Showing posts with label Shabbat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shabbat. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Friday, March 13, 2015
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Nega-tivity to Oneg-tivity.
By Joe Indomenico.
I found great solace in pondering that Geulah - Redemption has already happened.........it is just that we have not arrived there in time and space.........but occurred, it certainly has.
What do you see ..... The destruction and ruins of temples, the ashes of crematoria, the dust of wilderness or do you see the vibrant light of the rebuilt Beit haMikdash, and the industrious labour of love of G-d fearing Yehudim reclaiming the ancient sites and barren sands? We must see with clarity. The blind negativity of the left eye must be transformed by the light of the right eye. And it has.........just open the eyes.
Jewish Mysticism teaches that different Hebrew words that contain the same letters, but in a different order, are intrinsically related to each other.
Rabbi Yehonatan Eyebeschutz zt”l, in his famous work Yaarot Devash, explains that Lashon HaKodesh (lit. the “Holy Tongue” or Biblical Hebrew) reflects a basic aspect of life: Just as the situation of an individual or society can change from good to bad, so too the meanings of the Hebrew letters and words can change from positive to negative ones (through changes in the letter sequence).
In Vayikra - Leviticus 13 v 1-46, the Torah discusses the laws of a person whose skin is afflicted with נגע - nega, a Hebrew word meaning “plague” or “affliction”. The same letters, in different order, spell ענג - oneg, which means “pleasure” or “delight” – the very opposite of nega.
Chassidut explains that the only difference between the words oneg and nega is the placement of the Hebrew letter ע- ayin (which literally means “eye” - how one views the world). Whether a person will experience oneg and pleasure in life or only nega and “plagues” all depends on his perspective – where one chooses to place one's ayin - does one want to see all the good that there is or just focus on what one sees that is bad ?
How do we learn from the spiritual afflictions of tzara’at and nega as written in the Torah?.
These afflictions appeared on the skin of a person. In Hebrew, the word “skin,” ohr, is written with an ayin עור. If the ayin is substituted by an aleph, the rendered word is אור “light.” These two words are pronounced almost identically. In other words, the “skin” of the world, the way the world looks from the outside, is that it seems as though things just run by themselves devoid of an Unseen Hand. The “skin” of the world obstructs the Light. Nature is like a skin that obstructs the perception that everything in the world is miraculous, that everything is a manifestation of the Light.
If you take the spiritual affliction that manifests itself in the skin that is called nega and re-arrange the letters, you can form the word oneg, meaning, “pleasure.” By rearranging our view of the world, we can turn nega into the oneg of experiencing the Light. Similarly, if you rearrange the letters of tzara’at, you can form the word Atzeret, another name for Yom Tov, the holy festivals of the Jewish People, which afford yet another unique glimpse of the Light.
Every week, we are afforded an opportunity to make the “skin of the world” transparent, to see beyond to that Light. This opportunity is called Shabbat. G-d called Shabbat “pleasure.”
The real pleasure of Shabbat is the opportunity to re-orient our world-view,
to see the Light. The Light of Shabbat is the Messianic Age with the rebuilt Temple in Yerushalayim enveloped in the glory cloud of Shechinah drawing down the well springs of the Etz Chaim - The Tree of Life and Ohr haGanuz- the hidden Light of creation.
Do you see it ?.....................just open your עיניים eyes.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Thinking Shabbos - New Series For Gerim
- Shabbat For Gerim
- Sources
- Roots
- Shabat Gerim FAQ
- Introduction
- etc.
 |
| Shabbat Shalom! |
Friday, May 17, 2013
Gerim: Keeping The Holy With The Temple
Parashas Nasso
Serving God as Righteous and Holy Gerim
Rabbi David Katz
In Parashas Nasso the Torah introduces its readers [Nasso 5:6]
to a new Ger concept termed by the Talmud and Rabbinical writings, “Gezel HaGer”
– the sin of trespass upon God’s Gerim. This is seen in the Torah as a very
serious crime – to the extent that the proper restitution is a proper course of
Torah defined repentance accompanied by confession of sin, full financial
reclamation, etc. all to be in association with the Temple should the Ger
become deceased. God clearly demonstrates His deep Love for the Gerim in this
law, and not only does the institution of the Ger in Nasso set the tone of the
entire Parsha as one with a Mazal triggered Ger-theme from beginning to end in
the Parsha [as all of the topics are associated with the Ger by way of secrets
and hints according to laws of Torah exegesis called, “Pardes” – simple, hint, expounding,
and secret understandings in Torah], the law beckons the deep secrets of the
Holy temple and Priesthood that are illuminated by God’s Gerim [i.e. the Gerim
who are in nature to the Rechabites and Kenites; Holy Gerim who occupy Holy
institutions amongst Israel].
