Jewish Customs of Kabbalistic Origin: Their Origin and Practice 9781618112538

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JEWISH CUSTOMS OF KABBALISTIC ORIGIN

EMUNOT: JEWISH PHILOSOPHY AND KABBALAH Dov Schwartz (Bar-Ilan University), Series Editor

EDITORIAL BOARD Ada Rapoport-Albert (University College, London) Gad Freudenthal (C.N.R.S, Paris) Gideon Freudenthal (Tel Aviv University) Moshe Idel (Hebrew University, Jerusalem) Raphael Jospe (Bar-Ilan University) Ephraim Kanarfogel (Yeshiva University) Menachem Kellner (Haifa University) Daniel Lasker (Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva)

JEWISH CUSTOMS OF KABBALISTIC ORIGIN Their History and Practice

MORRIS M. FAIERSTEIN

Boston 2013

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: A catalog record for this title is available from the Library of Congress.

Copyright © 2013 Academic Studies Press All rights reserved ISBN 978-1-61811-252-1 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-61811-253-8 (electronic) Book design by Ivan Grave On the cover: Havdalah, from Sefer Minhagim, Venice, 1600. Published by Academic Studies Press in 2013 28 Montfern Avenue Brighton, MA 02135, USA [email protected] www.academicstudiespress.com

‫לכבוד ידידי‬ ‫הרב זכריה יוסף שווארצבארד נ”י‬

TA BLE OF CONT ENTS

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii THE SYNAGOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. Synagogue Customs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II. Prayer and Ritual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 1 4

TALIT AND TEFILLIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Zizit and Talit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 I. Tying the Zizit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 II. The Talit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 III. The Talit and the Synagogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Tefillin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 I. Customs Stemming from Differences of Opinions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 II. Kabbalistic Innovations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 III. Customs Relating to Donning the Tefillin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PRAYERS AND BLESSINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. Berikh Shemei: A Tehinnah Recited When Taking out the Torah . . . . . . . II. Birkhat Ha-Mazon (Grace after Meals) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. Birkat Kohanim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV. Le-Shem Yihud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V. Modeh Ani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI. Psalms during the High Holiday Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII. Reading the Chapter of the Nesi’im during the First Twelve Days of Nisan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15 15 17 21 25 26 27

SABBATH CUSTOMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Eve of the Sabbath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. Preparations for the Sabbath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II. Additional Prayers on the Eve of the Sabbath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28 28 28 31

vii

27

TA BLE OF CON T EN T S

Sabbath Evening / Friday Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. Lighting the Sabbath Candles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II. The Friday Night Prayer Service / Kabbalat Shabbat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. The Friday Night Meal Preliminaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV. Kiddush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V. The Friday Night Meal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI. The End of the Meal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Sabbath Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. The Sabbath Morning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II. Sabbath Mincha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. Seudah Shlishit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV. The Conclusion of the Sabbath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V. Havdalah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

32 32 33 39 40 41 45 46 46 48 49 51 52

SUKKOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. Lulav and Etrog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II. Ushpizin [Guests in the Sukkah] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. Hoshana Rabba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV. Hakafot on Simhat Torah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

58 58 62 65 69

MINOR OBSERVANCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. Tu B’Shevat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II. Counting the Omer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. Lag ba-Omer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

73 73 76 77

TIKKUNIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. Tikkun Leyl Shavuot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II. Tikkun Hazot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. Tikkun for the Night of the Seventh Day of Passover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV. Tikkun for Erev Rosh Hodesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V. Tikkun Leyl Hoshanah Rabba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

81 81 91 94 95 96

APPENDIX. “God’s Need for the Commandments” in Medieval Kabbalah . . . 97 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Index of Citations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

viii

PREFACE

The meaning  of the biblical commandments that are observed and the rabbinic rituals that are performed is a  topic that has been of interest and inquiry since the Talmudic period. This is particularly true of those commandments that do not seem to have a  rational reason. The classic example is the commandment concerning the red heifer and the rituals surrounding it. The Midrash relates that Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai was asked by a pagan about this ritual and he gave an explanation that satisfied the pagan, but not his disciples. His curt rely to his disciples was that it was a  divine decree, and that we are obligated to follow it whether we understand it or not. This response may have silenced his disciples, but the question has remained open, and has been a subject of study and analysis by Jewish philosophers and kabbalists ever since, particularly in the medieval and early modern periods. My intellectual quest in this area began at the Hebrew Book Week in Jerusalem in 1970, when I found a copy of Isaac Heinemann’s classic book, The Reasons for the Commandments in Jewish Literature. Unfortunately, the book disappointed me in that it only discussed the Jewish philosophical tradition, and did not discuss the kabbalistic tradition. Furthermore, the explanations offered by the philosophers were, to use the phrase used by Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai’s disciples, a very weak reed indeed. My study of kabbalah introduced me to an  understanding of the significance of the commandments that was much more intellectually satisfying, as long as one was willing to accept the axioms of the kabbalistic worldview. One of the first topics I  thought I  would pursue as a  doctoral dissertation was a  kabbalistic counterpart to Heinemann’s classic work. My first effort in this direction was a  seminar paper that explored the concept of zorech gavoha, a key aspect of the kabbalistic understanding of ix

PR EFAC E

the commandments.1 Life intervened, and I found myself moving in other directions and pursuing other scholarly interests. This topic was always in the back of my mind, however, and I continued to read and reflect on it. Over the years my interest shifted from the theoretical kabbalistic understanding of the commandments to the study of their practical implementation. The kabbalists gave the religious practice of Judaism a  whole new dimension by giving new meanings to existing rituals and creating new rituals that have embedded themselves in Jewish religious life. Sometimes these new kabbalistic rituals are more fervently practiced and considered more central than even the explicit biblical commandments that are the theological basis of Jewish religious life. Despite the centrality of kabbalistic customs and rituals for the practice of all branches of Judaism, there is a  relative paucity of scholarly and popular literature on this subject. The bulk of the literature that does exist is in Hebrew and intended for a  scholarly audience. I  have learned much from the scholars who have made significant contributions to the study of kabbalistic customs, and my debt to them will be found throughout the notes and references in this book. However, my goal in this book is different from theirs: I aim to provide an accessible survey of this subject for the non-specialist reader. The emphasis is on the practical questions: why do we do something, and what is its kabbalistic significance? This volume is not designed to be an introduction to Jewish religious practices; a  basic assumption of this work is that the reader has a  solid grounding in Jewish religious life and practices. I do not explain why or how we don the phylacteries, but I  do discuss the meanings of the specific aspects of this ritual that are kabbalistic. Similarly, I  do not explain why or how we observe the Sabbath or festivals, but only concentrate on those aspects that are derived from kabbalistic practice or theory. Most Jews are not familiar with the sources of these rituals and the symbolic meanings that originally motivated their creation. For example, the custom of reciting or singing a passage from Proverbs about a virtuous wife (Eshet Hayil) is widespread, and is commonly believed to be a  hymn to one’s spouse or significant other. However, this was not the original intent of the Safed kabbalists who instituted this custom in the sixteenth century. They saw it, rather, as a  hymn to the Shekhinah as she came out

1

This article can be found in the appendix to this volume. x

PR EFAC E

of her exile for the Sabbath. Knowing the original meaning of this ritual does not have to detract from the modern practice, but it may well add another dimension to this ritual. The same can be said about many of the other rituals discussed in this work. Additionally, a  survey of this type might serve as a foundation on which to build and expand our knowledge of kabbalistic traditions and their major contributions to Jewish life and practice over the last four centuries. My thanks to Professor Dov Schwartz for including this volume in the series Emunot: Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah, and to Sharona Vedol of Academic Studies Press for her excellent editing of this work. I  have dedicated this work to my oldest friend, Rabbi Jerry Schwarzbard. He is the only person who attended my bar mitzvah and still reminds me of what I said on that occasion. This is a small token of a friendship that has lasted for more than half a century. Rosh Hodesh Tammuz 5773 Rockville, Maryland

xi

ACKNOW LEDGMENTS

My thanks to the Rabbinical Assembly, publishers of Conservative Judaism magazine and the editor, Rabbi Martin S. Cohen, Ph.D. for first publishing the following articles and permission to republish these materials in this book. “God’s Need for the Commandments in Medieval Kabbalah.” Conservative Judaism 36 (1982): 45-59. “Kabbalistic Customs and Rituals: An  Introduction.” Conservative Judaism 60, 3 (2008): 90-98. “Kabbalistic Customs: A  Series — Tefillin and Kabbalah.” Conservative Judaism 60, 4 (2008): 79-83 “Tikkun Leyl Shavuot” Conservative Judaism 61, 3 (2009): 76-79. “Hakkafot on Simhat Torah.” Conservative Judaism 63, 1 (2011): 97-101. “Kabbalistic Aspects of Birkat Kohanim.” Conservative Judaism 63, 2 (2011): 93-97. “The Kabbalistic Background of Some Lag Ba-Omer Customs.” Conservative Judaism 63, 3 (2012): 73-77. “Tikkun Leil Hoshana Rabbah.” Conservative Judaism 63, 4 (2012): 92-95. “The Lulav and Etrog in the Kabbalistic Tradition.” Conservative Judaism 64, 1 (2012): 56-60.

xii

INT RODUCT ION

The impact  of the kabbalistic tradition on why and how we fulfill the commandments of the Torah and rabbinic enactments has been substantial. This is particularly true since the sixteenth century, when the kabbalists of Safed created a community that not only studied the Zohar and other medieval kabbalistic writings but also endeavored to put into actual practice teachings and rituals that until then had primarily been theoretical constructs. Within a generation of the Safed experiment these new teachings and rituals began to be disseminated to the wider Jewish community, and within a century many kabbalistic customs and practices became embedded as normative practices throughout the Jewish world. The medieval kabbalists approached the meaning of the biblical commandments and rabbinic enactments in both a  theoretical and a  practical manner. The theoretical question, which was already raised in pre-rabbinic literature in the writing of Philo and others, relates to the reasons for the commandments. What purpose is served by our observance of the commandments? Is there any meaning or goal beyond obeying the word of God as revealed in scripture? In a small number of cases, scripture itself gives reasons for particular positive and negative commandments, but there is no overarching theory that can be extrapolated from these examples.1 The rabbis of the Talmud occasionally offered ethical or moral explanations of commandments that were amenable to such explanation. When confronted with more problematic or arcane commandments that were not readily explainable, they retreated to the concept that God’s ways were inexplicable.

1

Matt, “Mitzwot,” I:367-370. xiii

I N T RODUC T ION

It was only in the ninth century, during the Geonic period, with the revival of Greek philosophical thought among Muslim thinkers, that the problem of the commandments and the reasons for their observance became an  issue, affecting Jewish thinkers who were influenced by the Muslim philosophical tradition. The idea of performing religious acts without rhyme or reason was antithetical to the rationalist inclinations of the philosophers, and Jewish philosophers felt compelled to find rational explanations for the commandments that the Torah had enjoined upon all  Jews. These reasons had to be rational as defined by the parameters of the Greek-inspired Islamic philosophical tradition. From Saadia Gaon onwards, a  Jewish philosophical tradition developed that sought to reconcile rationalist thought with the commandments of Judaism. Ultimately, after many attempts, the philosophers were unable to achieve a satisfactory synthesis between the religious demands of Judaism and the rational foundations of the medieval philosophical tradition.2 In the middle of the twelfth century, a new school of Jewish mysticism began to develop in Provence and northern Spain. Among its central figures was Rabbi Abraham ben David (Rabad) of Posquieres, the most important critic of Maimonides’ halakhic and philosophical writings. The teachings of this new school came to be known as Kabbalah, the received tradition, because it asserted that its ideas were not innovations, but ancient esoteric rabbinic traditions that had been passed on orally from teacher to student. Within a  generation, bits and pieces of this esoteric theology began to circulate among scholars in southern France and northern Spain. Not more than a  century later, in the second half of the thirteenth century, a significant number of kabbalistic treatises were being disseminated and read. The culmination of this century of intellectual and literary activity was the Zohar, a large work that was purported to be a midrash composed by Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, a second-century rabbinic figure. According to rabbinic tradition, he and his son hid in a cave for twelve years to escape arrest by the Romans in the wake of the Bar Kochba war with Rome.3 Rabbi Simeon supposedly wrote the Zohar during that period. Gershom Scholem, 2

The classic overview of this subject is Heinemann. Levin is an  abridged English translation.

3

B. Shabbat, 33a. xiv

I N T RODUC T ION

the founder of the scholarly study of Jewish mysticism, concluded that Moses de Leon, a Spanish kabbalist, wrote it between the 1260’s and the 1280’s. More recent scholarship presents a  more complex picture of the composition of the Zohar.4 The theology of the Zohar can be divided into two broad categories, theosophy and theurgy.5 Theosophy, also known as the doctrine of the sefirot, concerns itself with the interactions of the ten sefirot and how the biblical text maps and illustrates these interactions. This is the theoretical and philosophical aspect of kabbalistic thought, and was the primary object of study by the Scholem school of kabbalistic scholarship. The ten sefirot are emanations of the Divine, attributes that created and sustain the world. Whether these attributes constituted the essence of the Divine or were only vessels or symbolic representations of Divine powers was debated by kabbalists for hundreds of years.6 The ten sefirot can be divided into two groups, an upper triad and a lower group of seven. The upper three sefirot consist of Keter/Ein Sof (the unknowable Infinite), Hokhmah (Wisdom), and Binah (Understanding). Keter/Ein Sof is beyond all understanding. The next two sefirot, Hokhmah and Binah, are the generative forces, often seen in paternal and maternal terms. From these three upper sefirot, which are beyond all human influence, the divine shefa (divine energy, emanative flow) flows into the seven lower sefirot, where it begins to be further differentiated. Hesed (Lovingkindness, Grace) and Din/ Gevurah (Stern Judgment) represent the divine attributes of complete love and unbending justice. Both of these attributes flow into Tiferet (Splendor), which ideally harmonizes and balances these competing forces. The next triad of Nezah (Endurance), Hod (Majesty) and Yesod (Foundation) bring the emanation further down to Yesod, which is the phallus, the sefirah that joins with the tenth sefirah, Malkhut/Shekhinah, the feminine aspect of the

4

See “How the Zohar was Written” in Liebes, Zohar, 85-138. Abrams’s Kabbalistic Manuscripts and Textual Theory and Huss, Zohar, are the most recent and comprehensive studies of the history of the text of the Zohar and its reception.

5

A comprehensive discussion of these concepts is Idel, chapters 6-8.

6

The most comprehensive discussion and synthesis of this debate is found in the writings of Rabbi Moses Cordovero, the last great kabbalist before the rise of Lurianic kabbalah. On Cordovero and his theology, see Ben-Shlomo. xv

I N T RODUC T ION

sefirotic world. Shekhinah is also the Divine presence in the human world and is the point of connection between the human and divine worlds. The six sefirot from Hesed to Yesod are also sometimes represented by the central sefirah of this group, Tiferet, and the union of these sefirot with the Shekhinah is often described as the union of Tiferet and Shekhinah. The relationship of the sefirot with each other and with the human world is not static but dynamic. The text of the Torah is a record of the interactions of the sefirot, which is also a blueprint for how the world was created and how it is maintained. There are several basic processes in the sefirotic world that affect the flow and quality of the shefa that flows to the human world. Without the shefa the world would not exist, thus anything that would interrupt that flow is a major concern. The Sitra Achra (the Evil Side) are malevolent forces generated during the process of creation that seek to interrupt the flow of shefa by “capturing” the Shekhinah and breaking her connection with the rest of the sefirotic world. In addition, for the shefa to have a  beneficial effect, the qualities of justice (Din) and mercy (Hesed) must be balanced. The basic processes of the sefirotic world are: 1. Achieving harmony and balance to the two sefirot of Hesed (Mercy) and Din (Stern Judgment). 2. The union of the masculine (Tiferet or the configuration of the six sefirot from Tiferet to Yesod) with the feminine aspect of the Godhead (Shekhinah or Malkhut). 3. Redemption of the Shekhinah from exile and the hegemony of the Sitra Achra (the Evil Side). 4. Defense against or mastery over the powers of the Sitra Achra.7 The other major aspect of kabbalistic theology is theurgy, which is concerned with the human-divine interaction. Human actions can affect the sefirotic realm and exert an influence on its processes, both for good and for ill. The tool of this interaction is ritual, that is, the fulfillment of the positive commandments and the non-transgression of the negative commandments. Each ritual act that is properly performed positively influences the divine realm in one of these ways. Sometimes a ritual act,

7

Scholem, “Tradition,” 130. xvi

I N T RODUC T ION

broken down into its components, may impact more than one of these four modes of influence. For example, the act of donning tefillin has several components, and each part of the ritual has a  different impact on the sefirotic world.8 At the same time, violating of one of the Torah’s negative commandments may strengthen the forces of the Sitra Achra, keep the Shekhinah in exile, and delay the redemption, or negatively affect the Divine realm in some other way. The Zohar contains reasons and explanations for many biblical commandments and rabbinic enactments. It also creates new rituals and customs from a variety of sources. Some are based on a passing idea in the Talmud, like the mention of “seven shepherds” which leads to the ritual of Ushpizin in the Sukkah. Others are based on Ashkenazi customs that were unknown in Spain and were introduced as kabbalistic customs in the Zohar.9 There were also traditions that seem to have been developed from the internal logic of the Zohar’s teachings. The Tikkunei Zohar and Raya Mehemna, two parts of the Zoharic corpus that were composed by a  later author, are particularly important in creating and disseminating kabbalistic customs. In addition, a  subset of texts was composed in which the texts were devoted to the kabbalistic understanding of the reasons for the commandments. The commentary on the reasons for the commandments by Menahem Recanati, a  fourteenth-century Italian kabbalist, was published in the sixteenth century, but other commentaries by Moses de Leon and Joseph of Shushan, among others, either were only published recently or remain in manuscript form even today.10 The influence of the Zohar extended significantly beyond the explanation of the mystical meaning of the biblical commandments. Through expressions of approval and disapproval, the Zohar influenced which rabbinic traditions would be given greater importance and which would be allowed to atrophy. For example, the Zohar’s strong disapproval of the custom of donning tefillin on hol ha-moed tipped the balance against the custom, whereas opinion had

8

See below, the chapter on tefillin.

9

See Ta Shma.

10

Among the recently published books is De Leon, published by Elliot Wolfson. Joseph of Shushan’s work has been the subject of dissertations by Meier and Felix. xvii

I N T RODUC T ION

previously been fairly evenly divided.11 Another example of the increasing influence of the Zohar at the end of the fifteenth century is Jacob Landau in his Sefer ha-Agur.12 He was the first scholar to cite the Zohar as a halakhic source, and did so for three practices that had no other halakhic source: he cited three rules regarding how tefillin are to be donned and explicitly cites the Zohar as the source for these practices.13 Even though there is evidence of the Zohar influencing this or that custom, there is no evidence of a group of individuals who attempted to live their lives according to the teachings of the Zohar. For most kabbalists, the teachings of the Zohar remained the objects of theosophic speculation rather than a  guide for daily living. An  interesting example is Meir ibn Gabbai’s Tola’at Ya’akov, a  book devoted to kabbalistic customs.14 Though written as late as the 1540’s, ibn Gabbai’s book was primarily interested in the theosophic aspects of the customs he discussed, and there is little or no evidence that he actually put any of the practices he discussed into practice. The next step, turning mystical concepts into the praxis of a  living community in which the rituals described in the Zohar are the foundations of everyday life, did not happen until the sixteenth century in the Galilean town of Safed. Individual kabbalists and small groups began to move in this direction in the early sixteenth century. The circle around the kabbalist Joseph Taitazak in Turkey may have been a  precursor to the kabbalistic renaissance of Safed.15 It is noteworthy that the first recorded account of the enactment of a kabbalistic ritual based on a concept only found in the Zohar, the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot,16 occurred in Taitazak’s circle. The ritual took place in Adrianople, Turkey, in 1534 or 1535, not long before Joseph Karo and Shlomo Alkabetz, who were among the participants, left for Safed. There they helped found the kabbalistic community that became the center of a major spiritual renaissance in Jewish life. 11

See Katz, “Hol ha-Moed.”

12

It was first printed in his lifetime in Naples in 1490.

13

See below, the chapter on tefillin.

14

On this book see Ginsburg, Sabbath, and Ginsburg, T.Y.

15

On Taitazak and his circle see Scholem, “Magid.”

16

See below for a discussion. xviii

I N T RODUC T ION

The beginning of the Safed revival can be considered to have begun with the arrival of Karo and Alkabetz, and some other figures, in 15351536. Why did they decide to establish themselves in Safed? There are two reasons, one practical and the other mystical. The practical reason was that Safed was a major center for the wool trade and as a result was the richest Jewish community in the Land of Israel at that time. Thus it had the economic base to support yeshivas and full-time scholars.17 The other Jewish communities of the Land of Israel were impoverished.18 The mystical reason is that Safed is very close to Meron, where Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, the purported author of the Zohar, was buried. This part of the Galilee was also considered to be where many of the events recounted in the Zohar took place. The connection there with the Zohar was palpable. For the kabbalists, in Safed the Zohar was no longer an esoteric text but a record of a living reality that they could see and touch. Moses Cordovero regularly wandered in the area around Safed, finding the graves of the heroes of the Zohar and communing with their souls through a series of mystical meditations (yihudim). He even wrote a  book, Sefer Gerushin, about the mystical insights he gained from these encounters. This strong identification with the heroes of the Zohar is also important for understanding why the kabbalists of Safed looked to the Zohar not only for mystical inspiration, but also for guidance on how to practice Judaism in their daily lives. The Zohar was the source and inspiration for the innovations in religious ritual and practice introduced by the Safed kabbalists. Sometimes they engaged in practices or recited prayers found in the Zohar, and at other times they created new rituals that were inspired by Zoharic texts and ideas. The process of creating and implementing this new mystical lifestyle appears to have begun with the arrival of the kabbalists in Safed and to have culminated in the practices and teachings of Isaac Luria. In the years after the arrival of Joseph Karo and Shlomo Alkabetz, a number of mystical brotherhoods developed in Safed around them and around other spiritual figures already living in Safed. Moses Cordovero, Alkabetz’s brother-in-law, was the dominant kabbalistic influence in Safed 17

See Avitsur.

18

The other Jewish communities were in the other holy cities: Jerusalem, Hebron, and Tiberias. xix

I N T RODUC T ION

before the arrival of Isaac Luria in the spring of 1570. The group around Cordovero and the other brotherhoods developed lists of religious practices [hanhagot] that the members of these groups were expected to observe. These were practices that were above and beyond the normative halakhic practices expected of all Jews. A number of these lists have survived and were first published by Solomon Schechter as an appendix to his pioneering essay on sixteenth-century Safed.19 These lists of hanhagot are the earliest written evidence of the new rituals and traditions that were being created in Safed. After the death of Moses Cordovero in the summer of 1570, Isaac Luria became the dominant figure in the Safed mystical renaissance.20 In the two short years until his own death in August 1572, he transformed the whole world of Jewish mysticism through his lifestyle, his writings, and the much more voluminous writings based on his teachings that were composed by his disciples.21 Not only did the Lurianic School reinterpret the Zoharic tradition, but it also transformed Jewish religious practice. The hanhagot of the earlier Safed kabbalists were relatively narrow and only meant for the immediate members of their particular mystical brotherhoods. Luria’s practices, however, while restricted at first to his immediate circle of disciples, were eventually disseminated over a period of decades and even centuries to all parts of the Jewish world. Their impact can be seen in the religious practices of all Jewish communities and denominations. Luria saw himself as the reincarnation of R.  Simeon bar Yohai, the purported author of the Zohar. He once showed his disciple, Hayyim Vital, the exact place where the Idra Rabba, one of the most important events described in the Zohar, occurred. Luria revealed that he was a transmigration of R. Simeon bar Yohai, and Vital a transmigration of his most important disciple, R. Abba, as they sat in the exact places they had been sitting in when the Idra Rabba first took place.22 It would seem that what he endeavored to do was comb through the Zohar and bring to life 19

See Schechter, “Safed.” The lists of hanhagot are on pp. 292-301. Fine, Safed, 1-80, translates the lists of hanhagot and provides context and explanations.

20

The most comprehensive biography of Isaac Luria is Fine, Luria.

21

The most comprehensive analysis of what is called the Lurianic corpus is Avivi.

22

See Hezyonot, 4.17, 172. xx

I N T RODUC T ION

all of the rituals and practices mentioned in it.23 Though earlier kabbalists had begun this process,24 it was Luria who did it most systematically and comprehensively. Luria’s practices were first collected in lists of hanhagot, like those of other kabbalists,25 but the most influential and complete compilation of Luria’s practices was Hayyim Vital’s treatise, Sha’ar haKavvanot. Though it was not published until 1851, it circulated widely in manuscript form, and other authors drew on its ideas. Beginning at the end of the sixteenth century, a  whole literature slowly developed that disseminated individual customs and practices or summarized many of the customs and practices found in Vital’s Sha’ar haKavvanot and other primary sources. This literature concentrated on the practice rather than the mystical meaning of the rituals being discussed. New rituals were also included in ethical works, prayer books, and booklets describing specific customs like Kabbalat Shabbat.26 Another important source for the dissemination of kabbalistic customs were the shlukhim. These were rabbis, often leading scholars, who traveled from the Land of Israel to Jewish communities in all parts of the Jewish world for the purpose of collecting charity for the impoverished Jews of the Land of Israel.27 The best-known shaliakh was R. Hayyim Joseph Azulai (known as the HYD”A), whose influence was manifold. Azulai was the author of many popular works, and was also influential in teaching and disseminating kabbalistic customs in the many communities he visited over the course of his journeys to collect money for the Jews of the Land of Israel.28 The process of incorporating these new traditions continued well into the eighteenth century. The kabbalists were systematic in explaining the traditions of the Torah in theosophic terms, explaining how the normative rituals and practices influenced the interactions of the sefirotic world. However, they 23

To the best of my knowledge, this subject has never been studied and remains an important desideratum.

24

For example, the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot of Karo and Alkabetz, mentioned above.

25

These lists were collected in T.A., 309-354.

26

The most comprehensive studies of this process are Gries, 1-102; Gries, Book, 1-99.

27

For the history of these shlukhim and their impact see Yaari, Shlukhei.

28

See Benayahu, Azulai. xxi

I N T RODUC T ION

were far from systematic in creating new rituals and practices. Thus, there are many new traditions related to Sukkot, but relatively few for Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They also created and reinterpreted many post-biblical rituals and traditions. The purpose of the present study is descriptive rather than analytical. It seeks to describe the why and how of the particular rituals, but not to explain the larger meaning of these rituals in the context of the kabbalistic tradition and Judaism. Much research remains to be done before these larger questions can be addressed.

xxii

JEWISH CUSTOMS OF KABBALISTIC ORIGIN Their History and Practice

T HE SY NAGOGUE

This chapter  contains sections relating to the architecture of the synagogue, attitudes to prayer, and rituals connected with the synagogue and prayer.

I. Synagogue Customs 1. Synagogue windows. According to the Zohar, the synagogue should have 12 windows.1 This custom is not known in earlier sources. 2. Steps going to the ark. The Zohar also states that there should be six steps going up to the ark.2 The reasons are mystical, but in practice this was not normally followed.3 3. Early arrival at services. The idea of the importance of being one of the first ten to come to the synagogue is already found in the Talmud.4 It was reemphasized in the Zohar in a  number of places. There are even suggestions that the ten should try to come together at the same time.5 4. Design and decoration of the synagogue. Thomas Hubka, in a  fascinating article, demonstrates how the text of the Zohar influenced the design and decoration of synagogues in early modern Eastern Europe.6 1

Zohar, II:251a.

2

Ibid. II: 206a.

3

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 314.

4

B. Berakhot 47b.

5

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 315, and the sources cited there.

6

See Hubka. 1

T HE S Y NAGOGU E

5. R.  Isaac Luria and the synagogue.7 R.  Hayyim Vital mentions that his teacher (R.  Isaac Luria) was not one of the first ten to come to the synagogue for two reasons. First, he was sickly, and taking care of his bodily needs took a longer time, and second, he wanted to fulfill the Zoharic injunction to don one’s talit and tefillin before leaving the house and this could only be done after dawn. As a result, he was not one of the first ten to come to the synagogue. R. Isaac Luria was also very careful about not speaking in the synagogue, so as not to fall into idle talk that was not appropriate.8 Vital recounts that he would not even engage in talk about religious matters after the prayers, and would not respond to a  question until he had left the synagogue, because it might lead to idle talk. R.  Isaac Luria did not raise his voice in prayer at any point in the services, as he wanted to demonstrate humility before the Holy One. On the Sabbath, he raised his voice in song somewhat, in honor of the Sabbath. He would pray from a prayer book in his hand, but for the Amidah he prayed from memory with his eyes closed. Even during the reader’s repetition of the Amidah he would close his eyes and carefully listen.9 6. “Love your fellow as yourself.” R. Hayyim Vital writes: Before a  person begins his prayers in the synagogue, he should accept upon himself the commandment of “Love your fellow as yourself ” [Leviticus 19:18]. He should intend to love every one of the children of Israel like himself. Through this, his prayers will ascend together with all the prayers of Israel. They will be able to ascend to Heaven and be fruitful. In particular with regard to the love of his colleagues who study Torah together, each one should include himself as if he were a limb of his colleague. If one colleague is troubled, they all need to participate in his troubles, whether because of illness or children, heaven forbid, and should pray for him. He should participate with his colleagues in all of his

7

The following traditions are taken from P.E.H., 113.

8

Zohar, II:131b.

9

Closing the eyes during the Amidah is also related to the custom of putting one’s talit over one’s head during the Amidah. The reason is related to the kabbalistic idea that the Amidah is the time that the masculine (Tiferet/six intermediate sefirot) and feminine (Shekhinah/Malkhut) aspects of the Godhead unite in a mystical union. It is a matter of modesty to avert one’s gaze from this holy union. 2

I . S Y NAGOGU E C US TOMS

prayers, needs, and words. My teacher exhorted me greatly in the matter of loving our colleagues.10

7. Torah procession. R. Hayyim Vital writes: It was the custom of my teacher, of blessed memory, to kiss the Torah and to follow behind it when it was taken from the ark to the reading table to be read. Afterwards, he remained there, near the reading table, until  the  Torah was opened and was shown to the congregation, as is known.11 He stared at the letters of the Torah scroll. He said that by staring at the letters so closely that he is able to read the letters clearly, a great light flows over the person. Then he would return to his seat and sit there until the completion of the Torah reading, unlike those who are accustomed to stand.12

The Torah procession is an Ashkenazi custom.13 It is also interesting that he would sit during the Torah reading rather than stand during the Torah reading, as is recommended in the Zohar.14 Perhaps this was a  reflection of his personal frailty rather than an explicit decision to reject the Zoharic tradition. 8. Looking at or touching the mezuzah. The custom of putting one’s hand on the mezuzah or kissing it was known in medieval Ashkenaz, though it was not a universal custom. The Zohar knows of the custom of looking at the mezuzah.15 In Safed, touching or kissing the mezuzah was listed among the pious practices of the pietists in the community. The practice was popularized and more widely disseminated as a result of its association with the Safed kabbalists.16

10

S.K., I:2a-b; Hallamish, Kabbalah, 356-382.

11

The Sephardi custom is to raise the Torah and show it to the congregation before the Torah is read, as opposed to the Ashkenazi custom, which is to raise the Torah at the end of the reading.

12

S.K., I:314b.

13

See on the discussion in chapter VI in this volume on Simhat Torah.

14

Zohar, II:206a.

15

Ibid. III: 263b.

16

Sperber, Minhagei, 3:199-200. 3

T HE S Y NAGOGU E

II. Prayer and Ritual 1. Different orders (Nuscha’ot) of the prayer book. R. Hayyim Vital writes: There are many differences in the customs concerning the orders of the prayers. There are many differences among the prayer books between the custom of the Sephardim, the custom of Catalonia, and the custom of the Ashkenazim, etc. My teacher, of blessed memory, said that there are twelve windows in heaven and the prayers of each tribe ascend to its particular gate. This is the secret of the twelve gates mentioned at the end of Ezekiel.17 There is no doubt that the prayers of all the tribes are equal, so that there was no need for twelve windows and gates. Each gate has its own path and it is needed because their prayers are different, therefore they needed specific gates for each tribe, according to the source of the souls of that tribe. Therefore, it is appropriate for each person to hold on to his ancestors’ custom of prayer, since he does not know which tribe is which. Since his ancestors held on to a particular custom, perhaps he is of that tribe for which this custom is appropriate. Now, if he will abrogate it, his prayers will not ascend if they are not according to that custom. However, you should know that this only concerns certain passages in the middle of the prayers, such as, whether to precede Hodu before Baruch Sh’eamar or vice versa. However, that which was established explicitly in the Talmud, this is the same for everyone and there are no differences for all the tribes.18

One of the hallmarks of the dissemination of Lurianic Kabbalah in central and Eastern Europe was the adoption of the so-called Lurianic or nusach Sphard,19 a  prayer style that was first introduced by kabbalists in private synagogues and that became widespread with the advent of Hasidism. This innovation is ironic on two accounts. First, Luria himself was of Ashkenazi background, and his disciple, Hayyim Vital, reports that he

17

Ezekiel 48:30-34.

18

S.K., I:328a-b; P.E.H., Sha’ar ha-Tefila, Introduction, 1.

19

This is a  hybrid order of prayer that takes some elements from the Ashkenazi prayer book and some from the Sephardi prayer book. It is different in many ways from the prayer book used by Edot ha-Mizrach Jewish communities. 4

II. PR AY ER A ND R I T UA L

used an Ashkenazi mahzor.20 Secondly, Luria stated that one should follow the custom of one’s ancestors in choosing a  prayer book. The opponents of the “kabbalistic” customs introduced by Hasidism used this argument against the hasidic “innovators.” 2. Private minyanim. One of the customs that was popularized by hasidic zaddiqim is the private minyan. According to this custom, the zaddiq would pray in his private study with a minyan of close disciples, rather than praying in the main synagogue with the whole community. The source of this custom is the practice of R. Isaac Luria. Vital writes: “Many times, my teacher, of blessed memory, prayed in his home with ten people and he was not concerned that there should be a Torah to read, both during the week and on the Sabbath.”21 3. Opposition to prayers and piyyutim composed “late.” R.  Isaac Luria was opposed to the recitation of prayers and piyyutim that he thought were not composed according to the correct teachings of the kabbalistic tradition.R. Hayyim Vital writes: My teacher, of blessed memory, had no interest in any song or piyyut that was composed by one of the latter ones; only those by the early ones, like the prayer of R. Akiva, R. Yishmael, R. Eleazar ben Arakh, and R. Eleazar ha-Kalir, and their like, which were established according to the path of Truth. The later ones, who did not know the path of Kabbalah, did not know what they were saying, and erred in the arrangement of their words, had no knowledge at all and did not say anything . . . . He did not want to recite them.22

It was generally accepted in kabbalistic circles that the last kabbalist whose traditions were authentic and could be trusted was Nahmanides. Of course, this assumes the acceptance of the traditional attributions of authorship of kabbalistic texts such as the Zohar. This also explains why R.  Isaac Luria did not sing Lekha Dodi or follow the rituals of Kabbalat Shabbat, as we shall see below.

20

S.K., II:275b.

21

S.K., I:314b.

22

P.E.H., Sha’ar ha-Tefila, Introduction, 1. 5

T HE S Y NAGOGU E

4. Ritual reading of the Zohar. The concept that reading the text of the Zohar without understanding its contents has a positive religious value is already found in the writings of the sixteenth-century Safed kabbalists. R.  Moses Cordovero writes: “Even the reading of the words of the Zohar will bring a  man joy of the soul in the fear of God, as if he pursued [his studies] with the righteous in the Garden of Eden.”23 R.  Isaac Luria also recommended to a  particular person that he should read the Zohar, even if he did not understand the meaning of the words, to repair certain sins that he had committed.24 Later kabbalists also endorsed this practice, following Cordovero and Luria.25 This practice was popular among Sephardi communities who were immersed in kabbalistic practices; it was a common practice for simple Jews, who did not understand Aramaic, to read through the text of the Zohar as if they were reciting Psalms, with the same expected theurgic affect.

23

Or Ne’erav, Part 5, chap. 2.

24

T.A., 174.

25

Huss, Zohar, 251-255. 6

TA LIT AND T EF ILLIN

ZIZIT AND TALIT I. Tying the Zizit There are a variety of combinations and traditions regarding the tying of the zizit. The number of knots and the number of turns between knots vary widely. The following is R. Isaac Luria’s tradition, according to R. Hayyim Vital: First you tie two knots near the corner and do seven turns. Tie another two knots and turn eight turns. Tie another two knots and turn another eleven turns. Tie another two knots and turn another thirteen turns. Tie two more knots. These are the thirty-nine turns, according to the number of the thirty-nine letters of “Eheyeh of the Heh’s” and is also the number of the “Tetragrammaton Ehad.”1 Concerning the knot at the tip of each string of the zizit so that they should not unravel. I saw that my teacher, of blessed memory, did not protest against this, but there were those who disputed it. On the contrary, I believe that he wanted the tips to be tied. [Samuel Vital adds a  note that his father, Hayyim Vital, followed this practice.] . . . Concerning the talit katan, my teacher, of blessed memory, would make two holes next to each other, like the vowel zeire, in each of the four corners of the talit. He would pull the zizit through one hole and out the other, so that the two strands would be exposed on the same side. The reason for this is found in the Sefer ha-Agur. However, my teacher only did this for the talit katan and not for the large talit.2

1

Permutations of the name of God found in Lurianic Kabbalah, which have the gematria of thirty-nine. The source for this practice is found in Zohar, III:228b.

2

S.K., I:47b-48a. 7

TA LI T A ND T EFILLI N

II. The Talit 1. The color of the talit. According to the understanding of the Zohar, it is assumed that the rabbinic references to God wearing a talit3 are to the wearing of a white talit. The proof text is: “The white talit is to the right on the side of Hesed, as it says, the Lord King sits on the seat of Mercy and acts with lovingkindness.”4 This is the source of the preference among kabbalists and others for an all white talit. 2. The size of the talit. According to the Zohar, the talit should be large enough to cover one’s head and the majority of the body.5 3. The placing of an  atarah on the talit. R.  Isaac Luria “was not careful to put a sign on the talit [atarah] to always put one side on the head, as is the custom of the Ashkenazim. There is no source for this custom.”6 It is interesting that even though R.  Isaac Luria decided that the atarah was not necessary, hasidim who normally followed Lurianic customs did not follow this custom and wore an atarah on their talitot.7 Not only did they wear an atarah, but it was often very large and, for those who could afford it, ornate. The only hasidic group that follows the custom of not having an atarah is Habad, and their reason is the opinion of R. Isaac Luria.

III. The Talit and the Synagogue 1. Wearing the talit and tefillin to the synagogue. The tradition of wearing the talit and tefillin to the synagogue from one’s house is based on the following passage. It was also one of R. Isaac Luria’s practices, which his disciples commented on.8 Rabbi Simeon said: When a person wakes up at midnight and engages in Torah study until dawn, in the morning he dons the tefillin of the head and 3

Genesis Rabbah 3:4; B. Rosh Hashanah 17b.

4

Zohar, III:228a.

5

Ibid., III:120b.

6

S.K., I:33a.

7

See Sperber, Minhagei, 7:82-93.

8

P.E.H., 113. 8

III. T HE TA LI T A ND T HE S Y NAGOGU E

the tefillin that are the sign of the holy on his arm, puts on the covering of the commandments, goes to the door of his house, touches the mezuzah, the impression of the Holy Name at the door of his house, and then four holy angels join with him and accompany him from the door of his house to the synagogue. They announce before him: Give honor to the image of the Holy King. Give honor to the son of the King, to the face of the honored King. The Holy Spirit rests upon him, announces and says, “Israel in whom I glory” [Isaiah 9:3].9

2. Donning the talit before the tefillin. The Zohar states: When a  person rises, he first needs to purify himself. Then he should accept the yoke [of Heaven], to spread the covering of the commandment [the talit] over his head. Afterwards, he should tie the knot of unification, which are the tefillin, the tefillin of the head and the hand.10

3. Zizit and the Shema. “Whoever reads the Shema without zizit [i.e., without wearing a talit] gives false testimony. They are liars and testify that they are liars.”11 4. Zizit and Baruch she’amar. “When a person reaches Baruch she’amar, he should grasp the two sides of the talit that are in front of him, in his right hand. He should concentrate on the idea that Baruch she’amar is in Yezirah, like the talit.”12

TEFILLIN Kabbalistic customs regarding tefillin can be divided into two categories. Some are earlier traditions about which there was a difference of opinion, and the support of the Zohar or Lurianic Kabbalah for one side of the argument tipped the balance. Others are innovations of the kabbalists.

9

Zohar, III:265a.

10

Ibid., III:120b. This passage is also mentioned in the chapter on Tefillin.

11

Ibid., III:175a.

12

P.E.H., 143. 9

TA LI T A ND T EFILLI N

I. Customs Stemming from Differences of Opinions 1. Tefillin for hol ha-moed. The question of whether one should or should not wear tefillin on hol ha-moed has a long history, going back to the Talmud. In the middle ages, there was a divergence of opinion between the Jews of Spain and those of Ashkenaz. The consensus in Ashkenaz was that one should wear tefillin on hol ha-moed. The issue was more contentious in Spain, where there was a division of opinion regarding tefillin on hol ha-moed, with some scholars for and some against. The Zohar argued strongly against wearing tefillin on hol ha-moed, and this influenced Spanish Jewry in the direction of not doing so. Lurianic Kabbalah adopted the ruling of the Zohar and disseminated it widely. Those groups and communities influenced by Kabbalah, such as the Beshtian Hasidim and the Edot ha-Mizrach, abstained from wearing tefillin on hol ha-moed. Non-hasidic Ashkenazim continued to follow the custom of wearing tefillin on hol ha-moed.13 2. Two pairs of Tefillin. The custom of wearing two pairs of tefillin is based on a disagreement between Rashi and Rabbenu Tam, his grandson, over the proper order of the verses in the tefillin for the head. The idea of wearing two pairs of tefillin, in order to fulfill both opinions, is mentioned in a  number of medieval sources. Some authorities suggested that both pairs should be worn, because there is some doubt about whose opinion was  correct. However, this was considered a  custom that should be restricted to a small pietistic elite. Joseph Karo, in the Shulkhan Arukh, said about this custom: “this should only be done by someone who is known for their piety.”14 The idea that there is a mystical significance to each type of tefillin, and that therefore it is necessary to don both types, is mentioned in the Tiqqunei Zohar.15 It was the Lurianic tradition that expanded on this idea and made it important to don both pairs, even if one was not a pietist, contrary to the ruling of the Shulkhan Arukh. This custom gradually spread throughout the Jewish community. The wearing of two pairs of tefillin among Ashkenazi

13

Prof. Jacob Katz has a thorough discussion of this issue and its history in his article, Katz, “Hol ha-Moed.”

14

Shulkhan Arukh, Orakh Hayyim, 34:2-3.

15

Z.H., Tiqqunim, 101d. 10

II. K A BB A LIS T IC I N NOVAT IONS

Jews was widely promoted among the followers of Hasidism. In the Edot haMizrach, Lurianic teachings are considered halachically normative in many communities, and are the source of this custom. The convention among those who observe this custom is that one first wears the Rashi tefillin for most of the morning service, until one reaches the Ashrei recited before U-Vo Le-Zion. At that point, one pauses and changes the Rashi tefillin for the Rabbenu Tam tefillin, wearing the latter until the end of the service.16

II. Kabbalistic Innovations 1. Sefer ha-Agur. The Sefer ha-Agur17 is the first halakhic work to cite  the Zohar as a  source of halakhah. It cites three practices relating to tefillin that come from the Zohar and are not found in earlier halakhic works. They are: A. It is forbidden to don the tefillin before donning the talit. The Zohar states: “First action. When a person rises, he first needs to purify himself. Then he should accept the yoke [of Heaven], to spread the covering of the commandment [the talit] over his head. Afterwards, he should tie the knot of unification, which are the tefillin, the tefillin of the head and the hand.”18 B. One should don the hand tefillah sitting and the head tefillah standing. Subsequent discussions about the halakhic validity of this custom were a  subtext for a  larger debate about the status of the Zohar as a  halakhic authority.19 The Zohar states: “Come and see. Human prayer is recited standing.20 For there are two prayers: one sitting and one standing,21 and they are one — corresponding to two rungs: tefillah of the hand and tefillah of the 16

Yaakov Gartner has published two articles that trace the history of this custom in detail. Gartner, “Phylacteries, Karo” and Gartner, “Phylacteries, Luria.”

17

By Jacob Landau. First published by the author himself in Naples, c. 1487-1490. Ed. M. Herschler (Jerusalem, 1960), paragraph 84 (p. 27).

18

Zohar, III:120b.

19

The history of this topic is analyzed in Hallamish, “Tefillah of the Hand.”

20

The Amidah is symbolized by Tiferet.

21

The Shema is symbolized by Malkhut. 11

TA LI T A ND T EFILLI N

head, corresponding to day and night — and all is one. Here too, sitting prayer corresponds to the tefillah of the hand, adorning her as one adorns a bride, bedecking Her to enter the canopy.”22 C. The yud that is attached to the strap for the hand tefillah should be next to the tefillah itself. The Zohar states: “This yud [the knot] should not be separated from the tefillah of the hand. There should not be any separation at all.”23 2. The visible hairs on the tefillah shel rosh. The idea that the parchments in the tefillin should be tied with hairs of kosher animals is already found in the Talmud.24 Later sources refine this and argue that the hairs should be those of a  calf; a  remembrance of the sin of the Golden Calf.25 The Zohar adds to this by insisting that the hairs should be visible on the outside of the tefillin.26 The Zohar’s reasoning is related to its understanding of the concept of the Sitra Achra. If the Sitra Achra is appeased by an offering, it allows the performance of the particular ritual act or commandment accompanying it to continue without interference. There are many religious practices that are explained by this concept.27 3. Shins on tefillin for the head. The two shins on the tefillin, with three and four branches, are based on the following passage in the Zohar: “The shins of the tefillin are “a law of Moses on Sinai.”28 “And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Lord’s name is proclaimed over you and they shall stand in fear of you [Deutronomy 28:10].” It has been established, what is

22

Zohar, I:132b; Matt, 2:243-4.

23

Zohar, III:236b.

24

B. Shabbat 28b.

25

Tur, Bet Yosef, Orakh Hayyim, 322.

26

Zohar, II:237b.

27

On the “appeasement” of the Sitra Achra in the Zohar, see Tishby, II:453-454.

28

R. Margulies in his Zohar commentary, Nizozei Zohar, suggests that the source of this statement is B. Shabbat 28b. While this Talmudic passage does mention several aspects of the tefillin that are “a law of Moses on Sinai,” this is not one of them. That a scholar of his stature could not find a more precise source is strong evidence that this must be an innovation of the Zohar. 12

III. C US TOMS R EL AT I NG TO DON NI NG T HE T EFILLI N

the name YHVH? These are the tefillin of the head. The two shins are equal to six hundred. The two shins are the six levels, [together with] the seven branches of the two shins equal thirteen.29 There is no commandment that is not equal to the whole Torah.”30

4. Removing tefillin for musaf on Rosh Hodesh. R.  David ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz) was asked about the widespread custom of removing the tefillin before musaf on Rosh Hodesh. His response was that it was a  stringency [humra], first found in the Sefer ha-Kanah, a  late fourteenth century kabbalistic commentary on the Commandments, and he added that it was a custom he followed himself.31

III. Customs Relating to Donning the Tefillin 1. Straps of the head Tefillah. The straps of the head tefillah should be of different lengths. One should be longer and reach at least to the navel. The other one should be shorter and reach at least to the chest.32 2. Wrapping the strap around the arm. The Shulkhan Arukh writes that it is the custom to wrap the strap around the arm six or seven times.33 It was the Lurianic literature that insisted on seven times, and this later became the universal practice. It was also a  Lurianic practice to wrap the strap around the palm three times to form the letter shin.34 Hayyim Vital writes in Sha’ar ha-Kavvanot: “The order of donning tefillin. First he should put the tefillah for the arm on his left hand, on the muscle. He should cover his hand with the talit, in order that the donning of the tefillin should be hidden. Then he should wrap

29

The six levels is a reference to the six sefirot, from Tiferet to Yesod. The seven branches refer to the shin on the right with three arms and the shin on the left with four arms.

30

Zohar, III:228b.

31

See Katz, “Post Zoharic Relations,” 38. Radbaz was a  sixteenth-century authority in Egypt.

32

Zohar, III:228b.

33

Shulkhan Arukh, Orakh Hayyim, 27:8.

34

Be’er Heitev to Shulkhan Arukh, Orakh Hayyim, 27:8. 13

TA LI T A ND T EFILLI N

the strap seven times around his arm, according to “the seven maidens that are appropriate to her.”35 After he has wrapped it seven times, then he should take the tefillah of the head, which is the husband [Tiferet]. Then the husband will betroth her [Shekhinah], which are the windings of the strap around the middle finger, which is called the feminine, like the round ring of betrothal, which is put on her finger. He needs to wrap it three times, with the uppermost wrap at the middle joint and the other two wraps on the lower joint, which adjoins the hand, and not like the arrogant who wear the three wraps around the bottom joint.36

The Zoharic source for the idea of the strap around the finger as a betrothal ring is the following: The Tefillin of the head are the central pillar which includes six sefirot . . . The Tefillin of the hand is the lower Shekhinah which is connected to them . . . the strap that is wrapped around the left finger is her betrothal [kiddushin]. It is the ring wrapped around her finger which ties him and her together. 37

2. Reciting ve-Erastikh. There is a custom, which is a continuation of the concept first enunciated in the Tikkunei Zohar, to recite the following biblical verses while wrapping the tefillin strap around the middle finger: “And I  will espouse you forever; I  will espouse you with righteousness and justice, and with goodness and mercy. And I  will espouse you with faithfulness; then you will be devoted to the Lord” (Hosea 2:21-22). R.  Nathan Shapiro of Jerusalem, a  seventeenth-century kabbalist, first mentions this custom in his book Mazat Shemurim.38 This small book, first published in Venice in 1660, discusses the halakhot and the mystical significance of the three commandments of zizit, tefillin and mezuzah. Shapiro gives several mystical explanations explaining how this act symbolically unites the sefirot.

35

A reference to the seven angels who serve the Shekhinah [Malkhut].

36

S.K., I:67b.

37

T.Z., Tikkun 47, 84a.

38

The book is unpaginated. This discussion is found toward the end of the chapter on tefillin. 14

PRAY ERS AND BLESSINGS

I. Berikh Shemei: A Tehinnah Recited When Taking out the Torah When the Torah  is taken from the ark on Sabbaths and festivals, it is customary to recite the following prayer: Blessed be the Name of the Lord of the Universe. Blessed be Your crown and Your place. May your favor be with Your people Israel forever. May Your right hand redeem and show Your holy Temple. Extend to us the goodness of Your light, in order to accept our prayers in mercy. May it be Your will to prolong our life in well-being. Let me also be numbered among the righteous so that You may be merciful to me, and have me in Your keeping, with all that belongs to me and to your people Israel. You are He that feeds and sustains all. You are He that rules over all. You are He that rules over kings, for dominion is Yours. I am the servant of the Holy One, blessed be He, before whom and before whose glorious Torah I prostrate myself at all times. Not in man do I put my trust, nor upon any angel do I rely, but upon the God of Heaven, who is the God of truth and whose Torah is true, and whose prophets are prophets of truth, and who abounds in deeds of goodness and truth. In Him I put my trust, and to His holy and glorious name I utter praises. May it be Your will to open my heart to Your Torah, give me sons who will do Your will and fulfill the wishes of my heart and of the hearts of all Your people Israel for good, for life and for peace (amen).1

1

Zohar, II:206a. This translation of the passage as it appears in the Zohar is my own. The text in some prayer books has been modified. 15

PR AY ER S A ND BLE SSI NGS

The text of this prayer and the reason for reciting it are found in the Zohar, Parshat Vayakhel. Immediately preceding this prayer, we find the following statement: “Rabbi Simeon said: When the Torah scroll is taken out to be read in the congregation, the Heavenly gates of Mercy open and love is awakened above, and a person should recite this prayer.” The time when the Torah is taken from the ark is a time of special grace, an et razon,2 and therefore is a particularly auspicious time to petition Heaven. The custom of reciting this prayer first appears among the kabbalists of Safed in the second half of the sixteenth century, and the Pri Etz Hayyim indicates that R. Isaac Luria was accustomed to reciting this prayer.3 One of the earliest published references to this custom is Moshe ben Machir’s Seder Ha-Yom (Venice, 1589), an important early compendium of Safed kabbalistic customs and practices. Over the course of the seventeenth century, it is mentioned in a number of other collections of prayers and customs. By the end of the century it had become a widely adopted and accepted custom.4 I have called this prayer a tehinnah because that is its liturgical form:5 the term for prayers of personal petition, which are different from prayers of praise, is tehinnot and/or tahanunim. This term is found in numerous places in the Bible. The prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (I Kings 8:28-30) is a model for this type of prayer and is described in the Bible using the term tehinnah.6 The usage of the term tehinnah for women’s private prayers is based on the original meaning of the word, which was a prayer of personal petition at an et razon, and it is not exclusive to women’s prayers. An et razon can be both public and private; it is a time when one fulfills a commandment. A tehinnah is a prayer that one recites as a spiritual preparation for the fulfillment of the commandment. For example, there is a whole class of prayers, usually called Yehi razon’s and Ribono shel Olam’s, named for the opening words of the prayers, which is slowly disappearing from modern prayer books. These were recited in synagogues as parts of the services, surrounding actions like blowing shofar or reciting Yizkor, birkat 2

The term “et razon” comes from Psalms 69:14 — “may my prayer come to You, O Lord, at a favorable moment.”

3

P.E.H., Sha’ar ha-Shabbat, ch. 19, 434.

4

Huss, Zohar, 248-249.

5

Elbogen, 66-72.

6

The Concordance has almost forty citations of “tehinnah/tahanun” and its variants. See Mandelkern, 411. 16

II. BIR K H AT H AM A ZON GR AC E A F T ER ME A L S

kohanim, or the blessing for the Lulav. These prayers are an early modern phenomenon, but also kabbalistic in origin. The most important source for many of these prayers is Nathan Nata Hannover’s collection of kabbalistic prayers, Sha’arei Zion, first published in Prague, 1662. The private tehinnot recited by women also follow the same pattern. They are recited as a spiritual preparation for performing a commandment, particularly, but not exclusively, the three “women’s commandments” of hallah, niddah, and lighting candles.

II. Birkhat Ha-Mazon (Grace after Meals) There are  several customs associated with the birkat ha-mazon that are kabbalistic in origin. Underlying them is the understanding of the table as the substitute for the Temple’s altar after the destruction of the Temple.7 The Talmud says that as long as the Temple stood, the altar atoned for Israel. Now, a person’s table atones for him.8 The Zohar says that the table on which a person eats is like the altar, and thus one’s thoughts while eating need to be pure as if one was offering a  sacrifice.9 There are also other traditions relating to the table and eating that connect them to the altar and the Temple.10 1. Mayim ahronim. The concept of rinsing one’s fingers at the end of the meal before reciting the birkat ha-mazon is found in the Talmud. The  reason given is that the salt of Sodom11 is caustic and may hurt the eyes if it is not washed off carefully.12 By the Middle Ages this custom had fallen into disuse. It was the kabbalists and statements in the Zohar who brought the practice back. As R. Isaiah Horowitz writes in the Shnei Luhot Ha-Berit:

7

For a discussion of this motif with a variety of sources, see Sperber, Minhagei, III:161-2.

8

B. Hagigah 27a, et. al.

9

Zohar, II:154a.

10

Sperber, Minhagei, III:162-172.

11

Marcus Jastrow, in his Talmud dictionary, translates this as “sea salt.”

12

B. Eruvin 17b; Hullin 105b. 17

PR AY ER S A ND BLE SSI NGS

My children, you should be very careful with mayim ahronim, even though the Tosafot, Rosh, and Mordecai13 write that people no longer follow this practice, etc. Do not listen to them in this matter, for if they had seen the Zohar concerning this matter, they would not have written what they wrote.14

The Zohar explains the reason for mayim ahronim as follows: After a  person has eaten and enjoyed himself he should give a  part of the remains to “the other side.” Which part is that? The water used for washing after the meal, and the dirt from his hands. One must give this to “the other side” because he needs it. Therefore it is hovah:15 it is sin and it resides in the place of sin; and a man has the obligation to give it to “the other side.” Consequently, no blessing need be pronounced at all, for there is no blessing on that side (Sitra Achra).16

Further evidence that the reason for the custom of mayim ahronim is the kabbalistic one rather than the original Talmudic understanding is found in the discussion of the Shulkhan Arukh.17 The usage of the term zohamah and many of the rules surrounding this ritual, such as removing the water from the table, are only understandable in the kabbalistic context of this practice. There is no doubt that mayim ahronim, as practiced today, is a purely kabbalistic custom, despite its Talmudic antecedents. 2. Psalms before birkat ha-mazon.18 The second custom that is performed prior to the recitation of the birkat ha-mazon is the recitation 13

Three of the most important medieval halakhic authorities.

14

Shaloh, Sha’ar ha-Otiyot, 58c.

15

The term “hovah” is found in the Talmudic discussions of Mayim Ahronim. In the Talmud, it means either, a  rabbinic ordinance (B.  Sotah 44b) or an  optional thing that is not obligatory (B.  Hullin 106a). The Zohar (I:266b) reinterprets it as a  reference to the Sitra Achra. It is this association that underlies the Zoharic interpretation of Mayim Ahronim.

16

Zohar, II:154b; Tishby, III:915-916.

17

Shulkhan Arukh, Orakh Hayyim, sect. 181.

18

This discussion is based on the primary study of this topic by Ze’ev Gries in his seminal work. Gries, 18-22. This topic can also be found in Sperber, Minhagei, II:46-47 (this is an extended quotation from Gries) and III: 162-165. (Some additional texts are cited, but the argument still follows Gries.) 18

II. BIR K H AT H AM A ZON GR AC E A F T ER ME A L S

of Psalm 137 or Psalm 126.19 Like mayim ahronim, there is a  Talmudic antecedent to this custom, but the way it is implemented today is also kabbalistic in form and meaning. R. Simeon in Pirke Avot 3.3 says: “If three had eaten at one table and have not spoken over it words of Torah, it is as though they had eaten of the sacrifices of the dead, for it is written, “for all the tables are full of vomit and filth” [Isaiah 28:8].” A variety of medieval commentators on this passage and writers of ethical wills suggested that the study of Torah in conjunction with a  meal was a  meritorious and praiseworthy act. Among the kabbalistic circles of Safed, there was an  attempt made to follow the custom that two people dining together ought to say words of Torah before the birkhat ha-mazon. However, it was only Elijah de Vidas in his Reshit Hokhmah who took this from a suggestion to a requirement.20 One of the primary texts on which he based himself is the following passage from the Zohar: Concerning a  table on which words of Torah were not spoken, and the birkhat ha-mazon was not recited to God, concerning it, it was written, “for all the tables are full of vomit and filth” (Isaiah 28:8). It is forbidden to recite the blessing at that table.21

De Vidas based the recitation of Psalms as an acceptable substitute for Torah study on a passage in the Avot commentary of R. Joseph Yavetz: There are those who are accustomed to sing songs or Psalms after the meal. It is a lovely custom to be absolved of punishment. However, the primary thing is to quote some law or new interpretation, verse, or aggadah, since there are three groups: Completely righteous [scholars], those are the ones who spoke about Torah; intermediary [ordinary] people, [who recite] the Psalms; the evildoers, who do nothing. However, those who do not speak words of Torah, draw upon themselves the powers of impurity, but those who speak words of Torah draw upon themselves the powers of purity.22

19

Psalm 137 (Al Naharot Bavel) is recited on days when Tahanun is recited and Psalm 126 (Shir Ha-Ma’alot) on days when Tahanun is not recited.

20

The discussion is found in R.H., Sha’ar Ha-Kedushah, chap. 15, 413-437.

21

Zohar, II:153b.

22

R.H., 435-436. 19

PR AY ER S A ND BLE SSI NGS

An explanation of why these specific Psalms, 137 and 126, are recited is found in Isaiah Horowitz’s Shnei Luhot Ha-Berit. He writes: In the Zohar, parshat Terumah [it states]: Whoever enjoys himself at his table and enjoys these foods, should remember and worry about the holiness of the Holy Land and the palace of the King that has been destroyed. Because of that sadness that he feels at his table, the joy that he had at that table is accounted to him by the Holy One as if he had built His house and he rebuilt the ruins of the Temple. His portion is meritorious.23

Horowitz continues: Therefore, it is customary to recite the Psalm (137), Al Naharot Bavel prior to the birkhat ha-mazon particularly as the table is in place of the altar. However, because of our many sins, the altar no longer exists, we remember; woe to the children who were exiled from the table of their Father . . . . On Sabbaths and holidays we recite Psalm (126), Shir HaMa’alot.24

The choice of these two psalms is a  reference to the exile of the Shekhinah, which is in exile during the week and temporarily leaves her exile on Sabbaths and festivals. The change in psalm reflects the changed state of the Shekhinah. 3. Birkhat ha-mazon over a cup of wine. The kabbalists believe that the birkat ha-mazon should always be recited over a cup of wine. The Zohar prescribes how the cup should be held during the blessing and instructs the reader that the wine should be drunk at the conclusion of the birkhat ha-mazon: Concerning this mystery it is written: “I raise the cup of salvation” [Psalms, 116:13]. This the cup of blessing, which should rest on five fingers — and no more — like the rose, sitting on five sturdy leaves, paradigm of five fingers. This is the cup of blessing.25

23

Zohar, II:157b.

24

Shaloh, Sha’ar ha-Otiyot, 59b.

25

Zohar, I:1a; Matt, I:2. 20

III. BIR K AT KOH A N I M

“Similarly, one should drink from the cup of blessing to attain blessing from above.”26 This is the cup on which the birkhat ha-mazon has been said.27

III. Birkat Kohanim The Zohar’s  treatment of birkat kohanim incorporates both traditional rabbinic materials and innovative concepts. It also demonstrates that not all Zoharic traditions were automatically accepted. A  significant number of the Zohar’s statements relating to birkat kohanim were not accepted as normative and are not followed. 1. Qualifications of the kohen. Beyond the basic requirement that one be a kohen with none of the disqualifications listed in Leviticus 21, the Zohar adds a  number of additional requirements for a  kohen who would be worthy to publicly pronounce the birkat kohanim. These qualifications are not insisted upon in normative practice: it is only among pietistic groups, such as hasidim and members of kabbalistic yeshivot, that these qualifications are taken into account. If a kohen is ignorant of the inward significance of the blessing and does not know whom he blesses or what his blessing connotes, his blessing is meaningless.28 We are told that a  kohen not beloved by the people ought not to take part in blessing the people. On one occasion, when a kohen went up and spread his hands, before he completed the blessing he turned into a heap of bones. This happened to him because there was no love between him and the people. Then another kohen went up and pronounced the blessing and the day passed without harm. A kohen who does not love the people or whom they do not love may not pronounce the blessing.29 A kohen who has no wife is forbidden to perform the service, as it is written, “and he shall make atonement for himself and for his house” [Leviticus 16:6].

26

Zohar, I: 104a; Matt, II:138.

27

Zohar, I: 250a; Matt, III:539-540.

28

Zohar, III:146b.

29

Ibid. III:147b. 21

PR AY ER S A ND BLE SSI NGS

R. Isaac said that the reason is because the Shekhinah does not abide with one who is not married, and the kohen in particular must be one with whom the Shekhinah abides. 30

2. Levites washing the hands of the kohanim. The Talmud states that the kohen’s hands should be washed before he ascends to the platform to bless the people of Israel.31 However, it does not provide details as to how this should be done or who should do it. The Zohar builds on this and states: The kohen who is about to spread his hands [for the blessing] needs an inflow of holiness in addition to his own. He must therefore have his hands washed by one who is himself holy, that is, a Levite, about whom it is written: “And you shall sanctify the Levites.”32 Thus the kohen may not receive the sanctification of the washing of the hands from any commoner who is not himself sanctified. It may be asked, why only a Levite? Why should the kohen not be sanctified by the hands of another kohen? The answer is because the other kohen would not be complete, but the Levite is complete, being qualified for his service, and he is also designated “cleansed,” as it says, “and cleanse them” [Numbers 8:6]. 33

3. Position of the kohen’s hands. The Zohar states: “the kohen should not have his fingers joined close together when spreading his hands. It is required that the sacred Crowns should receive the blessing each one apart in a  manner proper to each, because the letters of the Divine Name also require that they be kept distinct and not to run into each other.”34 This is an interesting example of a Zoharic tradition that is not followed for the most part. There are a variety of traditions about how the fingers are to be held during the birkat kohanim. In the overwhelming majority of cases this Zoharic tradition is disregarded, and is not even mentioned by the halakhic authorities.35 30

Ibid. III:145b.

31

B. Sotah 39a.

32

There is no such biblical verse.

33

Zohar, III:146a-146b.

34

Ibid. III:146b.

35

On this question see, Sperber, Minhagei, 6:23-40; in the same volume, 6:293-305 has a  wide variety of illustrations from early modern sources that are illustrative of the various aspects of this issue. 22

III. BIR K AT KOH A N I M

Another idea regarding how the kohen should hold his hands is the following: Rabbi Isaac said: the kohen needs to raise the right hand above the left, as it is written, “Aaron lifted his hand toward the people and blessed them” [Leviticus 9:22]. “His hand” is written and not “his hands,” since he praised [shivha] the right over the left. 36

4. Looking at the kohen’s hands. The Zohar states: When the kohen spreads his hands to bless the congregation, it is forbidden to gaze upon them, because the Shekhinah is hovering over his hands. R. Isaac remarked: Inasmuch as one is not able to see the Shekhinah, as it says, “for man shall not see me and live” [Exodus 33:2], that is, not while alive, but only in death. What does it matter then if one sees the kohen’s hands? R. Yose said: It matters because the Divine Name is reflected in the fingers of the kohen’s hands, so that although the people cannot see the Shekhinah they should not look towards the hands of the kohen, since that would show irreverence toward the Shekhinah. 37

There is a debate about whether the kohen’s hands should be covered by the talit or not. The majority of early sources and early modern illustrations indicate that the hands were not covered. Some halakhic authorities in the nineteenth century suggested that the hands were covered because the posture assumed during the blessing was too reminiscent of a  Christian posture of prayer.38 A related question is whether the kohen should look at his hands during the blessing or not. Here too the iconographic evidence is mixed. Some illustrations show the talit over the kohen’s head with the hands exposed and some with no talit over the kohen’s head, with the kohen clearly looking at his hands.39

36

Zohar, III:146a. This is based on the Zoharic idea that the right represents Hesed (lovingkindness), which is more positive than the left, which represents Gevurah (stern judgment).

37

Ibid. III:147a. The idea that one should not look at the kohen’s hands is based on B.  Hagigah 16a, which states that people did not look at the priests during the benediction in the Temple.

38

Sperber, Minhagei, 6:39-40.

39

Sperber, Minhagei, 6:293-305, has interesting iconographic examples. 23

PR AY ER S A ND BLE SSI NGS

5. Sitting or standing during birkat kohanim.40 The Zohar states: “When the kohen spreads his hands, the people should sit with fear and awe. They should know that it is a time of grace in all the worlds. The upper and lower worlds are blessed and there are no Stern Judgments.”41 The appropriate posture, sitting or standing, was not a  significant question in halakhic literature before the ruling of R.  Abraham Gumbiner in his commentary, Magen Avraham, on the Shulkhan Arukh, that the congregation should be seated, but facing the kohanim.42 His ruling was based on the above-cited passage in the Zohar. The early modern iconographic evidence shows a  variety of postures: in some images the congregation is sitting and in others they are standing. The prevalent modern custom is to stand. Like the earlier rulings about the way the kohen should hold his hands, the authority of the Zohar was not strong enough to change accepted customs. 6. A  Tehinnah for bad dreams during birkat kohanim. The Zohar states: We have learned that when the kohanim hold out their hands, the congregation should be in fear and awe, and realize that it is a  time of grace when the upper and lower worlds are being blessed, and there is an  absence of Stern Judgment everywhere . . . . Whoever is in distress on account of a dream should recite the following during the time that the kohanim spread forth their hands: “O Master of the universe, I am yours and my dreams are yours . . . . That is a propitious moment and if one offers up prayer in his distress, Stern Judgment is turned into Mercy for him.43

The Zohar takes this idea from the Talmud. The text of the tehinnah that is found in traditional mahzorim is based on the Talmudic passage. It is recited after each verse of the birkat kohanim while the kohanim sing a  niggun, or wordless melody. A  second tehinnah was added at the end of the seventeenth century and is taken from Nathan Hanover’s Sha’arei Zion.44 This tehinnah is overtly kabbalistic and is based on passages from the Zoharic discussion of birkat kohanim. 40

A comprehensive study of this issue is Kadosh.

41

Zohar, III:146a.

42

Shulkhan Arukh, Orakh Hayyim, 128:22.

43

Zohar, III:147a-147b. This is based on B. Berakhot 55b.

44

Elbogen, 56. 24

I V. LESHEM Y IHU D

IV. Le-Shem Yihud45 There is a prayer in many prayer books that is recited before one counts the Omer.46 In some, it is also found before the performance of a variety of other commandments.47 The text of the prayer reads, in the case of the Omer: I am ready to fulfill the mitzvah of counting the Omer, as it is ordained in the Torah: “You shall count from the eve of the second day of Pesah, when an Omer of grain is to be brought as an offering, seven complete weeks. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days.” [Leviticus 23:15-16]

What is missing is the first sentence of this prayer, which is what gives it its raison d’être, is the original purpose of this prayer, and gives it its name. The missing sentence is: For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Shekhinah, behold I perform this mitzvah, in fear and love, love and fear, through that Hidden and Concealed One, in the name of all Israel, and in order to give satisfaction to my Creator and Maker.

This is the version as it is found in most traditional prayer books and other books, such as Pesah haggadot, where it is found. The conceptual basis for this prayer is a passage in the Zohar: R. Eleazar said: All man’s deeds should be carried out for the sake of the Holy Name. What does for the sake of the Holy Name mean? Man should give verbal expression to the Holy Name whenever he performs any act so that it is done only for His service and then the Other Side will not rest upon it. For the Other Side lies constantly in wait for man in order to rest upon his deeds.48

45

This discussion is based on the two studies of this prayer by L. Jacobs and M. Hallamish. Hallamish, Kabbalah, 45-71; Jacobs, Hasidic Prayer, 140-153.

46

Siddur Rinat Yisrael and the Birnbaum Siddur use this formula, without the first sentence. The Artscroll Siddur includes the formula with the first sentence.

47

When this formula is used for another commandment, the biblical verse and name of the commandment are changed as appropriate, but the form remains the same.

48

Zohar, III:51b. 25

PR AY ER S A ND BLE SSI NGS

The theological basis of this concept is the kabbalistic concept of zorech gavoha, the idea that all of man’s religious actions should be for the sake of the unification of the Divine World and not for the benefit of the individual and his or her personal needs.49 In sixteenth-century Safed, this Zoharic theme was taken up by R.  Moses Cordovero, who states in his popular ethical work, Palm Tree of Deborah, “How good it is to give voice to the hints he has in intention when he performs the deed in order to fulfill: ‘In your mouth and in your heart to do it’ [Deuteronomy 30:14].”50 Cordovero’s disciple Elijah de Vidas picked up this theme and expanded on it in his influential work, Reshit Hokhmah. The next stage in its popularization was Nathan Hannover’s popular compilation of kabbalistic prayers, Sha’arei Zion.51 It was Hannover who first suggested the wording that became normative. In the second half of the eighteenth century, the rise of Hasidism and its interest in popularizing kabbalistic customs and practices led to the recitation or non-recitation of the formula becoming a  cause célèbre. R.  Ezekiel Landau of Prague, one of the leading halakhic authorities of the day, was asked about this prayer and whether it should be recited. He responded negatively, in the strongest terms. R.  Hayyim of Czernowitz responded to Landau’s criticism in his book, Sha’ar ha-Tefillah.52 The recitation or non-recitation of this formula became an indicator of whether one was a  follower of Hasidism or an  opponent of the movement. In the contemporary Jewish community it has again become popular, along with several other kabbalistic practices and formulae.

V. Modeh Ani Immediately upon awakening, one should say: “I am thankful to You, living and eternal King, who has mercifully restored my soul; Your faithfulness is great.” The first text to cite this prayer is, Seder Ha-Yom, by Moshe ben Machir.53

49

See Faierstein.

50

Palm Tree, 99.

51

First published in Prague, 1662.

52

On the controversy, see Jacobs, Hasidic Prayer, 143-153.

53

First ed., Venice, 1598. 26

V II. R E A DI NG T HE CH A P T ER OF T HE NESI ’ I M

VI. Psalms during the High Holiday Season It is customary  to add certain psalms to the prayers during the high holiday season. These psalms were not recitated before the Lurianic period in Safed. However, once the custom was begun, its dissemination was quick and widespread.54 1. Psalm 27. It is a widespread custom to recite Psalm 27 twice a day, during the morning and Ma’ariv services, from the beginning of the month of Elul until Hoshanah Rabba. 2. Psalm 24. This psalm is read on the night of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at the end of the Ma’ariv service, immediately prior to the last Kaddish. 3. Psalm 131. It is customary to recite this psalm between Yishtabah and the half Kaddish during the Ten Days of Repentance.

VII. Reading the Chapter of the Nesi’im during the First Twelve Days of Nisan It is customary to read the passages describing the gifts brought by the chieftain [Nasi] of each of the twelve tribes during the dedication of the Tabernacle during the first twelve days of Nisan.55 Each day, one passage, describing the gift of one tribe, is read. The first reference to this practice is found in the hanhagot of R. Abraham ha-Levi Berukhim of Safed.56 The first published reference to this practice is in R.  Isaiah Horowitz’s Shnei Luhot ha-Brit.57

54

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 326.

55

Numbers 7:12-83.

56

Schechter, “Safed,” 299.

57

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 329. 27

SA BBAT H CUSTOMS

THE EVE OF THE SABBATH I. Preparations for the Sabbath 1. Thursday night study. Abraham ha-Levi Berukhim reports in his list  of pious customs that some Safed kabbalists began their spiritual Sabbath preparations by staying awake all of Thursday night, studying.1 This custom was popularized and is mentioned in many kabbalistic manuals since then. The texts studied, and their order, varied in different periods and schools.2 2. Reading the weekly portion. The Talmud states that one should complete the reading of the weekly Torah portion, twice in Hebrew and once in Targum.3 It was the custom of Isaac Luria to fulfill this tradition on Friday morning. Hayyim Vital writes: It was the custom of my teacher, of blessed memory, immediately after completing the morning prayers on Friday morning, to go to the synagogue or the house of study, if there was a kosher Torah scroll there. He took it out and read the biblical text from the Torah scroll. He had a student who read him the Targum from a book, and he would repeat after him. He did this for every verse, until he completed the whole portion. He did not act like the arrogant ones who read the whole portion once and repeat it a second time, and afterwards read the whole Targum the third

1

Schechter, “Safed,” 298.

2

More details can be found in Hallamish, Shabbat, 67-71.

3

B. Berakhot 8b. 28

I. PR EPA R AT IONS FOR T HE SA BB AT H

time. Rather, he read each verse separately, twice in Hebrew and once in Targum. He was careful to read it on Friday morning.4

3. Immersion in the mikvah. Washing the body in preparation for the Sabbath is a  venerable kabbalistic tradition. R.  Meir ibn Gabbai’s Tola’at Yaakov was the first work to emphasize immersion in the mikvah on Friday afternoon as a form of spiritual preparation for the Sabbath and the reception of the additional soul that one received on the Sabbath.5 R. Isaac Luria was careful to immerse himself twice in the mikvah on Friday afternoon. The first immersion was to spiritually cleanse the body and soul for the Sabbath. The second immersion was for the additional soul that enters the person for the Sabbath.6 4. Dressing for the Sabbath. After the immersion in the mikvah, one should don the Sabbath garments. The tradition of wearing finer garments on the Sabbath is already found in the Talmud.7 The Zohar adds that the Shekhinah changes her garments for the Sabbath, and so too Israel should renew themselves on the Sabbath with fine clothes.8 Jewish communities in different periods and countries defined what was considered “finery” according to the standards of their culture. Some modern examples would be the tradition of what we call hasidic dress: the shtreimel, kapote, and knee britches. Originally, this was the dress of Polish nobility in the eighteenth century. It was then adopted as a sign of “nobility” on the Sabbath and festivals by Hasidic rebbes and wealthy hasidim who could afford it. The shtreimel, which was worn on the Sabbath and festivals, was likened by the nineteenthcentury hasidic master R. Zadok ha-Kohen of Lublin, to the crown that Jews will wear in the world to come. A West European parallel would be the custom of wearing “formal wear” i.e., top hat and morning coat, to the synagogue. While this custom has been abandoned in most modern synagogues, in some synagogues this dress is still expected of clergy and synagogue officers.9 4

S.M., Va-etchanan, 83a.

5

Ginsburg, Sabbath, 229.

6

Hallamish, Shabbat, 106-126, and Ginsburg, Sabbath, 227-231, have discussions of the mystical significance of the mikvah. See also S.K., II:25a-26b.

7

B. Shabbat 25b, idem., 119a.

8

Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 24, p. 69b.

9

Hallamish, Shabbat, 146-153. 29

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

The Safed kabbalists emphasized the wearing of white garments on the Sabbath and festivals. R.  Isaac Luria added that one should wear four white garments. The number four was seen as an  allusion to the Tetragrammaton or the four garments worn by the priest in the Temple. Another interpretation was that they were a remembrance of the garments of light worn in the Garden of Eden by Adam and Eve.10 The followers of Shabbetai Zevi, as well as Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, and his disciples later adopted the wearing of white on the Sabbath. In both cases, the opponents of these groups saw the adoption of the custom as a  sign of arrogance and/or heresy. At the same time, secluded groups of kabbalists followed the practice without opposition or opprobrium. The wearing of white was seen as a  custom appropriate for members of the spiritual elite, but a sign of arrogance for ordinary people. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the opprobrium heaped on hasidim for having the arrogance to wear white on Shabbat took its toll, and the custom was discontinued. The only exceptions were some zaddiqim who continued the practice.11 The wearing of red or black was strongly discouraged by the kabbalists, because in kabbalistic symbolism these colors represented the forces of evil and stern judgment.12 R.  Hayyim Vital writes that he once heard from his teacher, R.  Isaac Luria, that one is dressed in the same color garments in Heaven as he wore on the Sabbath in this world. He once saw in a vision of Heaven a certain scholar dressed in black, and was told that he was similarly dressed in this world. His heavenly dark garb was his punishment.13 The wearing of black by Orthodox Jews and Hasidim is an  example of the triumph of social convention over religious tradition. In Western Christian society, black is the color of formality and solemnity. Jews from non-Christian societies have no tradition of wearing black on the Sabbath, unless they have been “Ashkenazified.” The connection of white with the Sabbath is still sometimes found in Israel, in the custom of the white shirt on the Sabbath among kibbutzniks and some other Jews. Since the 1960’s, the practice of wearing white on the Sabbath has been adopted by a variety of Jewish “spiritual seekers.” 10 11 12 13

Ibid., 154-158; Kimmelman, 149-157. Wertheim, 145-146. Ibid.; Ginsburg, Sabbath, 237-241. P.E.H., Sha’ar ha-Shabbat, 388. 30

II. A DDI T IONA L PR AY ER S ON T HE E V E OF T HE SA BB AT H

5. Tasting the Sabbath food on Friday before the Sabbath. The Zohar writes: “On Sabbath eve one should taste everything, to show that the canopy of peace encompasses all, provided one does not mar one course for the day — some say two, for the two meals of the day14 — and this is fine.”15 Hayyim Vital writes, “it is appropriate for a  person to taste all the cooked dishes that are being cooked on the eve of the Sabbath, for the Sabbath. It is analogous to a person who prepares a meal for the king and tastes the food to be sure it is good or if it is lacking any spice, in order to correct it. This shows that he is receiving his guest with grace and a positive countenance. . . . Whoever tastes the food for the Sabbath on the eve of the Sabbath is worthy of supernal life.”16

II. Additional Prayers on the Eve of the Sabbath Kabbalists and hasidim added several readings for Friday afternoon before the mincha service. Not everyone recited all of them; some individuals and groups favored some over others. They include: 1. The Song of Songs. The Zohar writes that King Solomon first recited the Song of Songs at the completion and dedication of the Temple, as a song of love for the Shekhinah.17 It was recited on Friday afternoon in honor of the Shekhinah, who would soon come out of her exile with the advent of the Sabbath. The hasidic tradition is that one recites the Song of Songs on Friday afternoon after returning from the mikvah.18 2. Psalm 107. The custom of reciting Psalm 107 on Friday afternoon is found in hasidic texts beginning in the early nineteenth century. It is attributed to Israel Baal Shem Tov (the Besht), the founder of Hasidism. There is even a  commentary to this psalm attributed to the Besht.19 14

One or two dishes should be left untouched, so that they may be enjoyed for the first time on the Sabbath.

15

Zohar, I:48b; Matt, I:265.

16

S.K., II:26a-b.

17

Zohar, II:143a.

18

Hallamish, Shabbat, 181-187 has an extended discussion of this tradition.

19

Schatz-Uffenheimer, Commentary. 31

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

However, in the writings of the earliest disciples of the Besht this custom is not mentioned. Moshe Hallamish suggests that it was a  practice of the kabbalists of the Brody kloiz, who were contemporaries of the first generation of Hasidism. Later hasidic groups adopted this custom and attributed it to the Besht.20 3. Yedid Nefesh. This poem was written by Eleazar Azikri, a sixteenthcentury Safed kabbalist. He first recited it for a  group of like-minded colleagues, who were taken with its great spirituality. Azikri described it as a prayer for union and desire for love. The four stanzas form an acrostic of the Tetragrammaton. It was first published as an  appendix to Azikri’s Sefer Haredim (Venice, 1601) and was frequently reprinted in collections of religious poetry and eventually in prayer books. Its frequent reprinting caused mistakes to creep into the text. The most authentic text of this poem is found in the first edition of the Sefer Haredim and in the author’s autograph manuscript.21 Hasidim and some others would recite it after the recitation of Psalm 107. The contemporary custom in many communities is to sing it as an introduction to the Kabbalat Shabbat service. D.  Patah Eliyahu. “Elijah began” are the opening words of a  prayer found in the second introduction of the Tikkunei Zohar (p. 17a-b). Some hasidic prayer books include it, and it is recited after Psalm 107. It is also popular in some Sephardic and Yemenite communities.

SABBATH EVENING / FRIDAY NIGHT I. Lighting the Sabbath Candles The obligation to light candles at the beginning of the Sabbath on Friday evening, and the centrality of women in performing this obligation, is already found in the Talmud.22 The kabbalists added mystical reasons for the importance of having women light the Sabbath candles. The Zohar writes: 20

Hallamish, Shabbat, 135-137.

21

The manuscript is found in the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

22

M. Shabbat 2. 6. 32

II. T HE FR IDAY NIGH T PR AY ER SERV IC E/K A BB A L AT SH A BB AT

Kindling the lamp of Sabbath has been entrusted to the women of the holy people. The Companions have said that she extinguished the lamp of the world and darkened it. . . . 23 This is fine, but here is the mystery of the matter: This canopy of peace is the Consort of the world, and souls constituting the supernal lamp abide within Her. So the consort should kindle, for linked to her site, she performs the act. A woman should kindle the Sabbath lamp in joy to attain supernal honor and merit, to be worthy of holy sons who will become lamps of the world in Torah and reverence, spreading peace through the world. She also provides her husband long life; so she should be careful.24

The kabbalists developed many customs and traditions relating to candle lighting: how many candles to light, what materials to use as a fuel, where to place the candelabrum, and more.25 The moment of candle-lighting is considered a  special moment (et razon), when petitions are answered by Heaven, and as a result the tradition developed of women reciting prayers of personal petition (tehinnot) when lighting the Sabbath candles. Many of these prayers were collected and published in Yiddish collections.26 One tehinnah, called Tehinnah Imre Shifre, is of particular interest because it uses kabbalistic imagery in describing the act of candle lighting.27

II. The Friday Night Prayer Service/Kabbalat Shabbat 1. The term Kabbalat Shabbat.28 There are two ways of understanding the idea of “Kabbalat — receiving” the Shabbat. The first is accepting something, in the sense that one accepts or takes upon himself the obligations of Shabbat earlier than sunset. This is done by beginning the Ma’ariv service earlier than the required time. The act of beginning Ma’ariv is a declaration that one has taken upon oneself the obligations of Shabbat.

23

Tanhuma, ed. Buber, Mezora 17.

24

Zohar, I:48b; Matt, I:266.

25

Hallamish, Shabbat, 161-176.

26

Good examples are Weissler, Kay, and Kliers.

27

For a description and analysis see Weissler, 89-103.

28

Hallamish, Shabbat, 189-195, has an extended discussion of the traditions associated with Kabbalat Shabbat. This section is a summary of Hallamish’s discussion. 33

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

The second, and more common, understanding of the term is to welcome a guest, as in the term Kabbalat Panim. The guest is the Sabbath Bride or Queen. This idea is already found in the Talmud,29 and it has a long history in many Jewish communities. There are many instances of communal singing and even musical instruments being a part of the events welcoming the advent of the Sabbath.30 2. The ritual of Kabbalat Shabbat. When we speak of a  Kabbalat Shabbat ritual today, we think of the recitation of Psalms 95-99, 29, the singing of Lekha Dodi, and the recitation of some additional prayers. The tradition of going out to the fields to welcome the Sabbath Queen or the Shekhinah is also a  part of the “story” of Kabbalat Shabbat as it was “created” by the Safed kabbalists. In fact, the development of the ritual of Kabbalat Shabbat is more complicated than it appears. In sixteenth-century Safed, a wide variety of practices were documented. For example, R. Isaac Luria began his Kabbalat Shabbat with Psalm 29, and did not sing Lekha Dodi. R.  Moses Cordovero was opposed to the practice of going to the fields outside of town, and recited Psalms 95-99 and sang Lekha Dodi. For Cordovero, the outdoors was the realm of the Sitra Achra, the evil side, and thus opposed the concept of the Shekhinah leaving the realm of the Sitra Achra where it had been imprisoned during the week. He favored reciting the Kabbalat Shabbat in the synagogue. R. Moshe ben Machir, a mid-sixteenth-century Safed kabbalist, found a middle way. He writes: The Talmudic sages said to one another or to their disciples, come let us go toward the bride.31 Therefore, it is appropriate to say that they went out to fulfill what they said. When they said, “come, let us go,” they went to another place. It is appropriate to go outside the house, to a garden or a courtyard, an open place that is appropriate for the reception. However, one is not obligated to go outside the city. It is all according to the person and the situation.32

29

B. Shabbat 119a.

30

Of course, the instruments would be put away at the beginning of the Sabbath. Hallamish has many interesting examples of these practices.

31

B. Shabbat 119a.

32

Seder Ha-Yom, Seder Kabbalat Shabbat, 81. 34

II. T HE FR IDAY NIGH T PR AY ER SERV IC E/K A BB A L AT SH A BB AT

Reuven Kimmelman has devoted a  whole monograph, Lekha Dodi veKabbalat Shabbat, to the origins and development of Kabbalat Shabbat in Safed, and Moshe Hallamish has a  long chapter exploring this subject.33 It was only in the first half of the seventeenth century that a  consensus developed, as the traditions were compiled in books like Tikkunei Shabbat (Venice, 1596) or added to prayer books. Though the custom of Kabbalat Shabbat has become almost universal, there are still small pockets of society wherein the ritual is not practiced. The Gaon of Vilna did not partake in it because one of his guiding principles was that he did not accept any religious practices created after the Talmud.34 Some Lithuanian yeshivas that adhere to the teachings of the Gaon still follow his practice and do not recite Kabbalat Shabbat as part of their Friday night service. 3. The six psalms: 95-99, 29. By the end of the seventeenth century, the recitation of these six psalms became the dominant form of beginning the Kabbalat Shabbat service. A  number of explanations were offered for beginning with them. The three most common are that these psalms weaken the forces of evil (Sitra Achra) and help the Shekhinah come out of exile for the Sabbath; that the six psalms are connected to the six days of creation and the six days of the week preceding Shabbat; and that the psalms are related to the additional soul that one receives with the onset of Shabbat. The initial letters of the six psalms have the numerical value of four hundred and thirty, which is the same as that of nefesh, soul — that is the connection to the additional soul of Shabbat.35 Standing while reciting Psalm 29 is a  remnant of the Lurianic tradition of reciting this psalm outdoors in the field, which was done standing. The other psalms were not recited in the field (see below), and therefore there is no tradition of standing for them. 4. The Lurianic variation on Kabbalat Shabbat. The Lurianic variant was to begin the Kabbalat Shabbat service with Psalm 29. The earliest description of R. Isaac Luria’s Kabbalat Shabbat practice states that he began with the following ritual:

33

Kimmelman; Hallamish, Shabbat, 189-276.

34

Hallamish, Shabbat, 215-6.

35

Ibid., 208-9. 35

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

This, in brief, is the order for Kabbalat Shabbat. Go out into the field and say: “come, let us go out toward the Shabbat Queen, to the Holy Apple Orchard”. . . . He would stand in one place in the field, and if it was a high place, that was better. The place would have to be clean, since he needed a  perimeter of at least four cubits around him. You should turn to the west, for there is where the sun sets. At the moment the sun sets, you should close your eyes, place your left hand on your chest and your right hand on your left hand, and concentrate with awe and fear as if you were standing before a  king, to receive the additional holiness of Shabbat. Then you should begin to recite in a pleasant voice, “A Psalm. Ascribe to the Lord, O divine beings, etc.” [Psalm 29]. Then you should say three times: “Come bride, come bride, come bride, Shabbat Queen.” Afterwards, recite Psalm 92 completely, followed by Psalm 93 completely. Then you should open your eyes and go to your house.36

This is an image one associates with Kabbalat Shabbat and Safed. What is interesting and unusual is that R. Isaac Luria began with Psalm 29 and emphasized it, rather than Lekha Dodi. The sources suggesting that R. Isaac Luria did sing Lekha Dodi are late and are evidence of the later practice, not of Luria’s actual practice.37 An important passage in the Pri Etz Hayyim notes that Luria was opposed to the recitation of medieval piyyutim and other post-Talmudic liturgical compositions.38 This would explain why Luria did not sing Lekha Dodi. The later traditions are evidence of the universality of the acceptance of Lekha Dodi and the inability of the later authors to believe that Luria would not have sung this popular song. Another interesting custom is Luria’s practice of reciting the psalms of Kabbalat Shabbat with his eyes closed, and only opening them at the end of the prayers. In doing so the kabbalists identified with the Shekhinah, who is described in the Zohar as “a beautiful maiden without eyes.”39 Thus, the kabbalists close their eyes as a  sign of solidarity when they welcome the Shekhinah as Sabbath Queen.40

36

S.K., II:38b-39a.

37

Kimmelman, 17-20, and Hallamish, Shabbat, 224-226, discuss the various traditions.

38

P.E.H., Sha’ar ha-Tefila, Introduction, 1.

39

E.g., Zohar, II:95a.

40

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 317. 36

II. T HE FR IDAY NIGH T PR AY ER SERV IC E/K A BB A L AT SH A BB AT

5. Ana be-Koach. This unusual prayer attributed to R.  Nehuniah ben Ha-Kana is found between Psalm 29 and Lekha Dodi in some prayer books. Its origins are murky, but it is associated with the forty-two-letter name of God as early as in the Talmud. The Tikkunei Zohar associates Ana be-Koach with Psalm 29, and this may be the reason for its placement in the Kabbalat Shabbat service.41 6. Lekha Dodi. Shlomo Alkabetz, one of the early Safed kabbalists, composed this hymn, and it is the centerpiece of the Kabbalat Shabbat service. The meaning of the stanzas and the history of the hymn are multifaceted and complex. Reuven Kimmelman, as noted earlier, has devoted a whole book to this topic.42 Here I will only mention some of the synagogue customs relating to it. It is not clear exactly when it became an integral part of the Kabbalat Shabbat service, but Lekha Dodi is mentioned in various texts dating as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century. Some traditions are to sit while singing it and some are to stand, but all traditions mention singing it in a pleasant melody. There is also a custom to stand and turn to the door to sing the last verse.43 Another custom associated with turning to the door at the end of Lekha Dodi is to greet mourners who are in the first week of mourning (Shiva). The custom is that the mourners sit outside the synagogue for the Kabbalat Shabbat service, and enter at the end of Lekha Dodi to be greeted with the customary words of consolation. Two reasons are given for this. first, the mourner’s temporary cessation of mourning begins with the advent of the Sabbath, which is ideally the moment one ends Lekha Dodi. Second, the mourner shares with the Shekhinah, who is being greeted at that moment, the temporary cessation of mourning for the Sabbath. Thus, the personal mourning of the individual is connected with the mourning of the Shekhinah, which mourns the exile and loss of all Israel. 7. Psalm 92 and Psalm 93. The connection of Psalms 92 and 93 with Kabbalat Shabbat has its roots in Talmudic literature. The inclusion of them in the liturgy went in and out of fashion over the centuries. Their modern

41

Hallamish, Shabbat, 221-224.

42

Kimmelman; See also Hallamish, Shabbat, 224-237.

43

Hallamish, Shabbat, 229, cites a  Polish source from 1631 that already mentions this custom. 37

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

inclusion in the Friday night liturgy can be traced to the importance attached to them by R.  Isaac Luria and the Safed kabbalists. There is a difference of opinion as to whether they should be said standing or sitting, and thus some communities stand and some sit.44 8. Kegavna. It is customary to recite M.  Shabbat, chapter 2, (Ba-me Madlikin) after Psalm 93 before beginning the Ma’ariv service. In hasidic prayer books a  new custom developed, of substituting a  passage from the Zohar that begins with the word “kegavna”45 for the Mishnah Shabbat passage. Hallamish has shown that this innovation was first introduced in the kabbalistic circle of the Brody kloiz and was then adopted by many hasidic communities and prayer books.46 It is not known among the Edot Ha-Mizrach traditions. 9. Wearing a  talit. The custom of donning a  talit for the Ma’ariv service on Friday night is attributed to the practice of R. Isaac Luria.47 It also became popular in the Hasidic movement as a  result of the Lurianic influence. Many zaddiqim would wear a  talit for the Friday night service even when they did not lead the service.48 10. Hashkivenu. The Zohar gives an  explanation of why the wording of  the last verse of this prayer in the Ma’ariv service is changed on the Sabbath. Come and see: When the day is hallowed at the entrance of Sabbath, a canopy of peace hovers, spreading over the world. Who is Canopy of Peace? Sabbath. . . . The world enjoys supernal shelter and we need not pray for protection, for example: “who guards His people Israel forever.” This has been prescribed for weekdays, when the world does need protection, but on Sabbath a canopy of peace spreads over the world. . . . So

44

Hallamish, Shabbat, 238-246. Sperber, Minhagei, 7:134-141 discusses the history of Psalm 93 and Kabbalat Shabbat.

45

Zohar, II:135a-b. An English translation of this passage is in Tishby, III:1283-1285.

46

Hallamish, Shabbat, 246-251. An earlier version of this chapter is found in Hallamish, Kabbalah, 532-536.

47

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 318.

48

Wertheim, 148. 38

III. T HE FR IDAY NIGH T ME A L PR ELIMI NA R IE S

in hallowing the day, we bless: “who spreads a canopy of peace over us, over His entire people Israel, and over Jerusalem.”49

III. The Friday Night Meal Preliminaries 1. Walking around the table upon returning from the synagogue. Circumambulating the table set for the Sabbath meal several times, upon returning from the synagogue, was one of the Lurianic innovations. One moved to the right, repeating the Psalms that were recited in the field earlier. One continued circling the table until the recitation of the relevant Psalms was completed.50 2. Smelling myrtle branches on Friday night. After concluding the circumambulation, one should pick up two bunches of myrtle branches, recite the appropriate blessing over them, and smell them. The two bunches are a  reminder of the two terms relating to the Sabbath, “Observe” and “Remember.” The custom of smelling fragrant things on the Sabbath is very ancient: it is found in the Talmud, the Zohar, and many other sources.51 The Lurianic elevation of this custom to the level of a specific ritual that is an obligatory part of the Friday night activity is what is new.52 3. Singing Eshet Hayil. The singing of Eshet Hayil, “A woman of valor” [Proverbs 31:10-31], was not part of the Friday night ritual before Safed. This is not a song to one’s wife, but rather a song praising the Shekhinah. It is traditionally sung with a pleasant melody while standing.53 4. Psalm 23. Another Lurianic custom that became widespread is the recitation of Psalm 23 prior to the recitation of the Kiddush at each of the three Sabbath meals.54 49

Zohar, I:48a; Matt, I:263-264.

50

Hallamish, Shabbat, 287-288.

51

See Lauterbach for the history of using myrtle branches on Friday night.

52

Tishby, III:1270, n. 235, suggests that the use of the myrtle on Friday night is a Lurianic innovation. Its original use was at the end of the Sabbath. See also Hallamish, Shabbat, 288-293.

53

Hallamish, Shabbat, 298-300; See also Levine.

54

Hallamish, Shabbat, 303-305. 39

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

IV. Kiddush There are  many kabbalistic additions to the Kiddush ritual, and the following discussion of the symbolism and practice of Kiddush is based on the studies of Moshe Hallamish55 and Daniel Sperber.56 1. Diluting the wine. The Talmud states that the wine should be diluted with water, because the wine of the Land of Israel was very strong.57 Some later halakhic authorities decided that this practice was still required, and others argued that modern wine is not so strong, and therefore the dilution was not needed. For the kabbalists, the water was symbolic of the Hesed [lovingkindness] that dilutes the stern judgments symbolized by the wine, and was a requirement regardless of the strength of the wine.58 2. Yom Ha-Shishi and Vayechulu. The classic medieval authorities state that one should begin the Kiddush with Vayechulu [Genesis 2:1]. However, beginning in the sixteenth century, the custom developed to begin the Kiddush with the last two words of the previous verse, Yom Ha-Shishi. There are two reasons for the addition of these two words. First, the initial letters of the first four words now are the Tetragrammaton. Second, there are now a  total of seventy-two words in the whole Kiddush, which alludes to the seventy-two-letter name of God.The numerical value of the word Vayechulu is also seventy-two.59 An alternative tradition was to begin with Vayechulu and add the words Savri Maranan between the two parts of the Kiddush to make up the seventy-two words.60 3. Standing and/or sitting. There is a division of opinion about the proper posture for reciting the Kiddush. Some argue that one should stand

55

Ibid., 305-316.

56

Sperber, Minhagei, 2:158-171.

57

B. Berakhot 51a.

58

Hallamish, Shabbat, 312-313.

59

That the Kiddush consists of seventy words is based on Zohar, I:5b. See also S.K., II:79b on the importance of keeping the Kiddush limited to the seventy-two words.

60

Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 24, 69b. 40

V. T HE FR IDAY NIGH T ME A L

for the first part, since it is testimony that God created heaven and earth, and sit for the second half, because one sits for a meal. Some suggest sitting for the whole Kiddush. R.  Hayyim Vital writes that it was the custom of his teacher, R. Isaac Luria, to recite the Kiddush standing, and then to sit down before drinking the wine.61 Standing for the whole Kiddush was the tendency of the kabbalists who saw it as a  form of the wedding blessing for the union of the Masculine and Feminine aspects of the Godhead, and one stands for wedding blessings.62 4. Choreography of holding the Kiddush cup. The Talmud says that the cup should be held in the right hand.63 The Zohar adds: Concerning this mystery it is written: I raise the cup of salvation (Psalms 116:13). This, the cup of blessing, which should rest on five fingers — and no more — like the rose, sitting on five sturdy leaves, paradigm of five fingers. This is the cup of blessing.64

Lurianic Kabbalah expands on these details and describes a  complex choreography, as follows. First, receive the cup of wine from another person with both hands, and hold on to it with both hands. It is appropriate to hold it at chest level. Then grasp the cup with your right hand, without any help from the left, and look at the wine. Then continue with the recitation of the Kiddush while holding the cup at chest level.65

V. The Friday Night Meal 1. Atkinu Seudata. The Zohar identifies the three Sabbath meals with “the Holy Apple Field” — Shekhinah/Malkhut; “the Holy Ancient One” — Attika Kadisha; and “The Impatient One” — Zeir Anpin.66

61

S.K., II:76b.

62

Hallamish, Shabbat, 308; Ginsburg, Sabbath, 118-121.

63

B. Berakhot 51a.

64

Zohar, I:1a; Matt, I:2.

65

P.E.H., Sha’ar Shabbat, ch. 15.

66

Zohar, II:88a-b. 41

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

Before washing the hands for the Friday night meal, R.  Isaac Luria began with the following meditation: Prepare the meal of complete faith to gladden the heart of the Holy King. Prepare the meal of the King. This is the meal of the Field of Holy Apples, and the Impatient One and the Holy Ancient One. They come to share the meal.

For the Sabbath morning meal, he would say: Prepare the meal of complete faith to gladden the heart of the Holy King. Prepare the meal of the King. This is the meal of the Holy Ancient One, and the Impatient One and the Field of Holy Apples. They come to share the meal.

For the Sabbath afternoon meal, he would say: Prepare the meal of complete faith to gladden the heart of the Holy King. Prepare the meal of the King. This is the meal of the Impatient One, and the Holy Ancient One and the Field of Holy Apples. They come to share the meal.

This practice is based on the statement of the Zohar that R.  Simeon bar Yohai would say something similar before every meal on the Sabbath.67 2. Hand washing. “Afterwards, you should wash your hands and while reciting the blessing on the hand washing, raise your hands to the sides of your head. . . . This is to show that the Feminine received its illumination from the Supernal hands of the Impatient One. All of this is to be done standing.”68 “To wash your hands, you should pour the water three times on your right hand . . . then you should wash your left hand by pouring water three times. Then you should rub your hands together.”69

67

Zohar, III:95a.

68

S.K., II:83b.

69

S.M., Ekev, 92b. 42

V. T HE FR IDAY NIGH T ME A L

3. The table as altar. The image of the table as a substitute for the altar is already found in the Talmud.70 Later halakhic authorities and kabbalists pick up on this theme and expand on it, equating the table with the altar in many respects. For example, the hand-washing before eating, the presence of salt on the table, and the table having four legs can all be traced back to practices or imagery associated with the altar in the Temple.71 The Safed kabbalists, and R. Isaac Luria in particular, were punctilious in their observance of these traditions. The Talmud states that one should have two loaves of bread on the Sabbath table. 72 The Zohar expands this and suggests that there should be four loaves at each meal, for a total of twelve over the course of the Sabbath, reflecting the twelve loaves of showbread in the Tabernacle/Temple.73 The Tikkunei Zohar takes this one step further and suggests twelve loaves at each meal.74 R. Hayyim Vital writes about the practice of R. Luria: “Concerning the table, I saw my teacher was very careful to eat at a table with four legs, in the image of the table in the Temple. Concerning the bread that was arranged on it, one needs to be careful to place at every meal twelve loaves on the table, like the twelve loaves of Showbread. Arrange them in the following manner. Six loaves on the right side of the table and six on the left side of the table. Three on top of three on the left side and right side. This is their order: [the text has an illustration of two triangles, pointing to each other. Some texts describe it as two segols facing each other.]75

There are many customs relating to the Sabbath loaves: how to hold them, whether to tear the upper or the lower, etc.76 R. Isaac Luria’s custom was to take the two uppermostof the four middle loaves and hold them together with their bottoms touching each other. In this way they would look

70

B. Berakhot 55a.

71

See Sperber, Minhagei, 3:161-168.

72

B. Shabbat 117b.

73

Zohar, III:245a.

74

Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 47, 84a-b.

75

S.K., II:84a.

76

Hallamish, Shabbat, 328-339, describes the numerous customs relating to them. 43

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

like the showbread of the Temple.77 Many hasidic courts revived this custom and arranged for the Rebbe to have twelve loaves at his Sabbath table.78 4. Eating fish on the Sabbath. The association of fish with the Sabbath is found in ancient sources and in the Talmud. There are a wealth of associations with eating fish and numerous explanations, halakhic, kabbalistic, hasidic, and folkloristic.79 The classical Talmudic statement about fish and the Sabbath is: “You shall call the Sabbath a delight” [Isaiah 58:13]. . . . With what does one show his delight in it? — Rav Judah son of R. Samuel b. Shilath said in Rab’s name: With a dish of beets, large fish, and heads of garlic. R. Hiyya b. Ashi said in Rab’s name: Even a trifle, if it is prepared in honor of the Sabbath, is a delight. What is it [the trifle]? Said R. Papa: A pie of fishhash.80

Despite the wealth of associations of fish with the Sabbath meals, the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century kabbalists are unusually quiet about this tradition. It was only Yehiel Michel Epstein, in his Kizur Shaloh81 and Sefer Hemdat Yamim,82 who gave a  mystical significance to the tradition of eating fish on the Sabbath.83 Sefer Hemdat Yamim gives the following reasons: It is a  mitzvah to have fish at the three Sabbath meals, as we find in a  number of places, including the feasts that will be served for the righteous in the future.84 . . . The eyes of the fish are always open and we are reminded of the watchful eye of Above, which alludes to great mercy. . . . The person should be mindful when eating them to repair and elevate the many sparks, because of the power of the additional soul that is found on the Sabbath, since during the week he does not have the power

77

T.A., 330.

78

Wertheim, 150-151.

79

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 486-506.

80

B. Shabbat 118b.

81

First published in 1693.

82

First published in 1731.

83

Hallamish, Shabbat, 496-498.

84

This is a reference to the Messianic banquet at which the Leviathan will be served. 44

V I. T HE END OF T HE ME A L

to elevate them. This is also a reason to eat small fish, since through this he will be able to repair and elevate many sparks.85

5. Eating apples. Since Friday night is referred to as “the Holy Field of Apples,” the custom developed to eat apples on Friday night. This custom is mentioned in Sefer Hemdat Yamim.86

VI. The End of the Meal 1. Hymns and Songs.87 The association of songs and Torah study with the Sabbath meals is found in the Talmud and the Zohar. In the Middle Ages and later, the custom of singing songs as an integral part of the meal was primarily an Ashkenazi custom. Sephardi and Edot ha-Mizrach communities gathered to sing songs either before the meals or afterward.88 The practice of R. Isaac Luria to sing songs at the Sabbath meal after eating but before reciting the birkat ha-mazon gave new impetus to this practice and greatly increased its popularity. R.  Hayyim Vital writes: “After eating, it was the custom of my Teacher to sing a  song in a  pleasant voice. He wrote three songs, based on kabbalistic ideas, with all the details of the kavvanot of the Sabbath; one song for the evening meal, one song for the midday meal, and one song for the afternoon meal. The first letters of each phrase alluded to his name, I, Isaac Luria, the son of Solomon.”89 Other Safed figures also wrote songs and hymns that have become part of the standard repertoire of songs for the Sabbath. 2. Knives on the table. It is the custom among some kabbalists to remove any knives from the table before the mayim ahronim and birkhat ha-mazon. Moshe Hallamish in his survey of the sources concerning this matter shows that there is no uniformity of opinion. Some sources are in

85

H.Y., Shabbat, 241.

86

H.Y., Shabbat, 255.

87

This section is based on Hallamish, Shabbat, 342-353.

88

Ibid., p. 346.

89

S.K., II:85b. An English translation of the song for Friday night can be found in Scholem, “Tradition,” 143-144. 45

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

favor of removal, some suggest that covering the knife as adequate, and some find no need to do anything.90 3. Wearing a jacket and hat. The custom of donning a suit jacket and hat is mentioned in the Zohar and by R. Isaac Luria. The reason is out of respect for the Shekhinah that rests above the head of the person when they recite the birkat ha-mazon.91 4. Mayim Ahronim and Birkat ha-mazon. The meal is concluded with the mayim ahronim and birkat ha-mazon.92 “After concluding the birkat hamazon he would again take the two bunches of myrtle branches in his two hands and bring them together with the appropriate kavvanah and recite ‘Observe and Remember were recited at the same time.’ He would then recite the blessing for fragrant trees and smell them.”93 5. Leaving the table set. It was the custom of R. Isaac Luria to leave the table set on Friday night. The tablecloth would remain on the table; the Kiddush cup would remain on the table with a little wine remaining in it, in order to leave the blessing of Friday night there, in remembrance of Elisha and the oil, as mentioned in the Zohar, III: 34a. He would also leave pieces of bread under the cover, for the same reason.94

THE SABBATH DAY I. The Sabbath Morning 1. The sixth aliyah. According to the Talmud, the first three people called to the Torah are, in order, a kohen, a levite, and a scholar or dignitary.95 The kabbalists emphasized the sixth aliyah above the third. This aliyah 90

Hallamish, Shabbat, 356-357; Sperber, Minhagei, 3:168-172.

91

Hallamish, Shabbat, 357. The suit jacket and hat are modern equivalents of the hat or turban and outer garment mentioned in the earlier sources.

92

On the kabbalistic symbolism of these two practices, see the separate article devoted to them.

93

S.K., II:87a.

94

Ibid. II:88b.

95

B. Gittin 59b-60a. 46

I. T HE SA BB AT H MOR NI NG

represents the sefirah of Yesod, which is associated with the zaddiq. The source of this association with the sixth aliyah is Proverbs 10:25, which associates the zaddiq with Yesod in the phrase, “zaddiq yesod olam,” the zaddiq is the foundation of the world. The Zohar states that R. Simeon bar Yohai only ascended to the Torah at the sixth aliyah.96 This practice was also adopted by R. Isaac Luria, and it became the standard for hasidic masters.97 The sixth was considered the most prestigious aliyah and offered to the most distinguished person present.98 There is a legend that if the Seer of Lublin offered one his disciples the sixth aliyah, this act was seen by all as sign that he considered this disciple ready to be a zaddiq and to establish his own court. 2. Kiddush. The Kiddush for the midday meal shares some similarities with and has some differences from the Friday night Kiddush. The order is as follows: after circumambulating the table with the myrtle branches, one sits. The Kiddush cup is received with both hands. Psalm 23, and then VeShomru bnei Yisrael are recited. One should then say in a loud voice, “This is the meal of the Ancient Holy One” and recite the blessing over the wine. The rest of the meal follows the pattern of the meal on Friday night.99 3. Idle talk and the Hebrew language. Rabbinic and kabbalistic sources speak about expressing the sanctity of the Sabbath and festivals by not engaging in idle talk or discussing secular matters. R. Isaac Luria and the other Safed kabbalists were careful to only speak Hebrew on Sabbaths and festivals. They also refrained from speaking about matters not directly related to the Sabbath or festival. The only exception Luria made was during Torah study, when he would if necessary explain something in the vernacular that could not be explained in Hebrew.100 This practice is based on precedents found in Talmudic and medieval literature.101 96

Zohar, III:164b.

97

P.E.H., 305. Another Lurianic practice mentioned on this page that was adopted by many hasidic masters was the custom of praying privately, with only ten men present to constitute a minyan, as discussed above.

98

S.K., I:317b.

99

Ibid., II:98b-99a.

100

Ibid., II:100a-b.

101

Hallamish, Shabbat, 437-441. 47

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

4. Torah Study. The centrality of Torah study on Sabbath afternoon was mentioned in rabbinic sources and emphasized several times in the Zohar.102 The Safed kabbalists emphasized the study of Torah on the Sabbath afternoon, and some placed special emphasis on the study of Kabbalah at this time.103 The tradition of the East European Sabbath afternoon speech by a preacher was a part of this tradition.104 5. Sleeping in the afternoon. Though the Talmud opposes sleeping during the day,105 it was the custom of R. Isaac Luria to sleep during the afternoon of the Sabbath. His disciples justified this custom because it aided the impregnation (ibbur) of the additional soul that one receives on the Sabbath.106 Another source states that Luria considered his rest to be an aspect of the enjoyment of the Sabbath [oneg Shabbat].107 This custom came to be seen as an obligation in later generations, particularly among hasidim.

II. Sabbath Mincha 1. Ve-Ani Tefilati. Psalms 69:14 is recited prior to the Amidah. The Zohar gives several explanations why this verse is recited at this particular point. One of them is: “As for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord” [Psalms 69:14]. These words contain the mystery of Unity. “Me” is King David, who is called “Redemption,” “my prayer” is Prayer (the Amidah). . . . When one places Redemption near Prayer, this is called a “time of grace” [et razon], and King David wanted to unite them in this one verse. If you will ask, why is this prayer recited on the Sabbath and not on the weekdays? The minhah of the Sabbath is not like that of the weekdays. During the weekdays, the forces of Stern

102

Zohar, II:154 a-b, 168b, 213b.

103

Hallamish, Shabbat, 430-437.

104

The sermon during the Sabbath morning service is a  nineteenth-century innovation.

105

B. Sukkah 26b.

106

S.M., Va-etchanan, 87b; S.K. II: 100b.

107

P.E.H., Sha’ar ha-Shabbat, ch. 22, 440. 48

I I I . SEU DA H SHLISHI T

Judgment are in the world and it is not a time of grace. However, on the Sabbath, when all anger is absent and everything is united, and though judgment is roused it is sweetened, it is necessary to recite this verse, to unite all the levels.108

2. Zidkatekha zedek. This prayer is traditionally recited in memory of Moses, who died during the time of mincha on the Sabbath.109 This is mentioned as early as in the Geonic period. The Zohar gives an explanation: There were three who passed away from the world at this time, and they are all included in Moses. One was Moses, the supernal faithful prophet; one was Joseph the Righteous; and one was King David. This rule is for these three righteous ones.110

III. Seudah Shlishit 1. The time of the third meal. The Talmud states that one should eat three meals [seudot] on the Sabbath.111 The term used in the Talmud, seudah, has specific halakhic meanings, and there is a  long discussion in the halakhic and kabbalistic literature about whether all the requirements relating to the first two Sabbath seudot also apply to the third.112 One of the questions related to the timing of the third meal. Did it have to be after the time of the mincha prayer, or could one divide the morning meal into two parts and fulfill the obligation in that manner? The kabbalists strongly insisted that this requirement could only be properly fulfilled after the time of the mincha prayer. R. Meir ibn Gabbai provides an explanation and justification for this position in his Tola’at Ya’akov: We find that in his dying hour, the Holy Lamp113 structured the meals in another fashion: “I attest before all those assembled here, that in all my days I never neglected the three festive [Sabbath] meals. Because of 108

Zohar, II:156a.

109

B. Sotah 13b.

110

Zohar, II:156a.

111

B. Shabbat 117b.

112

Hallamish, Shabbat, 449-456.

113

A name for R. Simeon bar Yohai. 49

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

them I had no need to fast on the Sabbath. Indeed, I had no need to do so on weekdays, much less on the Sabbath! For whoever is privileged to partake of these feasts, partakes of Perfect Faith. The [first] meal is that of the Lady; [the second], the meal of the King, and [the third], the meal of the Holy Ancient One, the mystery of all mysteries.”114 It is clear from his words that the daytime meal is that of the King, the mystery of the Central Column, while the late afternoon meal of that of the Ancient of Days. This order is the better one, for it is at minhah that the supernal lamp, the mysterious Ancient of Days, is revealed. This proves that one should make the third meal at mincha and not in the morning as some do. After the daytime meal they recite the Grace, and then spread a tablecloth and proceed to make the third. No honor is shown the Sabbath festivities when a meal is divided into two. Such an act in no way makes for a Third Meal, which should only take place in the late afternoon. For this meal corresponds to the Ancient of Days who is disclosed at that hour.115

2. The Meal — Real or Symbolic? The term seudah normally implies a  blessing over wine and bread at the beginning of the meal. This is universally accepted for the first two Sabbath meals, but there is a dispute among halakhic and kabbalistic authorities about whether these elements are also required for the third Sabbath meal. There is a range of opinions from those who require all the elements of a seudah to those who believe they have fulfilled the requirement by eating a minimal symbolic amount of food.116 3. Fish as a special food during the third meal. Though eating fish is considered to be an important part of each of the Sabbath meals, there are some kabbalists who attach a special importance to the eating of fish as part of the third Sabbath meal.117 4. The hasidic tradition of Seudah Shlishit. The hasidic gathering for the Seudah Shlishit, where the disciples gather around the table of the zaddiq to hear his words of Torah and partake of the third Sabbath meal, is one of

114

Zohar, III:288b.

115

T.Y., 65.

116

Hallamish, Shabbat, 452-456.

117

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 501-503. 50

I V. T HE CONC LUSION OF T HE SA BB AT H

the best-known hasidic traditions. The Seudah Shlishit as a public gathering is an innovation of the hasidic movement that has no precedent in earlier rabbinic or kabbalistic traditions. For the most part the meal partaken of was symbolic: a piece of bread and a piece of herring. The central motif and reason of the gathering is the transmission of the zaddiq’s teachings to his disciples.118

IV. The Conclusion of the Sabbath 1. Transitions. The end of the Sabbath is a  time of transition from holiness to secularity, and it was considered by the kabbalists a  time when the forces of the Evil Side gained strength and again were in the ascendancy after the Sabbath, when the forces of Holiness had been in control. Traditions and customs relating to this period sought either to extend the holiness of the Sabbath or to mark the transition ending this period of holiness. Isaiah Tishby vividly described the kabbalistic view of the conclusion of the Sabbath in his Wisdom of the Zohar: At the close of the Sabbath, during the transition from the sacred to the profane, from light to darkness, changes take place in the world of the Godhead among those whose duty it is to supervise the worlds, and the life of the Jew. The light of Love and Mercy in Atika Kadisha is stored away, the power of Judgment holds sway in the world of emanation, the gates of the Shekhinah are closed, and she is left on her own. The Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shekhinah take off the sacred garments of the Sabbath, and clothe themselves once more in secular garments and in husks. Authority over the worlds is taken away from the divine forces. “Holiness departs and the companies in charge of weekdays arouse themselves and return to their places, each one to the post to which it was appointed.”119 The fire of Gehinnom is rekindled and resumes punishing the wicked.120 From the depths of Sheol a power from sitra achra emerges “and tries to mix with the seed of Israel, and rule over Israel.”121 Evil spirits burst from the hiding places to which they were consigned at the approach of the Sabbath.

118

Wertheim, 151-153.

119

Zohar, I:14b.

120

Ibid., II:207a.

121

Ibid., I:17b. 51

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

“When the Sabbath departs, many hosts and companies fly through the world. . . . They go out in haste, thinking to rule the world and the holy people.”122 Demonic darkness and great terror fill the world, and at that moment the radiance of the additional soul disappears and “man’s soul is left naked” and “when the Sabbath departs, the bond is broken, and the additional soul ascends, and soul and spirit remain separated, griefstricken.”123 Even the additional souls grieve: “When [Sabbatai-Lilith] rules over the world, the Sabbath departs, and the guests, who are the additional souls say: Alas for the Sabbath” [Zohar Hadash, Yitro, 32a].124

In response, one should endeavor to prolong the holiness of the Sabbath, as Tishby continues: One should try to prolong the Sabbath by adding to the sacred some moments of the secular, “because it is a  great and exalted day, and on this day a  great and precious guest comes to stay. Therefore we should delay matters, to show that we do not urge the holy guest to depart.”125 Whoever hastens to kindle a  flame before the close of the communal Evening Prayer “causes the fire in Gehinnom to burn before its time. . . . And those who are punished in Gehinnom curse the man who lights a  lamp before it is due. . . . because it is not right to kindle a  flame before Israel have separated [the holy from the profane] in their prayers, and made Havdalah over a cup of wine, for up to that moment it is the Sabbath, and the holiness of the Sabbath rules over us” [Zohar, I:14b].126

V. Havdalah Havdalah, the ceremony  of separation, marks the transition from Sabbath to weekday.127 It is a  ritual surrounded by a  large number of customs, superstitions, and practices to bring luck and success in the 122

Ibid., I:14b.

123

Ibid., III:35b.

124

Tishby, Wisdom, III:1236-1237.

125

Zohar, II:207a.

126

Tishby, Wisdom, III:1236-1237.

127

For an analysis of the multifaceted kabbalistic symbolism of this ritual, see Ginsburg, Sabbath, 259-284. 52

V. H AV DA L A H

endeavors of the coming week. Here we will only discuss some of the traditions, those that are directly related to the kabbalistic tradition. 1. Sitting or standing. The question of whether the Havdalah should be recited sitting or standing is a  matter of debate. Some authorities recommend standing, while others suggest sitting. The kabbalists are in the sitting camp in this controversy.128 R. Isaac Luria approved of reciting the Havdalah in the synagogue and contributed four zuz for the purchase of wine for the Havdalah.129 2. Blessing over wine. The preference for reciting the Havdalah over wine is preferred as early as the Talmud.130 Later halakhic authorities gradually allowed a variety of other drinks to be substituted for wine, but the kabbalists insisted on the use of wine. Meir ibn Gabbai explains the reason for this: This Havdalah must be over wine. For at this time a person’s Sabbath-soul departs and one enters the days of toil and privation, diminished and saddened. So one makes Havdalah over wine, for it rejuvenates; it brings down strength from Gevurah and stimulates good cheer.131

On Friday night, one is obligated to dilute the wine with some water. However, on Saturday night the cup of wine used for the Havdalah is not diluted with water, and any dilution of the wine is strongly forbidden. Sefer Hemdat Yamim explains: One needs to be careful not to dilute the cup of the Havdalah, but one must hold it in the right hand, which sweetens it in the aspect of the right that is the foundation of the water. However, he should not put any water into it, not at the beginning and not at the end. Water is the secret of Hesed and it humbles the strong judgments and abrogates them. . . . Now in Havdalah, the desire is not to remove them [the judgments], but only to sweeten them.132

128

Hallamish, Shabbat, 484-485.

129

P.E.H., Sha’ar Ha-Shabbat, ch. 24, 449.

130

B. Shavuot 18b.

131

T.Y., 68.

132

H.Y., Shabbat, 433. 53

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

It is customary to fill the cup of wine to overflowing for the Havdalah. Moshe Hallamish notes that this was a  subject of controversy, and some authorities even quote R.  Isaac Luria opposing this practice.133 Despite this opposition, the practice described in Sefer Hemdat Yamim became normative: “It is a sign of good to fill the cup for the Havdalah to overflowing, until some overflows, since it is said, ‘any house in which wine is not poured like water, it does not have a sign of blessing” [B. Erubin 65a ].134

3. Spices. The second blessing is over fragrant spices. Since Talmudic times, the preferred “fragrant spice” has been myrtle branches.135 R. Meir ibn Gabbai explains: One must smell the fragrant spices as Sabbath departs and the choicest way of fulfilling this mitzvah is with myrtle.136 For myrtle brings to mind the soul’s abode: from it souls depart to sojourn with us each Shabbat and to it they return; from it they draw sustenance. The Tree from which these souls flower forth is called Hadas, myrtle.137

It is customary to have three myrtle branches tied together, based on the following Zohar passage: As they were going on the way, they came across a man with three myrtle branches in his hand. They went up to him and said: What is this for? He replied: to refresh the fainting soul. Rabbi Eliezer said: you have spoken well. But why three? He responded: one for Abraham, one for Isaac and one for Jacob. I  bind them together and I  smell them. . . . This fragrance refreshes the fainting soul and brings down blessings from above to below. . . . When the Sabbath departs and the additional soul departs, the soul and the spirit are separated and saddened. The fragrance comes and brings them together and makes them rejoice.138

133

Hallamish, Shabbat, 487-488.

134

H.Y., Shabbat, 430.

135

For the history of myrtle branches as a fragrant spice, see Lauterbach.

136

Zohar, III:35a. Ginsburg, Sabbath, 263-267, describes the mystical significance of myrtle.

137

T.Y., 69.

138

Zohar, III:35a-b. 54

V. H AV DA L A H

4. Fire. The third element of the Havdalah is the blessing over fire, normally a candle with multiple wicks. This ritual has two parts: the blessing over the lit candle and the using of the light of the candle to examine one’s fingernails in a specific manner. These elements have a long history beginning with rabbinic literature.139 The central kabbalistic text relating to this ritual is Zohar, II: 207b-208b: One must say a benediction over a light of fire because all the other fires are hidden and concealed on the Sabbath day apart from the single fire of supernal sanctity, which is revealed and comprised in the sanctity of the Sabbath. . . . At the very moment that we pronounce the benediction over fire four chariots are summoned, four companies below, in order to be illumined by the fire that is blessed, and they are called “the lights of fire.” We must therefore clench together the four fingers of the right hand to illumine them with the light of the flame that is blessed, and the fingers allude to the lights of fire that shine and rule from the light of the lamp that is blessed. Since they are lower levels, when one displays one’s fingers in the light of the lamp one should clench them, because that light rules over them and they are illumined by it. With the other blessings we must hold our fingers out straight, in order to show the supernal sanctity of the upper levels. . . . But here we must clench our fingers in front of the flame, in order to display the lower levels, which are illumined from the upper light and thence receive their authority, and they are “the lights of fire.” . . . But these are called “lights of fire,” and because of this mystery we say in our blessing “who creates the lights of fire.” . . . It is all in the mystery of the fingers, which denote both the upper and the lower levels. The upper levels are evident when the fingers are stretched out upward, and when the fingers are stretched out, the upper and the lower levels are blessed together. When the fingers are lowered, the lower levels alone are blessed so that they can shine. This mystery is seen in the nails that are on the backs of the fingers, and in the inner face of the fingers themselves. . . . And when we pronounce the benedictions over the flame we must display the backs of the fingers, the nails, so that they may be illumined by the flame. But we do not need to display the inner face of the fingers to be illumined by the flame, because they receive their light from the upper flame only . . . they are not illumined at all by the flame that is revealed. Therefore we must display the backs of the fingers, the nails, while the inner faces of the fingers do not need to be displayed before the flame.140 139

See Finesinger.

140

Translation is from Tishby, III:1295-1298. 55

SA BB AT H CUSTOMS

5. Havdalah candle. R. Isaac Luria did not use the lights in the house for the Havdalah, but had a special wax candle that was used only for this purpose.141 6. Songs at the end of Havdalah. It is customary to conclude the Havdalah service with the singing of songs, as Meir Ibn Gabbai explains: We prolong the Sabbath by extending it into Saturday night, thereby showing that we do not like to see the departure of the holy Guest; indeed, its parting evokes a deep feeling of regret. So we detain it and, in our great affection, escort it with song and [choruses of] praise, as in the teaching “We will send you off with joyous song” [Genesis 31:27].142

An interesting and expressive example of a  song for the end of the Sabbath is the following Yiddish song attributed to the famous hasidic master, R. Levi Yizhak of Berdichev: God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, protect Your people Israel from all evil. In Your great love, as the beloved Sabbath departs, the week should come to us, for complete faith, for belief in the Sages, for love of friends, for devotion to the Creator, Blessed be He, to believe in Your Thirteen Principles, and a  Redemption speedily in our days, to the resurrection of the dead, and the prophecy of Moses our Teacher, of Blessed Memory. Lord of the Universe, You are the one who gives strength to the weak, also give Your beloved Jewish children strength to love You and worship only You. The week should come to us for health, good fortune, and success and for blessing and for lovingkindness and for children, livelihood and income, for us and for all of Israel. Let us say amen.143

7. Melaveh Malkah. Accompanying and bidding farewell to the Sabbath Queen is found in the Talmud: “A person should always set his table at the conclusion of the Sabbath, even if he only needs to eat an olive.”144 Rashi,

141

N.M., 135.

142

T.Y., 67.

143

The Yiddish text is cited in Wertheim, 101. The translation is my own. Another version of this song, rewritten for women, is found in Glatzer, 264-267.

144

B. Shabbat 119b. 56

V. H AV DA L A H

in his commentary, explains: “At the end of the Sabbath, it is appropriate to accompany the Sabbath as it departs, like a person accompanies a king when he leaves the city.”145 Another reason for the fourth meal is that the additional soul does not leave immediately after the Sabbath, but lingers for a while.146 Sefer Hemdat Yamim describes the fourth meal: It is forbidden to engage in any work and even study Torah [between the Havdalah and the fourth meal]. Also, one should not remove one’s Sabbath clothes until after the end of the fourth meal. One can eat it up to four hours after the end of the Sabbath, but one does nothing in the interim. It is also very helpful in leaving a blessing for all the meals of the week and to leave a little of the holiness of the Sabbath in all the meals of the rest of the week. . . . The God-fearing person will not transgress it, since he will lose something very good. He should be careful to set his table like he would for the Sabbath. He should put two loaves on the table, stand and say: We prepare the meal of faith; we prepare the meal that is the meal of David, the King Messiah, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, come to this meal.147

In the hasidic tradition the Melaveh Malkah became a  time to gather, sing, and tell the praises of the zaddiqim, and a time of spiritual fellowship.148

145

Rashi, ad. loc.

146

P.E.H., Sha’ar Ha-Shabbat, ch. 24, 449.

147

H.Y., Shabbat, 438.

148

Wertheim, 153. 57

SUKKOT

I. Lulav and Etrog The commandments to take the lulav and etrog and to dwell in the sukkah during the festival of Sukkot are biblical. Most of the rules about how these commandments are fulfilled are Talmudic. The kabbalists built on these foundations with new interpretations of old rituals and created new rituals to celebrate the festival. 1. The mystical symbolism of the lulav and etrog. A. Deeds performed in this world affect the divine realm. In the following passage from the Zohar, we see how the deeds performed in this world affect the divine realm, the core concept of kabbalistic theosophy. In other words, our prayers (words) and performance of commandments (deeds) in the lower world arouse and awaken the divine world.1 Come and See. “All that is called by My name, I have created it for My glory, etc.” [Isaiah 43:7]. How exalted are the works of the holy King, for the things that He created in the world below He connected with exalted things in the world above. When they are taken and used for a particular purpose in the world below, those things in the world above that are associated with them are aroused. . . . Some of them are associated with the holy name, such as the palm branch, the citron, the myrtle, and the willow, all of which are associated with the holy name above. Therefore,

1

The Appendix discusses this concept in greater detail. 58

I. LU L AV A ND ET ROG

we must hold them and perform a  deed with them, in order to arouse whoever is associated with them. Consequently, we have learned that in both word and deed we must demonstrate one thing in order to arouse another.2

B. Symbolism of the lulav and etrog. The following passage is a lovely Zoharic aggadah on the symbolism of carrying the lulav and etrog on Sukkot. On this day Israel leaves the royal palace with indisputable signs, for they have been victorious in the judgment. And what are these signs? They are the signs of faith, the seal of the supernal king. It is like two men who went to court before the king. No one knew who had won the case. An officer came out of the royal palace, and they asked him. He replied: the one who comes out with the royal signs in his hand will be the victor. Similarly, the whole world comes before the supernal King to be judged. He judges them during the period from the New Year through the Day of Atonement to the fifteenth of the month.3 During this time Israel purify themselves by repenting. They labor with the sukkah, the lulav, and the etrog. However, nobody knows who has won the case. The angels above ask: Who has won the case? The Holy One, blessed be He, says to them: those who come out with My signs in their hands — they will have won the case. On this day Israel comes out with the King’s sign, with praise and song, and enters the sukkah, the etrog in their left hand, and the lulav in their right. Everyone sees that Israel are adorned with the signs of the holy King, and they all begin to say, “Happy is the people that is in such a situation. Happy is the people whose God is the Lord” [Psalms 144:15].4

2. Holding the Lulav and Etrog together. The requirement to hold the lulav in the right hand and the etrog in the left hand when reciting the blessing is found in the Talmud.5 The requirement to hold them together while reciting the blessing is found in the Shulkhan Arukh.6 R. Joseph Karo mentions in his commentary (Bet Yosef) on the Tur that he relied on the 2

Zohar, I:220a-220b.

3

I.e., the first day of Sukkot.

4

Zohar, I:221a.

5

B. Sukkah 37b.

6

Orah Hayyim, 651.11. 59

SU K KOT

fourteenth century kabbalist, Menahem Recanati, for this ruling because of the following story:7 On the first night of Sukkot he had a  pietist as a  guest. R.  Menahem Recanati saw in a dream that the pietist was writing the Tetragrammaton, but he wrote the final heh at a  distance from the first three letters. Recanati asked him why he did this and he responded that this was the custom in his community. Recanati erased the letter and wrote the word properly. In the morning he awoke and did not understand the meaning of the dream until the morning prayers and the time for waving the lulav. He looked at his guest and saw that he was only holding the lulav in his right hand, without the etrog. Then he understood the meaning of the dream and why the final heh was far from the other letters. They are the splendor of Israel that is called the Tetragrammaton. Therefore, each person is obligated to hold both of them (lulav and etrog) in both hands. The lulav should be in his right hand to arouse the Hesed, which is on the right, and the etrog in the left hand, since the feminine is on the left side. This is the way he is supposed to hold them when reciting the blessing.

3. Na’anuim — Waving the Lulav and Etrog. A. Reasons for waving the lulav and etrog. The custom of waving the lulav and etrog in the six directions8 when reciting the blessing is found in the Talmud,9 where it is connected to the ritual of waving the sacrificial offerings before placing them on the altar. Another Talmudic passage explains that this waving is to ward off “violent winds and harmful dews.”10 The waving of the lulav and etrog fulfills the same function. Important medieval non-kabbalistic sources, including the Sefer Maharil11 and the Abudraham,12 explain it as a means of warding off evil spirits.

7

Bet Yosef, on Tur, Orah Hayyim, 651. The evolution of this custom is described in Hallamish, “Uniting.”

8

The six directions are the four points of the compass and up and down.

9

B. Sukkah 37b.

10

B. Menahot 62a

11

Sefer Maharil, 384-385.

12

Abudraham, 294. 60

I. LU L AV A ND ET ROG

B. The order of waving the lulav and etrog. Lurianic Kabbalah suggests a specific directional and sefirotic sequence for waving the lulav and etrog. The sequence is: “first south — Hesed, then north — Gevurah, then east — Tiferet, then above — Nezah, then below — Hod . . . and then the west — Yesod, since it includes all the lovingkindnesses (Hasadim) that are mixed together and incorporated within it. The order of  the waving of the lulav is the six directions, according to the order of Hesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Nezah, Hod, and Yesod. We find that the last wave of all is the west.”13 C. The number of times one waves the lulav and etrog. The Zohar reinterprets the number of times the lulav and etrog should be waved according to sefirotic symbolism. It is an expansion of a midrashic motif. Lulav is the zaddiq, which is compared to the spine which has eighteen vertebrae, comparable to the eighteen waves [Na’anuim] of the lulav, comparable to the eighteen blessings of the morning prayer [Amidah], comparable to the eighteen names of God in “Ascribe to the Lord, O divine beings” [Psalm 29:1], comparable to the eighteen divine names in the reading of the Shema [Kriat Shema], and the waves to the six directions, three waves in each direction, they are eighteen. . . . The lulav, on the right, consists of six parts. Three myrtle branches, Gedulah [Hesed], Gevurah, and Tiferet, which relate to the three parts of the eye. Two willow branches, Nezah and Hod, are related to the two lips. The lulav is Yesod and is related to the spine, which is the foundation of all the bones. Concerning this David said, “All my bones shall say, Lord who is like You” [Psalm 35:10]. The etrog is Malkhut, which is comparable to the heart in which are found the thoughts.14 . . . The waves of Hallel are partnered with the waves of the blessing over the lulav, which are eighteen. At Ana [hoshia-na] eighteen; eighteen at Hodu, beginning and end; eighteen at the blessing of the lulav. This amounts to seventy-two. [The word] lulav adds up to sixty-eight. The four varieties that comprise the lulav are “hesed” [seventy-two],15 the right hand. This is why it was established that the lulav is held in the right 13

S.K., II:309.

14

The identification of the lulav with the spine, the myrtle with the eyes, the willow with the lips and the etrog with the heart is found in Leviticus Rabbah 30:14.

15

The numerical value (gematria) of Hesed is seventy-two. 61

SU K KOT

hand, on the side of hesed. The etrog is on the side of Gevurah, to the left. That is why it was established that the etrog, which is compared to the heart, should be on the left side. As it has been established that the lulav is on the right and the etrog on the left, they are compared to Shamor and Zachor16 and the person who holds them is in the middle, the lulav is on his right and etrog on his left.17

II. Ushpizin [Guests in the Sukkah] 1. Male Ushpizin. The custom of inviting the Ushpizin, the Divine guests, into the sukkah is based on the following passage from Parshat Emor in the Zohar: Rabbi Eleazar began by quoting: “Thus says the Lord: I remember for you the love of your youth, [the affection of your betrothal, how you followed Me in the wilderness, in the land that was not sown]” [Jeremiah 2:2]. This verse was spoken in connection with the Assembly of Israel, when she accompanied the people of Israel in the wilderness. “I remember for you the love (hesed)” — this is the cloud of Aaron that journeyed with the five others that were bound together for you, and illumined you. “The affection of your betrothal” in that they beautified, adorned and crowned you like a bride who puts on her finery. Why? “Because you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.” Come and see. When a man dwells in this dwelling, the shade of faith, the Shekhinah spreads her wings over him from above and Abraham and five other righteous ones make their dwelling with him. Rabbi Abba said: Abraham, five righteous ones and King David make their dwelling with him. This is the significance of “You shall dwell in Sukkot seven days, etc.” [Leviticus 23:42]. It is written “seven days” and not “for seven days.” In the same way it is written, “Six days the Lord made heaven and earth” [Exodus 31:17]. And one should rejoice on each day and welcome these guests who come to stay. Rabbi Abba also said: It is written: “You shall dwell in sukkot seven days” and later “[they] shall dwell in sukkot.” First “you” and then “they.”

16

The two formulations regarding the Sabbath in the Decalogue, are in Deuteronomy 5:12 and Exodus 20:8, respectively. They also symbolize the two sefirot of Hesed and Gevurah.

17

Zohar, III:255b-256a. 62

II. USHPI ZI N GU E S T S I N T HE SU K K A H

The first refers to the guests and the second to human beings. The first refers to the guests, as was the custom of Rav Hamnuna Saba. After he had entered the sukkah he would rejoice and stand just inside the door of the sukkah and say, “let us invite our guests. Let us prepare the table.” He would then stand and pronounce the blessing and say: “You shall dwell in sukkot seven days.” Be seated, guests from on high, be seated! Be seated, guests of faith, be seated!” He would raise his hands, rejoice, and say, “Happy is our Portion! Happy is the portion of Israel, as it is written, ‘For the Lord’s portion is His people . . . ’” [Deuteronomy 32:9]. Then he would sit. . . . The second refers to human beings. Whoever has a  portion in the people and in the Holy Land dwells in the shade of faith and welcomes the celestial guests, so that he may rejoice both in this world and the next. In addition, however, he must help the poor to rejoice. Why? Because the portion of the celestial guests whom he has invited belongs to the poor. And if he dwells in this shade of faith, and invites these celestial guests, the guests of faith, and fails to give them their portion, they all arise and leave him, saying: “Do not eat the bread of him that has an evil eye . . . ” [Proverbs 23:6]. And so the table that he has prepared belongs to himself alone, and not to the Holy One, blessed be He. Of him it is written, “I will spread dung upon your faces, (the dung of your festivals)” [Malachi 2:3]. “The dung of your festivals,” not “My festivals.” Alas for that man when the guests of faith arise from his table.18

Commentary An introductory verse describes how the Shekhinah accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness when they dwelled in booths. The Zohar then states that when a person dwells in the sukkah, the Shekhinah spreads her wings over him from above and Abraham and five other righteous ones make their dwelling with him. R.  Abba disagrees, saying that the correct number is seven in total, and adds King David to Abraham and the five righteous ones who dwell with him in the sukkah. Who are these guests and why the discrepancy in the number? Abraham, King David and the five righteous ones does not refer to the historical personages, but rather they are the seven lower sefirot, beginning with Hesed, which is personified by Abraham. This also explains the difference between the two opinions.

18

Zohar, III:103b-104a. 63

SU K KOT

The first opinion states that the Shekhinah hovers over the sukkah all seven days of Sukkot. R. Abba finds this problematic because it leaves no specific guest for the seventh day of Sukkot, and therefore he adds “King David.” The identification of the guests with the sefirot also explains who they are and in what order they visit the sukkah. The seven ushpizin and their order of appearance can be found in the chart below. The text then continues with the custom of Rav Hamnuna Saba, which  is the custom as it is practiced. One invites the celestial guests, beginning with the guest for that day, as soon as one enters the sukkah, before sitting down. Finally, the text is very emphatic that the human representatives of the celestial visitors are the poor, who must be invited to share in the festivities and bounty of the festival. One should accord them the respect and courtesy that one would accord one of the sefirotic visitors. Failure to do so is seen as a heinous act, deserving of punishment, and the heavenly guests will also depart and not accept the hospitality they are offered. 2. Female Ushpizin.19 The recent tendency toward egalitarianism has raised the question of seven female ushpizot to parallel the traditional seven male ushpizin. Dr. Yael Levine has found that Bahya ben Asher in his commentary on Exodus 15:20 suggests that the seven women mentioned as prophetesses in the Talmud20 are compared to and personify the seven lower sefirot. The seven prophetesses are: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah and Esther. This is also the order in which they embody the sefirot (see chart below). Menahem Azariah of Fano, one of the early Lurianic kabbalists in Italy, picks up this theme in his writings. This identification can also be found in the writings of a number of later authors, including a number of hasidic masters, who mention this concept. The basic identification of these seven prophetesses with the seven lower sefirot is consistent throughout the texts. Thus, if one wishes to construct a list of seven ushpizot, this list would be the starting point.

19

This discussion is a summary of the important article Levine, “Neviot.” Specific details and citations of the literature can be found in this article.

20

B. Megillah 14a. 64

III. HOSH A NA R A BB A

3. The Sefirot and their Human Personifications. Sefirah Hesed Din/Gevurah Tiferet Nezah Hod Yesod Malkhut/Shekhinah

Male Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses Aaron Joseph King David

Female Sarah Miriam Deborah Hannah Abigail Huldah Queen Esther

III. Hoshana Rabba The night of Hoshana Rabba as a time of special rituals is less well known than the first night of Shavuot is.21 This night has two aspects: the ritual of studying in the synagogue and the ritual of casting a  shadow in the moonlight to see if one will live or die in the coming year. They became intertwined at a  later point; they originated at different times and for different reasons, and therefore will be discussed separately. 1. Study on the night of Hoshana Rabba. The custom of studying on the night of Hoshana Rabba is first mentioned in the Sefer Abudraham.22 The author writes that some people had the custom of reading the whole Torah from beginning to end on this night so as to be sure that they had completed the annual cycle of reading the Torah before the cycle was completed on Simhat Torah.23 This refers to someone who did not complete the talmudically-mandated tradition of reading the Torah portion every week twice in Hebrew and once with the Targum.24 There is no mention of staying up all night or the recitation of penitential prayers. 2. Tikkun Leyl Hoshana Rabba. A tradition developed in the medieval period that on the night of Hoshana Rabba the decrees that are issued on 21

See Wilhelm.

22

Ibid., p. 130-1.

23

Abudraham, 297-8.

24

B. Berakhot 8a-b. 65

SU K KOT

Yom Kippur are finalized and the judgment is announced.25 The Zohar writes: When judgment is aroused, and God sits upon the throne of judgment to judge the world, a  man should betake himself to repentance and amend his ways, since on this day the sentences are written. If a  man repents in time, his sentence is torn up. If not, he still has a chance on the Day of Atonement. If still his repentance is not perfect, his sentence is suspended till the last day, the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, after which the sentences are no more returned to the court of the king. The sign is that a man’s shadow departs from him.26

Most of the other sources describe Hoshana Rabba, rather than the eighth day of Sukkot, as the last possible day. Isaiah Horowitz in his comment on this passage suggests since one does not engage in penitential practices on a  festival,27 Hoshana Rabba is the last possible moment to repent one’s sins.28 This text is also the source of the East European custom of greeting friends on Hoshana Rabba with the expression, “You should receive a good kvitel.”29 In the sixteenth century, an order of prayers and study texts, virtually identical to the texts studied on the night of Shavuot, was assembled and published. Its purpose was to give a structure and form to the penitential aspects of the night. The first references to the idea of Hoshana Rabba night as a time of prayer and repentance being put into practice as a public ritual are found among the Safed kabbalists in the sixteenth century.30 The Safed kabbalists developed the concept of a  Tikkun for Hoshana Rabba that was similar in many ways to the Tikkun for the first night of Shavuot. One of the earliest descriptions of this ritual is found in R. Moshe ben Machir’s Seder ha-Yom. He writes: 25

A wide variety of primary and secondary sources are mentioned by Matt, V:304, n. 318. My thanks to Rabbi Jonathan Chipman for this source and other helpful suggestions regarding this topic.

26

Zohar, I:220a.

27

Ibid., Hagahot me-Shaloh, 1.

28

Wilhelm, 136.

29

The Yiddish term kvitel (note) is a direct translation of the Hebrew petek, which is also the term used in the Zoharic text.

30

Wilhelm, 137. 66

III. HOSH A NA R A BB A

This day is very awesome since on it all the books are sealed and all the rulings are given into the hands of the prosecutors and accusers. Therefore it is necessary to increase charity, prayer and supplication, to awaken the Divine mercies so that they will be merciful to us and inscribe us in the book of the righteous for redemption and salvation. It is customary to increase the number of candles in the synagogue and some wear white, as on Yom Kippur. There are those who stay up all night and read the whole book of Psalms.31

The popularity of this tradition and its vulgarization is evidenced by complaints found in Sefer Hemdat Yamim, the early eighteenth-century compendium of kabbalistic customs and traditions. The anonymous author complains about ignorant people who gather and spend the night eating and drinking as they would during any holiday. They have no clue about the solemnity of the night, and compound their sins by their boorish behavior. He is more charitable about those who come and try to stay awake, but doze off. They mean well, but are not sufficiently motivated by the importance of the night.32 3. Looking at One’s Shadow. Another tradition on the night of Hoshana Rabba is going out into the moonlight after midnight to see if one’s head still casts a shadow.33 A precursor to this custom is mentioned in the Talmud, where R. Ami says that if someone wants to know if he will return safely from a journey, he should see if he can see his shadow. If he can, he will return safely.34 The idea of looking at one’s shadow on Hoshana Rabba is found in Sefer Hasidim.35 The tradition of the Hasidei Ashkenaz was that one can learn not only about one’s own fate, but also about that of family members. For example, if the shadow of one of his fingers was not seen, it meant that one of his children would perish. The right hand signified sons and the left 31

Seder Ha-Yom, 193.

32

H.Y. Hag ha-Sukkot, 431.

33

A comprehensive history of this tradition is Weinstock. A number of additional Jewish and non-Jewish sources on this theme can be found in “Examination of the Shadow in the Light of the Moon on the Night of Hoshana Rabba” in Sperber, Minhagei, 6:173182. See also Sperber, Life Cycle, 373-383.

34

B. Horayot 12a.

35

Para. 452 (Margulies ed.), Para. 1544 (Wistinetzki ed.). 67

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daughters. Of course, one had to be completely naked while looking for the shadow. As R. Hayyim Vital pointed out in his discussion of this tradition, if one was clothed how could one know that the garments were not casting the shadow?36 This concept is also found in Christian folklore in Germanspeaking lands, and the Hasidei Ashkenaz may have adopted it from the surrounding environment.37 Many other medieval Jewish sources mention the basic idea of seeing one’s head. It is mentioned in the important compendium of customs the Sefer Abudraham.38 Ramban and Bahya ben Asher mention it, as a mystical tradition, in their Torah commentaries on Numbers 14:9. It is mentioned in the Zohar and many other kabbalistic texts.39 R.  Menahem Recanati tells the story of a sage who saw that his head was missing when he cast a shadow in the moonlight on Hoshana Rabba. He immediately prayed and repented of his sins, and his shadow was restored.40 The Safed kabbalists, including R. Moses Cordovero and R. Hayyim Vital also mention it in their writings.41 An interesting testimony to this custom is by R.  Elijah Levita, the famous sixteenth-century grammarian, editor, and printer. In the colophon of a manuscript of the writings of R. Eleazar of Worms that he had copied, he wrote: “I completed this holy book on the fourth day of the week, which is Hoshana Rabba, 5276 (1515), on which I saw the shadow of my head in the moonlight. Praise to God that I am assured that I will not die this year.”42 This custom also made its way into popular folklore and is mentioned in the early modern Yiddish collections of Jewish customs. An illustration of the person, who does not see his head, is found in many early modern books about Jewish customs, both those written by Jews and those written by non-Jews. However, it has been forgotten in more recent years and it is no longer a common practice to look at one’s shadow on the night of Hoshanah Rabbah.

36

Weinstock, 253-254.

37

Wilhelm, 136.

38

Abudraham, 297.

39

Weinstock, 255 — 258.

40

Recanati, Num. 14:9.

41

Ibid., 262-263.

42

Wilhelm, 138. 68

I V. H A K A FOT ON SI MH AT TOR A H

IV. Hakafot on Simhat Torah The celebration of Simhat Torah as we know it today is a relatively recent phenomenon, not widely observed before the middle of the eighteenth century. Its origins are a  personal practice of R.  Isaac Luria and several earlier Ashkenazi customs that were modified by Luria and later authors of kabbalistic customs. The most comprehensive work on the history and traditions of Simhat Torah is Toldot Hag Simhat Torah by Abraham Yaari.43 The following discussion is based on this encyclopedic work. The festival of Simhat Torah was created during the Geonic period, and is a product of the Babylonian assertion of the annual cycle of reading the Torah. The hakafot, the seven circuits of the synagogue, are based on the seven circuits of Hoshana Rabba, which are a reminder of the seven circuits around the altar in the time of the Temple. The evolution of the concept of hakafot on Simhat Torah as a  new ritual was a  gradual and complicated process.44 The custom of taking all of the Torah scrolls out of the ark before the Torah reading on the day of Simhat Torah is first found in northern France during the eleventh century, the time of Rashi. The custom was derived from an  earlier custom to take all the Torah scrolls out of the ark and perform hakafot on Hoshanah Rabba around the scrolls. On Simhat Torah all the scrolls were taken out of the ark, but there were no hakafot with them or around them. After the recitation of the prayers for taking out the Torah scrolls, the scrolls were returned to the ark, with the exception of the three that would be read from on that day. A  variant of this custom was that in some Ashkenazi communities some of the scrolls were not returned to the ark but were distributed to groups of people so that there would be multiple Torah readings. This facilitated the tradition of everyone in the congregation receiving an aliyah to the Torah on Simhat Torah. In Provence it was the custom to take out all the Torah scrolls at the end of the reading to mark the conclusion of the annual cycle of reading the Torah.45 The custom of taking out all the Torah scrolls on the night of Simhat Torah is first mentioned in a  fourteenth-century Rhineland source, the customs of R.  Meir of Rothenberg.46 However, there is no mention of 43 44 45 46

Yaari, Simhat Torah, esp. 259-318. Ibid., 259-261. Ibid., 261-265. Elfenbein, 69. It is also mentioned in Tyrnau, 137-138. 69

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hakafot accompanying taking out the Torah scrolls. This custom was restricted to the  Rhineland area and was not known in other areas of Ashkenazi influence.47 R. Yuspa Shamash of Worms collected the customs of his community in the second half of the seventeenth century, but does not record custom of doing Hakafot on Simhat Torah. He does add another custom, putting a lit candle into the ark when all the Torah scrolls have been removed.48 R. Moses ben Machir, mentions an interesting custom in Seder ha-Yom. It was the custom in Safed to take all the Torah scrolls out of the ark before the beginning of Simhat Torah and place them under a huppah until the end of the festival. The scrolls were adorned with items of gold and silver and covered with silken and embroidered cloths. The people would sing and dance before them. This custom is based on a passage in the Zohar.49 What is missing from this custom, however, is any mention of hakafot.50 The first source to describe the custom of hakafot on Simhat Torah is R. Hayyim Vital in his Sha’ar Ha-Kavvanot. He writes: The custom to take the scrolls out of the ark and to circumambulate the ark in the morning service, the afternoon service, and the evening service at the end of the festival is a true custom. It is already written in the Zohar, parshat Phinehas, page 256b, in the Raya Mehemna and this is what it says: “Israel are accustomed to rejoice in it and it is called Simhat Torah. They crown the Torah scroll with its crown, etc.” I  saw that my teacher (R. Isaac Luria), of blessed memory, was very punctilious in this matter, to walk around after the Torah scroll, either before it or after it, to dance and sing after it with all of his ability, on the night at the end of the festival after the evening prayer. He was very punctilious to do seven complete hakafot, aside from the complete hakafot on the day of Simhat Torah. However, I never found the matter of the hakafot during the day and I did not see it. On the night at the end of the festival, I did see him go to another synagogue and do seven hakafot. He continued on his way and found another synagogue where they did the hakafot later and did the hakafot with them.51 47

Yaari, Simhat Torah, 262-263.

48

Ibid., 264-265.

49

Zohar, III:256b.

50

Yaari, Simhat Torah, 266.

51

S.K., II:298. 70

I V. H A K A FOT ON SI MH AT TOR A H

Vital does not give a  reason for the seven hakafot. It was only his disciple, R. Hayyim Ha-Cohen of Aleppo, who connected the seven hakafot of Simhat Torah to the seven hakafot of Hoshana Rabba.52 A more plausible explanation is that Luria combined the two customs, the Ashkenazi and the Zoharic, into one ritual. The notion of a  procession when taking out the Torah is an Ashkenazi custom not followed in Sephardi communities. It is noteworthy that following the Torah in a procession when the Torah is taken out of the ark was one of the customs listed by Luria’s disciples among the special customs that were not normative.53 The Sha’ar Ha-Kavvanot was not published until 1852. The first published work to discuss the custom of hakafot was Jacob Zemach’s Nagid U-Metsave, first published in Amsterdam in 1712. The Sefer Hemdat Yamim, which was first published in 1731, picked up the custom from the Nagid U-Metsave, rather than from the manuscripts of the Sha’ar Ha-Kavvanot that were in circulation. It was only in the eighteenth century that Simhat Torah begins to be widely celebrated. Even Isaiah Horowitz in his Two Tablets of the Covenant (Shaloh), first published in 1648, a  major source for the dissemination of many kabbalistic customs, does not mention the custom of hakafot.54 Another important conduit in the eighteenth century for the dissemination of the custom of hakafot were the shlukhim from the Land of Israel who traveled from the there to Jewish communities in all parts of the Jewish world for the purpose of collecting charity for the Jews of the Land of Israel.55 The best-known shaliach, R.  Hayyim Joseph Azulai (known as the HYD”A), was influential in disseminating the custom of hakafot in many of the communities he visited in the course of his journeys to collect money for the Jews of the Land of Israel.56 When were the hakafot to be held? R. Hayyim Vital tells us that R. Isaac Luria performed the hakafot in the evening at the end of Simhat Torah.57 However, today we celebrate the hakafot in the evening at the beginning of Simhat Torah, and not at the end. The reason for this is that the author of

52

Yaari, Simhat Torah, p. 268.

53

S.K., I:314b.

54

Yaari, Simhat Torah, 267-269.

55

Ibid., 269-275.

56

Yaari, Simhat Torah, 283-284.

57

See above. 71

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the Nagid U-Metsave, and following him the author of Hemdat Yamim, made a major change to Vital’s description. He changed the phrase “the night at the end of Simhat Torah” to “the night of Simhat Torah,” i.e. from the end of Simhat Torah to the beginning of Simhat Torah. It is not clear if this was a misreading by the author of the Nagid U-Metsave or a deliberate change. The custom of hakafot on the night of Simhat Torah as it is practiced today is the result of the influence of the Nagid U-Metsave and Hemdat Yamim.58 Hakafot are also held at other times besides the night of Simhat Torah. Many synagogues also hold hakafot on the morning of Simhat Torah. H.Y.D.  Azulai, writing in the middle of the eighteenth century, mentions that there are a variety of customs concerning when hakafot would be held, and how many times during Simhat Torah they would be done.59 Another custom instituted by the Hemdat Yamim was the custom of holding hakafot on the night of Shemini Azeret outside the Land of Israel. This was done as a sign of solidarity with the Land of Israel, where hakafot were being held on that night. This custom was adopted by many kabbalists and by the Hasidic movement.60

58

Yaari, Simhat Torah, 277.

59

Ibid. p. 276.

60

Ibid., 277-278; Wertheim, 189-190. 72

MINOR OBSERVANCES

I. Tu B’Shevat According to the Mishnah, the New Year for trees was a matter of dispute between Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel. The former argued for Rosh Hodesh Shevat and the latter for the fifteenth of Shevat.1 Ultimately, the fifteenth, Tu B’Shevat, was chosen because it marked the end of the rainy season.2 The practical significance of selecting the date was in determining the “year” for purposes of tithing in the Land of Israel. Liturgically, Tu B’Shevat has been considered a minor holiday; Tahanun is not recited and fasting is not permitted. In medieval and early modern Europe, schoolchildren in the heder were given the day off in some communities, and in others the teacher was expected to provide special refreshments.3 For older students in the yeshiva, this date marked the end of the winter semester.4 There is no mention of Tu B’Shevat as a day of significance in the Zohar or in the writings of Luria’s disciples.5 However, a central component of the later Tu B’Shevat seder is found in two Lurianically-influenced kabbalistic texts of the seventeenth century,6 Hesed le-Avraham by Abraham Azulai and Tuv ha-Aretz by Nathan Shapiro of Jerusalem. Azulai died in 1643, but his book was not published until 1685. Shapiro published his book during his lifetime, in 1655. Both books mention the concept that the three lower of the four kabbalistic worlds are associated with fruits possessing certain characteristics. The highest of the four worlds, Azilut, is beyond any 1 2 3 4 5 6

M. Rosh Hashanah 1.1 B. Rosh Hashanah 14a-15a. Assaf, I:132, 158, 297, 301. Ibid., I: 463, 472, 565, 647, 658, 663. Hallamish, Kabbalah, 325. This text is found below, as quoted in Pri Etz Hadar. 73

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association with the physical plane. An examination of the relevant passage in both books shows them to be virtually identical. The lists of fruits associated with the particular worlds are identical in both texts.7 These lists are also identical to a similar passage that is found in the later texts relating to the Tu B’Shevat seder. It is important to note that the passages in these earlier books are theoretical discussions of kabbalistic symbolism and do not describe any rituals or practices associated with these ideas. The concept of a special observance for Tu B’Shevat is first found in two works published in the first part of the eighteenth century, a small pamphlet entitled Pri Etz Hadar8 and Sefer Hemdat Yamim.9 The text in these two books is very similar, and it is unclear which is the earlier version. R. Jacob Emden declared Sefer Hemdat Yamim to be tainted by Sabbatean heresy, and as a result it was not reprinted and had little influence in Central and Eastern Europe.10 This is one reason that is given for the lack of a tradition of holding a Tu B’Shevat seder in Central and Eastern Europe, even among the Hasidic movement, which adopted many kabbalistic customs and practices. Moshe Hallamish has offered a more practical reason for the lack of this custom in Central and Eastern Europe: Tu B’Shevat occurs in the dead of winter in this part of the world, and it would be virtually impossible to obtain the various fruits mentioned in the seder.11 In contrast, in the lands of the Mediterranean basin, the climate is more temperate and the fruits are more readily available. The Tu B’Shevat seder became a  part of the American community in the 1980s, as part of the renewed interest in ecology and the environment.12 Though the contemporary seder finds its inspiration in the original kabbalistic Tu B’Shevat seder, there are many significant differences. The original stresses the repair of the sefirah of Yesod, which is related to issues of sexual 7

8

9

10

11 12

The text is found in H.A., 45a (Ma’ayan 7, Nehar 7); T.H.A., 22b-23a (Ma’alot Peirot Eretz Yisrael). First published in Venice, 1728. It was reprinted numerous times. See Friedberg, 3:851, no. 777. It was first published in Izmir in 1731. However, it is not clear when it was written and who was the author. Some have even claimed that Nathan of Gaza was its author. The text of the Tu B’Shevat Seder is found in H.Y., Shovevim, chapter 3. On the controversies surrounding Hemdat Yamim see Yaari, Ta’alumat; Tishby, Netivei, 108-168. Hallamish, 325. The earliest modern Tu B’Shevat seder haggadah was published in 1975, though the majority of Tu B’Shevat seder haggadot seem to have been published since the late 1980’s. For a list, see Elon, 455. 74

I. T U B ’ SHE VAT

purity. The list of fruits and the rituals associated with them is secondary. The modern seder minimizes this original emphasis and replaces it with contemporary concerns about ecology and the environment. A comparative study of these two very different texts and their ideas would be worthwhile. Miles Krassen has translated the text of Pri Etz Hadar into English, and the following extract is from his translation.13 The three paragraphs beginning with “R. Hayyim Vital” are found in the Tuv ha-Aretz and Hesed le-Avraham mentioned above. Although the Fifteenth of Shevat occurs during the “days of Shovavim,” it is not a fast day, since it is the New Year’s Day for the fruit of the tree. Through the tikkun that is performed on this day with fruit, the sefirah, “zaddiq, Life of Worlds” is aroused . . . . R. Hayyim Vital explained that there are thirty kinds of fruit trees. Ten [have their divine roots] in the World of Creation, corresponding to the ten sefirot of that world. Since their roots are far removed from the forces of impurity and close to the purely divine world of Emanation, they have no shell, either within or without. They may be eaten as they are. They include the following: grapes, figs, apples, citrons, lemons, pears, quince, strawberries, sorbs, and carob. There are ten types of fruits [whose root are] in the World of Formation. Esoterically, they correspond to the ten sefirot of Formation, which are intermediate, between the World of Creation and the World of Making. They are neither as close to the forces of evil as [the sefirot] of the World of Making nor as distant as the [sefirot] of the World of Creation. Consequently, the seed kernels within the fruit are not eaten, since they are not soft like the seeds within the fruit that correspond to the World of Creation. They include: olives, dates, cherries, jujubes, persimmons, plums, apricots, hackberries, lotus fruit, and uzerar. There are ten other kinds of fruits [whose roots are] in the World of Making, corresponding to the ten sefirot [of that world]. Consequently, we eat what is within and discard what is without. For the fruit’s shell is a barrier between it and the World of Delights, so that it will not take on the impurity [of the evil forces]. This is the esoteric meaning of the evil urge and the “kelippot” cleave to the nefesh. The following correspond to sefirot of the World of Making: pomegranates, walnuts, almonds, pistachio, chestnuts, hazelnuts, acorns, coconut, pine nuts, and peanuts.14 13

14

The text is found in Miles Krassen, “Pri Etz Hadar: A  Kabbalistic Tu B’Shvat Seder” in Elon, 135-153. Krassen, 146. 75

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The text of the Pri Etz Hadar also associates particular fruits with certain passages from the Zohar that are to be recited during the seder, as the fruits are eaten. Four cups of white and red wine are also drunk to enhance the seder symbolism.

II. Counting the Omer 1. Zoharic interpretations of the Omer. The following passage from the Zohar is a mystical metaphor which reinterprets the period of the Omer, the forty-nine days between the Exodus from Egypt and the receiving of the Torah at Sinai. Egypt was seen as the seat of impurity in rabbinic literature. Thus, the Israelite had to go through a period of purification, like a menstruating woman, before being deemed to be in a state of ritual purity and ready to receive the Torah at Sinai. Rabbi Abba and Rabbi Hiyya were walking along the way. Said R. Hiyya, It is written: “And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offerings — the day after the Sabbath — you shall count off seven weeks” [Leviticus 23:15]. What does it teach? The Companions have already established it, but come and see. When the Israelites were in Egypt, they were in the realm of the Other. They were in the grip of impurity, like a woman who sits during the days of her impurity. After [the Israelites] were circumcised, they entered into the realm of holiness called covenant. When they have grasped him, the impurity is ended for them, like the woman for whom the menstrual blood has ended. It is written, “she shall count off seven days” [Leviticus 15:28]. Here too, when they entered the area of holiness, the impurity was removed from them, and the Holy One said, from now on you will be counted as pure . . . “You shall count.” Specifically you, just like it says, “she shall count off seven days.” For her, also here it is for you, for your sake. Why, in order to be purified with the Supernal holy waters, and afterwards to come in order to be united with the King, to receive His Torah.15

2. Reciting Psalm 67 after counting the Omer. Hayyim Vital writes, “I saw that my teacher, of blessed memory, was very careful and punctilious to recite Psalm 67 after counting the Omer, while still standing. Each day he would concentrate on one word of the forty-nine words that are found 15

Zohar, III:97a-b. 76

III. L AG B A OMER

in this Psalm. He would also concentrate on each of the forty-nine letters that are found in the verse, ‘nations will exult, etc.’ [67:5].”16 The association of this psalm with the counting of the Omer is that it has forty-nine words, coinciding with the forty-nine days that the Omer is counted. It is found after the counting of the Omer in many traditional prayer books.

III. Lag ba-Omer Lag ba-Omer,  the thirty-third day of the Omer, is associated with two traditions. One is the end of the period of mourning, marked by a number of mourning rituals, for the disciples of R. Akiva.17 The second is the pilgrimage to Meron to mark the anniversary of the death of R.  Simeon bar Yohai, a disciple of R. Akiva and, of course, the purported author of the Zohar. Only the second of these traditions has kabbalistic associations. The evidence that R.  Simeon and his son Eleazar were buried in Meron is mentioned in the Talmud. Pilgrimage to Meron has a long history before the sixteenth century, but the association of R. Simeon bar Yohai with Lag ba-Omer is believed by some to have begun during that century. Several scholars, including Abraham Yaari, Meir Benayahu, and most recently Boaz Huss, have studied this issue. The following discussion is based on my analysis of their studies and reflects the conclusions I have drawn from the evidence presented by these authors.18 1. Hilula19 of R. Simeon Bar Yohai. It is accepted by all scholars that Meron was a  place of pilgrimage since the period of the Crusades, and that the objects of these pilgrimages were the graves of Hillel and Shammai. The pilgrimages tended to happen

16 17

18

19

S.K., II:186a. For the history of the mourning customs associated with the Omer, see Sperber, Minhagei, I:101-111. The first article to review the history of the pilgrimage to Meron was Yaari, “Meron.” Benayahu, “Meron,” challenged some of Yaari’s conclusions. More recently, Huss, “Meron,” has added new information and insights to this discussion. A Hilula is a “day of rejoicing.” It is observed on the anniversary of the death of a hasidic zaddiq or other saint. It is considered a minor holiday and Tahanun is not recited on that day. The Hilula of Rashbi is the commemoration of the death of Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, the purported author of the Zohar, which takes place at his gravesite in Meron on Lag be-Omer. 77

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around Pesach Sheni, the fourteenth of Iyyar. The graves of a number of their disciples and other Talmudic figures, including R.  Simeon bar Yohai and his son, are also found in Meron. Yaari suggests that at some point in the middle of the sixteenth century several changes took place in the pilgrimage to Meron. Among them were the fact that the date changed from Pesach Sheni to Lag ba-Omer, and that two new customs were introduced: the ritual of giving boys their first haircut during this pilgrimage, and the lighting of bonfires. These changes also coincided with the kabbalistic renaissance in Safed, when kabbalists visited Meron to study at the grave of R. Simeon and to engage in the kabbalistic practice of yihudim.20 Yaari makes the argument that the new rituals were associated with a previous pilgrimage to the grave of the prophet Samuel, near Jerusalem. After the Ottoman conquest of Jerusalem in 1516, the Ottoman governor confiscated the synagogue of Samuel and turned it into a mosque. He also forbade Jews from coming to visit the grave of the prophet Samuel. The pilgrimage then shifted to Meron, and the pilgrims brought the bonfires and haircutting that had characterized the pilgrimage to Samuel’s grave there as well. Benayahu argues against Yaari’s conclusions by pointing to the kabbalistic visits to Meron as evidence that the new Lag ba-Omer rituals were related to the grave of R. Simeon bar Yohai. It was customary for the Safed kabbalists to visit the grave of R. Simeon bar Yohai to pray and study two or three times a  year. The problem for Benayahu’s argument is that with one exception, to be discussed below, there is no evidence that these visits were connected to Lag ba-Omer. On the contrary, the Safed kabbalists’ preferred dates for visits were the ten days before Shavuot and during the month of Ellul. There are also numerous statements indicating that the kabbalists were opposed to the Lag ba-Omer pilgrimage because of what they saw as its vulgar nature. Not only the kabbalists, but also a long list of important rabbis opposed the Lag ba-Omer pilgrimage for its carnivallike nature.21 Even today it is possible to find important rabbis who voice similar reservations. Another significant difficulty of the association of the Lag ba-Omer pilgrimage with R. Simeon bar Yohai is the date of his death. The precise 20

A yihud is a concept found in the Zohar. A kabbalist prostrates himself on the grave of an ancient holy person and through a series of mystical meditations connects his soul with that of the saint in order to learn mystical secrets. See Fine, Luria, ch. 8.

21

Yaari cites many examples in Yaari, “Meron.” 78

III. L AG B A OMER

date of his death is not mentioned in the Zohar or in the Lurianic writings. The Zohar states that R.  Simeon died at the end of the Idra Zuta (The Lesser Assembly).22 Yehudah Liebes, in his seminal study of the figure of R. Simeon bar Yohai in the Zohar, argues convincingly that this assembly happened on Yom Kippur and that thus Yom Kippur must be considered to be the date of R. Simeon’s death.23 The earliest published source that connects the anniversary of the death of R.  Simeon with Lag ba-Omer is the Sefer Hemdat Yamim. The tradition in Sefer Hemdat Yamim is based on a statement in Sefer Pri Etz Hayyim, by R. Meir Poppers. The traditions preserved in this work, which was written in the 1640s but not published until 1782, are not considered to be of the highest reliability.24 In conclusion, the evidence adduced by Yaari, Liebes, and Huss demonstrates that the association between the anniversary of the death of R. Simeon and the pilgrimage to Meron on Lag ba-Omer is a late phenomenon, most probably starting in the eighteenth or even early nineteenth century. 2. Halakah/Opshern.25 Halakah or Opshern, that is, the custom of having a ceremonial first hair-cutting for a boy when he is approximately three years old, is a  custom that was common, fell into disuse among modern Jews, and is currently experiencing a resurgence in some quarters. The ideal time and venue for this hair cutting ceremony is believed to be on Lag ba-Omer at the grave of R. Simeon bar Yohai. As mentioned above, Yaari argued that this was a carryover from an earlier tradition that took place at the grave of the prophet Samuel, and was transferred to Meron in the sixteenth century. Yaari, and more recently Daniel Sperber,26 have cited an abundance of evidence suggesting that the concept of the first hair cutting at the grave of a  saint is a  widely practiced custom among many cultures and historical periods. It was also a popular Islamic custom. There is nothing inherently kabbalistic about it.

22

This text is found near the end of the Zohar and is considered to be among the most esoteric texts in the Zohar.

23

Liebes, Zohar, 82-84.

24

Huss, “Meron,” 251-252, discusses this issue in detail.

25

Halakah is the term used in contemporary Hebrew. In fact, this is an Arabic term for hair cutting. Opshern is the Yiddish term for the same concept.

26

Sperber, Minhagei, 8: 13-30; Sperber, Life Cycle, 130-138. 79

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The kabbalistic connection to this custom is based on the following story recounted by R. Hayyim Vital about R. Isaac Luria, in his Sha’ar haKavvanot: Concerning the Jewish custom to go on the thirty-third day of the Omer to the graves of Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai and his son, Rabbi Eleazar, who are buried in Meron, as is known. They eat, drink and rejoice there. I saw that my teacher [R. Isaac Luria], of blessed memory, and the members of his family once went there on Lag ba-Omer. He stayed there for the first three days of that week. This was the first time since he came from Egypt. However, I  do not know if he was already an  expert in the wondrous wisdom that he attained afterwards. Rabbi Jonathan Sagis told me that the year before I  went to study with my teacher, of blessed memory, he took his young son there, with all the members of his household, and cut his hair there, according to the well-known custom. He made a feast and rejoiced there.27

In contrast to this, Vital says two pages earlier in the same work: Concerning haircutting. On these forty-nine days [of the Omer], my teacher, of blessed memory, did not cut the hair of his head, except on the eve of Passover and the eve of Shavuot. He did not cut his hair on Rosh Hodesh Iyyar and Lag ba-Omer, under any circumstances.28

The second passage reflects the accepted kabbalistic practice mentioned in numerous Lurianic sources. Vital’s last sentence in the first paragraph, “I do not know if he was already an expert in the wondrous wisdom that he attained afterwards” is evidence of his confusion about this story. It seems to contradict what he thought was accepted kabbalistic practice. In conclusion, the Hilula of R. Simeon bar Yohai and the other activities that take place on Lag ba-Omer at Meron are not kabbalistic in origin. There is no evidence that they were originated by or approved of by the Lurianic kabbalists. On the contrary, there is a long history of disapproval by kabbalists and other rabbis. These activities were seen as “kabbalistic” in origin no earlier than the middle of the eighteenth century, through the influence of the passage in Sefer Hemdat Yamim.

27

S.K., II:191.

28

Ibid., 189. 80

T I KKUNI M 1

The term “tikkun”  has three meanings. The first is the most common meaning: the repair of something that has been damaged. The second and third meanings are mystical. The second meaning is to decorate or prepare the Shekhinah for her union with the male aspect of the Sefirotic world, and also relates to mystical rituals that relate to this event. The third meaning refers to the prayers and texts that were recited and studied during a variety of mystical rituals.2 The texts consist of passages from the Bible, rabbinic literature, and the Zohar. The booklets that were published with the appropriate texts to be read during each particular ritual also came to be called Tikkunim.3

I. Tikkun Leyl Shavuot 4 The kabbalists drew heavily on the midrashic imagery of Shavuot as the “marriage” of God and Israel, found in rabbinic literature, in general, and on R. Akiva’s assertion that the Song of Songs was composed at Sinai and speaks of God and Israel in particular. The union of the Shekhinah with the Kadosh Baruch Hu (Tiferet) is the sefirotic parallel of these events. Some kabbalists even composed mystical Tena’im, read on the Shabbat before 1

For an overview of the various Tikkunim, see Wilhelm.

2

For a  more extended discussion of the term “tikkun” and its history, see Fine, “Tikkun.”

3

Gries, 35-36, has a list of eighteen works published in the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries that were called Tikkunim.

4

A more comprehensive study is Hallamish, Kabbalah, 595-612. 81

T IK K U N I M

Shavuot, and Ketubot, read on Shavuot before taking out the Torah, to solemnize the “marriage” of God and Israel.5 1. Rabbinic Texts of the Metaphor of Marriage between God and Israel on Shavuot. A: “Rabbi Akiva said: God forbid — no man in Israel ever disputed about the Song of Songs that it does not render the hands unclean, for all the ages are not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel; for all the Writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies.”6 B: “Where was it said? R. Hinnena b. Pappa said: It was said by the Red Sea. . . . R. Judah b. R. Simon said: It was said at Sinai. . . . R. Johanan said: It was said on Sinai. . . .” 7 C. “R. Johanan interpreted the verse as applying to Israel when they went up to Mount Sinai. It was as if a  king wanted to marry a  wife of good and noble family, so he sent an  envoy to speak with her. She said: I  am not worthy to be his handmaid, but all the same I  desire to hear from his own mouth. When the envoy returned to the king, he was full of smiles, but he would give no clear report to the king. The king, who was very discerning, said: this man is full of smiles, which would show that she consented, and he does not give any clear report, which would seem to show that she said that she wants to hear from my own mouth. So, Israel is the woman of good family, Moses is the envoy, and the king is the Holy One, Blessed be He.”8 D. “Rabbi Hakhinai says: On the third month the day is twice as long as the night, and Israel slept two hours into the day, for the sleeping in the daytime in this season is sweet, and the night is short. And Moses went into the camp of Israel, and was waking Israel up from their sleep. He said to them, Wake up, sleepers! The groom has already arrived, and is

5

Some examples can be found in Lewinski, 97-100.

6

M. Yadaim 3.5.

7

Song of Songs Rabbah, 1:2, 2.

8

Ibid., 1: 2, 3. 82

I. T IK K U N LE Y L SH AV UOT

asking for the bride and is waiting for her, that he may usher her into the bridal canopy [huppah], to give you the Torah. The ‘best man’ has came and brought forth the bride, like one who acts as a ‘best man’ to his friend, as it says, ‘And Moses brought for the people toward God.’ And the groom goes forth towards the bride to give them the Torah as it written, ‘O God, as You came forth before Your people (Psalms 68:8).’9 2. Zohar Texts. The Zohar has two passages that form the textual basis for the ritual of Tikkun Leyl Shavuot. The second passage is an  extended version of the first passage. A. “Rabbi Simeon would sit and study Torah all night when the bride was about to be united with her husband. As we have learned that the companions of the household in the bride’s palace are needed on that night when the bride is prepared for her meeting on the morrow with her husband under the bridal canopy. They need to be with her all that night and rejoice with her in the preparations with which she is adorned, studying Torah, from the Humash to the Prophets, and from the Prophets to the Writings, and then to the midrashic and mystical interpretations of the verses, for these are her adornments and her finery. And she enters with her maidens and stands above their heads, and she is made ready by them, and rejoices with them throughout the night. And on the morrow she does not enter the bridal canopy without them, and they are the ones called “the sons of the bridal canopy.” When she enters the bridal canopy the Holy One, blessed be He, inquires after them, and blesses them, and crowns them with the bridal crowns. Blessed is their portion. And Rabbi Simeon with all his companions would sing the song of the Torah, and they would produce, every one of them, new interpretations of Torah, and Rabbi Simeon and all his companions would rejoice. Rabbi Simeon said to them: My children, blessed is your portion, because tomorrow the bride will not enter the bridal canopy without you, for all those who concern themselves with her adornments on this night and rejoice with her will be listed and inscribed in the Book of Remembrance, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will bless them with the seventy blessings and crowns of the supernal world.”10

9

Pirkei de-R. Eliezer, chapter 41.

10

Zohar, I:8a; Matt, 1:51-3. 83

T IK K U N I M

B. “We have learned that the Torah which one ought to study on this night is the Oral Torah, so as to be purified as one from the wellspring of the deep river. Afterwards in daytime the Written Torah can come and unite with her so that they may be as one in loving union above. Then proclamation is made concerning him, saying, “And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord; my spirit which is upon you and my words which I  have put in your mouth,” etc. [Isaiah 59:21]. Therefore the ancient pious ones did not sleep on this night, but they used to study the Torah and say, ‘Let us acquire a holy inheritance for ourselves and our children in two worlds.’ On that night the Community of Israel is crowned above them, and comes to join the Holy King, and both are crowned above the heads of those who are worthy of this. When the Companions gathered round him on this night, Rabbi Simeon used to say: ‘Let us go and prepare the ornaments of the Bride, so that tomorrow she may appear before the King adorned and bedecked as is fitting. Happy is the portion of the Companions when the King shall inquire of the Queen, who has arranged her adornments and illumined her crowns? For there is none in the world that knows how to arrange the jewels of the Bride other than the Companions. Happy is their portion in this world and in the world to come! Come and See. On this night, the Companions prepare the adornments for the Bride, and crown her with her crowns, but who prepares the King on this night, in order to be found with the bride, to unite with the Queen? It is the Holy Stream, the deepest of all streams, the Supernal Mother, as it says, “Go forth, daughters of Zion, and behold the King, etc.” [Song of Songs 3:11]. After she has prepared the King and crowned him, she goes to purify the Queen and those that are with her. To a king who had an only son. He came to unite him with the Supernal Queen. What did his mother do? All that night she spent in her treasury, and she brought out the Supernal crown with seventy precious stones around it, and crowned him. She took out fine woolen garments with which she dressed him, adorning him royally. Then she went to the house of the bride and saw how her maidens were arranging her crown and her garments and her jewels. She said to them: I  have prepared a  bath with flowing water perfumed with all manner of sweet scents to purify my bride. Let the Queen, the beloved of my son, come with all her maidens that they may purify themselves in the place of flowing water which I have prepared for them, and afterwards they can adorn her with all of her adornments, robe her with all her garments. Tomorrow when my son comes to unite 84

I. T IK K U N LE Y L SH AV UOT

with the Queen, he will prepare the palace for all and his abode shall be among you. So it is with the Holy King and the Queen and the Companions. The Supernal Mother prepares everything. The Supernal King and the Queen and the Companions dwell together and are never separated, as it is written, “Lord, who may sojourn in your tent, etc.” [Psalms 15:1], “He who lives without blame and who does what is right” [Psalms 15:2]. Who is, “who does what is right?” Those who array the Queen in her jewels, her garments and her crowns. Each one is called, “who does what is right.” Rabbi Hiyya said: If all I merited in this world was to hear this it is enough! Happy is the lot of those who study the Torah and know the paths of the holy king, and whose desire is the Torah. Concerning them it is written, “Because he is devoted to Me” [91:14], and it is written, “I will rescue him and make him honored” [91:15].11 3. The first recorded occurrence of a Tikkun Leyl Shavuot. There is some debate about when the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot was first practiced as an actual ritual, as opposed to considered a literary concept.12 However, the first universally recognized celebration of a Tikkun Leyl Shavuot is mentioned in a letter written by R. Shlomo Alkabetz. The purpose of the letter was to describe how R. Joseph Karo acquired his Heavenly Maggid.13 This event occurred on the first night of Shavuot in Adrianople, Turkey, in 1534. Alkabetz begins by describing the Tikkun. He writes: Know that the saint [i.e. Karo] and I, his and your humble servant, belonging to our company, agreed to stay up all night in order to banish sleep from our eyes on Shavuot. We succeeded, thank God, so that as you will hear, we ceased not from study for even a moment. This is the order I arranged for the night. First we read the Torah with a pleasant melody from the beginning until “And the Heaven and earth were finished” [Genesis 2:1-3]. Then we read: “In the third month” [Exodus 19:1] to the end of the section. Then in the section Mishpatim from: “And unto Moses He said” [Exodus 24:1] to the end of the section. Then in the section Va-Et’hanan from: “And Moses called unto Israel” to the end of the section: “Hear O Israel” [Deuteronomy 5:1-6:9]. Then in the section Ve-Zot ha-Berakhah from:

11

Zohar, III:97a-98b.

12

Hallamish, 595-598.

13

On Karo and his Maggid see Werblowsky. 85

T IK K U N I M

“And Moses went up” to “in the sight of all Israel” [Deuteronomy 34]. Then we read the haftarah: “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year” [Ezekiel 1] and the haftarah: “A Prayer of Habakkuk” [Habakkuk 3]. Then the Psalm: “The Heavens declare” [Psalm 19] and the Psalm “Let God arise” [Psalm 68]. Then we read the alphabetical acrostic without the songs.14 Then we read the whole of the Song of Songs, the whole of Ruth and the final verses of Chronicles. All this we did in dread and awe, with quite unbelievable melody and tunefulness. We studied the whole order of Zera’im in the Mishnah and we studied in the way of truth [i.e. Kabbalah]. No sooner had we studied two tractates of the Mishnah than our Creator smote us so that we heard a voice speaking out of the mouth of the saint [Karo], may his light shine. It was a  loud voice with letters clearly enunciated. All the companions heard the voice but were unable to understand what was said.15 [The letter then continues with a description of what the Maggid told Karo.]

Alkabetz provides one order of what was studied on this night in this letter. Other kabbalistic texts offer variants on exactly what texts were studied, though the general principles remained the same. There is some discussion in the early sources about whether this was a  ritual to be restricted to the kabbalistic elite or whether it was for everyone. Two popular kabbalistic compendia, Isaiah Horowitz’s Shnei Luhot ha-Berit and Nathan Hannover’s Sha’arei Zion (published in Prague in 1662), described the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot and did much to popularize the ritual. By the middle of the seventeenth century, separate booklets containing the texts for the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot began to be published. By the end of the seventeenth century the Tikkun had become a widespread and popular custom in many Jewish communities.16 An interesting sidelight is that Karo does not mention Tikkun Leyl Shavuot in the Shulkhan Arukh, despite his central role in the first recorded time this ritual was put into practice. The practice is, however, mentioned

14

This reference is unclear. Perhaps it refers to Psalm 119.

15

The letter was first published as the Introduction to Karo’s mystical diary Maggid Mesharim (Lublin, 1646). It was reprinted and given wide circulation in Isaiah Horowitz’s Shnei Luhot ha-Berit (Amsterdam, 1648). This translation is taken from Jacobs, Testimonies, 99-100. Jacobs translates the whole letter and several selections from the Maggid Mesharim.

16

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 605-612, describes the various versions of the ritual and the texts that were included. 86

I. T IK K U N LE Y L SH AV UOT

positively in the Shulkhan Arukh commentary of R.  Abraham Gumbiner, Magen Avraham.17 Another Tikkun Leyl Shavuot of historical significance occurred on the first night of Shavuot in 1665. Nathan of Gaza fell into a  prophetic trance, reminiscent of Karo’s experience, and during this state first publicly announced that Shabbetai Zevi was the awaited Messiah.18 4. The ketubah of God and Israel. It is a wide spread custom among many Sephardi and Edot ha-Mizrach Jewish communities to read the Ketubah of God and Israel, a poem written by Israel Najara (c. 1550-1625), a member of the Safed kabbalistic community who was also a major poet. It is read immediately prior to the Torah reading at the same place where Ashkenazim read the Akdamut liturgical poem. The custom is that the cantor chants the first part of each stanza and the congregation responds with the last line of the stanza. The text reads as follows:

Ketubah for the Festival of Shavuot19 To be recited when the Torah Scroll is taken from the Ark One should begin with “Happy the people who have it so, happy the people whose God is the Lord.” (Psalms 144:15) My beloved went down to his garden, to his bed of spices, to indulge in love with the daughter of nobles, to spread over her the shelter of his peace. “King Solomon made him a palanquin.” (Song of Songs 3:9) Seraphim and Ophanim he arrayed and his horsemen and his chariots, and between the breasts of the loving doe he reclined. “On his wedding day, on the day of his bliss.” (Song of Songs 3:11) My darling, my precious dove, come with me to the sanctuary and hall. For you I will leave all the Heavenly Hosts and their armies. “And I will betroth you to me forever.” (Hosea 2:21)

17

Magen Avraham on Orakh Hayyim, 494.

18

Scholem, Sabbatai, 217-218.

19

The translation is based on the Hebrew text in Najara, 464-469. 87

T IK K U N I M

The beautiful one said, “I have heard my beloved and I  will love him eternally.” “Give me the kisses of your mouth.” (Song of Songs 1:2) To the wedding canopy they wanted to go out from the camps. In response to “We will do and we will hear,” he took six hundred thousand witnesses. “On the third month after the Israelites went forth from Egypt.” (Exodus 19:1) The bond was strong with this people purchased at Sinai, and the signed scroll of purchase I will read in the ears of my masses. “This is recorded before me.” (Isaiah 65:6) On Friday I  will tell you what is written in the book of truth, the day intended to impart the Torah of the living God to those who love him. Six days in the month of Sivan. On the day the Invisible God came forth from Sinai, shone from Seir and appeared from Mount Paran to all the kings of the earth. In the year two thousand, four hundred and forty-six, since the creation of the world. According to the era by which we count, and my community in all their dispersions. Here in this land, whose foundations were upheld by God. “For He has founded it on the ocean, set it on the nether-streams.” (Psalms 24:2) Whereas, the Bridegroom, Ruler of Rulers, Prince of princes, distinguished among the select. “His mouth is delicious and all of him is delightful.” (Song of Songs 5:16) He said to the pious, lovely and virtuous maiden, who won His favor above all women and maidens. “Beautiful as the moon, radiant as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts.” (Song of Songs 6:10) “Many days will you be mine and I will be your Redeemer. Behold, I have sent you golden precepts through Jekutiel [Moses]. Be My mate according to the laws of Moses and Israel. “I will honor, support, and maintain you and be your shelter and refuge in everlasting mercy. “And a throne shall be established in goodness.” (Isaiah 16:5) 88

I. T IK K U N LE Y L SH AV UOT

“And I  will set aside for you, in lieu of your virginal faithfulness, the Torah of the wise, the source of life. It will sustain you and your children.” “Heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the Pit.” (Psalms 103:3-4) This bride consented and became his spouse. Thus an eternal covenant, binding them forever, was established between them. “Day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) The Bridegroom then consented to add to the core of the ketubah, all that a senior disciple would innovate in the Torah. And Sifra, Sifre, Aggadah and Tosefta. He prepared for her a prior Torah with two hundred and forty-eight positive commandments, from which one should not deviate, for you should study them every day. “The way they are to go and the practices they are to follow.” (Exodus 18:20) And further wrote her a latter Torah in which negative commandments were sanctified, in the number of three hundred and sixty-five transgressions. “Things that ought not to be done.” (Genesis 20:9) The dowry that this bride brought to show from her house of her father, the Lord of wonders. “A heart to understand, ears that hear, and eyes that see.” (Deuteronomy 29:3) Thus the sum total of the ketubah and the dowry and the examination of their honor, with the addition of the earlier and the latter. “Revere God and observe His commandments; for this applies to all mankind.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) The Bridegroom, desired to benefit Israel, His chosen people and to transmit these valuable assets to them. If they will devalue them, they will devalue Him, and if they will esteem them they will esteem Him. The bridegroom took upon Himself the responsibility of this marriage contract, to be paid from the best portions of His property. No man will complain about it. “Crushing heads far and wide.” (Psalms 110:6) 89

T IK K U N I M

Both of them accepted pleasant conditions. Everything will be collected in a document. Each item as it will be collected. The conditions of the court, from beginning to end. The works of her hands are for him and all of her jewelry is on him. At night, his song is with her and during the day, a tread of mercy extends to her. “Extol her for the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” (Proverbs 31:31) The inheritance was engraved on tablets according to customary law. From her goodness, which is hidden for the righteous, no eye did see. “Let us by all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it.” (Numbers 13:30) And the dwelling, the habitation of the Torah is in the corner. Whoever wants to take it, should take it, and I will give her reward. “From Midbar to Mattanah.” (Numbers 21:18) He should not marry another wife instead of her, from the children of the perverse strangers. He should cleave to his beloved and place her in his heart and his vision. “This shall be called woman, for from man was she taken.” (Genesis 2:23) He should not let her rest in the midst of anger and neglect. He should not eat the bread of idleness with her. “Guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly.” (Ecclesiastes 2:3) He should not pawn her precious articles and should not sell them. Rather, he should always remember to increase books. “But truth and never sell it.” (Proverbs 23:23) He should not go on a  distant journey or make his way on the ocean, except with a scroll of the Torah resting near his heart. “Let it remain with him and let him read it.” (Deuteronomy 17:19) All these conditions are valid and established. They are inscribed in the heavens like the heavenly hosts. Forever and ever. The Bridegroom has given His oath to carry them out in favor of His people and to enable those that love Him to inherit substance. “The Lord has sworn by His right hand.” (Isaiah 62:8) 90

II. T IK K U N H A ZOT

The Bridegroom has symbolically delivered with five deliveries. Among them, Torah, document, and treasured betrothal. “He shall produce that excellent stone” (Zechariah 4:7). The righteous will see and rejoice and will eat their produce. With this document, which is bigger than the earth and broader than the seas. Everything, then, is firm, clear, and established. He established a testimony in Jacob and placed Torah in Israel with vigor. He said to establish her boundaries without gaps or breaks. I invoke as reliable witnesses heaven and earth. May the Bridegroom rejoice with the bride whom He has taken as His lot and may the bride rejoice with the Husband of her youth while uttering words of praise. “Happy the people who have it so.” (Psalms 144:15)

II. Tikkun Hazot 20 Tikkun Hazot is a ritual, engaged in at midnight, to mourn the destruction of the Temple and to pray for the coming of the Messiah. It is connected with the idea that midnight is an  especially meritorious time to study Torah. It had antecedents in the Talmud, and was expanded upon in the Zohar, but it was only the Safed kabbalists who created the specific ritual known as Tikkun Hazot. It is also an interesting example of the process by which a Talmudic idea is explored in the Zohar and then becomes a ritual in Safed. The Talmud states: Concerning study at midnight it says: “David had a  sign. For so said R. Aha b. Bizana in the name of R. Simeon the Pious: A harp was hanging above David’s bed. As soon as midnight arrived, a North wind came and blew upon it and it played of itself. He arose immediately and studied the Torah till the break of dawn.” 21 Resh Lakish said: “Whoever engages in Torah at night, the Blessed Holy One emanates a  thread of grace upon him by day.” 22

20

An overview of this ritual is found in Scholem, “Tradition,” 146-150.

21

B. Berakhot 3b.

22

B. Hagigah 12b. 91

T IK K U N I M

Mourning for the destruction of Temple at midnight is based on the following passage: “R. Isaac b. Samuel says in the name of Rab: The night has three watches, and at each watch the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and roars like a  lion and says: Woe to the children, on account of whose sins I  destroyed My house and burnt My temple and exiled them among the nations of the world.” 23 The Zohar builds on and reflects many of the themes found in the Talmudic passages. Concerning the study of Torah at midnight, the Zohar writes: Every single night souls of the righteous ascend, and at the moment of midnight the blessed Holy One comes to the Garden of Eden to delight with them. With whom? Rabbi Yose said, with all of them, both those whose abode is in that world and those dwelling in their abode in this world. With all of them the blessed Holy One delights at midnight. . . . At midnight all the truly virtuous awaken to declaim Torah and proclaim praises of Torah. As has been said, the blessed Holy One and all the righteous in the Garden listen together to their voices, and a thread of grace emanates upon them by day.24

Concerning midnight and mourning the destruction of the Temple, the Zohar writes: R. Eleazar and R. Jose were sitting together one night, studying Torah, and it was before midnight. During this time the cock crowed, and they said the blessing.25 R.  Eleazar wept and said. Come and see. The Holy One  blessed be He, has already made three hundred and ninety26 firmaments tremble, and shaken them, and wept over the destruction of the Temple, and dropped two tears into the Great Sea and remembered His children. The twelve hours of the night are divided into three parts. . . . These twelve are divided into three parts, and three camps of holy angels have been appointed for these three parts. . . . The second camp is appointed for the succeeding four hours, but they sing only during the two hours before midnight, when the Holy One blessed be He enters

23

B. Berakhot 3a.

24

Zohar, I:82b; Matt, 2:25-26. See also Zohar, I:92a, Matt, 2:80-85.

25

“Blessed are You, O lord our God, King of the Universe, who gives the cock intelligence to distinguish between day and night.”

26

The numerical value of Shamayim (heaven). 92

II. T IK K U N H A ZOT

the Garden of Eden. They are the mourners of Zion, who weep over the destruction of the Temple. At the beginning of this middle four-hour period they begin by saying “By the waters of Babylon” [Psalm 137]. . . . Then the Holy One, blessed be He, is aroused throughout all of His degrees,27 and shakes the firmaments, as we have said, and twelve thousand worlds tremble, and He roars and weeps, as it is written, “The Lord roars from on high and utters His voice from His holy habitation. He roars mightily on account of His abode” [Jeremiah 25:30], and He remembers Israel and drops two tears into the Great Sea.28

In Safed, we read in the hanhagot of Abraham ha-Levi Berukhim, many of the scholars who rise at midnight to study Torah also sit on the ground, wear black, and mourn the destruction of the Temple while doing so.29 However, it is only in the Lurianic literature that we find a specific ritual that was created to mourn the destruction of the Temple.30 This ritual consists of three parts, the Tikkun of Rachel, which is centered on mourning the destruction of the Temple, the Tikkun of Leah, which looks forward to the Redemption, and the Tikkun of the Nefesh (Soul), which seeks to unite the sefirotic world, and Tiferet and Malkhut in particular. The original Safed texts were not published until the seventeenth century or later. However, these traditions slowly began to be disseminated in secondary popularizations beginning at the end of the sixteenth century. The earliest published reference has been assumed to be the description of this ritual found in Moshe ben Machir’s Sefer Seder Ha-Yom, which was first published in Venice in 1599. However, a recent study has found that this ritual is described in great detail in a popular Yiddish work, the Brantshpigl, published in Cracow in 1596.31 Aside from revealing the first published source describing this ritual, this discovery also shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, these rituals were not restricted to the spiritual elite: ordinary people participated in them at an  early stage of their dissemination. Another aspect that is of interest is that Tikkun Hazot

27

I.e., the sefirot.

28

Zohar, II:195b-196a; Tishby, III:638-640.

29

Schechter, “Safed,” 297, no. 4.

30

The prayers and rituals of Tikkun Hazot are found in S.K., I:374a-379b and P.E.H., 344352.

31

See Faierstein, Brantshpigl. 93

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appears to have been a predawn ritual, as it is described in the Brantshpigl. It seems that the midnight version of Tikkun Hazot, which is the version best known today, was only introduced in the middle of the seventeenth century. It can be argued that it was the introduction of coffee that made it possible to stay up late enough to perform the ritual. Elliot Horowitz has shown how coffee and the midnight version of Tikkun Hazot were introduced in Italy about the same time, and has suggested that the coffee made it easier observe Tikkun Hazot.32

III. Tikkun for the Night of the Seventh Day of Passover 33 The first Safed reference to a ritual on this night is found in the list of hanhagot of R.  Abraham Galante. He mentions rising at midnight on the seventh night of Passover, reading relevant midrashic texts, singing songs, reciting petitionary prayers, and concluding at dawn with Psalm 114, “When Israel went out of Egypt.”34 Jacob Zemach is quoted in the Pri Etz Hayyim as saying that it is appropriate to wake up early, before dawn, to read about the esoteric meaning of the splitting of the sea and the Idra of the Zohar.35 However, there is no other reference in the Safed literature to a  special ritual or liturgy for this night. The likely reason is found in a famous incident recorded by R. Hayyim Vital. He writes that R. Isaac Luria taught an esoteric passage from the Zohar that was related to the splitting of the sea and contained messianic secrets that were not supposed to be revealed. Not only did Luria’s son die three days later, as a punishment for this teaching, but Luria himself also ultimately met his premature end as a result of this incident.36 The first work to create a Tikkun for the seventh night of Passover similar to those for Shavuot and Hoshana Rabba is Sefer Hemdat Yamim. This work

32

See Horowitz.

33

The most comprehensive study of this topic is Benayahu, “Tikkun”; see alsoWilhelm, 143-145.

34

Schechter, “Safed,” 295, no. 6.

35

P.E.H., 518.

36

S.K., II:186-187a; P.E.H., 517-518; Liebes, “Sermon.” 94

I V. T IK K U N FOR ER E V ROSH HODESH

was suspected of being influenced or written by Sabbateans, who would be interested in the Messianic aspects of the seventh night of Passover.37 Some Hasidic groups adopted the custom of the Tikkun for the seventh night of Passover, but most other Jewish communities have not accepted it. One ritual adopted by some Hasidic groups as part of this Tikkun is to jump over buckets or barrels of water, symbolizing the crossing of the Red Sea, which took place on this night of Passover.

IV. Tikkun for Erev Rosh Hodesh 38 1. The concept. The rabbinic basis for the idea underlying this Tikkun is based on the rabbinic passage in which God says to Israel, “Bring atonement upon me for making the moon smaller.”39 The moon is one of the symbols for the Shekhinah, the last sefirah, which is in exile as long as Israel is in exile. The diminution of the moon was a symbol of Israel’s exile, which was considered to be the result of Israel’s sins, both on the physical plane and on the sefirotic plane. The end of the month was seen as a reminder of Israel’s subjugation in the world, which paralleled the Shekhinah’s subjugation to the forces of the Sitra Achra in the sefirotic world. In both cases, Israel’s response would be prayer and fasting to atone for the sins that had brought about this negative situation. Rosh Hodesh, the new moon, symbolized the hope of redemption that had been promised and which was awaited every day. The Tikkun for the eve of Rosh Hodesh was a reminder of this human and cosmic drama. 2. The history. The tradition of the Tikkun for the eve of Rosh Hodesh, also known as Yom Kippur Katan (the minor Yom Kippur), is first found in sixteenth-century Safed. The intention was to make the day before Rosh Hodesh a  day of fasting, prayer, and penance, similar in many ways to Yom Kippur. There are a  number of references to this custom in the

37

On the relation of Sefer Hemdat Yamim to Sabbateanism see Yaari, Ta’alumat; Tishby, Netivei, 108-168.

38

The most comprehensive study of this ritual is Hallamish, Kabbalah, 537-566; an overview of this ritual is found in Scholem, “Tradition,” 151-153.

39

B. Hullin 60b. 95

T IK K U N I M

writings of several Safed figures:40 Abraham Galante41 and Abraham haLevi Berukhim42 both mention this practice in their lists of hanhagot. It is noteworthy that both of them describe it as a practice in which the whole community participated, including women and children. Shlomel Dresnitz, writing from Safed at the end of the sixteenth century, described the events he witnessed.43 On the eve of every Rosh Hodesh until noon, they make it like the eve of Yom Kippur. They decree that no work should be done, and all Israelites gather in one of the large synagogues or they go to the grave of the prophet Hosea ben Be’eri over which was built a cupola, a large elegant building. They go inside it or into the cave of the Tanna Abba Shaul or before the grave of R.  Judah bar Ilai. These righteous men are buried close to the city. They pray there until midday. Sometimes they spend the whole day with prayers and sermons . . . we even stand in the field with talit and tefillin, praying in a loud voice to our God, before the graves of the righteous, etc.44

This tradition is mentioned in and disseminated by many of the classic works of the Safed kabbalistic tradition. It is discussed in the Reshit Hokhmah, Sheni Luhot ha-Berit, Sha’arei Zion and many others. Sefer Hemdat Yamim also played a significant role in the popularization of this tradition. The one glaring exception to this are the Lurianic writings of Hayyim Vital and his school, in which the concept of the Tikkun for the eve of Rosh Hodesh is not mentioned.45

V. Tikkun Leyl Hoshanah Rabba An extended discussion of the Tikkun for the night of Hoshana Rabba can be found in the chapter on Sukkot. 40

Ibid., 538-540.

41

Schechter, “Safed,” 294, n. 1.

42

Ibid, 294, n. 2.

43

His letters were collected and published as Shivhei ha-Ari.

44

Hallamish, Kabbalah, 539-540.

45

Scholem, “Tradition,” 152, n. 1. 96

A PPENDIX

“God’s Need for the Commandments” in Medieval Kabbalah1 Perhaps the most significant innovation of medieval kabbalistic thought was the reintroduction of mythic thought into Jewish theology. The monotheistic revolution of the Bible, which was a  reaction to the mythic world of the ancient Near East, was thought to have eliminated mythic categories from Jewish consciousness. The few vestiges of mythic thought that found their ways into biblical literature2 could be explained away as metaphors. The founders of modern Jewish scholarship in the nineteenth century sought to perpetuate and propagate the view of Judaism as ethical monotheism for political and polemical reasons.3 Data that challenged this stereotype were suppressed or dismissed as aberrations of folk religion. It was only in the twentieth century, through the pioneering efforts of Gershom Scholem, that the rich mythic literature of the Kabbalah was acknowledged as an authentic expression of the Jewish spirit. 1

The appendix was previously published in Conservative Judaism, 36, 1 (1982): 45-59.

2

E.g., the references to Leviathan in Isaiah 27:1 and other similar references.

3

The Wissenschaft des Judentums School, which founded the modern scholarly study of Judaism, wanted to show Judaism in a  light that would gain favor in the eyes of the liberal Protestants who were seen as the main allies in the Jewish struggle for emancipation. The opponents of emancipation argued that the Jews were a backward, unenlightened people not deserving the rights of citizenship. Jewish scholarship of the nineteenth century tried to demonstrate the high ethical ideals and intellectual attainments of medieval Jewish philosophy and used these as the proof that the opponents of emancipation were wrong. 97

A PPENDI X

The mythic world-view of the kabbalists must be seen in the context of the medieval Jewish attempt to shape a coherent and consistent Jewish theology, which was stimulated by the challenge of Islamic philosophy and, at a  later date, Christian scholasticism.4 A  prime concern of the Jewish philosophic tradition that developed in response to these stimuli was the concept of the purity of the idea of God. Jewish philosophers sought to divest this concept of all the anthropomorphic and mythic elements that still remained in Jewish literature. The result of purifying the concept of God was the diminution of the living reality of God for the believer. Without anthropomorphism and mythic imagery, one can only speak of God by means of negative attributes,5 leaving a  concept of God which is philosophically pure but devoid of living reality. The God of the philosophers was suitable as a subject for philosophic speculation, but hardly accessible as a God to whom one could pray. Not all theologically concerned Jews were attracted to the sterile God of the philosophers. They longed for the living reality of God, even the anthropomorphism and myth. The development of Kabbalah is the unfolding of the quest for forms to describe the divine and its interaction with the human world.6 The kabbalists placed the need for a  living God above the need for theological purity, and created a mythic theology that integrated Jewish theology and ritual. One of the important foci of both kabbalistic and philosophic theology is the role of the mitzvot (commandments) in the theological framework and the reasons for the commandments. This appendix will deal with the kabbalistic response to the problem of ta’amei hamitzvot, the reasons for the commandments. It will attempt to trace the theoretical understanding of ta’amei hamitzvot rather than deal with reasons for specific mitzvot. Though this problem is important for understanding kabbalistic theology, it was not dealt with by kabbalists until Menahem Recanati’s Sefer Ta’amei Hamitzvot, in which the first significant theoretical explanation is found. The modern students of Kabbalah have not as yet dealt with this issue. Therefore, this article will attempt to trace the dominant motifs of ta’amei hamitzvot in

4

Cf. Guttman, 47-56.

5

The classic formulation of this concept can be found in Moses Maimonides’s Guide, 1:50-58.

6

Scholem, “Myth,” 88-89. 98

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the development of kabbalistic thought as a preliminary to more intensive investigations. The search for Ta’amei hamitzvot is not a  major theme in rabbinic literature. While it is possible to find statements which anticipate both the kabbalistic and philosophic positions,7 the dominant trend of rabbinic thought was not to look for reasons for mitzvot beyond the ethical or moral ones.8 For those commandments which have no apparent rationale, it was sufficient that God had commanded them, and no further reason was necessary. The classic example is the law concerning the red heifer. In the introduction to this volume I cited the Midrashic passage that tells of the day a heathen came and asked R. Yohanan ben Zakkai about the reason for the red heifer. R. Yohanan gave the heathen an answer that satisfied him and left. His disciples, however, were not satisfied: Now when the heathen left, R Yohanan’s disciples said: “Our master, you put off that heathen with a mere reed of an answer, but what answer will you give us?” R.  Yohanan answered: “By your lives, I  swear: the corpse does not have the power by itself to defile, nor does the mixture of ash and water have the power by itself to cleanse. The truth is that the purifying power of the red heifer is a decree of the Holy One, Blessed be He. The Holy One said: ‘I have set it down as a statute; I have issued it as a decree. You are not permitted to transgress my decree.’”9 7

The following aggadah from Genesis Rabbah 44:1 adumbrates the philosophic position. The mitzvot were given only for the purpose of refining (testing) the people through them. What concern is it to the Blessed One whether one slaughters at the neck or the nape? The kabbalistic position is illustrated in the following aggadah from Lamentations Rabbah 1:33: R. Judah ben R. Simon said in the name of R. Levi ben R. Tarfon: “When Israel performs the will of the Blessed One they add strength to the heavenly power, as it says [Numbers 14:17], “And now may the strength of God be increased.” When, however, Israel does not perform the will of the Blessed One, if it is possible to say, they weaken the power of Him who is above.

8

For a fuller discussion of the rabbinic attitude towards mitzvot see Heinemann, I:22-35.

9

Pesikta de Rav Kahana 4:7; Braude & Kapstein, 82-83. 99

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In the medieval period R. Yohanan ben Zakkai’s answer was no longer sufficient. Judaism was confronted by sophisticated theological systems of religions, which also claimed to be divine revelation. Both philosophers and kabbalists had to explain not only the red heifer, but also all of the commandments, in a manner that could serve as both internal and external apologetics. The philosophers found the mitzvot to be problematic, and devoted much time and effort to explaining them.10 Common to all philosophical explanations of the mitzvot was the axiom that the mitzvot have no cosmic effect. There is no suprahuman effect that results from the performance of a  mitzvah. Building on this axiom, which posits an  unbridgeable gap between the human and divine realms, the philosophers explain the reasons or the mitzvot, each following his own system. The details of the various philosophical explanations are beyond the concerns of this article. In contrast to the philosophers, the kabbalists, working in a  mythic framework, see the mitzvot as a group as the link that unites the divine and human realms. The performance of mitzvot is integrated into the kabbalistic mythic schema through the concept of zorekh gavoha11 (divine need). This concept teaches that man, through the performance of mitzvot, affects the divine realm, the sefirotic world. The interaction of human and divine realms is seen by the kabbalists as a  reciprocal relationship, with each contributing to and influencing the other. The contribution of the human to the divine realm is through the performance of mitzvot. The concept of zorekh gavoha is mediated in the Kabbalah through two motifs, those of Adam Kadmon (primordial man, microcosm/macrocosm) and yihud (unification). The Adam Kadmon motif identifies man as the microcosm, which is a  reflection of the macrocosm, the sefirotic world, which is represented in kabbalistic literature as primordial man, Adam Kadmon. The conjunction of the human form and sefirot is first found in the Sefer ha-Bahir, an early medieval kabbalistic text. Explaining the verse “For in the image of God made He man,” (Gen. 9:6), the Sefer ha-Bahir sees in the

10

For a survey of philosophic thought on the mitzvot see Heinemann, I:46-124.

11

The phrase zorekh gavoha is found in the Talmud (Kassowski, 32:206) where it means “for the need of the cult (or Temple)”. The word gavoha is used by the rabbis as a name of God. The kabbalists, however, used the phrase in its most literal sense. The first kabbalistic usage of zorekh gavoha is found in Nachmanides’ commentary on the Torah, on Exodus 29:46. 100

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seven limbs of man an image of the seven lower sefirot.12 Later, kabbalists explained this concept so that they could see the figure of man in the image of all ten sefirot.13 The microcosm/macrocosm relationship has several implications. First, because the human form is in the image of the divine, it is possible to reach a mystical understanding of the divine from the mystical study of the human. Additionally, and more significantly for our purpose, because of this identification the actions of the microcosm, man, can affect the macrocosm, the divine (sefirot). As a result, the performance of mitzvot assumes cosmic significance. The second motif, that of yihud (unification), is concerned with the relation of Malkhut, the lowest sefirah, with the upper nine sefirot. Malkhut is the link between the sefirotic and human worlds, and is the conduit through which the divine shefa (flow) reaches the lower, human, world. In mythic terms, it is the feminine aspect of the divine that unites with the male aspect, the upper nine sefirot. The unity of the male and female aspects of the divine is, however, threatened by the disruptive activities of the forces of evil, the Sitra Achra, which try to “capture” Malkhut and interrupt the flow of shefa to the lower world. Man is a participant in this cosmic struggle. By performing mitzvot properly, he adds strength to the forces of holiness trying to maintain the unity of the sefirotic world. When the sefirotic world is properly unified, the shefa comes down to the lower, human, world and makes life possible. The transgression of mitzvot has the opposite effect, strengthening the forces of evil, the Sitra Achra, and weakening the unity of the sefirotic world. The application of these concepts in more specific ways will be seen below. The motifs that form the basis of zorekh gavoha can already be found in the Sefer ha-Bahir. The underlying concept, that man can affect the divine, is mentioned in connection with the study of Torah: How does he [man] act piously [hesed] with respect to his God? Through the study of Torah, for everyone who learns Torah does hesed to his God, as it is written, “who rides the heavens with your help.” [Deutronomy 33:26]14 12

Bahir, paragraph 55.

13

Altmann, 208-210.

14

Bahir, paragraph 128. 101

A PPENDI X

and prayer: R.  Berachia expounds: What is the meaning of the verse “And you shall take an offering [terumah] for me” [Exodus 25:2]? God said to Israel: Raise me as an offering with your prayers.15

These two passages speak only in general terms and do not directly relate the “aid” that man gives the divine to the sefirotic world. The only passage which indicates human influence on a sefirah is a piece which breaks in the middle,16 but which later kabbalists17 joined to the next paragraph to create a unified statement: R. Rechumai said: Were it not for the righteous and pious of Israel who raise me over the whole world with their merits . . . and from them the heart18 is nourished and the heart nourishes them.19

This passage as later understood adumbrates the yihud aspect of zorekh gavoha, which places the greatest importance on the union of Malkhut with the upper sefirot, particularly Tiferet. When Malkhut is properly nourished from below it can unite with the upper sefirot and will in turn sustain the lower world. The outline of this concept can be found in this passage, but it is fully developed only in the Zohar. The second aspect of zorekh gavoha, the Adam Kadmon motif, is found with regard to the parts of a  ritual, the four species used ritually on the festival of Sukkot (cf. Leviticus 23:40).20 The four constituent elements, the lulav, etrog, hadasim, and aravot, symbolize the seven lower sefirot, but the ritual of using the four species does not yet affect the sefirotic world. This next step is taken by the Gerona school of kabbalists of thirteenthcentury Spain. In the Gerona school, “the primary function of ritual was to establish a  connection between man as a  microcosm and the great world or ‘great 15

Bahir, paragraph 66.

16

Ibid., note 3.

17

See A.H., II:6.

18

The term “heart” refers to the sefirah of Malkhut. See Bahir, paragraph 64, note 10.

19

Bahir, paragraphs 66-67. The ellipsis indicates a break between paragraphs.

20

Bahir, paragraph 117-120. 102

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man,’ that is, Adam kadmon.”21 This connection was made possible by the identification of the mitzvot with the sefirot. According to Azriel of Gerona, “The totality of mitzvot are the kavod (the sefirotic world).22 Ezra of Gerona delimits the identification of mitzvot and sefirot to the seven lower sefirot.23 The link between mitzvot and sefirot is affected by the performance of mitzvot: The performance of the mitzvah is the vital light (or hayyim) and the one who performs [the mitzvah] below makes possible and establishes the power [of the sefirah].24

The Gerona kabbalists do not systematically explain the sefirotic relation of each mitzvah, though these connections are occasionally found in their literature.25 Connecting the mitzvah to its sefirotic source is part of the process of reunification of the mystic’s soul with its divine source. For the Gerona kabbalists the unification of the soul with its divine source through devekut is the climax of the spiritual life.26 Ezra of Gerona describes the role of the mitzvah in devekut: When the soul leaves the body the light (of the mitzvah) acts like a magnet for the soul . . . that sefirah (which is related to the mitzvah) draws it up. “His horn will be exalted in honor” (Psalms 112:10). That is to say, the splendor of the soul will be raised up and will stand in a high an inner place in the kavod of God.27

The relation of the Gerona kabbalists to the transgression of mitzvot is not clear. The doctrine of the sitra achra, the evil side which is the mirror image of the sefirotic world that is strengthened by the transgression of mitzvot, appears first in the Zohar, a generation later, according to Tishby.28 The one 21

Scholem, “Tradition,” 127-8.

22

P.A., 38.

23

Tishby, III:1157.

24

Ibid.

25

Scholem, Gerona, 329-332.

26

Tishby, III:1157.

27

Tishby, III:1158.

28

Ibid. 103

A PPENDI X

passage he cites from Gerona literature which mentions transgression says, “And if a person transgresses mitzvot, he walks in the paths of darkness and gloom . . . in this world and in the next he will take that path.”29 The statement is ambiguous and can be understood in the normative rabbinic sense of reward and punishment. While there may be some kabbalistic concept underlying this idea, it cannot be elucidated from this passage alone. In Gerona the performance of mitzvot has a twofold purpose: to sustain the sefirotic world and to serve as a vehicle for the attainment of devekut of the soul with the sefirotic world. The first purpose, to sustain the upper world, is developed in later kabbalistic literature. The second, however, is not found in later literature. The Gerona kabbalists are unique in openly describing the spiritual life of the mystic and its relation to the mitzvot. This is not to say that later kabbalists were not concerned with the life of the mystic, but rather that the Gerona kabbalists make their concern manifest and discuss it openly while in later works, with very rare exceptions, the personal concerns of the author can only be guessed at. Why this is so can only be speculated on at the present, and is an important issue which needs further investigation. The primary concern of the Zohar, the classic work of Spanish Kabbalah, is the life of the sefirotic world. Man’s acts are important insofar as they affect the sefirotic realm, but the reciprocal part of the interaction between the upper and lower worlds, the effect of the awakening of the forces above on the world below, is only discussed in general terms. The flow of the divine shefa is necessary for the existence of the lower world and is brought down by an awakening from below. However, this is not related to the spiritual life of the mystic. One result of the emphasis on the upper world in the Zohar is the development of the idea that man’s worship and service of God is purely for the sake of the sefirotic world. The primary task of man in the performance of the mitzvot is the theurgic assignment of maintaining the regular and harmonious functions of the divine forces. In every context the Zohar repeats and reiterates that the awakening by a  person below through a  holy word or deed calls forth an awakening in the sefirotic world.30 29

Ibid.

30

Ibid. 104

“GOD’S NEED FOR T HE COMM A NDMEN T S ” I N MEDIE VA L K A BB A L A H

There are two aspects to the “regular and harmonious functioning of the divine forces.” The first, and the one that is “the central motif in the descriptions of the workings of the mitzvot in the upper worlds,”31 is yihud, the union of Malkhut, the last sefirah, with the rest of the sefirotic world. Malkhut is the link between the sefirotic and human worlds and acts as the channel through which the divine shefa reaches the human world. This sefirah is, in the mythic scheme of the Zohar, a  object of contention between the forces of holiness and the forces of evil. The cosmic struggle is directly affected by man’s actions through the performance or transgression of mitzvot. The performance of mitzvot strengthens the forces of holiness, making possible the unifications of Malkhut with the rest of the sefirotic world, which in turn allows the divine shefa to reach the lower world. One of the things for which the “faithful shepherd” (Moses) is praised in the Zohar is that “with every mitzvah he tried to unite the Blessed One [Tiferet] with the Shekhinah [Malkhut] in all assemblies, above and below.”32 The performance of some mitzvot can have a  purpose other than the strengthening and sustaining of the forces of holiness. A number of mitzvot, including sending the scapegoat to Azazel (cf. Leviticus 16:7-10);33 breaking the neck of the heifer known asthe eglah arufah (cf. Deuteronomy 21:6); and washing one’s hands before grace after meals, are acts intended solely for the sitra achra as a form of bribery. There are also mitzvot wherein the bulk of the act is intended for the side of holiness, but a portion is set aside for the sitra achra. The sacrifices are a case in which the Zohar takes the expression “to the devil his due” literally. Part of every sacrifice, with the exception of the ‘olah, which is dedicated solely to the side of holiness, is earmarked for the sitra achra.34 The reason for Job’s affliction, according to the Zohar,35 was that he angered the sitra achra by offering only ‘oloth, which are entirely for the side of holiness, thereby depriving the sitra achra of what it viewed as its rightful share of the sacrifices. The sitra achra is appeased so that it will not interfere with the ascent of the rest of the sacrifice to the side of holiness.

31

Ibid.

32

Zohar, II:119a.

33

Which is identified with the sitra achra in the Zohar.

34

Tishby, III:1175.

35

Zohar, II:181b-182a. 105

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This is not meant to strengthen the sitra achra, only to bribe it and in that way to neutralize its harmful influence. The sitra achra is strengthened not by the mitzvot intended to appease it, but by the transgression of mitzvot. Just as the performance of a  mitzvah is an  act of building, so their violation is an act of destruction in the realm of the divine. Through his transgressions a person blocks the sources and channels and disrupts the flow of shefa. 36

Strengthened by the transgression of mitzvot, the sitra achra tries to disrupt the unity of the sefirotic world. The sitra achra, according to the Zohar, is the mirror image of the sefirotic realm, containing ten “lower levels” which correspond to the ten sefirot. The difference between the two sides, that of holiness and that of evil, is that the sitra ahra is seen as a  unified entity while the side of holiness is composed of the upper nine sefirot which comprise one entity and Malkhut, the last sefirah, connected to the upper nine, which can nonetheless be separated or “captured” by the sitra achra. The “capture” of Malkhut means that the shefa, which is channeled through Malkhut, does not reach its intended beneficiary, the lower world, but is diverted to the realm of the sitra achra, enabling evil, rather than holiness, to dominate the lower world.37 The second aspect of the “regular and harmonious functioning of the divine forces” found in the Zohar is the Adam kadmon, primordial man, macrocosm/microcosm motif, which sees man, the microcosm, as a reflection of the sefirotic world, the macrocosm. All the mitzvot of the Torah are connected to the Holy Supernal King, some to the head of the King, some to the body, some to the hands of the King and some to his feet. 38

36

Tishby, III:1175.

37

This is the “gnostic” conceptualization of sitra achra that is related to the yihud aspect of zorech gavoha. It is one of several ways in which the Zohar understands sitra achra and deals with the problem of evil. For a fuller discussion of the various ways in which sitra achra is understood in the Zohar, see Tishby, II:502-526.

38

Zohar, II:85b. 106

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This motif is used primarily in the mystical interpretation of aspects of a specific mitzvah. One kabbalistic explanation of the four species used ritually during the festival of Sukkot is an example of this concept. When all four species, with the proper number of each species, are taken together, the whole sefirotic world is symbolically united. The etrog, citron, represents Malkhut, the tenth sefirah. The lulav, palm frond, is Yesod, the ninth sefirah. The aravot, willow, of which two branches are used, represent the seventh and eighth sefirot, Nezah and Hod. And finally, the hadasim, myrtle, of which three branches are used, represent the fourth, fifth, and sixth sefirot, Hesed, Din, and Tiferet. The three uppermost sefirot, Keter, Hokhmah, and Binah, are above human influence and therefore are not included.39 Like yihud, the Adam kadmon motif has a negative component. Whoever omits even one mitzvah of the Torah, it is as if he diminished the image of the faith (the sefirotic world). For all (mitzvot) are sections and limbs of the (supernal) Adam and therefore all are included in the secret of the unity [of the sefirotic world].40

In the Adam kadmon motif, the sefirot are links in the chain which connects the lower world with the source of sustenance (shefa). By transgressing commandments one weakens the chain; the specific place of weakening is determined by which mitzvah is being transgressed and which sefirah it is related to. It is possible to see in the Adam kadmon motif an emanationist, neoplatonic framework, while the yihud motif is closer to the gnostic mythic scheme. The Sefer Ta’amei Hamitzvot by Menahem Recanati is an  important compendium on the reasons for the commandments. It is an  eclectic work drawing on the Zohar and other sources, with some original material included. Recanati explains his theoretical formulation of ta’amei hamitzvot in the introduction. His basic premise is that “man is made in the image of the supernal. The ten sefirot are described in him.”41 The identification of man with the supernal world explains man’s effect on the sefirot through the performance of mitzvot. The mitzvot are related to specific sefirot, and the performance of a given mitzvah affects a particular sefirah. 39

Ibid., I: 220a-221a.

40

Ibid., II: 162b.

41

Recanati, Mitzvot, 2b. 107

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The kabbalistic sages said that all the mitzvot of the Torah are divided into right and left, front and rear, above and below, profound good and profound evil, and white and red (Hesed and Din). I have explained this in the two mitzvot mentioned, the libations of wine and water on the altar. Whoever performs a mitzvah influences [the flow of] energy to that mitzvah above [the appropriate sefirah] from the Negation of Thought,42 and it sustains a part, so to speak, of God literally.43

Recanati emphasizes that although man initiates the influx of divine energy into the sefirotic world, the source of the energy is the unknowable essence of God, the realm that cannot be comprehended by thought. What appears to be new in Recanati are hints of popularization of the mystical understanding of the mitzvot. He tells the reader that it is not necessary to know the full kabbalistic explanation of a mitzvah in order to affect the flow of shefa. At the same time, however, he cautions his reader that in understanding the Torah mystically one should not lose sight of the plain meaning of the text. He says, Understand this that I will tell you. That is, in every place in the Torah you are able to raise the story or mitzvah to a higher level. Raise it and it will be good for you, even thought you did not receive the reason for it from a kabbalist or did not even see [a reason] in one of the books of the wise, provided you do not say that the matter is not like the simple meaning, but hints at higher matters.44

It is possible to conjecture, from this passage, that one reason Recanati wrote the Sefer Ta’amei Hamitzvot was to provide a convenient compendium of the kabbalistic ta’amei hamitzvot for the reader not well versed in kabbalistic literature. Recanati’s has remained a basic compendium on the kabbalistic ta’amei hamitzvot. Meir ibn Gabbai’s Avodat Hakodesh is the last important formulation of kabbalistic thought prior to the major innovations of the Safed kabbalists, in the sixteenth century. The work was written as a systematic presentation of kabbalistic theology for the nonkabbalist. More specifically, the Avodat

42

In Hebrew, Afisat haMahshavah, a kabbalistic designation for Keter, the first sefirah.

43

Recanati, Mitzvot, 3b.

44

Ibid. 108

“GOD’S NEED FOR T HE COMM A NDMEN T S ” I N MEDIE VA L K A BB A L A H

Hakodesh is intended for the reader who has been trained in medieval Jewish philosophy. The two themes which run through all of ibn Gabbai’s discussions, an  antiphilosophic polemic coupled which an  apologetic of Kabbalah, are integral parts of his attempt to reach the philosophically oriented, but uncommitted, reader. Speaking to a  reader unfamiliar with kabbalistic thought, ibn Gabbai begins with principles and proceeds systematically. He begins by stating the basic principle that the lower world can affect the upper through prayer and worship (avodah). Ibn Gabbai cites both Adam kadmon and yihud motifs as examples of zorekh gavoha: The performance of a mitzvah below has an effect above. The supernal paradigm is awakened to repair, through man’s deeds, the divine glory. 45 The prophets and the righteous with their worship and prayer strengthen [the upper world] in the secret of the last Heh [Malkhut], for they convey to her the light and the might from the pinnacle of faith [Keter] and unite her with her beloved [Tiferet].46

Writing for a  philosophically oriented reader, ibn Gabbai devotes a  chapter to a  refutation of the philosophical critique of the concept of zorekh gavoha. The basic philosophic position would argue that man’s actions can in no way affect the divine. Ibn Gabbai attempts to show that the philosophers are wrong in this assertion, and tries to show where they made their mistake. Ibn Gabbai first turns to the rabbinic texts that are cited by the philosophers in support of their position. Ibn Gabbai addresses himself directly to the most commonly cited rabbinic proof text: The mitzvot were given only for the purpose of refining [testing] the people through them. For of what concern is it to the Blessed One whether one slaughters at the neck or the nape?47

Ibn Gabbai resolves the apparent difficulty by applying the kabbalistic distinction between Ein Sof, the unknowable essence of the divine, and the 45

A.H.: II.1.

46

Ibid.

47

Genesis Rabbah 44:1. 109

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sefirot, the emanations of the divine will. This rabbinic passage is correct in that it refers to the effect of man’s actions on Ein Sof. However, the sefirot are directly affected by human actions. To support his position, ibn Gabbai quotes another rabbinic passage48 that implies that the divine is indeed affected by man’s deeds or misdeeds. This second passage, ibn Gabbai argues, refers to the sefirot, while the first refers only to Ein Sof, which is above all interaction and influence.49 The second issue that ibn Gabbai discusses is the place of negative commandments in the kabbalistic system. He explains that the negative commandments relate to the negative side of divinity, the sitra achra. He says: The commandments which we were warned not to contaminate ourselves with, i.e. not to transgress, also fulfill a  divine need. For when one contaminates himself below [by transgressing a negative commandment], his impurity reaches up to the temple (Malkhut) . . . .The one who transgresses a commandment awakens the external things (sitra achra).50 We have been commanded not to arouse the side that is the dross that comes out of the silver, but rather, to remove it so that it does not enter the inner sanctum. The silver should be clean and pure, without any dross, according to the secret of “Take away the dross from the silver, etc.” [Proverbs 25:4] and “Take away the wicked from before the king” [Proverbs 25.5]. This is the intention of the Torah in warning us not to transgress the negative commandments.51

Ibn Gabbai does not develop his understanding of the concept of sitra achra, nor does he venture any explanations beyond the above-cited passages. Having explained the “why” of zorekh gavoha, ibn Gabbai proceeds to discuss the “how” of worship that is for zorekh gavoha. Up to this point ibn Gabbai has stayed within the mainstream of kabbalistic thought. In this discussion, however, particularly in his emphasis on kavvanah, proper intent, he diverges from the mainstream.

48

Lamentations Rabbah 1:33.

49

Avodat Hakodesh, II:3.

50

Ibid.

51

Ibid. 110

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Through his interpretation of kavvanah, ibn Gabbai has added a  new dimension to the concept of zorekh gavoha. In earlier kabbalistic literature, zorekh gavoha meant that there was an  aspect of man’s worship that was directed to the needs of the sefirotic world. Man could affect the unity of the upper world, which would in turn have an effect on the lower world. In Gerona the mystical life of the individual was involved. In the Zohar and in post-Zoharic literature the reciprocal relationship was discussed in broader terms, the relationship of upper and lower worlds. The needs of the individual were subsumed in the cosmic needs of both divine and mundane worlds. In all of this literature, as far as is possible to determine, the reciprocal nature of zorekh gavoha is readily acknowledged, to the extent that Scholem and Tishby discern a  theurgic or magical element in this phenomenon.52 Ibn Gabbai, however, draws back from this relationship and tries to emphasize only one side of this reciprocal relationship, the aspect that teaches that man’s purpose in worship is to sustain the sefirotic world. The second aspect of zorekh gavoha, the benefits which accrue to this world when the upper world is properly awakened, are downplayed by ibn Gabbai. He does not deny that this aspect of zorekh gavoha is operative, but he wants to divorce it from worship, which should be for the benefit of the sefirotic world exclusively. He achieves this aim by emphasizing “worship with the proper kavvanah.”53 For ibn Gabbai, “worship with the proper kavvanah” means worship which has as its only purpose the unification of the sefirotic world. All requests and needs are from the profane (hol) side, as is known to the wise of heart. The one who concentrates on them and mentions them in his prayer, which is the time of unifying (the sefirotic world), is like one who brings profane things (hulin) into the Temple court and contaminates the holy sanctuary. 54

While the Temple existed, the task of awakening and sustaining the upper worlds was accomplished by the daily offerings there. After the destruction of the Temple, “Israel was left with the Great Name and the 52

Scholem, “Tradition,” 124.

53

The concept that divine worship needs kavvanah is of rabbinic origin. For a discussion of kavvanah in rabbinic literature, see Heschel, I:168-9. For kavvanah in early Kabbalah see Scholem, “Kawwana.”

54

A.H., II: 6. 111

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righteous, pious contemplatives who unite the Great Name [the sefirotic world].”55 The concept of zorekh gavoha is also applicable to the study of Torah, but for ibn Gabbai prayer is the highest form of worship. After quoting the story of how God asks Ishmael the high priest, in the holy of holies, to bless him (B. Berakhot 7a), ibn Gabbai says that this story “teaches that prayer in the manner and with the kavvanah which we have described is superior to all other forms of worship (avodah).”56 Ibn Gabbai cannot say that forms of worship (avodah) other than contemplative prayer are not for zorekh gavoha, though from his discussion of avodah one might conclude that contemplative prayer is certainly the most desirable form of avodah for zorekh gavoha. The kabbalistic tradition that all acts of worship and mitzvot affect the upper world is too strongly implanted for ibn Gabbai to negate. Instead, he chooses to ignore the other dimensions of zorekh gavoha and emphasize the primacy of contemplative prayer. His position must be contrasted with that of Recanati, who attempted to broaden the concept of zorekh gavoha to include mitzvot and forms of worship, regardless of whether the person is cognizant of the fact that he is doing the act for zorekh gavoha. The difference in approach is at least partially dictated by the audience each is addressing. Recanati is not concerned with the possibility that his reader might construe what he is saying as a form of theurgy. But ibn Gabbai, who is writing for philosophically sophisticated readers who are very concerned with the problems of anthropomorphism and theurgy, must present Kabbalah in a manner acceptable to such a reader. Ibn Gabbai is the first to introduce a  note of self-consciousness with regard to this issue. The misinterpretation of mitzvot in terms of theurgy is already hinted at in R. Yohanan ben Zakkai’s response to his disciples when they questioned him about the red heifer. As long as kabbalistic teachings were limited to a  small mystical elite, theurgy was not an  issue. It only became a problem with the dissemination and popularization of kabbalistic ideas that were becoming widespread in ibn Gabbai’s day. In addition, ibn Gabbai, in trying to win over readers who were steeped in the philosophical tradition, presented his ideas in a  philosophically

55

Ibid. Ibn Gabbai is quoting earlier Kabbalists, whom he does not identify.

56

Ibid. II. 7. 112

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congenial manner. In this context, both his apologetic with regard to theurgy and the restriction of zorekh gavoha to contemplative prayer becomes clearer. It would appear that he is trying to relate his conception of zorekh gavoha to philosophic contemplation. The problem of theurgy is clarified when one does not accept the basic mythic postulates of Kabbalah, and one must be aware of the possibility that this concept will be seen as a form of magic, as indeed it is seen by modern scholars. The basic innovation which distinguishes the kabbalistic treatment of mitzvot from that of the earlier rabbinic and contemporaneous philosophic attitudes was the former’s assignment of cosmic significance to the mitzvot because God commanded them. They had an effect on the individual in the form of reward and punishment in the afterlife. The medieval philosophers saw in the mitzvot a means of bringing man closer to a purer understanding of the divine than might otherwise be possible. However, both the rabbis and philosophers accept the ultimate transcendence of the divine. The kabbalists, through their remythicization of Judaism, were able to bridge the gap created by the idea of a transcendent God. The mitzvot play a central role in bridging this gap through the concept of zorekh gavoha, the doctrine that teaches that man through his actions can affect the sefirotic world that in turn is the source of life for the human world. This concept is a  fundamental aspect of the mythic cosmos of the kabbalists, and its basic elements are to be found in the earliest medieval kabbalistic text, the Sefer ha-Bahir. The Gerona school of kabbalists added a  personal element to the cosmic aspects of zorekh gavoha. In addition to affecting the sefirotic world, the performance of mitzvot played an important role in the mystical life of the individual. A  mitzvah would sustain the sefirah to which it was related, but in addition it was a  means by which the mystic’s soul could adhere (davek) to that sefirah. The personal element, which is so important in Gerona, is missing in the Zohar and later kabbalistic literature, where zorekh gavoha is depersonalized. These works speak only in categories: the righteous ones who do the mitzvot and the evil ones who transgress commandments. The Zohar’s focus has shifted to the sefirotic world and the effect of man’s actions on the divine. The primary concern of the Zohar is the mythic drama that takes place on the divine plane, the world of the sefirot. The human actors play only a supporting role. The “canonization” of the Zohar also makes its understanding and interpretation of zorekh gavoha authoritative. The concept is understood by 113

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later authors purely in its cosmic sense, and the personal aspects found in Gerona are not revived until the eighteenth century in early Hasidism.57 Meir ibn Gabbai’s understanding of worship as being solely for the needs of the sefirotic world and any interjection of human concerns as a form of contamination is taking the Zohar’s concept to its logical conclusion. One important aspect of zorekh gavoha not discussed in the Zohar, about which later authors differed, is the issue of whose mitzvot contribute to zorekh gavoha. Is this concept applicable only to the deeds of a small elite whose worship has the proper kavvanah and is directed solely to the sefirotic world for the purpose of zorekh gavoha, or can anyone who performs a  mitzvah properly contribute to zorekh gavoha even though he does not fully understand the kabbalistic basis of his act? In medieval Kabbalah, prior to Cordovero and Luria, in the sixteenth century, the issue remained unresolved. There are a number of questions and issues that have been mentioned in the course of this appendix which have not been extensively analyzed or discussed. One notable example of this phenomenon are the two motifs that are used in discussing zorekh gavoha, the Adam kadmon and yihud. The origins and use of these motifs are an important element in understanding zorekh gavoha. These and a number of other examples, which are scattered throughout this article, have not yet been sufficiently analyzed, because the data necessary for such an analysis has yet to be collected.

57

Scholem, “Devekut.” 114

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Terms (Plurals in parentheses.) Aggadah — The non-halakhic parts of rabbinic literature. — 19, 59, 89, 99 Aliyah — Being called to the reading of the Torah. — 46-47, 69 Amidah — Central prayer of the liturgy. The core prayer of every worship service. — 2, 11n20, 48, 61 Ashkenazi — Person whose ancestry is from Central or Eastern Europe. — xvii, 3, 3n11, 4, 4n19, 5, 8, 10, 30, 45, 69-71, 87 Attika Kadisha — The Ancient Holy One. Another term for Keter, the highest Sefirah.— 41 Atarah — A strip of cloth, often decorated, which indicated which part of the talit is the top. — 8 Din — Stern judgment. One of the names for the fifth sefirah, also known as Gevurah. — xv-xvi, 65, 107-108 Edot ha-Mizrach — A term referring to the Jewish Communities of the Near East. Also used as a generic term for Jews from Muslim lands. — 4n19, 10-11, 38, 45, 87 Etrog — Citron. Used in rituals on Sukkot together with the lulav. — 58-62, 102, 107 Gehinnom (Gehenna) — Hell or the underworld. The abode of sinners. — 51-52 Gematria — Numerology. A method of tallying the numerical value of the Hebrew letters of words, and making associations based on the numbers derived. — 7n1, 61n15 Gevurah — 65 Lit. power. The fifth sefirah, also known as Din, stern judgment. The lefthand of God. — xv, 23, 53, 61-62, Halakhah (Halakhot) — Jewish religious legal traditions. — 11, 14 Hallah — A portion of dough taken from a batch of bread dough. In temple times it was given to the priest. Today it is burnt. — 17 115

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Hallel — Psalms 113-118. Psalms of praise, part of the prayer book. — 61 Hanhagot — Customs. Religious practices that are not legally required. — xx-xxi, 27, 93-94, 96 Hasidei Ashkenaz — A medieval German pietist movement. — 67-68 Hasidim — Pietists. Also, followers of Hasidism. — 8, 10, 21, 28-32, 48, 67 Hasidism — An East European pietist movement founded by Israel Baal Shem Tov. — 4-5, 11, 26, 30-32, 114 Havdalah — Ceremony marking the conclusion of the Sabbath or Festivals.— 52-57 Heder — Primary religious school. — 73 Hesed — Lit. love or Grace. The fourth sefirah; the right hand or love of God. — xv-xvi, 8, 23n26, 40, 53, 60-63, 65, 73, 75, 101, 107-108 Hod — Lit. Majesty. The eighth sefirah. — xv, 61, 65, 107 Hol ha-Moed — The intermediate days of Festivals. — xvii, xviiin11, 10 Kapote — Caftan. Coat worn by Hasidim. — 29 Kiddush — Blessing over wine on Sabbaths or Festivals. — 39-41, 46-47 Kloiz — A term for a closed community of elite scholars. — 32, 38 Kohen — A priest, a descendant of Aaron. — 21-24, 46 Levite — A member of the tribe of Levi. — 22, 46 Lulav — Palm frond. Used with etrog on Sukkot. — 17, 58-62, 102, 107 Ma’ariv — Evening prayers. — 27, 33, 38 Mahzor — Prayer book for specific holidays. — 5, 24 Malkhut — The tenth sefirah. Represents the feminine element within the Godhead. Another term for Shekhinah. — xv-xvi, 2n9, 11n21, 14n25, 41, 61, 65, 93, 101102, 105-107, 109-110 Mezuzah — Parchment with biblical passage attached to the right doorpost. — 3, 9, 14 Mikvah — Ritual bath for immersion. — 29, 31 Minyan — A quorum of ten, required for many religious activities. — 5, 47n97 Na’anuim — Waves. The movements of the lulav and etrog during certain prayers. — 60-61 Nezah — Lit. Endurance. The seventh sefirah. — xv, 61, 65, 107 Niddah — Menstruation. Also a woman who is menstruating. — 17 Nusach — Order of prayers. Different communities have differing orders of prayer. — 4 Piyyut (Piyyutim) — Liturgical poems. — 5, 36 116

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Rebbe — Hasidic Master. — 29, 44 Rosh Hodesh — First day of the month. Also known as New Moon. — 13, 73, 80, 95-96 Sefirot (Sefirah, singular) — The ten emanations of Ein Sof, the Infinite, through which the world is created and sustained. — 14, 65, 75, 103-104, 108 Segol — A vowel in Hebrew. Represented by a three dots in the shape of a triangle pointing downward. — 43 Sephardi — From Spain. Also used more generically for those who are not of Ashkenazi origin. — 3n11, 4, 6, 32, 45, 71, 87 Shekhinah — See Malkhut. Shulkhan Arukh— Code of Jewish Law written by Joseph Karo. — 10, 13, 18, 24, 59, 86-87 Sitra Achra — The Other Side. The forces of evil in the kabbalistic world. — xvi-xvii, 12, 18, 34-35, 51, 95, 101, 103, 105-106, 110 Sukkah — Booth in which one dwells on Sukkot. — xvii, 48n105, 58-60, 62-64 Tahanun — Penitential prayers, part of the daily liturgy. — 16, 19n19, 73, 77n19 Talit — Prayer shawl with zizit at the four corners. — 2, 7-9, 11, 13, 23, 38, 96 Talit Katan — Garment with zizit worn under the outer garments during the day by pious Jewish males. — 7 Targum — Aramaic translation of the Torah and other parts of the Bible. — 28-29, 65 Tefillin (Tefillah, sing.) — Phylacteries, worn during the weekday services; some mystics wear them all day. — 8-10, 12-14, 96 Tehinnah (Tehinnot) — Prayer of personal petition usually inserted at times of special grace. — 15-17, 24, 33 Tiferet — Lit. Glory. The sixth sefirah; center of the lower sefirotic world; the male principle of God that unites with Malkhut. — xv-xvi, 2n9, 11n20, 13n29, 14, 61, 65, 81, 93, 102, 105, 107, 109 Ushpizin — Guests. Sefirotic visitors who visit the sukkah, a different one each night of the festival. — xvii, 62-64 Yesod — Lit. Foundation. The ninth sefirah; often symbolized by the male member and also called the sign of the covenant. — xv-xvi, 13n19, 47, 61, 65, 74, 107 YHVH — The Tetragrammaton, the four letter name of God. — 7, 13, 30, 32, 40, 60 Yihudim — Lit. Unifications. A yihud is a concept found in the Zohar. A kabbalist prostrates himself on the grave of an ancient holy person and through a series of mystical meditations connects his soul with that of the saint in order to learn mystical secrets — xix, 78 117

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Zaddiq — Person of outstanding faith and piety. In Hasidism, a hasidic master. — 5, 30, 38, 47, 50-51, 57, 61, 75, 77 Zizit — Ritual fringes attached to the tallit. —7, 9, 14 Zorech Gavoha — Divine need. The kabbalistic reason for performing the commandments. — ix, 26, 106n27

People Abraham ben David (Rabad) (1125-1198) — One of the founders of medieval Kabbalah and important critic of Maimonides. — xiv Bahya ben Asher (late thirteenth century) — Author of important commentary on the Torah with kabbalistic influence. — 64, 68 Hayyim Vital (1542-1620) — The most important disciple of Isaac Luria and author of many important kabbalistic works. — xx-xxi, 2-5, 7, 13, 28, 30-31, 41, 43, 45, 68, 70-72, 75-76, 80, 94, 96 Johanan Ben Zakkai — Rabbinic leader after the destruction of the Second Temple, one of the most important Tannaitic figures. — x Joseph Karo (1488-1585) — Author of the Shulkhan Arukh, the most important code of Jewish law. — xviii-xix, 10, 59, 85 Joseph of Shushan — Fourteenth-century Kabbalist. — xvii Joseph Taitazak — Sixteenth-century kabbalist, teacher of Joseph Karo and Shlomo Alkabetz. — xviii Isaiah Horowitz (1565-1630) — Author of Shnei Luhot ha-Berit, important popularization of Kabbalistic ideas and practices. — 17, 20, 27, 66, 71, 86 Isaac Luria (1534-1572) — Most important kabbalist in the Safed Renaissance. — xix-xx, 2, 5-8, 16, 28-30, 34-36, 38, 41, 43, 45-48, 53-54, 56, 69-71, 80, 94 Israel Najara (1555-1625) — Safed Poet and Kabbalist. — 87 Levi Yizhak of Berdichev (1740-1810) — Important Hasidic master. — 56 Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) — The most important medieval philosopher and halakhic authority. — xiv, 98n5 Meir ibn Gabbai (sixteenth century) — Kabbalist and author. — xvi, 29, 49, 53-54, 56, 108, 114 Menahem Azariah of Fano (1548-1620) — Italian Kabbalist. — 64 Menahem Recanati (14th century) — Important Italian kabbalist. — xvii, 60, 68, 98, 107-108, 112 Moshe ben Machir (16th century) — Safed Kabbalist. — 16, 26, 34, 66, 93 Moses Cordovero (1522-157) — Most important Safed kabbalist before Isaac Luria. — xvn6, xix-xx, 6, 26, 34, 68, 114 Moses de Leon (13th century) — Kabbalist and primary author of the Zohar. — xv, xvii 118

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Rashi (1040-1105) — Author of the most important commentary on the Torah and Talmud. — 10-11, 56, 57n145, 69 Ramban (Nahmanides) (1194-1270) — Spanish Biblical commentator and halakhic authority. — 68 Saadia Gaon (882-942) — Babylonian Gaon and early Jewish philosopher. — xiv Seer of Lublin (1745-1815) — Important hasidic master. — 47 Simeon bar Yohai (second century) — Talmudic figure and purported author of the Zohar. — xiv, xix-xx, 42, 47, 49n113, 77-80 Shlomo Alkabetz (1505-1584) — Safed kabbalist and author of Lekha Dodi. — xviiixix, 37, 85

119

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Rabbinic sources are quoted from the standard editions, where not cited from a specific edition.

Primary Sources Abudraham = Sefer Abudraham ha-Shalem. Jerusalem, 1963. A.H. = Meir ibn Gabbai. Avodat Hakodesh. Jerusalem: Lewin-Epstein, 1973. Bahir = Sefer ha-Bahir. Edited and translated into German by G.  Scholem. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesselschaft, 1970. Braude & Kapstein = Pesikta de Rab Kahana. Translated by W. G. Braude and I. J. Kapstein. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1975. Guide = Moses Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, edited by S.  Pines. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963. H.A. = Abraham Azulai. Hesed le-Avraham. Lvov, 1863; rep. Jerusalem, 1968. Hezyonot = Vital, H.  Sefer Hezyonot, in Jewish Mystical Autobiographies (Classics of Western Spirituality), edited and translated by Morris M. Faierstein. New York: Paulist Press, 1999. H.Y. = Sefer Hemdat Yamim, 4 volumes. Jerusalem: Yerid Ha-Sefarim, 2003-2004. Najara = I. Najara. Zemirot Yisrael. Tel Aviv: Mahberot le-Sifrut, 1946. N.M. = Jacob Zemach. Nagid U-Mezave. Jerusalem, 1965. Or Ne’erav = Moses Cordovero. Or Ne’erav, edited by I. Robinson. New York: Yeshiva University Press, 1994. P.A. = Azriel of Gerona, Perush Aggadot, edited by I.  Tishby. Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook, 1945. Palm Tree = Moses Cordovero. The Palm Tree of Deborah. Translated by Louis Jacobs. London: Vallentine Mitchell, 1960. P.E.H. = Meir Poppers. Pri Etz Hayyim. Jerusalem, 1980. Recanati = Menahem Recanati, Recanati al ha-Torah. Tel Aviv, 2003. Recanati, Mitzvot = Menahem Recanati. Sefer Taamei Hamitzvot. Basel, 1581. R.H. = Elijah de Vidas. Reshit Hokhmah Ha-Shalem, 3 volumes. Edited by H.Y. Walden. Jerusalem, 1984. 120

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Hallamish, Kabbalah = Hallamish, M.  Ha-Kabbalah: Be-Tefillah, Be-Halakhah, UbeMinhag. Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University Press, 2002. Hallamish, Shabbat = Hallamish, M.  Hanhagot Kabbaliot Be-Shabbat. Jerusalem: Orhot, 2006. Hallamish, “Tefillah of the Hand” = Hallamish, M. “Donning the Tefillah of the Hand Sitting: Toward the Clarification of the Halakhic Status of the Zohar,” in his Kabbalah in Liturgy, Halakhah and Customs, 146-160. Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University Press, 2000. [Hebrew] Hallamish, “Uniting” = Hallamish, M. “Uniting the Four Species,” in his Kabbalah in Liturgy, Halakhah and Customs, 613-618. Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University Press, 2000. [Hebrew] Heinemann = Heinemann, I.  Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot be-Sifrut Yisrael, 2 volumes. Jerusalem: Jewish Agency, 1966. Heschel = A.J. Heschel, Torah min HaShamayim BeAspeklaria shel HaDorot. London: Soncino, 1962-65. Horowitz = Horowitz, E. “Coffee, Coffeehouses, and the Nocturnal Rituals of Early Modern Jewry.” AJS Review 14, no. 1 (1989): 17-46. Hubka = Hubka, T.C. “The Zohar and the Polish Synagogue: The Practical Influence of a Sacred Text.” Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy 9 (2000): 173-250. Huss, “Meron” = Huss, B. “Holy Place, Holy Time, Holy Book: The Influence of the Zohar on Pilgrimage Rituals to Meron and the Lag Be-Omer Festival.” Kabbalah, Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts, 7 (2002): 237-256. [Hebrew] Huss, Zohar = Huss, B. Like the Radiance of the Sky: Chapters in the Reception History of the Zohar and the Construction of its Symbolic Value. Jerusalem: Ben Zvi Institute, 2008. Idel = Idel, M.  Kabbalah: New Perspectives. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. Jacobs, Hasidic Prayer = Jacobs, L. Hasidic Prayer. New York: Schocken, 1973. Jacobs, Testimonies = Jacobs, L. Jewish Mystical Testimonies. New York: Schocken Books, 1977. Kadosh = Kadosh, M. “The Custom of the Congregation to Stand, Sit, or Bow during the Birkat Kohanim,” in Sperber, Minhagei, 7: 108-133. [Hebrew] Kassowski = C. Y. Kassowski. Ozar Lashon Hatalmud. Jerusalem, 1974. Katz, “Hol ha-Moed” = Katz J. “Tefillin on Hol ha-Moed: Differing Opinions and Communal Controversies under the Influence of Kabbalah,” in his Halakhah ve-Kabbalah, 102-124. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1984. [Hebrew]. Katz, “Post Zoharic Relations” = Katz, J. “Post Zoharic Relations between Halakhah and Kabbalah” in his Divine Law in Human Hands: Case Studies in Halakhic Flexibility, 31-55. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1998. Kay = Kay, D.  Seder Tkhines: The Forgotten Book of Common Prayer for Women. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2004. 123

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Kimmelman = Kimmelman, R. Lekha Dodi ve-Kabbalat Shabbat. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 2003. Kliers = Kliers, T., ed. The Merit of Our Mothers. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1992. Lauterbach = Lauterbach, J.Z. “The Origin and Development of Two Sabbath Ceremonies,” in his Studies in Jewish Law, Custom and Folklore, 75-132. Ktav: New York, 1970. Levin = Heinemann, Y., translated by L. Levin. The Reasons for the Commandments in Jewish Thought. Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2008. Levine = Levine, Y. “‘Eshet Hayil’ in Jewish Worship.” Bet Mikra 31 (1986): 339-347. [Hebrew] Levine, “Neviot” = Levine, Y. “Sheva Neviot ve-Sheva Sefirot: Iyyunim be-Parshanut Kabbalit.” DAAT 44 (Winter 2000): 123-130. Lewinski = Y. Lewinski, Sefer ha-Moadim, volume 3: Shavuot. Dvir: Tel Aviv, 1973. Liebes, “Sermon” = Liebes, Y. “Two Young Roes of a  Doe: The Secret Sermon of Isaac Luria before his Death.” Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 10 (1992): 113-169. [Hebrew] Liebes, Zohar = Liebes, Y. Studies in the Zohar. Albany: SUNY Press, 1993. Mandelkern = Mandelkern, S.  Concordantsia le-TaNaKh. Jerusalem/Tel Aviv: Schocken, 1969. Matt = Matt, D. C., ed. and trans. The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, 6 volumes. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004 — 2011. Matt, “Mitzwot” = Matt, D. C. “The Mystic and the Mizwot.” In Jewish Spirituality, edited by Arthur Green, I:367-404. New York: Crossroads, 1986. Meier = Meier, M.  Sefer Ta’amei ha-Mitzwot, Part One. Dissertation, Brandeis University, 1974. Schatz-Uffenheimer = Schatz-Uffenheimer, R. “The Ba’al Shem Tov’s Commentary to Psalm 107: Myth and Ritual of the Descent to She’ol,” in his Hasidism as Mysticism: Quietistic Elements in Eighteenth Century Hasidic Thought, 342-382. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. Schechter, Safed = Schechter, S. “Safed in the Sixteenth Century.” Studies in Judaism, Second Series, 202-306. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1908. Scholem = Scholem, G.  Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. New York: Schocken, 1961. Scholem, “Devekut” = Scholem, G. “Devekut or Communion with God,” in his The Messianic Idea in Judaism, 203-226. New York: Schocken, 1971. Scholem, Gerona = Scholem, G. Hakabbalah BeGerona. Jerusalem: Akademon, 1969. Scholem, “Kawwana” = Scholem, G. “Der Begriff der Kawwana in der alten Kabbala.” MGWJ 78 (1934): 492-518. Scholem, “Magid” = Scholem, G. “The Magid of Joseph Taitazak and the Revelations Attributed to Him.” Sefunot 11 (1971-1977): 69-112. [Hebrew] 124

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Scholem, “Myth” = Scholem, G. “Kabbalah and Myth,” in his On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism, 87-117. New York: Schocken Books, 1965. Scholem, Sabbatai = Scholem, G.  Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973. Scholem, “Tradition” = Scholem, G. “Tradition and New Creation in the Ritual of the Kabbalists,” in his On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, 118-157. Schocken: New York 1965. Sperber, Minhagei = Sperber, D.  Minhagei Yisrael, 8 volumes. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1990-2007. Sperber, Life Cycle = Sperber, D. The Jewish Life Cycle: Custom, Lore and Iconography. Ramat Gan/ Oxford: Bar Ilan University Press/ Oxford University Press, 2008. Ta Shma = Ta Shma, I. Ha-Niglah she-ba-Nistar. Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 2001. Tishby = Tishby, I. The Wisdom of the Zohar, 3 volumes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Tishby, Netivei = Tishby, I. Netivei Emunah ve-Minut. Ramat Gan: Masadah, 1964. Tyrnau = Minhagim of R. Isaac Tyrnau, Jerusalem: Machon Yerushalayim, 1979. Weissler = Weissler, C.  Voices of the Matriarchs: Listening to the Prayers of Early Modern Jewish Women. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998. Weinstock = Weinstock, I. “Looking at Shadows on the Night of Hoshanah Rabba” [Hebrew]. Idem. Be-Ma’agalei ha-Niglah veha-Nistar, 249-269. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook. Werblowsky = Werblowsky, R.J.Z.  Joseph Karo: Lawyer and Mystic. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1977. Wertheim = Wertheim, A.  Halakhot ve-Halikhot Be-Hasidut. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1960. Wilhelm = Wilhelm, Y.D. “Sidrei Tikkunim” Alei Ayin: Salman Schocken Jubilee Volume, 125-146. Jerusalem, 1948-1952. De Leon = Moses De Leon, The Book of the Pomegranate (Brown Judaic Studies 144). Atlanta: Brown Judaic Studies, 1988. Yaari, “Meron” = Yaari, A. “History of the Pilgrimage to Meron.” Tarbiz 31 (1962): 72-101. [Hebrew] Yaari, Shlukhei = Yaari, A.  Shlukhei Eretz Yisrael. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1977. Yaari, Simhat Torah = Yaari, A. Toldot Hag Simhat Torah. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1964. Yaari, Ta’alumat = Yaari, A. Ta’alumat Sefer: Sefer Hemdat Yamim mi Hibro. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1954.

125

INDEX OF CITAT IONS

T OR A H

13:30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 14:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99n7 21:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Genesis 2:1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 85, 90 8:22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 9:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 20:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 31:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Deuteronomy 5:1-6:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 5:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62n16 17:19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 21:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 28:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 29:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 30:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 32:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 33:26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Exodus 15:20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 18:20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 19:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85, 88 20:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62n16 24:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 25:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 29:46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100n11 31:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 33:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

NEVI’IM I Kings 8:28-30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Leviticus 9:22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 15:28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 16:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 16:7-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 19:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 23:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25, 76 23:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 23:40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 23:42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Isaiah 9:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 16:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 28:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 43:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 58:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 59:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 62:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 65:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Jeremiah 2:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 25:30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Numbers 8:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 7:12-83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27n55 126

I N DE X OF C I TAT IONS

Ezekiel 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 48:30-34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4n17

Proverbs 10:25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 23:23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 25:4-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 31:10-31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 31:31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Hosea 2:21-22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 87 Habakkuk 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Song of Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 1:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 3:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 3:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84, 87 5:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 6:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Zechariah 4:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Malachi 2:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Ecclesiastes 2:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 12:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

K E T U BI M Psalms 15:1-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39, 47 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 88 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-37 29:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 67 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 68 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 68:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 69:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16n2, 48 91:14-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 92-93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36-38 95-99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-35 103:3-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 107 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-32 110:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 112:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 114 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 116:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 41 119 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86n14 126 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 20 131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 137 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 20, 93 144:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59, 87, 91

MISHNA H M. Shabbat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73n1 M. Rosh Hashana . . . . . . . . . . . . 82n6 B A B Y L ON I A N TA L M U D Berachot 3a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92n23 3b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91n21 7a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 8a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65n24 8b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28n3, 65n24 47b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1n4 51a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40n57, 41n63 55a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43n70 55b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24n43 Erubin 65a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Gittin 59b-60a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46n95 Hagigah 12b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91n22 16a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23n37 127

I N DE X OF C I TAT IONS

Horayot 12a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67n34

Lamentations Rabbah 1:33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99n7

Hullin 60b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95n39 106a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18n15

Song of Songs Rabbah 1:2, 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82n7 1:2, 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82n8

Megillah 14a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64n20

Pesikta de Rab Kahana 4:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99n9

Menahot 62a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60n10 WOR K S OF L AT ER S AGE S

Rosh Hashana 17b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8n3

Abudraham, Sefer Abudraham ha-Shalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60, 65, 68

Shabbat 25b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29n7 28b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12n24 33a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xivn3 117b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43n72, 49n111 118b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44n80 119a . . . . . . . . . . . 29n7, 34n29, 34n31 119b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56n144

Azriel of Gerona, Perush Aggadot . . . . . . . . . . . 103n22 Azulai, Abraham, Hesed le-Avraham . . . . . . . . . . 73, 75 45a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74n7 Cordovero, Moses, Or Ne’erav, Pt. 5, ch. 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6n23

Shavuot 18b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53n130

Cordovero, Moses, The Palm Tree of Deborah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Sotah 13b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49n109 39a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22n31 44b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18n15

de Vidas, Elijah, Reshit Hokhmah Ha-Shalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 26, 96

Sukkah 26b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48n105 37b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60n9

Horowitz, Isaiah, Shnei Luhot ha-Berit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 27, 86

M I DR A S H I M

Sha’ar ha-Otiyot 58c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18n14 59b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20n24

Genesis Rabbah 3:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8n3 44:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99n7, 109n47

Ibn Gabbai, Meir, Avodat Hakodesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 II:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109n45-46 II:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110n49-51

Leviticus Rabbah 30:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61n14 128

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II:6 . . . . . . . . . . . 102n17, 111n54 II:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112n56

Shapiro, Nathan, Tuv ha-Aretz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73, 75 22b-23a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74n7

Moses Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed 1:50-58 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98n5

Sod ha-Shabbat from the Tola’at Ya’akov of R. Meir ibn Gabbai . . xviii, 29, 49, 53-54, 56

Moshe ben Machir, Seder Ha-Yom . . . .16, 26, 34n32, 66, 67n31, 70, 93

Tikkunei Zohar . . . . . . . . . . xvii, 32, 37 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29n8, 40n60 47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14n37, 43n74 69b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40n60 84a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14n37, 43n74 84b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43n74

Najara, Israel, Zemirot Yisrael . . . . . 87 Poppers, Meir, Pri Etz Hayyim . . . 2n7, 4n16, 5n22, 8n8, 9n12, 30n13, 16, 36, 41n65, 47n97, 48n107, 53n129, 57n146, 79, 93n30, 94 Recanati, Menahem, Recanati al ha-Torah Num. 14:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68n40

Toldot Ha-AR”I . . xxin25, 6n24, 44n77 Vital, Hayyim, Sefer Hezyonot . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxn22 Vital, Hayyim, Sha’ar Ha-Kavvanot . . . . . xxi, 13, 70-71, 80 I:2a-b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3n10 I:33a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8n6 I:47b-48a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7n2 I:67b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14n36 I:314b . . . . . . . 3n12, 5n21, 71n53 I:317b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47n98 I:328a-b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4n18 I:374a-379b . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93n30 II:25a-26b . . . . . . . . 29n6, 31n16 II:38b-39a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36n36 II:76b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41n61 II:79b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40n59 II:83b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42n68 II:84a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43n75 II:85b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45n88 II:87a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46n93 II:88b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46n94 II:98b-99a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47n99 II:100a-b . . . . . . 47n100, 48n106 II:186a . . . . . . . . . . 77n16, 94n36 II:186b-187a . . . . . . . . . . . . 94n36 II:189 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80n28

Recanati, Menahem, Sefer Taamei Hamitzvot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 107 2b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107n41 3b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108n43-44 Sefer ha-Bahir . . 100-101, 102n15-16, 102n18-20, 113 Sefer Hasidim, edited by R. Margulies . . . . . . . . . . . 67, 67n35 Sefer Hasidim, edited by Y. Wistinetzki/A. Freimann . . . . . 67, 67n35 Sefer Hemdat Yamim . . . . . . . . . . 44-45, 53-54, 57, 67, 71-72, 74, 79-80, 94, 95n37, 96 Sefer Maharil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Shapiro, Nathan, Mazat Shemurim . . . . . . . . 14, 14n38

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II:191 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80n27 II:275b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5n20 II:298 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70n51 II:309 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61n13

II:156a . . . . . . . . 49n108, 49n110 II:157b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20n23 II:162b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107n40 II:168b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48n102 II:181b-182a . . . . . . . . . . . 105n34 II:195b-196a . . . . . . . . . . . . 93n28 II:206a . . . . . . . . 1n2, 3n14, 15n1 II:207a . . . . . . . . 51n120, 52n125 II:213b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48n102 II:237b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12n26 II:251a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1n1 II:263b . . . . . . . . . . . 3n15, 25n48 III:34a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 III:35a . . . . . . . . 54n136, 54n138 III:35b . . . . . . . . 52n123, 54n138 III:51b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25n48 III:95a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42n67 III:97a-b . . . . . . . . . 76n15, 85n11 III:98a-b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85n11 III:103b-104a . . . . . . . . . . . 63n18 III:120b . . . . . . 8n5, 9n10, 11n18 III:145b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22n30 III:146a . . .22n33, 23n36, 24n41 III:146b . . . . . . 21n28, 22n33-34 III:147a . . . . . . . . . . 23n37, 24n43 III:147b . . . . . . . . . 21n29, 24n43 III:164b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47n96 III:175a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9n11 III:228a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8n4 III:228b . . . . . . . . . . . 7n1, 13n30, 13n32, 50n114 III:236b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12n23 III:245a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43n73 III:255b-256a . . . . . . . . . . . 62n17 III:256b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70n49 III:265a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9n9 III:288b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50n114

Vital, Hayyim, Sha’ar Ha-Mitzvot Ekev 92b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42n69 Va-etchanan 83a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29n4 87b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48n106 Zemach, Jacob, Nagid U-Mezave . . . . . . . . 56n141, 71-72 Zohar I:1a . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20n25, 41n64 I:5b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40n59 I:8a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83n10 I:14b . . . . . . . . . . 51n119, 52n122 I:17b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51n121 I:48a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39n49 I:48b . . . . . . . . . . . . 31n15, 33n24 I:82b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92n24 I:92a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92n24 I:104a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21n26 I:132b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12n22 I:220a-b . . .59n2, 66n26, 107n39 I:221a . . . . . . . . . . . 59n4, 107n39 I:250a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21n27 I:266b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18n15 II:85b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106n38 II:88a-b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41n66 II:95a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36n39 II:119a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105n32 II:131b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2n8 II:135a-b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38n45 II:143a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31n17 II:153b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19n21 II:154a . . . . . . . . . . 17n9, 48n102 II:154b . . . . . . . . . 18n16, 48n102

Zohar Hadash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Tiqqunim 101d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10n15

130