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Triennial Cycle (Triennial Torah
Cycle) / Septennial Cycle (Septennial Torah Cycle)
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Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings |
Third Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle |
|
Av 8, 5785 – August 1/2, 2025 |
Third Year of the Shmita Cycle |
Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times: https://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm
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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!
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 “b’ne Yehudah” – Sabbath: “The sons of Judah”
3rd Sabbath of Penitence
& Erev Tisha B’Av
|
Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Torah Reading: |
|
בני יהודה |
|
Saturday Afternoon |
|
“The sons of Judah” |
Reader 1 – Bamidbar 26:19-27 |
Reader 1 – Bamidbar 27:15-17 |
|
“b’ne Yehudah” |
Reader 2 – Bamidbar 26:28-37 |
Reader 2 – Bamidbar 27:18-20 |
|
hijos de Judá |
Reader 3 – Bamidbar 26:38-47 |
Reader 3 – Bamidbar 27:21-23 |
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Bamidbar (Numbers) 26:19- 27:14 |
Reader 4 – Bamidbar 26:48-56 |
|
|
Ashlamatah: Yehoshua (Joshua) 14:6-15 |
Reader 5 – Bamidbar 26:57-62 |
Monday and Thursday
Mornings |
|
Special
Ashlamata: Yehsayahu (Isaiah) 1:1-27 |
Reader 6 – Bamidbar 27:1-11 |
Reader 1 – Bamidbar 27:15-17 |
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Tehillim (Psalms) 105:1-11 |
Reader 7 – Bamidbar 27:12-14 |
Reader 2 – Bamidbar 27:18-20 |
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Mk 11:20-33, Lk 20:1-8 |
Maftir – Bamidbar 27:12-14 |
Reader 3 – Bamidbar 27:21-23 |
·
The Sons of Judah – Numbers 26:19-22
·
The Sons of Issachar – Numbers 26:22-25
·
The Sons of Zebulun – Numbers 26:26-27
·
The Sons of Joseph – Numbers 26:28-34
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The Sons of Ephraim – Numbers 26:35-37
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The Sons of Benjamin – Numbers 26:38-41
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The Sons of Dan – Numbers 26:42-43
·
The Sons of Asher – Numbers 26:44-47
·
The Sons of Naphtali – Numbers 26:48-50
·
Numbered of the Children of Israel – Numbers 26:51
·
Concerning the Division of the Land – Numbers 26:52-56
·
Census of the Levites – Numbers 26:57-62
·
The Daughters of Zelophehad – Numbers 27:1-11
·
Moses sees the land – Numbers 27:12-14
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.
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:
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.
|
The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez By: Rabbi Yitzchok Magriso, Translated by Dr. Tzvi Faier, Edited by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1991) Vol.14 – “Numbers II- Final Wanderings”
pp. 237-266 |
Ramban: Numbers Commentary
on the Torah Translated and Annotated by Rabbi
Dr. Charles Chavel Published by Shilo Publishing House, Inc. (New York, 1975) pp. 310 - 331 |
|
Targum Pseudo Jonathan |
|
|
19. The sons of Yehudah
are Eir and Onan; Eir and Onan died in the land of Canaan. |
19. Of Jehudah, Her
and Onan. But Her and Onan died, on account of their sins, in the land of
Kenaan. |
|
20. The descendants of
Yehudah by their families are: The Sheilanite
family from Sheila, the Partzite family from
Peretz, the Zarchite family from Zerach. |
20. Of the Beni Jehudah,
the families of Shela, Pherez, Zerach. |
|
21. The descendants of
Peretz were: The Chetzronite family from Chetzron, and the Chamulite
family from Chamul. |
21. The sons of Pherez,
Hezron, Amul. |
|
22. These are the families
of Yehudah and they numbered seventy-six thousand and five hundred. |
22. The numbers of the
families of Jehudah, seventy‑six thousand five hundred. |
|
23. The descendants of
Yissachar by their families are: The Tolaite
family from Tola, the Punite family from Puva, |
23. Of Issakar, the families of Thola, Puah, |
|
24. the Yashuvite family from Yashuv, and the Shimronite
family from Shimron. |
24. Jashub, Shimron, |
|
25. These are the families
of Yissachar and they numbered sixty-four thousand and three hundred. |
25. sixty‑four thousand three
hundred. |
|
26. The descendants of
Zevulun by their families are: The Sardite
family from Sered, the Eilonite family from Eilon,
[and] the Yachle'eilite family from Yachle'eil. |
26. Of Zebulon, the
families of Sered, Elon, Jahleel, |
|
27. These are the families
of Zevulun and they numbered sixty thousand and five hundred |
27. sixty thousand five
hundred. |
|
28. The descendants of
Yosef by their families are: Menashe and Ephraim. |
28. Of Joseph, the
Bene Menasheh, |
|
29. The descendants of
Menashe are: The Machirite family from Machir;
Machir's son was Gil'ad, the Gil'adite family from Gil'ad. |
29. Makir, Gilead, |
|
30. The descendants of Gil'ad are: The I'ezerite
family from I'ezer, the Chelkite
family from Cheilek, |
30. Thezar,
Helek, |
|
31. the Asrieilite family from Asrieil,
the Shechemite family from Shechem, |
31. Asriel, Shekem, |
|
32. the Shemidaite family from Shemida, and the Chefrite family from Cheifer. |
32. Shemida, Hepher. |
|
33. Tzelofchad
the son of Cheifer had no sons, only daughters; The
name[s] of Tzelofchad's daughters were Machlah,
No'ah, Choglah, Milkah
and Sirtzah. |
33. But Zelophehad bar
Hepher had no sons, but daughters only; and the names of the daughters of Zelophebad were, Mahelah,
Nohah, Hogelah, Milchah, and Thirzah. |
|
34. These are the families
of Menashe and they numbered fifty-two thousand and seven hundred. |
34. These are the families
of Menasheh, and their number fifty‑two thousand seven
hundred. |
|
35. The descendants of
Ephraim by their families are: The Shusalchite
family from Shuselach, the Bachrite
family from Becher, and the Tachanite family from Tachan. |
35. The Beni Ephraim,
Shuthelah, Bekir, Tachan, |
|
36. These are the sons of
Shuselach: The Eiranite family from Eiran. |
36. Heran the son of
Shuthelah, |
|
37. These are the families
of Ephraim's descendants, and they numbered thirty-two thousand and five
hundred; these are the descendants of Yoseif by
their families. |
37. their numbers thirty‑two thousand five hundred. |
|
38. The descendants of
Binyamin by their families were: The Balite
family from Bela, the Ashbelite family from Ashbeil, the Achiramite family
from Achiram, |
38. The families of
Benjamin, Bela, Ashbel, Abiram, |
|
39. the Shufamite family from Shfufam,
and the Chufamite family from Chufam. |
39. Shephuphia, |
|
40. The sons of Bela were
Ard and Na'aman [giving rise to] the Ardite family, and the Na'amite
family from Na'aman. |
40. (the sons of Bela,
Ared and Naaman,) |
|
41. These are the
descendants of Binyamin by their families, and they numbered forty-five
thousand and six hundred. |
41. forty‑five thousand six hundred. |
|
42. These are the
descendants of Dan by their families: The Shuchamite
family from Shucham, these are Don's families. |
42. The Bene Dan,
the families of Shuham, |
|
43. All Shuchamite families numbered sixty-four thousand and
four hundred |
43. sixty‑four thousand four
hundred. |
|
44. The descendants of
Asher by their families are: The Yimnite family
from Yimnah, the Yishvite
family from Yishvi, [and] the Bri'ite family from
Briah. |
44. Those of Asher,
Jimnah, Jishvah, Beriah, and of the sons of Beriah, |
|
45. The descendants of
Briah are: The Chevronite family from Chever, the Malkieilite family from Malkieil. |
45. Heber and Malkiel. |
|
46. The
name of Asher's daughter was Serach. |
46. The name of the
daughter of Asher was Sarach, who was conducted by
six myriads of angels, and taken into the Garden of
Eden alive, because she had made known to Jacob that Joseph was living. |
|
47. These are the families
of Asher and they numbered fifty-three thousand and four hundred. |
47. The numbers of Asher, fifty-three
thousand four hundred. |
|
48. The descendants of
Naftali by their families are: the Yachtze'eilite
family from Yachtze'eil, the Gunite
family from Guni, |
48. The Bene Naphtali,
according to their families, Jaczeel, Guni, |
|
49. the Yitzrite family from Yeitzer,
and the Shileimite family from Shileim. |
49. Jezer, Shillem, |
|
50. These are the families
of Naftali and they numbered forty-five thousand and four hundred. |
50. forty‑five thousand four
hundred. |
|
51. The total number of
B’ne Yisrael was six hundred and one thousand,
seven hundred and thirty. |
51. These are the
numbers of the sons of Israel, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and
thirty. |
|
52. The Lord spoke to
Moses, saying: |
52. And the LORD spoke
with Mosheh, saying: |
|
53. You shall apportion
the Land among these as an inheritance, in accordance with the number of
names. |
53. Unto these tribes will
the land be divided by inheritances according to their names. |
|
54. To the large [tribe]
you shall give a larger inheritance and to a smaller tribe you shall give a
smaller inheritance, each person shall be given an inheritance according to
his number. |
54. To that tribe whose
people are many you will make their inheritance large, and to the tribe whose
people are few you will give a smaller inheritance; to each his heritage will
be given according to the number of his names. |
|
55. Only through lot shall
the Land be apportioned; they shall inherit it according to the names of
their fathers' tribes. |
55. Yet the land will be
divided by lots; according to the names of their fathers
tribes they will inherit. |
|
56. The inheritance shall
be apportioned between the numerous and the few, according to lot. |
56. Their heritage will be
divided by lots, whether great or small. |
|
57. These were the numbers
of the Levites according to their families: the family of the Gershonites from Gershon, the family of the Kohathites
from Kohath, the family of the Merarites from
Merari. |
57. But these are the
names of the Levites after their families, the families of Gershon, Kehath,
Merari. |
|
58. These were the family
of the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites,
the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites,
the family of the Korahites. |
58. These are the families
of the Levites: the family of Lebni, Hebron, Maheli,
Mushi, Korach. And Kehath begat Amram; |
|
59. The name of Amram's
wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, whom [her mother] had borne to Levi
in Egypt. She bore to Amram, Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam. |
59. and the name of
Amram's wife was Jokebed, a daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi when they
had come into Mizraim, within the walls; and she bare to Amram Aharon, and
Moshe, and Miriam their sister. |
|
60. Born to Aaron were
Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. |
60. And to Aharon were
born Nadab and Abihu, Elazar and Ithamar. |
|
61. Nadab and Abihu died
when they offered up an unauthorized fire before the Lord. |
61. But Nadab and Abihu
died when they offered the strange fire from the hearth-pots before the LORD. |
|
62. And those counted of
them were twenty three thousand, every male aged one
month and upward, for they were not counted among the children of Israel,
since no inheritance was given them among the children of Israel. |
62. And the number of them
(the Levites) was twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old, and
upward; for they were not reckoned among the children of Israel, as no
possession was given them among the sons of Israel. |
|
63. This was the census of
Moses and Eleazar the kohen, who counted the children of Israel in the plains
of Moab, by the Jordan at Jericho. |
63. These are the numbers
when Mosheh and Elazar the priest numbered the sons of Israel in the plains
of Moab, by Jordan, (over against) Jericho. |
|
64. Among these there was
no man who had been [included] in the census of Moses and Aaron when they
counted the children of Israel in the Sinai desert. |
64. And among them was not
a man of the numbers when Mosheh and Aharon the priest took the sum of the
children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, |
|
65. For the Lord had said
to them, "They shall surely die in the desert," and no one was left
of them but Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. |
65. because the LORD had
said that dying they should die in the wilderness;
and none of them remained except Kaleb bar Jephunneh, and Jehoshua bar Nun. |
|
Ch27 |
|
|
1. The daughters of
Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son
of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, came forward, and
his daughters' names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. |
1. And the daughters of
Zelophehad bar Hepher, bar Gilead, bar Makir, bar
Menasheh, of the family of Menasheh bar Joseph, when they heard that the land
was to be divided to the males, came to the Bet Din, trusting in the
compassions of the LORD of the world. And these are the names of the
daughters, Mahelah, Nohah, Hogela, Milchah, and Thirzah. |
|
2. They stood before Moses
and before Eleazar the kohen and before the chieftains and the entire
congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, saying, |
2. And they stood before
Mosheh, after that they had stood before Elazar the priest, the princes, and
all the congregation, at the door of the tabernacle of ordinance, saying: |
|
3. "Our father died
in the desert, but he was not in the assembly that banded together against
the Lord in Korah's assembly, but he died for his own sin, and he had no
sons. |
3. Our father died in the
wilderness, but he was not among the congregation who murmured and gathered
to rebel against the LORD in the congregation of Korach, but died for his own
sin; nor made he others to sin; but he had no male
children. |
|
4. Why should our father's
name be eliminated from his family because he had no son? Give us a portion
along with our father's brothers." |
4. Why should the name of
our father be taken away from among his family because he had not a male
child? If we are not reckoned as a son, and our mother claim (or observe) the
Jebam, our mother will take the portion of our
father and of our father's brother. But if we be reckoned as a son, give us
an inheritance among our father's brethren. |
|
5. So
Moses brought their case before the Lord. |
5. This is one of the four
cases of judgment brought before Mosheh the prophet, and which he resolved in
the manner above said. Of them some were judgments, etc. And Mosheh brought
their cause before the LORD. |
|
6. The Lord spoke to
Moses, saying: |
6. And the LORD spoke with
Mosheh, saying: |
|
7. Zelophehad's daughters
speak justly. You shall certainly give them a portion of inheritance along
with their father's brothers, and you shall transfer their father's
inheritance to them. |
7. The daughters of
Zelophehad have fitly spoken: this has been written before Me: but they are
worthy that it be said of them, Give them possession
and inheritance among the brethren of their father, and make over their
father's possession unto them. |
|
8. Speak to the children
of Israel saying: If a man dies and has no son, you shall transfer his
inheritance to his daughter. |
8. And when a son of
Israel will speak, and say, A man has died without having a male child, then
you will make over his inheritance to his daughter: |
|
9. If he has no daughter,
you shall give over his inheritance to his brothers. |
9. if he has no daughter,
you will give his possession to his brothers: |
|
10. If he has no brothers,
you shall give over his inheritance to his father's brothers. |
10. if he has no brothers,
you will give his possession to the brethren of his father: |
|
11. If his father has no
brothers, you shall give over his inheritance to the kinsman closest to him
in his family, who shall inherit it. This shall remain a decreed statute, as
the Lord commanded Moses. |
11. but if his father had
no brothers, then you will give his possession to his kinsman who is nearest
to him of his father's family to inherit. And this will be the publication of
a decree of judgment to the children of Israel, as the LORD has commanded
Mosheh. |
|
12. The Lord said to
Moses, "Go up to this mount Abarim and look at the land that I have
given to the children of Israel. |
12. And the LORD said to
Mosheh, Go up to this mount, of Abaraee,
and survey the land which I have given to the children of Israel. |
|
13. And when you have seen
it, you too will be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother was
gathered. |
13. And you will see it,
but you yourself will be gathered to your people, as Aharon your brother has
been gathered: |
|
14. Because you disobeyed
My command in the desert of Zin when the congregation quarreled, [when you
were] to sanctify Me through the water before their eyes; these were the
waters of dispute at Kadesh, in the desert of Zin. |
14. because you were
disobedient against My Word in the desert of Zin, in the congregation at the
Waters of Strife, to sanctify Me at the waters in their sight: these are the
Waters of Strife in the desert of Zin. |
1 It was after the plague This can be compared to a shepherd whose flock
was intruded by wolves who killed some of them [his sheep]. He counted them to know
how many were left. Another interpretation: When they left Egypt and were entrusted
to Moses, they were delivered to him with a number. Now that he was close to death
and would soon have to return his flock, he returns them with a number. - [Mid.
