Esnoga Bet Emunah 12210 Luckey Summit San Antonio, TX 78252 United States of America © 2022 https://www.betemunah.org/ E-Mail: gkilli@aol.com

Esnoga Bet El 102 Broken Arrow Dr. Paris TN 38242 United States of America © 2022 https://torahfocus.com/ E-Mail: waltoakley@charter.net

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

Three and ½ year Lectionary Readings	Fourth Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
Kislev 30, 5786 – Tevet 02, 5786 Evening Sunday December 14, 2025 – Evening Monday December 22, 2025	Fourth Year of the Shmita Cycle

Chag Chanukah Sameach!

We take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a very happy Chag Chanukah – a festival of freedom and of consecration/education to/for the work of G-d. And even if we do not finish the task before us, still we should do our very best in this life to radiate it with the constructive light of the Torah. For as the Psalmist wrote: “in Your light do we see light” (Psalm 36:10).

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

see: https://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm

Roll of Honor:

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

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

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

His Excellency Adon Yehoshua ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Rut bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Michael ben Yosef and beloved wife HE Giberet Sheba bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Prof. Dr. Emunah bat Sarah & beloved family

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

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

His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Yaaqov ben David

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

Her Excellency Giberet Krysta Wallrauch & beloved family

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!

For further information please read and study:

http://www.betemunah.org/lapin.html, http://www.betemunah.org/connection.html,

http://www.betemunah.org/chanukah.html, & http://www.betemunah.org/lights.html

Chanukah Day 6 & Rosh Chodesh Tebet

Kislev 30, 5786

Evening Friday December 19, 2025 – Evening Sunday December 21, 2025

Shabbat Chanukah “Khi Tiq’rav El I’ir” – “When you come near unto a city”

Rosh Chodesh Tevet- “New Moon of the month of Tevet”

Evening Saturday Dec 19-21-2025

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
כִּי הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה		Saturday Afternoon
“Khi Tiq’rav El-I’ir”	Reader 1 – Devarim 20:10-15	Reader 1 - Devarim 21:10-13
“When you come near unto a city”	Reader 2 – Devarim 20:16-20	Reader 2- Devarim 21:14-16
“Cuando te acerques a una ciudad”	Reader 3 – Devarim 21:1-3	Reader 3- Devarim 21:17-20
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 20:10 – 21:14	Reader 4 – Devarim 21:4-6
Tehillim (Psalms) 30:1-13 Special Rosh Chodesh: Mishle (Proverbs) 7:1- 27	Reader 5 – Devarim 21:7-9	Monday & Thursday Mornings
Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:12-22	Reader 6 – Devarim 21:10-12	Reader 1 - Devarim 21:10-13
Special Ashlamata: Zechariah 2:14-4:7	Reader 7 – Devarim 21:12-14	Reader 2- Devarim 21:14-16
N.C.: Mk 15:6-15 & Lk 23:26-32 (Chanukah) N.C.: Jn 3:1-14 & Jn 2:1-13	Maftir – Devarim 21:12-14	Reader 3- Devarim 21:17-20

Contents of the Torah Seder

· Capture of Heathen Cities – Deuteronomy 20:10-18

· Destruction of Trees – Deuteronomy 20:19-20

· On the Expiation of an Untraced Murder – Deuteronomy 21:1-9

· Marriage with a Captive of War – Deuteronomy 21:10-14

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez By: Rabbi Yitzchaq Behar Argueti - Portion Ekev Rabbi Shmuel Yerushalmi – Portion Re’eh and Shoftim Translated and edited by M. and S. Sprecher With assistance from Rabbi Matis Blum Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1992)  Vol.17 – Deuteronomy – III – “Gratitude and Discipline” Vol.17 pp. 276-284 - Vol.18 pp. 3-8

Ramban: Deuteronomy Commentary on the Torah Translated and Annotated by Rabbi Dr. Charles Chavel Published by Shilo Publishing House, Inc. (New York, 1976) pp. 238 - 257

Blessings Before Torah Study

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

Please Ha-Shem, our G-d, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and our offspring's offspring, and all the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your delight. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amen!

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our G-d, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations, and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

Ha-Shem spoke to Moses, explaining a Commandment. "Speak to Aaron and his sons and teach them the following Commandment: This is how you should bless the Children of Israel. Say to the Children of Israel:

May Ha-Shem bless you and keep watch over you; - Amen!

May Ha-Shem make His Presence enlighten you, and may He be kind to you; - Amen!

May Ha-Shem bestow favor on you and grant you peace. – Amen!

This way, the priests will link My Name with the Israelites, and I will bless them."

These are the Laws for which the Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when doing acts of kindness; and there is no maximum amount of Torah that a person must study.

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: 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!

JPS & Targum Pseudo Yonathan for: Devarim (Deuteronomy) 20:10 – 21:14

JPS	Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
10. When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall propose peace to it.	10. When you come near to a city to make war against it, then you will send to it certain to invite it to peace;
11. And it will be, if it responds to you with peace, and it opens up to you, then it will be, [that] all the people found therein shall become tributary to you, and they shall serve you.	11. and if they answer you with words of peace, and open their gates to you, all the people whom you find therein will be tributaries and serve you.
12. But if it does not make peace with you, and it wages war against you, you shall besiege it,	12. But if they will not make peace, but war, with you, then you will beleaguer it.
13. and the Lord, your God, will deliver it into your hands, and you shall strike all its males with the edge of the sword.	13. And when the LORD your God will have delivered it into your hand, then may you smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword.
14. However, the women, the children, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoils you shall take for yourself, and you shall eat the spoils of your enemies, which the Lord, your God, has given you.	14. But the women, children, and cattle, and whatever is in the city, even all the spoil, you will seize, and eat the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God gives you.
15. Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.	15. Thus will you do to all cities that are remote from you, which are not of the cities of these seven nations;
16. However, of these peoples' cities, which the Lord, your God, gives you as an inheritance, you shall not allow any soul to live.	16. but of the cities of these peoples, which the LORD your God gives you to inherit, you will not spare alive any breathing thing:
17. Rather, you shall utterly destroy them: The Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you.	17. for destroying you will destroy them, Hittites, Amorites, Kenaanites, Pherizites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded you;
18. So that they should not teach you to act according to all their abominations that they have done for their gods, whereby you would sin against the Lord, your God.	18. that they may not teach you to do after their abominations with which they have served their idols, and you sin before the LORD your God.
19. When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you?	19. When you beleaguer a city all the seven days to war against it, to subdue it on the Sabbath, you will not destroy the trees thereof by bringing against them (an instrument of) iron; that you may eat its fruit, cut it not down; for a tree on the face of the field is not as a man to be hidden (put out of sight) before you in the siege.
20. However, a tree you know is not a food tree, you may destroy and cut down, and you shall build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until its submission.	20. But the tree that you know to be a tree not making fruit to eat, that you may destroy and cut down. And you will raise bulwarks against the city which makes war with you, until you have subdued it.
Ch21
1. If a slain person be found in the land which the Lord, your God is giving you to possess, lying in the field, [and] it is not known who slew him,	1. If a male be found slain upon the ground, unburied, in the land which the LORD your God gives you to inherit, lying down, and not hanged on a tree in the field, nor floating on the face of the water; and it be not known who did kill him:
2. then your elders and judges shall go forth, and they shall measure to the cities around the corpse.	2. then two of the sages will proceed from the chief court of judgment, and three of your judges, and will measure to the surrounding cities which lie on the four quarters from the (spot where) the dead man (is found);
3. And it will be, [that from] the city closer to the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a calf with which work has never been done, [and] that has never drawn a yoke,	3. and the city, which is nearest to the dead man, being the suspected one, let the chief court of justice take means for absolution (or disculpation). Let the sages, the elders of that city, take an heifer from the herd, not commixed, an heifer of the year, which has not been wrought with nor has drawn in the yoke:
4. and the elders of that city shall bring the calf down to a rugged valley, which was neither tilled nor sown, and there in the valley, they shall decapitate the calf.	4. and the sages of that city will bring the heifer down into an uncultivated field, where the ground has not been tilled by work, nor sowed; and let them there behead the heifer from behind her with an axe (or knife, dolch) in the midst of the field.
5. And the kohanim, the sons of Levi, shall approach, for the Lord, your God, has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the Name of the Lord, and by their mouth shall every controversy and every lesion be [judged].	5. And the priests the sons of Levi will draw near; for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him, and to bless Israel in His Name, and according to their words to resolve every judgment, and in any plague of leprosy to shut up, and pronounce concerning it;
6. And all the elders of that city, who are the nearest to the corpse, shall wash their hands over the calf that was decapitated in the valley;	6. and all the elders of the city lying nearest to the dead man will wash their hands over the heifer which has been cut off in the field,
7. And they shall announce and say, "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see [this crime]."	7. and will answer and say: It is manifest before the LORD that this has not come by our hands, nor have we absolved him who shed this blood, nor have our eyes beheld.
8. "Atone for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and lay not [the guilt of] innocent blood among your people Israel." And [so] the blood shall be atoned for them.	8. And the priests will say: Let there be expiation for Your people Israel, whom You, O LORD, has redeemed, and lay not the guilt of innocent blood upon Your people Israel; but let him who has done the murder be revealed. And they will be expiated concerning the blood; but straightway there will come forth a swarm of worms from the excrement of the heifer, and spread abroad, and move to. the place where the murderer is, and crawl over him: and the magistrates will take him and judge him.
9. And you shall abolish the [shedding of] innocent blood from among you, for you shall do what is proper in the eyes of the Lord.	9. So will you, O house of Israel, put away from among you whosoever sheds innocent blood, that you may do what is right before the LORD.
10. If you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord, your God, will deliver him into your hands, and you take his captives,	10. WHEN you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God will deliver them into your hands, and you take some of them captive:
11. and you see among the captives a beautiful woman and you desire her, you may take [her] for yourself as a wife.	11. if you see in the captivity a woman of fair countenance, and you approve of her, and would take her to you to wife;
12. You shall bring her into your home, and she shall shave her head and let her nails grow.	12. then you will take her into your house, and let her cut off the hair of her head, pare her nails,
13. And she shall remove the garment of her captivity from upon herself, and stay in your house, and weep for her father and her mother for a full month. After that, you may be intimate with her and possess her, and she will be a wife for you.	13. and put off the dress of her captivity, and, dipping herself, become a proselyte in your house, and weep on account of the idols of the house of her father and mother. And you will wait three months to know whether she be with child; and afterwards you may go to her, endow her, and make her your wife.
14. And it will be, if you do not desire her, then you shall send her away wherever she wishes, but you shall not sell her for money. You shall not keep her as a servant, because you have afflicted her.	14. But if you have no pleasure in her, then you may send her away, only with a writing of divorce: but you will in no wise sell her for money, nor make merchandise of her, after you have had intercourse with her. JERUSALEM: If you have no pleasure in her, you may send her away with power over herself; but you will in no wise sell her for money, nor make merchandise of her; because your power over her is given up.

Rashi’s Commentary on Devarim (Deuteronomy) 20:10 – 21:14

10 When you approach a city [to wage war against it] Scripture is speaking of an optional war, as is explicit in the context of this section (verse 15), “Thus you will do to all the cities which are very far away [from you] ....”-[Sifrei]

11 all the people found therein [shall become tributary] Even if you find in it people of the seven nations, whom you have been commanded to exterminate, you are permitted to spare their lives. - [Sifrei]

tributary [to you], and they shall serve you [You shall fight them] until they accept upon themselves both tribute and bondage. - [Sifrei]

12 But if it does make no peace with you, and it wages war against you Scripture is informing you that if it does not make peace with you, then, if you let it be and go away, [this city] will ultimately wage war against you.

you shall besiege it Even to starve it out, and cause them to [die of] thirst and to kill [the inhabitants of the city] through diseases. - [Sifrei]

13 and the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands If you have done all that is stated in this section, the Lord will ultimately deliver it into your hands. - [Sifrei]

14 And the children [... you shall take for yourself] Even the male children. But, how then, am I to explain "and you shall strike all its males"? (verse 13) It refers to adult males. - [Sifrei]

17 as [the Lord your God] has commanded you [This is] to include the Girgashites [the seventh nation, not mentioned here, but you were commanded to destroy them]. - [Sifrei]

18 so that they will not teach you to do [like all] their abominations] But if they repent and wish to convert, you are allowed to accept them. - [Sifrei]

19 [When you besiege a city for many] days The word “days” implies two days. [But when it says many [this means] three [days]. From here our Rabbis derived [the ruling that] the siege of a heathen city may not be initiated less than three days before the Sabbath (Sifrei, Shab. 19a), and this verse teaches us that the offer of peace (verse 10) must be repeated for two or three days. Similarly, it says: “that David dwelt in Ziklag for two days” (II Sam. 1:1). Scripture is speaking here of an optional war. - [Sifrei]

Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you]? The word כִּי here means “perhaps:” Is the tree of the field perhaps a man who is to go into the siege by you, that it should be punished by the suffering of hunger and thirst like the people of the city? Why should you destroy it?

20 until its submission Heb. רִדְתָּהּ , an expression of רִדּוּי , subjugation, [meaning] that it becomes submissive to you.

Chapter 21

2 then your elders... shall go out the distinguished ones of your elders, [namely] the Great Sanhedrin. - [Sotah 44]

and they shall measure from the place where the corpse lies.

to the cities around the corpse in every direction, in order to ascertain which is the nearest.

4 to a rugged valley Heb. נַחַל אֵית hard, [a valley] that was never tilled.

shall decapitate He breaks its neck with a hatchet [i.e., from the back]. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: Let the calf which is in its first year and has, therefore, produced no fruits, come and be decapitated at a place [the valley that was not tilled] which has not produced fruits, in order to atone for the murder of this man, whom they [the murderers] did not allow to produce fruit [i.e., to perform mitzvoth].-[Sotah 46a]

7 Our hands did not shed [this blood] But would it enter one’s mind that the elders of the court are murderers? Rather, [they declare:] We [ourselves] did not see him and let him depart without food or escort [which would have indirectly caused his death, leaving this man to the elements and to robbers]. - [Sifrei ; Sotah 45a] The kohanim then say:

8 Atone for Your people Israel, ... And [so] the blood will be atoned for them Scripture informs them that from the time they complete all this, their sin is atoned. -[Sifrei]

9 and you shall abolish This tells [us] that if the murderer is found after the calf is decapitated, the murderer must be executed, and that is “what is proper in the eyes of the Lord.”- [Sotah 47b, Keth. 37b]

10 If you go out to war The verse here is referring to an optional war [i.e., non-obligatory] (Sifrei 21:1), since in reference to the [obligatory] war [to conquer] the land of Israel, it would be inappropriate to say, “and you take his captives” because it has already been stated [regarding the seven nations of Canaan], “[from these peoples’ cities...] you shall not allow any soul to live.” (Deut. 20:16).

and you take his captives Heb. וְשָׁבִיתָ שִׁבְיוֹ . [The double language here comes] to include Canaanites in their midst, even though they are from the seven nations. - [Sifrei 21:2; Sotah 35b]

11 [and you desire her,] you may take [her] for yourself as a wife [Not that you are commanded to take this woman as a wife,] but Scripture [in permitting this marriage] is speaking only against the evil inclination [, which drives him to desire her]. For if the Holy One, blessed is He, would not permit her to him, he would take her illicitly. [The Torah teaches us, however, that] if he marries her, he will ultimately come to despise her, as it says after this, “If a man has [two wives—one beloved and the other despised]” (verse 15); [moreover] he will ultimately father through her a wayward and rebellious son (see verse 18). For this reason, these passages are juxtaposed. - [Tanchuma 1]

a... woman Heb. אֵשֶׁת , even a married woman (אֵשֶׁת אִישׁ . - [Kid. 21b]

12 and let her nails grow Heb. וְעָשְׂתָה אֶת־צִפָּרְנֶיהָ . She must let them grow, so that she should become repulsive [to her captor, to induce him to change his mind about marrying her]. - [Sifrei 21:7, Yev. 48a]

13 And she shall remove the garment of her captivity [so that she should not be attractive to her captor,] for they are pretty [clothes], because gentile women adorn themselves during wartime, in order to seduce others [namely, the enemy] to have relations with them. - [Sifrei 21:8]

and stay in your house In the house he uses. Upon entering, he will stumble upon her, and upon leaving, he will stumble upon her, see her weeping, and see her unsightly appearance—all this, so that she should become despicable to him. - [Sifrei 21:9]

and weep for her father and her mother Why is all this necessary? So that an Israelite woman [i.e., this man’s Jewish wife] should be happy, and this [gentile captive woman] should be grief-stricken, an Israelite woman should be dressed up, and this one should make herself repulsive. - [Sifrei 21:11]

14 And it will be, if you do not desire her Scripture informs you that eventually you will despise her. - [Sifrei 21:14.

You shall not keep her as a servant Heb. תִתְעַמֵּר בָּהּ לֹא־ . [This means:] “You must not use her [as a slave]” (Sifrei 21:16). In the Persian language, the term for slavery and servitude is עִימְרָאָה [the term used here]. I learned this from the Yesod of Rabbi Moses the Darshan.

Tehillim (Psalms) 30:1-13

JPS	Targum
1. A psalm; a song of dedication of the House, of David.	1. A praise song for the dedication of the sanctuary. Of David.
2. I will exalt You, O Lord, for You have raised me up, and You have not allowed my enemies to rejoice over me.	2. I will praise you, O LORD, for you made me stand erect, and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
3. O Lord, I have cried out to You, and You have healed me.	3. O LORD my God, I prayed in Your presence and You healed me.
4. O Lord, You have brought my soul from the grave; You have revived me from my descent into the Pit.	4. O LORD, You raised my soul out of Sheol; You preserved me from going down to the pit.
5. Sing to the Lord, His pious ones, and give thanks to His holy name.	5. Sing praise in the LORD's presence, you His devotees; and give thanks at the invocation of His holy one.
6. For His wrath lasts but a moment; life results from His favor; in the evening, weeping may tarry, but in the morning there is joyful singing.	6. For His anger is but a moment; eternal life is His good pleasure. In the evening one goes to bed in tears, but in the morning one rises in praise.
7. And I said in my tranquility, "I will never falter."	7. And I said when I dwelt in trust, I will never be shaken.
8. O Lord, with Your will, You set up my mountain to be might, You hid Your countenance and I became frightened.	8. O LORD, by Your will You prepared the mighty mountains; You removed Your presence, I became afraid.
9. To You, O Lord, I would call, and to the Lord I would supplicate.	9. In Your presence, O LORD, I will cry out; and to You, O my God, I will pray.
10. "What gain is there in my blood, in my descent to the grave? Will dust thank You; will it recite Your truth?	10. And I said, what profit is there in my blood, when I descend to the grave? Can those who descend to the dust praise You? Will they tell of Your faithfulness?
11. Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper."	11. Accept, O LORD, my prayer, and have mercy on me; O LORD, be my helper.
12. You have turned my lament into dancing for me; You loosened my sackcloth and girded me with joy.	12. You turned my lament into my celebration; You loosened my sackcloth and girded me with joy.
13. So that my soul will sing praises to You and not be silent. O Lord, my God, I will thank You forever.	13. Because the nobles of the world will give You praise and not be silent, O LORD my God, I too will give You praise.

Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:12-22

JPS	Targum
12. For so says the Lord, "Behold, I will extend peace to you like a river, and like a flooding stream the wealth of the nations, and you shall suck thereof; on the side you shall be borne, and on knees you shall be dandled.	12. For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I bring peace to her like the overflowing of the Euphrates river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a swelling stream; and you will be indulged, you will be carried upon hips, and exalted upon knees.
13. Like a man whose mother consoles him, so will I console you, and in Jerusalem, you shall be consoled.	13. As one whom his mother comforts, so my Memra will comfort you; you will be comforted in Jerusalem.
14. And you shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall bloom like grass, and the hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, and He shall be wroth with His enemies.	14. You will see, and your heart will rejoice; your bodies will flourish like grasses; and the might of the LORD will be revealed to do good to His servants, the righteous/generous, and He will bring a curse to His enemies.
15. For behold, the Lord shall come with fire, and like a tempest, His chariots, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.	15. For behold, the LORD revealed in fire, and His chariots like the storm wind, to render the strength of His anger, and His rebuke with a flame of fire.
16. For with fire, will the Lord contend, and with His sword with all flesh, and those slain by the Lord shall be many.	16. For by fire, and by His sword, the LORD is about, to judge all flesh; and those slain before the LORD shall be many.
17. "Those who prepare themselves and purify themselves to the gardens, [one] after another in the middle, those who eat the flesh of the swine and the detestable thing and the rodent, shall perish together," says the Lord.	17. Those who join and purify themselves for your gardens of the idols, company following company, eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, will come to an end together, says the LORD.
18. And I-their deeds and their thoughts have come to gather all the nations and the tongues, and they shall come, and they shall see My glory.	18. For before Me their works and their conceptions are disclosed, and it is about to gather all the peoples and the nations and the tongues; and they will come and will see My glory,
19. And I will place a sign upon them, and I will send from them refugees to the nations, Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, the distant islands, who did not hear of My fame and did not see My glory, and they shall recount My glory among the nations.	19. and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors among the Gentiles, to the province of the sea, the Puleans, and the Ludeans, who draw and shoot with the bow, to the province of Tubal and Javan, the islands, those afar off, who have not heard the fame of My might or seen My glory; and they will declare My glory among the Gentiles.
20. And they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a tribute to the Lord, with horses and with chariots, and with covered wagons and with mules and with joyous songs upon My holy mount, Jerusalem," says the Lord, "as the children of Israel bring the offering in a pure vessel to the house of the Lord.	20. And they will bring all your brethren from all the Gentiles as an offering before the LORD, with horses and with chariots, and with ewes, and with mules, and with songs, upon My holy mountain, to Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the sons of Israel will bring an offering in a clean vessel to the sanctuary of the LORD.
21. And from them too will I take for priests and for Levites, " says the Lord.	21. And some of them I will bring near to become priests and Levites, says the LORD.
22. "For, as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making, stand before Me," says the Lord, "so shall your seed and your name stand.	22. For as the new heavens and the new earth which 1 am making stand before Me, says the LORD, will your seed and your name be established.
23. And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, that all flesh shall come to prostrate themselves before Me," says the Lord.	23. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all the sons of flesh will come to worship before Me, says the LORD.
24. "And they shall go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against Me, for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring for all flesh."	24. And they will go forth and look on the bodies of the sinful men who have rebelled against My Memra; for their breaths will not die and their fire will not be quenched, and the wicked will be judged in Gehenna until the righteous/generous will say concerning them, “We have seen enough."

