Triennial Cycle (Triennial Torah Cycle) / Septennial Cycle (Septennial Torah Cycle)

 

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times: https://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm

 

Roll of Honor:

This Commentary comes out weekly and on the festivals thanks to the great generosity of:

His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David and beloved wife HH Giberet Batsheva bat Sarah

His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Karmela bat Sarah,

His Honor Paqid Adon Tzuriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Gibora bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

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His Excellency Adon Robert Dick & beloved wife HE Giberet Cobena Dick

His Excellency Adon Ovadya ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Mirit bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Yaaqov ben David

His Excellency Adon Bill Haynes and beloved wife HE Giberet Diane Haynes

Her Excellency Giberet Krysta Wallrauch & beloved family

 

For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that GOD’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.

 

                                                                            

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our GOD, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us through Your commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah. Amen!

 

Please Ha-Shem, our GOD, 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 delight. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amen!

 

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our GOD, 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 performing 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: Honoring 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!

 

A Prayer for Israel

 

Our Father in Heaven, Rock, and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first manifestation of the approach of our redemption. Shield it with Your lovingkindness, envelop it in Your peace, and bestow Your light and truth upon its leaders, ministers, and advisors, and grace them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land, grant them deliverance, and adorn them in a mantle of victory. Ordain peace in the land and grant its inhabitants eternal happiness.

 

Lead them, swiftly and upright, to Your city Zion and to Jerusalem, the abode of Your Name, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: “Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the Lord your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it, and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers.” Draw our hearts together to revere and venerate Your name and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah, and send us quickly the Messiah son of David, agent of Your vindication, to redeem those who await Your deliverance.

 

We pray for his Honor Adon Tzuriel ben Avraham. Mi Sheberach…He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal His Honor Paqid Tzuriel ben Avraham, May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit, swiftly and soon, and we will say amen ve amen!

 

Shabbat: “El Roshe HaMatot” – Sabbath: “To the heads of the tribes”

& 2nd Sabbath of Consolation

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·        Sacredness of Vows – Numbers 30:2-3

·        Vows of a Young Unmarried Woman – Numbers 30:4-6

·        Case of the Married Woman Who Made The Vow Whilst Single – Numbers 30:7-9

·        Vows of a Widow and Divorced Woman – Numbers 30:10-16

·        War Against the Midianites – Numbers 31:1-5

 

Reading Assignment:

 

 

 

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.

 

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 as follows:

 

1. Ḳal wa-ḥomer: Identical with the first rule of Hillel.
2. Gezerah shawah: Identical with the second rule of Hillel.
3. 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.
4. Kelal u-Peraṭ: The general and the particular.
5. u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The particular and the general.
6. Kelal u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The general, the particular, and the general.
7. The general which requires elucidation by the particular, and the particular which requires elucidation by the general.
8. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it for pedagogic purposes elucidates the general as well as the particular.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Deduction from the context.
13. 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. With regard to the rules and their application in general. These rules are found also on the morning prayers of any Jewish Orthodox Siddur.

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Bamidbar (Numbers) 30:2 – 31:5

 

Rashi Commentary for: ‎ Bamidbar (Numbers) 30:2 – 31:5

 

2 the heads of the tribes He honored the chieftains by teaching them first, and only later the rest of the Israelites. How do we know that he did so with other statements? For it says, “[Moses called to them] and Aaron and all the princes of the community returned to him, and Moses would speak to them. Afterwards, all the children of Israel would draw near” (Exod. 34:31- 32). [If so,] why did [Scripture] see fit to mention it here? It is to teach us that annulment of vows may be performed by a single expert, and if no single expert is available, it may be annulled by three laymen. Alternatively, perhaps Moses related this passage to the princes alone? However, here it says, “This is the word,” and in [the chapter dealing with] sacrifices slaughtered outside the Temple confines it [also] says, “This is the word” (Lev. 17:2). Just as there it was said to Aaron, his sons and all the Israelites, as it says, “Speak to Aaron, etc.” (Lev. 17:2), so in this case was it said to all of them. - [Ned. 78a]

 

This is the thing Moses prophesied with, “So says the Lord, 'At the dividing point of the night...’” (Exod. 11:4), and the prophets prophesied with [the phrase] “So says the Lord.” But Moses surpassed them, for he prophesied with the expression, “This is the thing.” Another interpretation: “This is the thing” is exclusive, informing us that a sage [revokes a vow] with the expression הַתָּרָה , “release” and the husband through the expressionהֲפָרָה “revocation,” as Scripture has here. If they exchange [these terms] there is neither a release nor a revocation. - [Sifrei Mattoth 2] a vow By saying, “It shall be prohibited just like a sacrifice, that I will not eat, or I will not do a certain thing.” One might think that even if he swears to eat carrion, I apply to him “according to whatever came out of his mouth, he shall do.” Scripture therefore states, "to prohibit"—to prohibit what is permitted, but not to permit what is prohibited. - [Sifrei Mattoth 7]

 

he shall not violate his word Heb. לֹא יַחֵל דְּבָרוֹ , like לֹא יְחַלֵּל דְּבָרוֹ “he shall not profane his word,” he shall not treat his word as being unholy. - [Sifrei Mattoth 8]

 

4 while in her father’s house Under her father’s jurisdiction, even if she is not [actually] in his house. - [Sifrei Mattoth 12]

 

in her youth Neither a minor nor an adult [above the age of twelve and a half], since a minor’s vows are invalid, and an adult is not under her father’s jurisdiction to revoke her vows. What is considered a minor? Our Rabbis said: A girl of eleven years and a day—her vows are examined. If she knew in whose name she vowed, or in whose name she consecrated something, her vow stands. From the age of twelve years and one day, she does not need to be tested. - [Niddah 45b]

 

6 But if her father hinders her Heb. הֵנִיא , if he prevented her from [fulfilling] the vow, that is to say, he revoked it. I would not know what this term of הַנָאָה [in the verse, הֵנִיא ] means. However, when it says, “But if her husband hinders her on the day he heard it, he has revoked” (verse 9), I conclude that הֲנָאָה means revocation. Literally, it is a term implying prevention and removal. Similarly, “Why do you discourage [lit., turn away (תְנִיאוּן) the people’s hearts]?” (32:7), and, “may the oil of the anointment of my head not turn my head away (יָנִי)” (Ps. 141:5); similarly, “thus you will come to know My alienation (תְּנוּאֲתִי)” (14:34), that you have turned away from Me.

 

and the Lord will forgive her To what case does the verse refer? To a woman who took a nazarite vow, and her husband heard and revoked it for her without her knowledge. She then transgressed her vow by drinking wine and becoming unclean through contact with corpses—such [a woman] requires forgiveness even though it was revoked. And if those which have been revoked require forgiveness, all the more so those which have not been revoked. -[Sifrei Mattoth 17]

 

7 If she is [betrothed] to a man Heb. וְאִם־הָיֽה תִהְיֶה לְאִישׁ . This [refers to] a betrothed woman [i.e., אֲרוּסָה , the first stage of marriage, when the marriage ceremony has been performed, but the couple does not yet live together], or perhaps it refers to a married woman [ נְשׂוּאָה , who lives already with her husband]? When [Scripture] says, “if she vowed in her husband’s house” (verse 11) it speaks of a married woman, so this must refer to a betrothed woman, and it comes to distinguish her [the betrothed woman from the married woman] in that both her father and husband [must] revoke her vows. If the father revoked it, but the husband did not revoke it, or if the husband revoked it, but the father did not revoke it, it is not revoked, and it goes without saying that if one of them upheld it. - [Ned. 67a]

 

with her vows upon her which she had vowed while in her father’s house, but her father had not heard them, so they were neither revoked nor upheld. - [Sifrei Mattoth 20]

 

8 and her husband heard... Here you have the case that if the husband upholds it, it stands. -[Sifrei Mattoth 21]

 

9 he has revoked the vow she had taken upon herself I might think that even if the father had not revoked it [it is revoked]? Scripture therefore teaches, “in her youth, while in her father’s house” (verse 17); throughout her youth she is under her father’s jurisdiction. - [Sifrei Mattoth 31]

 

10 whatever she prohibited upon herself will remain upon her since she is neither under the jurisdiction of her father nor of her husband. Scripture refers to a widow from marriage, but if she is widowed from betrothal, as soon as her betrothed [husband] has died, she reverts to the jurisdiction of her father. -[Ned. 70a]

 

11 But if she made a vow in her husband’s house Scripture refers to a married woman (נְשׂוּאָה). - [Sifrei Mattoth 25, Ned. 67a]

 

14 Any vow or any binding oath of self-affliction Since it says that the husband may revoke, I might think this includes all vows? Scripture therefore says, "of self-affliction"—he can revoke only vows of self-affliction. They are delineated in Tractate Nedarim (79a).

 

15 from day to day So that you should not say that [he has the power to revoke] for a twenty-four-hour period, it says, “from day to day” to inform you that he may revoke only until nightfall. - [Ned. 76b]

 

16 after having heard them After he heard and upheld [them], by saying, “I approve of it” and then he retracted and revoked it, even on that very day. - [Sifrei Mattoth 30]

 

he shall bear her iniquity He takes her place. We learn from here that if someone causes his fellow to stumble, he bears his punishments in his place. - [Sifrei Mattoth 30]

 

Chapter 31

 

2 against the Midianites But not against the Moabites, for the Moabites were involved in the matter out of fear, since they were afraid of being plundered by them, because all it says is, “do not provoke them into battle” (Deut. 2:9), but the Midianites were angered over a dispute which did not concern them (See Sifrei Mattoth 33). Another interpretation: Because of the two good doves [virtuous proselytes] whom I have [in mind] to bring forth from them, [namely] Ruth the Moabitess and Naamah the Ammonitess (I Kings 14:21). - [B.K. 38b]

 

3 Moses spoke Although he heard that his death depended on the matter, he did it joyfully, without delay. - [Sifrei Mattoth 34, Mid. Tanchuma Mattoth 3, Num. Rabbah 22:2]

 

arm Heb. הֵחָלְצוּ , as the Targum [Onkelos renders זְרִיזוּ ], in the sense of “armed for battle” (verse 5), armed with weapons. - [See Sifrei Mattoth 34]

 

men Righteous men. Similarly, “choose men for us” (Exod. 17:9), and “men who are wise and renowned” (Deut. 1:15). - [Mid. Tanchuma Mattoth 3, Sifrei Mattoth 36, Num. Rabbah 22:2]

 

the revenge of the Lord For anyone opposing Israel is reckoned as opposing the Holy One, blessed is He. - [See Mid. Tanchuma Mattoth 3, Num. Rabbah 22:2]

 

4 from all the tribes including the tribe of Levi. - [Sifrei Mattoth 35]

 

5 was given over Heb. וִַיִּמָּסְרוּ . [The passive form is used] to inform you of the virtues of the Israelite shepherds [leaders]—how cherished they were by Israel. When they had not yet heard of his death, what did he say? “Just a little longer and they will stone me” (Exod. 17:4). But as soon as they heard that Moses’ demise was contingent upon the revenge against Midian, they refused to go, until they were given over against their will. - [Sifrei Mattoth 36, Mid. Tanchuma Mattoth 3, Num. Rabbah 22:3]

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 105:37-45

 

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary to Tehillim (Psalms) 105:37-45

 

40 They asked, and He brought quails Israel asked for meat, and the Holy One, blessed be He, brought them quails.

 

41 in the deserts ran rivers Rivers flowed from the well in an arid land.

 

42 For He remembered The Holy One, blessed be He, [remembered] His holy word, which was with Abraham His servant, which He promised him (Gen. 15:14, 17): “and afterwards they will go out with many possessions...and a fourth generation will return here.”

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎105:37-45

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

 

For continuity I am going to redo the opening remarks from the first part of our psalm.

 

This psalm was composed on the day King David brought the Holy^[1] Ark from its temporary quarters in the home of Oved Edom to the holy city of Jerusalem, where it was installed with great ceremony and honor. The full details of the event are described in I Chronicles, chapter 16. Verses 8-22 of that chapter closely parallel the first fifteen verses of this psalm, while verses 23-33 of that chapter are an almost exact repetition of psalm 96.

 

Verse 7 there reads: On that day David determined the foremost activity to be the offering of thanks to HaShem, under the direction of Assaf and his brothers. Rashi explains that Assaf would recite one verse of praise at a time, which would then be repeated by his fellow Levites.

 

In this composition, the Psalmist emphasizes that the Jews who escorted the Holy Ark are the seed of Abraham, His servant. Abraham’s greatest accomplishment was that he traveled from place-to-place teaching and publicizing the Name of the One G-d. The Holy Ark of the Law also represents G-d’s Name. Thus, when David carried the Ark from place to place to the accompaniment of thanksgiving to the Almighty, he resembled his illustrious forebear, Avraham.^[2]

 

Radak and Malbim^[3] explain that the Levites sang psalm 105 each morning and psalm 96 each evening while the Holy Ark was housed in a temporary tent in Jerusalem. When Solomon built the Temple and the Ark was placed in its permanent abode, a perpetual order of songs was established. These were the Songs of the Day which were related to the respective days of the week and to each special festival.^[4]

 

I would like to explore an interesting idea provoked by the opening pasuk of our psalm portion:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 105:39 He spread a cloud for a screen; and fire to give light in the night.

 

Our sages have a general rule: In order to ascertain a word’s importance, one must retreat to its first appearance in the Torah and examine it in its original context. The context of the first use of a word in the Torah gives us the word’s essential meaning. The first use of aish - אש, the Hebrew word in the Torah for fire is in:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning (aish - אש) lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day HaShem made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

 

This first use of the Hebrew word for fire (aish אש) teaches us that its essence is related to HaShem, who used the fire to communicate His presence and His desire to make a unilateral covenant with Avraham. The Torah indicates that, not only does fire represent HaShem, but that in some way HaShem is fire:

 

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:24 For HaShem thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

 

Bereans (Hebrews) 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

 

Our Psalm portion alludes to the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire that guided the Bne Israel during the exodus. Rashi’s interpretation, of this pillar, is based on the assumption that there are two distinct pillars: one of a cloud^[5] the other of fire. Let us propose for a moment, without presenting all the arguments in favor of this view, that the text is speaking not of two separate pillars, but rather of one single pillar of fire and cloud together, fire on the inside and a cloud on the outside. The cloud is what is seen by day, and the fire is what they see at night. This idea is brought to clarity in a pasuk which comes immediately after the Bne Israel crossed the Yam Suf:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 14:24 And it came to pass in the morning watch, that HaShem looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians through the pillar^[6] of FIRE and of CLOUD and discomfited the host of the Egyptians.

 

This merging of cloud and fire can also be seen in:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 40:33-37 When Moses had finished the work, the CLOUD covered the tent of meeting, and the presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of meeting, because the CLOUD had settled upon it and the presence of HaShem filled the Tabernacle. ...For over the Tabernacle, a CLOUD of HaShem rested by day, and FIRE would appear in it at night, in the view of all the house of Israel...

 

The pillar of fire and cloud is one and the same. The pillar was perceived as being both fire and cloud simultaneously. With this idea in mind, try to imagine what happened at Mt. Sinai on that fateful day:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 24:15-18 When Moses had ascended the mountain, the CLOUD covered the mountain. The presence of HaShem abode on Mount Sinai and the CLOUD hid it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the CLOUD. Now the presence of HaShem appeared in the sight of the Israelites as a consuming FIRE on the top of the mountain”.

 

This same imagery is seen even earlier in the days of Avraham at the covenant between the parts:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and there was thick darkness, behold a smoking furnace (CLOUD), and a flaming (FIRE) torch that passed between these pieces. 18 In that day HaShem made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;

 

Do these symbols take us back to Bereshit with the primal elements of (light) fire and dark? Is the cloud reminiscent of the primordial “mist that rose from the earth and watered the face of the ground”?^[7]

 

There is, then, a continuum that runs from the revelation of the Shechinah^[8] at the exodus from Egypt through the revelation at Mount Sinai to the building of the Mishkan, a continuum that gives expression to the deep inner connection between the various events, the exodus from Egypt, which testified to all that HaShem chose the people of Israel in order to rest His Shechinah among them; the revelation at Mount Sinai, in which HaShem revealed Himself to the entire nation; and the dedication of the Mishkan, at which time the Shechinah moved from Mount Sinai to the Mishkan in order to continue among the people of Israel and in permanent fashion the revelation that had begun at Sinai. As we shall see shortly, this revelation of HaShem in fire will continue into the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple.

 

Attention should also be paid to the following parallel:

 

Shemot 13	Shemot 40
HaShem went before them	And the cloud covered the Ohel Mo’ed,[9] and God’s glory filled the Mishkan
By day – in a pillar of cloud, to show them the way	For HaShem’s cloud was upon the Mishkan – by day
and at night – in a pillar of fire, to make light for them.	and fire was in it by night.

 

Thus, we learn that in the same way that HaShem was revealed when Bne Israel left Egypt, so He was revealed to them on Mount Sinai. And in the very same way He was revealed in the Ohel Moed. And just as in the two latter cases His glory was manifest as fire within a cloud, so it was in the first case. Thus, there are not two separate pillars, but rather only one. By day it is perceived as a cloud; by night it looks like fire. And thus, the final verse of Sefer Shemot ends:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 40:38 For the cloud of HaShem was upon the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

 

Fire from heaven that consumes the offering on the altar is a recurring act in the Tanach. It is first displayed in the days of the Judges when Gideon sought the presence of HaShem and requested Divine communication.

 

Shoftim (Judges) 6:17-24 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And HaShem said, “I will wait until you return.” Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of HaShem touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of HaShem disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of HaShem, he exclaimed, “Ah, Sovereign God! I have seen the angel of HaShem face to face!” But HaShem said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” So, Gideon built an altar to HaShem there and called it HaShem is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

 

When Elijah confronted the priests of Baal, he requested that HaShem manifest His presence and communicate this presence to those who were seeking strange gods. HaShem answered Elijah with fire from heaven:

 

I Melachim (Kings) 18:36-39 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “HaShem, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, HaShem, answer me, so these people will know that you, HaShem, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of HaShem fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell and prostrated and cried, “HaShem--he is God! HaShem--he is God!”

 

When Moshe finished erecting the Mishkan, fire came from heaven and consumed the offering, and lit the fire of the altar:

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 9:23-24 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of HaShem appeared unto all the people. 24 And there came a fire out from before HaShem, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

 

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis III:9 R. Samuel b. Ammi said: From the beginning of the world’s creation the Holy One, blessed be He, longed to enter into partnership with the mortals. For what will you: if it is a matter of time reckoning, it should say either one, two, three, or first, second, third, but surely not, one, second, third! When did the Holy One, blessed be He, repay them? At the erection of the Tabernacle, as it says, And he that presented his offering the first day,^[10] meaning, the first of the world’s creation, for God said, ‘It is as though on that day I created My world.’ That day took ten crowns: it was the first of the creation, first in respect of kings, the princes, the priesthood, and the Shechinah, (as it says, And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them;^[11] it was first in respect of blessing, sacrificial service, the prohibition of high places, killing at the north [side of the Altar], and the descending of fire, as it is said, And there came forth fire from before the Lord.^[12]

 

On the site where King Solomon would build David’s Temple, fire from heaven was manifested even before the Temple was built.

