Elders as Israel's wings and gates

במד' ביום השמיני קרא כו' ולזקני ישראל חביבין זקנים כו' אם נערים נטפלה להם ילדות.

In the Midrash: "On the eighth day [Moshe] called…" and "to the elders of Yisrael" — the elders are beloved; "if [Moshe and Aharon are called] youths, childishness is attributed to them."

The Midrash dwells on the calling of the zekeinim (elders) alongside Moshe and Aharon, noting how the language of "youth" versus "elder" carries spiritual weight.

ובתנחומא מקפיץ להם זקנה וצריך ביאור.

And in the Tanchuma: He "leaps" old age upon them — and this requires explanation.

The strange phrase that Hashem "springs" elderhood onto the young needs clarifying — how does one suddenly acquire the stature of an elder?

והנה ר"ע אומר מה עוף א"י לעוף בלי כנפים כן ישראל אין להם קיום רק ע"י הזקנים.

Now Rabbi Akiva says: just as a bird cannot fly without wings, so too Yisrael have no endurance except through the elders.

The zekeinim are the "wings" of Klal Yisrael — the nation cannot rise and endure without those who carry the chochmah of Torah.

דהנה קריאה לשון חיבה ודביקות לשון שמלאכי השרת משתמשין כו'.

For "calling" (keri'ah) is a term of affection and attachment (chibah and deveikus), the language that the ministering angels use.

The word "called" signals closeness and love — the very expression the malachim use when they "call to one another," denoting a bond of deveikus.

וזה התדבקות והתאחדות בשורש.

And this is attachment and unification with the root (shoresh).

This "calling" expresses the soul's clinging to and becoming one with its Source above.

והנה כמו שיש למטה ע' סנהדרין כן למעלה.

Now, just as there are seventy of the Sanhedrin below, so too there are above.

The earthly court of seventy elders mirrors a corresponding arrangement of seventy "officers" in the upper worlds.

וזה הרמז במדרש כחצי גורן עגולה.

And this is the hint in the Midrash: "like a semi-circular threshing floor" (the seating of the Sanhedrin).

The round, semicircular seating of the Sanhedrin hints at the way the lower seventy correspond to and face the upper seventy.

ורמזו עוד בפסוק נודע בשערים כו' בשבתו עם זקני ארץ.

And they hinted further in the verse: "Her husband is known in the gates… when he sits with the elders of the land" (Mishlei 31:23).

The "elders of the land" in the pasuk are read as a reference to the upper elders/officers, "known in the gates" of the higher worlds.

מה ארץ.

What is meant by "of the land"?

The Sefas Emes pauses on the word "eretz" — why call these heavenly elders "elders of the land"?

רק שמדבר בשרים שלמעלה ויש שם שרים שממונים על שלמטה לכן נק' זקני ארץ.

Rather, it speaks of the officers above; and there are among them officers who are appointed over those below, and therefore they are called "elders of the land."

The verse refers to upper "ministers" — and because some of them are assigned to oversee the earthly realm, Scripture calls them "elders of the land."

ואותן שלמעלה לעולם מאירין למטה.

And those above are forever shining down below.

The upper elders continuously radiate their light and influence into the world below.

ובמד' בהעלותך אספה לי שבעים איש בכל מקום שנאמר לי קיים לעולם ע"ש.

And in the Midrash on Beha'aloscha: "Gather for Me seventy men" — wherever it says "for Me," it endures forever; see there.

Because the seventy were gathered "for Me" — for Hashem — the institution they form has eternal standing.

היינו שנתקן ע"י שבעים איש שלמטה הישיבה שלמעלה.

That is, through the seventy men below, the "academy" above is established/repaired.

The earthly seventy elders effect a tikkun that builds and aligns the corresponding heavenly yeshiva.

והם מאירין לעולם למטה.

And they (the upper ones) shine perpetually below.

Once aligned, the upper elders pour their light down into the world without ceasing.

אכן כשהדור זכאי ונמצא למטה ג"כ סנהדרין וזקנים שקנו חכמה בוודאי חביבין הם.

Indeed, when the generation is worthy and there are found below also a Sanhedrin and elders who have acquired chochmah, certainly they are beloved.

When a generation merits real elders who have truly earned wisdom, such zekeinim are precious and beloved before Hashem.

אך אפילו נערים המה שלמטה.

But even if those below are "youths"…

Even in a generation whose people are spiritually young and undeveloped…

מ"מ הסיוע שלמעלה שמאיר בהם מתקן אותם להיות הילדות טפל אל ההארה שמשפיע להן מלמעלה כי סייעתא דשמיא הוא יותר מכל כח האדם שלמטה.

Nevertheless, the help from above that shines into them repairs them, so that their "childishness" becomes secondary to the illumination flowing to them from above — for siyata diShmaya (heavenly assistance) is greater than all the power of man below.

Heavenly help can lift even the spiritually immature: the divine illumination overrides their smallness, since siyata diShmaya far outweighs any human effort from below.

וזה ג"כ פי' מקפיץ להם זקנה.

And this too is the meaning of "He leaps old age upon them."

This is how Hashem "springs" elderhood onto the young — He grants them, through illumination from above, a stature they did not earn on their own.

ועיקר הידיעה בעולם כשנפתחים שערים שלמעלה כדפי' בזוה"ק פ' חיי שרה ע"פ נודע בשערים ע"ש.

And the essential awareness in the world comes when the upper "gates" are opened, as the Zohar HaKadosh explains in Parshas Chayei Sarah on the verse "known in the gates"; see there.

True da'as (awareness of Hashem) enters the world only when the heavenly gates open and their light streams down.

וכמו שיש ע' סנהדרין בנפש.

And just as there are seventy of the Sanhedrin in the soul (nefesh)…

The pattern of "seventy" exists even within the inner makeup of a person's soul.

כן בזמן שבתות ויו"ט הם ע' שערים הנפתחים ולכן נק' מקראי קודש.

so too in time, Shabbosos and Yamim Tovim are the seventy gates that open, and therefore they are called "mikra'ei kodesh" (holy callings/convocations).

The sacred days are "gates" in time through which heavenly light pours; "mikra'ei kodesh" shares the root "kri'ah" — a holy calling that draws us toward the Source.

ובמד' בכל קראנו אליו אלו מועדות שהם הדביקות בשורש והם מאירין על כל ימי השנה.

And in the Midrash: "whenever we call upon Him" — these are the festivals (mo'ados), which are the attachment to the root, and they shine upon all the days of the year.

The mo'adim are moments of deveikus with the Source, and their light radiates outward to illuminate every ordinary day of the year.

וכמו כן ע' זקנים מאירים לכל בנ"י.

And likewise the seventy elders shine for all of Bnei Yisrael.

Just as the holy days illuminate the year, the seventy elders illuminate the whole nation.

וכ' קרוב ה' לכל כו' יקראוהו באמת.

And it is written: "Hashem is close to all… who call upon Him in truth" (Tehillim 145:18).

Hashem's nearness is available to all, but it is unlocked specifically by those who "call" upon Him truthfully.

קריאה באמת.

A "calling" in truth.

The Sefas Emes asks what it means to call upon Hashem "in truth."

הוא להיות שלם בכל הקומה כענין שכתוב כאן שבעת ימים ימלא את ידכם היינו לתקן כל המדות כפי הכח שבאדם ואח"כ מבקשין עזר מן השורש וזה נק' תפלת אמת כמ"ש ביום השמיני קרא.

It means to be complete in one's full "stature," as it is written here, "for seven days he shall fill your hands" — that is, to repair all of one's middos according to the strength within a person, and afterward to request help from the root; and this is called "true tefillah," as it says, "On the eighth day he called."

"Calling in truth" means first doing all the human work — refining one's middos over the "seven days" of one's own effort — and only then turning to Hashem for help. That sequence is the meaning of the "eighth day" calling, which comes after the seven days of completion.

והוא לשון חיבה ודביקות כמ"ש לעיל.

And it is a term of affection and attachment, as stated above.

This true tefillah, like the "calling" mentioned earlier, is an expression of chibah and deveikus with Hashem.

אכן ע"י אותן היחידים והכהנים משרתי עליון נמשך דביקות וקירבות לכל עובדי ה' וז"ש קרוב כו' לכל כו' ע"י אותן שיקראוהו באמת כנ"ל:

Indeed, through those select individuals and the Kohanim, the servants of the Most High, deveikus and closeness are drawn down to all who serve Hashem; and this is the meaning of "He is close… to all…" — through those who call upon Him in truth, as above.

The unique tzaddikim and Kohanim who serve Hashem "in truth" become the channel through which closeness to Hashem flows to every ordinary oved Hashem; their authentic calling brings Hashem near to all.

Summary: The "calling" of the elders on the eighth day expresses chibah and deveikus — attachment to the Source. The seventy earthly elders mirror and align the heavenly seventy, and like Shabbos and Yom Tov they are "gates" through which divine light floods the world. Even a spiritually young generation is lifted by this illumination, for siyata diShmaya outweighs all human effort. True tefillah is to first complete one's own avodah and then call upon Hashem; and through the select tzaddikim and Kohanim who "call in truth," Hashem's nearness is drawn down to all who serve Him.