Daf Ditty Shabbes 83:

Piyyut (liturgical poem) that begins the Ne'ilah service at the

God of awe, God of might, Grant us pardon in this hour, as Your gates are closed
this night.
We, who are few, raise our eyes to heaven's height, trembling, fearful in our prayer,
as Your gates are closed this night.
Pouring out our soul we pray that the sentence You will write shall be one of
pardoned sin, as Your gates are closed this night.
Our refuge strong and sure rescue us from dreadful plight seal our destiny for joy,
as Your gates are closed this night.
Grant us favor, show us grace; but those who deny our right and oppress, be You be
the judge, as Your gates are closed this night.
Generations of our sires strong in faith walked in Your light As of old, renew our
days, as Your gates are closed this night.
Gather Judah's scattered flock unto Zion's rebuilt site Bless this year with grace
divine, as Your gates are closed this night.
May we all, both old and young, look for gladness and delight in the many years to
come, as Your gates are closed this night.
Michael, prince of Israel, Gabriel, Your angels bright with Elijah, come, redeem, as
Your gates are closed this night.

Psalm 60
‫ ִמְפֲﬠלוֹת‬,‫ה ְלכוּ וּ ְראוּ‬ 5 Come, and see the works of God;
-‫ ַﬠל‬,‫ִהים; נוָֹרא ֲﬠִליָלה‬1‫ֱא‬ He is terrible in His doing toward
.‫ְבֵּני ָאָדם‬ the children of men.

1
The initial letters of the first six stanzas of the piyyut spell out ‫משה חזק‬, "Moses, may he be strong", in reference to the piyyut's
author Moses ibn Ezra (12th century Spain).
Shabbes 83

Following Rav’s statement, the Gemara cites that which Rabbi Yonatan said: One should never
prevent himself from attending the study hall or from engaging in matters of Torah, even at the
moment of death, as it is stated:

‫ָימוּת‬-‫ ִכּי‬,‫ ָאָדם‬,‫ ַהתּוֹ ָרה‬,‫יד ז ֹאת‬ 14 This is the law: when a man dieth in a tent, every
‫ֲאֶשׁר‬-‫ָהֹאֶהל ְוָכל‬-‫ַהָבּא ֶאל‬-‫ ָכּל‬:‫ְבֹּאֶהל‬ one that cometh into the tent, and every thing that is in
.‫ ִיְטָמא ִשְׁבַﬠת ָיִמים‬,‫ָבֹּאֶהל‬ the tent, shall be unclean seven days.

“This is the Torah: A person who dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14).

Reish Lakish said: Matters of Torah only endure in a person who kills himself over the Torah,
one who is ready to devote all his efforts to it, as it is stated: “This is the Torah: A person who
dies in a tent,” meaning that the Torah is only attained by one who kills himself in its tent.

Rabbi Yochanan said: A person should never refrain from attending the beis midrash or from
words of Torah, even at the moment of death. For it is stated (Bamidbar 19:14): “This is the
Torah - a man who dies in a tent.” Even at the moment of death a person should be involved in
Torah.

Rambam (Hilchos Talmud Torah 1:10)

‫ ְוָכל ְזַמן ֶשׁלּ ֹא ַיֲﬠֹסק‬."g‫ כּל ְיֵמי ַחֶיּי‬g‫ַﬠד ֵאיָמַתי ַחָיּב ִלְלֹמד תּוָֹרה ַﬠד יוֹם מוֹתוֹ ֶשֶׁנֱּאַמר)דברים ד ט( "וֶּפן ָיסוּרוּ ִמְלָּבְב‬
:‫ְבִּלמּוּד הוּא שׁוֵֹכַח‬

Until when is a person obligated to study Torah? Until the day he dies, as [Deuteronomy 4:9]
states: "Lest you remove it from your heart, all the days of your life." Whenever a person is not
involved with study, he forgets.

Rambam then concludes, “Whenever a person is not learning, he is forgetting.”