Tanchuma Pinchas 4, Num. Rabbah 21:7]
2 following their fathers’ houses Their lineage followed their father’s tribe,
not their mother’s. - [B.B. 109b]
3 Moses and Eleazar the kohen spoke with them They spoke with
them concerning this, namely that the Omnipresent had commanded to count them.
saying They said to them, “You must be counted.”
4 From the age of twenty and upward, as the Lord commanded... that they be counted
from the age of twenty and upwards, as it says, “Everyone who goes through the counting,
[from the age of twenty and upward]” (Exod. 30:14).
5 the family of the Hanochites Heb.
מִשְׁפַּחַת
הַחֲנֽכִי . Since
the nations were denigrating them and saying, "How can they trace their lineage
by their tribes? Do they think that the Egyptians did not exploit their mothers?
If they mastered their bodies, all the more so [did they exercise authority over]
their wives. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed is he, appended His Name to them,
the [letter] ‘hey’ to one side and the ‘yud’ to the other
side, as if to say, “I bear witness for them, that these are the sons of their fathers.”
This is stated explicitly by David, “the tribes of God, (יָהּ) testimony to Israel” (Ps. 122:
4)—this Name (יָהּ) testifies
for them regarding their tribes. For this reason, in each of them Scripture writes,
הַחֲנֽכִי
, הַפַּלֻּאֵי [the Hanochites, the Paluites in which each name begins with a ‘hey’ and ends with
a 'yud’] (Song Rabbah 4:12; Pesikta d’Rav Kahana p.82b, 93a), but in the case of Jimnah יִמְנָה
, it is unnecessary for it to say [for
the family of the Jimnites,] מִשְׁפַּחַת
הַיִּמְנִי [only מִשְׁפַּחַת
הַיִּמְנָה
], since the Divine Name is already affixed
to it—the ‘yud’ at the beginning and the ‘hey’ at the
end.- [Mid. Aggadah]
9 who incited Israel against Moses and Aaron.
when they incited The people against the Lord.
incited Heb. הִצּוּ . They enticed Israel to quarrel with Moses, a causative term.
10 and they became a sign A sign and a reminder, “so that no outsider, who
is not of the seed of Aaron, shall approach” (above 17:5) to dispute the kehunah
any more.
11 Korah’s sons, however, did not die They were originally involved in the conspiracy,
but during the dispute they contemplated repentance; therefore, an elevated area
was set apart for them in Gehinnom, and they stayed there. - [Sanh. 110b]
13 from Zerah This was Zohar [see Exod. 6:15], a name derived from
the word צֽהַר
, which means shining [a synonym of זֶרַח, Zerah].
However, the family of Ohad [mentioned in Exodus] died out, as did five from the
tribe of Benjamin. For he came to Egypt with ten sons, but only five are listed
here. So it was with Ezbon of the tribe of Gad, so [altogether]
seven families [no longer existed]. I found [the reason for this] in the Talmud
Yerushalmi [Sotah 1:1]. When Aaron died, the clouds of glory withdrew, and the Canaanites
came to fight against Israel. They [the Israelites] set their hearts on returning
to Egypt, and they went back eight stages of their journey [compare 21:4], from
Mount Hor to Moserah, as it says, “The children of Israel journeyed from the wells
of Bene Yaakan to Moserah; there Aaron died” (Deut. 10:6).
Now did he not die at Mount Hor? And [furthermore,] going back from Moserah to Mount
Hor there are eight stages in the journey! However, they turned back, and the Levites
pursued them to bring them back, killing seven of their families. The Levites lost
four families [in the battle]: the families of the Shimeites
and the Uzzielites, and of the three sons of Izhar, only
the family of the Korahites is mentioned. I do not know
[the identity of] the fourth one. R. Tanchuma expounds that they [the seven Israelite
families] fell in the plague in connection with Balaam [see 25:9] (Mid. Tanchuma
Pinchas 5), but [this cannot be, for] according to the number missing from the tribe
of Simeon in this census compared with the first census [which took place] in the
Sinai desert, it would appear that all twenty-four thousand who fell [in the plague]
were from the tribe of Simeon. - [Mid. Tanchuma Vayechi 10]
16 from Ozni I believe that this was the family of Ezbon (see Gen. 46:16), but I do not
know why his family was not called after him.
24 from Jashub This is Job listed among those who migrated to Egypt (Gen. 46:13), for all
the families were named after those who migrated to Egypt, but as for those born
from that time on, their families were not called after them except for the families
of Ephraim and Manasseh—all of whom were born in Egypt—and Ard and Naaman, the sons
of Bela the son of Benjamin. I found in the writings of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the
preacher], that their [Ard and Naaman’s] mother migrated to Egypt while she was
pregnant with them, and that is why they formed separate families just as did Hezron
and Hamul—who were Judah’s grandsons—and Heber and Malchiel, who were Asher’s grandchildren.
If this is an Aggadah, all well and good, [we must accept it,] but if not, I maintain
that Bela had numerous grandchildren, and from two of them—Ard and Naaman—two large
families issued, and the descendants of all the other children were called after
Bela’s name, whereas the descendants of these two were called after them [i.e. Ard
and Naaman]. Similarly, I maintain that the sons of Machir were divided into two
families, one was called after him and one was called after his son Gilead. Five
families are missing from the sons of Benjamin, and here the prophecy of his mother
[Rachel] was partially fulfilled. She called him Ben Oni, the son of my mourning.
As a result of the incident of the concubine at Gibeah (see Jud. 20:35), it was
completely fulfilled [as nearly the entire tribe was wiped out]. I found this in
the writings of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the preacher].
36 And these were the descendants
of Shuthelah... The descendants of
the other sons of Shuthelah were called after Shuthelah. A large family issued from
Eran, so they were called after him. Thus, the descendants of Shuthelah were considered
two families. Go and figure it out and you will find that fifty-seven families [are
listed] in this chapter, together with eight from the sons of Levi, totaling sixty-
five. This is the meaning of what is said, “For you are the least (הַמְעַט) of all
the peoples” (Deut. 7:7). [The word הַמְעַט denotes ‘five’ (ה) ‘less’ (מְעַט).] You are
five less than the families of all the nations, since they are seventy [and you
are sixty-five]. This too I expounded from the writings of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the
preacher], but I had to delete some of his words and add to them. - [Mid. Aggadah.]
38 from Ahiram This is Ehi, who migrated to Egypt. Since he was named
after Joseph, who was his [Benjamin’s] brother (אֲחִי), and greater (רָם) than he, he was called Ahiram
(אֲחִירָם). - [Mid.
Aggadah.]
39 from Shupham This is
Muppim, so named because Joseph was humbled (שָׁפוּף) among the nations.
42 From Shuham This is Hushim (see Gen. 46:23).
46 The name of Asher’s daughter was Serah Because she was still alive, she is mentioned
here. - [Sotah 13a, Mid. Aggadah]
53 You shall apportion the Land among these And not to those below age twenty, although they reached the
age of twenty before the allocation of the Land—for the conquest took seven years,
and the allocation took seven [years]—no one other than these six hundred and
one thousand took a portion in the Land, and if one of them had six sons, they received
only their father’s portion. - [Sifrei Pinchas 2, B.B. 117a]
54 To the large you shall give a large inheritance To the tribe with a large population you shall allocate a larger portion. Although
the portions were unequal—since the portions were divided according to the size
of the tribes—they were decided by lot, and the lot was determined by the Divine
Spirit, as it is stated explicitly in [Tractate Bava Bathra [117b]: Eleazar the
kohen was clad with the Urim and Thummim, and he said while inspired with the Divine
Spirit, “If such-and-such a tribe is drawn, then such-and-such a territory will
be allocated to it.” The tribes were inscribed on twelve slips, and the twelve territories
on [another] twelve slips. They mixed them in a box and the chieftain [of a tribe]
placed his hand inside and drew out two slips. In his hand came a slip bearing the
name of his tribe and a slip [inscribed] with the territory designated for it. The
lot itself cried out, saying, “I am the lot drawn for such-and-such a territory
for such-and-such a tribe” as it says, “according to lot” (verse 56) [lit. by
the mouth of the lot] (Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 6). Since some areas were superior
to others, the Land was not divided [solely] according to measurements, but it was
assessed; an inferior piece of land sufficient to sow a kor was equivalent to a
superior piece sufficient to sow a seah [a thirtieth of a kor]; it all depended
on the value [of the soil]. - [Sifrei Pinchas 7]
55 according to the names of their fathers’ tribes This refers to those
who came out of Egypt. Scripture treats this inheritance differently from all other
inheritances [mentioned] in the Torah. For in the case of all other inheritances,
the living inherit the dead, whereas here, the dead inherit
the living. How is this? Two brothers who came out of Egypt who had sons that entered
the Land—one had one [son] and the other had three. The one received one portion,
and the three received three, as it says, “You shall apportion the Land among these”
(verse 53). The inheritance [of these four] reverts to their grandfather [who left
Egypt] and they divided everything equally. This is the meaning of what is stated,
“they shall inherit it according to the names of their fathers’ tribes.” For after
the sons received it, it was divided up according to the fathers who had left Egypt,
whereas had they apportioned it originally according to the number who came out
of Egypt, these four would not have received four but only two portions. Now, however,
they received four portions. - [B.B. 117a]
Only through lot Heb. אַךְ-בְּגוֹרָל [The word
אַךְ] excludes Joshua and Caleb [from
this method of allocation]. And so it says, “They gave
Hebron to Caleb as Moses had spoken” (Jud. 1:20), and it further says, “According
to the word of the Lord, they gave him the city he had requested” (Josh. 19:50).
- [Sifrei Pinchas 6]
of their fathers’ tribes Excluding proselytes and [gentile] slaves. - [Sifrei
Pinchas 7]
56 According to lot Heb. עַל-פִּי הַגּוֹרָל, lit. by
the mouth of the lot. The lot spoke out, as I explained above (verse 54). This
tells us that it was divided by the Divine Spirit. (This is why it says, “in accordance
with the Lord’s word” [Josh. 19:50].)
58 These were the families of Levi Missing here
are the family of the Shimeites, the family of the Uzzielites, and part of the family of the Izharites (Exod. 6:17, 18).
59 Whom [her mother] had borne to Levi in Egypt Her birth took place
in Egypt, but not her conception (Sotah 12a, B.B. 120a, 123b). She gave birth to
her as they entered the walls, and she completed the number of seventy, for if you
count them individually you will find only sixty-nine (see Gen. 46:8-27). - [Gen.
Rabbah 94:9, Num. Rabbah 13:20]
62 they were not counted among the children of Israel who were counted
from the age of twenty and upward. For what reason? …
since no inheritance was given them And those who were counted
from the age of twenty were recipients of an inheritance, as it says, “each person
shall be given an inheritance” (verse 54).
64 Among these there was no man... But the women were not included in the decree
[enacted in the aftermath] of the spies, for they cherished the Land. The men said,
“Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt!” (14:4), whereas the women said, “Give
us a portion” (27:4). This is why the passage of Zelophehad’s daughters follows
here. - [Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 7]
Chapter 27
1 of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph Why is this said?
Has it not already said, “the son of Manasseh"? But to inform you that Joseph
cherished the Land, as it says, "and you shall bring up my bones... ” (Exod.
13:19), and his daughters cherished the Land, as it says, “Give us a portion” (verse
4) (Sifrei Pinchas 10), [hence they were of Joseph’s family in spirit], and to teach
you that they [who are mentioned in the verse] were all righteous, for anyone whose
deeds and whose father’s deeds are not clearly described, but Scripture specifies
one of them to trace his genealogy for praise, he is a righteous man the son of
a righteous man, but if it traces his genealogy for shame, as for example, “Ishmael
the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama came” (II Kings 25:25), it is known that
all those mentioned with him were wicked people.-[Sifrei Pinchas 9]
Mahlah, Noah... Later (36:11) it says, “Mahlah, Tirzah... were”
[in a different order]. This teaches us that they were all equal—one to the other;
therefore, Scripture changes the order. - [Sifrei Pinchas 11]
2 before Moses and before Eleazar This [statement that they stood before Eleazar]
informs us that they stood before them only in the fortieth year, after Aaron’s
death. - [Sifrei Pinchas 12]
before Moses And afterwards, "before Eleazar"? Is it possible that if Moses did
not know [the law] and Eleazar did know? But transpose the verse and expound it
[as if it were written, “before Eleazar and before Moses”]. These are the words
of R. Yoshiyah. Abba Chanan said in the name of R. Eleazar: They were sitting in
the study hall and they stood before all of them. - [Sifrei Pinchas 12, B.B. 119b]
3 but he was not... Since they were going to say that “he died
for his own sin,” they had to say that it was not for the sin of those
who grumbled, and [that he was] not in Korah’s company who incited [the people]
against the Holy One, blessed is He, but he died for his own sin alone,
and he did not cause others to sin with him (B.B. 18b, Sifrei Pinchas 13).
R. Akiva says, He was the wood gatherer [see 15:32], and R. Shimon says:
He was among those who ascended [the mountain] defiantly [see 14:44]. - [Shab. 96b]
4 Why should our father’s name be eliminated We are instead of
a son, and if females are not considered offspring, let our mother be taken in levirate
marriage by her brother-in-law. - [Sifrei Pinchas 13]
because he had no son But if he had a son,
they would have made no claim at all. This teaches us that they were intelligent
women. - [Sifrei Pinchas 15, Sifrei Pinchas 13]
5 So Moses brought their case The law eluded him, and here he was punished for
crowning himself [with authority] by saying, “and the case that is too difficult
for you, bring to me” (Deut. 1:17) (Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 8). Another interpretation:
This passage ought to have been written through Moses, but Zelophehad’s daughters
were meritorious, so it was written through them. - [Sanh. 8a]
7 Zelophehad’s daughters
speak justly As the Targum [Onkelos]
יָאוּת, rightly.
[As if God said,] This is the way this passage is inscribed before Me on high (Sifrei
Pinchas 18). It teaches us that their eye perceived what Moses’ eye did not. - [see
Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 8]
Zelophehad’s daughters speak justly Their claim is just. Fortunate is the person with
whose word the Holy One, blessed is He, concurs. - [Sifrei Pinchas 18]
You shall certainly give [The double expression נָתֽן תִּתֵּן denotes] two portions: the portion of their father,
who was among those who came out of Egypt, and the portion which he shared with
his brothers in the property of [his father] Hepher. - [Sifrei Pinchas 19, B.B.
116b, 118b].
and you shall transfer Heb. וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ, an expression
denoting “anger” (עֶבְרָה) [for God
is angry] when one does not leave a son to inherit him (B.B. 116a). Another interpretation:
Since a daughter transfers an inheritance from one tribe to another, when her son
or husband inherit from her, since [the prohibition of] “you shall not transfer
an inheritance” (36:7) was directed only at that generation. The same [reason] applies
to [the wording of the command] “you shall transfer the inheritance to his daughter”
(verse 8). In the case of all of them it says, “you shall give over” but in the
case of a daughter, it says, “you shall transfer.” - [Sifrei Pinchas 21]
11 to the kinsman closest to him in his family Only [kin from]
the father’s side is considered “family.”- [Sifrei Pinchas 22, B.B. 109b]
12 Go up to this mount Abarim Why is this [passage] juxtaposed here [with the
previous passage]? When the Holy One, blessed is He, said, “You shall certainly
give them...” (verse 7), he [Moses] said, “The Omnipresent commanded me to allocate
the inheritance! Perhaps the decree has been annulled, and I will enter the Land?” The Holy One, blessed
is He, said to him, “My decree remains as it was” (Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 9). Another
interpretation: Since Moses had entered the territories of the descendants of Gad
and the descendants of Reuben, he rejoiced, saying, “It seems that the vow [made]
regarding me has been annulled.” This can be compared to a king who decreed that
his son could not enter the portals of his palace. He [the king] entered the gate,
with him [the son] following; the courtyard, with him following; the foyer with
him following. When he was about to enter the inner chamber, he said to him, “My
son, from here on, it is forbidden for you to enter.”- [Sifrei Pinchas 23]
13 just as Aaron your brother was gathered From here [we see] that
Moses yearned for a death like Aaron’s (Sifrei Pinchas 23). Another interpretation:
You are no better than he (Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 9); “because you did not sanctify...”
Deut. 2:51). But if you had sanctified Me, your time to depart from the world would
not yet have arrived. On each occasion that their death is mentioned, their sin
is mentioned, for a decree had been pronounced against the generation of the desert,
that they should die in the desert on account of their sin that they did not believe.
Moses therefore requested that his sin be mentioned, so that it should not be said
that he was one of those who rebelled. This is analogous to two women who were flogged
by the court, one for immoral behavior [adultery] and the other for eating unripe
produce of the sabbatical year [a lighter offense] .... Here too, wherever their
death is mentioned, their sin is mentioned, to tell you that they had no [sin] other
than this [sin] alone. - [Sifrei Pinchas 23, Yoma 86b]
14 These were the waters of dispute at Kadesh These [waters] alone;
they [Moses and Aaron] had no other sin to their name (Sifrei Pinchas 23). Another
interpretation: Those [waters] which instigated the rebellion [of the Israelites]
at Marah were the same as those which caused the rebellion at the Red Sea [in Rephidim
(Levush, Divrei David)], and those same ones provoked
the rebellion in the desert of Zin. - [Source unknown]
|
Rashi |
Targum |
|
|
1. Give thanks to the Lord, call
out in His name; make His deeds known among the peoples. |
1. Sing praise in the presence
of the LORD, call on His name; tell of His deeds among the Gentiles. |
|
|
2. Sing to Him, play music to
Him, speak of all His wonders. |
2. Sing praise in His presence,
make music in His presence; speak of all His wonders. |
|
|
3. Boast of His holy name; may
the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice. |
3. Sing praise in His holy name;
may the heart of those who seek instruction from the presence of the LORD be glad. |
|
|
4. Search for the Lord and His
might; seek His presence constantly. |
4. Seek the teaching of the LORD,
and His Torah; welcome His face continually. |
|
|
5. Remember His wonders, which
He performed, His miracles and the judgments of His mouth. |
5. Call to mind the wonders that
he has done; his miracles, and the judgments of his mouth. |
|
|
6.
The seed of Abraham His servant,
the children of Jacob, His chosen ones. |
6. O seed of Abraham His servant,
O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. |
|
|
7. He
is the Lord our God; throughout all the earth are His judgments. |
7. He is the LORD our God;
His judgments are extended over all the earth. |
|
|
8. He
remembered His covenant forever, the word He had commanded to the thousandth
generation, |
8. He remembered His
covenant forever; He commanded a word for a thousand generations. |
|
|
9. Which
He had made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, |
9. That which He made with
Abraham, and His covenant with Isaac. |
|
|
10. And
He set it up to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, |
10. And He established it
for Jacob as a decree, for Israel as a perpetual covenant. |
|
|
11. Saying,
"To you I shall give the land of Canaan, the portion of your
heritage." |
11. Saying, "To you I
will give the land of Canaan as the lot of your inheritance." |
|
1 His deeds Heb. עלילותיו, His deeds.
3 Boast of His holy name
Boast of the stronghold of His holy
name that you have a patron like Him. התהללוּ is “porvontez vous” in Old French, [vantez vous in modern French, boast].
8 the word He had commanded to the thousandth
generation The Torah, which He commanded to make known in the world
after a thousand generations, but He saw that the world could not exist without
Torah, so he skipped 974 generations of them. It may also be interpreted
according to its simple meaning: He remembered for Israel His covenant, which
He commanded and promised to keep for them for a thousand generations, as the
matter of (Deut. 7:9): “Who keeps the covenant and the kindness for those who
love Him and who keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.”
11 Saying, “To you I shall give, etc.” That is the covenant that He made for them.
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:1-11
By: Hakham
Dr. Hillel ben David
Psalms chapter 105 was composed on the day King David brought the
Holy 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.[1]
Radak and Malbim[2] 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.[3]
Psalm 105 is unique as the only psalm that mentions the patriarch
Avraham and does so not just once but three times.[4]
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:6 O ye seed of
Abraham His servant, ye children of Jacob, His chosen ones.
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:9 [The
covenant] which He made with Abraham, and His oath unto Isaac;
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:42 For He
remembered His holy word unto Abraham His servant;
This emphasis on Avraham stands in stark contrast to the absence
of any reference to David who is the major figure in most of the book of
Psalms. It is only fitting, therefore, that we should spend a bit of time
studying Avraham Avinu.
In Bereshit (Genesis) chapter 15 we read of one
of the most significant turning points in the history of man.[5] We find Avraham
making himself into dust[6] and ashes and
then using this dust[7] to make himself
into an entirely new creature.
We read this significant chapter of Psalms twice
in a Sabbatical cycle, when using the triennial Torah cycle. We read it once in
the beginning of Av and again in the beginning of Shevat. It is read both times
on the last Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh.
The following paper is based on a study by
Rabbi Noson Weisz.
The first covenant recorded in the Torah
between HaShem and man that is arrived at by a process of negotiation is
recorded in Bereshit:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:18 On that day
HaShem made a covenant with Avraham saying, "To your descendants have I
given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river.
This covenant constitutes a legal contract
between HaShem and man where each takes on obligations and burdens. This
covenant is a major cornerstone upon which the Bne Israel, the Children of
Israel, stands.
As can be seen from the above text, the
subject of the covenant was the grant of the land of Israel to the children of
Avraham. In this covenant HaShem promised Avraham two things:
1. HaShem promised him offspring. Avraham
accepted this part of the covenant:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:2 And Abram said,
Lord HaShem, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of
my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said,
Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the
word of HaShem came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come
forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought
him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven,
and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed
in HaShem; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
2. HaShem promised Avraham the land of Israel.
This promise Avraham raised some doubts for Avraham:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:7 And he said unto
him, I am HaShem that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this
land to inherit it. 8 And he said, Lord HaShem, whereby shall I
know that I shall inherit it?
Why did the promise of the land raise doubts in Avraham’s mind? Why did Avraham have more trouble
accepting the promise of land than the promise of children?
At the time of the signing of this covenant
HaShem told Avraham:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:13 And he said unto
Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a
stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall
afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they
shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great
substance.
The four-hundred-year exile began when
Avraham’s descendent, Yitzchak, was born. A hundred and ninety years later,
Avraham’s descendants went into exile in Egypt. They spent two hundred and ten
years in Egypt.[8] According to the
Gemara, this 210 year exile and oppression were a
result of Avraham's questioning HaShem’s promise of the land of Israel, and his
subsequent request for proof:
Nedarim 32a R. Abbahu said in
R. Eleazar's name: Why was our Father Abraham punished
and his children doomed to Egyptian servitude for two hundred and ten years?
Because he pressed scholars into his service, as it is written, He armed his
dedicated servants born in his own house. Samuel said: Because he went too
far in testing the attributes [i.e., the promises] of the Lord, as it is
written, [And he said, Lord God,] whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
R. Johanan said: Because he prevented men from entering beneath the wings of
the Shechinah, as it is written, [And the king of Sodom said it to Abraham,]
Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Why did HaShem have such a significant time
period attached to Avraham’s question? A two-hundred-and-ten-year exile for
simply asking a question? In answering all these questions, let us begin by
trying to understand why it took a covenant with HaShem to allow Avraham to
have children.
We are not only seeking an explanation for the
workings of HaShem that determined that Avraham and Sarah should be naturally
childless. We also have to explain why a couple bearing a child in their middle
years[9] takes on the
proportions of such an immense miracle. After all, Avraham was willing to enter
a fiery furnace[10] out of loyalty
to HaShem, so why did the mere belief in the promise of having children earn
him so much praise from HaShem? What is so immense here?
The Midrash relates that when HaShem told
Avraham to leave Ur, Avraham was nervous that people would criticize him for
abandoning his parents just as they were getting old. HaShem told Avraham that
he is absolved from the obligation of honoring his parents.
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis 39:7 Now what
precedes this passage? And Terah died in Haran (ib. XI, 32), [which is followed
by] NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAM: GET THEE (LEK LEKA). R. Isaac said: From the
point of view of chronology a period of sixty-five years is still required.[11] But first you
may learn that the wicked, even during their lifetime, are called dead.[12] For Abraham was
afraid, saying, ' Shall I go out and bring dishonor upon the Divine Name, as
people will say, “He left his father in his old age and departed”? ‘Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, reassured him: ‘I
exempt thee (leka) from the duty of honouring thy parents, though I exempt no one else from
this duty.[13] Moreover, I will
record his death before thy departure.’ Hence, 'And Terah died in Haran’ is
stated first, and then, NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAM, etc.
HaShem added that Avraham was the only person
in all of human history who would ever receive such absolution. But why was
Avraham absolved?
The Maharal[14] explains in his
work Gevurat HaShem[15] that Avraham
received this absolution because he was a new beginning. Usually, children
inherit their potential, whether physical or spiritual, entirely from their
parents. As such, they owe their parents honor and respect as the ultimate
source of their beings.
On his own, Avraham climbed to a new pinnacle
of spirituality. Avraham did not inherit his spiritual potential from anyone.
On his own he climbed to a new pinnacle of spirituality whose potential was
innate in all human beings but that no one else had ever actualized since the
fall of Adam.
The ability to form the powerful spiritual
bond with HaShem which prompted HaShem to finally command Avraham to depart
from Ur to go to live in the Holy Land was a heretofore unexploited human
resource that Avraham obtained directly from Adam himself, as no human being
had ever tapped into it before.
Avraham is described by the Midrash[16] as the very
first convert to Judaism:
Tehillim (Psalms) 47:9 The princes of
the people are gathered together, even the people of the G-d of Abraham: for
the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.
The G-d of Avraham and not the G-d of Yitzchak
and Yaakov? The G-d of Avraham who was the very first convert to Judaism. [He
is the noble of spirit among the peoples, as it was only Avraham's nobility of
spirit that brought him to HaShem. He was not raised to be a Jew by his
parents. Isaac and Jacob already had Jewish parents.] The ruling that applies
to all new converts to Judaism, stated many times in the Talmud is that the
convert is like a new born child.
Yevamoth 48b R. Jose said: One who has become a proselyte is like a child
newly born.[17]
In the eyes of Jewish Law, he is no longer
related to his previous family. On the other hand, all converts are considered
the children of Avraham, their predecessor and the very first convert.
But there is a necessary downside to this. The
ability to have children is also a potential one inherits from his parents.
Indeed, it could be argued that the human genome is the most basic human factor
that is transmitted from generation to generation. Each and every human being
who is born represents yet another link in the endless chain of DNA that
stretches all the way back to the first man. If Avraham is not a continuation
of this chain, but represents an entirely new human departure, then it follows
that he cannot serve as a connecting link along the existing chain of
generations, but has to originate a brand-new chain of his own. To transform
oneself is one thing, to be able to transmit this transformation to all future
generations of one's descendants is quite another. This is the background to
the covenant described in Bereshit (Genesis) 15.
Above the Stars
Shabbath 156a Rab too holds that Israel is immune from planetary influence. For
Rab Judah said in Rab's name: How do we know that Israel is immune from
planetary influence? Because it is said, and he brought him forth from abroad.[18] Abraham pleaded
before the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! one born in
mine house is mine heir.’ ‘Not so,’ He replied, ‘but he that shall come forth
out of thine own bowels.’ ‘Sovereign of the Universe!’ cried he, ‘I have looked
at my constellation and find that I am not fated to beget child.’ ‘Go forth
from [i.e., cease] thy planet [gazing], for Israel is free from planetary
influence.
According to Jewish thought, all physical
potential is mapped out in the stars, which serve as both reservoir and conduit
of the spiritual force required to bring about all physical changes in the
world. Avraham was an expert in the science of reading the stars. Thus, he
concluded, that his lack of offspring did not result from a mere physical
defect which could theoretically be repaired by some sort of operation or its
miraculous equivalent, but was due to the fact that the natural universe
contained no spiritual energy that could be translated into providing him with
offspring. HaShem was informing Avraham that he was correct in this assessment
but it was irrelevant, as He, HaShem, was moving him out of this entire system
controlled by the stars.
However, there is a major difficulty in the
way of going above nature and drawing energy straight from this ultimate
source. HaShem may be perfectly willing to supply the necessary inputs, but the
recipient has to be able to reach up all the way to the ultimate source to be
able to receive this input. In order to be able to accomplish this, Avraham had
to somehow increase his own stature so that he could reach above nature, and
such length of reach was not yet programmed into human beings.
Here is where emunah[19] or the power of
faithful obedience comes in to the picture. Suppose that a person who is
naturally potent genuinely believes himself or herself to be sterile. As they
inherited the capacity to conceive from their parents, and such capacity is
already part of their phenotypes, their lack of belief is unlikely to interfere
with their ability to actually bring children into the world. They may find
themselves shocked to be pregnant. But the contrary is certainly not so. For
someone who did not inherit any such capacity, belief is very much an issue.
Avraham, who was not born with a capacity to reproduce and had to acquire it in
midlife, could only accomplish such acquisition through the power of emunah,
faithful obedience.
Perhaps the most illustrative example of this
principle at work is in the story of Nachshon ben Aminadav. In Shemot (Exodus)
14, the Torah relates the story of the splitting of the sea. The pursuing
Egyptians found the Jewish people encamped on the shores of the Red Sea and
began their attack. Faced by the sea on one side, and the hostile Egyptians on
the other, the Jewish people had nowhere to run. Moses assured them that HaShem
would save them and then immersed himself in prayer.
Shemot (Exodus) 14:15 The Lord said to
Moses: “Moses, Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the
Children of Israel and let them journey forth.”
But what else was Moses supposed to do? The
sea was raging before them. There was nothing else to do except pray. Explains
Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the student of the Gaon of
Vilna:
“HaShem told Moses that from His part, He had
done everything He could possibly do to split the sea. But the miracle could
not happen unless the Jewish people believed it could happen. They had to start
moving in to the sea as though it would get out of their way.”
The Gemara[20] relates that
Nachshon ben Aminadav walked straight into the water. First it covered his
knees, soon he was immersed in the water up to his neck, and finally it was
over his nose and he began to drown. But Nachshon believed that the water could
not drown him, as HaShem had told the children of Israel to start traveling.
Following HaShem's orders could not lead him into danger. Just before he
reached the point of drowning this power of emunah finally parted the
waters and others who were not on this level of emunah were also able to
follow. His faithful obedience was the key!
The connection between emunah and
Avraham's children and the need for a covenant with HaShem to bring this about
is now clear.
Let us now move on to the land of Israel.
If Avraham had the necessary strength of emunah
to reach above nature, connect directly to HaShem, and bring the power of
reproduction down to the world, why did this emunah fail him about
receiving the land of Israel? Why did he ask for a guarantee on this promise?
We must understand what is so special about
this land of Israel that HaShem promised Avraham.
The answer to this question also emerges from
these same ideas that we have been exploring. First of all, we must understand
what is so special about this land of Israel that HaShem promised Avraham. Why
did HaShem want Avraham to leave a place where he had a large following and was
a major force for good and travel to the land of Canaan? After all isn’t HaShem
everywhere?
