Esnoga Bet Emunah

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Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Reading Cycle
Ellul 4, 5767 – August 17/18, 2007	Sixth Year of the Sh’mita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Havdalah Times

San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Brisbane, Australia:

Friday, August 17, 2007 – Candles at: 7:55 PM Friday, August 17, 2007 – Candles at: 5:09 PM

Saturday, August 18, 2007 – Havdalah 8:49 PM Saturday, August 18, 2007 – Havdalah 6:03 PM

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Singapore, Singapore

Friday August 17, 2007 – Candles at 8:05 PM Friday, August 17, 2007 – Candles at: 6:55 PM

Saturday, August 18, 2007 – Havdalah 9:01 PM Saturday, August 18, 2007 – Havdalah 7:45 PM

For other places see: http://chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.asp

Shabbat Nahamu IV – 4^th Sabbath of “Our Consolation”

4^th Sabbath of the Consolation of Israel

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
כִּי-תִשְׂטֶה
“Ki-Tisteh”	Reader 1 – B’midbar 5:11-16	Reader 1 – B’midbar: 6:22-27
“When goes astray”	Reader 2 – B’midbar 5:17-22	Reader 2 – B’midbar: 7:1-5
“Cuando se desvía”	Reader 3 – B’midbar 5:23-28	Reader 3 – B’midbar: 7:6-11
B’midbar (Num.) 5:11 – 6:21	Reader 4 – B’midbar 5:29-31
Ashlamatah: Hosea 4:14 – 5:2 + 6:1-2	Reader 5 – B’midbar 6:1-8
Special Ashlamatah: Is. 51:12 – 52:12	Reader 6 – B’midbar 6:9-12	Reader 1 – B’midbar: 6:22-27
Psalm 94	Reader 7 – B’midbar 6:13-21	Reader 2 – B’midbar: 7:1-5
	Maftir – B’midbar 6:19-21	Reader 3 – B’midbar: 7:6-11
N.C.: Matityahu 19:16-22	Is. 51:12 – 52:12

Roll of Honor:

This Torah commentary comes to you courtesy of His Honor Paqid Adon Hillel ben David and most beloved family, and that of Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah and beloved family, as well as that of His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann and beloved family and that of His Excellency Adon John Batchelor and beloved wife, and that of His Excellency Adon Ezra ben Abraham and his beloved wife Giberet Karmela bat Sarah. For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that G-d’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all Yisrael, amen ve amen! Also a great thank you to all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Seder.

If you want to subscribe to our list and ensure that you never lose any of our commentaries, or would like your friends also to receive this commentary, please do send me an E-Mail to ravybh@optusnet.com.au with your E-Mail or the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for:

B’Midbar (Numbers): 5:11 – 6:21

RASHI	TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN
11. Adonai spoke to Moshe, saying;	11. And the Lord spoke with Mosheh, saying:
12. Speak to B’ne Yisrael and say to them: If any man's wife goes astray and acts treacherously toward him.	12. Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them: If the wife of any man go astray and commit wrongness against him,
13. And a man has lain with her conjugally but it was hidden from her husband's eyes and she was concealed and has become defiled and there is no witness against her, and she was not seized forcibly.	13. and another man lie with her, and it be hidden from her husband's eyes, and be concealed, and she be contaminated: or, if the testimony be not clear which is witnessed against her, and she be not convicted;
14. [When] a spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he is jealous of his wife and she was defiled or, a spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he is jealous of his wife and she was not defiled,	14. or, if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, that she has been defiled, or the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, yough she has not been defiled;
15. that man will bring his wife to the Kohen and he will bring her offering for her; [which is] one tenth of an epha of barley flour; he will not pour oil over it and he will not put frankincense on it, for it is a meal-offering of jealousy, a meal-offering of remembrance, recalling an iniquity.	15. and yough that man may have not brought separation or tithe, there is constraint upon him to bring his wife unto the priest. Now, because she may have brought delicacies to the adulterer, she ought to bring an appointed oblation of her own, a tenth of three sata of barley flour, that being the food of beasts: he will not pour oil, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is a mincha (on account) of jealousy, a mincha of a memorial which calls guilt to mind.
16. The Kohen will bring her near and station her before Adonai.	16. And the priest will bring her near, and cause her to stand before the Lord.
17. The Kohen will take sanctified waters in a clay utensil, and of the earth that will be on the floor of the Mishkan, the Kohen will take and put into the water.	17. And the priest will take holy water from the laver with an ewer, and pour it into an earehen vessel; because she may have brought the adulterer sweet wine to drink in precious vases; and he will take of the dust that is upon the ground of the tabernacle,-because the end of all flesh is dust,- and put it into the water.
18. The Kohen will station the woman before Adonai, and expose the woman's hair, and place, on her palms the meal-offering of remembrance; it is a meal-offering of jealousy and there will be in the Kohen's hand, the bitter, lethal waters.	18. And the priest will cause the woman to stand before the Lord, and bind a cord over her loins and upon her breast,- because she should have bound her loins with a girdle; and he will uncover the woman's head, because she had tied a fillet upon her hair. And he will put the mincha of memorial, the mincha of jealousy, into her hand; while in the hand of the priest will be the bitter water of the trial.
19. The Kohen will place her under oath and say to the woman: If a man has not lain with you [conjugally] and if you have not gone astray to be defiled while you were married to your husband, you will be absolved of these bitter, lethal waters.	19. And the priest will adjure her by the adjuration of the Great and Glorious Name, and will say to the woman: If you have not turned aside, to defile yourself by acting against the right of thy husband, be you unhurt by these bitter waters of trial. [JERUSALEM. Be you made innocent by these waters of trial by their probation.]
20. [But] you, if you have gone astray while you were married to your husband, and if you have been defiled, and if a man has lain conjugally with you, [a man] other than your husband.	20. But if you have turned aside against the right of thy husband, and are defiled in having shared the bed with a man against your husband's right:
21. The Kohen will place the woman under oath with the oath of accursedness, and the Kohen will say to the woman: "Adonai will make you a curse and an oath among your people, when Adonai causes your thigh to collapse and your abdomen to swell.	21. Then will the priest adjure the woman by the oath of malediction, and say to the woman,-The Lord make you a curse and an execration among the children of your people, in causing your thigh to corrupt, and your belly to swell;. and may these waters of trial enter into your bowels, to cause your belly to swell, and your thigh to corrupt.
22. This bitter, lethal water will enter your abdomen to swell the abdomen, and collapse the thigh and the woman will say “Amen, Amen.”	22. And the woman will answer and say: Amen, if I was polluted when betrothed; Amen, if I have been polluted since my marriage. [JERUSALEM. And the woman will answer, Amen, because I have not been unclean; Amen, if ever I will have wrought uncleanness.]
23. The Kohen will write all these curses, on the scroll and dissolve them (the writing) in the bitter waters.	23. And the priest will write these maledictions upon a parchment, and wash it out with the water of trial,
24. He will have the woman drink the bitter, lethal waters and the lethal waters, will enter her to become bitter.	24. and cause the woman to drink the bitter trial water: the trial water of malediction will be received by her.
25. The Kohen will take from the woman's hand the meal-offering of jealousy and he will wave the meal-offering before Adonai, and bring it close to the Altar.	25. But the priest will (first) take from the woman's hand the mincha of jealousy, and uplift the mincha before the Lord, and lay it on the side of the altar.
26. The Kohen will scoop out from the meal-offering its commemoration and burn it on the Altar, and after that he will cause the woman to drink the water.	26. And the priest will take a handful of the portion for its memorial, and burn it at the altar; and after that the woman will drink the water.
27. He will make her drink the water, and it will be that if she had been defiled and had deceived her husband, the lethal waters will enter her to become bitter, and her abdomen will swell and her thigh will collapse, and the woman will be a curse among her people.	27. And when he has caused her to drink the water, it will be that if she has been defiled by adultery, and has acted with wrongness against her husband, those proving waters will enter into her with a curse, and her belly will swell, and her thigh become corrupt, and the woman will be an execration among the children of her people. The adulterer as well will be detected by these waters of probation, in whatever place he may be.
28. But if the woman was not defiled and [she] is pure, she will be cleansed and will bear seed.	28. But if the woman has not been defiled by adultery, but is innocent, they will enter without harm, and her brightness will shine forth, and she will find affection before her husband, and become the mother of a son.
29. This is the law of jealousies, when a woman goes astray during her marriage to her husband and is defiled.	29. This is the declaration of the law of jealousy, when a woman has fallen away from the right of her husband, and become defiled by adultery;
30. If a man is overcome with a spirit of jealousy and he is jealous of his wife, then he will have the woman stand before Adonai, and the Kohen will do unto her all of these laws.	30. or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, that he be so jealous of his wife as to make her stand before the Lord, then will the priest perform all this law.
31. The man is cleansed of sin and that woman will bear [ the burden of] her iniquity.	31. But if the man be innocent of transgressions, then let that woman bear her iniquity/lawlessness.
1. Adonai spoke to Moshe, saying;	1. And the Lord spoke with Mosheh, saying:
2. Speak to B’ne Yisrael and say to them: If a man or a woman sets apart a vow, a nazirite vow, to set [himself] apart for Adonai.	2. Speak with the children of Israel, and say to them: When a man or, woman, seeing her who had gone astray in her corruption, will (resolve to) become abstinent from wine, or for any other cause will make the vow of a Nazir in separating one'- self unto the Name of the Lord,
3. From new or old [intoxicating] wine, he must abstain. Vinegar made from new wine and vinegar made from old wine he will not drink; anything steeped in grapes he will not drink; moist grapes or dried grapes (raisins) he will not eat.	3. he will abstain from wine, new and old, he will drink neither vinegar of old wine or new; neither may he drink liquor in which grapes have been crushed, nor eat of grapes either fresh or dried. [JERUSALEM. From wine, new or old, be will abstain, (keep apart,) and vinegar of old wine he may not drink, nor any liquor. of grapes.]
4. As long as he is a Nazir from anything made of the grape-vine, from seeds to skin, he will not eat.	4. All the days of his vow he will not eat of the tree which makes wine, from the husks of grapes even to the kernels within them.
5. As long as he is under his nazirite oath a razor will not pass over [to touch] his head. Until he completes his days as a Nazir to Adonai he will be sacred, he will let the hair of his head grow long.	5. All the days of his nazir-vow the razor will not pass upon his head until the time when the days of his separation to the Name of the Lord be fulfilled; he will be consecrate, letting the hair of his head grow.
6. All the days that he is a Nazir to Adonai, he will have no contact with the dead.	6. All the days of his separation to the Name of the Lord he will not go in where there is a dead man.
7. For his father, mother, brother and sister he will not [ritually] defile himself for them when they die. For, the nazirite crown of his G-d is upon his head.	7. For his father, or his mother, his brother, or his sister, he will not make himself unclean through their decease; for the crown of Elohim is upon his head;
8. All the days of his separation, he is sacred to Adonai.	8. all the days in which he is a Nazir lie will be sacred before the Lord.
9. If someone died near him suddenly, or unexpectedly, and caused his nazirite crowned head to be defiled, he will shave his head on the day of his purification, he will shave it on the seventh day.	9. But if a person die near him suddenly, and he unawares defile the head of his vow, let him shave his head on the day of his purification; on the seventh day let him shave it.
10. On the eighth day he will take two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the Kohen, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.	10. And on the eighth day let him bring two turtle doves, or two young pigeons, unto the priest at the door of the tabernacle of ordinance.
11. The Kohen will prepare one for a sin-offering and one for a burnt-offering and atone on his behalf from his sin [of contact] with a [departed] soul, and he will sanctify his head on that day.	11. And the priest will make one a sin offering, and one a burnt offering, and atone for him on account of that in which be has sinned, in defiling himself by the dead: and he will consecrate his head on that day.
12. He will set apart, for Adonai, his nazirite days, and bring a sheep in its first year as a guilt-offering. The first days will elapse because his nazirite crown was defiled.	12. And let him dedicate before the Lord the days of his nazirate (afresh), and bring a lamb of the year for a trespass offering; but the former days will have been in vain, because he had defiled his nazirate.
13. This is the law of the Nazir: when the days of his nazirite status are fulfilled, he will bring himself to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.	13. And this is the law of the Nazir on the day when his separation days are fulfilled: Let him present himself at the door of the tabernacle of ordinance,
14. He will bring his offering to Adonai; one unblemished sheep, in its first year, as a burnt-offering, and one unblemished ewe, in its first year as a sin-offering, and one unblemished ram as a peace-offering,	14. and bring his oblation before the Lord, one lamb of the year unblemished for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the year unblemished for a sin offering, and one ram unblemished for the consecrated oblation;
15. A basket of matzah of fine flour, loaves mixed with oil and matzah-wafers spread with oil and their meal-offerings and libations.	15. and a basket of unleavened cakes of flour with olive oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with olive oil, their minchas and libations.
16. The Kohen will bring it before Adonai and do the service of his sin-offering and of his burnt-offering.	16. And the priest will offer before the Lord, and perform the sin offering, and the burnt sacrifice;
17. He will make the ram a peace-offering for Adonai along with the basket of matzah, and the Kohen will do the service of his meal-offering and libation.	17. and make the ram a consecrated victim (peace offering) before the Lord, with the basket of unleavened; and the priest will make its mincha and its libation.
18. The Nazir will shave--- at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting--- the nazirite crown of hair on his head, and he will take the hair from the nazirite crown on his head and put it in the fire which is under the peace-offering sacrifice.	18. And the Nazir will shave his consecrated head, without, after the offering of the holy oblations at the door of the tabernacle of ordinance, and take the hair of his consecrated head, and lay it on the fire that is under the cauldron of the peace offering.
19. The Kohen will take the cooked foreleg from the ram and one matzah-loaf from the basket, and one matzah-wafer, and put it on the palms of the Nazir after he has shaved his nazirite crown.	19. And the priest will take the shoulder that is boiled, entire from the ram, and one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put upon the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved his head of the consecration.
20. The Kohen will wave them as a wave-offering, before Adonai. It is consecrated to the Kohen besides the breast of the wave-offering and the separated thigh portion. After this, the Nazir may drink wine.	20. And the priest will uplift them for an elevation. It is sacred; it belongs to the priest, with the breast of the elevation, and the separated shoulder. And after that the Nazirite may drink wine.
21. This is the law of the Nazir who has vowed--- [this is] his offering to Adonai for his nazirite vow, aside from what he can afford to bring according to his vow that he vows. So will he fulfill in addition to the laws of his nazirite [vows.]	21. This is the declaration of the law of the Nazir who will have vowed his oblation before the Lord for his separation, besides what may come into his hand according to the rule (or measure) of his vow, to bring that which he had vowed; so will he do according to the law of his nazirate.

Midrash B’Midbar Rabba to Numbers 5:11 – 6:21

1. IF ANY MAN'S WIFE GO ASIDE, etc. (V, 12). This bears on what is written in Scripture, Of the Rock that begot you, you were unmindful, etc. (Deut. XXXII, 18). ‘Of the Rock that begot you’ bears on what is written in Scripture, The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, etc. (Job XXIV, 15). The adulterer thinks, ‘No human being knows about me’; because all his actions are only in the dark. In the same strain it says, Passing through the street near her corner, and he went the way to her house; in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the blackness of night and the darkness (Prov. VII, 8 f.). He thinks that because he commits his deeds in the dark the Holy One, blessed be He, is not aware of him. In a like strain also it says, Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say: Who sees us? and who knows us? (Isa. XXIX, 15). For this is the way of all who commit transgression. They imagine that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not see their deeds. In the same strain it says, Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the topmost of the stars, how high they are! And you say: What does God know?... Thick clouds are a covering to Him, that He sees not... Will you keep the old way? etc. (Job XXII, 12 ff.). It is in this same strain that it says, ‘The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying: No eye will see me.’ It does not say, ‘No man will see me’ but ‘No eye will see me’, implying, ‘No mundane eye below and no heavenly eye above.’ What is the signification of the text, And sether puts a face (ib. XXIV, I5)? It denotes that the Holy One, blessed be He, who dwells in secret (sether), will set the features of the adulterer upon the offspring. For the adulterer and adulteress desire that there should be no conception but that they should merely gratify their lust. The Holy One, blessed be He, however, exposes them so that people should recognize the offspring, and say, ‘The face of this child is the face of the adulterer,’ for He fashioned the features of the embryo in the likeness of the adulterer. This explains the text, ‘And sether puts a face.’ The reason why adultery is called zimmah [lit. ‘lewdness’] is that when both parties deny their crime and assert, ‘We have not committed any transgression,’ people retort, ‘If that is true, then what is this (ze mahu) [the facial evidence of the embryo]?’

Nor must you suppose that the features of the infant resemble those of the adulterer only when the adulteress conceives from the adulterer. No! Even if she conceived from her husband and the adulterer then cohabited with her, the Holy One, blessed be He, transforms the features of the child into those of the adulterer. Accordingly it says, ’Of the Rock that begot you, you were unmindful’ (forgetting that He would expose you).

R. Isaac said: The adulterer, if one may say so, weakens the power of the Divine Presence. How? The embryo of which she is conceived from her husband has had its features fashioned within forty days, and after forty days the adulterer cohabits with her. The Holy One, blessed be He, stands perplexed and says: ‘Of whose features will I fashion a likeness? That of the features of the husband or that of the features of the adulterer?’ If the expression be permissible, ‘The Rock who begot you, you do weaken (teshi).’ The yod of teshi is small, to imply that the adulterer weakens the hands [the smallness of the yod symbolizes the feeblest of the hands (yadaim, plural of yad.)] of the Designer. R. Abbahu said: To what may this thing be likened? To a painter who was painting the image of a king, and as he was on the point of finishing the face they told him that the king was dead and that another king had arisen. When the painter heard this, his hands dropped and he began saying: ‘What will I make of these tracings? Will I fashion them in the image of the first king or in that of the second?’ and he was greatly perplexed. In the same way, the husband performs his marital duty and the Holy One, blessed be He, fashions the features of the embryo in the image of the father. The adulterer in his turn comes and couples with her and so the materials are mingled. There is a bearing on this in the text, Swearing and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery! They break all bounds, and blood touches blood (Hos. IV, 2). What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? If one may be permitted to say so, He turns about and transforms the features which He at first fashioned in the likeness of the husband into the likeness of the adulterer. In confirmation of this it says, ‘And sether puts a face.’ Thus we have explained, ‘Of the Rock that begot you, you were unmindful’ (Deut. XXXII, 18). And did forget God that bore you (ib.): This may be illustrated by the case of an architect who was appointed collector of fines over the city which he had built. The inhabitants of the city began to hide their silver and gold in hiding-places. Said the architect to them: ‘I built the city and I constructed the hiding-places! Will you hide them from me?’ So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the adulterers: ‘Will you hide yourselves from Me? Is it not I who created the hearts,’ even as it says, I the Lord, searched the heart, I try the reins, etc.? (Jer. XVII, 10). For this reason it says, ‘And did forget God that bore you (meholeleka).’ ‘I,’ says God, ‘have created you and constructed you with cavities upon cavities (mehilim) - namely the hearts and kidneys - but you forget Me and falsely say of Me that I do not see and do not know of your deeds.’ Moses likewise alluded to this matter in the section dealing with the unfaithful wife. Hence it is written, IF ANY MAN'S WIFE GO ASIDE, etc.

2. Scripture should have said merely ‘A man, if his wife go aside’. What is the object of the repetition, A MAN, A MAN? To indicate that although she serves one man, she is nevertheless subject to two, and is false to two. When she plays the harlot she is in the first instance false to her husband, who has entrusted his body to her for safe-keeping, and in the second place she is false to the Holy One, blessed be He, who has commanded her, You will not commit adultery (Ex. XX, 13) and who says, Both the adulterer and adulteress will surely be put to death (Lev. XX, 10). How do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, is described as ‘man’? Because it says, The Lord is a man of war, etc. (Ex. XV, 3). The reason why it is written in the case of the unfaithful wife, And commit a trespass against him (Num. V, 12) is because she commits a breach of trust in regard to her deposit; as in the case of which you read, If any one sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord and deal falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit, etc. (Lev. V, 21). Now, have we not an argument a fortiori: if in the case of money, which is of lesser importance, any one who denies having received such a deposit is as though he had denied the Holy One, blessed be He-for it says, ‘And commit a trespass against the Lord, and deal falsely’- how much more certain is it, in the case of one who commits a breach of faith against a person, that he who commits such a breach is as though he had committed it against the Holy One, blessed be He! The reason, then, why it says, A MAN, A MAN is because she is unfaithful against two ‘men’; viz., against the Holy One blessed be He, who is described as ‘man’, and against her husband who is a man. In the same train it says, That forsakes the lord of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God (Prov. II, 17).

Another exposition of the phrase, A MAN, A MAN. The Torah teaches you that you are to be indulgent in your own home. If wine has been spilled, be indulgent, That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, etc. (Prov. VIII, 21). The same with your oil, That I may fill their treasuries (ib.).3 If your garment has become torn, The Lord will fulfill all your petitions (Ps. XX, 6). But if you hear anything against your wife, arise like a man! Be a man to her (exercise your authority over her) over whom you have the authority of a man (act like a man towards him who usurped the rights of a married man). Hence it says, A MAN, A MAN.

3. Another exposition of the phrase, A MAN, A MAN: Be just the equal of other men (satisfied with your own wife and not presumptuous in wanting others). An incident is told of a certain woman to whom a man made approaches. She asked him to what spot she should go. What did she do then? She went and told his wife. His wife proceeded to that spot and he coupled with her. Afterwards he repented and prayed for death. His wife said to him: ‘You have eaten of your own bread and have drunk out of your own cup. The cause of your trouble is that you are presumptuous. Be just the equal of other men!’

4. Another exposition of the phrase, A MAN, A MAN: Many are those who set out to sea, and the majority of them return. Few are those who set out and do not return. So there are many who take wives. Most of them are successful and a few come to grief; But the sinner will be taken by her (Eccl. VII, 26) [The woman, whose heart is (full of) snares (Eccl. VII, 26)].

5. Another exposition of the text: IF ANY MAN'S WIFE, etc. What is written earlier? That they put out of the camp every leper, etc. (Num. V, 2). R. Tanhum, son of Hanilai, expounded: Why was the section dealing with the leper written first and the section dealing with the unfaithful wife after it? A parable will explain. A she-ass was sick and was taken to the veterinary surgeon, who cauterized her, and she bore an offspring with a flame-mark. Why? Because the mother was cauterized. So the section dealing with the leper is logically followed by that dealing with an offspring having a flame-mark, viz. the adulterer [who, it is implied by the sequence of texts, is to be the offspring of the one who disregards the laws of leprosy or gonorrhea by allowing intimacy to take place] about whom it is written, And make the belly to swell, and your thigh to fall away (Num. V, 22), and in the same strain it says, When the Lord make your thigh to fall away, and your belly to swell (ib. 21). This explains, IF ANY MAN'S WIFE, etc.

6. IF... WIFE GO ASIDE (V, 12). This bears on the text, He that commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding (Prov. VI, 32).3 ‘He that commits adultery with a woman,’ etc.: There is a bearing on this in the text, That which is crooked cannot be made straight etc. (Eccl. I, 15).4 It was taught (Ber. 26a), ‘That which is crooked cannot be made straight’ is said of one who has neglected the reading of the morning shema’ or of the evening shema’, or the morning prayer [the ‘Amidah; Prayer par excellence. So called as being the central feature of the prayers] or the evening prayer. And that which is wanting cannot be numbered (ib.) is said of a man whose colleagues registered themselves for the performance of a mitzvah and who was not registered with them. Another exposition of the text, ‘That which is crooked cannot be made straight.’ It was taught [Hag. 9a]: one who has not brought his festival sacrifice on the first day of the festival [Tabernacles; consisting, according to the Bible, of seven days, one holy day at the beginning and one at the end, and five intermediate days] should bring it on any day of the pilgrimage festival and the last holy day [the day following the seven, known as ‘the eighth day of solemn assembly’ (shemini ‘azereth), v. Num. XXIX, 35; this was held to be a separate festival, nevertheless the festival sacrifice of Tabernacles could be brought on that day]. If the pilgrimage festival has passed without his having brought it, he is not bound to make good afterwards [and cannot make it good, even if he desires]. Of such neglect it says, ‘That which is crooked cannot be made straight.’ R. Simeon, son of Menasyah, says: What sort of a crooked thing is that which cannot be made straight? It is the act of one who cohabits with an unmarried relative of a forbidden degree of consanguinity and begets a son [ho is then a bastard]; or the act of one who cohabits with a married woman even though he does not beget children. All the transgressions recorded in the Torah can, if committed, be put right. If a man steals, it is possible for him to restore the theft and make amends. If a man robs, it is possible for him to restore the robbery and make amends. The same applies to one who lays hands on a deposit [committed to him for safe keeping] and the same to one who withholds payment of the wages of a hired laborer. One, however, who cohabits with a married woman and causes her to be forbidden to her husband, is driven from the world and goes his way for he is unable to put things right in such a way that the wife might be permitted to him [her husband] as before. This explains, ‘That which is crooked cannot be made straight.’ It says also, The wicked borrows, and pays not, etc. (Ps. XXXVII, 21). Can you conceive that if a man borrows and does not pay, the creditor should not collect the debt even if he has to break the man's teeth in doing so? The text, ‘The wicked/lawless borrows, and pays not,’ etc., is, however, to be understood in this way: In the case of a man who forcibly takes away a house, or a field, or money, the court can recover it from him, but if one cohabits with a married woman, what can he pay back? If he is to pay in like manner, if he is to give him his wife with whom he can play the harlot, the result will be that the world will be full of bastards. This is the meaning of, ‘The wicked/lawless borrows, and pays not,’ etc. This wretch creates a loan which he cannot repay, for he causes a woman to be forbidden to her husband. He who is righteous/generous, however, does not borrow anything from his neighbor, but takes only what the latter may be pleased to give him [of what he can give him]. The reason then why it says, ‘That which is crooked cannot be made straight’ is that the wicked/lawless commits a crooked act which he cannot put right.

‘And he who is wanting cannot be numbered,’ for he is described as ‘Wanting understanding’ and will not be ‘numbered’ among the righteous/generous. In the same strain it says, He that commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he does it that would destroy his own soul (Prov. VI, 32). What is the signification of the expression, ‘Lacks understanding’? You can infer from it that a man does not go to a married woman unless he has lost his reason; and so it says in Scripture, Whoso is thoughtless, let him turn in hither; and as for him that lacks understanding, she says to him: Stolen waters are sweet, etc. (ib. IX, 16 f.); But he knows not that the shades are there, etc. (ib. 18). And just as he is described as ‘thoughtless’, so is the harlot called ‘thoughtlessness’, for she does not play the harlot unless she has lost her reason. In confirmation of this it is written, The woman Folly is riotous; she is thoughtlessness and knows nothing... to call to them that pass by, etc. (ib. 13 ff.). Moses, too, hinted in the Torah at her lack of reason; for it says, IF ANY MAN'S WIFE GO ASIDE (TISTEH), and TISTEH is written with the letter sin in order to tell you that she does not play the harlot unless a spirit of folly possesses her. This explains the expression, IF ANY MAN'S WIFE TISTEH.

7. Another exposition of the text IF ANY MAN'S WIFE, etc. (V, 12). This bears on what is written, And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings ... and I will be their God (Gen. XVII, 8).3 ‘And l will give unto you’ etc., bears on the text, For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you ... therefore will your camp be holy; that He see no unseemly thing in you, and turn away from you (Deut. XXIII, 15), which in its turn bears on the text, Now therefore, O you children, hearken unto me, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her [the harlot], and come not near the door of her house; lest you give your vigor unto others, and your years unto the cruel; lest strangers be filled with your strength, and you labors be in the house of an alien (Prov. V, 7 ff).2 Who is meant by, ‘Now, therefore, O you children, hearken unto me’? Scripture is speaking of the ten tribes on the one hand and of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin on the other; for all Israel are called ‘children’, as it says, You are the children of the Lord your God, etc. (Deut. XIV, 1). ‘Hearken unto me’: Scripture exhorts them to fulfill their duty of ‘hearkening ' [to the commandments]; ‘And depart not from the words of my mouth’: He exhorts them to keep their promise of ‘doing’ them, as they had undertaken at Sinai, All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and hearken (Ex. XXIV, 7). For they were exiled on account of having transgressed both of these things; as it says, And the king of Assyria carried Israel away... because they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord... and would not hear it, nor do it (II Kings XVIII, 11 f.). ‘Remove your way far from her’: He exhorts them to keep themselves far from whoredom. ‘And come not near the door of her house’: He exhorts them against immorality, about which it says, None of you will approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. ‘Lest you give your majesty (hodeka) unto others,’ is a warning that they will lose their sovereignty, and that the nations will be exalted. ‘Hodeka’ denotes ' majesty ‘; as you read, Upon whom had not been conferred the majesty of (hod) the kingdom (Dan. XI, 21). ‘And your years unto the cruel’ means that their years have been committed to a cruel angel, that the days and years are approaching when they should perish; as you read, And you have caused your days to draw near, and are come even unto your years, etc. (Ezek. XXII, 4). ‘Lest strangers be filled with your strength’: For they were carried into exile out of their country, and strangers settled in their place and consumed their strength and labor. ‘Your strength’ can only refer to the strength of their land; as you read, When you till the ground, it will not henceforth yield unto you her strength (Gen. IV, 12). You likewise find that when the king of Assyria carried the ten tribes captive he settled strangers in their land; as it says, And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, etc. (II Kings XVII, 24). This explains, ‘Lest strangers be filled with your strength.’ ‘And your labors (‘azabaik) be in the house of an alien’: ’azibah can only allude to children, as you read, In pain (be'ezeb) you will bring forth children (Gen. III, 16). Another exposition: ‘And your labors’ alludes to labor on the land and tells you that they would eat in toil (‘izzabon) whatever they would eat in a foreign land; as you read, In toil (be'izzabon) will thou eat of it, etc. (ib. 17). It likewise says, ‘And the king of Assyria carried Israel away unto Assyria,’ etc. All this befell the ten tribes because they were steeped in debauchery with married women, this being the crime for which their doom was sealed; as it says about them, That lie upon beds of ivory and stretch themselves (seruhim) upon their couches, etc. (Amos. VI, 4), which indicates that they befouled (masrihim) their beds with effusion of semen that was not theirs, for they were wont to exchange their wives with one another. What is written afterwards? Therefore now shall they go captive at the head of them that go captive, and the revelry of them that are befouled will pass away (ib. 7); the joy of those who were befouled will pass away at that moment. Micah too prophesies about them, The women of My people you cast out from their pleasant houses; from their young children you take away My glory for ever (Micah II, 9). Scripture tells us here that they were wont to violate men's wives and make them forbidden to their husbands, and these used to divorce them. Thus, ‘The women of My people you cast out from their pleasant houses’; that is, from the house of the husband which the wife found ‘pleasant’. What is the meaning of ‘From their young children you take away My glory for ever’? ‘I had no other glory in the world,’ says God, ‘but the young children’ - as it says, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings have You founded strength (Ps. VIII,13)- ‘and I glory in them’-as you read, In the young, of the people is the King's glory (Prov. XIV, 28)- ‘and you have made them bastards, and have put to nought that glory of Mine, for I have no delight in bastards’; even as it is written, A bastard will not enter into the assembly of the Lord, etc. (Deut. XXIII, 3). What then is written afterwards? Arise you, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; because of the uncleanness thereof, it will destroy you, even with a sore destruction--hebel nimraz (Micah II, 10). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, in effect: ‘For other sins I showed you long-suffering, but seeing that you have stretched forth your hand to commit adultery, ‘Arise you and depart,’ etc. What is the implication of ‘hebel nimraz’? I had imagined, God means, that The portion of the Lord is His people, Jacob the lot (hebel) of His inheritance (Deut. XXXII, 9); I had taken Jacob as My inheritance and he was my portion because his seed was like a rope (hebel) which is all intertwined, since they could all trace their descent back to their ancestors, and no strange offspring broke their continuity, for they all guarded themselves from adultery and no bastards had crept in. How so? It is written, Eleazar begot Phinehas, Phinehas begot Abishua (I Chron. V, 30), and so on. But when the chain comes to you, you go in to cohabit with your neighbor's wife, and defile the inheritance! How can he count a particular child as his son when he is not his son, being a bastard? You have snapped the cord! This explains, ‘hebel nimraz.’ What is the meaning of ’nimraz’? It stands for: Noef (adulterer), Mamzer (bastard), Rasha’ (wicked/lawless), Zorer (oppressor). Thus you learn that in the case of the ten tribes their doom was sealed solely on account of the iniquity/lawlessness of adultery. Whence that the doom of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin was sealed on account of adultery alone? From the fact that Jeremiah protested before God: In the days of Manasseh Israel did more evil deeds than the present generation, yet you destroyed them not except in my own time. Accordingly it is written, My bowels, my bowels! I writhe in pain! The chambers of my heart! ... Destruction follows upon destruction, etc. (Jer. IV, 19 f.). Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him: ‘In the days of Manasseh, even though they did provoke Me, the children were still the children of their fathers, but now they are children of lewdness.’ Hence it is written, For My people is foolish, etc. (ib. 22). What is written at the end of the passage? They are become as well-fed horses, lusty stallions; every one neighs after his neighbor's wife (ib. V, 8). Yet, although they transgressed all the commandments, and have denied the Holy One, blessed be He- as you read, They have belied the Lord (ib. 12)- He shows long-suffering. For adultery, however, their doom was sealed; as it is, in fact, written afterwards, Will I not punish for these things? says the Lord, etc. (ib. 9). ‘For everything,’ says the Holy One, blessed be He, in effect, ‘I will control Myself, but for lewdness I will display anger! Behold I will give them up to foreign governments!’ Hence it is written afterwards, Go you up into her rows, and destroy, etc. (ib. 10). ‘Lest strangers be filled with your strength’: Moses likewise said to Israel: When you go out to war, take heed that there be not the iniquity/lawlessness of adultery among you, for if there be any iniquity/lawlessness of lewdness in your midst, the Holy One, blessed be He, who fights for you, will turn back from you, and you will be delivered into the hand of your enemies. Hence it is written, ‘For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp... that He see no unseemly thing in you and turn away from you.’

What is the signification of the phrase, ‘For the Lord your God’? Moses, in effect, said to Israel: Be it known to you that the Holy One, blessed be He, only unites His name with Israel, being called ‘Your God’, when ‘Your camp be holy’. Then it is that He causes His Divine Presence to dwell among you and delivers you from the hand of your enemies, and delivers your foes into your hands. Accordingly it is written, ‘Walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you,’ etc. Whence is it inferred that Israel are called ‘holy’ when they keep themselves from adultery and lewdness? From the fact that it is written, Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be you holy; for I am the Lord your God (Lev. XX, 7), from which we infer that when they are holy He is a God unto them. What is written afterwards? And keep you My statutes, and do them: I am the Lord who sanctify you (ib. 8). When does the Holy One, blessed be He, sanctify Israel? When they observe His statutes. What are these statutes? Those against the forbidden decrees, which is headed by adultery with another man's wife, as it says, And the man that commits adultery with another man's wife (ib. 10). What reason did Scripture see for separating between the passage relating to sanctification and that relating to adultery by the insertion of the one against cursing father and mother, for first is written, Whatsoever man there be that curses his father (Lev. XX, 9)? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, in effect argues thus: What was it that caused the son to curse his father? Adultery; for he supposes that his mother's husband is his father and honors him, while of the adulterer he thinks that he is not his father and curses him. A similar case is that about which you read, And he that smites his father, or his mother (Ex. XXI, 15); And he that steals a man, and sells him (ib. 16). What reason did Scripture see for inserting the verse ‘He that steals a man’ between the verse ‘He that smites’ and ‘He that curses’. Surely there ought not to have been any division between them, since the sentences ‘He that smites’ and ‘He that curses’ both refer to penalties for sin against father and mother? Why was this done? To teach you that the reason why liability is incurred by a person who steals a human being from Israelites is that afterwards he smites his father and mother and curses them, because he has not grown up in their company and does not know them. Here, then, also, the reason why Scripture inserts between the sanctification and the whoredom the verse bearing on one that curses his father is because whoever cohabits with any of the forbidden relatives mentioned in the Torah may sometimes give birth to a son and cause the bastard to curse his father. Why was cursing the mother mentioned? Does he not know his mother? Yes; but in what circumstance does he know his mother? When the bastard is the product of adultery with a married woman; because then the adulteress ascribes him to her husband, but in the case of the other forbidden relations, they, being unmarried, cast their children away in the market-places to avoid disgrace, and others rear them up. It is these bastards that do not know either their fathers or their mothers. And even a bastard from a married woman may sometimes not know either his father or his mother. In what circumstances? When she committed adultery while her husband was abroad, and casts the child away. For this reason Scripture's punishment of one who cohabits with a married woman and of marriage within the forbidden degrees is death by the court, or excision. Consequently it says, ‘Therefore will your camp be holy.’

Another exposition of the text ‘Therefore will your camp be holy’. We have learned elsewhere [Kid. 76a]: No investigation as to lineage goes beyond the altar, or beyond the Levites’ [if it has been ascertained that a grandfather served upon the altar, priestly descent is established] platform [Levitical descent is confirmed if there is evidence that a forbear had sung the Temple songs with the Levites upon the platform used for the purpose], or beyond the Sanhedrin [a seat held by an ancestor among the Sanhedrin was sufficient testimony as to legitimate descent]. All those whose forbears were commonly known to have been public overseers or managers of charity may marry their children into the priesthood, and there is no need to make investigations regarding their descent. R. Jose says: The same applies to one whose signature as a witness appears in the old court of Sepphoris. R. Hananiah b. Antigonus says: The same applies to one who is inscribed in the king's list of officers. It is written, You will in any wise set him king over you ... one from among your brethren will you set king over you, etc. (Deut. XVII, 15). This informs me only about a king of Israel. Whence do I infer that it includes public overseers, managers of charity, judges’ scribes, and those who have wielded the lash? There is the explicit text, ‘One from among your brethren will you set king over you,’ implying that whomsoever you put over you must be only from among your brethren, aye, from among the select of your brethren. R. Samuel b. Nahman, in the name of R. Jonathan, says: How do we know that those who went out to war were required to see to it that there were no bastards among them? Because in regard to the sons of Asher it is written, And the number of them reckoned in genealogy for service in war (I Chron. VII, 40), indicating that the merit of their untainted descent stood by them in war. Hitherto, the proof was all from the Tradition. How will you prove it from the words of the Torah? It is written, He that is crushed or maimed in his privy parts will not enter into the assembly of the Lord (Deut. XXIII, 2). A bastard will not enter into the assembly of the Lord (ib. 3). An Ammonite... will not enter, etc. (ib. 4). You will not abhor an Edomite, etc. (ib. 8). What is written afterwards? When you go forth in camp against your enemies, then you will keep yourself from every evil thing (ib. 10). After this is written, ‘Therefore will your camp be holy,’ etc., to indicate that there must be no bastards among them, nor any whose birth was not in sanctity, because the Holy One, blessed be He, will not unite His name with them nor will He help them in war. Even so did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to our father Abraham, And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings (Gen. XVII, 8); meaning: To that seed which will trace its descent back to you will I give the land of your sojournings For an everlasting possession; and I will be their God (ib.), but as for the bastards, whose descent is not traced back to you, since their ancestry is unknown, to them I will not be a God, for I will not unite My name with them and will not give them a portion in the land.

8. The reason why it is written of a faithless wife, when lying carnally with another man, AND ACT UNFAITHFULLY (UMA'ALAH MA'AL) AGAINST HIM (V, 1), may be explained thus: Why these two words, both denoting unfaithfulness? One signifies that she lies to the Holy One, blessed be He, and the other that she lies to her husband. How does she lie to her husband? By saying that the bastard is his son, when he is, in fact, not his son, and so he inherits his father's estates. How does she lie to the Holy One, blessed be He? The Holy One, blessed be He, said that bastards were not to take a share in the Promised Land, but only a son who is able to prove his descent from the man he claims as his father, yet this woman asserts that the bastard is her husband's son and so obtains for him a share in the Promised Land. What is the signification of the expression, AND COMMIT A TRESPASS AGAINST HIM? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘You may lie to your husband but you cannot lie to Me, for I see everything.’ In confirmation of this it is written, The eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro through the whole earth (Zech. IV, 10), and it also says, The eyes of the Lord... keeping watch upon the evil and the good (Prov. XV, 3); not, as you imagine, to give as an inheritance to your bastard the estate of your husband! I know the bastard, and will drive him from the world! This bears out what R. Hanina said: Once in sixty or seventy years the Holy One, blessed be He, brings a great pestilence upon the world and destroys the bastards, carrying off with them some pious, in order not to expose the sinners. Yet He also is wise, and brings evil (Isa. XXXI, 2): Is it not reasonable to suppose that the reading should rather be, ‘Yet he also is wise, and brings good?’ Yes, but it is to teach you that even the evil which the Holy One, blessed be He, brings upon the world He brings in wisdom, And does not call back His pestilence; but will arise against the house of the evil-doers, and against the help of them that work iniquity/lawlessness (ib.). R. Huna said: A bastard does not live longer than thirty days. R. Ze'ira, on arriving here, heard people crying, ‘Bastard!’ ‘She bastard!’ Said he to the Sages: ‘What does this mean? Lo, it is throwing overboard the statement of R. Huna, that no bastard lives longer than thirty days?’ ‘I was with you,’ said R. Jacob, son of Aha, to him, ‘when R. Abba, son of R. Huna, stated in the name of Rab that no bastard lives longer than thirty days, that is to say, when the fact is not well known; if, however, it was well known, he does live longer. Thus she does COMMIT A TRESPASS AGAINST HIM, but not against the Holy One, blessed he He.

9. Another exposition of the text, AND ACT UNFAITHFULLY AGAINST HIM. This bears on what is written, Can any hide himself in secret places that I will not see him? says the Lord (Jer. XXIII, 24). Scripture here speaks of the adulterer, who hides himself in a secret place to commit lewdness; as you read, The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying: No eye will see me; and he puts his face in a secret place (Job XXIV, 15).1 ‘That I will not see him? says the Lord’: We can illustrate by a parable. To what is this case like? To a man who came in to steal from two houses, an outer leading to an inner. There were two watchmen over them; one without and one within. When he came to pass through the door of the inner house he got out without being noticed by the inner watchman, but on attempting to effect an exit through the outer door he was noticed by the watchman on the outside and was apprehended. Said he: ‘You could laugh at the inside watchman, but you cannot laugh at me.’ In the same way the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the adulterer: ‘You laughed at the woman's husband, because he was not conscious of you, but as for Me, I sit and laugh at the wicked/lawless’--as you read, He that sits in heaven laughs, the Lord has them in derision (Ps. II, 4)-for I see everything-as you read, ‘The eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro through the whole earth’ (Zech. IV, 10), and as it says, ‘The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good’ (Prov. XV, 3)- and I will be a speedy witness to expose you in the world; as you read, And I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, says the Lord of hosts (Mal. III, 5). Here also then He says, That I will not see him (er'enu)? says the Lord.’ Read it as, ‘I will not show him (ar'ennu)’ to people, and make widely known his deeds. How does He make his deeds widely known? The Holy One, blessed be He, puts it into the mind of the faithless woman's husband to grow jealous of his wife and he causes her to drink the bitter water, and this water tests the faithless wife and the adulterer; this explains, ‘That I will not show him? says the Lord.’ At that instant the adulterer is exposed and everybody is aware that he had lain with her. In the same way it says here also, AND ACT UNFAITHFULLY AGAINST HIM. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to the faithless wife: ‘You may be unfaithful and deceitful to your husband, but you cannot be deceitful to Me for I will expose your deeds.’ He causes a spirit of jealousy to pass over him,’ and she drinks the bitter water and both of them are judged.’ Hence, AND ACT UNFAITHFULLY AGAINST HIM. A story is told of two sisters who looked like each other, and one of whom was married in another town. The husband of one of them grew jealous against her and sought to make her drink the bitter water in Jerusalem. So she went to the city where her married sister lived. Said her sister to her: ‘What is your reason for coming here?’ ‘My husband,’ she told her, ‘wishes to make me drink the bitter water and I am defiled.’ Her sister said: ‘I will go in your place and drink.’ ‘Go,’ replied the other, ‘and do so.’ What did she do? Donning her sister's garments she went and drank the bitter water and was found to be clean. When she returned home, her sister, who had played the harlot, came out to meet her and they embraced and kissed each other. As they kissed each other the harlot smelled the bitter water and instantly died. This confirms what it says, There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither has he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war; neither will wickedness/lawlessness deliver him that is given to it (Eccl. VIII 8). Thus we have explained, ‘That I will not see him? says the Lord. For this reason it says, AND ACT UNFAITHFULLY AGAINST HIM.

10. Another exposition of the text, AND ACT UNFAITHFULLY AGAINST HIM (UMA'ALAH BO MA'AL) A double unfaithfulness is implied, for she was unfaithful against him in regard to both his person and his money, having brought him strangers to take his money from him.

Another exposition, AND ACT UNFAITHFULLY AGAINST HIM implies that she was unfaithful in having produced males and females. AND ACT UN FAITHFULLY AGAINST HIM both in this world and in the next. She has severed herself from him in both worlds. AND A MAN LIE (V, 13). If it was ‘a man’ it is sufficient ground for jealousy, but if a beast it is no ground for jealousy. WITH HER (ib.): With the one, that is, against whom the warning is directed. CARNALLY: thus excluding a case where his [the husband's] jealousy was directed only against contact of limbs. This indicates that you are not to suppose that Scripture has made the matter dependent merely upon the objections of the husband, who, indeed, has here shown that he does object. It is therefore stated, CARNALLY. AND IF IT BE HID FROM THE EYES OF HER HUSBAND (ib.), but not if the husband saw and kept it dark. Thus if the husband knew what she was about, he is not permitted to act cunningly in the matter and cause her to drink the bitter water. SHE BEING DEFILED, HAVING HIDDEN HERSELF (ib.): Once she has secluded herself, the Torah describes her as defiled. Another exposition of, SHE BEING DEFILED, HAVING HIDDEN HERSELF. How much is the minimum period for seclusion? Sufficient to cause defilement. How much for defilement? Sufficient for coition. How much for coition? Sufficient for reaching the first stage of sexual contact. How much for this? R. Eliezer says: The time it takes for a palm-tree to swing back into position against the wind. R. Joshua says: The time it takes to mix a cup of wine. Ben ‘Azzai says: The time it takes to drink it. R. Akiba says: The time it takes to roast an egg by rolling it in ashes. R. Judah, son of Bathyra, says: The time it takes to swallow three such roasted eggs one after the other. R. Eleazar, son of Phinehas, says: The time it takes a weaver to knot a strand. Penimon says: The time she would require to stretch out her hand and take a loaf out of a basket. Although there is no proof of this last it is hinted at in the verse, For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a loaf of bread, but the adulteress hunts for the precious life (Prov. VI, 26). R. Jose observed: All these minima take effect after the unfastening of the sinnar. R. Johanan remarked: Each one of the Sages just cited bases his estimate on personal experience. But did Ben ‘Azzai ever take a wife? Some are inclined to maintain that he had warmed up, others hold that he had married but had separated, while still others assert, The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and His covenant, to make them know it (Ps. XXV, 14). How do we know that the first stage of illicit sexual contact causes a married woman to be forbidden to her husband? Because, said R. Jonah, it is written, ‘For whosoever will do any of these abominations’ (Lev. XVIII, 29). Thus all the forbidden relationships are compared to that with a menstruant; as in the case of the menstruant liability is incurred in the first stage of intercourse (ha'ara'ah), for it is written, And if a man will lie with a woman having her sickness... he has made naked (heierah) her fountain (ib. XX, 18), so in the case of all the other forbidden relationships liability is incurred in the first stage of intercourse. AND THERE BE NO WITNESS AGAINST HER (V, 13)--one fit to tender evidence. Whence can we infer that [even] if one who is not eligible to tender evidence asserted that she was defiled she does not drink the bitter water? The text clearly states, not simply a witness, but AND A WITNESS. NEITHER SHE BE SEIZED (ib.), then she is forbidden. Hence if she was seized [forcibly violated] she is permitted. Yet it is possible to conceive a case in Israel where she should be seized and be forbidden. What is it? It is the case of one who began willingly and ended under constraint. There is also the possible case in Israel of one who was not ‘seized’ and is yet permitted. What is it? It is that one who began under constraint and ended in willingness. There was such a case with a woman who came to Rabbi and said to him: ‘I have been outraged.’ Said he to her: ‘But was not the experience pleasant to you?’ She retorted: ‘If a man dipped his finger in honey and put it into your mouth on the Day of Atonement would not the act displease you, yet after all it would be toothsome?’ He accepted her argument. Another interpretation: AND THERE BE NO WITNESS AGAINST HER implies that there may be none now, but that she will ultimately have one. A similar instance of such exposition is the text, And Sarai was barren; she had no child (Gen. XI, 30). Although at the moment she had none she was to bear one after a time; as it says, And the Lord remembered Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as He had spoken (ib. XXI,1). Another instance is the text, Esther had not made known her people nor her kindred; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not tell (Est. II, 10). Although she had not made it known at that moment she did tell after a time. So in our text also, AND THERE BE NO WITNESS AGAINST HER implies that although she may have none at the moment she will have one after a time, for it says, And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness, etc. (Mal. III, 5).

Ketubim Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 94

JPS Translation	TARGUM
1. O LORD, You God to whom vengeance belongs, You God to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth.	1. The God who takes vengeance is the Lord; the God who takes vengeance has appeared.
2. Lift up Yourself, You Judge of the earth; render to the proud their recompense.	2. Lift yourself up, O judge of the earth; requite evil to the proud.
3. LORD, how long will the wicked/lawless, how long will the wicked/lawless exult?	3. How long will the wicked/lawless, O Lord, how long will the wicked/lawless dwell in tranquility?
4. They gush out, they speak arrogance; all the workers of iniquity/lawlessness bear themselves loftily.	4. They will gush and speak blasphemy; all the workers of deceit utter disgraceful words.
5. They crush Your people, O LORD, and afflict Your heritage.	5. They will crush Your people, O Lord, and impoverish Your inheritance.
6. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.	6. They will kill the widow and proselyte, and they will murder orphans.
7. And they say: “The LORD will not see, neither will the God of Jacob give heed.”	7. And they said, “Yah will not see, and the God of Jacob will not comprehend it.”
8. Consider, you brutish among the people; and you fools, when will you understand?	8. Consider, you who are fools among the people; and you unwise – when will you gain insight?
9. He that planted the ear, will He not hear? He that formed the eye, will He not see?	9. Could it be that the ear was planted, and hears no instruction? Or could it be that he created the eye, and it has not looked at the Torah?
10. He that instructs nations, will not He correct? even He that teaches man knowledge?	10. Could it be that he gave the Torah to His people, and when they sin, they are not rebuked? Did not the Lord teach knowledge to the first Adam?
11. The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.	11. The thoughts of the sons of men are known in the presence of the Lord, for they are nothingness.
12. Happy is the man whom You instruct, O LORD, and teaches out of Your law;	12. It is well for the man whom you rebuke, O Yah; and You will instruct him out of your Torah.
13. That You may give him rest from the days of evil, until the pit be dug for the wicked/lawless.	13. To give him quietness from the days of evil until the pit is created for the wicked/lawless.
14. For the LORD will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance.	14. For the Lord will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance.
15. For right will return unto justice, and all the upright in heart will follow it.	15. For justice will return to righteousness/ generosity, and after it all the upright of heart will be redeemed.
16. Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity/lawlessness?	16. Who will arise for me to do battle with evildoers? Who will stand up for me to dispute with workers of deceit?
17. Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had soon dwelt in silence.	17. If the Lord were not my helper, my soul would almost have dwelt in silence.
18. If I say: “My foot slips”, Your mercy, O LORD, holds me up.	18. If I said, “My foot is slipping,” Your goodness, O Lord, will aid me.
19. When my cares are many within me, Your comforts delight my soul.	19. In the many thoughts within me, Your comforts will delight my soul.
20. Will the seat of wickedness/lawlessness have fellowship with You, which frames mischief by statute?	20. Could it be that the throne of deceit will be allied with You? Or could the creature of toil stand against the covenant?
21. They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous/generous, and condemn innocent blood.	21. Evil things will gather against the soul of the righteous/generous man; and they will condemn innocent blood to the judgment of death.
22. But the LORD has been my high tower, and my God the rock of my refuge.	22. But the Lord will be a helper for me; and my God is the strength of my confidence.
23. And He has brought upon them their own iniquity/lawlessness, and will cut them off in their own evil; the LORD our God will cut them off.	23. And he has turned their lies against them, and He will destroy them in their evil; the Lord our God will destroy them.

The Midrash on Psalms (Midrash Tehillim): Psalm 94

I. O Lord, the power of vengeance, the power of vengeance show forth (Ps. 94:1). These words are to be considered in the light of what Scripture says elsewhere: Thus says the Lord: The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over unto you, and they will be yours; they will make supplication unto you. [But Israel said:] Surely power is in You, and there is none else, there is no other God. But You are power that hides itself (Isa. 45:14-15). What is the import of Surely power is in You? This is explained by the verse’s going on to say: But You are power that hides itself—that is, “There is power in You, but it is unrevealed.” Let Your power show forth. Hence, The power of vengeance show forth.

Rabbi and R. Nathan differed in their comments. Rabbi said: A mortal, him fury masters, but the Holy One, blessed be He, He masters fury, for it is said The Lord revenges, but He is master of fury (Nah. 1:2). R. Nathan said: A mortal, him jealousy masters, but the Holy One, blessed be He, He masters jealousy, for it is said The Lord has power over jealousy, and revenges (ibid.).

II. R. Meir taught: The words And you know in your heart, that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you (Deut. 8:5) mean that God said: “You and your heart know the deeds which you have done against Me’ and the deeds which I have done for you, know also the chastisements I imposed upon you, and that the chastisements I imposed upon you have not been proportionate to your deeds.”

R. Simeon ben Yohai taught: Chastisements are good; because of them three precious gifts came to Israel, gifts that the gentiles of the earth desired for themselves. Yet only because of chastisements were the gifts—Torah, the world-to-come, and the Land of Israel—given to Israel. And the proof that the Torah was so given? It is said To know wisdom and chastisement (Prov. 1:2), and also Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord, for thereby You teach him Your Law (Ps. 94:12). And the proof that the Land of Israel was so given? It is said As a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you (Deut. 8:5) - that is, as a man chastens his son with a rod, so the Lord your God chastens you with a rod. And what follows? The Lord your God brings you into a good land (Deut. 8:7). And the proof that the world-to-come was so given? The verse Reproofs by chastisement are the way to life (Prov. 6:23). Here Scripture says: Go forth and see for yourself what way leads to life in the world-to-come, and you will have to admit that it is chastisement.

R. Jose bar Judah taught: Chastisements are precious in the sight of the Holy One, blessed be He, for the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to rest upon him who is chastised, as it is said so the Lord YOUR God chastens you (Deut. 8:5).

Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord, for thereby You teach him Your Law (Ps. 94:12). At first God chastens you, but then He brings you to possess the Torah, the Land of Israel, and life in the world-to-come.

R. Nathan bar Jose taught: Chastisements are precious; because of them the covenant was made with the children of Israel, as is said I will bring you into the crucible of the covenant (Ezek. 20:37).

R. Eliezer ben Jacob taught: Behold, Scripture says, For whom the Lord loves He chastens, even as a father (ke’ab) the son in whom he delights (Prov. 3:12). Read not ke’ab’, “as a father,” but ke’eb, “suffering under chastisement.” What then enables you to make atonement to your Father in heaven? Admit that it is suffering under chastisement.

R. Nehemiah taught that chastisements are precious, for as offerings make atonement, so chastisements make atonement: Of an offering, it is written It will be accepted for him to make atonement for him (Lev. 1:4); and of suffering under chastisement, it is written The son’s suffering under chastisement makes atonement for him (Prov. 3:13), and again The land will lie forsaken without them ... while they will make atonement for their iniquity/lawlessness (Lev. 26:43). Not only this, but even more! Suffering under chastisement is better than offerings in making atonement, for offerings come out of a man’s property, but chastisements fall upon a man’s body, of which it is said All that a man has will he give for his body (Job 2:4). Accordingly, it is said Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord, because Thereby You teach him Your Law (Ps. 94:12).

III. That You may give him rest from the days of evil, while the pit is dug for the wicked/lawless (Ps. 94:13). R. Levi says that by days of evil are meant the day of judgment and the day of death. But the Rabbis say that by days of evil are meant New Year’s Day and the Day of Atonement.

Our text reads For the sake of His people, the Lord will not cast off, nor for the sake of His inheritance will He leave off (Ps. 94:14), but another text reads The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake (II Sam. 12:22). R. Aibu and R. Samuel bar Nahmani reconciled the two texts thus: When the children of Israel do the will of the Lord, He acts for the sake of His people and His inheritance; but when the children of Israel do not own good deeds, God acts for the sake of His great name. The Rabbis, however, taught: For His people outside the Land of Israel, God acts for the sake of His great name; but for His people within the Land of Israel, God acts for the sake of His people and His inheritance. Hence For the sake of His people, the Lord will not cast off, nor for the sake of His inheritance will He leave off.

IV. For judgment will return unto righteousness/generosity, and all the upright in heart will follow it (Ps. 94:15). Samuel the Little was asked: What is meant by All the upright in heart will follow it? He replied: The reward of the upright follows upon their death, as is said All the upright in heart will follow it; but the reward of the wicked/lawless is paid them here and now, as is said God ... repays them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them (Deut. 7:10).

R. Simeon ben Yohai taught: When a man commits a sin, and the angels come and denounce him, saying, O Lord, bow Your heavens, and come down; touch the mountains that they make smoke ... shoot out Your arrows and destroy (Ps. 144:5), the Holy One, blessed be He, replies: “At this moment this man is obdurate, but when he repents I will receive him.”

V. Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity/lawlessness? Except the Lord had been my help my soul had soon dwelt in silence (Ps. 94:16-17). R. Joshua ben Levi said: Wherever the term except (lule) occurs in Scripture, it can only refer to the guardian merit of the Patriarchs, for it is said Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been on my side, surely now had you sent me away empty (Gen. 3142). But R. Zabdi ben Levi retorted: Is it not also written Except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time (ibid. 43:10)? R. Joshua answered: Even this verse refers to the guardian merit of the Patriarchs, for had there been no guardian merit of the Patriarchs, we could not have come up thence at all.

R. Levi said: Wherever the term except occurs in Scripture, it refers to the guardian merit of Torah, as it is said Except Your Torah had been my delight, I should then have perished in mine affliction (Ps. 119:92); it may also refer to the guardian merit of faithful obedience, as it is said I had fainted, except I had believed to look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 27:13).

R. Johanan said: Wherever the term except occurs in Scripture, it refers to the guardian merit of the Lord’s name, as it is said Except the Lord was for us, when men rose up against us, then they had swallowed us up alive (Ps. 124:2-3), and also Except the Lord had been my help, my soul had soon dwelt in silence (Ps. 94:17).

VI. And He will bring upon them their own iniquity/lawlessness, and will cut them off in their own wickedness/lawlessness; yes, the Lord our God will cut them off (Ps. 94:23). R. Jose ben Halafta related: The time when the Temple was destroyed was a Saturday night at the end of a year of release; it happened between the first and second watches of the night when the division of Jehoiarib was on duty. The destruction of the First Temple as well as of the Second took place while the Levites, standing at their posts, were singing And He will bring upon them their own iniquity/lawlessness, and will cut them off in their own wickedness/lawlessness, but before they had time to say Yes, the Lord our God will cut them off entirely, the enemies entered and took hold of them.

Ashlamatah: Hosea 4:14 – 5:2 + 6:1-2

14. I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for they themselves consort with lewd women, and they sacrifice with harlots; and the people that is without understanding is distraught.

15. Though you, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah become guilty; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go you up to Beth-aven, nor swear: ‘As the LORD lives.’

16. For Israel is stubborn like a stubborn heifer; now will the LORD feed them as a lamb in a large place?

17. Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.

18. When their carouse is over, they take to harlotry; her rulers deeply love dishonor.

19. The wind has bound her up in her skirts; and they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices. {P}

1. Hear this, O you priests, and attend, you house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king, for unto you pertains the judgment; for you have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

2. And they that fall away are gone deep in making slaughter; and I am rejected of them all.

3. I, even I, know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from Me; for now, O Ephraim, you have committed harlotry, Israel is defiled.

4. Their doings will not suffer them to return unto their God; for the spirit of harlotry is within them, and they know not the LORD.

5. But the pride of Israel will testify to his face; and Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their iniquity/lawlessness, Judah also will stumble with them.

6. With their flocks and with their herds they will go to seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.

7. They have dealt treacherously against the LORD, for they have begotten strange children; now will the new moon devour them with their portions. {S}

8. Blow the horn in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah; sound an alarm at Beth-aven: ‘Behind you, O Benjamin!’

9. Ephraim will be desolate in the day of rebuke; among the tribes of Israel do I make known that which will surely be.

10. The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark; I will pour out My wrath upon them like water.

11. Oppressed is Ephraim, crushed in his right; because he willingly walked after filth.

12. Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.

13. And when Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to King Contentious; but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.

14. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah; I, even I, will tear and go away, I will take away, and there will be none to deliver.

15. I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their guilt, and seek My face; in their trouble they will seek Me earnestly:

1. ‘Come, and let us return unto the LORD; for He has torn, and He will heal us, He has smitten, and He will bind us up. ou

2. After two days will He revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.

Special Ashlamatah: Is. 51:12 – 52:12

12. I, even I, am He that comforts you: who are you, that you are afraid of man that will die, and of the son of man that will be made as grass;

13. And have forgotten the LORD your Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and fear continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, as he makes ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?

14. He that is bent down will speedily be loosed; and he will not go down dying into the pit, neither will his bread fail.

15. For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea, that the waves thereof roar; the LORD of hosts is His name.

16. And I have put My words in your mouth, and have covered y in the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: ‘You are My people.’

17. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, that has drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you have drunken the beaker, even the cup of staggering, and drained it. {S}

18. There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she has brought forth; neither is there any that takes her by the hand of all the sons that she has brought up.

19. These two things are befallen you; who will bemoan you? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how will I comfort you?

20. Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net; they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of your God.

21. Therefore hear now this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine; {P}

22. Thus says your Lord the LORD, and your God that pleads the cause of His people: behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of staggering; the beaker, even the cup of My fury, you will no more drink it again;

23. And I will put it into the hand of them that afflict you; that have said to your soul: ‘Bow down, that we may go over’; and you have laid your back as the ground, and as the street, to them that go over. {P}

1. Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there will no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.

2. Shake yourself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem; loose yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. {S}

3. For thus says the LORD: You were sold for nothing; and you will be redeemed without money. {S}

4. For thus says the Lord GOD: My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

5. Now therefore, what do I here, says the LORD, seeing that My people is taken away for nothing? They that rule over them do howl, says the LORD, and My name continually all the day is blasphemed.

6. Therefore My people will know My name; therefore they will know in that day that I, even He that spoke, behold, here I am. {S}

7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings, that announces peace, the harbinger of good tidings, that announces salvation; that says unto Zion: ‘Your God reigns!’

8. Hark, your watchmen! they lift up the voice, together do they sing; for they will see, eye to eye, the LORD returning to Zion.

9. Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.

10. The LORD has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the gentiles; and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. {S}

11. Depart, depart, go you out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go you out of the midst of her; be you clean, you that bear the vessels of the LORD.

12. For you will not go out in haste, neither will you go by flight; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rearward. {S}

Midrash of Matityahu (Matthew) 19:16-22

16. An behold, one approached and said, “Good Rabbi, what good will I do in order that I may have life eternal?

17. And he (Yeshuah) said to him, Why do you ask me about good? Only One is good. But if you wish to come into life, you must continually keep the commandments.

18. He said to Him, What sort of commandments? [Or, which ones?] And Yeshuah answered, You will not murder, You will not commit adultery, You will not steal, You will not bear false witness,

19. Honor your father and your mother, and, You will love your companion as [you do] yourself

20. The youth said, I have observed all these; what still do I lack?

21. Yeshuah answered him, If you wish to be whole, go innocuously and sell your property and give [the proceeds] to the humble, and you will have treasure in the heavens; and come, then come over here and follow me!

22. And having heard that saying, the youth went away distressed, for he had much property..

The Rabbi’s Private Prophetic Study

In this weeks’ commentary on adultery from the Midrash B’midbar Rabba, one has to be careful not just to read this literally, but more important metaphorically! For it is in the many metaphors given that we find the pearls of wisdom behind our Torah Seder.

Matityahu picks on this theme of adultery and compares adultery with amassing possession for the sake of having possessions, or for self-aggrandizing. When our possessions are not enlisted in the service of the government of the heavens, then it is as we have had committed adultery.

When one accepts the sovereignty of G-d, and of His Messiah upon our lives, and the yoke of the commandments, then one has crucified the self, and one has become now a servant of the Most High. Now the center of one’s life is no longer the self but the government of the heavens upon earth. And such in a nutshell is the lesson from the readings for this week.

Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai