16th Century Kabalistic Classic Continues Unsurpassed as a Religious-Ethical Treatise
By ALLEN A. WARSEN
Rabbi Moses Cordovero,
author of "The Palm _Tree of
Deborah," (Herman Press;
Introduction and Notes by
Louis Jacobs) was born in
1522 probably in Safed and
died in 1570 at age 78.
Joseph Caro (1488-1575),
author of the "Shulkhan
Arukh," and Solomon Alka-
betz, composer of "Lekha
Dodi," were his teachers.
Cordovero, with the excep-
tion of Isaac Luria, is re-
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thority of "post-Zoharic ka-,
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tion of Eliezar, the servant
of Abraham, and it is stated
that at his death a pillar of
fire appeared before his bier
and that it was observed by
Isaac Luria.
"The Palm Tree of Deb-
orah," a book of religious
ethics, is divided in 10 chap-
ters representing- the 10
kabalistic "Sephirots" (di-
vine attributes) : Crown, Un-
derstanding, Wisdom, Power,
Lovingkindness, Beauty, Maj-
esty, Endurance, Foundation,
and Sovereignty. The book's
title is derived from the verse
in Judges, "Arid she sat un-
der the palm tree of Deb-
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orah."
The leitmotif of the book is
imitation of God--1-a profound
theological' and philosophical
problem: How is it possible
to imitate the Omnipotent,
"Omniscient First Cause,"
"the Perfect Being?"
In his "Guide for the Per-
plexed," Maimonides tries to
find an answer to this com-
plicated problem. He main-
tains that the biblical state-
ment "man is created in the
image of God" is a metaphor
and means that man is "like
God in that he is endowed
with intellectual perception,"
which enables him to imitate
the "acts of mercy and com-
passion by which God is
known," and not God Him-
self.
The kabalists, however,
are of a different opinion.
They claim that there is a
distinction between "God as
He is in Himself (the En
Soph, the Infinite)" and God
as He is represented in the
Bible and other sacred books
(the Shekhinah, Divine Pres-
ence). God as He is in Him-
self iS known only to Him-
self; whereas God as He ap-
pears in the sacred books
reveals Himself through the
"Sephiroth" (divine emana-
tions). This is a topic beyond
the scope of this review.
Instead, we will consider
some of the divine qualities
the author urges us to imi-
tate. Foremost, is God's pa-
tience. Though man sins, still
he is provided with the neces-
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sities of life; and rather than
take vengeance, God pa-
tiently waits for the sinner to
repent.
Moreover, "He who com-
mits a sin acquires a prose-
cutor who stands before the
Holy One, Blessed is He, say-
ing: "So-and-So made me."
But God patiently keeps the
demon from the transgressor
and waits for him to amend
his ways.
Another divine quality to
emulate is God's concern for
Israel with whom He has "a
relationship of the flesh"—
a kinship which causes God
to delight when Israel re-
joices, and - suffer when Is-
rael endures pain.
Such a relationship also
exists between the Children
of Israel. For "all Israel are
related one to the other, for
their souls are united and in
each soul there is. a portion
of all the others."
Therefore, when one Israel-
ite grieves, all grieve; and
when one is contented, all
are happy.
Hence one Israelite must
be concerned with the wel-
fare of one's neighbor, view
wholeheartedly the neigh-
bor's good fortune and treat
him with honor.
Not less important is to
emulate the divine quality of
forgiveness. "For pardon of
sin is not granted by a dep-
uty but at the hand of the
Holy One, Blessed is He,
Himself." Man must act ac-
cordingly, and not say: "Shall
I put to rights that which
another has perverted or
which is the result of his
sin?"
Among the "Sephiroths"
mentioned, Wisdom, Loving-
kindness and Beauty are of
the utmost importance, and
are vital to man's existence.
How then can mane acquire
them?
Wisdom he can acquire by
"his solitude with his crea-
tor;" Lovingkindness by lov-
ing "God with perfect love;"
and Beauty by studying the
Torah—the Torah is Beauty.
For emulating God and ac-
quiring the divine. qualities,
man will be rewarded in the
world to come—not in this
world. "For how can He give
from the spiritual reward
that is in His Presence in a
Israel Imposes Customs Limit
on Olim Buying Foreign Goods
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A
customs regulation limiting
the privilege of new im-
migrants to purchase import-
ed goods, has been re-instat-
ed as part of the govern-
ment's new economic meas-
ures designed to save foreign
currency. The measure had
been in effect previously but
was suspended in 1970. It
ends foreign currency grants
to importers who supply
foreign-made goods to im-
migrants without the pay-
ment of customs duties.
Immigrants from the So-
viet Union will be -affected
inasmuch as most of them
arrive in Israel without for-
eign currency and almost
always without Western cur-
rencies. They will now have
to purchase Israel-made pro-
ducts if they wish to enjoy
customs privileges.
Immigrant; who bring for-
eign currency with them or
goods purchased abroad be-
fore their arrival in Israel
will continue to be exempt
from- customs duties. A re-
striction imposed earlier this
year, however, limits the
duty-free goods immigrants
may bring into the country
to those purchased in their
country of origin.
In a related development,
the interior minister has
proposed measures to en-
courage settlers to adopt new
immigrant status immediate-
ly upon arrival in Israel in-
stead of temporary resident
status.
The proposals, contained
in a memorandum which the
ministry presented to the
cabinet, would improve the
privileges of new immigrants
in relation to those enjoyed
by temporary residents.
Newcomers to Israel are
offered a choice between - the
two classifications and are
granted privileges regard-
less of which they choose.
But immigrants are required
to do military service after
two years in the country
while temorary residents may
postpone military duty until
they assume immigrant sta-
tus, usually four years after
their arrival.
material world?"
Rabbi Moses Cordovero's
"The Palm Tree of Deb-
orah," has become a holy
book for kabalists and mor-
alists alike. Rabbi Israel
Salanter (1810-1883), found-
er of the moralistic "Musar"
movement, urged the book
be read daily during the
"Days of Awe," and "is re-
ported as saying that he who
studies the work regularly is
enabled to reach the high
spiritual degree of the love
of Israel."
"The Palm Tree of Deb-
orah," unsurpassed as a re-
ligious - ethical treatise,
abounds in ideas and is rich
in insights, yet is not an easy
book to read or understand.
The first glance of a soul
which does not yet know it-
self is like the dawn in the
sky.—Hugo
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Friday,Dec. 20, 1974-43
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