Parashat BeHaalotcha 5784 — 06/22/2024
Beginning with Bereishit 5781 (17 October 2020) we embarked on a new format. We will be considering Rambam’s (Maimonides’) great philosophical work Moreh Nevukim (Guide for the Perplexed) in the light of the knowledge of Vedic Science as expounded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The individual essays will therefore not necessarily have anything to do with the weekly Torah portion, although certainly there will be plenty of references to the Torah, the rest of the Bible, and to the Rabbinic literature. For Bereishit we described the project. The next four parshiyyot, Noach through Chayei Sarah, laid out a foundational understanding of Vedic Science, to the degree I am capable of doing so. Beginning with Toledot we started examining Moreh Nevukim.
Bamidbar 8:1-12:16
Rambam returns to the issue of Gd’s Unique Name:
We have received a commandment with regard to the Benediction of Priests in which the name of the Lord figures as it is written. This name is the articulated name [RAR: i.e. Y-K-V-K]. Now not everybody knew how this name was to be pronounced and how every one of its letters should be vocalized and which of the letters, if any, should be redoubled*. Accordingly the men of knowledge have transmitted this, I mean the mode of pronouncing it, but they did not teach it to anyone except once a week to a worthy scholar. I believe that the dictum, The sages transmit the name having four letters once a week to their sons and their pupils, refers not only to their teaching the mode of pronouncing this name but also to their making known the notion because of which this name has been originated without any derivation. Accordingly there also would be in this notion a divine secret.
What is it about the Tetragrammaton that its pronunciation is such a carefully guarded secret? Down to the present day we claim that “nobody” knows its correct vocalization, but of course, it may have been passed down from teacher to student among small groups of Kabbalists. If not, are we stuck without it forever?
The uniqueness of the Tetragrammaton is that it represents Gd’s essence. Now Gd’s essence is a unified wholeness, so a word can’t define Gd. However, as we have seen, the whole structure of creation is a pattern of virtual vibrations within Gd’s essence, and, according to our esoteric teachings, these vibrations correspond to the sounds of human speech and the structure of human language, in particular, the Hebrew language. Thus, the vibrations that make up the Tetragrammaton (i.e. its pronunciation) in some way embodies Gd’s essence.
Note that this is not an intellectual analysis of the structure of the Tetragrammaton; rather the pronunciation of the word itself in some way is the same as Gd’s essence. What that could mean I’m not even sure, and this is speculation on my side. However, if it is true that the pronunciation of Gd’s Name actually, in some slight way, creates Gd’s essence in those who hear it, then that pronunciation would in fact have to be treated with respect and even fear, the same way Gd’s actual presence would be felt.
Under the correct circumstances however, pronouncing the Name should produce the effect of creating wholeness in the environment and in the hearers. Those circumstances, we are told, were at specific points in the Yom Kippur liturgy in the Temple, and, according to Rambam, when the kohanim would bless the people in the Temple. (The kohanim bless the congregation in synagogue – every morning in Israel and on holidays outside of Israel – but they use the normal way we avoid pronouncing the actual Name.) These correct circumstances are necessary, I would guess, to produce the appropriate resonances for the Name. The holy confines of the Temple, the construction of which mirrors the structure of creation according to Kabbalah, provides the optimal “echo chamber” in which the Name can resonate most profoundly and provide the greatest uplift to the people in attendance. A crude analogy might be a microwave – it cooks properly because it is perfectly constructed to reflect the waves that are introduced into it.
I should note that use of Gd’s Name was used in the context of very detailed ceremonies. There are other words spoken and chanted, and actions performed. All of these performances are carefully choreographed to produce coherence and uplift for the individuals involved, as well as the nation as a whole. Such ceremonies exist in most cultures. How effective they are when the average level of consciousness in our day and age is pretty low, is probably not what it was in earlier days. To hear the prophets tell it, already in the times of the First Temple the consciousness (and behavior) of the people had fallen so far that the rituals had become empty – the old forms and the old words no longer had the required effect on people. Gd had to destroy the Temple to allow us to repair the situation.
Since the destruction of the Second Temple almost 2000 years ago we have struggled to recreate the atmosphere of the Temple, where Gd’s holy Name can be used. Sadly we have been incapable of doing so. We hope that with the introduction of the technology of consciousness that Maharishi has given us, we’ll be able to bring ourselves, our communities and our world back to the high level we were on when the Temple stood and Gd’s Name wasn’t hidden.
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* There are cases where a dot (dagesh) is placed in the middle of a letter, which lengthens its pronunciation. In some cases it actually hardens the consonant (feh -> peh, vet -> bet, etc.) and in others it just lengthens the time we hold the consonant (sh -> shsh, etc.). In the Torah, there are no dageshim that are actually written – you just have know which letters have them. In the case of Y-K-V-K this is another part of the pronunciation that we don’t know, along with the vowels.
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Commentary by Steve Sufian
Parashat Beha’alot’echa (When you raise the lamps)
In this parshah, Gd commands Aaron to light the menorah light on a daily basis, the Levites are instructed in Temple service, the people complain about having only manna to eat instead of meat and Gd says “I will give them meat to eat until it comes out of their noses. Gd causes a wind to sweep hordes of quail in from the sea. Those who ate gluttonously died and a plague swept the camp.
Also, when the Ark was travelling, the people “were looking to complain” and Gd’s anger was kindled burning the extremes of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses prayed to Gd and the fire died out.
Gd who gets angry doesn’t seem to be very adult so we need to look into what Torah means when it says “Gd’s anger was kindled.”
One take on this is offered by kabbalah.torah-code.org This site proposes that when we complain against Gd, we push Gd away, and the response of Gd is to react the same way: to push us away.
The pushing away by our complaints is anger on our part and Gd responds to us as we behave to Gd; with what is called anger but it makes sense to take this as an anthropomorphizing of Gd, describing Gd in ordinary human terms.
When the people cried out to Moses (not to Gd, because their anger had cut them off from Gd), Moses prayed to Gd: Moses was still trusting in Gd, still connected and so his prayer resulted in the fire and the plague dying out: and, not only the fire and plague in the camp, but the fire and plague in the hearts of the people looking to complain.
This is general guidance for us: look for ways to draw upon Gd within ourselves in order to prevent any restricting emotions from arising within us and to allow them to die out through our prayer so that they do not express themselves in complaints on our part and we remain connected to our Self and to Gd.
Baruch HaShem