Today's class is dedicated in memory of Mrs. Emy Missry, Chana bat Gilsom ah, on her yarzheit, by her grandchildren.
We continue to discuss the powers of Yoshev B’Seter Elyon (Tehilim chapter 91) the chapter that talks about God's protection and how it protects us.
We mentioned that we say Yoshev B’Seter Elyon, when it comes to dedicating and expanding holiness in the Bet Hamikdash, but what exactly does that have to do with this chapter? The answer is that this is the chapter that brings down God's Shechina. That's really the main focus of this chapter- the more that you have God on your mind, the more His Shechina is here. And with the Shechina comes protection.
The Taz, in Trei Zahav, on the Torah, Vayikrah 9,23 says that this Mizmor is actually broken up into two halves. The first half discusses the concept of bringing God's holiness down, and the second half talks about the protection, because they go hand in hand. As long as God is there, there are no damaging forces.
First we ask to bring the Shechina down, and then to cut away all the negative forces.
And this is brought in Rashi Shemot (39,43). When it came to the Mishkan, the original dedication, it says Moshe blessed the Jewish people. What did he say? God’s Shechina should come down, and Vihi Noam/ the sweetness God ה׳ עלינו /should be upon you.
Moshe Rabbenu was the original one to say that, and that is the main focus of this Mizmor (and the end of chapter 90, which is Vihi Noam), bringing God down. And with that comes protection. We say it before we go to sleep, because at night we need protection. We say it on Motzei Shabbat, as we go off into the week, because we need protection then too. And we say it at a funeral, heaven forbid, when someone needs protection. These are all times we need protection, and we want to bring the Shechina down to protect us.
The Pele Yoetz says that there are so many secrets in this pasuk of Vihi Noam, that we should say the pasuk of Vihi Noam before we say Vihi Noam; there's so much holiness in this pasuk that we need to have an introduction before we even say that pasuk! It’s the power to bring God’s Shechina down, and to bring us protection, which, as we said, goes hand in hand.
That's the rule: Whenever God is there, nothing evil happens. The Chasid Yavetz brings this down in Pirkei Avot where talks about the ten miracles that happened in the Bet Hamikdash. There was no rotting, there were no snakes bites in Yerushalayim, there were all type of miracles that symbolized a lack of evil.
And why is that? Because God's Shechina was there. When God's protection is there, nothing happens. He goes on to say that the sin of Adam HaRishon is what brought all types of Kilkul/ corruption into the world. Originally, the world would have been without negativity, as it says V’Hineh Tov Me’od.
But after the sin, the negativity came in. And in times of Mashiach, it says, “The wolf will be together with the sheep,’ because we're going to go back to Adam HaRishon before the sin.
He says, that's why when we read the Nevi’im, and we think that things sound impossible and wonder how could these things happen in the future, it says the fundamental is that when the Shechina is down here, there's no negativity. And when the Shechina comes back, the world will naturally do everything in such a way.
This is a pillar, to believe in everything that the Nevi’im say-
That's the famous Chanina Ben Dosa, that put his foot into the snake's pit, and when the snake bit him, the snake died. He said, snakes don't kill, sins kill. That's a fundamental. We can, in a way, invoke that now when we say Yoshev B’Seter. Because we're bringing the Shechina down, and with that, we protect ourselves from any negativity. The Mishna says this wasn’t just in the Bet Hamikdash.
A snake or scorpion never hurt anyone in Yerushalayim, again, because the Shechina was there. When the Shechina is there, there is no negativity.
I'm not a Kabbalist, but a little esoteric addition is that it says Adam HaRishon separated from Chava after he sinned, and then he had Shet.
They separated for 130 years. So there was negativity being created during those 130 years. And the 130 words in Yoshev B’Seter protect us from that negativity that was created during those 130 years.
Interestingly enough, Moshe Rabbenu was born when Yocheved was 130 years, and Moshe Rabbenu was there to fix the sins of Adam. That's why he was the author of Yoshev B’Seter. (Mageleh Amukot)
The bottom line is that a world with the Shechina is a world that has no evil.
Have a wonderful day.