Parshas Va'eira
1. At the end of the previous parsha (Parshas Shemos) we are told about the question that Moshe Rabbeinu asked of G‑d: "למה הרעות לעם הזה וגו׳" ("Why have You done evil to this people, etc."). The force of Moshe's question was: How can it be that from G‑d's mission — through Moshe, and concerning the redemption from Egypt — there could come out a matter of "הרעות" ("You have done evil") — from ra, evil? For the mission concerned the redemption from Egypt, a redemption that is entirely good;1 it came through an emissary — Moshe Rabbeinu, of whom it is written: "ותרא אותו כי טוב הוא" ("She saw him, that he was good"), entirely good — immediately upon his birth he was nothing but good;2 and the One Who sent him was, after all, G‑d Himself, "בכבודו ובעצמו" ("in His glory and in His own Being"). (For since the Jews in Egypt were sunk in the "מ״ט שערי טומאה" ("forty-nine gates of impurity"),3 their redemption could not come by way of the order of Seder Hishtalshelus, from a level of G‑dliness that is enclothed in the world — where, consequently, there is room for accusations from the attribute of judgment — and the redemption had to come from G‑d Himself,4 Who is certainly entirely good and kindness — the level of Atik,5 "לית שמאלא בהאי עתיקא" ("there is no left side in this Atika").5) Therefore the question arises: since the mission, the emissary, and all the more so the Sender Himself, are all entirely good — how could there come out of this a matter of evil, "Why have You done evil"?
To this came the answer from G‑d (at the beginning of this week's parsha): "ויאמר אליו אני הוי׳, וארא אל אברהם וגו׳ ושמי הוי׳ לא נודעתי להם וגם הקמותי וגו׳" ("And He said to him: I am Havaye. I appeared to Avraham, etc., but by My name Havaye I did not make Myself known to them; and I also established, etc."). G‑d answered Moshe that Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov had many trials, and nevertheless they did not ask any questions — "חבל על דאבדין ולא משתכחין" ("Woe for those who are lost and are no longer found").6
Here it is not understood:
a) Why indeed did Moshe Rabbeinu ask a question? Moshe Rabbeinu, after all, had a higher level than the Avos — he was "the seventh" (the seventh generation from Avraham Avinu), and our Sages say:7 "כל השביעין חביבין" ("All sevenths are beloved"), meaning that "the seventh" is especially beloved, because his level is higher than the preceding six. Since the Avos did not ask, how is it that Moshe Rabbeinu did ask, "Why have You done evil"?
b) Since G‑d, with His answer to Moshe that the Avos did not ask any questions, emphasized the virtue of the Avos, He should have said, instead of "וארא וגו׳ ואל יעקב" ("I appeared, etc., and to Yaakov"), the name "Yisrael," which is the name of distinction that indicates a higher level than Yaakov.8
c) All the stories of the Torah are a directive9 for every Jew, and this is especially so regarding this story. For it is known that the Torah does not wish to say an unbecoming thing even when it speaks about an animal,10 and certainly this is so when it speaks — to make the distinction — about a Jew, who is chosen from all created beings, and all the more so about Moshe Rabbeinu, the chosen one of all Jews. Nevertheless the Torah here did not refrain from relating a matter that is not to the praise of Moshe Rabbeinu. One must therefore say that there is an absolute necessity in this — and that is in order to give thereby a directive for every Jew in every generation: that the conduct which is acceptable to G‑d is to choose the path of the Avos, and not to ask any questions.
Yet this is seemingly very difficult to understand: How is it possible that every Jew, and especially in the generation of "עקבתא דמשיחא" ("the footsteps of Moshiach"), should have the choice of selecting for himself one of the two paths — the path of the Avos or the path of Moshe Rabbeinu? True, our Sages say:11 "אין דור שאין בו כאברהם וכו׳ כיעקב ואין דור שאין בו כמשה" ("There is no generation that does not have in it one like Avraham… like Yaakov, and there is no generation that does not have in it one like Moshe") — that there is no generation in which there is not one like Avraham, like Yaakov, and no generation in which there is not one like Moshe. But this refers only to unique individuals, while the Torah was given to all — "תורה על הרוב תדבר" ("The Torah speaks of the majority"); the directives of the Torah take into account (primarily) the qualities of the majority of Jews. So how can one say to the majority of Israel that they should not choose for themselves the path of Moshe Rabbeinu (but rather the path of the Avos)?
2. The difference between the Avos and Moshe Rabbeinu is this: The level of Moshe Rabbeinu is Chochmah (as Moshe said of himself:12 "ונחנו מה" ("And what are we?") — he belonged to the "mah" of Chochmah), which is why the Torah was given through him, for the Torah is G‑d's wisdom. And the matter of the Avos, relative to Moshe, is the middos (emotional attributes):
The service of Avraham Avinu was primarily in the line of Chesed and love. He served G‑d with love, as it is written:13 "אברהם אוהבי" ("Avraham who loved Me"); and also in his conduct with people he performed kindness with everyone, both materially and spiritually.
The service of Yitzchak Avinu was primarily in the line of Gevurah and fear, as it is written:14 "ופחד יצחק" ("and the Fear of Yitzchak") — he served G‑d with dread and fear. Therefore he also could not tolerate any evil in the world, even in a subtle form; this is why his eyes grew dim on account of the idolatry of Esav's wives — he could not bear any scent of the idolatry of the daughters of Canaan.*14
And the service of Yaakov Avinu was primarily in the line of Tiferes, mercy, which comprises Chesed and Gevurah. Therefore he said:14 "אלקי אבי אלקי אברהם ופחד יצחק היה לי" ("The G‑d of my father, the G‑d of Avraham and the Fear of Yitzchak, was with me") — his attribute included both attributes, that of Avraham and that of Yitzchak. Therefore all his matters were in perfection — "מטתו שלימה" ("his bed was complete")15 — because through such a service, which encompasses both opposing attributes, one can pass through all difficulties and all trials: both the trials of wealth and expansiveness at Lavan's (Chesed), as it is written:16 "ויפרוץ האיש מאד מאד" ("The man became exceedingly prosperous"); and the trial of hardship and pain (Gevurah), when Esav went against him "וארבע מאות איש עמו" ("and four hundred men with him") — and nevertheless remain whole, as it is written:17 "ויבא יעקב שלם" ("And Yaakov arrived whole").
3. Although the Avos studied Torah — as our Sages say:18 "שזימן הקב״ה לאברהם אבינו ב׳ כליותיו כשני חכמים והיו מבינות אותו ויועצות אותו ומלמדות אותו חכמה" ("The Holy One, blessed be He, prepared for Avraham Avinu his two kidneys like two sages, and they gave him understanding, counseled him and taught him wisdom") — that his two kidneys, like two sages, taught him and gave him understanding of the wisdom of Torah; and our Sages also say:19 "מימיהן של אבותינו לא פרשה ישיבה מהם וכו׳ אברהם אבינו זקן ויושב בישיבה היה וכו׳ יצחק אבינו וכו׳ יעקב אבינו וכו׳" ("From the days of our forefathers the yeshivah never departed from them… Avraham Avinu was an elder and sat in yeshivah… Yitzchak Avinu… Yaakov Avinu…") — that from the days of our forefathers they had a yeshivah for studying Torah, etc., Avraham Avinu studied Torah, etc., and likewise Yitzchak and Yaakov; and on the other side, we also find in Moshe Rabbeinu the service of the middos — both in the line of Chesed, as it is written:20 "וירא בסבלותם" ("He saw their burdens"), meaning that Moshe Rabbeinu applied his eyes and heart to feel pain for them; and in the line of Gevurah, as it is written:21 "ויאמר לרשע למה תכה רעך" ("He said to the wicked one: Why do you strike your fellow?"), meaning that Moshe Rabbeinu rebuked the Jew who raised a hand against another Jew — nevertheless the Avos and Moshe Rabbeinu are distinct in their principal matter. The principal matter of Moshe Rabbeinu is Chochmah; he was the one who gave the Torah to the Jews, and therefore the Torah is also called by his name: "זכרו תורת משה עבדי" ("Remember the Torah of Moshe My servant").22 And the principal matter of the Avos is the middos, and it is with these that they are described — "Avraham who loved Me," and so on. And this path of serving G‑d with the middos they bequeathed to all Jews.23
4. In light of this — that the principal matter of the Avos is middos, and that of Moshe Rabbeinu is Chochmah — we will understand the reason why Moshe Rabbeinu, who was higher in level than the Avos, did ask "Why have You done evil," while the Avos did not ask any questions. In level, Moshe Rabbeinu was indeed higher than the Avos; but precisely because his principal matter is wisdom and intellect, he asked the question. For the nature of intellect is to want to understand everything; so when something comes along for which he has no reason in his intellect, it hinders him from proceeding further in his service. This was Moshe's question: he wanted an answer to his question so that he could continue further in his service — the service of holy Chochmah.
5. To this came the answer from Above: "וידבר אלקים אל משה ויאמר אליו אני הוי׳ וגו׳ ושמי הוי׳ לא נודעתי להם" ("G‑d [Elokim] spoke to Moshe and said to him: I am Havaye… but by My name Havaye I did not make Myself known to them"). Before Mattan Torah there was the revelation of the name Elokim and not of the name Havaye — "but by My name Havaye I did not make Myself known to them"; and now, at Mattan Torah — which had already begun with the tidings of the redemption — there came the revelation of the name Havaye: "And He said to him: I am Havaye."
The name Elokim indicates a limited light that is enclothed in the worlds;24 Elokim is numerically equal to "הטבע" ("nature").25 From the perspective of the name Elokim, each thing is limited in its own matter, which separates it from another thing. That is why Elokim is in the plural, as it is written:26 "אלקים קדושים" ("a holy G‑d," literally in the plural), for from the perspective of the name Elokim there exists the matter of multiplicity, because of their differences. The name Havaye, however, indicates what is beyond limitation and division: Havaye — "היה הוה ויהיה כאחד" ("was, is and will be, as one"), for it is a light that is higher than the worlds. And this light was revealed at Mattan Torah, which is why at Mattan Torah the decree27 that had separated the higher from the lower was annulled — and in the powers of the soul, this means intellect and middos.
And this is what G‑d told Moshe Rabbeinu: now, when we stand at the redemption — which is in the merit of, and for the sake of, Mattan Torah28 — even one whose principal matter is wisdom and intellect must have within him the inclusion of the nature of the middos: he should not ask questions.
With this the wording of the verse, "וארא וגו׳ ואל יעקב" ("I appeared, etc., and to Yaakov"), and not the name of distinction "Yisrael," is also justified. G‑d said of Moshe Rabbeinu, the level of Chochmah, that there should be in him the inclusion of the nature of the middos, the level of the middos, in the manner of the kabbalas ol (acceptance of the yoke) of Yaakov — not the level of Yisrael, "לי ראש" ("a head to Me"),29 but rather Yaakov — "יו״ד עקב" ("a yud and a heel");30 that there should be in him the joining of the higher with the lower, foot and heel: that also in his intellect and wisdom there should be the inclination toward kabbalas ol that is found in the foot and the heel.
6. There is yet another fundamental advantage of the nature of the middos over the nature of intellect, and G‑d demanded of Moshe Rabbeinu that although he is wisdom and intellect, he should also have this advantage of the middos:
Each of the powers of the soul that are enclothed in a person's body has a particular organ suited to the power enclothed in it. Therefore, from the structure of the general organs of the body one can gain an understanding of the general powers of the soul enclothed in them — intellect and middos. The brain and the heart both affect all the organs. Nevertheless there is a great difference between them: "לבא פליג לכל שייפין" ("The heart distributes to all the limbs")31 — the heart distributes its vitality and influence to all the organs, and nothing interferes with it in this. The brain, by contrast, although it is the first of the "תלת שליטין" ("three rulers"),32 the three principal organs that rule over the entire body — there is nevertheless the "מיצר הגרון" ("the narrow passage of the throat")33 (the narrow passageway between the head and the heart), which interferes with the effect of the head upon the heart (for only when the influence reaches the heart is it afterwards distributed "to all the limbs"). From this one can understand the same regarding the soul powers of intellect and middos: the middos demand actual deed — love demands "ועשה טוב" ("and do good"), and fear, "סור מרע" ("turn from evil").34 But intellect itself, because its thing is to unite with the subject it studies — not only does intellect not demand any actual deed (although it understands how a person ought to conduct himself), but on the contrary: the abstraction of the intellect and its uniting with the delight of the concept in which it is immersed hinder it from lowering itself and bringing the understanding down into practice.35 As Ben Azzai said:36 "ומה אעשה שנפשי חשקה בתורה" ("And what shall I do, for my soul desires Torah") — his delight in studying Torah prevented him from marrying, although he knew that "לשבת יצרה" ("He formed it to be inhabited") — that G‑d created the world so that it should be settled.
That is why our Sages warned particularly regarding the study of Torah: "כל האומר אין לי אלא תורה אפילו תורה אין לו" ("Whoever says, 'I have nothing but Torah' — even Torah he does not have")37 (whoever says "I have only Torah" does not even have Torah). For because of the nature of intellect to be constantly in a state of abstraction, it is possible that one who studies Torah will be satisfied with the study of Torah alone. Therefore he is told that he must also engage in acts of kindness; he must toil against his nature and occupy himself with service in actual deed.
7. Because of this quality of the middos, that they bring forth actual deed, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, whose principal matter is the middos, are called by the name Avos ("fathers") (as in our Sages' saying,38 "אין קוראין אבות אלא לשלשה" ("Only three are called Avos")) — because they bring forth offspring. And this is expressed in two matters: a) in themselves, the middos demanded actual good deeds, as our Sages say:39 "תולדותיהם של צדיקים מעשים טובים" ("The offspring of the righteous are good deeds"); b) they also acted upon another — which is also the meaning of Avos in its plain sense — in that they bequeathed their matter to their children and children's children forever.
8. On this basis we will understand what Rashi says at the beginning of the parsha: "וארא, אל האבות" ("'I appeared' — to the Avos"). Several commentators raise the question: What is Rashi adding here to the verse itself — "וארא אל אברהם אל יצחק ואל יעקב" ("I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchak and to Yaakov")? Others wish to say that Rashi abbreviates his wording in the first half of the verse because he is primarily addressing the words "באל ש-די ושמי הוי׳ לא נודעתי להם" ("as E-l Sha-dai, but by My name Havaye I did not make Myself known to them"). This, however, is not understood, for Rashi could have addressed the following words directly and not cited the first words of the verse at all. And especially in light of what is known from the Shelah, and even more so from the Alter Rebbe and the Rebbeim after him, who greatly emphasized how precise every word and letter in Rashi's commentary is — an explanation is surely required: What does Rashi add here with his words "to the Avos"?
The explanation is: Rashi wants to emphasize here that the principal virtue of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov is that they are "Avos." Although each of them had the particular virtue of his own service — Avraham in Chesed, Yitzchak in Gevurah and Yaakov in Tiferes — and in each of them his attribute was in utmost perfection and without limit, nevertheless that is not their principal virtue; rather, it is that they are Avos. This is similar to what is written about Avraham, the first of the Avos:40 "כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו וגו׳" ("For I have known him [held him dear], because he commands his children and his household after him, etc."): G‑d loves Avraham — and why? Because he instructs his children and his household after him; the verse does not mention the virtue of his own particular service. And although the word "Avos" does not appear explicitly in the verse, Rashi explains and reveals it in the verse: the principal virtue of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov — the middos — lies in the fact that they are Avos: they bring forth offspring.
9. In what G‑d demanded of Moshe Rabbeinu — that he too should have the nature of the middos, although his matter is wisdom and intellect — there are two matters: a) no questions should arise in him; rather, he should accept with kabbalas ol, as discussed earlier; b) he should be in a movement of drawing down below, as we find that Moshe Rabbeinu, after Mattan Torah, occupied himself with matters of here below — even more than the Avos. The Avos, although their matter was the middos, were shepherds and to a certain extent removed from the world; Moshe, however, explained the Torah "בשבעים לשון" ("in seventy languages")41 for the whole world. And regarding the Jews it was: "תאמר אלי שאהו בחיקך וגו׳" ("You say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom,' etc.").42
And these are also the two expressions in the Midrash43 regarding the joining of higher and lower that took place at Mattan Torah: a) "העליונים ירדו למטה" ("the higher ones shall descend below") — the same is so in the "small world," man: the intellect, whose nature is abstraction and remaining aloft, should come down below to act in actual deed; b) "ותחתונים יעלו למעלה" ("and the lower ones shall ascend above") — that the nature of the "foot," which is the lowest of a person's limbs and carries out all the instructions of the head without asking why, this very nature of the lower foot should also be present in the head, which is the highest part of a person: that in the intellect, too, there should be the movement of doing everything with kabbalas ol and not asking why [OCR unclear: the source reads "and to ask why"; the word "not" appears to have dropped out].
10. And this is the directive for all Jews:
There are, after all, all kinds of categories among Jews,43* from "ראשיכם שבטיכם" ("your heads, your tribes") to "חוטב עציך ושאב מימיך" ("your woodchopper and your water drawer"). Of the "higher ones," those of higher rank — "your heads, your tribes" — it is demanded that they "descend below": they should occupy themselves with other Jews, even with those who are "your woodchopper and your water drawer." And of the "lower ones," those of lower rank, it is demanded that they "ascend above": they should study Torah, and not only the revealed part of Torah but also Pnimiyus HaTorah, the inner dimension of the Torah; and of them is demanded not merely the fulfillment of mitzvos in a plain manner, but specifically in a beautified manner. Of every Jew is demanded "כל חלב להוי׳" ("All the choicest is for Havaye"):44 he should devote all his best powers to G‑d, so that his Torah and mitzvos are of the choicest.
And also within the category of "your heads, your tribes" itself — who in general are the "יושבי אהל" ("dwellers of the tent") — the joining of higher and lower is demanded: to engage with the world, and that in their intellect there should be the movement of kabbalas ol, as discussed earlier.
And the power to join both extremes, higher and lower, every Jew possesses through the fact that G‑d showed Moshe Rabbeinu "עד היום האחרון" ("until the last day"). Our Sages say:45 "until the last day" — that he saw all the generations of Jews until the coming of Moshiach. And as is known, "מראות עיניהם של צדיקים" ("the sight of the eyes of tzaddikim")46 — the seeing of a tzaddik has an effect and grants power. So through Moshe Rabbeinu's having seen all Jews, also the Jews of the footsteps of Moshiach, he gave them the power to be able to join higher with lower.
And this conduct (the joining of mochin and middos, intellect and emotions) brings the redemption, and all the four expressions of redemption that are enumerated further on in the parsha; and one goes out of all constraints and limits47 until "והבאתי אתכם אל הארץ" ("and I will bring you to the land") — "as in the days of your going out of the land of Egypt" — through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, very soon indeed.
11. The above matter is connected also with Rosh Chodesh Shvat. "בעשתי עשר חודש באחד לחודש … הואיל משה באר את התורה הזאת" ("In the eleventh month, on the first of the month … Moshe began to explain this Torah"), and our Sages explain that on that day (Rosh Chodesh Shvat) Moshe Rabbeinu translated the Torah into all seventy languages. Seemingly, why did he need to do this? All the Jews at that time spoke the Holy Tongue, and they were going to conquer the thirty-one kings of Eretz Yisrael in a manner of "לא תחיה כל נשמה" ("you shall not let any soul live") — so for whom did the Torah need to be translated? And even if it did need to be done, someone else could have done it, and not Moshe Rabbeinu himself, whose every moment was very precisely accounted for — and especially at such a time as Rosh Chodesh, which is higher than a weekday,48 to the extent that some had the custom not to do any work on that day,49 and especially women.50
Before the generation of the Dispersion, all people spoke the Holy Tongue.51 But from the sin of the generation of the Dispersion there came about separation and division — "אשר לא ידע איש שפת רעהו" ("so that no man understood his fellow's speech"); different, separated languages came into being — the opposite of the unity of holiness. Havaye is One; the Jews, "גוי אחד" ("one nation"), draw down through the one Torah the One Havaye also "בארץ" ("on earth"), so that also in the physical earth there comes about unity. But because the generation of the Dispersion rebelled against the One Havaye, there came about division and separation in the world, and from this came forth the seventy languages.*51
And this is the meaning of Moshe Rabbeinu's translating the Torah from the Holy Tongue into the seventy languages: he drew down unity — the Holy Tongue — also into the places of separation — the seventy languages — so that there, too, the One Havaye should be heard, through the one Torah.52
And this had to be done specifically through Moshe and not through anyone else, for two reasons: [The source text ends here; the remainder of this Sicha is not in the source.]
Notes
1) See Torah Or, Va'eira (56, end of column d).
2) Shemos 2:2. Sotah 13a. Or HaTorah, Shemos, p. 60 ff.
3) Zohar Chadash [OCR unclear: abbreviation garbled], beginning of Parshas Yisro.
4) See Likkutei Torah, Tzav 12c.
5) Zohar III, 129a. See also there, 289a.
6) Shemos Rabbah 6:4. Sanhedrin 111a. Cited in Rashi, Shemos 6:9.
7) Vayikra Rabbah 29:11.
8) See above, Parshas Vayishlach (p. 795).
9) See Zohar III, 53b.
10) See Pesachim 3a.
11) Bereishis Rabbah 56:7.
12) Shemos 16:7. Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 91d.
13) Yeshayahu 41:8.
14) Bereishis 31:42.
*14) Bereishis 26:1 [as printed in the source], and Rashi there.
15) Vayikra Rabbah 36:5. See also Pesachim 56a; Sifri, Devarim 6:4; there, 32:20.
16) Bereishis 30:43.
17) There, 33:18. Shabbos 33a.
18) Avos deRabbi Nosson, beginning of ch. 33. See Bereishis Rabbah, beginning of ch. 61; Tanchuma, Vayigash 12.
19) Yoma 28b. See Rambam, Laws of Idolatry, end of ch. 1.
20) Shemos 2:11.
21) There, 13.
22) Malachi 3:22.
23) See (regarding Avraham, and from this it is understood also regarding Yitzchak and Yaakov) Rambam, Laws of Mourning 14:2.
24) Likewise the name Sha-dai (with which He appeared to the Avos) is a limited light, for its meaning is "שאמרתי לעולמי די" ("that I said to My world, 'Enough!'") (Bereishis Rabbah 49:2 [as printed in the source]).
25) Pardes, Shaar 12, ch. 2. And in the Shelah, Shaar HaOsiyos, the letter Kuf (Kedushah), in the gloss beginning "And behold, he adds to the earlier ones" (89a), it is somewhat implied that this is so in the Zohar.
26) Yehoshua 24:19.
27) See Shemos Rabbah, ch. 2 [as printed; possibly ch. 12], §3. See also above, pp. 758 and 776.
28) Shemos Rabbah 3:4 (cited in Rashi, Shemos 3:12).
29) Likkutei Torah, Shelach 48b.
30) Torah Or, beginning of Parshas Vayeitzei, and in many places.
31) See Zohar III, 161b. Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim, the discourse beginning "Libavtini," and its explanation.
32) Zohar II, 153a. See also Zohar I, 138a; Zohar Chadash, Rus (80a).
33) See Torah Or 57c ff.
34) Tanya, ch. 4.
35) See the discourse beginning "Ner Chanukah," 5666.
36) Yevamos 63b.
37) There, 109b. See Sefer HaMaamarim 5708, p. 266, note 7.
38) Berachos 16b. See Torah Or, beginning of Parshas Va'eira.
39) Rashi, beginning of Parshas Noach. Bereishis Rabbah 30:6.
40) Bereishis 18:19, and Rashi there.
41) Rashi, Devarim 1:5. See Sotah 36a. Below, section 11.
42) Bamidbar 11:12.
43) [OCR unclear: the text of this note is missing in the source.]
43*) Devarim 29:9. Likkutei Torah there.
44) Vayikra 3:16. Rambam, end of Laws of Things Forbidden on the Altar. See Likkutei Sichos, vol. 2, p. 326.
45) Rashi, Devarim 34:2. See Sifri there; Targum Yonasan ben Uziel there, verse 3.
46) See Esther Rabbah 7:9. Likkutei Torah, the discourse beginning "Va'eschanan."
47) See Torah Or (Parshas Va'eira), the discourse beginning "Lachen Emor," that the Exodus from Egypt is the going out from the "narrow passage of the throat" that separates between the mochin and the middos, so that there should be a drawing down of the mochin into the middos.
48) Yechezkel 46:1. Shmuel I 20:19.
49) Radak on Shmuel I 20:19. And according to the resolution of the question of Rashi and Tosafos (Megillah 22b, beginning of column b): although it is permitted by law, they had the custom not to do work. See the later authorities on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, 417 [OCR unclear: number garbled in source].
50) Yerushalmi Pesachim, beginning of ch. 4. See Or HaTorah, Bereishis (p. 22 ff.).
51) Yerushalmi Megillah 1:9. Cited in Rashi, Bereishis 11:1.
*51) See also below, p. 892.
52) See the translator's introduction to Chovos HaLevavos, that translating from one language to another requires three conditions: knowledge of the language from which one translates, knowledge of the language into which one translates, and understanding of the subject being translated. — These three matters (regarding his translation … [The note is cut off in the source.]
Key Lesson
Even one whose strength is intellect must carry the "foot's" kabbalas ol into his mind: not letting unanswered questions stop his service, and bringing his understanding down into actual deeds and care for others. Each Jew, empowered by Moshe Rabbeinu, joins higher with lower — the scholar descends to help others, and the simple Jew rises to Torah, including Pnimiyus HaTorah, and to mitzvos done beautifully — and this brings the redemption.