Rashi’s Commentary on Isaiah 66:12-22

12 and like a flooding stream I extend to her the wealth of the nations.

on the side On the sides of your nurses, [in Aramaic,] גִּסְסִין.

you shall be dandled You shall be dandled as they dandle an infant. Esbanier in O.F.

14 and the hand of the Lord shall be known When He wreaks His vengeance and His awesome acts, His servants shall know the strength of the might of His hand.

15 shall come with fire With the fury of fire He shall come upon the wicked.

to render Heb. לְהָשִׁיב, [lit. to return] to His adversaries with fury His anger.

16 For with fire of Gehinnom will the Lord contend with His adversaries, and since He is the plaintiff and the judge, the expression of contending is appropriate for Him, for He, too, presents His claim to find their iniquity and their transgression. Comp. (Ezekiel 38:22) “And I will contend with him (וְנִשְׁפַּטְתִּי) ”; (Jer. 2:35) “Behold, I contend with you.” It is an expression of debate. Derajjsner in O.F. [And its simple meaning is: For with the fire of the Lord and with His sword, all flesh shall be judged. Similarly, there are many inverted verses in Scriptures.]

17 Those who prepare themselves Heb. הַמִּתְקַדְּשִׁים. Those who prepare themselves, “Let you and me go on such-and-such a day to worship such-and- such an idol.”

to the gardens where they plant vegetables, and there they would erect idols.

[one] after one As Jonathan renders: a company after a company. They prepare themselves and purify themselves to worship, one company after its fellow has completed its worship.

in the middle In the middle of the garden. Such was their custom to erect it.

18 And I - their deeds and their thoughts have come etc. And I What am I to do? Their deeds and their thoughts have come to Me. And that forces Me to gather all the heathens (nations [Mss. and K’li Paz]), and to let them know that their deeds are vanity and the thoughts they are thinking, “For the sake of my name, the Lord shall be glorified,” let them understand that it is false. And where is the gathering? It is the gathering that Zechariah prophesied (14:2): “And I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem.”

and they shall see My glory When I wage war with them with the plague of the following description (ibid. 14:12): “Their flesh shall disintegrate...and their eyes...and their tongue.”

19 And I will place a sign upon them etc. Refugees will survive the war, and I will allow them to remain in order to go to report to the distant islands My glory that they saw in the war, and also upon those refugees I will place one of the signs with which their colleagues were punished, in order to let the distant ones, know that with this plague, those who gathered about Jerusalem were smitten.

20 and with covered wagons Heb. וּבַצַּבִּים. These are wagons equipped with partitions and a tent. Comp. (Num. 7:3) “Six covered wagons (עֶגְלוֹתצָב).”

and with joyous songs Heb. וּבַכִּרְכָּרוֹת. With a song of players and dancers. Comp. (II Sam. 6:14) “And David danced (מְכַרְכֵּר),” treper in O.F. [Menahem (p. 109) explains it as an expression meaning a lamb. Comp. (supra 16:1) “Send lambs (כַּר) of the ruler of the land.”]

as...bring an offering in a pure vessel for acceptance, so will they bring your brethren as an acceptable offering.

21 And from them too From the peoples bringing them and from those brought, I will take priests and Levites, for they are now assimilated among the heathens (nations [Mss. and K’li Paz]) under coercion, and before Me the priests and the Levites among them are revealed, and I will select them from among them, and they shall minister before Me, said the Lord. Now where did He say it? (Deut. 29:28) “The hidden things are for the Lord our God.” In this manner it is explained in the Aggadah of Psalms (87:6).

24 their worm The worm that consumes their flesh.

and their fire in Gehinnom.

and abhorring Heb. דֵרָאוֹן, an expression of contempt. Jonathan, however, renders it as two words: enough (דֵּי) seeing (רְאִיָה), until the righteous say about them, We have seen enough.

Commentary on the Ashlamata of Isaiah 66:12-22

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

This closing chapter of Isaiah summarizes Isaiah’s prophecies as to the last days: Our chapter begins by refuting the notion that the temple and the offerings are necessary for the sake of God. God does not need our service. Rather, it is the notion that humans benefit by expressing our desire to serve Him and come close to Him. God’s intention is twofold: to reward those who serve him with clarity and humility, and to punish those nations/individuals that sinned against him. (Radak and Abarbanel).^[1] The prophecies are addressed to the people who have returned from exile. This not only speaks to those in the past who returned from exile, but also, even more so, to those now and in the future who return from exile. Abarbanel disputes the prevailing view that this is another rebuke of the people; he argues that this chapter speaks of redemption.^[2] God’s people must still live by faith and be faithful in their service and worship of HaShem. Each of us must learn all the old lessons of obedience to God, and hope for the future is to be learned and applied from one generation to the next.^[3]

Jewish commentaries on Isaiah 66:12-22 emphasize Jerusalem’s consolation and peace. The comfort of God to Israel is like a mother to her child,^[4] and the judgment of the wicked, and the universal recognition of God by all nations. These verses highlight the themes of redemption, divine justice, and the ultimate ingathering of Israel into a renewed covenantal relationship with God, and the nations are to be gathered to that worship of HaShem also. What is of interest is how this is being accomplished in this last great exile and diaspora we find ourselves in.

The metaphor brought down is that of a mother to her child. Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came upon her, she delivered a son. (v.7) The Targum explains this as referring specifically to the revelation of the Messiah. Whereas Malbim interprets this as many years before the coming of the Messiah, there will be a small ingathering of the exiles to Jerusalem, and this small immigration will precede the Messianic era.^[5] On one level, this can be understood as having been part of the process for the last 2,000 years, since Yeshua from Nazareth, and as we have witnessed for the last 40 to 70 years. A gathering of individuals from among the nations that are returning, as it were, to Mt. Siani and a renewed focus on the Torah of Moses. Malbim continues that the birth pangs refer to the war of Gog Magog, which erupts suddenly. Here, the metaphor for the rebirth of Zion is that of a male child, born in a single day. God promises that when the birth pains start, he will bring the birth to fruition, just as with natural childbirth, here also, he will bring to fruition the culmination of his plan for the universe: the rebirth of Zion.^[6] According to the targum, history is but a prelude to the ultimate rebirth of Zion. The metaphor in use is childbirth, and surely, as a baby is formed in the womb, that child will come forth in birth. The process of redemption has been set in motion, and that child shall be born just as Hashem declares. In verse ten, we are told to be glad in Jerusalem and rejoice in her, all you that love her. It has been said that those who mourn for the loss of Jerusalem will, at the resurrection, be the first to be revived. If one mourns for that which has been lost, one keeps that entity in mind and heart and does not accept the reality that the entity is gone.

In our opening (v.12), we see an interesting image. I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream, and ye shall suck thereof:^[7] In context, this speaks of Jerusalem and all who love her, to rejoice with her, and the ‘peace that is extended” is to Jerusalem. However, Malbim and Radak understand that this peace is toward or refers to the nations coming from all sides to inquire about the welfare of Israel. Which is most interesting in light of the general history of the Christian religion and the nation's positive attitude toward Israel. Malbim and Radak go on to say that this peace that is extended toward the Nations brings wealth and riches to Israel.^[8] The verse goes on to say you shall nurse or suckle. Who is receiving the benefit here? Is it not both Jerusalem (Israel) and the nations? As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. (v.13) Many would understand this as if speaking of a time in the future, in the millennium, yet I suggest it can also speak of millennia that has passed. Two hundred years ago, those who looked toward Jerusalem were looking toward the future;[with no Jerusalem in sight] today we are living in their future, since May 14, 1948, and preparation is being made for the new Jerusalem and the temple to be there. One might suggest this is not so, but (v.14) And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like young grass; and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward His servants, and He will have indignation against His enemies.

The prophecy now takes a turn with the thought expressed as in the words, “to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.” The judgment of wrath prepares the way for redemption, a judgment that is fair and based on each one's choice. Did Rabbi Saul have this passage in mind when he said in 2 Thessalonians 1:3 that we should give thanks to God… because your faith is growing abundantly… and your love for each other is increasing… and we even boast about you and your steadfastness and faith. Why would this excite something in Saul’s heart? Because in (v.5) he said, this is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers It just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the [Master Yeshua] is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our [Master Yeshua]. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of [HaShem] and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. ^[9] It seems Tzefet, Peter built on this passage when he said in 2 Peter 3:11-13, Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. ^[10] And Stephen uses this text for his sermon in Acts 7:48-53ff. We see how this passage might have been understood and used in the first century. Rashi, Targum, and Malbim interpret “the hand of HaShem” as referring to His kindness to His servants and as anger or wrath to his enemies.^[11]

Verses (14–16) speak of God’s wrath against His enemies. Our Rabbis stress that those who rebel against God, whether Gentiles or hypocrites among Israel, will face retribution. This reflects the prophetic theme of justice: the righteous are vindicated, while the wicked are punished. The line “As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you” (v.13) is often highlighted in synagogue readings as a profound metaphor of divine compassion. It reassures the community of God’s enduring love even after exile. To vent or render^[12] his anger in wrath or fury (v.15), Rashi applies this to his enemies, and metaphorically it can indicate the idea of “returning.” For by fire the Lord will contend, and by His sword with all flesh [all humanity]; and the slain of the Lord shall be many. “His sword” can be understood as, the mouths of people are likened to swords (Ps. 59:7[8]; Prov. 30:14; Isa. 49:2). The sword is also a symbol of judgment executed by God (Gen. 3:24; Deut. 32:41; Jer. 47:6); or His people (Ps. 149:6). ^[13] Alternatively, our verse refers to the fire and sword of the war of Gog and Magog (Ezk.38:21-22) and this sword of judgement is part of the message as understood by Rashi, Radak, and Malbim.^[14]

We now see the hypocrisy of the people, as Radak explains. Those who frequent the baths and clean themselves, and although they appear to be religious and sanctify and cleanse themselves, in reality, their lifestyle is immoral and impure.(v.17) Although many have tried to interrupt this chapter as support against the temple and sacrifice, I believe the entirety of the Prophets speaks against this erroneous idea. The purpose of the temple was to be a place where Israel could bring offerings and meet God. When the people see their offerings consumed on the altar, they would be inspired to purge inappropriate thoughts and values from their hearts. However, if they performed the temple service while continually engaging in their depraved and deviant behavior, which was contrary to the law of God, they would be undermining the very purpose of meeting with God in the first place. “I am now about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God and dedicate it (“to hallow,” or “to sanctify.”) to him for offering fragrant incense(Exo 30) before him, and for the regular offering of the rows of bread,(Lev 24:5-9) and for burnt offerings morning and evening,(Exo 29:38- 42) on the sabbaths (Numb28:9-10) and the new moons(Numb 28:1)^[15] and the appointed festivals^[16] of the Lord our God, as ordained forever for Israel. ^[17]

The people have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations. Isaiah prophesied from 740-680 BCE^[18] and Jeremiah came along from 627 – 580 BCE^[19] and battled the same error of the people. Jeremiah 7:22-24 tells us: For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts and went backward and not forward. From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day. Are you inclining your ear to hear God’s voice? Are you moving forward and not backward? As we learn at Yom Kippur, Jonah was called to service because the wickedness of the people had “come up before me.” It is interesting to note that the time of Jonah's ministry is just before Isaiah and Jeremiah's prophecies. ^[20] These prophets Jonah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah preached separation from sin, obey the voice and walk in the way’ for a little more than two hundred years, and then judgment came to the unrepentant. This simple fact makes one wonder what is in store for our nation.

History tells us God's plan is to gather all the nations to Jerusalem. Some Rabbis understand this happens at the time of Gog and Magog. Iben Ezra sees it as a time of fire and judgment with God's wrath on the nations and his blessings on the people of Israel. I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. (v.18) Radak says the verse speaks from the perspective of the nations, and God will gather the sinners so that they may ultimately witness His glory when they are defeated. Rashi says this is the perspective of the Jewish sinners as described in (v.5). Because they did not serve God, and he gathered the nations against them. Thereby compelling them to recognize their shortcomings. It seems all nations are gathered, each playing a significant part and somewhat different role in bringing God's plan to completion. Verse (20) speaks of the nations, your brother from out of all the nations, as an offering being brought back to Jerusalem. Here we see Israel returning, and we also see the Nations (ger) returning. This repeats the prophecies of Isaiah 2:1-2, and of Micah 4:1-4, both groups are returning to Jerusalem and to the correct worship of Hashem.^[21] We have your brothers (Esau) bringing Israelite brothers from among the nations, and we also seem to have those who are coming to fight against Israel. This is literally being played out in the world today. From around the world, from every nation, people are standing with Israel, and at the same time, others from these same nations are cursing Israel and seeking their destruction.

Although there may be some disagreement as to the place of the righteous from the Nations, everyone seems to agree that Israel during this time will experience universal recognition, along with the recognition of God's sovereignty. As the new heavens and the new earth, I make will endear before me forever. So will your offspring, and your name, endure before me also. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord. (v22-23). ^[22] The words ‘all flesh’ are (Kol basar), and not only does the bible use this word to refer to mankind, it also uses (kol basar) to refer to everything that was destroyed at the time of Noah.^[23] The final description given in our text is of the fates awaiting those who accept Hashem and those who reject Hashem. The distinctions between one people and another are erased, and we only have those who serve Hashem and enjoy His bounty, and those who have rejected him are to suffer the fate of their choices. The fact that there are still Nations on the earth does not necessarily mean that the two distinct groups of people have become one in some kind of literal way, or that the biological markers have been removed. But they (the people) have become one in the worship of their creator, Hashem the Mighty One of Israel.

We are near the appointed time, “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance.”^[24]

Special Ashlamatah: Zechariah 2:14 – 4:7

JPS	Targum
14. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for, behold! I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord.	14. “Rejoice and be glad, O congregation of Zion, for behold, I will reveal Myself and I will make My Shekhinah dwell in your midst” says the LORD.
15. And many nations shall join the Lord on that day, and they shall be My people; and I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of Hosts sent me to you.	15. And many Gentiles will be added to the people of the LORD at that time, and they will be for a people before Me, and I will make My Shekhinah dwell in your midst; and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to prophesy to you.
16. And the Lord shall inherit Judah as His share on the Holy Land, and He shall again choose Jerusalem.	16. And the LORD will make the people of the house of Judah to inherit their portion in the holy land and will again take pleasure in Jerusalem.
17. Silence all flesh from before the Lord, for He is aroused out of His holy habitation.	17. All the wicked/Lawless have perished from before the LORD, for He has revealed Himself from His holy abode.
Ch3
1. And He showed me Joshua, the High Priest, standing before the angel of the Lord. And Satan was standing on his right, to accuse him.	1. And He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD and the Accuser standing at His right hand to accuse him.
2. And the Lord said to Satan: The Lord shall rebuke you, O Satan; and the Lord shall rebuke you, He who chose Jerusalem. Is this one not a brand plucked from fire?	2. And the LORD said to the Accuser, “The LORD rebuke you, O Accuser! May the LORD who has been pleased to make His Shekhinah dwell in Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand rescued from the burning?”
3. Now Joshua was wearing filthy garments and standing before the angel.	3. And Joshua had sons who had married wives who were unsuitable for priests, and he was standing before the angel.
4. And he [the angel] raised his voice and said to those standing before him, saying, "Take the filthy garments off him." And he said to him, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I have clad you with clean garments."	4. And he answered and spoke to those in attendance before him, saying, Speak to him and let him drive out from his house the wives who are unsuitable for priests, and he said to him, Look, for I have removed your sins from you and have clothed you with righteous /generous deeds.
5. And I said, "Let them put a pure miter on his head," and they put the pure miter on his head. And they had clothed him with garments while the angel of the Lord was standing.	5. And he said, “Set a clean turban upon his head.” And they set a clean turban upon his head, and made him marry a wife who was suitable for a priest; and the angel of the LORD was standing by.
6. And the angel of the Lord warned Joshua, saying,	6. And the angel of the LORD charged Joshua, saying:
7. So said the Lord of Hosts: If you walk in My ways, and if you keep My charge, you, too, shall judge My house, and you, too, shall guard My courtyards, and I will give you free access among these who stand by.	7. “Thus says the LORD of Hosts, ‘If you walk in paths which are good before Me, and if you keep the charge of My Memra, then you will judge those who serve in My Sanctuary, and you will have charge of My courts, and at the resurrection of the dead I will raise you to life and will give your feet to walk among the Seraphim.
8. Hearken, now, O Joshua the High Priest-you and your companions who sit before you, for they are men worthy of a miracle-for, behold! I bring My servant, the Shoot.	8. Hear now, Joshua the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are men who are worthy that a sign be performed for them; for behold I will bring My servant the anointed One (Messiah), and he will be revealed.
9. For, behold the stone that I have placed before Joshua. Seven eyes are directed to one stone. Behold! I untie its knots, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.	9. For behold, the stone which I have set before Joshua, upon one stone are seven facets; behold I will reveal its facets’, says the LORD of Hosts, ‘and I will remove the sin of that land in one day.’
10. On that day, says the Lord of Hosts, you shall call-each man to his neighbor-to come under his vine and under his fig tree.	10. ‘At that time’, says the LORD of Hosts, ‘you will call each to his neighbor under the fruit of his vines and under the fruit of his fig trees.’”
Ch4
1. And the angel who spoke with me returned, and he awakened me as a man who wakes up from his sleep.	1. And the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me like a man that is roused from his sleep.
2. And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I said, "I saw, and behold [there was] a candelabrum all of gold, with its oil-bowl on top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; seven tubes each to the lamps that were on top of it.	2. And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a menorah all of gold and a bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps which are upon it, seven, and seven pipes which pour oil from them to the lamps which are on top of it;
3. And [there were] two olive trees near it; one on the right of the bowl, and one on its left.	3. and two olive trees which are beside it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4. So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, "What are these, my lord?"	4. And I answered and spoke to the angel who was talking with me, saying, “What are these my lord?”
5. And the angel who spoke with me answered, and he said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord."	5. And the angel who was speaking with me, answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
6. And he answered and spoke to me, saying, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying: 'Not by military force and not by physical strength, but by My spirit,' says the Lord of Hosts.	6. And he answers and spoke to me, saying, “This is the Word of the LORD with Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by strength, nor by might, but by My Memra’, says the LORD of Hosts.
7. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you sink to a plain! He will bring out the stone of the main architect, with shouts of grace, grace to it."	7. What are you reckoned, O foolish kingdom? Are you not like a plain before Zerubbabel? And He will reveal His anointed One (Messiah), whose name was told from old, and he will rule over all kingdoms.”

Rashi’s Commentary for: Zechariah 2:14 – 4:7

15 And many nations shall join many Gentiles will join.

16 And the Lord shall inherit Judah as His inheritance and His share.

17 Silence all flesh All the rest of the nations.

for He is aroused An expression [denoting] arousal and awakening.

Chapter 3

1 to accuse him To accuse him because his sons were married to gentile women, as it is written in the Book of Ezra (10:18): “And it was found of the sons of the priests who had taken foreign wives, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, etc.”

2 The Lord shall rebuke you, O Satan The Holy One, blessed be He, shall rebuke you, O you Satan (and then he repeated and said: The Lord shall rebuke you, He who chose Jerusalem Moharaz Margolioth); and He Who rebukes you is the One Who chose Jerusalem, that you shall not enter before Him to accuse this righteous man. Is he not fit, and has he not merited this? For he was saved from the consuming fire.

Is this one not a brand plucked from fire? It is related in the Aggadah of [chapter] Helek Helek (Sanh. 93a) that he [Joshua] was cast into the fire with Ahab son of Kolaiah and his colleague.

3 was wearing filthy garments This is to be explained according to the Targum: He had sons who had married women who were unfit [to marry into] the priesthood, and he was punished because he did not interfere with the [sons’ marriages].

4 “Take the filthy garments off him.” Let his sons separate from their wives, and he will be forgiven.

clean garments A change of beautiful garments, i.e., merits. Since he compared the iniquity to filthy garments, he compares the merit to clean garments; beautiful, white garments.

5 And I said I, Zechariah.

“Let them put a pure miter, etc.” I begged mercy for him.

6 warned an expression of warning, as in (Deut. 31:28): “And I will warn them before the heaven and the earth.”

7 If you walk in My ways, etc. Then I, too, will do this for you.

you, too, shall judge My house You shall judge and be the officer over My Temple.

and I will give you free access According to the Targum: and when the dead will be resurrected, I will resurrect you; and I will give you walkers who walk among these seraphim. According to its simple meaning, he brings him tidings that his sons will be meritorious in the future.

who stand by Seraphim and ministering angels, who never sit.

8 you and your companions They were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

for they are men worthy of a miracle [Jonathan renders:] Men worthy to have miracles performed for them, for a miracle was performed for them, too.

for, behold! I bring My servant, the Shoot For now Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, is insignificant in the king’s court, but I will make his greatness burgeon. I will also give him favor in the eyes of the king, so that he will grant [Zerubbabel’s] request for the building of the Temple and the city, as explained in Nehemiah (1:1): “The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah.” Nehemiah was identical with Zerubbabel, as we say in Sanhedrin (38a).

9 For, behold the stone The foundation of the house that you laid in the days of Cyrus - they stopped you, and that foundation and the thickness of the wall appeared little in your sight, as explained in Ezra (3:12f.) and in the prophecy of Haggai (2:2f.).

Seven eyes are directed to one stone It will eventually be widened seven times as much. And so did Jonathan render: On one stone, seven eyes see it. The expression of עינים is an expression of appearances. It appears to me that the seven eyes are because of the eyes of the Holy One, blessed be He in Whose eyes and heart it is [planned] to add seven times as much because of the prophecy similar to this one (4:10): “And they shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel these seven times; the eyes of the Lord they are roving to and fro throughout the land.” This is but to say that He directed His eyes to increase the glory of the Temple in its building.

Behold! I untie its knots I untie its knots I thwart the plot of the enemies who wrote an accusation to stop the work.

and I will remove Heb. ומשתי.

in one day I do not know what day.

Chapter 4

2 with its oil - bowl on top of it as in (Josh. 15:19): “The upper springs”. This is an expression for a spring, [hence] a sort of large round bowl.

and its seven lamps A type of vessel into which oil and wicks are inserted.

seven tubes each Seven small tubes come to every lamp, for the oil flows from the bowl through those tubes into each lamp.

3 And [there were] two olive trees near it Beside it were two trees upon which olives were growing, one on the right of the bowl, one on its left, etc. Here [the prophet] does not explain about the two golden vats mentioned below in the chapter, which are the sorts of bowls or vats of the oil press. [These vats] stand beside the olive trees. The olives beat themselves into the vats and are heated there as [if] in a vat or pit where olives are generally packed. There they are pressed in the oil press, and the oil falls into the vats, and from the vats into the bowl, and from the bowl into the tubes, and from the tubes into the lamps. The tubes and the lamps number forty-nine, an allusion to the light, for in the future the light of the sun will be sevenfold the light of the seven days forty-nine times the light of a day of Creation.

4 “What are these, my Lord?” What is this, that the olive trees are picked by themselves, and the oil comes into the lamps by itself?

6 “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel” This is a sign for you to promise Zerubbabel that just as the olives and this oil are finished by themselves in all respects, so will you not build My house with your [own] power or with your [own] strength.

but by My spirit I will place My spirit upon Darius, and he will command you to build and to pay all the building expenses from his [treasury]; and [he will] help you with wheat, wine, oil, and wood, as is explained in Ezra (6, 7): They required no aid from any man.

7 Who are you, O great mountain? You, the princes of the other side of the river Tattenai, the governor of the other side of the river; Shethar Bozenai, and their companions (Ezra 6:6), who have stopped the work until now - from now on you shall be before Zerubbabel as a plain; you have no more ruling power or superiority over him.

He will bring out the stone of the main architect The main architect will take the plummet in his hand to be the main architect at the head of the builders, and they will build everything according to his words [everything] that he will order concerning a beautiful and glorious building.

with shouts of grace, grace to it To that stone, for everyone will say, “How beautiful is this building that was made with this plummet.” [The expression] “shouts of grace” is as (Job 39:7) “the shouts of a driver,” and (Isa. 66:6) “a sound of stirring” both of which are expressions of making a voice heard.

Commentary on the Ashlamata of Zechariah 2:14 – 4:7

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

** Zechariah 2:14 in most English Bibles starts at Zechariah 2:10.

The date given (Zech 1:1) is equivalent to late October or early November 520 B.C.E., that is, between the second and third prophecies of Haggai. The next date (Zech 1:7) is equivalent to February 15, 519 B.C.E., and the last date (Zech 7:1) is equivalent to December 7, 518 B.C.E. This time spans two years and seems to place these texts between the time of the feasts of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) and the feast of Passover. Some twenty years earlier, the Jews had a chance to leave Babylon, and now we are seeing the second chance or call to leave and get out. What one should take note of is that the current calendar time we are living in coincides with this biblical time, and in the current news of the year, October through December 2025, there is an open call from members of the Jewish community for their fellow Jews from around the world to come home. Jewish commentators note that Zechariah 2:14–4:7 and Zechariah 8 share common themes of divine presence in Jerusalem, universal recognition of God, restoration of Judah, and the centrality of the Temple and its leadership. Both sections emphasize that redemption is not only national but also spiritual, highlighting joy, holiness, and the role of righteous leadership in bringing God’s presence back to Zion.

Both Jewish and Christian scholars have, for a very long time, accepted that the prophecy of Zechariah is one of the most difficult books to understand. The book falls into two parts: chapters 1–8, which relate to a historical situation very similar to that addressed by Haggai, and chapters 9-14 considered a completely different type of literature than the first part. The prophetic career of Zechariah began about two months after that of Haggai and continued for at least two years longer. Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 associate Zechariah with Haggai in encouraging the people to rebuild the Temple despite the difficulties that lay before them. One of the more prominent characteristics of these visions is the presence of angels in them. This interest in angels is typical of Jewish theology after the period of exile in Babylon. Another characteristic of Zechariah’s work is that he frequently refers back to the writings of earlier prophets, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, and Micah.^[25] Although our reading is in the historical section(as determined by men), it seems easy to see that there is more being spoken of in the first eight chapters than what could be understood as historical. Commentators have for some time seen similarities and commonalities of thought between chapter 2 and chapter 8.

In Zechariah, before we begin the text of our reading, we see the Prophet calling the exiles to repentance and to return home, and, in context, it seems the people of Judea and Jerusalem are the ones being addressed.(1:2-6) The Northern kingdom was sent into exile first, and scattered to the four winds or ends of the earth. In (2:6-10), there are two “woes” pronounced to all those in the land of the North, and then it said, I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the earth, ^[26] a reference to all the tribes, and specifically the ten Northern tribes. Although some members of the other tribes may be dispersed among Judea, it is understood that most of the Northern tribes have not returned from exile. The following verse in Isaiah is, I think, a good illustration of what we have going on in our reading in Zechariah. There seems to be two or more actions that are happening almost simultaneously, one present and one future. One in relation to Judea, the southern Kingdom, and the other in relation to Israel, the Northern Kingdom. When you look at our passage and compare it with Zechariah 8 and the similarities there, although the words are different, there is a similarity of ideas in relation to the ten tribes of Israel, Judea, and the nations. There is a scattering into the nations and a punishment for the way those nations treat Israel (all 12 tribes), and there are those of the nations who join with Israel. Isaiah 11:10-12 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples, of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. In that day, the root of Jesse (Messiah) stands up as a signal or banner. The nations seek after him, while he is in a glorious place. In that day, the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover ^[27] the remnant that remains of his people (all 12 tribes) ….

During that day, the hand of HaShem is working to reclaim his people; a work that has to do with his people, Israel, and the nations, the larger human family of HaShem. He will raise a signal for the nations, while the signal/banner is raised for the nations, HaShem will assemble the banished ^[28] of Israel and gather the dispersed ^[29] of Judah from the four corners of the earth. ^[30] Students of the bible have often noticed the tension of ‘almost but not yet’ or the ‘present and future’ all woven into the same verse or passage. Another tension in the prophets, when the Prophet and Hashem are speaking in the same passage, many times the tense shifts between persons ^[31] it seems as if the prophet is speaking as if he is HaShem. We see the same thing represented in the story of Moses. Isaiah 11 and this Ashlamatah share profound messianic ideals. A vision of a future characterized by divine presence, righteous leadership, peace, and universal restoration. The key difference lies in the immediate context: Zechariah applies these ideals to contemporary leaders as a type of the coming Messiah, while Isaiah focuses solely on the ultimate, ideal Ruler.

The background of the vision leading up to our reading, Zechariah is telling the people to flee from the land of the North. These lands of the north are understood as Babylonia and Assyria, and the captives were to return to Israel. Radak^[32] adds Babylonia, Elam, Persia, and Media. We are told that those nations who plundered Israel and those who have troubled you will receive judgment. The first call goes out to return from the North, but those who refuse to come home are scattered by the four winds into all the nations. The LORD of Hosts ^[33] is doing the speaking. Behold, I will shake my hand over him, and they shall become plunder for those who serve them. Then you will know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me. (v.9ff) Who is speaking? It's difficult to determine who is doing the speaking. Who says. Then you will know I was sent by Hashem? Some commentators say the one speaking is Zechariah, but to my mind, this would only make sense if the prophecy was completely fulfilled during Zechariah's lifetime, which does not seem to be the case; others say the Messiah is speaking. At any rate, the passage is difficult to understand.

We have Zachariah, the Prophet, and the man with the measuring line, which could be an Angel, but he's identifying him as a man. Then another Angel who's talking with the Angel man, then you have HaShem, the Lord of Hosts, and this character sent by Hashem. This vision deals with the children of Judah and Israel fleeing from the north and heading back towards Zion. A second admonition for those who dwell with the daughters of Zion, it's time for you to escape. You who dwell with the daughters of Babylon, it is time for you to escape. (v.7ff) The angels discuss the size of Jerusalem and are told that Jerusalem will increase in size to be able to accommodate all who come to it. The young man of (v.4) who seemed to be measuring did not understand that Jerusalem was going to increase in size. The Rabbis say he is immature in judgment and does not understand God’s plan.^[34]

Another problem is the identity of the referent in the pronominal suffix “me”. (v.8-13). While many think “me” refers to Zechariah, others maintain that in the light of the language and the full scope of these verses, it looks toward the messianic Servant-Messenger, the Angel of the Lord. If that view is correct, as seems likely, the speaker, identified as the Lord Almighty at the beginning of the verse, is the Messiah himself, the Angel of the Lord. The mission of this person is directed against the nations that have plundered God’s chosen people.^[35] Even Christian and Academic scholars see the complexity of these passages. But this is not to support the misunderstandings of Christian theology. The prophets speaking for and as if they are HaShem are found all throughout the Hebrew bible.

The call is to return and escape, the plundering of the nations, and then you will know the LORD of hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice, daughters of Zion. Behold, I come, and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. (v.9-11) There's no doubt that this passage is a messianic passage speaking about the future, and we are closer to the future than the people of Zechariah's day, 2500 years ago. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and they shall be my people. I will dwell in their midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the Holy Land and will again choose Jerusalem. (v.14-16) It’s a little hard to distinguish who's speaking; however, the person doing the speaking, whether it's Zachariah or the Angel that's been sent, they're all speaking for “The LORD of Hosts.”

The next thing mentioned, all flesh is told to be silent before Hashem, for He has roused Himself from his holy dwelling. Why is all flesh to be silent before HaShem? It is suggested that this is a warning that HaShem is on the move and those who trouble Israel will be dealt with. We also asked the question, why has the Almighty roused^[36] himself? Is it to destroy all the oppressors of Israel, as some commentators think, or does God have a first objective? I believe along with working to save the children of Israel and return them from exile, HaShem is also working to rescue as many from the nations as he can. Both items fit the promise made to Abraham in Gen.12,15,17. As God is punishing the enemies of Israel proper, this is secondary; his priority is to save the righteous from among the nations. When we look at the history in the bible, the rescuing of Gods children and the punishing of the enemies of God, it seems to be happening simultaneously as the precedent of Gen.15:14 shows and which aligns with Hakham Tsefet (Peter) in the Nazarene Codicil (N.T.) he seems to put forth this same idea in 2 Pet.3. Peter said, “Remember the predictions of the holy prophets. (v.2) and the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (v.9). If a man was awakened at night by his wife and told by his wife, she heard something in the house or smelled smoke, as he was startled to reality from a deep sleep, as he is gaining consciousness, he noticed his wife was just snuggling in to return to sleep as she had informed him of the situation, and it was now his responsibility to deal with it. After a few seconds, and the blood had returned to the brain, and he realized that an intruder was visiting, or maybe worse, the house was on fire, he would spring into action. The man of the house would begin operating to provide safety to his family, but he was in an aroused state of agitation. This is how I see the work of God when you compare Zech 2, Tsefets comments (2 Pet.3) and the verses in the previous footnote. In this scenario, the man of the house is working to provide safety for his family, working to defeat the enemy and working to rescue those who are in danger all the while trying to maintain his emotions. Each of these systems is functioning and are operating at the same time to the degree necessary at any given moment. I’m reminded of Gen 3:7-13, “women, what have you done?” The Father springs into action, to minimize the damage and restore to the family that, which had been lost.

It seems to me the prophecy concerns both present and future redemption. The tribes of Israel were being urged to return from Assyria and Babylon to the land of Israel. This return also included a return to the law of HaShem. It is interesting to note that Radak says this is referring to just Judah and not to the other 10 tribes. We first see the command to leave and return, then it is enhanced with a specific address to you who dwell with the daughters of Babylon, and in verses (10-14), it is addressed to the daughters of Zion. ^[37] The daughters of Zion are to rejoice, because the verse says, “I come, and I will dwell in your midst, we are told this twice. They were told that many nations would join themselves to HaShem on that day. And they shall be my people. (v.14). This vision is also expressed in (Isa. 2:3, 14:1). He repeats, “I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you. HaShem will inherit Judah as his portion in the Holy Land, and then we'll again choose Jerusalem”.

Zechariah chapter three speaks of the prophecy of Israel's restoration as the priestly nation, as Israel's initial calling was stated in Exodus 19:6 You will be for me a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In this vision, the high priest, Joshua, represents the sinful nation of Israel. Although Israel is presented here with filthy garments, we also see that she is cleaned and restored as a Kingdom of priests. When Messiah comes, the restoration of the Temple, priesthood, and the office of the Prophet will be realized. The result of the action of (2:8-13) is peace and security for God’s people. God’s purpose for Israel will be realized in the kingdom, when Israel will enjoy contentment, peace, and prosperity—like the peaceful and prosperous days of King Solomon (1 Kings 4:25). The vine and the fig tree (3:10) speak not only of spiritual blessing but also of the agricultural blessing of the land when the desert will blossom and once again be fruitful (cf. Isa 11:1–9; 35, 65:17). There can be no complete prosperity and peace for Israel till the Messianic kingdom has fully come on earth, no such kingdom till Israel is restored, and no true restoration of Israel till the LORD returns to the earth with his saints, although we see all of this in operation to some degree at this present time. (cf. Dan 7:13–14, 27; Mic 4:1–4). As we venture through this study, we are just days away from Chanukah. The Jews in the land of Israel are still contending with their enemy neighbors, and the spirit of Amalek and antisemitism is on the rise. Rabbis on national media platforms are openly calling for the Jewish people from America and around the world to come home and remove themself from their exile. Just now in the news, 6000 from the tribe of Menashe are beginning their return from India. As we learned in the opening paragraphs, we are living in the same calendar time frame as Zechariah when he spoke this prophecy. This prophecy seems to exist in a two-year window or time frame. When all this is taken together and when we see what is transpiring in our world today, one can only wonder at the messianic machinations and exactly what lies just ahead.

As suggested earlier, Zechariah says, the angel returned to him and woke^[38] him, as a man is awoken from his sleep, which is followed by a certain apprehension, trepidation, and agitation as one tries to reconnect with reality. For some, the adjustment from the dream state to being awake and connected with reality takes longer than for others. This fifth vision of chapter four is best understood as Rashi sees it as foretelling events not of the second temple era but alluding to the final redemption.^[39] The lamp stand in the vision is believed to represent the community of Israel, as stated in a Midrash, and the two olive trees produce the oil without any human input. These two olive trees that produce the oil without any human involvement seem to represent the office of Priest represented by Aaron, and that of the King Messiah represented by Zerubbabel. The angel spoke to Zechariah and asked, do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

Rashi says, just as the olive trees in the vision were harvested spontaneously and produced their oil without any human involvement. So too will Israel rebuild the Temple only when God wills it so, and it will not be achieved through military might nor through physical strength. Just as God inspired Darius, with the spirit of kindness that provided the initiative for its construction and a major part of the needed supplies. When the nations of the world will accept an anointed descendant of King David as the Messiah, and he will rule not by military might, but by the power of God, and will thus inspire all the nations of the world to accept his authority over them. At the appointed time, the Spirit of God will move in and upon the heart of mankind to begin the rebuilding of the Temple. Every mountain and obstacle that stands in the way will be removed, and the way will be made as a level plain where all will be accomplished by the Spirit of the LORD of hosts. This midrashic weaving, Zechariah 2–4, and the similarities of Zechariah 8 are not separate prophecies but two movements of one great symphony:

• The return of God’s presence to Jerusalem. The nations joining Israel in worship.
• The purification of leaders and people in holiness. The transformation of mourning into joy.

Together, they proclaim that redemption is both divine and human, both spiritual and ethical, both national and universal.

Special Ketubim Rosh Chodesh – Proverbs 7:1-27

1 ¶ My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with you.

2 Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye.

3 Bind them upon your fingers, write them upon the table of thy heart.

4 Say unto wisdom: ‘You are my sister’, and call understanding your kinswoman;

5 That they may keep you from the strange woman, from the alien woman that makes smooth her words.

6 ¶ For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice;

7 And I beheld among the thoughtless ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,

8 Passing through the street near her corner, and he went the way to her house;

9 In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the blackness of night and the darkness.

10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart.

11 She is riotous and rebellious, her feet abide not in her house;

12 Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, and lies in wait at every corner.

13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face she said unto him:

14 ‘Sacrifices of peace-offerings were due from me; this day have I paid my vows.

15 Therefore came I forth to meet you, to seek your face, and I have found you.

16 I have decked my couch with coverlets, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; let us solace ourselves with loves.

19 For my husband is not at home, he is gone a long journey;

20 He has taken the bag of money with him; he will come home at the appointed day (new moon).’

21 With her much fair speech she causes him to yield, with the blandishment of her lips she entices him away.

22 He goes after her straightway, as an ox that goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the correction of the fool;

23 Till an arrow strike through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare—and knows not that it is at the cost of his life.

24 ¶ Now therefore, O you children, hearken unto me, and attend to the words of my mouth.

25 Let not your heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

26 For she has cast down many wounded; yes, a mighty host are all her slain.

27 Her house is the way to the nether world, going down to the chambers of death.

Verbal Tallies

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 20:10 – 21:14

Tehillim (Psalms) 30:1-12

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:12-22

Looking at the Hebrew of Deuteronomy 20:10 and Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:12, what is the verbal tally that connects these two passages?

The verbal root that connects Deuteronomy 20:10 and Isaiah 66:12 is ש.ל.ם (sh.l.m), which is the root of the word peace/wholeness and is expressed as a verb in Isaiah 66:12.

This forms a significant connection between the establishment of external peace through human effort (the Law) and the pouring out of internal, ultimate peace by God (the Prophets).

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 20:10 When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace (לְשָׁלֽוֹם [l’shalom] - H7965).

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:12 For thus said the LORD: 'I will extend peace (שָׁלֹ֜ום [shalom] - H7965) to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a wadi in flood; and you shall drink of it, you shall be carried on her arm, and bounced upon her knees.'"

While the word שָׁלֹום (shalom) is technically a noun in both verses, it derives from the verbal root ש.ל.ם (meaning to be whole, complete, or make peace), fulfilling the query's criteria for connecting the passages via a common root word related to its meaning.

* * *

Note: Tehillim (Psalms) 30 is a special psalm for Chanukah and is not directly related to our Torah portion which is the normal Torah portion for the week and is independent of Chanukah and the psalm.

* * *

Note: Zechariah 2:14-4:7 is the special Ashlamata for Chanukah and is unrelated to the triennial Torah’s verbal tally or eschatological message.

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

What is the eschatological message of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:12-22?

The eschatological message of Isaiah 66:12-22, according to Jewish sources, is the global culmination of the redemption, characterized by the unparalleled comforting of Zion and the universal recognition of HaShem's sovereignty.

This passage describes the ultimate, final stage of the Messianic era.

1. The Mother's Comfort and Physical Prosperity (66:12-14)

The redemption begins with a spiritual outpouring of comfort for the Jewish people, symbolized by a mother comforting her child.

Unparalleled Comfort: HaShem promises to extend peace (Shalom) to Israel like a river and comfort Zion "as a man whom his mother comforts" (66:13). This promise is the ultimate healing of the historical pain of exile.

Physical Renewal: The passage assures that the faithful will witness this and their "bones shall flourish like the grass," signifying a return to complete physical health and vitality in the Land of Israel.

2. Universal Divine Judgment and Revelation (66:15-18)

The Messianic era is heralded by a visible, transformative display of HaShem's judgment across the world.

Judgment on the Nations: HaShem will come with fire and fury to judge those who have sinned and rebelled against Him, specifically purifying the world of idol worship and ritual impurity.

Miraculous Gathering: HaShem will send survivors to the distant nations that have not heard of Him (Tarshish, Pul, Lud, etc.) to proclaim His glory. This is the miraculous beginning of the final ingathering of exiles (Kibbutz Galuyot).

3. Final Ingathering and Universal Service (66:19-22)

This is the central eschatological promise: the acceptance of HaShem by all humanity and the eternal nature of the renewed Jewish people.

The Global Aliyah: The nations will bring the remaining Jewish people from all over the world back to Jerusalem "as an offering" to HaShem (66:20).

Universal Priesthood: HaShem promises that from these returnees, He will take some "for the priests and for the Levites" (66:21). This is interpreted as a revolutionary Messianic act, either by expanding the priesthood or elevating non-priestly Israelites to a sacred function of service alongside the Kohanim and Leviim.

Eternal Covenant: The final promise is of eternity: just as the new heavens and earth will endure, so too "shall your seed and your name remain" (66:22), confirming the eternal status of the Jewish people and the everlasting nature of the Messianic covenant.

Nazarean Talmud

By: Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

Sidra of D’varim (Deuteronomy) 20:10 – 21:14

“Sabbath - “Khi Tiq’rav El-I’ir”- “When you come near unto a city”

N.C.: Mk 15:6-15 & Lk 23:26-32

School of Hakham Shaul’s Tosefta Luqas (LK)

School of Hakham Tsefet’s Peshat Mordechai (Mk)

And as they led him away, they seized Sh’mon, a certain man of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and placed the cross on him, to carry it behind Yeshua. And a large gathering of the people were following him, and women who were mourning and lamenting him. But turning to them, Yeshua said, “Daughters of Yerushalayim, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children! For behold, days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that did not give birth, and the breasts that did not nurse!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” And two criminals were also led away to be executed with him.

Now at each (Passover) feast^[40] he (Pilate) customarily released to them, (the Jewish people) one^[41] (any) prisoner whom they requested.^[42] Now (there was) one called Bar Abba imprisoned with the rebels who had performed murder during the insurrection. And the people (Tz’dukim)^[43] came up (and) began to ask him (Pilate) to do as he customarily did (for them). Then Pilate answered them, saying,^[44] "Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?"^[45] For he realized that the Kohen Gadol had handed him (the Master) over out of jealousy. However, the Kohen Gadol pressed the people (Tz’dukim) so that he would release for them Bar Abba instead. So Pilate answered and said to them again, "Then what do you want me to do with the one whom you call the king of the Jews?" And they shouted back, "Crucify him!" And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he committed?" But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" So Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, and released for them BarAbba. And after he had Yeshua whipped, he handed him over so that he could be crucified.

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

Deut. 20:10 – 21.14

Psa 126:1 -128:6

Is 66:12-22, Zechariah 2:14-4:7

Mk 15:6-15

Lk 23:26-32

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

May our Master teach us concerning the Year of Release (Shimitah)?

Gen 1:31—2:3 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. And then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

The Mishnah establishes rules found in the Torah with regard to the explicit correlation of Shabbat and the Sabbatical condition of the land. Masechet^[46] Shebi‘it sets forth the laws of relationship to the Land of Israel, which embodies the fundamental truth that G-d is solitary proprietor of Eretz Yisrael. Consequently, the Mishnah, Masechet Shebi’it sets forth some halakhic rules with regard to the land and its use during the Sh’mittah year. For example…

1. The prohibition of farming the land during the seventh year;
2. The use of the produce in the seventh year solely for eating, its purpose and function by its very nature; and
3. The remission of debts

During the Sh’mittah year, the B’ne Yisrael demonstrate that Eretz Yisrael belongs to G-d and they are His tenants. The laws of the Mishnah mandate how the tenants are to treat the land, property that they inhabit as tenants. Furthermore, Seder Zeraim initially established that G-d requires practices of those tenants who occupy His land, property. By the observance of the rules and laws of the land, we can ensure that the crops and produce are “Holy.” Adam and Ḥava lived in a Garden established by G-d, and as tenants of the Garden, they were subject to the rules of the Garden. Only with the abuse of G-d’s property and violation of applicable laws are the tenants evicted.

Tractates Ma’aserot and Ma’aser Sheni further establish the levies required to live in that land. These levies paid to G-d’s agents ensure that the tenant has the usufructuary use of that land so long as they follow the rules of that land and pay its dues. Of course, these subjects need further elaboration. Nonetheless, logic will suffice to delve deeper into this thought.

Logic dictates that the message of Shabbat and Shebi‘it is the same.

The boundaries of Shabbat, established by an Erub, establish a periphery of communal property. Or the Erub marks off a particular piece of land, which is the boundary of Shabbat. We relate this property and its instructions (the instructions of Erub) just as we would to Eretz Yisrael. Furthermore, Shabbat and Shebi‘it is sanctifications of time. The periphery of time is sanctified in the same manner as the Erub that marks the limit of Shabbat. We relate to time through the rules of Moedim, G-d’s divinely appointed practices for the sanctification of time. Therefore, Shabbat and Shebi‘it further another point in relation to the Sh’mittah. Shabbat and Shebi‘it teach us that G-d is not only the Master of the Land, but He is also the Master of Time. In other words, we release our control, or personal use of time, during Shabbat and Shebi‘it. During this “time,” we effectively relinquish personal use for that period and engage in special, “G-d oriented” practices. The effect of Shabbat even revises our speech.

However, Shabbat and Shebi‘it only works when we relinquish our control of property and time to G-d. If we were to fail to relinquish control of the land and time, we would fail to reap the benefits of either. The term hefker is something under no one’s ownership. The declaration of Hefker^[47] is, in part, a fallacy. Hefker is the release of ownership and the acknowledgment of G-d’s omnipotence. Our relinquishment of property and time connects us with the whole community of Yisrael. Therefore, by our relinquishment of control over time and property, we connect with the community of Yisrael. Likewise, when we relinquish our use of those periods, we can connect with G-d.

During Shabbat, the eruv forms communal property. The property that “we possessed” is “released” to become communitarian. Because we are a part of this communitarian society, we are collectively responsible for adhering to the rules of tenement-ship. What this ensures is responsibility within and for other communal members.

Insurrection and eviction

From a Peshat hermeneutic, we can derive from the account of Adam and Ḥava that failure to observe the rules of the land brings expulsion. Furthermore, if we were to rehearse the story of Cain, we would see that his spilling of blood on the land polluted that land and brought about his exile. The broad rule of Peshat derived from Masechet Shebi‘it determines the rules of Eretz Yisrael.

Targum Pseudo Yonatan Yesha’yahu 63:9—11 In every time that they sinned before Him so as to bring affliction upon themselves, He did not afflict them, an angel sent from Him saved them; in His love and in His pity upon them He delivered them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10. But they rebelled and incited to anger against the Memra of His holy prophets; therefore, His Memra was turned to be an enemy, and He Himself battled against them. 11. Then he had pity for the glory of His name, for the sake of the remembrance of His benefits which were from of old, the prodigies which He did by the hands of Moses for His people that they might not say, Where is He who brought them up out of the sea, where is He who led them in the wilderness as the shepherd his flock? Where is He who made the Memra of His holy prophets dwell among them

While the Prophet looked at a historical event, we can look at this event and see an allusion to the Diaspora in the phrase, “He who led them in the wilderness as the shepherd his flock.” “The Holy One, blessed be He, taught us statutes and ordinances” through His Divinely appointed agents (the Hakhamim). We rebelled against these rules and were evicted from the land. The Holy One, Blessed be He, taught us through Hakham Hillel the Elder that we must treat our brothers with communitarian propinquities. Hillel’s Prosbul demonstrated our lack of collective responsibility. Our sin was not only a sin against the land and our brothers; we sinned against G-d. Had we learned the lesson of “cleaving to G-d” through cleaving to our Hakhamim, we would not have been evicted from the land. Nevertheless, we rebelled as Rashi clearly points out.

Rashi’s commentary to verse Yesha’yahu 63:10 reads, “But they rebelled” “They angered.” Comp. (Deut. 9:7) “You were rebellious (מַמְרִים).”

Consequently, the insurrection caused Yisrael’s eviction from Eretz Yisrael. Here, we identify the point of intersection, as a conflict, between G-d’s and man’s will. The halakhah of Masechet Shebi‘it takes as its task the realization of Yisrael’s acceptance of G-d’s will for G-d’s Land, shared by Yisrael on princely terms.

Mar 15:7 Now (there was) one called Bar Abba imprisoned with the rebels who had performed murder during the insurrection.

Note the sin of Bar Abba. His sin was that of murder, which we have discussed in the story of Cain previously. Bar Abba, undoubtedly a Zealot,^[48] In his “zeal,” it was inappropriate to the extreme of murder. In trying to bring about autonomy, Bar Abba shed blood on the soil of Eretz Yisrael, polluting the land. Was Bar Abba correct in his insurrection against Rome?

Targum Pseudo Yonatan Yesha’yahu 63:1. He is about to bring a stroke upon Edom, a strong avenger upon Bozrah, to take the just retribution of His people, just as He swore to them by His Memra. He said, Behold, I am revealed - just as I spoke - in virtue, there is great force before Me to save. 2. Why will mountains be red from the blood of those killed, and plains gush forth like wine in the press? 3. "Behold, as grapes trodden in the press, so will slaughter increase among the armies of the peoples, and there will be no strength for them before Me; I will kill them in My anger and trample them in My wrath; 1 will break the strength of their strong ones before Me, and I will annihilate all their wise ones. 4. For the day of vengeance is before Me, and the year of My peoples salvation has come.

Our Prophet foresaw the ruin of Edom as G-d’s assigned justice for Edom/Rome. The B’ne Yisrael in the first century looked for a redeemer who would bring Edom/Rome to its demise. Bar Abba was like many other zealots who lived in the land seeking autonomy. Just after the destruction of the Temple, Rabbi Akiba misplaced his confidence in Bar Kokhba. Rabbi Akiba, Bar Kokhba, and Bar Abba were all misguided and tried to circumvent the plan of G-d. Bar Abba was like Cain. Cain refused to acknowledge his father’s sin. As a result, he brought a vegetable offering rather than an animal sacrifice required as a sin offering. Bar Abba, in his zeal to reestablish the glory of Yisrael, equivocated the rules of the land. Consequently, he incurred a debt that he could not repay.

The Snare of the Wicked

Tehillim 119:110. The wicked laid a snare for me, but I did not stray from Your precepts.

Mar 15:12 So Pilate answered (and) said to them again, "Then what do you want me to do with the one whom you call the king of the Jews?"

The trap of the enemy was to act like Bar Abba, Rabbi Akiba, and Bar Kokhba. However, Yeshua refused, to the point of death, to conduct himself in any behavior that was contrary to the will of G-d.

Yeshua has gone out of his way to demonstrate that he is NOT an insurrectionist.^[49] Furthermore, Yeshua determines that he is not an insurrectionist with his comments found in Mark 12:13—17; 14:48—49

Mar 12:13—17 And they (the chief priests of the Sadducees (Heb. Tz'dukim) and the scribes (Heb. soferim) of the Sadducees) apostolized to him (Yeshua) some of the Soferim and of the household of Herod, to politically ensnare him in discourse. ¹⁴ And these came, and asked him: Rabbi (Hakham); we know (perceive) that you are true, and that you are not bribed by any man, and you are not afraid (concerned) to face any man, but teach the way (i.e. Torah) of Elohim (Heb. God in His attribute of justice) in truth. Does your teaching allow paying taxes to the Caesar? Is it permissible (allowed) or not? ¹⁵ But knowing their deceitfulness, he said to them, "Why do you test (attempt to ensnare) me? Bring me a denarius so that I may see it." ¹⁶ And they brought it. And he said to them, Whose image (icon) and inscription is this? And they said to him, the Caesar's. ¹⁷ And answering, Yeshua said to them, Give back the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of Elohim to Elohim. And they were astonished by him.

Mar 14:48—49 And Yeshua said, responding to (pronounced a guilty sentence against) them, "Have you come out with daggers and clubs, as if against a robber (also translated as an insurrectionist),^[50] to take me?"  ⁴⁹ I was with you daily in the Bet HaMikdash teaching, and you did not seize me (then). Nevertheless, the Scriptures must be fulfilled.

Through his obedience, he would rectify the sin of the Golden calf, release the Levitical Priesthood from their intermediary duty, and re-establish the Priesthood of the firstborn. All of this was preparation for the coming Diaspora. Yeshua’s thoughts may have sounded like the following Psalm.

Tehillim 119:113. I hate those who harbor iniquitous thoughts, but Your Torah I love.

Targum Pseudo-Yonatan Tehillim 119:126. It is time to do the will of the LORD; the scholars have desecrated Your Torah.

Tehillim 119:127. Because I loved Your commandments more than gold, even more than fine gold.

I loved your commandments more than “gold.” Yeshua was now facing the ability to make tikun for the sin of the golden calf or serve his personal agenda. The tempter in the Matthew account of the “temptation of the master” offers a plan: “If only he would bow and worship the adversary, he could solve all the world’s problems. While we will not delve into the Midrashic interpretations of these passages, we understand this to mean, in Jewish terms, as yielding to personal desire vs. following the will of G-d. Yeshua loved the mitzvot more than gold. In other words, his personal desire became so intertwined with the will of G-d that he couldn’t do anything else. His captivity brought about a release and resolution for the sin of the golden calf. The hermeneutic principle of Sevarah will illuminate all the imports that we do not have room to discuss at present.

Conclusion

In the inauguration of his ministry, Yeshua was granted the privilege of announcing the Yobel (Jubilee). With the termination of his ministry, he was able to bring about a tikun, release for the sin of the golden calf. He inaugurated a Yobel and declared a spiritual release.

Hakham Tsefet has used the word “release” four times, firmly anchoring the present pericope with the Sh’mittah of our present Torah Seder.^[51]  Hakham Tsefet’s opening…

Mar 15:6 Now at each (Passover) feast he (Pilate) customarily released to them, (the Jewish people) one (any) prisoner whom they requested.

This verse lays the foundation for his discussion. And, finding the end in the beginning and the beginning in the end he concludes with…

Mar 15:15 So Pilate, because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, released for them Bar Abba. And after he had Yeshua whipped,^[52] he handed him over so that he could be crucified.

What is Hakham Tsefet trying to say?

We have seen that Sh’mittah and Shabbat deal with time related mitzvot. In the course of our discussion, we have briefly discussed four tractates of the Mishnah.

1. Shebi‘it — dealing with the Year of release
2. Erub — dealing with Sabbath boundaries
3. Ma’aserot —tithe and 
4. Ma’aser Sheni and — the second tithe

One lesson connects all four tractates. That lesson is …

Ecc. 3:1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

Simply stated, the sanctification of time requires specific actions at specific times. To act outside of those appointed times (Divine Appointments) is to miss the point of each of the lessons taught by the Hakhamim.

The land of Yeshua’s time was filled with genuine Hakhamim and those who were pseudo-scholars. In this, our Psalmist says, as we have cited above…

Targum Pseudo Yonatan Tehillim 119:126. It is time to do the will of the LORD; the scholars have desecrated Your Torah.

Sh’lomo reiterates his point concerning time…

Ecc 3:10-11 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Acting in accordance with the rhythm of G-d’s timing ensures success. However, when we try to accomplish the will of G-d at the wrong time we bring ruin and tragedy on ourselves.

From this principle, the Sages of blessed memory have initiated the context of the entire Mishnah with its opening phrase…

“From what time?”^[53]

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

Ashér Natán Lánu Torát Emét, V'Chayéi Olám Natá B'Tochénu.

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

Blessed is Ha-Shem our God, King of the universe,

Who has given us a teaching of truth, implanting within us eternal life.

Blessed is Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless, and to establish you without a blemish,

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer, by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

Additional readings for Shabbat Afternoon Chanukah

Yehudit (Judith) 11:1 – 12:20

New Jerusalem Bible Version

NJB Judith 11:1 'Courage, woman,' Holofernes said, 'do not be afraid. I have never hurt anyone who chose to serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of the whole world.

2 Even now, if your nation of mountain dwellers had not insulted me, I would not have raised a spear against them. This was their fault, not mine.

3 But tell me, why have you fled from them and come to us? . . . Anyhow, this will prove the saving of you. Courage! You will live through this night, and many after.

4 No one will hurt you. On the contrary, you will be treated as well as any who serve my lord King Nebuchadnezzar.'

5 Judith said, 'Please listen favourably to what your slave has to say. Permit your servant to speak in your presence, I shall speak no word of a lie to my lord tonight.

6 You have only to follow your servant's advice and God will bring your work to a successful conclusion; in what my lord undertakes he will not fail.

7 Long life to Nebuchadnezzar, king of the whole world, who has sent you to set every living soul to rights; may his power endure! Since, thanks to you, he is served not only by human beings, but because of your might the wild animals themselves, the cattle, and the birds of the air are to live in the service of Nebuchadnezzar and his whole House.

8 'We have indeed heard of your genius and adroitness of mind. It is known everywhere in the world that throughout the empire you have no rival for ability, wealth of experience and brilliance in waging war.

9 We have also heard what Achior said in his speech to your council. The men of Bethulia having spared him, he has told them everything that he said to you.

10 Now, master and lord, do not disregard what he said; keep it in your mind, since it is true; our nation will not be punished, the sword will indeed have no power over them, unless they sin against their God.

11 But as it is, my lord need expect no repulse or setback, since death is about to fall on their heads, for sin has gained a hold over them, provoking the anger of their God each time that they commit it.

12 As they are short of food and their water is giving out, they have resolved to fall back on their cattle and decided to make use of all the things that God has, by his laws, forbidden them to eat.

13 Not only have they made up their minds to eat the first fruits of corn and the tithes of wine and oil, though these have been consecrated by them and set apart for the priests who serve in Jerusalem in the presence of our God, and may not lawfully even be handled by ordinary people,

14 but they have sent men to Jerusalem -- where the inhabitants are doing much the same -- to bring them back authorisation from the Council of Elders.

15 Now this will be the outcome: when the permission arrives and they act on it, that very day they will be delivered over to you for destruction.

16 'When I, your servant, came to know all this, I fled from them. God has sent me to do things with you at which the world will be astonished when it hears.

17 Your servant is a devout woman; she honours the God of heaven day and night. I therefore propose, my lord, to stay with you. I, your servant, shall go out every night into the valley and pray to God to let me know when they have committed their sin.

18 I shall then come and tell you, so that you can march out with your whole army; and none of them will be able to resist you.

19 I shall be your guide right across Judaea until you reach Jerusalem; there I shall enthrone you in the very middle of the city. And then you can round them up like shepherd-less sheep, with never a dog daring to bark at you. Foreknowledge tells me this; this has been foretold to me and I have been sent to reveal it to you.'

20 Her words pleased Holofernes, and all his adjutants. Full of admiration at her wisdom they exclaimed,

21 'There is no woman like her from one end of the earth to the other, so lovely of face and so wise of speech!'

22 Holofernes said, 'God has done well to send you ahead of the others. Strength will be ours and ruin theirs who have insulted my lord.

23 As for you, you are as beautiful as you are eloquent; if you do as you have promised, your God shall be my God, and you yourself shall make your home in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar and be famous throughout the world.'

NJB Judith 12:1 With that he had her brought in to where his silver dinner service was already laid, and had his own food served to her and his own wine poured out for her.

2 But Judith said, 'I would rather not eat this, in case I incur some fault. What I have brought will be enough for me.'

3 'Suppose your provisions run out,' Holofernes asked, 'how could we get more of the same sort? We have no one belonging to your race here.'

4 'May your soul live, my lord,' Judith answered, 'the Lord will have used me to accomplish his plan, before your servant has finished these provisions.'

5 Holofernes' adjutants then took her to a tent where she slept until midnight. A little before the morning watch, she got up.

6 She had already sent this request to Holofernes, 'Let my lord kindly give orders for your servant to be allowed to go out and pray,'

7 and Holofernes had ordered his guards not to prevent her. She stayed in the camp for three days; she went out each night to the valley of Bethulia and washed at the spring where the picket had been posted.

8 As she went, she prayed to the Lord God of Israel to guide her in her plan to relieve the children of her people.

9 Having purified herself, she would return and stay in her tent until her meal was brought her in the evening.

10 On the fourth day Holofernes gave a banquet, inviting only his own staff and none of the other officers.

11 He said to Bagoas, the officer in charge of his personal affairs, 'Go and persuade that Hebrew woman you are looking after to come and join us and eat and drink in our company.

12 We shall be disgraced if we let a woman like this go without seducing her. If we do not seduce her, everyone will laugh at us!'

13 Bagoas then left Holofernes and went to see Judith. 'Would this young and lovely woman condescend to come to my lord?' he asked. 'She will occupy the seat of honour opposite him, drink the joyful wine with us and be treated today like one of the Assyrian ladies who stand in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.'

14 'Who am I', Judith replied, 'to resist my lord? I shall not hesitate to do whatever he wishes and doing this will be my joy to my dying day.'

15 So she got up and put on her dress and all her feminine adornments. Her maid preceded her, and on the floor in front of Holofernes spread the fleece which Bagoas had given Judith for her daily use to lie on as she ate.

16 Judith came in and took her place. The heart of Holofernes was ravished at the sight; his very soul was stirred. He was seized with a violent desire to sleep with her; and indeed, since the first day he saw her, he had been waiting for an opportunity to seduce her.

17 'Drink then!' Holofernes said. 'Enjoy yourself with us!'

18 'I am delighted to do so, my lord, for since my birth I have never felt my life more worthwhile than today.'

19 She took what her maid had prepared and ate and drank facing him.

20 Holofernes was so enchanted with her that he drank far more wine than he had drunk on any other

day in his life.

1 Maccabees 10:33 - 11:59

New Jerusalem Bible Version

33 Every Jewish person taken from Judaea into captivity in any part of my kingdom I set free without ransom, and decree that all will be exempt from taxes, even on their livestock.

34 All festivals, Sabbaths, New Moons and days of special observance, and the three days before and three days after a festival, will be days of exemption and quittance for all the Jews in my kingdom,

35 and no one will have the right to exact payment from, or to molest, any of them for any matter whatsoever.

36 'Jews will be enrolled in the king's forces to the number of thirty thousand men and receive maintenance on the same scale as the rest of the king's forces.

37 Some of them will be stationed in the king's major fortresses, and from among others appointments will be made to positions of trust in the kingdom. Their officers and commanders will be appointed from their own number and will live under their own laws, as the king has prescribed for Judaea.

38 'As regards the three districts annexed to Judaea from the province of Samaria, these will be integrated into Judaea and considered as coming under one governor, obeying the high priest's authority and no other.

39 Ptolemais and the land thereto pertaining I present to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, to meet the necessary expenses of public worship.

40 And I make a personal grant of fifteen thousand silver shekels annually chargeable to the royal revenue from appropriate places.

41 And the entire surplus, which has not been paid in by the officials as in previous years, will henceforth be paid over by them for work on the Temple.

42 In addition, the sum of five thousand silver shekels, levied annually on the profits of the sanctuary, as shown in the annual accounts, is also relinquished as the perquisite of the priests who perform the liturgy.

43 Anyone who takes refuge in the Temple in Jerusalem or any of its precincts, when in debt to the royal exchequer or otherwise, will be discharged in full possession of all the goods he owns in my kingdom.

44 As regards the building and restoration of the sanctuary, the expense of the work will be met from the royal exchequer.

45 The reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem and the fortification of the perimeter will also be a charge on the royal exchequer, as also the reconstruction of other city walls in Judaea.'

46 When Jonathan and the people heard these proposals, they put no faith in them and refused to accept them, remembering what great wrongs Demetrius had done to Israel and how cruelly he had oppressed them.

47 They decided in favour of Alexander, since he seemed to offer the better inducements of the two, and they became his constant allies.

48 King Alexander now mustered large forces and advanced against Demetrius.

49 The two kings met in battle. Alexander's army was routed, and Demetrius pursued him and defeated his troops.

50 He continued the battle with vigour until sunset. Demetrius himself, however, was killed the same day.

51 Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemy king of Egypt, with this message:

52 'Since I have returned to my kingdom, have ascended the throne of my ancestors, have gained control by crushing Demetrius, and so recovered our country-

53 for I fought him, and we crushed both him and his army, and I now occupy his royal throne-

54 let us now make a treaty of friendship. Give me your daughter in marriage: as your son-in-law, I shall give you, and her, presents which are worthy of you.'

55 King Ptolemy replied as follows: 'Happy the day when you returned to the land of your ancestors and ascended their royal throne!

56 I shall at once do for you what your letter proposes; but meet me at Ptolemais, so that we can see one another, and I shall become your father-in-law, as you have asked.'

57 Ptolemy left Egypt with his daughter Cleopatra and reached Ptolemais in the year 162.

58 King Alexander went to meet him, and Ptolemy gave him the hand of his daughter Cleopatra and celebrated her wedding in Ptolemais with great magnificence, as kings do.

59 King Alexander then wrote to Jonathan to come and meet him.

60 Jonathan made his way in state to Ptolemais and met the two kings; he gave them and their friends silver and gold, and many gifts, and made a favourable impression on them.

61 A number of scoundrels, the pest of Israel, combined to denounce him, but the king paid no attention to them.

62 In fact, the king commanded that Jonathan should be divested of his own garments and clothed in the purple, which was done.

63 The king then seated him by his side and said to his officers, 'Escort him into the centre of the city and proclaim that no one is to bring charges against him on any count; no one is to molest him for any reason.'

64 And so, when his accusers saw the honour done him by this proclamation, and Jonathan himself invested in the purple, they all fled.

65 The king did him the honour of enrolling him among the First Friends and appointed him commander-in-chief and governor-general.

66 Jonathan then returned to Jerusalem in peace and gladness.

67 In the year 165, Demetrius son of Demetrius came from Crete to the land of his ancestors.

68 When King Alexander heard of it he was plunged into gloom and retired to Antioch.

69 Demetrius confirmed Apollonius as governor of Coele-Syria; the latter assembled a large force, encamped at Jamnia, and sent the following message to Jonathan the high priest:

70 'You are entirely alone in rising against us, and now I find myself ridiculed and reproached on your account. Why do you use your authority to our disadvantage in the mountains?

71 If you are so confident in your forces, come down now to meet us on the plain and let us take each other's measure there; on my side I have the strength of the towns.

72 Ask and learn who I am and who the others supporting us are. You will hear that you cannot stand up to us, since your ancestors were twice routed on their own ground,

73 nor will you now be able to withstand the cavalry or so great an army on the plain, where there is neither rock, nor stone, nor refuge of any kind.'

74 On hearing Apollonius' words, Jonathan's spirit was roused; he picked ten thousand men and left Jerusalem, and his brother Simon joined him with reinforcements.

75 He drew up his forces outside Joppa, the citizens having shut him out, since Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa. When they began the attack,

76 the citizens took fright and opened the gates, and Jonathan occupied Joppa.

77 Hearing this, Apollonius marshalled three thousand cavalry and a large army and made his way to Azotus as though intending to march through, while in fact pressing on into the plain, since he had a great number of cavalry on which he was relying.

78 Jonathan pursued him as far as Azotus, where the armies joined battle.

79 Now, Apollonius had left a thousand horsemen in concealment behind them.

80 Jonathan knew of this enemy position behind him; the horsemen surrounded his army, firing their arrows into his men from morning till evening.

81 But the troops stood firm, as Jonathan had ordered. Once the cavalry was exhausted,

82 Simon sent his own troops into attack against the phalanx, which he cut to pieces and routed.

83 The cavalry scattered over the plain and fled to Azotus, where they took sanctuary in Beth-Dagon, the temple of their idol.

84 Jonathan, however, set fire to Azotus and the surrounding towns, plundered them, and burned down the temple of Dagon, with all the fugitives who had crowded into it.

85 The enemy losses, counting those who fell by the sword and those burnt to death, totalled about eight thousand men.

86 Jonathan then left and pitched camp outside Ascalon, where the citizens came out to meet him with great ceremony.

87 Jonathan then returned to Jerusalem with his followers, laden with booty.

88 In the event, when King Alexander heard what had happened, he awarded Jonathan further honours:

89 he sent him the golden brooch, of the kind customarily presented to the King's Cousins, and gave him proprietary rights over Ekron and the land adjoining it.

NJB 1 Maccabees 11:1 The king of Egypt then assembled an army as numerous as the sands of the seashore, with many ships, and set out to take possession of Alexander's kingdom by a ruse and add it to his own kingdom.

2 He set off for Syria with protestations of peace, and the people of the towns opened their gates to him and came out to meet him, since King Alexander's orders were to welcome him, Ptolemy being his father-in-law.

3 On entering the towns, however, Ptolemy quartered troops as a garrison in each one.

4 When he reached Azotus he was shown the burnt-out temple of Dagon, with Azotus and its suburbs in ruins, corpses scattered here and there, and the charred remains of those whom Jonathan had burnt to death in the battle, piled into heaps along his route.

5 They explained to the king what Jonathan had done, hoping for his disapproval; but the king said nothing.

6 Jonathan went in state to meet the king at Joppa, where they greeted each other and spent the night.

7 Jonathan accompanied the king as far as the river called Eleutherus, and then returned to Jerusalem.

8 King Ptolemy for his part occupied the coastal towns as far as Seleucia on the coast, all the while maturing his wicked designs against Alexander.

9 He sent envoys to King Demetrius to say, 'Come and let us make a treaty; I shall give you my daughter, whom Alexander now has, and you shall rule your father's kingdom.

10 I regret having given my daughter to that man, since he has tried to kill me.'

11 He made this accusation because he coveted his kingdom.

12 Having carried off his daughter and bestowed her on Demetrius, he broke with Alexander, and their enmity became open.

13 Ptolemy next entered Antioch and assumed the crown of Asia; he now wore on his head the two crowns of Egypt and Asia.

14 King Alexander was in Cilicia at the time, since the people of those parts had risen in revolt,

15 but when he heard the news, he advanced on his rival to give battle, while Ptolemy for his part also took the field, met him with a strong force and routed him.

16 Alexander fled to Arabia for refuge, and King Ptolemy reigned supreme.

17 Zabdiel the Arab cut off Alexander's head and sent it to Ptolemy.

18 Three days later King Ptolemy died, and the Egyptian garrisons in the strongholds were killed by the local inhabitants.

19 So Demetrius became king in the year 167.

20 At the same time, Jonathan mustered the men of Judaea for an assault on the Citadel of Jerusalem, and they set up numerous siege-engines against it.

21 But some renegades who hated their nation made their way to the king and told him that Jonathan was besieging the Citadel.

22 The king was angered by the news. No sooner had he been informed than he set out and came to Ptolemais. He wrote to Jonathan, telling him to raise the siege and to meet him for a conference in Ptolemais as soon as possible.

23 When Jonathan heard this, he gave orders for the siege to continue; he then selected a deputation from the elders of Israel and the priests, and took the deliberate risk

24 of himself taking silver and gold, clothing and numerous other presents, and going to Ptolemais to face the king, whose favour he succeeded in winning;

25 and although one or two renegades of his nation brought charges against him,

26 the king treated him as his predecessors had treated him and promoted him in the presence of all his friends.

27 He confirmed him in the high-priesthood and whatever other distinctions he already held and had him ranked among the First Friends.

28 Jonathan asked the king to exempt Judaea and the three Samaritan districts from taxation, promising him three hundred talents in return.

29 The king consented, and wrote Jonathan a rescript covering the whole matter, in these terms:

30 'King Demetrius to Jonathan his brother, and to the Jewish nation, greetings.

31 'We have written to Lasthenes our cousin concerning you, and now send you this copy of our rescript for your own information:

32 "King Demetrius to his father Lasthenes, greetings.

33 "The nation of the Jews is our ally; they fulfil their obligations to us, and in view of their goodwill towards us we have decided to show them our bounty.

34 We confirm them in their possession of the territory of Judaea and the three districts of Aphairema, Lydda and Ramathaim; these were annexed to Judaea from Samaritan territory, with all their dependencies, in favour of all who offer sacrifice in Jerusalem, instead of the royal dues which the king formerly received from them every year, from the yield of the soil and the fruit crops.

35 As regards our other rights over the tithes and taxes due to us, over the salt marshes, and the crown taxes due to us, as from today we release them from them all.

36 None of these grants will be revoked henceforth or anywhere.

37 You will make yourself responsible for having a copy of this made, to be given to Jonathan and displayed on the holy mountain in a conspicuous place." '

38 When King Demetrius saw that the country was at peace under his rule and that no resistance was offered him, he dismissed his forces, and sent all the men home, except for the foreign troops that he had recruited in the foreign island, thus incurring the enmity of the veterans who had served his ancestors.

39 Now Trypho, one of Alexander's former supporters, noting that all the troops were muttering against Demetrius, went to see Iamleku, the Arab who was bringing up Antiochus, Alexander's young son,

40 and repeatedly urged him to let him have the boy, so that he might succeed his father as king; he told him of Demetrius' decision and of the resentment it had aroused among his troops. He spent a long time there.

41 Jonathan, meanwhile, sent to ask King Demetrius to withdraw the garrisons from the Citadel in Jerusalem and from the other fortresses, since they were constantly fighting Israel.

42 Demetrius sent word back to Jonathan, 'Not only will I do this for you and for your nation, but I shall heap honours on you and your nation if I find a favourable opportunity.

43 For the present, you would do well to send me reinforcements, since all my troops have deserted.'

44 Jonathan sent three thousand experienced soldiers to him in Antioch; when they reached the king, he was delighted at their arrival.

45 The citizens crowded together in the centre of the city, to the number of some hundred and twenty thousand, intending to kill the king.

46 The king took refuge in the palace, while the citizens occupied the thoroughfares of the city and began to attack.

47 The king then called on the Jews for help; and these all rallied round him, then fanned out through the city, and that day killed about a hundred thousand of its inhabitants.

48 They fired the city, seizing a great deal of plunder at the same time, and secured the king's safety.

49 When the citizens saw that the Jews had the city at their mercy, their courage failed them, and they made an abject appeal to the king,

50 'Give us the right hand of peace, and let the Jews stop their fight against us and the city.'

51 They threw down their arms and made peace. The Jews were covered in glory, in the eyes of the king and of everyone else in his kingdom. Having won renown in his kingdom, they returned to Jerusalem laden with booty.

52 Thus, King Demetrius sat all the more securely on his royal throne, and the country was quiet under his government.

53 But he gave the lie to all the promises he had made, and changed his attitude to Jonathan, giving nothing in return for the services Jonathan had rendered him, but thwarting him at every turn.

54 After this, Trypho came back with the little boy Antiochus, who became king and was crowned.

55 All the troops that Demetrius had summarily dismissed rallied to Antiochus, and made war on Demetrius, who turned tail and fled.

56 Trypho captured the elephants and seized Antioch.

57 Young Antiochus then wrote as follows to Jonathan: 'I confirm you in the high-priesthood and set you over the four districts and appoint you one of the Friends of the King.'

58 He sent him a service of gold plate and granted him the right to drink from gold vessels, and to wear the purple and the golden brooch.

59 He appointed his brother Simon commander-in-chief of the region from the Ladder of Tyre to the frontiers of Egypt.

Psalm 27:1

1. Of David. The LORD is my light and my help; whom should I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life, whom should I dread?

Psalm 119:105

105. Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my path.

1 John 4:13-21

By: Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

& Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

13 In this we know that we tabernacle in him (the Master) and he (the Master) in us: that he (the Master) has given to us of his spirit (i.e., Oral Torah).

14 And we have seen and bear witness that the Father has sent His son (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel) as redeemer of the [pagan] world.

15 Whosoever acknowledges that Yeshua is the son of God (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel), God tabernacles in him and he in God.

16 And we have come to know and have believed the love that God has for us [i.e., the Jewish people]. God is love (the numerical value of Ahavah and Echad = 13), and the one who tabernacles in love [for the Jewish people] tabernacles in God, and God tabernacles in him.

17 In this love is achieved in us, [so] that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as he (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel) is [an agent of G-d], so also are we [agents of G-d] in this [pagan] world.

18 There is no fear in [the] love [of God and His Jewish people], but perfect love [of God and His Jewish people] drives out fear [from anyone or anything], because fear includes punishment, and the one who is afraid has not been perfected in [the] love [of God and the Jewish people].

19 We love, because he first loved us.

20 If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his [Jewish] brother/sister, he is a liar, for the one who does not love his [Jewish] brother/sister whom he has seen is not able to love God whom he has not seen.

21 And this is the commandment we have from him (i.e. the Master): that the one who loves God should love his [Jewish] brother/sister also.

Nazarean Talmud

(Chanukah 6^th Day) N.C.: Jn 3:1-14 & Jn 2:1-13

END OF THE READINGS FOR THE SIXTH DAY OF CHANUKA

Chanuka Seventh Day & 2^nd Day of Rosh Chodesh Tebet

Tebet 01, 5786

Evening Saturday December 20, 2025 - Evening Sunday Dec. 21, 2025

Rosh Chodesh Tebet (Second Day) – New Moon of the Month of Tevet (Second Day)

Torah: Numbers 28:1-15; 7:48-53

 Reader 1 - Num. 28:1-5

 Reader 2 - Num. 28:6-10

 Reader 3 - Num. 28:11-15

 Reader 4 – Num. 7:48-53

Yehudit (Judith) 13:1 – 14:19

1 Maccabees 11:60 – 13:47

Tehillim (Psalms) 30:1-13

Nazareans add in their private study and discussions: Is. 9:1-2;

& 1 John 5:1-12

JPS & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Bamidbar (Numbers) 28:1-15

JPS	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
1. The Lord spoke to: Moses, saying:	1. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
2. Command the children of Israel and say to them: My offering, My food for My fire offerings, a spirit of satisfaction for Me, you shall take care to offer to Me at its appointed time.	2. Instruct the children of Israel and say to them: The priests may eat of My oblation the bread of the order of My table; but that which you offer upon My altar may no man eat. Is there not a fire that will consume it? And it will be accepted before Me as a pleasant smell. Sons of Israel, My people, be admonished to offer it from the firstlings on the Sabbath, an oblation before Me in its time.
3. And you shall say to them: This is the fire offering which you shall offer to the Lord: two unblemished lambs in their first year each day as a continual burnt offering.	3. And say to them: This is the order of the oblations you will offer before the LORD; two lambs of the year, unblemished, daily, a perpetual burnt offering.
4. The one lamb you shall offer up in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer up in the afternoon.	4. The one lamb you will perform in the morning to make atonement for the sins of the night; and the second lamb you will perform between the suns to atone for the sins of the day;
5. And one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of crushed [olive] oil.	5. and the tenth of three seahs of wheat flour as a mincha mingled with beaten olive oil, the fourth of a hin.
6. A continual burnt offering, as the one offered up at Mount Sinai, for a spirit of satisfaction, a fire offering to the Lord.	6. It is a perpetual burnt offering, such as was (ordained to be) offered at Mount Sinai, to be received with favor as an oblation before the LORD.
7. Its libation shall be one quarter of a hin for each lamb, to be poured on the holy [altar] as a libation of strong wine to the Lord.	7. And its libation will be the fourth of a hin for one lamb; from the vessels of the house of the Sanctuary will it be outpoured, a libation of old wine. But if old wine may not be found, bring wine of forty days to pour out before the LORD.
8. And the second lamb you shall offer up in the afternoon. You shall offer up it with the same meal offering and libation as the morning [sacrifice], a fire offering with a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord.	8. And the second lamb you will perform between the suns, according to the presentation of the morning, and according to its oblation will you make the offering, that it may be accepted with favor before the LORD.
9. And on the Sabbath day, two unblemished lambs in the first year, and two tenths fine flour as a meal offering, mixed with oil, and its libation.	9. but on the day of Shabbat two lambs of the year without blemish, and two-tenths of flour mixed with olive oil for the mincha and its libation.
10. [This is] the burnt offering of each Sabbath on its Sabbath, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its libation.	10. On the Sabbath you will make a Sabbath burnt sacrifice in addition to the perpetual burnt sacrifice and its libation.
11. And on the beginning of your months, you shall offer up a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.	11. And at the beginning of your months you will offer a burnt sacrifice before the LORD; two young bullocks, without mixture, one ram, lambs of the year seven, unblemished;
12. Three tenths fine flour as a meal offering, mixed with oil for each bull, and two tenths fine flour as a meal offering, mixed with oil for each ram.	12. and three tenths of flour mingled with oil for the mincha for one bullock; two tenths of flour with olive oil for the mincha of the one ram;
13. And one tenth of fine flour mixed with oil as a meal offering for each lamb. A burnt offering with a spirit of satisfaction, a fire offering to the Lord.	13. and one tenth of flour with olive oil for the mincha for each lamb of the burnt offering, an oblation to be received with favor before the LORD.
14. And their libations: a half of a hin for each bull, a third of a hin for each ram, and a quarter of a hin for each lamb; this is the burnt offering of each new month in its month, throughout the months of the year.	14. And for their libation to be offered with them, the half of a bin for a bullock, the third of a bin for the ram, and the fourth of a hin for a lamb, of the wine of grapes. This burnt sacrifice will be offered at the beginning of every month in the time of the removal of the beginning of every month in the year;
CH.7
15. And one young male goat for a sin offering to the Lord; it shall be offered up in addition to the continual burnt offering and its libation.	15. and one kid of the goats, for a sin offering before the LORD at the disappearing (failure) of the moon, with the perpetual burnt sacrifice will you perform with its libation.

JPS & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:48-53

JPS	Targum Pseudo Yonathan
48. On the seventh day, the chieftain was of the sons of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud.	48. on the seventh, Elishama bar Ammihud, prince of the Benei Ephraim;
49. His offering was one silver bowl weighing one hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver sprinkling basin [weighing] seventy shekels according to the holy shekel, both filled with fine flour mixed with olive oil for a meal offering.	49.
50. One spoon [weighing] ten gold [shekels] filled with incense.	50.
51. One young bull, one ram and one lamb in its first year for a burnt offering.	51.
52. One young he goat for a sin offering.	52.
53. And for the peace offering: two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs in their first year; this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud;	53.

Tehillim (Psalms) 30:1-13 – see page 9

Special Ketubim Rosh Chodesh – Proverbs 7:1-27

1 ¶ My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with you.

2 Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye.

3 Bind them upon your fingers, write them upon the table of thy heart.

4 Say unto wisdom: ‘You are my sister’, and call understanding your kinswoman;

5 That they may keep you from the strange woman, from the alien woman that makes smooth her words.

6 ¶ For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice;

7 And I beheld among the thoughtless ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,

8 Passing through the street near her corner, and he went the way to her house;

9 In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the blackness of night and the darkness.

10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart.

11 She is riotous and rebellious, her feet abide not in her house;

12 Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, and lies in wait at every corner.

13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face she said unto him:

14 ‘Sacrifices of peace-offerings were due from me; this day have I paid my vows.

15 Therefore came I forth to meet you, to seek your face, and I have found you.

16 I have decked my couch with coverlets, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; let us solace ourselves with loves.

19 For my husband is not at home, he is gone a long journey;

20 He has taken the bag of money with him; he will come home at the appointed day (new moon).’

21 With her much fair speech she causes him to yield, with the blandishment of her lips she entices him away.

22 He goes after her straightway, as an ox that goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the correction of the fool;

23 Till an arrow strike through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare—and knows not that it is at the cost of his life.

24 ¶ Now therefore, O you children, hearken unto me, and attend to the words of my mouth.

25 Let not your heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

26 For she has cast down many wounded; yes, a mighty host are all her slain.

27 Her house is the way to the nether world, going down to the chambers of death.

Yehudit (Judith) 13:1 – 14:19

New Jerusalem Bible Version

NJB Judith 13:1 It grew late, and his staff hurried away. Bagoas closed the tent from the outside, having shown out those who still lingered in his lord's presence. They went to their beds wearied with too much drinking,

 2 and Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes who had collapsed wine-sodden on his bed.

 3 Judith then told her maid to stay just outside the bedroom and wait for her to come out, as she did every morning. She had let it be understood she would be going out to her prayers and had also spoken of her intention to Bagoas.

 4 By now everyone had left Holofernes, and no one, either important or unimportant, was left in the bedroom. Standing beside the bed, Judith murmured to herself: Lord God, to whom all strength belongs, prosper what my hands are now to do for the greater glory of Jerusalem;

 5 now is the time to recover your heritage and to further my plans to crush the enemies arrayed against us.

 6 With that she went up to the bedpost by Holofernes' head and took down his scimitar;

 7 coming closer to the bed she caught him by the hair and said, 'Make me strong today, Lord God of Israel!'

 8 Twice she struck at his neck with all her might and cut off his head.

 9 She then rolled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the bedposts. After which, she went out and gave the head of Holofernes to her maid

 10 who put it in her food bag. The two then left the camp together, as they always did when they went to pray. Once they were out of the camp, they skirted the ravine, climbed the slope to Bethulia and made for the gates.

 11 From a distance, Judith shouted to the guards on the gates, 'Open the gate! Open! For the Lord our God is with us still, displaying his strength in Israel and his might against our enemies, as he has done today!'

 12 Hearing her voice, the townsmen hurried down to the town gate and summoned the elders.

 13 Everyone, great and small, came running down, since her arrival was unexpected. They threw the gate open, welcomed the women, lit a fire to see by and crowded round them.

 14 Then Judith raised her voice and said, 'Praise God! Praise him! Praise the God who has not withdrawn his mercy from the House of Israel but has shattered our enemies by my hand tonight!'

 15 She pulled the head out of the bag and held it for them to see. 'This is the head of Holofernes, general-in-chief of the Assyrian army; here is the canopy under which he lay drunk! The Lord has struck him down by the hand of a woman!

 16 Glory to the Lord who has protected me in the course I took! My face seduced him, only to his own undoing; he committed no sin with me to shame me or disgrace me.'

 17 Overcome with emotion, the people all prostrated themselves and worshipped God, exclaiming with one voice, 'Blessings on you, our God, for confounding your people's enemies today!'

 18 Uzziah then said to Judith: May you be blessed, my daughter, by God Most High, beyond all women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth, who guided you to cut off the head of the leader of our enemies!

 19 The trust which you have shown will not pass from human hearts, as they commemorate the power of God for evermore.

 20 God grant you may be always held in honour and rewarded with blessings, since you did not consider your own life when our nation was brought to its knees, but warded off our ruin, walking in the right path before our God. And the people all said, 'Amen! Amen!'

NJB Judith 14:1 Judith said, 'Listen to me, brothers. Take this head and hang it on your battlements.

 2 When morning comes and the sun is up, let every man take his arms and every able-bodied man leave the town. Appoint a leader for them, as if you meant to march down to the plain against the Assyrian advanced post. But you must not do this.

 3 The Assyrians will gather up their equipment, make for their camp and wake up their commanders; they in turn will rush to the tent of Holofernes and not be able to find him. They will then be seized with panic and flee at your advance.

 4 All you and the others who live in the territory of Israel will have to do is to give chase and slaughter them as they retreat.

 5 'But before you do this, call me Achior the Ammonite, for him to see and identify the man who held the House of Israel in contempt, the man who sent him to us as someone already doomed to die.'

 6 So they had Achior brought from Uzziah's house. No sooner had he arrived and seen the head of Holofernes held by a member of the people's assembly than he fell on his face in a faint.

 7 They lifted him up. He then threw himself at Judith's feet and, prostrate before her, exclaimed: May you be blessed in all the tents of Judah and in every nation; those who hear your name will be seized with dread!

 8 'Now tell me everything that you have done in these past few days.' And surrounded by the people, Judith told him everything she had done from the day she left Bethulia to the moment when she was speaking.

 9 When she came to the end, the people cheered at the top of their voices until the town echoed.

 10 Achior, recognising all that the God of Israel had done, believed ardently in him and, accepting circumcision, was permanently incorporated into the House of Israel.

 11 At daybreak they hung the head of Holofernes on the ramparts. Every man took his arms, and they all went out in groups to the slopes of the mountain.

 12 Seeing this, the Assyrians sent word to their leaders, who in turn reported to the generals, the captains of thousands and all the other officers;

 13 and these in their turn reported to the tent of Holofernes. 'Rouse our master,' they said to his major-domo, 'these slaves have dared to march down on us to attack -- and to be wiped out to a man!'

 14 Bagoas went inside and struck the curtain dividing the tent, thinking that Holofernes was sleeping with Judith.

 15 But as no one seemed to hear, he drew the curtain and went into the bedroom, to find him thrown down dead on the threshold, with his head cut off.

 16 He gave a great shout, wept, sobbed, shrieked and rent his clothes.

 17 He then went into the tent which Judith had occupied and could not find her either. Then, rushing out to the men, he shouted,

 18 'The slaves have rebelled! A single Hebrew woman has brought shame on the House of Nebuchadnezzar. Holofernes is lying dead on the ground, without his head!'

 19 When they heard this, the leaders of the Assyrian army tore their tunics in consternation, and the camp rang with their wild cries and their shouting.

1 Maccabees 11:60 - 13:47

New Jerusalem Bible Version

60 Jonathan then set out and made a progress through Trans Euphrates and its towns, and the entire Syrian army rallied to his support. He came to Ascalon and was received in state by the inhabitants.

 61 From there he proceeded to Gaza, but the people of Gaza shut him out, so he laid siege to it, burning down its suburbs and plundering them.

 62 The people of Gaza then pleaded with Jonathan, and he made peace with them; but he took the sons of their chief men as hostages and sent them away to Jerusalem. He then travelled through the country as far as Damascus.

 63 Jonathan now learned that Demetrius' generals had arrived at Kadesh in Galilee with a large army, intending to remove him from office,

 64 and went to engage them, leaving his brother Simon inside the country.

 65 Simon laid siege to Beth-Zur, attacking it day after day, and blockading the inhabitants

 66 till they sued for peace, which he granted them, though he expelled them from the town and occupied it, stationing a garrison there.

 67 Jonathan and his army, meanwhile, having pitched camp by the Lake of Gennesar, rose early, and by morning were already in the plain of Hazor.

 68 The foreigners' army advanced to fight them on the plain, having first positioned an ambush for him in the mountains. While the main body was advancing directly towards the Jews,

 69 the troops in ambush broke cover and attacked first.

 70 All the men with Jonathan fled; no one was left, except Mattathias son of Absalom and Judas son of Chalphi, the generals of his army.

 71 At this, Jonathan tore his garments, put dust on his head, and prayed.

 72 Then he returned to the fight and routed the enemy, who fled.

 73 When the fugitives from his own forces saw this, they came back to him and joined in the pursuit as far as Kadesh where the enemy encampment was, and there they themselves pitched camp.

 74 About three thousand of the foreign troops fell that day. Jonathan then returned to Jerusalem.

NJB 1 Maccabees 12:1 When Jonathan saw that circumstances were working in his favour, he sent a select mission to Rome to confirm and renew his treaty of friendship with the Romans.

 2 He also sent letters to the same effect to the Spartans and to other places.

 3 The envoys made their way to Rome, entered the Senate, and said, 'Jonathan the high priest and the Jewish nation have sent us to renew your treaty of friendship and alliance with them as before.'

 4 The Senate gave them letters to the authorities of each place, to procure their safe conduct to Judaea.

 5 The following is the copy of the letter Jonathan wrote to the Spartans:

 6 'Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people to the Spartans their brothers, greetings.

 7 'In the past, a letter was sent to Onias, the high priest, from Areios, one of your kings, stating that you are indeed our brothers, as the copy subjoined attests.

 8 Onias received the envoy with honour, and accepted the letter, in which a clear declaration was made of friendship and alliance.

 9 For our part, though we have no need of these, having the consolation of the holy books in our possession,

 10 we venture to send to renew our fraternal friendship with you, so that we may not become strangers to you, a long time having elapsed since you last wrote to us.

 11 We, for our part, on every occasion, at our festivals and on other appointed days, unfailingly remember you in the sacrifices we offer and, in our prayers, as it is right and fitting to remember brothers.

 12 We rejoice in your renown.

 13 'We ourselves, however, have had many trials and many wars, the neighbouring kings making war on us.

 14 We were unwilling to trouble you or our other allies and friends during these wars,

 15 since we have the support of Heaven to help us, thanks to which we have been delivered from our enemies, and they are the ones who have been brought low.

 16 We have therefore chosen Numenius son of Antiochus, and Antipater son of Jason, and sent them to the Romans to renew our former treaty of friendship and alliance,

 17 and we have ordered them also to visit you, to greet you and deliver you this letter of ours concerning the renewal of our brotherhood;

 18 we shall be grateful for an answer to it.'

 19 The following is the copy of the letter sent to Onias:

 20 'Areios king of the Spartans, to Onias the high priest, greetings.

 21 'It has been discovered in records regarding the Spartans and Jews that they are brothers, and of the race of Abraham.

 22 Now that this has come to our knowledge, we shall be obliged if you will send us news of your welfare.

 23 Our own message to you is this: your flocks and your possessions are ours, and ours are yours, and we are instructing our envoys to give you a message to this effect.'

 24 Jonathan learned that Demetrius' generals had returned with a larger army than before to make war on him.

 25 He therefore left Jerusalem and went to engage them in the area of Hamath, not giving them the time to invade his own territory.

 26 He sent spies into their camp, who told him on their return that the enemy were taking up positions for a night attack on the Jews.

 27 At sunset, Jonathan ordered his men to keep watch with their weapons at hand, in readiness to fight at any time during the night and posted advance guards all-round the camp.

 28 On learning that Jonathan and his men were ready to fight, the enemy took fright and, with quaking hearts, lit fires in their bivouac and decamped.

 29 Jonathan and his men, watching the glow of the fires, were unaware of their withdrawal until morning,

 30 and although Jonathan pursued them, he failed to overtake them, for they had already crossed the river Eleutherus.

 31 So Jonathan wheeled round on the Arabs called Zabadaeans, beat them and plundered them;

 32 then, breaking camp, he went to Damascus, thus crossing the whole province.

 33 Simon, meanwhile, had also set out and had penetrated as far as Ascalon and the neighbouring towns. He then turned-on Joppa and moved quickly to occupy it,

 34 for he had heard of their intention to hand over this strong point to the supporters of Demetrius; he stationed a garrison there to hold it.

 35 Jonathan, on his return, called a meeting of the elders of the people and decided with them to build fortresses in Judaea

 36 and to heighten the walls of Jerusalem and erect a high barrier between the Citadel and the city, to cut the former off from the city and isolate it, to prevent the occupants from buying or selling.

 37 Rebuilding the city was a co-operative effort: part of the wall over the eastern ravine had fallen down; he restored the quarter called Chaphenatha.

 38 Simon, meanwhile, rebuilt Adida in the lowlands, fortifying it, and erecting gates with bolts.

 39 Trypho's ambition was to become king of Asia, assume the crown, and overpower King Antiochus.

 40 He was apprehensive that Jonathan might not allow him to do this, and might even make war on him, so he set out and came to Beth-Shean, in the hopes of finding some pretext for having him arrested and put to death.

 41 Jonathan went out to intercept him, with forty thousand picked men in battle order, and arrived at Beth-Shean.

 42 When Trypho saw him there with a large force, he hesitated to make any move against him.

 43 He even received him with honour, commended him to all his friends, gave him presents and ordered his friends and his troops to obey him as they would himself.

 44 He said to Jonathan, 'Why have you given all these people so much trouble, when there is no threat of war between us?

 45 Send them back home; pick yourself a few men as your bodyguard, and come with me to Ptolemais, which I am going to hand over to you, with the other fortresses and the remaining troops and all the officials; after which, I shall take the road for home. This was my purpose in coming here.'

 46 Jonathan trusted him and did as he said, he dismissed his forces, who went back to Judaea.

 47 With him he retained three thousand men, of whom he left two thousand in Galilee, while a thousand accompanied him.

 48 But as soon as Jonathan had entered Ptolemais, the people of Ptolemais closed the gates, seized him, and put all those who had entered with him to the sword.

 49 Trypho sent troops and cavalry into Galilee and the Great Plain to destroy all Jonathan's supporters.

 50 These, concluding that he had been taken and had perished with his companions, encouraged one another, marching with closed ranks and ready to give battle,

 51 and when their pursuers saw that they would fight for their lives, they turned back.

 52 All reached Judaea safe and sound, and there they lamented Jonathan and his companions, being very frightened; indeed, all Israel was plunged into mourning.

 53 The surrounding nations were all now looking for ways of destroying them: 'They have no leader,' they said, 'no ally; we have only to attack them now, and we shall blot out their very memory from all peoples.'

NJB 1 Maccabees 13:1 Simon heard that Trypho had collected a large army to invade and devastate Judaea,

 2 and when he saw how the people were quaking with fear, he went up to Jerusalem, called the people together,

 3 and exhorted them thus, 'You know yourselves how much I and my brothers and my father's family have done for the laws and the sanctuary; you know what wars and hardships we have experienced.

 4 That is why my brothers are all dead, for Israel's sake, and I am the only one left.

 5 Far be it from me, then, to be sparing of my own life in any time of oppression, for I am not worth more than my brothers.

 6 Rather will I avenge my nation and the sanctuary and your wives and children now that the foreigners are all united in malice to destroy us.'

 7 The people's spirit rekindled as they listened to his words,

 8 and they shouted back at him, 'You are our leader in place of Judas and your brother Jonathan.

 9 Fight our battles for us, and we will do whatever you tell us.'

 10 So he assembled all the fighting men and hurried on with completing the walls of Jerusalem, fortifying the whole perimeter.

 11 He sent a considerable force to Joppa under Jonathan son of Absalom who drove out the inhabitants and remained there in occupation.

 12 Trypho now left Ptolemais with a large army to invade Judaea, taking Jonathan with him under guard.

 13 Simon pitched camp in Adida, facing the plain.

 14 When Trypho learned that Simon had taken the place of his brother Jonathan and that he intended to join battle with him, he sent envoys to him with this message,

 15 'Your brother Jonathan was in debt to the royal exchequer for the offices he held; that is why we are detaining him.

 16 If you send a hundred talents of silver and two of his sons as hostages, to make sure that on his release he does not revolt against us, we shall release him.'

 17 Although Simon was aware that the message was a ruse, he sent for the money and the boys for fear of incurring great hostility from the people,

 18 who would have said that Jonathan had died because Simon would not send Trypho the money and the children.

 19 He therefore sent both the boys and the hundred talents, but Trypho broke his word and did not release Jonathan.

 20 Next, Trypho set about the invasion and devastation of the country; he made a detour along the Adora road, but Simon and his army confronted him wherever he attempted to go.

 21 The men in the Citadel kept sending messengers to Trypho, urging him to get through to them by way of the desert and send them supplies.

 22 Trypho organised his entire cavalry to go, but that night it snowed so heavily that he could not get through for the snow, so he left there and moved off into Gilead.

 23 As he approached Baskama he killed Jonathan, who was buried there.

 24 Trypho turned back and regained his own country.

 25 Simon sent and recovered the bones of his brother Jonathan, and buried him in Modein, the town of his ancestors.

 26 All Israel kept solemn mourning for him and long bewailed him.

 27 Over the tomb of his father and brothers, Simon raised a monument high enough to catch the eye, using dressed stone back and front.

 28 He erected seven pyramids facing each other, for his father and mother and his four brothers,

 29 surrounding them with a structure consisting of tall columns surmounted by trophies of arms to their everlasting memory and, besides the trophies of arms, ships sculpted on a scale to be seen by all who sail the sea.

 30 Such was the monument he constructed at Modein, and it is still there today.

 31 Now Trypho, betraying the trust of young King Antiochus, put him to death.

 32 He usurped his throne, assuming the crown of Asia, and brought great havoc on the country.

 33 Simon built up the fortresses of Judaea, surrounding them with high towers, great walls and gates with bolts, and stocked these fortresses with food.

 34 He also sent a delegation to King Demetrius, to get him to grant the province a remission, since all Trypho did was to despoil.

 35 King Demetrius replied to his request in a letter framed as follows:

 36 'King Demetrius to Simon, high priest and Friend of Kings, and to the elders and nation of the Jews, greetings.

 37 'It has pleased us to accept the golden crown and the palm you have sent us, and we are disposed to make a general peace with you, and to write to the officials to grant you remissions.

 38 Everything that we have decreed concerning you remains in force, and the fortresses you have built may remain in your hands.

 39 We pardon all offences, unwitting or intentional, hitherto committed, and remit the crown tax you now owe us; and whatever other taxes were levied in Jerusalem are no longer to be levied.

 40 If any of you are suitable for enrolment in our bodyguard, let them be enrolled, and let there be peace between us.'

 41 The gentile yoke was thus lifted from Israel in the year 170,

 42 when our people began engrossing their documents and contracts: 'In the first year of Simon, eminent high priest, commander-in-chief and ethnarch of the Jews'.

 43 About that time Simon laid siege to Gezer, surrounding it with his troops. He constructed a mobile tower, brought it up to the city, opened a breach in one of the bastions and took it.

 44 The men in the mobile tower sprang out into the city, where great confusion ensued.

 45 The citizens, accompanied by their wives and children, mounted the ramparts with their garments torn and loudly implored Simon to make peace with them:

 46 'Treat us', they said, 'not as our wickedness deserves, but as your mercy prompts you.'

 47 Simon came to terms with them and stopped the fighting; but he expelled them from the city, purified the houses which contained idols, and then made his entry with songs of praise.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 9:1-2

1 The people that walked in darkness have seen a brilliant light; On those who dwelt in a land of gloom light has dawned.

 2 You have magnified that nation, have given it great joy; They have rejoiced before You As they rejoice at reaping time, as they exult when dividing spoil.

1 John 5:1-12

By: Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham &

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

1 Everyone who is confident that Yeshua is the King Messiah of Israel (i.e., has accepted the yokes of the kingdom and of the Torah) has been fathered (begotten) by God, and everyone who loves Him (God) that fathered (begat) [him/her] also loves the [the Jewish sons and daughters] fathered by Him (God).

2 In this we know that we love the sons/daughters of God: when we [continually and earnestly] love God and keep/observe [faithfully] His commandments.

3 For this is the love of God: that we must [faithfully] keep/observe His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (difficult to observe/keep),

4 because everyone who is fathered (begotten) by God conquers the [pagan] world; and this is [the conquering tool] which conquers the [pagan] world, our faithful obedience [to God].

5 Now, who is the one who, conquers the [pagan] world except the one who is confident that Yeshua is the son of God (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel – i.e., has accepted the yokes of the kingdom and of the Torah)?

6 This is the one who came by [the] blood [of circumcision] and [the] waters [of the Mikveh] Yeshua the Messiah, not with the waters [of the Mikveh] only, but with the blood [of circumcision] and the waters [of the Mikveh]. And the Spirit [of G-d in the Bet Din] is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth [i.e., Torah – cf. Psalm 119:142).

7 For there are three that testify,

8 the Spirit [of G-d in the Bet Din], the blood [of circumcision] and the waters [of the Mikveh], and the three are in unity.

9 If we receive the witness of [Torah observant] persons, the witness of God is greater, because this is the witness of God that He has witnessed concerning his son (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel).

10 (The one who adheres to (or puts his/her trust in) the son of God (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel- i.e., has accepted the yokes of the kingdom and of the Torah) has the testimony [of the Bet Din, of circumcision and of the Mikveh] in himself. The one who does not adhere [to the King Messiah of Israel- i.e., has not accepted the yokes of the kingdom and of the Torah] God has made him a liar, because he has not adhered in the testimony that God has testified concerning his son (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel).)

11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel).

12 The one who has the son (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel – i.e. has accepted the yokes of the kingdom and of the Torah) has that [eternal] life; the one who does not have the son of God (i.e. the King Messiah of Israel – i.e. the yokes of the kingdom and of the Torah) does not have that [eternal] life.

END OF THE READINGS FOR THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHANUKA

Chanuka Eighth Day

Tebet 03, 5786

Evening Sunday Dec. 21, 2025 - Evening Monday Dec. 22, 2025

Torah: Numbers 7:54-89

Reader 1 - Num. 7:54-56

Reader 2 - Num. 7:57-59

Reader 3 - Num. 7:60-89

Yehudit (Judith) 15:1 – 16:25

1 Maccabees 13:48 - 16:24

Tehillim (Psalms) 30:1-13

Nazareans add in their private study and discussions: Zechariah 14:6-7; & 1 John 5:13-21

JPS & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:54-89

JPS	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
54. On the eighth day, the chieftain was of the sons of Manasseh, Gamliel the son of Pedazhur.	54. on the eighth, Gamaliel bar Pedazur, prince of Menasheh;
55. His offering was one silver bowl weighing one hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver sprinkling basin [weighing] seventy shekels according to the holy shekel, both filled with fine flour mixed with olive oil for a meal offering.	55.
56. One spoon [weighing] ten gold [shekels] filled with incense.	56.
57. One young bull, one ram and one lamb in its first year for a burnt offering.	57.
58. One young he goat for a sin offering.	58.
59. And for the peace offering: two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs in their first year; this was the offering of Gamliel the son of Pedazhur.	59.
60. On the ninth day, the chieftain was of the sons of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni.	60. on the ninth, Abidan bar Gideoni, prince of Benjamin;
61. His offering was one silver bowl weighing one hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver sprinkling basin [weighing] seventy shekels according to the holy shekel, both filled with fine flour mixed with olive oil for a meal offering.
62. One spoon [weighing] ten gold [shekels] filled with incense.
63. One young bull, one ram and one lamb in its first year for a burnt offering.
64. One young he goat for a sin offering.
65. And for the peace offering: two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs in their first year; this was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.
66. On the tenth day, the chieftain was of the sons of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.	66. on the tenth, Achiezer bar Amishaddai, prince of the Beni Dan;
67. His offering was one silver bowl weighing one hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver sprinkling basin [weighing] seventy shekels according to the holy shekel, both filled with fine flour mixed with olive oil for a meal offering.
68. One spoon [weighing] ten gold [shekels] filled with incense.
69. One young bull, one ram and one lamb in its first year for a burnt offering.
70. One young he goat for a sin offering.
71. And for the peace offering: two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs in their first year; this was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
72. On the eleventh day, the chieftain was of the sons of Asher, Pag'iel the son of Ochran.	72. on the eleventh, Pagiel bar Achran, prince of Asher;
73. His offering was one silver bowl weighing one hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver sprinkling basin [weighing] seventy shekels according to the holy shekel, both filled with fine flour mixed with olive oil for a meal offering.
74. One spoon [weighing] ten gold [shekels] filled with incense.
75. One young bull, one ram and one lamb in its first year for a burnt offering.
76, One young he goat for a sin offering.
77. And for the peace offering: two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs in their first year; this was the offering of Pag'iel the son of Ochran.
78. On the twelfth day, the chieftain was of the sons of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.	78. and on the twelfth day, Achira bar Enan, prince of the Beni Naphtali, offered.
79. His offering was one silver bowl weighing one hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver sprinkling basin [weighing] seventy shekels according to the holy shekel, both filled with fine flour mixed with olive oil for a meal offering.
80. One spoon [weighing] ten gold [shekels] filled with incense.
81. One young bull, one ram and one lamb in its first year for a burnt offering.
82. One young he goat for a sin offering.
83. And for the peace offering: two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs in their first year; this was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.
84. This was the dedication offering of the altar presented by the chieftains on the day it was anointed; there were twelve silver bowls, twelve silver basins and twelve gold spoons.	84. This is the oblation at the anointing of the altar, on the day that they anointed it, from the riches of the princes of Israel: twelve silver bowls, answering to the twelve tribes; twelve silver vases, answering to the twelve princes of the B’ne Yisrael; twelve golden pans, answering to the twelve signs (mazalot).
85. The weight of each silver bowl was one hundred and thirty [shekels], and that of each basin was seventy [shekels]; all the silver of the vessels weighed in total two thousand four hundred [shekels] according to the holy shekel.	85. One hundred and thirty shekels was the weight of each silver bowl, answering to the years of Jokebed when she bare Mosheh; and seventy shekels was the weight of each vase, answering to the seventy elders of the great Sanhedrin: all the silver vessels, two thousand four hundred shekels, in shekels of the sanctuary.
86. Twelve gold spoons filled with incense; each spoon weighing ten [shekels] according to the holy shekel; all the gold spoons totaled one hundred and twenty shekels.	86. The golden pans were twelve, answering to the princes of Israel, full of good, sweet incense; the weight of ten shekels was the weight of each pan, answering to the Ten Words; all the gold of the pans, one hundred and twenty (shekels), answering to the years lived by Mosheh the prophet.
87. The total of the cattle for the burnt offerings was twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve lambs in their first year with their meal offerings. And [there were] twelve young he goats for sin offerings.	87. All the bullocks for the burnt offering, twelve, a bullock for a prince of the house of the fathers; twelve rams, because the twelve princes of Ishmael would perish; twelve lambs of the year, because the twelve princes of Persia would perish; and their minchas, that famine might be removed from the world; and twelve kids of the goats for the sin offering, to atone for the sins of the twelve tribes.
88. The total of cattle for the peace offerings was twenty-four oxen, sixty rams, sixty he goats, and sixty lambs in their first year. This was the dedication offering for the altar, after it was anointed.	88. And all the oxen for consecrated victims, twenty‑four, answering to the twenty‑four orders (of the priests); the rams, sixty, answering, to the sixty years which Izhak had lived when he begat Jakob; the goats, sixty, answering to the sixty letters in the benediction of the priests; lambs of the year, sixty, to atone for the sixty myriads of Israel. This was the dedication of the altar by anointment on the day that they anointed it.
89. When Moses would come into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he would hear the voice speaking to him from the two cherubim above the covering which was over the Ark of Testimony, and He spoke to him.	89. And when Mosheh entered into the tabernacle of ordinance to speak with Him, he heard the voice of the Spirit who spoke with him descending from the heaven of heavens upon the Mercy Seat which was upon the Ark of the Testimony between the two Cherubim, and from thence was the Oracle speaking with him.

Tehillim (Psalms) 30:1-13 – see page 9

Yehudit (Judith) 15:1 – 16:25 New Jerusalem Bible Version

NJB Judith 15:1 When the men who were still in their tents heard the news they were appalled.

2 Panic-stricken and trembling, no two of them could keep together, the rout was complete, with one accord they fled along every track across the plain or through the mountains.

3 The men who had been bivouacking in the mountains round Bethulia were fleeing too. Then all the Israelite warriors charged down on them.

4 Uzziah sent messengers to Betomasthaim, Bebai, Choba, Kola, throughout the whole territory of Israel, to inform them of what had happened and to urge them all to hurl themselves on the enemy and annihilate them.

5 As soon as the Israelites heard the news, they fell on them as one man and massacred them all the way to Choba. The men of Jerusalem and the entire mountain country also rallied to them, once they had been informed of the events in the enemy camp. Then the men of Gilead and Galilee attacked them on the flank and struck at them fiercely till they neared Damascus and its territory.

6 All the other inhabitants of Bethulia fell on the Assyrian camp and looted it to their great profit.

7 The Israelites returning from the slaughter seized what was left. The hamlets and villages of the mountain country and the plain also captured a great deal of booty since there were vast stores of it.

8 Joakim the high priest and the entire Council of Elders of Israel, who were in Jerusalem, came to gaze on the benefits that the Lord had lavished on Israel and to see Judith and congratulate her.

9 On coming to her house, they blessed her with one accord, saying: You are the glory of Jerusalem! You are the great pride of Israel! You are the highest honour of our race!

10 By doing all this with your own hand you have deserved well of Israel, and God has approved what you have done. May you be blessed by the Lord Almighty in all the days to come! And the people all said, 'Amen!'

11 The people looted the camp for thirty days. They gave Judith the tent of Holofernes, all his silver plate, his divans, his drinking bowls and all his furniture. She took this, loaded her mule, harnessed her carts, and heaped the things into them.

12 All the women of Israel, hurrying to see her, formed choirs of dancers in her honour. Judith took wands of vine-leaves in her hand and distributed them to the women who accompanied her;

13 she and her companions put on wreaths of olive. Then she took her place at the head of the procession and led the women as they danced. All the men of Israel, armed and garlanded, followed them, singing hymns.

14 With all Israel round her, Judith broke into this song of thanksgiving and the whole people sang this hymn:

NJB Judith 16:1 Break into song for my God, to the tambourine, sing in honour of the Lord, to the cymbal, let psalm and canticle mingle for him, extol his name, invoke it!

2 For the Lord is a God who breaks battle-lines; he has pitched his camp in the middle of his people to deliver me from the hands of my oppressors.

3 Assyria came down from the mountains of the north, came with tens of thousands of his army. Their multitude blocked the ravines, their horses covered the hills.

4 He threatened to burn up my country, destroy my young men with the sword, dash my sucklings to the ground, make prey of my little ones, carry off my maidens;

5 but the Lord Almighty has thwarted them by a woman's hand.

6 For their hero did not fall at the young men's hands, it was not the sons of Titans struck him down, no proud giants made that attack, but Judith, the daughter of Merari, who disarmed him with the beauty of her face.

7 She laid aside her widow's dress to raise up those who were oppressed in Israel; she anointed her face with perfume,

8 bound her hair under a turban, put on a linen gown to seduce him.

9 Her sandal ravished his eye, her beauty took his soul prisoner and the scimitar cut through his neck!

10 The Persians trembled at her boldness, the Medes were daunted by her daring.

11 These were struck with fear when my lowly ones raised the war cry, these were seized with terror when my weak ones shouted, and when they raised their voices these gave ground.

12 The children of mere girls ran them through, pierced them like the offspring of deserters. They perished in the battle of my Lord!

13 I shall sing a new song to my God. Lord, you are great, you are glorious, wonderfully strong, unconquerable.

14 May your whole creation serve you! For you spoke and things came into being, you sent your breath, and they were put together, and no one can resist your voice.

15 Should mountains be tossed from their foundations to mingle with the waves, should rocks melt like wax before your face, to those who fear you, you would still be merciful.

16 A little thing indeed is a sweetly smelling sacrifice, still less the fat burned for you in burnt offering; but whoever fears the Lord is great for ever.

17 Woe to the nations who rise against my race! The Lord Almighty will punish them on judgement day. He will send fire and worms in their flesh, and they will weep with pain for evermore.

18 When they reached Jerusalem they fell on their faces before God and, once the people had been purified, they presented their burnt offerings, voluntary offerings and gifts.

19 All Holofernes' property given her by the people, and the canopy she herself had stripped from his bed, Judith vowed to God as a dedicated offering.

20 For three months the people gave themselves up to rejoicings in front of the Temple in Jerusalem, where Judith stayed with them.

21 When this was over, everyone returned home. Judith went back to Bethulia and lived on her property; as long as she lived, she enjoyed a great reputation throughout the country.

22 She had many suitors, but all her days, from the time her husband Manasseh died and was gathered to his people, she never gave herself to another man.

23 Her fame spread more and more, the older she grew in her husband's house; she lived to the age of one hundred and five. She emancipated her maid, then died in Bethulia and was buried in the cave where Manasseh her husband lay.

24 The House of Israel mourned her for seven days. Before her death she had distributed her property among her own relations and those of her husband Manasseh.

25 Never again during the lifetime of Judith, nor indeed for a long time after her death, did anyone trouble the Israelites.

1 Maccabees 13:48 - 16:24

New Jerusalem Bible Version

48 He banished all impurity from it, settled in it people who observed the Law, and having fortified it, built a residence there for himself.

49 The occupants of the Citadel in Jerusalem, prevented as they were from coming out and going into the countryside to buy and sell, were in desperate need of food, and numbers of them were being carried off by starvation.

50 They begged Simon to make peace with them, and he granted this, though he expelled them and purified the Citadel from its pollutions.

51 The Jews made their entry on the twenty-third day of the second month in the year 171, with acclamations and carrying palms, to the sound of lyres, cymbals, and harps, chanting hymns and canticles, since a great enemy had been crushed and thrown out of Israel. Simon made it a day of annual rejoicing.

52 He fortified the Temple hill on the Citadel side and took up residence there with his men.

53 Since his son John had come to manhood, Simon appointed him general-in-chief, with his residence in Gezer.

NJB 1 Maccabees 14:1 In the year 172, King Demetrius assembled his forces and marched into Media to raise help for the fight against Trypho.

2 When Arsaces king of Persia and Media heard that Demetrius had entered his territory, he sent one of his generals to capture him alive.

3 The general defeated the army of Demetrius, seized him, and brought him to Arsaces, who imprisoned him.

4 The country was at peace throughout the days of Simon. He sought the good of his nation and they were well pleased with his authority, as with his magnificence, throughout his life.

5 To crown his titles to glory, he took Joppa and made it a harbour, gaining access to the Mediterranean Isles.

6 He enlarged the frontiers of his nation, keeping his mastery over the homeland,

7 resettling a host of captives. He conquered Gezer, Beth-Zur and the Citadel, ridding them of every impurity, and no one could resist him.

8 The people farmed their land in peace; the land gave its produce, the trees of the plain their fruit.

9 The elders sat at ease in the squares, all their talk was of their prosperity; the young men wore splendid armour.

10 He kept the towns supplied with provisions and furnished with fortifications, until his fame resounded to the ends of the earth.

11 He established peace in the land, and Israel knew great joy.

12 Each man sat under his own vine and his own fig tree, and there was no one to make them afraid.

13 No enemy was left in the land to fight them; the very kings of those times had been crushed.

14 He encouraged the afflicted members of his people, suppressing every wicked man and renegade. He strove to observe the Law,

15 and gave new splendour to the Temple, enriching it with many sacred vessels.

16 When it became known in Rome and as far as Sparta that Jonathan was dead, people were deeply grieved.

17 But as soon as they heard that his brother Simon had succeeded him as high priest and was master of the country and the cities in it,

18 they wrote to him on bronze tablets to renew the treaty of friendship and alliance which they had made with his brothers, Judas and Jonathan,

19 and the document was read out before the assembly in Jerusalem.

20 This is the copy of the letter sent by the Spartans: 'The rulers and the city of Sparta, to Simon the high priest and to the elders and priests and the rest of the people of the Jews, greetings.

21 'The ambassadors whom you sent to our people have informed us of your glory and prosperity, and we are delighted with their visit.

22 We have recorded their declarations in the minutes of our public assemblies, as follows, "Numenius son of Antiochus, and Antipater son of Jason, ambassadors of the Jews, came to us to renew their friendship with us.

23 And it was the people's pleasure to receive these personages with honour and to deposit a copy of their statements in the public archives, so that the people of Sparta might preserve a record of them. A copy was also made for Simon the high priest." '

24 After this, Simon sent Numenius to Rome as the bearer of a large golden shield weighing a thousand mina, to confirm the alliance with them.

25 When these events were reported to our people, they said, 'What mark of appreciation shall we give to Simon and his sons?

26 He stood firm, he and his brothers and his father's house: he fought off the enemies of Israel and secured its freedom.' So, they recorded an inscription on bronze tablets and set it up on pillars on Mount Zion.

27 This is a copy of the text: 'The eighteenth of Elul, in the year 172, being the third year of Simon, eminent high priest:

28 'In Asaramel, in the Grand Assembly of priests and people, of princes of the nation and of elders of the country: 'We are acquainted with the matters following:

29 'When there was almost incessant fighting in the country Simon, son of Mattathias, a priest of the line of Joarib, and his brothers courted danger and withstood their nation's enemies to safeguard the integrity of their sanctuary and of the Law, and so brought their nation great glory;

30 'For when, Jonathan having rallied his nation and become its high priest and having then been gathered to his ancestors,

31 the enemy planned to invade the country, intending to devastate their territory and to lay hands on their sanctuary,

32 Simon next came forward to fight for his nation: spending much of his personal wealth on arming his nation's fighting men and on providing their pay;

33 fortifying the towns of Judaea, as well as Beth-Zur on the Judaean frontier where the enemy arsenal had formerly been, and stationing in it a garrison of Jewish soldiers;

34 fortifying Joppa on the coast, and Gezer on the borders of Azotus, a place formerly inhabited by the enemy, founding a Jewish colony there, and providing the settlers with everything they needed to set them on their feet;

35 'In consequence of which, the people, aware of Simon's loyalty and of the glory which he was determined to win for his nation, have made him their ethnarch and high priest, for all his services and for the integrity and loyalty which he has shown towards his nation, and for having by every means sought to enhance his people's power;

36 'It has fallen to him in his time to expel the foreigners from his country, including those in the City of David in Jerusalem, who had converted it into a citadel for their own use, from which they would sally out to defile the surroundings of the sanctuary and to violate its sacred character;

37 to station Jewish soldiers there instead for the security of the country and the city; and to heighten the walls of Jerusalem;

38 'And since King Demetrius has heard that the Romans call the Jews their friends, allies and brothers,

39 and that they have given an honourable reception to Simon's ambassadors, and, furthermore,

40 that the Jews and priests are happy that Simon should, pending the advent of a genuine prophet, be their ethnarch and high priest for life

41 therefore he has confirmed him in the high-priestly office, has raised him to the rank of Friend and has showered great honours on him, also confirming him as their commander-in-chief,

42 with the right to appoint officials to oversee the fabric of the sanctuary and to administer the country, munitions and fortresses;

43 he is to have personal charge of the sanctuary, and to be obeyed by all; all official documents in the country must be drawn up in his name; and he may assume the purple and may wear golden ornaments;

44 'Furthermore, it is against the law for any member of the public or of the priesthood to contravene any of these enactments or to contest his decisions, or to convene a meeting anywhere in the country without his permission, or to assume the purple or wear the golden brooch;

45 and anyone acting contrary to, or rejecting any article of, these enactments is liable to punishment;

46 'And since the people have unanimously agreed to grant Simon the right to act as aforesaid, and

47 since Simon, for his part, has given his assent, and has consented to assume the high-priestly office and to be commander-in-chief and ethnarch of the Jews and their priests, and to preside over all:

48 'So, be it now enacted: that this record be inscribed on bronze tablets and be erected at some conspicuous place within the precincts of the Temple,

49 and that copies be deposited in the Treasury for Simon and his descendants.'

NJB 1 Maccabees 15:1 Antiochus son of King Demetrius addressed a letter from the Mediterranean Isles to Simon, priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to the whole nation;

2 this was how it read: 'King Antiochus to Simon, high priest and ethnarch, and to the Jewish nation, greetings.

3 'Whereas certain scoundrels have seized control of the kingdom of our fathers, and I propose to claim back the kingdom so that I may re-establish it as it was before, and whereas I have accordingly recruited very large forces and fitted out warships,

4 intending to make a landing in the country and to hunt down the men who have ruined it and laid waste many towns in my kingdom.

5 'I now, therefore, confirm in your favour all remissions of taxes granted to you by the kings my predecessors, as well as the waiving of whatever presents they may have conceded.

6 I hereby authorise you to mint your own coinage as legal tender for your own country.

7 I declare Jerusalem and the sanctuary to be free; all the arms you have manufactured and the fortresses you have built and now occupy may remain yours.

8 All debts to the royal treasury, present or future, are cancelled henceforth in perpetuity.

9 Furthermore, when we have won back our kingdom, we shall bestow such great honour on yourself, your nation and the sanctuary as will make your glory known throughout the world.'

10 Antiochus invaded the land of his ancestors in the year 174 and, since the troops all rallied to him, Trypho was left with few supporters.

11 Antiochus pursued the usurper, who took refuge in Dora on the coast,

12 knowing that misfortunes were piling up on him and that his troops had deserted him.

13 Antiochus pitched camp outside Dora with a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men and eight thousand cavalry.

14 He laid siege to the city while the ships closed in from the sea, so that he had the city under attack from land and sea and allowed no one to go in or come out.

15 Numenius and his companions, meanwhile, arrived from Rome, bringing letters addressed to various kings and states, in the following terms:

16 'Lucius, consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greetings.

17 'The Jewish ambassadors have come to us as our friends and allies to renew our original friendship and alliance in the name of the high priest Simon and the Jewish people.

18 They have brought a golden shield worth a thousand mina.

19 Accordingly, we have seen fit to write to various kings and states, warning them neither to molest the Jewish people nor to attack either them or their towns or their country, nor to ally themselves with any such aggressors.

20 We have seen fit to accept the shield from them.

21 If, therefore, any scoundrels have fled their country to take refuge with you, hand them over to Simon the high priest, to be punished by him according to their law.'

22 The consul sent the same letter to King Demetrius, to Attalus, Ariarathes and Arsaces,

23 and to all states, including Sampsames, the Spartans, Delos, Myndos, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Cos, Side, Arados, Gortyn, Cyprus, and Cyrene.

24 They also drew up a copy for Simon the high priest.

25 Antiochus, meanwhile, from his positions on the outskirts of Dora, was continually throwing detachments against the town. He constructed siege-engines, and blockaded Trypho, preventing movement in or out.

26 Simon sent him two thousand picked men to support him in the fight, with silver and gold and plenty of equipment.

27 But Antiochus would not accept them; instead, he repudiated all his previous agreements with Simon and completely changed his attitude to him.

28 He sent him Athenobius, one of his Friends, to confer with him and say, 'You are now occupying Joppa and Gezer and the Citadel in Jerusalem, which are towns in my kingdom.

29 You have laid waste their territory and done immense harm to the country; and you have seized control of many places properly in my kingdom.

30 Either now surrender the towns you have taken and the taxes from the places you have seized outside the frontiers of Judaea,

31 or else pay me five hundred talents of silver in compensation for them and for the destruction you have done, and another five hundred talents for the taxes from the towns; otherwise, we shall come and make war on you.'

32 When the King's Friend, Athenobius, reached Jerusalem and saw Simon's magnificence, his cabinet of gold and silver plate and the state he kept, he was dumbfounded. He delivered the king's message,

33 but Simon gave him this answer, 'We have not taken foreign territory or any alien property but have occupied our ancestral heritage, for some time unjustly wrested from us by our enemies;

34 now that we have a favourable opportunity, we are merely recovering our ancestral heritage.

35 As regards Joppa and Gezer, which you claim, these were towns that did great harm to our people and laid waste our country; we are prepared to give a hundred talents for them.' Without so much as a word in answer,

36 the envoy went back to the king in a rage and reported on Simon's answer and his magnificence, and on everything he had seen, at which the king fell into a fury.

37 Trypho now boarded a ship and escaped to Orthosia.

38 The king appointed Cendebaeus military governor of the coastal region and allotted him a force of infantry and cavalry.

39 He ordered him to deploy his men facing Judaea and instructed him to rebuild Kedron and fortify its gates, and to make war on our people, while the king himself went in pursuit of Trypho.

40 Cendebaeus arrived at Jamnia and began to provoke our people forthwith, invading Judaea, taking prisoners, and massacring.

41 Having rebuilt Kedron, he stationed cavalry and troops there to make sorties and patrol the roads of Judaea, as the king had ordered.

NJB 1 Maccabees 16:1 John then went up from Gezer and reported to his father Simon what Cendebaeus was busy doing.

2 At this, Simon summoned his two elder sons, Judas, and John, and said to them, 'My brothers and I, and my father's House, have fought the enemies of Israel from our youth until today, and many a time we have been successful in rescuing Israel.

3 But now I am an old man, while you, by the mercy of Heaven, are the right age; take the place of my brother and myself, go out and fight for our nation, and may Heaven's aid be with you.'

4 He then selected twenty thousand of the country's fighting men and cavalry, and these marched against Cendebaeus, spending the night at Modein.

5 Making an early start, they marched into the plain, to find a large army opposing them, both infantry and cavalry; there was, however, a streambed in between.

6 John drew up facing them, he and his army and, seeing that the men were afraid to cross the streambed, crossed over first himself. When his men saw this, they too crossed after him.

7 He divided his army into two, with the cavalry in the centre and the infantry on either flank, as the opposing cavalry was very numerous.

8 The trumpets rang out; Cendebaeus and his army were put to flight, many of them falling mortally wounded and the rest of them fleeing to the fortress.

9 Then it was that Judas, John's brother, was wounded, but John pursued them until Cendebaeus reached Kedron, which he had rebuilt.

10 Their flight took them as far as the towers in the countryside of Azotus, and John burnt these down. The enemy losses amounted to ten thousand men; John returned safely to Judaea.

11 Ptolemy son of Abubos had been appointed general in command of the Plain of Jericho; he owned a great deal of silver and gold,

12 and was the high priest's son-in-law.

13 His ambition was fired; he hoped to make himself master of the whole country and therefore treacherously began to plot the destruction of Simon and his sons.

14 Simon, who was inspecting the towns up and down the country and attending to their administration, had come down to Jericho with his sons Mattathias and Judas, in the year 172, in the eleventh month, the month of Shebat.

15 The son of Abubos lured them into a small fortress called Dok, which he had built, where he offered them a great banquet, having previously hidden men in the place.

16 When Simon and his sons were drunk, Ptolemy and his men reached for their weapons, rushed on Simon in the banqueting hall and killed him with his two sons and some of his servants.

17 He thus committed a great act of treachery and rendered evil for good.

18 Ptolemy wrote a report of the affair and sent it to the king, in the expectation of being sent reinforcements and of having the cities and the province made over to him.

19 He also sent people to Gezer to murder John, and sent written orders to the military commanders to come to him so that he could give them silver, gold and presents;

20 and he also sent others to seize control of Jerusalem and the Temple mount.

21 But someone had been too quick for him and had already informed John in Gezer that his father and brothers had perished, adding, 'He is sending someone to kill you too!'

22 Overcome as John was by the news, he arrested the men who had come to kill him and put them to death, being forewarned of their murderous design.

23 The rest of John's acts, the battles he fought and the exploits he performed, the city walls he built, and all his other achievements,

24 from the day he succeeded his father as high priest, are recorded in the annals of his pontificate.

Zechariah 14:6-7

6 In that day, there shall be neither sunlight nor cold moonlight,

7 but there shall be a continuous day -- only the LORD knows when -- of neither day nor night, and there shall be light at eventide.

1 John 5:13-21

By: Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham &

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

13 These things I have written to you who have confidence in (or adhere to) the authority of the son of God (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel – i.e., take upon yourselves the yokes of the kingdom and of the Torah), that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may adhere to the authority of the son of God (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel – i.e., taking upon yourselves the yokes of the kingdom and of the Torah).

14 And this is the confidence that we have before Him (i.e., G-d): that if we ask anything [in] accordance to His (i.e., G-d’s) will, He (G-d) hears us.

15 And if we know that He hears us [in] whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked from Him.

16 If anyone should see his brother sinning a sin not unto the death penalty, he will ask [for G-d’s forgiveness], and He will grant life to him, for those who sin not unto the death penalty. (There is a sin unto the death penalty; I do not say that he should ask about that.

17 All unrighteousness/injustices is sin, and [there] are sins not unto the death penalty.)

18 We know that everyone who is fathered (begotten) by God does not [habitually and continually] sin, but the one fathered (begotten) by God, [He] protects him, and the evil one (i.e., HaSatan) does not touch him [without G-d’s permission].

19 We know that we are from God, and the whole [pagan] world lies in the power of the evil one [i.e., HaSatan].

20 And we know that the son of God (i.e., the King Messiah of Israel) has come and has given us understanding, that we may intimately know the one who is true [i.e., the Torah tabernacling in the flesh], and we are in him who is true [i.e., the Torah tabernacling in the flesh], in His son Yeshua the Messiah King of Israel. This one is the true Elohim (Judge) and [bringer of] eternal life.

21 My sons, guard/keep yourselves from idols, Amen!

END OF THE READINGS FOR THE EIGHTH DAY OF CHANUKA

We have been worthy to begin and complete all the readings for the eight days of the Festival of Chanuka 5786. So may we be worthy of enjoying this festival again. May Eliyahu the Tishbite come, who is called the one who will “restore the heart of the fathers to the children” (Malachi 3:24). And from him we will seek G-d to explain all these readings in “seventy ways.” Amen ve Amen, may this be His will! Praise to G-d, most blessed be He, Creator of the ages!

Some Memorable Quotes About Chanukah

“Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return, it asks not whether you are friend or foe, it gives of itself and it is not thereby diminished.”

Author Unknown

“Love is not consolation. It is light!”

Friedrich Nietzsche

“What is to give light must endure burning.”

Dr. Victor Frankl

“There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

Edith Wharton

“We cannot hold a torch or a candle to light another’s path without brightening our own.”

Ben Sweetland

Psalms

“Your Torah is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Psalm 119:105

“Light is sown for the righteous/generous, And gladness for the upright in heart.”

Psalm 97:11

“For You will light my candle: Ha-Shem my God does lighten my darkness.”

Psalm 18:29

Chag Chanukah Sameach!

Upcoming Shabbat 7th of Tevet, Dec 27^th

Shabbat “Khi Tetse LaMilchamah” – “When you go out to battle”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
כִּי-תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה		Saturday Afternoon
“Khi Tetse LaMilchamah”	Reader 1 – Devarim 20:10-20	Reader 1 – Devarim 23:10-12
“When you go out to battle”	Reader 2 – Devarim 21:1-9	Reader 2- Devarim 23:13-15
“Cuando salgas a la guerra”	Reader 3 – Devarim 21:10-23	Reader 3- Devarim 23:16-18
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 21:10 – 23:9	Reader 4 – Devarim 22:1-14
Tehillim (Psalms) 129:1 – 132:18	Reader 5 – Devarim 22:15-22	Monday & Thursday Mornings
Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 2:4-7 + 12-17	Reader 6 – Devarim 22:23-29	Reader 1 - Devarim 23:10-12
	Reader 7 – Devarim 23:1-9	Reader 2- Devarim 23:13-15
N.C.: Mark 15:16-28, Luke 23:26-34	Maftir – Devarim 23:7-9	Reader 3- Devarim 23:16-18

Summary of the Torah Seder – Devarim (Deuteronomy) 21:10 – 23:9

· Marriage with a Captive of War – Deuteronomy 21:10-14

· The Right of the First-Born – Deuteronomy 21:15-17

· A Disobedient Son – Deuteronomy 21:18-21

· The Exposed Corpse of a Criminal – Deuteronomy 21:22-23

· Restoring Lost Property – Deuteronomy 22:1-3

· Assisting To Lift Fallen Beasts – Deuteronomy 22:4

· Distinction of Sex in Apparel – Deuteronomy 22:5-7

· MISCELLANEOUS LAWS – Deut. 22:6-12

· Sparing the Mother-Bird – Deut. 22:6-7

· Parapets to House Roofs – Deut. 22:8

· Against Mixing Seeds – Deut. 22:9

· Yoking an Ox And an Ass – Deut 22:10

· Sha’atnes – Deut. 22:11

· Tzitzit – Deut. 22:12

· HOLINESS OF MARRIAGE – Deut. 22:13- 23:9

· Charges Against a Bride – Deut. 22:13-21

· Adultery – Deut. 22:22

· A Betrothed Virgin – Deut. 22:23-27

· A Virgin Not Betrothed – Deut. 22:28-29

· Prohibition of Marriage with Stepmother – Deut. 23:1

· Classes Excluded From the Congregation – Deut. 23:2-9

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez By: Rabbi Shmuel Yerushalmi Translated by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1991)  Vol.18 – Deuteronomy – IV – “Laws and Warnings” Vol.18 pp. 3-57

Ramban: Deuteronomy Commentary on the Torah Translated and Annotated by Rabbi Dr. Charles Chavel Published by Shilo Publishing House, Inc. (New York, 1976) pp. 247 - 285

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] The Milstein Edition, Artscroll Publications, The Prophets. Pg. 493.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid

[4] For a comparison of the feminine image of God, see - Isaiah 42:13–14; 45:10; 49:14–15. It seems this metaphor of labor and childbirth is applied to both HaShem and to his people, Israel, and Zion / Jerusalem.

[5] The Milstein Edition, Artscroll Publications, The Prophets. Pg.497.

[6] Ibid.

^[7] Torah Nevi’im U-Khetuvim. The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic Text. (Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society of USA, 1917), Is 66:12. All quotes from here unless otherwise noted.

[8] The Prophets, Milstein Edition, Isaiah 66, Pg. 499.

^[9] English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Th 1:6–10. My adjusted translation is within [brackets].

^[10] Ibid. - 2 Pe 3:11–13.

[11] The Prophets, Milstein Edition, Isaia 66, Pg. 499.

[12] The Prophets, Milstein Edition, Pg.499. - 7725. שׁוּב šûḇ: A verb meaning to turn, to return, to go back, to do again, to change, to withdraw, to bring back, to reestablish, to be returned, to bring back, to take, to restore, to recompense, to answer.  The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament (AMG Publishers, 2003), 1108.

^[13] The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 374.

[14] The Prophets, Pg.501.

[15] IBN EZRA On your new moons. Moses Gikatilla (may he rest in Paradise!) says that “your” new moon must refer specifically to the new moon of Nisan, the only month of which we are told, “This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months” (Exod. 12:2). Only later will we be told that this shall also be the monthly burnt offering “for each new moon of the year” (v. 14). And his explanation is correct. One might argue that our phrase refers to “new moons” in the plural. But we see (from 1 Sam. 20:5) that ḥodesh by itself means “new moon.” So, the rosh ḥodesh of our verse must mean the “chief,” most important, new moon —those of Nisan. He is therefore quite correct.

[16] These were the three great festivals of the year—the Passover (Exod. 12:3–20, 27, 43; Lev. 23:4–8; Deut. 16:1–8); the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) (Exod. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 23:15–21; Numb. 28:26; Deut. 16:8–12); and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). (Exod.23:16; Lev. 23:33–44; Numb. 29:13–40; Deut. 16:13–15)

^[17] RSV (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), 2 Ch 2:4.

[18] Talk thru the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1980, Pg.191, 198.

[19] Ibid

^[20] ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Introductory comments to the book of Jonah. 2 Kings 14:25 mentions Jonah as living during the time of Jeroboam II (about 793–753 BCE.).

[21] The Jewish Study Bible, Pg. 915, footnote to verse 18-21.

^[22] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 66:23.

[23] H3605 & H1320 - This word is used in the phrase kōl (3605) bāśār, meaning all flesh, to indicate all living beings (Gen. 6:17, 19; 7:21); animals (Gen. 7:15, 16; 8:17); humanity (Gen. 6:12, 13).

^[24]  ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 66:10–11.

^[25] Opening comments taken from: David J. Clark and Howard A. Hatton, A Handbook on Zechariah, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 2002), Pg. 1-15.

^[26]  ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), All scripture ref. ESV unless otherwise noted.

[27] 7069. קָנָה qānāh: I. A verb meaning to buy, to purchase, to acquire, to possess. It is used with God as its subject to mean His buying back His people, redeeming them.  Also used as, A verb meaning to create, to bring forth.

[28]  5080. נָדַח nāḏaḥ: I. A verb meaning to banish, to drive away, to scatter. It is used in various ways to indicate the idea of forcefully removing, impelling, or driving out: the scattering of Israel into exile (Deut. 30:1, 4; Jer. 40:12; 43:5; 46:28; Mic. 4:6) --- 6908. קָבַץ  qāḇaṣ: A verb meaning to gather, to collect, to assemble. The passive form is used to signify the gathering or assembling of people, especially for battle (Josh. 9:2; Neh. 4:20[14]; Jer. 49:14); and for religious and national purposes (1 1 Chr. 11:1; Ezra 10:1, 7).

[29] 5310. נָפַץ nāp̱aṣ: I. A verb meaning to shatter, to break, to smash. It describes the action of shattering or breaking something: pitchers. It is also used as A verb meaning to spread out, to disperse, to scatter.  It used to indicate the dispersal of peoples across the earth. It also seems to carry the idea of violence more so then # 5080.

[30] Abarbanel understands that those gathered from the four corners are the remnant or remainder of both the castaways of Israel and the dispersed of Judah.

[31] In Hebrew there is 1^st, 2sd and 3^rd person tenses.

[32] David Kimhi (1160-1250 also known as his Hebrew acronym Radak, was a medieval Rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher, and grammarian.

[33] LORD OF HOSTS (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yhwh tseva'oth). A phrase describing God's role as the Lord of the heavenly armies, the commander of the cosmic forces, the head of the divine council, and the leader of Israel’s army. The phrase “Lord of Hosts” communicates God’s role as a warrior who fights both in the cosmic conflict against divine forces and through human historical events for His people, Israel. The phrase appears 285 times in the Old Testament, with a high concentration in the Prophets (especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi). Evidently, the meaning of the title is that all created agencies and forces are under the leadership or dominion of God, who made and maintains them (Gen 2:1; Isa 45:12). Some would take the name to mean “Militant LORD,” “Powerful LORD,” or the like. A few scholars stress the military aspect of the epithet; others deny it or prefer to stress the royal aspects. No doubt the epithet denotes all these elements; they are not mutually exclusive.

[34] Soncino Books of the Bible, Zech. Pg 276-284.

^[35] Kenneth L. Barker, “Zechariah,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 7 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), 618.

[36] 5782. עוּר ʿûr: I. A verb meaning to stir, to arouse, to awaken. It is used of raising something or someone to action, of agitating someone, of motivating him or her. It is used of stirring oneself to action (Judg. 5:12;   of the Lord’s arousing Himself or His arm (Ps. 7:6[7]; Isa. 51:9). In its passive use, it means to be stirred up (Jer. 6:22; 25:32; Zech. 4:1). It means to rouse someone to action (Zech. 9:13).

[37] The Prophets, Milstein Edition, Pg. 403.

[38] The same word as in footnote 12. This could be understood as both asleep and in such a deep state of meditation that the angel had to rouse him from his deep thoughts.

[39] The Prophets, The Milstein Edition, Pg.411-413.

[40] Verbal connection to D’barim 16:10

[41] Verbal connection to D’barim 15:7

[42] We surmise from materials and commentaries on this verse that Pilate released a prisoner because he revered Dionysus and esteemed the City of Dionysia of this Roman deity.

The Athenian Anthesteria were pan of a wider cycle of Dionysiac festivals which extended from the Rural Dionysia in Posideon (December-January) via Lcnaia (in Gamelion, January-February) and Anthesteria to the City Dionysia in Elaphebolion (March-April). Every festival projected its own image of Dionysiac epiphany.

Brill. (1999). Dictionary of Deities and Demon in the Bible (2 ed.). (K. v. Toom, B. Becking, & P. W. van der Horst, Eds.) Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p 254

Unlike many pagan festivals, which occurred in the spring, which celebrated fertility the Dionysian festival in March/April, was associated with violence. Merrit, “Jesus Barabbas” determined at the Dionysian festival a single prisoner was released. Although the “prisoner” released in the Dionysian festival was not acquitted. He was only released in order to participate in the festival. Consequently, Pilate’s “custom” may have originated in a pagan festival. Craig Evans tries to make a case that the Mishnah (Pes. 8:6) details this custom. However, while his thesis is plausible, the argument is unconvincing. Given the Roman bent towards mythology I opt for the solution above.

[43] It should be a matter of common logic that the crowd was of the Tz’dukim for three reasons. The P’rushim were presently occupied in Pesach preparations and that they “came up” or “went up” indicates that they went to the Hasmonean fortress, Antonia at the Northwestern corner of the Temple mount isolating the incident from the Temple area proper. Thirdly, because the P’rushim was ready to offer their Korban Pesach they would have been is a state of ritual purity excluding them from entering Gentile homes or edifices.

[44] Verbal connection to D’barim 15:9

[45] The repetitive use of “King of the Jews” whereby Pilate guarantees Yeshua’s conviction and death.

[46] מסכת; lit. "web” — Tractate

[47] Yad Avraham Institute. (2008). The Mishnah, Artscroll Mishnah Series, A New Translation with Commentary Yad Avraham Anthologized from Talmudic Sources and Classic Commentators, (Vol. IIa). (R. Y. Danziger, Ed., & R. M. Roberts, Trans.) Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, ltd. p. 241

[48] Use of “Zealot” may be anachronistic. Nevertheless, it serves well to demonstrate the character of the insurrectionist.

[49] Cf. Mark 11:17; 12:13-17

[50] λῃστής, οῦ, ὁ (1) robber, bandit, highwayman, one who seizes by violence, in contrast to a thief (κλέπτης), who uses stealth (LU 10.30); (2) politically insurrectionist, revolutionary, rebel who favors the use of force (JN 18.40); (3) figuratively, of unscrupulous, greedy, or overambitious leaders (JN 10.8) Friberg, T., Friberg, B., & Miller, N. F. (2000). Vol. 4: Analytical lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Baker's Greek New Testament library (246). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

[51] Cf. Mark 15:6,9,11,15

[52] Martin Hengel purports the idea that only slaves were flogged before their execution by crucifixion. If this is true and Hakham Tsefet knew of this particular practice, he would have been further solidifying his relation to the Year of Release, the Shimitah. See e.g Moloney, F. J. (2002). The Gospel of Mark, A Commentary. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers. 316 noote 201, Hengel, M. (1977). Crucifixion in the Ancient world and the folly of the Cross. (J. Bowden, Trans.) London: SCM Press. pp. 51—63

[53] m. Ber 1:1