May 21st: Naso
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
Anthropomorphism is a curious technique. It can be both very helpful and problematically limiting. Given that God is Infinite—is beyond our ability to place definitional boundaries, we need to realize that any understanding we have of the Deity is inevitably less than complete. Like a line in geometry, we can visualize the line going from one point to another, but the continuation of that line in both directions and forever is something we are taught but cannot really fathom. Forever is a long way—beyond comprehension and certainly beyond verbalization. This was the thinking of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel who referenced God with the word ineffable—God being so far above and beyond anything we can conceive or verbalize; our best course is just to stand back in awe. Rabbi Moses Maimonides wrote of the Negative Attributes of God—that, since we cannot say what God is, all we can say is what God is not. God is not corporeal; God is not limited in time; God is not limited by human logic, etc. Kabbalists are a little more compartmentalized, thinking about God from two angles: the Transcendent (Ayn Sof / Infinite) and the Immanent (Shechinah / Indwelling Presence of God). Another way to look at it is in the Shema. When we say, “The Lord is our God,” we can read “The Lord” as the transcendent aspect of God—the Ayn Sof—and then “Our God / Elohaynu” as our experience of the Infinite. We can indeed be in touch with the Infinite—our hold / “our God”—all the while realizing that there is much more to God that we know or experience. That is why the Torah speaks of nora / awe and yir’ah / reverence.
That being said, there is something in the human soul which yearns for a more personal relationship with God, and that is where anthropomorphism finds its purpose. It helps us when we want to understand something that is far beyond our ken. When Balaam could not see the sword-bearing angel standing in his way—and his donkey could, having that donkey speak begins the process of opening the prophet’s eyes to reality. “The Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?’ Balaam said to her, ‘You have made a mockery of me! If I had a sword with me, I’d kill you.’ The donkey said to Balaam, ‘Look, I am the donkey that you have been riding all along until this day! Have I been in the habit of doing thus to you?’ And he answered, ‘No.’ Then the Lord uncovered Balaam’s eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in his way, his drawn sword in his hand; thereupon he bowed right down to the ground.” (Numbers 22.28-31; though the text does not say that Balaam ever apologizes to the donkey.)
One can see a similar dynamic in the many anthropomorphic descriptions of God. When God “walks in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3.8), we have the stage set for God to encounter Adam and Eve hiding in their barely covered nakedness. God is all around before, but this literary device reminds Adam and Eve—and us--that God is aware. When God frees the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, the notion of God’s “mighty hand and outstretched arm” gives dramatic power to the narrative and a reference that humans can understand. In Exodus 24.10, when God is described as “standing on a pavement of sapphire stones,” it gives an enterprising Rabbi in the Midrashic tradition the opportunity to comment on how God is so lovingly invested in humanity that God suffers alongside the Israelites when they are slaves in Egypt.
And then we have very personal and parental imagery in this week’s Torah portion. In Numbers 6.22-27, we are presented with the Priestly Benediction, an ancient technique for putting or placing God’s Name on the people of Israel.
“The Lord spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron and his sons:
Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:
May the Lord bless you and protect you!
May the Lord smile upon you and be gracious to you!
May the Lord shine upon you and bless you with peace!
Thus shall they put My Name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.
Though the New Jewish Publication Society translation renders v’samu as link—giving us: “Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them,” I think that the more literal imagery of putting / v’samu God’s Name on us is quite evocative. One can see this as a furthering of the first part of the blessing: “May the Lord bless you and protect you!” When we are so closely associated with God—the Deity being on us, we are certainly both protected and blessed.
More than that is the image of a very parental God Who may not always be paying attention to us—and Whom we hope will turn from other concerns to gaze favorably upon us: “Ya’er Adonai panav elecha” literally means “May the Lord lift up His face to you.” And “Yisa Adonai panav elecha” literally means “May the Lord lift up His face/countenance upon you.” Though we try to de-genderize the language, the imagery of a parent’s face turning or looking up to gaze at us goes to a very deep place. We yearn for God’s attention just as a child years for a parent’s loving gaze. “Look at me, Mommy/Daddy!” is not just a sentiment for the very young. We see ourselves through our parents’ eyes and crave approval and love.
We are cautioned not to make images of God (in the Ten Commandments, Number 2!), and we should realize that our intellectual constructs can be just as idolatrous as statues. On the other hand, this humility should remind us that a truly Infinite or Ineffable God is also not limited by our logic or reasoning. God can be both ineffable and knowable, both transcendent and personal. The idea that the universal God can also pay attention to us should not be out of the question. If Infinity is really infinite, then all kinds of possibilities are present. Thus can we stand in awe at the ineffable presence that contains all the cosmos while we also hope for our loving Divine Parent to pay attention to us and embrace us with love.