~ What do you think Yehudah is feeling at this moment?
~ What is Yosef feeling?
~ Is there a space for God in this scene?
God says: May it be My will that My mercy will overcome My anger towards Israel for their transgressions,
and may My mercy prevail over My other attributes through which Israel is punished,
and may I conduct myself toward My children, Israel, with the attribute of mercy,
and may I enter before them beyond the letter of the law. Similarly, it was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, said: Once, on Yom Kippur, I entered the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, to offer incense, and in a vision I saw Akatriel Ya, the Lord of Hosts, one of the names of God expressing His ultimate authority, seated upon a high and exalted throne (see Isaiah 6).
And He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me.
I said to Him the prayer that God prays: “May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger,
and may Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes,
and may You act toward Your children with the attribute of mercy,
and may You enter before them beyond the letter of the law.”
The Holy One, Blessed be He, nodded His head and accepted the blessing. This event teaches us that you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly. If God asked for and accepted a man’s blessing, all the more so that a man must value the blessing of another man. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From where is it derived that one must not placate a person while he is in the throes of his anger, rather he should mollify him after he has calmed down? As it is written, when following the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses requested that the Divine Presence rest upon Israel as it had previously, God said to him: “My face will go, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14). Rabbi Yoḥanan explained: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Wait until My face of wrath will pass and I will grant your request. One must wait for a person’s anger to pass as well. The Gemara asks: And is there anger before the Holy One, Blessed be He? Can we speak of God using terms like anger? The Gemara answers: Yes, as it was taught in a baraita, God becomes angry, as it is stated: “God vindicates the righteous, God is furious every day” (Psalms 7:12). How much time does His anger last? God’s anger lasts a moment. And how long is a moment? One fifty-eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eighth of an hour, that is a moment. The Gemara adds: And no creature can precisely determine that moment when God becomes angry, except for Balaam the wicked, about whom it is written: “He who knows the knowledge of the Most High” (Numbers 24:16).
~ How comfortable are you with attributing emotions to God? Why?
~ What do you think it says about the rabbis' theology when they are attributing all these to God?
