As stated previously, a person may offer up a peace-offering as a way of drawing close to God by praising Him for some reason. If a person survived either (a) a transoceanic voyage, (b) a trip through the desert, (c) captivity in prison, or (d) an illness that caused him to be bedridden for at least three days (and from which he has now completely recovered), he is required to offer up a special type of peace-offering, as an expression of thanks to God for his survival, as follows: This is the regulation governing the special peace-promoting feast-offering that he must bring to God.
Spiritual Symbolism of the Four Dangers
Here, the danger lies in the body’s own lack. In Hebrew, the word for “to give thanks” (להודות) also means “to acknowledge.” In this context, each of these four situations reflects a specific spiritual danger.
“Sea travel” refers to chochmah, for the vast expanse of Divine wisdom is called a “sea.” The experience of Divine insight carries with it the danger of “drowning” in the experience, thereby forgetting to process it in the intellect so that it can eventually affect and remake the emotions.
“Illness” refers to binah. As we have seen, the numerical value of the word for “patient” (חולה) is 49, alluding to a person who perceives 49 of the 50 “gates of understanding” and is therefore “lovesick” for the 50th gate.
“Prison” refers to the midot being trapped, so to speak, in the throat, and are blocked from manifesting themselves in the heart. The orderly development of the midot from the intellect can be blocked if we lack sufficient da’at. Da’at reveals the relevance of the intellect to our lives, enabling us to experience an emotional reaction to what we know intellectually. The passageway connecting the intellect, located in the head, to the emotions, located in the heart, is reflected physically by the narrowness of the throat.
“The desert” refers to malchut. Malchut comprises our faculties of expression, which, when properly inspired, can inspire others. In the words of the sages, “Words that issue from the heart [of the speaker] enter the heart [of the listener].” When our faculties of expression are superficial, not rooted in our hearts, they are “barren,” and do not bear fruit. Such emasculated expression is symbolized by the barrenness of the desert.
Accordingly, these four situations encompass the entire spectrum of the sefirot, as well as the corresponding facets of the human soul. If we survive or recover from all four of these dangers—by not drowning in the sea of chochmah, by progressing to the 50th gate of understanding, by manifesting the emotions born of our intellect, and by successfully communicating our inspiration to others—we thereby rectify our entire complement of soul-powers. Yet, even after completing our full self-rectification, we must still acknowledge that God’s infinity transcends our capability to conceive, and that therefore there remain before us an infinite number of rungs on the ladder of spiritual ascent.
Endurance of Thanksgiving in the Messianic Era
From this functional perspective, the endurance of the thanksgiving-offering and thanksgiving prayer is merely circumstantial. From a deeper perspective, both the consumption of the sacrifices in the ascending Divine flames and the soul’s passionate aspirations to dissolve in Godliness through prayer serve to disentangle us from our mundane trappings, drawing us nearer to God (“closeness” being the literal meaning of the word for “sacrifice,” קרבן) and connecting us to Him (“connectedness” being the literal meaning of the word for “prayer,” תפלה).
Since the physical realm is currently the lowest spiritual rung of existence, we strive to rise above it and cleave to our Divine source. In the messianic era, however, the physical realm will be saturated with Godliness no less than the loftiest spiritual realms—and in fact, even more so; even the supernal angels will draw inspiration from the physical realm. As a result, we will not need to rise above our milieu, and the sacrifices and prayers will become obsolete. But thanksgiving will persist, for rather than the endeavor to reach a higher consciousness, thanksgiving is the experience of that consciousness, the recognition and awe of God’s presence in our lives. As our Divine awareness perpetually heightens, our exultation in its experience will intensify accordingly.
