The East as the Front and the West as the End

 The East As the Superior Side and the West as the Nape of the World

 

INTRODUCTION

 

            In our previous lectures, we saw the importance attached to the western side in the Mishkan, in the Mikdash, and in general. In this lecture, I wish to examine the opposite trend; sometimes, it seems that it is precisely the east that is viewed as superior – the front - and the west as the inferior side, the nape of the world. In this lecture, we will examine this idea that the east expresses the more elevated point of beginning.

 

            Support for this idea may be brought from the route traveled by the sun itself. The fact that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west entails that the first appearance of light is in the east. As we shall see below, this fits in well with the midrash that states that the uniqueness of the east is that light issues forth from it into the world, whereas the west expresses the setting and decline of the sun, the end of the day.

 

THE LOCATION OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN

 

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom He had formed. (Bereishit 2:8)

 

            The planting of the garden eastward in Eden preceded the sin. The garden represents a place where there is a revelation of God and intimacy with God; the ideal situation is thus one in which the location of the garden is on the eastern side of Eden.

 

            This is the view of Rashi and the Ibn Ezra, who understand that God "planted the garden on the eastern side of Eden."

 

            Another source that implies that the garden was located on the eastern side of Eden is the gemara, which asks why the sun is red at sunrise and at sunset:

 

But according to our initial assumption, is not the sun red at sunrise and at sunset? [It is red] at sunrise, because it passes by the roses of the Garden of Eden; at sunset, because it passes the gate of Gehinnom.  Others reverse [the answer]. (Bava Batra 84a)

 

            The Rashbam explains (ad loc.):

 

At sunset – because it sets in the west and passes the gate of Gehinnom and reddens because of the fire of Gehinnom. At sunrise – because it passes in the east by the roses of the Garden of Eden, which is in the east, as it is written: "A garden on the eastern side of Eden."

 

Others reverse the answer: Red in the morning because it stands in the east and shines opposite it on the west, and it reddens because of Gehinnom in the west, because a ray of the light of the sun strikes against Gehinnom and the sun reddens because of that. At sunset because it passes in the west, and its rays turn to the east and strike the Garden of Eden, and it reddens because of the redness of the roses of the Garden of Eden.

 

The gemara here implies that the Garden of Eden was found on the east side.[1]

 

            What is the significance of this? In order to answer this question, let us first examine the names of the various directions in Scripture, as well as the various meanings of the terms "kedem" and "achor."

 

THE NAMES OF THE DIRECTIONS

 

            In Scripture, there are several possibilities regarding the names of the directions:

 

1. They are based on the geographical markers of Eretz Yisrael. Accordingly:

 

            West – yam (the sea) (Yehoshua 11:3; Bereishit 28:14; Devarim 3:27; Yeshayahu 49:12; Tehillim 104:13).

 

            North – tzafon (Bereishit 13:14).

 

            South – negev (dry region) (Shemot 26:18; Bereishit 28:14).

           

            East - mizrach

 

2. They are based on the course of the sun. Accordingly:

 

            East – motza (point of issue) (Tehillim 75:7).

 

            West – mavo (point of entry) (Devarim 11:30; Tehillim 50:1; Tehillim 104:19).

 

3. They are based on the direction of the sun's shining. Accordingly:

 

            East – kedem (in front) (Bereishit 13:14, 28:14; Shemot 27:13, 38:17; Bemidbar 2:13).

 

            West – achor (behind) (Tehillim 139:5; Yeshayahu 9:11).

 

            North – semol (left) (Bereishit 13:9; I Melakhim 7:49)

 

            South – yamin (right) (Tehillim 89:13; Bereishit 13:9).

            teiman (right) (Yeshaya 43:6; Shir Ha-shirim 4:16).

 

            It seems that this final method of naming the directions in accordance the direction of the sun's shining can shed light on the importance of the east.

 

            Rashi explains in several places in his commentary:

 

For the east side is called "the face" ("front"), the west is called "behind," and therefore the south is to the right and the north on the left.

 

Because the entrance was on the east, the east side is called the front and the west side the back. And this is why it is described here by a word denoting end, because the front is the head [the beginning] of a thing.

 

Forward (kedma) – to the east (mizrach), as it is stated: "kedma mizracha.” Backward – to the west; since the east is the front of the world, the west is the rear of the world. (Iyov 23:8)

 

            It is clear that naming the directions based on the direction of the sun's shining or its course of travel over the day is connected to the sun's being an object of idol worship to which man turned from the most ancient of times. In earlier periods, maps were actually oriented eastward rather than northward owing to the importance of turning to the east.

 

Two points emerge from the words of Rashi:

 

1. The east is called "forward" and the west is called "backward."

 

2. The east is the world's front, whereas the west is its back.

 

            Several explanations may be suggested for this:

 

1. From our perspective on the sun (the great spiritual significance of the sun in the ancient world was discussed above).

 

2. From the Shekhina's perspective on the world. The Tosafot write:

 

A westerly wind that comes from the nape of the world. As Rashi explains: From the back of the world, for the west is called the back, as it is written: "You have set me behind and before" (Tehillim 139:5), and this was expounded (Chagiga 12) in reference to east and west. And it is written: "Aram before and Pelishtim behind" (Yeshayahu 9:11). And south is also called "right," and north "left," as we say in our passage. This is because the Shekhina is in the west, and it faces the east, and so the west is called "backward" and the east "forward," and the south "right," and the north "left." Because the Shekhina in the Temple was in the west, and it faced Israel who were in the east prostrating there. (Bava Batra 25a, s.v. ru'ach)

 

            This explanation is interesting in that it implies that the directions are based on God's perspective from inside the Holy of Holies. In a certain sense, this understanding is diametrically opposed to the understanding according to which the directions are determined by the appearance of the sun.

 

3. From the perspective of Adam when he was created. The Tosafot on the aforementioned passage regarding the course of the sun comment:

 

Rabbeinu Yitzchak bar Yehuda explained that when Adam stood up after having been created, he faced east. But it does not seem likely that his back was to the Shekhina, according to the one who maintains that the Shekhina is in the west. (Bava Batra 25a)

 

KEDEM – TIME OR PLACE

 

            It is fascinating that in Hebrew, certain words relate both to time and to place. For example, the word "kedem” refers both to the easterly direction as well as an earlier period of time. This follows from the understanding that the past is the time that is "in front" of us, the period that we can see and consider.

 

            Accordingly, the word, "achor," denotes both the westerly direction and also future time. Thus the expression "acharit ha-yamim" (the end of days) reflects the fact that the prophet can see and consider the future, even though it is behind us and we cannot see it.[2]

 

            Thus, for example:

 

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying: This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left. (Yeshayahu 30:21)

 

Produce your cause, says the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, says the king of Yaakov. Let them bring them forth, and tell us what shall happen: let them relate the former things, what they were, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things to come. Declare the things that are to come (hagidu ha-otiyot) hereafter (le-achor), that we may know that you are gods: indeed, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. (ibid. 41:21-22)

 

The Radak (ad loc.) explains:

 

"Hagidu ha-otiyot - this means: "[Declare the things] that are to come," and similarly: ata boker. "Le-achor" – at the end, for he spoke first about the things that are to come in the not so distant future, and then he spoke about the thing that are to come "behind," that is to say, at the end of days, if you do this.

 

            And similarly:

 

Who among you will give ear to this? Who will hearken and hear for the time to come (le-achor, lit., "behind")? (ibid. 42:23)

 

Rashi explains:

 

Every "le-achor" in Scripture refers to the future.

 

            We see from these sources that the prophet is capable of seeing "backwards" - that is, to see the future.

 

ELOKEI KEDEM

 

            What is the meaning of the term "Elokei kedem"? Is this connected to the east, or perhaps it refers to an “ancient” God? Let us note several instances of this expression:

The kedem God is a dwelling place. (Devarim 33:27)

 

God who is enthroned kedem shall hear and afflict them (Sela); those who dread no changes, and do not fear God. (Tehillim 55:20)

 

To Him that rides upon the heaven of heavens, which are kedem; He sends out His voice, a mighty voice. (ibid. 68:34)

 

            Do these expressions refer to time or to place? Most commentators explain these three instances as referring to the dimension of time – “ancient” - but it is possible to suggest that the reference is to space. Thus, the expression, "the heaven of heavens, which are kedem," can be understood as referring to the distant heavens beyond our heavens. Certainly according to the possibility suggested above that the Garden of Eden was on the eastern side of the world, it is very possible that the God of kedem alludes to the east.

 

KADMONO SHEL OLAM

 

            In this context, it is interesting to examine the expression found in the words of Chazal, "kadmono shel olam." Here too we can say that the reference is to the dimension of time, but is it also possible to suggest an understanding that relates to space?

 

            In two places that the Torah relates to kedem as a place, Chazal mention the expression, "kadmono shel olam:"

 

1. The generation of the dispersion

 

And it came to pass, as they journeyed mi-kedem, that they found a plain in the land of Shin'ar; and they dwelt there. (Bereishit 11:2)

 

            According to the plain sense of the verse, the term "mi-kedem" refers to the east. This is the way it was understood by the commentators:

 

"And it came pass, as they journeyed mi-kedem" – from the east, because that is where people first settled and where man was created. For the Garden of Eden is in the east. And when Noach left the ark, he went to his original place of settlement, or else that is where the ark was when he left it. The mountains of Ararat are also in the east. And they of their own volition, left that place in the east, and went west toward Bavel… (Radak, ad loc.)

 

"And it came to pass, when they journeyed mi-kedem" – because at first they lived in the east, as it is written regarding Kayin: "And Kayin dwelt in the land of Nod, to the east of Eden," and the garden was in the east, as it is written: "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden." This is "to the east of Eden." It turns out that the garden, which was to his west, was to the east of Eden. It also says with respect to Adam: "And he placed the keruvim at the east of the Garden of Eden." This implies that Adam dwelled to the east of the Garden of Eden, for the guard was set up on that side from which there was room to fear that Adam would come. (R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, ad loc.)

 

            The midrash, however, understands the term as relating to the dimension of time:

 

"And it came to pass, when they journeyed mi-kedem" - … R. Elazar the son of R. Shimon said: They removed themselves from the Ancient One of the world. They said: We want neither Him, nor His Godhood. (Bereishit Rabba 38, 7)

 

2. Lot's separation from Avraham

 

Then Lot chose him all the plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed mi-kedem; and they separated themselves one from the other. (Bereishit 13:11)

 

"And Lot journeyed mi-kedem" – he removed himself from the Ancient One of the world. He said: I want neither Avraham, nor his God. (Bereishit Rabba 41, 7)

 

            The plain sense seems to be that Lot journeyed to the east, to the plain of the Jordan. Why does the Torah use the term "mi-kedem" – from the east?

 

            Prof. Elitzur explains[3] that Lot traveled from east of Bet-El – from east of the place where Avraham built an altar to God and called out in the name of God (Bereishit 12:8). Lot's journey from there eastward means leaving the site of the altar at which Avraham called out in the name of God.

 

            We are not dealing with a technical and geographical move eastward in the direction of the plain of the Jordan, but rather with Lot's removal of himself from the altar and from Avraham's way of calling out in the name of God. This implies removal from the God of Avraham – "he removed himself from the Ancient One of the world." The same is fundamentally true of the generation of the dispersion, only that with respect to Lot, this is the plain sense of the text, whereas with respect to the generation of the dispersion, the midrash notes the fact that the people distanced themselves from God when they journeyed eastward.

 

EAST – FORWARD, KEDEM - BACKWARD

 

            We have seen that in several places, east is identified with light, the front, whereas west is identified with sunset, the back. I wish now to bring several examples in support of this understanding.

 

ATONEMENT FOR THE SIN OF THE GOLDEN CALF

 

            In the wake of the sin of the golden calf, God says to Moshe:

 

And I will take away My hand and you shall see My back: but My face shall not be seen. (Shemot 33:23)

 

            If we continue our previous line of thought, according to which forward is east and backward is west, God is telling Moshe that He is not prepared to show him his face – the superior side, the east side - but only the back - the west side, the more concealed side. According to this understanding, once again the implication is that the east side is the illuminated side, whereas the west side is the hidden side.

 

            This is also the Rambam's understanding:

 

Moshe, peace be on him, demanded a certain apprehension – namely, that which in its dictum, "But My face shall not be seen," is named the seeing of the face – and was promised an apprehension inferior to that which he had demanded. It is the latter apprehension that is named the seeing of the back in its dictum: "And you shall see My back." (Guide of the Perplexed I:21)

 

            This understanding certainly accords with what we brought in the previous lecture from Midrash Rabba (2:9) regarding God's words to Moshe that Yehuda shall dwell in the east, the side from which light issues forth. Here is a parallel to that midrash (with slight variations):

 

There are four directions in the world: The eastern corner, the western corner, the southern corner, [and] the northern corner.

The eastern corner – from there light issues forth into the world.

The southern corner – from there dew of blessing and rain of blessing issue forth into the world.

The western corner – from there darkness issues forth into the world.

The northern corner – from there the stores of snow, and the stores of hail, cold, heat, and rain issue forth into the world. (Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer 3)

 

            How are we to understand this midrash? The simple understanding is that the site of the Shekhina's appearance is connected to the light's emergence into the world in the east, while darkness issues forth into the world in the west.

 

            In the kabbalistic tradition, R. Yitzchak of Akko explains:

 

For the primal light (in the supernal world) spreads from the east, and this is the where the sun rises in the lower world. So too in the supernal world it is the site of the emanation of the primal light.

 

            In other words, there is a clear and simple correspondence between the site of the emanation of the primal light in the supernal world and the rising of the sun in the lower world. The east is the superior side; the west is the very opposite.

 

THE JOURNEY IN THE WILDERNESS

 

            When the Torah describes the Mishkan in the wilderness, it spells out in detail the way the Levites encamped around it. Moshe and Aharon camped on the east side:

 

But those that encamp before the Mishkan toward the east, before the Ohel Mo'ed eastward, shall be Moshe and Aharon and his sons, keeping the charge of the Sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.

 

            What is the significance of the fact that Moshe and Aharon camped specifically on the east side?

 

            The simple answer is that the entrance to the Mishkan is found on the east side, and it is there that the highest presence and guard is required.

 

            This understanding is also evident from the plain sense of the verse, which mentions in this context, "And the stranger that comes near shall be put to death." This fact is not mentioned on any of the other sides, not in the west with respect to the family of the Gershuni, not in the south with respect to the family of Kehat, and not in the north with respect to the family of Merari.[4]

 

            A second possible answer is that the general direction of the journey was toward the east. The tribe of Yehuda, which went at the head of the camp, was also found on the east side near Moshe and Aharon. Moshe and Aharon thus camp on the east side, where the spiritual and practical leadership is found.

 

YECHEZKEL’S PROPHECY

 

            The prophet Yechezkel describes how the God of Israel will return to the Mikdash and arrive from the east in the final redemption:

 

Then He brought me to the gate, the gate that looks towards the east; and, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. And the appearance of the vision which I saw was like the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Kevar, and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the Lord came in to the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is towards the east. And a spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house…

Then He brought me back the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which looks toward the east; and it was shut. Then the Lord said to me: This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. (Yechezkel 43:1-5; 44:1-2)

 

            It is possible to explain the verses in their plain sense. The Shekhina followed this route when it left the Mikdash at the time of the destruction of the First Temple ("And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city;" Yechezkel 11:23), and the Shekhina follows the same route in the opposite direction when it returns from the east. It therefore enters through the gate that faces east.

 

            It is possible, however, to propose an alternative understanding. At the time of the destruction of the first Temple, the Shekhina headed eastward from the Temple, to the place of its initial appearance. The Shekhina moved to the site of the supernal light in the east, to its first point of appearance, and from there it will return to the Temple.[5]

 

            A similar question may be raised regarding the place where Moshe was buried and the place where Eliyahu ascended to heaven. Is it possible, in contrast to the simple understanding proposed in the previous lecture, that the location of these places on the east bank of the Jordan symbolizes the highest, original, and primal revelation of the Shekhina?

 

            Is it by chance that those who were sent or chose to go eastward were firstborns? Thus Adam, the firstborn of the world; thus Kayin, Adam's firstborn son; thus Lot (in comparison to Avraham); thus in a certain sense the sons of the concubines (in comparison to Yitzchak); thus Esav (in relation to Yaakov); and thus, in a certain sense, the two and a half tribes – Reuven, the firstborn of Yaakov, Gad the firstborn of Zilpa, and Menashe the firstborn of Yosef.

 

            The firstborn embodies the primal strength of the father, the first appearance, the supernal light, the revelation of which in actual practice depends not on the very fact of being the firstborn, but upon selection. It is possible that these firstborns contained great primal potential that was not realized in practice owing to the selection of those who were not firstborns.

 

THE WEST – THE NAPE OF THE WORLD

 

            Now that we have seen several sources that elevate the east and see it as the direction from which light issues forth into the world, let us examine several sources that present the west as the nape of the world.

 

            It should be noted that it is possible that the west's being presented as the nape of the world is connected to the fact that the Shekhina is the lowest revelation of God, the one that is closest to us, and therefore it is in the west.

 

            The Sifrei says:

 

R. Yehuda said in the name of Rav: "My doctrine shall drop (ya'arof) as the rain" (Devarim 32:2) – this is the westerly wind that comes from the nape (oref) of the world. (Ha'azinu 306)

 

            Rabbenu Gershom comments:

 

The west is the nape of the Shekhina. This is what is written: "The north and the south You have created them" (Tehillim 89:13). For to the right of the Shekhina is the south, and to the left is the north, and it faces the east, and its nape is to the west. This implies that the Shekhina is in the west.

 

            The Tosafot say:

 

A westerly wind that comes from the nape of the world… This is because the Shekhina is in the west, and it faces the east, and so the west is called "backward," and the east "forward," and the south "right," and the north "left." And according to the one who says that the Shekhina is in every place, you must say that the reason that the east is called front and the west back and the south right and the north left, is because the Shekhina in the Temple was in the west, and it faced Israel who were in the east prostrating there.

 

            In an additional note to the Tosafot, we find:

 

Rabbeinu Yitzchak bar Yehuda explained that when Adam stood up after having been created, he faced east. But it does not seem likely that his nape was towards the Shekhina, according to the one who says that the Shekhina is in the west.

 

            All of these sources imply that the west is, as it were, the nape of the Shekhina, which faces east. This fits in with the fact that the term ma'arav reflects the setting of the sun toward evening, and as we saw with respect to the expression, "Any you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen" (Shemot 33:23).

 

            It might be possible to explain this idea based on the comments of R. S.R. Hirsch regarding what happened in the Garden of Eden after the sin. The Torah states:

 

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day (le-ru'ach ha-yom); and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Bereishit 3:8)

 

"Le-ru'ach ha-yom" – Rav said: To the east – to the side (ru'ach) which rises with the day. Zavdi ben Levi said: To the west – to the side which sets with the day. (Bereishit Rabba 19:8)

 

            R. Hirsch comments:

 

Le-ru'ach ha-yom – either to the side from which the day comes, the east, or where the sun was at that time, the west. According to the latter view, which seems the more likely and which Onkelos too adopts, that the first removal of the Shekhina was towards sunset in the west, another plan of disposition and tradition may have a deep significance. The Holy of Holies was in the west. In the opinion of our Sages, the Shekhina is in the west. The ever-burning light on the candlestick, that representation of the tree of life, was the western lamp, which turned to the west. If it is true that the Shekhina parted from man in the west, it is understandable that it is to the west that we turn and stand and look after it and wait and hope. Since, coincidentally with the first setting of the earthly sun for mankind, its spiritual Divine Sun also set, we stand and gaze there and await its return, and the whole service, the whole service in the Temple is nothing but the means to prepare the way for the return of that time.

 

            According to R. Hirsch, the Shekhina was originally in the east, but in the wake of the sin, moved to the west, and that is where the sun set.

 

            According to this understanding, the whole idea of the Shekhina being in the west in the Temple and in the world is meant to bring us to turn to the west. Our turning to the west reflects our hope for the Shekhina's return to the east, and the entire Temple service is directed toward the west in order to pave the way for the Shekhina's return to its original place.

 

SUMMARY

 

In the previous lecture, we dealt with the meaning of the directions, and we examined the issue of the "Shekhina in the west." We saw several sources dealing with the topic of the Shekhina in the west, and we discussed the significance of the idea.

 

In this lecture, we saw just the opposite. We saw that several sources imply that the preferred side is the east. In contrast to what follows from the idea that the Shekhina is in the west - that the east is the rejected side - we saw various sources that imply that the east is the preferred side, the side that illuminates.

 

In the next lecture, we will attempt to combine the two lectures, and we shall propose several possible ways to reconcile the contradiction between them.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

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