{"id":80964,"date":"2020-10-05T16:44:05","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T13:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=80964"},"modified":"2020-10-05T17:11:01","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T14:11:01","slug":"the-divine-majestic-super-goodly-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-divine-majestic-super-goodly-image\/","title":{"rendered":"The Divine, Majestic Super-Goodly Image"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"80964","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"584","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"That\u2019s us, actually\r\n\r\n","content":"

The closing verse of our psalm reads: <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Then I, justified, will behold Your face; awake, I am filled with the vision of You.\u201d Considering Maimonides\u2019s stipulation that \u201cThe blessed Creator is not corporeal, He cannot be described using corporeal adjectives, and He has no appearance whatsoever\u201d (3<\/span>rd<\/span> Article of Faith), what does the psalmist mean by God\u2019s face and vision?<\/span><\/p>\n

We have encountered both these expressions in the Torah. Beholding the face of God is a euphemism for going on pilgrimage to the Temple, to wit: \u201cThrice yearly shall every male behold the face of the Lord your God in the place He will choose\u201d (Deut. 16:16). \u201cRegarding the vision of God\u201d is a euphemism for prophecy, as in \u201cI shall speak with him [Moses] face to face, in a [clear] vision rather than an enigmatic one, and he regards the appearance of God\u201d (Numbers 12:8).<\/span><\/p>\n

Its particular use here is debated by the exegetes. Ibn Ezra said: \u201cThis vision does not occur visually, but intellectually, which is the true way to perceive God.\u201d Radak cited our example of Moses, saying:<\/span><\/p>\n

This resembles \u201cregarding God\u2019s appearance\u201d (Numbers 12:8), which is intellectual, referring to the activity of the soul separate from the body. Moses\u2014unlike all other prophets\u2014possessed this [acuity] because his active intellect was able to suppress all his corporeal functions, such as not eating bread or drinking water, and thereby he was able to regard God\u2019s appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

The acknowledgment that God has no visible appearance and can only be perceived intellectually recalls questions around the Torah\u2019s description of man as created \u201cin His image\u201d (<\/span>tzelem elohim<\/span><\/em>; <\/span><\/i>Gen. 1:27). The word <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/em> is homonymous, referring to many things such as God: \u201cIn the beginning, <\/span>Elohim<\/span><\/em> created heaven and earth\u201d (Gen. 1:1), other objects of worship and deification: \u201cYou may have no other <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/em> before Me\u201d (Exodus 20:2), the judiciary: \u201cTo the <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/em> shall their case be brought\u201d (Exodus\u00a0 22:8), and, possibly, the upper class: \u201cThe sons of <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/em> saw that the daughters of men (<\/span>adam<\/span><\/em>) were good\u201d (Gen. 6:1, 4).<\/span><\/p>\n

Radak (Ezekiel 1:1) pointed out yet another usage: When even the superlative (\u201cbest\u201d) is inadequate, <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/em> serves as an adjectival form of hyperbole and should be translated as \u201cdivine.\u201d Thus, <\/span>tzelem elohim<\/span><\/em> can be defined as a divine or super-goodly image. Indeed, Se`adyah Gaon (882-942), in his Arabic translation of the Torah, rendered it as \u201ca majestic image,\u201d thereby distinguishing it from the lesser images in which lower life forms were created.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: from William Blake (1752-1827), <\/span>To Justify the Ways of God to Men<\/em> <\/span>\/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":80966,"id":80966,"title":"ps17-Prophecy_by_William_Blake,","filename":"ps17-Prophecy_by_William_Blake.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps17-Prophecy_by_William_Blake.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-divine-majestic-super-goodly-image\/ps17-prophecy_by_william_blake\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ps17-prophecy_by_william_blake","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":80964,"date":"2020-10-05 13:43:49","modified":"2023-06-13 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