 

I Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 21:22-27 David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to HaShem, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.” Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.” But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for HaShem what is yours or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” So, David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. David built an altar to HaShem there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on HaShem, and HaShem answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. Then HaShem spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.

 

When King Solomon finished constructing King David’s Temple, HaShem demonstrated His presence and pleasure by consuming the offering with fire from heaven.

 

II Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 7:1-3 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of HaShem filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of HaShem because the glory of HaShem filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of HaShem above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave thanks to HaShem, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”

 

There is an important component in the story of King Solomon, the fire from heaven, and Shemini Atzeret.^[13] When the people saw that the gates were open, and the fire came down from heaven to consume, the first time, everything which was placed on the altar, they were filled with an extreme Simcha, joy, and they bowed, and prostrated on the floor of the Holy Temple, and sang, for the first time ever in the Tanach, the Hallel of David^[14] “Ki Leolam Chasdo”.^[15] Then they stood up, and the music instruments which David had made were playing, and they sang again the Hallel of David “Ki Leolam Chasdo”. This time not prostrating but standing. And here we encounter a new type of the Hallel. It is not said after a miracle of saving from the hands of the enemies, not as a Hallel which accompanies a mitzva, not as a song for the holiday, but as a thanksgiving song. For the general goodness of all the good which HaShem has done to Israel and to David. Moreover, that type of the Hallel was said while prostrated, and then while standing. Hence, the only Hallel which is equal to the Song of the day, where they prostrated themselves on the floor of the holy Temple, was on Shemini Atzeret.

 

So Shemini Atzeret is the birthday of the Fire from heaven on the altar, which burned, without interruption, for four hundred plus years.

 

This fire from heaven was also evident during the time of the Maccabees. After they cleansed the Temple, rebuilt the altar, and kindled the menorah, HaShem again communicated His presence and His pleasure with fire from heaven. In the book of Maccabees, we read as follows:

 

II Maccabees 2:1 “And now that our hearts desire to celebrate the day of the rededication of the altar ... you shall celebrate it, like the day upon which Nehemiah found the holy fire when he returned to build the Temple ... For when our fathers were exiled, the holy Kohanim secretly took the fire and hid it ... and it came to pass after many days that the king sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem ... they could not find the fire and found only freezing water instead ... and it happened that when they offered God’s sacrifice, he commanded them to sprinkle some of the water on the wood and on the sacrifice which was upon the altar, and they did so. When they had finished, and the sun shone upon the earth and the clouds were scattered, behold a heavenly fire ignited the sacrifice, and the entire nation surrounding it was astonished, and the Kohanim and all the nation fell upon their faces ... and the Kohanim sang praise and thanks to God.”

 

In all of the above cases, the significance of the miracle is that it bears testimony to the fact that the Shechinah dwells amongst Israel. The necessity of the sign comes about as a result of the nature of the Divine Presence in general.

 

We find fire from heaven which testifies to power of HaShem when He rained hail and fire on the Egyptians in the days of Moshe:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 9:23-24 So Moses stretched forth his staff heavenward, and HaShem gave forth thunder and hail, and fire came down to the earth, and HaShem rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. And there was hail, and fire flaming within the hail, very heavy, the likes of which had never been throughout the entire land of Egypt since it had become a nation.

 

Shemot Rabbah 12:4 Imagine two fierce legions who were always at war with one another, but when the king needed their services for his own battle, he made peace with them, so that both should carry out the orders of the king. In like manner, fire and hail are hostile to each other, but when the time came to make war with Egypt, God made peace between them, and both smote the Egyptians.

 

Midrash Rabbah - Shemot (Exodus) XII:2 BEHOLD, TO-MORROW ABOUT THIS TIME I WILL CAUSE IT TO RAIN A VERY GRIEVOUS HAIL (IX, 18). Zabdi b. Levi said: He scratched a mark on the wall and said: ‘When the sun reaches this mark to-morrow, the hail will descend.^[16] SUCH AS HAD NOT BEEN IN ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT-there had been nothing like it before either in the rest of the world or in Egypt. [Again], it does not say ‘it will not be’, as in the case of the plague of the firstborn where we are told: Nor shall be like it anymore (Xl, 6), but SUCH AS HAD NOT BEEN, that is, had not been in the past, but there will be in the Time to Come.^[17] When? In the days of Gog and Magog, as it is written: Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war (Iyov (Job) XXXVIII, 23), and similarly, An overflowing shower, and great hailstone, fire, and brimstone (Ezek. XXXVIII, 22).^[18] NOW THEREFORE SEND, HASTEN IN THY CATTLE (IX, 19). See the mercies of God! Even in His wrath, He had mercy on the wicked and on their cattle, because He sent the plague of hail only on the produce of the land, even warning them to protect themselves and their cattle that they should not be smitten by the hail. HE THAT FEARED THE WORD OF HaShem AMONG THE SERVANTS OF PHARAOH (X, 20). Our Rabbis of blessed memory said: This refers to Iyov (Job).^[19] AND HE THAT REGARDED NOT THE WORD OF HASHEM (ib. 21) refers to Pharaoh and his people.

 

Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Shemot 16 Pharaoh cried out: Entreat the Lord . . . and I will let them go.^[20] Moses replied: You said that at the time of the first plague, and I pleaded in your behalf, but yet you did not send them away. Why should I entreat for thee and for thy servants?.^[21] Pharaoh replied: I have sinned before the Lord your God and against you, but now I will let them go. When Moses heard that, Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread forth his hands unto the Lord; and the thunders and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.^[22] They were sus­pended in mid-air. When did they descend? Some descended upon the Amorites in the days of Joshua, as it is said: The Lord cast dawn great stones from heaven upon them,^[23] and the remainder will fall on Gog and Magog in the days of the Messiah. And the thunders ceased.^[24] They, too, were suspended (in mid-air). They descended in the days of Elisha, against the camp of the Arameans, as it is said: For the Lord had made the hosts of the Arameans, to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses.^[25]

 

And the hail and sounds are still suspended in the air until the times of Gog and Magog, as it says, “And I will punish him with pestilence, blood, pouring rain, and hailstones”.^[26] Further it says, “Tumult from the city, thunder from the Temple, and the sounds of HaShem will bring retribution to his enemies”.^[27]

 

Yehezchel (Ezekiel) 38:18-22 On that day, when Gog sets foot on the soil of Israel—declares the Lord GOD—My raging anger shall flare up. 19 For I have decreed in My indignation and in My blazing wrath: On that day, a terrible earthquake shall befall the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that move on the ground, and every human being on earth shall quake before Me. Mountains shall be overthrown, cliffs shall topple, and every wall shall crumble to the ground. (21) I will then summon the sword against him throughout My mountains, declares the Lord GOD, and every man’s sword shall be turned against his brother. 22 I will punish him with pestilence and with bloodshed; and I will pour torrential rain, hailstones, and sulfurous fire upon him and his hordes and the many peoples with him.

 

In the introduction to the seventh plague, HaShem specifically states that the purpose of Pharaoh, and the seventh plague is:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 9:16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

 

With the seventh plague HaShem starts to separate those who fear His name and those who do not:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 9:19-21 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’” Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of HaShem hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. But those who ignored the word of HaShem left their slaves and livestock in the field.

 

The seventh plague is unique in several ways:

 

1.      It is the only plague where HaShem indicates that it is ALL of the plagues:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 9:14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thy heart, and on thy servants, and on thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like Me in all the earth.

 

2.      Shemot (Exodus) 9:30 contains a unique form of HaShem‘s name which is found nowhere else in the Torah:

Shemot (Exodus) 9:30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear HaShem Elohim.

 

This combination of names is the equivalent of having ‘justice’ and ‘mercy’ at the same time. People are just not capable of these two things simultaneously.

 

3.      This is the only plague where HaShem mixes two substances that ordinarily cannot be mixed:

Shemot (Exodus) 9:23-24 And Moshe stretched out his rod towards heaven: and HaShem sent thunder and hail; and the fire rained down upon the ground; and HaShem rained hail upon the land of Mitzrayim. So, there was hail and fire flaring up amidst the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Mitzrayim since it became a nation.^[28]

 

The fire is literally inside the hail! The fire would melt the ice, turning it into water. The water would quench the fire leaving only steam. Such a combination could never, ordinarily, exist in nature.

 

4.      This is the only plague where HaShem gave the Egyptians and Pharaoh the option of not being hurt by it. Imagine a plague that does not hurt anyone who heeds HaShem‘s warning!

Shemot (Exodus) 9:18-22 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’” Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of HaShem hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. But those who ignored the word of HaShem left their slaves and livestock in the field. Then HaShem said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt--on men and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.”

 

By putting the above points together, we can see that the combination of the two names of HaShem is like combining hail and fire. And even as HaShem gave the G-d fearers the “mercy” to avoid the plague; He gave those who did not fear HaShem: Justice. Truly this plague combined justice and mercy.

 

The final place where we see fire from heaven is in the destruction of the wicked at the battle of Har Megiddo.

 

Revelation 20:7-9 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

 

Our psalm portion speaks in a very mundane way about fire. It says the fire is to give light in the night.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 105:39 He spread a cloud for a screen; and fire to give light in the night.

 

This light is not ordinary light. Like the lights of Chanukah, this light is very special. This light can shine through the darkness that overwhelms us in this long dark exile. This light is extraordinary!

 

Clearly this is no ordinary fire. This is a fire that speaks of guidance, of protection, and of the immediate presence of HaShem. The various mitzvot of our Torah portion are also meant to provide guidance, protection, and convey the immediate presence of HaShem. Let us look up and see the mitzvot with the same eyes that inspired David when he wrote our chapter of psalms.

 

Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 45:23-25 + 46:3-5, 8-11

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary on: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 45:23-25 + 46:3-5, 8-11

 

18 He did not create it for a waste but He formed it to be inhabited.

 

19 Not in secret did I speak When I gave the Torah, and I did not say for naught and in vain to the seed of Jacob, Seek Me, but to receive great reward.

 

I am the Lord Who speaks righteousness Since I commenced to speak to them concerning My righteousness/ generosity, to inform them of the giving of their reward, afterwards I told them things that are right, My statutes and My laws, for before the giving of the Torah it was said to them, “And now, if you heed, etc., you shall be for Me a treasure...a kingdom of priests, etc.” (Ex. 19:5f.).

 

20 approach Heb. הִתְנַגְּשׁוּ, an expression of approaching (הַגָּשָׁה) and the ‘nun’ is attached to it, as one says “they were struck (הִתְנַגְּפוּ) ”; “they will be struck (יִתְנַגְּפוּ).”

 

you survivors of the nations who survived the sword of Nebuchadnezzar.

 

who carry their graven wooden image...do not know to understand knowledge.

 

21 who announced this from before Who of your idols is it that announced from before that your God brought salvation, each one to its worshipers?

 

Is it not I, the Lord, and there are no other For I announce what I am destined to do for My people, and I fulfill My words.

 

22 Turn to Me and abandon your graven images, all the ends of the earth, and, thereby, you shall be saved.

 

23 By Myself I swore and righteousness/generosity emanated from My mouth to accept all those who return to Me. I spoke a word, and it will not be retracted. What is the righteousness/generosity that emanated from My mouth? That to Me shall every knee kneel, and I will accept them, as the matter is stated (Zeph. 3:9): “For then will I change for the people a pure language, to call all of them in the name of the Lord...”

 

24 But to me did He say by the Lord Heb. אַךְ בַה' לִי אָמַר [lit. but by the Lord to me He said]. This verse is inverted, and thus is its interpretation: But to me did He say by the Lord righteousness and strength. Although all the nations shall prostrate themselves before Him [correct reading according to Warsaw edition, K’li Paz, and mss.], but to Me alone, the congregation of Israel, has been promised by the Lord righteousness/generosity and strength, and other nations shall not be included in My glory.

 

to Him shall come and be ashamed etc. All who were incensed against the Holy One, blessed be He, shall come to Him to regret what they did in their lifetimes and be ashamed.

 

all who are incensed Heb. כֹּל הַנֶּחֱרִים בּוֹ, all who are incensed.

 

25 Through the Lord...find righteousness/generosity and boast Through the promise of the support of His love they shall find righteousness/generosity and boast of His strength.

 

boast Heb. וְיִתְהַלְלוּ, porvantir in O.F.

 

Chapter 46

 

1 Bel squats; Nebo soils himself The deities of Babylon squatted and soiled themselves. This is an expression of ridicule of the idols, like one who suffers from diarrhea and does not manage to sit down on the seat in the privy before he discharges with a splash.

 

Bel squats; Nebo soils himself Heb. כָּרַע בֵּל קֹרֵס נְבוֹ. Akropid sei Bel; konkiad sei Nebo. Bel squats; Nebo soils himself. So I heard in the name of Rabbenu Gershom, the Light of the Diaspora.

 

their idols were The images of the forms of Bel and Nebo were to the beasts and the cattle, compared to the beasts and the cattle, which soil and dirty themselves with their droppings.

 

what you carry is made a load, a burden The feces in their bowels are heavy to bear like a burden for a weary man. Therefore, they soiled themselves and squatted together, the soiling with the squatting.

 

2 they could not deliver the burden to discharge the feces in their bowels as others discharge, in the normal manner.

 

deliver Heb. מַלֵּט, an expression of discharging from an embedded place. Comp. (supra 34:15) “There, the owl has made its nest, and she has laid eggs (וַתְּמַלֵט),” he has discharged her egg. Comp. also (infra 66:7) “And she has been delivered (וְהִמְלִיטָה) of a male child.” Jonathan, however, did not render these verses in this manner.

 

3 who are borne from birth Since you were born in the house of Laban the Aramean, I bore you on My arms, for since then, adversaries stand up against you in every generation and not like the idolaters (other nations [K’li Paz and mss.]) who are laden and carry their Gods, as is mentioned above, but you are laden and borne in My arms.

 

4 And until old age that you have aged and your strength is depleted, that you have no merit, I am the same with My mercy and with My trait of goodness to save you and to bear you and to carry you and deliver you. Since he says regarding their deity, that it is carried and also that it cannot deliver its burden, he says, “But I bear others, and I will deliver My burden.”

 

5 and compare Me Heb. וְתַמְשִׁלֻנִי. Comp. (Job 30:19) “And I have become like (וָאֶתְמַשֵּׁל) dust and ashes.” An expression of comparison.

 

that we may be alike That I and he be alike, one to the other.

 

6 Those who let gold run from the purse Heb. הַזָּלִים, an expression of (Ps. 146:18) “Water runs (יִזְּלוּ).”

 

with the balance Heb. קָנֶה, the bar of a scale, called flael in O.F.

 

8 Remember this what I wish to say.

 

and strengthen yourselves Heb. וְהִתְאשָׁשׁוּ. Comp. (supra 16:7) “For the walls (לַאֲשִׁישֵׁי) of Kir-hareseth.”

 

take to heart, you transgressors And what do I say to you to remember and to take to heart?

 

9 Remember the first things of old that you have seen that I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me.

 

10 [I] tell the end from the beginning The Egyptian exile and its redemption I announced in the Covenant between the Segments, before they came about.

 

11 [I] call from the east a swift bird Heb. עַיִט. From the land of Aram, which is in the east, I called Abraham to Me to take counsel with Me. עַיִט Comp. (Dan. 2:14) “Answered with counsel (עֵיטָא) and discretion”; (ibid. 6:8) “All the presidents of the kingdom have taken counsel (אִתְיָעֲטוּ).” Alternatively, it can be interpreted as an expression of a bird. I called him to hasten after Me like a bird that flies and wanders from its place.

 

from a distant land I called My man of counsel, and with him I took counsel between the parts concerning the four exiles, as it is explained in Gen. Rabbah (44:17) “And behold, a fear, great darkness was falling upon him.” [“Fear” refers to Babylon... “Darkness” refers to Media, who darkened the eyes of Israel with fasting. “Great” refers to Greece... “Was falling upon him” refers to Edom..., etc.]

 

yea I spoke with him concerning the exiles and their redemption; I will also bring it.

 

Commentary on the Ashlamatah Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 45:23-25 + 46:3-5, 8-11

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

 

Scholars tell us that this 45th chapter begins with an address to Koresh, AKA Cyrus, the Persian King. Who God was going to use to bring salvation through his rule, to the exiled people of Hashem and the entire world. And through Cyrus, the Exiles would return to Jerusalem, and the people of the world would recognize God at work, fulfilling his promises and being faithful to his word. In this process, the nations would join Israel and worship the one true God. We know that Cyrus is referred to as the LORD’s Anointed One. In Hebrew, the word is Mashiach, often translated as “Messiah.” If the above statement is correct, then the question looms large as to why the kingdom of God was not set up when the exiles left Babylon under Cyrus.

 

At this point, we should ask and think why God would refer to a Gentile king of Persia as his anointed one - his Messiah? We would think it would be David who would be his anointed one or another of his descendants. According to Isaiah, a Davidic king does not play a significant role in the expected restoration (55:3).^[29] The ideal is that God promised David his descendants would rule Israel forever as an enduring royal dynasty. By coming to Hashem, people will have life and the benefits of God’s everlasting covenant with David (2 Sam. 7:11–16). Hashem is telling his people Incline your ear, come to me, hear that your soul may live, and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. In Acts 13:34, this same thought is put forth in the message of the resurrection of Yeshua. The message of Isaiah 55 is to Israel and to everyone who thirsts to come to the waters, come buy, eat, and drink without money and without price. The Rabbis teach us that water represents or is a metaphor for Torah and wisdom, as are wine and milk. As Rashi says, the Purchase price of spiritual treasure is not money, but the desire to learn and improve oneself.[30] Maharu Kara[31] brings down that this passage deals with the time just before the Messiah and that if you listen and return to My (Hashem's) teaching, I will bring the Messiah.

 

Some commentators question why this has not happened and feel compelled to compensate for it. “Here, Isaiah extends that promise to the nation as a whole. The restored Judean commonwealth will have no one human king, for all its members will have royal status. Thus, Isaiah transforms the older Davidic covenant by democratizing it. Some have suggested the prophet saves the Davidic promise employing this transformation, for the more natural reading of the Davidic promise in 2 Samuel 7 and Psalms 89, which proved incorrect in light of the fall of the Davidic dynasty to the Babylonians in 586 BCE.^[32] I think this might be taking a shortsighted view and only looking at one side of the coin without looking at the other side. One thing to keep in mind, the prophecies of 2 Samuel 7 seem more concerned with the building of the temple than the dynastic succession. When we get to Psalms 89, we see the temple is omitted, and the focus is on the permanence of the Davidic kingship. Due to this one-sidedness, I believe some have concluded that there will be no one person referred to as Messiah, but a messiah spirit working in all the people. I agree, but 5000 years of human nature tells me sheep need a shepherd. The biblical usage of the Hebrew word for “anointed one” (mashiach, משׁיח; English, “messiah”) or Christ. The word is used to describe bible (O.T.) figures chosen to do God’s work, Saul in 1 Sam 24:10; David in 2 Sam 19:21; and even the Persian King Cyrus in Isa 45:1. God overlooked seven of Jesse’s sons and selected David to be Saul’s successor. God was not concerned with David’s physical stature, but with his spiritual stability.[33] 

 

What we find most interesting about Cyrus and the job he was given to do is that God would hold his right hand, he would tread down nations, and he would uncover these lower ones, and no gate would stay shut before him. Any hill that comes up, you are going to level it. The same thing is repeated in (45:13). I will rouse him up for the victory and level the roads before him. He will rebuild my city and let my exiled people go. Our reading is coming on the heels of “Comfort ye, Comfort ye my people. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, for A voice cries out through the desert. A road the Lord leveled in the wilderness, the highway for our God. (Isa.40:1-3) Man only lives a brief time and has a short view, whereas Hashem sees from the end to the beginning. The task given to King Cyrus has not been completed, although Isaiah said he would complete it. How can that be? Cyrus is long gone. Will another whom God has called by name, known from before his birth, spoken of as Hashem's servant, complete the work?

 

Since our reading of ‘Comfort, O comfort my people Israel’ in Isaiah 40:1, one spoken of as a servant is introduced. It seems this servant at times is an individual, and other verses speak of ‘him’ as a nation or even a gentile named Cyrus. There is no question that the ‘servant’ is the people and nation of Israel, and now this servant spoken of is a gentile King named Cyrus. In Isaiah 43:3, we see where Hashem gave Egypt and later Gentile nations as a ransom for Israel.[34] Ezekiel 20:9-12 tells us it was at this point that Hashem revealed himself and his laws and sabbaths to Israel. In this section of Isaiah, we see where this servant is chosen to give itself, so that the nations and the people of Israel may know and that the nations come to know that Hashem is One and there was no god before him and there is no god after him, only Hashem. (43:9-10, 45:3-7)

 

The prophet speaking for God calls on the last remnant of humanity left at the end of history, after all the wars and upheavals, after all the challenges of the pagan nations. “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” ^[35] HaShem tells us, “I did not speak in secret, nor was I hiding, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, Seek me in vain.’ I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right. (45:19) The Rabbis teach us that when God appeared at Mt. Sinai and made a public appearance he did so, in the open before the whole world when he gave us his Torah as a “handbook for living”. Although, we see his attention is for the whole human race in general his word to Moses is for the Jewish Nation in particular.[36] Abarbanel states, “The commandments are not empty; rather they are filled with righteousness and morality.” The nations of the world did not heed God’s call and continued to chase after their powerless gods. For the last two thousand years, Hashem has been working to move the gentile world closer to the true worship of their creator. We are nearing the time when Hashem is going to do something that will cause the nations of the world to wake up and notice Israel and the Jews in a different light.

 

Our text starts with a description of the nations, “a challenge to the idolaters. HaShem is the only God who can fulfill His prophecies; therefore, all the nations will acknowledge Him (vv. 22,23). The religion of Israel is to become the religion of the entire world; how that plays out, time will tell. This anticipation finds a (present) fulfillment in the Christian dispensation, and thus Paul applies the latter part of this text to (Messiah in Phil 2:10,11.”^[37] Dummelow wrote this in 1936, before he had to work the Jewish nation back into his theology, and he seems to have pulled up short. We see that (v.11) tells us “Every tongue will confess that Yeshua Messiah is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Here is the classic mistake theologians make: instead of the nations going to the Jews (whom Yeshua said have salvation), they misread it through their theological bifocals and get the Jews coming to the nations for salvation. Christians misunderstand Jesus' role as a suffering servant and, in their Idolatry, make him into his own father.

 

Adam Clarke, who lived until 1832, does somewhat better when he commented on v.22-23 and said; “This verse and the following contain a plain prediction of the universal spread of the knowledge of God through (Messiah); and so the Targum appears to have understood it; see Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:10. The reading of the Targum is remarkable, viz., אתפנו למימרי ithpeno lemeymri, look to my Word, ὁ Λογος, the Lord Jesus.”^[38] However, it is an important example to follow; the Jewish people have never confused Moses with God, although Moses was the greatest prophet that ever lived, and they witnessed Hashem and Moses speaking with each other. (Exo. 20:18)

 

Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge; they carry about their wooden idols and keep praying to a god that cannot save them. (v. 20) The nations are praying to a false representation of the ONLY true God, having their understanding darkened. It has been said that at the root of Idolatry, man creates God in his image, instead of man allowing God's image to be created in him. The nations “have no knowledge,” they carry about idols that they have made, and they pray to a God that cannot save them. What do we learn from this? What we learn is that the powerless god the nations have created and that they support and carry about while falsely praying to it is not a god, but a distorted image of God (Hashem), which the nations have created of the one true God. If this is a true statement, then ALL the nations are worshipping the one true God in the wrong way with the wrong understanding. Which seems to be just what the Samaritans were doing in the first century.

 

Yeshua in John 4:23 of the Nazarene Codicil, tells the Samaritan women at the well; You worship what you do not know;[39] we worship what we know, for salvation is [40]from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and it is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The Bible tells us there is only one nation to which God ever revealed himself. That is the nation of Israel, through Moses, in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and with the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. What I understand Yeshua saying is that the nations will soon be moving closer to the correct worship of the Father (Hashem). Humanity has moved closer, but we are not quite there yet.[41] Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord (HaShem)? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God, and a Savior; there is none besides me. (Isa. 45:21ff) The nations are told to assemble and draw near. What are they to draw near to? Come and reason, debate, and do a forensic search to see if what was said long ago is indeed the truth. The nations are to draw near to the people of God, Judah, and this is the picture the Prophets paint for the end of the age.

 

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God and there is no other. (v.22) As shown earlier, the nations are to draw near. In context, I would suggest that the nations are the ones to draw near to God’s people, those he has revealed Himself to, those told to be a light to the nations.^[42] Gentile (nations) are invited to submit willingly—to turn to HaShem and away from their gods—and accept the salvation being offered to them. But, whether willingly or unwillingly, they will submit: every knee will bend, every tongue swears an oath of allegiance (v.23)

 

Only in the LORD(HaShem) is there righteousness and strength. Rashi renders this as Only to me, the Jewish people, has God promised generosity and power. In the Lord (HaShem) all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory. (v.25) Although the nations will recognize the truth at the end of days each of the nations will approach God individually, hence the singular, בּוֹא “will or shall come”[43] Those who fought and were at odds with Gods people and fought against him and his Torah, to him shall they come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. According to this all who anger him or are against him refers to those who fought against his people because the enemies of Israel are the enemies of God.[44] R’ Schwab[45] notes that it’s important to understand that although the idols of Isaiah’s era, and indeed the very powerful temptation of idolatry, have long since been eliminated from Jewish life, the exhortations of the prophet Isaiah are still relevant. There are always new temptations that have a powerful influence on people. Some political, some sexual, some economic, some theological. All have harmed the spiritual life of Israel. When Isaiah calls upon his people to take to heart that only the Torah is valid and whatever opposes it is vain, he speaks to everyone in every age.[46]

 

Isaiah goes on to instruct those who have wavered in their faithfulness to stand firm, for God has said, my plan will stand, and I will carry out my every desire. (46:10). I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay; I will put salvation in Zion. (46:13) All events follow from God’s words and purpose, from revelation and sovereignty. All that is taking place in our world must be recognized from the same perspective that the prophet outlines; the future lies with the same purpose and the same activity as the past. HaShem has said, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning.”^[47]

 

We are living in a time when those with ears to hear and eyes to see are, I believe, witnessing HaShem’s hand at work with his Jewish children and those of the offspring of Jacob, along with those who have survived from among the nations. Earlier, I wrote that the backstory to our reading was the positioning of Cyrus for a certain job. Cyrus was chosen for a special high office with a certain goal to accomplish. God told him, “I will hold your right hand, to subdue nations, to loosen the loins of kings, to open doors and gates that may not be shut.” I will go before and make crooked paths straight. I will break in pieces the doors of brass. Cut asunder the bars of iron; give you treasures of darkness, hidden riches of secret places. That thou mayest know that I am the LORD, who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel. For the sake of Jacob, my servant, AND Israel, my elect. (Isaiah 45:1-4) It seems to me this work of the Anointed One, named Cyrus, is a work of every generation for the last two and one-half millennia.

 

What was Cyrus's purpose? One purpose is told in (45:6) that people may know, from the rising of the sun (east) and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other…. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things. “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it. Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots![48] Cyrus starts his mission, and from our perspective, things get sidetracked, and his mission is not completed. But I would suggest that what he started has been working since Cyrus walked this earth. How many people have carried on the task and moved Cyrus' job description and mission forward? How many men have come to complete another portion of the work Cyrus began? Was Cyrus commissioned to complete it in his lifetime, or was it his mission to just get it started? Did Cyrus fail Hashem in his mission? If we answer this last question in the affirmative, we should have a problem following that logic with our understanding of Hashem's work. Everything comes from Hashem, everything he speaks is true, and his spoken words never fail. It is our understanding, or the misunderstanding of his workings, which causes us to not understand his words. But let us not lose faith – Isa. 45:3-4 tells us it is all in order, that you may know that it is I, Hashem…. And it is all ‘for the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen’… Another servant of Hashem says in John 13:7 What I am doing now you do not understand, but later you will.

 

To sum up some of what Isaiah is pointing out to us, let us look at our text in this Ashlamatah.

 

(v.3-4) Listen to Me, O House of Jacob, All that are left of the House of Israel, Who have been carried since birth, Supported since leaving the womb: Till you grow old, I will still be the same; When you turn gray, it is I who will carry; I was the Maker, and I will be the Bearer; And I will carry and rescue [you]. (V.8-10) Keep this in mind and stand firm! Take this to heart, you sinners! Bear in mind what happened of old; For I am God, and there is none else, I am divine, and there is none like Me. I foretell the end from the beginning, and from the start, things that had not occurred. I say: My plan shall be fulfilled; I will do all I have proposed. ^[49]

 

Professor Gerhard Von Rad tells us that when Cyrus is set in his position, the new turn given to world-history by Cyrus has set events in motion that are swiftly leading to the end(Isa.51:5; 46:13), and Isaiah was alluding to the new political direction given to history by Cyrus… He compares Cyrus to Nebuchadnezzar in (Jer. 27:5ff). The events of history are changing, but Israel is still the object of these worldwide historical designs of HaShem. Von Rad continues: the effects of Cyrus on Israel had political effects upon the world around her, and the Gentiles are to become aware and, by their own accord come to Israel. When we see the world news today, are we seeing another Cyrus, who in a messianic role will bring both Israel and the nations closer in relationship to HaShem? [50] This year, 2025/5785, we have seen amazing events one after the other. I believe they shall continue, and Israel is at the forefront of what HaShem is about to accomplish on the earth. Could the modern-day Cyrus fulfill King Cyrus’ mission as recorded in Isaiah, bring earth-turning events to the world that will bring in the Messianic age and a new state of being for the nation of Israel?

 

 

Special Ashlamatah (Yeshayahu) Isaiah: 49:14-51:3

Shabbat # 2 of Consolation/Strengthening

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: (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.

 

Commentary on the Ashlamatah of (Yeshayahu) Isaiah 49:14-51:3

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

 

This is the second Sabbath of consolation reading. If you look at the first verse in each of the seven readings, you'll see a little theme or idea, a prophetic message. Last week, the First Sabbath of consolation, the prophetic message was Comfort you. Comfort you, my people.  This week. Isaiah 49:14 says But Zion said. Hashem has forsaken me, and Hashem has forgotten me. Hashem replied with a resounding NO! No more than a mother can forget her baby or disown the child of her womb. Though the mother might forget, I will never forget, for I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.

 

Zion serves as a metaphor for the nation of Israel as a whole, and just as Isaiah says he was named in his mother’s womb, so Israel was known in the womb.  Israel, whom I have chosen! Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. (44:1-2, 43:10, 45:4) Even way back in Moses’ day the children of Israel are told, because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance.^[51] Isaiah now begins to describe the Miraculous return of the people of Israel to Zion.

 

The prophet tells the people to tell their builders to make haste.  Lift up your eyes and see them all gather.  The children will say, there is no room for us, make room for us to settle.  And at the same time, in (v.17), we are told the destroyers of Israel will begin to move out, and ever so slowly, your children will return.  In (Isa. 5:26), Hashem raised a signal or whistle for the nations, and they came to punish Israel for its sin. Now Hashem reassured his people that he will raise his hand to the nations, and they will bring your sons, carrying them in their bosom and your daughters on their backs, they will bow to the children of Israel, and you will know that I am the LORD and those who have trusted in me will not be ashamed. (V.22-23). Before, the signal or sign was for judgment, but now, it’s for restoration. 

 

Isaiah tells of the return of the children of Israel from every direction and every land. Malbim says not to worry about space for the returning exiles; the land will be adorned with its returning children.[52]  Those who have put their hope in me said, Hashem shall not be ashamed. Isaiah brings this chapter to a close with the assurance that the captives and the taken loot will be restored to Israel. Rashi applies this prophecy to the Babylonians after seventy years of exile. But Abarbanel says this metaphor is for the great battle which will take place at the time of Redemption. His point is that only a small number of Jews returned to Israel at that time and thus must refer to the future redemption and the revivification of the dead. ^[53]

 

The reversal of Israel's exile for Zion and Jerusalem will bring the New Exodus, which will bring change to this world unlike anything man has ever experienced before. What a wonderful and amazing future lies just ahead of us.  Today, everyone is a theologian; they all think they know God.  When Hashem delivers his children from exile, the world will take notice and the false ideals of religion will fade away when Hashem is revealed in all his Glory, just like the first time with Moses at Mt. Sinai.  Our text tells us when Israel is redeemed from its current exile from their oppressors.  The oppressors will eat their own children and drink their own blood, and all of mankind shall know that I, the LORD, am your savior, Mighty one of Jacob, your Redeemer. (49:25) 

 

The victorious will be the righteous, and regardless of whether this is understood in a literal or metaphorical fashion, the gentile nations will be in disarray as they try to understand what is happening.  The Prophet is repeating the prophetic word from an earlier text.  On that day, the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.^[54]  The nations that have oppressed Israel will restore the land promised to the children of Israel. In Israel's redemption, this salvation and knowledge of Hashem will bring salvation to all humanity.  The more I learn, the bigger and clearer the picture becomes. It’s all about Israel, and as Israel is lifted and restored, so shall the Temple come into clearer focus for those who wait on Hashem. The children of Israel thought that Hashem had divorced his people. In the days of Cyrus the Persian, only a small number of exiles took an opportunity to return to Zion, but now all the exiled children of Israel will be called home.

 

The Israelites viewed themselves metaphorically as God’s wife and also as God’s children. If the former, they worry that God has divorced them and therefore, cannot take them back (Jer. 3:1; Deut. 24:1–4). If the latter, then God has sold them away (Exod. 21:7–11; 2 Kings 4:1). But God insists that no divorce has taken place, and that the children remain God’s property. Behind God’s frustrated words here may lie the failure of the exiles to accept the message of consolation. Only a small number of exiles took the opportunity to return to Zion after Cyrus (the Persian king who conquered Babylonia) allowed them to do so.^[55]  God responded to the people’s complaint by asking where their bill of divorcement was, which they were unable to produce. God then asked, where are my creditors, to whom I sold you off? Again, they were unable to produce any creditors.   Isaiah 50.10 says, “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant?  Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD (Hashem) and rely on his (Elohim) God.^[56]  These are good words of exhortation, fear me, obey my voice, as you walk in darkness, trust in my Name!  Following this sound advice, it will carry each of us to the very end of our days.

 

In (50:1), Hashem’s last words of encouragement, listen to me, you who pursue justice… Deut 16:20, you who seek the LORD… Zeph 2:3 Look to the rock from which you came…  Look to Abraham, your father, and Sarah, your mother.   Trust in me and in my Name, and truly, the LORD has comforted Zion. When God called Abraham, he was one, and a promise was given that all nations would be blessed in him. Hashem will make the wilderness and desert of Israel like the garden of Eden. (v.3) With the final redemption, the world will have achieved its purpose, and mankind will return to the pure status of its creation in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden because of their sin, but redemption will usher in an era in which mankind, led by Israel, will come full circle and return to the original state. The future redemption, just as the redemption from Egypt, although Israel was lacking in merit, God redeemed them and will redeem us in the future[57]

 

The people, and as some manuscripts have the ‘People’s’, are called on to give ear to the teachings that shall go forth from Hashem, and his way will be a light to and for the peoples. (v.4) We are told to listen to Me (Hashem), those of you who care for the right or righteousness, people who lay my instruction to heart. (v.7) Radak says that the Messianic King will instruct all nations to go in the way of Hashem. Rashi tells us this light and peace of the Messiah will come to all nations that choose to walk by the light of God’s Judgements. Mahari Kara[58] brings the point that regardless of the use of the plural term peoples, the intention and the message are addressed to Israel first.[59]

 

Truly, the Lord has comforted Zion, comforted all her ruins; He has made her wilderness like Eden, her desert is like the Garden of the Lord. Gladness and joy shall abide there, Thanksgiving and the sound of music. ^[60]   Commentators tell us these verses are in the prophetic perfects, meaning they are of a certainty, signifying ‘shall surely comfort’ or ‘shall surely make’ the desert and wilderness as a watered garden, and that music and melody shall flow through the streets of Zion.

 

Verbal Tallies and Connections

Bamidbar (Numbers) 30:2 – 31:5

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

 

Looking at the Hebrew of Bamidbar 30:2-3 and Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 45:23, what is the verbal tally (all root words) that connects these two passages?

 

Based on a verse-by-verse comparison of the Hebrew, the verbal tallies that connect these two passages are the root words for swear, mouth, and word. The connections are found between Bamidbar 30:2 and Yeshayahu 45:23.

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 30:3 - JPS

30:3: When a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath [הִשָּׁ֤בַע H7650] imposing an obligation on himself, he shall not break his pledge; he must carry out all that has crossed his lips [מִפִּ֖יו H6310]. He shall carry out all that has gone out of his mouth [דְּבָרֹ֖ו H1697].

 

Yeshayahu 45:23-25 (Isaiah 45:23-25) - JPS

45:23: By Myself have I sworn [נִשְׁבַּ֗עְתִּי H7650], from My mouth [מִפִּי֙ H6310] has gone forth in righteousness a word [דָּבָ֖ר H1697] that shall not come back: 'To Me every knee shall bend, every tongue shall swear [תִּשָּׁבַ֖ע H7650].'

 

* * *

 

What is/are the thematic connection(s) between Bamidbar 30:2- 31:5, and Tehillim (Psalms) 105:37-45?

 

Based on a thematic analysis of the passages, there are several powerful connections between Numbers 30:2-31:5 and Psalms 105:37-45.

 

The central and most direct connection is the solemnity of oaths and the faithfulness of promises.

 

1. The Binding Nature of Oaths and Promises

 

Numbers 30:2-17: This passage is entirely dedicated to the laws of vows. It emphasizes the profound and binding nature of a person's spoken word. As stated in verse 30:3, "he must carry out all that has crossed his lips." The laws are an instruction for how seriously humans must take their promises and oaths.

 

Psalms 105:37-45: This passage is a celebration of God's unfailing faithfulness to His own promise. The entire Psalm recounts God's actions, and verse 42 provides the reason: "For He remembered His holy promise [דְּבָר] to Abraham His servant." The Psalm is a testament to God upholding His word, just as humans are commanded to uphold theirs in Numbers.

 

2. Divine Command and the Fulfillment of a Mandate

 

Numbers 31:1-5: This passage contains a direct command from God: "Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites" (31:2). It is a mandate that is immediately carried out.

 

Psalms 105:37-45: The Psalm recounts a series of divine mandates that were fulfilled, from bringing the Israelites out of Egypt to giving them the land. It concludes by stating the purpose of this fulfillment: "that they might keep His statutes and observe His laws" (v. 45), which are the very commands God gives to Israel throughout the Torah.

 

3. The Inheritance of the Land

 

Numbers 30-31: These laws and commands are given as the Israelites are on the cusp of entering the Promised Land. They form part of the legal and moral framework that will define their life there.

 

Psalms 105:44: This passage celebrates the fulfillment of the promise of the land: "He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the toil of the peoples." The Psalm looks back at the fulfillment of the very promise that the people were preparing for in Numbers.

 

* * *

 

The connection between the Torah seder and the Ashlamata, though seemingly strictly verbal, is in addition eschatological.^[61] The messianic kingdom, rather than the related contents of the Torah lesson, is the dominant theme of the Ashlamata.

 

What is the eschatological message of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 45:23-25 + 46:3-5, 8-11, Using only Jewish sources?

 

Based on Jewish sources, the eschatological message of these passages from Isaiah is a powerful declaration of God's absolute and incomparable sovereignty, His unwavering faithfulness to Israel, and His preordained plan to bring about the ultimate redemption.

 

The passages work together to present a cohesive vision of the end of days, contrasting God's omnipotent control over history with the impotence of all other powers.

 

1. The Universal Acknowledgment of God (Isaiah 45:23-25)

 

The message here is that the final redemption will be a time when God's sovereignty is no longer hidden but is universally recognized.

 

Rashi, in his commentary on verse 23, explains that the prophecy "To Me every knee shall bend, every tongue shall swear," refers to the Messianic era. It is a time when all nations will abandon their idolatry and acknowledge the one true God.

 

The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni) elaborates on this, stating that the shame of those who defied God (v. 24) is the shame they will feel when they see the greatness of the God of Israel. Their ultimate humiliation is their recognition that they were wrong.

 

The verses conclude with the promise that "in the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and boast." This is the ultimate vindication of Israel. The universal acknowledgment of God is intertwined with the glorification of His chosen people, who remained faithful to Him even in exile.

 

2. God’s Unchanging Plan and Providence (Isaiah 46:3-5, 8-11)

 

This passage shifts from a future vision to a foundational theological principle, proving that the future is preordained by God.

 

The message begins with a declaration of God's continuous care for Israel, promising to carry them "from the womb to old age" (v. 4). The Radak (Rabbi David Kimhi) explains that this is a stark contrast to pagan idols, which must be carried by their worshipers. God's power is inherent and active.

 

The central eschatological point is in verses 10-11. God declares, "I announce the end from the beginning." The Radak and other commentators emphasize that this is proof of God’s omnipotence and omniscience. Unlike human beings, who can only react to events, God has a preordained plan for history that He will bring to pass.

 

God promises to bring "a man from the east," which is historically understood to be Koresh (AKA Cyrus), the Persian king who allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. However, in an eschatological context, this symbolizes that God uses human agents, even those outside of the Jewish people, to fulfill His divine plan of ultimate redemption. The message is one of certainty: God's counsel will stand, and He will fulfill His word.

 

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of Bamidbar (Numbers) 30:2- 31:5

“El Roshe HaMatot” “To the heads of the tribes”

By: Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

School of Hakham Shaul’s Tosefta Luqas (LK)

School of Hakham Tsefet’s Peshat Mordechai (Mk)

Now some of the Sadducees—who deny that there is a resurrection—came up and asked him, saying, “Rabbi, Moshe Rabbenu, wrote for us if someone’s brother dies having a wife, and this man is childless, that his brother should take the wife and father descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife and died childless, and the second, and the third took her, and likewise also the seven did not leave children and died. Finally, the woman also died. Therefore, in the resurrection, the woman, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” And Yeshua said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they are not even able to die any longer, because they are like the messengers and are sons of God, because they are sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed in the passage about “the bush,” when he calls the LORD the God of Abraham and the God of Yitzchaq (Isaac) and the God of Ya’aqob (Jacob). Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him!” And some of the scribes answered and said, “Rabbi, you have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask him anything.

And some of the Sadducees (Heb. Tz’dukim) who say there is no resurrection, came to him (Yeshua). And ‎they questioned Him, saying, Rabbi, ‎ Moshe Rabbenu, wrote for us that:‎ If brothers reside together, and one of them dies having no son, the dead man’s wife will not marry an ‎outsider. Rather, her husband’s brother will be intimate with her, making her a wife for himself, thus ‎performing the obligation of a husband’s brother with her. And it will be, that the eldest brother who ‎performs the levirate marriage, if she can bear, will succeed in the name of his deceased brother, “It will be that the firstborn whom she bears will assume the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. (Deut. 25:6) There were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and when he died, he left no seed.‎ ‎And the second himself took her, and died, and neither did he leave seed; and the third did likewise.‎ And all seven took her and left no seed. And finally, the woman died.‎ Then on the Day of the resurrection, when they rise, which of them will she be wife? For the ‎seven had her as a wife.‎ And Yeshua answered them, saying, Have you been led astray because of this, not knowing the ‎Scriptures and their oral elucidation or the dynamic and supernatural power of God?‎ For when they rise again[62] from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as ‎ hermaphrodite[63] messengers (ambassadors from) the Heavens.‎ But concerning the dead, that they are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the Torah ‎Seder “Out Of The Midst Of A Bush,” how God spoke to him saying, “I am the God of your father, the ‎God of Abraham, the God of Yitzchaq (Isaac), and the God of Ya’aqob (Jacob)?” (Exo 3:6). ‎He is not the God of the dead, but God of the living. Therefore, you are greatly led astray.‎

 

Nazarean Codicil to be read in conjunction with the following Torah Seder

 

 

Commentary on Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

Continuity to the Torah Seder

Bamidbar 30:2-17: The Sanctity of the Vow

 

The first part of this section, beginning with verse 2, deals with the laws of nedarim (vows) and shevuot (oaths). The core principle established is that a man’s word, once given as a vow, is a sacred and binding commitment. The verse states, When a man vows a vow to G-d, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

 

Bamidbar 31:1-24: The War with Midian and the Purging of Negativity

 

The narrative then shifts dramatically from the internal, spiritual world of vows to the external, physical world of war. G-d commands Moshe to take vengeance on the Midianites. The root of this conflict lies in the Midianite women’s seduction of the Israelite men at Pe’or, which led to a plague and G-d’s wrath. Consequently, this is not a simple political or territorial war; it is spiritual cleansing.

 

The Law of Yibum and Vows in the Torah

The challenge posed by the Tz’dukim is rooted in the Torah law of yibum, or levirate marriage (D’varim 25:5-6). This law is a powerful statement about the preservation of the family name and the continuation of the spiritual lineage of Israel. The deceased brother, having left no seed, risked his “name” being “blotted out from Israel.” The surviving brother’s duty was to fulfill this sacred obligation by taking on the responsibility to continue his brother’s name.

 

This act of yibum embodies a profound, albeit implicit, vow. The living brother, by performing the marriage, enters into a sacred commitment—a covenantal obligation to G-d and his deceased brother—to ensure the continuity of their line. Therefore, this connects directly to the laws of vows (nedarim) found in Bamidbar (Numbers) 30. There, one sees a vow as a spiritual bond, an act of speech that creates a binding reality. In a similar vein, the law of yibum is a binding spiritual reality that obligates the living to the dead. The seven brothers in the Tz’dukim’s story all entered into this binding commitment, a series of seven vows, to fulfill the law.

 

Yeshua as the Fulfillment of the Law and the Vow

The Tz’dukim’s argument, however, is a classic example of legalistic literalism that fails to grasp the spiritual depth of the Torah. Yeshua’s response, therefore, must be understood as a corrective, a re-grounding of the discussion in the metaphysical realities of G-d’s plan.

 

1. The Vow to Preserve the Name: The core of the yibum law is the preservation of the deceased’s name. The seven brothers all failed to do this. The problem isn’t the law itself, but the lack of a successful outcome in their hypothetical. Yeshua points them to a higher truth: the ultimate preservation of a name is not through mortal procreation but through resurrection. The ultimate tikkun (rectification) ensures not the name’s continuation on earth but the individual’s resurrection in the Olam HaBa.The living G-d, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the one who ultimately preserves the names of the righteous for all eternity.

 

2. The Fulfillment of a New State: The law of yibum operates within the framework of a divided, mortal world where male and female are separate and procreation is necessary to ensure continuity. Yeshua’s teaching, however, reveals a state beyond this duality. His reference to those in the resurrection as “hermaphrodite messengers” who “neither marry nor are given in marriage” describes a return to the primordial state of unity. Therefore, this is the ultimate fulfillment of the law’s purpose. The yibum law’s goal was to rectify a broken lineage and to continue a name in a fractured world. Resurrection, as the ultimate rectification, brings about a restoration of unity and wholeness, rendering the need for procreation and the law of yibum obsolete. In this higher state, the spiritual purpose of the law is fully realized, not by an heir on earth, but by the eternal life of the individual in the divine presence.

 

3. The Ultimate Vow: Yeshua himself is the ultimate fulfillment of the vow to rectify the world. His life, death, and resurrection are a single, cosmic act that rectifies the divisions of the world and brings about the final tikkun. He is the ultimate yavam (levirate husband) for all humanity, bringing the dead back to life and restoring the spiritual lineage of G-d’s children. Just as the Torah law obligates the brother to a sacred vow, so too does Yeshua fulfill the most sacred of all vows—to bring about the resurrection and the return to G-d’s presence.

 

Josephus reports that the Tz’dukim (Sadducees) did not believe in the resurrection.

 

Jwr 2:164-166 But the Sadducees are those who compose the second order, and take away fate entirely, and suppose that God is not concerned in our doing or not doing what is evil; and they say, that to act what is good, or what is evil, is at men’s own choice, and that the one or the other belongs so to everyone, that they may act as they please. They also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades. Moreover, the Pharisees are friendly to one another, and are for the exercise of concord, and regard for the public; but the behaviour of the Sadducees one toward another is in some degree wild; and their conduct with those who are of their own party is as barbarous as if they were strangers to them. And this is what I had to say concerning the philosophic sects among the Jews.^[64]

 

This fact is well established and needs no further explanation. What strikes our interest is the repetitive mention of the resurrection. As the memories of the “High Holy Days” begin to come into view, we look to the coming of Rosh HaShanah. Yet Hakham Tsefet and Hakham Shaul, as we will see, both revel in the after-glow of the Akedah. Again, the question arises as to the veracity of Abraham’s full obedience in making Yitzchaq a burnt offering. Here, the commentary is Peshat; therefore, the reader should understand that the event did happen.^[65] In other words, Abraham reduced his son to ashes with absolute faith and faithfulness. By G-d resurrecting Yitzchaq from the ashes, Abraham declared G-d to be the Tsaddiq. Can we fathom the depth of Abraham’s trust in G-d?

 

The origins of the Tz’dukim (Sadducees)

Antigonos of Sokho received the tradition from Simon the Just, who was the last of the Men of the Great Assembly.

 

Aboth 1:3 Antigonos of Sokho received [the Torah] from Simeon the Righteous. He would say, “Do not be like servants who serve the master on condition of receiving a reward, “but [be] like servants who serve the master not on condition of receiving a reward. “And let the fear of Heaven be upon you.”

 

As can be seen, the statement of Antigonos does not undermine the idea of the resurrection. His point was only that we are not to serve the master on condition of receiving a reward. Yet the Tz’dukim understood the saying of their master inappropriately, believing there would be no resurrection.

 

Why did the Tz’dukim miss the point?

The origin of the Tz’dukim developed out of a misunderstanding of the scriptures. Because the Tz’dukim developed out of a misunderstanding of the Scriptures and failure to understand Biblical Hermeneutics, the sect lived a life devoted to the Olam HaZeh (the here and now). The epicurean mentality naturally ensued. Yeshua, in Hebraic fashion, states that they have been “led astray” because of this ignorance.^[66] Herein, the talmid infers responsibility. The supposed elaborate fabrication of the Tz’dukim’s use of the Levirate marriage only served to demonstrate their ignorance rather than their mastery of Scripture. Not only had they been led astray, but they had wandered astray. Suppose the previous group which tried to entrap Yeshua with political interrogations did not achieve their aim. In that case, this group of “some Tz’dukim” must have been the talmidim of the so-called Soferim (scribes) of the Tz’dukim. They wanted to impress their masters by demonstrating that they were able to thwart Yeshua’s theonomy. 

 

This pericope of Mordechai is about failed logic and an ineffectual hermeneutic. Before there can be a progressive hermeneutic, there must be a progressive logic. Nathan Cardozo begins his teaching on hermeneutics with the principle of “Sevarah” (logical deduction).^[67]  In his preface to the “Handbook of Rabbinic Theology,” Prof. Jacob Neusner tells us how valuable the Oral Torah is with the following words:

 

James Joyce is reputed to have said that if Dublin were destroyed, it could be reconstructed, brick by brick, from the pages of Ulysses. Along these same lines, I allege, if the Hebrew Scriptures of ancient Israel, the Written Torah, were lost, the main lines of the narrative of Israel’s life with God and the consequent social vision could be reconstructed out of the details of the Halakhah, norms of conduct, and of the Aggadah, norms of conviction, that are set forth in the Oral Torah, that is, the canon of Rabbinic writings of late antiquity.^[68]

 

This statement is very insightful. If the Written Torah were lost, the Oral Torah could reconstruct it. Prof. Jacob Neusner’s system draws upon the Theology of Rabbinic Grammar, The Theology of the Oral Torah: Revealing the Justice of G-d, and finally Halakha. The tools serve to elucidate the Written Torah, which the Tz’dukim could not master. Their lack of mastery of the Oral Torah resulted in their ignorance of the Written Torah. In this pericope, Yeshua demonstrates a concise measure of exegetical interpretation applied by the P’rushim as a means of reconstructing the intent of G-d in the Torah.

 

Schiffman intimates that the Tz’dukim also rejected the writings of the Prophets.^[69] He further advocates that they also held a form of Biblical exegesis by which they derived laws that varied from the interpretation of the P’rushim.^[70] If this were true, then the Soferim of the Tz’dukim would have held diametric views to any of the P’rushim’s group. Yeshua demonstrates one such problematic issue in this pericope. For example, what is hard to comprehend is how the Tz’dukim explained the angelic visitations of the Tanakh.^[71]  Consequently, this demonstrates a flawed exegetical practice.

 

Lawrence Schiffman also submits that not all Tz’dukim followed the practices as expounded in the Nazarean Codicil. In addition, we should not judge all the Tz’dukim from the examples of the Nazarean Codicil. He suggests that some were faithful to the Torah and the ancestral way of life. It may have been from this group that the Dead Sea Sect developed because of being unable to tolerate the replacement of the Zadokite high priest with a Hasmonean.^[72] Therefore, this would account for our translation “some of the “Tz’dukim.”^[73] Also, some of the Tz’dukim became exemplary followers of the Master (Acts 21:20).

 

No Power, No Resurrection

Yeshua associates the ignorance of the Tz’dukim with the dynamic (living) power of G-d. Here we use “living” because the implication is that of following (living out) the oral law. We would seriously doubt that the Tz’dukim followed such halakha. If they attempted to follow some “Biblical Halakha” without the Oral Torah, they would have again missed the mark. We need not remind the reader of the critical importance of the implications. The observance of the Tz’dukim could not be genuine obedience. Again, the resultant epicurean régime of the Tz’dukim would have taken precedence over authentic halakhic practice. A living G-d demands a living person. Torah and the Oral Torah demand a residing body to implement their dictates.

 

Rabbinic Scholars tell us that the architectural instrument that G-d used to construct the universe from is the Torah (Prov. 8:30).^[74]  Others report that the Torah equates to the DNA of the universe.

 

If the Torah is the architectural genius of the universe, it demands dynamic interaction. Static relationship to the Torah renders both us and the Torah ineffectual. Hence, Yeshua demanded a fervent relationship with G-d and His Torah. The Tz’dukim lacked such a relationship. They were constantly in upheaval and trying to instigate violent reactions to their practice and theology. They were unable to fathom the philosophical aspects of the Torah.

 

While Yeshua quotes Scripture to the Tz’dukim with justifiable cause, G-d demands a dynamic reaction. Yeshua uses Scriptural text and Sevarah to invalidate the faulty logical reasoning of the Tz’dukim. In the same vein, Prof. Jacob Neusner finds the resurrection logical and dynamic.

 

Paradigmatic thinking in monotheism necessarily generates the conviction of resurrection. This is stated in so many words. The certainty of resurrection derives from a simple fact of restorationist theology: God has already shown that he can do it, so Genesis Rabbah LXXVII:I.1: “You find that everything that the Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to do in the age to come he has already gone ahead and done through the righteous in this world. The Holy One, blessed be he, will raise the dead, and Elijah raised the dead.” The sages deem urgent the task of reading outward and forward from Scripture, and at the critical conclusion of their theological system the oral Torah focuses upon Scripture’s evidence, the regularization of Scripture’s facts.^[75]

 

Neusner points to Eliyahu as the precedent for his thesis. However, we must emphasize that the valid original precedent is not to be found in the story of Eliyahu but instead in the Akeda (Binding of) Yitzchaq. Abraham provides the living dynamic in faithful obedience, establishing the precedent for Yeshua’s death and resurrection as well as the general resurrection from the dead. What secrets does Yitzchaq hold concerning the resurrection? 

 

Some Questions to Ponder:

 

1. From all the readings for this week, which particular verse or passage caught your attention and fired your heart and imagination?
2. 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: “N’qom Niq’mat” (“Take Full”) & 3rd Sabbath of Consolation

Shabbat Mevar’chim HaChodesh; (Proclamation of the New Moon of Elul)

(Evening of Saturday 23rd of August – Evening Monday the 25th of August)

 

Contents of Next Week’s Torah Seder

 

·        War Against the Midianites – Numbers 31:1-4

·        The Expedition – Numbers 31:5-18

·        Purification of the Warriors – Numbers 31:19-24

 

Next week’s Reading Assignment:

 

 

 

 

Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Edited by HH Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham

A special thank you to HH Giberet Giborah bat Sarah and Giberet Sarai bat Sarah for their diligence in proof-reading