The Mystery of Unity

8/10/2019 The Mystery of Unity

1/27


2/27

THE MYSTERY OF UNITY: POETIC AND MYSTICAL

ASPECTS OF A UNIQUE ZOHARIC SHEMA MYSTERY

Jonatan M. Benarroch

Abstract: This paper reveals one of the most unique Zoharic Shemamysteries identified as Rav Hamnuna Sabbas Mystery of Unity[ ]. This mystery is deeply connected to two nar-rative figures in Zoharic literature: The Yanuka (the Zoharic wunder-kind) and the Saba (the wise old man). This paper argues that various

poetic aspects of these two figures illuminate the theosophic and mys-tical contents of their homilies as can be shown in the various homiliesof the Yanuka and Saba on their unique Shema mystery.

INT ROD UC TI ON

Among the various narrative figures in Zoharic literature, there are two thatare exceptional in their mythical-symbolicnature: the Yanukathe Zoharicwun-derkindand the Sabathe wise old man.1 These figures are strongly linked to aunique Zoharic Shema mystery.2 This linkage can serve as a hermeneutical key to

This essay is part of my research over the past two years, which was made possible thanks to thegenerous support of the Tikvah fellowship at Princeton University (2011), the Fulbright fellowship atHarvard University (2012), and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. (201113). This researchhas been also funded by the European Research Councils Starting Grant TCCECJ headed by Dr. PawelMaciejko of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (20122014). I would also like to thank Joel Heckerfor reading a draft of this essay and contributing valuable comments, and for sharing some of his find-ings with me. Finally, I would like to thank Sara Tova Brody for her help in editing this essay. A paper Idelivered in the 2011 AJS conference in Washington, in a session on literary approaches to the Zohar,served as a source for this essay. I would like to thank Eitan Fishbane for organizing this important AJSsession.

1. This essay is based in part on my PhD dissertation, in which I focused on these two figures.See Jonatan Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka, Treyn de-inun h. ada: alegoriah, semel u-mitos ba-sifrutha-zoharit (PhD diss., Hebrew University, 2011), 357378. On the Zoharic Yanuka and Sabafigures, see also Michal Oron, Motiv ha-Yanuka u-mashmauto be-sefer ha-Zohar, Teudah2122(2006): 129164; Oded Yisraeli, Parshanut ha-sod ve-sod ha-parshanut: megammot midrashiyotve-hermanoitiyot be-Saba de-mishpatimsheba-Zohar(Los Angeles: Cherub Press, 2005); YehudaLiebes,Myth vs. Symbol in the Zohar and in Lurianic Kabbalah,in Essential Papers on Kabbalah,ed. Lawrence Fine (New York: New York University Press, 1995), 21242; Jonatan Benarroch, Oroshel Yanuka ve-sodo shel Saba: hebetim poetiyim u-mitopoetiyim be-iz.uv dmut ha-Yanuka be-h. ativat ha-Yanuka de-Balakba-Zohar(MA thesis, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2007).

2. Following the work of Abrams, I use the term

Zoharic literature,

and not the

book ofZohar.See Daniel Abrams, Kabbalistic Manuscripts and Textual Theory: Methodologies of TextualScholarship and Editorial Practice in the Study of Jewish Mysticism (Jerusalem and Los Angeles:Magnes Press; Cherub Press, 2010), 224428. However, in my view, although the Zohar is not abookand therefore cannot be read with the assumption that there is complete coherence betweendifferent passagesthere are nevertheless some poetic qualities that are unique to Zoharic literatureat large. In my opinion, the only way to understand the wide range of these qualities is to compare

AJS Review37:2 (November 2013), 231256 Association for Jewish Studies 2013doi:10.1017/S0364009413000251

231


3/27

achieve a better understanding of both the mystical Zoharic homilies on the Shemarecitation and the narrative framework in which they appear.3

Do the Yanuka and Saba stories serve only as poetic ornaments to the mys-tical teachings on the Shema mysteries, or is the narrative and literary frameworkessential to the understanding of these Zoharic mysteries? And why are these twofigures chosen for this set of Shema mysteries?

As manyscholars have shown before, various poetic aspects of the Zoharic nar-rativeilluminatethetheosophicandmysticalcontentsofthehomilies,andviceversa. 4

the same ideas and characters as they appear in all the different passages of the diverse Zoharic

literature.3. This work is part of a new approach in Zoharic scholarship that focuses on the literary frame-

work and the unique poetics of Zoharic literature. See Yehuda Liebes, Ha-mashiah. shel ha-Zohar:lidmuto ha-meshih. it shel R. Shimon bar Yoh. ai, in Ha-raayon ha-meshih. i be-Yisrael,ed. ShmuelReem (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1982), 87236; Liebes, Zoharve-eros, Alpayim9 (1994): 67119; Elliot R. Wolfson,Language, Eros, Being: Kabbalistic Hermeneu-tics and Poetic Imagination(New York: Fordham University Press, 2005), 190295; Elliot R. Wolfson,Left Contained in the Right: A Study in Zoharic Hermeneutics,AJS Review11 (1986): 2752; RonitMeroz, Va-ani lo hayiti sham?: kuvlanotav shel Rashbi al pi sippur Zohari lo yadua, Tarbiz. 71(2002): 16393; Ronit Meroz, Der Aufbau des Buches Sohar, PaRDeS II (2005): 1636; RonitMeroz, Zoharic Narratives and Their Adaptations, Hispania Judaica Bulletin3 (2000): 363; Boaz

Huss, H.akham adif mi-navi: Shimon bar Yoh. ai u-Mosheh Rabbenu ba-Zohar, Kabbalah4 (1999):10339; Eitan Fishbane, Representation and the Boundaries of RealismReading the Fantastic inZoharic Fiction, Kabbalah 23 (2010): 105119; Eitan Fishbane, The Scent of the Rose: Drama,Fiction, and Narrative Form in the Zohar, Prooftexts 29, no. 3 (2009): 324361; Eitan Fishbane,Tears of Disclosure: The Role of Weeping in Zoharic NarrativeJournal of Jewish Thought and Phil-osophy11, no. 1 (2002): 2547; Eitan Fishbane,Mystical Drama and Narrative Form (forthcoming);Ellen Haskell, Metaphor, Transformation, and Transcendence: Toward an Understanding of KabbalisticImagery inSefer ha-Zohar,Prooftexts28 (2008): 335362; Melila Hellner-Eshed,A River Flows fromEden: The Language of Mystical Experience in the Zohar, trans. Nathan Wolski (Stanford: Stanford Uni-versity Press, 2009); Yisraeli, Parshanut ha-sod ve-sod ha-parshanut; Lvy Valnsi, La Potique duZohar (Paris: ditions de Lclat, 1996); Michal Oron, Simeni kha-h

.otam al libekha: iyyunim

ba-poetikah shel baal ha-Zohar be-farashat Saba de-mishpatim,in Massuot, ed. Michal Oron andAmos Goldreich (Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1994), 124; Michal Oron, Sippur ha-otiyyot u-mekorotav:iyyun be-midrash ha-Zohar al otiyyot ha-alef beit, Meh. kerei Yerushalayim be-mah.shevet Yisrael3(1984): 97109; Oron, Motiv ha-Yanuka; Shifra Asulin, Komatah shel ha-Shekhinah: mekomo shelha-parz.uf ha-elohi hanikbi bein ha-Idra Rabbah la-Idra Zutta, in Samkhut ruh. anit; maavakim alkoah. tarbuti be-hagut ha-yehudit, eds. Chaim Kreisel, Boaz Huss and Uri Erlich (Beer Sheva: BenGurion University, 2009), 103182; Naomi Tene, Darkhei iz.uv ha-sippur be-sefer ha-Zohar (PhDdiss., Bar Ilan University, 1992); Matti Meged, Ha-or ha-neh.shakh: arakhim estetiyim be-seferha-Zohar(Tel Aviv: Sifriyat Poalim, 1980); Aryeh Wineman,Mystic Tales from the Zohar(Philadelphia:Jewish Publication Society, 1997); Nathan Wolski,A Journey into the Zohar: an Introduction to the Book

of Radiance(Albany: SUNY Press, 2010), 185

214; Nathan Wolski,

Mystical Poetics: Narrative, Timeand Exegesis in the Zohar,Prooftexts26, no.2 (Spring 2008): 101128; Nathan Wolski, Don Quixoteand Sancho Panza Were Walking on the Way: El Caballero Andante and the Book of Radiance(Seferha-Zohar),Shofar27, no. 2 (2009): 2447. For a complete reference list of the research on the literaryand poetic aspects of Zoharic literature, see Fishbane, The Scent of the Rose,353354; Joel Hecker,The Face of Shame: The Sight and Site of Rebuke (Zohar3:45b47a),Kabbalah23 (2010): 2930,n. 1; Daniel Abrams, Kabbalistic Manuscripts, 409428, esp. nn. 390393.


232


4/27

THE YANUKASTORY INZOHARH. ADASHMIDRASH RUT H

Thecentral Yanuka story dealing with the Shema mysteries is the story of

Rabbi Bun5

and the Yanuka that appears in Zohar H.adash Midrash Ruth.6

Thecomplete story, describing the journeys of Rabbi Bun, is dispersed in three literarylocations, but has been reconstructed here from the various sources in which itappears.7 The story begins in ZH. Ruth (77b78a),

8 continues in ZH. Ah. areiMot(48a), and ends in a further section ofZH. Ruth(80c81a).

YANUKASTORYPART ONE : ZOHARH. ADASHRUT H (77B78A)

Part of the story describes the meeting between Rabbi Bun and the Yanuka,

and, later on, with a few other sages:Rabbi Bun set out one day on the path and encountered a Yanuka. He said tohim, Rabbi, should I accompany you on your way and serve before you onthis journey?

He replied, Come.He went behind him.

4. See Liebes, Ha-mashiah. shel ha-Zohar; Meroz, Zoharic Narratives and Their Adap-tations; Fishbane, Representation and the Boundaries of Realism; Oron, Simeni kha-h. otam allibekha; Tene, Darkhei iz.uv ha-sippur be-sefer ha-Zohar; Wolski, Mystical Poetics.

5. The figure of R. Bun is one of the central figures in ZH. Ruth,as opposed to the main stratumof Zoharic Literature, in which the central protagonist is Rabbi Shimon Bar Yoh. ai. See Meroz,Va-ani lo hayiti sham?; Liebes, Ha-mashiah. shel ha-Zohar.

6. As demonstrated in my previous work,ZH. Ruthis the first stratum of Zoharic literature, intro-ducing motifs that are developed in subsequent Yanuka and Saba stories. See Benarroch, Sabave-Yanuka, 263269. For more research on ZH. Ruth see Daniel Abrams, Midrash ha-neelam huZohar Rut, originally published as Tapuh. ei zahavin Venice 1566 (Jerusalem: private edition, 1992),113; Efraim Gottlieb, Meh. karim be-sifrut ha-kabbalah,ed. Joseph Hacker (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv Uni-versity, 1976), 540542; Lawrence A. Englander, The Mystical Study of Ruth: Midrash ha-Neelamof the Zohar to the Book of Ruth,trans. and ed. Herbert W. Basser (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993).

7. The story appears scattered between the different locations both in the printed editions and inseveral manuscripts. The printed editions used are: Tapuh. ei zahav(Thiengen, 1559); Tapuh. ei zahav(Venice 1566); Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, Or yakar17 (Jerusalem: Ah. uzat Yisrael, 1989),197226. However it should be mentioned that the Vilna Gaon reconstructed the text in a similarmanner. See Midrash Ruth he-H.adash(Hadrat Kodesh), ed. Eliyahu mi-Vilna (Warsaw 1865), 8ab.I thank Joel Hecker for referring me to this valuable source; Niz.oz.ei Zohar48a, 78a; Mopsik, n.118; Matok mi-devash on 48a, 80c cf. ZH. (Munkacz) 1:79a; 2:30b; Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,357362. The manuscripts I reviewed are: Vatican (Biblioteca Apostolica) ebr. 207 [V6]; Vatican(Neofiti) 27 [V24]; British Library 27173 [L39]; Russian State Library, Ms. Guenzburg 174/7[MS3]; Russian State Library, Ms. Guenzburg 290/5[MS4]; Oxford (Bodleian Library) 221 [O17]. Iwant to thank all the libraries for allowing me to check their manuscripts, and in particular the

Scholem library and the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts (both located in the NationalLibrary of Israel) for all of their generous help with handling the manuscripts.8. The first part of the story (ZH. Ruth, 77b) describes Rabbi Bun, the storys protagonist, arriv-

ing at Kfar Sikhnin, the location of Hamnuna Saba and his sons (the Yanuka) domicile, according tothe central Zoharic Yanuka story (ZoharIII, 86a192a). See Benarroch, Oro shel Yanuka ve-sodoshel Saba.Later on (ZH. Ruth, 77c), Rabbi Bun meets Yanai Sabba. See Benarroch,Saba ve-Yanuka,264.

The Mystery of Unity

233


5/27

While travelling, he happened upon Rabbi H.iyya son of Abba and RabbiYehudah son of Rabbi Yose. They said to him, Youre by yourself, withno one goading behind you.He answered, There is a child following me.

Rabbi H.iyya said, Youve invited harm to yourself, as you have no onewith whom to engage in words of Torah!

They sat down in a field under a tree.9

From the description of the meeting between Rabbi Bun and the other sages, itseems that the Yanuka is visible only to Rabbi Bun.10 The framing of theYanuka as an invisible child possibly alludes to his hybrid-mythic nature,

between man and angel.11

In the continuation of the story, Rabbi Yehudah cites Rabbi Nehorai, whotaught an important mystery regarding the Shema recitation:

Rabbi Yehudah opened, saying:It shall be healing to your body [and strengthto your bones]. [Proverbs3:8]

The Torah is medicinal for a personbody and bonesin this world and inthe world that is coming, as Rabbi Neh. emiah taught in the name of Rabbi

Nehorai:12 What is a daily tonic for people in this world? Recital of theShema according to its requirements.

Rabbi Nehorai said further: The recital of Shema contains 248 words cor-responding to 248 limbs in a persons body. One who recites Shema asrequiredeach and every one of his limbs takes a word for itself, and ishealed by it. This is the meaning of healing to your body, and strength toyour bones! [Proverbs3:8]13

The main mystical mystery of the Shema recitation, as cited in the name of RabbiNehorai, is that the total sum of the words in theShema prayer is 248which is par-allel to the number of limbs in the human body.14 Rabbi Nehorai explained that the

reading of the Shema can therefore serve as a supernatural cure for the body. In hiswords:Each and every one of his limbs takes a word for itself, and is healed by it.

Immediately after this homily, the figure of the Yanuka appears again:

9.ZH. Ruth, 77d. In translating the Yanuka story in ZH. RuthI have relied mainly on the trans-lation of Joel Hecker (as part of the Zohar: Pritzker Edition), and I thank him for sharing with me histranslation, which is in preparation.

10. Another explanation might be that he has just fallen behind, as he catches up afterward andis described as being wearied from the journey.See below n. 16.

11. Benarroch,

Saba ve-Yanuka,

264, 361

362; Benarroch,

Oro shel Yanuka ve-sodo shelSaba,76106.12. The name of Rabbi Nehorai translates literally as light (nehora). He is the Rabbi of

Light, and he can be seen as a prefiguration of Rav Hamnuna Sabathe Yanukas father. On thefigure of R. Nehorai as a prefiguration of Hamnuna Saba, see Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,291292.

13.ZH. Ruth, 77d.14. cf. TZ 21, 47a.


234


6/27

Meanwhile, the Yanuka arrived, wearied from the journey, and he sat beforethem. He heard these teachings and rose to his feet, saying, But in the Shema,there are only 245 words!Rabbi H.iyya replied: Sit down, my son, sit.He

sat down.He [Rabbi H.iyya] continued, My son, have you heard something about

this? He said to him, This is what I have learned from my father. In theShema there are 245 words, three words short of the number of limbs in a

persons body. How is this resolved? The rabbis established that the prayerleader should repeat threewords. What are they? I am YHVH, your God[YHVH, your God, true].15

The Yanuka, exhausted from the walk, suddenly reveals himself and appears

before the rabbis. His exhaustion serves as a poetic indicator of the Shemamystery, the fact that reciting the Shema has the ability to cure human limbs.With the strength given him by his mystical knowledge, the Yanuka revivesfrom his fatigue. He stands on his feet and argues with Rabbi Yehudah. Heexplains, in the name of his father, that there are three words that need to beadded to the reading of the Shema in order to complete the count to 248 words.These three words are: I am, YHVH, your God(or YHVH, your God, true),which are added by the prayer-leader at the end of the Shema recitation in public.

ASHKENAZITRADITIONS ON THE248 WORDS OFSHEMA

The idea that the Shema prayer has 248 words, in parallel to the 248 limbs ofthe human body, appears in Midrash Tanh. uma;

16 as demonstrated by Ta-Shma, itwas widely known in Ashkenaz.17 The main custom originated from this idea wasthe addition of the phrase God, faithful king(El melekh neeman) before theShema readingas these three words complete the count of 248 words in

15.ZH. Ruth, 77d. The translation follows V24, MS4, Tiengen, and Venice, which indicate thatone repeats the words I am YHVH, your God( , ani YHVHeloheikhem), V6, O17, L39,MS3, O18, and Or yakarall have YHVH your God, truth( ,YHVHEloheikhem emet),in accordance with the emerging normative practice. Texts from fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Spainindicate that the practice there was to repeat I am YHVH your God(ani YHVH eloheikhem).SeeRecanati, as cited in Maharam Alshaqar, Responsa 60; Moses ben Jacob of Kiev, Shoshan sodot,8b9a; Simeon ben Z. emah. Duran, Responsa 2:236; NZn.11; cf. de Len, Shekel ha-kodesh,ed.Charles Mopsik (Los Angeles: Cherub Press, 1996), 8485;Beit Yosef orah. H.ayim61. I thank JoelHecker for sharing with me his findings on this as part of his research in translatingZH. Ruth, in theframework of the Zohar: Pritzker Edition, which is in preparation.

16. Tanh. umaKedoshim6 records a tradition in the name of Rabbi Mani: Do not look askanceat the recital of Shema, for there are 248 words in it like the sum of limbs in a human bodyTheBlessed Holy One said: If you are vigilant [ , shamarta] regarding my [248], reciting Shema as

prescribed, I shall guard [ ,

eshmor] your [248].

cf. B. Nedarim 36b.17. On the Ashkenazi origins of this idea, see Israel M. Ta-Shma,El melekh neeman: gilguloshel minhag (Terumah le-h. eker ha-Zohar),Tarbiz.39 (1969): 184194; Israel M. Ta-Shma,Tikkunimve-hosafot le-maamarEl melekh neeman, Tarbiz. 40 (1970): 1056; Elliot R. Wolfson, Dimmuiantropomorfi ve-ha-simbolikah shel ha-otiyyot be-sefer ha-Zohar,in Sefer ha-Zohar ve-doro (Meh. -kerei Yerushalayim be-mah.shevet Yisrael8 [1989]), ed. Joseph Dan (Jerusalem: Hebrew University,1989), 161 n. 62.


