Torah Fax
Friday - Shabbat, July 15 - 16 Parshat Pinchas
Torah Reading: Pinchas (Numbers 25:10 - 30:1)
Candle Lighting 8:08 PM
Shabbat ends 9:15 PM
Infinity By Two
Multiple Doubles
There are several places in the Torah where the Holidays are discussed. This week’s parsha, Pinchas, is one of them. In our parsha the Torah focuses on the sacrificial offerings that were designated for each of the Holidays.
When the Torah speaks of the special offerings for the Sabbath it states: “On the day of the Sabbath, two lambs…” When we compare the number of offerings for the Sabbath with the other Holidays we see that there is a discrepancy between them. The Midrash (cited by the Tosfot commentary on the Torah) takes note of the fact that on the Shabbat only a “paltry” two lambs were offered whereas on all the other Holidays there were more than two. The Midrash records how the Sabbath itself complained to G‑d as to why it was relegated to an inferior position vis-à-vis the other Holy Days.
According to the Midrash G‑d’s response was that this twin offering befits the Sabbath because all of the activities associated with the Sabbath involve pairs. The Midrash proceeds to enumerate four items associated with the Sabbath in which the Torah employs a repetitive expression or which require two items: the Sabbath Psalm (song), Sabbath delight, the penalty for its violation, and the double loaves of Challah that we use for each meal on the Sabbath.
The foregoing Midrash needs to be analyzed. The question as to why the Shabbat requires only two lambs as opposed to other Holidays is presumably based on the premise that the Shabbat is superior to other Holidays. And this is indeed the case. How then do we justify its diminished number of offerings by simply saying that there are other aspects of the Sabbath that consist of just two items? In addition, the Shabbat, as the seventh day of the week is also obviously connected to the number seven, about which the Midrash (cited below in the same Tosfot commentary) states: “All sevens are beloved.” Why not have seven offerings to highlight the beloved status of the Shabbat instead of just two?
Doubles as Harbingers of Redemption
To understand the significance and the preeminence of the twin lambs for the Sabbath sacrifice we must preface it with a discussion of the significance of the phenomenon of “twinning” in the Torah.
Our Sages in the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Lech Lecha) state that whenever the Torah speaks of redemption it employs a double expression. The Midrash lists the five letters of the Hebrew alephbet that come in two forms, the regular letter and the letter when it appears at the end of a word (called a sofit, final letter): these are the letters: chaf, mem, nun, pei and tzadik. The Midrash then proceeds to mention five occurrences of liberation in which these corresponding five repetitive letters are employed:
When Abraham is liberated from Ur Kasdim, the Torah introduces this event with the words “Lech lecha, in which the letter chaf is repeated. Likewise the Midrash demonstrates how each of the final letters in Hebrew is repeated in the context of various forms of liberation. The most familiar one is the double expression (beginning with the letter pei) pakod pakaditidi. Translated literally it means: “Remember, I have remembered.” This double expression of remembrance was used by G‑d when speaking to Moses to inform the Jewish people of their liberation from Egypt. The final Redemption is also indicated by the double use of the letter tzadik in the words describing Moshiach and his efforts to rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
But what is it about these double letters that is indicative of liberation?
Two Definition of Double
In truth, there are two distinct ways of understanding the number two and the concept of duality. When we say there are two items, this can have the connotation that we have departed from the ideal state of unity represented by the number one and entered into the inferior state of division and fragmentation represented by the number two. The most glaring example of this is the difference between our affirmation of one G‑d and the pagan notion of duality. One is holy and represents utter truth while the latter is idolatrous and false.
Indeed, the numbers one and two are the two most diametrically opposite numbers. One is truth, unity, and peace, while two is duplicitous, division, and discord. Even in English, we use the term “two” or “double” to imply something negative: double talk, a double standard, two faced, etc.
There is, however, a totally opposite way of understanding the significance of the number two, particularly in the context of the Torah repeating itself. A double expression can also have the connotation that what we have is a dynamic force that is constantly increasing. Double, in this context, does not mean just double; it can also be understood to mean exponential growth. It is a symbol for that which is infinite.
Liberation: Invitation to Infinity
Hence we find the concept of “twinning” specifically with regard to Redemption.
What is the real difference between exile and Redemption? Obviously there are many things that separate them. However, if we want to capture the most salient feature of Redemption we must view exile and liberation on all of its levels. What is the common denominator of the oppressive Egyptian bondage and our lives today in the Western world where we have total freedom and opportunity to grow in our spiritual lives?
On the most basic level, exile deprives us of our independence. Exile distances us from the place we want to be as well as from the things we want to do. Exile takes out all of the joy and enthusiasm from those things that we can do.
However, in its most subtle form, exile stifles our creativity and prevents us from breaking out of our mold. An exile mentality is one that defines the person—either narrowly or broadly—and his or her potential within certain boundaries. Exile conditions compel us to accept those boundaries that confine us as unalterable. We discover that we cannot break out of the box we are in.
Liberation, by contrast, means we are empowered to break out of any box. No matter how good and positive those things that define us may be they are still limited and cannot, by definition, change. In addition, because exile implies that we have a limited potential we are thus subject to the “law of diminishing returns.” Nothing that is finite can last forever.
In effect, the most salient feature of exile is that we are exposed to only a finite measure of Divine energy that a) keeps us from breaking out of our mold; b) will eventually dissipate. In its most brutal form, exile deprives us of our ability to live freely. In its most subtle form, exile conditions and the exile mentality limit our growth.
This, then, is the most dramatic aspect of the future Redemption. It will unleash an unprecedented and unlimited flow of Divine energy that will engulf the world. Whatever good we can experience today is, by definition, finite and therefore limited in scope and durability. In the future, the same positive phenomena will acquire infinite G‑dly energy. The good we have now will be redefined in ways that defy our imagination today. And, because the energy that will be unleashed in the future is infinite, it cannot be terminated.
We can now understand why Shabbat is characterized as a day of “twos.” And, as implied by the Midrash, the two sacrifices of the Shabbat supersede the far higher number of sacrifices that were offered on other Holidays. This is so because the Sabbath, our Sages tell us, is a taste of the future. On Shabbat we come as close as we can to experience the taste of the future Redemption, which is described as the “Eternal Shabbat.”
The two lambs that were offered on Shabbat, the two challot that we eat on Shabbat—as well as all the other doublets associated with the day that is a taste of the future—represent the idea of exponential growth. Shabbat is not about two lambs and two loaves; it is about doubling and redoubling the blessings that G‑d showers upon us but which exile conditions do not allow us to absorb. During Shabbat those impediments are removed.
Infinite Song, Delight, Life and Blessing
When the Midrash emphasizes the “double” phenomenon for the Sabbath it provides four examples: the Sabbath Psalm (song), Sabbath delight, the penalty for its violation, and the double Challah. In light of the foregoing analysis of the significance of doubles as symbols of infinite light we can discern four areas in which there will be expressions of this infinity in the future Messianic Age:
The Sabbath Psalm (song): There will be unmitigated and infinite joy as expressed through our singing. As we say in our liturgy: “And we shall sing for you a new song.” “New,” in this context, means something that is unprecedented and, as our Sages tell us, it will be an endless song never to revert to sorrow. The future Redemption will be permanent.
The Sabbath delight: The Messianic Age will usher in a time of eternal delight. This delight will far outweigh any physical or even spiritual pleasure that we can experience in exile or that we have experienced in the past.
The Sabbath penalty: Instead of the possibility of the curtailment of life—which is the penalty for some egregious examples of Sabbath desecration—we will all experience eternal life.
The Shabbat Challot: In addition to all of the spiritual blessings that will be exponentially greater than anything we have experienced in times of Galut, there will also be an abundance of material blessings that are symbolized by the Double Challah. We will enjoy—if we so desire—an infinite supply of material blessings that will parallel the unprecedented spiritual blessings. In Maimonides’ words: “And all the delights will be as abundant as the dust.”
Preparing for Infinity
Every aspect of the future has its parallel today that actually prepares us for the future.
By observing Shabbat properly—which includes observing the “body” of the laws of Shabbat together with its “soul”, i.e., getting into the joy, delight and spirit of Shabbat—we prepare ourselves for the time when there will be a surge of infinite light that will pervade the entire cosmos and introduce true and enduring joy, delight, life and, the blessings associated with life.
In addition, whenever we break out of our mold and do not allow ourselves to be satisfied with finding a comfortable niche for our Judaism we generate some of that infinite energy that will fill the world in the future. In doing so we accomplish four things: a) We get a taste of the future now, so that our last moments of exile are uplifted; b) We hasten the Redemption process; c) We make the process of Redemption go smoother, with less pain and travail; d) We prepare ourselves for and are receptive to the Redemption. The dramatic changes that will occasion the Redemption will not overwhelm us because we have already gotten a taste of it in these last moments of Galut.
Moshiach Matters
The liberation of the 12th of Tammuz will lead us to the ultimate redemption. Every salvation bears the name "redemption," as such it has a common denominator with every other salvation. Thus, the redemption of the Nasi [leader of the generation] is associated with the ultimate and true redemption; through our increased efforts to disseminate Torah and strengthen Judaism the master [Moshiach] will come.(The Rebbe, 14 Tammuz, 1987)
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