Parashat Tetzaveh 5785 – 03/08/2025 – Parashat Zachor
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.
Shemot 30:11-34:35
Rambam now moves on to consider the elements that make up all of phenomenal creation:
In the interior of the nethermost sphere, which is near us, there is one kind of matter that differs from the matter of the fifth body and receives four primary forms. Through these four forms, earth, water, air, and fire come into being. Every one of these four elements has a natural place proper to it and is not found elsewhere if left to its nature. These four elements are inanimate bodies in which there is no life and no perception, and they do not move of their own accord, but are at rest in their natural places. If, however, one of them is made by violence to leave its natural place, it moves, when the agent exerting violence has ceased to act, so as to return to its natural place. For there subsists in it a principle that makes it move in order to return to its place in a straight line. There is, however, no principle in it that would make it to be at rest or that would make it move in other than a straight line. The motions in a straight line, which are found to belong to these four elements when they move in order to return to their places, are two: a motion toward the encompassing sphere, which motion belongs to fire and to air, and a motion toward the center of the world, which belongs to water and to earth. Every body belonging to these four elements comes to rest when it reaches its natural place.
Rambam begins by making explicit what we have earlier said was implied, viz. that the material of our world is fundamentally different than the material of the heavenly spheres and the bodies embedded in them. The earthly sphere is composed of the four elements: earth, water, fire and air, while the outer spheres are composed of something else, the ether perhaps. The four earthly essences are actually forms of some kind of inchoate material, which I think is identified elsewhere with the Greek hyle – pure “matter” with no form, which can be formed into anything. All things are held to be a combination of matter and form (see the discussion in the link). Ramban ( Nachmanides, 1194-1270), writing about 100 years after Rambam, identified the hyle as the first creation of Gd’s, before Gd began to form the hyle into the earth and sky, the waters and all the creatures that inhabit the earth – identifying it with the tohu vavohu / unformed and void state of creation before Gd said, “Let there be light.”.
Rambam continues to describe the behavior of the four elements. He describes them as inanimate, which I think means lacking consciousness. They are inert and unmoving if they are in their “natural” places. These places are below for the earth and water elements – “earthy” objects fall to earth, and water seeks the lowest place it can get to and will flow until it reaches the lowest level. For fire and air, both of which spontaneously rise, their natural place is above. How far up is “above”? I guess the sky’s the limit. If, however, any element is out of its place, then it will move to rectify the discrepancy.
Rambam asserts the “There is, however, no principle in it that would make it to be at rest or that would make it move in other than a straight line.” This sounds remarkably Newtonian. Newton’s First Law of Motion states, “A body at rest remains at rest, and a body in motion remains in motion in a straight line at constant speed unless acted upon by an outside force.” Incidentally, even in Einstein’s General Relativity Newton’s Law holds. The “straight lines” of Newton are now geodesics, or lines of minimum distance between any two points on a curved surface. The “surface” of space-time is curved by the presence of mass-energy, and the concomitant curved motion of masses along these geodesics is what we see as the “force” of gravity. In any event, according to Rambam, the natural state of any object is at rest in its “natural” place, or on a beeline towards that natural place.
Rambam states further:
If, however, one of them is made by violence to leave its natural place, it moves, when the agent exerting violence has ceased to act, so as to return to its natural place. For there subsists in it a principle that makes it move in order to return to its place in a straight line.
So the basic idea is that each element has a natural place, to which it will return when it is no longer being forced to reside elsewhere. It appears then that the ideal state of affairs is a stratified and static system, with earth on the bottom, then water, then air, then fire. It is hard to believe, from a Jewish point of view, that this would be any kind of ideal. It is static, whereas our idea of an ideal society is a bustling, cooperative community, constantly building and creating, constantly moving closer to Gd.
This ideal of a dynamic, evolutionary creation is quite like the description of Maharishi’s Vedic Science. At the basis of all creation is unbounded Pure Consciousness. This Pure Consciousness has a self-referral nature, curving back onto itself, thus creating duality, then multiplicity in ever-expanding waves of structure and complexity. Thus, within the infinite silence of Pure Consciousness we also find infinite dynamic activity, constantly expanding to better mirror the silent unity of its source. And since Pure Consciousness is unbounded, its creativity is also unlimited, and various universes can come out of it, of infinite beauty and variety.
I don’t see how either Rambam or Aristotle could embrace a kind of stasis as an ideal, only disturbed by “violence,” so I will tentatively assume that my understanding of this static end is incorrect, and the behavior of the elements is more complex than I have outlined it here. We will see what Rambam has to say in the next weeks.
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Commentary by Steve Sufian
Parashat Tetzaveh
In this parashah, Gd continues giving Moses many instructions to command the children of Israel to do so that He will dwell among them.
The first is that they shall bring pure olive oil to kindle the Eternal Flame continually.
Oil, lamps and light all have deep symbolism that guides us to live in such a way that we will be aware of Gd’s Presence within every aspect of our mind, body, soul, heart and in the world around us, that guide us to experience the Eternal.
Oil, for example, symbolizes the aspect of Gd through which He appears, speaks to us. It is used for anointing kings and priests, making them holy (Whole) so they can serve Gd.
Lamps are containers to hold kindling, such as oil, and they symbolize we human beings who have become pure enough to know that Gd’s Presence is already within us.
Light, for example, symbolizes the actions in which we not only know Gd’s Presence but also act with Gd’s Presence enlivening, purifying, enlightening every action of ours so that they are in accord with Gd’s Will and spread awareness of Gd’s Presence so we are aware of it everywhere and s=o is everyone else, so is every impulse of Gd, all of what we call Creation, the Universe.
In addition to oil for the lamps, Gd commands Moses to bring Aaron and his sons “near to yourself”: this is raising them close to the level of awareness Moses has: constant awareness of the Presence of Gd.
They are to be brought near and Moses and those who Gd has “filled with the spirit of wisdom” shall make garments for them, garments that Gd describes in great detail. The High Priest was to wear tunic, cloaks, apron, breastplate, turban, gold plate above the turban, belt and pants and these were to made of gold, linen, wool, precious stones. The ordinary priests were to wear tunics, turbans, belts and pants.
The extensive detail suggests deep symbolism, symbolizing different levels of drawing near to Gd and different levels of bringing not only the priests into harmony with Gd but bringing all of Israel and all life into Harmony.
The main point for us is that whatever literal garments we wear and whatever actions we do, thoughts we think, feelings we have clothe our souls so we should be guided by our sense of harmony and purity: continue to increase those things which allow us to experience and radiate harmony and joy, Harmony and Joy; and continue to let fall away anything which limits joy and harmony, clouds them.
As we do this, Gd fills us more and more with the spirit of wisdom and we are able to make, not only pure physical materials and the garments but spiritual ones as well — our innocent hearts and minds are the materials and our thoughts and actions are the garments-that enable us to serve Gd with Holiness, to serve as High Priests and priests even while walking, talking, working, playing—all the things we do in our daily life, no matter what our literal profession.
Just by reading this parashah, in Hebrew or in English, or hearing it a bit, a lot or all of it we become Lamps in which Gd’s Presence is apparent and Lights in which Gd’s Will is done—a little, more, a lot, and then All, and we return through our openness and our good actions to the Oneness in which all separations are dissolved and all details are enjoyed as harmonious, joyful, loving expressions within the Oneness which is Gd, our Self, One.
Baruch HaShem