235


7/27

private prayer. Ta-Shma also argued that the custom of addingYHVH, your God,trueis a Zoharic innovation, which was eventually more widely accepted than theaddition ofGod, faithful king.The ending of the first part of the story (ZH

. Ruth

77d78a) demonstrates the Zoharic polemic against the Ashkenazi tradition ofadding God, faithful kingbefore the Shema reading of a private prayer.18

The Zohar mentions the early pious onesestablishing the idea of contem-plating the 248 words of Shema as paralleling the 248 limbs:

In the meantime, Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Pinh. as came and sat amongthem. He said to them, What topic are you discussing?They said to him,The words of the Shema, and here is what this Yanuka said. Hereplied, Certainly so! And thus said Rabbi Yoh. anan son of Nuri in the

name of Rabbi Yose son of Durmaskit, citing Rabbi Akiva: Early piousones established the recital of Shema to correspond to the Ten Command-ments, as well as to the number of limbs in a persons body.19

It is plausible to assume that the phrase early pious ones in this paragraphrefers to the Ashkenazi pietistic circles, since it was they who established themystical liturgical ritual of contemplating the 248 limbs during the Shemarecitation.

The possibility of completing the count of 248 limbs in private prayer

appears also as part of that same tradition established by the

early pious ones

:

But, whoever recites the Shema without the congregation does not perfect hislimbs, because he is lacking the three words that the prayer leader repeats.What is his remedy? He should contemplate the fifteen vavs of Emetve-yaz.iv[true and firm].

20

Instead of the familiar tradition of adding God, faithful king (El melekhneeman) before reciting the Shema in a private prayer, the Zohar describes a tra-dition that appears in the prayer commentary ascribed to Eleazar of Worms, which

offers a unique way of completing the 248 words of Shema in private prayer: con-templating the fifteen vavs that precede the words of praise that immediatelyfollow the Shema at the beginning of the morning blessing.21

18. According to Ta-Shma, the main polemic is against the Rambans prohibition of addingGod, faithful king (El melekh neeman) before the Shema recitation, in order to prevent anybreak between theVe-ahavtablessing and the Shema. See Ta-Shma, El melekh neeman,190192.

19.ZH. Ruth, 77d78a.20.ZH. Ruth, 78a.

21. Sixteen adjectives of praise immediately follow the Shema recitation, at the beginning of themorning blessing, which follows it. After the first one, truth,(emet), the next fifteen are all joinedwith the lettervav, and.It is not clear how the recitation of these fifteen vavs serves as a substitutefor a full 248-word recital of the Shema, but the prayer commentary ascribed to Eleazar of Worms indi-cates that these fifteen times sixthe numerical value ofvavequal ninety, corresponding to the wordjust, z.edek, in Psalms 17:1; the letterz.adi() at the beginning of the word has the numerical valueof 90. Midrash Tehillim17:6 explains as follows: Hear YHVH what is just( , shimah)this


236


8/27

The Yanuka, in the name of his father, rejects the possibility of completingthe count of 248 words in private prayer:

Nonetheless, of a person following this practice, [my] father imputed:A crooked thing cannot be made straight [nor can the lack be counted][Ecclesiastes 1:15]. Those three words of Shema that the prayer leaderrepeatshe cannot count them toward the sum of 248, as is the case for thecongregation.

He [Rabbi Yehudah] said to the Yanuka: Expound your verse!22

This stance of the Yanukas seems to polemicize against the Ashkenazi traditionof adding God, faithful king(or of contemplating the fifteen vavs of the Emet

ve-yaz.iv prayer) in private prayer. Rather, it favors the Zoharic tradition ofadding, I am, YHVH, your God(or YHVH, your God, true) in order to com-plete the count of 248 words of the Shema, in the context of public prayer only.23

Traces of this polemic can also befound in the writings of Rabbi Mosesde Len, in his book Maskiot kesef ,24 where he argues that the additionof God, faithful king in order to complete the count of 248 words in theShema is a mistaken tradition. However, he does mention the possibility of con-templating the fifteen vavs of the Emet ve-yaz.ivprayer as a solution for private

prayer.25

YANUKASTORYPARTTWO : ZOHARH. ADASH AH.AREIMOT (48A)

The continuation of our Yanuka story appears in ZH. Ah. arei Mot48a. Afterbeing asked by Rabbi Yehudah, at the end of the previous paragraph, to cite a versethat supports his argument, the Yanuka responds:

The Yanuka opened, saying: My people! Whathave I done to you? Howhave I wearied you? Witness me![Micah 6:3]26

signifies the recitation of Shema.This is, to be sure, much more convoluted than the Zohars usualstyle. On the fifteenvavs, see Judah son of Yakar,Peirush ha-tefillot ve-ha-berakhot, 3032;Peirusheisiddur tefillah ha-Rokeah. , 29899; cf. Midrash ha-gadol Terumah 26:8; cf.Beit Yosef orah.h. ayim61. Ithank Joel Hecker for sharing with me his findings on this as part of his research in translatingZH. Ruth,in the framework of the Zohar: Pritzker Editionwhich is in preparation.

22.ZH. Ruth, 78a. This paragraph (without mention of the figures of the Yanuka and his father),appears in an unprinted fragment of Rabbi Moses de Lens Shoshan edut, see Wolfson, Dimmuiantropomorfi, 1623 n. 66; cf. Ta-Shma, Tikkunim ve-hosafot le-maamar El melekh

ne

eman,

105. For more on Shoshan

edut, see: Moses de Len,

Shoshan

edut,

ed. GershomScholem,Kovez. al yad, 8 (1976): 32570. However, it is not clear if this work was written prior tothe Zoharic passage or whether it is actually quotingfrom the Zohar.

23. Cf. Zohar II, 156a.24. Moses de Len,Sefer maskiyyot kesef, ed. Jochanan H. A. Wijnhoven (MA thesis, Brandeis

University, 1961), 2526.25. de Len, Sefer maskiyyot kesef , 16, 26, 2930.


237


9/27

The opening verse of the Yanukas homily serves as one of the poetic indicatorsthat this section, appearing in ZH. Ah. arei Mot, is in fact the continuation of theearlier Yanuka story. The Yanuka is described in the first part of the story as

being wearied from the journey,and here he opens with a verse that describesthe weariness of the people of Israel.

The Yanuka then continues developing his mystical teaching on the 248words of the Shema recitation, which he explains consist of different combinationsof Gods name (mainly names of forty-two and seventy-two letters).27 He ends thishomily by repeating the idea that the number of words in the Shema is parallel tothe number of limbs in the human body:

Whoever recites the Shema fittinglyeach and every word overflows onto eachand every one of his limbs. And if a person does not recite the Shema in themorning and evening, each and every one of his limbs will be permeated withevil spirit and diverse forms of execrable diseases that are found in the world.28

In this description there is another connection to the central Zoharic Yanuka story(Zohar III, Balak, 186a192a). In the beginning of the BalakYanuka story theYanuka tells the sages who come to visit him that he can smell from theirclothes that they did not recite the Shema that day. It is plausible that the badodor of their clothes reflects the evil spirit mentioned here, which fills thelimbs of one who does not recite the Shema.29

At the end of this passage is a homily by Saba de-Yanuka,30 the Yanukasfather:

The Old Man [Saba] the childs father [Saba de-Yanuka]opened, saying:There was a small city, and few people within it And there was foundwithin it a poor wise child [man][Ecclesiastes 9:1415]. Come and see:

There was a small citythis is Noahs ark. And few people within ittheseare his wife,his sons There came a great king against itthis is the evilinclination31

26. ZH. Ah. arei Mot48a. The only manuscript I identified for this source is St. Petersburg(Russian National Library) Evr. II A 317/1.

27. Cf. de Len, Sefer maskiyyot kesef , 2829.28.ZH. Ruth77d.

29. On the connection between the Shema mystery and the unique ability of the Yanuka todetect by smell whether a person had recited the Shema or not, see H.ayim ben Joseph Vital, Ez.h. ayim, shaar keriat shema, 22.

30. This is the only source in all Zoharic literature where the term: Saba de-Yanuka( ) is used. This term is another example of the strong linkage between the Saba andYanuka figures. See Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,358359.

31.ZH. Ah. arei Mot48a.


238


10/27

YANUKASTORYPARTTHREE: ZOHARH. ADASHRUT H(80C81A)

The homily that has the Yanukas father expounding a few verses from

Ecclesiastes constitutes further evidence for the connection between the firstpart of the story, in ZH. Ruth (77d78a) and this subsequent part of the story.According to the printed editions (and a few manuscripts), this verse is thesame with which the Yanuka begins his homily at the end of the first part of thestory (ZH. Ruth 78a). This homily is also a connecting homily to the third andfinal part of the story, as it appears in Midrash Ruth80d, describing a series ofhomilies on the verses in Ecclesiastes taught by the Yanuka:

Rabbi Reh. umai32 [H.isdai] opened: There was once a small city with only a

few people in it, and there came a great king against it.[Ecclesiastes 9:14].Asmall citythis is what Rabbi Yose said in the name of Rabbi Yiz.h. ak: thissignifies the body. Few people within itthese are the limbs. There came agreat king against itthis is the evil inclination

Rabbi Bun said: That Yanuka who had been sitting with uswhat did hesay about thisverse? Well, this is how he opened:A small citythe assemblyof Israel.33

The fact that the homily was delivered by Rabbi Reh. umai34 serves as another

proof of the connection between the part of the story that appears in ZH. Ah

.arei

Mot48a and the continuation of the story as it appears here, in ZH. Ruth80cd.The figure of Rabbi Reh. umai (whose name can be translated as The Rabbi ofLove) can be understood as a prefiguration of Rav Hamnuna Saba, theYanukas father.35 If this is correct, there might have been a version of the storyin which the homily delivered by the Sabade-Yanuka, as presented inZH. Ah. arei

Mot48a, was attributed to Rabbi Reh. umai.36

After Rabbi Reh. umai finishes his homily on the verses from Ecclesiastes, thestory goes on to describe the Yanukas homilies on these same verses. There is also astrong thematic linkage between the mystical teachings of the Yanuka (in the name

of his father) on the 248 limbs, and the homily of Rabbi Reh. umai: A small citythis is the human body; only a few people in itthese are the human limbs.

After the series of homilies by the Yanuka on the Ecclesiastes verses, thestory ends with a description of the sages kissing the Yanuka37 and blessing

32. The name Rabbi Reh. umai appears in V6 and MS3.33.ZH. Ruth, 80cd.34. I believe the correct version of this part of the story is the one that appears in at least two

manuscripts (V6 and MS3), describing Rabbi Reh. umai, and not Rabbi H.isdai (as appears in the printed

edition), as delivering the homily.35. On the figure of Rabbi Reh. umai as a Sabafigure, portrayed similarly to Rav Hamnuna,see Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,157, 2645 n. 47.

36. It should be mentioned that in both of the homilies, the great king(in Ecclesiastes 9:14) isinterpreted as representing the evil inclination.

37. It is also possible to interpret this description as a kiss given by the sages to Rabbi Bun (andnot the Yanuka). On the significance of the act of kissing in Zoharic literature, see Joel Hecker,Kissing


239


11/27

him: The companions came and kissed him. They called out for him: All yourchildren willbetaught by YHVH, and great will be the peace of your children. [Isaiah 54:13]38

THE MYSTERY OFLILIES: THE SHEMAMYSTERIES INPIKUDIN

This text, from the Zoharic Pikudin stratum, which appears in Zohar III263ab,39 consists of the same Shema mysteries that are identified with theYanukas father, as mentioned in theZH. RuthYanuka story. It is one of the impor-tant sources for unraveling the Shema mysteries of the Yanukas father.

In the printed editions (in Zohar III 263a) the storyis found in proximity to a

Zoharic text that lays out a homily delivered by Yeiva,

40

who appears in the Zoharonly as Yeiva Saba.As Yehuda Liebes has argued, and as I discussed at lengthelsewhere, the figure of Yeiva Sabbaparticularly as it is described in Sabade-mishpatimis identified with Hamnuna Saba, the Yanukas father.41 By

placing thePikudintext near this text of Yeiva (Saba), the later editors of the Zoharaimed to connect thePikudinShema mysteries to the figure of Hamnuna Saba.42

In the beginning of the homily the Saba discusses the various mysticalmeanings of each word in the opening verse of the Shema:

[Hear, O Israel: YHVH, our God, YHVH is one.(Deuteronomy 6:4)]

Rabbi Yeiva [Yeisa43 ][Saba] saysthat Hear, O Israel[Shema Yisrael] isIsrael the Old Man [Yisrael Saba].44

Kabbalists: Hierarchy, Reciprocity And Equality,in LoveIdeal and Realin the Jewish Traditionfrom the Hebrew Bible to Modern Times, eds. Leonard J. Greenspoon, Ronald A. Simkins, and JeanA. Cahan (Omaha: Creighton University Press, 2008), 171208.

38.ZH. Ruth81a. An additional Zoharic homily on the Shema mysteries, and one of the centralsources on these mysteries, is also strongly identified with the Yanuka and with his fatherthe Saba.

39. This text mistakenly appears in the printed editions as part of theRaaya mehemnastratum.See Yehuda Liebes, Porfuritah shel Helenah mi-Troyah ve-kidush ha-Shem, Daat5759 (2005):118119. On the Pikudin stratum see Ephraim Gottlieb, Maamar ha-pikudinshe-ba-Zohar, inMeh. karim be-sifrut ha-kabbalah, 21530; Neta Sobol, H.ativat ha-pikudin she-ba-Zohar, (MAthesis, Tel Aviv University, 2001).

40. The original Zoharic homily is attributed to Yeiva Saba as can be found in Recanati on Deu-teronomy 6:4. Another original Zoharic quotation of this homily appears in the writings of the apostatePaulus de Heredia. See Yehuda Liebes, Christian Influences in the Zohar,in Studies in the Zohar,trans. Arnold Schwartz, Stephanie Nackache, and Penina Peli (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1993),139161, 228244.

41. Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,813, 363 n. 39; Liebes, Myth vs. Symbol.

42. Not enough attention has been paid in the research of Zoharic literature to the editorial con-siderations of the late editors, who chose to add chunks from various Zoharic units (e.g. Midrashha-Neelam, Pikudin, Matnitin, Sitrei Torah, Raaya mehemna and Tikkunei Zohar, etc.) into theZoharic pericopes which are the main stratum of the Zoharic literature (usually identified as Gufha-Zohar), as they appear in the printed editions. As is evident from most Zoharic manuscripts,these different Zoharic units do not appear within the original Zoharic pericopes, but rather as separateunits.


240


12/27

Yeiva (Saba) identifies the opening words of the Shema: Hear, O IsraelwithIsrael the Old Manthemythical embodiment of Israel that is represented by thefigure of the Old Man.45 In other words: Israel the Old Man (Yisrael Saba) is ident-ified here with TiferetorZeir Anpin,illuminated by Atika Kadisha,the highestlevel of the Zoharic Godhead,46 who appears in some Zoharic stories (especiallyin theTikkunei Zoharand the Raaya mehemnastratum) as the Saba figure.47

THE UNI TY OF HUMANLIMBS UNI TE S TH E DIVINELIMBS

ThePikudinShema mysteries, which appear near the short homily by Yeiva(Saba), begin as follows:

Thus the Blessed Holy One is one and only above and below.Whoever declares the unity of the name of the Blessed Holy One should

direct his heart and will to the unification [yeh. uda] we have mentioned, andconnect all his limbs by meansof the meditation we mentioned, so that allhis limbs will all become one.48

The text speaks of the unification of the human limbs with Gods limbs throughmediation on the Shema recitation. The unity of Gods image depends on theunity of mans limbs.49 This teaching is also explained in mythical terms in thenext few lines of the homily:

At that time, there is an angel, a master of 248 worldsall called limbs.Hisname is Heleniu. He stands awaiting that unification. He is the collector oflilies,as it is written, to gather lilies,which are the bodys limbs.

The Supernal Name gathers the Supernal Bodys limbs according to themeditation, which is unified by means of the mystery of forty-two names. It

picks all those supernal lilies. This angel collects all the lower [lilies],which together constitute the seventy-two names.50

43. The nameYeisaalso appears in Zoharic literature mainly asYeisa Saba.See Benarroch,Saba ve-Yanuka,813.

44.ZoharIII 263a.45. In midrashic literature the title Israel the Elderrefers to Israel the Patriarch (Jacob), as

opposed to the people Israel. See Bereshit Rabbah 68:11; Zohar1:233a; 2:4a, 43a (Pikudin), 160b;3:262b263a; de Len,Shekel ha-kodesh, 4243 (51). See below n.105. On a similar idea in the writ-ings of de Len, see below.

46. The main Zoharic sources that deal with these descriptions of the Godhead are the IdraRabbah(Zohar III, 127b145a) and the Idra Zutta(Zohar III, 287b296b).

47. Benarroch,

Saba ve-Yanuka,

305

29; Liebes,

Myth vs. Symbol.

48.ZoharIII (Pikudin) 263a.49. On the influence of the human limbs on the divine limbs, see ZH. Ruth, 78c: anyone who

harms one of his limbs below, it is as if he harms the limbs above.Cf. Elliot R. Wolfson, Iconic Visu-alization and the Imaginal Body of God: The Role of Intention in the Rabbinic Conception of Prayer, Modern Theology12 (1996): 137162.

50. See also de Len, Sefer maskiyyot kesef , 2829.


241


13/27

They are all picked bythat meditation and all become one bodyaccord-ing to the same mystery.51

The idea that the unity of Gods image depends on the unity of mans limbs duringthe recitation of the Shemais found explicitly in a kabbalistic work namedShoshan

sodot(Lily of Mysteries),52 which preserved many early kabbalistic ideas, especiallyfrom the Ashkenazi pietistic circles. In the words of the Lily of Mysteries:

Since the intention of Moses was that the sum of the words of the Shema wouldcorrespond to the 248 limbs of the human body, why did he cause a lack [of threewords in the Shema]? And if that was not his intention, why do we have to add[three words] to complete the sum of 248 words?. One adds: God, faithful

king [El melekh neeman] and the other adds: I am YHVH, yourGod[Ani YHVH Eloheikhem]and the impurity rises until the H.esedis inall the limbs of the upper Adam [ha-adam ha-elyon]53excluding the threecelestial limbs, which are the three uppersefirot[Keter,H.okhmahandBinah].These three words are missing so that we will not allude to them [during theShema meditation]. In order not to omit them completely, we allude to themindirectly: I am YHVH, your God. So that the upper Adam will not belacking these three limbs we add these three words: I am YHVH, your God.

Allthisisrecitedinpublicprayer,asitisonlyinthepublicprayerthatprayerisheard,with no impurity separating them [from divinity]. But in privateprayer one

does not [add these three words: I YHVH, your God]. One who recites the[Shema] in private, should direct his intention to the fifteen vavs of Emetve-yaz.iv,whose numerical value equalsI am YHVH, your God[Ani YHVHEloheikhem] in gematria54

As Elliot Wolfson has shown, this idea appears also in Sefer ha-navonan anonymous book of the pietistic circles of twelfth-thirteenth-centuryAshkenaz.55 This book is a commentary on the Shema prayer, in which thewords of the prayer are connected with the organs of God (shiur komah).56

51.Zohar(Pikudin) III 263a.52. This work is calledShoshan sodot(Lily of Mysteries), because the number of mysteries dis-

cussed in it equals 656, which is the numerical value of the word lily (shoshan) in gematria.53. The divine anthropos.54. Moses ben Jacob (of Kiev), Sefer shoshan sodot(Koretz, 1779), 8b9a: 61. On the role of

the body during prayer in the Ashkenazi pietistic traditions, see Ivan G. Marcus, Prayer Gestures inGerman Hasidism, in Mysticism, Magic, and Kabbalah in Ashkenazi Judaism: international sym-posium held in Frankfurt a.m. 1991, eds. Karl Erich Grzinger and Joseph Dan (Berlin; New York:Walter de Gruyter, 1995), 4459.