The case of the Torah [as mentioned above] that sets the
precedent for all such relationships with the Gerim in the mundane realm [and
such that it lends its vessels by extension into the spiritual dimension of
society as well] is the classically termed “Gezel HaGer” – stealing from the
Ger, and as one could imagine, this obviously allows for investigating the nature
of the Ger. As with any Ger [law-based] Torah, the range of Gerim can extend
from the quite literal ranks of Toshavim who are “slaves”/indebted – servants, “”
– to God while life’s dedication to the Temple, Gerim of the Gate, all the way
northward to the Ger Tzedek, and venturing into Judaism proper as full
converts. The Gezel HaGer then comes into focus in Nasso, as to provide focus
and context into the nature and levels of Gerim within practical applications,
such as theft.
[*Torah operates in “Mazal multi - tasking” called Pilpul
(understanding the matter within the matter), thus as Chazal state that the
repair of Adam/Man is rectifying theft, Gezel HaGer postures itself as a viable
cog in analysis and methodology of how to perform the repair, through
performance of this (Ger) opportunity under the premise of mazal and the Ger.]
The case of Gezel HaGer in its simplest form is the
procedure of restitution of the Ger should he be wronged by an Israelite Jew.
The standard law states that the Jew must repay the Ger in full along with
other steps to assist in his repentance, and is in relation to the many
cautions of the Torah that stress the guarding of the dignity and love of the
Ger.
Where the law becomes a “which – type - of - Ger - are - we - talking - about
- discussion” is in relation to where the victimized Ger has passed on before
the culprit was able to lend restitution. It is precisely this point that the
Torah commands that the possessions shall be divvied up amongst the Priests on
duty and to be considered under government of Law and gifts to the Priests and
must follow the standard protocol as such. The reason for the Priest entering the
discussion is that this stipulation of law is only enacted once the Ger is seen
to have no kin, which is a common scene amongst all Gerim. One must deduct
exactly which Ger [and in relation to the nature of kin /Gerim] has a complete
association and relevancy to the law under fire, as to be precise in Torah law
while avoiding a Chilul Hashem, and unnecessary backlash from misappropriated
statutes emanating from carelessness and lack of astute scholarship within required
practice of identifying Gerim.
Although the nature of carrying out this law to the upmost
degree of accuracy would most probably require a Beit Din when ascertaining the
finer points of the Ger [i.e. which exact blend of Toshav, as we
conclude that the ideal Ger of the statute in a Ger Tzedek], the standard
operative playing field would yield the Ger Tzedek, leaving the Ger Toshav as a
possibility and subject to resolving doubt. The Ger Tzedek [Righteous Ger] is
the primary agent in Nasso, as his righteousness is predicated on accepting the
full and entire Torah, thus making him applicable and sensitive to Torah
reality and all of the concurrent situations that come from Torah, as being in
deep relation to the Jewish People and their daily government. The trigger
point for the Ger Tzedek is that he is considered as absolutely having no kin,
as he is technically [by his own volition] devoid of stranglehold in both the Gentile and Jewish Worlds, making
him a true by definition Ger Tzedek. The convert and Toshav are lacking in this
degree namely because the Ger may have an easier acclamation process into the
Jewish World while the gentile has kin, and are simply not Jewish, and not
recognized under this law.
Now that we have properly identified the Torah portion’s Ger
[Tzedek] and eliminated the obvious and perhaps non – relevant, we can begin to
gain ground on just who is this Ger
Tzedek and perhaps begin to understand his comrades under the heading Toshav,
and what is the essence that ultimately drives the Ger.
