In relation to other nations was manifest. Indeed, this is what led to the Exodus from Egypt. However, this uniqueness was a quality manifest in their individual existence and their Divine service and measured according to the limits of a mortal being. At Sinai, it was revealed that “You chose us from all the nations and tongues” – G-d’s choice of the Jewish people became manifest, as explained above. This was expressed through the Giving of the Torah and its mitzvos to the Jewish people.
G-d’s choice of the Jewish people introduced a new and unique quality to the Jews’ observance of the Torah and its mitzvos as they were given at Sinai in relation to their Divine service – and even that of the Patriarchs – before the Giving of the Torah. In that era, Divine service was measured according to the power that could be generated for it by a created being, each person according to his own strength. By contrast, at the Giving of the Torah – when G-d “gave us His Torah” – the power of the Creator became vested in the Torah and its mitzvos.
In the Ultimate Future, after the Jews reach consummate perfection in the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos, there will be revealed the essential virtue of the Jewish people – “how beautiful is our inheritance!” – the relationship the Jews share with G-d as an inheritance. It will be manifest that the Jews and G-d’s Essence are one, as it were.
When Oneness Will Be Manifest
It could be said that this is the explanation of the conclusion of the six orders of the Mishnah, “In the [Ultimate] Future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bestow an inheritance upon every tzadik..., as it is written, ‘to endow those who love Me with an inheritance of substance.’”
Rambam interprets the term yesh used in that teaching, which was translated as “of substance,” as referring to “the eternal existence that has no end,” i.e., the Yesh HaAmiti, G-d’s Essence, the only entity that can truly be said to exist. The phrase, “to endow those who love Me with an inheritance of substance,” refers to the Jews becoming one with the Yesh HaAmiti, as it were. The precise wording used, “to endow those who love Me with an inheritance of substance,” implies that the Jews’ bond with Yesh HaAmiti, G-d’s absolute existence, stems from the concept of inheritance – that the Jews are the essence of the One Who is the source of their inheritance, as explained above.
Based on this explanation, we can understand why Rambam cites the verse, “When a man dies without a son...,” as a prooftext for the mitzvah of inheritance. The inner spiritual meaning of the concept of inheritance is communicated specifically regarding one “without a son.” The qualities implied by the terms “our portion” and “our lot” relate to levels of G-dliness through which G-d limits Himself and descends to a rung where He can be “a Father,” i.e., one who allows for the existence of another entity. This potential brings into being such an existence, “a son,” i.e., the Jewish people. Even the term “our lot,” which refers to G-d’s choice of the Jewish people, refers to a level of G-dliness that allows for existence outside of Himself. For the concept of choice implies that He is choosing something else, the Jewish people, and by manifesting His choice in them, they become His “children.”
By contrast, “our inheritance,” bonds us with G-d’s Essence – this is a level of G-dliness where He is “without a son,” i.e., He transcends any possibility of there being an entity outside of Him, even one that He chooses. This level is the ultimate source of the Jewish people, for “Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one.”
On the level of G-d’s Essence, there is only Him, and nothing – not even the potential for anything – else exists. Nevertheless, although He chooses the Jewish people, making them His children, He is not confined or limited by that choice. Since the reason that they are His children is solely because of His desire for them, not because of any service they perform or inherent quality they possess, His connection to them stems from His prerogative and, consequently, He is not bound by it.
(By contrast, on the level of G-dliness called “our portion,” since the reason for G-d’s desire for the Jewish people is because they are His children and He is their Father, He is, as it were, compelled to desire them as there exists an inherent love between a father and his children. This does not apply on the level of G-dliness referred to as “our lot.”) The thought of the Jewish people on the level of “our lot” transcends entirely the level of a son, i.e., the Jewish people because, on this level, G-d transcends the description of “a father.” It is only because of His desire and choice of the Jewish people that the Jews become His children and their image becomes engraved in His thought – to refer to the wording of the Maggid of Mezritch cited in footnote 65 above. Since He transcends this thought, He is in no way confined or limited by it.