In the world as HaShem arranged it, the human
habitat is always perfectly adjusted to sustain the people it must support. The
same spiritual forces that were implanted by HaShem into nature which produce
human children also must be able to produce the energy required to sustain
them. It would be futile to place human beings into the world without providing
them with the necessities of survival. This connection between man and his
world is clearly enunciated in the following passage of the Talmud, commenting
on the following Torah pasuk.
Bereshit (Genesis) 7:23 And He blotted
out all existence that was on the face of the ground -- from man to animals to
creeping things and to the bird of the heavens.
Sanhedrin 108a And every
living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, [both man
and cattle]. If man sinned, how did the beasts sin? — A Tanna taught on the
authority of R. Joshua b. Karha: This may be compared to a man who set up a
bridal canopy for his son, and prepared a banquet with every variety [of food].
Subsequently his son died, whereupon he arose and broke up the feast, saying,
‘Have I prepared all this for any but my son? Now that he is dead, what need
have I of the banquet?’ Thus the Holy One, blessed be
He, said too, ‘Did I create the animals and beasts for aught but man: now that
man has sinned, what need have I of the animals and beasts?’
But if this is so, then Avraham's offspring
must face another serious problem. For just as nature contained no spiritual
energy that Avraham could draw on to reproduce, it also contained no energy for
the habitat to sustain any potential offspring that he might have. The promise
of offspring and the promise of the land of Israel are thus intertwined.
Just as Avraham had to surmount nature to
access his children, he had to reach above the natural world to provide them
with a habitat. This habitat is the land of Israel. To bring this down to
earth, Avraham had to leave Ur and travel to Canaan. But to bring it to earth
also required emunah. Oddly enough however, the reach for the habitat
takes more emunah than the reach for offspring.
To understand this point let us consider the
remedy for Avraham's lack of emunah, the four hundred year long exile, a large part of which was the 210 years
spent in Egypt in a state of oppression. The final step of the Exodus was the
splitting of the sea referred to above about which is written:
Shemot (Exodus) 14:31 And the people
revered HaShem, and they had faith in HaShem and in Moses, His servant.
The type of emunah required to calmly
walk into the waves of the sea, or to follow HaShem into the barren desert, is
the type of faithful obedience that is ready to accept the possibility of
existing in the physical world without the aid of any natural inputs. Thus, man
can breathe in the absence of air, can relieve his thirst in the absence of
water, and can satisfy his hunger in the absence of food if that is the will of
HaShem.
It takes great emunah to be able to
reach up to heaven and bring the land of Israel down to earth.
It is obviously this type of emunah in
HaShem that is required to be able to reach up to heaven and bring the land of
Israel down to earth. Avraham was not certain that he could pass this type of emunah
down the chain of generations along with his genes. He knew that in the absence
of such emunah it was impossible to hold on to the land of Israel. And
so, he asked HaShem for a guarantee.
Thus, the four-hundred-year exile was not a
punishment but a means by which the nation of Israel could acquire the
necessary emunah to be able to settle and hold onto the land of Israel.
In the natural world there is no room or
provision for the children of Avraham. But if they can survive intact for four
hundred years and grow into a great nation without their own land or country or
army, they will internalize the emunah that their prosperity and
survival comes from HaShem Himself, bypassing the
conduit of the world of nature. This emunah will also give them a long
enough reach to stretch their arm all the way up to heaven and bring down for
themselves their country, Israel.
If an exile of four hundred years was
sufficient to bequeath the Jewish people such great emunah, how much
more potent should an exile of two thousand years have proven to be. One would
think that the Jewish people can certainly not be far away from the emunah
necessary to bring the final redemption. Yet we are experiencing great
difficulties in merely hanging on to a portion of the land of Israel. Why is
this so? How can we explain such a total lack of emunah after such a
long period of survival against great odds?
The truth is that the power of emunah
hidden in the Jewish people is immense. The trouble with emunah is that
we only push the switch that turns it on when we are convinced that there is no
way to achieve our objectives according to natural law.
If we look at the history of modern Israel, it
is clearly divisible into two parts. Before 1967 everything we touched turned
to gold. Since then, things haven't gone so smoothly to put it mildly.
This difference in our success in the outer
world is entirely matched by the rise and fall of the power of emunah[21] within us.
Before 1967, the power of our emunah
was at full strength. Back then, we looked at ourselves as a people who had to
survive against great odds through the strength of our faith and determination.
The world has regarded us this way as well. Since then, we've come to regard
ourselves as a local superpower that is able to manage on its own. The world
also treats us this way.
As our emunah has waned and so has our
worldly success. The lessons of history are obvious. We have only to read the
book. Now, we can understand how king David could connect Avraham with the land
that was promised:
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:7 He is
HaShem our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 8 He hath
remembered His covenant for ever, the word which He
commanded to a thousand generations; 9 [The covenant] which He
made with Abraham, and His oath unto Isaac; 10 And He
established it unto Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant;
11 Saying: 'Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of
your inheritance.'
|
JPS (Rashi) |
Targum |
|
6
Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in
Gilgal; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite
said to him, "You know the thing that the Lord spoke to Moses the man of
God concerning me and concerning you in Kadesh- barnea. |
6 And the sons of Judah drew near unto Joshua in
Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jepunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word that the Lord
spoke with Moses the prophet of the Lord1 concerning me and
concerning you in Rekam-geah? |
|
7
I was forty years old when Moses the servant of
the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the
land; and I brought him back word as it was in my heart. |
7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of
the Lord sent me from Rekam-geah to spy out the
land, and I brought him back the word just as it was with my heart. |
|
8
And my brothers that went up with me, made the
heart of the people melt; but I fulfilled the will of the Lord my God. |
8 My brothers who went up with me shattered the
heart of the people, and I followed wholly after the fear of the Lord my God.
|
|
9
And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the
land upon which your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance, and your
children's forever, because you have fulfilled the will of the Lord my God.' |
9 And Moses swore on that day, saying: ‘Surely the
land on which the sole of your foot has stepped will be yours for an
inheritance and your sons forever, for you have followed wholly after the
fear of the Lord my God.’ |
|
10
And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as
He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time the Lord spoke this word to
Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness; and now, behold, I am this day
eighty-five years old. |
10 And now behold the Lord has sustained me as he
said these forty-five years from the time that the Lord spoke this word with
Moses when Israel went about in the wilderness. And now behold this day I am
eighty-five years old. |
|
11
I am still as strong this day as I was on the day
that Moses sent me; as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for
war, both to go out, and to come in. |
11 Even now this day I am strong as on the day that
Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so is my strength now to wage battle
and to go forth and to come in. |
|
12
And now, give me this mountain, of which the Lord
spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the 'Anakim were there, and
that the cities were big and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with
me, and I shall drive them out, as the Lord spoke." |
12 And now give to me this hill country of which
the Lord spoke on that day; for you heard on that day that there were giants'
there and great and fortified cities. If the Memra of the Lord be at my aid,
I will conquer them as the Lord said.” |
|
13
And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb
the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. |
13 And Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb
and son of Jepunneh for an inheritance. |
|
14
Hebron, therefore, became the inheritance of
Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this
day, because he fulfilled the will of the Lord God of Israel. |
14 Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb the son of Jepunneh the Kenizzite for an
inheritance unto this day because he followed wholly after the fear of the
Lord the God of Israel. |
|
15
And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba (the city of Arba); Arba was the greatest man among
the 'Anakim. And the land had rest from war. |
15 And the name of Hebron formerly was “the City of
Arba”; he was a great man among the giants. And the land had rest from the
making of battle. |
7 as it was in my heart. and not as it was in my mouth, for the spies were of one counsel, and Caleb was afraid to say to them that he would not say the same as they. But, when he came, he contradicted them. That is what is stated there: “Because there was another spirit with him,” for he said to them one version with his mouth, while he had another version in his heart.
10 these forty-five years. We learn that the conquest of the land took seven years, for in the second year, Moses sent the spies. There remain thirty- eight years, during which the Israelites walked through the wilderness, and seven in which they conquered [the land], making a total of forty-five years.
15 Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. Arba was the name of the father of Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai. Another explanation is: [It was called Kirjath-arba, the city of four] because of the father and the three sons for the scripture calls them the children of 'Anak.
And the land had rest from war. This refers back
to the previous topic, i.e., after the seven years during which they conquered
their surroundings, the Amorites were humbled and no longer gathered to wage
war upon them. Therefore, they began to engage in the division of the land. The Midrash
Aggadah states that the greatest man among the 'Anakim was our father
Abraham who was instrumental for them that the land rested from war the forty
years that they tarried in the wilderness as a reward for that which they
honored the patriarch in Kiriath-arba, for they said
to him. ’A Godly prince are you in our midst.’
By: H.Ex. Adon
Shlomoh Ben Abraham
Our reading starts off straight to the point: The children of Judah drew nigh unto Joshua in Gilgal; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said unto him: ‘Thou knowest the thing that the Lord Hashem) spoke unto Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning thee in Kadesh-barne… behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness…. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day… Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. (10:36, 37; 15:13, 14; 21:11, 12; Judg. 1:20; 1 Chr. 6:55, 56.) Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day (v.8,9), because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel.[22]
Caleb is the name of one or two individuals (and their descendants) from Israel’s early history genealogically and geographically associated with the tribe of Judah. The Mari letters attest an Amorite proper name ka-al-ba-an (“dog”), while the proper names klb and klby occur in Ugaritic, Aramaic, Phoenician, and Punic, probably connoting “servant.” Mesopotamian names combine the root kalb- (“dog of” …). The biblical name “Caleb” may represent an abbreviated form of such examples ( kalb- > kālēb), connoting self-abasement and perhaps “faithful servant.” The phrase “my servant Caleb” (Num 14:24) might even be a pun on the name.[23] Caleb was a great-grandson of Judah (1 Chron. 2:9) from the line of Perez and a spy sent by Moses to scout out the land of Canaan (Num. 13:6)[24] Traditionally, one regards “Caleb” (Heb kālēb) as a form of the common Semitic word klb (“dog”; Heb keleb), with its connotations of self-deprecation (2 Kings 8:13) [25] or as I would render, to emphasize Caleb’s faithfulness in obeying Hashem as a “faithful servant.” (verses 8, 14).
The Bible identifies Caleb’s father, Jephunneh, as “the Kenizzite” (Num 32:12; Josh 14:6, 14), a gentilic tracing his ancestry either to a pre-Israelite people in southern Canaan (Gen 15:19) or to a prominent western Edomite clan (Gen 36:11, 15, 42) Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother [Josh 15:17; Judg 1:13]). Some scholars surmise there are two Calebs. One contemporary with Moses (referred to as Caleb 1, because he came first in time and of the line of Perez, Judah’s son), and this one here is contemporary with Joshua (Caleb 2). ‘Caleb 2 represents a non-Israelite clan incorporated into the tribe of Judah and larger Israel. Its ancestry may help explain its later settlement areas within Judah.’[26] The Israelites are still camped at Gilgal (see 10:43), east of Jericho (that is, on the west side of the Jordan River; (4:19). In Numbers 13:6; 34:19 he is said to be a member of the tribe of Judah, and that is why here (about Joshua specifically) identifies him as belonging to that tribe.*[27] Caleb 2 reminds Joshua what the Lord had said about Joshua and himself after the two, had returned from exploring the land of Canaan (Num 14:30). Joshua and Caleb 2 brought back an encouraging report, and so the Lord promised that Caleb would have some land (Num 14:24). Caleb now steps up to claim his inheritance as Moses promised.
In the greater story, sometime later, the Israelite leaders would give Hebron to the priestly family of Kohath, but Caleb still holds the city’s surrounding farmland and villages (Josh 21:11–12; cf. 1 Chron 6:41). Scholars seem to agree that it is the surrounding areas outside of the actual city that belong to Caleb. It is here in our present reading that the book of Joshua singles out Caleb 2 for the special honor as the first person to receive inherited land west of the Jordan because he “followed the Lord … wholeheartedly”. (Josh.14:14) The first tribe is Judah (14:6 -15:63), which will become the most prominent of all as the biblical story unfolds. The one and-a-half Joseph tribes are next (Josh. 16–17); these would be central in the Northern Kingdom. The emphasis on Judah and Joseph, and certain parallels in the structure used to describe them, thus reflect the prominence of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms after the monarchy is divided in the early 10th century (922 BCE).[28] There is some discussion of whether Caleb received the city of Hebron or the surrounding pastures and hills which lay outside of the city proper. This discussion I think could very well point to the idea of two Calebs one in Moses Day, great-grandfather of the craftsman Bezalel, designer and builder of the tabernacle (1 Chron 2:18–20; cf. Ex 31:2–5; 38:22) and another Caleb more associated with Joshua and the story of the twelve spies, who is Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, which seems to be from Edom, Esau, the long lost brother of Jacob. What I find telling in this discussion is that one gets the city and one gets the area around the city, because of his attachment to Judah, and that he ‘wholeheartedly followed Hashem’.
In the Nazarean Codicil (NT) in the book of Hebrews there is a chapter known as the heroes of faith. something similar is found in 1 Maccabees 2. Mattathias was the Father of Judas Maccabeus and his four brothers (1 Macc 2:1–5), and son of John, and grandson of Simeon. Mattathias belonged to the priestly order Jehoiarib and is described as a Jerusalemite who settled in the village of Modein.[29] At the end of Mattathias life around the year 165 BCE. Mattathias following the example of his father Jacob (Israel) gathered his sons around him to brief them on their job going forward and he left them with words to in which to live by. Both the Hebrew passage and this one in the book of Maccabees brings forth the fact with multiple examples that “following Hashem…. Wholeheartedly” has its rewards.
1 Maccabees 2:49 Now the days drew near for Mattathias to die, and he said to his sons: “Arrogance and scorn have now become strong; it is a time of ruin and furious anger. Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of our ancestors. “Remember the deeds of the ancestors, which they did in their generations; and you will receive great honor and an everlasting name. Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness? Joseph, in the time of his distress kept the commandment and became lord of Egypt. Phinehas, our ancestor, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of everlasting priesthood.
Joshua, because he fulfilled the
command, became a judge in Israel. Caleb, because he testified in the
assembly, received an inheritance in the land. David, because he was
merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom forever.
Elijah, because of great zeal for
the law, was taken up into heaven. Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael
believed and were saved from the flame. Daniel, because of his
innocence, was delivered from the mouth of the lions. “And so, observe, from
generation to generation, that none of those who put their trust in him will
lack strength. Do not fear the words of sinners, for their splendor will
turn into dung and worms. Today they will be exalted, but tomorrow they
will not be found, because they will have returned to the dust, and their
plans will have perished.
My children, be courageous and grow
strong in the law, for by it you will gain honor. [30]
Caleb’s genealogy (1 Chron 2:18–20, 24, 42–50a) is more extensive than that of Caleb 2, His identification as “brother of Jerahmeel” (1 Chron 2:42) places him genealogically parallel to the Davidic royal line of Ram (1 Chron 2:9–15) and probably presumes close ties between Calebites and Jerahmeelites (Japhet). Given the Chronicler’s special concern for the temple cult, Caleb 1’s main importance is probably as great-grandfather of the craftsman Bezalel, designer and builder of the tabernacle (1 Chron 2:18–20; cf. Ex 31:2–5; 38:22).[31] - [32]
Despite the vague, fragmentary context (1 Chron 4:1–23), it reckons Caleb’s genealogy to Judah’s son Perez (1 Chron 4:1), the line from which David descends (Gen 38; Ruth 4:12, 18). The lack of correspondence between these traditions and the data on Judah in *Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 2:3–35 / Neh. 7:8–33; 11:4–9, 25–30) suggest that they at least reflect Judah’s preexilic, if not early, tribal situation. The Chronicler signals the Calebites’ unique prominence in and full incorporation within Judah.[33]
But one wonders whether the association of two distinct Caleb-bite clans with Hebron, each with a daughter of Caleb named Achsah (1 Chron 2:49b), might imply some relationship (or is it a conflation of two different traditions and people). Though the details are sketchy, the identifiable place names in Caleb’s genealogy (Hebron, Ziph, Maon, Jorkeam, Bethzur, Tappuah, and Tekoa) locate the Calebites in the hill country of Judah within a ten-mile radius of Hebron.[34]
Hur, one of the sons of Caleb and Ephrath, “fathered” Bethlehem (also called “Ephrath/Ephrathah” [Gen 35:16, 19; Mic 5:2]) suggests that Ephrathites—for example, David’s ancestors (Ruth 1:2; 1 Sam 17:12)—comprised a Calebite subgroup centered there (1 Chron 2:19–20, 50; 4:4). The genealogy singles out the Calebite Mareshah as the founder or first clan occupant of Hebron and credits it with founding and/or occupying four “sons” (1 Chron 2:42–43). This falls short of the strong claims to possession of Hebron that Joshua 14–15 assert for the Caleb 2 group, but it clearly affirms a clan connection of some sort with the city. A Calebite-Bethlehem connection, plus David’s fugitive days in Calebite territory (1 Sam 23 and 26), might explain his choice of Hebron as his first royal capital and imply positive relations between his family and the Calebites.[35]
Many scholars believe that “Caleb” originally was a clan name adopted by a single clan, the Calebites, whose traditions underlie the Bible’s supposed Caleb the son of Hezron and Caleb the spy. Their prima facie case argues that everything Calebite descends from a common ancestor (Perez), concerns the same central city (Hebron), inhabits the same region (southern Judah), and shares the same inclusion in Judah. That the genealogies imply two different individuals, living at different times, poses no problem because, as R. R. Wilson has shown, biblical *genealogies[36] often represent social and political relationships between groups rather than actual physical descent. But a contrary case can also be made. The Chronicler clearly seems to know two individuals named Caleb. His terminology consistently distinguishes between Caleb 1 (son of Hezron) and “Caleb 2 son of Jephunneh” (1 Chron 4:15; 6:56 [6:41[37]]), and the wide use of klb in ancient proper names certainly means that two individuals might share the name Caleb, even in the same area. Also, although the evidence is minimal, a slight difference in location for each of the Calebite groups is perceptible: the Calebites of Caleb are associated with Debir and the Negev, while several Caleb towns (e.g., Bethlehem, Tekoa, Maon, Ziph), which lie [further away from Hebron] near the wilderness east of Hebron. As for Hebron, the Bible incorporates ancient sources from the two Calebite groups and hence offers only brief snapshots of scattered historical moments. How they all fit together remains speculative.[38]
The appearance in these [first few chapters of chronicles] of many otherwise unknown names was noted by the early Rabbis, who, consistent with their tendency attested elsewhere, employed midrash-type interpretations of these names in order to link them with individuals known from other biblical passages.
In some cases, the Rabbis appear to have explained (away) the seemingly non-Israelite origin of many of these individuals; in other cases, the Rabbis are attempting to harmonize divergent traditions.[39]
As we see, the genealogy of Caleb becomes
difficult to ascertain. What I want to point out is that regardless of whether
we are speaking of one person named Caleb from Moses’ Day all the way to our
passage in Joshua 14:6 or two different individuals whose paths may have never
crossed, we see a link with the tribe of Judah and the family line of King
David and, therefore, Messiah Yeshua. If we have one Caleb with many traditions
no problem, he’s a member of the tribe of Judah. If we
have one Caleb a grandson of Judea through Perez, we just follow the Messianic
line down. If as some believe our Caleb in (14:6) is a Kenizzite
of the family of Kenaz, an Edomite (Gen35:11), but his family belong to the
tribe of Judah (Numb 13:6) and in (I Chron. 2:18) the name of Caleb’s father is
given as Hezron; but here as elsewhere, son may signify ‘descendant’. It is
therefore possible that the ancestor (Caleb) of Jephunneh was a Kenizzite, but a descendant married into the tribe of
Judah, from which marriage Caleb issued.[40] In
The Soncino commentary on 1 Chronicles 2:17 the son of Hezron is linked to the
Son, Ram, which is a direct ancestor of King David and Messiah.[41] While
looking for clues or hints to sort this all out, do we find any ‘dogs’ in the
NT Nazarene codicil. In Matthew 15:2-28 and Mark 7:26-30, we
see a Canaanite gentile woman, Syrophoenician by birth, with a sick child. She
asks Yeshua for help and healing, and he replied, “Let the children be fed
first, it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
The woman replied, yes, but even the dogs eat of the children’s crumbs. When
Yeshua saw how great her faith was, he gave her the desires of her heart. This
woman understood she was crossing a line, but her faith, just as Caleb’s,
accepted what Hashem had spoken, and she believed that this prophet Yeshua
could bring healing to her daughter. Just as Caleb's faith and ‘wholehearted
following Hashem’ knew that without a doubt, the children of Israel would be
able to take the land that Hashem had promised to Abraham and his descendants.
I’m sure Caleb saw the giants of the land just as everyone else did, but there
was something in his soul that believed and trusted that regardless of whether
he could understand HOW, he knew that Hashem was faithful to perform the WHAT
and keep the promises he had made to Abraham and his descendants. In both the
story of Caleb and the Canaanite gentile, Syrophoenician women they attached
themselves to Judah (Jews) and earned their place in the roster of the
faithful. The children of Judah drew nigh unto
Joshua in Gilgal; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite
– earned and was given a place and an inheritance in the land of Israel. The
vision of King David and King Solomon is slowly being fulfilled, and one day, the
foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the
name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and
does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— These I will bring to My holy
mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and
their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for My house shall be called a
house of prayer for all peoples.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of
Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already
gathered.” [42]
|
Rashi |
Targum |
|
1. ¶ The vision of Isaiah the son of
Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah,
Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah. |
1. ¶ The prophecy of Isaiah the son
of Arnoz, which he prophesied concerning the men of Judah and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of
the house of Judah. |
|
2. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth,
for the Lord has spoken; Children I have raised and exalted, yet they have
rebelled against Me. |
2. Hear, O heavens which shook when I gave
My Law to My people, and give ear, O earth which reeled before My
word; for the LORD speaks: "The house of Israel is My people, I called
them sons. I cherished and glorified them, but they have
rebelled against My Memra. |
|
3. An ox knows his owner and a donkey his
master's crib; Israel does not know, my people does
not consider. |
3. The ox knows its owner, and the ass its
master's crib; but Israel does not teach to know the fear of Me,
My people does not understand, to return
to My Law." |
|
4. Woe to a sinful nation, a people heavy
with iniquity, evildoing seed, corrupt children. They forsook the Lord;
they provoked the Holy One of Israel; they drew backwards. |
4. Woe, because they were called a holy
people, and sinned; a chosen congregation have multiplied sins; they
were named as a beloved seed and they acted wickedly, and it was said of
them, "Cherished sons”: and they corrupted their ways! They
have forsaken the service of the LORD, they have despised the fear of the
Holy One of Israel, because of their wicked deeds they are turned
about and backwards. |
|
5. Why are you beaten when you still
continue to rebel? Every head is [afflicted] with illness and every heart
with malaise. |
5. They do not understand so as to say,
"Why are we still smitten?" They continue to sin. They do
not say, "For what reason is every head sick and every heart
mournful?" |
|
6. From the sole of the foot until the head
there is no soundness-wounds and contusions and lacerated sores; they have
not sprinkled, neither have they been bandaged, nor was it softened with oil. |
6. From the remnant of the people even
to the heads there is not among them one that is perfect in my fear.
All of them are disobedient and rebellious; they defile themselves with sins
as a dripping wound. They do not forsake their arrogance and they do
not desire repentance, and they have no merits to protect them. |
|
7. Your land is desolate; your cities burnt
with fire. Your land-in your presence, strangers devour it; and it is
desolate as that turned over to strangers. |
7. Your country lies desolate, your cities
are burned with fire; in your very presence the Gentiles take possession of
your land; and because of your sins it is removed from you, and given
to aliens. |
|
8. And the daughter of Zion shall be left
like a hut in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged
city. |
8. And the congregation of Zion is left like
a booth in a vineyard after they have picked it clean, like a tent for
staying overnight in a cucumber field after they have stripped it, like a
city which is besieged. |
|
9. "Had not the Lord of Hosts left us a
remnant, we would soon be like Sodom; we would resemble Gomorrah." {P} |
9. Had the abounding goodness of the
LORD of hosts not left us a remnant in his mercies, then our sins would have
been with us, so that as the men of Sodom we should have perished, and
as the inhabitants of Gomorrah we should have been destroyed. {P} |
|
10. ¶ Hear the word of the Lord, O rulers of
Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, O people of Gomorrah! |
10. ¶ Listen to the word of the LORD, you
rulers whose deeds are [as] evil as [those of] the rulers of Sodom! Give ear
to the Law of our God, you people whose deeds resemble [those of] the
people of Gomorrah! |
|
11. Of what use are your many sacrifices to
Me? says the Lord. I am sated with the burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of
fattened cattle; and the blood of bulls and sheep and hegoats
I do not want. |
11. There is no pleasure before Me in the
multitude of your holy sacrifices, says the LORD. Enough of burnt
offerings of rams and fat of fed beasts and blood of bulls or lambs or kids;
in such things there is no pleasure before Me. |
|
12. When you come to appear before Me, who
requested this of you, to trample My courts? |
12. When you come to be seen before Me, who
requires this from your hand, that you should come? Do not trample My
courts! |
|
13. You shall no longer bring vain
meal-offerings, it is smoke of abomination to Me; New Moons and Sabbaths,
calling convocations, I cannot [bear] iniquity with assembly. |
13. Do not continue to bring an offering
which is stolen; it is a despised oblation before me. At new moons and Sabbaths you gather in assembly without
forsaking your sins, so that your prayers might be accepted in the time of
your assemblies. |
|
14. Your New Moons and your appointed
seasons My soul hates, they are a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing [them]. |
14. Your new moons and your appointed
feasts My Memra despises; they are before Me as
something despicable; I have forgiven much. |
|
15. And when you spread out your hands, I
will hide My eyes from you, even when you pray at length, I do not hear; your
hands are full of blood. |
15. And when the priests spread forth
their hands to pray for you, I take up the face of My Shekhinah from you;
even though you pray much concerning yourselves, there is no pleasure
before Me to accept your prayers; because your hands are full of innocent
blood. |
|
16. Wash, cleanse yourselves, remove the
evil of your deeds from before My eyes, cease to do evil. |
16. Return to the Law; make
yourselves clean from your sins; remove the evil of your deeds from before My
Memra; cease to do evil. |
|
17. Learn to do good, seek justice,
strengthen the robbed, perform justice for the orphan, plead the case of the
widow. {S} |
17. Learn to do good; seek judgment,
acquit him that is robbed, judge the case of the fatherless, act on the
complaint of the widow. {S} |
|
18. Come now, let us debate, says the Lord.
If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow; if
they prove to be as red as crimson dye, they shall become as wool. |
18. Then, when you, return to the Law,
you will beseech before Me, and I will carry out your request, says the LORD:
though your sins are scarlet like dyed cloth, they shall be white like
snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like pure wool. |
|
19. If you be willing and obey, you shall
eat the best of the land. |
19. If you are willing and
attend to My Memra, you will eat of the good of the land; |
|
20. But if you refuse and rebel, you will
be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the LORD spoke. {P} |
20. but if you
refuse and do not attend to My Memra, by the adversary's sword
you will be killed; for by the Memra of the LORD it has been so decreed. {P} |
|
21. ¶ How has she become a harlot, a
faithful city; full of justice, in which righteousness would lodge, but now
murderers. |
21. ¶ How the faithful city’s deeds have
turned to become as [those of] a harlot, she that was full of those who
perform judgment! Truth was done in her, and now they are killers of
souls. |
|
22. Your silver has become dross; your wine
is diluted with water. |
22. Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water. |
|
23. Your princes are rebellious and
companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes and runs after payments; the
orphan they do not judge, and the quarrel of the widow does not come to them. {S} |
23. Your princes are rebellious and
companions of thieves. All of them love to accept a bribe, saying - a man to
his neighbour - assist me in my case, so that I
will repay you in your case. They do not defend the fatherless and the
complaint of the widow does not come before them. {S} |
|
24. "Therefore," says the Master,
the Lord of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, "Oh, I will console Myself
from My adversaries, and I will avenge Myself of My foes. |
24. Therefore the
LORD of the world says, the LORD of hosts, the Strong One of Israel:
"The city of Jerusalem I am about to comfort, but woe to the wicked when
I am revealed to take just retribution from the enemies of the people, and I
will return vengeance to the adversary. |
|
25. And I will return My hand upon you and
purge away your dross as with lye, and remove all your tin. |
25. And I will turn the stroke of My
might upon you and I will separate, as those who purify with lye, all your
wicked and I will remove all your sinners. |
|
26. And I will restore your judges as at
first and your counsellors as in the beginning; afterwards you shall be
called City of Righteousness, Faithful City. |
26. And I will appoint- in you true
judges. steadfast as at the first. and your counsellors as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called the city of truth, the faithful city. |
|
27. Zion shall be redeemed through justice
and her penitent through righteousness. |
27. Zion will be redeemed when judgment is
performed in her, and the ones who have performed the Law will return to
her in righteousness/generosity. |
1 the vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz Said
Rabbi Levi: We have a tradition from our ancestors that Amoz and Amaziah, king of
Judah, were brothers.
which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem Now,
did he not prophesy concerning many nations, viz. the prophecy of Babylonia (ch. 13), the prophecy of Moab (ch.
15)? Thus, you learn that this is not the beginning of the Book, and that the Book
is not given its name for this prophecy. So, we learned in the Baraitha of the Mechilta (Exod. 15:9, 10): “In the year of King
Uzziah’s death” (6:1) is the beginning of the Book, but there is no early and late
in the order [i.e., the order of the chapters is no indication of the chronological
order. (Others read: There is no early and late in the Book Parshandatha.] The
context proves this point, for, on the day of the earthquake (see Zech. 14:5), the
day Uzziah became a metzora (see 2 Chron. 26:19), it was
said: “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am; send me”
(6:8). We learn that this was the beginning of his mission, and this prophecy was
said afterwards. And concerning this alone, it is stated: which he saw concerning
Judah and Jerusalem, just as Scripture says concerning each nation, “the prophecy
of such and such a nation.” Here too, Scripture writes: “which he saw concerning
Judah and Jerusalem.” Since they are harsh reproofs, he calls them “chazon,” which is the harshest of the ten expressions by which
prophecy is called, as is stated in Gen. Rabbah (44:7), and proof of this is
the verse (infra 21:2), “A harsh prophecy (חָזוּת) was told to me.”
in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz,
[and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah. These four kings he buried,
[i.e. he outlived,] in his lifetime. On the day Uzziah became a metzora, the Shechinah rested upon him, and he prophesied all
the days of these kings, until Manasseh arose and killed him. (And this prophecy
was said in the days of Hezekiah after the ten tribes were exiled.)
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O
earth And Moses said, “Give ear, O heavens...and
may the earth hear” (Deut. 32:1). Why did Isaiah change the wording? Our masters
taught concerning this matter, [and] many midrashim [are] in the section entitled
“Ha’azinu” in Sifrei, but the Sages disagreed with them
and said: A matter is not so unless witnesses come and testify. If their words coincide,
their testimony is fulfilled; if not, their testimony is not fulfilled. Had Isaiah
not addressed the heavens with giving ear and the earth with hearing, the heavens
would testify and say, ‘When we were called to this testimony in Moses’ time, when
he said, (Deut. 30:19) “I call heaven and earth to witness against you,” we heard
with an expression of giving ear,’ and the earth would testify, ‘I was called with
an expression of hearing,’ hence their testimony would not coincide. [Therefore,]
Isaiah came and reversed the matter. Consequently, both are found to testify with
an expression of giving ear and with an expression of hearing.
for the Lord has spoken That you
should be witnesses in this matter, when I warned them in Moses’ time. Therefore,
come and hear what I reason with them, for they transgressed the warning, I did
not sin against them, but I raised them and exalted them, yet they rebelled against
me. [Another version reads:] That you should be witnesses in this matter. Now, where
did He speak? “Give ear, O heavens and I will speak” (ibid. 32:1). [So this was taught] in Mechilta (Bo 12).
3 his owner Heb. קֽנֵהוּ [is] like מְתַקְּנוֹ, the one who affixes him to the plowshare for plowing by day, and since he has accustomed him to this, he knows him. The dull donkey, however, does not recognize his master until he feeds him. Israel was not intelligent like the ox, to know, when I called him and said, “Israel will be your name” (Gen. 35:10), and I informed them of several of My statutes, yet they deserted Me, as is related in Ezekiel (20:39): “Let each one go and worship his idols.” Even after I took them out of Egypt and fed them the manna and called them, “My people, the children of Israel,” they did not consider even as a donkey. Another explanation is:
An ox knows its owner An ox recognizes his owner so that his
fear is upon him. He did not deviate from what I decreed upon him, by saying, I
will not plow today. Neither did a donkey say to his owner, I will not bear burdens
today. Now, these [creatures,] who were created to serve you, and are not destined
to receive reward if they merit, or to be punished if they sin, did not change their
manner, which I decreed upon them. Israel, however, who, if they merit receive reward,
and if they sin are punished.
does not know i.e.,
did not want to know; they knew but trod with their heels, and My people did not
take heart to consider.
4 Woe Every instance of הוֹי in Scripture is an expression of complaining and lamenting, like a person who sighs from his heart and cries, “Alas!” There are, however, several, which are an expression of a cry, the vocative voice, e.g., “Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north” (Zech. 2:10), which the Targum renders, אַכְלוּ, an expression of announcing.
Woe There
is a reason to cry about a holy nation that turned into a sinful nation, and a people
referred to by the expression, “for you are a holy people” (Deut. 7:6), turned into
a people with iniquity.
a people heavy with iniquity The heaviness of iniquity. The word denotes a person who is heavy, pesant in French, ponderous. The word כֶבֶד is a substantive of heaviness, pesantoma in French, and is in the construct state, and is connected with the word עָוֹן, iniquity.
evildoing seed And they were seed whom the Lord blessed (Isa. 61:9). Similarly,
they were children of the Holy One, blessed be He, and they became corrupt.
they provoked Heb. נִאֲצוּ, they angered.
they drew backwards [The root נְזִירָה,] wherever it appears, is only an expression of separation. Similarly, Scripture states: “And they shall separate (וְיִנָּזְרוּ) from the holy things of the children of Israel” (Lev. 22: 2), “the one separated (נְזִיר) from his brothers” (Gen. 49:26). Here too, they drew away from being near the Omnipresent.
5 Why are you beaten... A
person who was punished (lit. beaten) and repeats his sin his friend admonishes
him and says to him, For this you have been punished, yet
you do not take heart to say, ‘For this I have been punished. I will not repeat
it again.’ Here too, why are you beaten since you continue disobedience, to turn
away from following the Omnipresent? Is not every head afflicted with illness and
every heart with malaise? Why then do you not understand?
6 soundness An expression of perfection, sound without pain.
wounds Heb. פֶּצַע, i.e., a wound of a sword.
contusions Heb. חַבּוּרָה, an expression of a bruise. [Some editions read:] Other bruises.
and lacerated sores Jonathan renders: מְרַסְסָא, lacerated and crushed.
and lacerated sores demarcejjre, in O.F., and in the language of the Talmud, we find, “he bumped (טַרְיֵה) his head” (Chullin 45b). Menahem explained it as an expression of moisture, i.e., moist and wet, always oozing [muyte in O.F.].
they have not been sprinkled These lesions were not sprinkled with medicinal powders by physicians. This is an expression of: (Job 18:15) “Sulphur shall be sprinkled (יְזֽרֶה) on his dwelling.” Menahem explained it as an expression of healing, as in (Jeremiah 30:13): “No one pronounced your judgment for healing (לְמָזוֹר).”
neither was it softened with oil Their
wound was not softened with oil, as is customary with other wounds. It would be
inappropriate to say here, “They were not softened with oil,” for they soften only
the place of the sore, not the wound and the contusion but the sprinkling and the
bandaging applies to all three, [i.e., the wound, the contusion, and the lacerated
sore.] Therefore, the plural number applies to them; the lesions were not sprinkled
and not bandaged. Jonathan interprets the entire verse figuratively, referring to
the fact that they were soiled and afflicted with iniquity. Accordingly, he rendered,
“From the sole of the foot until the head,” from the smallest to the greatest, there
is no soundness. There is none good among them, wounds and contusions, rebellious
deeds, iniquities, and inadvertent sins.
they have not been sprinkled... i.e.,
they have not been healed by repenting wholeheartedly, nor has it been softened
with oil, not even a trace of repentant thought has entered their heart.
7 in your presence, strangers devour
it Before your eyes, your enemies will
devour it. and desolate of you as a heritage turned over to strangers, which is
desolate of its owners. Jonathan renders in this manner.
8 And the daughter of Zion shall be
left devoid of its inhabitants, for they will be exiled from its
midst, as a hut in a vineyard, made by a watchman, and when the produce of the vineyard
is gathered, he leaves his hut and goes away, after they gather it.
like a lodge in a cucumber field As the lodge, which the watchman made at the end of a cucumber field, to watch its cucumber, is left, for after it is gathered, he leaves it and goes away; the one in the vineyard is called a hut since he lives in it day and night; by day, he guards it from the birds and by night from the thieves, but cucumbers are hard, and there is no fear of the birds, and one need not watch them by day. It is, therefore, called a lodge since it is a place of lodging at night. Jonathan renders: Like a bed in a lodge (again repeated in Hebrew), [in] a cucumber field, in a cucumber field after it has been picked (בָּתַר דְאַבְעָיוּהִי), after it has been picked. [This is the expression of the Mishnah] (Peah 4:5): “There are three gatherings (אַבְעָיוֹת) a day.”
like a besieged city Like
a city which was besieged, and they make huts around it to hide the troops, and
when they give up the siege [lit., when they go away from it], they leave them and
go away. All this is Jonathan’s translation.
9 Had not the Lord of Hosts left us
a remnant by His own volition and with His mercy,
not because of our merits.
we would soon be like Sodom All of
us would be destroyed.
10 rulers of Sodom Princes
whose deeds are like those of Sodom. From here, [the Rabbis] deduced that a person
should not open his mouth to Satan.
11 I am sated with the burnt-offerings
of rams This is similar to: “Lest he have
too much of you and hate you,” (Proverbs 25:18).
fattened cattle Fattened
cattle and sheep.
I do not want Since
you transgress My Torah, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination [from
Prov. 21:27].
12 who requested this of you, to trample
My courts to trample [the preposition is absent
in the Hebrew] My courts, since your heart is not whole with Me.
13 You shall bring no more vain meal-offerings I warn
you, you shall not bring Me your vain meal-offering, for
the smoke that rises from it is smoke of abomination to Me, and not for My satisfaction.
New moons and Sabbaths, calling, convocations,
I cannot... and [sic, does not appear in Parshandatha]
to call convocations, i.e., New Moons and Sabbaths when you gather to call a convocation
and an assembly on them, I cannot bear the iniquity in your hearts that is inclined
to paganism, and the convocation with it, for these two things are incompatible:
to call a convocation to gather before Me, and the iniquity that is in your hearts
for paganism, and you do not take it out of your hearts.
15 And when you spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you because your hands are full
of blood. blood Murder.
16 Wash, cleanse yourselves Voweled with a ‘patach,’ the imperative form, since it is derived from רְחַץ, but רָחֲצוּ, [in the past tense, is voweled with a ‘kamatz’ because it is derived from רָחַץ].
Wash, cleanse yourselves, remove, learn,
seek, strengthen, perform justice, plead, go Ten
exhortations of the expression of repentance are [listed] here, corresponding to
the Ten Days of Penitence and to the ten verses of Kingship, Remembrances, and Shofaroth
[in the musaf service of Rosh Hashanah].
cease to do evil Desist
from your evil deeds.
to do evil Heb. הרע, like לְהָרֵעַ, to do evil. [Rashi explains this because the preposition is absent in Hebrew.] Scripture does not have to write מֵהָרֵעַ, desist from doing evil, for so does the Biblical language treat the expression of חֲדָלָה, stopping, [e.g.,] “and he failed to make (לַעֲשׂוֹת) the Pesach” (Num. 9:13); “until he stopped counting (לִסְפּֽר)” (Gen. 41:49). That is to say, the counting stopped, the making failed, here too, stop the evildoing.
17 Learn It is punctuated ‘raphe,’ weak, without a dagesh. This is from the form לָמֽד, learn to do good. One who teaches himself is of the ‘kal’ form. Therefore, its imperative plural is voweled with a ‘chirik’ like אִמְרוּ, שִׁמְעוּ, but one who teaches others is of the form of the ‘heavy conjugation’ (pi’el) with a ‘dagesh,’ and if one comes to command a number of people, the word is voweled לַמְּדוּ. And so, דִּרְשׁוּ, from the form דְרשׁ, but אַשְּׁרוּ in which the ‘shin’ has a ‘dagesh,’ is from the ‘heavy conjugation,’ and from the form אַשֵּׁר; therefore, the imperative plural is voweled with a ‘patach’ like בַּשְּׂרוּ, סַפְּרוּ, דַּבְּרוּ.
strengthen the robbed Heb. חָמוֹץ אַשְּׁרוּ. This is a Mishnaic term, אֲשַׁרְנוּהִי, “we have verified it” (Ketuboth 21a); “if I had strength (אֲיַשֵּׁר)” (Gittin 30b); “May your strength be strengthened (יִישַׁר)” (Shabbath 87a). Another explanation is: Lead him in the path of truth to acquire what rightfully belongs to him. An expression of: (Job 23:11) “My foot held its path (בֲּאֲשׁוּרוֹ)”; (Prov. 23:19) “And go (וְאַשֵׁר) in the way of your heart.”
perform justice So-and-so
is innocent and so-and-so is guilty.
plead the case of the widow Endeavor
in their quarrel to plead for her, for she cannot go out to pursue her opponents.
the robbed Heb. חָמוֹץ, similar to (Ps. 71:4) “from the hand of the unrighteous and the robber (וּמְחַמֵּץ).”
18 Come now, let us debate together, I and
you, and we will know who offended whom, and if you offended Me, I still give you
hope to repent.
If your sins prove to be like crimson Stained
before Me like crimson red, I will make them as white as snow.
says the Lord [The verb is in the future form to denote that] He always says this to you, like: (Num. 9:20) “By the word of the Lord they would camp (יַחֲנוּ),” also a future form. Another explanation is: Come now, let us debate. What is written above this? “Cease to do evil; learn to do good.” And after you return to Me, come now, and let us debate together, to notify Me, “We have done what is incumbent upon us; You do what is incumbent upon You;” and I say, “If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow...”
as crimson dye Heb. תּוֹלָע, lit. a worm. Dye with which they dye fabrics red. They are kernels, each one of which has a worm inside it. Hence the name תּוֹלָע.
20 for the mouth of the Lord spoke Where did He speak? (Lev. 26:25) “And I will bring upon you a sword.”
21 a harlot Astray from her God.
city which was faithful and full of justice, and righteousness would lodge therein, but now murderers.
full of justice Heb. מְלֵאֲתִי מִשְׁפָּט [equivalent to מְלֵאַתמִשְׁפָּט , the ‘yud’ being superfluous,] as in (Lamentations 1:1) רַבָּתִי עָם, “great in population” [equivalent to רַבַּתעָם ].
in which righteousness would lodge The daily dawn sacrifice would atone for the sins [committed] at night, and the daily afternoon [sacrifice] would atone for those of the day. Another explanation is that they would allow capital cases to rest overnight when they could find no merit for him, [i.e., for the defendant;] they would not conclude his verdict until the morrow, perhaps they would find a merit for him, and now they have become murderers. [We find in] Pesikta [d’Rav Kahana p. 121a]: Rabbi Menahem bar Oshia [according to Parshandatha,] Rabbi Phinehas in the name of Rabbi Oshia said: Four hundred eighty-one synagogues were in Jerusalem, corresponding to the numerical value of מְלֵאֲתִי .
and now murderers They killed
Uriah; they killed Zechariah.
22 Your silver has become dross They
would make copper coins and plate them with silver, in order to cheat with them.
your wine is diluted with water Your drinks are mixed with water, as is stated in Pesikta (122b). [The word] means ‘mixed,’ although there is no similar word in Scripture to prove it, but the Midrash Aggadah explains (Ecc. 2:2): “Of laughter I said, it makes one mad (מְהוֹלָל)” to mean that it is confused, or mixed up.
23 rebellious Deviating
from the straight path.
and runs after payments This word is similar to the Talmudic תַּשְׁלוּמִין. Jonathan paraphrases: One man says to another, Do me a favor in my case, and I will repay you in your case. This refers to a judge who was a robber, and the robbery victim complains about him before another judge. This one says to him, Declare me innocent today, and I will repay you when they complain about you before me. This is the meaning of running after payments.
and the quarrel of the widow does not come to them The widow comes to complain, and the orphan is coming out, when this one meets him and asks him, What did you accomplish in your case? He replies, All day long I toiled at work, but I did not accomplish anything. And this one turns around and says, If this one, who is a man, did not accomplish anything, surely I will not. This is the meaning of, “the orphan they do not judge, and the quarrel of the widow does not come to them” at all.
24 says the Master Who possesses everything, and in Whose power it is to uproot you from your land and to settle others in it.
the Mighty One of Israel the strength of Israel.
Oh Heb. הוי. An expression of preparation and announcement, and similar to this is (Zech. 2:10): “Ho, ho, (הוי הוי) flee from the land of the north.” And let all know that I will console Myself of My adversaries, who angered Me with their deeds.
25 And I will return My hand upon you One blow after another, until the transgressors have been completely destroyed.
as with lye This is an expression meaning soap [sbon in O.F., savon (in modern French)]. Its deviation is an expression of cleanliness, similar to (Ps. 24:4): “and pure (בַּר) of heart,” since it cleanses the garment of its stains.
your dross mentioned above, as: “Your silver has become dross”; a mixture of silver with copper is called dross. Here too, a mixture of the wicked with the righteous. I will destroy the transgressors, who are all dross.
all your tin The tin mixed with silver, that is to say, the wicked among you.
בְדִיל is called estejjn
[etain] in O.F. [tin].
26 as at first
I will appoint for you pious judges.
City of Righteousness As in
the beginning, righteousness will lodge therein.
27 shall be redeemed through justice Since
there will be in it people who practice justice.
shall be redeemed from
her iniquities.
and her penitent those penitent among them.
through righteousness through
those who make themselves righteous through justice and through righteousness that
are in her midst [or,] among them.)
By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham
The vision of Isaiah, “Concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” Our opening verse is only referring to the vision of this chapter, not to the entire book. As we know, scripture is not written as a chronological history. The first time this prophecy was said was before the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and the exile of the 10 tribes, Isaiah was retelling it here.[43] “Isaiah has painted a sad picture of the internal conditions of Judea. The sins of our Idolatry, superstition, drunkenness, selfish greed of the rich, bribery and corruption of the judges were some of the evils which the Prophet denounced. The people were being misled by intoxicated prophets. The people disregarded the appeals of the true messenger of God and relied for safety on warlike preparations and military measures. The sanctuaries were crowded with worshippers. And the altars were piled high with sacrifices, while injustice, oppression, adultery and even murder were rife and unchecked. Religion had no effect upon their conduct and the people failed to understand that public as well as private life must be based on the religious belief if stability was to be secured”. [44]
The themes are the unfaithfulness of the covenant people, the announcement of both doom and salvation, the significance of Jerusalem (or Zion) in God’s plan, and the role and future of the remnant, those who will be saved….. the message of the prophet is twofold: judgment against God’s people, but also the offer of hope beyond the judgment[45] Isaiah was a prophet of the southern kingdom who prophesied to both houses. The ten tribes have been taken out of the land and standing in Judea, he is telling Judea and Jerusalem what they are going to experience if they fail to repent. In an uncanny way, Isaiah’s day sounds just like our day. I wonder how Isaiahs’s prophecy will reach this far into the future and play out in our day.
This is our third (3rd) Sabbath of penance. The language of the rebuke is very abrupt and conveys a harsh tone. Isaiah begins by calling the heavens and the earth to testify as a witness against the people. Isaiah calls the witness of the creation to see, what Israel has done regarding their relationship with God and as to what God said he would do as has been set forth by the prophet.Deut.32:18-20. Out of heaven, God made known his will. Deut. 4:36. So, out of heaven he makes known his displeasure to the people. The reason why the heavens and earth were called to bear witness was because God Himself had appointed them as witness to the covenant he had made with the Jewish people in Deut.31:28. The rabbis teach, the heaven and earth were chosen to be witnesses because Isaiah's lifetime like Moses was limited on earth, but the heavens and earth would exist for all generations.
During the four reigns of the Four Kings, mentioned in our opening verse God tells the children of Israel through the prophet that his people had rebelled against me, Isaiah gives the people his message and pleading for repentance and return but they refuse to listen. The people are as dumb as an ox. v.3. a people and nation laden with iniquity, offspring of evil doers and demoralized children. Isaiah continues, not only do they sin occasionally, but they’re also evil doers continually. They are people who sin against humanity, a nation iniquitous against God unfaithfully. They have forsaken God by not fulfilling his statues and commandments. They have condemned him and turn their backs and transgressed His prohibitions.[46]
Israel, Judea and Jerusalem are told: Your land shall be desolate, in your cities burnt to a cinder. V. 7 Isaiah's intention was to urge the whole family of Israel to repent and turn back to God. And in reference to Judah, to repent, lest you suffered the same fate that has been divinely appointed to the ten 10 tribes of the northern part to suffer.[47]
So, what is the use of God's chastisement? The purpose of the pain is to bring you closer to Him… Isaiah tells them, you are sick from head to foot. The people do not contribute their afflictions to God and seek out healing from Him… All you do is complain. says the prophet. The people ask, why are we smitten? God says: Why will you continue to rebel? Ma'am, Lo’ez, says here the word continue has a double meaning in Hebrew. The verb יָסַף yāsap̱ [48] Can either mean to increase, to do it again, to continue? Or the other meaning, when the verb is negated, means to do something, no more. Such as when Cain sinned, and the ground would no longer yield its fruits abundantly as in Gen.4:12.[49]
In the historical setting during the reign of Ahaz, the kingdom of Judah was attacked and pillaged by Israel, Syria, Edom, the Philistines, and Assyria. The “Edomites made raids and carried away captives” The Philistines did the same. Ahaz even took a portion from the temple, the king, and the princes and paid tribute, but it did not help. For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD. (2chr.28:19)
Judah still would not repent. Their sin brought them many troubles, as they were put through the fires of the smelter, but they preferred their sin, with all its impending doom. Rather than submitting to the LORD their God they continued in their unfaithfulness. Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the LORD. (2 Chr. 28)
The prophet Isaiah now turns his attention to the leaders and calls them officers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah. He demands they give ear unto the Law, the Torah of our God. V.10. He then directs their attention to the next 4 verses. There's no attack on the sacrifices that are made in the temple. The problem is not with the sacrifices. The problem was with the servants. They were observant in the Temple, but they'd neglected the Torah in their daily lives. If one neglects the Torah, what use are the sacrifices? That was the striking conclusion. Another of the metaphorical expressions that Isaiah uses so often, notice the conclusion: When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. And when you make many prayers, I will not hear, for your hands are full of blood.
How could one correct this problem? They are encouraged to cleanse themselves, purify yourself, remove the wickedness of your actions. Do good. Insist on justice. Set straight that which is wrong. Sounds like the correction is in keeping, following and practicing the ways of the Torah. By the time we get to verse 20, if you are willing and ready to listen, you shall eat the fat of the land. But if you are unwilling and rebellious. You'll be eaten by the sword.
Isaiah begins to reflect on Judah and Jerusalem and the unlikelihood that the rulers will turn back to Hashem and repent. He goes on to draw several examples. He said they were once the faithful city, but they're now a harlot. They were once filled with justice, and they had righteous deeds or “righteousness dwelt there”. Now you're just murderers and your silver has turned to dross. Your wine has been cut with water. He goes on to tell him how he's going to wreak vengeance on them. He's going to turn his hand against them. I will smelt out the dross as with lye… I will remove your slag.v.25 The imagery is of a smelting furnace, Israel will be put through the furnace till the impurities are burnt out and skimmed off, implying a slow process of correcting OUR unrighteous and faithless behavior.
Then “Therefore the Lord declares, the Lord of hosts, the xMighty One of Israel:[50] And I'll restore your magistrates as of old… and your counselors. After that you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be saved in Judgement, מִשְׁפָּט mišpāṭ [51] justice and her repentant ones in retribution, צְדָקָה ṣeḏāqāh[52] righteous. (V.26-27)
HaShem is pleading with his people if only they will follow him in faithfulness. Israel and Judah are still scatter to the four corners of the earth, but the call has gone forth return and repent. Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, ywho have not known it, zmay hear and learn to fear the Lord your God[53]
Bamidbar (Numbers) 26:19 – 27:14
By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David
Looking at the Hebrew of
Bamidbar 26:19 and Joshua 14:6, what is the verbal tally (all words) that
connects these two passages? Please use the JPS version for all verses and
relate the Hebrew word to the Strong's number in the KJV. Insert the Hebrew
tallies into the verse. Please be concise.
The verbal tallies
connecting Numbers 26:19 and Joshua 14:6 are:
Numbers 26:19 (JPS, with
tally):
"The sons [בְּנֵי, H1121] of Judah [יְהוּדָה, H3063]: Er and Onan; and Er and
Onan died in the land of Canaan."
Joshua 14:6 (JPS, with
tally): "Then the children [בְּנֵי, H1121] of Judah [יְהוּדָה, H3063] drew near unto Joshua in
Gilgal; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite
said unto him: 'Thou knowest the thing that the LORD spoke unto Moses the man
of God concerning me and concerning thee in Kadesh-barnea.'"
* * *
What is/are the thematic
connection(s) between Bamidbar 26:19-51, and Tehillim (Psalms) 105:1-16?
Thematic connections
between Numbers 26:19-51 (the second census) and Psalm 105:1-16 (a hymn of
historical thanksgiving):
* * *
The connection between the Torah seder and the Ashlamata,
though seemingly strictly verbal, is in addition eschatological.[54] 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 Yehoshua (Joshua)
14:6-15?
The passage of
Joshua 14:6-15, particularly focusing on Caleb's request for Hebron, carries a
significant eschatological message, especially within Jewish tradition.
"Eschatology" refers to the study of "last things" or the
ultimate destiny of humanity and the world. In this context, it speaks to the
fulfillment of divine promises and the ideal future.
Here's the
eschatological message woven into this passage:
In summary, Joshua
14:6-15's eschatological message is one of divine promise-keeping, the
reward for unwavering faithfulness, the ongoing struggle to fully realize God's
kingdom even after initial redemption, and the ultimate hope for complete peace
and inheritance in the Messianic Age. Caleb serves as a powerful symbol and
living testament to these enduring truths.
Sidrah of Bamidbar (Numbers) 26:19 – 27:14
“בני
יהודה” “The sons of Judah”
By: Hakham Dr. Eliyahu
ben Abraham
|
School of Hakham Tsefet’s Peshat Mordechai (Mk) |
|
And in the morning, they (Yeshua and his talmidim) were
passing beside the fig tree, and they saw the fig tree withered from
the roots. And Hakham Tsefet remembering
said to him (Yeshua), "Rabbi (Hakham), look, the fig tree
which you cursed has dried up." And Yeshua responded saying to them, “you
must have faithful obedience (Heb. Emunah)
to G-d.” Amen ve’amen for I say to you,
whoever should say to this mountain, be lifted up and be thrown into the sea,
and is not divided in his heart, if he is faithfully obedient to G-d
whom he is asking, he will have it if he is to have it. By
this, I am saying to you, all that you pray for and you are requesting, be
faithfully obedient that you may have it and grasp a hold of
what you petition G-d for, and it will be granted to you. And
whenever you recite the Standing Prayer (Heb. Amidah), forgive,
if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in (the)
heavens may forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not
forgive, neither will your Father who is in (the) heavens forgive your
transgressions. |
|
School of Hakham Shaul’s Tosefta Luqas (Lk) 20.1-8 |
School of Hakham Tsefet’s Peshat Mordechai (Mk)11.27-33 |
|
And now
it happened that on
one of the days while he was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the Mesorah, the chief priests (of
the Sadducees Heb. Tz'dukim) and the soferim (scribes of the Sadducees - Heb.
Tz'dukim) approached together with the Zeqenim
(elders of the Sadducees - Heb. Tz'dukim) and said, saying to him, “Tell
us, by what authority you are doing these things,
or who is the one who gave you this authority?” And he answered and said to them, “I also will ask you a
question, and you tell me: The immersion (Heb. Mikveh) of Yochanan —was it from heaven or from men? And they discussed this with one another, saying, “If we say ‘From
heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From
men,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that Yochanan
was a Nabi (prophet).” And they replied that
they did not
know where it
was from.
And Yeshua
said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” |
¶ And they (Yeshua and his talmidim), came again into Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). And as he (Yeshua) was walking around the Temple, the chief priests (of the Sadducees Heb. Tz'dukim) and the soferim (scribes of the Sadducees - Heb. Tz'dukim) and the Zeqenim (elders of the Sadducees - Heb. Tz'dukim) came to him, and (they) said to him (Yeshua), “By (in) what authority do you do these things? And who gave you the authority to do these things?” And Yeshua responded and said to them: I will ask of you one question, answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The immersion (Heb. Mikveh) of Yochanan, was it from (the) Heavens [God], or from men? Answer Me. And they considered within themselves, saying, if we shall say, from (the) Heavens, he will say, why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, from men, they feared the people, for all held Yochanan to be a Nabi (prophet) indeed. And they answered and said to Yeshua, we do not know. And Yeshua answering, said to them, neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. |
Nazarean Codicil to be read in conjunction with the following Torah
Seder
|
Bamidbar 26:19- 27:14 |
Psalms 105:1-11 |
Yehoshua (Joshua) 14:6-15 Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 1:1-27 |
Mordecai 11:20-33 |
Luqas Lk 20:1-8 |
Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat
A Thematic Integration of Divine Authority in the Tanakh and the Nazarean Codicil
Introduction
This analysis provides a thematically integrated examination of six pivotal scriptural passages, weaving together insights from the Tanakh and the Nazarean Codicil to demonstrate their unified spiritual testimony. The passages under consideration are Bamidbar 26:19-27:14, Psalm 105:1-11, Yehoshua 14:6-15, Yeshayahu 1:1-27, Mordecai 11:20-33, and Luqas 20:1-8. This commentary examines the core spiritual themes of authority, inheritance, and fidelity, illustrating how the principles outlined in the Torah, Prophets, and Writings are directly embodied and intensified in the events surrounding Yeshua HaMashiach. The analysis proceeds by focusing on the authentic meaning of emunah as a state of reciprocal covenantal fidelity between G-d and His agents. It will demonstrate that legitimate authority flows from this fidelity, is actualized through righteous action, and results in a rightful inheritance. In contrast, authority rooted in human institutions alone proves spiritually barren and rebellious. The exposition will achieve its depth through detailed thematic and linguistic analysis, drawing upon historical context and Mishnaic concepts to illuminate the texts.
Part I: The Nature and Locus of Legitimate Spiritual Authority
Legitimate spiritual authority originates in the unwavering word (davar) of G-d and is entrusted to those agents who demonstrate authentic fidelity to Him. The entire structure of reality, as understood in the Tanakh, is built upon the efficacy of Divine Speech. Psalm 105 establishes this foundation, framing G-d’s covenant as an eternal and reliable promise, a word commanded for a thousand generations. The authority of this promise rests upon the immutable character of G-d Himself. His Divine Speech is the source of all rightful power, a principle affirmed by the prophet Yeshayahu, who grounds his entire oracle in the declaration, “HaShem has spoken” (Yeshayahu 1:2). True authority is a direct transmission from the Divine, recognized by its perfect alignment with His revealed will. The Torah illustrates how this authority is delegated to human vessels. The commissioning of Yehoshua to succeed Moshe is predicated on the fact that he is “a man in whom is the Spirit” (Bamidbar 27:18). His capacity to lead is legitimate because its source is the Ruach HaElohim, which makes him a viable and faithful agent. The public ceremony of the transfer of splendor (Hod) serves as a confirmation of this inner spiritual state, enabling the people to recognize and follow the G-d-appointed authority.
This same principle of delegated, Spirit-driven authority finds its living expression in the person of Yeshua. The record in Luqas 20:1 notes that the confrontation in the Temple occurred while he was "proclaiming the Mesorah," the sacred tradition. In doing so, he acts as a faithful agent of the Divine Word, speaking and acting with an inherent authority that stems from his perfect fidelity to the Father. The subsequent challenge from the Tz'dukim (Sadducees) in Mordechai 11 and Luqas 20, “By what authority do you do these things?”, is a direct challenge to the legitimacy of his agency. This question arises from a specific historical and theological context. The Tz'dukim were the Priestly authority by purchase, whose power base was from their Roman overlords. The Tz'dukim, as a group, opposed theology, rejected the Oral Law, and the developing concepts of resurrection and angelic beings. Their authority was institutional, inherited, and deeply intertwined with the political accommodations made with the Roman Empire. Yeshua's actions, from his teachings that drew the crowds to his physical disruption of the Temple's commerce, represented a fundamental threat to their entire power structure. Their question was a formal legal challenge designed to protect their established franchise.
Yeshua's counter-question regarding the origin of Yochanan’s immersion—was it "from the Heavens, or from men?"—brilliantly forces the core issue. It demands that the institutional authority adjudicate the nature of G-d’s work in the world. Yochanan's ministry of a national mikveh for repentance was a powerful prophetic act that functioned entirely outside the Tz'dukim monopoly on rites of purification and atonement. He was a charismatic, Spirit-driven figure whose authority came directly from G-d, through the legitimate Priestly heritage. By posing this question, Yeshua compels the Tz'dukim to declare their position on G-d's ability to commission agents outside of their control. The leadership's internal deliberation reveals their authority to be contingent upon public opinion and political calculation. Their eventual answer, "we do not know," is a public confession that their jurisdiction is purely positional and managerial, lacking the spiritual discernment necessary to recognize a genuine move of G-d.
Part II: The Covenant of Fidelity (Emunah) and Inheritance (Nachalah)
The scriptures consistently portray a direct, covenantal link between the spiritual posture of emunah and the reception of a Divine inheritance (nachalah). Emunah, rooted in the Hebrew term for firmness and reliability (A-M-N), is a relational state of unwavering fidelity, loyalty, and steadfastness to G-d. This relationship mirrors that of a loyal vassal to a righteous king, or a devoted servant to a master. It is a commitment of the will that is proven through action. Within this covenant of fidelity, the loyal action of the agent is met with the reliable and protective fidelity of the Sovereign. Nachalah, the Divine allotment or inheritance, is the tangible outcome of this reciprocal relationship. It is G-d's faithful response to His faithful agent.
The archetypal agent of emunah is Kalev ben Yefuneh (Yehoshua 14). His inheritance was secured because his fidelity to HaShem was perfect and absolute. The text states he "wholly followed HaShem," a description of complete loyalty. This total fidelity gave him a "different spirit," which allowed him to perceive the reality of G-d's promise. In contrast, the other spies, lacking this fidelity, could only perceive the physical reality of the giants and fortified cities. Their failure was one of perception, born from a lack of loyalty; they acted as agents of the people's fear rather than as agents of G-d's promise. Kalev, in contrast, acted based on his loyalty to G-d's Word, and G-d responded with fidelity to His sworn promise, ensuring Kalev's inheritance of Hebron. The dynamic is one of perfect reciprocity: the agent's fidelity is the condition that invites the Sovereign's powerful and faithful response.
This same dynamic is expressed in the actions of the daughters of Tzelofchad (Bamidbar 27). Their emunah manifested as a steadfast fidelity to the principle of G-d's justice. They approached the legal system with the loyal expectation that it was inherently righteous and would provide for them. They acted as faithful participants within G-d’s covenant, and their petition was met with G-d's faithful response. His ruling not only granted their nachalah but also refined the law for all of Israel, demonstrating His fidelity to His character of justice.
This principle is the absolute core of the teaching in Mordechai 11:20-26. When Yeshua says, "you must have emunah (fidelity) towards G-d," he is calling for this same posture of absolute, loyal fidelity. The subsequent passage about the mountain describes the result of this covenantal relationship. This teaching describes a process available to a truly faithful agent. An agent who has achieved a state of perfect fidelity can then engage in the Mishnaic practice of histaklut—a deep, focused, and penetrating contemplation of an obstacle. Through this gaze, born of unwavering loyalty to G-d, the agent can perceive the obstacle's true nature: its power and reality are wholly contingent upon the will and power of G-d. It has no independent, absolute existence. Seeing the obstacle in this new light, the agent can then speak or act in perfect alignment with G-d’s will and G-d's perception of reality. The "moving" of the mountain is G-d's faithful response to His loyal agent, who has achieved the required state of fidelity and perceptual clarity. G-d demonstrates His fidelity to the agent by reordering reality in accordance with His will, which the agent has now perceived and articulated.
The teaching about forgiveness is integral to achieving this state of emunah. A refusal to forgive demonstrates a breach of fidelity to G-d, as it is an attempt by the agent to usurp G-d's role as the ultimate judge and arbiter of all accounts. It reveals a lack of trust in G-d's justice. This act of holding on to a grievance divides the heart and shatters the state of unified loyalty required for G-d to act faithfully on one's behalf. Forgiveness is therefore a profound act of emunah, an expression of loyalty that entrusts all judgment to G-d and purifies the agent to act in concert with Him.
Part III: The Pathology of Barren Authority and Rebellion
The scriptures reveal the awesome and exacting standard of fidelity required of those who operate as G-d’s most intimate agents. The gravity of this standard is illustrated with profound sobriety in the episode at the waters of Merivah. In Bamidbar 27:14, G-d Himself recounts the event to Moshe Rabbeinu, a spiritual giant of unparalleled intimacy with the Divine. While he mentions his weakness, I will hold my peace and speak no further. This account serves as a powerful testament to the absolute purity required in transmitting the Divine Will. It demonstrates that for an agent of such stature, even the slightest deviation in carrying out a Divine Command carries immense weight and significance. The resulting consequence—that this most faithful of all prophets would see the Promised Land only from a distance—underscores a humbling truth: the awesome authority entrusted to G-d's agents is contingent upon a continuous and perfect alignment with the Sovereign's word.
The prophet Yeshayahu, in chapter 1, expands this diagnosis from an individual agent to the leadership of the nation. He condemns the "rulers of Sedom" for their systemic breach of covenant. They maintain the outward performance of the covenant—the sacrifices, festivals, and Temple rites—but have broken fidelity with its core ethical demands of justice and righteousness (mishpat and tzedek). This profound infidelity renders their authority null and their worship an abomination. Theirs is a barren authority because it produces no fruit of righteousness. They are unfaithful agents, and therefore, the Sovereign has withdrawn His reciprocal favor and protection.
The withered fig tree in Mordechai 11 becomes the living symbol of this state of infidelity. The tree has the "leaves" of covenantal identity and religious observance but lacks the "fruit" of righteous action that true fidelity requires. It is the physical manifestation of the spiritual condition described by Yeshayahu. It's withering from the roots is the natural consequence of its failure to uphold its end of the covenant of life; it has become disconnected from the Divine source of vitality. This serves as a prophetic sign of the state of the Temple establishment.
This pathology finds its final expression in the confrontation with the Tz'dukim. Their authority is institutional, based on lineage and political power. Their challenge to Yeshua is an attempt by this barren, positional authority to delegitimize the relational authority of a faithful agent. Their inability to answer Yeshua's question about Yochanan is the ultimate proof of their infidelity. They cannot discern the work of G-d in the world because they are not in a relationship of loyalty to Him. Their declaration, "we do not know," is a public admission of their spiritual state. They are the withered tree, unable to produce the fruit of discernment because their roots of fidelity have decayed. They embody the rebellious spirit that acts from political calculation rather than from loyal obedience to the Word of G-d. Their authority is hollow because it lacks the substance of emunah.
The unified testimony of these passages presents a clear and powerful choice. The first path is that of fidelity, demonstrated by Kalev, the daughters of Tzelofchad, and the agent of pure emunah; this path of steadfast loyalty leads to a reciprocal response from G-d, resulting in inheritance and a proper, commissioned authority. The second path is that of rebellion, as demonstrated by the faithless spies, the unjust rulers of Yerushalayim, and the spiritually bankrupt Tz'dukim. This path of infidelity leads to spiritual barrenness, the forfeiture of inheritance, and judgment. The teachings in the Nazarean Codicil thus serve as a direct application and profound intensification of the foundational Torah principle of covenantal fidelity.
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!”
Shabbat: Yifqod Adonai” “Let Appoint the LORD”
& “Tu B’Av”
|
Shabbat |
Torah
Reading: |
Weekday
Torah Reading: |
|
יִפְקֹד יְהוָה |
|
Saturday Afternoon |
|
Reader
1 – Bamidbar 27:15-23 |
Reader 1 – Bamidbar 30:2-4
|
|
|
Reader
2 – Bamidbar 28:1-9 |
Reader 1 – Bamidbar 30:5-7 |
|
|
“Ponga
el SEÑOR” |
Reader
3 – Bamidbar 28:10-25 |
Reader 1 – Bamidbar 30:8-10 |
|
Bamidbar (Numbers) 27:15 - 30:1 |
Reader
4 – Bamidbar 28:26-29:6 |
|
|
Ashlamatah:
Yehoshua (Joshua) 13:7-14 + 14:4-5 |
Reader
5 – Bamidbar 29:7-16 |
Monday and Thursday Mornings |
|
Special Ashlamata: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 40:1-26 |
Reader
6 – Bamidbar 29:17-28 |
Reader 1 – Bamidbar 30:2-4
|
|
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:12-36 |
Reader
7 – Bamidbar 29:29-30:1 |
Reader 1 – Bamidbar 30:5-7 |
|
N.C.: Mk
12:1-17, Lk 20:9-26 |
Maftir – Bamidbar 29:37-30:1 |
Reader 1 – Bamidbar 30:8-10 |
·
Joshua Appointed
Successor of Moses – Numbers 27:15-23
·
Daily Offerings
– Numbers 28:1-8
·
Additional
Offerings for the Sabbath – Numbers 28:9-10
·
New Moon Offerings
– Numbers 28:11-15
·
Passover Offerings – Numbers 28:16-25
·
Offerings of the Feast
of Weeks – Numbers 28:26-31
·
New Year and Day of Atonement Offerings – Numbers
29:1-11
·
Offerings for the Feast of Tabernacles – Numbers
29:12-38
·
Offerings in the Appointed Seasons – Numbers
29:39 – 30:1
|
The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez By: Rabbi Yitzchok Magriso, Translated by Dr. Tzvi Faier, Edited by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1991) Vol.14 – “Numbers II- Final Wanderings”
pp. 265-303 |
Ramban: Numbers Commentary on
the Torah Translated and Annotated by Rabbi Dr.
Charles Chavel Published by Shilo Publishing House, Inc. (New York, 1975) pp. 331 - 343 |
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
[1]
Ibn Ezra
[2]
In the name of Seder Olam Rabbah.
[3]
These opening remarks are excerpted, and edited, from: The ArtScroll Tanach Series, Tehillim, A new translation with a commentary anthologized
from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources. Commentary by Rabbi Avrohom
Chaim Feuer, Translation by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer in collaboration with
Rabbi Nosson Scherman.
[4]
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:6, 9, 42; cf. Ps 47:10
[5]
Avraham is associated with one of the climaxes of creation; the Akeida, the
binding of Yitzchak. Avraham was also associated with the subsequent crash; the
death of Sarah Imeinu. The other high points include the creation of Adam, The
revelation of Yosef in Egypt, the giving of the Torah, and the building of the
Mishkan.
[6]
Bereshit (Genesis) 18:27 And Abraham answered
and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord,
which [am but] dust and ashes:
[7]
The burial place of Sarah was purchased from Ephron, whose name means
the spiritual power of fear, dust. The vav nun on the end of
Ephron’s name indicates the diminutive. Ephron, therefore, means
“Little Dust”.
[8]
Isaac was sixty years old when Jacob was born,3 and Jacob was 130 years old when he went down
to Egypt.4 This means that 190 of the 400 years elapsed
before the Israelites arrived in Egypt. So, the Israelites were in Egypt for a
total of 210 years. "It is impossible to say that [they spent 400 years]
in Egypt alone, because Kehat [the grandfather of Moses] was of those who came
with Jacob [to Egypt]. Go and figure all his years [133 years], all the years
of his son Amram [137 years], and Moses' 80 years [at which age he led the
Israelites out of Egypt]; you will not find them [to be] that many, and
perforce, Kehat lived many of his years before he descended to Egypt, and many
of Amram's years are included in the years of Kehat, and many of Moses' years
are included in Amram's years. Hence, you will not find 400 years counting from
their arrival in Egypt" – Rashi's commentary on Shemot (Exodus)
12:40.
[9]
Avraham lived to 175 and Sarah to 127; they were only a 100 and 90 respectively
when they had Isaac; that is to say middle aged
[10] Midrash Rabbah - Genesis
34:9, Midrash Rabbah - Genesis 38:13
[11]
To bring the narrative to the death of Terah. For Terah was seventy years old
at Abram's birth (Gen. XI, 26), whilst Abram departed from Haran at the age of
seventy-five (ib. XlI, 4); hence Terah, whose age at death was two hundred and
five (ib. XI, 32), died sixty-five years after this command, and yet it is
narrated before.
[12]
Hence Terah is already in his lifetime called dead. (Though it is stated supra,
38:12, that he repented, presumably this was much later.)
[13]
This is deduced from the emphasis GET THEE (LEK LEKA), where lek (‘go’) alone
would have sufficed.
[14]
Hakham Judah Loew ben Bezalel
[15]
Chapter 5
[16]
Tehillim 47:10 Rashi D”H Am & Malbim D”H Am; Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim Remez
754; Yalkut Shimoni Shir HaShirim Remez 992 and Machzor Vitri siman 287. See
also Bava Batra 15A that identifies Eitan HaEzrachi as Avraham Avinu.
[17]
All his previous sins are forgiven.
[18]
Genesis 15:5
[19]
Emunah = Faithfulness, faithful obedience.
[20]
Sotah 37a
[21]
Emunah = “faithful obedience”
[22]Torah Nevi’im U-Khetuvim. The Holy Scriptures according to the
Masoretic Text. (Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication
Society of America, 1917), Jos 14
[23] R. L. Hubbard Jr., “Caleb,
Calebites,” in Dictionary of the Old
Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 120.
[24] Richard R. Losch, All the People in the Bible: An A–Z Guide to
the Saints, Scoundrels, and Other Characters in Scripture (Grand Rapids,
MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 477.
[25] Robert G. Bratcher and Barclay Moon
Newman, A Translator’s Handbook on the
Book of Joshua, UBS Handbook Series (London; New York: United Bible
Societies, 1983), 196.
[26] R. L. Hubbard Jr., “Caleb,
Calebites,” in Dictionary of the Old
Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 120.
* It should be noted, however, that neither in 14:6 nor in 15:13
does the Hebrew say that Caleb belonged to that tribe; rather it seems to imply
that Caleb was not a Judahite, saying that he was a Kenizzite (also Num 33:12),
a clan commentators suggest was not originally Israelite but was later
incorporated into the tribe of Judah. The clan of Kenaz is usually identified
as Edomite. It would seem preferable, therefore, both in 14:6 and in 15:13 not
to specifically state that Caleb belonged to the tribe of Judah.
[27] Robert G. Bratcher and Barclay Moon
Newman, A Translator’s Handbook on the
Book of Joshua, UBS Handbook Series (London; New York: United Bible
Societies, 1983), 195.
[28] Adele Berlin, Marc Zvi Brettler, and
Michael Fishbane, eds., The Jewish
Study Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 488.
[29]
The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, - MATTATHIAS, V 4, pp 615–616.
[30] The
Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1989), 1 Mac 2:49–64.
[31] R. L. Hubbard Jr., “Caleb,
Calebites,” in Dictionary of the Old
Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 121.
[32]
parallel text (e.g., 2 Kings 18–19/Is 36–37)
[33] R. L. Hubbard Jr., “Caleb,
Calebites,” in Dictionary of the Old
Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 121.
[34] Ibid.
[35] R. L. Hubbard Jr., “Caleb,
Calebites,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T.
Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005),
122.
[36]
* It should be noticed, however, that neither in 14:6 nor in 15:13 does the
Hebrew say that Caleb belonged to that tribe; rather it seems to imply that
Caleb was not a Judahite, saying that he was a Kenizzite (also Num 33:12), a
clan commentators suggest was not originally Israelite but was later
incorporated into the tribe of Judah. The clan of Kenaz is usually identified
as Edomite. It would seem preferable, therefore, both in 14:6 and in 15:13 not
to specifically state that Caleb belonged to the tribe of Judah.
[37]
In some translations and the Masoretic text.
[38] R. L. Hubbard Jr., “Caleb,
Calebites,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T.
Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005),
122.
[39] Adele Berlin, Marc Zvi Brettler, and
Michael Fishbane, eds., The Jewish
Study Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 1718.
[40]
Soncino Books of the bible, Joshua. Pg.82.
[41]
Ibid. I Chronicles 2, Pg 10.
[42] The
Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles,
2016), Is 56:6–8.
[43]
Me’am lo’ez Anthology p. 4
[44]
Soncino Commentary, Isaiah.
[45] Graham S. Ogden and Jan Sterk,
Handbook on Isaiah, ed. Paul Clarke et al., vol. 1 & 2, United Bible
Societies’ Handbooks United Bible Societies, 2011), 17.
[46]
Me’am Lo’ez anthology pg. 4-8
[47]
Soncino Books of the Bible. Isaiah pg.
14.
[48]
Strongs# 3254
[49]
Me’am Lo’ez. Page. 8.
x Ps. 132:2
[50] English
Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 1:24.
[51]
Strongs # 4941
[52]
Strongs # 6666
y ch. 11:2
z Ps. 78:5, 6
[53] English
Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 31:12–13.
[54]
In biblical terms, eschatology is the study of the "last
things," encompassing topics like death, resurrection, judgment, the
Second Coming, and the ultimate fate of the world and humanity. It delves into
the theological implications of these end-times events and their connection to
God's plan for creation.