55.Sefer ha-navon, published by Joseph Dan,Kobez.

al yad, 6:16 (1966): 201

223. Dan arguesthat this book belongs to the kherub ha-meyuh. adfrom the Ashkenazi pietist circles. See Joseph Dan,H.ug ha-kherub ha-meyuh. ad me-h. asidutAshkenaz,Tarbiz.35, no. 4 (1965): 349372; Dan,Iyyunimbe-sifrut h. asidut Ashkenaz(Ramat Gan: Masada, 1975), 114133.

56. Wolfson, Dimmui antropomorfi,162 n. 67; Dan, Iyyunim be-sifrut h. asidut Ashkenaz,118, 1278, 1323. On the connection between the 248 limbs and the image(z.elem) of God in thewritings of Rabbi Eleazar of Worms, see Elliot Wolfson, Venturing Beyond: Morality and Law in


242


14/27

Furthermore, Wolfson has demonstrated that the Zoharic Shema mystery, as influ-encing the image of the upperanthropos, also appears in the writing of RabbiMoses de Len, in Shoshan edut:

Indeed, the meditation of the Shema recitation that our sages, may theirmemory be blessed, had established, is a very high mysterywhich rises upto the sum of the formation of Adam [tikkun ha-adam].57 On this matterthey interpreted the verse [and upon the likeness of the thronewas] the like-ness as the appearance of a man above upon it.[Ezekiel 1:26]58

De Len uses almost the exact same wording as the Zohar in describing a few ofhis Shema mysteries (both inShekel ha-kodeshand inShoshanedut) and he attri-

butes them toMidrash Yerushalmior tokadmonim(ancient sages), referring to theZohar.59

MYBELOVED HASGON EDOW NINT OHISGARDEN TOGATHERLILIES

ThePikudintext is rich in its mythic imagery: with the correct meditationduring theShema reading, each human limb becomes a lily thatis pickedbyHeleniu,60 theangel of liliesidentified with the angel Metatron,61 who collectsthe lilies and unites them with the upper lilies.Then all the lilies of the upper

and lower worlds

representing the limbs of God and of men

unite andbecome one.62

The lily, or the rose, is one of the important allegoric symbols in Zoharicliterature. It is usually linked to the Shekhinah or, more accurately, to thehumans unification with the Shekhinah,63 and is probably connected to mysticalChristian traditions which relate to the rose as a mystical symbol.64

Kabbalistic Mysticism(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 468. On the connection between theTorah and the bodyof the divine anthropos, see Wolfson, Dimmui antropomorfi,177 n. 129.

57. On the formation of Adam ( , tikkuna de-Adam) in Zoharic literature, seeYehuda Liebes,Perakim be-millon sefer ha-Zohar(Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1977), 778, 288.

58. Wolfson, Dimmui antropomorfi,1623; Ta-Shma, Tikkunim ve-hosafot le-maamarEl melekh neeman,105.

59. See below.60. On the possible connection between the angel named Heleniu and the figure of Helen of

Troy, see Liebes, Porfuritah shel Helenah,118.61. Cf. ZH. Lekh Lekha26a; ZH. Yitro(Sitrei Torah), 36bc.62. On the idea of picking the lilies and transforming them into the divine anthropos, see Liebes,

Porfuritah shel Helenah,118119.

63. Elliot Wolfson,

Rose of Eros and the Duplicity of the Feminine in Zoharic Kabbalah,

inBotanical Progress, Horticultural Innovation and Cultural Changes, eds. Michel Conan and W. J. JohnKress (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2007), 5159; Meroz,Zoharic Narratives,(The Rose and its Scent), 3847; Fishbane, The Scent of the Rose.

64. The rose was considered a symbol of mystery from antiquity onwards. For early Christiansthe rose served as a visual expression of paradise, but also of martyrdom (Cyprian, Ep. 10). However,the most central symbolism of the rose is its identification with the Virgin Mary, which dates back to the


243


15/27

In the Zohar III (Pikudin), 233ab the lily/rose symbolizes the act of unifica-tion itself, which is the central act of the Shema prayer:

The lilyis witness to the heavenly unity. And this is so because in a lilythere are thirteen petals, all of them stemming from one root, and there arefive strong petals on the outside, that cover the rose and protect it. And it isall in the mystery of wisdom

The lily is a witness to the unity of five words:Hear, Oh Israel, YHVH, ourGod, YHVH [Shemaa Yisrael YHVH Eloheinu YHVH] [Deuteronomy6:4]. These are the five strong leaves; they are the roots and the unitywhich are attached to them. [While] one [eh. ad] is the prime cause andthe root to which all of them are attached, these thirteen petals are the

mystery of thirteen,65 and this [the word one] is the kings signet ring.66

A similar idea appears in the opening passages of the Zohar, where the rosebecomes a symbol of the unification with the Shekhinah while blessing andholding the cup of benediction. The cup, filled with wine, is identified with the

petals of the rosesignifying the Shekhinah, and the stem and five leaves areidentified with the phallic arm and five fingers holding the cupsignifyingthe covenant (brit yesod). The holy name of God is seeded in the cup,through the fingers, symbolizing the unification of the Shekhinah.67 Evident

here is the linkage between the symbol of the lily (or rose) and the humanlimbs (the hand and fingers), all connected to the act of divine unification.

fifth century theologian Sedulius Caelius. See Barbara Seward, The Symbolic Rose(New York: Colum-bia University Press, 1960), 152. Like many Christian symbols found in Zoharic literature, the symbolof the rose presents an example of the complex shared discourse of the two cultures (probably resultingfrom the shared cultural environment). This discourse is characterized by an ambivalent attitudetowards Christianity, combining both a deep revulsion of it and a strong attraction to some Christianideas and symbols. For a complete list of publications on the Christian influences on Zoharic literaturesee Daniel Abrams, The Virgin Mary as the Moon that Lacks the Suna Zoharic Polemic against theVeneration of Mary, Kabbalah 21 (2010): 913, nn. 717; 18 n. 26; Daniel Abrams, Perakimbe-biyografiya ha-ragashit ve-hamenit shel ha-KBH: hirhurim al midotav she ha-el be-mikra,be-midrash, u-be-kabbalah, Kabbalah6 (2001): 263286; Yiz.h. ak Baer, The Historical Context ofRaaya Meheimna, Zion 5 (1940): 144; Yehuda Liebes, Christian Influences on the Zohar, inStudies in the Zohar, trans. Arnold Schwartz, Stephanie Nackache and Penina Peli (Albany, NY:SUNY Press, 1993), 139161, 228244; Elliot Wolfson, Re/membering the Covenant: Memory, For-getfulness, and the Construction of History in the Zohar, in Jewish History and Jewish Memory:Essays in Honor of Yosef H.ayim Yerushalmi, eds. Elisheva Carlebach, John M. Efron and David N.Myers (Hanover and London: University Press of New England, 1998), 21446; Elliot Wolfson,Ven-

turing Beyond: Law and Morality in Kabbalistic Mysticism(Oxford and New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 2006), 93; Elliot Wolfson,Along the Path: Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism, and Herme-neutics(Albany: SUNY Press, 1995), 6388.

65. The word one( eh. ad) has the numerical value of thirteen in gematria. See TZ 71a:2526.

66. Zohar III (Pikudin), 233ab.67. Zohar I, 1a.


244


16/27

The lily conceals these thirteen, the numerical value of one[eh. ad].68

This statement, mentioned by Rabbi Shimon in Tikkunei Zohar, is deeplyrooted in the Pikudin text, emphasizing the importance of the one, and thelily as the symbol of the limbs of the body:

At that time all the bodys limbs are gathered and connected into one, so theywill all be according to the same meaning above and below, according to themystery of there shall be one YHVH, and his name one [yiheyeh YHVHeh. ad u-shemo eh. ad, Zechariah 14:9].

For that reason in the word one[eh. ad] the pronunciation of two letters[h. etanddalet] is lengthened, to gather lilies so as to be united by means of thesame mystery by the complete meditation [yeh. uda shalim].

69

The mystery of the oneis underscored through the essence of the Shema recita-tion as the declaration of Gods unity and the unification of his name in the upperand lower worlds. The concept here combines both the theoretical idea of Godsunity and the visualization of the unity between man and the divine. As part ofthis visualization, the word one(eh. ad) is symbolized by the lily, which containsthe thirteen petals corresponding to the numerical value of one. Thus, both thehuman body below and the upper body above are represented by the symbol ofthe lily, the concept of one,and the numerical value of thirteen. By unifying

them, the oneof below and the oneof above become twenty-six, the numeri-cal value of the Tetragrammaton, the holy name of God, YHVH. This means thatthe wholeness of the name of God depends on the unity between man and thedivine, the lower and upper lily; so they will all be according to the samemeaning above and below.

Thus it appears that during the meditative visualization process of the recitalof the Shema, the person who recites it goes through a symbolic-mythical trans-formation, and is symbolically incarnated in a lily. He then rises above andunites with the symbolic-mythical upper lily.By uniting both lilies, each equiv-alent to thirteen, the numerical value ofone(eh. ad), they become identified withthe unified name of God: YHVH, which is equivalent to twenty-six.

In light of this, states the source, one can better understand the mysticalmeaning of the custom of lengthening the word onein the Shema recitation:For that reason in the word one[eh. ad] the pronunciation of two letters [h. etand dalet] is lengthened, to gather lilies so as to be united by means of thesame mystery by the complete meditation. This practice, which alreadyappears in the Talmud,70 acts as a poetic indicator of the unifying meditation.The utteranceof the word oneduring the Shema recitation is performed as anact of speech;71 this custom of lengthening the two letters h. etand daletwhich

68. TZ 71a: 2526.69.Zohar(Pikudin) III 263a.70. B. Berakhot, 13b; Y. Berakhot 12b.71. John L. Austin, How To Do Things with Words, eds. James O. Urmson and Marina Sbis

(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975).


245


17/27

together are pronounced h. ad), meaning onein Aramaichints at the unifica-tion toward which this speech act strives.

By mentioning this custom, the author alludes to the famous talmudic storyabout the death of Rabbi Akiva:

When R. Akiva was taken out for execution, it was the hour of the recital ofthe Shema. And while they combed his flesh with iron combs, he was accept-ing upon himself the kingship of heaven.