The Ger Tzedek as we mentioned before is subject to analysis
in Nasso for the primary reason that he has accepted the entire Torah [and has
not converted; details as to why to follow] and thus he is a practitioner of
Torah on a realistic scale and way of life. This dynamic has certainly left him
as a true Ger, i.e. with no real kinsmen. The gentile World is philosophically
opposed to Torah ways of life, and for this, the [“Head” of] Torah itself is
called a Ger by rabbinic writings. The Ger is governed by a different law,
court, and ultimately a different God – for the Ger is first defined as having
renounced Idolatry.
Once idolatry has been renounced, the Ger Tzedek will fall
under categorical distinction as having accepted all of the commandments [as
valid and true Torah as understood by Jewish Law and tradition] along with the
Seven Laws of Noach as Moses instructed at Marah and Sinai along with the
appropriate Oral Torah [which is the basis of authenticity of Torah and its
Law]. Among other qualities of the Ger Tzedek, is that he will be keeping some
extent of the Torah upwards to its near entirety – save for eating exclusively
kosher meat, as is the mandate for a Ger [Toshav – Tzedek]. By doing as such,
he has sanctified the mystical significance of Moses’ breaking of the Ten
Commandment Tablets, in that it is the “downfall” that is actually the ascent,
as the Ger who eats “trief” [non-kosher meat] is expressing that he has
accepted the entire Torah as seen by the Torah command as such to the Ger
Toshav [Tzedek] and thus he is and isn’t a full Torah Jew at the same time.
This is called in the mystical sense “coming from the Mouth of the Almighty as ‘I
heard two from one voice’ and elicits a universal repair to the World when
expressed on an ultra - macro platform.
Thus the Ger Tzedek plays and operates under Torah law, and
is thus connected to the Jewish Nation, the Priests, the Land, etc. as he now
knows no other reality. For the Ger Tzedek can grasp on an acceptance level any
statute that comes his way as the operative measure of Torah governed society;
he is clearly a member of the Jewish People as a proper Ger Tzedek. The
liberties he enjoys come under such distinctions as aiding with the Red Heifer
and association with matters of Temple – Purity & Offerings, Shabbat
observance [w/indulging in “soul food labor”], etc.
The best way to express the
Love of the Ger on this level is by observing the letter “Shin” that grace a
Jewish Man’s Tefillin [of which the Talmud states that this mirrors Hashem’s
Tefillin, i.e. as seen in spiritual reality terms through Jewish Mazal – a spiritual
emanation trail that ultimately connects to the Creator] that mystically has
Four branches [paralleling the secret of the First tablets and the letters that
can be seen on both sides; the two letter Shin’s of Tefillin accentuate the
white and black fire woven together] representing the Righteous Gerim.
Of final note, the reason why there exists a term of “Ger
Tzedek” for this type of person under the gentile distinction as opposed to the
Jewish convert [of modern conception] is that in his root and essence he may
not be able to ever convert; and this is where the Ger Toshav and Ger Tzedek
actually meet and become inseparable. In basic law, all sources still consider
him to be a Ger Toshav on some level and yet he reveals the secrets of the Holy
Temple that shall stand for eternity, for he brings light to the whole Torah
and Priesthood, while echoing the Shem – Abraham union that blueprints this
concept as the pattern of Creation [and ultimately making “Yichud” (one-ness)
with our Parasha Nasso].
The Ger Tzedek who can’t convert, suffers from the duress of
his Toshav status; simply: he can’t function beyond his call of duty. Parashas
Emor brings down a lesser known law of the “Toshav-Kohen”, one who is sold to
the Priest as property. It is often understood that a Ger can in fact become
destitute and be sold to the Jew as a servant like any other servant of this
type, although the Ger is different; this is his calling and shall not convert.
The Ger Tzedek of the Temple is such that his soul utterly
rejects all that is not God. He can’t convert, for Jews are required to provide
a standard of successful living in this world as a basic tenet of Jewish
Survival and comes with the territory of the Jewish soul, which any convert
would ultimately have to recognize from within, as a signal that he is indeed
converting. On the flip side of things, he doesn’t function as a gentile
either, for the basic premise of derech eretz living [living off the land; craft
and ingenuity] and a world of dollars and cents/sense is simply far too mundane
to be involved with. Simply put: The Ger Loves Hashem and Hashem Loves [all] Gerim.
To this extent, he is not impoverished by way of being inept, rather, he simply
is intoxicated for Hashem and longs for a lifestyle that is dedicated to Temple
Service.
The Torah comes with an entire infrastructure for the Gerim
on this level, and he is essentially the blood that circulates from within the
Holy Temple that lubricates God’s Divine Machine. This is easily explained and
imagined when the Torah says a Ger who learns Torah is like the High Priest; as
the Priests are the Torah’s authentic and preferred “rabbis” as per their Blessings
in the Torah. The commentaries explain that the natural domain for the Ger is
ironically “as a Priest” [while not coming from the seed of Aaron, rather
Shem], and as such he is seen to grasp and absorb the teachings of the Priest
[see Malachi 2:7] to the point of a performance level.
We know that historically and in many law-based cases, the
Gerim take part of the Temple services and practices. The love drawn Ger by
means of his own mazal, will find himself immersed amongst the Priests, glued
to Hashem and His Temple, and their scent [Vilna Gaon Shir Hashirim] will fill
the halls of the Temple as the waters of intellect sweeten the bitter World
beyond Israel’s boundaries. To put it in simple terms, the Ger Tzedek may very
well simply be: a Ger Tzedek by every definition, and perforce his home is
amongst the Priests in the Temple as opposed to being among the Judean lions.
The Torah calls him [in parallel language] a Ger Toshav [implied Tzedek].
Parashas Nasso is unique in that we can find all of Israel
amongst her words; as the Midrash points out in many flavors the various roots
in subtle places of Torah personality amidst the Parsha. You may be a Ger,
King, Prophet, Nazir, Priest, Warrior, etc. Everyone is in Nasso, and Hashem
commands Moses to “Take a census of the Levites of Gershon” – a root in the
Holy Tongue for marriage, while the end of the Parsha sees the Tabernacle
standing erect by the hand of Moses, as the pivotal moment [of inauguration] in
Creation where Hashem is fully bound to his marriage of Israel; all that came
before and what will be after in the relationship were predicated on a dwelling
for Hashem below in our Temple-driven/defined existence.
How much sweeter will
the anticipated Third Temple’s inauguration be, a reality built by the hands of
God, as told through the additional merit of the Gerim, who properly are the
underlying unified theme of Parashas Nasso. The Jewish People have never - not
known the Ger Tzedek, yet it’s Parashas Nasso that aims to simply bring to
light what we all intuitively know in hearts -
the Jew and the Ger are as inseparable as body and soul…which one is
which, is then rendered a moot point, for on that level – [the Temple
permeates] Hashem is one, and it is heard throughout ALL of Israel, and
responded by Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuto Le’olam Va’ed. Amen.
Here is the New Link For The Classroom: https://www.ivocalize.net/#
Class Times:
Motzie Shabbos 11 P.M. - Parsha Shavua
Wed 11 P.M. Torah of the Ger Series
classes are 1 hr. / please arrive a bit early to guarantee a seat
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Name The Ger
Parashas Bamidbar
Of Levites
and Rechabites: Tales of The Distinguished
Rabbi David Katz
Parashas Bamidbar [3:21] introduces a new element in the
Torah, this being that of the distinguished and elite families of the Children
of Israel, i.e., those that were primarily found amongst the Levites. The
Midrash explains and expounds on this principle concerning [of the Levites] the
Livni-ites (amongst others listed) [with emphasis on “-ites” as a term of
endearment to these elect families amongst Israel] as such: “Why are they called
Livni-ites? …That going back to liberation from Egypt these families merited
that Hashem should call each and every one of them [a name] based on their
achievements and merit in their revealed deeds. Thus the Livni-ites were a
reminder of the merit contained throughout Israel in response to Pharaoh having
used brick and mortar to enslave them. …and the Shimi-ites were named after
those that cried out from bondage…”
One can clearly see, Hashem rewards the deeds of the
Righteous with terms of endearment [Jews and Gerim, i.e. Gerim are known to
have as much of an affiliation with names as Jews; Names (on a level of High
Intellect) are derived from Gerim such as Adam, Noah, Shem, and Ever…culminating
with perhaps the most famous of sorts – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – all having
special Names that match their merits.
In great merit are these families remembered by their names,
and this beckons one to recall the famous families of Gerim [such as the famous
Rechabites] who were also named and recalled by God in the exact same light. In
a Parsha that begins with Moses giving [or revealing] each soul his “name and
number” [the name meaning and gematria acc. To commentary, as the Vilna Gaon’s
system in Kol Hator would call this “mysa v’ cheshbon” – deed and number] the
depth of the Parsha shines forth through hinting at the meaning that names
bestow upon a person, to the point that the commentaries state on these matters
[i.e. Chronicles 1.2.55 when explaining the meaning of the Rechabites] – to attempt
to exhaust such matters would render the efforts infinite.
Now that a precedent has been established of names, elite,
prominent, etc., we can now illuminate perhaps the biggest mystery that exists
in the entire Torah – the nature of “strange names” that are littered throughout
the entire text. By the time we reach Chronicles, it should become quite
apparent that there were a lot of names through the Tanach that seem important,
yet no adequate reason is offered in a straight forward fashion that could
easily explain this phenomenon, to the extent that the entire Book of
Chronicles itself seems to be an isolated island predicated on this element of
enigmatic idioms offered as “names” alone!
Once the interested reader comes to learn that the
Livni-ites according to the Midrash actually is not a benign blip on the radar,
and is a term/name that is actually invested with heavy meaning [warning: the
entire Torah is as such! – proceed with caution is advised], then the
proverbial dots can begin to become connected, and a map of sorts can be
printed as documentation as to the true nature of Gerim [who are the prime
subject of this science, again proving the severity of names and Gerim in
history and Torah], which in brail-like fashion, will lead us into the camp of
the Rechabites; elect ancient Gerim, of whom the account of the essential Ger is
embedded in their very being, encapsulated by none other, than their names.
The Rechabites are a treasure-trail of a mystery that will
literally captivate you to travail throughout the Torah from the days of Jethro
[which are only fully understood through a Ger perspective of Bereishit, i.e.
from Creation to Noah and Shem and onwards to the Avot and into Joseph and
Egpyt, composing the entire first book of the Torah as an introduction to
Moses, Jethro, and the appropriate commandments to each (much like Rashi’s
commentary to the opening of Genesis as to why the Torah began a “law book”
with an account of history)], into the Land of Israel with Joshua and his
legion of Kenites [those from Jethro] who would exist in name, throughout the
entire Tanach incognito if you will, until the Book of Chronicles, which there,
in faint detail, the Torah tersely documents this lineage, that ultimately
became the Rechabites, a family of nobility, of Gerim. The interested reader
would literally have had to master the Tanach cover to cover, to gain a glimpse
of the repetitious pattern that guards the path of the righteous gentile in
Torah history.
Once settled in Chronicles 1.2.55, one will gain insight
into these Rechabites, that echo the type of message delivered back home in
Bamidbar 3:21, concerning the Levites, who again, were praised by their account
and preserved merit in the Exodus, which is guarded by their lofty names. The
Rechabites are said to be the righteous descendants of “Chamat – father of
Rechav.”
The basic story of the Rechabites is told in text and
commentary as follows: “The Kenites [descendants of Jethro the Ger, i.e. not a
convert] came to dwell with the famous scribes [who were also a sect of Gerim,
as Gerim were largely recognized as superior scribes in the first Temple time
period] known as Yabetz. The famous Rechabites to dwell there were three-fold and
recognized by the merit of their names – Teratites (gave “sound” to their
prayers), Shimatites (their prayers were “heard”), and Sokatites (their merits “protect”
Israel). One of the Kenites was Rechav [offspring from Chamat, and those of
whom the entire lineage would be named after], and he was the forefather to
Yonadov, who upon hearing of the Temple’s imminent destruction took upon
himself three degrees of practice of sanctity: not to drink wine, not to dwell in
houses, and to not sow seed. These righteous deeds that aided in Israel’s
survival, merit, and protection, deemed these Gerim as eternal Rechabites, a
term of endearment from the heart of God, as it says, “God loves the Ger like
none other.
[*note: this Midrash about God’s love of the Ger is in
reference to ANYONE who is a Ger, whether it be a Ger Toshav who eats neveilah
(unkosher meat) or King David himself – God’s Love for him is like none other,
for this you are commanded to Love the Ger as well.]
Thus the Rechabite is just one example of how the name
explains one’s entire being, history, merit, place in the World, etc. In
clearer terms – it is his Mazal, i.e. the bound up Wisdom, like a spiritual
map/DNA of what this person possesses in the very depths of his soul, such that
it defines his relationship with Hashem. The Levites of Bamidbar were the first
to reveal this ancient wisdom to us in the post-Egypt World, yet it is an art
that goes back to Genesis and the days of the Avot, Shem, and developed by Noah
himself, a man whose name is his essence! The Zohar calls itself after Noah and
his Ark, which is explained the word in Hebrew for Ark [Teivah] also means “word”
which is a way of saying “the word Noah,” i.e. his Name.
It is upon this point that Shem ben Noah [Shem whose name
means “name”] represents the level of reincarnation to Noah [even though they
were alive at the same time], or the portion of his soul that was simply the
name of Noah. This would embody its wisdom, properties to redeem [as Noah was said
to have redeemed merely by the powers invested within his prophetic name, of
which the Torah makes a revealed point of expression upon the birth of Noah and
its implications; the Torah example of depth revealed within names], which
ultimately is a person’s [Jewish, Torah-defined and intertwined] Mazal.
The Levites and the Rechabites are two examples cut from the
same cloth that can express the deepest secrets of Torah, those that are embedded
in a name as a source of merit. [Every soul born comes to this world with merit
and per force Mazal. For this each soul possesses a divine prophetic name that
gives account of the entire Torah from the vantage of point of his potential
righteousness that becomes his mission to reveal to the World.] For this the
commentaries state that it is beyond the scope of text to document infinite
wisdom of names, thus making it known that this is indeed the nature of our
reality in a Mazal, God driven World.
Moses, as the essential prophet, who was given the gift from
above to bestow the infinite in a finite fashion, relays for us this lofty
concept [of Levites, Rechabites, etc. – High Intellect in names] in one simple
verse in the Torah: Moses counted by the number of their names. And thus God’s
army was fashioned, armed with their essence [within the name] along with merit
and Mazal, that each member may be able to hold his head high. No one else in
History revealed this more, than those of the Redemption of Egypt [which the
Arizal says is mystically retold each Seder night by every Jew, retelling his
Mazal, or family merit that he was redeemed by], i.e. the Levites, and
especially the Rechabites, the Gerim, those who have guarded the Torah’s lost
secrets as a safekeeping until the End of Days, the time when Israel will see
the great merit and Mazal bestowed to them, by God himself, for such bravery as
Chamat, the father of Rechav, and his offspring who sacrificed themselves for
the sanctity of God’s Temple, may it be built soon and in our days. Amen.
Don't Forget NEW Summer Hours CLASS TIME: 11 P.M. Motzie Shabbos - Parsha Shavua [from 10 P.M.]
and Wed 11 P.M. Torah of Ger Series - To resume after the Holiday
Friday, October 12, 2012
Bereishit, Noah, and Shabbat Shalom
 |
| Noahidenations.com |
Parashas Bereishis: Noah: A Source of Shabbat
Rabbi David Katz
In this week’s Parsha, the first Parsha of what will become
the opening of the saga that will be contained within the breadth of the whole
entire Torah we begin and go through stages of Creation, rise and fall of Man,
and ultimately stumble upon a possible savior in the birth of Noah. The Torah may
not delve much into the life of Noah at this point (although various Midrashim
delve into a plethora of opinions as to the character and achievements of Noah),
but one vital quality of Noah is given over to the reader, one of supreme
prophetic clarity: the meaning of the Name Noah, which means loosely “to ease”
[the toil of labor]. The prophecy is in light of the repair of Adam who
concordantly was to blame for the Earth’s curses upon its Land.
In the days of Lamech a son was born that would be prophetically
deemed to be “the one who would [re]build the World. Interestingly by stating
merely that “a son was born” the obvious question is why did the Torah deviate
from the norm of simply stating the father-son connection by name affiliation?
The answer comes in the very next verse of the Torah where it elucidates on the
prophecy of a “savior” birth, as it says “This one will ease us from our toil.”
To this extent the Bible commentator Rashi makes a clear analysis that the name
of Noah grammatically must mean “to ease” as opposed “to comfort” in which case
his name would have had to have been “Menachem.”
Between the Zohar, various Midrashim, and citations/commentary
within Tanach, Noah is directly attributed with the Sabbath. To leap forward
towards the end of the Torah in the later parshiot (Parsha in plural), when the
Torah speaks about the type of requisite rest on Shabbat, it deploys a
derivative of the word “Noah” that literally means “to be in a state of rest”;
to stop effectively. For this the Zohar says in many places that [the name]
Noah inherently means Shabbat.
In Yevamot 48b the Talmud makes a startling conclusion
concerning the Ger Toshav (literally meaning Alien Dweller; connotation of
being in the land; another term for modern day Noahaide) in that he is actually
elevated and identified as a Ger Tzedek, (a righteous Ger) making the Ger
Toshav worthy of praise for a gentile who obviously keeps the Seven Laws of
Noah alongside his unique preservation of Shabbat. This makes proper usage of
the term with a meaning of “Noah” into a name of a Shabbat staple type of
service to God, as now there are those that simply rest. For the Noahide and
his usage of “Noah” (to ease) instead of “stopping” from his daily life, he
will take ease from the World and will begin to exude a non-rambunctious
demeanor to his day of rest, a day with God and His Torah as a meditative
study.
The manifestation of “Noah” within connotation and its
meaning in conjunction with Shabbat is that under no circumstance should the
World stop, for the World continues in the merit of his perpetual life while
the Jewish faction of Mankind utterly stops. If the Noahide were to stop as
well, the World would return to chaos and void. Yet the Noahide (who has taken
on a stricter service of God) embarks on a 24-hour mission to let the World
relax from its constant bling and chatter.
A basic proof of this idea that a Noahide can rest on the
Sabbath Day without posing an existential threat to daily life, is that the
Study of Torah guarantees that the World never stops its existence. The Noahide
is commanded to not celebrate a Shabbat that would ceremonially pull the Earth
to a screeching halt, yet as we see he has Divine –Torah-dictation from the
Mouth of God dedicating Shabbat for him (the Ger Tzedek/Toshav in particular;
halachic/law issues of the particulars are not the scope of this article). One
can resolve the contradiction between the threat of stopping the World in
contrast to perpetuating it eternally, in that the World is guaranteed to continue
despite the rest of the Noahide, for his rest is contingent by his connection
to God and the study of Torah in particular. The Noahide who then studies Torah
evokes the Ancient Torah dictum: that when Torah is studied the World is
guaranteed to exist. It would be expected that his rest coupled with Torah
would produce an ease, a rest, as opposed to a full -fledged stoppage.
A Noahide who studies Torah is compared to the High Priest,
and thus as long as the focus is his performance of Seven Laws, if he can
maneuver the entire Torah amidst these Seven (which any true scholar of Torah
can illuminate its fractal qualities), then the whole Torah is at his
fingertips, along with an additional 30 Commandments to aide his Torah study
and service of God. The Priesthood, Torah, and Noahides fittingly work their
way back to Noah, as Shem the son of Noah was both a Priest and an original
Noahide, both in the name of Torah; Shem received everything through Noah his
father. [Avos D’ Rebbe Natan] Many people are not aware of the vast
foundational principles that originate with Noah, such as the Torah Tradition,
service of God, etc. It should be no longer hidden from the eyes that not only
did Noah enter the World into a Shabbat reality within the Ark, build the World
around the concept of easing one’s labor, but he gave the World an eternal gift
of this ease and Torah with a Priestly feel for those of a Righteous
inclination: Shabbat. Indeed, Noah truly is the father of the Sabbath, and it
is a credit to Noah that he absolutely built a World that is destined to last
forever, one centered around the philosophy of Shabbat, exactly as his
prophetic name would imply, “This one will build the World and ease us from our
labor.” It just so happens, that even despite Rashi, we all can take great comfort
in the Righteous Noah and take a special opportunity to learn his Torah, even on
the Holy Sabbath Day – in merit of Noah, Jew and Noahide…and the World will
continue, just as promised to Noah.
