First in Thought, Last in Deed : Reflections on Terumah

[muman613]

I just mentioned the Jewish concept that Hashem created the entire universe all so that his final creation, human beings, could live in a physical world. Just as there is a teaching that the Mishkan is a microcosm of G-ds creation, so too every part of the Mishkan is described in a particular order.


http://www.torah.org/advanced/haaros/5757/TRUMAH97.html

The Order of Construction

Parshas Trumah concerns the mitzvah to build the Mishkan -- the Tabernacle in the desert -- and the Beis Hamikdash -- Temple -- in Jerusalem. The central aspect of the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash is the Aron Hakodesh -- the Holy Ark containing the Tablets and the Torah.

One of the issues discussed by the commentaries regards the order of construction. Moshe first commanded the building of the Aron Kodesh (Holy Ark). Betzalel, the artisan in charge of the building, changed the order, and built the Mishkan itself first, then the Aron Kodesh (Talmud, Brachos 55a).

The Chasom Sofer began by explaining that prophecy is associated with intellect. (In Judaism, prophets must first of all be outstanding Torah Scholars. This contrasts with other religions, in which "prophets," "seers," and "oracles" were often uneducated, insane or drugged.) The Torah says: Sof ma'aseh b'machshavah t'chilah -- "last in deed is first in thought." Therefore, Moshe, who commands through his prophetic spirit, mentions first that which will be produced last. (Toras Moshe)

We must first envision the ultimate goal. Its realization should always remain primary. However, initial steps must be taken; these steps, although not actually the primary goal, are nonetheless essential to reaching the fulfillment of the ultimate goal.

This principle is wide-reaching. The Baal Shem Tov answered many profound questions with a similar idea: Hashem has two attributes, which seem contrary. We talk of G-d's Knowledge and G-d's Will. "G-d's Knowledge" deals with ultimate goals -- the righteous will be rewarded, the wicked will be punished. "G-d's Will," however, seems quite contrary. He wills that there be Free Choice; this entails that the wicked "get away" with crimes for now, and that the righteous suffer hardships in this world. These steps are necessary in order to fulfill the ultimate goal, however. (Baal Shem Tov Al Hatorah, Beraishis, 2 [we have oversimplified, the interested reader should see the original].)

[muman613]

http://www.tfdixie.com/parshat/bo/013.htm
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We find a similar idea with regard to Shabbat. Every Friday evening in the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service, we describe Shabbat as being "sof ma'aseh bemachshava techilah - last in [Hashem's] deed, but first in thought." In order for us to prepare ourselves properly for Shabbat, we must remember its supreme importance in the grand scheme. For this reason, every morning when we say the psalm of the day at the end of Shacharit, we introduce the special psalm by saying, "Today is the blank day in the Shabbat (the word Shabbat is used here to mean week)," reminding us that today only has purpose in that it was created for Shabbat.

There still remains a question. Why is it that nowhere in the Torah do we find the months mentioned by name? The answer to this question lies in our history. At the time of the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem and the beginning of the Babylonian exile, the months had no special names. During this exile, the Jewish people fell under the rule of the Persians, and we began to call the months by their Persian names. When Hashem returned us to the land of Israel, allowing us to rebuild the Temple, it was a tremendous miracle. Our sages felt that it was important to commemorate this miracle. Therefore, they enacted that the months should retain the names we used for them under Persian rule. So now when we count the months, it reminds us of two miracles, the exodus from Egypt and our redemption from the Babylonian exile. Today is the tenth day of Shevat, the eleventh month since the exodus.

[muman613]

http://breslov.org/breslov-kabbalah-the-inner-workings-of-creation/
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Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, a leading sixteenth-century Kabbalist, composed the Lekha Dodi hymn which is sung in all congregations during Friday-night services. In this hymn he wrote, “Last in deed is first in thought.” Ostensibly, this refers to the creation of the Sabbath, the final day and goal of the first six days of Creation. But it also applies to the way we should approach any goal. Our potential to accomplish lies within our own individual thoughts. We must learn how to react to our thoughts and focus on them, using our creative abilities to grasp the dimensions of our ideas and build the necessary parameters, so that these “first thoughts” can develop into real deeds.

To illustrate how this works, Rebbe Nachman gives the example of someone who wants to build a house. At first the builder must imagine what the house will look like, where it will be built, and the time frame of its construction. After drawing up the blueprints, selecting the location and resolving the time elements, he will purchase the property and materials and go to work. The final deed of completing the house was actually in his first thought, for he imagined its construction down to the last detail. Thus, “Last in deed (the finished house) is first in thought”—that first thought contained everything in potentia.

Thinking, creative human beings are the goal of Creation. Rebbe Nachman repeatedly told his followers that no two people are—nor ever were, nor ever will be—exactly alike. Each and every one of us has unusual qualities that allow our originality to develop. Rebbe Nachman’s message is clear: People are not clones, and trying to be “like others” automatically inhibits creativity. We must focus on our own individual strengths and perfect them. Only then can we fully develop our potential.

[muman613]

http://www.chabad.org/global/popup/default_cdo/aid/2578/jewish/To-Be-or-to-Be-Not.htm

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Final in Deed, First in Thought

But in this, too, there seems to be a prevalent view: That the entirety of the created existence, from the most sublime spiritual entity to the most corporeal creature, was created so that physical man should implement the Divine will in the physical world by observing the mitzvot of the Torah.

It is to this end that the soul of man, which the Zohar describes as "carved out of the heavenly throne of G-d" descends to earth to assume a physical body, character and life. It is to this end that the Torah, which originates in the heavens, has not only been revealed on earth but has been given over to man; after Sinai, the Torah "is not in heaven" but in the hands of its earthly students and observers (Deuteronomy 30:12; see Talmud, Bava Metzia 59b).

The following passage in the Talmud says it all:

When Moses went up to heaven, the angels said to G-d: "What is a human being doing amongst us?" Said He to them: "He has come to receive the Torah." Said they to Him: "This hidden treasure, which was hidden with You for nine hundred and seventy-four generation before the world was created, You wish to give to flesh and blood? ... Place Your glory upon the heavens!"

Said G-d to Moses, "Answer them."

Said [Moses]: "Master of the Universe! This Torah that You are giving to me, what is written in it? 'I am the L-rd Your G-d who has taken you out from the land of Egypt.' Have you been brought down to Egypt?" asked Moses of the angels, "Have you been enslaved to Pharaoh?

"What else does it say? 'You shall have no alien gods'---Do you dwell amongst idol-worshiping nations? ... 'Remember the day of Shabbos'---Do you work? ... 'Do not swear falsely'---do you do business? ... 'Honor your father and your mother'---Do you have parents? 'Do not kill,' 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not steal'---Is there jealousy between you? Do you have an evil inclination?" (Talmud, Shabbat 89a).

The Midrash puts it this way: "G-d desired a dwelling place in the lowly realms." He desired that there be a realm that is lowly and distant from Him, a world that is inhospitable to His presence--in other words, a mundane, physical world--and that man transform this world into an abode for His manifest presence. "This is what man is all about, this is the purpose of his creation and of the creation of all the worlds, supernal and ephemeral," writes Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi in his Tanya.

So the objective of creation lies in our earth-bound existence. Indeed, it is to this very purpose that G-d first created the spiritual heavens: so that they yield a physical world that is a "descendant" of a higher, more G-dly reality, and that thereby possesses the potential to transcend its lowliness and corporeality and become a "dwelling" that houses and expresses the Divine.

Which comes first, the heavens or the earth? In sequence, the heavens; in essence, the earth. That much is clear. So what is the dispute between the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel?

[muman613]

http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/beacons-on-the-talmud-sea/01.htm

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Heaven Or Earth

The fact that this difference of opinion between the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel was chosen as the subject for the final laws to be discussed by the Mishnah[41] indicates that it is of general importance. And indeed, we find the same thrust motivating two passages which quote differences of opinion between the Schools of Hillel and Shammai that relate to the purpose of the creation and the purpose of man.

With regard to the purpose of creation, it is stated:[42]

The School of Shammai says: "The heavens were created first, and then the earth...." The School of Hillel says: "The earth was created first, and then the heavens."

The Alter Rebbe explains[43] that with regard to the order of creation, the heavens - the spiritual worlds - were created before this material world, and indeed, it is the spiritual realms that convey the life energy which brings this world into being. Nevertheless, the purpose of creation is our material world; to borrow a phrase,[44] "Last in deed, first in [G-d's] thought." Or, to refer to an analogy, when one constructs a building, it is the ultimate product which reflects the builder's original intent.

This resolution requires further explanation, for it implies that the School of Hillel and the School of Shammai are speaking about different aspects of the creation - the School of Shammai, the order of creation, and the School of Hillel, the intent - and there is no difference of opinion between them. The form of the quotation: "The School of Shammai says:.... The School of Hillel says:....", however, implies that they do not accept each other's positions.

Upon what does their difference of opinion revolve? Not on their opinions with regard to chronological precedence, but rather upon their conception of what is of primary importance. According to the School of Hillel, the earth is of paramount importance - it is in this material realm that G-d's intent for creation is expressed. The School of Shammai maintains that, although G-d's intent is expressed in this material world, the intent is first manifest in the heavens - in spiritual reality. And the entire thrust of our Divine service is to elevate material existence to the point that it can reflect this spiritual reality. The School of Hillel is thus putting the emphasis on the actual expression of the intent for creation (the poel), while the School of Shammai is highlighting the spiritual truths that enable this intent to be expressed (the ko'ach).[45]

This concept also enables us to understand why in all matters, the School of Shammai places the emphasis on the ko'ach. Since they conceive of the purpose of creation as elevating the material to the spiritual, it is the spiritual conception - the ko'ach - which receives priority. The School of Hillel, by contrast, conceives of the intent of creation as having spiritual truth made manifest in our material world. Hence, their emphasis is on actual expression - the poel.[46]

[muman613]

Here I discuss three of the Sefirot involved with creative thought, the ability to see the final product of our endeavors:


http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/192,2108424/Powers-of-the-Soul.html

Chochmah

Chochmah is the creative and generally unpredictable power of the soul which is manifested in spontaneous insights or inspiration -- an intuitive flash of intellectual illumination which has not yet been processed or developed by the understanding power of binah.

The creative power which illuminates chochmah derives from the concealed level of keter -- "and chochmah emerges from nothingness",1 that is, from the hidden keter. The reason that chochmah is able to act as a receptacle for the flash of divine revelation is that in its inner essence is also "nothingness". That is, the inner essence of chochmah is self-nullification (bitul).

This is why the Zohar characterizes the nature of chochmah by one of the permutations of the word chochmah itself -- koach mah -- the "potential to be 'what' (i.e. undefined and therefore boundless)". In this state of bitul, a person will not experience his own being as an independent creation. Rather, his consciousness is focused on G-d's omnipresence.

Binah

Binah, usually translated as "understanding", is the cognitive faculty that develops and articulates the seminal energy of chochmah so that the latter becomes known, in a detailed conceptual way, through binah. Binah is also the inductive and deductive faculty of understanding (or deducing) one thing from another, thus expanding the point of chochmah into a multi-dimensional conceptual system. The Zohar therefore symbolizes chochmah and binah and their relationship as "the supernal point (chochmah) within its palace (binah)".2 However, binah is not merely an adjunct to chochmah, it involves as well the ability to intuit a more inclusive reality that than encoded within chochmah itself.

Binah is also the ability to explain the concept to another person, thus "reproducing" it. In this sense binah is referred to as "the mother of children".3

Daat

Daat (knowledge) is the third faculty of the intellect. It is the ability to integrate and harmonize diametrically opposed views or states of being. As mentioned above, when keter is counted, daat is not, and vice versa. In terms of the soul powers, daat in fact plays a dual role: On the one hand, daat is the power which binds together the powers of chochmah and binah. In this capacity it is called daat elyon (higher daat), which generally remains in a state of concealment. As such it is identified with keter. On the other hand, daat serves as the bridge between the opposing domains of the intellect and the emotional attributes of the soul. In this capacity it is called daat tachton (lower daat). Daat is not merely another stage of intellect; it enables one to convert understanding into the vitality and inspiration of the emotions and actions. In this sense, the Zohar, refers to daat as "the key to the six [emotions]".4

A person who possesses daat will therefore exhibit rational, mature behavior, whereas one who lacks daat is emotionally immature and will probably be plagued by inner emotional conflict.

[muman613]

Here is the idea in the Lecha Dodi, with english translation: