From War Spoils to the Throne of Glory: A Deeper Look at Today’s Daf

 

At the end of today’s daf (Chullin 88b) and continuing into tomorrow’s (89a), the Gemara teaches:

אָמַר רָבָא:

בִּשְׂכַר שֶׁאָמַר אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ

״אִם מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ נַעַל״,

זָכוּ בָּנָיו לִשְׁתֵּי מִצְוֹת:

לְחוּט שֶׁל תְּכֵלֶת, וּרְצוּעָה שֶׁל תְּפִילִּין.

Rava said:

As reward for what our Patriarch Abraham said —

“That I will not take a thread nor a shoe-strap…” (Genesis 14:23) —

his descendants merited two mitzvot:

the thread of techelet and the strap of tefillin.

The Gemara continues:

בִּשְׁלָמָא רְצוּעָה שֶׁל תְּפִילִּין… אֶלָּא חוּט שֶׁל תְּכֵלֶת מַאי הִיא?

Granted, the strap of tefillin makes sense… But what is the special quality of the techelet thread?

דְּתַנְיָא, רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר:

מָה נִשְׁתַּנָּה תְּכֵלֶת מִכׇּל הַצִּבְעוֹנִין?

מִפְּנֵי שֶׁתְּכֵלֶת דּוֹמֶה לַיָּם,

וְיָם דּוֹמֶה לָרָקִיעַ,

וְרָקִיעַ דּוֹמֶה לְאֶבֶן סַפִּיר,

וְאֶבֶן סַפִּיר דּוֹמֶה לְכִסֵּא הַכָּבוֹד…

As it was taught in a baraita, Rabbi Meir says:

Why is techelet different from all other colors?

Because techelet resembles the sea,

the sea resembles the sky,

the sky resembles sapphire,

and sapphire resembles the Throne of Glory…

(Source: Chullin 89a)

On the surface, this seems strange. What is the connection between Abraham refusing the spoils of war after rescuing Lot and the mitzvot of techelet and tefillin?

I understand this Gemara as an expression of the core Jewish idea of imitatio Dei — “and you shall walk in His ways” (והלכת בדרכיו).

Abraham recognized the Creator, the First Cause of existence. As the Rambam describes in hus MT Yesodei HaTorah, once a person truly apprehends God, he naturally seeks to know Him by imitating His ways. That is why Abraham is remembered above all for gemilut chasadim — acts of kindness — a quality he learned by imitating God.

In the war of the kings, the balance of society was shattered. Injustice was done: hostages were taken, freedom was stolen, and property was seized. Abraham corrected that imbalance. He restored people and property to their rightful owners — and then refused to take even a single thread or sandal-strap as reward. He wanted the restoration to be pure. He would not introduce any new imbalance of self-interest. In doing so, he participated in rebalancing the world, just as God maintains balance and order throughout creation.

The Gemara is teaching a powerful lesson: this very religious ideal that Abraham pioneered — imitatio Dei — is embodied in the mitzvot we wear.

Tefillin reminds us (and those who see us) that we are called to imitate God’s ways in the world.

Techelet trains the eye and the mind to look deeper into creation until we reach the “Throne of Glory.”

According to the Rambam, the “Throne” is not a physical seat. In Guide for the Perplexed (Part I, Chapter 9) he writes:

“The original meaning of the word kisse (‘throne’) requires no comment… The term is used… to denote the rank, greatness, and authority of a person… When applied to God it signifies His greatness and majesty… not that the Omnipotent, Supreme God is supported by any material object.”

For the Rambam, the Throne represents God’s sovereign control and the ordered plan He implanted in creation. When we look at the techelet on our tzitzit, we are invited to contemplate that very plan — and to strive, in our own small way, to imitate it through lives of justice, balance, and integrity.

Abraham restored justice without taking anything for himself.

We wear the symbols of that act every day.

The Shema Teaching That Almost Made Me a Heretic – And What the Rambam Really Meant by ‘Echad’

 

I remember when I was a kid, I was taught that when saying Shema, while pronouncing the word אחד in the first verse, I should have the following in mind:

א = one God

ח = over the 7 skies and 1 earth

ד = the 4 corners of the world

The original source for this idea is the Gemara TB Berachot 13B. The Shulchan Aruch OC 61:6 also brings this idea down in the name of the Tur.Though both are not really exactly in the above format.

