Chapter 34
פרק לד
It is known that “The Patriarchs are truly the Divine Chariot.”1
וְהִנֵּה, מוּדַעַת זֹאת שֶׁ"הָאָבוֹת הֵן הֵן הַמֶּרְכָּבָה",
Throughout their lives, they did not cease even momentarily from binding their mind and soul to the Master of the universe,
שֶׁכָּל יְמֵיהֶם לְעוֹלָם, לֹא הִפְסִיקוּ אֲפִילוּ שָׁעָה אַחַת מִלְּקַשֵּׁר דַּעְתָּם וְנִשְׁמָתָם לְרִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים –
with the aforementioned absolute surrender to His unity.
בַּבִּיטּוּל הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל לְיִחוּדוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ.
After them came all the prophets, who similarly nullified themselves before G-d’s unity in varying degrees, each according to the level of his soul and his understanding.
וְאַחֲרֵיהֶם כָּל הַנְּבִיאִים, כָּל אֶחָד לְפִי מַדְרֵגַת נִשְׁמָתוֹ וְהַשָּׂגָתוֹ,
The rank of our teacher Moses, peace be upon him, surpassed them all; of him, our Sages said: “The Shechinah (the Divine Presence) spoke out of Moses’ throat.”2
וּמַדְרֵגַת מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם הִיא הָעוֹלָה עַל כּוּלָּנָה, שֶׁאָמְרוּ עָלָיו: "שְׁכִינָה מְדַבֶּרֶת מִתּוֹךְ גְּרוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מֹשֶׁה",
His was such a total surrender to G-dliness that the very words he uttered were Divine speech; the relation of Moses’ throat to Divine speech was that of one’s throat to his own speech.
At Mount Sinai, Israel was privileged to experience a glimmer of this level of self-nullification.
וּמֵעֵין זֶה זָכוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמַעֲמַד הַר סִינַי,
But they could not endure it; as our Sages have said, “At every Divine utterance, their souls took flight,”3 and G-d resurrected them each time. This flight of their soul actually represents the self-nullification spoken of previously.4
רַק שֶׁלֹּא יָכְלוּ לִסְבּוֹל, כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה, שֶׁעַל כָּל דִּיבּוּר פָּרְחָה נִשְׁמָתָן כוּ', שֶׁהוּא עִנְיַן בִּיטּוּל בִּמְצִיאוּת הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.
Therefore, because they were unable to live with this feeling of self-surrender before G-d, He commanded them immediately to erect for Him a Sanctuary, in which would be the Holy of Holies, wherein His presence would dwell; i.e., there, His unity would be revealed, as will be explained further.5
לָכֵן, מִיָּד אָמַר לָהֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת לוֹ מִשְׁכָּן וּבוֹ קָדְשֵׁי הַקֳּדָשִׁים – לְהַשְׁרָאַת שְׁכִינָתוֹ, שֶׁהוּא גִּילּוּי יִחוּדוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁיִּתְבָּאֵר לְקַמָּן.
I.e., their constant awareness of G-d’s unity led them to be continuously in a state of self-nullification before G-d, and, as explained more fully in ch. 23, this self-nullification is what is meant by the term “chariot,” a vehicle submissive to the will of its pilot.