SeudatHodayahSchreiberPart2Jerusalem

PurimKatan5774 HaravYitzchakGinsburgh (Notestakenduringclass,notreviewednoreditedbyHaravGinsburgh)

3.TheholyOilofAnointment
The sages identify the allusion to Mordechai in this weeks parashah, Ki Tissa, this is thus the link between the two. The Torah says, And you, take for yourself spices of the finest sort: of pure myrrh five hundred [shekel weights]; of fragrant cinnamon half of it two hundred and fifty [shekel weights]; of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty [shekel ) are translated by Onkelos into Aramaic as, weights]. The words pure myrrh ( ). The allusions for Esther and Haman are from the Hebrew of meira dachya ( other verses, but Mordechai is special because his allusion appears in the Torahs Aramaic translation. Mordechai is a tzadik who translates the Torah for his generation, who knows his generations novel teachings. He is the head of his generation, and as suchheistheirmindsetandtheirwayofthinking. The word translated as pure above, , literally means free. The commentaries explain that to be free is to be pure, free from imprisonment, like a freebird. So the wordspuremyrrhcanbeunderstoodasafreeman.

TheRokeach:Anointingofthreekingsalludedtointheverses
There are a number of different mitzvahs in our parashah. One of them is the mitzvah to make the Oil of Anointment, a mitzvah that pertains to both the Priests and to the Kings, the leaders of the generation. The word Mashiach means the anointed one, and he is so named because he is anointed by this oil. In the Arizals terminology, the Oil of Anointment is an example of the inner aspect of Abba is the inner aspect of Atik. The Baal Harokeach teaches that the the phrase, Oil of holy anointment ( ) appears three times as an allusion to the three kings that were anointed with it: Saul, David, and Solomon. These were the Jewish peoples first three kings, and they all reigned over the entire people. The use of the oil of anointment to anoint a king is actuallynotevenmentionedinthisweeksparashah,onlytheanointingoftheTabernacle and its vessels (altogether 13 things are anointed). Nonetheless, with this teaching, the Rokeach is telling us that the main purpose of the oil of anointment is to anoint kings. FollowingwhatwelearntfromtheAvneiNezer,wecansaythattheanointmentofaking is not part of the mitzvahs requirements, but it is a hidur, the life of the mitzvah. These weretheonlythreekingsthatwereanointedwiththisoil.

SaulsanointmentwiththeoilofanointmentandtheconnectiontoMordechai
The Chidah says that there are a number of commentaries (the Radak, the Abarbanel, andtheKliYakar)whomissedthatSaulwasalsoanointedwiththeOilofAnointment they understood that Saul was only anointed with the Apharsemon oil. But, he writes that the Baal Harokeach is correct, that Saul was anointed with the oil of anointment. Now Mordechai is hinted to and alluded to in the words describing the Oil of Anointment,aswesaidandheisadirectdescendantofSaulthesonofKish.

Freemyrrhandpassingmyrrh
The Arizal explains that Mordechai is the light of the foundation of Abba that reaches all the way down to the foundation of Zeer Anin, and appears revealed at the top of the world of Creation, thereby passing beyond the revelation of the foundation of Nukva.Thisisalludedtointheidiomthatthewordmyrrh( )appearsin,intheSong ofSongs.Theidiomthereismyrrhthatpasses() . )inthisweeks Letsseeagematria.SinceMordechaiisboththepuremyrrh( parashah and he is the myrrh that passes () in the Song of Songs, what is the numericalrelationshipbetweenthetwo? Pure myrrh ( ) equals 650, a multiple of Havayah (26) and a therefore also a multipleof13. ), the difference is 376, the If we subtract Mordechai ( ), 274 from 650 ( value of Peace ( ). In Megillat Esther it says that, Mordechai sought peace for all his offspring ( ). In our own generation Mordechai and Shalom came together in the figure of a father and his son whose names were Mordechai and Shalom [Lapid]. The two were murdered together by Arabs. Then on Purim, someone rose and avengedtheirmurder.Thegematriaofhisnamewasexactlythesameasthatoftheirtwo names,MordechaiandShalom,650! Now, the phrase myrrh that passes () equals 518, and it is a multiple of 7. Since pure myrrh is a multiple of 13, two phrases are like male and female counterparts (the relatively masculine phrase being the one whose value divides by 13, therelativelyfemininephrasebeingtheonewhosevaluedividesby7).

ThethreeinstancesofHolyoilofanointment
Returning to the Baal Harokeach, who says the phrase, holy oil of anointment ) appears three times in correspondence with the three kings who were ( , anointed with the anointing oil. We see that if we add the three phrases each time there are additional words in the phrase surrounding these 3 words. The first twoinstancesofthephraseappearinthesameverse.Thefirsttimeitsimplysays,[You ), but the second instance it shall make this into] a holy oil of anointment ( ). The third time, the reads, a holy oil of anointment it shall be ( phrase is further expanded and reads, This shall be a holy oil of anointment to Me for ). Now, each phrase alludes to one of your generations ( the three monarchs, Saul, David, and Solomon. The first instance corresponds to Saul.

The second to David. There is a beautiful allusion to David in the second instance, becausethewordthatisadded,itshallbe( )isequaltoYehudah( ;)Davidisof course the first king from the tribe of Yehudah. Of course, whenever we hear this word, ), we are immediately reminded of the verse, On that day, God will be it shall be ( ' ). The word it shall be one and His Name will be one ( ( ) is similar to Gods essential Name, Havayah (), except that the unification between the vav and hei (Zeer Anpin and Nukva) which at the present does not happen constantly, will be constant, just like the unification between the yud and the hei (Abba and Ima). Additionally, the value of it shall be ( ) and Yehudah ( ), which is 30, isthenumberoftraitsbywhichkingdomisacquired.Itshallbealsoseemstoindicate eternity, alluding to the eternity of the House of David (whereas, in the phrase alluding toSaul,thereisnoallusiontoeternity,suggestingthattheHouseofSaulreignedforjust asinglegeneration).

Solomonsanointment
The eternal reign of the House of David began with Solomon, who built the First Temple in Jerusalem. David prepared the material with which the Temple was constructed, but Solomon constructed it, in practice. What do the sages learn from the final instance of holy oil of anointment? They learn that the entire quantity of the anointing oil is perfect and constant, in the present (when it was made) and for all time. Eachoftheadditionalwords,toMeforyourgenerations( ) is full of ) is as we said before, a connotation for the oils eternity and nuance. It will be ( unchanging nature and quantity, while the word this () is the word associated with the special prophecy level of Moshe Rabbeinu. The word, this also alludes to the amount of oil used to create the holy oil of anointment. On top of the fragrances (pure myrrh, fragrant cinnamon, aromatic cane, and cassia), the Torah states to add a hin of ) is 12 log () , the gematria of the word this (). The oil. Rashi says, that a hin ( )isquiterare,itonlyappearshere,and4moretimesintheprophecyofthe wordhin( futureTempleattheendofEzekiel. ), we learn that only Moshe Rabbeinu From the word for your generations ( made this oil and no one ever made anything like it. This is consummate wholeness, which alludes to Solomon, the third king anointed with the oil. Solomons name in ). Hebrewactuallymeanswholeorconsummatewholeness(

Thedevelopmentandstructureofthethreephrases
Weve seen that the phrase, holy oil of anointment develops, or evolves very clearly here, each time getting longer. How many letters in each stage? In the first ) there are 10 letters. In the second variant ( variant ( ) there are 14 letters. We didnt note this before, but 14 is the value of David ( ) the second king to be anointed with the oil. Finally, the third variant contains 25 letters. So altogether, all three instances have 49 letters (and 7 words). Since 49 is the square of 7, and square numbers represent consummate interinclusion, we see that

these phrases do indeed complement one another. We can draw them in the form of a squareof7,likeso:

In this figure, the first line is whole, in the sense that it ends with a whole word, .Thefinallineisalsothesingleword,.

