R. Simeon discoursed on the text: I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living; I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world (Is. 38, 11). ‘How obtuse,’ he said, ‘are the sons of men who do not know nor pay heed to the words of the Torah, but think only of worldly matters, so that the spirit of wisdom is forgotten of them.
For when a man departs from this world, and goes to give an account to his Master of all his actions in this world while body and soul were still joined together, he sees many strange things on his way, and at length meets Adam, the first man, sitting at the gate of the Garden of Eden, ready to welcome with joy all those who have observed the commands of their Master.
Round him are many righteous men, those who in this life have kept clear of the path to Gehinnom and followed the path to the Garden of Eden. It is these who are here called “inhabitants of the world’. The word used for “world” here is not the usual holed, but hadel. The reason is that holed is akin to huldah (mole), a creature whose characteristic it is laboriously to heap up provision and leave it to it knows not whom. The term hodel, on the other hand, is derived from a root signifying “avoidance”, and thus is a description of the righteous who avoid and keep far from the ways of Gehinnom and cling to those leading to the Garden of Eden.
According to another interpretation, the expression “inhabitants of hodel” designates penitents who have resolutely kept clear of their former sins, and since Adam was the first penitent, he was given charge of all penitents, those who are called “sons of hodel” (avoidance), and he therefore sits at the gate of the Garden of Eden, welcoming with joy and gladness the righteous who take the path to the Garden of Eden.
It says further in the same passage: “I will not see God”. Naturally one cannot see God, but the expression is explained by the concluding words, “God in the land of the living”. When souls ascend to the place of the “bundle of life” (v. I Sam. 25, 29), they feast their eyes on the beams of the “refulgent mirror” which radiates from the most sublime region. And were the soul not clothed in the resplendency of another (i.e. nonfleshly) garment, it would not be able to approach that effulgence.
The esoteric doctrine is that in the same way as the soul has to be clothed in a bodily garment in order to exist in this world, so is she given an ethereal supernal garment wherewith to exist in the other world, and to be enabled to gaze at the effulgence of life radiating from that “land of the living”.
Hence it is that Moses was not able to draw near to the place of God and to fix his gaze on what was to be seen there until he was first enveloped in another garment, as we read: “And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount” (Ex. 24, 18), that is, he enveloped himself in the cloud, as in a garment, and then he “drew near into the thick darkness where God was” (Ex. 20, 18), and “was in the mount forty days and forty nights” (Ibid. 24, 18), and was able to see what he did see.
In similar fashion the souls of the righteous in the other world clothe themselves in garments belonging to that world, so that they can endure to gaze on the light which is diffused in that “land of the living”. This is what Hezekiah meant when he said “God, God in the land of the living” (Is. 38, 11). He was afraid that he would be found unworthy to gaze on that light because he had allowed the lifegiving stream to cease with him, through not begetting children. In his further words, “I shall behold Adam no more” (Ibid.), there is a reference to Adam the first man, as has already been explained.
He spoke in this strain because the prophet had told him, “for thou shalt die and not live” (Ibid. 1), “die”, that is, in this world, and “not live” in the other world. For he who does not beget children in this world is denied all the blissfulness we have mentioned, and he is not privileged to contemplate the glorious effulgence. If this was the case with Hezekiah, who came of pious ancestors, and was himself worthy, righteous and pious, how much more so must it be the case with one who has no such ancestral merit to support him, and has himself sinned before his Master?
That garment of which we have spoken is the same which the companions call “the robe of the sages”, with which they are clothed in the other world. Happy the portion of the righteous, for whom the Holy One, blessed be He, has treasured up blessings and delights in the other world! Of them it is written, “Eye hath not seen besides thee, O God, what thou shalt do for him that waiteth for thee” (Is. 64, 3).’
פָּתַח וְאָמַר, (ישעיהו ל״ח:י״א) אָמַרְתִּי לֹא אֶרְאֶה יָהּ יָהּ בְּאֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים לֹא אַבִּיט אָדָם עוֹד עִם יוֹשְׁבֵי חָדֶל. אָמַרְתִּי לא אֶרְאֶה יָהּ, כַּמָּה אֲטִימִין אִנּוּן בְּנִי נָשָׁא דְּלָא יָדְעִין וְלָא מַשְׁגִּיחִין בְּמִלֵּי דְאוֹרַיְיתָא, אֶלָּא מִסְתַּכְּלֵי בְּמִלּוֹי דְעָלְמָא וְאִתְנְשֵׁי מִנַּיְיהוּ רוּחָא דְחָכְמְתָא.
