"Behold, the people shall rise up as a lioness..."
Which nation is as strong as Israel? When the morning light begins to shine, it
rises and strengthens itself like a lion for the devotional service of his
Master with many songs and praises, studying Torah all day.
Which nation is as strong as Israel?
At night, "he shall not lie down until he eats of
the prey" . When a person wishes to lie down on his bed, he sanctifies the
Holy Name [by saying the Shema] and crowns Him King above and
below. How many masters of judgment are bound before them at the time they open
their mouths on their bed with Shema Yisrael and beg for compassion
before the Holy King with numerous verses of mercy!
Rabbi Aba said, "Behold, the
people shall rise up as a lioness;" a time will come when this nation will
rise over all heathen nations like a powerful mighty lion, and will cast himself
upon them. It is the manner of all lions to lie down over their prey; however,
this nation "shall not lie down until he eats of the prey."
Another explanation of"
Behold, the people shall rise up as a lioness": [they will] bring
sacrifices and burnt offerings before the King upon the Altar. We have learned
that when an offering is being burnt on the altar, they perceived the form of a
lion crouching over the sacrifice and eating it.
...G-d will fight their battles with
their enemies for them.
Rabbi Aba said that Uriel was a
most supernal angel and was perceived in the form of a mighty lion crouching
over the altar and consuming the sacrifices. When Israel were not so worthy,
they perceived the form of an impudent dog crouching over it; then the children
of Israel would realize that they had to repent, and they repentKOL "He shall
not lie down until he eats of the prey" refers to the night sacrifices that
must be completely consumed by fire, such as burnt offerings. "And drink the
blood of the slain" (Num. 23:4) means that G-d will fight their battles with
their enemies for them.
Rabbi Elazar said that it is
written "He shall not lie down." What is the meaning of "He shall not
lie down"? This means that every single night, when a person follows
as his Master commands, he does not lie down on his bed until he kills 1,125 of
those types of evil spirits which are accompanying him. Rabbi Aba said that one
thousand are from the left side, as it is written: "A thousand shall fall at
your side" (Psalms 91:7) and it is also written: "Let the pious be joyful
in glory, let them sing aloud upon their beds. The high praises of E-l are in
their mouth, to execute vengeance upon the nations..." (Psalms 149:5-7)
Hence, it says, "He shall not lie down..." which is the meaning of, "To
execute upon them the judgment..." (Psalms 149:9)
Rabbi Hizkiyah said that corresponds with the three
times that Balaam beat his donkey and loaded her up with his tools of sorcery,
Israel was blessed three times. Rabbi Hiya said that corresponding to this
Israel were blessed to ascend three times a year [to the Temple Mount] to
appear before the Holy King.
That is
the power of the Shema said before retiring for the night.
BeRahamim LeHayyim:
Just as we rise like a lion to serve G-d, so too must
we be deliberate on how we surrender our soul at day's end. In the morning
we are grateful for our soul being returned to us. At night, we need the
faith to let go and trust that we will wake up the next day. That is
the power of the Shema said before retiring for the night. It works
on many levels. To contemplate accepting the Yoke of G-d's sovereignty.
To mouth the sacred words said by millions of Jews millions of times for
thousands of years ties us into a web and wave of tremendous spiritual
magnitude. In addition, we are promised that Above it will negate psychic
demons that seek to attach to us when we are our most vulnerable physically and
mystically.
The nighttime ritual found in prayer books also contains prayers of forgiveness
of others who may have hurt us, a confession of one's miss-takes, Psalms of
protection, contemplations for soul elevations, and finally, the offering of
oneself into G-d's hands. To spend a few moments at this time we are
promised exceptional reward. Perhaps tonight is the best time to begin a
new project?
What does the above mean to you, and why is it being revealed to you now?
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