bent over and broken,
this is not the way.
there’s no place for prayer here.
world-upside down,
your goodness hidden,
how can we serve you?
how can we draw near?
blessed are you,
Holy One,
we pray to
change you,
from a God nistar,
to a God that is present,
before us,
with us.
don’t go too far ahead.
please keep your Torah near.
Parshat Beha’alotkha, June 15, 1940
The verse “When the ark went forth…” is enclosed in special symbols to indicate to us that this is not its proper place. What that hints to us is this: It is not just this place that is not its place; it has no place anywhere. Worship such as this, worship that comes out of pain, has no place at all. And so the dividing marks, the inverted nun letters, were made for it. We learn in the Talmud (Shabbat 104a) about the shapes of the Hebrew letters: “Of the bent nun and the long, straight final nun it is said, Nun is ne’eman, the faithful. The faithful starts out bent and humbled, but will ultimately be the faithful, straight and tall.”
So, when the Jerson person has everything he needs, he bows and humbles himself before God ins ervice. But when he is beaten down through suffering, God forbid, then he is not like the bent nun; he is an upside-down nun. When this happens, the Ark and the Torah are hidden and distant from the Jewish people. And so our teacher Moses prays, “Arise O God, and scatter Your enemies! Let Your foes flee before You!” “Foes of God” means those who hate the jewish people.
If the Ark and the Torah will not be hidden then the nun will not be upside-down. Here will be only worship of God, and closeness to Him that comes out of joy, and all good things.
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