Rashbi As A Taste Of The Future

 From the haskama of Rav Yosanan David to Gur Aryeh with Rav Hartman's commentary:

In the Gra itself (commentary to Tikkunay Zohar tikkun 21 pg. מב) (which I found due to Otzar Hachama):

Haddasim and Dead People

The Gemorah in Shabbos (33b) relates the story of Rashbi in the cave.  After he exited for the second time he was no longer tormented by people doing mundane activities.  The Gemorah recounts that he was appeased by seeing a old man running close to Shabbos with two haddasim to honor Shabbos.  What did Rashbi see in the haddasim of the fellow running erev Shabbos that made him appeased with the feeble actions of man?   Rav Kook explains (his words are better than my translation so you will have to read the Hebrew.) קדושת השבת יש שנים בכחה: האחד מה שהיא מקדשת ומעלה את ישראל בקדושתה העליונה ומרוממת אותם בעצם קדושת היום למעלה מכל עניני חול ומדבקתם בכבוד עליון וקדושה עליונה. חוץ מזה, היא ממשכת ג"כ את כח כל ימי המעשה עם כל חילונותם ושפלותם, שע"י שהם נזכרים בקדושת השבת הנם מתרוממים. ובאין הכרה מוחשית, הנפש הישראלית מרוממת עצמה אפילו בימי החול מפני זכר של יום השבת, ובזה אין דברי החול שפלים כ"כ כמו שהם נראים בחיצוניות שלהם, כ"א הם הולכים ומתעלים בקדושת השבת. ואע"פ שרוב הזמן הנם עסוקים בעבודת החול, מ"מ כ"כ הקדושה קרובה היא אל לבם, עד שהתכלית העליונה שבחיים מונחת עמוק בתוך הלב שהיא נעוצה דוקא בהקדושה. וכפי הרוממות של גילוי קרבת אלקים ב"ה בנפש, שהיא כמדת הטוב והצדק ויתר דרכי השם יתברך שנדבקים בה, ע"פ המבט הזה יש להשקיף על חיי שעה ועל העוסקים בהם בעין של קורת רוח. בין השמשות הוא המעבר שבין העבר להעתיד והוא מקשר את החול אל הקודש, ומורה השפעת הקודש על החול ע"י קישורו, אע"פ שמצד ההרגשה החיצונה נראה שהחול הוא מאד מגושם ופחות, מ"מ יש בו כח פנימי שרק בסקירה של הרגשה פנימית חדה הדומה לחוש הריח, שהוא דבר שהנשמה נהנית ממנו ואין הגוף נהנה ממנוי, רק אז יוכר קדושתו ועילויו. וזה הכח של פעולת הקודש על החול הוא פועל את הזריזות המעשית, עד שמעורר ג"כ את כחות הזקנה להיות מזורזים בפועל ובמעשה, ומ"מ אע"פ שהחול מושפע מהקודש מ"מ אין מעלת הקודש נופלת לחשבה רק כמצורפת אל החול, כ"א היא עומדת במעלתה לעצמה ג"כ. ע"כ בהגלות להם שבהדי פניא דמעלי שבתא ההוא סבא, שלא היה לו ראוי להמצא בקרבו כבר כח הזריזות למרוצה וחפזון, ומה שינה עליו טבעו להיות פעולת החיים כ"כ ניכרת עליו לקדושה, דהוה נקיט תרי מדאני אסי, להריח בהם לכבוד שבת, בהוראה על ההרגשה הפנימית הרוחנית הצריכה לצאת מקדושת השבת. אמנם תרתי ל"ל, אחד כנגד זכור, המורה על היחש של השבת עם החול, ואחד כנגד שמור המורה על עצם השמירה של קדושת השבת כשהיא לעצמה. אמר כמה חביבין מצות על ישראל, שקדושת המצות היא הנשמה המונחת בתוך כח החיים של גלגל כל פעולותיהם, שהן נראות כ"כ פשוטות ושפלות. יתיב דעתייהו, ולא הצטערו עוד על חיי עולם הנבלעים מחיי שעה, בראותם כי גם בחיי שעה יש לישראל קישור אמיץ לחיי עולם, וזה הקישור הוא מחדש ונותן כח לכושלים ועיפים, להיות זריזים לעבודת הקודש, גם בימי זקנה ושיבה. ועילוי הקדושה הזאת של הפיכת טבע הזקנה הכבדה לזריזותה של הילדות, דבר זה א"א לצאת אל הפועל כ"א ע"י פעולות החול כשהן מתפרצות מחוגן לעלות אל הקודש, כאותו היחש שיש לחיי עולם אל חיי שעה, שהם מוסיפים מעלה בצירופם, ע"כ יתיב דעתייהו.  

Rashi (23:3) says ששת ימים וגומ׳ – מה עניין שבת אצל מועדות? ללמדך שכל המחלל את המועדות מעלין עליו כאילו חילל את השבתות, וכל המקיים את המועדות מעלין עליו כאילו קיים את השבתות. Why are Kohanim prohibited from contracting tumah from a dead man?  The kohan is the representative of kedusha present in this world.  Many acknowledge that after death there is kedusha.  People are willing to do all sorts of rituals, incantations and segulot to attempt to enhance the connection with the Almighty. However, to appreciate the connection one has with Hashem in עלמא הדין is a little more complex.  It is the job of the Kohan to ensure that kedusha is not retrained to death and hence he is instructed not to deal with the dead.  It is his job to see the kedusha present in everyday life.  It is the lesson Rashbi had to learn.

Lavan And Lag B'omer

This post is part two of the previous post. Many of the Chassidic books say that there is a hint to Lag B'omer in the possuk at the end of  Vayetzeh (31:52,) עֵד הַגַּל הַזֶּה וְעֵדָה הַמַּצֵּבָה אִם אָנִי לֹא אֶעֱבֹר אֵלֶיךָ אֶת הַגַּל הַזֶּה וְאִם אַתָּה לֹא תַעֲבֹר אֵלַי אֶת הַגַּל הַזֶּה וְאֶת הַמַּצֵּבָה הַזֹּאת לְרָעָה, the word גל is the same as לג.  What does this possuk have to do with Lag B'omer?

What makes different nations and cultures unique is that each nation has a dominant middah that they personify.  Each one of the 70 nations personifies one of the middot in tumah (7 (middot)*10 (fullest capability) =70.  In Chassidic books it says the language of a nation contains within it the middah of the nation that it is spoken by.  The Likutay Moharan Torah 19:4 says the bridge between the language of tumah and the language of kodesh is Aramit.  It is akin to the עץ הדעת טוב ורע, it has in it bot positive and negative qualities.  It is the person's usage that determines if it becomes elevated to kedusha or lowered to tumah.  He explains that is what's going on in this story of the different names Yaakov and Lavan gave to their place of treaty.  It was a spiritual battle which each one using their language to inculcate their own power into their opposing side.  Lavan ran after Yaakov to harm him.  Hashem told Lavan he can't harm physical harm Yaakov so Lavan attempted to harm him spiritually.  Hence he called their place of treaty גר שהדותא, he used the language of Aramis to try to take the spirituality of Yaakov and infuse him with tumah.  However, Yaakov countered by calling it  גלעד, he raised the Aramis to his level of kedusha.

The Maharal in Netzach Yisroel Ch. 1 points out the root of the words גלה and גאל are the same; גל.  A גל, a pile or wave; a gathering of different forces or things together.  גאולה is when Klal Yisroel is united with א; they are united together with a single purpose of serving Hashem.  In גלות says the Maharal, internally, בפנימיות, Klal Yisroel remain united, however externally, they are scattered to all parts (the ה of גלה he says represents scattered to 4 sides and the inner point,) of the globe.  It is the פנימיות of גל that remains even in the state of גלה that allows for the גאל; to be able to be completely united around the א', אלופו של עולם.  The גל of stones made by Yaakov and Lavan represented each one wanting to gather in the other one's powers.

The Gemorah Sanhedrin (38b) says ואמר רב יהודה אמר רב אדם הראשון בלשון ארמי ספר שנאמר (תהלים קלט, יז) ולי מה יקרו רעיך אל.  והיינו דאמר ריש לקיש מאי דכתיב (בראשית ה, א) זה ספר תולדות אדם מלמד שהראהו הקב"ה דור דור ודורשיו דור דור וחכמיו כיון שהגיע לדורו של רבי עקיבא שמח בתורתו ונתעצב במיתתו אמר ולי מה יקרו רעיך אל.  The Maharshal explains: ונ"ב תרגום של כבד יקיר. ערוך.  The words כבד and יקר mean precious.  Why is ר"ע called יקר and why was Adam prompted to speak in Aramis specifically about R.A.?  The answer lies in a midrash.  The midrash in Chukas (19:6) says וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֹא יִהְיֶה אוֹר יְקָרוֹת וְקִפָּאוֹן, יקפאון כְּתִיב, דְּבָרִים הַמְכֻסִּין מִכֶּם בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה עֲתִידִין לִהְיוֹת צוֹפִים לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, כְּהָדֵין סַמְיָא דְּצָפֵי, דִּכְתִיב (ישעיה מב, טז): וְהוֹלַכְתִּי עִוְרִים בְּדֶרֶךְ לֹא יָדָעוּ. וּכְתִיב (ישעיה מב, טז): אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים עֲשִׂיתִם וְלֹא עֲזַבְתִּים, אֶעֱשֶׂה אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא עֲשִׂיתִם, שֶׁכְּבָר עָשִׂיתִי לְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא וַחֲבֵרָיו דְּבָרִים שֶׁלֹא נִגְלוּ לְמשֶׁה נִגְלוּ לְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא וַחֲבֵרָיו. (איוב כח, י): וְכָל יְקָר רָאֲתָה עֵינוֹ, זֶה רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא וַחֲבֵרָיו. 

To understand this better I will copy the English translation of the possuk and Rashi in Zecharyeh that the midrash starts with from Chabad.org.  The possuk: And it shall come to pass on that day that there shall be no light, only disappearing light and thick darkness.  Rashi: there shall be no light, only disappearing light and thick darkness: Jonathan renders. There shall not be light, only light that passes away, and thickness, i.e., there shall not be splendorous light, only יְקָרוֹת and קִפָּאוֹן shall [there] be. יְקָרוֹת An expression similar to (Ps. 37: 20), “like the disappearing light over the plains.” Like a sort of light that appears in the morning over the mountains and disappears little by little. וְקִפָּאוֹן Congealed and dark and thick, like ice that is congealed and frozen, as in (Job 10:10), “And like cheese You curdled me.”  The word יקרות, from the root יקר is used in the context of a light emerging from darkness.  That is what the midrash compares to R.A.  R.A. had this ability to reveal parts of Torah that were shrouded in darkness.  That is why the word יקר is used by Adam to describe R.A.  However we still need to understand why express this in Aramis?

In light of Rebbe Nachman's Torah, we now understand why Adam used Aramis to describe R.A. Because as mentioned in the previous post, R.A.'s method of learning was a reflection of his own persona.  The reason why R.A. was able to unearth secrets of the Torah is because that was his life.  He unearthed hidden goodness in that which seems devoid of any.  That is represented by Aramis, the language mixed up  with דעת טוב ורע and one must discover and use the טוב in it.  (See Likutay Moharan there #9, Likutay Halachos Tefillin halacha 6 and Bassar Bechalav halacha 1.)  [וכ"ז קשור לענין יסוד מוציא יקר מזולל, קרי אותיות יקר, שזה יסוד הכונה באכילה, ברית המעור וברית הלשון, ויש דגש בזה בזמן ספירת העומר, שעומר גימטריא קרי, שבמצריים היה גלדול קל שנה של אדם ואכ"מ להאריך.]

The revelation of the deepest secrets of Torah, which occurred on Lag B'omer is comes through purifying the good entangled in the ארמית, in the rah. That is why the Zohar, the sefer of Rashbi, that reveals the deep secrets of the Torah is written in Aramis for it is the specifically the deepest parts of the Torah that can be used to find to elevate the hidden good in Aramis.  That is why עד הגל הזה, where Yaakov elevated Lavan's Aramis is a remez too.
[Many of the ideas here are based upon the Breslov seforim cited explained in this article, and the writings of Rav Tzvi Einfeld.]

Rebbe Akiva And The קוצים

This post is the first half of a two part piece of Lag B'omer.  The Gemorah in Menachos (29b) says that Rebbe Akiva was דורש על כל קוץ וקוץ תילי תילים של הלכות.  Why do Chazal use the term קוץ וקוץ?  The Gemorah in Menachos indicates that this is something greater about Rebbe Akiva over Moshe Rabbenu.  As the Maharal says how could it possibly be that Rebbe Akiva is greater than Moshe Rabbenu חס ושלום?  And why is it specifically Rebbe Akiva that had this methodology of derush?
There is a major difference between the upbringing of Moshe Rabbenu and that of Rebbe Akiva.  Moshe Rabbenu was born to Amrom, whom Chazal call the gadol hador.  He was born into a family where even the kids were prophets and additionally in his own right  Chazal say when he was born  נתמלא הבית אורה etc.  He was destined to greatness from the very beginning. (Not like the Teferes Yisroel end of Kiddushin.)  Moshe Rabbenu is the epitome of the tzaddik gamor that has no connection to evil at all.  Rebbe Akiva's יחוס was far from perfect.  According to various texts in Sanhedrin (96b,) Rebbe Akiva was a descendant of Sisra, a goy that fought against Klal Yisroel.  Not only were his roots shaky, but in his own life he was a complete ignoramus until age 40.  He is the epitome of the baal teshuva, one who turned evil into great.
A few weeks ago this blog explained how קוץ, the numerical value of 196, is the difference between ד and ר, where ד is a good letter (ה' אחד)and ר a bad one (אל אחר.)  The letters of the Torah facilitate a simple read; they represent the straight path of the tzaddik.  The קוצים are the parts of the Torah where the message is unclear.  They show the path of the baal teshuva where the Divine light is greatly covered over and must be dug out of great darkness.  This path is not a straight path but is jagged like the shapes of the קוצים.  The קןץ contain the secret for how to find holyniss in that which seems so bereft of it.  R.A. was דורש the קוצין not because he was greater than Moshe but because they contained the message for his life, not Moshe's.  Moshe's path was contained in the words, R.A.'s in the קןצים.  [I am assuming that the קוץ is the כתרים on the letters like the ערוך seems to say, not like the essay of Shlomo Naeh in לשוננו אדר תש"ע  that it means many parshios, that I will leave for the scholars.]  That is reflected in the end of the Gemorah where Moshe Rabbenu asks  אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם הראיתני תורתו הראני שכרו אמר לו חזור [לאחורך] חזר לאחוריו ראה ששוקלין בשרו במקולין אמר לפניו רבש"ע זו תורה וזו שכרה א"ל שתוק כך עלה במחשבה לפני.  In the prism of complete goodness, Moshe Rabbenu couldn't fathom how such a cruel punishment could befall R.A.  It is only in the world of R.A.,גם זו לטובה that even that which appears to be evil is transformed into a positive.  [See Maharal Tiferes Yisroel Ch. 63.]

From Plowing to Harvest

From Plowing to Harvest Lag Ba'omer Harav Hagaon Yehuda Wagshal Shlita The Rema, in Hilchos Sefiras Ha'omer, states that on Lag Ba'omer we are marbeh b'simchah a little. But the reason for the simchah of Lag Ba'omer seems questionable. On one hand, the Shulchan Aruch and the Rema say that the reason we rejoice on Lag Ba'omer is because it's the day when the talmidim of R' Akiva stopped dying. On the other hand, we all know from other sources that the reason for the simchah of Lag Ba'omer is that it's the yahrtzeit of R' Shimon bar Yochai, which was the day when the secrets of R' Shimon bar Yochai's Torah were revealed. The Shulchan Aruch does not mention that, but the Magen Avraham on the Shulchan Aruch alludes to it. In connection to the Rema's statement that we're marbeh b'simchah on Lag Ba'omer, the Magen Avraham records the following story, from the Kavanos of the Arizal. A certain gadol used to say the Nacheim prayer of Tisha b'Av every day, as a sign of his mourning for the Churban Beis Hamikdash, and he was punished. The Magen Avraham cites this story in brief, but it's brought down elsewhere at length. On Lag Ba'omer, the Arizal and his talmidim went to the kever of R' Shimon bar Yochai, and they celebrated and davened there. One of the talmidim recited Nacheim in his quiet Shemoneh Esrei, and the Arizal approached him and told him that R' Shimon bar Yochai himself had come to him and complained that his talmid was saying Nacheim on his day of simchah. Because of that, this talmid was punished severely: his child passed away and everyone came to comfort him, which was middah k'neged middah - he said Nacheim, so he needed a nechamah. Clearly the Magen Avraham is alluding to the other reason for simchah on Lag Ba'omer: the yahrtzeit of R' Shimon bar Yochai. I would assume that it's no mere coincidence that these two events - the end of the deaths of R' Akiva's students and the revelation of R' Shimon bar Yochai's Torah - happened on the same day. There must be some connection between the two events. In truth, it's hard to understand why we rejoice over the fact that R' Akiva's talmidim stopped dying on Lag Ba'omer. The Pri Chadash points out that on this day, there was no one left! All 24,000 talmidim had been wiped out, and the world was in a state of utter churban, as the Gemara says:והיה העולם שמם . That's a reason to rejoice? Are we b'simchah on Lag Ba'omer to commemorate the total destruction of all of R' Akiva's talmidim? Regarding the story that the Magen Avraham mentions, we can ask another question. What was so terrible about saying Nacheim on Lag Ba'omer that caused the Arizal's talmid to be punished? We know that we are obligated to remember the churban at all times, even during times of simchah. Even at a wedding, at the height of a personal simchah, we are required to remember the churban of Yerushalayim:אִם אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי. Why, then, is the simchah of Lag Ba'omer different, to the extent that a person who said Nacheim on that day was punished severely? Plowing vs. Destruction The churban Beis Hamikdash is described by the navi as "plowing" - צִיּוֹן שָׂדֶה תֵחָרֵשׁ- and this description really applies to any churban. In what way was the churban similar to an act of plowing? When viewed as an isolated act, plowing seems like an act of destruction: you take a beautiful field and rips it to pieces. In context, however, plowing is not destructive at all. True, if you plow the field and don't follow up by planting seeds, covering them with earth, watering them, and cultivating them, then the plowing remains an act of destruction. But if you follow the act of plowing with the constructive activities that result in the growth of a useful crop, and you harvest and utilize the fruits of your labors, then the plowing turns out to be the beginning of a process of tremendous growth. This is why the navi states, regarding the fast days for the churban:צוֹם הָרְבִיעִי וְצוֹם הַחֲמִישִׁי וְצוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וְצוֹם הָעֲשִׂירִי יִהְיֶה לְבֵית יְהוּדָה לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְמֹעֲדִים טוֹבִים. Even Tisha b'Av itself, which is the day of the churban Beis Hamikdash, will eventually be a day of Yom Tov. What happened on Tisha b'Av that is cause for eventual celebration? The answer is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu does not perform acts of destruction. Churban implies that everything is over, and that's not what Hashem does. Hakadosh Baruch Hu performs acts of plowing. The end result of the plowing is up to us. If we leave the initial destruction as a churban, and we don't plant new seeds and cultivate them to ensure future growth, the act of plowing is indeed an act of destruction. But if we plant the seeds and help them grow, then the churban marks the beginning of tremendous new growth. Churban Bayis Rishon and Churban Bayis Sheini were terrible calamities, but if Klal Yisrael followed those acts of plowing by planting seeds and helping them grow, then the end result will be the building of the third Beis Hamikdash, which will be on a higher madreigah than the first and second, and will never be destroyed. That high madregiah can come about only because of the churban of the first two Batei Mikdash. In essence, then, the churban - the plowing - if used properly, will eventually turn into the beginning of new growth, the higher madreigah of the third Beis Hamikdash. And that's why it's going to be a Yom Tov. Tisha b'Av will be the Yom Tov of the geulah, because the process of that ultimate geulah really began on Tisha b'Av, when the field was plowed, so to speak, and its growth began. Similarly, every churban in and of itself is a destruction, but it can potentially become a Yom Tov if it is utilized as an act of plowing. Planting Toras Rashbi The Gemara in Yevamos says that between Pesach and Shavuos, twelve thousand pairs of R' Akiva's talmidim died, and the world was desolate due to this loss: עד שבא ר' עקיבא אצל רבותינו שבדרום ושנאה להם - until R' Akiva found five talmidim in the south and taught them, at which time the world was refilled with Torah. The Gemara seems to emphasize that the new talmidim of R' Akiva were in the south of Eretz Yisrael. Why is that relevant to the story? What's the difference if where they were located? Perhaps the Gemara is alluding to the following idea. R' Akiva and his original talmidim lived in the north. Presumably, had these talmidim remained alive, R' Akiva would have had no reason to travel to the south, and he would never have found his five new talmidim. After losing his original 24,000 talmidim, there was no one left in the north to teach, so he had to search for new talmidim until he found רבותינו שבדרום and began teaching them. He found these new talmidim in the south only because of the death of the original talmidim. Among these new talmidim was R' Shimon bar Yochai - and that means that the Torah greatness of R' Shimon bar Yochai came about only because of the death of the original talmidim of R' Akiva! R' Shimon bar Yochai himself testified, as the Gemara in Gittin teaches, that his primary greatness came from R' Akiva. The Zohar teaches that on Lag Ba'omer, right before R' Shimon bar Yochai's passing, profound secrets of the Torah were revealed to world. It turns out, then, that on the very day when R' Akiva's talmidim were completely wiped out, R' Shimon bar Yochai's Torah reached its zenith. And this revelation really began with the death of R' Akiva's students. Although their death was a tremendous churban, in retrospect it was an act of plowing - and the fact that it was an act of plowing became evident many years later on Lag Ba'omer, when the fruits of that churban were revealed, in the form of R' Shimon bar Yochai's Torah. This explains the connection between the two events we commemorate on Lag Ba'omer, and this answers the question of the Pri Chadash. No, we are not making a party on Lag Ba'omer because the last of R' Akiva's talmidim died and there was no one left. Rather, we are celebrating the idea that because of the end of the deaths of R' Akiva's talmidim, he traveled to the south, found new talmidim, and set in motion the process that caused something greater and bigger than before: R' Shimon bar Yochai's Torah! We can now understand why the recitation of Nacheim on Lag Ba'omer was so incongruous. Nacheim is a tefillah that we say in the midst of galus, when we don't yet have the perspective of viewing the churban as an act of plowing, and we see it purely as a churban. But le'asid lavo, when צוֹם הָרְבִיעִי וְצוֹם הַחֲמִישִׁי וְצוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וְצוֹם הָעֲשִׂירִי יִהְיֶה לְבֵית יְהוּדָה לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְמֹעֲדִים טוֹבִים, the churban will be revealed as an act of plowing. In galus we don't yet see it that way, but on Lag Ba'omer we got a glimpse of that perspective, because the very desolation of the death of R' Akiva's talmidim was shown to have lain the groundwork for R' Shimon bar Yochai's Torah. Therefore, Lag Ba'omer is not a day to say Nacheim, and that is why R' Shimon bar Yochai protested its recitation by the Arizal's talmid. This is the significance of the simchah of Lag Ba'omer in general. Lag Ba'omer is the day to realize that there's really no such thing as churban, and that any difficult situation we find ourselves in is, in truth, an act of plowing. Klal Yisrael now is experiencing a difficult situation that is a churban on many levels, but on the day of Lag Ba'omer we have the ability to view it as an act of plowing. May the fruits of all the tzaros and churbanos be revealed speedily, and may Hashem bring about the time when they will be לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְמֹעֲדִים.

13 And Rashbi

ידוע סיפור המובא בגמ' שבת לג שרשב"י היה במערה יב' שנים ואח"כ יצא והיה שורף אנשים שעסקו בחיי שעה.  הבת קול יצא שיחזור למערה ולמד שם עוד שנה ואז לא שרף את העולם.  להיפף מצינו בגמ' וכמה הדרשים שרשב"י לעולם עומד לזכות ישראל ומלמד עלינו זכות.  איך השקפתו נשתנה ע"י לימוד של עוד שנה במערה?  י"ל מה שרשב"י למד באותו שנה הוא איך שהתורה וכלל ישראל המה מקושרים זל"ז.  ודבר זה גופא מרומז ביג'.  יש יג' מדות שהתורה נדרשת ויש יג' מדות הרחמים ורק מי שידע לדרוש ביג' מדות הרחמים יכול לדרוש את התורה (עיין ליקוטי שושנה בסוף נועם אלימלך צט:) רשב"י זכה לגלות תורת הנסתר משום שהוא זכה לדרוש היג' מדות הרחמים על ישראל. יג' גימטריה אחד, הוא הכיר האחדות בין ישראל והתורה.  ולכן מצינו בכתובות עז: שרשב"י למעלה יושב על  תלת עשר תכטקי פיזא (ספסלי זהב.)  מה ענינו של יג' ספסלי זהב?  הם השכר להשלמת יג' מדות שהתורה נדרשת ורחמים שלו.