As I got older, this became very problematic. First of all, describing God literally as “one” in a purely numerical sense can limit Him. Adding “7 skies and 1 earth” plus “4 corners of the world” further confines Him — not to mention the outdated idea that the world is flat. Holding these thoughts while reciting Shema could almost lead a person to a limited or even heretical conception of God.

As I matured, I began to understand that one must be interpreted as,"God as unique" — nothing can be compared to Him.

Then I studied Hilchot Keriat Shema in the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah. Here are his words, followed by the Sefaria translation:

וּמַה הוּא קוֹרֵא, שְׁלֹשָׁה פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת. אֵלּוּ הֵן (דברים ו ד) ״שְׁמַע״ (דברים יא יג) ״וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ״ (במדבר טו לז) ״וַיֹּאמֶר״. וּמַקְדִּימִין לִקְרוֹת פָּרָשַׁת שְׁמַע מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ יִחוּד הַשֵּׁם וְאַהֲבָתוֹ וְתַלְמוּדוֹ שֶׁהוּא הָעִקָּר הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁהַכֹּל תָּלוּי בּוֹ. וְאַחֲרֶיהָ וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ צִוּוּי עַל (זְכִירַת) שְׁאָר כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת. וְאַחַר כָּךְ פָּרָשַׁת (במדבר טו לח) ״צִיצִית״ שֶׁגַּם הִיא יֵשׁ בָּהּ צִוּוּי זְכִירַת כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת:

"And what is it that one recites? These three sections:

"Hear O Israel..." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9),

"And if you will listen..." (Deuteronomy 11:13-21), and

"And God said..." (Numbers 15:37-41).

We begin with the section of "Hear O Israel" since it contains [the concept of] the unity of God, [the commandment of] loving Him and the study of Torah, it being a fundamental principle upon which everything is based.

After it, [we read] "And if you will listen...," since it contains the imperative to fulfill the rest of the commandments, and finally the portion of tzitzit, since it also contains the imperative of remembering all the commandments.

https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Reading_the_Shema.1.2

I believe Sefaria is incorrectly translating תלמודו as “the study of Torah.” This is a mistake.

The first part of the Rambam makes perfect sense: by reciting Shema one contemplates the unity (or uniqueness) of God — that nothing can be compared to Him — which then leads to love of God. As the Rambam writes in Yesodei HaTorah:

בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיִּתְבּוֹנֵן הָאָדָם בְּמַעֲשָׂיו וּבְרוּאָיו הַנִּפְלָאִים הַגְּדוֹלִים, וְיִרְאֶה מֵהֶם חָכְמָתוֹ שְׁאֵין לָהּ עֵרֶךְ וְלֹא קֵץ--מִיָּד הוּא אוֹהֵב וּמְשַׁבֵּחַ וּמְפָאֵר וּמִתְאַוֶּה תַּאֲוָה גְּדוֹלָה לֵידַע הַשֵּׁם הַגָּדוֹל, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר דָּוִיד "צָמְאָה נַפְשִׁי, לֵאלֹהִים--לְאֵל חָי" (תהילים מב,ג).

"When a person contemplates His deeds and His wondrous and great creations, and sees in them His wisdom that has no measure or end, he immediately loves, praises, and glorifies Him, and is filled with a great desire to know the great Name, as David said: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalms 42:3)."

When one thinks about God and His uniqueness, that naturally leads to love. But what about תַלְמוּדוֹ? How does thinking about God lead specifically to “Talmud”(if we translate it like sefaria -learning torah)?

Let’s look in MT Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:12  to see how the Rambam understands תַלְמוּד:

כֵּיצַד: הָיָה בַּעַל אֻמָּנוּת--יִהְיֶה עוֹסֵק בַּמְּלָאכָה שָׁלוֹשׁ שָׁעוֹת בַּיּוֹם, וּבַתּוֹרָה תֵּשַׁע: אוֹתָן הַתֵּשַׁע--קוֹרֵא בְּשָׁלוֹשׁ מֵהֶן, בְּתוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב; וּבְשָׁלוֹשׁ, בְּתוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה; וּבְשָׁלוֹשׁ, מִתְבּוֹנֵן בְּדַעְתּוֹ לְהָבִין דָּבָר מִדָּבָר. וְדִבְרֵי קַבָּלָה, בִּכְלַל תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב הֶן; וּפֵרוּשָׁן, בִּכְלַל תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה; וְהָעִנְיָנוֹת הַנִּקְרָאִין פַּרְדֵּס, בִּכְלַל הַתַּלְמוּד.

"How is the above expressed? A person who is a craftsman may spend three hours each day involved in his work, and [devote] nine hours to Torah study: In those nine hours, he should spend three reading the Written Law; three, the Oral Law; and three, meditating with his intellect to derive one concept from another.

The “words of the prophetic tradition” are considered part of the Written Law; and their explanation, part of the Oral Law. The matters referred to as Pardes are considered part of the Talmud."

According to the Rambam, Talmud means Pardes (and not specifically learning torah)— the study of esoteric thought, the sciences, and the nature of God. As he writes in Yesodei HaTorah:

ד,כ [יג] וְעִנְיְנֵי אַרְבָּעָה פְּרָקִים אֵלּוּ שֶׁבְּחָמֵשׁ מִצְווֹת הָאֵלּוּ--הֶם שֶׁחֲכָמִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים קוֹרְאִין אוֹתָן פַּרְדֵּס, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ אַרְבָּעָה נִכְנְסוּ לַפַּרְדֵּס: וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁגְּדוֹלֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיוּ וַחֲכָמִים גְּדוֹלִים הָיוּ, לֹא כֻּלָּם הָיָה בָּהֶן כּוֹחַ לֵידַע וּלְהַשִּׂיג כָּל הַדְּבָרִים עַל בָּרְיָן.

"And the subjects of these four chapters that are in these five commandments—they are what the early Sages call Pardes, as they said: “Four entered the Pardes.” And even though they were the great ones of Israel and great sages, not all of them had the power to know and to grasp all the matters thoroughly [in their true nature / as they truly are].

Now the first verse of Shema makes much more sense."

Now the words,of the Rambam are powerful. Twice a day, when we recite this passage, we are meant to force ourselves to contemplate the unity of God — the ultimate Cause of all existence. This contemplation leads to loving Him, and then to continuing that pursuit by seeking a deeper understanding of Him through the study of the world and of God’s relationship (or lack of relationship) to everything that exists. This is the “Talmud” the Rambam is referring to: the highest form of intellectual and spiritual seeking (Pardes).

That is also why that of all the parts of Shema that one must have kavana, the first pasuk of Shema Yisrael etc is a must or one does not fulfill one's obligation 

Unlike the modern popular idea that Torah study is an end in itself, according to this understanding it is actually the opposite. Everything we do and practice is meant to lead us to the fundamental principle of the Shema — the understanding of God, the world, and our relationship to both.

כי אם בזאת יתהלל המתהלל השכל וידע אותי כי אני יהוה עשה חסד משפט וצדקה בארץ כי באלה חפצתי נאם יהוה

Tisha baav

Tonight we read in Eicha that it was the religious leadership that caused the Churban.

Perek 4:

מֵחַטֹּאות נְבִיאֶיהָ עֲוֺנֹת כֹּהֲנֶיהָ הַשֹּׁפְכִים בְּקִרְבָּהּ דַּם צַדִּיקִים׃

“It was for the sins of her prophets,  

The iniquities of her priests,  

Who had shed in her midst  

The blood of the just.”

The very next pesukim show how the remaining religious leaders were in denial even as death and the Churban were taking place. They were still preoccupied with tumah instead of helping their fellow Jews who were being murdered and abused:(disclaimer-this is my own chiddush on how to interpret these next two pasukim)

נָעוּ עִוְרִים בַּחוּצוֹת נְגֹאֲלוּ בַּדָּם בְּלֹא יוּכְלוּ יִגְּעוּ בִּלְבֻשֵׁיהֶם׃

“They wandered blindly through the streets,  

Defiled with blood,  

So that no one was able  

To touch their garments.”

סוּרוּ טָמֵא קָרְאוּ לָמוֹ סוּרוּ סוּרוּ אַל־תִּגָּעוּ כִּי נָצוּ גַּם־נָעוּ אָמְרוּ בַּגּוֹיִם לֹא יוֹסִפוּ לָגוּר׃

“‘Away! Unclean!’ people shouted at them,  

‘Away! Away! Touch not!’  

So they wandered and wandered again;  

For the nations had resolved:  

‘They shall stay here no longer.’”

As a result, midah k’neged midah, the people finally realized the evil of the leadership that caused God’s countenance to abandon them—and therefore they abandoned the leaders:

פְּנֵי יְהֹוָה חִלְּקָם לֹא יוֹסִיף לְהַבִּיטָם פְּנֵי כֹהֲנִים לֹא נָשָׂאוּ וּזְקֵנִים לֹא חָנָנוּ׃

“GOD’s countenance has turned away from them,  

And will look on them no more.  

