Source: https://thenutgarden.wordpress.com/2018/04/06/no-image-did-you-see-except-the-sound/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 20:35:52+00:00

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“[Rabbi Akiva said:] All the people were seeing the thunderings (Exodus 20:15)…. They were seeing the fiery word issuing from the mouth of Power and being engraved on the tablets” (Mekhilta, Baḥodesh 9).
YHWH’s voice is over the waters. The God of glory thunders (Psalms 29:3).
YHWH’s voice in power (ibid., 4), and it says, By the power, of My hand I have done it (Isaiah 10:13); Indeed My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth, [and My right hand has spread out the heavens: when I call to them, they stand up together] (ibid. 48:13).
YHWH’s voice in majesty (Psalms 29:4); Glory and grandeur His acts and His bounty stands for all time (ibid. 111:3).
YHWH’s voice breaking cedars (ibid. 29:5)—the bow that breaks cypress trees and cedar trees.
YHWH’s voice hews flames of fire (ibid., 7)—making peace between water and fire, hewing the power of fire and preventing it from evaporating water. Preventing water from extinguishing fire.
YHWH’s voice makes the wilderness shake (ibid., 8), as is said, And doing kindness with His anointed, for David and his seed forever (ibid. 18:51)—more than in the wilderness [when the Israelites were miraculously fed manna].
YHWH’s voice brings on the birth-pangs of does and lays bare the forests. And in His Temple all says glory (Psalms 29:9), as is written, I make you swear, O daughters of Jerusalem by the deer or the gazelles of the field, [that you shall not rouse not stir love until it pleases] (Song of Songs 2:7). To teach you that with seven קוֹלוֹת (qolot), voices, Torah was given. With each of them the Master of the Universe revealed Himself over them, and they saw Him. Thus it is written, And all the people were seeing אֶת הַקּוֹלֹת (et ha-qolot), the sounds.
One verse says: He tilted the heavens, came down, dense mist beneath His feet (2 Samuel 22:10). Another verse says: And YHWH came down on Mount Sinai, to the mountaintop (Exodus 19:20). However, still another verse says, From the heavens I spoke with you (Exodus 20:22). How is this so? And on the earth His great fire (Deuteronomy 4:36)—one voice. The other voices were in the heavens, as is written, From the heavens He made you hear His voice to reprove you, and on the earth He showed you His great fire, and His words you heard, from the midst of the fire (ibid.). But what was it? Great fire. From where did דִבּוּר (dibbur), Speech, emanate? From fire, as is written, and His words you heard, from the midst of the fire.
What is but no image did you see except the voice (Deuteronomy 4:12)? As Moses said to Israel: for you saw no whole image [on the day YHWH spoke to you from the midst of the fire, lest you act ruinously and make you a sculpted image of any likeness…] (Deuteronomy 4:15)—an image, but not כָּל תְּמוּנָה (kal temunah), a whole image [cf. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, 1:3].
A parable: A king stood over his slaves wrapped in a white covering—is this not enough to hold הַמַּלְכוּת (ha-malkhut), the kingship, in awe?—that they gaze upon his garment. Though the king was at a distance they heard his voice [see Exodus 20:19–20; Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli’ezer 41]. Were they able to see his throat? You must say not. This teaches that they saw an image, but not a whole image. Thus it is written, but no image did you see except the קוֹל (qol), sound [or: voice]. It is also written, קוֹל דְּבָרִים (Qol devarim), the sound of words, you did hear.
One verse says: And all the people were seeing אֶת הַקּוֹלֹת (et ha-qolot), the sounds (Exodus 20:15). However, another verse says: קוֹל דְּבָרִים (Qol devarim), the sound of words, you did hear (Deuteronomy 4:12). How? At first they saw the voices. What did they see? The seven voices spoken of by David. But in the end they heard דִבּוּר (dibbur), Speech, emanating from the midst of them all. But we have learned that there were ten. Our Rabbis taught that they were all uttered with a single word [see Tanḥuma, Yitro 11]. But we have said that there were seven. There were seven voices. Of three of them is written: The sound of words you did hear but no image did you see except the sound (Deuteronomy 4:12). To teach you that they were all uttered with a single word. This is so that Israel should not err and say, ‘Others helped Him. Perhaps one of the angels, since His voice alone could not be so powerful.’ Thus on their account He returned and included them [in a single word].
Another interpretation: It was so that the world should not say that since there were עֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת (asarah ma’amarot), ten sayings, for ten kings it might be that He could not speak for them all through one. He therefore said אָנֹכִי (Anokhi), I (Exodus 20:2), which included all ten. What are the ten kings? They are the שֶׁבַע קּוֹלֹת (sheva qolot), seven voices, and שְׁלֹשָׁה אֹמְרִים (sheloshah omrim), three sayings. But what sayings? And YHWH has proclaimed you today [to be to Him a treasured people, as He has spoken to you…] (Deuteronomy 26:18). But what are three? The beginning of wisdom is—get חָכְמָה (ḥokhmah), wisdom, and in all that you get, get בִינָה (binah), discernment (Proverbs 4:7) [cf. Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli’ezer 17–18]. Therefore it is written [Yet it is a spirit in man,] and Shaddai’s breath that grants insight (Job 32:8)—Shaddai’s breath is תְּבִינֵם (tevinem), insight. What is third? As the old man said to the child, ‘Seek not things that are too hard for you, and search not things that are hidden from you. Reflect on the things that have been permitted you; you have no business with mysteries‘ (BT Ḥagigah 13a) [see Ben Sira 3:21–22]” (Bahir §45–§49).
“This is the mystery of All the people saw the sounds and the flashes, and the sound of the shofar (Exodus 20:15). The sounds—these are the other letters that emerged from those sounds (as we have said), appearing in the air before the eyes of all, as is written: the sounds. It is not written all the people saw הַקּוֹלֹת (ha-qolot), sounds, but rather אֶת הַקּוֹלֹת (et ha-qolot), the sounds, alluding to the [entire sequence of] letters [from א (alef) to ת (tav)] that issued from them” (Zohar Ḥadash 41c).
“[Rabbi Yoḥanan said:] The voice went forth and split into seven voices, and from seven voices into seventy languages, so that all the nations would hear. Each and every nation heard His voice in its own language [see Rabbi Avraham Abulafia, Or ha-Sekhel 7: ‘שִׁבעִים לָשׁוֹנוֹת (Shevi’im lashonot), seventy languages, is numerically equivalent to צֵירוּף הָאוֹתִיּוֹת (tseruf ha-otiyyot), permutation of the letters’]” (Tanḥuma, Shemot 25).
“There were thunderings and lighting (Exodus 19:16). Rabbi Abba said, ‘It is spelled קֹלֹת (qolot), thunderings, deficiently [i.e., spelled without a ו (vav)]—two קָלִין (qalin), voices, turning back into one, issuing from one another: air from water, and water from air. It has been taught: Two that are one; one, an entirety encompassing two.
And a heavy cloud on the mountain (Exodus 19:16)—a mighty cloud settling in its place, not moving. וְקֹל (Ve-qol), And the voice of, a shofar, very strong (ibid.)—out of this mighty cloud issues that voice, as is said: when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness (Deuteronomy 5:20).
Rabbi Yehudah said, ‘There were three types of darkness, as is written: darkness, cloud, and dense fog (ibid. 4:11), and that voice issued as inmost of all.’ Rabbi Yose said, ‘Inmost of all, of which is written a mighty voice, unceasing (ibid. 5:19).
What did they see? Rabbi Yose taught, ‘Radiance of those voices—for there was not a single voice that did not shine radiantly, enabling them to gaze upon all hidden, concealed treasures and all generations that will appear until King Messiah. Therefore, All the people were seeing הַקּוֹלֹת (ha-qolot), the voices—actually seeing!” (Zohar 2:81a–b).
“When the blessed Holy One revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, when Torah was given to Israel in ten utterances, each and every utterance generated a voice, and that voice branched into seventy voices, all shining and sparkling before the eyes of all Israel, who saw eye-to-eye the splendor of His Glory, as is written: All the people were seeing הַקּוֹלֹת (ha-qolot), the voices (Exodus 20:15)—actually seeing!
That voice warned every single Israelite, saying to him, ‘Will you accept me upon yourselves with such-and-such commands of Torah?’ They replied, ‘Yes.’ It returned, circling round his head, and warned him, saying, ‘Will you accept me upon yourselves with such-and-such penalties of Torah?’ Each one said, ‘Yes.’ Afterward, that voice returned and kissed him on the mouth, as is written: O that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! (Song of Songs 1:2)” (Zohar 2:146a).
“Why is [Shekhinah] called מַה (mah), What? Well, although the supernal flow is conveyed, it is not revealed until completed here—end of all rungs, end of the entire flow, standing revealed. Yet although revealed more than all, it is susceptible to questioning: Mah, What? What have you seen? What do you know? As is said: For you saw no image (Deuteronomy 4:15). Therefore, mah, What?” (Zohar 2:127a).
“תְּמוּנָה (Temunah), an image (Deuteronomy 4:12)—an inner voice, which was not seen at all. Only another voice, which we have mentioned. An image—why is it called so? Because the whole configuration of the body issues from it. Now, you might say, ‘Another is also called so.’ Yes, for from this other one issues the configuration below [‘פַּרצוּף אָדָם (Partsuf adam), human configuration, is numerically equivalent to תְמוּנָה (temunah)’ (Ba’al ha-Turim on Exodus 20:4; Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, Hassagot 26c)]. Therefore, upper ה (he) is a mighty voice, unceasing (ibid. 5:19), whose springs never stop. All these voices were there when Torah was given to Israel, all issuing from that inner voice, since the word depends on it” (Zohar 3:261a).
“My mother’s sons were incensed at me (Song of Songs 1:6)—those coming from the side of harsh Judgment. נִחֲרוּ (Niḥaru), Were incensed, at me—as is said: My throat נִחַר (niḥar), is hoarse (Psalms 69:4). As is written: Our pursuers are at our necks (Lamentations 5:5)—for when Israel went into exile, they went with their hands bound tightly behind them and millstones round their necks, so they could not open their mouths” (Zohar 3:45b).
“Since the exile [of Egypt] was at the level of the throat, from which issues Speech, Moses was uncircumcised of lips (Exodus 6:12) and could not speak [well]. This is the meaning of My throat is hoarse (Psalms 69:4), for the throat is parched during its exile” (Rabbi Yitsḥaq Luria, Sefer ha-Liqqutim).
Do not read: מִּצְרָיִם (Mitsrayim), Egypt, but מֵצַר יָם (metsar yam), strait, as is written, From הַמֵּצַר (ha-metsar), the strait, I called to Yah. Yah answered me in a wide open place (Psalms 118:5).
“[A wicked captor tried to make each of the seven sons of Miriam daughter of Tanḥum bow down to his idol:] ‘Does your god have a throat?’ He said: Of your idolatry it is written, They make no sound with their throat (Psalms 115:7), whereas of our God it is written, His mouth is sweetest drink, all of Him, delight (Song of Songs 5:16)” (Eikhah Rabbah 1:16).
“There are four windpipes [in the throat]: For they are a garland of grace on your head and a necklace round your throat (Proverbs 1:9)—one; Kindness and truth will not forsake you. Bind them round your throat, [write them on your heart’s tablet] (ibid 3:3)—two; [My son, let these things not slip away from your eyes, keep prudence and cunning,] and they will be life to your neck and grace to your throat (ibid., 22)—three; Bind them on your heart at all times, garland them round your throat (ibid. 6:21)—four. Bind them on your fingers (ibid. 7:3). When Israel binds tefillin, the name of YHWH is written [lit., ‘read,’ or ‘called’] upon them” (Sod ha-Egoz).
“There are seven chambers below, and seven chambers above. The seven voices that correspond to them appear in the psalm, Grant to YHWH (Psalms 29:1), which includes eighteen [iterations of] יהוה (YHWH). By these the blessed Holy One sails through eighteen worlds according to the mystery of: The chariots of Elohim are myriads, thousands of thousands (Psalms 68:18) and there are 18,000 worlds. Many guards at the gates stand before the chambers to receive the prayers and no prayer enters without being measured and weighed” (Zohar 1:23a, Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, cf. Zohar 1:5a; 2:206a).
“As for the term תְּמוּנָה (temunah), it is used amphibolously in three different senses. It is used to designate the form of a thing outside the mind that is apprehended by the senses, I mean the shape and configuration of the thing. Thus it says: And you make for yourselves a sculpted image of any sort (Deuteronomy 4:25) and so on; For you saw no image (ibid., 15). It is also used to designate the imaginary form of an individual object existing in the imagination after the object of which it is the form is no longer manifest to the senses. Thus it says, in musings from nighttime’s visions (Job 4:13), the conclusion of the dictum being, It halted, its look unfamiliar, תְּמוּנָה (temunah), an image, before my eyes, [stillness, and a sound did I hear] (ibid., 16). He means: a fantasm of the imagination that is before my eyes while in sleep. The term is also used to designate the true notion grasped by the intellect. It is with a view to this third meaning that the word temunah is used with reference to God, may He be exalted. Thus it says: [Mouth to mouth do I speak with him, and vision, and not in riddles,] וּתְמֻנַת יְהוָה (u-temunat Adonai), and the likeness of YHWH, he beholds (Numbers 12:8). The meaning and interpretation of this verse is: he grasps the truth of God” (Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, 1:3).
And all the people were seeing the thunder and the flashes and the sound of the ram’s horn and the mountain in smoke, and the people saw and drew back and stood at a distance. And they said to Moses, ”Speak you with us that we may hear, and let not God speak with us lest we die” (Exodus 20:19–20).
“The first voice came forth… and the people of Israel… fell on their faces and died. Then the second voice came forth, and they revived and stood on their feet and said to Moses, ‘Moses our master, we cannot hear the voice of the blessed Holy One and die as we just died,’ as is said: My soul departed as he spoke (Song of Songs 5:6). And it is written: They said to Moses, ‘Speak you with us that we may hear, [and let not God speak with us lest we die]’” (Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli’ezer 41).
“Our Rabbis taught: Would that they had this heart of theirs to revere Me (Deuteronomy 5:26). Moses said to the Israelites, Ingrates, children of ingrates! When the blessed Holy One said to you, Would that they had this heart of theirs to revere Me always, you should have said: ‘You grant [such a heart]!’ ‘Ingrates,’ as is written, we loath the wretched bread (Numbers 21:5); ‘the children of ingrates,’ as is written, the woman whom you gave by me, she gave me from the tree (Genesis 3:12). Yet Moses indicated this to the Israelites only after forty years had passed, as is said, And I led you forty years through the wilderness (Deuteronomy 29:4), and it is written, but YHWH has not given you a heart to know and eyes to see and ears to hear until this day (ibid., 3). Rabbah said: From this you learn that it may take a person forty years to know the mind of his master” (BT Avodah Zarah 5a).
“Nevertheless, since Israel acted only out of the supernal awe that was upon them, all that was said of them was Would that they had this heart of theirs to revere Me (Deuteronomy 5:26). From here we learn that if someone commits wrong, since he did not act intentionally no punishment falls upon him as on another person, and the blessed Holy One does not render judgment against him for evil” (Zohar 3:261b).
“A parable: A king stood over his slaves wrapped in a white covering—is this not enough to hold הַמַּלְכוּת (ha-malkhut), the kingship, in awe?—that they gaze upon his garment. Though the king was at a distance they heard his voice. Were they able to see his throat? You must say not. This teaches that they saw an image, but not a whole image. Thus it is written, but no image did you see except the קוֹל (qol), sound [or: voice]. It is also written, קוֹל דְּבָרִים (Qol devarim), the sound of words, you did hear” (Bahir §47).
Wrapped in light like a cloak, stretching out heavens like a tent-cloth (Psalms 104:2).
I was looking, until thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His garment was like white snow (Daniel 7:9).
“YHWH passed before him and He called [‘YHWH! YHWH! A compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger…’] Rabbi Yoḥanan said, ‘Were it not written in Scripture, it would be impossible to say this. This teaches that the blessed Holy One enwrapped Himself like a cantor [lit., an emissary of the congregation] and showed Moses the order of prayer. He said to him, ‘Whenever the people of Israel sin, let them perform this service before Me [reciting the thirteen attributes] and I will forgive them….’ Rav Yehudah said, ‘A covenant has been enacted concerning the thirteen attributes that they are not turned away empty-handed” (BT Rosh ha-Shanah 17b).
“The diadem of His head sends forth and radiates sun and moon, Pleiades and Orion and Mercury and Venus, constellations and stars and planets flow and emerge from His garment [with which] He is wrapped when He sits on the throne of His glory. And He sends forth a great light from between His eyes. King of miracles, king of mighty acts, king of wonders and a king of otherness is He, as is said, Holy, holy, holy, and then, YHWH of armies: [the whole earth is full of His glory] (Isaiah 6:3)” (Schäfer, Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur, §105).
“The appearance of His Glory is like the colour of amber” (Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli’ezer 22)—חַשְׁמַל (ḥashmal), amber, is numerically equivalent to מַלבּוֹשׁ (malbush), garment (Rabbi Ḥayyim Vital, Ets Ḥayyim, Sha’ar Arikh Anpin 13:14, 26:2).
“For You have made a wonder (Isaiah 25:1)—a covering and garment, clothing the concealed, ancient, hidden light with the cover of another light” (Zohar 3:193b).
Your eyes shall see the King in His beauty: they shall behold the Land that is very far off (Isaiah 33:17).
From afar, YHWH appeared to me, saying, I love you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:2).
Close is YHWH to all who call Him, to all who call to Him in truth (Psalms 145:18).
“An idol is near but far. The blessed Holy One is far but near” (Devarim Rabbah 2:6, cf. JT Berakhot 9:1, 13b).
“A parable: a king residing within the innermost chambers, thirty-two in all, each with its own path. Now, is it fitting for this king that everyone enter his chambers by his paths? Certainly not! But is it fitting for him not to display his pearls, his brocades, his hidden treasures, and his precious objects? Certainly not! What did he do? He designated [lit., נֶגַע (nega), touched] the daughter and included all the paths in her and in her garments. Whoever wishes to enter, let him gaze here!” (Bahir §63).
“The twenty-two letters: they are hewn out in the air, carved out by voice, embedded in the mouth in five positions: אחה״ע בומ״ף גיכ״ק דטלנ״ת זסשר״ץ (alef ḥeth he ‘ayin, beth waw mem peh, gimel yod khaf qof, daleth teth lamed nun taw, zayin samekh shin resh tsadhi).
The twenty-two letters are their foundation. It is embedded on a wheel with 231 gates. The wheel rotates backwards and forwards. And this is the sign: if for good, above—עֹנֶג (‘oneg), delight; if for evil, below—נֶגַע (nega’), affliction” (Sefer Yetsirah §17a, §18).
“We have learned, God’s honor is to hide a word, the honor of kings, to probe a word (Proverbs 25:2). What is a word? That of which it is written, The chief of Your words is truth (Psalms 119:160). God’s honor is to hide a word, the honor of kings, to probe a word. What is this word? That of which it is written, A word spoken in its own right way (Proverbs 25:11)—do not read אָפְנָיו (afnav), its own right way, but אוֹפַנַיִו (ofanayiv), its wheel [alluding to letter permutation]” (Bahir §50).
“And after you are proficient in [letter permutation], return to the revolutions of their combinations whenever you have the opportunity and consider that all is in your possession, and the material of the seventy languages is within your pen and it is in your power to write of them what you will, and to omit what you will… and the sage makes his choice always in the finest. So too, you should consider that the substance of speech is entirely in your mouth and is fluent in your utterance. And you gaze according to your will and you revolve its old forms and originate in them new understandings, comprehensible to you, but not to another, even if you were to explain it to him in any language or by any clear means of explanation. And this substance of utterance is with you, and is in your possession, and under your discretion to place within it any form of understanding you want. This material is set aside for you to give you life, and therefore you should not be remiss in giving it its proper form” (Rabbi Avraham Abulafia, Imre Shefer [MS Paris BN 111], p. 103).
“[According to the seventh and ultimate method of interpreting the Torah:] You must realize that [it is] you [who] decided on its meaning and you [who] created it in accordance with your wish” (Rabbi Avraham Abulafia, Sefer Otsar Eden Ganuz [MS Oxford 1580], 171a).
“The world was created through עֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת (asarah ma’amarot), ten sayings [or: utterances, commands]. What does this teach us? Could not the world have been created by a single act of speech? It is to exact punishment from the wicked who destroy the world created by ten sayings, and richly to reward the righteous who sustain the world created by ten sayings” (M Avot 5:1).
“The world was created through ten sayings. And these are: God said, ‘Let there be light’ (Genesis 1:3); And God said, ‘Let there be a vault’ (ibid., 6); And God said, ‘Let the waters be gathered’ (ibid., 9); And God said, ‘Let the earth grow’ (ibid., 11); And God said, ‘Let there be lights’ (ibid., 14); And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm’ (ibid., 20); And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth’ (ibid., 24); and God said, ‘Let us make a human’ (ibid., 26); and God said, ‘Look, I have given you them’ (ibid., 29); and YHWH Elohim said, ‘It is not good for the human to be alone’ (ibid. 2:18). And in three are these [sayings] comprised: YHWH through חָכְמָה (ḥokhmah), Wisdom, founded earth, set heavens firm through תְבוּנָה (tevunah), Discernment. Through דַעְתּוֹ (da’ato), His Knowledge, the deeps burst open, [and the skies dripped dew] (Proverbs 3:19–20). By these three the Tabernacle was made, as is said, And I have filled him with the spirit of God in Wisdom and in Understanding and in Knowledge (Exodus 31:3). Likewise with these three the Temple was made, as is said, [And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram from Tyre.] He was the son of a widow-woman from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a Tyrean man who was a coppersmith, and he was filled with Wisdom and Discerning and Knowledge to do every task in bronze (1 Kings 7:14). By these three it will be rebuilt in the future, as is said, Through Wisdom a house is built, and through Discernment it is firm-founded. And through Knowledge rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant wealth (Proverbs 24:3–4). With these three qualities the blessed Holy One will give three good gifts to Israel in the future, as is said, For YHWH gives Wisdom, from His mouth, discerning Knowledge (ibid. 2:6). It is not said, For YHWH has given Wisdom. These three qualities will be given to King Messiah, as is said, And the spirit of YHWH shall rest upon him, the spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the spirit of Counsel and Might, the spirit of Knowledge and of the Fear of YHWH (Isaiah 11:2)” (Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli’ezer 17–18).

References: §45
 §47
 §105
 §63
 §17
 §18
 §50