Baal Shem (Hebrew plural: Baalei Shem) in Hebrew meaning "Master of the Name", refers to a historical Jewish occupation of certain kabbalistic rabbis with knowledge of using names of God in Judaism for practical kabbalah healing, miracles,[1] exorcism[2] and blessing. The unofficial title was given by others who recognised or benefited from the Baal Shem's ability to perform wondrous deeds, and emerged in the Middle Ages, continuing until the early-Modern era. Baal Shem were seen as miracle workers who could bring about cures and healing, as well having mystical powers to foresee or interpret events and personalities. They were considered to have a "direct line" to Heaven evoking God's mercies and compassion on suffering human beings. In Jewish society, the practical theurgic role of Baalei Shem among the common folk was one mystical institution, contrasted with the more theosophical and ecstatic Kabbalistic study circles, who were isolated from the populance. The Baal Shem, the communalMaggid preacher, and the Mokhiakh preacher of penitence were seen as lower level unofficial Jewish intelligentsia, below contract Rabbis and study Kabbalists.[2]
A few people received the title of Baal Shem among Eastern and Central European ashkenazi Jewry. The name is most well known in reference to the founder of Hasidic Judaism, the Baal Shem Tov (Besht-"Master of the Good Name")-Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1760) in the Ukraine. However, this is misleading. The Baal Shem Tov started public life as a traditional Baal Shem, but with his teachings of Hasidism, introduced a new way into mystical thought and practice. His role is distinguished from other, predominantly earlier, Baal Shem by the addition of Tov-Good to his title. Hasidism popularised esoteric Kabbalah into a social mysticism movement. The new mystical role of the Hasidic Tzadik leader replaced Baal Shem activity among the populace, combining Kabbalist and Maggid, and replacing practical kabbalah with the Tzadik's divine intercession. The 1814-15 Praises of the Besht sets the Baal Shem Tov's teaching circle against his remaining occupation as travelling Baal Shem.[3][4]
The activity of Baalei Shem among the community, as well as the influence of kabbalistic ideas, contributed to the popular belief in Tzadikim Nistarim (Concealed Righteous). Hasidic tradition records Eliyahu Baal Shem in the 16th century, founding a "Nistarim" mystical brotherhood to offer physical and spiritual encouragement to the Jewish populace, from which Hasidism later emerged.[5]
Baal Shem practice and Kabbalah
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See also: Jewish meditation
The "Name" referred to in "Master of the Name" is the most holy Four-Letter Name of God or Tetragrammaton. In Jewish tradition, this Name was pronounced only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur. With the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in the year 70 CE, the true pronunciation was presumably lost. (Jews today do not pronounce the Name out loud, and substitute another Hebrew word, usually Adonai, in prayers and texts.) In some accounts, a Baal Shem was believed to have re-discovered the true pronunciation, perhaps during deep meditation, and could use it in magical ways to work miracles. Some stories say he pronounced it out loud, others say he visualized the Name in his mind. He also used the names of angels in this way.
Amulets and Practical Kabbalah
Main article: Practical Kabbalah
There are two differentiated streams in Kabbalah, that leading Kabbalists separated over concerns of illegitimate use of Practical Kabbalah:[6]
- Kabbalah Iyunit, "Contemplative Kabbalah" (Theosophical-Meditative)
- Kabbalah Ma'asit, "Practical Kabbalah" (Seeking to alter Nature in holiness)
The leading Kabbalist Isaac Luria (1534–1572) forbade our generations to use Practical Kabbalah. As the Holy Temple is not standing, and we do not possess the ashes of the Red Heifer, we are unable to become pure. Without this, he said, Practical Kabbalah is very damaging. Yitzchak Ginsburgh describes the connection of Jewish amulets to Practical Kabbalah:[7]
Recorded Baal Shems[edit]
A rare group of people have been recorded as holding the title of Baal Shem. Apart from Rabbi Israel Baal Shem, perhaps the most notable is the Baal Shem of Michelstadt where his grave stands until this day. The first recorded person to receive the title was Eliyahu of Chelm.
Other Baalei Shem include :
- Elchanan, rabbi in Vienna, seventeenth century
- Elijah of Chelm
- Eliyahu of Worms (1555-1636) leader of the "Tzadikim Nistarim" movement
- Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk of London (1708-1782)
- Gedaliah of Worms, an eminent Talmudist, (died between 1622 and 1624)
- Joel (I) of Zamość ([ˈzamɔɕt͡ɕ]; Yiddish: Zamoshtsh), student of Eliyahu Baal Shem of Worms and Rabbi Yoel Sirkis, mid seventeenth century[8]
- Joel (II) Heilprin, grandson of Joel (I), beginning of the eighteenth century
- Selig of Lublin, beginning of the eighteenth century
- Wolf, lived in Poland, beginning of the eighteenth century
- Sekl Loeb Wormser (1768-1846) of Michelstadt, still known in Germany under that name.
- Adam Baal Shem, student of Yoel Baal Shem (I) of Zamość, teacher or colleague of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov
Hasidic replacement of the Baal Shem[edit]
Main article: Tzadik
Contemporary legacies[edit]
The name "Baal Shem" mainly survives in Jewish surnames of people descending from Ba'ale Shem such as Balshem, Balshemnik and Bolshemennikov.
In recent years, some new age Jewish groups have revived the term as referring to the Jewish equivalent of a shaman or folk healer.[12]
In recent years, some new age Jewish groups have revived the term as referring to the Jewish equivalent of a shaman or folk healer.[12]
See also[edit]
- Chassidei Ashkenaz
- Kabbalah
- Practical Kabbalah
- Meditative Kabbalah
- Hasidic Judaism
- Tzadik
- Tzadikim Nistarim
- Maggid
- Baal Shem Tov
- Pneumatics
References[edit]
- Kohler, Kaufmann; Ginzberg, Louis. "Ba'al Shem". JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved September 22, 11.
- Some Notes on the Social Background of Early Hasidism and A Circle of Pneumatics in Pre-Hasidism, in Studies in East European Jewish Mysticism and Hasidism, Joseph Weiss, Littman Library pub.
- Lubavitcher Rabbi's Memoirs: Tracing the Origins of the Chasidic Movement, 3 Volumes, Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, translated by Nissan Mindel, Kehot publications. Traces the early Nistarimbrotherhood circle of Baal Shem and associates, in which the Baal Shem Tov became a member, and from which Hasidism emerged
- Der Ba’al Schem von Michelstadt. Ein deutsch-jüdisches Heiligenleben zwischen Legende und Wirklichkeit. Mit einem Neuabdruck der Legenden aus der Hand von Judaeus und Arthur Kahn, Karl E. Grözinger, Frankfurt/New York (Campus) 2010. A latter-day Baal Shem
Sources[edit]
- ^ 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia: entry "Ba'al Shem"
- ^ a b Studies in East European Jewish Mysticism and Hasidism, Joseph Weiss, Littman Library: chapter 1 "Some Notes on the Social Background of Early Hasidism", chapter 2 "A Circle of Pneumatics in Pre-Hasidism"
- ^ Life Stories: Shivhei Ha-Besht by Moshe Rosman, hasidicstories.com
- ^ Two recent studies of the historical Baal Shem Tov: Founder of Hasidism: A Quest for the Historical Ba'al Shem Tov, Moshe Rosman, California University 1996; The Besht: Magician, Mystic, and Leader, Immanuel Etkes, Brandeis 2004
- ^ Lubavitcher Rabbi's Memoires, Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, Kehot publications, 3 volumes
- ^ What is Practical Kabbalah? from www.inner.org
- ^ Are Amulets Considered Practical Kabbalah? Do they work? from www.inner.org
- ^ http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_15614_96.pdf
- ^ http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2249-ba-al-shem
- ^ http://www.bibliopolis.com/main/books/results.html?allwords=Rabbi%20Yoel%20Baal%20Shem&search=1&sortby=author
- ^ http://books.google.co.il/books?id=G7wzsY3NbrcC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=rabbi+yoel+baal+shem&source=bl&ots=46jCasS6D8&sig=qe6H-B_Ah0uIdPkpJbyw6-nhVyg&hl=iw&sa=X&ei=o3HnUsivLsuh7Ab784GQCg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=rabbi%20yoel%20baal%20shem&f=false
- ^ Ba'al Shem
Eliyahu Ba'al Shem of Chełm (government of Lublin)[1] (born 1550;[2] died at Chelm,[2] 1583[citation needed]) was a Polish rabbi who served as chief rabbi of Chełm. He also studied Kabbalah,[3] and, according to his descendant Tzvi Ashkenazi, created a golem.[4] He is credited with creating the first golem with a "shem" (that is, using a combination of letters from one of the names of God to form a name; Elijah used "Sefer Yezirah"[4][5]), so he was known as a "Ba'al Shem."[6] He is the first rabbi in history to be known by this title.[1]
Life[edit]
He was born Eliyahu ben Aharon Yehudah ("Elijah son of Aaron Judah").[7] About 1565 he entered the yeshibah of Rabbi Solomon Luria of Lublin, and, after receiving his rabbinical ordination, became rabbi of Chełm, a position he would hold for the rest of his life.[3] In 1564, he gathered with other prominent rabbis, including his teacher, to co-sign the "piske dinim" (laws) which allowed an agunah to remarry.[3][7]
His great-granddaughter[8] was married to Rabbi Ephraim ha-Kohen (1616—1678), author of "Sha'ar Efrayim"[9][10] and grandfather of Rabbi Tzvi Ashkenazi.[8]
The Golem of Chełm[edit]
According to Jacob Emden, the son of the aforementioned Tzvi Ashkenazi, the Golem is said to have grown so that the rabbi feared that he might destroy the world.[11][12] Finally, the rabbi extracted the Shemfrom the forehead of his Golem, which returned to dust,[5][8][11][12] but the Golem scratched his master's face in the process.[8][12] An anonymous 1630 manuscript (the earliest known written legend of a contemporary figure creating a golem) recounts that the golem continued to grow that the rabbi had to destroy it by erasing the Hebrew letter aleph, first letter from the word emet (truth)[13] thereby rendering itmet (dead).[14]
Although Emden only mentions a scratch on the rabbi's face, a different version of the legend states that while trying to remove the life-giving name of God in an attempt to destroy the raging beast, Rabbi Elijah was crushed to death under the weight of the Golem as it fell to pieces.[15][16]
Elijah's grandsons, Tzvi Ashkenazi and his son Jacob Emden, were both great Halakhists. They discussed the legal status of the golem: could the golem be counted in a minyan, the quorum of ten men required for prayer.[12][17] Human form and modicum of understanding were not enough to make something human.
The tale about Elijah's creation of the Golem was retold in the book Israel der Gotteskampfer der Baalschem von Chełm und sein Golem ("Israel of the God's camphors of the Baal shem of Chełm and his Golem") written by Chayim Block and published in 1920.[18]
The attic of the Old Synagogue[edit]
According to the "Jewish Life and Work in Chełm" chapter of the Commemoration Book of Chełm (Poland) (Yisker-bukh Chełm),
German-Jews of Jerusalem and the Crusades[edit]
According to Rabbi Elijah, German Jews lived in Jerusalem during the 11th century. The story is told that a German-speaking Palestinian Jew saved the life of a young German man surnamed Dolberger. So when the knights of the First Crusade came to siege Jerusalem, one of Dolberger's family members who was among them rescued Jews in Palestine and carried them back to Worms, Germany to repay the favor.[21] Further evidence of German communities in the holy city comes in the form of halakic questions sent from Germany to Jerusalem during the second half of the eleventh century.[22]
Funeral[edit]
According to popular legend, Elijah's greatness was witnessed in dramatic fashion soon after his death. It was said that during his time, the only road to the Jewish cemetery passed by a Russian church. Whenever a Jewish funeral procession passed by, Christians would throw rocks. Elijah knew of this and requested in his will that no one move or run away if the Christians did the same following his death.
Elijah's wishes were carried out after his death. When the procession neared the church, gentiles began their ritual of pelting the coffin and the Jews with rocks, when Elijah miraculously sat up and, after looking into the Torah scroll that was in the coffin [to be buried with him], the church sank together with the hooligans. The rabbi then laid back and became rigid as a corpse again. The Jews stared at each other in astonishment and the funeral procession continued. From this time forward, it was said that the hooligans no longer threw rocks during Jewish funerals.
Years later, pupils of the Kheder (Jewish elementary school) of a teacher named Leib Paks claimed that in the cellar, when jumping on the floor boards, the muffled ring of a bell sound could be heard. This led the children to believe that that was the very same spot where the church had sank.[20]
Grave[edit]
Within the Chełm cemetery, there was a grave without a tombstone which was covered in bricks arranged in the shape of the Hebrew letter "Bet". This was believed to be the final burial place of Rabbi Elijah. Legend has it an angel would appear on the anniversary of his death and etch a letter on a certain brick. Because of this, everyone was afraid to touch the bricks.[20]
Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem of Worms (ca. 1532- ) was born in Krakow as the son of the scholar Yosef Jospa, a Spanish Jew. He was one of the few rabbis to be given the Baal Shem title.
Eliyahu Ba'al Shem of Chełm (government of Lublin)[1] (born 1550;[2] died at Chelm,[2] 1583[citation needed]) was a Polish rabbi who served as chief rabbi of Chełm. He also studied Kabbalah,[3] and, according to his descendant Tzvi Ashkenazi, created a golem.[4] He is credited with creating the first golem with a "shem" (that is, using a combination of letters from one of the names of God to form a name; Elijah used "Sefer Yezirah"[4][5]), so he was known as a "Ba'al Shem."[6] He is the first rabbi in history to be known by this title.[1]
Life[edit]
He was born Eliyahu ben Aharon Yehudah ("Elijah son of Aaron Judah").[7] About 1565 he entered the yeshibah of Rabbi Solomon Luria of Lublin, and, after receiving his rabbinical ordination, became rabbi of Chełm, a position he would hold for the rest of his life.[3] In 1564, he gathered with other prominent rabbis, including his teacher, to co-sign the "piske dinim" (laws) which allowed an agunah to remarry.[3][7]
His great-granddaughter[8] was married to Rabbi Ephraim ha-Kohen (1616—1678), author of "Sha'ar Efrayim"[9][10] and grandfather of Rabbi Tzvi Ashkenazi.[8]
The Golem of Chełm[edit]
According to Jacob Emden, the son of the aforementioned Tzvi Ashkenazi, the Golem is said to have grown so that the rabbi feared that he might destroy the world.[11][12] Finally, the rabbi extracted the Shemfrom the forehead of his Golem, which returned to dust,[5][8][11][12] but the Golem scratched his master's face in the process.[8][12] An anonymous 1630 manuscript (the earliest known written legend of a contemporary figure creating a golem) recounts that the golem continued to grow that the rabbi had to destroy it by erasing the Hebrew letter aleph, first letter from the word emet (truth)[13] thereby rendering itmet (dead).[14]
Although Emden only mentions a scratch on the rabbi's face, a different version of the legend states that while trying to remove the life-giving name of God in an attempt to destroy the raging beast, Rabbi Elijah was crushed to death under the weight of the Golem as it fell to pieces.[15][16]
Elijah's grandsons, Tzvi Ashkenazi and his son Jacob Emden, were both great Halakhists. They discussed the legal status of the golem: could the golem be counted in a minyan, the quorum of ten men required for prayer.[12][17] Human form and modicum of understanding were not enough to make something human.
The tale about Elijah's creation of the Golem was retold in the book Israel der Gotteskampfer der Baalschem von Chełm und sein Golem ("Israel of the God's camphors of the Baal shem of Chełm and his Golem") written by Chayim Block and published in 1920.[18]
The attic of the Old Synagogue[edit]
According to the "Jewish Life and Work in Chełm" chapter of the Commemoration Book of Chełm (Poland) (Yisker-bukh Chełm),
German-Jews of Jerusalem and the Crusades[edit]
According to Rabbi Elijah, German Jews lived in Jerusalem during the 11th century. The story is told that a German-speaking Palestinian Jew saved the life of a young German man surnamed Dolberger. So when the knights of the First Crusade came to siege Jerusalem, one of Dolberger's family members who was among them rescued Jews in Palestine and carried them back to Worms, Germany to repay the favor.[21] Further evidence of German communities in the holy city comes in the form of halakic questions sent from Germany to Jerusalem during the second half of the eleventh century.[22]
Funeral[edit]
According to popular legend, Elijah's greatness was witnessed in dramatic fashion soon after his death. It was said that during his time, the only road to the Jewish cemetery passed by a Russian church. Whenever a Jewish funeral procession passed by, Christians would throw rocks. Elijah knew of this and requested in his will that no one move or run away if the Christians did the same following his death.
Elijah's wishes were carried out after his death. When the procession neared the church, gentiles began their ritual of pelting the coffin and the Jews with rocks, when Elijah miraculously sat up and, after looking into the Torah scroll that was in the coffin [to be buried with him], the church sank together with the hooligans. The rabbi then laid back and became rigid as a corpse again. The Jews stared at each other in astonishment and the funeral procession continued. From this time forward, it was said that the hooligans no longer threw rocks during Jewish funerals.
Years later, pupils of the Kheder (Jewish elementary school) of a teacher named Leib Paks claimed that in the cellar, when jumping on the floor boards, the muffled ring of a bell sound could be heard. This led the children to believe that that was the very same spot where the church had sank.[20]
Grave[edit]
Within the Chełm cemetery, there was a grave without a tombstone which was covered in bricks arranged in the shape of the Hebrew letter "Bet". This was believed to be the final burial place of Rabbi Elijah. Legend has it an angel would appear on the anniversary of his death and etch a letter on a certain brick. Because of this, everyone was afraid to touch the bricks.[20]
"righteous one". For the Hebrew letter "Tzadik", see Tsade. For other uses, see Tzadik (disambiguation).
Tzadik/Zadik/Sadiq [tsaˈdik] (Hebrew: צדיק "righteous one", pl. tzadikim [tsadiˈkim] צדיקים ṣadiqim) is a title given to personalities in Jewish tradition considered righteous, such as Biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ṣadiq, is ṣ-d-q (צדק tzedek), which means "justice" or "righteousness", also the root oftzedakah ('charity', literally 'righteousness'). The feminine term for a righteous person is tzadeikas.
The term tzadik "righteous", and its associated meanings, developed in Rabbinic thought from its Talmudic contrast with hasid ("pious" honorific), to its exploration inEthical literature, and its esoteric spiritualisation in Kabbalah. In Hasidic Judaism, the institution of the tzadik assumed central importance, combining former elite mysticism with social movement for the first time.[1] Adapting former Kabbalistic theosophical terminology, Hasidic thought internalised mystical experience, emphasising deveikut attachment to its Rebbe leadership, who embody and channel the Divine flow of blessing to the world.[2]
Contents
[hide]Etymology[edit]
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Arabic ṣādiq (صادق) and Ethiopic Tsaddəq (ጻድቅ), are cognates with similar meaning. The title of Voltaire's satirical novel Zadig also stems from this root. Ṣedeq"Righteousness" in Canaanite religion may have been an epithet of a god of the Jebusites.[3] The Hebrew word appears in the biblical names Melchizedek,Adonizedek, and Zadok, the high priest of David.
The nature of the Tzadik[edit]
Definitions of a Tzadik[edit]
In classic Jewish thought, there are various definitions of a tzadik. According to Maimonides (based on Tractate Yevamot of the Babylonian Talmud 49b-50a): "One whose merit surpasses his iniquity is a tzadik".[4]
According to the Hasidic Tanya (based on passages in Tanach and the Talmud, and the tradition in Kabbalah), the true title of tzadik denotes a spiritual description of the soul. Its true meaning can only be applied to one who has completely sublimated their natural "animal" or "vital" soul inclinations into holiness, so that they experience only love and awe of God, without material temptations. Hence, a tzadik serves a "vehicle" or "merkavah" [מרכבה] {Tanya ch.23} to God and has no ego or self-consciousness. Note, that a person cannot attain such a level, rather it is granted from on High (or born with, etc.)tanya ch.27. This select level elevates the "Intermediate" person ("Benoni") into one who never sins in thought, speech or action. Unlike the Tzadik, they only experience Divinecommunion during devoted moments of worship or study, while in mundane life they can be tempted by natural inclinations, but always choose to stay connected to holiness. In the Tanya[5] the difference between the former Talmudic-Maimonidean and latter Kabbalistic-Hasidic conceptions is raised. Since the "Torah has 70 facets" of interpretation, perhaps both conceptions are metaphysically true:
The Tzadik Nistar-Concealed Tzadik[edit]
Main article: Tzadikim Nistarim
The Talmud[6] says that at least 36 Tzadikim Nistarim—anonymous tzadikim—are living among us in all times; they are anonymous, and it is for their sake alone that the world is not destroyed. The Talmud and the Kabbalah offer various ideas about the nature and role of these 36 tzadikim. In Jewish folklore they are called "lamedvovniks", from the gematria numerical value for 36. In Hasidism, with its social institution of the Tzadik in the central role of the community, the 36 may not necessarily be unknown, therefore. However, a Hasidic aphorism describes a known Rebbe Tzadik as being among the 36, as their true greatness could be concealed beyond the perception of their devoted followers.
The Tzadik HaDor-Tzaddik of the Generation[edit]
Main article: Jewish messianism
Hasidim, adhere to the belief that there is a person born each generation with the potential to become Messiah, if the Jewish people warrant his coming. This candidate is known as the Tzadik Ha-Dor, meaning Tzaddik (a Hebrew term literally meaning "righteous one" but used to refer to holy men who can, for example, perform miracles or act as a "pipeline" between man and God) of the Generation.
Baal Mofes-Miracle workers[edit]
See also: Baal Shem and Practical Kabbalah
While the tzadik status, according to its above definitions, is not necessarily related to the ability to perform or call upon miracles, the term tzadik is often used loosely by the Talmud to indicate those who have achieved especially outstanding piety and holiness. In this context, the tzadik's prayers are considered especially potent, as the Talmud states: "A tzadik decrees and the Holy One (blessed be He) fulfills." This is line with the talmudic dictum: Rabban Gamliel the son of Rabbi Judah haNasi used to say: "Make His Will your own will, that He make your will as His Will."[7]
In some contexts, people refer specifically to the pious miracle-worker as a tzadik. According to the Baal Shem Tov, it is said, this ability is attainable for every Jew. It is told that he stated that every Jew has the power to cross a river atop a handkerchief [source?], through connecting with their soul (which is divine in essence). In Hasidism, the doctrine of "Practical Tzadikism", developed by Elimelech of Lizhensk, involved the Tzadik performing miracles to channel the Ayin-Yesh Divine blessing. In its most extreme version, Hasidic "wonder-workers", predominant in 19th century Poland, emphasised this conception, sometimes criticised by other Hasidic leaders as superficial. To Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, and his reaction against Popular Tzadikism, the greatest miracle was to examine oneself without self-delusion.
Becoming a Tzadik[edit]
According to the first definition above, that a tzadik is "one whose merit surpasses [their] iniquity." According to the definition of the Tanya that a Tzadik has no evil inclination, only a select few predestined to attain this level can attain it.
Historical sources on the Tzadik[edit]
Based on the teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Baal Shem Tov and the Ohr ha-Chaim, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi taught in the name of the Zohar that "He who breathed life into man, breathed from Himself." Therefore one's soul comes from the essence of God.
According to kabbalah, a tzadiki, because they have completely nullified themselves and their desires to what God wants, their Godly soul (which like every Godly soul is part of God) is revealed within them more than other people who have not completely nullified themselves to God. This concept is based upon many Jewish sources. Here are some:
- The Zohar: "Et pnei Ha'adon YHWH - do Rashbi" (Lit., "The Countenance of the Lord YHWH - this is [a reference to] Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.")
- The Jerusalem Talmud[8] "All the standing that the prophet Elijah did before his teacher Achiya Hashiloni, were as if standing before the Shekhinah." And this is explained inYesod HaAvoda in the name of the Radbaz, "This was because Achiya had his mind and thoughts connected and cleaved to the greatness of the holy one, and Elijah when he stood before his teacher connected his thoughts with the thoughts of his teacher with the love from his heart, and therefore it was as if he stood in front of the Shekhinah."
- Bahya ben Asher[9] comments on the verse "And Moses took the tent and pitched it for himself outside the camp, distancing [it] from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting, and it would be that anyone seeking the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp." saying that "From here we see that Moses was called with the Tetragrammaton, and we also find that Jacob is called with El...And we also find by the name of a Tzadik that he is called with the Tetragrammaton... And we also find that by King Messiah that he is called with the Tetragrammaton as it is stated.[10] and this is his name that he shall be called, The Lord is our righteousness...And the reason by all of them is because one who cleaves to something, is called by the thing which he is cleaving to."
- Yoel Sirkis[11] "The purpose of The Blessed One was always that one should be involved in Torah in order to bond our souls in the essence and spirituality and holiness of the source of the giver of the Torah...And if one is involved in Torah study with this intention, one becomes a Merkavah and Heichal for the Shekhinah may he be blessed, so that the Shekhinah is literally within them, because they are a Heichal to God and within them literally the Shekhinah establishes its dwelling place."
- Chaim Volozhin[12] "If someone sanctifies himself properly through the performance of all the Mitzvot...Then he himself is the Beit HaMikdash itself...Because this is the truth regarding Tzadikim through the deeds which are desirable by the blessed one they are the Mikdash mamash"
- Moshe Chaim Luzzatto[13] "The holy one who cleaves constantly to God and his soul fires up with true intellectual understanding with great love of his creator and fear...Behold a person like this, he himself, is considered to be like the Tabernacle Beit HaMikdash and the Mizbeiach...And also it is said regarding Tzadikim they are the Markavah, because the Shekhinah dwells in them just like it dwelled in the Beit HaMikdash."
- Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler[14] "And this thing is so much certain to one that thinks in depth about it, until it is impossible to understand how someone can argue on it, and so was already mentioned in the words of many of the great scholars like the Ramchal and others, that the image of Tzadikim is Hashem may He be blessed, Himself, and they are the same."
- In 1951 the seventh Rebbe of Chabad, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson made a similar statement[15] regarding the practice by Hasidim to have a Rebbe act as an intermediary with God on their behalf. He explained, "The Rebbe is completely connected with his Hasidim, not like two separate things that connect; rather, they become completely one. And the Rebbe is not an intermediary which separates, but one that connects. Therefore by a Hassid, he with the Rebbe with God are all one ... Hence, it is not possible to ask any questions about [how it is possible to turn to the Rebbe as] an intermediary [for the purpose of asking him to pray to Hashem on one’s behalf], since this is Atzmus uMehus [God's Essence] itself as it put itself in a body. This is similar to the statement of the Zohar,[16]'Whose is the face of the Master [God]? This is the Rashbi.'."
Terminology of the Tzadik in Kabbalah[edit]
Identification with Yesod[edit]
In the system of 10 Sephirot Divine emanations in Kabbalah, each of the 7 emotional expressions is related to an archetypal figure in the Hebrew Bible. The first emanated realm to emerge from God's potential Will in Creation is Atziluth, the World of "Emanation". As it is still nullified to Divinity, so not yet considered a self-aware existence, it is the realm where the 10 Sephirot attributes of God are revealed in their essence. In lower spiritual worlds the sephirot also shine, but only in successively lower degrees, concealed through successive contractions and veilings of the Divine vitality. Seven Biblical tzadikim, righteous figures are considered as embodiments of the emotional sephirot of Atzilut: Abraham-Kindness,Isaac-Restraint, Jacob-Mercy, Moses-Endurance, Aaron-Glory, Joseph-Foundation, David-Kingship. While all seven figures are considered supreme Tzadikim, in particular contexts, either Joseph as Yesod, and Moses as inclusive soul of the community, are identified especially as archetypes for the Tzadik in general.
In the sephirot, Chesed-Abraham, Gevurah-Isaac and Tiferet-Jacob are higher spiritual powers than Yesod-Joseph, which channels the higher powers to their fulfilment in Malchut action. However, traditionally in Judaism, Joseph is referred to with the quality of "Tzadik-Righteous". While the Patriarchs lived righteously as shepherds, Joseph remained holy in Egypt, surrounded by impurity, tested by Potiphar's wife, captive in prison, and then active as viceroy to Pharaoh. As the Heavenly sephirah of Yesod-"Foundation" channels spirituality to our physical realm, so in Kabbalah and the further development in Hasidic thought, its function also parallels the human role of the Tzadik in this world:
- In the Divine, Yesod is the 9th Sefirah, in the middle balanced column, connecting all the higher sefirot, centred around Tiferet-"Beautiful" emotional harmony, to the last sefirah Malchut- realisation in "Kingship". In the flow of Divine Creative lifeforce, this represents the connecting channel between Heaven and Earth, between the "Holy One Blessed Be He" (Tiferet Divine transcendent male manifestation of God), and the "Shekhinah" (Malkuth indwelling Divine immanent female presence of God). The 16th century Safed Kabbalists introduced the prayer "For the sake of the union" of these principles before Jewish observances.
- In the soul, Yesod is contact, connection and communication with outer reality of malchut, similar to the way the foundation of a building connects it with the earth.
- In the bodily form of man and woman, Yesod corresponds to the organ of procreation, analogously where the Tiferet body descends towards action, expressed in the procreative power to create life. This relates to the Circumcision "Covenant of Abraham", the Jewish "Sign of the Covenant" with God. As the Torah describes two levels of Jewish covenant, physical "covenant of circumcision" and spiritual "circumcision of the heart", so women are considered born already physically circumcised. Joseph's resistance to Potiphar's wife represents his perfection of the "Sign of the Covenant". Yesod is the foundation of a person's future generations, the power of generating infinity in the finite.
- Yesod is identified with the righteous tzadik, "the tzadik is the foundation of the world". As Jewish mysticism describes different levels of Tzadik, Kabbalah sees this verse as particularly referring to the one perfect tzadik of the generation. In the tzadik, God's infinite-transcendent light becomes manifest in this finite-immanent world. The tzadik procreates spiritually through revealing Divinity in new Torahinterpretations, and through awakening return to God in his generation.
- Yesod connects beginning to end in God who encompases all. In the Bible, Abraham began the Yesod covenant of circumcision, though his sefirah is Chesed love-kindness, the first emotional expression. Love creates the unity of spiritual covenant. For Abraham this descended into action, to become expressed in the physical covenant of circumcision. Yesod expresses this descent, uniting spiritual and physical. "Foundation" is the beginning of a building and the conclusion of planning. Yesod is the power to bring action to conclusion, to reveal that the beginning and end are united in God, "the end is wedged in the beginning, and the beginning in the end".[20]
- Each Sefirah contains an inner dimension, as a soul motivating its outer Kabbalistic emanation function. Hasidic thought explores the Divine motivation within, by psychologising Kabbalah through man's experience. The inner motivation of Yesod is Emet-truth, each person's desire for their actions to reflect their true soul intention, fulfilling in action God's essential intention for Creation. The Tzadik experiences the wish for Divine purpose consummately.
Intellect in the supernal soul of the community[edit]
- The soul of the Tzadik is an inclusive, general soul of the community. In Kabbalah, gematria (numerical value) has significance, because Creation is formed through Divine "speech" as in Genesis 1. The gematria of Yesod (יסוד) is 80, 8 times 10, forming reduced value of 18 (חי Life), as a tzadik is called truly alive spiritually. 80 is the value of Klal (כלל), the "community", the extension of Kol (כל), the term in Kabbalah for the sephirah of Yesod. The "Tzadik of the generation" is a "general soul" (neshama klalit) of the generation, in which each individual soul is included. Hasidic thought focuses on this parallel, and its application for each person. Through the personal connection of each soul to the tzadik, their Yechidah soul-essence becomes revealed, through the revelation of the Yechidah of the Tzadik.
The doctrine of the Tzadik in Hasidism[edit]
See also: Ayin and Yesh
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Frumer, Assaf. Kol Hanikra Bishmi (Hebrew)
- Lessons In Tanya
- Pevzner, Avraham. Al HaTzadikim (Hebrew). Kfar Chabad. 1991
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ The Zaddik: The Interrelationship between religious Doctrine and Social Organization by Immanuel Etkes, in Hasidism Reappraised edited by Ada Rapoport-Albert, Littman.
- ^ God and the Zaddik as the two focal points of Hasidic worship Ada Rapoport-Albert, in Essential Papers on Hasidism edited by Gershon Hundert, NYU Press 1991
- ^ Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, s.v. ""Sedeq", Melchizedek".
- ^ Mishneh Torah, Sefer Madda, Laws of Repentance 3:1
- ^ Tanya Chapter 1 footnote
- ^ Sanhedrin 97b; Sukkah 45b.
- ^ Avot, 2:4
- ^ Eruvin, 5:1
- ^ Ki Sisa, 33:7
- ^ Jeremiah, 23:6.
- ^ Bach on the Tur, Orach Chaim, 47
- ^ Nefesh HaChaim, Gate 1, ch. 4
- ^ Mesillas Yesharim, ch. 26
- ^ Marbitzei Torah U'Mussar, sec. 3, p. 10
- ^ Likutei Sichos, Vol 2, pp. 510-511.
- ^ 2:38a.
- ^ I Chronicles 29:11. The verse mentions all the emotional Sefirot. Yesod is alluded to by these words
- ^ Zohar I:31a, II:116a, III:257a
- ^ Proverbs 10:25, as interpreted in the terminology of the Sefirot
- ^ Sefer Yetzirah 1:7
- ^ Deuteronomy 30:20
- ^ Paraphrase of Talmud Ketubot 111b
- ^ Kabbalistic conception, emphasised by Isaac Luria, discussed in Tanya I:2
External links[edit]
- Kuntres HaHishtatchus The classic Maamar explaining the significance of visiting the grave of a Tzaddik. (In English) chabad.org
- Maaneh Lashon An English rendition of the prayers to be said at the graveside of the righteous.
- Torah sources concerning Tzaddikim
- Connotations of the Kabbalistic sephirah Yesod-Foundation from inner.org
- Connotations of the inner dimension of Yesod: Emet-Truth from inner.org
- "The Soul of Life: The Complete Neffesh Ha-chayyim" (2012), Amazon, ISBN 978-0615699912