אֶרֶץ רְפָאִים תֵּחָשֵׁב אַף הִוא רְפָאִים יָשְׁבוּ בָהּ לְפָנִים וְהָעַמֹּנִים יִקְרְאוּ לָהֶם זַמְזֻמִּים (דברים ב, כ).
Parshat Devarim is the first parsha in sefer Devarim, which is also called מִשְׁנֶה תּוֹרָה because much of this sefer is a repetition of things that already occurred before in the Torah (often filling in details that were absent in the previous Chumashim).
Parshat Devarim is devoted almost entirely to recounting what happened to Am Yisrael since they left Egypt and is largely rebuke. Chazal say that the hallmark of a great leader is that he rebukes his people before he dies, to set them on the right path. Moshe was such a leader.
Contrast this with Eli, the Kohen Gadol (sefer Shmuel) who refrained from rebuking his sons. They subsequently strayed from the path and died as a result of their sins.
In parshat Devarim Moshe Rabbeinu also teaches us the art of rebuke, that it emanates from a feeling of love and respect for those who are being rebuked. Rashi (Devarim 1, 1) says that Moshe does not embarrass Am Yisrael, in fact he goes to great lengths not to embarrass them, by using euphemisms.
Instead of flaunting the sin of baal peor in their faces, Moshe refers to it as - בָּעֲרָבָה, instead of the sin of Korach - וַחֲצֵרֹת, instead of the sin of the egel - וְדִי זָהָב, etc. It is a "private" thing between Moshe and Am Yisrael. Anyone else from outside will not understand what it is referring to and Am Yisrael will not be shamed in front of the goyim.
Despite using לְשׁוֹן סַגִּי נְהוֹר, Am Yisrael easily identify what Moshe is referring to. As a mashal: "The young son of a farmer hops over the fence to a neighbor's field, to pick a delicious looking apple from the tree. The unfriendly ox grazing in the field spies the lad and makes a beeline for him.
When the boy sees the angry ox charging at him, he begins to sprint for the fence and, while leaping over the fence in a panic, everything goes flying, his hat, the apple, etc.
When he gets older, all that is required from the neighboring farmer to remind him of the incident, is a reference to the "flying apple' and the boy easily remembers and regrets his stupidity. Only the farmer and the boy share the secret. All others standing around do not understand it, so the boy is not embarrassed in front of them".
In the second perek Moshe recalls that HKB"H told him not to attack Moav and Amon. This is followed by a description of the peoples that inhabited these lands and the terminology is, on the one hand, very "picturesque", but on the other hand, very difficult to understand. For example - רְפָאִים, עֲנָקִים, חֹרִים, זַמְזֻמִּים, etc. "Ghosts", "Giants", "Zamzumim" – what the heck are Zamzumim? We read it every year and it sounds interesting and esoteric, but few really understand what they are reading.
In this shiur we are going to explore these names in more depth, primarily because it has a very important message for the upcoming fast of Tish'a Be'Av next week.
To understand what the Torah is talking about, we need to backtrack quite a bit, around 2488 years before parshat Devarim was written - to the sixth day of Creation.
On the 6th day, HKB"H created man. However, out of derech eretz, before doing so, HKB"H first consulted with the angels (who were created on the 2nd day). There were two specific angels who advised against it, because man is destined to sin. They said מָה אָדָם וַתֵּדָעֵהוּ בֶּן אֱנוֹשׁ וַתְּחַשְּׁבֵהוּ (תהילים קמד, ג), "Why do you want to create man? We angels are much more spiritually elevated than man, we can never sin.
Man on the other hand is prone to sin with woman!" HKB"H replied to them, "If you were down on earth (where man is) – you would also sin". To prove it to them, HKB"H sent these two angels down to earth and they ended up sinning. The names of these two angels were Uza and Azael (Zohar, בראשית, אות קעח).
This is how it happened.
According to the Zohar (בראשית, אות תסה), during the sin of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת the angel ס"מ (also called the שָׂטָן) had intercourse with Chava and from this union, Kayin was born. Since Kayin was part human and part angel, he and his descendants were of greater (giant) physical stature than his brothers Hevel and Shet.
Kayin's great grandsons (sons of Lemech) were Yaval, who built houses for avoda zara (Rashi, Breishit 4, 20), Yuval, who made musical instruments for avoda zara (ibid. 21) and Tuval Kayin, who made weapons of war (ibid. 22). Tuval Kayin had a sister called Na'ama.
Why is Na'ama mentioned in the Torah at all? What is her claim to fame? According to one opinion (Rashi, ibid. 22) she was the wife of Noach. According to another opinion (Zohar, אות קב), she was the most beautiful woman on earth and when the two angels Uza and Azael saw her, they sinned with her, as HKB"H had predicted.
The angels Uza and Azael were subsequently diminished in stature and are called the נְפִילִים, from the root of the word "fallen". HKB"H doomed them to remain on earth, in a place called הֲרֵי חוֹשֶׁךְ, (also called הַרְרֵי קֶדֶם), shackled in chains of iron that are embedded in the bowels of the earth (Zohar, במדבר, אות תצד).
Uza and Azael are the sources of witchcraft and sorcery in the world and all the sorcerers learned their craft from Uza and Azael. The Yalkut Me'am Lo'ez (בלק כב, ה) says that this is how Bilam and Balak learned their sorcery skills. The Me'am Lo'ez describes the procedure for connecting with Uza and Azael.
You take a goat and decapitate its head. You remove the tongue and combine it with a herb (that is known to the sorcerers) and you burn them. You then take the goat's head and cut it into 4 pieces and burn them too. You gather the ashes of these two fires and you travel with them to הֲרֵי חוֹשֶׁךְ. There, you first encounter Azael (who is also called גְלוּי עֵינָיִם because he can see even when he is sleeping).
Azael then calls to Uza and they both let forth a fearful scream. Immediately you are surrounded by large snakes with fire coming out of their mouths. You then see a demon in the form of an animal that resembles a cat, with the head of a snake and two tails, and with very small hands and feet. You cover your face and sacrifice a white rooster and burn it.
The demon then takes you to the place where Uza and Azael's shackles are embedded in the bowels of the earth, tied to a column. When you reach the end of the chains you tap on them three times. Uza and Azael then summon you and you enter with your eyes shut and bow and prostrate before them, declaring that you renounce your allegiance to HKB"H and that you accept them as your gods.
In the fifty days following this, Uza and Azael teach you all the secrets of sorcery and witchcraft. When you wish to return, the cat-like demon with small feet leads you out of the הֲרֵי חוֹשֶׁךְ.
I am sure you are rubbing your eyes wondering whether you are mistakenly reading a JK Rowling novel, or a … shiur? The Yalkut Me'am Lo'ez continues "And why am I telling you all this? So that you will understand how serious sorcery is, that you abandon the holiness of HKB"H and enter the realm of the שָׂטָן to worship avoda zara.
Oy to anyone who does such a thing or even follows others who do such things". The Me'am Lo'ez is saying that sorcery is real, it is a real force that exists in the world which draws on the powers of טֻמְאָה (obviously it is not the fake stuff you see on the Hollywood screen and in novels).
These were the נְפִילִים, Uza and Azael.
Their offspring with Na'ama were called עֲנָקִים and they were half man, half angel and were full of despair that they had to continue living on earth. The next generation, the offspring of the עֲנָקִים, finally lost all hope of reconnecting with Heaven and their bond with HKB"H was completely severed, שֶׁהִרְפּוּ אֶת עַצְמָם לְגַמְרֵי מִלְּמַעְלָה. They became known as רְפָאִים (Zohar, במדבר, אות עג).
The עֲנָקִים and the רְפָאִים lived a very long time (from before the Flood – Abarbanel). When they reached the end of their lifespan, half their body (human) would die and the other half (angel) would not. Obviously, they could not exist with half a dead body, so they would either ingest some poisonous herb from the field and kill themselves, or throw themselves into the sea (ibid. אות עד).
The Moavim and the Amonim had different (nick)names for the רְפָאִים. The Moavim called them אֵמִים, because they cast אֵימָה, fear into anyone who saw them (Rashi, Devarim 2, 11). The Amonim called them זַמְזֻמִּים, from the root of the word זְמָמוֹ, that they were "scheming" (Ramban, ibid. 20). From this we also see that the רְפָאִים had nothing to do with the modern use of the word, meaning "ghosts".
By all counts, all of these were fearsome creatures and it is not surprising, therefore, that the 10 meraglim were so panic stricken when they encountered them.
Of all of those listed above, the only ones that physically survive to this day are the נְפִילִים. All the rest were wiped out when Am Yisrael conquered Eretz Yisrael in the time of Yehoshua (although their spirit lingers). Since the power of Uza and Azael persists in the world, even today, steps need to be taken to limit their power. This is part of the avodah on Yom Kippur – the שָׂעִיר לַעֲזָאזֵל.
So, why am I telling you all of this and what connection does it have with Tish'a Be'av?
To understand, we need to explore the Zohar's breakdown of the erev rav who left Egypt with Am Yisrael. HKB"H did not tell Moshe to take them, Moshe did this of his own volition, in an attempt to do tikkun for 202 - gematria of עֶרֶב) רַב) - of the 288 נִיצוֹצוֹת that resulted from the sin of Adam HaRishon (see last week's shiur). Although Moshe was well intentioned, this erev rav has caused Am Yisrael untold misery, continuing until this very day.
The Zohar (בראשית, אות רכד) says that there were 5 elements to the erev rav, represented by the letters נֶגַע רַע, namely- נְ'פִילִים גִּ'בּוֹרִים עֲ'נָקִים רְ'פָאִים עֲ'מָלֵקִים. Let us analyze each one in turn.
The Zohar begins davka with Amalek (אותיות רכד, רכה) –
This element (exterior to Am Yisrael) is like Bilam and Balak, who represent Amalek. If you take the letters עם from בִּלְעָם and the letters לק from בָּלָק it makes the word עֲמָלֵק. The letters that remain behind בל and ב make up the word בָּבֶל. Bavel was wiped out, but Amalek has remained into and during the fourth galut (Edom) and they spearhead the "רַב" part of the עֶרֶב רַב, meaning to fight/war. They raise weapons of war against Am Yisrael - כְּלֵי חָמָס, as it says כִּי מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חָמָס מִפְּנֵיהֶם. This is Amalek.
The second part of the עֶרֶב רַב are the נְּפִילִים (ibid. אותיות רכו-רכח) –
This element (exterior to Am Yisrael) is like the two angels Uza and Azael who engaged in זְנוּת with Na'ama. לָכֵן הִפִּילָם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, HKB"H "dropped" them from Olam Haba, where they have no share, and gave them their only share in this world, as it says וּמְשַׁלֵּם לְשֹׂנְאָיו אֶל פָּנָיו לְהַאֲבִידוֹ (דברים ז, י). And, as we said above, they are the origin of promiscuity, sorcery and witchcraft in this world.
The third part of the עֶרֶב רַב are the גִּבּוֹרִים (ibid. אות רכט) –
This element (exterior to Am Yisrael) is like the דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה who wanted to build a tower up to Heaven and wage war with HKB"H. They were very industrious in building houses of worship and learning, even placing sifrei Torah in them, adorned with crowns - not for the purpose of serving HKB"H, but for serving a religion of their own making, זֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב וְנַעֲשֶׂה לָּנוּ שֵׁם. Thus they "steal" (assimilate) souls from Am Yisrael and the result is that service of HKB"H diminishes in the world.
The fourth part of the עֶרֶב רַב are the רְפָאִים (ibid. אות רל) –
This element (part of Am Yisrael) realizes that Am Yisrael are in trouble, and although they have the power to help, they refuse. וּמִתְרַפִּים מֵהַתּוֹרָה וּמֵאֵלֶּה שֶׁמִּשְׁתַּדְּלִים בָּהּ לַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹב עִם עוֹבְדֵי כוֹכָבִים, they shun the Torah and those who live by it, in order to find favor in the eyes of the goyim. About them it says רְפָאִים בַּל יָקֻמוּ ... וַתְּאַבֵּד כָּל זֵכֶר לָמוֹ (ישעיהו כו, יד) - when the Geulah comes, they will disappear.
The fifth and final part of the עֶרֶב רַב are the עָנָקִים (ibid. אות רלא) –
This element (part of Am Yisrael) mocks those who follow the Torah. They seek to revert the world to a state of תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ, in which there is no HKB"H - no דִּין and no דַּיָּין.
The עָנָקִים and the רְפָאִים are practically the same, as the passuk says רְפָאִים יֵחָשְׁבוּ אַף הֵם כָּעֲנָקִים (דברים ב, יא). And this is the secret of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash – they seek to destroy the world, and the Beit HaMikdash is the essence of the world, the betterment of the world. These last two elements, which have infiltrated and mixed together in Am Yisrael, cause the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash (and the prevention of its rebuilding).
However, soon the light of HKB"H will shine on (the true part of) Am Yisrael and these two elements will disappear from the world. Unlike with the first element (Amalek) where the Geulah arriving is dependent on us wiping out Amalek, the Geulah is not dependent on us wiping out these last two elements and will arrive regardless of their existence.
עַד כָּאן הַזֹּהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ …
I don't know about you, but when I learned this Zohar, I felt chills running up and down my spine. I have literally listened to and watched hundreds, perhaps thousands of reports and clips about the current situation in Israel and the world since Oct 7 and none of them analyze and sum up the reality more succinctly than this Zohar.
If you want to know why the two Batei Mikdash were destroyed, or why the 3rd Beit HaMikdash has not yet been rebuilt, it was not because of outside forces (Nebuchadnezzar and Titus), it was solely because of destructive forces from within. The external forces were simply the מַכָּה בְּפַטִּישׁ, they were demolishing an already demolished entity.
These forces are not new or different, they are as old as the Creation of the world, they just assume different names and aliases over the eons. They are נִיצוֹצוֹת that have to undergo repair and they are (albeit slower than we would like).
Everyone needs to analyze this last Zohar very carefully and internalize what Rashbi is trying to tell us and then spread the word. To speak the truth, the pure truth, not to mince words, not to propagandize, not to try suck up and try to find favor amongst the goyim, thinking that by doing so they will suddenly love us or help us. The forces at work in the world do not allow for "changing camps", the five camps above are immutable and nothing anyone can do will change them.
I have repeatedly stated that the Geulah is a process of stripping away all illusions until only the truth remains. If you understand this Zohar, you understand the pure truth.
This must be our flag, our banner that we wave within Am Yisrael and outward for the rest of the world to see. By doing so we will hasten the Geulah, by refraining to do so we prolong the galut.
Anything else is just "noise" and distractions – Charedim in the army, Biden, Trump, Kamala, etc. it is all "décor" of the above five elements and we must devote zero time to it. Instead, we must devote 100% of our time in following the one and only plan – eradicating Amalek, doing tshuva and returning to HKB"H.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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