His disciples said to him:Our teacher, even to this point?He said to them:All my days I have been troubled by this verse, with all thy soul, [which Iinterpret] even if He takes thy soul.I said: When shall I have the opportunityof fulfilling this? Now that I have the opportunity shall I not fulfill it?

He prolonged the word one[eh. ad] until he expired while saying it.A divine voice [Bat Kol] went forth and proclaimed: Happy art thou,

Akiva, that thy soul has departed with the word one!72

This story suggests that the highest form of performing theShema recitation is theself-sacrifice of ones own body, and becoming a martyr.73 Similarly, the wordone in the Zoharic homily signifies the moment of unification between manand the divine, which itself influences the unity within the divine between the She-khinah and God.74 This is the moment in which the soul departs the human body

and unites with God, becoming a lilythat is pickedand raised above.In this context it should be mentioned that, in Zoharic literature, the act of

picking the lily usually serves as an allegoric description of the untimelydeath of the righteous and of infants who have never had a chance to sin.75

This allegoric description appears in Midrash Rabbah on the Song of Songs,and it is probably this source which influenced the Zohar in shaping this allegoricdescription.76

This idea can also be found in an interesting Zoharic source describing theact of picking the lilies:

72. B. Berakhot 61b.73. A similar Zoharic example of the lily symbolizing martyrdom can be found in the descrip-

tion of the ten martyrs(aseret harugei malkhut) as lilies embroidered on the parokhet. See Liebes,Porfuritah shel Helenah,8688, 101119.

74. According to the Lurianic mystical tradition, during the recitation of Shema one has to con-template ones willingness to give his own soul to God through martyrdom, in order to unite theMother and Father (the Shekhinah and God). See Ronit Meroz, H.ibburim Lurianiyimkedumim, in Massuot: meh. karim be-sifrut ha-kabbalah u-ve-mah.shevet Yisrael mukdashimle-zikhro shel Professor Efrayim Gotlib, eds. Mikhal Oron and Amos Goldraikh (Jerusalem: Mosad

Bialik, 1994), 320, 334.75. SeeZH. (Munkacz), 1:22a; 1:34a; 1:60b; Zohar II, Tosafot, 274a. See also Isaiah Tishby andYeruh. am Fishel Lachower,Mishnat ha-Zohar: gufei maamreiha-Zohar mesuddarim le-fi ha-inyanimu-meturgamim ivrit(Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1971), 170171; Mikhal Oron, Kol ha-neshamahtehallel Yah: bituy alegori le-tefisat ha-mavet be-sefer ha-Zohar, Dappim le-meh. kar be-sifrut 4(1988): 3538; Benarroch, Oro shel Yanuka ve-sodo shel Saba,102103 n. 810.

76. Cf.Shir Ha-Shirim Rabbah(Vilna, 1875), 6:810; Liebes, Porfuritah shel Helenah,118.


246


18/27

My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in thegardens, and to gather lilies[Song of Songs 6:2]at that time the BlessedHoly One had gone down. Where did he go? To the beds of spices. to

gather lilies.What are these lilies? They are the righteous that embrace theTorah, they are the ones whose lips whisper words of Torah. Therefore it iswritten: lilies [ ], do not read shoshanimbut rathersheshonim [theywho memorize (the words of Torah)], that even in the grave they whisperwords of Torah

Come and see: when Jeroboam was a child he was righteous and did notcommit any sin. The Blessed Holy One said to the angel of death: Go and

bring me Jeroboam ben Nebat.At that time the ministering angels said tohim: YHVH, our Lord, how glorious is Thy name in all the earth[Psalms8:2]! Your name is glorious, and he [Jeroboam the child] is righteous, leavehim, as for his good deeds we are blessed.The Blessed Holy One said tothem: If your wish is that I leave him, I will do so.Later, he [Jeroboam]

began to sin, and made two golden calves, and he caused the people ofIsrael to sin.

The Blessed Holy One told them [the ministering angels]:All the blessingsyou received from him, turned over into filth. Would it not have been better foryou that you had agreed to bring him to me when he wasstill righteous [as asmall child], and Metatron would have taught him Torah?77 At that time, they[the ministering angels] all opened and said: Righteous are you, YHVH, and

upright are your judgments.

[Psalms 119:137]Andtherefore the Blessed Holy One went down into his garden, to gatherlilies.78

A similar version of this tale appears inMidrash ha-neelamon Genesis, and therethe picking of the lilyis explicitly described as a macabre allegory for dyinginfants who are pickedby God when their smellis still fresh:

RabbiYehudahsaid:Itislikeakingwhohadagarden.Onedayhecametowalk

in his garden, and he saw small lilies growing in it, and their fragrance was likeno other fragrance in the world. The king said: If this [their smell] is so now,when they are still small; when they grow, it will surely be much stronger.

After a few days he came into the garden, thinking he would find those lilies,which were fresh and had such good smellas he noticed that they were dryand had no odor, he got angry and said: If I had picked them when they werestill fresh and good, with a fine smell, I would have enjoyed them; but now, howcan I enjoy them, as they are already dried out?

In the following year, the king entered in the garden and saw small lilies witha fine smell. He said: I will pick them now, and I will enjoy them before they

77. Metatron is the patron of children who died young and teaches them Torah. See YehudaLiebes, Ha-Zohar ke-sefer halakhah, Tarbiz. 64 (1995): 589590; Benarroch, Saba ve-yanuka,7273, 341; Bennaroch, Oro shel Yanuka ve-sodo shel Saba,3940.

78.ZH. Ah. arei Mot, 47c48a. It should be mentioned that in the printed editions of the Zoharthis source appears before theZH. Ah. arei Mot48a part of the Shema Yanuka story discussed above.


247


19/27

dry out as they did before.In the same way, the Blessed Holy One sees small people[infants], who

have a fine smell, and he knows that they will eventually sin. Now, when

they are still good, he takes them from this world, in order to give them agood portion in the world to come. Therefore it is written: I am my beloveds,and my beloved is mine: he grazes among the lilies.[Song of Songs 6:3]79

The infants soul is thus pickedby Gods angel,80 as God has the desire to smellthe infants soul, the lily,while it is still fresh. From the verse of Song of Songsquoted in the end it appears that God, the beloved,has an erotic desire to unitewith the infants soul.81 A parallel description can be found in the most centralSaba story, Saba de-mishpatim:

All those tormented souls, who are they? Here is a mystery. These are souls oflittle infants, suckling from their motherspotent breasts. And the Blessed HolyOne sees that if they endure in the world their odor will stink and they will turnsour like vinegar. He plucks them small, while they still yield fragrance.82

The infants, ortormented souls,are also identified with the figure of the Yanuka,the son of the Saba.83 The central argument here is that the Yanuka, as he appearsin the central Yanuka story in the Balakpericope, dies as a small child because ofGods desire to smellhim:

The Blessed Holy One yearns to smell the scent of this apple.Blessed is hisportion!It is not for me to accuse the Blessed Holy One, but were it not forthe fact that he longs to smell his sweet scent, no one would prevail overhim.84

Here, in the end of this Yanuka story, the Yanuka is identified with the symbolofthe apple,which is pickedby God, who longs to smell its sweet scent.85

Interestingly, we can find an explicit hint connecting the symbols of the apple

and the lilyto an elevation to God in the Pikudintext as well:

There are 613 commandments in these lilies, which represent the limbs of thetwo sides they have in them the high level of the precious gold that is

79.ZH. Bereshit(Midrash ha-neelam) 20ab.80. From additional parallels in Zoharic literature it is clear that the angel in charge ofpicking

the liliesis Metatron. Zohar I 56b; ZH. Lekh Lekha(Midrash ha-neelam) 25d26a; Nathan Wolski,Metatron and the Mysteries of the Night in Midrash ha-NeelamJacob ha-Kohens Sefer ha-Orah

and the Transformation of a Motif in Early Writings of Moses de Len,

Kabbalah23 (2010): 69

94; Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,263.81. Benarroch, Oro shel Yanuka ve-sodo shel Saba,101103.82. Zohar II (Saba de-mishpatim) 96a.83. Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,3340, 358.84. Zohar III (Yanuka de-Balak), 191b192a.85. Oron, Motiv ha-Yanuka150.


248


20/27

elevated from them. And in any place in which they are found, that high levelis found in them, in order to be raised. And this is the mystery of: As theapple tree among the trees of the wood [so is my beloved among the sons]. As the lily among thorns [so is my love among the maidens].[Song ofSongs 2:23]

Blessed is he who sacrifices these offerings. Surely thisoffering is favor-able to him both in this world and in the World to Come.86

It is clear from this quote that both the appleand the lilyserve as symbols oferotic desire. The Yanuka is both the appleand the lilythat God longs to unitewith. These symbols, signifying the human body and limbs, function as an offer-ingthat has been presented to God. Therefore theYanuka, who dies as a small

child, is also identified with the Sacrificed Son.87

THE COMPLETEOFFERING: THE MYSTERY OFSACRIFICE

Accordingly, thePikudintext connects the mystical teachings of the Shemato the mystery of sacrifice:

That meditation rises and unites everything in the two sides into one unityOnce all body parts are united, according to the same mystery of the samemeditation, the whole is considered a complete offering.88

This part adds an important component to the Pikudinmystical teaching on theShema reading: the mystery of the complete offering.The text implies that as

part of the meditation processof the unification of the upper and lowerlimbsthe human limbs serve as a sacrificeoffered to God.

The phrase complete offering(korbana shalim) refers to the highest kindof offeringthat is, the offering of mans own son.89 The most important Zoharicsource on this phrase appears in the Rav metivtasection, which is linked in many

ways to the Yanuka and Saba stories throughout the Zohar:

The offering of the youth [korbana de-rabya]: when a man brings90 hischild to school or to circumcision, that is the complete offering[korbanashalim] to be accepted.91

86.ZoharIII (Pikudin) 263ab.

87. Benarroch,

Saba ve-Yanuka,

357

358. On the connection between the Yanuka and thefigure of Christ as Agnus Dei, the sacrificed holy lamb, see Bennaroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,229230.88.ZoharIII (Pikudin) 263a.89. Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,297.90. The Aramaic word that is used here is: (karev), which is similar to the word used for the

act of sacrifice.91. Zohar III (Rav metivta), 164a.


249


21/27

The act of bringing the childtohis circumcision, or later to school, is described asan act ofofferingthe child.92 In our context it is important to focus on the act ofcircumcision,93 since it refers directly to a bodily organ that has been cut off fromthe body, and is therefore the closest act to actual human sacrifice.This percep-tion of circumcision can be found explicitly in the later stratum of Zoharic litera-ture, in Raaya mehemna:

Any man has to offer his son to the Blessed Holy One with joy, with the will ofhis heart, to elevate him under the wings of the Shekhinah. And the BlessedHoly One accepts this offering as a complete offering, which is happilyaccepted by him.

And this offering is similar to animal offering: this is offered on the eighth

day, and this is offered on the eighth day, as it is written: When an ox or asheep or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, andfrom the eighth day on it shall be accepted as a sacrifice by fire to YHVH [Leviticus 22:27]. After one week passes, as the Sabbath had passed, thenit shall be accepted.This is given as an offering, and this is given as an offer-ing. Why? As he encountered and embraced that Sabbath, the mystery of cir-cumcision, and therefore all is in the upper mystery.94

It is clear that the phrase: a complete offering(korbana shalim) refers to thehighest form of offering: the offering of the son. This is demonstrated in the par-

allel between the act of circumcision tothe act of offering an animal, both donefrom the eighth day after birth onward.95 As one might expect, this same termis used in the context of the most famous act of child offering in Judaism, the bib-lical story of the offering of Isaac(the akedah). In the Zoharic interpretation ofthis story we find the following statement:Isaac, who was bound to thealtar, wasa complete offering[korbana shalim] before the Blessed Holy One.96

To conclude, there is no doubt that the use of the term complete offeringinthePikudintext conceals a strong reference to the idea ofofferingmans organsas an offering to God. In our context this offering can also be seen as a way to

complete Gods image by the offering of ones limbs, which unite with theupper limbsthe limbs of God:

The lilies are a mystery. When these limbs are connected together so as to beone, by means of one meditation according to the mystery of the sacrifice

There are 613 commandments in these lilies, which are the limbs of the two

92. Cf. Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,1314.93. On the Kabbalistic meanings of circumcision, see Elliot Wolfson, Circumcision, Secrecy,

and the Veiling of the Veil: Phallomorphic Exposure and Kabbalistic Esotericism,

inThe Covenant ofCircumcision: New Perspectives on an Ancient Jewish Rite, ed. Elizabeth Wyner Mark (Hanover andLondon: Brandeis University Press, 2003), 5870; Elliot Wolfson, Circumcision and the DivineName: A Study in the Transmission of Esoteric Doctrine,Jewish Quarterly Review 78 (1987): 77112.

94. Zohar III (Raaya mehemna), 44a. cf. idem, 109ab.95. Cf. Va-yikra Rabbah 27:10; Devarim Rabbah 6:1; Mishneh Torah, Yad ha-h. azakah, 3:8.96. Zohar I 39a.


250


22/27

sides, according to the mystery of there shall be one YHVH, and his nameone.

Blessed is he who sacrifices these offerings. Surelythis offering is favor-

able to him both in this world and the World to Come.97

From here it is clear that the mystery of the sacrifice referred to in this homily is theapotheosis of mans limbs. These limbs unify with the limbs of the divine andtogether they create Gods body.This heavenly bodyis also identified withthe mythic figure of Adam, and consists of 613 body parts, the same number asthe sum of the Torah commandments.98

THE SHEMAMYSTERY OFRAVHAMNUNASAB AA few sources explicitly mention the connection between Rav Hamnuna

Saba and his unique mystical meditation on the Shema. For example, theZoharic homily found in Zohar II Va-yakhel(216ab):

Mystery of unity [raza de-yeh. uda]for one who is worthy of the world that iscoming must unify the name of the Blessed Holy One, uniting limbs of theupper and lower rungs, bringing them all where they should bebindingthe knot. This is the mystery written: Hear, O Israel, YHVH our God,

YHVH is one. [Deuteronomy 6:4] The mystery of Shema: Hear[shema,

,]a name [shem ], amounting to ayin [], seventy names, one totality.IsraelIsrael the Old Man, for there is a small one [zutta], as is written:

When Israel was a youth, I loved him,[Hosea 11:1] whereas this is Israelthe Old Man [Yisrael Saba]. One mystery in one totality: Hear, O Israel[shema Yisrael]here, the wife merges with her husband.

After they merge with one another into one whole, the limbs must beunified joining two dwellings as one, with all the limbs, in heartfelt devo-tion, ascending in cleaving to the Ein Sof, uniting all there and becoming onewill

This is the unification of Rav Hamnuna Saba, taught him by his father, fromthe latters teacher, reaching back to the mouth of Elijah.99 It is fine, a perfectunification. Although we have established this by various mysteries, and allthose mysteries amount to one, still this mystery I found in his book, and itis fine, a perfect unification [yeh. uda be-tikkuna]. We have already educedthe meaning of the unification of another mystery, which is a fine andfitting unificationso it is! But this unification is a perfect unification[yeh. uda be-tikkuna]; this is the unification of Rav Hamnuna Saba!

100

97. Zohar III (Pikudin) 263a

b.98. It should be mentioned that many of these motifs are influenced by the early Shiur komahliterature, which portrays Gods limbs through references both to the mythic figure of Adam. SeeWolfson, Dimmui antropomorfi,161163.

99. Cf. ZH. Ruth, 83b.100. Zohar II (Va-yakhel) 216ab. I have relied in part on the translation of Daniel Matt (as part

of theZohar: Pritzker edition), and I thank him for sharing his translation with me; see Isaiah Tishby,


251


23/27

It is clear from this passage that the teaching of the mystery of unity,represent-ing the unique meditation of theShema that unites the upper and lower limbs, isidentified with Hamnuna Saba.101 The Shema mysteries in both the Pikudinstratum and this source open with the identification of Israel (of the openingverse of the Shema, Hear, O Israel) as Israel the Old Man.And in both homi-lies the focus of the Shema meditation is the unity of the upper and lower limbs:joining two dwellings as one, with all limbs, in heartfelt devotion.

Moreover, the passage emphasizes that the mystery of unityof HamnunaSaba is a perfect unification [yeh. uda be-tikkuna]. This Shema unification ishigher than the common Shema unification, which probably refers to theShema unification homilies mentioned in the Zohar on Terumah.102 These homi-lies (in Zohar on Terumah) are characterized by a much simpler Zoharic style,

focusing primarily on the unification of God and the Shekhinah. The Shema uni-fication of Hamnuna Saba, on the other hand, focuses on the unification of theupper and lower limbs and on the mysteries of the offering of ones bodyand limbs.

Another interesting source appears in the Hebrew writings of the TikkuneiZoharand Raaya mehemna, published by Ephraim Gottlieb:

I saw written in the name of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yoh. ai that he asked Elijah:Why are there different opinions on the way the Blessed Holy One is

unified [during the recitation of the Shema], as there are different opinionsinterpreted by our sages on the Shema unification of Rav Hamnuna Saba?. Elijah said to him: Of course this [Shema unification of RavHamnuna Saba] is similar to the manna that had come down from above,whom every one tasted according to his will and ability [to taste]; the sameis with this unification: any one perceives it according to his will andability [to perceive].103

The most important element in this passage here is the use of the phrase theShema unification of Rav Hamnuna Saba. This phrase is repeated several

times during the discussion between Rabbi Shimon and Elijah, proving that itwas well known in the later stratum of Zoharic literature that there was aunique Shema unification identified with Hamnuna Saba. It was even so well-known that apparently there had already been a few different opinions on theexact meaning of this special unification.

The Wisdom of the Zohar: An Anthology of Texts, trans. David Goldstein, vol.1 (London: LittmanLibrary of Jewish Civilization, 1989), 1006 n. 260.

101. See Boaz Huss, Ke-zohar ha-rakia: perakim be-hitkabbelut ha-Zohar u-ve-havnayat

erko ha-simli(Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute, 2007), 7879 n. 132.102. Zohar II 133b134b. Acording toNiz.oz.ei Zoharthe reference is to the homily of Rashbi in

TZ 71a: 2526. See Tishby, The Wisdom of the Zohar, 10231028.103. Ephraim Gottlieb, Ha-ketavim ha-ivriyyim shel Baal Tikkunei Zohar be-Raaya

mehemna, ed. Moshe Idel (Jerusalem: Ha-Akademyah ha-leumit ha-Yisreelit le-madaim, 2003),137138.


252


24/27

Moreover, Elijah appears here as the one who has the knowledge of theunique Shema unification of Rav Hamnuna Saba, as his figure is very close tothe figure of the Zoharic Hamnuna Saba. As we have seen above in the Zoharon Terumah, Elijah appears as the one who originally transmitted the Shemamystery known as the unification of Rav Hamnuna Saba. Further on, inRabbi Shimon Bar Yoh. ai and Elijahs discussion there is an explicit allusion tothis Shema mystery: "There are 248 [limbs] parallel to the 248 words in theShema recitation pericopes that were transmitted with love."104 This notionof the 248 Shema words paralleling the 248 limbs is one of the central themesin the Shema unification mystery of Rav Hamnuna Saba.

A trace of the Shema mystery of Rav Hamnuna Sabaalso appears in theShekel ha-kodesh of Rabbi Moses de Len. Here, de Len explicitly mentions

the idea of 248 words of Shema paralleling the 248 limbs of the human body:

You will find that the mystery of the Shema recitation is the formation of the[upper] Adam, which is the mystery of the 248 limbs in the human body.Therefore you will find in all the Shema recitation pericopes the mystery of248 words; in order to construct the complete structure of the Adam, in anymatter and aspect of his repair [tikkunav].

And in theMidrash Yerushalmiit is mentioned: There are 245 words [in theShema recitation], and the prayer leader who leads the prayer repeats three

words. Which are these?

YHVH, your God, true

[YHVH

Eloheikhem

emet], in order to complete the amount of limbs. And the prayer leader com-pletes the [number of] limbs for all [of the congregation] with these threewords that he repeats.105

De Len mentions here, in the name of theMidrash Yerushalmi(referring to theZohar),106 the exact same Shema mystery delivered by the Yanuka in the name ofhis father (the Saba), as it appears in ZH. Ruth.

107

Furthermore, the figure of Hamnuna Saba is mentioned in the Shekelha-kodesh

only once, when referring to the Shema mystery found in the bookof Hamnuna Saba:

104. Gottleib, Ha-ketavim ha-ivriyyim,146.105. De Len, Shekel ha-kodesh, 8485; cf. de Len, Sefer maskiyyot kesef , 26.106. See Wolfson, Dimmuiantropomorfi,163 n. 70; Moses de Len,The Book of the Pome-

granate: Moses de Lens Sefer ha-Rimmon, ed. Elliot R. Wolfson (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988), 18n. 6, 49 n. 199.

107. Another important source in the writings of de Len that focuses on this unique Shemamystery appears in a fragment of his Shoshan edut (as found in several manuscripts). See above n.

23. Both Ta-Shma and Wolfson have shown that de Len quotes, almost word for word, the Shemamystery that appears in ZH. Ruth 77d78a, in the name of the ancient sages [kadmonim], whichrefers to the Zohar. See Wolfson, Dimmui antropomorfi,163 n. 70; Wolfson,The Book of the Pome-granate, 39 n. 137; Asi-Farber Ginat, Le-Mekorot torato ha-kabbalit ha-mukdemet shel Rabbi Moshehde Len,in Meh. karim ba-kabbalah, be-filosofyah Yehudit u-ve-sifrut ha-musar ve-he-hagut: muga-shim li-Yeshaayah Tishbi be-malot lo shiviim ve-h. amesh shanim, eds. Joseph Dan and JosephHacker (Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1986), 77 n. 22.


253


25/27

The mystery of unity [sod ha-yih. ud] is the mystery of the unity of existence,and the emanating of the trueness of the Blessed Name; he is One.Indeed, the mystery of H.okhmah, Binah and Daat includes all the sefirot

[emanations], the wholeness of the complete union in the mystery of its true-ness. And it is said in the book of Rav Hamnuna Saba: [Hear O Israel,]YHVH our God, YHVH [is one] the mystery of these three levels isthe mystery of H.okhmah, Binah and Daat. Therefore, there are tensefirot and indeed, these ten [sefirot] are the six edges unified in theirunion in the mystery of the formation [tikkun] of Adam.108

The book of Rav Hamnuna Sabarefers to the mystery of unity, the uniqueShema mystery of Rav Hamnuna Saba mentioned in Zohar II (Va-yakhel)

216a

b.

109

Moreover, the phrase

formation (tikkun) of Adam

is used as it isseveral times in the Zohar (appearing as tikkuna de-Adam).110 As the closingparagraphs of theShekel ha-kodesh, they might further underscore the importanceof the Shema mystery of unityidentified with Rav Hamnuna Saba.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no doubt that the Zoharic author(s) created a strong connectionbetween the Saba and Yanuka stories and their mystical homilies on the Shema

mysteries. The narrative framework of these stories illuminates the mystical con-tents of the Shema homilies. It is not to say the Zoharic homilies could not beunderstood at all in the absence of the narrative framework; but rather that afuller and richer understanding of these homilies is lost without their narrativeframework.111

One of the central dimensions that would be weakened in the absence ofthe narrative framework is a deeper mystical experience. As demonstrated

by Hellner-Eshed, it appears that by placing the Zoharic mysteries in anarrative framework the Zohar wishes to invoke a mystical experience in its

reader.112

A deeper mystical experience is achieved when the reader identifieshimself with the narrative figures that embody the mystical mysteries taught bythem. Thus, the reason that the Zohar creates such a strong linkage between theShema mysteries and the Saba and Yanuka figures is to construct its readers reli-gious practice of the Shema reading by creating an identification with these narra-tive figures. This identification should not be understood in the narrow literal

108. De Len, Shekel ha-kodesh, 105106.109. See above n. 103. See also de Len,Shekel ha-kodesh, 105 n. 765. The correct reference is

to Zohar II 216b (and not Zohar III as mistakenly mentioned by Mopsik). Cf. Yehuda Liebes,

Bikkoretal: Charles Mopsik (mahadir), sefer Shekel ha-kodesh le-Ramdal (bikkoret al mahadurat Mopsik),Kabbalah2 (1996): nn. 2224, Liebes mentions Zohar III 307a as another Zoharic source that hintsto the mystery of unity of Rav Hamnuna Saba.

110. De Len, Shekel ha-kodesh, 106 n. 766.111. I thank the anonymous reviewer of this article for pointing out this necessary clarification.112. Hellner-Eshed, A River Flows from Eden, 166173.


254


26/27

sense, but rather in the broadersense: the various impacts that these narrativefigures have on their readers.113

The strongest impact on the reader is created by the shaping of the mysteryof self sacrifice, as portrayed by the Yanuka and Saba figures. The reader

becomes deeply connected to the ethos of offering ones body and limbs, andeven to the most difficult of all offerings: the offering of ones own son. Thiselement might also provide a better understanding of the ambivalent attitude ofthe Zohar towards the notion of human sacrifice: the idea that human sacrificeis completely forbidden, but at the same time that it also contains enormous reli-gious potential, especially in the mystical yearning to unite with God.114 The maintension created here is the tension between the actual offering of human limbs andthe allegoric understanding of this idea. The Zohar seems to insist on preserving

the tension between the metaphoric and concrete; only by combining them can aunique Zoharic mystical experience be achieved.

This combination of the allegoric and concrete is the essence of the mythicalSaba and Yanuka figures. As narrative figures they exist in the concrete realm ofthe fictional story. But in the process of interpretation their allegoric, symbolic,and mythic aspects are revealed. Concerning these symbolic and mythic aspectsof the Yanuka and Saba figures, the words of Moses de Len on the Shemamystery of unityare extremely relevant:

Now, know and observe, and direct your heart to this matter. In the two firstwords [YHVH, Our God )] we include two emanations [middot] together: themystery of thought [mah.shavah], as she is the first entrance,

115 and themystery of the mighty old man [ha-zaken ha-gadol]116 to be together,and in this mystery of We have a father, an old man, and a child of his oldage, a little one, [Genesis 44:20] two unique emanations [middot] whichare the mystery of complete unity only with this [the mystery of theYouthnaar] can you enter the high gate. Indeed, For how shall I go up tomy father, and the lad [naar] be not with me? [Genesis 44:34] to enterthrough this gate to the upper gates117 and this is: Hear O IsraelIsraelis Israel the Old Man [Yisrael Saba].118

This passage appears in the third part of de Lens book dedicated to the Shemamysteries and opens with the idea of the parallel of 248 words and limbs. It isnot possible to go into all the details of the passage, but it is clear that the

113. Lowry Nelson Jr., The Fictive Reader and Literary Self-Reflexiveness, in The Disci-plines of Criticism: Essays in Literary Theory, Interpretation, and History, eds. Peter Demetz,

Thomas Greene, and Lowry Nelson, Jr. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968), 173

91.114. For more on the philosophical implications of sacrifice, see Moshe Halbertal,On Sacrifice(New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2012), 762.

115. Referring to Malkhut/Shekhinah.116. Referring to TiferetorZeir Anpinas being illuminated byAtika Kadisha.117. Cf. Rekanati onVa-yikra10:1.118. De Len,Sefer maskiyyot kesef , 2627.


255


27/27

Shema mystery of unity is deeply connected to the symbols of the Old Manandthe Youth(naar), the father (YHVH) and the son (Eloheinu).119

This is also a clear reference to the figure of Enoch-Metatron, who unitesthese two symbols, since he is identified both with the Old Man (YisraelSabaTiferetorZeir Anpinilluminated by Atika Kadisha)and the Youth(Yisrael Zutta naarShekhinah).120 Both the Saba and Yanuka are identifiedalso with the figure of Enoch-Metatron.121

The main idea here is that in order to be elevated above (during the Shemarecitation) and unite with the father, the mighty Old Man (Arikh Anpin or

H.okhmah)one needs to connect first with the son (naarorShekhinah). Onlythrough the son can one enter the gates above and go up to the father, as statedin the verse: For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad [naar] be not

with me?(Genesis 44:34).This passage in Maskiyyot kesef strengthens the argument that there is a

strong and deep connection between the Yanuka and Saba figures and thecontent of their homilies on the Shema mysteries, since their own narrativefigures also represent the mythical-symbolic figures of the Old Man, asYisrael Saba, and the YouthasYisrael Zutta. Therefore, it is not a coincidencethat the Yanuka and Saba figures are identified with these unique Zoharic Shemamysteries, as these figures act both as narrative characters and, at the same time, asmythic and symbolic figures.The Saba and Yanuka act as incarnated narrative

figures of God and his son;

122

their own

bodies

serving as poetic representationof the collector of lilies,the collector of limbs,uniting the lower and upperlimbs into one mythopoetic body.

Jonatan M. BenarrochHebrew University

Jerusalem, Israel

119. Cf. Liebes, Christian Influences on the Zohar,nn. 2428.120. Cf. de Len, Shekel ha-kodesh, 4243.121. Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,331335.122. See Benarroch, Saba ve-Yanuka,41131; Bennaroch, Oro shel Yanuka ve-sodo shel

Saba 76 106; Liebes Myth vs Symbol


Documents

The Mystery of Unity