They showed no regard for priests,  

No favor to elders.”

https://www.sefaria.org/Lamentations.4.16

Understanding “The Torah and God Are One” (Tikunei Zohar 74:1) Through the Rational Lens of Rambam

 

I am definitely not a believer that the Zohar was written by Rashbi, and I do believe that the Zohar — and especially the Arizal — are responsible for many of the problems we are having today, especially with the Chareidim/Chasidim and many of the “voodoo Judaism” rituals that have permeated throughout Orthodox Judaism.

Having said that, this one line from the Tikunei Zohar (74:1) can be beautifully interpreted through the philosophy of the Rambam. Moshe de León (the real author, in my view) was deeply well versed in the Rambam’s writings — he even had a personal copy of the Moreh Nevuchim (Guide for the Perplexed) written specifically for him — and likely had Rambam’s rational ideas in mind.

The Tikunei Zohar (74:1) states:

דאורייתא וקדשא בריך הוא כולא חד

(“The Torah and the Holy One, Blessed Be He, are entirely one.”)

What does this actually mean? Not, God forbid, a literal pantheistic identity where the Torah is God.

According to the Rambam, “Torah” itself is not only the literal text and mitzvot but also the deep rational understanding of God and how He runs the world. The study of physics (ma’aseh bereshit) and metaphysics (ma’aseh merkavah) — what we today call science and philosophy — is itself part of Torah, because these very subjects form the foundation of Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah (the opening section of the Mishneh Torah), where Rambam places them as the core principles for knowing God (see especially chapters 1–4, in which he identifies these sciences as the “secrets of Torah” and explains that contemplating creation and God’s governance leads directly to love and fear of Him).

Only once we have this broad, rational “Torah” do we see how man brings the Divine into reality: through Imitatio Dei — by imitating the divine middot (characteristics) that God embedded in the Torah and mitzvot as the ideal blueprint for life.

When we internalize this Torah and actually live its commandments, our thoughts and behavior become godly. By imitating God’s middot we are perfecting our own thoughts and character, our behavior, society, and the entire world — all by fulfilling Ratzon Elokim (God’s will) with every single thought and action. In this way man truly becomes the “tzel” — the living shadow and reflection — of God in this world.

Rambam supports this powerfully:

In Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot 1:5–6:

“We are commanded to walk in these intermediate paths… as it says, ‘And you shall walk in His ways’ (Deuteronomy 28:9).”

“Just as He is called Gracious, you shall be gracious; just as He is called Merciful, you shall be merciful… 

A person is obligated to accustom himself to these paths and to resemble Him to the extent of his ability.”

In Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandment 8: 

We are commanded to emulate the Holy One to the best of our ability, explained by the Sifrei as: just as God is called merciful, be merciful; just as gracious, be gracious.

And in the climactic final chapter of his masterpiece, Guide for the Perplexed 3:54: After acquiring knowledge of God and His providence, one “will then be determined always to seek lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness and thus to imitate the ways of God.”

Rambam considers all of mankind equal in the sense that they are all individually a Tzelem Elokim and have the same equal potential to meditate (intellectual contemplation of His ways and creation) and imitate God's ways — no one person is more special or holy than another.

Unlike Christianity and many Chareidi and Chasidic sects of Judaism that worship their leaders (both alive and dead), authentic rational Judaism according to the Rambam sees every human being as having this same equal potential.

It’s fascinating to note that ancient idol worshippers often viewed their statues (also called tzelem) not as the gods themselves but as vehicles or shadows meant to channel divine power(see MN 3:29). Judaism completely revolutionizes this idea: Man is the true Tzelem Elokim. Endowed with the unique ability to think abstractly (as Rambam explains in Guide for the Perplexed 1:1, where the image refers to our intellectual form), and by imitating God’s ways while doing His will, man becomes the authentic living shadow and representative of the Divine on earth.

Bottom line: By embodying this broad Torah, man creates the living unity described in the Zohar — דאורייתא וקדשא בריך הוא כולא חד — because by “pulling” the Torah into reality through his thoughts, choices, and actions, God’s will becomes fully present and manifest in man’s inner world, his behavior, and the outcomes he produces in the world around him. The Torah and the Holy One are one through the human being who lives them perfectly.

The "Torah" thus become our greatest opportunity — a dynamic partnership with the Creator to align reality with perfection.