How Can We Cling to the Creator? A Wonderful Advice from the Ramak, One of the Great Kabbalists

The ministering angels call Hashem 'a humiliated King.' Why, what does this title mean, and what should we learn from it?

Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, one of the great Kabbalists of Safed, explains this in his ethical book, 'Tomer Devorah.' "Hashem, a humiliated King, bears humiliation beyond comprehension," writes the Ramak and explains, "Surely nothing escapes His supervision, without doubt, and moreover: there isn't a moment that a person isn't sustained and maintained by the divine power flowing upon him."

"And you will find," continues the Ramak, "that never has a person sinned against Him without, at that very moment, receiving the flow of his existence and the movement of his limbs. Even though a person sins with that power – it was never withheld from him."

"Hashem tolerates such humiliation: to endow power and the movement of limbs to the person, while he uses that power in sin and transgression, provoking, and Hashem endures," the Ramak passionately declares.

"Do not say that He cannot prevent that good, God forbid," the Ramak continues and proves, "for He can instantly dry his hands and feet, as He did to Jeroboam, as detailed in I Kings (13:4).

"And with all that, although He has the power to retract that flowing power and could say: 'Since you sin against Me – sin with yours and not with Mine,' nonetheless He did not withhold good from man nor bore humiliation. He continued to grant power and bestowed His goodness upon man – this is humiliation and patience beyond description.

The Ramak concludes: "And for this, the ministering angels call Hashem 'a humiliated King,' as it appears in the Chapters of Heichalot, chapter 25."

The Ramak further explains that this trait is the first among the 13 attributes of mercy of Hashem, and is noted in the words "Who is like You, O God" – meaning: You are a God, a benevolent one, powerful to avenge and reclaim what is Yours – yet with all this, You endure and are humiliated until man repents."

After explaining this remarkable attribute, the Ramak clarifies that man should cling to the Creator by emulating His traits. "This is a trait one must adopt: patience. Even reaching such a level of humiliation, yet still not withholding his good from the recipient."