FROM BOOK SIX, MYTHS OF THE HOLY TIME
380. THE
SEVEN SHEPHERDS
It
is known that on the first night of Sukkot a mysterious guest sometimes appears
in the
booths
of the righteous. This is none other than Abraham, who is the first of seven
guests
to
appear, one on each night of the festival. On the second night Isaac appears,
and on the
third,
Jacob. Joseph appears on the fourth night, Moses on the fifth, Aaron on the
sixth,
and
King David on the last night of Sukkot. Blessed, indeed, are those who receive
these
guests,
who are known as the Seven Shepherds. Every day of Sukkot one of these seven
shepherds
arrives at the sukkah as a
guest.
Before these celestial guests can appear,
they must be invited with the following words:
“Let
us invite our guests. Let us prepare the table. You
shall live in booths seven days (Lev.
23:42).
Be seated, guests from on high, be seated! Be seated, guests of faith, be
seated!”
Some
say there is another visitor who is present for all seven days of the festival.
That
is
the Shekhinah,
who dwells in the sukkah of each
righteous man as She once dwelled in
the
Temple in Jerusalem. She spreads Her wings over him from above, and Abraham and
the
other holy guests make their dwelling with him inside it. And one should
rejoice on
each
of the seven days, and cheerfully welcome these guests to stay.
All the other days of the year, the Seven
Shepherds are not able to descend to the lower
world.
This happens only in a sukkah,
when air from the upper worlds is drawn down,
and
the sukkah becomes
the Holy of Holies, and the Shekhinah dwells
in it. Only then can
the
Seven Shepherds descend and enter this world. Therefore, everyone who fulfills
the
mitzvah
of the sukkah becomes
a partner with God in the work of Creation. Through the
making
of the sukkah and
making a place for the Shekhinah to
rest, one fulfills God’s intention
to
make a dwelling place below.
Blessed is the portion of those who have
merited all this. For it is said that those who
welcome
the celestial guests into their sukkah will
rejoice with them both in this world
and
the next.
The festival of Sukkot derives from a
biblical injunction: You shall live in booths seven
days
(Lev. 23:42). Jews observe this holiday by building sukkot—booths—which
have
leaves
and branches for a roof. During Sukkot Jews eat all their meals in these
booths.
There is a widely known tradition that the Ushpizin,
literally, “guests,” who consist of
seven
patriarchal figures, come to visit the booths (sukkot)
of righteous Jews during
the
festival of Sukkot, one on each night of the festival. These guests are known
as the
Seven
Shepherds. When Jews leave their homes and enter the sukkah
they receive the
Shekhinah
as a guest, along with one of the Seven Shepherds. Every night
of Sukkot
the
prayer is recited that invites the guest to enter. They are invited with the
words,
“Be
seated, be seated you exalted guests.” The patriarch Abraham is invited on the
first
day, and on subsequent nights Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joseph, and David are
invited
with
the words “May it please you, my exalted guest, that all the other exalted
guests
dwell
here with me and with you.”
There are varying lists of the Seven
Shepherds. According to Micah 5:4 and B. Sukkah
52b,
they are Adam, Seth, Methuselah, David, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. According
to
the Zohar (3:103b-104a),
they are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, together with Moses,
Aaron,
and Joseph, plus King David.
Among some modern Jews there is a new
custom of also inviting the four matriarchs,
Sarah,
Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, along with Miriam, Deborah, and Esther, or
other
female leaders of the Jewish people, to visit in the sukkah.
For more background information about
Sukkot, see the commentary to “Dwelling
in
Exile,” p. 300.
Sources:
Zohar
3:103b-104a; Sefer Netivot ha-Shalom.
383. THE
BODY OF MOSES
Rabbi
Hayim Vital once dreamed that it was the ancient custom of Israel to bring the
body
of Moses to the synagogue on Simhat Torah. The reason for this custom is that
Simhat
Torah is the day of rejoicing with the Torah that had been given through Moses.
Furthermore,
on this day the Torah portion that is read from Deuteronomy recounts the
death
of Moses.
Now the day of the festival had arrived,
and they brought the body of Moses to the
synagogue
in Safed. It took many men to carry the body inside the synagogue, for it was
at
least ten cubits long. Then the body, wrapped in a white robe, was placed on a
very
long
table that had been prepared in advance. But as soon as the body of Moses was
stretched
out on the long table, it became transformed into a scroll of the Torah that
was
opened
to its full length, like a long letter, from the first words of Genesis to the
end of
Deuteronomy.
And in the dream they began to read the words of the Torah, starting with
the
creation, and they continued until they reached the last words, displayed
before all
Israel
(Deut. 34:12).
All this time the rabbi of Safed sat at
the head of the table, and Hayim Vital sat at the
foot.
And in the dream it occurred to Hayim Vital that while the rabbi of Safed sat
closest
to
the account of creation, he himself was closest to that of the death of Moses.
And when
the
scroll of the Torah had been completely read, the scroll of the Torah became
the body
of
Moses once again, and they clothed it and set a girdle around it. That is when
Hayim
Vital
awoke, and for hours afterward it seemed to him as if the soul of Moses was
present
in
that very room.
This astonishing dream of Hayim Vital shows
the close link in the Jewish mind between
the
Torah of Moses and Moses himself. In the dream the body of Moses is brought
to
the synagogue on Simhat Torah, which follows the seventh day of Sukkot and is a
day
of rejoicing. On Simhat Torah the year-long reading of the Torah comes to an
end
with
the last few verses of the Book of Deuteronomy and starts again with the first
verses
of the Book of Genesis. This explains Hayim Vital’s focus on the end of
Deuteronomy
and the beginning of Genesis. Note that the death of Moses is part of the
Sephardic
liturgy for Simhat Torah, and this may have inspired Hayim Vital’s dream.
Once the body of Moses, which is of
gigantic proportions (as Moses was a giant
among
prophets—B. Berakhot 54b
recounts that the body of Moses was ten cubits tall), is
carried
inside and put on a long table, it turns into the scroll of the Torah. Hayim
Vital
sits
closest to the end of the Torah, where the account of the death of Moses is
found. He
assumes
that because he is closest to this end, he is the closest to Moses. Once the
Torah
has
been read from beginning to end, it turns back into the body of Moses.
Hayim Vital had one of the richest
religious imaginations in all of Jewish history,
and
in his dreams and visions the line between mythology and religion is completely
erased,
as here, where the Torah and the body of Moses are one and the same. In his
writings
he strongly hints that his master, the Ari, had a messianic role, and in his
dreams,
visions, and other writings he likewise attributes such a role to himself. In
fact,
he makes this connection explicit in his comments on the dream: “This indicates
there
was a cleaving and connection between my soul and that of Moses.”
Sources:
Sefer
ha-Hezyonot 2:50; Shivhei
Rabbi Hayim Vital. The dream took place on 20 Tevet
1609.
Studies:
Jewish
Mystical Autobiographies, edited by Morris M.
Faierstein.
387. THE
WEDDING OF GOD AND THE SHEKHINAH
When
they are first engaged, God sends His betrothed nuptial presents and a meal of
celestial
bread. So too does He make preparations for the wedding feast. On the eve of
Shavuot,
before the wedding takes place, the members of the heavenly household remain
with
the Bride all night, and rejoice in the preparations for the wedding. They
study
Torah,
progressing from the Five Books of Moses to the Prophets, and from the Prophets
to
the Writings, and then to the midrashic and mystical interpretation of the
text, for
these
are the adornments and finery of the Bride.
Throughout the night, the Bride rejoices
with Her maidens and is made ready by them.
And
in the morning She enters the bridal canopy, illumined with the radiance of
sapphire,
which
shines from one end of the world to the other. Shining in all Her finery, she
awaits
each of those who helped to prepare Her. And at the moment when the sun enters
the
bridal canopy and illumines Her, all Her companions are identified by name. And
God
inquires after them, and blesses them, and crowns them with bridal crowns, and
blessed
is their portion.
Then the Bridegroom enters the bridal
canopy, and He offers the seven nuptial blessings
and
unites with His Bride, joining with the Queen in perfect union, and the
heavens
declare
the glory of God (Ps. 19:2).
This Shavuot myth describes the wedding of
God and the Shekhinah.
Since Shavuot
commemorates
the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, it is the appropriate time for
the
wedding of God and the Shekhinah.
The night of Shavuot is traditionally devoted
to
Torah study, including study of the mystical texts, and here that study is
identified
as
the adornments of the Bride. Thus the scholars who study on the night of
Shavuot
are
identified here as members of the heavenly household who remain with the Bride
all
night and assist Her in preparing for the wedding.
The myth that follows, also a Shavuot myth,
describes the wedding of God and
Israel.
Both versions are quite common, although the wedding of God and Israel, because
of
its appearance in the Sephardic Mahzor (holiday
prayerbook), is the betterknown
myth.
Note, as well, a remnant of a sun myth—the
entrance of the Bride of God into the
bridal
canopy is described in terms of the sun rising. Thus the Shekhinah
is also linked
to
the sun, as well as to the moon. Other remnants of sun myths can be found in
the
transformation
of Enoch into Metatron, where Metatron is described in terms identical
to
the sun.
Sources:
Zohar
1:8a; Or Zaru’a Ms.
JTSA ff. 39b/54b.
Studies:
The
Sabbath in Classical Kabbalah by Elliot
Ginsburg.