Rabbi Frand on Parshas Haazinu

Rav Gedaliah Schorr on Revealed and Hidden Manifestations of G-d

The pasuk [verse] says "See now that I myself (Ani, Ani) am the One, there is no other god with me; I will kill and I will resurrect. I will hit and I will also heal, there is no one to save from My Hand." [32:39]

The commentaries are bothered by the two "Ani"s. Why doesn't the pasuk simply say the word Ani once?

The Kli Yakar explains that the intent of the pasuk is to contradict those schools of thought who believe that there are two Supreme Forces in the world: The Force that Gives us Good and the Force that Gives us Evil. The pasuk is teaching that the same G-d that kills is the G-d that resurrects. The same G-d that gives illness is the G-d that heals. Ani Ani Hu. (I, myself, am the One). There are no two "Domains".

Rav Gedaliah Schorr, zt"l says that the Kaballistic works discuss two ways in which G-d deals with the world -- the Revealed Way (Gilui) and the Hidden Way (Hester). The Revealed Way is referred to in this literature as "Ani" -- we can see clearly that it is "I - G-d" who is dealing with us. But the Hidden Way is referred to as "Hu" -- the third person, as if it were not G-d acting, but another Force, as it were, -- "Him" not "I".

Using these terms, Rav Schorr offers a beautiful interpretation of the pasuk: The meaning of "Ani, Ani, Hu" is that the attribute that deals with you as "Ani" is in fact identical to the attribute that deals with you as "Hu". When G-d deals with us in a mysterious way, such that we cannot understand His Ways, we must nevertheless believe that it is the same Force; the same Ribbono Shel Olam [Master of the World] as the one Whose Presence is clearly evident to us.

During this period of the year, we beat our breasts with the confession for the "sins we have committed against You with 'Timhon levav'". The meaning of 'Timhon Levav' is that we have 'Temihos' (questions) because we have not seen the Ribbono Shel Olam as the First Person (I), but as the Hidden Third Person (Hu); we have failed to believe with a complete belief that the Hidden and the Revealed manifestations are from one and the same Ribbono Shel Olam.

This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah portion. The halachic topics dealt with in the portion of Haazinu in the Commuter Chavrusah Series are the following:

Tape # 067 - The Mitzvah of Writing a Sefer Torah
Tape # 296 - Does Eating Mezonos Require a Succah?
Tape # 694 - Personal Tefilos on Rosh Hashana

Tapes or a complete catalogue can be ordered from the Yad Yechiel Institute, PO Box 511, Owings Mills MD 21117-0511. Call (410) 358-0416 or e-mail tapes@yadyechiel.org or visit http://www.yadyechiel.org/ for further information.

Text Copyright © 2006 by Rabbi Yissocher Frand and Torah.org.

Transcribed by David Twersky; Seattle, Washington.
Technical Assistance by Dovid Hoffman; Yerushalayim.

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