(א) יְסוֹד הַיְסוֹדוֹת וְעַמּוּד הַחָכְמוֹת לֵידַע שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם מָצוּי רִאשׁוֹן. וְהוּא מַמְצִיא כָּל נִמְצָא. וְכָל הַנִּמְצָאִים מִשָּׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ וּמַה שֶּׁבֵּינֵיהֶם לֹא נִמְצְאוּ אֶלָּא מֵאֲמִתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ:
(ב) וְאִם יַעֲלֶה עַל הַדַּעַת שֶׁהוּא אֵינוֹ מָצוּי אֵין דָּבָר אַחֵר יָכוֹל לְהִמָּצְאוֹת:
(ג) וְאִם יַעֲלֶה עַל הַדַּעַת שֶׁאֵין כָּל הַנִּמְצָאִים מִלְּבַדּוֹ מְצוּיִים הוּא לְבַדּוֹ יִהְיֶה מָצוּי. וְלֹא יִבָּטֵל הוּא לְבִטּוּלָם. שֶׁכָּל הַנִּמְצָאִים צְרִיכִין לוֹ וְהוּא בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ לָהֶם וְלֹא לְאֶחָד מֵהֶם. לְפִיכָךְ אֵין אֲמִתָּתוֹ כַּאֲמִתַּת אֶחָד מֵהֶם:
(ד) הוּא שֶׁהַנָּבִיא אוֹמֵר (ירמיה י י) "וַה' אֱלֹהִים אֱמֶת". הוּא לְבַדּוֹ הָאֱמֶת וְאֵין לְאַחֵר אֱמֶת כַּאֲמִתָּתוֹ. וְהוּא שֶׁהַתּוֹרָה אוֹמֶרֶת (דברים ד לה) "אֵין עוֹד מִלְּבַדּוֹ". כְּלוֹמַר אֵין שָׁם מָצוּי אֱמֶת מִלְּבַדּוֹ כְּמוֹתוֹ:
(ה) הַמָּצוּי הַזֶּה הוּא אֱלֹהֵי הָעוֹלָם אֲדוֹן כָּל הָאָרֶץ. וְהוּא הַמַּנְהִיג הַגַּלְגַּל בְּכֹחַ שֶׁאֵין לוֹ קֵץ וְתַכְלִית. בְּכֹחַ שֶׁאֵין לוֹ הֶפְסֵק. שֶׁהַגַּלְגַּל סוֹבֵב תָּמִיד וְאִי אֶפְשָׁר שֶׁיִּסֹּב בְּלֹא מְסַבֵּב. וְהוּא בָּרוּךְ הוּא הַמְסַבֵּב אוֹתוֹ בְּלֹא יָד וּבְלֹא גּוּף:
(ו) וִידִיעַת דָּבָר זֶה מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כ ב) "אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ". וְכָל הַמַּעֲלֶה עַל דַּעְתּוֹ שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם אֱלוֹהַּ אַחֵר חוּץ מִזֶּה עוֹבֵר בְּלֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כ ג) "לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל פָּנָי". וְכוֹפֵר בָּעִקָּר שֶׁזֶּהוּ הָעִקָּר הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁהַכּל תָּלוּי בּוֹ:
(ז) אֱלוֹהַּ זֶה אֶחָד הוּא וְאֵינוֹ שְׁנַיִם וְלֹא יֶתֶר עַל שְׁנַיִם. אֶלָּא אֶחָד. שֶׁאֵין כְּיִחוּדוֹ אֶחָד מִן הָאֲחָדִים הַנִּמְצָאִים בָּעוֹלָם. לֹא אֶחָד כְּמִין שֶׁהוּא כּוֹלֵל אֲחָדִים הַרְבֵּה. וְלֹא אֶחָד כְּגוּף שֶׁהוּא נֶחְלָק לְמַחְלָקוֹת וְלִקְצָווֹת. אֶלָּא יִחוּד שֶׁאֵין יִחוּד אַחֵר כְּמוֹתוֹ בָּעוֹלָם. אִלּוּ הָיוּ אֱלֹהוּת הַרְבֵּה הָיוּ גּוּפִין וּגְוִיּוֹת. מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין הַנִּמְנִים הַשָּׁוִין בִּמְצִיאוּתָן נִפְרָדִין זֶה מִזֶּה אֶלָּא בִּמְאֹרָעִין שֶׁיֶּאֶרְעוּ בַּגּוּפוֹת וְהַגְּוִיּוֹת. וְאִלּוּ הָיָה הַיּוֹצֵר גּוּף וּגְוִיָּה הָיָה לוֹ קֵץ וְתַכְלִית שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לִהְיוֹת גּוּף שֶׁאֵין לוֹ קֵץ. וְכָל שֶׁיֵּשׁ לְגוּפוֹ קֵץ וְתַכְלִית יֵשׁ לְכֹחוֹ קֵץ וָסוֹף. וֵאלֹהֵינוּ בָּרוּךְ שְׁמוֹ הוֹאִיל וְכֹחוֹ אֵין לוֹ קֵץ וְאֵינוֹ פּוֹסֵק שֶׁהֲרֵי הַגַּלְגַּל סוֹבֵב תָּמִיד. אֵין כֹּחוֹ כֹּחַ גּוּף. וְהוֹאִיל וְאֵינוֹ גּוּף לֹא יֶאֶרְעוּ לוֹ מְאֹרְעוֹת הַגּוּפוֹת כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּהֵא נֶחְלָק וְנִפְרָד מֵאַחֵר. לְפִיכָךְ אִי אֶפְשָׁר שֶׁיִּהְיֶה אֶלָּא אֶחָד. וִידִיעַת דָּבָר זֶה מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ו ד) "ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד":
(ח) הֲרֵי מְפֹרָשׁ בַּתּוֹרָה וּבַנְּבִיאִים שֶׁאֵין הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא גּוּף וּגְוִיָּה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יהושע ב יא) "כִּי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הוּא אֱלֹהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת". וְהַגּוּף לֹא יִהְיֶה בִּשְׁנֵי מְקוֹמוֹת. וְנֶאֱמַר (דברים ד טו) "כִּי לֹא רְאִיתֶם כָּל תְּמוּנָה". וְנֶאֱמַר (ישעיה מ כה) "וְאֶל מִי תְדַמְּיוּנִי וְאֶשְׁוֶה". וְאִלּוּ הָיָה גּוּף הָיָה דּוֹמֶה לִשְׁאָר גּוּפִים:
(ט) אִם כֵּן מַהוּ זֶה שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה "וְתַחַת רַגְלָיו". (שמות לא יח) "כְּתוּבִים בְּאֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים". "יַד ה'". "עֵינֵי ה'". "אָזְנֵי ה'". וְכַיּוֹצֵא בִּדְבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ. הַכּל לְפִי דַּעְתָּן שֶׁל בְּנֵי אָדָם הוּא שֶׁאֵינָן מַכִּירִין אֶלָּא (הַנּוֹפוֹת) [הַגּוּפוֹת] וְדִבְּרָה תּוֹרָה כִּלְשׁוֹן בְּנֵי אָדָם. וְהַכּל כִּנּוּיִים הֵן. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים לב מא) "אִם שַׁנּוֹתִי בְּרַק חַרְבִּי". וְכִי חֶרֶב יֵשׁ לוֹ וּבְחֶרֶב הוּא הוֹרֵג אֶלָּא מָשָׁל וְהַכּל מָשָׁל. רְאָיָה לַדָּבָר שֶׁנָּבִיא אֶחָד אוֹמֵר שֶׁרָאָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא (דניאל ז ט) "לְבוּשֵׁיִהּ כִּתְלַג חִוֵּר". וְאֶחָד רָאָהוּ (ישעיה סג א) "חֲמוּץ בְּגָדִים מִבָּצְרָה". משֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ עַצְמוֹ רָאָהוּ עַל הַיָּם כְּגִבּוֹר עוֹשֶׂה מִלְחָמָה. וּבְסִינַי כִּשְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר עָטוּף. לוֹמַר שֶׁאֵין לוֹ דְּמוּת וְצוּרָה אֶלָּא הַכּל בְּמַרְאֵה הַנְּבוּאָה וּבְמַחֲזֶה. וַאֲמִתַּת הַדָּבָר אֵין דַּעְתּוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם מֵבִין וְלֹא יְכוֹלָה לְהַשִּׂיגוֹ וּלְחָקְרוֹ. וְזֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב (איוב יא ז) "הַחֵקֶר אֱלוֹהַּ תִּמְצָא אִם עַד תַּכְלִית שַׁדַּי תִּמְצָא":
(י) מַהוּ זֶה שֶׁבִּקֵּשׁ משֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ לְהַשִּׂיג כְּשֶׁאָמַר (שמות לג יח) "הַרְאֵנִי נָא אֶת כְּבֹדֶךָ". בִּקֵּשׁ לֵידַע אֲמִתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַד שֶׁיִּהְיֶה יָדוּעַ בְּלִבּוֹ כְּמוֹ יְדִיעַת אֶחָד מִן הָאֲנָשִׁים שֶׁרָאָה פָּנָיו וְנֶחְקְקָה צוּרָתוֹ בְּלִבּוֹ שֶׁנִּמְצָא אוֹתוֹ הָאִישׁ נִפְרָד בְּדַעְתּוֹ מִשְּׁאָר הָאֲנָשִׁים. כָּךְ בִּקֵּשׁ משֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ לִהְיוֹת מְצִיאוּת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא נִפְרֶדֶת בְּלִבּוֹ מִשְּׁאָר הַנִּמְצָאִים עַד שֶׁיֵּדַע אֲמִתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר הִיא. וֶהֱשִׁיבוֹ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁאֵין כֹּחַ בְּדַעַת הָאָדָם הַחַי שֶׁהוּא מְחֻבָּר מִגּוּף וְנֶפֶשׁ לְהַשִּׂיג אֲמִתַּת דָּבָר זֶה עַל בֻּרְיוֹ. וְהוֹדִיעוֹ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַה שֶּׁלֹּא יָדַע אָדָם לְפָנָיו וְלֹא יֵדַע לְאַחֲרָיו. עַד שֶׁהִשִּׂיג מֵאֲמִתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ דָּבָר שֶׁנִּפְרָד הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּדַעְתּוֹ מִשְּׁאָר הַנִּמְצָאִים. כְּמוֹ שֶׁיִּפָּרֵד אֶחָד מִן הָאֲנָשִׁים שֶׁרָאָה אֲחוֹרָיו וְהִשִּׂיג כָּל גּוּפוֹ וּמַלְבּוּשׁוֹ בְּדַעְתּוֹ מִשְּׁאָר גּוּפֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים. וְעַל דָּבָר זֶה רָמַז הַכָּתוּב וְאָמַר (שמות לג כג) "וְרָאִיתָ אֶת אֲחֹרָי וּפָנַי לֹא יֵרָאוּ":
(יא) וְכֵיוָן שֶׁנִּתְבָּרֵר שֶׁאֵינוֹ גּוּף וּגְוִיָּה יִתְבָּרֵר שֶׁלֹּא יֶאֱרַע לוֹ אֶחָד מִמְּאֹרְעוֹת הַגּוּפוֹת. לֹא חִבּוּר וְלֹא פֵּרוּד. לֹא מָקוֹם וְלֹא מִדָּה. לֹא עֲלִיָּה וְלֹא יְרִידָה. וְלֹא יָמִין וְלֹא שְׂמֹאל. וְלֹא פָּנִים וְלֹא אָחוֹר. וְלֹא יְשִׁיבָה וְלֹא עֲמִידָה. וְאֵינוֹ מָצוּי בִּזְמַן עַד שֶׁיִּהְיֶה לוֹ רֵאשִׁית וְאַחֲרִית וּמִנְיַן שָׁנִים. וְאֵינוֹ מִשְׁתַּנֶּה שֶׁאֵין לוֹ דָּבָר שֶׁיִּגְרֹם לוֹ שִׁנּוּי. וְאֵין לוֹ לֹא מָוֶת וְלֹא חַיִּים כְּחַיֵּי הַגּוּף הַחַי. וְלֹא סִכְלוּת וְלֹא חָכְמָה כְּחָכְמַת הָאִישׁ הֶחָכָם. לֹא שֵׁנָה וְלֹא הֲקִיצָה. וְלֹא כַּעַס וְלֹא שְׂחוֹק וְלֹא שִׂמְחָה וְלֹא עַצְבוּת. וְלֹא שְׁתִיקָה וְלֹא דִּבּוּר כְּדִבּוּר בְּנֵי אָדָם. וְכָךְ אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים אֵין לְמַעְלָה לֹא יְשִׁיבָה וְלֹא עֲמִידָה וְלֹא עֹרֶף וְלֹא עִפּוּי:
(יב) וְהוֹאִיל וְהַדָּבָר כֵּן הוּא. כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הַלָּלוּ וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן שֶׁנֶּאֶמְרוּ בַּתּוֹרָה וּבְדִבְרֵי נְבִיאִים הַכּל מָשָׁל וּמְלִיצָה הֵן. כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהילים ב ד) "יוֹשֵׁב בַּשָּׁמַיִם יִשְׂחָק". (דברים לב כא) "כִּעֲסוּנִי בְּהַבְלֵיהֶם". (דברים כח סג) "כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׂשׂ ה'" וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן. עַל הַכּל אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים דִּבְּרָה תּוֹרָה כִּלְשׁוֹן בְּנֵי אָדָם. וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר (ירמיה ז יט) "הַאֹתִי הֵם מַכְעִסִים". הֲרֵי הוּא אוֹמֵר (מלאכי ג ו) "אֲנִי ה' לֹא שָׁנִיתִי". וְאִלּוּ הָיָה פְּעָמִים כּוֹעֵס וּפְעָמִים שָׂמֵחַ הָיָה מִשְׁתַּנֶּה. וְכָל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ אֵינָן מְצוּיִין אֶלָּא לַגּוּפִים הָאֲפֵלִים הַשְּׁפָלִים שׁוֹכְנֵי בָּתֵּי חֹמֶר אֲשֶׁר בֶּעָפָר יְסוֹדָם אֲבָל הוּא בָּרוּךְ הוּא יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִתְרוֹמַם עַל כָּל זֶה:
(1) The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a Primary Being who brought into being all existence. All the beings of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them came into existence only from the truth of His being.
(2) If one would imagine that He does not exist, no other being could possibly exist.
(3) If one would imagine that none of the entities aside from Him exist, He alone would continue to exist, and the nullification of their [existence] would not nullify His existence, because all the [other] entities require Him and He, blessed be He, does not require them nor any one of them. Therefore, the truth of His [being] does not resemble the truth of any of their [beings].
(4) This is implied by the prophet's statement [Jeremiah 10:10]: "And God, your Lord, is true" - i.e., He alone is true and no other entity possesses truth that compares to His truth. This is what [is meant by] the Torah's statement [Deuteronomy 4:35]: "There is nothing else aside from Him" - i.e., aside from Him, there is no true existence like His.
(5) This entity is the God of the world and the Lord of the entire earth. He controls the sphere with infinite and unbounded power. This power [continues] without interruption, because the sphere is constantly revolving, and it is impossible for it to revolve without someone causing it to revolve. [That one is] He, blessed be He, who causes it to revolve without a hand or any [other] corporeal dimension.
(6) The knowledge of this concept is a positive commandment, as [implied by Exodus 20:2]: "I am God, your Lord...."
Anyone who presumes that there is another god transgresses a negative commandment, as [Exodus 20:3] states: "You shall have no other gods before Me" and denies a fundamental principle [of faith], because this is the great principle [of faith] upon which all depends.
(7) This God is one. He is not two or more, but one, unified in a manner which [surpasses] any unity that is found in the world; i.e., He is not one in the manner of a general category which includes many individual entities, nor one in the way that the body is divided into different portions and dimensions. Rather, He is unified, and there exists no unity similar to His in this world.
If there were many gods, they would have body and form, because like entities are separated from each other only through the circumstances associated with body and form.
Were the Creator to have body and form, He would have limitation and definition, because it is impossible for a body not to be limited. And any entity which itself is limited and defined [possesses] only limited and defined power. Since our God, blessed be His name, possesses unlimited power, as evidenced by the continuous revolution of the sphere, we see that His power is not the power of a body. Since He is not a body, the circumstances associated with bodies that produce division and separation are not relevant to Him. Therefore, it is impossible for Him to be anything other than one.
The knowledge of this concept fulfills a positive commandment, as [implied by Deuteronomy 6:4]: "[Hear, Israel,] God is our Lord, God is one."
(8) Behold, it is explicitly stated in the Torah and [the works of] the prophets that the Holy One, blessed be He, is not [confined to] a body or physical form, as [Deuteronomy 4:39, Joshua 2:11] states: "Because God, your Lord, is the Lord in the heavens above and the earth below," and a body cannot exist in two places [simultaneously].
Also, [Deuteronomy 4:15] states: "For you did not see any image," and [Isaiah 40:25] states: "To whom can you liken Me, with whom I will be equal." Were He [confined to] a body, He would resemble other bodies.
(9) If so, what is the meaning of the expressions employed by the Torah: "Below His feet" [Exodus 24:10], "Written by the finger of God" [ibid. 31:18], "God's hand" [ibid. 9:3], "God's eyes" [Genesis 38:7], "God's ears" [Numbers 11:1], and the like?
All these [expressions were used] to relate to human thought processes which know only corporeal imagery, for the Torah speaks in the language of man. They are only descriptive terms, as [apparent from Deuteronomy 32:41]: "I will whet My lightning sword." Does He have a sword? Does He need a sword to kill? Rather, this is metaphoric imagery. [Similarly,] all [such expressions] are metaphoric imagery.
A proof of this concept: One prophet says that he saw the Holy One, blessed be He, "clothed in snow white" [Daniel 7:9], and another envisioned Him [coming] "with crimson garments from Batzra" [Isaiah 63:1]. Moses, our teacher, himself envisioned Him at the [Red] Sea as a mighty man, waging war, and, at Mount Sinai, [saw Him] as the leader of a congregation, wrapped [in a tallit].
This shows that He has no image or form. All these are merely expressions of prophetic vision and imagery and the truth of this concept cannot be grasped or comprehended by human thought. This is what the verse [Job 11:7] states: "Can you find the comprehension of God? Can you find the ultimate bounds of the Almighty?"
(10) [If so,] what did Moses, our teacher, want to comprehend when he requested: "Please show me Your glory" [Exodus 33:18]?
He asked to know the truth of the existence of the Holy One, blessed be He, to the extent that it could be internalized within his mind, as one knows a particular person whose face he saw and whose image has been engraved within one's heart. Thus, this person's [identity] is distinguished within one's mind from [that of] other men. Similarly, Moses, our teacher, asked that the existence of the Holy One, blessed be He, be distinguished in his mind from the existence of other entities, to the extent that he would know the truth of His existence as it is [in its own right].
He, blessed be He, replied to him that it is not within the potential of a living man, [a creature of] body and soul, to comprehend this matter in its entirety. [Nevertheless,] He, blessed be He, revealed to [Moses] matters which no other man had known before him - nor would ever know afterward - until he was able to comprehend [enough] from the truth of His existence, for the Holy One, blessed be He, to be distinguished in his mind from other entities, as a person is distinguished from other men when one sees his back and knows the structure of his body and [the manner in which] he is clothed.
This is alluded to by the verse [Exodus 33:23]: "You shall see My back, but you shall not see My face."