R. Simeon discoursed on the text: I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living; I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world (Is. 38, 11). ‘How obtuse,’ he said, ‘are the sons of men who do not know nor pay heed to the words of the Torah, but think only of worldly matters, so that the spirit of wisdom is forgotten of them.
דְּכַד בַּר נָשׁ אִסְתַּלַּק מֵהַאי עָלְמָא וְיָהִיב חוּשְׁבְּנָא לְמָארֵיהּ מִכָּל מַה דְּעֲבַד בְּהַאי עָלְמָא בְּעוֹד דְּאִיהוּ קָאִים רוּחָא וְגוּפָא כְּחֲדָא וְחָמֵי מַה דְּחָמֵי, עַד דְּאָזִיל לְהַהוּא עָלְמָא וּפָגַע לֵיהּ לְאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן יָתִיב לְתַרְעָא דְגִנְתָּא דְעֵדֶן לְמֶחמֵי כָּל אִנּוּן דְּנָטְרוּ פִּקּוּדֵי דְמָארֵיהוֹן וְחָדֵי בְּהוּ.
For when a man departs from this world, and goes to give an account to his Master of all his actions in this world while body and soul were still joined together, he sees many strange things on his way, and at length meets Adam, the first man, sitting at the gate of the Garden of Eden, ready to welcome with joy all those who have observed the commands of their Master.
וְכַמָּה צַדִּיקַיָּא סָחֳרָנֵיהּ דְּאָדָם. אִנּוּן דְּאִתְמְנָעוּ מֵאָרְחָא דְּגֵיהִנֹּם וְסָטוּ לְגַבֵּי אָרְחָא דְּגַן עֵדֶן. וְאִלֵּין אִקְרוּן יוֹשְׁבֵי חָדֶל. וְלָא כְּתִיב יוֹשְׁבֵי חָלֶד. בְּגִין דְּלָא הֲווּ כְּמוֹ חוּלְדָה דְּגָרְרָא וּמַנְחָא וְלָא יָדְעָא לְמַאן שַׁבְקָא. אֶלָּא יוֹשְׁבֵי חָדֶל. כְּמָא דְאַתְּ אָמֵר, (ישעיהו ב׳:כ״ב) חִדְלוּ לָכֶם מִן הָאָדָם וְגו' (אלא יושבי חדל) דְּאִתְמְנַע לוֹן מֵאָרְחָא דְּגִיהִנֹּם. וְאַתְקִיפוּ בְּהוּ לְאַעָלָא לְהוּ בְּגִנְתָּא דְעֵדֶן.
Round him are many righteous men, those who in this life have kept clear of the path to Gehinnom and followed the path to the Garden of Eden. It is these who are here called “inhabitants of the world’. The word used for “world” here is not the usual holed, but hadel. The reason is that holed is akin to huldah (mole), a creature whose characteristic it is laboriously to heap up provision and leave it to it knows not whom. The term hodel, on the other hand, is derived from a root signifying “avoidance”, and thus is a description of the righteous who avoid and keep far from the ways of Gehinnom and cling to those leading to the Garden of Eden.
דָּבָר אַחֵר יוֹשְׁבֵי חָדֶל אִנּוּן מָרֵיהוֹן דִּתְשׁוּבָה דִּמְנָעוּ גַּרְמַיְיהוּ מֵאִנּוּן חוֹבִין דְּחַיָּיבַיָא. וּבְגִין דְּאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן תָּב בִּתְיוּבְתָּא קַמֵּי מָארֵיהּ. יָתִיב (נ"א עם) עַל אִנּוּן דְּאִתְמְנָעוּ מֵחוֹבֵיהוֹן וְאִנּוּן בְּנֵי חָדֶל. כְּמָא דְאַתְּ אָמֵר, (תהילים ל״ט:ה׳) אֵדְעָה מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי. וּבְגִין כָּךְ אִיהוּ יָתִיב לְתַרְעָא דְּגִנְתָּא דְּעֵדֶן וְחָדֵי בְּהוּ בְּצַדִּיקַיָּא דְּאַתְיָין בְּהַהוּא אוֹרְחָא דְּגִנְתָּא דְּעֵדֶן.
According to another interpretation, the expression “inhabitants of hodel” designates penitents who have resolutely kept clear of their former sins, and since Adam was the first penitent, he was given charge of all penitents, those who are called “sons of hodel” (avoidance), and he therefore sits at the gate of the Garden of Eden, welcoming with joy and gladness the righteous who take the path to the Garden of Eden.
תָּא חֲזֵי, מַה כְּתִיב אָמַרְתִּי לא אֶרְאֶה יָהּ. וְכִי מַאן יָכִיל לְמֶחמֵי יָהּ. אֶלָּא סוֹפָא דִקְרָא אוֹכַח דִּכְתִיב יָהּ בְּאֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים. תָּא חֲזֵי, כַּד (תרומה קמא) סָלְקִין נִשְׁמָתִין לְאֲתַר צְרוֹרָא דְחַיֵּי. תַּמָּן מִתְהַנָּן בְּזָהֳרָא דְּאַסְפַּקְלַרְיָאה דְּנָהֲרָא דְּנָהִיר מֵאֲתַר עִלָאָה דְכֹלָּא. וְאִילוּ לָא מִתְלַבְּשָׁא נִשְׁמָתָא בְּזָהֲרָא דִלְבוּשָׁא אָחֳרָא לָא תִיכוֹל לְאִתְקָרָבָא לְמֶחמֵי הַהוּא נְהוֹרָא.
It says further in the same passage: “I will not see God”. Naturally one cannot see God, but the expression is explained by the concluding words, “God in the land of the living”. When souls ascend to the place of the “bundle of life” (v. I Sam. 25, 29), they feast their eyes on the beams of the “refulgent mirror” which radiates from the most sublime region. And were the soul not clothed in the resplendency of another (i.e. nonfleshly) garment, it would not be able to approach that effulgence.
וְרָזָא דְמִלָּה כְּמָה דְּיַהֲבֵי לְנִשְׁמָתָא לְבוּשָׁא דְּמִתְלַבְּשָׁא בֵּיהּ לְמֵיקַם בְּהַאי עָלְמָא. הָכִי נָמֵי יַהֲבֵי לָהּ לְבוּשָׁא דְּזָהֲרָא עִלָּאָה לְמֵיקַם בֵּיהּ בְּהַהוּא עָלְמָא וּלְאִסְתַּכָּלָא בְּגוֹ הַהוּא אַסְפַּקְלַרְיָאה דְּנָהֲרָא מִגּוֹ הַהוּא אֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים.
The esoteric doctrine is that in the same way as the soul has to be clothed in a bodily garment in order to exist in this world, so is she given an ethereal supernal garment wherewith to exist in the other world, and to be enabled to gaze at the effulgence of life radiating from that “land of the living”.
תָּא חֲזֵי, משֶׁה לָא יָכִיל לְקָרְבָא לְאִסְתַּכְּלָא בַּמֶּה דְאִסְתַּכַּל אֶלָּא כַּד אִתְלַבַּשׁ בִּלְבוּשָׁא אָחֳרָא כְּמָא דְאַתְּ אָמֵר (שמות כ״ד:י״ח) וַיָּבֹא משֶׁה בְּתוֹךְ הֶעָנָן וַיַּעַל אֶל הָהָר. וְתַרְגּוּם בִּמְצִיעוּת עֲנָנָא. וְאִתְלַבַּשׁ בָּהּ כְּמַאן דְּאִתְלַבַּשׁ בִּלְבוּשָׁא. וּבְגִין דָא (שמות כ׳:י״ח) וּמשֶׁה נִגַּשׁ אֶל הָעֲרָפֶל אֲשֶׁר שָׁם הָאֱלהִים וּכְתִיב, (שמות כ״ד:י״ח) וַיָּבֹא משֶׁה בְּתוֹךְ הֶעָנָן וְגו' וַיְהִי משֶׁה בָּהָר אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה וְיָכִיל לְאִסְתַּכָּלָא בַּמֶּה דְאִסְתַּכַּל.
Hence it is that Moses was not able to draw near to the place of God and to fix his gaze on what was to be seen there until he was first enveloped in another garment, as we read: “And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount” (Ex. 24, 18), that is, he enveloped himself in the cloud, as in a garment, and then he “drew near into the thick darkness where God was” (Ex. 20, 18), and “was in the mount forty days and forty nights” (Ibid. 24, 18), and was able to see what he did see.
כְּגַוְונָא דָא מִתְלַבְּשִׁין נִשְׁמַתְהוֹן דְּצַדִּיקַיָא בְּהַהוּא עָלְמָא בִּלְבוּשָׁא כְּגַוְונָא דְּהַהוּא עָלְמָא דְּלָא יִתְנַהֵג אֶלָּא בִּלְבוּשָׁא כְּגַוְונָא דָא וְקָיְימֵי לְאִסְתַּכָּלָא בִּנְהוֹרָא דְּנָהִיר בְּהַהוּא אֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים. וְזֶהוּ יָהּ יָהּ בְּאֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים. דְּהֲוָה סָבִיר דְּלָא יִזְכֵּי לְהַהוּא נְהוֹרָא וּלְהַהוּא אִסְתַּכְּלוּתָא בְּגִין דְּנַהֲרָא דְּנָגִיד פָּסִיק לֵיהּ וְלָא אוֹלִיד. לא אַבִּיט אָדָם עוֹד דָּא אָדָם קַדְמָאָה כְּמָה דְּאִתְּמָר.
In similar fashion the souls of the righteous in the other world clothe themselves in garments belonging to that world, so that they can endure to gaze on the light which is diffused in that “land of the living”. This is what Hezekiah meant when he said “God, God in the land of the living” (Is. 38, 11). He was afraid that he would be found unworthy to gaze on that light because he had allowed the lifegiving stream to cease with him, through not begetting children. In his further words, “I shall behold Adam no more” (Ibid.), there is a reference to Adam the first man, as has already been explained.
וְכָל דָא לָמָּה. בְּגִין דְּאָמַר לֵיהּ נְבִיאָה כִּי מֵת אַתָּה בְּהַאי עָלְמָא וְלָא תִחְיֶה לְהַהוּא עָלְמָא. בְּגִין. דְּמָאן דְּלָא (הוה) אוֹלִיד בְּנִין בְּהַאי עָלְמָא, כַּד נָפִיק מִנֵּיהּ מְתַרְכִין לֵיהּ מִכָל מַה דְּאֲמָרָן. וְלָא שַׁרְיָא לְמֶחמֵי בְּהַהוּא נְהוֹרָא דְּנָהִיר (כל שכן וכל שכן שאר עמא ושאר בני נשא). וּמַה חִזְקִיָּה דְּהֲוָה לֵיהּ זְכוּת אָבוֹת וְאִיהוּ זַכָּאָה צַדִּיק וַחֲסִידָא כָּךְ. כָּל שֶׁכֵּן מַאן דְּלֵית לֵיהּ זְכוּת אָבוֹת וְחָטֵי קַמֵּי מָארֵיהּ.
He spoke in this strain because the prophet had told him, “for thou shalt die and not live” (Ibid. 1), “die”, that is, in this world, and “not live” in the other world. For he who does not beget children in this world is denied all the blissfulness we have mentioned, and he is not privileged to contemplate the glorious effulgence. If this was the case with Hezekiah, who came of pious ancestors, and was himself worthy, righteous and pious, how much more so must it be the case with one who has no such ancestral merit to support him, and has himself sinned before his Master?
הַאי לְבוּשָׁא דְּקָאֲמָרָן אִיהוּ (אנון) מַה דְּאָמְרוּ חַבְרַיָיא חֲלוּקָא דְּרַבָּנָן דְּאִתְלְבִישׁוּ בְּהַהוּא עָלְמָא. זַכָּאָה חוּלָקֵיהוֹן דְּצַדִּיקַיָּיא דְּגָנִיז לוֹן קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא כַּמָּה טָבִין וְעִידוּנִין לְהַהוּא עָלְמָא, עֲלַיְיהוּ כְּתִיב, (ישעיהו ס״ד:ג׳) עַיִן לא רָאָתָה אֱלהִים זוּלָתֶךָ יַעֲשֶׂה לִמְחַכֵּה לוֹ:
That garment of which we have spoken is the same which the companions call “the robe of the sages”, with which they are clothed in the other world. Happy the portion of the righteous, for whom the Holy One, blessed be He, has treasured up blessings and delights in the other world! Of them it is written, “Eye hath not seen besides thee, O God, what thou shalt do for him that waiteth for thee” (Is. 64, 3).’