world using
Wisdom as the instrument of His workmanship, as it is said, Yahweh founded the earth by wisdom (Prov. 3:19).
Some say that Wisdom’s throne is in a pillar of cloud. Others say that Wisdom made the circuit of the vault of heaven alone, and walked in the depths of the abyss, but she could not find a place in which to dwell. Everywhere she went, in the waves of the sea, in the whole earth, she sought a resting place, a place to build her house. Some say that a place was found for her in the heavens and she settled among the angels, while others say that that God assigned a place for her tent in this world, and she made her dwelling in Jacob, and received her inheritance in Israel. So too did Wisdom send seven prophets to help mankind, from Moses to Ezra.
Now Wisdom’s house is a calm and serene haven, as it is said, Wisdom has built her house (Prov. 9:1). No sooner do you call to Wisdom than she stands ready to serve you at your gates. No sooner do you chant words of Torah than she chants at your door.
There is some debate over the identity of the mysterious figure of Wisdom (Hokhmah in Hebrew, Sophia in Greek) described in Proverbs 8:22-31:
The Lord created me at the beginning of His course, as the first of His works of old. In the distant past I was fashioned, at the beginning, at the origin of earth. There was still no deep when I was brought forth, no springs rich in water; before the foundation of the mountains were sunk, before the hills I was born. He had not yet made earth and fields, or the world’s first clumps of clay. I was there when He set the heavens into place; when He fixed the horizon upon the deep; when He made the heavens above firm, and the fountains of the deep gushed forth. When He assigned the sea its limits, so that its waters never transgress His command; when He fixed the foundations of the earth, I was with Him as a confidant, a source of delight every day, rejoicing before Him at all times, rejoicing in His inhabited world, finding delight with mankind.
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