Thethreephrasesandthethreekings
Just the basic phrase, holy oil of anointment ( ) equals 1542. When we multiply it by 3 and add the additional words, , , and the total (which is the value of the entire square figure) comes to 5442. But, now lets add to this the value of the 3 kingswho were anointed with the holy oil of anointment, Saul ( ), ). Their values are 375, 14, and 337, respectively, and David ( ), and Solomon ( together their value is 726. Added to 5442, the grand total of the complete three phrases describing the oil and the 3 kings is 6168. But, what is amazing about this number, 6168 is that it is equal to exactly 4 times1542,the value of the original basic phrase, holy oil of anointment ( ). Not only that, but since the basic phrase contains 3 words, then 4 times its value is equal to what is known as the front and back () of the phrase, or . Thisis a beautiful mathematical illustration of the Baal Harokeachs ruach hakodesh that these three instances of holy oil of anointment allude to the three kings anointed with the oil.

Theingredientsoftheoilofanointment
Now lets do another gematria pertaining to the oil of anointment. The ingredients that went into the oil also demonstrate a ratio of 1 to 4, since there were 4 fragrant materials added to olive oil: pure myrrh ( ), fragrant cinnamon ( ), aromaticcane( ),andcassia( )alladdedtooliveoil( ).Thevalueofall the ingredients is2645,which is the product of 5 times529.So the average value of each ingredientis529,or23squared,thevalueofpleasure( ). Oil represents the inner aspect of the partzuf of Abba (wisdom), but certainly, we know that the inner essence Abba is the same as the inner aspect of Atik ( ) .Theoilofanointmentiscertainlyasourceofgreatpleasure,anditisusedto anoint both the vessels of the Tabernacle and the priests, but the main thing about it, its finalpurposeistobeusedtoanointtheMashiach,thekings.

4.Transformingthebitterintothesweet
Now lets return to the Rebbes sichah about the dispute between Rabbi Meir and RabbiYehudahregardinghowtheoilofanointmentismade.

Transformingdarknessintolightandthebittertasteintosweetness
It is well known that the true tzadik that is described in the Tanya is able to transform the darkness into light and the bitter into sweetness. The main holiday when we are all tzadikim and able to transform darkness into light is Chanukah, during the mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah candles, until there are no longer people in the marketplace.Thecandlethatwelighttransformsthedarknessoutsideintolight. On Purim, we are able to transform the bitterness, the bitter drop as its called in Hebrew(alcohol)intosweetness. These two idioms are both from the Zohar. What is the difference between them? To transform darkness into light is to rectify the kelipah of nogah, the intermediate husk, but to transform the bitter into sweetness is infinitely harder because it means transforming the3impurehusksintoholiness.But,aJewhasthepowertodoboth. About transforming the impure into the pure, it is written that it is similar to, Who can bring the pure out of the impure, not one () , a verse that the sagessaydescribesAbrahamcomingoutofTerachandMordechaicomingoutofShimi. We mentioned the verse, A Jewish man was in Susa the city and his name was MordechaithesonofYair[Yairstemsfromlightandsouptothispointthereisonly the transformation of darkness into light] theson of Shimi. Shimi [the son of Gera]was the man who cursed David, the anointed king, when he fled from his son Absalom. For this he was to be killed, but David did not punish him, instead he left it to his son Solomon.ThefactthatMordechaicouldcomeoutofShimiindicatesthePurimisindeed aholidayofthepurecomingoutoftheimpure.

Identifyingthemyrrh
What is the identity of this fragrance translated as myrrh ( )? All the Geonim [the Babylonian sages that led the people from the signing of the Talmud to about the year 1000CE) agree that it is musk. The word musk is also the meaning of the name [Chayah] Mushka. It too is a form of the pure coming out of the impure, since it is the blood of an impure animal which has very good smell, so good that it is considered the firstandfinestamongallfragrances. This animal is found in India. It has to be free running. And when it roams freely, dropsofitsbloodcomeoutofitsneck.

Transformingtheimpureanimal
How do you identify this animal? It looks like a deer ( ). But, this is an impure animalunlikethedeer.Whoelseresemblesadeer?TheJewspowertotransformthethe bitter into sweetnesswhich is far greater than the ability to transform darkness into lightalso pertains to the power of imagination, the ability to see resemblance between

 two thing. The verse says that God is like a deer ( ). So, two resemble the deer:theAlmightyHimselfandthisimpureanimal. The word deer () is an acronym for A tzadik lives by his faith ( ). A tzadik, as we said, is someone who can rectify the power of imagination. Like the deer,heholdsontotwoextremes(theimpureanimalandtheAlmighty).But,hehasthe ability to transform the bitter (the bitter dropalcohol) into the most wonderful , fragrance. The sages describe the mitzvah to drink wine onPurim with the word which literally means to drink to the point that one gives off a good fragrance, meaning that one has transformed the bitter drop, the alcohol, into the sweetest, most fragrant perfume in the world. Then one has attained the level of My beloved is like a deer ( ).

TheRambansidentification
The Ramban in analyzes this whole topic of the . To begin with he doesnt agree with the Gaonim that this is blood from an impure animal. He says that in the languages, be they Semitic or otherwise, this is the name of a fragrance that is made from a type of grass called myrrh. His discussion is an example of elevating secular knowledgetothelevelofpureholiness.

Usingbloodfromanimpureanimalintheoilofanointment
One of the reasons to reject the Geonims opinion that this is blood from an impure animal is that it seems unreasonable to take something that we are not permitted to eat, something impure, and use it for the anointing oil. There is a lot of discussion on this point,andthebottomlineisthatthebloodfromtheimpureanimalisnolongerimpure, itsimpurityisgone. But, how can this be? It still comes from something impure. This is a very good example of Who can take the pure out of the impure, not one, which means that only He who is not one, in the sense that He is nothing like anyone, the Almighty, can do this.InChassidutthisisconnectedwiththelevelofGodsunitythatisabovethelevelof onenessthe singular (the three levels are: singular, one, primordial ). And so, only out the power of Gods singularity can the impure be made pure. So we have here three examples of transforming the impure into the pure: Abraham, Shimi, andmusk.

5.LubavitcherRebbesSichahontheDisputebetweenRabbi MeirandRabbiYehudah
RabbiMeirandRabbiYehudahthedisputebetweenthesagesofIsrael
Now we come to the dispute between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah that the Lubavitcher Rebbe addresses in a sichah.1 Weve seen that following the 4 fragrances,
1

.LikuteiSichotv.16.

theTorahmentionsahinofoliveoil.WesawthatRashiexplainsthatthehinis12logof oil. Then Rashi adds that the sages of Israel disputed this point, because it presents a difficulty: How could just 12 log of oil be enough to make the oil given the very large amounts of the 4 types of fragrance prescribed by the Torah. Rabbi Yehudah says, that 12 log of oil (each log is 6 beitzim, so 12 log is equivalent to 72 beitzim of olive oil) prescribed by the Torah is not enough to even oil all the raw material from which the ). Therefore, Rabbi Yehudah holds that the fragrances are made ( raw material was first deeply cooked in water, until the water took the fragrance. Then theoilwasplacedonthewateruntilthefragrancehadbeentransferredtoit.Finally,the oilwasseparatedoutofthewater. Rabbi Meir though says that this amount of oil was used to deeply cook ( ) the rawmaterialsandforthat,12logisenough.

HowcanRabbiMeirsunderstandingberealistic?
NowtheRebbesaysthatsinceRashisaysthatthesagesofIsraeldisputedhowtheoil was made, and mentions both Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah, it means that both are acceptable according to the literal meaning of the verses. Both are a viable explanation for the reality of how the oil of anointment was made. But, how can we say that Rabbi Meirs opinion is realistic after Rabbi Yehudahs explanation that 12 log of oil is not enoughtoevenoiltherawmaterial. Also, why doesnt Rashi at least explain how according to each opinion the oil of anointmentwasprepared?Theseareobviouslyverystrongquestions.

Mentioningthenamesofdisputantsisrare
Before we give the Rebbes answer, lets say something about Rashis choice of ). In all, Rashi uses this phrase 9 times in his phrase, the sages of Israel ( commentary on the Pentateuch. However, in 7 instances where he uses this phrase, he doesnt mention the names of the disputants. But, two times he does, and in both cases, the sages are the same: Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Meir. What this indicates is certainly ) that each follows that the cases are linkedand that there is a similar reasoning ( in both cases. This is a very straightforward conclusion, but I havent seen that any of Rashis commentaries mention it. It also means that a sharp young child could pick up on the connection between the two instances in which their names are mentioned (especiallysincethefirstinstancewasonlyafewparashotback). Beforewecontinueletsbringagematria,thesagesofIsrael,Yehudah,Meir( ) equals 900, which is 30 squared, or Yehudah ( ) squared. The disputesbetweenthemareusuallyruledlikeRabbiYehudah.

ThefirstdisputebetweenRabbiYehudahandRabbiMeir
Usually the ruling follows Rabbi Yehudah. The first time Rashi mentions Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah as disputants is in regard to the laws of rental () . Though we ), the know there are four categories of temporary possession: the safekeeper (

 ), and the borrower ( ). Of the four, the laws renter () , overseer for pay ( of rental are not mentioned explicitly when it comes to special cases such as when the object rented has been stolen. Rabbi Meir says that the renter is likened to a safekeeper ) while Rabbi Yehudah says that he is treated like a overseer for pay ( ). ( Again, the Rebbes point is that we should be able then to connect these two disputes, sinceinbothcases,RashimentionsRabbiMeirandRabbiYehudahbyname.

ThesagesofIsraelessencevs.reality
If Rashi describes these two sages explicitly as the sages of Israel, to what sefirah ), and sage in Hebrew is should we correspond them? Since they are two sages ( wise, they allude to the higher and lower wisdom. Higher wisdom is the sefirah of wisdom and lower wisdom is the wisdom in the sefirah of kingdom. King Solomon too ) and Solomons wisdom had two wisdoms, Gods wisdom to do ( ). ).Higherandlowerwisdomarealsoknownashigherandlowerhonor( ( Sincethisword,honor,equals32,itrepresentsthe32pathwaysofwisdommentionedin Sefer Yetzirah. Between them, Rabbi Meir is higher wisdom, supernal wisdom. Rabbi Yehudahisthelowerwisdom. In the books discussing the general rules regarding the Talmud and its disputes, disputes between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah are likened to those between Rabbi Shimon (bar Yochai) and Rabbi Yehudah. Thus, Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Meir are similar,visavistheirdisputeswithRabbiYehudah.ItiswellknownthatRabbiShimon (and now, Rabbi Meir) approach a topic from its inner essence, while Rabbi Yehudah approachesitfromitsexternal,realisticaspect.Thisfits,verynicelywithRabbiYehudah being the wisdom of kingdom, since wisdom represents essence and kingdom representsreality.

ThesagesofIsraeltheleaderandthespokesman
If wed like to go another step in this meditation, maybe we can correspond each of ) with Rabbi Meir and the two words in the phrase, the sages of Israel ( Rabbi Yehudah. Whichof them isthe sages and which isthe Israel? Rabbi Yehudah ). Why is he the knows how to speak, he is called the First Speaker ( spokesperson?Because hehasaneyefor reality,heknowshowtocommunicatehimself andhisopinionsproperly. On the other hand are Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Shimon communicates poorly, and gets into trouble. When hes asked a question about the Romans his answer gets him in a lot of trouble, and so he has to hide himself in a cave for 13 years just to stay alive. Rabbi Meir is a little better. His answers are very complex and they really confuse everybody. With his answers he can purify the impure and make impure seem pure.Thatiswhyintheend,thesagescouldntunderstandRabbiMeirsopinions. In any case, the Israel is Rabbi Yehudah and the sages is Rabbi Meir. Since both wordshave4letters,wecanmultiplythemonebytheother,letterbyletter.Wecallthis a dot product (because of its similarity to a dot product in mathematics). The dot

 ). product between and is 2740, or 10 times the value of Mordechai ( Adding the dot product between and (each has 5 letters) gives us 5694, or 26 th ) ,ourdatetoday.5694isalsoequalto times219,where219equalsthe13 ofAdar( 26times3timeswisdom( ),73.

Nullifyingtherawmaterialintheoliveoil
Nowletsgetbacktothemainthing.TheRebbesaysthatitisapshatinRashithatfor RabbiMeir,whatisproducedintheenddoesnothavetobepureoil.Itcanbeoilmixed withrawmaterials.But,forRabbiYehudahithastobepureoilintheend,becauseafter all, at the end, the Torah describes the product as, an oil of anointment it shall be. So even though the raw material from which the fragrances come needs to be cooked, the cookingcantcausetheoliveoiltobelost,tochange.Ithastostayoliveoil. But, according to Rabbi Meir it is fine that the original oil is changed by the cooking. This explains why Rashi doesnt have to explain Rabbi Meirs opinion in relation to Rabbi Yehudahs question about the quantity of oil not sufficing to even oil the raw material. Rabbi Meir says, you just add the oil into the mixture and the fact that it changesbythetimeyourdoneisnotaproblem,themainthingisthemixturecreatedby thedeepcooking. So, we can say that their dispute centers on the question of whether the oil can containtherawmaterialsleftinitafterthecooking(RabbiMeir)orwhether,theoilmust remain pure and only the fragrance (but not the matter) of the raw materials be introduced into it. Rabbi Meir has no problem with the oil being infused with the raw materialitself.

RabbiMeirandRabbiYehudahthepresentvs.thefuture
In effect, we can see both their opinions in the Torahs wording. First, the Torah states, You shall make it into sacred anointing oil, a blended compound as made by mixing, suggesting Rabbi Meirs opinion, that the oil too should be mixed and blended with the raw material. But, then it continues, an oil of anointing it shall be, which stressesRabbiYehudahsopinion,thatthemainthingisthatitbeoilintheend. ), the Now, to connect their dispute here with their dispute regarding rental ( ). Rabbi Meir sees the Rebbe first states the essence of each ones reasoning (his present moment and state as most important, while for Rabbi Yehudah, the future is mostimportant. The same is true, says the Rebbe, regarding the renter. The dispute there is whether he is like a safekeeper ( ) who is not culpable if the object placed in his ) who is possession is lost or stolen, or whether he is like an paid overseer ( culpable in these cases. What is the root of the two opinions? Again, it can be said to be thedifferencebetweenfocusingonthepresentvs.focusingonthefuture. When the owner rents his ox, for instance, to the person renting it, Rabbi Meir says he focuses on the present, i.e., on the fact that he is now being paid to rent his ox. The paymentishismainfocusthepaymentinthepresentmoment.Therefore,ifsomething

happens in the futurethe ox is stolen or lostthe person renting is treated like a safekeeperwhoisnotculpableinthesecases.Theownerrentswiththepresentinmind. But, according to Rabbi Yehudah, the owner renting his ox is very concerned with theoxsfuturethatitbereturnedtohimingoodhealthandontime.Itstruethatheis being paid to rent the ox out, but the payment is not his main focus, not as much as the oxs future state. Therefore, according to Rabbi Yehudah, the person renting is culpable fortheoxincasesinwhichinthefutureitwillbestolenorlost,justlikeapaidoverseer. Theownerrentswiththefutureinmind.

Presentisessential,thefutureisrealistic
Lets return to the earlier definition, that Rabbi Meir sees the essence and that Rabbi Yehudah focuses on reality. We didnt ask this before, but we have to now: how does essence go together with the present, while the future correspond to reality. I probably wouldnormallythinktheexactopposite. Toanswer,letsintroduceawordthattheRebbedoesntuseinhissichah:experience (). This has been a central word in our teachings over the years. What we will now say is of course applicable to all aspects of our lives. When the oil is preparedand it is justonceoralleternitythenduringthepreparation,thefocusofonesconsciousnessis deeplyimmersedintheexperienceofcookingallthematerialstogether.Theideaisthen that total immersion in the experience connects one with the essence. This is also what wisdom is about. Wisdom (which corresponds with the World of Emanation) is where all times are as one, the past, the present, and the future, are one ( are 1, togetherequals73,thevalueofwisdom). Ontheotherhand,RabbiYehudahsaysthatevenwhentheoilisbeingprepared,the focus is not on the present moment, on preparing it itself, but that it be exactly suited to be an eternal, constant oil. Therefore, the focus is actually on the future product, what will come out of the preparation, what will realistically be produced. We rule according to Rabbi Yehudah because halachah looks at things externally, and now what we have gained is that a halachic frame of mind is also focused on the future. Rabbi Yehudah says the focus is on the utility of the action being taken, not on the action itself (on experiencing the action). Utility in general is related to the four lower sefirot, especially tokingdom.

MosheRabbeinuandAharon,presentandposterity,sacredandeternal
In parashat Shemini there is a similar dispute between Moshe Rabbeinu and his brother Aharon. Moshe Rabbeinu judges the situation based on the present moment alone, while Aharon says that the moment is not necessarily the same thing as when youre judging things for posterity, when you take the future generations into account. Moshe Rabbeinu on the other hand thinks that the verdict should be the same in both cases. Another way to state this is the difference between an ad hoc, a temporary ruling () and one that is for posterity. Rabbi Meir is a messianic figure. The initials of the description of the Mashiach, The spirit of our nostrils, the Mashiach of God ( 10

 ). His name is also the same letters as the Aramaic ) spell Meir (

translation of free myrrh ( ), the allusion to Mordechai in the Torah. Rabbi Meir experiences the present moment and likewise as we shall momentarily see, does Mordechai.But,RabbiYehudahisconcernedaboutthefuture. We also define this dispute as the dispute between the sacred () and the continuous (). There are things that are sacred, but not continuous. Being sacred is being more inner and essential, but it does not ensure continuous existence. The notion that the olive oil be cooked with the other raw materials is about sanctity. But, that the result be something eternal, continuous, that comes from the fact that the oil should be eternal. We can now add that the root behind Rabbi Meirs reasoning that the oil can lose its nature through the preparation process is linked to his goal of transforming the bitter into sweetness. The transformation is so complete (because it reaches the essence) that Rabbi Meir would not have a problem with the myrrh actually being musk. The transformationissuchthatitcanmakesomethingpureoutofanimpureanimal.Infact, we can easily state that the source for the two opinions about the (whether it is musk or myrrh) is the dispute between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Meirs outlookismessianic,themuskcancomefromanimpureanimalandstillbecomesacred. ). We can also add that Rabbi Meir holds by the That is the power of the sacred ( ) , the type of medicine medicine of the future, when like cures like ( exercisedbytheAlmightyandthatwillbeusedbytheMashiach. On the other hand, what bothers the Ramban is exactly what bothers Rabbi Yehudahtheybothunderstandthateverythingthatgoesintothepreparationoftheoil will exist for posterity. How can you have an impure animal contributing to the eternal if the animal remains what it isimpure? (Again, Rabbi Meir understands that everything is cooked together, very deeply, so that in the end the essence is transformed). Bringing all the proof that he does from languages around the globe also connects the Ramban with Rabbi Yehudah, the spokesman, the one who communicates andjudgesfromthepresentmeaning.

Sevencandlesinthemeasurementsoftherawmaterials
Lets look for a moment at the measurements of the raw materials used to prepare the oil of anointment. Altogether there are 7 measures. Myrrh 500 units, fragrant cinnamon,halfofitis250,sothewholeamountis500too.Aromaticcane250,andcassia 500. So altogether we have here 7 times 250 units. 250 is the value of candle (). The totalisthen1750,where1750isthevalueof,Howbeautifulandpleasantispleasurable love( ).

RabbiMeirandRabbiYehudahregardingzimun
The Rebbe brings a third dispute between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah regarding zimun, whether we perform zimun even when the quantity of bread consumed is just a kazayit (an olive)Rabbi Meiror whether the quantity has to be at least a kabeitzah (an

11

egg)isrequiredRabbi Yehudah.ThepshatintheTorahisthatwhatoneeatsshouldbe satisfying, You shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall say a blessing ( ). Thus, the Torah requires a person to saya blessing if hes eaten akazayit, because that is considered eating, but the sages ruled that in order to say the blessing, the grace aftermeals,itshouldbeatleastakabeitzah. So with regard to the zimun that comes before the grace after meals, Rabbi Yehudah looksateatingforthepurposeofsayingablessing,eatingisutilitarianfromhispointof view, and therefore he requires that it be at least the amount that would require one to say the blessing after the meal opinion. But Rabbi Meir, focuses on the present moment, on the experience, and therefore says that a person is obligated with zimun even if he onlyateakazayit.

TheTanyasbeinoniandfocusingonthefuture
Ineveryactionthereistheexperienceoftheactandthereistheimpressionleftover. Rabbi Yehudah senses the impression, the residue (the reshimu) that is left over from the act. When one judges reality externally, the thing that he sees is the impression, the reshimu. The same is true for the Tanyas beinonithe intermediate individual. As much as the intermediate is in the present, he judges the present moment as it seems externally. Transformation is not really possible, so the important thing is the present moments utilitywhat will come out of it in the future. The beinoni has sanctity in the presentmomentofprayer(prayeritselfiscalledpresentmoment) ,butthenthis sanctitydepartsbecausetoconstantlylivethepresentmomentisthelotofthetzadik,not ),likeRabbiMeir. thebeinoni.Thetzadikontheotherisintotransformation(

Thesecretofthehalf
The entire concept of connecting with the Rebbe ( ), that the tzadik is the foundationoftheworld( ),andtheKingMashiachareallrelatedtotheoil of holy anointment. The Torah does something very unique here. Instead of telling us that the quantity of the fragrant cinnamon should be 500 units, it tells us that its half is 250. The simple reason is that we should add to small additions to each quantity of 250.2 Thenotionoftakingahalfissimilartotheparashahsbeginningwiththehalfshekel. In the continuation of the parashah we read about the sin of the Golden Calf. The half shekels are meant to atone for the Golden Calfeverything that precedes the Golden Calfismeanttoprovideatonementforit.Godprovidestheremedybeforetheaffliction. In the parahah there is another important quantitythe quantity of gold used to make the Golden Calf, 125 kantrin of gold (Rashi states this in his commentary). We

. When a merchant measuresaquantity, he must measure itand then adda smalladditional amount in favor of the buyer. This small additional amount is called a , literally pushing downsincethescalesarepusheddownalittleinfavorofthebuyer.
2

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learn this from the word image ( ),3 whose value is 125. Now, 125 is another half, ahalfof250.But,125isoddsoitcantbedividedagain. Each 500 alludes to a shoulder ( ), the object of the Arizals yichud of memory. Since there are two 500mentioned in regard to preparing the oil of anointment, then we haveherebothshoulders. The middle letters of the perfumes are , which equals 1000 or 10 to the third. So from 1000 we go to 500, to 250, to 125, this is like halflife, you split again and againuntilyoureachzero.

TheoilofanointmentandtheHolyArk
Wementionedearlierthattheeternalnatureoftheanointingoilislikethemiracleof the Ark of the Covenant which did not take up any space. These are both like the Baal Shem Tovs teaching regarding learning Torah, that however much you learn, you shouldfeelthattheTorahremainswholeitisasifyouneverstartedlearningit. The oil of anointment, in this sense, cant be touched. You cant subtract anything from it because you cant really touch it, just as the Holy Ark cant be touched. The Ark isinfactthefirstvesseltobeanointed.

Goodhope
What is the value of a half ( )? 548. Half of 548 is 274, the value of Mordechai ( ).HalfofMordechaiis137,thevalueofKabbalah( )andthemostmysterious numberinModernPhysics. What weve learnt then is that each of us should take his half. For instance, someone whose name is Oded ( ), half his name equals 42, and half of that is 21, the value of theNameEkyeh.Youshouldatleastreachyourfinalhalf. ) is equal The Chatam Sofer brings the observation that cursed is Haman ( toblessedisMordechai( ).Healsosaysthatoneshouldhaveinmindwhen ). He says a few more things, observing this point that they also both equal hope ( but that is his point. What is the hope? The hope is that even after you break something youshouldbelievethatyoucanfixit.

.Exodus32:4.

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