There is a root that does not appear many times in the Bible, but does appear several times, particularly in one famous verse, “they are perplexed in the land, the wilderness has closed upon them” (רָּבְדִּמַם הֶיהֵלֲר עַגָץ סֶרָאָּם בֵים הִכֻבְנ). In this verse, the word “perplexed” (יםִכֻבְנ) stems from the root בוך. This is not an easy grammatical derivation to make, but this is the root.
When we left Egypt, Pharaoh saw that we were apparently lost on the way, and then said that probably we are perplexed. The title of the Rambam’s philosophical work is known as The Guide for the Perplexed (יםִכֻבְּנַה הֶרֹמו). There was other Jewish authors who used similar names for books written after the Rambam, for instance The Guide for the Perplexed by Time [i.e., history] (ןַמְּזַי הֵכֹבוְה נֶרֹמו) as well as For the Perplexed of the Generation (יֵכֹבוְנִל רֹוּדַה).
We too deserve a contemporary Guide for the Perplexed of our own generation because in every generation we are perplexed and need someone to guide us. This continual need for a new “guide” (הֶרֹמו) is alluded to in the verse, “The guide [lit., the first rain] shall cover it with blessing” (הֶרֹה מוֶטְעַת יֹכוָרְּם בַּג).
As mentioned, the root of the word “perplexed” (ְךֹבוָנ) is בוך. The noun form is “perplexity” (הָכּבוְמ). From the phrase, “they are perplexed in the land,” we may conclude that the issue that causes our generation more perplexity or bewilderment than any other is “the land”—i.e., the Land of Israel. Our generation, one might say, is perplexed in the land—with regard to the issues related to the Land of Israel.
Why is it so perplexed? Because “the wilderness has closed upon them”—the wilderness is the media, which surrounds and bombards the mind from every side. Besides referring to the media, the wilderness, a type of Wild West where anything goes, also refers to the different opinions expressed by different rabbis. In principle, these opinions should be heard in private conversations between the rabbis, who should then come out with a single voice that they can all agree on, especially in matters related to the Land of Israel. But when each voices his opinion separately, sometimes even through the media itself, then the people become perplexed. It is our duty to help the people out of their confusion.
THE PERPLExED OCEAN
The root of the word “perplexed” also appears at the end of the Book of Job in a similar word, “Have you arrived at the depths of the ocean” (םָי יֵכְבִד נַ עָאתָבֲה). This is one of the fifty rhetorical questions that God asks Job, and which correspond to the Fifty Gates of Understanding. These “depths” (יֵכְבִנ) of the ocean also stem from the root בוך.
The answer to all the questions God asks is, of course, “no.” Neither Job, nor any other creature knows can answer in the affirmative. But by asking, God opens a gate of understanding for Job. There are those that explain that the “depths” referred to here should be rendered as the “perplexed,” as if to say that the ocean itself is perplexed. If so, this word comes from the same root, בוך. Thus, one can be perplexed both on land and at sea. What could this mean? One way of explaining this is regarding Torah. The Torah has two dimensions often described as the revealed dimension and the concealed dimension. The former is described as “the land,” and the latter is described as “the ocean.” The revealed dimension is mostly Halachah. The concealed dimension is mostly Kabbalah and Chasidut, and a person can be perplexed in either one of the other, or both.
However, there are some grammarians that say this word does not stem from the same root as “perplexed.” They argue that it has a singular meaning; that it is a root that appears only once in the entire Bible and its only instance is in this word. Now, there is a logical question that presents: If this root appears only once in the Bible, how can we know its meaning and interpretation? The answer is that its meaning must be understood in context. They argue that the context here demonstrates that יֵכְבִנ םָי refers to the origin and source of the sea, the hidden root. One might think that the root of the ocean would be referred to as the “abyss” (םֹהוְּת), but here we find a synonym for the origin and source of the ocean.
To connect the two meanings—“perplexed” and “origin”—we must surmise that there is something specifically in the root or origin of the ocean, in the root of the “concealed world” (), the concealed dimension of Torah, that is connected with being perplexed. In other words, the source of the Torah’s concealed dimension can be found in the bewilderment or perplexity of the soul.
(from a class given on the 7th of Tevet 5772)
