Sponsored in loving memory of Joseph and Shirley Goldwasser by Avraham and Joyce Litzman, their children and grandchildren.
Day Eight
3. Binah is the source of Trust in HaShem.
An Ever-Expanding River
“Keil Mistateir” is an allegorical poem, composed by Rabbi Avraham Maimain, z”l, a disciple of the Ramak, alluding to the Ten Sefirot. Concerning Binah it states:
Expanses of the River; Streams of Faith – the man of understanding will draw forth deep waters that exude the Fifty Gates of Binah. Protected by HaShem are the Faithful!
The phrase “Expanses of the River” is an allusion to Binah, which is likened to a river, whose banks continuously widen and fill with ever more water. Just as every river has a source, so too, our Trust in HaShem must have a source. What is the source of our Trust in HaShem? “Expanses of the River” is paired with “Streams of Faith” because Binah is the very source of our faith in HaShem and in His unbounded compassion, that fills our hearts and flows like an endless stream. The light of Binah continuously strengthens Man’s belief in HaShem and His wondrous ways, inspiring him to successfully perform Teshuvah Elyonah and “rectify every flaw.”
Through man merging with the Light of Binah he draws absolute Trust in HaShem into his heart, as the poem states, “The man of understanding will draw forth deep waters that exude the Fifty Gates of Binah.” HaShem empowers him with new worlds of dynamic Trust that awaken “the Fifty Gates of Binah,” the highest level of Holiness and Knowing HaShem that Man can attain. Moshe Rabenu, the Father of all the Prophets, attained the lofty spiritual heights of the Fifty Gates of Binah. What’s more, our Trust in the Almighty will awaken His closeness and protection, as the concluding phrase states: “Protected by Hashem are the Faithful!”
HaShem bestowed the Torah upon us, His beloved children, with endless degrees of compassion that were not initially evident. By doing so, He ensured that we will always be forgiven, and thus always be able to fulfill the Torah – whose observance is vital for the continuation of Creation! Thus, the passage of history reveals greater and greater levels of His kindness. For example, after the sin of the Golden Calf, HaShem manifested previously unrevealed dimensions of compassion to Moshe Rabeinu. Generations later, He revealed even greater magnitudes of mercy to Michah, one of the later Prophets. With the advent of the Geula Sh’leimah — the Final Redemption — He will reveal even yet new vistas of Divine Compassion, quickly in our days!
Summary: Binah is the source of our Trust in the Almighty.