The Vilna Gaon (Yoreh De’ah 246:10) cites our Gemara in Shabbos as the source for this ruling
of Rambam, where the Gemara tells us that a person should learn even until the moment of his
death.

It seems peculiar, though, for the Vilna Gaon to refer to our Gemara, and the insight of Rabbi
Yochanan who brings the verse in Bamidbar, when Rambam himself already cited a different
verse from Devarim as his source.2

This particular verse: :‫ָימוּת ְבֹּאֶהל‬-‫ ִכּי‬,‫ ָאָדם‬,‫ ַהתּוֹ ָרה‬,‫ז ֹאת‬

Is used by the Midrash in one of the most enigmatic protests that man lodged against the divine
in the rabbinic imagination:

2
Daf Digest brings the Sefer Ha Chinuch to reconcile the use of the two distinct verses (not convincing), Shabbes 83
Midrash Tanchuma. Vayeshev 4:2 :

Adam was created on the sixth day, and He informed him in a roundabout way that He had brought
death into the world, as it is said: For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die (Gen
2:17)
 ,‫ל ֹא ת ֹאַכל‬--‫ ַהַדַּﬠת טוֹב ָוָרע‬,‫יז וֵּמֵﬠץ‬ 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
‫מוֹת‬--‫ ִמֶמּנּוּ‬g‫ ְבּיוֹם ֲאָכְל‬,‫ ִכּי‬:‫ִמֶמּנּוּ‬ not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
.‫ָתּמוּת‬ surely die.'

To what may this be compared? It may be compared to a man who wished to divorce his wife.
Before he enters his home, he writes out the divorce document and then enters the house with the
divorce document in his hand. He then seeks a circuitous way to hand it to her. He says to her:
“Give me some water that I may drink.” She does so, and when he takes the glass from her hand,
he tells her: “Here is your divorce.” She asks: “What sin have I committed?” “Leave my house,”
he retorts, “you have served me a warm drink.” “Apparently you already knew,” she replies, “that
I would serve you a warm drink when you prepared the bill of divorce you brought with you.”

And that is what Adam told the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, two thousand
years before You created the world, You had the Torah as an artisan, as it is written:

,‫ﬠים‬
ִ ‫ﬠשׁוּ‬
ֲ ‫שׁ‬
ַ ‫הי ֶה‬
ְ ‫א‬
ֶ ָ ‫ ו‬:‫אמוֹן‬ ָ ,‫צלוֹ‬ְ ‫א‬ֶ ‫הי ֶה‬
ְ ‫א‬
ֶ ָ ‫ ל ו‬30 Then I was by Him, as a nursling; and I was
.‫ﬠת‬
ֵ -‫בּכָל‬ ְ ‫פנ ָיו‬
ָ ‫ל‬
ְ ‫קת‬ ֶ ‫ח‬
ֶ ‫שׂ‬ַ ‫מ‬ְ ;‫ יוֹם יוֹם‬daily all delight, playing always before Him,

Then was I by Him, as an artisan; and I was day by day all delight (Prov. 8:30). (The repetition
of the word day indicates that two thousand years had elapsed).

,‫ ְכּיוֹם ֶאְתמוֹל‬--6‫ ְבֵּﬠיֶני‬,‫ד ִכּי ֶאֶלף ָשׁ ִנים‬ 4 For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday
;‫ִכּי ַיֲﬠֹבר‬ when it is past, {N}
.‫ְוַאְשׁמוָּרה ַבָלּ ְיָלה‬ and as a watch in the night.

A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday (Ps. 90:4). (a day meaning a thousand years
had passed since He wrote the Torah).

Within it is written: This is the law; that a man dieth in his tent (Num. 19:14).

‫ָימוּת‬-‫ ִכּי‬,‫ ָאָדם‬,‫ ַהתּוָֹרה‬,‫יד ז ֹאת‬ 14 This is the law: when a man dieth in a tent, every one
‫ֲאֶשׁר‬-‫ָהֹאֶהל ְוָכל‬-‫ַהָבּא ֶאל‬-‫ ָכּל‬:‫ְבֹּאֶהל‬ that cometh into the tent, and every thing that is in the
.‫ ִיְטָמא ִשְׁבַﬠת ָיִמים‬,‫ָבֹּאֶהל‬ tent, shall be unclean seven days.

If You had not previously decreed death for mankind, You would not have so stated in it (the
Torah). The decree of death was thus predicted long before the original sin meriting it.
The fact is, You introduced the threat of death against me in a “roundabout way” (sic).
Hence He acts circuitously in His doings toward the children of men (Ps. 66:5).

Come and see what God has done,

.‫ְבֵּני ָאָדם‬-‫ ַﬠל‬,‫נוָֹרא ֲﬠִליָלה‬ ;‫ִהים‬‰‫ ִמְפֲﬠלוֹת ֱא‬,‫ה ְלכוּ וּ ְראוּ‬

‫ְבֵּני ָאָדם‬-‫ ַﬠל‬,‫נוָֹרא ֲﬠִליָלה‬

The first notion of such a scheming divine are implied in the midrashic commentaries on the
Judah and Tamar story in Genesis.
Based on a midrash in Genesis where God works His plan BY SCHEMING through the politics
of daily life behind the scenes to achieve HIS goals,3 the midrash states that while the other
brothers were engaged in the sale of Joseph, and Jacob was occupied by his sackcloth and
fasting (over the presumed death of Joseph), Judah was busily engaged in taking a wife, and God
was engaged in creating the light of the Messiah (who will eventually issue from the union of
Judah and Tamar) “Before she was in labor, she gave birth” (Isaiah 66:7)…“It happened at that
time” (Gen. Rabba 85:1).
‫פ״ה‬
‫'ֲאַמר ֵליהּ‬, ‫)ָבּ ְגָדה ְיהוָּדה ְותוֵֹﬠָבה ֶנֶﬠְשָׂתה וגו‬: ‫יא‬, ‫)מלאכי ב‬, (‫א‬, ‫ַו ְיִהי ָבֵּﬠת ַהִהוא ַוֵיּ ֶרד ְיהוָּדה ֵמֵאת ֶאָחיו (בראשית לח‬
‫)ִכּי ִחֵלּל ְיהוָּדה ֹקֶדשׁ ה 'ֲאֶשׁר‬: ‫יא‬, ‫מלאכי ב‬, (‫ ְיהוָּדה ַנֲﬠָשׂה ֻחִלּין‬, ‫ ְותוֵֹﬠָבה ֶנֶﬠְשָׂתה ְבּ ִיְשׂ ָרֵאל‬, ‫ָכַּפ ְרְתּ ְיהוָּדה ְשַׁק ְרְתּ ְיהוָּדה‬
‫ַﬠד‬, ‫ַמְלָכּן וְּקדוָֹשׁן ֶשׁל ִיְשׂ ָרֵאל‬, ‫)ֹעד ַה ֹיּ ֵרשׁ ָאִביא ָל‘ יוֶֹשֶׁבת ָמ ֵרָשׁה ַﬠד ֲﬠֻדָלּם ָיבוֹא‬: ‫טו‬, ‫מיכה א‬, (‫ַו ְיִהי ָבֵּﬠת ַהִהיא‬. ‫ָאֵהב‬
‫ ַרִבּי ְשׁמוֵּאל‬, ‫ַו ְיִהי ָבֵּﬠת ַהִהוא‬. ‫)ַוֵיּט ַﬠד ִאישׁ ֲﬠֻדָלִּמי‬: ‫א‬, ‫ ִדְּכִתיב (בראשית לח‬, ‫ַﬠד ֲﬠֻדָלּם ָיבוֹא‬, ‫ֲﬠֻדָלּם ָיבוֹא ְכּבוָֹדן ֶשׁל ִיְשׂ ָרֵאל‬
‫ ְויוֵֹסף ָהָיה ָﬠסוּק ְבַּשׂקּוֹ‬, ‫ְשָׁבִטים ָהיוּ ֲﬠסוִּקין ִבְּמִכי ָרתוֹ ֶשׁל יוֵֹסף‬, ‫)ִכּי ָא ֹנִכי ָיַדְﬠִתּי ֶאת ַהַמֲּחָשֹׁבת‬: ‫יא‬, ‫ַבּר ַנְחָמן ָפַּתח (ירמיה כט‬
‫ ְוַהָקּדוֹשׁ‬, ‫ ִויהוָּדה ָהָיה ָﬠסוּק ִלַקּח לוֹ ִאָשּׁה‬, ‫ ְוַיֲﬠֹקב ָהָיה ָﬠסוּק ְבַּשׂקּוֹ וְּבַתֲﬠ ִניתוֹ‬, ‫ ְראוֵּבן ָהָיה ָﬠסוּק ְבַּשׂקּוֹ ְוַתֲﬠ ִניתוֹ‬, ‫וְּבַתֲﬠ ִניתוֹ‬
‫ֹקֶדם‬, ‫)ְבֶּט ֶרם ָתִּחיל ָיָלָדה‬: ‫ז‬, ‫ישעיה סו‬. (‫ַו ְיִהי ָבֵּﬠת ַהִהיא ַוֵיּ ֶרד ְיהוָּדה‬, ‫ָבּרוּ‘ הוּא ָהָיה עוֵֹסק בּוֹ ֵרא אוֹרוֹ ֶשׁל ֶמֶל‘ ַהָמִּשׁיַח‬
‫ ְוַהְמָּד ִנים ָמְכרוּ ֹאתוֹ ֶאל ִמְצ ַר ִים‬, ‫ַמה ְכִּתיב ְלַמְﬠָלה ִמן ָהִﬠ ְנָין‬, ‫ַו ְיִהי ָבֵּﬠת ַהִהוא‬, ‫ֶשׁל ֹא נוַֹלד ְמַשְׁﬠֵבּד ָה ִראשׁוֹן נוַֹלד גּוֵֹאל ָהַאֲחרוֹן‬.

This midrash teaches that people are involved in their own affairs and troubles and do not see
the sweeping divine plan that takes form before their very eyes, one that is for their own good
and that gives them a future and hope.

Yet His working behind the scenes is a scheming of sorts. The midrash addresses the connection
between the two chapters (37 and 38) of Genesis. Judah’s descent immediately follows the sale
of Joseph into slavery and the presentation of the cloak dipped in goat’s blood, with the telling
words to his father, “This we found, discern [haker na] whether this is your son’s cloak or not”
(Gen. 37:32).

Jacob’s diagnosis, “A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is torn, torn apart,” rends a deep
tear in the fabric of the family.

The brothers disband – Judah the first to initiate the rupture; their presence for each other
would stir pangs of conscience they could not bear.

Jacob withdraws into his sackcloth and fasting, the brothers greedily divvy up the profits of the
sale, and Judah turns towards assimilation, through marriage to a Canaanite woman.

The midrash concludes with a peculiar metaphor of a child born even before the mother is seized
with pangs of labor.

3
For instance in the story of Judah and Tamar, The Rabbis emphasize the hand of Divine Providence in Judah’s turning aside to
the tent of Tamar. Judah wanted to pass by her, without entering the tent. What did God do? He summoned for him the angel
responsible for desire. He [the angel] asked him: “Where are you going, Judah [i.e., why are you passing by the tent]? From
where kings stand? From where redeemers stand? [i.e., you should enter the tent, from where kings and redeemers will come
forth].” Only then did he “turn aside to her” (v. 16), against his will (Gen. Rabbah 85:8)
Conceived in the Great Mind, God lays out a plot to undermine Judah’s plan to assimilate, by
thwarting his marriage and continuity through his wayward sons.

God’s meta-plot trumps them. Who is the agent of Judah’s return? The veiled daughter-in-law,
Tamar.

She re-aligns Judah on his path, diverts him from his “descent from the presence of his brothers”
(Gen. 38:1). ‘How awesome is God in His dealings with mankind’ (Psalm 66:5)

On a Deeper Level…
Since it is Erev Shavuot may I be permitted to go deeper and cite the Leshem.4

The Leshem suggests that in the OLAM Ha AKUDIM5 there are Gevurot, that the only way the
Divine manifests itself is through restrictions and suffering and obstacles….for chassadim only
return things back to the divine and it really wants to manifest itself in the real world of
constriction.

The manifestation of the divine must therefore take place in a world of restrictions, laws of
nature, physics and the black and white world of no mercy.

This the very paradox of the exoteric Jewish philosophical description of a merciful divine and a
world based on mercy (olam chessed yiboneh). This is encapsulated in the idea of NORA
ALILUT.

4
Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv, Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv, zt”l 12 Teves, 1841 - 27 Adar 1928 zt”l, was the grandfather of present-day
Gadol HaDor, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, shlita. Since his seforim are known by the name, Leshem Shevo v’Achlamah (the
names of three stones in the third row of stones in the Ephod), he is often referred to as ‘The Ba’al HaLeshem,’ or just ‘The
Leshem.’ Ironically, the yarzheit of the Leshem tends to occur in one of the two weeks that the Torah actually mentions these
three words (Parashas Tetzaveh and Parashas Pekudai). The Leshem was one of the greatest Kabbalists over the last couple of
hundred years. However, what sets him apart from others, aside from his tremendous depth and breadth of Torah— revealed and
hidden—was his phenomenal ability to synthesize all relevant material and lucidly present his discussions and conclusions. Rabbi
Elyashiv wrote several seminal works, including Drushei Olam HaTohu (Dayah), in which he discusses, Kabbalistically, the
creation of the world up until the version recorded in the Torah. Other seforim, such as Sefer HaKlallim, Hakdamos u’Sha’arim
(HaKadosh), and Biurim, focus on similar matters, but also discuss details not mentioned in other works.
5
Olam Ha’Akudim is the first “world” to result from the single initial vessel created by the vapor which emanated from the
“mouth” of Ak, as explained above. In this world, all of its ten “lights,” its ten sefirot, which also emanate from the “mouth”
of Ak, are all contained within its one single vessel. For this reason, this world is called Akudim(“binding”), for all of its lights are
“bound” together in one vessel.
For the Leshem, then, the definition of faith or Emunah (ZOHAR Noach 65) for all people is
then the acceptance of the concept of NORA ALILA the setup, despite the suffering entailed.

It is the acceptance of the divine roadmap as HIS game, HIS wire diagrams, HIS spiritual physics
and the catastrophe of the “breakage of the vessels” and the death of the seven kings [sheva
melachim] and the shevira despite the possibility HE could have done some other less painful
way.

The Leshem suggests that in the OLAM Ha AKUDIM there are Gevurot That the only way the
Divine manifests itself is through restrictions and suffering and obstacles….for chassadim only
return things back to the divine and it really wants to manifest itself in the real world of
constriction.

This is encapsulated in the idea of NORA ALILUT (see piyut for Neilah service). Based on a
midrash in Genesis where God works His plan BY SCHEMING through the politics of daily life
behind the scenes to achieve HIS goals, taken on a cosmic level this requires us to endure the
millennia of exile to further His manifestation.

I love the tension between the midrashic impulse where the notion of scheming is a protest and a
mitigation against divine judgment whereas in kabbalah this is transformed into the weight of
divine judgment (gevurot) must be borne by humankind, on order to fulfil His intra-divine goal
for creation as an expulsion of the gevurot within.
We bear this suffering.

I am reminded of the French Philosopher Simone Weil:6

6
Intimations of a Spiritual New Age: I. The Spiritual Emergence and Personal Tragedy of a Universalized Christian Mysticism in
the Life and Work of Simone Weil Harry T. Hunt Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada