כָּל מַה שֶּׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בָּעוֹלָמוֹ, לֹא
בְרָאוֹ אֶלָּא לִכְבוֹדוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, "כֹּל הַנִּקְרָא בִשְׁמִי וְלִכְבוֹדִי
בְּרָאתִיו יְצַרְתִּיו אַף עֲשִׂיתִיו" (ישעיה מג ז), וְאוֹמֵר "ה' יִמְלֹךְ
לְעֹלָם וָעֶד", (שמות טו יח).
Everything that G‑d created in His world, He did not create but for His
glory. As is stated (Isaiah 43:7): "All that is called by My name and for
My glory, I created it, formed it, also I made it." And it says (Exodus
15:18): "Hashem shall reign forever and ever". Ethics of our Fathers,
Last Mishna.
The final Mishna in Ethics of
our Fathers states that everything in the world was created for the glory of G-d. It then gives a homily on a
quote from the book of Isaiah in which the Holy One Blessed be He says,
“Everything is called by my name and is for My glory”, to support this idea. In
fact this verse is part of a longer passage about the nation of Israel in exile
and how dear they are to Hashem. In it He declares that he will return them to
the land of Israel and states that the people of Israel are called by His name
and He created them for His glory. Israel is described as being a blind people,
who have eyes, and deaf people even though they have ears.
The Mishna, though, seems to
pick up a hint here that really everything in the world was created for the
glory of G-d, but one needs to open his eyes to see it. In line with this Rabbi
Ovadia of Bartenura comments that “for His glory” means “for His praise”. Rabbi
Pinchas Kehati comments that everything G-d created testifies to His greatness
and His majesty. The Midrash Shmuel embellishes this by analyzing each word of
the verse and saying that it refers to the four worlds in Kabala – the
abstract, intellectual, emotional, and practical, meaning that these are four
worlds of praise of G-d.
The Zohar explains that G-d
chose to start the Torah with the word bereshis (בראשית)
because it begins with the letter “beis” (ב).
This is because the word blessing (ברכה)
also begins with the letter beis and the world was created for blessings. When
a person eats nice food, smells a flower, or does a mitzvah, he is obligated to
say a bracha. The Talmud asks why there is an obligation to say brachas. One
answer comes as a reconciliation of two contradictory verses. One says that the
world belongs to G-d and another says He gave it to man. The solution is that
before a man says a bracha whatever he wants belongs to G-d, but after he says
the bracha it belongs to him. Another reason is that it is a mitzvah to
sanctify praises to Hashem. The idea is that when we see the kindnesses of
Hashem through things like tasty food, wise and benevolent mitzvahs, or seeing
a rainbow, falling star or an old friend, we respect Him and praise Him. And
these are the things that the world is all about.
In Psalm 104 King David talks
about his soul blessing Hashem upon seeing His greatness and majesty. He then
enumerates the greatness of G-d as seen through nature. He marvels at the sun,
moon, wind, thunder, and rivers. He admires singing birds, roaring lions, and
goats climbing rocky mountains. He expresses appreciation for the trees and grass
which provide food for man and beast. He is effusive about wine, which
cheers man's heart, oil to make one’s face shine, and bread, which sustains
man's heart. Towards the end he acknowledges the many works of G-d fill the
earth and how they were all made with wisdom. He continues that the glory of
G-d is forever and he will give thanks to Him all of his life. However his joy
will not be complete until the wicked are purged from the world.
There is an aspect of seeing and paying
homage to the glory of G-d when we say, “Give thanks to G-d for He is good, for
His kindness is forever”. It’s a phrase that is used a number of times in the
Tanakh. In the Psalms it is said in connection with a hope to be included in
the Jewish people in spite of their sins, being rescued from danger, rescue
from enemies, and a list of the kindnesses Hashem has done for mankind in
general and the nation of Israel in particular. The phrase is used in the other
books of the Tanakh basically in connection with the building of the Temple. In
all of them the idea is seeing the glory of G-d and appreciating it.
Ethics of our Fathers ends with the quote,
“Hashem will rule forever”. It is the praise of Moshe after the parting of the
Red Sea, the escape of Israel, and the drowning of the Egyptians. It was here
that the glory of G-d was fully revealed and fully appreciated. However we are
living in a time when man lacks perfection, therefore the glory of G-d is often
hidden. The time though will come when man will achieve perfection. On that day
the glory of G-d will be revealed and not return to concealment. That will be
the day that Hashem will rule forever in the world of man.
לע"נ
הדוד לייב הערש בן אהרן ז"ל נלב"ע יז תמוז תשמ"ב
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר
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