Running Commentary on Torah 42 — Va'Yar Ba'Tzar Lahem

Beginner: **Ois א — *Nigun* sweetens dinim, by clothing the Shechinah-letters of tefillah in the luminous garments of the Avos**. Rabbeinu opens with the verse ***'va-yar ba-tzar lahem b'shom'o es rinasam'*** — 'and He saw their distress *when He heard their *rinah** (their melodious cry)' (Tehillim 106:44, the verse from the great review of Yisrael's history). The opening claim: ***through nigun (melody, song), the dinim are sweetened***. **The mechanism — Zohar Pinchas 215a**: ***ha-keshes ihi ha-Shechinah, u-tlas gvanin d'keshes heim ha-Avos, v'heim l'vushin d'Shechinta*** — 'the *keshes* (rainbow) is the Shechinah, and the three colors of the rainbow are the Avos (Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov), and they are the garments of the Shechinah.' When the rainbow's three colors blaze, the Shechinah is dressed in the luminous robes of the three Avos. **And when she is so clothed**: *u-kshe-hi mislabeshes b'l'vushin di-n'hirin, azai 'u-r'isiha li'z'kor bris olam'* (Bereshis 9:16, the post-mabul verse: 'and I shall see it [the rainbow], to remember the everlasting covenant') — *azai 'va-chamas ha-melech shachachah'* — 'then the wrath of the king subsided' (Esther 7:10, where Achashverosh's anger softens upon seeing Esther). **The mashal Rabbeinu draws**: a king who is angry at his son — when the king sees the queen in luminous garments, he has compassion on the son. The queen-Shechinah's beautiful clothing buys the king-HKB"H's mercy on his son-Yisrael. **Now the Tefilah-link**: ***osiyos ha-tefilah heim ha-Shechinah*** — the *letters of the prayer* are themselves the Shechinah. Source: *'Adnai s'fasai tiftach'* — 'Hashem (in the name *Adnai*), open my lips' (Tehillim 51:17, the opening verse of every Shemoneh Esrei) — for *ha-dibbur hu shem Adnai* — speech itself is the Name *Adnai*, which is the cosmic Name of Shechinah/Malchus. So when one davens, the very letters issuing from one's mouth *are* the Shechinah's body. **And tefilah is also called *keshes*** — as Rashi explains on *'b'charbi u'v'kashti'* — 'with my sword and with my bow' (Bereshis 48:22, Yaakov to Yosef): *'lashon tefilah'* — 'the language of prayer.' Yaakov's bow was tefilah; tefilah is bow; bow is keshes is Shechinah is the letters one is now uttering. **And the *kol ha-neginah*** (the voice of the melody) — *heim tlas gvanin d'keshes* — *the voice contains aish (fire), mayim (water), ru'ach (wind)* — the three elements that compose every human voice (lung-air, vibrating moisture, the heat of breath) — *which are the three Avos* (Avraham = water/chesed, Yitzchak = fire/gevurah, Yaakov = wind/tiferes), *who are the three luminous colors* in which 'I shall see it to remember,' as above. **It emerges**: ***one who sings the letters of the tefilah, and the *kol ha-neginah* is in *zakus* (purity) and great *behirus* (luminous brightness)*** — *azai malbish es ha-Shechinah, heinu ha-osiyos, b'l'vushin di-n'hirin* — *then he clothes the Shechinah, i.e., the letters, in luminous garments. V'KBH ro'eh osah, azai 'va-chamas ha-melech shachachah'* — and HKB"H sees Her, and then 'the wrath of the king subsided.' **And this is the precise meaning** of Rashi on the opening verse: *'b'shom'o es rinasam'* — Rashi reads as *bi-zechus avos* — 'in the merit of the Avos.' Rabbeinu unpacks: when the *neginah* — which is the three colors of the keshes — is in *behirus and great zakus*, then those colors are precisely the Avos in their luminous l'vushin form, and *that* is what Chazal call *zechus avos*. ***Azai 'u-r'isiha li'z'kor bris olam,' azai 'va-yinachem k'rov chasadav'*** (Tehillim 106:45 — the very next verse, completing the kapital) — *heinu va-chamas ha-melech shachachah, v'nimtak ha-dinin*. The single tefillah-melody, sung in zakus, is the entire mechanism by which the chamas of HKB"H is softened and dinim are sweetened. Intermediate: **Ois א (Nigun mamtik dinim)**: 'Va-yar ba-tzar lahem b'shom'o es rinasam' (Teh 106:44). **Zohar Pin 215a**: keshes = Shechinah; ***3 gvanin d'keshes = Avos = l'vushin di'Shechinta***. B'l'vushin n'hirin → 'u-r'isiha li'z'kor bris olam' (Ber 9:16) → 'chamas ha-melech shachachah' (Est 7:10). Mashal: melech ka'as al b'no — ro'eh malka b'l'vushin n'hirin → meracheim. **Osiyos ha-tefilah = Shechinah** ('Adnai s'fasai tiftach' Teh 51:17; dibbur = shem Adnai). Tefilah = keshes (Rashi Ber 48:22 'b'charbi u'b'kashti' = lashon tefilah). Kol ha-neginah = 3 gvanin d'keshes (kol kollel eish/mayim/ru'ach = 3 Avos). M'nagein osiyos ha-tefilah b'zakus + behirus → malbish Shechinah b'l'vushin n'hirin → KBH ro'eh → 'chamas ha-melech shachachah.' Rashi 'b'shom'o rinasam' = bi-zechus avos (= zakus l'vushin/3 gvanin). 'Va-yinachem k'rov chasadav' (Teh 106:45) → nimtak ha-dinin.

Beginner: **Ois ב — *Emunas chachamim*: believing the words and deeds of the tzaddikim are not 'simple' but contain *razin*, also clothes the keshes in luminous garments**. *Gam al yedei emunas chachamim* — *also through faith in the chachamim* — *she-ma'amin she-kol divreihem u-ma'aseihem eino pashut, v'yesh bahem razin* — that one believes that *all their speech and all their deeds are not simple, and there are *razin* (mystical secrets) within them* — *al yedei zeh malbish es ha-keshes b'l'vushin di-n'hirin, azai 'u-r'isiha li'z'kor bris olam.'* The same end-state as Ois א, by a different operational route: not by singing tefillah-letters, but by holding the avodah-stance toward the tzaddik that all his apparent 'simple' words and gestures conceal sodos. **Why is the tzaddik the relevant object?** ***Ki ha-tzaddik hu bechinas keshes*** — for the tzaddik *is* the bechina of *keshes* — as the famous gemara (Kesubos 77b) records: when Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai met Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi after Rashbi emerged from the cave, he asked him: ***'ha-nir'ah keshes b'yamecha?'*** — 'has a rainbow been seen in your days?' (the gemara's coded measure of generations: in a generation that has a true tzaddik, no rainbow appears in the sky, because the tzaddik *is* the keshes that holds the bris). The tzaddik in the world holds the cosmic keshes-Shechinah; relating to him in *emunas chachamim* polishes those keshes-garments to luminosity. **The full Zohar quote (Zohar Pinchas 215a)**: ***'ma'an d'uvdoy l'anhara behon matronisa, u-l'mifshat minah l'vushin d'kadrunisa di-fshatin, u-l'kashta b'l'vushin d'gvanin n'hirin d'razin d'Oraysa, mai k'siv beih? — "u-r'isiha li'z'kor bris olam," d'or raz iskari, u-b'hahi zimna salik mineih rugza d'baryeih, va-chamas ha-melech shachachah'*** — 'one whose deeds are to *illuminate the Matronisa with them*, and to *strip from her the dark garments she had stripped on*, and to *adorn her in garments of luminous colors of the secrets of Torah*, what is written about him? — *'I shall see it to remember the everlasting covenant'* — for ***or (light) is called *raz*** *— and at that time the wrath of the Creator rises away from him, 'and the wrath of the king subsided.'* The Zohar's word for 'light' is *raz* — secret. Hence *believing in tzaddikim's deeds and words as razin* is itself the *l'vushin d'razin d'Oraysa* the Zohar prescribes for clothing the Matronisa in luminous colors. The avodah of *emunas chachamim* directly produces the Zohar-state. Intermediate: **Ois ב (Emunas chachamim)**: Emunas chachamim = ma'amin she-kol divreihem u-ma'aseihem eino pashut, yesh bahem ***razin*** → malbish keshes b'l'vushin n'hirin → 'u-r'isiha li'z'kor bris olam.' **Tzaddik = keshes** — Kesubos 77b: RShBI l'RYBL 'ha-nir'ah keshes b'yamecha?' (dor she-yesh bo tzaddik amiti, ein tzorech b'os ha-keshes ba-shamayim — ha-tzaddik hu ha-keshes). **Zohar Pin 215a**: 'ma'an d'uvdoy l'anhara matronisa, l'mifshat l'vushin d'kadrunisa, l'kashta b'l'vushin d'gvanin n'hirin d'razin d'Oraysa' → '"u-r'isiha li'z'kor bris olam" d'or **raz** iskari'; az salik rugza d'baryeih, va-chamas ha-melech shachachah.

Beginner: **Ois ג — One who makes a *levush na'eh* (a fine garment) *for the tzaddik* — by that act, the dinim are sweetened**. *Gam mi she-oseh levush na'eh la-tzaddik, al yedei zeh nimtak ha-dinim.* This is one short, dense ois that crowns Oisos א-ב: in Ois א one clothes the Shechinah with neginah-letters; in Ois ב one clothes Her by holding the tzaddik as keshes-of-razin; **here in Ois ג one clothes the tzaddik *literally* in a beautiful physical garment** — and the same dinim-sweetening follows. **Why?** Because the tzaddik *is* the bechina of keshes (Ois ב), and the keshes *is* the Shechinah clothed in three-color l'vushin (Ois א). When you make the lower keshes (the tzaddik) a *levush na'eh*, you simultaneously dress the upper keshes (the Shechinah) in *l'vushin di-n'hirin* — and *u-r'isiha li'z'kor bris olam, va-chamas ha-melech shachachah*, as in both prior oisos. The principle: physical kavod given to a true tzaddik is not flattery and not 'cult of personality' — it is a precise act of dressing the cosmic keshes-Shechinah in the very garments the Zohar prescribes for the sweetening of dinim. Intermediate: **Ois ג**: ***Gam mi she-oseh levush na'eh la-tzaddik, al yedei zeh nimtak ha-dinim.*** Hemshech direct mi-Ois ב: tzaddik = keshes (Kes 77b); levush la-tzaddik = malbish ha-keshes/Shechinah b'l'vushin n'hirin → 'u-r'isiha li'z'kor bris olam' → chamas ha-melech shachachah. Kavod gashmi la-tzaddik = pe'ulah meduyeket b'shitas Zohar Pin 215a.

Beginner: **Ois ד — *Teki'os* of the shofar = the Avos; the Shem Shaddai unfolded; *kol* and *keshes* unified by *Tehillim 19:4***. *Gam zeh bechinas teki'os* — *this entire mechanism is also the bechina of the shofar-blasts*. ***Teki'ah, Shevarim, Teru'ah*** — the three sounds of the shofar — *heim ha-Avos: Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov*. **Siman**: ***קש"ת*** (keshes, 'rainbow') = ק (for *Teki'ah* — qof), ש (for *Shevarim* — shin), ת (for *Teru'ah* — taf). The siman 'keshes' itself spells out the three shofar-sounds, sealing the equivalence: keshes-rainbow = three Avos = three shofar-sounds (Zohar Pinchas 230b). Each blast clothes the cosmic Shechinah in the luminous color of one Av. **The verse-anchor**: ***'v'hayah Shaddai b'tzarecha'*** — 'and Shaddai (the Almighty) shall be in your distresses' (Iyov 22:25). Why does the verse name *Shaddai* specifically as the Name that comes in tzaros? Because *Shem Shaddai = the Avos* (Zohar Pinchas 231a). **The unfolding of the Name *Shaddai*** (שׁ-ד-י): ***the letter ש = three branches of the tree*** — the three vertical stems of the letter shin are the three branches/Avos of the cosmic ilan. ***And the three vertical strokes are the three Names of the yichud — 'Hashem Elokeinu Hashem'*** (the three Names that appear in the central declaration of Shema Yisrael) — *which are 14 letters total* (4 + 6 + 4 = 14). **And those 14 letters = the *yad* of Shaddai*** — the letters ד-י (dalet+yud) of the Name Shaddai spell *yad* (י-ד = 14). So the שׁ of Shaddai contains the three Avos; the יד of Shaddai contains the 14 letters of the three Names of yichud — the same 3+14 system in two encodings. ***The roshei teivos seal***: *Avraham (א), Yitzchak (י), Yaakov (י)* = *roshei teivos of Hashem (י), Elokeinu (א), Hashem (י)* — both r"t sequences yield א-י-י = 21 in the same order. The Avos *are* the three Names of the yichud, and the Name Shaddai contains both. **Final verse-seal**: ***'ein omer v'ein devarim, b'li nishma kolam'*** — 'there is no speech and no words; their voice is unheard' (Tehillim 19:4 — the famous verse describing the silent music of the heavens) — *zeh bechinas keshes, v'kol = tlas gvanin d'keshes*. The verse codes both halves of the Torah at once: *'omer/devarim'* (speech that is not spoken) = the *osiyos ha-tefilah / Shechinah-keshes* (Ois א); *'kolam'* (their voice) = the *kol ha-neginah / 3 gvanin d'keshes* (Ois א-ד). The cosmic music of the heavens — silent speech with audible voice — *is* the keshes-Shechinah dressed in the three-color l'vushin of the Avos, sweetening dinim through teki'os, neginah, emunas chachamim, and levush na'eh la-tzaddik — four faces of one avodah. Intermediate: **Ois ד (Teki'os = Avos)**: ***Teki'ah, Shevarim, Teru'ah = Avos*** (Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov); ***siman קש"ת*** (Zohar Pin 230b). **Iyov 22:25 'v'hayah Shaddai b'tzarecha'**: shem Shaddai = Avos (Zohar Pin 231a). Pisuach: ***ש = 3 anafei ha-ilan = Avos*** = 3 shemos ha-yichud 'Hashem Elokeinu Hashem' (14 osiyos = יד of Shaddai, ד+י). **R"T**: A-Y-Y (Avraham/Yitzchak/Yaakov) = r"t Hashem-Elokeinu-Hashem (י-א-י). **Pasuk-seal**: 'ein omer v'ein devarim b'li nishma kolam' (Teh 19:4) = bechinas keshes (omer/devarim = osiyos-Shechinah) + kol (3 gvanin d'keshes).