(11) Since it has been clarified that He does not have a body or corporeal form, it is also clear that none of the functions of the body are appropriate to Him: neither connection nor separation, neither place nor measure, neither ascent nor descent, neither right nor left, neither front nor back, neither standing nor sitting.
He is not found within time, so that He would possess a beginning, an end, or age. He does not change, for there is nothing that can cause Him to change.
[The concept of] death is not applicable to Him, nor is [that of] life within the context of physical life. [The concept of] foolishness is not applicable to Him, nor is [that of] wisdom in terms of human wisdom.
Neither sleep nor waking, neither anger nor laughter, neither joy nor sadness, neither silence nor speech in the human understanding of speech [are appropriate terms with which to describe Him]. Our Sages declared: "Above, there is no sitting or standing, separation or connection."
(12) Since this is so, all such [descriptions] and the like which are related in the Torah and the words of the Prophets - all these are metaphors and imagery. [For example,] "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh" [Psalms 2:4], "They angered Me with their emptiness" [Deuteronomy 32:21], and "As God rejoiced" [ibid. 28:63]. With regard to all such statements, our Sages said: "The Torah speaks in the language of man."
This is [borne out by the rhetorical question (Jeremiah 7:19 :] "Are they enraging Me?" Behold, [Malachi 3:6] states: "I, God, have not changed." Now were He to at times be enraged and at times be happy, He would change. Rather, all these matters are found only with regard to the dark and low bodies, those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is dust. In contrast, He, blessed be He, is elevated and exalted above all this.
Whenever any one of His actions is perceived by us, we ascribe to God that emotion which is the source of the act when performed by ourselves, and call Him by an epithet which is formed from the verb expressing that emotion. We see, e.g., how well He provides for the life of the embryo of living beings; how He endows with certain faculties both the embryo itself and those who have to rear it after its birth, in order that it may be protected from death and destruction, guarded against all harm, and assisted in the performance of all that is required [for its development]. Similar acts, when performed by us, are due to a certain emotion and tenderness called mercy and pity. God is, therefore, said to be merciful: e.g., “Like as a father is merciful to his children, so the Lord is merciful to them that fear Him” (Ps. 103:13); “And I will spare them, as a man spareth (yaḥamol) his own son that serveth him” (Mal. 3:17). Such instances do not imply that God is influenced by a feeling of mercy, but that acts similar to those which a father performs for his son, out of pity, mercy and real affection, emanate from God solely for the benefit of His pious men, and are by no means the result of any impression or change—[produced in God].—When we give something to a person who has no claim upon us, we perform an act of grace; e.g., “Grant them graciously unto us” (Judges 21:22). [The same term is used in reference to God, e.g.] “which God hath graciously given” (Gen. 33:5); “Because God hath dealt graciously with me” (ib. 11). Instances of this kind are numerous. God creates and guides beings who have no claim upon Him to be created and guided by Him; He is therefore called gracious (ḥannun)—His actions towards mankind also include great calamities, which overtake individuals and bring death to them, or affect whole families and even entire regions, spread death, destroy generation after generation, and spare nothing whatsoever. Hence there occur inundations, earthquakes, destructive storms, expeditions of one nation against the other for the sake of destroying it with the sword and blotting out its memory, and many other evils of the same kind. Whenever such evils are caused by us to any person, they originate in great anger, violent jealousy, or a desire for revenge. God is therefore called, because of these acts, “jealous,” “revengeful,” “wrathful,” and “keeping anger” (Nah. 1:2) that is to say, He performs acts similar to those which, when performed by us, originate in certain psychical dispositions, in jealousy, desire for retaliation, revenge, or anger: they are in accordance with the guilt of those who are to be punished, and not the result of any emotion: for He is above all defect! The same is the case with all divine acts: though resembling those acts which emanate from our passions and psychical dispositions, they are not due to anything superadded to His essence.
~ How comfortable is Maimonides with attributing emotions to God?
~ To what does he compare emotions, in theological terms?
~ In the Guide for the Perplexed, Maimonides goes one step further: our attributing of emotions to God is a basic case of projection. Why?
~ What kind of theology does Maimonides have? What are possible consequences of such a theology? Think in terms of choosing, preferring and so forth.
ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר בי אדוני. נקדים לפרש הפסוק בתהלים "וכיראתך עברתך כו'", דהנה הבורא ב"ה אין שייך בו שום יראה, רק היראה הזאת יש לו להשם יתעלה שמתיירא שלא יחטא האדם, מחמת אהבתו שאוהב את האדם להטיבו באחריתו, כי דרכו יתברך להטיב לכל ברואיו ולכן מתירא שלא יחטא, ונמצא יראת הבורא ב"ה היא יראה מתוך אהבה, וכן העונש שמעניש לאדם הוא ג"כ מחמת שרוצה להטיב באחריתו הוא מצרפו ביסורין בעוה"ז כדי שיוכל לקבל הטוב לעוה"ב, וזהו "וכיראתך עברתך", פירוש כמו שהיראה שלך היא מתוך אהבת האדם, כן עברתך שאתה מעניש לאדם הוא ג"כ מחמת אהבה להטיבו באחריתו.
And Yehudah approached him, and said 'please my lord' (Gen. 44:18) ~ we will explain beforehand the verse in Psalms "and Your fear is according to Your fury" (Psalms 90:11). Behold, fear is not something that pertains to the Creator, blessed be, at all. The only fear that the Exalted Name can feel is that a person should not sin, and this comes due to God's love, that God loves a person, and wants to do good to the person at the end, since the Blessed God's way is to do good to all creations, and therefore God fears the ability of a person to sin, and one finds that the fear of the Creator, Blessed Be, comes from love. And so too the punishment that God metes out on a person also comes from the fact that God wants to do good for the person at the end, and so a person suffers in this world so that they can receive goodness in the world to come. And this is "Your fear is according to Your fury" - meaning, just as Your fear comes from Your love for a person, so too Your fury that You punish a person, also is due to the love, to do good for the person in the end.
~ How comfortable is the Noam Elimelech with ascribing emotions towards God?
~ What two emotions does he bring that God feels?
~ Is there any emotion he seems to be uncomfortable ascribing to God? Why?
~ The word "יראה" is usually translated as awe, but here it is translated as fear. Would awe work as well? What would using the word awe change our understanding of God's emotions?
"למנות ימינו כן הודע", כי האדם צריך לדבק במדותיו יתברך, כמו שהשי"ת יראתו מתוך אהבה, כן האדם צריך להיות ירא [יראה] כזו מחמת אהבת הבורא יתעלה, שיעלה מורא על ראשו לחטוא מחמת אהבה שאוהב להבורא ב"ה והאיך יחטא ויפריד אהבתו ממנו חלילה, כי השורש הדבר הוא שיראה אין שייך אלא ממה שעיניו רואות, אבל ממה שאינו נראה אין שייך יראה כי ממה מתירא, אבל אהבה היא בלב ובלב יכול לצייר [ל]עצמו אפילו דבר שאינו נראה כלל, ולכן הבורא ב"ה בוודאי הרואה ואינו נראה וצריך האדם לצייר בלבו את גודל ממשלתו ונוראותיו ונפלאותיו ית', ועי"ז יבוא לו אהבה רבה בלבו להבורא ית', ומה גם שבמחשבה יכול האדם להשיג השגות גדולות לאין קץ, כי המחשבה היא ג"כ אין סוף, וא"כ צריך האדם לקשר עצמו בעבותות אהבה ומתוך אהבה יהיה לו היראה לחטוא חלילה פן יפריד אהבה חלילה.
"Teach us to count our days" (Psalms 90:12) it is that a person needs to cling to the character traits of the Blessed One, and just as the Holy Blessed Name has fear that comes from love, so too a person needs to fear due to the fact that they love the Exalted Creator, that fear of sin will come to their head due to the love that they feel for the Blessed Creator. How would one sin and and break off one's love from God, may we be spared! The root of the the thing is that awe/fear only belongs to what one's eyes see, but regarding something one does not see, there is no awe/fear connected to it - what would one fear? However, love is in the heart, and the heart can depict to itself even things that one does not see, and therefore the Blessed Creator can obviously see and is not seen, and a person needs to depict in one's heart the greatness and the awesomeness of God's sovereignty, and of God's wonders, and through this one comes to a great love for the Blessed Creator in one's heart. And also in thought a person can conceive many great ideas to no end, because thinking, too, is endless, and after that a person needs to connect themself with the bonds of love, and from love, fear of sin will come to a person. God forbid one should be separated from one's love of God, God forbid.
~ How does one bring fear from love? Is there a way to understand this through human relationships?
וזהו פירוש "את שבתותי תשמורו", ולכאורה היה לו לומר את שַבָתִי תשמרו [ו]מה זה כפל התוו"ין? ונראה כי השבת הוא רק אהבה, והאדם צריך לקשר ימי החול בשבת, כי ימי החול הם יראה וכתבנו שהיראה צריכה להיות מתוך אהבה, ולכן מטעם זה אנו מונים ימי החול ע"י השבת - "היום יום ראשון בשבת", וכן כל יום ויום, כדי לקשר השבת בימי החול, שגם בימי החול יהיה אהבה ויהיה יראה מתוך אהבה, וכשהיראה היא מתוך אהבה אזי גם ימי החול נקראים שבת כי הם גם כן מדרגות אהבה, אבל אינם כמו השבת עצמו, כי השבת הוא רק אהבה לבד אבל ימי החול הם יראה מחמת אהבה, וזה נקרא מקצת שבת. וזה רמז בפסוק "את שבתותי כו'", ר"ל שני שבתות, היינו ימי החול ויום השבת, כי ימי החול נקראין ג"כ שבת כנ"ל, ומרמז ימי החול בכפל התווין להראות שאינם כמו שבת עצמו שהוא כולו אהבה, "תשמורו" רמז על המחשבה כמו 'ואביו שמר את הדבר', דהיינו דעיקר אהבה היא במחשבה בלב כנ"ל, והיוצא לנו מזה שאנחנו צריכין לקשר ימי החול בשבת כדי להמשיך אהבה משבת על ימי החול ויהיה יראה מתוך אהבה.
And this is the explanation for "You shall keep My Shabatot"(Ex. 31:13, Lev. 19:3, Lev. 19:30, Lev. 26:2) - on the surface the text should say "My Shabbat" and what is this plural with the tav? And we see that the Shabbat is only love, and a person needs to connect his regular days with Shabbat, because the regular days are fear, and we wrote that the fear needs to come from love, and therefore because of this, we count the days of the week through Shabbat: 'today is the first day from Shabbat'. And so too every day of the week, so as to connect the Shabbat with the regular weekdays, so that even the weekdays will have love, and there will be fear from love, and when fear comes from love then also the weekdays are called Shabbat as they are also in the level of love. And yet, they are not like Shabbat themselves, because Shabbat is purely love, and the weekdays are fear due to love, and this is called 'a bit of Shabbat'. And this is the hint of "you shall observe My Shabatot", meaning, two Shabatot, that is both the weekdays and Shabbat, since the weekdays are also called Shabbat, as explained. And the weekdays are hinted through the doubling of the tavs, so as to reveal that they are not like Shabbat itself, which is completely love. "You shall guard" is a hint to thought, as in "and his dad guarded the thing" (Gen. 37:11), meaning, that the essence of love is in the thoughts of the heart, as explained. And what comes in practice to us from this is to connect the weekdays with Shabbat so as to continue the love from Shabbat to the days of the week, and there will be fear from love.
~How does love and fear feed on one another between Shabbat and weekdays?
~ How does the Noam answer the question he proposes?
וזהו "למנות ימינו כן הודע", ר"ל שהשי"ת הודיע לנו ברחמיו שנמנה ימי החול עם השבת, היום יום ראשון בשבת כו' כדי שיהיה יראה מתוך אהבה, כמו מדת הקב"ה שיראתו היא מתוך אהבת האדם, וזהו פירוש "בי אדני", ר"ל גם הדין - דשם 'אדני' רמז על הדין - הוא ג"כ לטובתי כנ"ל, "וכיראתך עברתך", והכל הוא לטובה כדי להנחיל שכר טוב לעוה"ב. ברוך ה' לעולם אמן ואמן.
And this is "teach us to count our days" (Psalms 90:12), meaning, the Exalted Name made it known to us, due to God's compassion, that our days should be counted through Shabbat, 'today is the first day of Shabbat' etc, so that there would be fear coming from love, just as the characteristic of the Holy Blessed One is that God's fear comes from God's love for humans, and this is the explanation for "please my lord" [bee adonee] - meaning, also judgment, which is the hinted in the name Alef-Dalet-Nun-Yud - is also for my own good, as explained, since "Your fear is according to Your fury" (Psalms 90:11); and all is for good, so as to endow a good reward in the world to come. Blessed is Hashem for ever amen and amen.
~ What does the Noam do with the name Alef-Dalet-Nun-Yud?
~ How does he understand the scene of Yehuda approaching Yosef?