|
Esnoga Bet Emunah 4544 Highline Dr. SE Olympia, WA 98501 United States of America © 2013 E-Mail: gkilli@aol.com |
|
Esnoga Bet El 102 Broken Arrow Dr. Paris TN 38242 United States of America © 2013 E-Mail: waltoakley@charter.net |
Triennial Cycle (Triennial
Torah Cycle) / Septennial Cycle (Septennial Torah Cycle)
|
Three and 1/2 year
Lectionary Readings |
Second Year of the
Triennial Reading Cycle |
|
Ab 20, 5773 – July 26/27,
2013 |
Fifth Year of the Shmita
Cycle |
Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:
|
Conroe & Austin, TX, U.S. Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 8:11 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 9:08 PM |
Brisbane, Australia Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 4:58 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 5:53 PM |
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN,
U.S. Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 8:32 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 9:31 PM |
|
Jakarta, Indonesia Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 5:36 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 6:27 PM |
Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 6:09 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 7:01 PM |
Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 7:53 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 8:47 PM |
|
Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 8:35 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 9:47 PM |
Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 7:50 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 8:50 PM |
San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 8:13 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 9:09 PM |
|
Sheboygan &
Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 8:04 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 9:11 PM |
Singapore, Singapore Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 6:58 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 7:49 PM |
St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. July 26 2013 – Candles at 8:00 PM Sat. July 27 2013 – Habdalah 9:02 PM |
For other places see: http://chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.asp
Roll of Honor:
This Torah commentary comes to you courtesy of:
His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David and beloved wife HH Giberet
Batsheva bat Sarah
His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham
Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family
His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family
His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife
His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Karmela
bat Sarah,
Her Excellency Giberet Laurie Taylor
His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Adon Eliyahu ben Abraham and beloved wife HH
Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah
Her Excellency Prof. Dr. Conny Williams & beloved family
His Excellency Adon Yoel ben Abraham and beloved family
For their regular and sacrificial
giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that G-d’s richest
blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all
Yisrael and her Torah Scholars, amen ve amen!
Also a great thank you and great blessings be upon all who send comments
to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Torah Seder and
allied topics.
If you want to subscribe to our list
and ensure that you never lose any of our commentaries, or would like your
friends also to receive this commentary, please do send me an E-Mail to benhaggai@GMail.com with your E-Mail or the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!
We dedicate this Torah Seder on the
occasion of His Excellency Adon Yoel ben Abraham’s and Her Excellency Giberet
Sarai bat Sarah’s birthdays. We wish them both a most wonderful Yom Huledet
Sameach together with loved ones, long life, good health, much prosperity in
their Torah Studies, and the ability to perform many and wonderful deeds of
loving-kindness, amen ve amen!
Shabbat Nachamu 2
2nd
Sabath of Strengthening/Consolation
|
Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Reading: |
|
וְאֶת-הַמִּשְׁכָּן |
|
Saturday Afternoon |
|
“V’Et
HaMishkhan” |
Reader 1 – Shemot 26:1-9 |
Reader 1 – Shemot 27:20-28:1 |
|
“And the Tabernacle” |
Reader 2 – Shemot 26:10-14 |
Reader 2 – Shemot 28:2-5 |
|
“El
Tabernáculo” |
Reader 3 – Shemot 26:15-21 |
Reader 3 – Shemot 27:20-28:5 |
|
Shemot (Exod.) 26:1 – 27:19 |
Reader 4 – Shemot 26:22-30 |
|
|
Ashlamatah: Isaiah
66:1-11 |
Reader 5 – Shemot 26:31-37 |
Monday & Thursday Mornings |
|
Special: Is.
49:14 - 51:3 |
Reader 6 – Shemot 27:1-8 |
Reader 1 – Shemot 27:20-28:1 |
|
Psalm 60 & 61 |
Reader 7 – Shemot 27:9-19 |
Reader 2 – Shemot 28:2-5 |
|
Abot: 3:8 |
Maftir:
Shemot 27:17-19 |
Reader 3 – Shemot 27:20-28:5 |
|
N.C.: Mk 8:11-13; Lk 11:29-32 & Acts 16:13-24 |
Isaiah 49:14 - 51:3 |
|
Blessings Before
Torah Study
Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our G-d,
King of the universe, Who has sanctified us through Your commandments, and
commanded us to actively study Torah. Amen!
Please Ha-Shem, our G-d, sweeten the
words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel.
May we and our offspring, and our offspring's offspring, and all the offspring
of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and
study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your desire. Blessed are You,
Ha-Shem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amen!
Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our G-d,
King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations, and gave us the Torah.
Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!
Ha-Shem spoke to Moses, explaining a
Commandment. "Speak to Aaron and his sons, and teach them the following
Commandment: This is how you should bless the Children of Israel. Say to the
Children of Israel:
May Ha-Shem bless you and keep watch
over you; - Amen!
May Ha-Shem make His Presence
enlighten you, and may He be kind to you; - Amen!
May Ha-Shem bestow favor on you, and
grant you peace. – Amen!
This way, the priests will link My
Name with the Israelites, and I will bless them."
These are the Laws for which the
Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left
in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be
offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one
visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when doing acts
of kindness; and there is no maximum amount of Torah that a person must study.
These are the Laws whose benefits a
person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in
the Next World: They are: Honouring one's father and mother; doing acts of
kindness; early attendance at the place of Torah study -- morning and night;
showing hospitality to guests; visiting the sick; providing for the financial
needs of a bride; escorting the dead; being very engrossed in prayer; bringing
peace between two people, and between husband and wife; but the study of Torah
is as great as all of them together. Amen!
Contents of the
Torah Seder
·
The
Curtains of the Tabernacle – Exodus 26:1-6
·
The
Curtains and Covering of the Tent – Exodus 26:7-14
·
The
Boards of the Tabernacle – Exodus 26:15-30
·
The
Veil – Exodus 26:31-33
·
Arrangement
of the Tabernacle – Exodus 26:34-37
·
The
Altar of Burnt Offerings – Exodus 27:1-8
·
The
Court of the Tabernacle – Exodus 27:9-19
Reading Assignment:
The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol.
IX: The Tabernacle
By: Rabbi Yaaqov Culi & Rabbi Yitschaq
Magriso, Translated by: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New
York, 1990)
Vol. 9 – “The
Tabernacle,” pp. 78-140
Rashi &
Targum Pseudo Jonathan
for: Shemot
(Exod.) 26:1 – 27:19
|
RASHI |
TARGUM
PSEUDO JONATHAN |
|
1. "And
the Mishkan you shall make out of ten curtains [consisting] of twisted fine
linen, and blue, purple, and crimson wool. A cherubim design of the work of a
master weaver you shall make them. |
1. ¶
And the Tabernacle you will make with ten curtains of fine linen twined, and
hyacinth, and purple, and crimson, with figures of kerubin; with the work of
the artificer will you make them. |
|
2. "The
length of one curtain [shall be] twenty eight cubits, and the width of one
curtain [shall be] four cubits; the same measure for all the curtains. |
2. The
length of one curtain twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain
four cubits; the measure
of one will be that of all the curtains. |
|
3. "Five
of these curtains shall be joined to one another, and [the other] five
curtains shall [also] be joined to one another. |
3. Five
curtains will be coupled one with another, and five other curtains coupled
one with another. |
|
4. "And
you shall make loops of blue wool on the edge of one curtain [that is] at the
edge of the [first] set, and so shall you do on the edge of the outermost
curtain of the second set. |
4. And
you will make loops of hyacinth upon the edge of one curtain at the side in
the place of coupling, and so will you do in the edge of the second curtain
in the place of conjoinment. |
|
5. "You
shall make fifty loops on [the edge of] one curtain, and you shall make fifty
loops on the edge of the curtain in the second set; the loops shall correspond to one
another. |
5. Fifty
loops will you make in one curtain, and fifty loops will you make in the side
of the second curtain in the place of conjoinment, so that the loops may answer one to the other. |
|
6. "And
you shall make fifty golden clasps, and you shall fasten the curtains to one
another with the clasps; so shall the Mishkan become one. |
6. And
you will make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains one with another
with the taches, and the Tabernacle will be conjoined to be one. |
|
7. "And
[then] you shall make curtains of goat hair for a tent over the Mishkan; you
shall make eleven curtains. |
7. ¶
And you will make curtains of goats' hair to extend over the tabernacle:
twelve curtains you will make them. |
|
8. "The
length of one curtain [shall be] thirty cubits, and the width of one curtain
four cubits; the same measure for the eleven curtains. |
8. The
length of one curtain thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits;
and the measure of one (will be that of each) of the eleven (other) curtains. |
|
9. "And you shall join the
five curtains by themselves, and the [other] six curtains by themselves; and
you shall fold the sixth curtain before the front of the tent. |
9. And you will conjoin five
curtains together, corresponding with the five books of the Law; and six
curtains together, corresponding with the six orders of the Mishna; and will
fold the sixth curtain over the front of the tabernacle. |
|
10. "And
you shall make fifty loops on the edge of one curtain, [which is] at the edge
of the [first] set, and fifty loops on the edge of the [outermost] curtain of
the second set. |
10. And
you will make fifty loops upon the edge of one curtain at the side of the
place of coupling; and fifty loops in the edge of the second curtain at the
place of coupling. |
|
11. "And
you shall make fifty copper clasps; you shall bring the clasps into the
loops, and you shall fasten the tent together so that it will become one. |
11. ¶
And you will make taches of brass, fifty, and put the taches into the loops,
and conjoin the tabernacle, that it may be one. |
|
12. "And
the overhanging excess in the curtains of the tent half of the extra curtain
shall hang over the rear of the Mishkan. |
12. And
the surplus which remains of the curtains of the Tabernacle, the half curtain
which remains, you will spread over the rear part of the Tabernacle. JERUSALEM:
And the surplus. |
|
13. "And
the cubit from here and the cubit from there of the excess in the length of
the curtains of the tent shall hang over the sides of the Mishkan from here
and from there to cover it. |
13. And
the cubit here and the cubit there, of that which remains in the curtains of
the tabernacle, will hang over the sides of the tabernacle here and there, to
cover it. |
|
14. "And
you shall make a covering for the tent of ram skins dyed red and a covering
of tachash skins above. |
14. And
you will make a covering for the tabernacle of rams' skins dyed red, and a
covering of purple skins above. |
|
15. "And
you shall make the planks for the Mishkan of acacia wood, upright. |
15. ¶
And you will make the boards of the tabernacle of sittin woods; they will
stand up, after the manner of their plantation. JERUSALEM:
Slabs. |
|
16. "Ten
cubits [shall be] the length of each plank, and a cubit and a half [shall be]
the width of each plank. |
16. Ten
cubits the length of the board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of one
board. |
|
17. "Each
plank shall have two square pegs, rung like, one even with the other; so shall
you make all the planks of the Mishkan. |
17. Two
tenons to one board, each in its side answering to the other: so will you do
for all the boards of the tabernacle. |
|
18. "And
you shall make the planks for the Mishkan, twenty planks for the southern
side. |
18. And
you will make the boards of the tabernacle, twenty boards towards the wind on
the south side. |
|
19. "And
you shall make forty silver sockets under the twenty planks; two sockets
under one plank for its two square pegs, and two sockets under one plank for
its two square pegs. |
19. And
you will make forty bases of silver beneath the twenty boards; two bases
beneath one board with its two tenons, and two bases under the other board
with its two tenons. |
|
20. "And
for the second side of the Mishkan on the northern side twenty planks. |
20. And
for the second side of the tabernacle towards the north wind twenty boards, |
|
21. "And
their forty silver sockets: two sockets under one plank and two sockets under
one plank. |
21. and
their forty bases of silver; two bases under one, and two bases under the
other board. JERUSALEM:
Bases of silver. |
|
22. "And
for the western end of the Mishkan you shall make six planks. |
22. And
for the side of the tabernacle westward you will make six boards. |
|
23. "And
you shall make two planks at the corners of the Mishkan at the end. |
23. And
two boards will you make at the corners of the tabernacle at their ends. |
|
24. "And
they shall be matched evenly from below, and together they shall match at its
top, [to be put] into the
one ring; so shall it be for both of them; they shall be for the
two corners. |
24. And
they will be conjoined beneath, and in one manner will be conjoined at their
heads, with one ring;
so will it be with them both; for the two corners will all they be. |
|
25. "And
there shall be eight planks and their silver sockets, sixteen sockets two
sockets under one plank and two sockets under one plank. |
25. And
there will be eight boards and their silver bases; sixteen bases; two bases
under one board, and two bases under another board. |
|
26. "And
you shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the planks of one side of the
Mishkan, |
26. ¶
And you will make bars of sittin woods, five for the boards of one side of
the tabernacle, |
|
27. "and
five bars for the planks of the second side of the Mishkan, and five bars for
the planks of the [rear] side of the Mishkan, on the westward end. |
27. and
five bars for the boards of the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars
for the side of the tabernacle at their extremity towards the west, JERUSALEM:
And five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle stretching to the
west. |
|
28. "And
the middle bar in the midst of the planks shall [extend and] penetrate from
one end to the other end. |
28. And
the middle bar in the midst of the boards passing from end to end will be
from the tree which Abraham planted in Beara of Sheba: for when Israel had
crossed the sea, the angels cut down the tree and cast it into the sea, and
it floated on the face of the waters. And an angel proclaimed, and said, This
is the tree which Abraham planted in Beara of Sheba, and prayed there in the
name of the Word of the Lord. And the sons of Israel will take and make
thereof the middle bar, seventy cubits in length, and with it will wondrous things be done: for
when they have reared up the tabernacle, it will go round it like a serpent
among the boards of the tabernacle and when they take it down, it will become
straight as a rod. |
|
29. "And
you shall overlay the planks with gold, and their rings you shall make of
gold as holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. |
29. And
the boards you will overlay with gold, and make of gold their rings for the
place of the bars, and will overlay the bars with gold. |
|
30. "And
you shall erect the Mishkan according to its proper manner, as you will have
been shown on the mountain. |
30. And
you will erect the tabernacle according to the manner showed to you in the
mountain. |
|
31. "And
you shall make a dividing curtain of blue, purple, and crimson wool, and
twisted fine linen; the work of a master weaver he shall make it, in a
[woven] cherubim design. |
31. ¶
And you will make a veil of hyacinth, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen
entwined; the work of the artificer will you make it, with figures of
cherubim. |
|
32. "And
you shall place it on four pillars of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, their
hooks [shall be] gold, on four silver sockets. |
32. And
you will range it upon four pillars of sitta, covered with gold, their hooks
of gold, upon four bases of silver. JERUSALEM:
And their hooks of gold. |
|
33. "And
you shall place the dividing curtain beneath the clasps. You shall bring
there on the inner side of the dividing curtain the Ark of the Testimony, and
the dividing curtain shall separate for you between the Holy and the Holy of
Holies. |
33. And
you will place the veil under the taches, and bring in near within the veil the
ark of the testimony: and you will spread the veil for you between the Holy
and the Holy of Holies. |
|
34. "And
you shall place the ark cover over the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of
Holies. |
34. And
you will place the mercy-seat with the Cherubim produced of beaten work for
it in the Holy of Holies. |
|
35. "And
you shall place the table on the outer side of the dividing curtain and the
menorah opposite the table, on the southern side of the Mishkan, and you
shall place the table on the northern side. |
35. And
you will set the Table outside of the veil, and the Candelabrum over against
the table on the southern side of the tabernacle; but the table you will
arrange on the northern side. |
|
36. "And
you shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue, purple, and
crimson wool, and twisted fine linen the work of an embroiderer. |
36. ¶
And you will make a curtain for the door of the tabernacle, of hyacinth,
purple, and crimson, and fine linen twined, the work of the embroiderer. |
|
37. "You
shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia and overlay them with gold,
their hooks [shall be] gold, and you shall cast for them five copper sockets. |
37. And
you will make for the curtain five pillars of sitta, and cover them with
gold, and their nails will be of gold; and you will cast for them five bases
of brass. |
|
|
|
|
1. And
you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits
wide; the altar shall be square, and its height [shall be] three cubits. |
1. ¶
And you will make the Altar of woods of sitta; five cubits the length, and
five cubits the breadth: square will be the altar, and its height three
cubits. |
|
2. And
you shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be from it, and
you shall overlay it with copper. |
2. And
you will make its horns upon its four corners: the, horns will be of it, they
will rise upward, and you will cover it with brass. |
|
3. And
you shall make its pots to remove its ashes, and its shovels and its
sprinkling basins and its flesh hooks and its scoops; you shall make all its
implements of copper. |
3. And
you will make its pots to carry away its ashes and its shovels, and its
basins, and its flesh hooks; all its vessels you will make of brass. JERUSALEM:
And you will make its pots to carry its ashes, and its scoops and basins, and
its flesh-hooks, and its soops; all its vessels you will make of brass. |
|
4. And
you shall make for it a copper grating of netting work, and you shall make on
the netting four copper rings on its four ends. |
4. And
you will make for it a grate of network of brass, and upon the network four
brass rings upon its four corners. JERUSALEM:
A grate. |
|
5. And
you shall place it beneath the ledge of the altar from below, and the net
shall [extend downward] until the middle of the altar. |
5. And
you will place it under the surroundings of the altar, beneath, that the
network may be to the middle of the altar, that, if any fragment or fiery
coal fall from the altar, it may fall upon the grate, and not touch the
ground, and that the priests may take it from the grate, and replace it upon
the altar. |
|
6. And
you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you shall
overlay them with copper. |
6. And
you will make staves of sittin woods, and overlay them with brass; |
|
7. And
its poles shall be inserted into the rings, and the poles shall be on both
sides of the altar when it is carried. |
7. and
you will place the staves within the rings, and the staves will be on the two
sides of the altar in carrying the altar, |
|
8. You
shall make it hollow, out of boards; as He showed you on the mountain, so
shall they do. |
8. hollow:
(with) boards filled with dust will you make it; according to what He showed
you in the mountain, so will they make. |
|
9. And
you shall make the courtyard of the Mishkan on the southern side [there shall
be] hangings for the courtyard of twisted fine linen, one hundred cubits long
on one side. |
9. ¶
And you will make the court of the tabernacle. For the southern side will be
hangings of fine linen twined; a hundred cubits the length for one side. JERUSALEM:
¶ Hangings. |
|
10. And
its pillars [shall be] twenty and their sockets twenty of copper; the hooks
of the pillars and their bands [shall be of] silver. |
10. And
its pillars twenty, and their foundations twenty, of brass; the looks of the
pillars, and their rods, of silver. |
|
11. And
so for the northern end in the length hangings one hundred [cubits] long, its
pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty of copper; the hooks of the pillars
and their bands of silver. |
11. And
so for the northern side, for length, the hangings a hundred (cubits) long,
and their pillars twenty, and their foundations twenty, of brass; the hooks
of the pillars, and their rods, of silver. |
|
12. The
width of the courtyard on the western side, hangings fifty cubits, their pillars
ten and their sockets ten. |
12. And
for the breadth of the court on the western side, the hangings will be fifty
cubits; their columns ten and their foundations ten. |
|
13. The
width of the courtyard on the eastern side, fifty cubits. |
13. And
for the breadth of the eastern side eastward fifty cubits; |
|
14. The
hangings on the shoulder [shall be] fifteen cubits, their pillars three and
their sockets three. |
14. and
fifteen cubits the hangings of the side, their pillars three and the their
foundations three. |
|
15. And
on the second shoulder [there shall be] fifteen hangings, their pillars three
and their sockets three. |
15. -
- - |
|
16. And
at the gate of the courtyard shall be a screen of twenty cubits, [made] of
blue, purple, and crimson wool, and twisted fine linen, the work of an
embroiderer; their pillars four and their sockets four. |
16. And
for the door of the court will be a veil of ten cubits of hyacinth, and
purple, and crimson, and fine linen twined, of embroidered work; their
pillars four, and their foundations four. |
|
17. All
the pillars around the courtyard [shall have] silver bands, silver hooks, and
copper sockets. |
17. All the pillars of the court
round about will be united with silver rods; their hooks of
silver, and their foundations of brass. |
|
18. The
length of the courtyard [shall be] one hundred cubits and the width fifty by
fifty [cubits]. The height [of the hangings] shall be five cubits of twisted
fine linen, and their sockets [shall be of] copper. |
18. The
length of the court one hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty on the west and
fifty on the east, and the height five cubits, of fine linen twined, and
their foundations of brass. |
|
19. All
the implements of the Mishkan for all its labor, and all its pegs and all the
pegs of the courtyard [shall be] copper. |
19. All
the vessels of the tabernacle in all its service, and all the pins of the
court around, of brass. |
|
|
|
Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis
In order to understand the
finished work of the P’shat mode of interpretation of the Torah, one needs to
take into account that the P’shat is intended to produce a catechetical output,
whereby a question/s is/are raised and an answer/a is/are given using the seven
Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel and as well as the laws of Hebrew Grammar and
Hebrew expression.
The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R.
Hillel are as follows
[cf.
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=472&letter=R]:
1. Ḳal va-ḥomer: "Argumentum a minori ad
majus" or "a majori ad minus"; corresponding to the scholastic
proof a fortiori.
2. Gezerah shavah: Argument from analogy. Biblical
passages containing synonyms or homonyms are subject, however much they differ
in other respects, to identical definitions and applications.
3. Binyan ab mi-katub eḥad: Application of a provision found
in one passage only to passages which are related to the first in content but
do not contain the provision in question.
4. Binyan ab mi-shene ketubim: The same as the preceding,
except that the provision is generalized from two Biblical passages.
5. Kelal u-Peraṭ and Peraṭ
u-kelal:
Definition of the general by the particular, and of the particular by the
general.
6. Ka-yoẓe bo mi-maḳom
aḥer:
Similarity in content to another Scriptural passage.
7. Dabar ha-lamed me-'inyano: Interpretation deduced from the
context.
Rashi’s Commentary for: Shemot (Exod.) 26:1 – 27:19
1 And the Mishkan you shall make out of ten curtains to be its roof
and [cover its] walls outside the planks, for the curtains are hung behind them
to cover them.
of
twisted fine linen, and blue, purple, and crimson wool Thus there are four kinds [of
material] together in each thread, one of linen and three of wool, and each
thread was doubled six times. Thus, four kinds [of material], when they are
twisted together, yield twenty-four strands to a thread.-[from Baraitha
Melecheth HaMishkan, ch. 2, Yoma 71b]
A
cherubim design of the work of a master weaver Cherubim were drawn on them [the
curtains] in their weave; not with embroidery, which is needlework, but with
weaving on both sides, one face from here [one side] and one face from there
[the other side]: a lion from this side and an eagle from that side, as silk
girdles, called feysses in Old French, are woven.-[from Yoma 72b]
3 shall be joined He [Bezalel] would sew them with a needle, one
[curtain] alongside the other, five separately and [the other] five separately.
to
one another Heb.
אִשָׁה
אֶל-אֲחֽתָהּ, lit., a woman to her sister. It is customary for Scripture to
speak this way concerning a noun in the feminine gender, and concerning a noun
in the masculine gender, אִישׁ
אֶל-אָחִיו [lit., a man to his brother], as it is said concerning the
cherubim: אִישׁ
אֶל-אָחִיו (Exod. 25:20).
4 loops Heb. לֻלָאֽת, lazoles in Old French, loops. So did Onkelos render [it]: עֲנוּבִין, a term meaning a bow.
curtain
[that is] at the edge of the [first] set Heb. בַּחֽבָרֶת. On the curtain that is the outermost of the set. The group of
five curtains is called חוֹבֶרֶת.
and
so shall you do on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set On that curtain that is the
outermost (הַקִּצוֹנָה), an expression derived from קָצֶה, end, meaning at the end of the set [of curtains].
5 the loops shall correspond to one another Heb. מַקְבִּילֽת
הַלֻּלָאֽת. Make sure that you make the loops exactly equidistant from one
another. Their measure on this curtain should be the same for its mate. When
you spread one set [of curtains] next to the other set, the loops of this
curtain shall line up exactly opposite the loops of the other [curtain]. This
is the [meaning of the] word מַקְבִּילֽת, [i.e.,] this one opposite that one. The Aramaic translation of
נֶגֶד, opposite,
is לָקֳבֵל. [Each] curtain was twenty-eight [cubits] long and four
[cubits] wide. When five curtains were joined together, it was found that
[altogether] they were twenty [cubits] wide, and so [too] with the second set.
The length of the Mishkan was thirty [cubits] from east to west, as it is said:
“twenty planks for the southern side” (verse 18), and so for the north, [with]
every plank a cubit and a half [wide]. Thus, [we have altogether] thirty
[cubits] from east to west. The width of the Mishkan from north to south was
ten cubits, as it is said: “And for the western end of the Mishkan [you shall
make six planks]” (verse 22), and [thus with] two planks at the corners [i.e.,
one plank at each end of the western wall], we have ten. [I.e., the interior of
the Mishkan was ten cubits wide, not counting the northern and southern walls,
which were each one cubit thick. Hence, the remainder of the two corner planks
that do not fit against the side planks is a half cubit each, equaling one
cubit. The six planks along the western side total nine cubits, thus we have
altogether ten cubits on the western side.] In their [respective] places, I
will explain these verses. The curtains were placed [so that] their length [was
across] the [interior] width of the Mishkan, ten [of the curtains’] middle
cubits as the roof of the space of the width of the Mishkan. [Another] cubit
from here and a cubit from there covered the thickness of the tops of the
planks, whose width was a cubit thick. Thus remained sixteen cubits: eight on
the north[ern side] and eight on the south[ern side], covering the height of
the planks, which were ten [cubits] high. [Thus] the bottom two cubits were
exposed. The curtains were forty cubits wide when they were joined—twenty cubits
for each set. Thirty of them [of the forty cubits] were for the roof of the
Mishkan’s [interior] space lengthwise; one cubit corresponded to the thickness
of the ends of the planks on the [Mishkan’s] west[ern side] and one cubit [was
meant] to cover the thickness of the pillars on the east[ern side]-for there
were no planks on the [Mishkan’s] east[ern side], only four (Old Rashi—five)
pillars upon whose hooks the screen was spread and hung, like a curtain. [Aside
from the above two cubits,] there remained eight cubits that hung in the back
of the Mishkan on the west[ern side], with the bottom two cubits uncovered. I
found this in the Baraitha of Forty-Nine Middoth. However, in Tractate Shabbath
(98b) [it is stated]: The curtains did not cover the eastern pillars, and nine
cubits hung in the back of the Mishkan. The text supports us [in our quotation
of the Talmud, for the Torah states]: “And you shall place the dividing curtain
beneath the clasps” (verse 33), but if [the truth is] like the words of this Baraitha,
[it would mean that] the dividing curtain would be found to be drawn back one
cubit to the west of the clasps.
6 golden clasps Heb. קַרְסֵי, fermeylz, fermels, fermails in Old French, [meaning] hooks,
clasps. One of its ends is inserted into [one of] the loops of this [one] set
[of curtains] and the other end into the loops of the [second] set [of
curtains, thus] fastening them [the loops] with them [the clasps].
7 curtains of goat hair Heb. עִזִים, goats, from the hair of goats.-[from Baraitha Melecheth
HaMishkan, ch. 3]
for
a tent over the Mishkan
To spread them over the lower curtains.
8 thirty cubits For when [Moses] placed their [the curtains’] length
across the width of the Mishkan, as he did with the first [set of curtains],
these were found to exceed [and overhang them] by a cubit from here [on one
side] and a cubit from there [on the other side] to cover one of the two cubits
of the planks that remained exposed. The bottom cubit of the plank, which the
curtain did not cover, was the cubit [that was] inserted into the socket hole,
for the sockets were a cubit deep.-[from Shab. 98b]
9 and you shall fold the sixth curtain [I.e.,] of these upper
curtains, which exceeds [overhangs] the lower ones.
before
the front of the tent
Half its width [of the sixth curtain] was hanging and folded over the screen on
the east[ern side of the Mishkan], before the entrance, resembling a modest
bride whose face is covered with a veil.
12 And the overhanging excess in the curtains of the tent over the
curtains of the Mishkan. The curtains of the tent were the upper ones,
[curtains] of goat hair. [They are] referred to as “tent,” as it is written
about them, “for a tent over the Mishkan” (verse 7). Every expression of “tent”
(אֽהֶל) stated in their context [i.e., referring to the upper curtains]
is only an expression meaning a roof, for they form a tent and a roof over the
lower [curtains]. They [the upper curtains] exceeded the lower ones by half a
curtain on the west[ern side], since half of the extra eleventh curtain was
folded opposite the front of the tent. [Hence,] there remained two cubits,
[representing] the width of half of it [the upper curtains], exceeding the
width of the lower [curtains].
shall
hang over the rear of the Mishkan
to cover the two cubits of the planks that were exposed.
the
rear of the Mishkan
This means the western side, since the entrance [to the Mishkan] was on the
east[ern side], which is [referred to as] its front, and the north[ern] and
south[ern sides] are referred to as sides to the right and to the left.
13 And the cubit from here and the cubit from there on the north[ern]
and on the south[ern] sides of the Mishkan].
of
the excess in the length of the curtains of the tent which exceed the length of the
lower curtains of the Mishkan by two cubits.
shall
hang over the sides of the Mishkan
[I.e.,] on the northern and southern [sides], as I explained above [verse 12].
The Torah taught [us] manners, that one should spare the beautiful.-[from an
unknown midrashic source, also quoted by Yalkut Shimoni 422]
14 a covering for the tent For the roof of goat hair curtains, make an
additional covering of ram skins dyed red. Additionally, above it [place] a
covering of tachash skins. These [two] coverings covered only the roof, their
length being thirty [cubits] and their width ten. These are Rabbi Nehemiah’s
words, but according to Rabbi Judah, there was [only] one cover, half of [it
made from] ram skins dyed red and half of [it made from] tachash skins. -[from
Shab. 28a]
15 And you shall make the planks It should have said, “And you shall
make planks” [without the definite article], as it is said concerning each
thing [i.e., each part of the Mishkan]. What is the meaning of "the planks"?
Of those [particular planks] that were standing [ready] and designated for this
[purpose]. Our patriarch, Jacob, planted cedars in Egypt, and when he was
dying, he commanded his sons to bring them up with them when they left Egypt.
He told them that the Holy One, blessed is He, was destined to command them to
make a Mishkan of acacia wood in the desert. "See that they should be
ready in your hands." This is what the liturgical poet composed in his
liturgical poem [the beginning of the Yotzer for the first day of Passover]:
“It [God’s voice] flew to the planting of the quickened ones, the cedar beams
of our houses,” for they hurried to have them [the cedars] ready in their hands
prior to this moment, [i.e., prior to the command to build the Mishkan].- [from
Mid. Tanchuma 9]
acacia
wood, upright
Heb. עֽמְדִים, estantivs in Old French, upright, perpendicular. The length of
the planks shall be perpendicular [to each other] in the walls of the Mishkan.
You shall not make the walls of horizontal planks, so that the width of the
planks will be along the height of the walls, one plank [lying] upon [another]
plank.-[from Jonathan, Yoma 72a]
16 Ten cubits [shall be] the length of each plank [From here] we learn
[that] the height of the Mishkan was ten cubits.-[from Shab. 92a]
and
a cubit and a half [shall be] the width [From here] we learn [that] the length of the
Mishkan, [which corresponds to the] twenty planks that were on the north[ern]
and the south[ern sides] from east to west, was thirty cubits.
17 Each plank shall have two square pegs He [Bezalel] would cut one
cubit high into the plank from the bottom in its center, and leave one-fourth
of its width on one side and one-fourth of its width on the other side, and
these [resulting projections] are [called] the square pegs. Half the width of
the plank was cut out in its center, (I.e., the plank, הַקֶּרֶשׁ , refers to what remained after he cut out from both sides;
then the width of a cubit remained. The result is that half of the width of the
plank in the middle is a half cubit. This is what Rashi explained explicitly on
Shab. 98-[i.e.,] that in the center, the width of one-half cubit was cut out,
and he [also] cut out a quarter of a cubit on each side. Every square peg was a
quarter of a cubit wide, and the edge of each socket was a quarter of a cubit
wide. Study this thoroughly. Then [you will see] that Ramban’s complaint
against Rashi will disappear, and his astonishment will no longer be valid.)
and he would insert these square pegs into the sockets, which were hollow. And
the sockets were one cubit high, and forty of them were placed
consecutively—one next to the other—and the square pegs of the planks that were
inserted into the hollow of the sockets were cut out on three of their sides.
The width of the cut [was] as thick as the edge of the socket, so that the
plank covered the entire top of the socket. Otherwise, there would be a space
between one plank and the next plank equal to the thickness of the edge of the
two sockets, which would then separate them. This is the meaning of what is
said: “And they shall be matched evenly from below” (verse 24); i.e., he
[Bezalel] shall cut out the sides of the square pegs so that the boards shall
join, one [plank exactly] next to the other.-[from Baraitha Melecheth
HaMishkan]
rung-like Heb. מְשׁוּלָּבֽת, [which means] made like the rungs of a ladder, [i.e.,]
separated from one another with their ends planed off to be inserted into the
openings of the sockets, like a rung that is inserted into the hole of the
upright [beams] of a ladder.-[from Baraitha Melecheth HaMishkan]
one
even with the other
One [square peg was] aligned opposite the other so that their cut-away parts
would be even, one with the measurement of the other, so that of the two square
pegs, one shall not be pulled [more] toward the inside and one pulled [more]
toward the outside of the thickness of the plank, which was a cubit. The
Aramaic translation of יָדוֹת is צִירִין, hinges,
because they resemble the hinges of a door, which are inserted into the holes
of the threshold.
18 for the southern side Heb. לִפְאַת
נֶגְבָּה
תֵּימָנָה. [The word לִפְאַת is derived
from פֵּאָה, which
usually means “corner.”] This [use of the word] פֵּאָה is not an expression meaning “corner,” rather the whole side is
referred to as פֵּאָה, as the
Targum [Onkelos] renders: לְרוּחַ
עֵיבַר
דָרוֹמָא, to the
side toward the south.
22 And for the...end of Heb. וּלְיַרְכְּתֵי, a word meaning “end” [in Hebrew, סוֹף], as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: וְלִסְיָפֵי. Since the entrance [of the Mishkan] is in the east, [thus] the
east[ern side] is called the front and the west[ern side] the back. This is the
reason it is [referred to as] the end, because the front is the beginning.
you
shall make six planks
Hence, nine cubits are the width [of the Mishkan, since each plank is one and
one-half cubits wide].
23 And you shall make two planks at the corners One at the
northwestern corner and one at the southwestern corner. All eight planks were
in one row, but these two [in the corners] were not in the [interior] space of
the Mishkan. Only a half cubit from here [from one plank] and a half cubit from
there [from another plank] appear in the [interior] space, to complete its
width to [the total of] ten [cubits]. The [extra] cubit from here and the cubit
from there [i.e., of each corner plank] coincide with the cubits of the
thickness of the planks of the Mishkan on the north[ern] and the south[ern
sides], so that the corner would be even on the outside.
24 And they shall be matched evenly from below All the planks must be
flush at the bottom, so that the thickness of the edges of the two sockets
should not form a gap to distance them [the planks] from one another. This is
what I [meant when I] explained that the hinges of the square pegs [according
to Yosef Hallel: the sides of the square pegs] should be cut out around their
sides, so that the width of the plank should protrude on its sides away from
the square pegs of the plank, [in order] to cover the edge of the socket, and
so [with] the plank next to it [as well]. Thus, the planks are found to be
flush with each other. [Each] corner plank in the western row was cut away in
the width, in [the part of] its thickness [aligned] opposite the cut-away
portion of the northern plank’s side, in order that the sockets should not
separate them.
and
together they shall match
Heb. תַמִּים, like תְאוּמִים, twins.
at
its top [The
top] of the plank.
into
the one ring
Every plank was cut away [a little] at the top along its width. [There were]
two cuts on its two sides [to contain] the thickness of a ring. He [Moses]
would insert them [the two planks] into one ring, thus it [the plank] would
match the plank next to it. As for these rings, however, I do not know whether
they were permanent or removable. On the corner plank, the ring was in the
thickness of the southern and northern planks, (It appears that the words “the
northern and the southern” belong further down, and Rashi means to say that the
northern and the southern [planks] and the top of the corner plank in the
western row were inserted into it [the ring]. What Rashi writes that the ring
was in the thickness of the plank means in the thickness of the western plank.
Give this some thought.) and the top of the [other] corner plank of the western
row was inserted into it [this ring], resulting in the joining of the two
walls.
so
shall it be for both of them
For the two planks at the corners, for the plank at the [western] end of the
north[ern side] and for the [adjacent] western plank; so too for the two
corners.
25 And there shall be eight planks Those are the [same] ones mentioned
above: “you shall make six planks. And you shall make two planks at the corners
of the Mishkan at the end” (verses 22, 23) [thereby there were eight planks on
the western wall]. The following is the Mishnah concerning the making of the
order of the planks in the [Baraitha] Melecheth HaMishkan (ch. 1): He made the
sockets hollow and he cut out the plank from below, one-fourth from here and one-fourth
from there, and the cut-away [area] was one half in the middle. He made for it
[the plank] two square pegs like sort of two legs (חֲמוּקִים). I believe that the reading is: like sort of two חַוָּקִין, [which means] like sort of two rungs of a ladder which are
separated from one another, and planed [in order] to be inserted into the
hollow of the socket, like the rung, which is inserted into the hole of the
side of the ladder. This is the word מְשׁוּלָּבֽת, [i.e.,] made like a sort of rung. He would insert them [the
square pegs] into the two sockets, as it is said: “two sockets...two
sockets...” (verse 25), and he would cut away the plank on top, [the width of]
a finger from one side and [the width of] a finger from the other side, and he
would insert [the edges of the two planks] into one golden ring so that they
would not separate from one another, as it is said: “And they shall be matched
evenly from below, etc.” (verse 24). This is [the wording of] the Mishnah [in
Baraitha Melecheth HaMishkan], and I presented its explanation above in the
sequence of the verses.
26 bars Heb. בְרִיחִם, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: עַבְּרִין, and in Old French espar(re)s, cross-bars.
five
for the planks of one side of the Mishkan These five [planks] were actually three, but the
top and the bottom bars were made of two segments-one [part] would penetrate
until half of the wall, and the other one would penetrate until half of the
wall[’s length]. One [part of the bar] was inserted into a ring from this [one]
side, and this [other] one was inserted into a ring on the other side until one
[part of the bar] reached the other. Thus, the top one [bar] and the bottom one
[bar] were two, but actually they were four. But the length of the middle one
[bar] ran along the entire wall, and penetrated from one end of the wall to its
other end, as it is said: “And the middle bar...shall [extend and] penetrate
from one end to the other end” (verse 28). The top and bottom ones [bars] had
rings on the planks in which they were to be inserted, two rings for every
plank, attached in three places within the ten cubits of the height of the
plank-one part from the highest ring to the top and one part from the lowest
[ring] to the bottom. Each part was one-fourth of the length of the plank, and
[there] were two parts between one ring and the other ring, so that all the
rings would be aligned with the other. The middle bar, however, had no rings,
but the planks were pierced through their thickness and it [the middle bar] was
inserted into them by way of the holes, which were aligned one opposite the
other. This is [the meaning of] what is said: “in the midst of the planks”
(verse 28). The highest and lowest planks on the north[ern] and the south[ern
sides] were each fifteen cubits long, and the middle one was thirty cubits
long. This is [the meaning of] “from one end to the other end” (verse 28), from
east to west. [Regarding] the five bars on the west: the top and bottom ones
were six cubits long, and the middle one was twelve [cubits] long,
corresponding to the width of the eight planks. It is explained this way in
[the Baraitha] Melecheth HaMishkan (ch. 1).
29 as holders for the bars The rings that you shall make for them
shall be holders for the bars to enter [them].
and
you shall overlay the bars with gold
[This does] not [mean] that the gold was attached onto the bars, for they [the
bars] had no covering. But he [Bezalel] attached something onto the plank akin
to two tubes of gold, something like two halves of a hollow reed, and he
attached them to the rings on both sides, their length filling the [entire]
width of the plank from the ring to one side and from it to the other side. The
bar was inserted into it [the tube], and from it into the ring, and from the
ring into the second tubes. Thus, the bars were found to be overlaid with gold
when they were inserted into the planks. These bars protruded to the outside
[of the Mishkan]. [Thus] the rings and the tubes were not visible within the
Mishkan, but from the inside the entire wall was unadorned.- [from Baraitha
Melecheth HaMishkan with Rashi’s interpretation]
30 And you shall erect the Mishkan After it is completed, erect it.
you
will have been shown on the mountain
prior to this, for I am destined to teach you and show you the order of its
erection.
31 a dividing curtain Heb. פָּרֽכֶת. [This is] a word denoting a dividing curtain. In the language
of the Sages [it is called] פַּרְגוֹד (Chag. 15a), something that separates between the king and the
people.
blue,
purple Each type
was doubled in each thread with six strands.-[from Yoma 71b]
the
work of a master weaver
Heb. מַעֲשֵׂה
חשֵׁב I have
already explained (verse 1) that this is weaving of two walls, and the designs
on both sides of it are unlike one another.
cherubim
He shall make
designs of creatures.
32 four pillars inserted into four sockets, with hooks attached to
them [the pillars], bent on the top [in order] to place upon them a pole around
which the top of the dividing curtain was wound. These hooks are the וָוִין [mentioned
in the next verse, given this name] because they are made in the shape of [the
letter] “vav” (ו). The dividing curtain was ten
cubits long, corresponding to the width of the Mishkan [from north to south],
and ten cubits wide, like the height of the planks. [It was] spread out at the
one-third [point] of the Mishkan [from east to west], so that from it [the
dividing curtain] toward the [Mishkan’s] interior were ten cubits, and from it
[the dividing curtain] toward the exterior were twenty cubits. Hence, the Holy
of Holies was ten [cubits] by ten [cubits], as it is said: “And you shall place
the dividing curtain beneath the clasps” (verse 33), which join the two sets of
the curtains of the Mishkan, the width of the set being twenty cubits. When he
[Moses] spread them on the roof the Mishkan from the entrance [all the way] to
the west, it [the first set of curtains] ended after two-thirds of the [way
into the] Mishkan. The second set covered [the remaining] third of the Mishkan
with the remainder [of the curtains] hanging over its rear to cover the planks.
35 And you shall place the table The table was in the north, drawn
away from the northern wall [of the Mishkan by] two and one-half cubits. The
menorah was [placed] in the south, drawn away from the southern wall [by] two
and one-half cubits. The golden altar was placed opposite the space between the
table and the menorah, drawn a short distance toward the east. They [the table,
menorah, and golden altar] were all situated in the inner half of the Mishkan.
How was this? The length of the Mishkan from the entrance to the dividing
curtain was twenty cubits. The altar, the table, and the menorah were drawn away
from the entrance toward the western side ten cubits.-[from Yoma 33b]
36 And you shall make a screen Heb. מָסָךְ, a curtain that is a protector opposite the entrance, like “You
made a hedge (שַׂכְתָּ) around him” (Job 1:10), an expression of protection. [Note that
the “samech” and the “sin” are interchangeable.]
the
work of an embroiderer
The figures [on the screen] are produced on it with needlework-just as the face
[was] on one side, so was the face on that [other] side.-[from Yoma 72b,
Baraitha Melecheth HaMishkan, ch. 4]
an
embroiderer Heb.
רֽקֵם, the name
of the craftsman, not the name of the craft. Its Aramaic translation is עוֹבַד
צַיָיר, work of an
artist, but not צִיוּר
עוֹבֵד, work of
artistry. The measurements of the screen were the same as the measurements of
the dividing curtain, [namely] ten cubits by ten cubits.- [from Baraitha
Melecheth HaMishkan, ch. 4]
Chapter
27
1 And you shall make the altar...and its height [shall be] three cubits
The words are [to be understood] literally. These are the words of Rabbi Judah.
Rabbi Jose says: It says here “square,” and concerning the inner altar, it says
“square” (Exod. 30:2). Just as there, its height was twice its length [i.e, it
was one cubit long and two cubits high], here too, its height was twice its
length. [This method of expounding is known as גְּזֵרָה
שָׁוָה, similar
wording.] How then do I understand “and its height [shall be] three
cubits"? [This means measuring] from the edge of the sovev [the ledge
surrounding the altar] and higher.-[from Zev 60a] [According to Rabbi Judah,
the altar was literally three cubits high. According to Rabbi Yose, it was ten
cubits high, with the upper three cubits above the ledge mentioned in verse 5]
2 its horns shall be from it [This means] that he should not make
them [the horns] separately and [then] attach them to it [the altar].
and
you shall overlay it with copper
to atone for brazenness, as it is said: “and your forehead is brazen (נְחוּֽשָה)” (Isa. 48:4). [I.e., נְחֽשֶת, which means copper, is also used idiomatically to mean brazen
or bold.]-[from Tanchuma 11]
3 its pots Heb. סִּירֽתָיו, sort of kettles.-[from targumim]
to
remove its ashes
Heb. לְדַשְׂנוֹ, to remove its ashes [and place them] into them [the kettles].
This is what Onkelos rendered: לְמִסְפֵּי
קִטְמֵיהּ, to remove
its ashes into them. In Hebrew, some words [are used in such a manner that] one
word [i.e., the same root] changes in its meaning to serve [both] as building
and demolishing [i.e., it has a positive and a negative meaning], like, “it
took root (וַתַַּשְׁרֵשׁ)” (Ps. 80:10), “a fool taking root (מַשְׁרִישׁ)” (Job 5:3), and its opposite, “and it uproots (תְשָׁרֵשׁ) all my grain” (Job 31:12); similar to this, “on its branches (בִּסְעִיפֶיהָ) when it produces fruit” (Isa. 17:6), and its opposite, “lops
off (מְסָעֵף) the branches” (Isa. 10:33); similar to this, “and this last one
broke his bones (עִצְּמוֹ)” (Jer. 50:17) [עִצְּמוֹ, which usually means “became boned,” here means] “broke his
bones”; similar to this, “and stoned him with stones (וַיִּסְקְלֻהוּ
בָּאֲבָנִים)” (I Kings 21:13), and its opposite, "clear it of stones (סַקְּלוּ
מֵאֶבֶן) ” (Isa.
62:10), [meaning] remove its stones, and so, “and he fenced it in, and he
cleared it of stones (וַיִּסְקְלֵהוּ)” (Isa. 5:2). Here too, לְדַשְׁנוֹ means “to remove its ashes (דִשְׁנוֹ),” and in Old French, adeszandrer, to remove ashes.
and
its shovels Heb.
וְיָעָיו. [Its meaning is] as the Targum [Onkelos renders: וּמַגְרפְיָתֵיה]: shovels with which he [the kohen] takes the ashes. They are
[similar to] a kind of thin, metal lid of a pot, and it has a handle. In Old
French [it is called] videl, vedil, vadil, [all meaning] shovel.
and
its sprinkling basins
Heb. וּמִזְרְקֽתָיו, with which to receive the blood of the sacrifices.
and
its flesh hooks
Heb. וּמִזְלְגֽתָיו. Sort of bent hooks, with which he [the kohen] would strike the
[sacrificial] flesh. They [the hooks] would be imbedded into it, and with them,
he would turn it over on the coals of the [altar] pyre in order to hasten its
burning. In Old French [they are called] crozins, [meaning flesh] hooks, and in
the language of the Sages [they are called], צִינוֹרִיּוֹת (Yoma 12a).
and
its scoops Heb. וּמַחְתּֽתָיו. They had a cavity in which to take coals from the altar and to
carry them onto the inner altar for incense [which was within the Mishkan].
Because of their [function of] scooping (חֲתִיּֽתָן), they are called scoops (מַחְתּוֹת), like “to scoop (לַחְתּוֹת) fire from a hearth” (Isa. 30:14), an expression of raking fire
from its place, and likewise, “Can a man rake (הֲיַחְתֶּה) embers with his clothes?” (Prov. 6:27).
all
its implements
Heb. לְכָל-כֵּלָיו. Like כָּל
כֵּלָיו.
4 grating Heb. מִכְבָּר, a word meaning a sieve (כְּבָרָה), which is called crible [in French], [meaning] a sort of
garment made for the altar, made with holes like a sort of net. This verse is
inverted, and this is its meaning: And you shall make for it a copper grating
of netting work.
5 the ledge of the altar Heb. כַּרְכּֽב, a surrounding ledge. Anything that encircles anything else is
called כַּרְכּֽב, as we learned in [the chapter entitled] Everyone May Slaughter
(Chul. 25a): “The following are unfinished wooden vessels: Any [vessel] that is
destined to be smoothed or banded (לְכַרְכֵּב).” This [refers to the practice] of making round grooves [or
bands] in the planks of the walls of wooden chests and benches. For the altar
as well, he [Bezalel] made a groove around it a cubit wide. [The groove was] on
its wall for decoration, and that was at the end of three (other editions: six)
cubits of its height, according to the one who says that its height was twice
its length and [asks] how then can I understand [the verse] "and three
cubits its height"? [Three cubits] from the edge of the ledge and higher.
There was, however, no surrounding ledge [i.e., walkway] on the copper altar
for the kohanim to walk on, except on its top, within its horns. So we learned
in Zev. (62a): What is the ledge? [The space] between one horn and the other
horn which was a cubit wide. Within that there was a cubit for the kohanim to
walk, and these two cubits are called כַּרְכּֽב. We [the Sages of the Gemara] questioned this: But is it not
written, "beneath the ledge of the altar from below"? [Thus we
learned] that the כַּרְכּֽב was on its [the altar’s] wall, and the “garment” of the grating
was below it [the ledge]. The one who answered [i.e., one of the Sages of the
Gemara] replied: “There were two [ledges], one for beauty and one so that the
kohanim should not slip.” The one on the wall was for decoration, and below it,
they adorned [it with] the grating, whose width extended halfway up the altar.
Thus, the grating was a cubit wide, and this was the sign of the middle of its
[the altar’s] height, to distinguish between the upper “bloods” and the lower
“bloods” [i.e., the blood of the sacrifices required to be sprinkled on the top
of the altar and the blood of the sacrifices required to be sprinkled on the
bottom of the altar]. Corresponding to this, they made for the altar in the
Temple a kind of red line [other editions: the “girdle” of the red line] in it
[the altar’s] center [point] (Middoth 3:1) and a ramp upon which they [the
kohanim] would ascend it [the altar]. Although [the Torah] did not explain it
in this section, we were already informed in the parsha [that begins] “An altar
of earth you shall make for Me” (Exod. 20:21-23): “And you shall not ascend
with steps.” [I.e.,] you shall not make steps for it on its ramp, but [you
shall make] a smooth ramp. [Thus] we learn that it [the altar] had a ramp. [All
the above] we learned in the Mechilta (Exod. 20: 23). The “altar of earth”
[mentioned in Exod. 20:21] was the copper altar, which they filled with earth
in [all] the places of their encampment. The ramp was to the south of the
altar, separated from the altar by a hairbreadth. Its base reached [until] a
cubit adjacent to the hangings of the courtyard on the Mishkan’s southern
[side], according to [the opinion of] those who say that it was ten cubits
high. According to the opinion of those who say that the words are [to be understood]
literally -"its height [shall be] three cubits" (verse 1)—the ramp
was only ten cubits long. I found this in the Mishnah of Forty-Nine Middoth.
[What I stated,] that it [the ramp] was separated from the altar by the width
of a thread [i.e., a hairbreadth], [derives from] Tractate Zevachim (62b),
[where] we learned it from the text.
7 into the rings Into the four rings that were made for the grating.
8 hollow, out of boards Heb. נְבוּב
לֻחֽת as the
Targum [Onkelos and Jonathan] renders: חֲלִיל
לוּחִין. [There
should be] boards of acacia wood from all sides with a space in the middle. But
all of it shall not be [made of] one piece of wood [that would measure] five
cubits by five cubits, like a sort of anvil [i.e., like one solid block].
9 hangings Heb. קְלָעִים. Made like the sails of a ship, with many holes, braided, and
not the work of a weaver. Its Aramaic translation is סְרָדִין [a sieve], like the Aramaic translation of מִכְבָּר, which is סְרָדָא, because
they were [both] perforated like a sieve.
on
one side Heb. לַפֵּאָה
הָאֶחָת. The entire
side is called פֵּאָה.-[from
targumim] [Although פֵּאָה usually
means a corner, in this case it refers to the entire side.]
10 And its pillars [shall be] twenty Five cubits between [one] pillar
and [another] pillar.
and
their sockets
[I.e., the sockets] of the pillars were copper. The sockets rested on the
ground and the pillars were inserted into them. He [Bezalel] made a sort of
rod, called pals in Old French. [It was] six handbreadths long and three
[handbreadths] wide, with a copper ring affixed to it [each rod] in the middle.
He would wrap the edge of the hanging around it [the rod] with cords [placed]
opposite every pillar. He would hang [each] rod by its ring from the hook that
was on [each] pillar. [The hook was] made resembling a sort of “vav” (ו) its end
upright and one end inserted into the pillar, like those [hooks] made to hold
up doors, which are called gons, hinges in Old French. The width of the hanging
hung below [the hooks], and this was the height of the partitions of the
courtyard.-[from Baraitha Melecheth HaMishkan, ch. 5]
the
hooks of the pillars
Heb. וָוֵי
הָעַמֻּדִים. They are the hooks.
and
their bands Heb.
וַחֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם. The pillars were encircled all around with silver threads. I
do not know whether [they were encircled] on their entire surface, [or only] at
their top or in their middle, but I do know that חִשׁוּק is an expression of girding [or belting], for so we find in
[the episode of] the concubine in Gibeah: “And with him was a team of saddled (חֲבוּשִׁים) donkeys” (Jud. 19:10), which is translated into Aramaic [by
Jonathan] as חֲשִׁיקִין.
13 on the eastern side Heb. לִפְאַת
קֵדְמָה
מִזְרָחָה. The eastern side is called קֶדֶם, a word meaning the face [or front], and אָחוֹר signifies the back. Therefore, the east is called קֶדֶם, which is
the face, and the west is called אָחוֹר, as it is said: “the back (הָאַחֲרוֹן) sea” (Deut. 11:24, 34:2), [which is translated into Aramaic as]
יַמָּא
מַעַרְבָא, the western sea.
fifty
cubits These
fifty cubits were not all closed off with hangings, because the entrance was
there, but [there were] fifteen cubits of hangings for [one] shoulder of the
entrance from here [from one side] and similarly for the second shoulder. There
remained the width of the space of the entrance in between, [which was] twenty
cubits. This is what is said [in verse 16]: “And at the gate of the courtyard
shall be a screen of twenty cubits,” [i.e.,] a screen for protection opposite
the entrance, twenty cubits long, which equaled the width of the entrance.
14 their pillars three Five cubits between [one] pillar and [another]
pillar. Between the pillar that is at the beginning of the south, which stands
at the southeastern corner, until the pillar that is [one] of the three in the
east, there were five cubits. And from it [this pillar] to the second one
[there was a space of] five cubits, and from the second to the third [were]
five cubits, and likewise for the second [i.e., the northeastern] shoulder, and
four pillars for the screen. Thus, there were ten pillars on the east,
corresponding to the ten pillars on the west.
17 All the pillars around the courtyard, etc. Since [the text]
explained only [that there were to be] hooks, bands, and copper sockets for the
north[ern] and the south[ern sides], but for the east[ern] and the west[ern
sides] no hooks, bands, or copper sockets were mentioned, therefore [the text]
teaches it here. [Lit., it comes and teaches here.]
18 The length of the courtyard the north[ern] and the south[ern sides]
from east to west were one hundred cubits.
and
the width fifty by fifty
The courtyard in the east was fifty [cubits] by fifty [cubits] square-for the
Mishkan was thirty [cubits] long and ten [cubits] wide. He [Moses] placed its
entrance on the east, at the edge of the outer fifty [cubits] of the length of
the courtyard. Thus, it [the Mishkan] was all in the inner fifty [cubits of the
courtyard], and its length ended at the end of thirty [cubits of the inner
fifty]. Hence, there was a space of twenty cubits behind it, between the
hangings in the west and the curtains of the rear of the Mishkan. The Mishkan
was ten cubits wide in the center of the width of the courtyard. Thus, it had
twenty cubits of space to the north and to the south- from the hangings of the
courtyard to the curtains of the Mishkan-and similarly to the west. And [there
was] a courtyard of fifty by fifty [cubits] in front of it [These are the outer
fifty cubits, which faced the entrance of the Mishkan.] -[from Eruv. 23b,
Baraitha Melecheth HaMishkan, ch. 5]
The
height...five cubits
[I.e.,] the height of the partitions of the courtyard, which was the width of
the hangings.
and
their sockets [shall be of] copper
[This is mentioned] to include the sockets of the screen, so that you would not
say [that] copper sockets were mentioned only in regard to the pillars of the
hangings, but the sockets of the [pillars of the] screen were of another kind
[i.e., a different material]. So it appears to me that for this [reason], they
[the copper sockets] were repeated.
19 All the implements of the Mishkan that were required for its
assembling and its disassembling, e.g., sledge hammers to drive in the pegs and
the pillars.
the
pegs [These
were] like copper bars, made for the curtains of the tent and for the hangings
of the courtyard, tied with cords all around [them] at their bases [i.e., at
the bases of the curtains and the hangings], so that the wind would not lift
them up. But I do not know whether they [the pegs] were driven into the ground
or whether they were tied [with cords] and hung-their [heavy] weight weighted
down the bottoms of the curtains so that they would not move in the wind. I
say, however, that their name [i.e., pegs] indicates that they were driven into
the ground. Therefore, they were called יְתֵדוֹת, and this verse supports me [my assertion]: “a tent that shall
not fall, whose pegs (יְתֵדֽתָיו) shall never be moved” (Isa. 33:20).
Welcome to the World of Remes
Exegesis
Thirteen rules compiled
by Rabbi Ishmael b. Elisha for the elucidation of
the Torah and for making halakic deductions from it. They are, strictly
speaking, mere amplifications of the seven Rules of Hillel, and are collected in
the Baraita of R. Ishmael, forming the
introduction to the Sifra and reading a follows:
Ḳal wa-ḥomer: Identical with the
first rule of Hillel.
Gezerah shawah: Identical with the
second rule of Hillel.
Binyan ab: Rules deduced from a
single passage of Scripture and rules deduced from two passages. This rule is a
combination of the third and fourth rules of Hillel.
Kelal u-Peraṭ: The general and the
particular.
u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The particular and the
general.
Kelal u-Peraṭ
u-kelal: The
general, the particular, and the general.
The general which requires
elucidation by the particular, and the particular which requires elucidation by
the general.
The particular implied in the general
and excepted from it for pedagogic purposes elucidates the general as well as
the particular.
The particular implied
in the general
and excepted from it on account of the special regulation which corresponds in
concept to the general, is thus isolated to decrease rather than to increase
the rigidity of its application.
The particular implied
in the general and
excepted from it on account of some other special regulation which does not
correspond in concept to the general, is thus isolated either to decrease or to
increase the rigidity of its application.
The particular implied
in the general and
excepted from it on account of a new and reversed decision can be referred to
the general only in case the passage under consideration makes an explicit
reference to it.
Deduction from the
context.
When two Biblical
passages contradict each other the contradiction in question must be solved by
reference to a third passage.
Rules
seven to eleven are formed by a subdivision of the fifth rule of Hillel; rule
twelve corresponds to the seventh rule of Hillel, but is amplified in certain
particulars; rule thirteen does not occur in Hillel, while, on the other hand,
the sixth rule of Hillel is omitted by Ishmael. These rules are found also on
the morning prayers of any Jewish Orthodox Siddur together with a brief
explanation for each one of them.\
Ramban’s
Commentary for: Shemot (Exodus) 26:1 – 27:19
26:17.
TWO TENONS WILL THERE BE IN EACH BOARD. Rashi wrote: "He cut out the lower part of the
board in the middle to a height of one cubit, and he left one quarter of its
width on the one side and one quarter of it on the other side. These [pieces on
each side] are the yadoth (the tenons). The part cut out between the tenons was
one half of the breadth of the board, and these tenons they fixed into the
sockets which were hollowed out. The sockets were one cubit in height, forty of
them fitting closely one to the other. The tenons of the boards which were
fixed into the sockets were cut away on three sides, the width of the portions
cut away being equal to the thickness of the rim of the sockets, so that when
the boards [were fitted into the sockets, the wood of the board] would cover
the entire top of the socket. For if this were not so [if the same thickness
were not cut away from the tenons], there would have been a space between one
board and the other equal to the thickness of the rims of the two sockets which
would have separated them. This is what is meant when it is said, And
they will be coupled together beneath,[1]
meaning, that they should cut away the sides of the tenons so that the boards
should fit closely one to the other." So I found the language of the
Rabbi.
But I wonder! If the part cut
away in the middle was half of the breadth of the board [as Rashi has it] -
measuring four and a half handbreadths[2] -
it follows that the thickness of the rim of each socket must be the same as a
fourth of the breadth of the board, which is two handbreadths and a thumb, in
order that the thickness [of the rims] of the two sockets should cover the part
cut away in the middle, which is half of the breadth of the board, and thus
there would be no space between one socket and the other. But if so, if you cut
away the boards[3]
on three sides in that way, there would be nothing left [for the tenons], since
the rims of the sockets were alike on all sides! Moreover, the Rabbi [Rashi]
brought proof further on in Verse 20, stating: "Thus it is taught in the Mishnah
of 'The structure of the Tabernacle: The order of arranging the boards for
making the Tabernacle was as follows: He made the sockets hollow and cut away
from[4]
the
board at the bottom a quarter of its width on one side and a quarter on the
other, and the cut-away portion in the middle totalled one half of its width.
Thus they made for each board two tenons like two -rungs of a ladder, and these
they fixed into the two sockets." But if one takes this Baraitha
too in its ordinary sense, it would result in something exceedingly
astonishing. For if he cuts away from the board a quarter on each side, and in
the middle he cuts away half of the breadth of the board, then the whole bottom
part [to the height of a cubit] is cut away, and nothing is left of it at all
[to serve as a tenon]! In my opinion, however, this Baraitha did not specify
the size of the amount cut away, since the Torah also gave no measurements for
the thickness of the rims of the sockets. Therefore what the Rabbis [in this Baraitha]
said is that he cut away a quarter of the total amount of the board on one side
in order to cover one rim of the socket, and another quarter he cut away on the
other side; and in the middle of the board he cut away half of the total amount
cut away from the whole board, in order to cover the rims of the two sockets.
But according to all opinions it
still needs to be clarified further, because the Tabernacle at the bottom to
the height of a cubit was not wide ten cubits,[5]
since the thickness of the two sockets, one on each side, reduced its size!
Perhaps there is no objection to that. And in the words of Rashi we read:
"He cut away from the thickness of the tenons inside, out of the board
which was a cubit thick, according to the thickness of the rims of the
sockets". This is correct, but it is not mentioned in the Baraitha.
'MESHULAVOTH
ISHAH EL ACHOTHAH' (SET IN ORDER ONE TO ANOTHER). "Meshulavoth means made
like shlivoth
(rungs of) a ladder. One to another, this means that they should correspond
exactly one to the other, and should be separated from each other, and so
planed at their ends that they may be inserted into the hollow of the sockets,
just like a rung enters the holes of a ladder's uprights; further, that the
portions cut away [from the boards] in their fronts and backs should be alike,
one identical to the other, in order that there should not be two tenons, one
of which extends towards the front and the other towards the back in relation
to the thickness of the board which was one cubit." This is Rashi's
language.[6]
Thus according to Rashi the word meshulavoth
refers back to the tenons, that they be planed at their ends so that they enter
the hollow of the sockets, and ishah el achothah (one to the
other) refers only to the boards, that they be fitted close together. But the
Hebrew word krashim (boards) is masculine, and therefore it should have
rather said ish el achiv ["one to the other" - in the masculine
form]![7]
Perhaps [Rashi] will interpret ishah el achothah as meaning that
the shlivoth [literally: "the rungs" but here referring to the yadoth,
the tenons - a feminine form] correspond exactly one with the other, and the
thickness of wood cut away from each of the tenons be exactly alike, for in
that way the boards will fit closely together. Now the tenons were not planed
in a sloping fashion, for the hollow of the sockets was alike in each of them;
they were cut only on their sides in order that the boards fit closely one to another.
But in the Baraitha on the work
of the Tabernacle I found the following text: "Two sanin ('pegs') [as
explained further] projected from the boards, two from each of them, fitting
into corresponding holes, for it is said, meshulavoth ishah el achothah. These
are the words of Rabbi Nechemyah. For Rabbi Nechemyah says: It should not have
said meshulavoth;
what does Scripture teach us then by using that word? It is to teach us that he
make them like the rungs of an Egyptian ladder." Now the meaning of the
word sanin
is similar to the device they make in chests to tighten and hold the boards
together, a sort of wooden peg, somewhat like that which we have been taught in
the Mishnah of Kelim:[8]
"If [two boards] were fastened together with sanin (pegs) or joints
they need not be plastered in the middle."[9] In
the Talmud[10]
they likewise speak of "reeds and sanin." Accordingly it would
appear that Scripture is telling us that he is to make a projection on the side
of the board, like a sort of "male shafts,"[11]
and on the opposite side of the board next to it he is to make a corresponding
cavity into which the arrow-head is set. The same he is to do on the other
board, thus dovetailing each board twice [one on each side] . Meshulavoth
ishah el achothah is thus a reference to these shlivoth (pegs)
themselves [and not to the tenons as Rashi has it], and is here properly in the
feminine form [ishah el achothah, because of the word shlivah which is
feminine]. And so did the Sages make mention of this term in the feminine:
"The shlivah (rundIe) slipped from under him;"[12]
"In a ladder it depends on the material of shlivothav (its
steps)."[13]
And even though we find the plural of this word in the masculine form - between
'hashlabim.'
(the stays)[14]
- it is like nashim (women) and pilagshim (concubines) whose plural
form is in the masculine.
'KEIDMAH
MIZRACHAH' (ON THE EAST SIDE EASTWARD).[15] The reason for this expression
is that the Sacred Language calls the east kedem, just as it is said, And
you will measure without the city for the side of 'keidmah' (east) two thousand
cubits,[16]
and calls the west achor (back), just as it is said, Behold, I go 'kedem' (forward),
but He is not there, v'achor (and backward), but I cannot perceive Him.[17]
Similarly: As far as 'ha'achron' (the hinder) sea,[18]
which means the western sea. Both [kedem and achor] are borrowed
terms, as the Sacred Language adopts these substitute forms from the standpoint
of a person who turns to the light of the sun [thus calling the east panim,
"face," because his face is turned eastward to the rising sun, and
the west achor, "back," because his back is then to the west].
Similarly it says, and
they went l'achor (backward) and not 'l'panim' (forward).[19]
And the south is called negev (dry, parched) because the
land is dried up on account of the heat. At times Scripture mentions the
borrowed term and then explains it by name. Thus it says keidmah, a term which is
borrowed, and explains it by saying mizrachah (eastward),[20]
which is the name itself. Similarly, it says negbah, which is the
borrowed name, and explains it by its proper name - teimanah (southward).[21]
And the west is called by the substitute name yam [which also means
"sea"] because the language adopted it from the standpoint of the
people living in the Land of Israel to whom the Great Sea is on the west. The north on the other hand has no by-name, and is so called tzaphon [which means "hidden"]
because the sun never appears on that side. The south is called darom,
just as it is said, The wind goes toward 'darom' (the south), and turns about into the
north.[22]
It is really a double word [dor rum - "it abides in the
height," a reference to the sun that always reaches its greatest height on
that side], with one letter reish missing because of the
combination of two similar letters: dor rum, which means that the sun
[always] moves at its highest point on that side. The south is also called yamin
[which means "right"] and the north is called smol [meaning
"left"] with reference to a man who turns eastward [to face the light
of the rising sun, in which case his right hand is to the south, and his left
to the north] , as I have mentioned.
The secret of these names is
known from the mystic speculations on the Chariot on high [i.e. the vision of
Ezekiel of the Divine Chariot]. Likewise, [the secret of] the name for the west
which is yam (sea) is known from that which the Rabbis have said:[23] "The
Divine Glory is in the west," for the yam alludes to "the
wisdom of Solomon," just as the Rabbis have said in the Midrash:[24] "Yam always signifies Torah, as it is said, and
broader than 'yam' (the sea)."[25] I
intend to mention this in the section of V'zoth Habrachah[26]
on the verse, possess you 'yam' (the sea) and the south,[27]
if my Creator will bless me to reach there.
24.
AND THEY WILL BE COUPLED TOGETHER ABOVE THE HEAD OF IT UNTO THE ONE RING. According to Rashi's
interpretation this verse goes back to explain that all the boards should be
coupled together beneath, where the boards were cut away on their sides, and
they all should be coupled together about the head of it, meaning "of each
board." Or it may be that rosho (the head of it) refers to the
top of the Tabernacle. Similarly, [according to Rashi] the expression unto
the one ring means of -each of the boards. Likewise he explained, thus
will it be for them both,[28]
for the two end boards [for the board at the end of the north side and for the
adjacent board in the western wall].
But if this is so, I do not know
why Scripture does not explicitly tell us about these rings, saying "and
you will make twenty gold rings" [instead of saying, unto the one ring,
which means of each board], seeing that it mentions the cut which he is to make
in all the boards.[29]
Moreover, how could Scripture say unto the one ring with the definite article
[when it has not mentioned it previously]? Perhaps because it is the customary
manner with all houses made of boards to attach them at the top with one ring,
Scripture shortened the explanation and said the ring - meaning the one which
is known to him and customary. Similarly it said of the bars, and
you will make their rings of gold for places for the bolts,[30]
which means the customary [rings] being known to them. A similar case is the
expression, their hooks will be of gold.[31]
I have found in the Baraitha on
the work of the Tabernacle [the following text]: "He cut away the board at
the top, a fingerbreadth on one side and a fingerbreadth on the other side, and
he placed them [i.e., the two adjacent boards] inside one gold ring in order
that they should not move apart from each other, for it is said, And
they will be coupled together beneath, and they will be coupled together above
the head of it unto the one ring. Now it need not have said, unto
the one ring; and what does it teach us by saying it? It is to teach us
that this is the place where the bolts were inserted." Accordingly, the
verse stating: and they will be coupled together above the head of it, refers
to the head of the board where it was cut away until the place of the upper
ring of the bolts, for the incision in the board was to extend as far as the
place of the ring. Now Scripture was not particular [concerning these upper parts
of the boards] how they should be attached, whether with rings of silver or
gold, fixed ones or moveable, or with connecting rods. But the Baraitha states
that Moses made rings for that purpose. However, in line with the plain meaning
of Scripture this verse refers only to the end-boards.
33.
AND YOU WILL BRING IN THITHER WITHIN THE VEIL THE ARK OF THE TESTIMONY. He did not now command Moses to
do it in this particular order, to hang up the veil under the clasps and only
afterwards to bring in the ark inside the veil, for the commandment now does
not refer to the erection of the Tabernacle but to the making thereof.
Similarly, And you will put the ark-cover upon the ark of the Testimony in the
most holy place,[32]
does not mean that he is to put the ark-cover upon the ark of the Testimony
when the ark has already been brought into the Holy of Holies [screened by the
veil].[33]
But the purport of the verse is to command Moses to hang up the veil under the
clasps in order that the ark be there within the veil, and the veil will thus
divide between the holy place and the most holy. Similarly He says, And
you will put the ark-cover upon the ark of the Testimony in the most holy place,[34]
in order to inform us that the ark-cover with its cherubim on the ark should
all be there in the Holy of Holies mentioned, which means within the veil. But
when He came to command the erection of the Tabernacle He said, And
you will put therein the ark of the Testimony, and afterwards, you will screen
the ark with the veil.[35]
Similarly, at the actual construction it is said, and he put the ark-cover above
the ark. And he brought the ark into the Tabernacle, and afterwards, he set up
the veil of the screen.[36]
Ketubim:
Tehillim (Psalms) 60:1-14 & 61:1-9
|
Rashi |
Targum |
|
1. For the conductor, on shushan eduth, a michtam of David, to teach. |
1. For praise. Concerning the ancient testimony between Jacob and
Laban. A copy made by David, for instruction. |
|
2. When he fought with Aram-Naharaim and with Aram-Zobah, and Joab
returned and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the valley of salt. |
2. When David had gathered troops and passed by the Heap of Witness
and fought with Aram-on-the-Euphrates and Aram Zobah, and afterwards Joab
returned and smote the Edomites in the Plain of Salt, and twelve thousand
from the army of David and Joab fell. |
|
3. O God, You have forsaken us; You have breached us; You were angry
with us. You shall restore us. |
3. David said, "O God, You have abandoned us, You have attacked
us in fierce anger; return to us in Your glory." |
|
4. You caused the land to quake; You split it; heal its breaches for
it has faltered. |
4. You shook the land of Israel, You made it quake and You flayed it;
heal its wounds, for it has become unsteady. |
|
5. You have shown Your people harshness; You have given us to drink
wine of bewilderment. |
5. You made Your people see hardship, you made us drink the wine of
execration. |
|
6. You have given those who fear You trials with
which to be tested, in order to beautify [Your behaviour] forever. |
6. You have given those who fear you a sign to be
lifted up by, because of the honesty of Abraham forever. |
|
7. In order that Your beloved ones should be
rescued, save Your right hand and answer me. |
7. Because of the merit of Isaac, those who love
You will be delivered; redeem with Your right hand because of the
piety of Jacob, and accept my prayer. |
|
8. God spoke in His Sanctuary; I will exult, I will divide a portion,
and I will measure the valley of Succoth. |
8. God speaks in His sanctuary: I will be glad, for those of the house
of Israel will prevail; I will divide the spoil with the sons of Joseph who
dwell in Shechem, and in the plain of Succoth I will measure the measure and
divide the booty. |
|
9. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the strength
of my head; Judah is my Lawgiver. |
9. My people were of the house of Gilead, and my people were of the
house of Manasseh; and the warriors of the house of Ephraim are the strength
of my head, and those of the house of Judah are the scribes
of my school. |
|
10. Moab is my washbasin; on Edom I will throw my lock; Philistia,
join me. |
10. I trampled on the Moabites, my feet were dipped in the blood of
their warriors as in my washing-basin; on the nape of the neck of the
warriors of Edom I set my shoe; shout over the Philistines, O congregation of
Israel. |
|
11. Who will bring me to a fortified city?- He Who led me to Edom? |
11. Who is he that led me to the ruined city of Tyre? Who is he that
guided me to Edom? |
|
12. Is it not You, O God, Who has forsaken us, and [Who] does not go
forth, O God, with our hosts? |
12. Is it not You, O LORD? You have abandoned us; and You will not go
out, O God, with our forces. |
|
13. Give us aid against the adversary, but the salvation of man is
futile. |
13. Give us help against the oppressor, for in vain is the redemption
of a son of man. |
|
14. Through God we shall gather might, and He will
trample our adversaries. |
14. By the word of the LORD we will exercise might,
and He will subdue our oppressors. |
|
|
|
|
1. For the conductor, on neginath, of David. |
1. For praise, with the psalms of David. |
|
2. Hearken, O God, to my request, listen to my prayer. |
2. Accept, O LORD, my petition, hear my prayer. |
|
3. From the end of the earth I call out to You when my heart becomes
faint; on the rock that is higher than I, You lead me. |
3. From the ends of the earth I will pray in Your presence when my
heart is weary; lead me to a strong fortress
built on a rock that is higher than I. |
|
4. For You were a shelter for me, a tower of strength in the face of
the enemy. |
4. For You have been security for me, in truth, a stronghold before
the enemy. |
|
5. I shall dwell in Your tent to eternity; I will take shelter in the
covert of Your wings forever. |
5. I will dwell in Your tent forever, I will be secure in the shade of
Your presence forever. |
|
6. For You, God, have hearkened to my vows; You have given the
heritage of those who fear Your name. |
6. For You, O LORD, have heard my vows; You have given the inheritance
to those who fear Your name. |
|
7. Add days to the days of the king, his years as
every generation. |
7. You will add days to the age to come, the days
of the King Messiah; his years are like the generations of this age and the generations
of the age to come. |
|
8. May he dwell forever before God; kindness and
truth should be prepared to guard him. |
8. He will dwell forever in the presence of the
LORD; goodness and truth from the Lord of the World will guard him. |
|
9. So will I sing praises to Your name forever,
when I pay my vows every day. |
9. Therefore will I praise Your name forever, when
I pay my vows in the day of the redemption of Israel, and in the day the King
Messiah is anointed to be king. |
|
|
|
Rashi’s Commentary for: Psalms
60:1-14 & 61:1-9
Chapter
60
1 on shushan eduth, a michtam of David, to teach (Addendum: Michtam
is an expression of (Song 5:11), “as finest gold (כתם פז),” a coveted thing. Our Sages, however, expounded this as
referring to David, who behaved as a humble (מך) and
innocent man, even when he occupied the throne. Another Aggadah explains that
his wound (מכתו) was perfect (תמה), i.e., he
was born circumcised (Sotah 10b). Michtam of David concerning the testimony of
the Sanhedrin, who were compared to a rose (שושן), as it is
stated (Song 7:3): “Your navel is like a round basin, etc., fenced in with
roses,” when he required that they teach him what to do. When he fought with
Aram Naharaim and sent Joab against them, they said to Joab, “Aren’t you of the
sons of Jacob? Where is the oath that he swore to Laban, ‘this pile is a
witness’” (Gen. 31:52)? And he did not know what to answer. He came to David
and said to David, “This is what the Arameans said to me.” They went and asked
the Sanhedrin, [who] replied to them, “Did they not transgress the oath first,
as it is stated (Num. 23:7): ‘From Aram has Balak king of Moab brought me’?
Moreover, Cushan- Rishathaim was an Aramean.”
2 and Joab returned and smote of Edom, etc. [of] the eighteen
thousand stated in Scripture (II Sam. 8:13, I Chron. 18:12), Abishai slew six
thousand the first time, and Joab slew twelve thousand when he returned from
battling Aram.
When
he fought Heb. בהצותו, as (Num.
26:9): “when they quarreled (בהצותם) with the Lord,” that he fought with them because they aided the
Ammonites.
3 You have forsaken us; You have breached us When Edom fell into his
hand, he foresaw with the holy spirit that they are destined to rule over
Israel and to levy evil decrees upon Israel. He stood up and begged for mercy
on account of the subjugation of the exile. “We suffered many troubles in the
time of the Judges from the enemies around us.”
You
were angry You
were angry with us. From now on, restore Your goodwill upon us.
4 You caused...to quake our land, with many troops.
You
split it Heb. פצמתה, You broke
it. I saw in Dunash’s writings (p. 68) that it is Arabic, but he did not
explain it. In the works of Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan, he explains it as an
expression of tearing and cites evidence for that assertion (from Jer. 22:14):
“And he cuts out windows,” which Jonathan translates, וּפצים. But I say that וּפצים, as Jonathan translated, is an expression of the construction
of a window, as “all the entrances that have door frames (פצימין).”
heal
its breaches for it has faltered
Heb. רפה, an
expression of healing. Although it is spelled with a “hey,” many words are used
in this manner.
for
it has faltered
An expression of lowliness.
5 wine of bewilderment Heb. תרעלה. [Wine] that stops up the heart and envelops it. רַעַל is an
expression of envelopment, as (Nahum 2:4): “and the cypresses are enwrapped (הרעלו),” and the language of the Mishnah (Shab. 6:6): “Median women
shawled (רעולות).”
6 You have given those who fear You trials Trials of many troubles.
to
be tested With
which to be tested whether they would stand [steadfast] in awe of You.
in
order to beautify forever
To beautify Your standards in the world, so that when You give them goodness,
the gentiles will not criticize You, but they will beautify Your judgments and
say that He justly did good to them because they passed many tests for Him.
7 should be rescued Should be saved from harm.
save
Your right hand
which You brought back so that their enemies should overpower them.
and
answer me For,
if You answer me, they will be rescued, because I fight against them [the
enemies] for them [Israel].
8 God spoke in His Sanctuary that He would gather the exiles and his
[David’s] seed would rule over them. Another explanation: God spoke in His
Sanctuary [saying] that I would be king over them.
I
will exult in
His salvation. In another explanation, I found: God spoke in His Sanctuaryto
help me, as it is written (II Sam. 3:18): “For (sic) by the hand of My bondsman
David shall I deliver My people Israel.”
I
will divide a portion
I will divide for them a portion of the property of their enemies.
and
I will measure the valley of Succoth
I do not know of what nation this Succoth is, and I do not know where the
Succoth is that Israel came to when they traveled from Rameses. In other
commentaries I found (this is not in all editions): I will divide Shechem I
will restore to them the heritage of their father Jacob. Another explanation:
And
I will measure the valley of Succoth
when I divide it for Israel. Shechem and Succoth were at the edge of the land
of Canaan, as we find Jacob’s entry to the land through Succoth and Shechem.
Another explanation:
and
I will measure the valley of Succoth
Succoth is an expression of shapes and imaginations, as is written (II Kings
17:30): “Succoth-Benoth.”
I
will measure I
measure their form, as is written (II Sam. 8:2): “two cord-lengths to put to
death and one full cord-length to keep alive.”
9 Gilead is mine to reign over them.
my
lawgiver My
ministers. מחקקי is an
expression of administration, that he makes the law and sends scrolls and
commands, as (Gen. 49:10): “The scepter will not turn away
from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet.”
10 Moab is my washbasin I will use them as a copper pot prepared for
washing therein.
my
lock Heb. נעלי, my
imprisonment.
join
me Join my
kingdom to be subordinate to me, for Gath, and also Gaza, which David
vanquished, are of the land of the Philistines.
11 Who will bring me to a fortified city then to a fortified city, to conquer the city of Rome; if You will not help me against
the fortress of Edom, who will bring me and who will lead me upon them? (Shem
Ephraim suggests this emendation: If You will not help me now to
conquer Edom, upon which You have now led me.) In other
commentaries, I found as follows: upon the fortresses of Edom,
upon whom You have led me now.
12 and [Who does] not go forth and You do not go forth.
14 will trample [as translated.]
Chapter
61
3 From the end of the earth although I am far from my men whom I send
against my enemies in battle.
I
call out to You when my heart becomes faint because of them. Now, about what do I call out to
You? That You lead me on a rock, which is higher and stronger than I.
5 I shall dwell in Your tent to eternity Grant me the privilege in
this world and in the world to come.
6 You have given the heritage of those who fear Your name You have
restored the cities of their heritage through me.
7 Add days to the days of the king If it has been decreed upon me to
die young, add days to my days until my years will equal seventy years, as the
years of every generation.
8 May he dwell [May] the king dwell forever
before God.
kindness
and truth with
which he engages himself will be prepared to guard him.
should
be prepared Heb.
מן.
Preparation, as (Jonah 4:6): “And the Lord... appointed (וימן) a kikayon.”
9 So will I sing praises Just as You will benefit me, so will I sing
praises to Your name by paying my vows every day.
Meditation from the Psalms
Psalms 60:1--14 & 61:1-9
By: H.Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben
David
Psalms
chapter 60 was written by David and presents David's inspired vision of a
universal order of nations united in complete harmony.[37]
It is essential to be aware of
the background and the setting of this composition. In second Samuel, chapter 7 and
again in first Chronicles, chapter
17, Nathan, the prophet,
informs David that his life's dream will indeed be realized, and that a Temple
will be built to serve as the focal point of God's Holy Presence in the world.
The actual construction of this edifice would be executed by David's son;
nevertheless, David was charged with making all preparations necessary for this
universal center of sanctity.[38]
This is the primary theme of our Torah portion: The preparation of the Mishkan,
the Tabernacle in the wilderness.
In second Samuel, Chapter 8
and in first Chronicles,
chapter 18, we
read of David's preparations.[39] Until now,
David's wars were purely defensive campaigns to counter foreign attacks.
Henceforth David takes the offensive,[40] for now he
must subjugate the nations in order to prepare for universal peace.[41]
First David smote the
Philistines; then he subjugated Moab. Finally he was victorious over Hadadezer,
the king of Aram Tzoba.[42]
The
Jew, who believes in one Creator, believes that all of the diverse elements of
this universe are basically united to serve the purposes of the one God, Who
gives order to the world. Israel is at the center of this world order, and the
supreme tribunal of this nation, the Great Sanhedrin, convenes in the Temple,
which is the spiritual center of the earth. Each of the seventy members of this
august body is symbolic of one of the world's seventy nations and the
seventy-first member, the chief justice, represents Israel, the nation which
controls the order of all other peoples.[43]
David
dedicated this psalm of war to the Sanhedrin, because he fought only upon the
advice and consent of this high court. He waged war only to establish Israel's
mastery over the seventy nations and to establish a harmonious world order of
nations dedicated to divine peace.
Rashi, following
Midrash Shocker Tov, renders עדות (eidot) as testimony, an allusion to the Great
Sanhedrin, which accepts testimony and has final jurisdiction over legal
affairs.
The Sanhedrin
is also called ‘rose’ as in, Your belly is like a heap of wheat
hedged about with roses.[44]
As the Talmud[45] comments, 'Just as
all men benefit from a heap of nutritious wheat, so do all benefit from the
decisions of the Sanhedrin’, The Sanhedrin also protects Israel from sin, by
erecting legal barriers and moral deterrents which safeguard Israel just as a
thorny hedge protects the roses.[46]
Now, let’s take a look at Psalms
chapter 61 which continues the message of Psalms chapter 60.
Psalms chapter 61 was written by David. Sforno
and Metzudat David[47]
maintain that this psalm was composed when David traveled to repel Aram, the
nation which threatened to overrun and to annex the remote eastern boundaries
of the land of Israel, the end of the land (v. 3). That threat is discussed in
psalm 60, to which this chapter is a sequel.[48]
Radak, based on the Midrash, adds that
David's cries echo the collective prayers of Israel in exile. From the dismal
loneliness and isolation of the Diaspora, the Jews cry out to their Redeemer to
restore them to their national home.
The psalm concludes with a
request for the continuity of the Davidic line of kings. The kings of the House
of David are the precursors of the Messiah, who will gather the scattered
remnants of Israel into the land of their fathers.
Psalms chapter 60 speaks
repeatedly of Edom, while both Psalms chapter 60 and 61 speak of exile.
Therefore, I would like to look at these two themes in a bit more detail.
The
first mention of the word Edom is found in:
Beresheet (Genesis) 25:30 And Esau said to Yaaqov, Feed
me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]; for I [am] faint: therefore was
his name called Edom.
Edom is the name which was given
to Esau, the first-born son of Yitzchak, on the day he sold his birthright to
Yaaqov for a mess of pottage, the reddish color of which gives it its
name—‘Adom’.
The
Torah’s first use of the word Edom, sets the word in the context of two
brothers mourning the death of Avraham Avinu. One has just returned from a day
of raping and murder, the other has spent the day mourning and preparing the
traditional mourner’s meal of lentils. Both events center around the color red.
Edom is shedding blood whilst Yaaqov is cooking red lentils. This will be an
important understanding as we progress in this study.
The
Torah repeats the association of Edom with Esau in:
Beresheet (Genesis) 36:1 Now these [are] the generations
of Esau, who [is] Edom.
Now we
know that when Torah repeats a matter it is to emphasize the connection. Thus
Torah is connecting Esau to Edom. This encounter shows that Esau is more
concerned for this world than for the next world:
Beresheet (Genesis)
25:32 Esau cried out, “Why do I need
the birthright?”
Midrash
HaGadol 25:32 A Heavenly Voice echoed, “Why do
you need the blessing?”
Blessings made the difference
between living ONLY in this world and also living in the Olam HaBa, the
World to Come:
Yitzchak avoided using HaShem’s
Name in Esau’s blessing since
the purpose of Esau’s blessing
was to grant him his full reward in this world so that he should be excluded
from the blessings of the World to Come.[49]
For, that is what Edom is all about, THIS WORLD, even at the cost of
eternity. Thus, by extension, Galut Edom, the fourth and final exile of the
Jewish people has been meant to endure in advance of Mashiach’s arrival, is one
that eternalizes the temporal.
Our Sages teach us that the lives
of the forefathers foreshadow events in the lives of their descendants. To
understand the events of history, relative to Israel, all we need to do is
study the lives of the Patriarchs.
The
Ramban calls Beresheet (Genesis), Sefer Simanim, the book of signs. Beresheet
is not just the story of what happened, it also foretells what will happen!
The
Rambam tells us that the Torah’s purpose in writing about the encounter between
Esau and Yaaqov, in Beresheet 32, is to tell us that Esau will never defeat
Yaaqov, though he will try with all of his might.
Yaaqov’s life-and-death struggle with
Esau is to characterize all of subsequent Jewish history. The night (exile)
will be long and the battle will be intense.
The Zohar comments on the verse
Beresheet (Genesis)
25:26 “And afterwards his brother came
out and his hand was holding on to the heel of Esav; and his name was called
Yaakov”.
The Zohar[50]
states that Esau is compared to the Original Snake (nachash kadmoni). The force
in this world that represents the Original Snake, in the Garden of Eden, that
tricked Adam and Chava into eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil, the personification of that Snake in this world, is Esau. This gives us a
bit of a hint into what Edom really is.
The Zohar says that when the
verse tells us that Yaaqov’s hand was holding Esau’s heel, the Torah is setting
the stage and is telling us how Yaaqov Avinu, in the future, will have to deal
with Esau. He is going to have to deal with him by attacking at the heel; he is
going to have to deal with him, sometimes, deceitfully and surreptitiously.
That is the only way one can deal with that Snake.
Our Sages taught the meaning of
this verse:
II Shmuel (Samuel)
22:27 “With a pure one, You show
Yourself pure; but with a perverse one, You deal crookedly.”
They taught that you cannot
always be up front and straight forward with a person who is a liar. Even
Yaaqov, the man of truth, has a mandate from the Torah, that the way to deal
with Esau is by the ‘heel,’ which is connoted in Yaaqov’s name.
Yaaqov’s meeting with Esau
represented the paradigm of how Jews must deal with the non-Jewish world.
The Sforno writes: The events
which occurred to Yaaqov when he first left his father’s house foreshadow
Jewish history during the first exile, while the events which
occurred to him after he returned to his father’s house foreshadow Jewish
history during the Second Temple and subsequent exile and the redemption at the
end of time”.
‘The deeds of the forefathers are
a blueprint for the children’, our Sages have said. Therefore let’s observe how
Yaaqov acted towards Edom:
Beresheet (Genesis)
32:13-20 And he lodged there that same
night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she
asses, and ten foals. And he delivered [them] into the hand of his servants,
every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and
put a space betwixt drove and drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying,
When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose [art] thou?
and whither goest thou? and whose [are] these before thee? Then thou shalt say,
[They be] thy servant Jacob’s; it [is] a present sent unto my lord Esau: and,
behold, also he [is] behind us. And so commanded he the second, and the third,
and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto
Esau, when ye find him. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is]
behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before
me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
Beresheet (Genesis)
33:1-17 And Jacob lifted up his eyes,
and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he
divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children
after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and
bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And
Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him:
and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children;
and said, Who [are] those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath
graciously given thy servant. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their
children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also with her children came near,
and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed
themselves. And he said, What [meanest] thou by all this drove which I met? And
he said, [These are] to find grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I
have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay,
I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at
my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of
God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is
brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have
enough. And he urged him, and he took [it]. And he said, Let us take our
journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. And he said unto him, My
lord knoweth that the children [are] tender, and the flocks and herds with
young [are] with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock
will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will
lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children
be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. And Esau said, Let me
now leave with thee [some] of the folk that [are] with me. And he said, What
needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that
day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an
house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is
called Succoth.
Yaakov’s strategy here is a sign
that in the times of Mashiach (which this episode portends), the Erev Rav (the
mixed multitude) will lead all Israel (a curse that we are experiencing today),
the ordinary people will be next in line and the talmidei-Hakhamim last.
According
to our Sages, Edom is one of the four great exiles: Babylonian, Persian, Greek and
Edom. The pattern for these four major exiles is found in the account of the
four kings versus the five kings.
The narrative, in Beresheet 14,
describes the battle between the four kings and the five kings. Who were these
kings and their subjects? The five kings were kings of cities in the Jordan
Valley plains. The four kings were kings of cities in Babylon and Assyria. The
armies of the five kings lost to the armies of the four, and subsequently
served the strongest of the victors, Chedorlaomer.[51]
It is worth noting that the
Amalekites are mentioned in the above pasuk (verse) long before Amalek was even
born! Concerning this anomaly, the Midrash writes:
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLII:7 AND THEY TURNED BACK, AND CAME
TO EN - MISHPAT-THE SAME IS KADESH (XIV, 7). R. Aha said: They came only in order
to attack the eyeball of the world; the eye which executed judgment in the
world they desire to blind! THE SAME (HI) IS KADESH: R. Aba said: This is
written hu (he): it was he [Abraham] that sanctified (kiddash) the name of the
Holy One, blessed be He, in the fiery furnace.1 AND THEY SMOTE ALL THE COUNTRY
OF THE AMALEKITES. Amalek had not yet arisen, yet you say, AND THEY SMOTE ALL
THE COUNTRY OF THE AMALEKITES! But, He declareth the end from the beginning
(Isa. XLVI, 10). AND ALSO THE AMORITES, THAT DWELT IN HAZAZON--TAMAR: this
means, in En-gedi of the palm-trees.3 AND THERE WENT OUT THE KING OF SODOM...
FOUR KINGS AGAINST THE FIVE (XIV, 8 f.). Four kings waged war with five and
defeated them.
Alternatively, this was not a
battle between two alliances of cities. Rather, this was a battle between a
coalition of five cities and a confederation of four countries. The four kings
joined forces in order to conquer the world. The reason, therefore, that the
five kings paid tribute to Chedorlaomer, wasn’t because he was the strongest of
the four kings, but rather because the territory of their five cities fell out
in his lot of the world.[52]
The war was fought over only one
thing, money.
It was midnight, we are told,
when Avraham reached northern Israel and battled the four kings. Avraham’s
deliverance came at midnight, as we read in the haggada. The idea of midnight
is that this is a time for prayer to be heard and redemption to be
accomplished. Night time also alludes to the galut, the exile.
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLII:2 R. Abin said:
Just as he commenced with four kings, so will he conclude with four kings. [He
commences with four kings, viz.]: With Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal
king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar (Gen.
XIV, 9); so he ends with four kingdoms: the kingdom of Babylon, the kingdom of
Media, the kingdom of Greece, and the empire of Edom [i.e. Rome]. R. Phinehas
quoted in R. Abin’s name: But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither
understand they His counsel, for He hath gathered them as the sheaves to the
threshing- floor (Micah IV, 12). Thus, why Came all these as allies (Gen. XIV,
3)? In order that they might come and fall by the hands of Abraham; hence it is
written, AND IT CAME TO PASS lN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL, etc.
|
King’s Name |
Peshat Kingdom |
Drash Kingdom |
|
Amraphel (aka Nimrod) amar pol,
meaning, “he said ‘fall’” |
Shinar |
Babylon |
|
Arioch Lion-like Man |
Elasaar |
Media |
|
Chedorlaomer (Elam son of Shem) A Handful of
Sheaves |
Eylam Hidden or
distant |
Greece |
|
Tidal Fear or
Reverence |
Goyim Gentile nations |
Rome |
“Ma’aseh Avot siman l’banim”
The actions of the father are a
sign for the children.
The four kings represent a
world-view where everything in creation is subsumed under the “forces of
nature.” This view holds that there is nothing else in this world, except this
world. Four always denotes a complete set or fullness in this world.
Avraham and the five kings were
focused on an existence beyond this world. This is the world view represented
by the number five. Five in Hebrew is represented by the letter heh. If you look at the letter heh,
you will see that it is composed of the letters dalet (which stands for
four) plus the letter h yud. Yud is a unique letter. It is the
only letter which doesn’t touch the line on which you write. It is no more than
the smallest dot floating above the line, representing intangible, spiritual
existence. The written letter heh, then, is a pictogram of this world
focused and revolving around that which is above this world — the dalet (the
“four” of this world) with the yud of spirituality at its axis. Avraham
fought on behalf of the five kings against the four kings. Avraham was the
first person to look at this world and see an existence beyond. If there was a
creation, there had to be a Creator. After Avram fought the war against the
four kings, HaShem added a letter to his name. Not surprisingly, that letter
was the letter heh. For Avraham stood for all that the heh represents,
that this world revolves around a Higher Existence.
The number five thus represents
the perfection of the natural order (the number four), with the addition of
one: HaShem Himself.
Beresheet
chapter 14 contains the Torah account of a cosmic battle which will reverberate
till we hear the footsteps of the Mashiach. This was the cataclysmic battle of ascendancy of the
great forces of the world. The battle of the
four kings against the five kings leads to victory for the four kings. These
four kings, in turn, are defeated by Avraham and his trusty servant, Eliezer. The
Torah is foreshadowing Jewish, and world, history. There will be four kingdoms
that will rule the world. These four will ultimately be conquered by Avraham’s
descendants.
In the end of
days this battle will occur again. As in the beginning, so it will be in the
end. The kings of the world will fight against each other and the redeemer of
the Children of Israel will defeat the victors. The captives will be set free
and a tithe will be paid to the King of Righteousness.
In this next
pasuk (verse) we see one of the keys to understand Edom:
Beresheet
(Genesis) 25:26 And after that
came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was
called Jacob: and Isaac [was] threescore years old when she bare them.
The final exile is called ‘Galut
Edom,’ the ‘Exile of Edom’. The exile of Edom, who descended from Esau,
coincides with the last 2,000 years of history referred to by the Talmud as,
the ‘Footsteps of Mashiach!’
Sanhedrin 97a [Wherewith thine enemies have
reproached, O Lord,’ wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine
anointed.] it has been taught, R. Judah said: in the generation when the
son of David comes, the house of assembly will be for harlots, Galilee in
ruins, Gablan lie desolate, the border inhabitants wander about from city to
city, receiving no hospitality, the wisdom of scribes in disfavour, God-fearing
men despised, people be dog-faced, and truth entirely lacking, as it is
written, Yea, truth faileth, and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a
prey. What is meant by ‘yea, truth faileth [ne’edereth ]’? — The Scholars of
the School of Rab said: This teaches that it will split up into separate groups
and depart. What is the meaning of ‘and he that departeth from evil maketh himself
a prey [mishtollel ]’? — The School of R. Shila said: He who departs from evil
will be dubbed a fool by his fellow-men.
Thus we see that the Mashiach
will come at the end of the galut Edom.
The present exile is seen as an
extension of the Roman exile (Edom is Rome), since culturally and legally,
Western civilization shares the values and worldview of ancient Rome. A subset
of this exile is that of Ishmael, the Arabs, who are seen as an antithesis of
Roman civilization and values, and who will rule over the Jewish people for a
time concurrently with the exile of Rome.
The exile of Ishmael and
the exile of Edom are
represented by the legs in the vision
interpreted by Daniel:
Daniel 2:31-34
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
brightness [was] excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof [was]
terrible. This image’s head [was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone
was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
In this vision, our Sages see Babylonia
as corresponding to the head,
as it is written:
Daniel 2:38 “… You are the head
of gold.”
Some of our Sages see Media and
Persia corresponding to the two
arms,
Greece corresponds to the body,
and Edom and Ishmael correspond to the two
legs.
This is why the latter two
exiles
are long. These two exiles run
concurrently. Thus we are simultaneously in the exile of Edom and the
exile of Ishmael.
My Teacher, Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai, and
many other Sages see Edom as having two legs:
“In Daniel we see Esav as being identified as the
“(two) legs of
iron, his (two) feet made
part of iron and part of clay” of the great image the King saw. These are the two
divisions of the Esav empire today known as
“the West” with a “Western leg” headed by the U.S. and the U.K. and the “Eastern leg”
headed by Russia and Greece. These are also known as
the Christian nations – the
Western leg largely under the Roman Catholic Church and
the Eastern leg
largely under the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches. Messiah further
tells us that these two
groups of peoples are like blind men with many sincere souls found amongst
them. The task of Yehuda embodied by Mashiach ben Yosef is to
heal the blindness of all sincere souls found in the midst of the nations
symbolized by these two legs and feet.
Interestingly, the peoples of the Western nations which
the Sages of the Talmud
identify as drinking from the breasts of
Rome before the Empire and the Catholic Church split
into two (the
embodiment of Esav in Rabbinic literature), have largely provided the bulk of
converts to Judaism something which Islam forbade under the penalty of death.
The Hakhamim identify the Muslim nation (i.e.
all nations that
follow Islam), with various notable exceptions, as being the descendants of
Yishmael since they have partaken by converting to Islam, largely of his
(Yismael’s) religion, culture and heritage.”
According to Jewish
tradition we are presently in the Diaspora of Edom, the last of the four
Diasporas, the one
immediately preceding the arrival of the Mashiach.
The Torah tells us that Esau is synonymous with Edom. And these are the
descendants of Esau, he is Edom. (Beresheet 38:1) This Diaspora is also known
as the Roman Diaspora. It began with the destruction of the second Temple
by the Romans, and the cultural and spiritual
basis of the Western world,
the broader venue of this entire Diaspora was the Holy Roman Empire. The
destruction of the second Temple
is also coincident with the birth
and rise of Christianity, the cornerstone of Western morality and ethics.
Jewish
tradition gives us the following formula:
Esau=Edom=Rome=Christianity.
The name
“Edom” is also used by the Sages of the Talmud
for the Roman empire, and they applied to Rome every passage of the Bible
referring to Edom or to Esau. In Leviticus Rabbah 23 Rome, under the name
of “Edom,” is compared to a boar:
Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XIII:5 R. Phinehas and R. Hilkiah, in
the name
of R. Simeon, said: Out of all the prophets, only two,
namely Asaph and Moses, named it [i.e. the fourth beast]. Asaph said: The boar (hazir) out of the
wood doth ravage it (Ps. LXXX, 14), Moses said: AND THE SWINE (HAZIR) BECAUSE
IT PARTETH THE HOOF, AND IS CLOVEN FOOTED, BUT CHEWETH NOT THE CUD, HE IS
UNCLEAN TO YOU (XI, 7). Why is it [i.e. Edom or Rome] compared to a ‘hazir’
[swine or boar]?-To tell you this: Just as the swine when reclining puts forth
its hooves as if to say: See that I am clean,
so too does the empire of Edom [Rome] boast as it commits violence and robbery,
under the guise of establishing a judicial tribunal. This may be compared to a
governor who put to death the thieves, adulterers, and sorcerers. He leaned
over to a counselor and said: ‘I myself did these three
things in one
night.’
The Romans destroying the Holy Temple,
and then the wars of Christianity against Judaism – imposing their religion ‘by
the sword’, are all manifestations of Esau’s gevurah approach in his battles
with the world.
Additionally, Seir is also seen
as a synonym for Edom:
Beresheet (Genesis) 32:3 And Jacob
sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the
country of Edom.
Galut
(exile),
although appearing to us to be a negative phenomenon, actually carries the
potential for the highest good. And now that we are in the last days
of the final exile,
we approach an era of unprecedented spirituality and goodness, for although the
first
and second Temples
were eventually destroyed, the third
Temple
is to stand forever, and our coming
redemption
will have no exile
to follow. This was David’s goal as he prepared for everlasting peace as he wrote
in our psalms.
Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:1-11
|
Rashi |
Targum |
|
1. So says the Lord, "The heavens are My
throne, and the earth is My footstool; which is the house that you will build
for Me, and which is the place of My rest? |
1. Thus says the LORD: "The heavens are the
throne of My glory and the earth is a highway before Me; what is the house
which you would build before Me, and what is the place of the dwelling of My
Shekhinah? |
|
2. And all these My hand made, and all these have become,"
says the Lord. "But to this one will I look, to one poor and of crushed
spirit, who hastens to do My bidding. |
2. All these things My might has made, did not all
these things come to be, says the LORD? But in this man there is pleasure
before Me to regard him, he that is poor and humble in spirit, and trembles
at My word. |
|
3. Whoever slaughters an ox has slain a man; he who slaughters a lamb
is as though he beheads a dog; he who offers up a meal-offering is [like]
swine blood; he who burns frankincense brings a gift of violence; they, too,
chose their ways, and their soul desired their abominations. |
3. He who slaughters an ox is like him who kills a man; he who
sacrifices a lamb, like him who bludgeons a dog: he who presents an offering,
[like him who offers] swine’s blood; their offering of gifts is a gift of
oppression. They have taken pleasure in their own ways, and their soul takes
pleasure in their abominations. |
|
4. I, too, will choose their mockeries, and their fears I will bring
to them, since I called and no one answered, I spoke and they did not
hearken, and they did what was evil in My eyes, and what I did not wish they
chose. |
4. Even I will wish breaking for them, and from what they dreaded they
will not be delivered; because, when I sent my prophets, they did not repent,
when they prophesied they did not attend; but they did what is evil before Me,
and took pleasure in that which I did not wish. |
|
5. Hearken to the word of the Lord, who quake at
His word, "Your brethren who hate you, who cast you out, said, "For
the sake of my name, the Lord shall be glorified," but we will see your
joy, and they shall be ashamed. |
5. Listen to the word of the LORD, you righteous/
generous who tremble at the words of His pleasure: "Your brethren, your
adversaries who despise you for My name's sake say, 'Let the glory of the
LORD increase, that we may see your joy'; but it is they who will be put to
shame. |
|
6. There is a sound of stirring from the city, a sound from the
Temple, the voice of the Lord, recompensing His enemies. |
6. A sound of tumult from the city of Jerusalem! A voice from the
temple! The voice of the Memra of the LORD, rendering recompense to his
enemies. |
|
7. When she has not yet travailed, she has given birth; when the pang
has not yet come to her, she has been delivered of a male child. |
7. Before distress comes to her she shall be delivered; and before
shaking will come upon her, as pains upon a woman in travail, her king will
be revealed. |
|
8. Who heard [anything] like this? Who saw [anything] like these? Is a
land born in one day? Is a nation born at once, that Zion both experienced
birth pangs and bore her children? |
8. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Is it
possible that a land will be made in one day? Will its people be created in
one moment? For Zion is about to be comforted and to be filled with the
people of her exiles. |
|
9. "Will I bring to the birth stool and not cause to give
birth?" says the Lord. "Am I not He who causes to give birth, now
should I shut the womb?" says your God. |
9. God, created the world from creation, says the LORD; I created
every man; I scattered them among the peoples; I am also about to gather your
exiles, says your God. |
|
10. Rejoice with Jerusalem and exult in her all those who love her:
rejoice with her a rejoicing, all who mourn over her. |
10. Rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy, all you who were mourning over her, |
|
11. In order that you suck and become sated from the breast of her
consolations in order that you drink deeply and delight from her approaching
glory. |
11. that you may be indulged and be satisfied with the plunder of her
consolations; that you may drink and be drunk with the wine of her
glory." |
|
|
|
Rashi’s
Commentary on Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:1-11
Chapter
66
1 The heavens are My throne I do not need your Temple.
which
is the house that is fitting for My Shechinah.
2 And all these The heavens and the earth, and for this reason I
confined My Shechinah among you when you obeyed Me, for so is My wont, to look
at one poor and of crushed spirit, who hastens to do My bidding. But now, I
have no desire for you, for whoever slaughters an ox, has smitten its owner and
robbed him of it. Therefore, whoever slaughters a lamb seems to Me as one who
beheads a dog, and whoever offers up a meal offering is before Me like swine
blood, and מַזְכִּיר, he who burns incense. Comp. (Lev. 5:12) “its memorial part (אַזְכָּרָתָהּ).” Also (ibid. 24:7), “and it shall be for the bread as a
memorial (לְאַזְכָּרָה).”
3 brings a gift of violence Heb. מְבָרֵךְ, blesses Me with a gift of violence, brings a gift of violence.
This is its explanation, and the expression of בְּרָכָה applies to a gift that is for a reception. Comp. (Gen. 33:11)
“Please take my gift (בִּרְכָתִי).” Also (supra 36:16), “Make peace (בְרָכָה) with me and come out to me.”
they,
too, chose their ways
They desire these evil ways, and I, too, will choose and desire their
mockeries. Now if you ask the meaning of גַּם, too, so is the style of the Hebrew language to say twice גַּם one next to the other. Comp.
(Deut. 32:25) “Both a young man and a virgin (גַּם
בָּחוּר גַּם
בְּתוּלָה) ”; (I Kings
3:26) “neither mine nor yours (גַּם לִי
גַּם לָךְ) ”; (Ecc.
9:1) “neither love nor hate גַּם
שִׂנְאָה) (גַּם
אַהֲבָה ”; (Num.
18:3) “and neither they nor you shall die (גַּם הֵם
גַּם אַתֶּם).” Here, too, both they chose and I will choose.
4 their mockeries Heb. בְּתַעֲלוּלֵיהֶם, to mock them, an expression like (ibid. 22:29) “For you mocked
(הִתְעַלַּלְתְּ) me.”
and
their fears What
they fear.
since
I called Hearken
and return to Me.
and
no one answered
saying, “I heard.”
5 who quake at His word The righteous who hasten with
quaking to draw near to His words.
Your
brethren...said The transgressors of Israel mentioned above. Another
explanation:
Your
brethren...who cast you out, said Who said to you (Lam. 4:15), “Turn away, unclean one.”
who
hate you, who cast you out
Who say (supra 65:5), “Keep to yourself, do not come near me.” [Because of the
confusion, we quote other readings. Some manuscripts, as well as K’li Paz,
read:]
Your
brethren...said The transgressors of Israel mentioned above.
who
hate you, who cast you out
who say (supra 65:5), “Keep to yourself, do not come near
me.” Another explanation:
Your
brethren...said
The children of Esau.
who
cast you out Who
said to you (Lam. 4:15), “Turn away, unclean one.”
For
the sake of my name, the Lord shall be glorified With our greatness, the Holy
One, blessed be He, is glorified, for we are closer to Him than you are.
but
we will see your joy
The prophet says, But it is not so as their words, for “we will see your joy,
and they shall be ashamed.” Why? For sound a sound of their stirring has come
before the Holy One, blessed be He, from what they did in His city, and a sound
emanates from His Temple and accuses those who destroyed it, and then the voice
of the Lord, recompensing His enemies.
7 When she has not yet travailed When Zion has not yet travailed with
birth pangs, she has borne her children; that is to say that her children will
gather into her midst, which was desolate and bereft of them, and it is as
though she bore them now without birth pangs, for all the nations will bring
them into her midst.
she
has been delivered of a male child
Heb. וְהִמְלִיטָה. Any emerging of an embedded thing is called הַמְלָטָה. And הַמְלָטָה is esmoucer, or eschamocier in O.F., to allow to escape.
8 Is a land born in one day? Can a pain come to a woman in
confinement to bear a land full of sons in one day?
9 Will I bring to the birth stool and not cause to give birth Will I
bring a woman to the birth stool and not open her womb to bring out her fetus?
That is to say, Shall I commence a thing and not be able to
complete it? Am I not the One Who causes every woman in confinement
to give birth, and now will I shut the womb? This is a question.
11 from the breast Heb. מִשּֽׁד, an expression of breasts (שָׁדַיִם).
you
drink deeply
Heb. תָּמֽצּוּ, sucer in French, to suck.
from
her approaching glory
Heb. מִזִּיז. From the great glory that is moving and coming nearer to her. זִיז means
esmoviment in O.F., movement.
Second Special Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 49:14 -
51:3
Shabbat # 2 of Consolation/Strengthening
|
Rashi |
Targum |
|
14. And Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken
me, and the Lord has forgotten me." |
14. Because Zion said, “The LORD has taken
up His Shekhinah from me, the LORD has rejected me.” |
|
15. Shall a woman forget her sucking child, from
having mercy on the child of her womb? These too shall forget, but I
will not forget you. |
15. “Is it possible that a woman can forget
her son, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even
if these may forget, My Memra will not reject you. |
|
16. Behold on [My] hands have I engraved you;
your walls are before Me always. |
16. Behold, as on hands you are portrayed
before Me, your walls are continually before Me. |
|
17. Your sons have hastened; those who destroy
you and those who lay you waste shall go forth from you. |
17. They hasten, they build your ruins,
those who razed you and those who laid you waste go away from you into
exile.” |
|
18. Lift your eyes around and see, all of them
have gathered, have come to you; as I live, says the Lord, that you shall
wear all of them as jewelry, and you shall tie them as a bride. |
18. “Lift up your eyes round about, O
Jerusalem, and see all the sons of the people of your exiles: they gather,
they come into your midst. As I live, says the LORD, all of them will be to
you as a garment of glory, their deeds in your midst will be as the bride’s
ornament. |
|
19. For your ruins and your desolate places and
your land that has been destroyed, for now you shall be crowded by the
inhabitants, and those who would destroy you shall be far away. |
19. Surely your waste and desolate places
and your devastated land – surely now you will be too pressed for
inhabitants, and those who annihilated you will be rejected. |
|
20. Your children of whom you were bereaved
shall yet say in your ears, "The place is too narrow for me; move over
for me so that I will dwell." |
20. From now on the sons of the people of
your exiles will say, each one in your midst, ‘The place is too narrow for
me; make room for me to dwell in.’ |
|
21. And you shall say to yourself, "Who
begot these for me, seeing that I am bereaved and solitary, exiled and
rejected, and who raised these? Behold I was left alone; these-[from] where
are they?" {P} |
21. Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who
has brought me up these? I was bereaved and alone, exiled and cast out, but
who has brought up these? Behold I was left alone, whence are these?’ |
|
22. So said the Lord God, "Behold I
will raise My hand to the nations, and to the peoples will I raise My
standard, and they shall bring your sons in their armpits, and your daughters
shall be borne on their shoulder[s]. |
22. Thus says the LORD God: “Behold I
will disclose My might among the peoples, and raise my signal over the kingdoms;
and your sons will come in litters and your daughters will be carried on
couches. |
|
23. And kings shall be your nursing fathers and
their princesses your wet nurses; they shall prostrate themselves to you with
their face on the ground, and they shall lick the dust of your feet, and you
shall know that I am the Lord, for those who wait for Me shall not be
ashamed. {S} |
23. Kings will be your foster fathers, and
their queens will minister to you. Upon their faces, upon the ground they
will spread out to beseech from you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you
will know that I am the LORD, the righteous/generous who wait for My
salvation will not be put to shame.” |
|
24. Shall prey be taken from a mighty warrior,
or shall the captives of the righteous escape?" {S} |
24. Is it possible that booty can be taken
from the mighty, or that which virtuous men capture be rescued? |
|
25. For so said the Lord, "Even the
captives of a mighty warrior can be taken and the prey of a tyrant shall
escape, and with your contender will I contend, and your sons I will save. |
25. Surely, thus says the LORD: “Even that
which mighty men capture I will restore, and that which strong men take away,
I will rescue, for I will avenge your retribution and save your sons. |
|
26. And those who taunt you-I will feed their
flesh, and as with sweet wine they shall become drunk [from] their blood; and
all flesh shall know that I am the Lord Who saves you, and your Redeemer, the
Mighty One of Jacob. {S} |
26. I will make the flesh of those who are
your oppressors food for every bird of the heavens, and just as they are
drunk with sweet wine, so will beasts of the field be drunk from their blood,
Then all the sons of flesh will know that I am the LORD your Saviour, and
your Redeemer, the Strong One of Jacob.” |
|
|
|
|
1. So said the Lord, "Where is your
mother's bill of divorce that I sent her away? Or, who is it of My creditors
to whom I sold you? Behold for your iniquities you were sold, and for your
transgressions your mother was sent away. |
1. Thus says the LORD: “Where is the bill of
divorce which I gave your congregation, that it is rejected? Or who had a
debt against Me, to whom have I sold you? Behold for your sins you were sold,
and for your apostasies your congregation was rejected. |
|
2. Why have I come and there is no man? [Why]
have I called and no one answers? Is My hand too short to redeem, or do I
have no strength to save? Behold, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make
rivers into a desert; their fish become foul because there is no water and
die because of thirst. |
2. Why, when I sent My prophets, did they
not repent? When they prophesied, did they not listen? Is My might shrunk,
that it cannot redeem? Or is there before Me no power to deliver? Behold, by
My rebuke I will dry up the sea, I will make rivers a dessert; their fish
will stink for lack of water, and die of thirst. |
|
3. I clothe the heavens with darkness, and I
make sackcloth their raiment. {P} |
3. I will cover the heavens as with
darkness, and make as sackcloth their covering.” |
|
4. The Lord God gave
me a tongue for teaching, to know to establish times for the faint [for His]
word; He awakens me every morning, He awakens My ear, to hear according to
the teachings. |
4.
The LORD God has
given me the tongue of those who teach,
to make [me] know
[how] to teach with wisdom the righteous/generous who faint
for the words of His Law. Therefore morning by
morning He rises early to send His
prophets so perhaps the sinners' ears might be opened and they might listen to teaching. |
|
5. The Lord God
opened my ear, and I did not rebel; I did not turn away backwards. |
5.
The LORD God has sent me to
prophesy. and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward. |
|
6. I gave my back to
smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I did not hide my
face from embarrassments and spitting. |
6.
I gave my back to smiters, and my cheeks to them that pluck out the
beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting. |
|
7. But the Lord God helps me, therefore, I was
not embarrassed; therefore, I made my face like flint, and I knew that I
would not be ashamed. |
7.
For the LORD God helps
me; therefore I have not been confounded; therefore I have set my face strong like rock, and I know that I will not be put to shame; |
|
8. He Who vindicates me is near, whoever wishes
to quarrel with me-let us stand together; whoever is my contender shall
approach me. |
8.
my innocence is
near. Who will go to judgment with
me? Let us stand up together. Who is my enemy? Let him come near to me. |
|
9. Behold, the Lord God shall help he that will
condemn me, behold all of them shall wear out like a garment, a moth shall
consume them. {S} |
9.
Behold, the LORD God helps
me; who will declare me a sinner? Behold,
all of them are like the
garment that wears out. that the moth eats. |
|
10. Who among you is God-fearing, who hearkens
to the voice of His servant, who went in darkness and who has no light,
let him trust in the name of the Lord and lean on his God. {S} |
10.
Who among you of those who fear
the LORD obeys the voice of His servants the prophets, who performs
the Law in distress as a man who walks in the darkness and has no light, trusts in the name of the LORD
and relies upon the salvation of his
God? |
|
11. Behold all of you who kindle fire, who give
power to flames; go in the flame of your fire, and in the flames you have
kindled; from My hand has this come to you, in grief you shall lie down. {S} |
11.
Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who grasp a sword! Go, fall
in the fire which you kindled and on the sword which you grasped! This you
have from My Memra: you shall
return to your stumbling. |
|
|
|
|
1. Hearken to Me, you pursuers of
righteousness, you seekers of the Lord; look at the rock whence you were hewn
and at the hole of the pit whence you were dug. |
1.
"Attend to My Memra, you
who pursue the truth, you who
seek teaching from the LORD; consider that as the hewn stone from the
rock you were hewn and as the rubble
from an empty pit you were hacked. |
|
2. Look at Abraham your father and at Sarah who
bore you, for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him and made
him many. |
2.
Consider Abraham your
father and Sarah who was pregnant
with you; for when Abraham was
but one, single in the world. I
brought him near to My service, and I blessed
him and made him many. |
|
3. For the Lord shall
console Zion, He shall console all its ruins,
and He shall make its desert like a paradise and its wasteland like the
garden of the Lord; joy and happiness shall be found therein, thanksgiving
and a voice of song. {S} |
3.
For the LORD is about to comfort Zion and to comfort
all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in
her, those offering thanksgiving and
the voice of those singing. |
|
|
|
Rashi’s
Commentary on Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 49:14 - 51:3
14 And Zion said She thought that I had forgotten her.
15 Shall a woman forget her sucking child Heb. עוּלָהּ,
similar to עוֹלֵל.
from
having mercy on the child of her womb Heb. מֵרֶחֶם
בֶּן־בִּטְנָהּ.
These
too shall forget Even if these forget, I will not forget you.
16 Behold on [My] hands Heb. עַל־כַּפַּיִם [lit. on hands]. I see you as though you are engraved on My
hands, to see you and always to remember you. Another explanation is: עַל־כַּפַּיִם “from upon the clouds of glory.” Comp. (Job 36:32) “On the
clouds (כַּפַּיִם) He covered the rain.”
17 Your sons have hastened to return.
19 you shall be crowded by the inhabitants You shall be crowded by the
multitude of inhabitants that shall come into your midst. The place shall be
too narrow for them to build houses for themselves.
20 Your children of whom you were bereaved [lit. the children of your
bereavements.] The children of whom you were bereaved.
move
over for me [lit. approach for me.] Draw closer to another side for me, and I
will dwell.
21 and solitary solede in O.F.
rejected Rejected by
everyone. All say about me, “Turn away from her.”
22 My hand...My standard A signal to bring the exiles.
a
standard Perka in O.F., [perche in modern French,] a pole. Comp. (supra
30:17) “And like a flagpole (וְכַנֵּס) on a hill.” It is a signal for gathering, and they place a
cloth [a flag] on the end of it.
in
their armpits Ajjsela [aisela] in O.F., [aisselle in modern French]. Comp. Ezra
(Neh. 5:13): “Also I shook out my armpit (חָצְנִי).”
24 Shall prey be taken from a mighty warrior You think that it is
impossible to take from Esau those captured from Jacob the righteous one.
25 and with your contender Heb. יְרִיבֵךְ. And with your contender I will contend.
26 And those who taunt you I will feed their flesh to the beasts of
the field. The word מוֹנַיִךְ is an expression akin to (Lev. 25:14) “You shall not taunt (אַל
תּוֹנוּ).”
This denotes taunting with words, those who anger you with their revilings.
and as
with sweet wine Heb. וְכֶעָסִיס. The sweetness of wine.
they
shall become drunk [from] their blood So shall those accustomed to drink blood become drunk from their
blood. Now who are they? These are the fowl of the heavens. So did Jonathan
render this.
Chapter
50
2 Why have I come to draw near to you, and none of you turns to Me?
3 I clothe the heavens The host of the heavens, the princes of the
heathens (nations [Mss. and K’li Paz]), when I come to mete out retribution
upon the nations.
4 gave me a tongue for teaching Isaiah was saying, The Lord sent me
and gave me a tongue fit to teach, in order to know to establish a time for the
faint and thirsty to hear the words of the Holy One, blessed be He.
to
establish times Heb. לָעוּת. Menahem classified it in the group of (Ps. 119:126) “It is
time (עֵת) to do for the Lord.” To establish times for them.
He
awakens my ear He awakens my ear with His Holy Spirit.
to hear
according to the teachings According to the custom of the teachings, the truth and that
which is proper.
5 opened my ear and let me hear (supra 6:8), “Whom shall I send?” I
sent Amos, and they called him ‘pesilus.’ I sent Micah, etc., as is stated in
Pesikta of ‘Nachamu nachamu.’
and I
did not rebel going on His mission, neither did I turn away backwards, but I
said, “Here I am; send me” (ibid.).
6 I gave my back to smiters He said to me, Isaiah, My children are
obstinate; My children are bothersome. [You may go] on the condition that you
do not become angry with them. I said to Him, On that condition.
7 But the Lord God helps me if they rise up against me.
8 He Who vindicates me is near The Holy One, blessed be He, is near
to me to vindicate me in judgment.
9 a moth Heb. עָשׁ,
the worm of the clothing.
10 to the voice of His servant To the voice of the prophets.
who
went in darkness Even if trouble comes upon him, let him trust in the name of the
Lord, for He shall save him.
11 Behold all of you who do not hearken to the voice of His prophets.
who
kindle fire of His wrath upon yourselves.
and
give power to flames Who strengthen the flames; they are sparks and burning coals that
are cast up with a slingshot. It has a cognate in the Aramaic tongue, זִיקוּקִין
דְּנוּר,
flames of fire (Ber. 58b), so many slingers (זִיקָתָא) are assigned to us (Baba Mezia 94a) [frondeles in O.F., sling].
go in
the flame of your fire According to your way, you will be punished.
from My
hand
shall this retribution come to you.
Chapter
51
1 look at the rock whence you were hewn from it.
and at
the hole of the pit Heb. מַקֶּבֶת. With which they penetrate (נוֹקְבִין) and hew the pits.
you
were dug with which you were dug.
you
were dug Heb. נֻקַּרְתֶּם, an expression similar to (Ex. 33.22) “The cleft (נִקְרַת) of the rock”; (Prov. 30: 17) “The ravens of the brook shall
pick it (יִקְּרוּהָ).” And who is the rock? He is Abraham your forefather. And who
is the hole? She is Sarah who bore you. [תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶם means] ‘who bore you,’ an expression similar to (infra 66:8)
“For Zion experienced pangs (חָלָה) and also bore.”
2 who bore you Heb. תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶם [lit. shall bear you.]
for
when he was but one I called him For he was one single person in the land of Canaan where I exiled
him from his land and from his birthplace. I called him, meaning that I raised
him and exalted him. An expression [similar to] (Num. 1:16) “Those called of (קְרִיאֵי) the congregation.” And just as he was a single person and I
exalted him, so will I exalt you, who are singled out to Me.
3 and its wasteland Heb. וְעַרְבָתָהּ. This too is an expression of a desert. Comp. (Jer. 2:6) “In a
wasteland (עֲרָבָה) and a land of pits,” but the wasteland once had a settlement
and it was destroyed.
thanksgiving A voice of thanks.
Verbal Tallies
By: H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben
David
& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba
bat Sarah
Shemot (Exodus) 26:1 - 27:19
Special
Ashlamata: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 49:14 – 51:3
Regular Ashlamata: Yeshayahu
(Isaiah) 66:1-11
Tehillim (Psalms) 60 & 61
Mk 8:11-13, Lk 11:29-32, Acts 16:13-24
The
verbal tally between the Torah and the special Ashlamata is:
One / Alone - אחד,
Strong’s number 0259.
The
verbal tallies between the Torah and the regular Ashlamata are:
Make / Made / Do - עשה,
Strong’s number 06213.
One / Alone - אחד,
Strong’s number 0259.
The
verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:
Make / Made / Do - עשה,
Strong’s number 06213.
Shemot
(Exodus) 26:1 Moreover thou shalt make
<06213> (8799) the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined
linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt
thou make <06213> (8799) them.
2 The
length of one <0259> curtain shall be
eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one
<0259> curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall
have one <0259> measure.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 51:2 Look
unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone <0259>, and blessed him, and increased
him.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made <06213> (8804), and all those things
have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is
poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen
such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one
<0259> day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion
travailed, she brought forth her children.
Tehillim
(Psalms) 60:12 Through God we shall do <06213> (8799) valiantly: for he it is
that shall tread down our enemies.
Pirqe Abot – MeAm Lo’ez
Pereq Gimel
Mishnah 3:8
By: Rabbi Yitschaq (ben Mosheh) Magriso
Rabbi Eleazar of Bartotha said: Give
[God] that which is His, since both you and yours are His. King David expressed
it likewise, saying, "For all is from You, and what we have given You is
from Your hand" (1 Chronicles 29:14).
This master cautions us in the matter
of charity (tzedakah). He informs us that the money a person has is merely
something placed in his hands as a deposit (pikadon). Therefore, when
a person gives to charity, he should not feel that he is giving of his own
possessions, but rather that he is returning the deposit to its rightful owner,
God.
Furthermore, when a person gives
charity, God need not be grateful to him. It is no better than returning something
held in trust to its rightful owner. The owner does not have to be grateful
when the deposit is returned, since if it is not returned, it is like stealing!
However, with His great love, God
appreciates it very much when a person gives charity, and considers it just as
if the person were giving of his own money. He also considers it as if the
money were being given to Him as a gift. It is thus written, "He
who is kind to the poor makes a loan to God" (Proverbs 19:17).
When a person has pity on a beggar and helps him in his time of need, it is
counted as if he had made a loan to God. Naturally, he can expect a repayment,
since the loan was made to a responsible One. The master thus says, "Give
[God] what is His, since both you and yours are His." The Evil
Urge (Yetzer HaRa) may argue with you and prompt you to think that you
are giving away your own possessions, distributing your earnings, and letting
another person enjoy the fruits of your toil. You must realize that he is lying
to you. You are not giving away anything that is your own. You are God's slave,
and therefore all the money that you have belongs to God. There is a general
rule, "Whatever a slave gains possession of belongs to his master."
Thus, what you give is not your own, but rather the property of God.
Nevertheless, God considers it as
if you were giving of your own property. Not only that, He counts it as if you
were giving it to God Himself. We thus find that King David said of the
donations that were given for the Holy Temple (Beth HaMikdash), "For
all is from You, and what we have given You is from Your hand" (1
Chronicles 29:14). We have no right to expect appreciation for the donations we
give, since all property is Yours. This being the case, it is as if it came
from Your hand and Your possessions. But because of Your great mercy, You
consider it as if it came from what is ours.
Some commentaries say that the
master is also saying that a person should not be stingy in his personal
efforts in matters pertaining to God. Not only do one's possessions belong to
God, but even one's body is His. Therefore, when you serve Him, you serve Him
with that which is His own.
NAZAREAN TALMUD
Sidra Of Shemot (Exod.) 26:1
– 27:19
“V’Et HaMishkhan” “And the Tabernacle”
By: H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham &
H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai
|
School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta Luqas Lk 11:29-32 Mishnah
א:א |
School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat Mordechai
(Mk) 8:11-13 Mishnah א:א |
|
|
And
as the congregations were increasing, he began to say, “This
generation is an evil generation! It demands a sign, and no sign will be
given to it except the sign of Yonah (Jonah)! For just as Yonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son
of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the south[53]
will rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn
them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon, and behold, something greater than Sholomo (Solomon) is here! The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of
Yonah, and behold, something greater than Yonah is here!” |
And the P’rushim
came out and began to deliberate[54]
with him (Yeshua), seeking from him a sign from the heavens,
testing him. And having breathed out a sigh and said, Why does this
generation seek a sign? Amen, v’amen I say to you, in no way will this
generation be given a sign! And leaving them, again entering into the boat,
he went away to the other side of the sea of the Galil. |
|
|
School of Hakham Shaul Remes 2 Luqas – (Acts) 16:13-24 Pereq א:א |
||
|
And on the day of the
Sabbath, we went outside the city gate beside the river,[55]
where we thought there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to
the women assembled there. And a certain woman named Lydia[56] from the city of
Thyatira, a merchant dealing in purple[57] cloth who showed reverence[58]
for (as a servant of) God, was
listening. The Lord opened her heart[59]
to pay attention to what was being said by Hakham Shaul. And after she was
immersed with the immersion of conversion, and her household, she urged[60]
us, saying, “If you consider me to be faithfully obedient in the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she convinced[61]
us. And now it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a
certain female slave who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing
a large profit to her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Hakham Shaul and us and was crying out, saying, “These
men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of
redemption!” And she was doing this for many days. But Hakham Shaul, becoming
greatly annoyed and turning around, said to the shade (demonic spirit), “I command you by the authority[62] of Yeshua HaMashiach to
leave her!” And it came out immediately.[63] But when her owners saw
that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Hakham Shaul and Hillel (Silas/Luke) and
compelled them by force into the marketplace before the Roman authorities.[64]
And when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These
men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, and are advocating
customs (the Mesorah, oral traditions of the Jewish Hakhamim) that are not permitted for us to
accept or to practice, because we are Romans!” And a gathering joined in
attacking them, and the (two)[65] chief magistrates tore off their clothing[66]
and gave orders to beat them with rods. And after they had inflicted them
with a severe flogging, they threw them into prison, giving orders to the
jailer to guard them carefully. Having followed his orders, he put them in the inner prison and bound
their feet in the stocks. |
||
Nazarean Codicil to be read in conjunction with the following Torah
Seder:
|
Ex 26:1-30 |
Ps 60 |
Is. 66:1-11 |
Mk 8:11-12 |
Lk 11:29-30 |
Acts 16:13-18 |
Jn. 8.1-20 |
|
Ex 26:31 – 27:19 |
Ps 61 |
Ezek 16:10-18, 60 |
Mk 8:13 |
Lk 11:31-32 |
Acts 16:19-24 |
Jn. 8.21-30 |
Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s
School of Peshat
The apparent debate
is more of deliberation than an argument. Συζητέω – suzeteo means
far more than an “argument.’ Because
Christian scholars believe that all the P’rushim (Pharisees) were hypocrites or
legalists they enjoy painting a bleak picture of them.
This word συζητέω
– suzeteo perfectly corresponds to the Hebrew concept of “pilpul,” which is a method of Talmudic study.
The word is derived from
the verb "pilpel" (lit. "to spice," "to season,"
and in a metaphorical sense, "to dispute violently" [Tosef., B.B.
vii. 5] or "cleverly" [Shab. 31a; B. M. 85b]). Since by such disputation
the subject is in a way spiced and seasoned, the word has come to mean
penetrating investigation, disputation, and drawing of conclusions, and is used
especially to designate a method of studying the Law (Ab. vi. 5; Baraita; B. B.
145b; Tem. 16a; Ket. 103b; Yer. Ter. iv. 42d). For another explanation of the
word, as derived from the Hebrew "pillel," see J. B. Lewinsohn,
"Bet Yehudah," ii. 47, Warsaw. 1878.[67]
Therefore, it is
not necessary to believe that this is an extremely negative encounter.
In the Beginning
This is the 10th
time Mark has used ἤρξαντο – arche (Raysheet) in his text.
This may simply be Mordechai’s way of stating that there is a beginning of
events. Alternatively, it may be some other chiastic mechanism Hakham Tsefet
through his amanuensis Mordechai (Mark)
uses to indicate transition in the text. From the context here, we can
certainly determine that the events recorded in this pericope lasted long
enough to frustrate Yeshua. But the key question is why is Yeshua apparently
frustrated?
Being put to the Test
Here the phrase is somewhat explicit when
Greek literary sources are taken into account. The word πειράζω – peirazo[68] indicates that the
person who is being tested is experienced. In other words, testing to see if
the person is a worthy advocate. The Nazarene Codicil uses this word in other
places of the “tempter” himself. In the present weeks of Nahamu – strengthening
we would expect a relationship between the seven men (Paqidim) of the
congregation and our pericopes in the Nazarean Codicil. This week’s focus
should be on the qualities of the Chazan or the Bishop of the Congregation.
In antiquity, The P’rushim
(Pharisees) of the present pericope may have been from the Yeshiva (Rabbinic
School of Torah education) of Shammai. We must also here surmise that Yeshua is
formally training his talmidim as Paqidim for the sake of becoming Hakhamim.
Therefore, a good title for his Yeshiva might have been “Bet Yeshua” or
something similar. Nevertheless, the formal training takes the guise of a
Yeshiva. Likewise, his Yeshiva would
have been under the purview of the Sanhedrin. Yisrael as a collegiate
community was viewed as the “Bride of G-d.” However, the Hebrew term “Kallah”
carried other relative connotations. The term “Kallah” often used to refer to
either academic instruction or an academic institution.[69]
In this sense the Sanhedrin was a part of the Kallah system. These institutions were held in apparent
sessions much like present day Colleges.[70]
Superficially, it seems odd to call a rabbinic academy “the Bride,” “Kallah.”
However, when we look at the allegorical imagery of the festivals the idea of a
rabbinic session being the “Kallah” (Bride of G-d) is clear. Because of the
contiguity of Matan HaTorah (the giving of the Torah) the title is very
relevant. Without delving deeply into the imagery of the Festival of Shavuot,
we understand that Har Sinai was covered with smoke as if a wedding canopy and
the voices of
G-d[71] were heard audibly. However, on a mystical
note the voices were said to have been seen.
It was from here that G-d gave the Torah and betrothed the B’ne Yisrael to
Himself. Consequently, the connection to the Torah and Torah Study is very relevant
to the term “Kallah.” Some scholars believe that the word “Kallah” is derived
from the Greek “kela” meaning cell.[72]
While this may be plausible, we can find no evidence for this line of thought. We have the
impression that the Kallah academies met regularly. Furthermore, we must assume
that wherever the appropriate amount of students assembled that a Kallah
academy could have existed. The minimal number for a Kallah academy seems to
have been ten.[73]
Degrees of “Kallah” students existed. “Kallah” is a term for those who had
excelled in their studies and obtained a high level of Torah and Halakhic
education. The “B’ne Kallah” was less educated and most likely on a subordinate
level. By looking at the
later models of “Kallah” academies we will be able to discern a little more of
how they might have functioned during the first century. We also have the
notion that the Kallah sessions in Adar and Elul may have been more associated
with Kallah testing. Later sources tell us that the Adar sessions took place on
the four Shabatot where a Rosh Yeshiva tested them. It is also evident that the
Rabbis implemented the Socratic teaching and interrogatory system in the Kallah
academies. These “tests” were written or oral, most likely testing the
memorization of materials taught.
While we are not able develop the
complete structure of the “Kallah” academies, we may well determine that the
educational system of Kallah was a continuous process. The Kallah sessions in
Adar and Elul determined if a man was suitable for the Bet Din Gadol, i.e. The
Sanhedrin. We also have reason to believe that the Kallah sessions determined
the qualifications of the members of the Sanhedrin either validating their
skills or showing their shortcomings. What is interesting is that the members of
the Rosh Yeshiva tested the Sanhedrin in these Kallah Academies and sessions.
This means that certain times were devoted to making sure that even the members
of the Sanhedrin were capable of doing their job. The B’ne Yisreal has always
lived as a corporate personality. therefore, the Kallah sessions were a way of
determining the corporate abilities of the B’ne Yisrael.
Consequently,
Yeshua’s testing is no surprise. As we stated above the P’rushim of our present
pericope may well have been from the School of Shammai. This would not have
been out of the ordinary. This is
because testing and strengthening only occurs when one is challenged.
Yeshua breathes out a sigh
The “sign seeking” ζητέω – zeteo causes Yeshua to sigh in spirit. This is because the
“sign-seeking” is not a single event. The Greek word αὐτόν (him) from αὐτός – autos
(in present infinitive) suggests that the “sign-seeking” is a persistent
seeking. The word has varied levels of use and interpretation. It begins as a
simple inquiry. “Will there be a sign?” The next level of this word means to
seek, search or inquire as in the form of philosophical investigation. The
final level moves to the place of demanding a sign. It may have been possible
that the P’rushim in their πειράζοντες αὐτόν
(testing him) brought Yeshua to
exasperation.
The word ἀναστενάζω – anastenazo (sighed deeply) is used in the
compound only here in this passage. avnastena,xaj is used without compound in Mk 7: 34. The compound prefix ana
demonstrates the depth of the sigh. The effect of the “sign-seekers” caused the
sigh to the core of his being. Likewise, the language of the text goes on to
demonstrate that they would not see or receive a sign at present or in the
future. Looking at the word’s use in varied places in Greek literature, we can
surmise a possible scenario in the text, which causes Yeshua to “sigh in his
spirit.”
Yeshua’s
exasperation may have been the result of the opposing P’rushim’s blindness.
Even in our present day, this is common. “Disciples” travel from teacher to
teacher trying to find the latest teaching etc. There are as many sing-seekers
today as in yesteryear. The life of the Jewish people requires faithful
obedience. Yeshua’s expiration may have been because they wanted a sign rather
than remaining faithfully obedient. Hakham Shaul makes it very clear that the
Jewish people seek “signs.”[74]
The reasoning behind a desire to see a sign is because Jewish history is full
of signs and wonders. Likewise, the Prophets prophesied that varied signs would
accompany the arrival of Messiah. However, the question, which always remains,
is “which Messiah?”
These sign-seeking
P’rushim were most likely trying to determine if Yeshua could be the Messiah.
Alternatively, as Yochanan the Immerser said, “do we seek another?” However,
Yeshua was not preoccupied with “being Messiah.” Yeshua was preoccupied with
one agenda, i.e. planting the Torah of the Sages in the minds of the B’ne
Yisrael as a collegiate community. Study of the Bet Hillel will show that every
talmid of that school had the same agenda. Hakham Yochanan’s seminal words “the
Torah (Logos/Memra) became flesh and tabernacled (Sukkah) among us” personify
the Torah equating it with the B’ne Yisrael. This notion resonates with the
present Torah Seder.
Hakham Tsefet
through his amanuensis Mordechai (Mark) has penned the following words:
The
chief part of the Masorah (Tradition/Oral Law) is Yeshuah the
Messiah, the Son of God (i.e. Ben Elohim = the King/Judge);
Christian scholars
love to play with the words “Son of G-d.” They fail to understand the
inferences of the Hebrew phrase “Ben Elohim.” Firstly, we can understand the
phrase “Ben Elohim” is a reference to the B’ne Yisrael, based on Sh’mot 4:22
“Yisrael is My Son My firstborn son.”[75]
Secondly, the phrase “Ben Elohim” means “son of the Judge” or “Judges.”
Therefore, we can determine that Yeshua is the sum of the Judges (Elohim) of
Yisrael. We can rephrase this to say that Yeshua was the embodiment of the Oral
Torah of Yisrael’s Hakhamim, the repository of the wisdom of the ages.
Therefore, the B’ne Yisrael is the Torah and the Torah is the B’ne Yisrael.
Furthermore, Yeshua is the Torah and the Torah is Yeshua. On the other hand,
Yeshua is Yisrael and Yisrael is Yeshua. Which precedes the other Torah or
Yisrael? On the one hand, Torah precedes everything. Yet on the other hand,
Yisrael precedes everything. How can it be that Yisrael can precede the Torah?
If Yisrael precedes the
Torah, it is because the Torah is the instrument for training Yisrael.[76]
The relationship
between the Torah and the Sages vacillates only because there is an
inextricable bound between them. Emphasizing of Yisrael over the Torah can only
be because they keep the mitzvoth of the Torah. Likewise, the emphasis of the
Torah over the B’ne Yisrael can only be because that Torah trains them in the
mitzvoth. The Torah therefore is dependent on the B’ne Yisrael who has an
occasion to keep the mitzvoth of the Torah. Yeshua’s long breath is because the
School of Shammai was like a talmid in whom there was “Bible but no Mishnah.”[77]
All Torah and no mitzvoth is no Torah at all! However the reverse is also true,
all mitzvoth and no Torah is no Torah at all! Yeshua’s exasperation is because
the sign-seeking Shammaites were without hermeneutic and therefore legalists.
Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s
School of Remes
And on the day of the Sabbath
The allegorical
imagery painted by Hakham Shaul in this week’s pericope is that of the “Woman
of Valour.” Each Friday night we (Jewish men) address their wives as the “Woman
of Valour.” The present pericope shows Lydia as a Woman of Valour.
Interestingly, the Proverb[78]
titles her in the guise of warfare. However, according to Jewish legend, the
poem is a reference to the Shabbat Queen, the spiritual soul mate of the Jewish
nation, i.e. Kallah.[79]
Midrash Rabbah B’resheet
11:8 The first day of the week has the second, the third has the fourth, the
fifth has the sixth, but the Sabbath has no partner. R. Samuel b. Nahman said:
Because it cannot be postponed: a festival can be postponed, the Day of
Atonement can be postponed,[80]
but the Sabbath cannot be postponed. R. Simeon b. Yohai taught: The Sabbath pleaded to the Holy One,
blessed be He: “All have a partner, while I have no partner!” The Community
of Israel is your partner, God answered. And when they stood before the
mountain of Sinai, He said to them, “Remember what I said to the Sabbath, that the Community of Israel is your partner, [hence,] Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. XX, 8).
The Midrashic
imagery is breath taking. However, as we noted above there cannot be one
without the other. In other words, there can be no Sabbath without Yisrael and
there can be no Yisrael without the Sabbath.
The Vilna Gaon
answers the question of why we welcome the Sabbath Queen/Bride on the eve of
Shabbat.
Why do we welcome the Sabbath bride as Shabbat
begins? This is well known, based on the Midrash (Midrash Rabbah
B’resheet 11:8) “...everything
has a mate, [yet I (the Sabbath) do not have a mate].” Each day of Creation has
a mate: On Sunday and Wednesday, light was created (Sunday the light for the
righteous, and Wednesday the sun, moon, and stars). Monday and Thursday water
was created (Monday the water was created, and on Thursday the fish were
created and entered the water), On Tuesday and Friday the land was created (on
Tuesday the land was created, and on Friday God created the animal kingdom and
man, who both live on the land). Only Shabbat was alone until she was paired
with the Jewish people. That is why on Friday evenings we go to greet the
Sabbath Bride.[81]
Interestingly the
pericope of II Luqas (Acts) 16:13-24[82] has
as an underlying theme of Shabbat. The opening phrase “And on the day of the
Sabbath” clearly tells us that the message concerns Shomer Shabbat. This is
especially noteworthy when we see Hakham Shaul and his assembly looking for a
suitable place to pray. It is also noteworthy that they must exit the City in
order to do so.
However, we must
ask; what special significance is there in a woman named Lydia?
The name Lydia
means “travail.” This is seen in the Remes way that Hakham Shaul shows that her
entire house (a concept of Esheth Chayil) is brought to conversion. Lydia’s
hands are skilled in the manufacturing of clothing that is “purple.” Purple
should be better understood as “purple [woolen] cloth.”[83] The
imagery is also from Esheth Chayil where it states “She is not afraid of snow for her household, For
all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for
herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.” However, the language of the present Torah Seder contains vocabulary
that is feminie to describe Bezalel sewing of one curtain to the next. While
Rashi makes this clear, it may also be possible that the reasoning behind the
feminie is that women did the sewing. Regardless, Hakham Shaul seems to notice
this nomenclature and depicts a woman seamstress named Lydia (travail) as the
Esheth Chayil with her household dressed in woollens, fine linen and purple.
Like the Eshet Chayil, Lydia’s husband remains silent. The point of the Remes
text is not to say that she did or did not have a husband. A Remes text would
need to leave the husband in silence in order to forward the Esheth Chayil.
However, her husband would be known in the Gates as he sits among the elders of
the land.
Lydia is contrasted
to a slave girl bound by shedim (demons). This contrast shows the structure of
Mishle (Proverbs). The woman of Valour is “wisdom” and the woman without
“wisdom” is enslaved to the Yetser HaRa (evil inclination).
Remes summary
What is Hakham
Shaul trying to say in this Remes portion of our text?
It is certain that
this august body has already figured it out, but the Remes message is simple to
see. Hakham Shaul expects his readers to greet the Sabbath Queen with honour (Kabod) and dignity. Lydia’s fine cloths
and wonderful hospitality are all things that Hakham Shaul deems vital for
Shomer Shabbat.
Connection to the 2nd Week of Nahamu
The 2nd
week of Nahamu as we have posited is related to the seven Paqidim of the Jewish
Esnoga. Therefore, we should be able to see the Chazan in these materials.
Hakham Shaul demonstrates his presence in the latter pericope of our double
portion.
II Luqas (Acts)
16:22-23 And a gathering joined in attacking them, and the (two)[84]
chief magistrates tore off their
clothing[85]
and gave orders to beat them with rods. And after they had inflicted them with
a severe flogging
This pericope
exemplifies abusive contrast to the nature of the Chazan. The true nature of
the Chazan is in his understanding the true nature of discipline. He is able to
discern between abuse and honest restraint. How can a Chazan administer
undisciplined discipline? Consequently, we should learn from this special
Sabbath the true nature of discipline.
Without discipline, we can
solve nothing. With only some discipline, we can solve only some problems. With
total discipline, we can solve all problems. [86]
More often than not
children are punished frequently throughout their childhood – slapped, punched,
kicked beaten and whipped by their parents for even minor infractions. But this
discipline is meaningless. Because it is undisciplined discipline.[87]
Peck shows that
undisciplined discipline as outlined in the present pericope of II Luqas is
tyrannical despotic. Therefore, the Chazan should learn the true nature of
discipline and have a father’s heart towards the congregation.
1 Tim. 3:2-7 The (Bishop –Chazan) Must be hospitable (generous), able to teach; not given to (excessive)
wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not
covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence
(for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of
the congregation of God?); not a novice,
lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the adversary. Moreover, he
must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into
reproach and the snare of the adversary.
Incumbent Mitzvot
Sefer HaHinnuch
records 1 Mitzvot.
#96 – Not to remove
the staves from the Ark (Shemot – Ex. 25.15)
Implicit Mitzvoth
from the Nazarean Codicil
Being Shomer
Shabbat (39 middot)
Torah Study and
Scholarship (10 middot)
Questions for Reflection
- From all the readings for this week, which particular verse or
passage caught your attention and fired your heart and imagination?
- In your opinion, and taking into consideration
all of the above readings for this Sabbath, what is the prophetic message
(the idea that encapsulates all the Scripture passages read) for this
week?
Blessing After Torah Study
Barúch
Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,
Ashér
Natán Lánu Torát Emét, V'Chayéi Olám Natá B'Tochénu.
Barúch
Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!
Blessed
is Ha-Shem our God, King of the universe,
Who
has given us a teaching of truth, implanting within us eternal life.
Blessed
is Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!
“Now
unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless, and to establish
you without a blemish,
before
His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer, by means of
Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty,
both now and in all ages. Amen!”
Next Shabbat: Shabbat Mevar’chim HaChodesh Ellul
Proclamation of the
New Moon of the month of Ellul
(Monday Evening 5th of August –
Thursday Evening 7th of August)
Shabbat Nachamu 3
3rd
Sabath of Strengthening/Consolation
|
Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Reading: |
|
וְאַתָּה
תְּצַוֶּה |
|
Saturday Afternoon |
|
“V’Atah
T’tsaveh” |
Reader 1 – Shemot 27:20-28:5 |
Reader 1 – Shemot 29:1-3 |
|
“And you will command” |
Reader 2 – Shemot 28:6-8 |
Reader 2 – Shemot 29:4-6 |
|
“Y
tú mandarás” |
Reader 3 – Shemot 28:9-12 |
Reader 3 – Shemot 29:7-9 |
|
Shemot (Exod.) 27:20 – 28:43 Num. 28:9-15 |
Reader 4 – Shemot 28:13-21 |
|
|
Ashlamatah: Hos.14:7-Joel 1:5+2:14 |
Reader 5 – Shemot 28:22-30 |
Monday & Thursday Mornings |
|
Special: Is.
54:11 – 55:5 I Samuel
20:18,42 |
Reader 6 – Shemot 28:31-35 |
Reader 1 – Shemot 29:1-3 |
|
Psalm 62:1-13 |
Reader 7 – Shemot 28:36-43 |
Reader 2 – Shemot 29:4-6 |
|
Abot: 3:9 |
Maftir:
Shemot 28:41-43 |
Reader 3 – Shemot 29:7-9 |
|
N.C.: Mk 8:14-21; Lk 12:1 & Acts
16:25-34 |
Isaiah Is. 54:11 – 55:5 I
Samuel 20:18,42 |
|
Shalom Shabbat!
Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai
Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham