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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
Iyar 03, 5774 – May 02/03, 2014	Sixth Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

Amarillo, TX, U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 8:15 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 9:15 PM	Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 7:51 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 8:48 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 4:59 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 5:52 PM
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 8:09 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 9:09 PM	Everett, WA. U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 8:04 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 9:17 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 5:55 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 6:46 PM
Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 7:34 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 8:29 PM	Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 7:26 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 8:27 PM	Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 8:05 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 9:16 PM
San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 7:53 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 8:49 PM	Sheboygan & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 7:36 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 8:43 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 6:49 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 7:38 PM
St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 7:35 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 8:37 PM	Tacoma, WA, U.S. Fri. May 02 2014 – Candles at 8:03 PM Sat. May 03 2014 – Habdalah 9:15 PM

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

Roll of Honor:

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Laurie Taylor

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

Her Excellency Prof. Dr. Conny Williams & beloved family

Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Yoel ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Tsuriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Gibora bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Archie Hunnicutt and beloved wife HE Giberet Lisa Hunnicutt

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

His Excellency Adon Michael Murray and beloved wife HE Giberet Leah Murray

His Excellency Adon Kyle Sullivan

His Excellency Adon Ze’ev ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Hadassah bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Michael Harston

Her Excellency Giberet Whitney Mathison

For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that G-d’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all Yisrael and her Torah Scholars, amen ve amen!

Also a great thank you and great blessings be upon all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Torah Seder and allied topics.

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

This Torah Seder commentary is dedicated to Her Excellency Giberet Simcha bat Sarah who has been operated and is still in hospital convalescing. We pray that He who blessed our holy and pure matriarchs, Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah, Miryam the prophetess and Avigayil, and Ester may He bless Her Excellency Giberet Simacha bat Sarah. And may He send a complete and speedy healing to her 252 organs and 365 sinews. Please G-d heal her! And cure her and strengthen her, and make her healthy, and return her to her original strength. So may it be His will, and we all say Amen!

Friday Evening May 02, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 18

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
18	Darshan/Parnas 1	Iyar 3	3:20-21	Compassion united with Confidence

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him (G-d) who by His virtuous power can do inexhaustibly more than we can ask^[1] or think, according to the virtuous power working^[2] within us, to Him (G-d) be glory^[3] in the Congregation and in Yeshua HaMashiach throughout every generation, forever and ever. Amen.

Shabbat “Moadei Adonai” – Sabbath: “The appointed seasons of the LORD”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
מוֹעֲדֵי יְיָ
“Moadei Adonai”	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 23:1-3	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 24:1-4
“The appointed seasons of the LORD”	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 23:4-8	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 24:5-7
“Las fiestas señaladas del SEÑOR”	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 23:9-14	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 24:7-9
Vayiqra (Lev.) 23:1-44	Reader 4 – Vayiqra 23:15-22
Ashlamatah: Ezek 45:17 + 46:1-9	Reader 5 – Vayiqra 23:23-25	Monday & Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – Vayiqra 23:26-32	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 24:1-4
Psalm 87:1-7	Reader 7 – Vayiqra 23:33-44	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 24:5-7
Abot: 3:14	Maftir: Vayiqra 23:42-44v	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 24:7-9
N.C.: II Pet 2:10-22; Lk 17:3b-4; Acts 28:1-6	- Ezek 45:17 + 46:1-9

Blessings Before Torah Study

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: Honouring one's father and mother; doing acts of kindness; early attendance at the place of Torah study -- morning and night; showing hospitality to guests; visiting the sick; providing for the financial needs of a bride; escorting the dead; being very engrossed in prayer; bringing peace between two people, and between husband and wife; but the study of Torah is as great as all of them together. Amen!

Contents of the Torah Seder

· Duty to Proclaim The Holy Days – Leviticus 23:1-2

· The Weekly Sabbath – Leviticus 23:3-4

· The Passover – Leviticus 23:5-8

· The Omer – Leviticus 23:9-14

· The Feast of Weeks – Shabuoth – Leviticus 23:15-21

· When you reap – Leviticus 23:22-23

· Day of Memorial – Rosh HaShanah – Leviticus 23:24-25

· Day of Atonements – Leviticus 23:26-32

· Feast of Tabernacles – Leviticus 23:33-43

· Moses’ Declaration of the Feasts of the LORD – Leviticus 23:44

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:1-44

Rashi	Targum
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	1. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
2. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The Lord's appointed [holy days] that you shall designate as holy occasions. These are My appointed [holy days]:	2. Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them, The orders of the time of the Festivals of the LORD, which you will proclaim as holy convocations, these are the orders of the time of My festivals.
3. [For] six days, work may be performed, but on the seventh day, it is a complete rest day, a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.	3. Six days will you do work, and the seventh day (will be) a Sabbath and a rest, a holy convocation. No manner of work may you do; it is a Sabbath to the LORD in every place of your habitations.
4. These are the Lord's appointed [holy days], holy occasions, which you shall designate in their appointed time:	4. These are the times of the Festivals of the LORD, holy convocations which you will proclaim in their times:
5. In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, in the afternoon, [you shall sacrifice] the Passover offering to the Lord.	5. In the month of Nisan, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the suns (will be) the time for the sacrifice of the Pascha to the Name of the LORD.
6. And on the fifteenth day of that month is the Festival of Unleavened Cakes to the Lord; you shall eat unleavened cakes for a seven day period.	6. And on the fifteenth day of this month the feast of unleavened cakes to the Name of the LORD. Seven days you will eat unleavened bread.
7. On the first day, there shall be a holy occasion for you; you shall not perform any work of labor.	7. On the first day of the feast a holy convocation will be to you; you will do no work of labor,
8. And you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord for a seven day period. On the seventh day, there shall be a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work of labor.	8. but offer the oblation to the Name of the LORD seven days; in the seventh day of the feast will be a holy convocation; you will do no work of labor.
9. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	9. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
10. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you come to the Land which I am giving you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring to the kohen an omer of the beginning of your reaping.	10. Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them: When you have entered into the land which I give you, and you reap the harvest, you will bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest;
11. And he shall wave the omer before the Lord so that it will be acceptable for you; the kohen shall wave it on the day after the rest day.	11. and he will uplift the sheaf before the LORD to be accepted for you. After the first festal day of Pascha (or, the day after the feast-day of Pascha)
12. And on the day of your waving the omer, you shall offer up an unblemished lamb in its [first] year as a burnt offering to the Lord;	12. on the day on which you elevate the sheaf, you will make (the sacrifice of a lamb of the year, unblemished a burnt offering unto the Name of the LORD:
13. Its meal offering [shall be] two tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil, a fire offering to the Lord as a spirit of satisfaction. And its libation [shall be] a quarter of a hin of wine.	13. and its mincha, two tenths of flour, mingled with olive oil, for an oblation to the Name of the LORD, to be received with acceptance; and its libation, wine of grapes, the fourth of a hin.
14. You shall not eat bread or [flour made from] parched grain or fresh grain, until this very day, until you bring your God's sacrifice. [This is] an eternal statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.	14. But neither bread nor parched corn (of the ripe harvest) nor new ears may you eat until this day, until the time of your bringing the oblation of your God: an everlasting statute unto your generations in all your dwellings.
15. And you shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete.	15. And number to you after the first feast day of Pascha, from the day when you brought the sheaf for the elevation, seven weeks; complete they will be.
16. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, [namely,] the fiftieth day, [on which] you shall bring a new meal offering to the Lord.	16. Until the day after the seventh week you will number fifty days, and will offer a mincha of the new bread unto the Name of the LORD.
17. From your dwelling places, you shall bring bread, set aside, two [loaves] [made from] two tenths [of an ephah]; they shall be of fine flour, [and] they shall be baked leavened, the first offering to the Lord.	17. From the place of your dwellings you are to bring the bread for the elevation; two cakes of two-tenths of flour, which must be baked with leaven, as first fruits unto the Name of the LORD.
18. And associated with the bread, you shall bring seven unblemished lambs in their [first] year, one young bull, and two rams these shall be a burn offering to the Lord, [along with] their meal offering and libations a fire offering [with] a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord.	18. And with that bread you are to offer seven lambs of the year, unblemished, and a young bullock without mixture (of color), the one for a sin offering, and two lambs of the year for a sanctified oblation.
19. And you shall offer up one he goat as a sin offering, and two lambs in their [first] year as a peace offering._	19. And you will make (a sacrifice) of a young goat without mixture, the one for a sin offering and two lambs of the year for a sanctified oblation.
20. And the kohen shall wave them in conjunction with the first offering bread as a waving before the Lord, along with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord, [and] belong to the kohen.	20. And the priest will uplift them with the bread of the first fruits, an elevation before the LORD, with the two lambs; they will be holy to the Name of the LORD, and will be for the priest.
21. And you shall designate on this very day a holy occasion it shall be for you; you shall not perform any work of labor. [This is] an eternal statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.	21. And you will proclaim with life and strength that self-same day, that at the time of that day there will be to you a holy convocation: you will do no work of labour: it is an everlasting statute in all your dwelling for your generations.
22. When you reap the harvest of your Land, you shall not completely remove the corner of your field during your harvesting, and you shall not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. [Rather,] you shall leave these for the poor person and for the stranger. I am the Lord, your God.	22. And when you reap the harvest of the ground, you will not finish one corner that is in your field at your reaping nor will you gather the gleanings of your harvest, but leave them for the poor and the strangers: I am the LORD your God.
23. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	23. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
24. Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first of the month, it shall be a Sabbath for you, a remembrance of [Israel through] the shofar blast a holy occasion.	24. Speak with the children of Israel, saying: In Tishri, which is the seven month, will be to you a festival of seven days, a memorial of trumpets, a holy convocation.
25. You shall not perform any work of labor, and you shall offer up a fire offering to the Lord.	25. No work of labor may you do, but offer an oblation before the LORD unto the Name of the LORD.
26. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:	26. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh saying:
27. But on the tenth of this seventh month, it is a day of atonement, it shall be a holy occasion for you; you shall afflict yourselves, and you shall offer up a fire offering to the Lord.	27. But on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonements; a holy convocation will it be to you, and you will humble your souls, (abstaining) from food, and from drink, and from the use of the bath, and from anointing, and the use of the bed, and from sandals; and you will offer an oblation before the LORD,
28. You shall not perform any work on that very day, for it is a day of atonement, for you to gain atonement before the Lord, your God.	28. and do no work on this same day; for it is the Day of Atonements, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.
29. For any person who will not be afflicted on that very day, shall be cut off from its people.	29. For every man who eats in the fast, and will not fast that same day, will be cut off by death from among His people. JERUSALEM: For every soul who hides himself from fasting and fasts not on the day of the fast of his atonement.
30. And any person who performs any work on that very day I will destroy that person from amidst its people.	30. And every man who does any work on that same day, that man will I destroy with death from among His people.
31. You shall not perform any work. [This is] an eternal statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.	31. No work of labor may you do ____ an everlasting statute for your generations, in all your dwellings.
32. It is a complete day of rest for you, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth of the month in the evening, from evening to evening, you shall observe your rest day.	32. It is a Sabbath and time of leisure for you to humble your souls. And you will begin to fast at the ninth day of the month at even time; from that evening, until the next evening, will you fast your fast, and repose in your quietude, that you may employ the time of your festivals with joy. JERUSALEM: From evening to evening you will fast your fast, and repose in your quietude, that you may employ the time of your festivals with joy.
33. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	33. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
34. Speak to the children of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, is the Festival of Succoth, a seven day period to the Lord.	34. Speak with the sons of Israel: In the fifteenth day of this seventh month will be the Feast of Tabernacles, seven days unto the Name of the LORD.
35. On the first day, it is a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work of labor.	35. On the first day of the feast is a holy convocation; no work of labor may you do.
36. [For] a seven day period, you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord. On the eighth day, it shall be a holy occasion for you, and you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord. It is a [day of] detention. You shall not perform any work of labor.	36. Seven days you will offer an oblation to the Name of the LORD, you will gather together to pray before the LORD for rain; no work of labor may you do.
37. These are God's appointed [holy days] that you shall designate them as holy occasions, [on which] to offer up a fire offering to the Lord burnt offering and meal offering, sacrifice and libations, the requirement of each day on its day;	37. These are the times of the order of the LORD's festivals which you are to convoke for holy convocations, to offer an oblation to the name of the LORD, a burnt sacrifice and a mincha, sanctified offerings and libations, the rite of a day in its day;
38. apart from the Lord's Sabbaths, and apart from your gifts, and apart from all your vows, and apart from all your donations that you give to the Lord.	38. beside the days of the LORD's Sabbaths, beside your gifts, and beside your vows, and beside your free-will offering which you bring before the LORD.
39. But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the festival of the Lord for a seven day period; the first day shall be a rest day, and the eighth day shall be a rest day.	39. But on the fifteenth of the seventh month, at the time when you collect the produce of the ground, you will solemnize a festival of the LORD seven days. On the first day, rest; and on the eighth day, rest.
40. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day, the fruit of the hadar tree, date palm fronds, a branch of a braided tree, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for a seven day period.	40. And of your own will you take on the first day of the feast, the fruits of praiseworthy trees, citrons, and lulabin, and myrtles, and willows that grow by the brooks; and you will rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. JERUSALEM: Citrons and lulabs.
41. And you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord for seven days in the year. [It is] an eternal statute throughout your generations [that] you celebrate it in the seventh month.	41. And you will solemnize it before the LORD seven days in the year, by an everlasting statute in your generations will you observe it in the seventh month.
42. For a seven day period you shall live in booths. Every resident among the Israelites shall live in booths,	42. In tabernacles of two sides according to their rule, and the third a handbreadth (higher), that its shaded part may be greater than that into which comes the sunshine; to be made for a bower (or shade) for the feast, from different kinds (of materials) which spring from the earth and are uprooted: in measure seven palms, but the height within ten palms. In it you will sit seven days; the males in Israel, and children who need not their mothers, will sit in the tabernacles, blessing their Creator whenever they enter therein.
43. in order that your [ensuing] generations should know that I had the children of Israel live in booths when I took them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.	43. That your generations may know how, under the shadow of the cloud of glory, I made the sons of Israel to dwell at the time that I brought them out redeemed from the land of Mizraim.
44. And Moses told the children of Israel [these laws] of the Lord's appointed [holy days].	44. And Mosheh declared the time of the orders of the LORD's festivals, and taught them to the sons of Israel.

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

In order to understand the finished work of the P’shat mode of interpretation of the Torah, one needs to take into account that the P’shat is intended to produce a catechetical output, whereby a question/s is/are raised and an answer/a is/are given using the seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel and as well as the laws of Hebrew Grammar and Hebrew expression.

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

[cf. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=472&letter=R]:

1. Ḳal va-ḥomer: "Argumentum a minori ad majus" or "a majori ad minus"; corresponding to the scholastic proof a fortiori.

2. Gezerah shavah: Argument from analogy. Biblical passages containing synonyms or homonyms are subject, however much they differ in other respects, to identical definitions and applications.

3. Binyan ab mi-katub eḥad: Application of a provision found in one passage only to passages which are related to the first in content but do not contain the provision in question.

4. Binyan ab mi-shene ketubim: The same as the preceding, except that the provision is generalized from two Biblical passages.

5. Kelal u-Peraṭ and Peraṭ u-kelal: Definition of the general by the particular, and of the particular by the general.

6. Ka-yoẓe bo mi-maḳom aḥer: Similarity in content to another Scriptural passage.

7. Dabar ha-lamed me-'inyano: Interpretation deduced from the context.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:1-44

2 Speak to the children of Israel...The Lord’s appointed [holy days] Designate the [times] of the festivals so that [all of] Israel will become accustomed to them, [meaning] that they should proclaim leap years for [the Jews in] the Diaspora who had uprooted themselves from their place to ascend to [Jerusalem for] the festivals, but who had not yet arrived in Jerusalem. [The leap year would enable them to arrive in time. Consequently, in ensuing years, they would not lose hope of arriving on time and would be encouraged to make the pilgrimage.]-[Torath Kohanim 23:139; Levush Ha’orah. See also Mizrachi, Nachalath Ya’akov, Sefer Hazikkaron, Yosef Hallel, Chavel]

3 [For] six days... Why does the Sabbath [designated by God,] appear here amidst the festivals [designated by the Sanhedrin]? To teach you that whoever desecrates the festivals is considered [to have transgressed as severely] as if he had desecrated the Sabbath, and that whoever who fulfills the festivals is considered as if he has fulfilled the Sabbath, [and his reward is as great].-[Be’er Basadeh ; Torath Kohanim 23:144]

4 These are the Lord’s appointed [holy days, holy occasions, that you shall designate] In the earlier verse (verse 2), Scripture is referring to the proclamation of a leap year, while here, Scripture is referring to sanctifying the new month [i.e., “designating” which day is the first of the month, based on testimony of the sighting of the new moon. Both of these “designations,” therefore, have bearing on the establishment of the festivals.] -[Torath Kohanim 23:146]

5 in the afternoon Heb. בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם, lit. between the two evenings. From six [halachic] hours [after dawn,] and onwards [until evening (עֶרֶב), i.e., nightfall.]

the Passover offering to the Lord Heb. פֶּסַח, the offering up of a sacrifice named “Pesach.” [The term “Pesach” here refers to the Pesach offering brought on the fourteenth of Nissan, not to the Passover Festival, which begins on the fifteenth.-[Be’er Heitev on Rashi]

8 And you shall bring a fire offering [to the Lord for a seven-day period] These are the additional offerings [of Passover] delineated in parshath Pinchas (Num. 28:1625). Why are they mentioned here? To inform you that the additional offerings do not impede one another, [if some are omitted, as the Torah states:]

And you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord in any case. If there are no bulls, bring rams, and if there are neither bulls nor rams, bring lambs [as prescribed in Num. 28:19].-[Torath Kohanim 23:152] for a seven-day period Heb. שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, lit., a “seven” of days. Wherever the שִׁבְעַת appears, it denotes a noun, and [thus, the expression here שִׁבְעַת יָמִיםmeans “a week of days”; septaine in Old French [which is the noun, as opposed to sept, meaning the number seven. See Mizrachi on Rashi Exod. 10:22]. Likewise, every [construct expression like], שְׁמוֹנַת, שֵׁשֶׁת, חֲמֵשֶׁת, שְׁלֹשֶׁת [literally means, respectively, “an eight of,” "a six of," “a five of,” "a three of," [meaning a unit consisting of one of these numbers]. -[See Gur Aryeh and Levush Haorah on Rashi Exod. 10:22 for the reason this type of expression is used here instead of simply שִׁבְעָה יָמִים, “seven days.”]

work of labor Even types of work (מְלָאכוֹת) that are considered by you as labor (עֲבוֹדָה) and necessities, where a monetary loss may be incurred if one would refrain from them, for example, something that will be lost [if the activity is postponed]. I understood this from Torath Kohanim, where it is taught (23:187): “One might think that even during the intermediate days of the Festival, work of labor is prohibited...” [and the text concludes by teaching us that during those days, מְלֶאכֶת עֲבוֹדָה is permitted, and we know that the type of work that is permitted on the intermediate days is such work whose postponement would cause a loss (דָּבָר הָאָבֵד). Hence, we see that מְלֶאכֶת עֲבוֹדָה and דָָּבָר הָאָבֵד are synonymous, and that is what the Torah meant to prohibit on the festival holy days—namely, the first and seventh days of Passover, when even that type of work is prohibited].

10 [you shall bring...an omer] of the beginning of your reaping the first of the harvest [from the fields. Thus, one is permitted to proceed with the general harvest only after this omer has been reaped.]-[Sifthei Chachamim ; Men. 71a]

omer a tenth of an ephah (see Exod. 16:36). That was its [the measure’s] name, like “And they measured it with an omer ” (Exod. 16:18).

11 And he shall wave Every [mention of] תְּנוּפָה, “waving,” [in Scripture], denotes moving back and forth, up and down. [It is moved] back and forth to prevent evil winds; [it is moved] up and down to prevent evil dews [i.e., the dew should be a blessing for the crop, not a curse].-[Men. 61a- 62a]

so that it will be acceptable for you If you offer it up according to these instructions, it will be acceptable for you.

on the day after the rest day - מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת. On the day after the first holy day of Passover, [since a holy festival day is also שַׁבָָּת, rest day, in Scripture]. For if you say [that it means] the “Sabbath of Creation” [i.e., the actual Sabbath, the seventh day of the week], you would not know which one. -[Men. 66a]

12 you shall offer up [an unblemished lamb in its [first] year] It comes as obligatory for the omer [not as part the additional offerings of Passover.

13 Its meal offering The meal offering [which accompanies every sacrifice], along with its libations. [See Num. 15:116.] [This is not an independent meal offering.]

two tenths [of an ephah] It was double [the usual meal offering for a lamb, which is one tenth.] (See Num. 15:4.)

and its libation [shall be] a quarter of a hin of wine Although its meal offering is double, its libations are not double, [but the usual libation prescribed for a lamb (Num. 15:5). -[Men. 89b]

14 or [flour made from] parched grain [This refers to] flour made from tender, plump grain that is parched in an oven (see Lev. 2:14).

plump grain [These are the] plump, parched kernels, grenaillis [in Old French].-[See Rashi, Sifthei Chachamim on Lev. 2:14]

in all your dwelling places The Sages of Israel differ concerning this. Some learned from here that [the prohibition of eating] the new crop [before the omer] applies [even] outside the Land [of Israel], while others say that this phrase comes only to teach [us] that they were commanded regarding the new crop only after possession and settlement, after they had conquered and apportioned [the land.-[Kid. 37a]

15 from the morrow of the rest day On the day after the [first] holy day [of Passover].-[See Rashi on verse 11; Men. 65b]

[seven weeks;] they shall be complete [This verse] teaches us that one must begin counting [each of these days] from the evening, because otherwise, they would not be “complete.”-[Men. 66a]

16 the day after the seventh week - הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: שְׁבִיעָתָא שְׁבוּעֲתָא, “the seventh week.”

You shall count until the day after the seventh week But not inclusive, making forty-nine days.

the fiftieth day, [on which] you will bring a meal offering to the Lord from the new [wheat crop] [lit., “(You shall count) fifty days and bring a meal offering to the Lord from the new (wheat crop).” But we count only forty-nine days. Therefore, the meaning is:] On the fiftieth day, you shall bring this [meal offering of the new wheat crop]. But I say that this is a Midrashic explanation of the verse [since it requires the forced attachment of the words חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם to the continuation of the verse regarding the meal offering, whereas the cantillation signs attach them to the preceding words regarding the counting]. But its simple meaning is: “until [but not inclusive of]...the day after [the completion of] the seventh week, which is the fiftieth day, shall you count.” Accordingly, this is a transposed verse.

a new meal- offering This is the first meal offering brought from the new [crop]. Now, if you ask, “But was not the meal offering of the omer already offered up (see verse 10 above)?” [the answer to this is that] that is not like other meal offerings—for it comes from barley [and hence, this meal offering is new since it is the first meal offering from the wheat crop].

17 From your dwelling places but not from outside the Land.-[Men. 83b]

bread set aside Heb. לֶחֶם תְּנוּפָה, bread of separation, set aside for the sake of the Most High, and this is the new meal offering, mentioned above [in the preceding verse].

the first offering The first of all the meal offerings [brought from the new crop]; even a “jealousy meal offering” [for suspected infidelity, see Num. 5:1131], which comes from barley [see verse 15 there], may not be offered up from the new crop before the two loaves [have been brought].-[Men. 84b]

18 And associated with the bread Heb. עַל־הַלֶּחֶם,lit. on the bread, i.e., “because of the bread,” i. e., as an obligation for the bread, [but not as a separate obligation for that day. I.e., if they did not bring the bread offering, they do not bring this associated burnt offering.-[Mizrachi ; Torath Kohanim 23:171]

[along with] their meal offering and libations i.e., according to the prescription of meal offerings and libations specified for each [type of] animal in the passage that delineates [libations (see Num. 15:116), as follows: three tenths [of an ephah of flour] for each bull, two tenths for a ram and one tenth for a lamb—this is the meal offering [for sacrifices]. And the libations are as follows: Half a hin [of wine] for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for a lamb.

19 And you shall offer up one he-goat One might think that the seven lambs (preceding verse) and the he-goat mentioned here are the same seven lambs and the he-goat enumerated in the Book of Numbers (28:19, 22). However, when you reach [the enumeration there of] the bulls and rams, [the numbers of each animal] they are not the same [as those listed here]. You must now conclude that these are separate and those are separate—these are brought in conjunction with the bread, while those as additional offerings [for the Festival].-[Torath Kohanim 23:171]

20 And the kohen shall wave them...as a waving This teaches us that they require waving while still alive. Now, one might think that they all [require waving]. Scripture, therefore, says, “along with the two lambs.” -[see Men. 62a]

They shall be holy Since a peace offering of an individual has itself a minor degree of holiness, Scripture had to say concerning communal peace offering that they are holy of holies.

22 When you reap [But Scripture has already stated this, “When you...reap its harvest...” (verse 10 above).] Scripture repeats it once again, [so that one who disobeys] transgresses two negative commands. Rabbi Avdimi the son of Rabbi Joseph says: Why does Scripture place this [passage] in the very middle of [the laws regarding] the Festivals—with Passover and Atzereth (Shavuoth) on one side and Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the Festival [of Succoth] on the other? To teach you that whoever gives לֶקֶט, gleanings, שִׁכְחָה, forgotten sheaves, and פֵּאָה, the corners, to the poor in the appropriate manner, is deemed as if he had built the Holy Temple and offered up his sacrifices within it.-[Torath Kohanim 23:175]

you shall leave Leave it before them and let them gather it up. And you shall not help one of them [since this will deprive the others].-[Torath Kohanim 19:22]

I am the Lord, your God Who is faithful to give reward [to those who fulfill My Torah].

24 a remembrance of [Israel through] the shofar blast [On this Rosh Hashanah day,] a remembrance [before God of the Jewish people is evoked through the sounds of the shofar. And in order to enhance this remembrance, our Rabbis instituted the recitation] of Scriptural verses dealing with remembrance and Scriptural verses dealing with the blowing of the shofar (R.H. 32a), through which the remembrance of the binding of Isaac is recalled for them, [whereby Isaac was willing to be sacrificed as a burnt-offering according to God’s words (see Gen. 22:119), and] in whose stead a ram was offered up [whereby the shofar alludes to that ram’s horns, by which it was caught in a tree, thus making its appearance as Isaac’s replacement (see Gen. 22:13)].-[Sifthei Chachamim, Gur Aryeh ; R.H. 16a]

25 And you shall offer up a fire offering The additional offerings stated in the Book of Num. (29:16).

27 But Heb. אַךְ. Wherever the word אַךְ, “but,” or רַק, “only,” appear in the Torah, they denote an exclusion. [Thus,] Yom Kippur atones for those who repent, “but” it does not atone for those who do not repent.-[Shev. 13a]

30 I will destroy - כָּרֵת ("excision" or “cutting off”) is stated [as a punishment] in many places [in Scripture] and I do not know what that means, when God says [explicitly] “I will destroy,” [coinciding with וְנִכְרְתָה in the preceding verse,] this teaches us כָּרֵת means only “destruction” [i.e., premature death, and not that the body is to be cut up or that the person is to be exiled].-[See Be’er Basadeh on this verse and on 22:3 above; Torath Kohanim 23:180]

31 You shall not perform any work [But has this not already been stated in verses 28 and 30 above? Yes, nevertheless this prohibition is repeated several times here, so that one who disobeys] transgresses many negative commandments, or to warn against work at night [that it is forbidden just] as [performing] work during the day [of the tenth of Tishri]. -[Yoma 81a; see Mizrachi and Divrei David]

35 a holy occasion [This expression mentioned in connection with Yom Kippur, means that you are to] sanctify it [the day] through [wearing] clean garments and through prayer, while [this expression mentioned in connection] with the other holy days, [means] sanctify it with food and drink, through [wearing] clean clothes and through [their own special] prayers.-[See Torath Kohanim 23:186] [Note that this Rashi belongs on verse 27. Therefore, it is obvious that it is referring to Yom Kippur, and the words, בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרים are completely unnecessary. Since the copyists believed it to be on verse 35, which deals with Succoth, they found it necessary to insert those words. See Divrei David.]

36 It is a [day of] detention [i.e., God says to Israel,] “I have detained you [to remain] with Me.” This is analogous to a king who invited his sons to feast with him for a certain number of days, and when the time came for them to leave, he said: “My sons! Please, stay with me just one more day, [for] it is difficult for me to part with you!” [Similarly, after the seven days of Succoth, God “detains” Israel for one extra holy day.]

[you shall not perform] any work of labor [I.e.,] even such work that is considered labor for you, that, if not done, would cause a monetary loss [is prohibited].

you shall not perform One might think that even during the intermediate days of the Festival, work of labor is [also] prohibited. Scripture, therefore says here, “ It [is a day of detention,” [i.e., only on this eighth day is work prohibited, and not on the preceding weekdays of the Festival, when such work, which, if postponed, would cause a monetary loss, is permitted].- [Torath Kohanim 23:187]

37 burnt offering and meal offering the libations meal offering that is offered up with the burnt offering (see Num. 15:116). -[Men. 44b]

the requirement of each day on its day [I.e.,] according to the prescribed laws set out in the Book of Num. (chapter 29).

the requirement of each day on its day But if its day passes, [and the prescribed sacrifice for that day had not been offered,] this sacrifice is canceled [i.e., it can no longer be brought on a later day].-[Torath Kohanim 23:189]

39 But on the fifteenth day... when you gather in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the festival of the Lord for a seven-day period [by bringing] a peace offering as the [special] “Festival offering (חֲגִיגָה).” Now, one might think that this [Festival offering] overrides the Sabbath. Scripture, therefore, says here, “But (אַךְ) ” [denoting an exclusion (see Rashi on verse 27 above; Torath Kohanim 23:191), namely that this sacrifice may not be brought on the Sabbath], since it can be made up on any of the seven [days of the Festival].

when you gather in the produce of the land [This teaches us] that this seventh month must occur at the time of ingathering, [namely, in the fall]. From here, [we learn] that they were commanded to proclaim leap years [i.e., to add an extra, thirteenth month to the lunar year], for if there were no leap years, [the lunar years would eventually no longer coincide with the solar years, and] sometimes [the seventh month] would occur in midsummer or midwinter [not in the time of ingathering]. -[Torath Kohanim 23:192]

you shall celebrate [by bringing] the Festival peace offering (see the first Rashi on this verse),

for a seven-day period If one did not bring it on one [day of the Festival], he may still bring it on another. Now, one might think that we are obliged to bring it all seven days. Scripture, therefore, says, “celebrate it ” (verse 41 below) [employing the singular form,] thus denoting only one day and no more. But why does Scripture say "seven"? [To give seven days] for making it up [if one did not bring it on the first day]. -[Chag.9a]

40 the fruit of the hadar tree [Scripture could have simply said, “ hadar fruit.” Since it adds the word “tree,” next to “fruit,” it teaches us that it is] a tree whose wood has the same taste as its fruit.-[Sukkah 35a] [Note that, according to Ramban, the fruit known in Aramaic as “ethrog,” is known in Hebrew as “ hadar.”

hadar [Refers to a fruit] “that resides (הַדָּר) ” on its tree from one year to the next, which is the ethrog.-[Sukkah 35a]

date-palm fronds Heb. כַּפֹּת תְּמָרִים. [The word כַּפֹּת is written here with] a missing “vav” (ו) [thus implying the singular rather than the plural]. This teaches us that only one [date-palm frond is to be taken].-[Sukkah 32a]

a branch of a braided tree [A tree] whose branches עֲנָפָיו are braided like cords עֲבוֹתוֹת and like ropes. And Scripture is referring here specifically to the הֲדַס (myrtle) tree, which is made in a braided-like form.-[Sukkah 32b]

42 resident Heb. הָאֶזְרָח, [lit., “the resident.” The definite article here] signifies a resident [of the people of Israel, namely, a native Jew. Therefore, the next seemingly superfluous expression, namely,]

among the Israelites Comes to include converts [in this commandment].-[Sukkah 28b]

43 I had the children of Israel live in booths [These were] the clouds of glory [with which God enveloped the Jewish people in the desert, forming a protective shelter for them against wild beasts and enemies.] [See Num. 10:34 and Rashi on that verse.]-[Sukkah 11b]

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 87:1-7

Rashi	Targum
1. Of the sons of Korah, a song with musical accompaniment, whose foundation is on the mountains of the Sanctuary.	1. Uttered by the sons of Korah. A song that was established at the instruction of the fathers of old.
2. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.	2. The LORD loves the entrances to the academies established in Zion more than all the synagogues of the house of Jacob.
3. Glorious things are said about you, the city of God, forever.	3. Glorious words have been spoken of you, O city of God, forever.
4. I will remind Rahab and Babylon of My beloved ones. Behold Philistia and Tyre with Cush, "This one was born there."	4. The Egyptians and Babylonians have reminded those who know You of Your praises; behold, the Philistines and Tyrians, with the Ethiopians; this king was brought up there.
5. And to Zion it will be said, "Man after man was born in her," and He will establish it on high.	5. And of Zion it will be said, "King David and Solomon his son were brought up within it; and God will build it above."
6. [When] the Lord counts in the script of the peoples forever, [He will say,] "This one was born there."	6. O LORD, in the book in which they write the account of all the ages it is written, "This king was brought up there forever."
7. And singers as well as flute players, all my innards are concerned with You.	7. And they utter songs with celebration, all kinds of psalms with sacrifice are uttered in Your midst.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Psalms 87:1-7

1 whose foundation is on the mountains of the Sanctuary The foundation of this psalm; the Psalmist founded it on the mountains of Zion and Jerusalem.

3 Glorious things are said about you You, Jerusalemwords of glory were spoken about you from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He. Now what are the words of glory? That you are the city of God forever.

4 I will remind Rahab and Babylon of My beloved ones This too He spoke of You: I shall remind Egypt and Babylon of My beloved ones, to bring them as a gift, as the matter that is stated (Isa. 66:20): “And they will bring all your brethren, etc., a tribute to the Lord.”

Behold Philistia and Tyre with Cush They too, like Egypt and Babylon, will direct their attention to seek out and to remember each one.

“This one was born there” This one was of a family of those born in Zion, as the matter that is stated (Isa. 27:12): “and you will be gathered one by one.”

5 And to Zion it will be said, “Man after man was born in her” And when they bring them as a tribute to the Lord, it will be said to Zion concerning each one, “This is [one] of those who were exiled from you,” or “from their generations.” Another explanation: The Psalmist says, “I will mention to my people and to my beloved ones the greatness of Egypt and Babylon, whose greatness they now see. Behold Philistia and Tyre with Cush, because they are near Rahab and Babylon, all the nations exalt them [the Israelites] and say about them, ‘This one was born there,’ in Egypt or Babylon.”

And to Zion it will be said, “Man, etc.” And this praise that is now [directed] to Rahab and Babylon will be turned around to Zion, and concerning it they will say, “So-and-so and so-and-so were born in her.”

and He will establish it on high And the Holy One, blessed be He, will establish it above all the cities.

6 The Lord counts in the script of the peoples, “This one, etc.” This is a transposed verse, and סלה, forever, which is said at the end, refers to the beginning: When the Lord counts in the script of the peoples forever. That means that in the future, when the Holy One, blessed be He, inscribes the nations for an abhorrence, He will count the Israelites who are assimilated among them and those who were coerced [to abandon Judaism] among them and extract them from their midst, and [He shall] say, “This one was born of those of Zion,” and He will choose them for Himself. This is what Isaiah says (66:21): “And from them, too, will I take for priests and for Levites.” From the nations bringing them for tribute, I shall take those assimilated among them. And there will be among them priests and Levites who are unrecognizable, but they are revealed to Me, says the Lord. Now where did He say it? (Deut. 29:28) “The secret things belong to the Lord, our God.”

7 And singers as well as flute players concerning this.

with you With your salvation.

as well as flute players Heb. כחללים, an expression of (Jud. 21:21) בַּמְחֹלוֹת, musical instruments.

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms 87:1-7

By: H.Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Korach denied the sovereignty and superior sanctity of Moses, Aaron, and the other leaders of Israel He protested, "The entire congregation is holy, all of them, and HaShem is among them. Why then do you elevate yourselves above the congregation of HaShem?"^[4] He also refused to recognize that the Land of Israel is holier than any other land. At that point, Korach’s sons refused to join his revolt; instead they composed a song to extol the unique virtues of the Land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.^[5] In this way they gave credence to the concept that just as some locations are better suited to the service of HaShem than others, so too are certain men, such as Moses, better suited for the spiritual leadership of the nation than others.

This composition was based on and dedicated to the mountains of Jerusalem and Zion.^[6] Specifically, the Psalmist was inspired by Mount Zion, Mount Moriah,^[7] and the others mountains surrounding Jerusalem.^[8] The impressive mountains represent special Divine providence and protection for Jerusalem.

Indeed, these mountains form the foundation for the entire world, for tradition teaches that the first part of earth created at the genesis of the universe was the foundation stone, a rock in the Holy of Holies. From that rock, the earth expanded and spread outward to form the globe.^[9]

According to Midrash Shocher Tov, Judaism is founded on two holy mountains; Mount Sinai and Mount Moriah. In the former, our tradition was transmitted, on the latter it was preserved.

I would like to look more intently at the following pasuk:

Tehillim (Psalms) 87:2 HaShem loves the gates of Tzion more than all the dwellings of Yaaqov.

Chazal^[10] interpret this pasuk as describing HaShem's intense love for the study of halacha: "HaShem loves the gates that excel in halacha more than bate knesset^[11] and bate midrash.^[12] This is similar to what R' Chiya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla: that ever since the Bet HaMikdash was destroyed the only thing HaShem has in His world is the dalet (ד) amot^[13] of halacha."

Berachoth 8a Raba said to Rafram b. Papa: Let the master please tell us some of those fine things that you said in the name of R. Hisda on matters relating to the Synagogue! — He replied: Thus said R. Hisda: What is the meaning of the verse: HaShem loveth the gates of Zion [Ziyyon] more than all the dwellings of Jacob?^[14] The Lord loves the gates that are distinguished through Halacha more than the Synagogues and Houses of study.^[15] And this conforms with the following saying of R. Hiyya b. Ammi in the name of ‘Ulla: Since the day that the Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has nothing in this world but the daled cubits of Halacha alone. So said also Abaye: At first I used to study in my house and pray in the Synagogue. Since I heard the saying of R. Hiyya b. Ammi in the name of ‘Ulla: ‘Since the day that the Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has nothing in His world but the daled cubits of Halacha alone’,I pray only in the place where I study. R. Ammi and R. Assi, though they had thirteen Synagogues in Tiberias, prayed only between the pillars where they used to study.^[16]

The sense seems to be that since the site of HaShem’s permanent dwelling in Jerusalem was erased, HaShem is present in the private sphere within which we act according to His will. Rabbi A.J. Heschel notes that this is hardly a jubilant statement expressing an ideal. We work and pray for the time when HaShem’s presence will return to our communal and national lives, and beyond.

“Returning” is what we do when we go up to Israel. “Returning” is what we do when we repent from our sins.

The parallel between teshuva (or “return to HaShem“) and entering the Land of Israel is supported by the fact that teshuva, from the root word meaning “return”, occurs in the Tanakh^[17] most frequently in relation to the Jewish peoples’ return to the Land of Israel. This teaches that entering the Land of Israel (aliyah) in its deepest sense is the ultimate manifestation of return to HaShem (teshuva), it being the physical and spiritual entry into an entirely new state of being. With this perspective we can begin to appreciate what our Sages in the Talmud have told us:

Ketuvot 110b Anyone who lives outside of Eretz Israel, it is as if they worship idols.

The Sages have thereby told us that there is a connection between returning to HaShem, through repentance, and returning to the land of Israel. This connection began “in the beginning…”

The Torah begins with the account of creation in order to prove that the earth belongs to HaShem and He can give it to anyone He wishes. When HaShem makes a covenant with Avraham, He gives Avraham AND HIS SEED Eretz Israel. Now we know that his seed was not through Ishmael, but through Yitzchak:

Beresheet (Genesis) 21:12 And G-d said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

HaShem said to Avraham: “To your descendants I will give this Land”.^[18] However, it is not clear who the descendants of Avraham are, Yitzchak or Ishmael? So the Torah comes to tell us that Ishmael is excluded from all that Avraham had, he received gifts instead:

Beresheet (Genesis) 25:5-6 And Avraham gave all (“kol”) that he had to Yitzchak. And to the sons of the concubines he gave presents.

Now I would like to take note that there were three parcels of land, in Eretz Israel, that were purchased by the Patriarchs:

1. The Cave of Machpelah near Hebron where the Patriarchs and their wives are buried. This site was purchased by Avraham Avinu.
2. The field near Shechem where Yosef HaTzaddik^[19] is buried. This site was purchased by Yaaqov Avinu.
3. Har HaBayit, the Temple mount, in Jerusalem. This site was purchased by David HaMelech.

The Torah documents the purchase of the land for the tombs of the Patriarchs and the land that contains the tomb of Yosef HaTzaddik. The only other parcel whose purchase is documented, in perpetuity, by Scripture itself is the site of the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple, in Jerusalem. These three special places, in Eretz Israel, are mentioned explicitly in the Midrash:

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXIX:7 AND HE BOUGHT THE PARCEL OF GROUND, etc. (XXXIII, 19). R. Judan b. R. Simon said: This is one of the three places regarding which the nations of the world cannot taunt Israel and say, ‘ Ye have stolen them.’ These are they: The cave of Machpelah, the [site of the] Temple, and the sepulcher of Yosef HaTzaddik . The cave of Machpelah: And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver (Gen. XXIII, 16). The Temple: So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold (I Chron. XXI, 25). And Yosef HaTzaddik’s sepulcher: AND HE BOUGHT THE PARCEL OF GROUND.

R. Aharon Soloveitchik^[20] calls this kind of acquisition “chazakah”, holding. It comes from HaShem’s commandment to Adam “to guard the garden and keep it”.^[21] This is the gift of reaching unto things through cultivation, work and dedication.

How tragically ironic it is that it is in regard to these very areas: Hebron, Shechem, and the Temple Mount, we are forced to stand up against the world to defend our rights of ownership.

“The entire war^[22] is based on who’s in charge of the holy sites. The Arabs sense that their life force comes from the Jews’ holy sites. That’s why their battles have always been focused on the tombs of the righteous/generous, because these places nourish their life force. It’s no wonder that they hold fast to Kever (the tomb of) Yosef, Machpelah, and most importantly, The Temple mount.”^[23]

Now these three cities Shechem, Hebron, and Jerusalem all share certain common features:

1. The three cities are located in the hill country.
2. The three cities lie in the center (east to west) of Israel. Additionally, Jerusalem lies in the center, north to south, of Eretz Israel.^[24]
3. The three cities are situated in places of high temperature.^[25]
4. Each is associated with a “double”. Shechem is also called Dothan which means “dual wells”, Machpelah is a double cave, and Jerusalem is the double of the heavenly Jerusalem.^[26]
5. They are all related to the Levites as two were cities of refuge and the Beit HaMikdash was built in the third city.
6. They are border cities between adjacent tribes. Shechem is between Manasseh and Ephraim, Hebron is between Judah and Dan, and the Beit HaMikdash is between Benjamin and Judah.
7. They were the only cities purchased for money.
8. All three had something precious from Mitzrayim:^[27] Jerusalem had the Ark, Hebron had Yaaqov Avinu, and Shechem had Yosef HaTzaddik.
9. All three cities were on the same trade route. “The Way of the Patriarchs” also called the “Ridge Route”.
10. Each of these cities is distinctly associated with Avraham Avinu: Moriah with the Akeida, Shechem with his entrance to Eretz Israel, and Machpelah with his burial.
11. Each of these cities is distinctly associated with Yaaqov Avinu: Shechem is where Yaaqov entered the land when returning from Lavan and where he purchased the area of Yosef’s tomb, Jerusalem AKA Beit El with the ladder vision, and Machpelah as his burial place.
12. Each of these is the city of a king. Shechem from whence Avraham Avinu defeated the kings of the world and where Rehoboam was crowned king, Hebron where David HaMelech was crowned King, and Jerusalem where David reigned as king over all Israel.
13. Each of these cities is associated with redemption because each was purchased, for money, after they were promised to Avraham and after Avraham defeated the five kings.
14. Each of these places is associated with an altar. This indicates that each of these places was a place of worship and a place where our fathers expressed their gratefulness to HaShem. Curiously, each of these three is also associated with an altar built by Avraham.

As Jews, we believe that legally and morally according to our laws and history these places are part of our Jewish nation. However, this is not just an historical and religious claim, it also represents the connection to the Land of Israel.

When Avraham first came to the land, the Torah tells us where Avraham went:

Bereshit (Genesis) 12:6-9 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite [was] then in the land. And HaShem appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto HaShem, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, [having] Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto HaShem, and called upon the name of HaShem. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

It appears that Avraham went first to Shechem, then to Jerusalem, and finally he went south to the area of Hevron. These three places seem to contain the essence of the land as promised to Avraham.

The three cities were purchased with money and provide a proof that they belong to the Jewish people. The purchase of land by Jeremiah^[28], serves as a proof that the purchase of the land is inviolate and constitutes a firm link to the land for the purchaser and his offspring.

Each of these cities also symbolizes an eternal contact point that must be maintained or else we will have the appropriate problem.

Kever Yosef^[29] (Shechem) – The eternal contact point to the land, of the Jewish soul. This area of Shechem was purchased by Yaaqov Avinu, for a hundred kesitah’,^[30] and Yosef was carried up from Mitzrayim^[31] to be buried here.

Shechem is a city of central Israel; called Sichem in Beresheet 12:6, Shalem, according to some commentators;^[32] Sychem in II Luqas 7:16; and Sychar in Yochanan 4:5. Its situation is indicated as in Mount Ephraim in Yehoshua 20:7 and I Melachim 12:25.

The word Shechem means “Shoulder“. A “shoulder” represents the power to connect the back state of knowledge (secular science) and wisdom to the front state of knowledge and wisdom (Torah). Shechem is the bridge.

Anatomically, Shechem represents the head^[33] and specifically the brain, which is composed of three main parts (left hemisphere, right hemisphere, and midbrain), as we can see in the following illustration:

Mount Eval and Mount Gerazim are the left and right hemispheres. Shechem is the midbrain, the center of the head, the place of connection. It is centered left to right, top to bottom, and front to back in the very center of the head. This the place of connection between the body and the head. It is the point of origin for the creation of a talmid, a soul destined for the next world.

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis C:9 R. Simlai said: [He assured them]: Ye are the body and I am the head, as it says, Let the blessing come upon the head, [viz.] Joseph:^[34] if the body is removed, of what use is the head?

Rashi says that the Hebrew word shechem, means “portion,” or “division”^[35]; inherent in the name Shechem is the idea of divisiveness.^[36]

Shechem is a place designed for trouble^[37]: Here Dina was profaned, here Yosef was sold, here Avimelech killed his brothers and here the kingship was split. But Shechem was also given as a present to Yosef: “And I have given thee one shoulder (=Shechem) over thy brothers)”. It therefore signifies the complete connection of the tribes to Yosef and his unique way of elevating everything secular to holiness.^[38]

The “Blessings and Curses” on Mt. Eval and Mt. Gerazim, were spoken with Shechem directly between the two mountains. This pasuk clearly states that Shechem is the place where the Children of Israel received their connection to the Promised Land:

Yehoshua (Joshua) 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

been called a “place ready for punishment”.^[39]

Finally, since Shechem was the first city for Avraham, so it will be the first city in the days of Mashiach.^[40]

Shechem = A promise by HaShem to give Avraham and his seed the land of Israel. This infers that our possession of Shechem is an indication of our possession of the entire Land of Israel as promised to Avraham.

Har HaBayit (Jerusalem) – The eternal contact point to the Torah, of the Jewish soul.

Jerusalem represents the center of the center, the focal point of Eretz Israel: “All roads lead to Jerusalem”.

Anatomically, Jerusalem represents the heart.

The heart is in the center of the body that is between the belt and the shoulders. It is centered left to right, top to bottom, and front to back in the area normally covered by the shirt or blouse.

The heart has two basics pumps. One pumps blood through the lungs, and one pumps to the rest of the body. This pictures the ‘pumping’ of life from the Jerusalem above (to the lungs) and the circulating of that life to the Jerusalem below. Those who enter the Temple always go in one gate and out a different gate. Just as the heart’s valve insures that blood is only pumped in one direction.

Torah is also the heart of the world and the quintessential depiction of the Torah is the luchot which are depicted as a heart.

The word “Jerusalem” is a combination of two Hebrew words: Yireh and Salem. Yireh is what Avraham called this place when he was binding Isaac. Salem is what Melchizedek called this place when he met Avraham after the first major war:

Beresheet (Genesis) 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place HaShem-Yireh: as it is said [to] this day, in the mount of HaShem it shall be seen.

Beresheet (Genesis) 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high G-d. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high G-d, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high G-d, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

This first use of the “Jerusalem” then suggests that Jerusalem is our contact with HaShem and His Word. Jerusalem is thus the eternal contact point of the Jewish soul with the Torah.

The prophet confirmed this understanding:

Micah 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of HaShem, and to the house of the G-d of Yaaqov; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem.

Machpelah^[41] (Hevron) – The eternal contact point of our people to our fathers, our people, of the Jewish soul. Machpelah means “The Doubled One“ and was understood to be a double cave. Some say it was a cave within a cave, while others say it was a cave above a cave.

Anatomically, Machpela is situated at the place of yesod, foundation,^[42] vis-à-vis the land of Israel.

This portion of the female anatomy illustrates the idea of cave within a cave and also a cave above a cave. When a woman is laying down, it is a cave within a cave. When she is standing up, then it is a cave within a cave. Curiously, a womb and a grave are both called a ‘kever’, because they are both a portal to another world.

In the area between the bottom of the torso and the belt, the womb is precisely in the center. The womb is the point of origin for all new life. It is the point of connection between this world and the next world.

Kiryat Arba = Hevron (from hibur = connection, because there the spirit connects with the body, the upper world with the lower.). Some say that the name Hevron means friendship. Hebron is the first location in Eretz Israel to be purchased.

The name Hevron speaks of a connection. Burial in Hevron represents a connection to the living even in death. The essence of an ancestor is the fact that he has children. Everything a child is finds its basis in his parent. The link continues from generation to generation, such that every descendent owes his entire being to all those who came before. The Jewish people as they are today, and will be tomorrow, stand on the foundation laid by Avraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rivka, Yaaqov and Leah.

Thus Hevron replaced Gan Eden. In place of individual immortality came the immortality of a connection with the future, an immortality of the whole. Hevron is the place where the body and spirit join. Though the body dies, as long as the spirit, the ideas and values passed on to the next generation, endures, the man is still alive.

Hevron is the place where the lower and upper worlds join; the infusion of holy purpose into future generations unites them. The creation of life in the lower world, and the living of life in the lower world with an eye to both past and future, are together our means of spiritual fulfillment. They are the guarantee of our ultimate purpose.

It is for this reason that Hevron is considered the spiritual entry point into Eretz Israel.^[43]

Shortly after Avraham reached the Promised Land, before he bought Machpelah, whilst Sarah is still alive. He built an altar in Hevron.

Later the Torah describes in painstaking detail how Avraham requests to buy the grave site at Machpelah, how the Hittites wish him to take it for free, and. when Ephron the Hittite finally agrees to make it a purchase, he charges Avraham the inflated and outlandish sum of four hundred silver shekels.^[44]

This cave was purchased by Avraham Avinu as a grave for Sarah. Eventually, Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivka, and Yaaqov and Leah were buried in this doubled cave.

Why did Avraham have to purchase Sarah’s gravesite? Why had he not purchased land during the nearly sixty years that he and Sarah had sojourned in the land?

Avraham and Sarah are semi-nomadic herdsmen because, notwithstanding Divine promises to the contrary, there is as of yet no Hebrew nation to settle the land. While associated with Canaan, their direct connection to the land is tenuous and fragile, because Avraham and Sarah personify the earliest stages of a new nation being born. Only one thing anchors them to this place, and that is the word of HaShem. Actual possession and settlement, the true possibility of a national destiny being realized, is for them far off in the future. For now, the land is firmly in the hands of the indigenous inhabitants, the Canaanites.

This trial is indeed a difficult trial. Avraham must wait till the death of Sarah before he acquires his first piece of the land.

The Land and Torah of Israel are both called by the Torah morasha^[45] a word which literally means “heritage“ but which the Sages of the Talmud link to “me’orasa” (eros, love), or “fiancée”. A successful marriage, a proper conquest of and living in the Land of Israel, knowledge and performance of Torah, are each fraught with problems along the way. 

When Moses sent scouts to scout the land, they looked at the length and breadth of the land, but they only looked at one city: Hevron.^[46]

When Joshua sent the two spies to spy out the land, they only went to one city: Jericho.

These two leaders, Moses and Joshua, both intended to conquer the land. Moses intended to conquer the land from the south and he therefore started with Hevron. When the sin of the spies cut short that plan, HaShem changed tactics.

Joshua entered the land from the east and began his conquest with Jericho. This route roughly parallels the route taken by Avraham when he entered the land and by Yaaqov when he returned from Lavan. Joshua thus followed a tried and true route that had great significance.

Joshua traveled to Shechem for the blessings and the curses: From Eval and Gerazim. His campaign then proceeded south.

The significance of this route must not be lost. Avraham‘s route led to a temporary exile in Egypt. Yaaqov‘s route led to a much longer exile in Egypt.

Moses intended to reverse this pattern in order to eliminate the exile. Because of the sin of the spies, this pattern was abandoned and the road to exile was paved again. We know that the conquest of the land led to the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles. After that exile we restored to the land only to be sent into the longest exile, the exile we are currently experiencing.

Each of these three locations is a contact point of Jewish value for Jewish souls.

The entire war, with the PLO, is based on who’s in charge of the holy sites. The Arabs sense that their life-force comes from the Jews’ holy sites. That’s why their battles have always been focused on the graves of our righteous ancestors, because these places nourish their life-force. It’s no wonder that they hold fast to Kever Yosef, Kever Rachel Imeinu, Ma’arat HaMachpelah, and most importantly, Har HaBayit.

These three locations have become the MOST problematic area of Eretz Israel. Somehow the Arabs know that their survival in the land depends on holding these three places. The Arabs have built a pagan mosque on the Temple mount, they have destroyed kever Yosef, and they have taken over Machpelah and now prevent Jews from worshipping there most of the time.

Our Torah portion, and Ashlamata, speak of the appointed seasons when we are to keep our appointments with HaShem. These appointments normally take place, in the Temple, at Jerusalem. This eternal contact point is where we contact HaShem at His times.

The foundation for the second Bet HaMikdash was laid on Iyar 1,^[47] the day before yesterday.  Zerubbabel began rebuilding the second Bet HaMikdash, on Iyar 2.^[48]

Solomon began Building the first Bet HaMikdash, the heart of eretz Israel, on Iyar 2.^[49] Six months later (think bi-modal Torah) Solomon will finish the temple, on Heshvan 1.^[50]

Today, in the days of Moshe, the plague of blood began in earnest.^[51] This plague was the first of ten that would directly lead to the Jews inheriting eretz Israel.

Tehillim (Psalms) 87:6 HaShem shall count in the register of the peoples: 'This one was born there.' Selah 7 And whether they sing or dance, all my thoughts are in thee.

Kethuboth 75a But of Zion it shall be said: ‘This man and that^[52] was born in her; and the Most High Himself doth establish her;^[53] R. Meyasha, grandson of R. Joshua b. Levi, explained: Both^[54] he who was born therein and he who looks forward to seeing it.^[55]

Ashlamatah: Ezekiel 45:17 + 46:1-9

Rashi	Targum
16. ¶ It shall be incumbent on all the people of the land to give this oblation to the prince in Israel.	16. ¶ All the people of the land will make this contribution for the prince in Israel.
17. And the burnt-offerings and the meal- offerings and the libations on the Festivals and on the New Moons and on the Sabbaths, and on all the times fixed for meetings of the House of Israel shall devolve on the prince; he shall prepare the sin-offering and the meal-offering and the burnt offering and the peace-offering, to effect atonement for the House of Israel. {S}	17. And the prince will be responsible for the burnt offerings and the meal offerings and the libations during the pilgrimage festivals, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, during all the appointed festivals of the House of Israel. He will do the sin-offerings and the meal offerings and the burnt offerings, and the holy sacrifices. to make atonement for the House of Israel. {S}
18. So says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish, and you shall purify the altar.	18. Thus says the LORD God: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you will take a bullock of the herd, unblemished, and you will cleanse the Sanctuary.
19. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering and put it on the doorpost of the House, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the doorpost of the gate of the Inner Court.	19. The priest will take of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorpost of the Temple, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorpost of the gate of the inner court.
20. And so shall you do on seven [days] in the month, because of mistaken and simple- minded men, and expiate the House.	20. And so will you do on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned through error or folly; thus you will make atonement for the Temple.
21. In the first, on the fourteenth day of the month, shall you have the Passover, a festival of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.	21. In Nisan, on the fourteenth day of the month, you will have the Passover, the pilgrimage festival for seven days; unleavened bread will be eaten.
22. And the prince shall make on that day for himself and for all the people of Israel a bull for a sin-offering.	22. On that day the prince will present as a substitute for himself and substituting for all the people, a bull for a sin offering.
23. On the seven days of the Festival he shall make a burnt-offering to the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish daily for seven days, and a sin offering, a he-goat daily.	23. And during the seven days of this festival, he will present burnt offerings before the LORD; seven bulls, and seven rams without blemish, every day, for seven days, and a he-goat as a sin offering, daily.
24. And a meal-offering, he shall make an ephah for a bull and an ephah for a ram, and for each ephah one hin of oil.	24. And he will present a meal offering of a measure for each bull and a measure for each ram and a full hin of oil for each measure.
25. In the seventh [month] on the fifteenth day of the month on the Festival, he shall do the same for seven days, a similar sin offering, a similar burnt-offering, a similar meal- offering and similar oil. {S}	25. In the seventh month," on the fifteenth day of the month, on the pilgrimage festival, he will do as on these seven days, like the sin offering, like the burnt offering, like the meal offering, and like the oil." {S}
1. So says the Lord God: The gate of the Inner Court that faces toward the east shall remain closed the six working days, but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and on the New Moon it shall be opened.	1. Thus says the LORD God: "The gate of the inner court that faces east will be closed on the six week-days, but on the Sabbath day it will be opened, and on the day of the new moon it will be opened.
2. And the prince shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate without, and he shall stand at the doorpost of the gate, and the priests shall offer his burnt-offering and his peace-offering, and he shall prostrate himself at the threshold of the gate, and go out, but the gate shall not be closed until the evening.	2. The prince will enter by way of the vestibule of the gate from the outside, and he will stand at the door-post of the gate; and the priests will sacrifice his burnt offering and his holy sacrifices; and he will bow down at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate will not be closed until the evening.
3. And the people of the land shall [also] prostrate themselves at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons, before the Lord.	3. The people of the land will bow down before the LORD at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and the new moons.
4. And the burnt- offering which the prince offers to the Lord; On the Sabbath shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.	4. The burnt offering which the prince presents before the LORD on the Sabbath day will be six lambs without blemish" and a ram without blemish.
5. And as a meal- offering: one ephah for the ram; and for the lambs, a meal-offering as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. {S}	5. And the meal offering will be a measure for the ram, and for the lambs, the meal offering will be as much as he desires; and a full hin of oil for each measure. {S}
6. But on the New Moon; a young bull without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, without blemish are they to be.	6. On the day of the new moon, it will be a bullock from the herd without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, which will be without blemish.
7. And an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram he shall bring as a meal-offering, but for the lambs as much as he can afford, and of oil a hin to an ephah.	7. He will present a meal offering of a measure for the bull and a measure for the ram, and for the lambs, as much as he desires; and a full hin of oil for each measure.
8. And whenever the prince goes in, he shall go in by way of the vestibule of the gate, and by the same way shall he go out.	8. When the prince enters, he will go in by way of the vestibule of the gate and he will go out by the same way.
9. But when the people of the land come before the Lord on the times fixed for meeting, he who enters by way of the north gate to prostrate himself shall go out by way of the south gate, and he that enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate; he shall not return by way of the gate whereby he came in, but he shall go out by that which is opposite it.	9. When the people of the land enter to bow down before the LORD at the appointed feasts, the one who enters to worship by way of the north gate will go out by way of the south gate; and the one who enters by way of the south gate will go out by way of the north gate; he will not return by way of the gate by which he entered, but he will go out straight ahead of him.
10. The prince also [then] enters among them when they go in, and when they go out, they [the prince and the people together] go out.	10. And the prince will be among them; when they enter he will enter, and when they go out he will go out.
11. And on the Festivals and on the times fixed for meeting, the meal-offering shall consist of an ephah for a bull and an ephah for a ram, but for the lambs a gift which is in accordance with his means, and oil, a hin to an ephah. {P}	11. On the pilgrimage festivals and on the appointed feasts, the meal offering will be a measure for the bull, and a measure for the ram, and for the lambs, as much as he desires, and a full hin of oil for each measure. {P}

Rashi’s Commentary on 45:17 + 46:1-9

16 to give this oblation mentioned above; it will be [given] with the knowledge of all the people of the land.

17 on the prince I say that this “prince” as well as every [mention of] “the prince” in this section means the High Priest; but I heard in the name of Rabbi Menahem that it means the king.

18 So says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull [and] without blemish This is the bull of investiture mentioned at the beginning of this section (43:18 27), and he teaches [us] here that the investiture should be on the first of Nissan.

and you shall purify [as translated,] and you shall purify.

20 And so shall you do on seven [days] in the month It may be said that [this means]: And so shall you do all seven, and so too he says above (43:26): “For seven days they shall effect atonement for the altar.” But our Rabbis explained it in Menahoth (45a) in the following manner: And so shall you make [as a sacrifice] a bull that is not to be eaten in [the event of] “seven” tribes who “interpreted the Torah in a new way (שֶּׁחְדֹּשּׁוּ) ” and whose tribunal issued a decision that fat is permissible, and seven tribes, (which are the majority of the nation), who acted on their word. They must bring a bull for communal error.

because of mistaken and simple-minded men This is a transposed verse: And you shall expiate the House from mistaken and simple-minded men. After the seven days of investiture, whenceforth the altar will be dedicated, they shall bring their sin-offerings and their guilt-offerings, and they will attain atonement, for at the time that Israel attains atonement, the House attains atonement.

21 seven days [Lit. weeks of days,] because they commence from it to count seven weeks.

unleavened bread shall be eaten and unleavened bread shall be eaten on that festival.

22 And the prince shall make on that day, etc. Our Rabbis (Hag. 13a) said that they sought to suppress the Book of Ezekiel for his words contradicted the words of the Torah. Indeed, Hananiah the son of Hezekiah the son of Gurion is remembered for good, for he sat in his attic and expounded on it. But because of our iniquities, what he expounded on these sacrifices, why a bull is brought on the fourteenth day of Nissan, has been lost to us. I say that perhaps he is dealing with the fourteenth of Nissan of the first Passover in which the fully erected House will be dedicated, and this bull will be brought in lieu of the calf born of cattle that Aaron offered up on the eighth of investiture (Lev. 9:2). [Scripture] tells us that if he will not have offered it up on the eighth day of investiture, he should offer it up on the fourteenth of Nissan in order that he should be initiated for the service before the Festival, for it is incumbent upon him [to bring] the sacrifices and the burnt offering of the appointed time, as is stated above (v. 17): “And the burnt offerings and the meal-offerings and the libations on the festivals...shall devolve on the prince, etc.”

23 seven bulls and seven rams without blemish daily But the Torah states (Num. 28:19): “two young bulls, one ram.” We can explain this verse only as meaning seven bulls and seven rams for the seven days, a bull daily and a ram daily, and it comes to teach us that the bulls do not render each other invalid and the rams do not render each other invalid. [I.e., if one bull is missing, the other one may be brought.] So we learned in Menahoth (45a); however, they did not bring proof from this verse but from the verse below (46:6): “But on the New Moon: a young bull from those without blemish, and six lambs and a ram.” But perhaps this too comes to teach the same thing, and this is its meaning: seven bulls and seven rams daily. By adding the sacrifices of each day on its day, they add up to seven bulls for the seven days.

and a sin-offering, a he-goat daily the he- goats of the pilgrimage festivals.

24 And a meal-offering...an ephah for a bull the meal-offering of the libations, an “ephah” for a bull. Now I do not know what this means, for the Torah stated (28:20): “three tenths for the bull.” It is possible that it means an “ephah” of flour from which we extract a tenth of fine flour from a “se’ah”, for the “ephah” is three “se’ahs”.

and an ephah for a ram This too is flour from which we extract two tenths of fine flour sifted thoroughly, as we learned (Men. 6:6): The two loaves were two tenths from three “se’ahs”. [The requirement of] an “ephah” for the bull teaches that if he did not find fine sifted flour that yielded that much, he may bring from [flour that yields] a tenth to a “se’ah”.

and for each ephah one hin of oil I do not know why. We may say that it does not mean that he must sacrifice the entire “hin,” but that there were notches in the “hin” and he would sacrifice oil according to the fine flour, according to the sacrificial laws for a bull according to its requirement and for a ram according to its requirement, according to the notches of the “hin”.

Chapter 46

1 The gate of the Inner Court that faces toward the east, etc. Our Rabbis learned in Tractate Middoth (4:2): The gate of the Heichal had two wickets, one in the south and one in the north. Concerning the one in the south it is explained in the post Mosaic Scriptures (above 44:2): “and no man shall come through it...and it shall be closed.”

2 by way of the vestibule of the gate without as he states above (40:31): “And its halls were to the Outer Court.” By way of the vestibule of the Gate of the Court, i.e., he shall enter by way of the Eastern Gate, which serves for entry and exit, and come to that wicket.

and he shall stand at the doorpost of the gate

That small gate is the wicket.

his burnt offering and his peace offering The burnt offering for appearing in the Temple and the peace offering for celebrating the festivals; this verse refers to the festivals.

and he shall stand at the doorposts of the gate The inner gate; this is the wicket, as the master stated (Taanith 4:2): “Is it possible for a person’s sacrifice to be offered up when he is not standing over it?”

shall not be closed until the evening Now why should it not be closed ?

3 And the people of the land shall prostrate themselves all day, and whoever comes, too, and in the evening they shall close it.

4 On the Sabbath day shall be six lambs I do not know why, for the Torah said (Num. 28: 9): “two lambs,” and “on the Sabbath Day” means either the Sabbath commemorating the Creation or a festival. I, therefore, say that this Sabbath is not the Sabbath commemorating the Creation, but a festival that requires seven lambs and two rams. Scripture comes and teaches you that [the absence of one] does not render the other one invalid, and if he does not find seven, he should bring six, and if he does not find two rams, he should bring one, as our Rabbis expounded regarding the New Moon.

5 as he is able to give This teaches that the meal-offerings do not render each other invalid [in each other’s absence].

6 But on the New Moon: a young bull without blemish Our Rabbis expounded upon this verse in Menahoth (45a): Why does it say, “a young bull”? Since it is stated in the Torah (Num. 28: 11): “And at the beginnings of your months, etc., two young bulls,” how do you know that if he did not find two, he should bring one? Because it is stated: “a bull.”

and six lambs Why is it necessary to state this? Since it is said in the Torah, “seven,” how do you know that if he did not find seven, he should bring six? Because it is stated: “and six lambs.” And how do you know [that he should bring] even one? Because the Torah says, “but for the lambs as much as he can afford.”

8 And whenever the prince goes in on the New Moon and on the Sabbath of Creation, when Israel is not commanded to appear at the Temple, and he comes in to prostrate himself.

he shall go in by way of the vestibule of the gate, and by the same way shall he go out Through the very same gate he shall go out, and he is not commanded to make the Court a short-cut. But on the festivals, concerning which it is stated (Deut. 16:16): “shall all your males appear,” he is required to make it a short-cut like the rest of the people. That is what is written (verse 10): “goes in among them when they go in, and when they go out, they [the prince and people together] go out.”

9 But when the people of the land come, etc., by way of the north gate, etc., but he shall go out by that which is opposite it It is incumbent upon them to be seen in full view in the Court.

10 The prince When he enters the Temple Court through the southern wicket of the Heichal to prostrate himself, he too must make the Temple Court a short-cut. He shall enter by way of the northern gate and leave by way of the southern gate with the rest of the people of the land. This is the meaning of “enters in their midst when they go in, and when they go out, they go out”all of them, the prince with the rest of the people. And he shall not enter by way of the eastern gate as he regularly does on the New Moon and on the Sabbath of Creation, for the eastern gate has no gate opposite it in the west.

Pirqe Abot – MeAm Lo’ez

Pereq Gimel

Mishnah 3:14

By: Rabbi Yitschaq (ben Mosheh) Magriso

Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas said: Morning sleep, afternoon wine, children’s talk, and sitting in the meeting places of the ignorant, drive a person from the world.

This master teaches us that there are things that appear perfectly innocuous, but are actually very detrimental. since they cause a person to waste time and lose out on his mission in this world. They are ways in which a person wastes his time on nonsensical things instead of making use of it to study the Torah, keep the commandments, and do good deeds.

Thus, when a person sleeps late in the morning, he will not have time to study Torah. If he sleeps very late, he will also delay reciting the Sh'ma and the morning service until it is too late.

Similarly, a person might enjoy a drink of wine at noon, after his lunch. This might be especially enjoyable when the weather is hot. But such drink dulls a person's mind and prevents him from studying.

The person then engages in conversation with children, telling jokes. Eventually, he will become immersed in meaningless conversation and profanity. Otherwise, he may remain in the company of an ignoramus who knows nothing of the Torah. He is then in a situation where he can discuss only meaningless ideas.

Note: “children’s talk” – This does not mean talking to “real children”! After all a primary teacher talks to children all day! And our Sage surely is not in this Mishnah singling out teachers of children! Rabbi Dr. Reuven P. Bulka^[56] comments on this statement: “Then there is children’s talk, or intellectual laziness, the concern about trivial, insignificant matters and involvement in an atmosphere which deals with “baby topics,” subjects which are not worthy of adult concern.”

The Abarbanel^[57] comments on this topic: “The thirds occasion that can contribute to the destruction of a man’s life is acting immaturely and irresponsibly. When a grown man is addicted to childish banter, he may meet with the approval of his childish and immature friends, but he does not have G-d’s approval, because he is misusing the tools G-d gave him to study Torah. This is what the Talmud (Shabbat 33a) meant when it said that he who demeans his talk will find the pit of purgatory deepening for him. G-d created man and endowed him with the organs of his body in order to serve Him. (The hands with which to give charity; the eyes with which to see only the good; the feet to walk in the ways of G-d; and the mouth to speak words of Torah.) To exploit anyone of these limbs for another purpose is to defy the expressed will of G-d.”

Thus, by “children’s talk” the Sage meant “childish and immature talk” that lack intellectual and moral maturity not to mention the many sins that such a talk leads to!

All these things prevent a person from occupying himself with the Torah and cause him to lose his precious valuable time. Instead of using his time constructively to do good and serve God, he merely wastes it.

The master concludes that such activities drive a person from the world. They cause a person to devote his life to nonsense, preventing him from fulfilling his mission in life.

Correlations

By: H.Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

& H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:1-44

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 45:17 + 46:1-9

Tehillim (Psalms) 87

2 Pet 2:10-22, Lk 17:3b-4, Acts 28:1-6

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Sayng / Says / Said - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

Children / Young / Sons - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

Israel - ישראל, Strong’s number 03478.

Feasts / Solemnities - מועד, Strong’s number 04150.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Spoke / Spoken / Speak - דבר, Strong’s number 01696.

Sayng / Says / Said - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

Children / Young / Sons - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

Holy - קדש, Strong’s number 06944.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:1 And the LORD <03068> spake <01696> (8762) unto Moses, saying <0559> (8800), 2 Speak <01696> (8761) unto the children <01121> of Israel <03478>, and say <0559> (8804) unto them, Concerning the feasts <04150> of the LORD <03068>, which ye shall proclaim to be holy <06944> convocations, even these are my feasts <04150>.

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 45:17 And it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities <04150> of the house of Israel <03478>: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel <03478>.

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 46:1 Thus saith <0559> (8804) the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 46:3 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD <03068> in the sabbaths and in the new moons.

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 46:6 And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young <01121> bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish.

Tehillim (Psalms) 87:1 « A Psalm or Song for the sons <01121> of Korah. » His foundation is in the holy <06944> mountains.

Tehillim (Psalms) 87:2 The LORD <03068> loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

Tehillim (Psalms) 87:3 Glorious things are spoken <01696> (8794) of thee, O city of God. Selah.

Tehillim (Psalms) 87:5 And of Zion it shall be said <0559> (8735), This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.

Hebrew:

Hebrew	English	Torah Seder Lev 23:1-44	Psalms Psa 87:1-7	Ashlamatah  Ezek 45:17 + 46:1-9
~yhil{a/	GOD	Lev 23:14 Lev 23:22 Lev 23:28 Lev 23:40 Lev 23:43	Ps 87:3
rm;a'	speak, say	Lev 23:1 Lev 23:2 Lev 23:9 Lev 23:10 Lev 23:23 Lev 23:24 Lev 23:26 Lev 23:33 Lev 23:34	Ps 87:5	Ezek 46:1
#r,a,	land, earth	Lev 23:10 Lev 23:22 Lev 23:39 Lev 23:43		Ezek 46:3 Ezek 46:9
rv,a]	which, whom	Lev 23:2 Lev 23:4 Lev 23:10 Lev 23:29 Lev 23:30 Lev 23:37 Lev 23:38		Ezek 46:4 Ezek 46:9
aAB	come, go, enter	Lev 23:10 Lev 23:14 Lev 23:15 Lev 23:17		Ezek 46:2 Ezek 46:8 Ezek 46:9
!Be	sons	Lev 23:2 Lev 23:10 Lev 23:12 Lev 23:18 Lev 23:19 Lev 23:24 Lev 23:34 Lev 23:43 Lev 23:44	Ps 87:1	Ezek 46:6
rb;D'	speak, spoke	Lev 23:1 Lev 23:2 Lev 23:9 Lev 23:10 Lev 23:23 Lev 23:24 Lev 23:26 Lev 23:33 Lev 23:34 Lev 23:44	Ps 87:3
!yhi	hin	Lev 23:13		Ezek 46:5 Ezek 46:7
hz<	same, this	Lev 23:6 Lev 23:14 Lev 23:21 Lev 23:27 Lev 23:28 Lev 23:29 Lev 23:30 Lev 23:34	Ps 87:4 Ps 87:6
gx;	feasts	Lev 23:6 Lev 23:34 Lev 23:39 Lev 23:41		Ezek 45:17
vd,xo	month	Lev 23:5 Lev 23:6 Lev 23:24 Lev 23:27 Lev 23:32 Lev 23:34 Lev 23:39 Lev 23:41		Ezek 45:17 Ezek 46:1 Ezek 46:3 Ezek 46:6
[d;y"	know	Lev 23:43	Ps 87:4
hwhy	LORD
~Ay	days	Lev 23:3 Lev 23:6 Lev 23:7 Lev 23:8 Lev 23:12 Lev 23:14 Lev 23:15 Lev 23:16 Lev 23:21 Lev 23:27 Lev 23:28 Lev 23:29 Lev 23:30 Lev 23:34 Lev 23:35 Lev 23:36 Lev 23:37 Lev 23:39 Lev 23:40 Lev 23:41 Lev 23:42		Ezek 46:1 Ezek 46:4 Ezek 46:6
ac'y"	brought, go	Lev 23:43		Ezek 46:2 Ezek 46:8 Ezek 46:9
laer'f.yI	Israel	Lev 23:2 Lev 23:10 Lev 23:24 Lev 23:34 Lev 23:42 Lev 23:43 Lev 23:44		Ezek 45:17
fb,K,	male lamb	Lev 23:12 Lev 23:18 Lev 23:19 Lev 23:20		Ezek 46:4 Ezek 46:5 Ezek 46:6 Ezek 46:7
!heKo	priest	Lev 23:10 Lev 23:11 Lev 23:20		Ezek 46:2
lKo	any, all, entire	Lev 23:3 Lev 23:7 Lev 23:8 Lev 23:14 Lev 23:21 Lev 23:25 Lev 23:28 Lev 23:29 Lev 23:30 Lev 23:31 Lev 23:35 Lev 23:36 Lev 23:38 Lev 23:42	Ps 87:2 Ps 87:7	Ezek 45:17
aol	niether, nor no	Lev 23:14 Lev 23:21 Lev 23:22 Lev 23:28 Lev 23:31 Lev 23:35 Lev 23:36		Ezek 46:9
d[eAm	appointed times	Lev 23:2 Lev 23:4 Lev 23:37 Lev 23:44		Ezek 45:17 Ezek 46:9
!mi	besides	Lev 23:38	Ps 87:2
hx'n>mi	grain offering	Lev 23:13 Lev 23:16 Lev 23:18 Lev 23:37		Ezek 45:17 Ezek 46:5 Ezek 46:7
rp;s'	count	Lev 23:15 Lev 23:16	Ps 87:6
d[;	until	Lev 23:14 Lev 23:32		Ezek 46:2
l[;	along, behalf	Lev 23:18 Lev 23:28		Ezek 45:17
br,[,	twilight, evening	Lev 23:5 Lev 23:32		Ezek 46:2
@Wn	before	Lev 23:11 Lev 23:20 Lev 23:28 Lev 23:40		Ezek 46:3 Ezek 46:9
rP;	bull	Lev 23:18		Ezek 46:6 Ezek 46:7
vd,qo	holy	Lev 23:2 Lev 23:3 Lev 23:4 Lev 23:7 Lev 23:8 Lev 23:20 Lev 23:21 Lev 23:24 Lev 23:27 Lev 23:35 Lev 23:36 Lev 23:37	Ps 87:1
br;q'	present, offer	Lev 23:8 Lev 23:16 Lev 23:18 Lev 23:25 Lev 23:27 Lev 23:36 Lev 23:37		Ezek 46:4
tB'v;	sabbath	Lev 23:3 Lev 23:11 Lev 23:15 Lev 23:16 Lev 23:32 Lev 23:38		Ezek 45:17 Ezek 46:1 Ezek 46:3 Ezek 46:4
~l,v,	shalom	Lev 23:19		Ezek 45:17 Ezek 46:2
!m,v,	oil	Lev 23:13		Ezek 46:5 Ezek 46:7
r[;v;	gates		Ps 87:2	Ezek 46:1 Ezek 46:2 Ezek 46:3 Ezek 46:8 Ezek 46:9
~ymiT'	defect	Lev 23:12 Lev 23:15 Lev 23:18		Ezek 46:4 Ezek 46:6
taJ'x;	sin offering	Lev 23:19		Ezek 45:17
lyIa;	rams	Lev 23:18		Ezek 46:4 Ezek 46:5 Ezek 46:6 Ezek 46:7
rp;K'	atonement	Lev 23:28		Ezek 45:17
%s,n<	libation	Lev 23:13 Lev 23:18 Lev 23:37		Ezek 45:17
hl'[o	burnt offering	Lev 23:12 Lev 23:18 Lev 23:37		Ezek 45:17 Ezek 46:2 Ezek 46:4
~[;	people	Lev 23:30	Ps 87:6	Ezek 46:3 Ezek 46:9
hf'['	done, did, do	Lev 23:3 Lev 23:7 Lev 23:8 Lev 23:12 Lev 23:19 Lev 23:21 Lev 23:25 Lev 23:28 Lev 23:30 Lev 23:31 Lev 23:35 Lev 23:36		Ezek 45:17 Ezek 46:2 Ezek 46:7
vve	six	Lev 23:3		Ezek 46:1 Ezek 46:4 Ezek 46:6

Greek:

Greek	English	Torah Seder Lev 23:1-44	Psalms Psa 87:1-7	Ashlamatah Ezek 45:17 + 46:1-9	Peshat Mk/Jude/Pet 2 Pet 2:10-22	Remes 1 Luke Lk 17:3b-4	Remes 2 Acts/Romans Acts 28:1-6
ἀγαπάω	loves		Psa 87:2		2 Pet 2:15
ἁμαρτία	sin	Lev 23:19		Eze 45:17	2 Pet 2:14
ἀναστρέφω	return			Eze 46:9	2 Pet 2:18
ἄνθρωπος	man, men		Psa 87:5		2 Pet 2:16		Acts 28:4
γεννάω	born		Psa 87:5		2 Pet 2:12
γίνομαι	became, being born		Psa 87:6		2 Pet 2:20		Acts 28:6
ἐξέρχομαι	went forth, come forth, go forth			Eze 46:2 Eze 46:8 Eze 46:9			Acts 28:3
ἐπιγινώσκω	found, have known				2 Pet 2:21		Acts 28:1
ἐπιστρέφω	turn, return				2 Pet 2:22	Luke 17:4
ἐπιτίθημι	place, laid	Lev 23:20					Acts 28:3
ἔσχατος	last	Lev 23:16			2 Pet 2:20
ἡμέρα	day	Lev 23:3 Lev 23:6 Lev 23:7 Lev 23:8 Lev 23:12 Lev 23:14 Lev 23:15 Lev 23:16 Lev 23:21 Lev 23:27 Lev 23:28 Lev 23:29 Lev 23:30 Lev 23:34 Lev 23:35 Lev 23:36 Lev 23:37 Lev 23:39 Lev 23:40 Lev 23:41 Lev 23:42		Ezek 46:1 Ezek 46:4 Ezek 46:6	2 Pet 2:13	Luke 17:4
καλέω	called	Lev 23:2 Lev 23:4 Lev 23:21 Lev 23:37					Acts 28:1
καταλείπω	leave, forsaking	Lev 23:22			2 Pet 2:15
λέγω	saying, speak	Lev 23:1 Lev 23:2 Lev 23:9 Lev 23:10 Lev 23:23 Lev 23:24 Lev 23:26 Lev 23:33 Lev 23:34	Ps 87:5	Ezek 46:1		Luke 17:4	Acts 28:4 Acts 28:6
ὁδός	way			Eze 46:2 Eze 46:8 Eze 46:9	2 Pet 2:15 2 Pet 2:21
πᾶς	every, all, entire, whole	Lev 23:3 Lev 23:7 Lev 23:8 Lev 23:14 Lev 23:21 Lev 23:25 Lev 23:28 Lev 23:29 Lev 23:30 Lev 23:31 Lev 23:35 Lev 23:36 Lev 23:38 Lev 23:42	Ps 87:2 Ps 87:7	Ezek 45:17			Acts 28:2
προσφέρω	brought near	Lev 23:43		Ezek 46:2 Ezek 46:8 Ezek 46:9
πρῶτος	first	Lev 23:5 Lev 23:7 Lev 23:11 Lev 23:35 Lev 23:39 Lev 23:40			2 Pet 2:20
υἱός	son	Lev 23:2 Lev 23:10 Lev 23:12 Lev 23:18 Lev 23:19 Lev 23:24 Lev 23:34 Lev 23:43 Lev 23:44	Ps 87:1
φέρω	brought, bring	Lev 23:10 Lev 23:12			2 Pet 2:11
χείρ	hand			Eze 46:5 Eze 46:7			Acts 28:3 Acts 28:4
ψυχή	soul	Lev 23:27 Lev 23:29 Lev 23:30 Lev 23:32			2 Pet 2:14

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of Vayikra (Lev.) 23:1 – 44

“Moadei Adonai” “The Appointed Seasons of the LORD”

By: H. Em Rabbi Dr. Adon Eliyahu ben Abraham &

H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat 1 Tsefet (1 Pet) Mishnah א:א	School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta Luqas (Lk) Mishnah א:א
If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven^[1] times he returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” He also knows how to punish the wicked (Lawless) by keeping them for the day of Judgment. And specially those false teachers and prophets who walk after the Yetser HaRa (Heb. for “Evil inclination”) in defiled desires, and despise authority. They are audacious, arrogant, and they are not afraid to speak Lashon Hara against the Torah Sages, Whereas the true messengers (angels), being greater in strength and power, do not bring Lashon Hara against them, the Torah Sages in the LORD’s presence.^[1] But they act like animals without logic or reason, born to be captured and destroyed, speak Lashon Hara of things they do not understand and to be destroyed in their corruption. Bearing the result of injustice (Lawlessness - unrighteousness – conduct contrary to a Torah Teacher) they consider them (the Holy festivals) days of pleasure and luxurious living. They are defiled, blemishes delighting, in deceitfulness as they feast together with you. Having eyes (minds) full of adultery, (as an affront to God) unable to cease from their sin, baiting (beguiling) un-established souls (persons) having a mind full of greedy desire, children of a curse! Having forsaken the straightway of the Torah, they were lead after the way of Balaam son of Beor who loved the profits of evil doing (Lawlessness); Now (he) had his own rebuke for his unlawfulness: by a voiceless (female) ass who spoke in a man’s voice hindering the madness of the prophet. These false teachers and prophets are waterless springs and clouds driven by gusts of wind, for whom, the deepest darkness is eternally reserved. For when they utter extravagant perversities, devoid of truth, they lure (beguile) through an unbridled yetzer hara, those (they) have oppressed who indeed had barely escaped from those who live in defiance. Promising them liberty freedom from the Torah (when they) themselves are bound for destruction; (eternal misery), for by what anyone is overcome it makes him a slave to it. For if (they), having escaped the shameful defilement of the world (pagan system) in the intimate knowledge of the kingship and our emancipation by Yeshua the Messiah, and by these false teachers and prophets again being entangled, and subdued, their last condition has become to them worse than the first. For it were better for them not to have had intimate knowledge of the way of justice/generosity, than having had intimate knowledge of it, to turn back from the holy commandments handed down to them by authorized Hakhamim. But the word of the true proverb has happened to them; “As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool that repeats his folly” (Prov. 26:11), and a sow returns to wallow in her mire after being washed.^[1]
School of Hakham Shaul Remes 2 Luqas (Acts) Mishnah א:א
And after we were brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta.^[58] And the local inhabitants^[59] showed extraordinary kindness^[60] to us, for they lit a fire and welcomed us all, because of the rain that had begun and because of the cold. And when Hakham Shaul had gathered a large number of sticks and was placing them on the fire, a viper^[61] came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. And when the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Doubtless this man is a murderer whom, although he was rescued from the sea, justice has not permitted (him) to live!” He, in turn, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. But they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly to fall down dead. So after they had waited for a long time and saw nothing unusual happened to him, they changed their minds and began saying that he was a god.

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

Lev 23:1-44

Ps 87

Ezek 45:17 + 46:1-9

2 Tsefet 2:10-22

1 Luqas 17:3b-4

2 Luqas 28:1-6

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

The concert of Torah, Prophets and Writings complemented by the Nazarean Codicil looks to one of the greatest messengers of all history. We enter the mazal (Month) of Iyar,^[62] also called Ziv^[63] looking for the light that is hidden and concealed from normal view. This month is given to the pursuit of “brilliance” or “splendor.” Here we refer to Normal Mysticism not So’odic Kabballah. Frankly, we are referring to the normal mystical practice of “Counting the Omer” and building the body of Messiah through an awareness of the Seven Officers of the Congregation. Hakham Tsefet has shown us the secret to overcoming the subversive tactics of the pseudo-prophets and teachers is through building a spiritual structure. Interestingly, it was in this month that Melekh Shlomo (King Solomon) began to build the Bet HaMikdash.^[64] How long does it take to build a vessel that can contain the brilliance of Torah? Shlomo’s Temple was built in seven years. The month of Nisan is the month of beginnings, the month of Iyar – Ziv is the month of building foundations (preparation) and the month of Sivan is the month of reception i.e. of Torah.

The present pericope of the Nazarean Codicil sets the standard of expectation for the messengers (Hakhamim) of the Nazarean Codicil. Furthermore, Hakham Tsefet’s igeretim (two letters, 1-2 Peter) have been a comparative connection between the Priesthood of the Firstborn and that of the Kohanim. His igeretim have been for the sake of understanding how to build spiritual houses of living stones and the priestly conduct of Nazarean Jews. The month of Iyar teaches the Nazareans how to become a house of brilliance.

Hakham Tsefet connects to Vayikra 23 in verse 13 where he talks of the perversion of the Festivals and Torah by the pseudo-prophets. He also shows that these spurious teachers will not follow the “Order” of G-d and His Festivals. Hakham Tsefet sees the month of Iyar as a sign to the talmidim to beware of the pseudo-prophets and teachers who would lure the wary student to abandon their spiritual fathers. The wise will understand.

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

The month of Iyar teaches the Nazarean how to become a house of brilliance. Each facet in this building is coded in Hakham Shaul’s Igeret to the Ephesians. This Igeret as we have seen is coded to the counting of the Omer. The pericope, which introduces Rosh Chodesh Iyar, is Ephesians 3:1-6

Ephesians 3:1-6 For the sake^[65] of the Gentiles^[66] I Hakham Shaul, am the prisoner^[67] (for the cause) of Yeshua HaMashiach, I know you have heard^[68] of the administration^[69] of God’s loving-kindness^[70] which is given me for you: how the secret^[71] (So’od mystery of Messiah) was handed down to me by its (systematic) unveiling,^[72] as I have written briefly. Correspondingly, by reading this you can know^[73] my insight into the secret (So’od mystery) of Messiah,^[74] which was not made known to the sons of men^[75] in other generations^[76] as it has now been revealed to his holy emissaries and prophets through the Spirit of Prophecy. This secret (So’od mystery) is that the Gentiles are to become^[77] fellow heirs, members of the same body, (i.e. of Messiah) and partakers of the promise in Yeshua HaMashiach through their acceptance of the Mesorah.

In this section of Ephesians Hakham Shaul shows the possession of the Jewish Nazareans. They possess the deepest mystery of Messiah. They are now the vehicle/agents through which the mystery is “handed down” (Mesorah) to the Gentiles who are becoming a part of the body of Messiah through conversion. The “message” being posited by Hakham Tsefet and Hakham Shaul is that the Gentile must prepare himself to receive the Torah at Har Sinai just as the Jewish people did. Before the Gentiles can be recipients of the Torah Sh’bikhtav (written Torah) they must receive the Torah Sh’b'al peh (the Oral Torah).

At Har Sinai the Written Torah was introduced to the telluric world. However, part of the Torah remained “hidden” (a mystery). The Oral Tradition of the Torah remained locked inside of the vessels that had received it from the beginning (B’resheet).^[78] While there are many names for the vessels, the most fitting title is “Logos” (Aramaic – Memra, Heb. Dabar). According to Hakham Tsefet the “true messengers” (angels) are greater in strength (spiritually militant power) and power (virtuous power) than the pseudo-teachers and prophets. Philo connects these messengers with “real beings”^[79] (men) endowed with a “pure mind,” which he calls “Logos.” Within their minds exists “the intelligible world which consists of ideas.”^[80] These hidden and mysterious “ideas” remained locked within the Bate Midrash or in the minds of the Hakhamim and their talmidim. The primordial Torah remains locked away safely in the Logos or the Sages who are the personifications of the mysteries and secrets of the Torah. They are the true evangelists of Torah. Kabbalistically speaking these “vessels” are said to have shattered.^[81] From the perspective of Remes, these vessels did not break per se. The so-called “shattered” fragments of these vessels are the Torah teachings of the Hakhamim. They have gathered from the collection of the Triennial Sederim “fragments” of the Mysterious, concealed Torah, which they hand down to their talmidim. “Hearing” (Shema) the teachings of these Hakhamim the talmid reassembles the fragments into one whole Torah. The whole or reassembled Torah is the combined union of the Oral and Written Torah functioning in unity. The Hakham cannot disseminate the whole Torah to his talmidim in one lesson. This is beyond the mental capacity of the Talmid. However, the Hakham can transmit fragments from the pure Torah of his mind to the talmid so that the talmid can assemble the fragments in his mind. The “invisible, spermatic, technical, and divine Word,”^[82] is assembled mentally and the light, brilliance of Iyar or Ziv permeate the thoughts of the talmid. Allegorically speaking Logos/Memra/Dabar is Messiah. In the realm of Remes and the mechanics of the allegorical world, the terms Logos, Memra and Dabar refer to the Hakhamim.

Hakham Shaul relies on definitive titles and theme to relate his message. The first Remes hint comes in the phrase “local inhabitants.” The phrase hints at the name “βάρβαρος” - Barbaros. Its primary meaning related to language and was presumably onomatopoeic. The βάρβαρος - Barbaros was one who did not speak Greek and whose words therefore sounded (to a Greek) like a meaningless ba-ba-ba.^[83] This can connect with the Peshat materials in two ways. Firstly, the “babbling” most likely an inference to the pseudo-prophets and their indiscernible teachings. Secondly, it may refer to the voice of Balaam’s donkey that would have sounded like an indiscernible language had it not been for the miracle of G-d on the Donkey.

The thematic portion of our Remes in the Nazarean Codicil is that of the superstitions of the “local inhabitants.” The discerning abilities of the “Barbaros” failed on both accounts. They first judged Hakham Shaul as murderer and then they believe that he is a god. This reflects the pseudo-prophets of our Peshat narrative.

βάρβαρος – Barbaros, ba-ba-ba:

The babbling of the pseudo-prophets in the Peshat narrative brings Hakham Shaul’s Remes hint to the forefront. This vain babbling sound is the noise made by the teachers who would free their constituents from the “bondage of the Torah.” Hakham Tsefet’s words are powerful and true, for by what anyone is overcome it makes him a slave to it. Furthermore, For it were better for them not to have had intimate knowledge of the way of justice/generosity, than having had intimate knowledge of it, to turn back from the holy commandments handed down to them by authorized Hakhamim. In other places Hakham Shaul has reinforced these words by saying that no one having set his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom/governance of G-d through the Bate Din and Hakhamim. In the previous pericope of Hakham Tsefet, we were told of Lot and his family. His wife looked back, and became a pillar of salt. Her heart yearned to return. She became a pillar of salt because she had sinned with salt.^[84]

The onomatopoeic^[85] speech of the “Barbaros” sounds like the babbling of Balaam’s donkey. Hakham Shaul is showing us that the Hakhamim are the messengers of G-d that interpret the signs (Heb. otiot) making clear sense of the events of the world and the Festivals of HaShem.

Allegorically speaking, Logos is Messiah. The Remes hint also alludes to the Hakham. This is because Logos is the pure mind of G-d, i.e. Torah. Logos refers to the Hakhamim in the sense that Logos, Memra and Dabar all refer to Hokhmah.^[86] Philo teaches us how to use the term “Logos” allegorically. Not only does Philo use the term “Logos” as an expression of the Divine mind, he equates it with the Hebrew word “Makom,” “place.” While there is much to discuss on this topic we draw the inference that a Logos, “makom” (the place) refers to the place where the Torah is disseminated i.e. Bate Midrash. If there is a lesson to be learned in the month of Iyar it is that we must make ourselves a vessel Logos (place) where the secret fragments of the Torah can be assembled.

Saturday Evening May 03, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 19

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
19	Darshan/Parnas 2	Iyar 4	4:1-3	Compassion united with Sincerity

I therefore, the prisoner in the Master (Yeshua HaMashiach), admonish^[87] you that you walk^[88] in a manner worthy of the vocation^[89] to which you are called, with all humility^[90] and gentleness, with patience, forbearing one another in loving-compassion,^[91] striving to keep unity knowing^[92] the bond of shalom (unity – peace).

Sunday Evening May 04, 2014

Yom HaZikharon – Day of Remembrance

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 20

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
20	Darshan/Parnas 3	Iyar 5	4:4-6	Compassion united with Truth/Honesty

There is one^[93] body^[94] and one soul (spirit),^[95] even as you are called^[96] in one hope^[97] of your calling, one Master,^[98] one assurance,^[99] one (initial)^[100] immersion, one G-d^[101] and Father of all, who is above all and through^[102] all and in you all.

Monday Evening May 05, 2014

Yom Ha'Atzmaut – Israeli Independence Day

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 21

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
21	Darshan/Moreh	Iyar 6	4:7-10	Compassion united with Humility

But to every one of us is given loving-kindness (chesed) according to the measure of the gift of Messiah.^[103] Therefore, He (God) says, "When he ascended^[104] up on high, ^[105] he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men You have received gifts among men, yes, among the rebellious also, that the Lord God might tabernacle – Shakhan there." (Ps. 68:18).

Tuesday Evening May 06, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 22

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
22	Parnas 1/Masoret	Iyar 7	4:11-14	Confidence united with Loving-kindness

And truly he (Messiah) gave some to be^[106] Masoretim^[107] (catechists/evangelists), and some to be Chazanim (Cantors – Apostles of the congregation), and some to be prophets (Darshanim/Magidim),^[108] and some to be pastors (Parnasim), and some to be [school] teachers/translators)^[109] - (Moreh/Meturgeman), for the perfecting (making stand)^[110] of the saints/Tsadiqim^[111], for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the congregation of Messiah. And this until we arrive all into the unanimity of faithful obedience and of the intimate knowledge (Da’at) of the son of G-d,^[112] to a royal man/woman of complete maturity,^[113] to the measure of the stature of the fullness^[114] of Messiah (of becoming in complete unity with Messiah); so that we no longer may be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind^[115] (fashion) of teaching, in the dishonesty of men, in cunning craftiness, leading to the scheming of deception.^[116]

Wednesday Evening May 07, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 23

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
23	Parnas 1/Chazan	Iyar 8	4:15-16	Confidence united with Reverential Awe

But that you, teaching the Torah with loving-compassion, may grow up (mature) in every way being in union with him who is the head (chief)^[117], even Messiah and his Hakhamim; from whom the whole congregation (body), fitted together^[118] and being united by the support of every joint, each member working properly in their measure to produce the growth of the congregation (body) to the building up of itself in loving-compassion (ahavah – charity).^[119]

Thursday Evening May 08, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 24

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
24	Parnas 1/Darshan	Iyar 9	4:17-19	Confidence united with Compassion

Now I say this, and testify in the Master, that from now on you cannot walk^[120] as (some) other Gentiles do (walk), devoid of truth (Torah) in their mind,^[121] having a mental disposition full of darkness,^[122] alienated^[123] (cut off) from the life of God,^[124] their ignorance is due to an unyielding obstinacy of mind.^[125] For they, being desensitized, have given themselves up to apostasy,^[126] (and) to every kind of impurity.^[127]

Questions for Understanding and Reflection

1. From all the readings for this Shabbat which verse or verses impressed your heart and fired your imagination?
2. Taking into consideration all the readings for this Shabbat what is the prophetic statement for this week?

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

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

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

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

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

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

Next Shabbat:

Shabbat “Shemen Zayit Zakh” – Sabbath: “Olive oil pure”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ
“Shemen Zayit Zakh”	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 24:1-4	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 25:14-17
“Olive oil pure”	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 24:5-9	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 25:18-24
“Aceite de olivas puro”	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 24:10-12	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 25:25-28
Vayiqra (Lev.) Lev 24:1 – 25:13	Reader 4 – Vayiqra 24:11-23
Ashlamatah: Jer 11:16 – 12:2 + 15:15-16	Reader 5 – Vayiqra 25:1-3	Monday & Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – Vayiqra 25:4-7	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 25:14-17
Psalm 88:1-	Reader 7 – Vayiqra 25:8-13	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 25:18-24
Abot: 3:15	Maftir: Vayiqra 25: 11-13	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 25:25-28
N.C.: II Pet 3:1-7; Lk 17:5-19; Acts 28:7-16	- Jer 11:16 – 12:2 + 15:15-16

Coming Festivals:

Pesach Sheni – Second Chance Passover

(Wednesday Evening May 14, 2014)

For further information see:

http://www.betemunah.org/sheni.html

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

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[1] The virtuous power goes beyond imagination and cravings.

[2] Again, we have the compound of potential power realized within us.

[3] The reference to the Officer “Darshan” is mentioned here again in the Greek word δόξα – doxa.

[4] Bamidbar (Numbers) 16:3

[5] Torat Chessed

[6] Rashi

[7] The Temple Mount

[8] Such as the Mount of Olives.

[9] see Yoma 55b; Eretz HaChaim

[10] Berachot 8a

[11] Lit. “Houses of Assembly (Gathering)”. This is the common Hebrew term for a synagogue.

[12] Places of Torah study.

[13] Dalet amot translates most accurately as personal space. Using it in a sentence, one might say, Whether you choose to put on deodorant is your own business, as long as you stay out of my Dalet amot. A secondary sense of the word is an area of expertise, as in Don’t ask me about quantum physics, thats outside my Dalet amot. Dalet amot measures about six feet: Dalet is the Hebrew letter corresponding to the number four, and an amah is the biblical measure of a cubit, the distance from your elbow to your middle fingertip (roughly a foot and a half for most people.) In Jewish law, Dalet amot is a persons private domain. Among the ramifications of this definition are that carrying an object a distance of more than four amot in a public domain on Shabbat violates a biblical prohibition; and that a man should not walk more than four amot with his head uncovered. 

[14] Tehillim (Psalms) 87:2

[15] Beth Midrash is here understood as the house of popular, aggadic lectures which, however, was not devoted to the study of Halachah.

[16] In the Beth-hamidrash.

[17] Tanakh (Hebrew: תנ׳ך) (also Tanach, IPA: [ta’nax] or [tə’nax], Tenakh or Tenak) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. The acronym is formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Tanakh’s three traditional subdivisions:

Torah (תורה), meaning “teaching” or “law,” includes the Five Books of Moses. The Torah is also known by its Greek name, “the Pentateuch”, which similarly means “five scrolls”.

Nevi’im (נביאים), meaning “Prophets”. The Nevi’im are often divided into the Earlier Prophets, which are generally historical, and the Later Prophets, which contain more exhortational prophecies.

Ketuvim (כתובים), meaning “Writings”, are sometimes also known by the Greek title “Hagiographa.” These encompass all the remaining books, and include the Five Scrolls.

[18] Bereshit (Genesis) 15:18.

[19] Joseph the Righteous/Generous

[20] Logic of the Mind, Logic of the Heart

[21] Bereshit (Genesis) 2:13

[22] Intifada

[23] Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh

[24] Een anatomically, the midbrain (Shechem), the heart (Jerusalem), and the womb (Hebron) are all in the center (from left to right and from front to back. They are also dead center of their respective araeas.

[25] Seen anatomically, the brain, heart, and womb are the warm areas of the body which always stay warm.

[26] If we look anatomically, Shechem is the midbrain between the two hemispheres, Jerusalem is the heart which is between two lungs, and Hebron is the womb between two ovaries.

[27] Egypt

[28] Yirmeyahu chapter 36

[29] Joseph’s tomb

[30] Bereshit (Genesis) 33:19

[31] Egypt

[32] Bereshit (Genesis) 33:18

[33] The sheaves of corn [a symbol of the mind] that bowed to the sheaf of Joseph. – Bereshit (Genesis) 37:7

[34] Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:16

[35] see Rashi on Bereshit 48:22

[36] See the Pri Tzadik, Parashat VaYishlach, 9

[37] Sotah 11a

[38] “The Lamentation in Jerusalem”, The Articles of Harav Kook

[39] Sotah 11a; Rashi, Bereshit 37:14

[40] Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 220a

[41] Machpela = a portal to another world. The Zohar writes that the cave is “the very entranceway to the Garden of Eden.” The Hebrew word Machpelah means twofold. The cave is considered “twofold,” because it bridges the material and spiritual worlds, linking them by serving as an entrance from one to the other. The name of the city in which the cave is situated, Hebron, also bears the etymological roots of “connection”. The cave, as the point of fusion between Heaven and earth, was the proper resting place for the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, whose lives were the perfect bridges between the two worlds - involvement in the mundane affairs of this world without ever losing sight of the spiritual goals and aspirations that infused their lives with meaning and direction. This was how Sarah had “acquired” the cave.

[42] Uterus

[43] Hakham Ovadia Yossef shlit”a

[44] In an extraordinary piece of arithmetic computation, the Arugat Ha-bosem proves that 400 shekel, the price of this grave site, was enough to buy 2.4 million square amot, based on the price of land given in Vayikra 27:16. In other words, there is four cubits, “Dalet amot” for 600,000 Jews.

[45] Shemot (Exodus) 6:8, Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:4)

[46] Bamidbar (Numbers) 13:22

[47] Ezra 3:8

[48] Ezra 3:8, 1 Esdras 5

[49] II Chronicles 3:1-2

[50] I Kings 6:38

[51] The beginning of this plague began on the first and reached it’s maximal amount on Iyar 3 – today.

[52] lit., ‘man and man’

[53] Tehillim (Psalms) 87:5.

[54] The inference is derived from the repetition of man (v. supra n. 3).

[55] Will be acclaimed as a son of Zion.

[56] Bulka, P. Reuven, 1993, Chapters of the Fathers: A Psycological commentary on Pirqe Aboth, Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, Inc., p.119.

[57] Abarbanel, (trans. By Rabbi Abraham Chil), 1991, Abarbanel on Pirqe Aboth, New York: Sepher-Hermon Press, Inc., p. 183.

[58] Malta meaning honey

[59] The local inhabitants are described as οἱ βάρβαροι. In Acts the word is used only here and at v. 4; cf. Rom. 1:14; 1 Cor. 14:11; Col. 3:11. Its primary meaning related to language and was presumably onomatopoeic. The βάρβαρος was one who did not speak Greek and whose words therefore sounded (to a Greek) like a meaningless ba-ba-ba. Barrett, C. K. (2004). A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles; The Acts of the Apostles. 2 v.: T&T Clark International; p. 1220

[60] The extraordinary kindness is out of place to raise interest. The unusual kindness is due to the onomatopoeic name βάρβαρος that could also imply barbarians.

[61] Here the “viper” is allegorical. Hakham Shaul intends the allegorical meaning to address cunning, malignant, wicked men. Cf. TDNT ;:815

[62] The two names of the second month of the Hebrew calendar are Iyar and Ziv. Both are related to light. Iyar (איָיר) is associated to the word “light” (אוֹר). Ziv (זִיו), which means “radiance” or “brilliance.”

[63] Cf. 1 Kings 6:1,37

[64] 1 Kings 6:1 ¶ Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he ¹began to build the house of the LORD.

[65] For this sake, is rooted in the idea of G-d’s loving-kindness and “grace.” Therefore, we can see the direct link to idea of compounded Chesed in the ministerial offices of Darshan/Masoret. Hakham Shaul is a prisoner on behalf of the Gentiles for Messiah’s cause.

[66] Hoehner points out that this phrase means those Gentiles who come to faithful obedience by becoming converted Jews and not Gentiles by and large. Hoehner, H. W. (2002). Ephesians, An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. p. 425

[67] Hakham Shaul is made a prisoner by the cause of Messiah. Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar, Beyond the Basics, An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Zondervan. p. 82

[68] The Greek ἀκούω – akouo most certainly derived from the Hebraic Shama – to hear, obey or understand.

[69] This compound Greek word οἰκονομία – oikonomia is derived from oikos (οἰκος), “a house” and nomos (νομος), “law” (Torah). Therefore, it is Hakham Shaul’s duty to dispense the Oral Torah to the Gentiles.

[70] Herein the words of John 3:16 are brought to mind. “For G-d so loved the Gentiles (world) that he sent his only begotten son.” Here the interpretation is multifaceted. The “only begotten son of G-d” (Sh’mot Exo. 4:22) can refer to the B’ne Yisrael or to Messiah.

[71] The “secret” – “Mystery” refers to the So’od understanding of Messiah. However, this “secret” – “Mystery” is the decision of G-d concerning Messiah, the Jewish people and the Gentiles and how the “Kingdom/Governance” of G-d would play out in history. μυστήριον –mustērion, from a derivative of μύω muō (to shut the mouth). This is a perfect description of So’od. So’od is not “revealed” by words. The “revelation” is in what is not said. Abot 1:7 Simeon his son says, “All my life I grew up among the sages, and I found nothing better for a person [the body] than silence. Which Shimon is this? Herford argues that the usual reading of this text would cause us to believe that the Shimon is the son of Gamaliel. However, Herford sees problems. His suggestion is that the Shimon mentioned here is the Son of Hillel, Shimon ben Hillel, rather than Shimon ben Gamaliel. Herford, R. T. (1945). The Ethics of the Talmud, Sayings of the Fathers, Perke Aboth, Text, Complete Translation and Commentaries. New York: Schochen Books.

[72] While the “revelation” being mentioned here can be related to the Dammesek experience, Hakham Shaul speaks of his reception of the So’od. The So’od (secret – mystery) is passed down from teacher to student in a systematic unveiling (revelation) of the Torah. In the present case, Hakham Shaul was taught the So’od of Messiah by systematically being taught the Torah from that perspective. This “revelation” also bespeaks the method in which the teacher (Hakham) teaches his talmidim. The talmid learns from those things, which are not said as much as he learns, from what is said. Consequently, the talmid learns by “revelation,” that which is unveiled in his mind as he learns. Barth, M. (1975). Ephesians, Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1 - 3. (T. A. Bible, Ed.) New Haven, CN: The Anchor Yale Bible posits that notion that “revelation” is the continuous and unceasing flow of information and power. This assessment is accurate in that the true Hakham never stops learning, teaching and growing in his awareness of Torah. Westcott asserts that the “general mode of communication” rather than “the specific fact” of one revelatory moment in Paul’s life is meant. Barth further notes that this “revelation” refers to many events not a single event such as the Dammesek experience. Therefore, Hakham Shaul’s “revelation” is the gradual unveiling of Messiah through the Oral Torah.

[73] “Know” have an intimate knowledge of my awareness of the “Secret of Messiah.” Furthermore, Hakham Shaul makes it clear that he will be the one who is responsible for teaching the Ephesians and Gentiles the Torah in the same way that he himself received it. On a grander scale we note that the Gentiles must receive, by “handing down” the Torah from their Jewish teachers/Hakhamim.

[74] Messiah is the personification of the “Mystery/Secret” of G-d.

[75] The phrase “sons of men” can be related to the idea that the “Son of Man” Heb. “Ben Adam,” refers to the prophets. However, the Prophets did prophecy of Messiah. In understanding the true nature of Prophecy, we understand that this cannot be a reference to the Holy Prophets. Therefore, the “sons of men” here must be a reference to men who estranged from laboring in the Torah and Oral Torah as we will see. However, the subtlety of their mentions shows that we have the Darshan – Magid (Prophet) present.

[76] Other generations did not have the privilege of seeing Messiah personally.

[77] The implication here is that Gentiles should convert to Judaism and become fellow-heirs. This is the eventual goal. While there may be many who have not “converted” they should seek that end. Without conversion, they are not joint/fellow-heirs.

[78] We intimate here that each person is given his or her portion of the Torah from before the foundation of the world. Eph. 1:3-4

[79] Wolfson, Harry Austryn. Philo: Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Volume 1: Structure and Growth of Philosophical Systems from Plato to Spinoza. 4 Revised edition. Harvard University Press, 1962. p. 244

[80] Ibid.

[81] Our thesis here is built upon Sh’mot (Exo) 32:19 It came about, as soon as Moshe came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moshe’s anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. Thus the shattering of the Torah (luchot – tablets) brings the Hakham into the occupation of restoring, or rebuilding the fragments of the Torah. This is a continuous dialogue between the Sages and their talmidim.

[82] Philo. (1993). The Works of Philo Complete and Unabridged (New Updated ed.). (C. Yonge, Trans.) Hendrickson Publishers Inc. p. 286

[83] Barrett, C. K. (2004). A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles; The Acts of the Apostles. 2 v.: T&T Clark International; p. 1220

[84] Gen. Rabbah 50:4

[85] The naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss). The use of words whose sound suggests the sense.

[86] Wolfson, Harry Austryn. Philo: Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Volume 1: Structure and Growth of Philosophical Systems from Plato to Spinoza. 4 Revised edition. Harvard University Press, 1962. p. 253

[87] παρακαλέω – parakaleo is paralleled in the Hebrew word “נִחַם” which means comfort/strengthen. This gives us a possible connection to the Seven weeks of Nahamu. Hoehner suggests, based on Carl J. Bjerkelund’s work that this is an “Apostolic admonition.” Hoehner, H. W. (2002). Ephesians, An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. pp. 499-500. It is worthy to note that regardless whether this is an “Apostolic admonition” or not Hakham Shaul is directing his “authority” towards the Ephesian community and Congregation. Therefore, the “admonition” carries “Apostolic” (a Hakham’s) weight. We should here note the change of vocabulary. Hakham Shaul (Paul) begins to call the “Body of Messiah” into corporate unity. The language of Darshan in concert with Sincerity shows “legal” application. Here we do not need to be hung up on “legalism.” This is not the point. Our intention here is to see application of the Halakhic system of the Esnoga (Synagogue). Thielman notes the shift from theology to ethics, “from what God has graciously accomplished for His people to how they should live as a result.” Thielman, F. (2010). Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. This shift is especially important when we realize that we are about to approach Har Sinai.

[88] περιπατέω – peripateo calling for a change in conduct. Therefore, περιπατέω – peripateo calls to mind contrast. In the past you were Gentiles which walked (had the conduct of a Gentile) according to the order of the cosmos, worldly system. Now that you have accepted Judaism you are expected to change your conduct and walk as the Jewish people do.

[89] The deep sense of κλῆσις – klesis comes from καλέω – kaleo to be named or “called” a parallel of Hebrew קָרָא. That which, G-d names “calls” is suited for its purpose or duty. The “calling” is that of having been a Gentile estranged from G-d and His covenants of Promise to being conjoined with the Jewish people through conversion. This is the “challenge” that Hakham Shaul is placing before his audience. cf. Nisan 26 above.

[90] Humility is the attribute of deeming others more important. Here we also see protocols of showing other respect and honor.

[91] Here Hakham Shaul is forwarding the true heart of the Jewish people. The Gentiles coming to G-d embraced Judaism because it was a civil, organized and structured. In other words, the Roman populace saw Judaism as being a positive model to emulate. However, they needed to leave behind any dissenting paganism, which they may have retained. While the Gentile is called to Torah Observance he is not called to “legalism.” Hakham Shaul is addressing this issue here at this present juncture by conjoining the Compassion of the Darshan with the 2^nd Pastoral officer (Parnas 2) and his attribute of sincerity.

[92] Πνεῦμα – pneuma - a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting. The English language uses the idea of “spirit” in very much the same way. We may hear someone say, “that’s the spirit.” This does not refer to any “spirit.” It refers to a mindset, knowing you “can” etc. Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible: Showing every word of the text of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurrence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G4151). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.

[93] An abrupt change in language occurs at this juncture in our reading. This tells us that we are addressing a new officer, i.e. Parnas #3 (the 3^rd Pastor. The 3^rd Pastor is feminine, associated with the Messianic attribute of Yesod. Furthermore, we now see seven uses of the Greek words for “one.” These seven “ones” can be related to the allegorical mention of the seven officers of the Esnoga (Synagogue). These seven “ones” call for unity in the Congregation of Messiah. The order is reversed and changed horizontally. This would mean that Hakham Shaul is taking an Apostolic (Hakham’s) view of the congregation looking down on it from above, or from the heavenlies (heavens). ἐπουράνιος compound επι and ουράνιος point of origin being "from the heavens" the spiritual environs of the ethereal world. (see v4 below) Therefore, “from the heavens” means that the decisions (halakhic judgments which from the Bench of three are the judgments which are “binding on earth” because they have been made in the spiritual world. The view of the letter is from the heavens or “heavenlies.”

[94] σῶμα – soma is the natural body of any human being. However, here we have an allegorical use of σῶμα – soma relating it to the “body of Messiah.”

[95] Entries for πνεῦμα – pneuma in any lexicon are so plentiful that it is often hard to determine the true meaning of the word. There are 123 pages discussing πνεῦμα – pneuma in the Theological dictionary of the New Testament. (cf. 6:332) Here we differ from the traditional view that the “Spirit” refers to the “Holy Spirit.” The context is easily noticed when we are stripped of the traditional theological garb. The body’s counterpart of animation is the “spirit” breath of G-d. The use of πνεῦμα – pneuma is frequently a synonym for the מָהנְשָׁ soul of man. Therefore, we translate πνεῦμα – pneuma in the truest sense of the word as “spirit” with no reference to the “Holy Spirit” as a “member of the G-dhead.” We must further assert that Judaism never has and never will have an idea of a “trinity.”

[96] Καλέω – kaleo the verb “called” and the noun κλῆσις – klesis in the present pericope must be understood from the Hebrew קָרָא, which have the idea of being summoned. However, the truest sense of the word καλέω – kaleo / קָרָא is the idea of being made aware of G-d’s presence. The word קָרָא also carries the connotation of being summoned. Here two possible meanings conjoin in one concept. To be “called” is to be made aware of G-d’s presence and then to be summoned into His presence. This “call” can only be experienced when one accepts the yoke of the Kingdom/Governance of G-d through the Bate Din and the Hakhamim as opposed to human Kings/Presidents. Those who reject the Kingdom/Governance of G-d can never be invited into His presence or into His community. Ramban. (2008). The Torah; with Ramban’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated, (Vol. Sefer Vayikra). Artscroll Series, Mesorah Publications ltd. p. 10

[97] ἐλπίς – elpis is NOT “hope” in the western sense of the word. ἐλπίς – elpis (hope) finds its parallel in two Hebrew words. The first being בָּטַח which means “trust” with a sense of security, confidence and safety. The second Hebrew word is most likely the word Hakham Shaul would have used. תִּקְוָה meaning eager expectation. תִּקְוָה is also associated with the “miqveh” making a play on words in Hebrew when we read in the next verse of being βάπτισμα – baptisma, which means, “immersed.”

[98] We consistently translate κύριος – kurios contextually. In those contexts where the writer refers to Yeshua as κύριος – kurios, he is not referring to deity. κύριος – kurios is a honorary title of respect. For those who must argue the point we suggest a thorough study of the word κύριος – kurios where it will be noted that κύριος – kurios is used of men, angels slave owners etc. Contextually we reverence Yeshua HaMashiach as our “Master” just as Yeshua’s talmidim did.

[99] Πίστις – pistis, is used nearly 490 times in the Nazarean Codicil. In those 490 times πίστις – pistis, refers to two major thoughts surrounding the word. The first is “fidelity” i.e. faithfulness or as we generally translate πίστις – pistis, “faithful obedience.” The other major use of πίστις – pistis, is that of assurance. Because we are constrained by the hermeneutic of context, we must translate πίστις – pistis, as “assurance.” However, assurance only comes on the heels of “faithful obedience.”

[100] By “initial”, we mean that when the Gentile converts to Judaism he is “immersed” as a token of his new life. However, when the Gentile has become Jewish all the laws of ritual purity become applicable whereupon he is subject to many immersions. Thielman interprets this βάπτισμα – baptisma, as an indication of the process of conversion. “It is perhaps best to think of One Baptism as a shorthand expression for the whole conversion, summarized by reference to the visible ritual.” Thielman, F. (2010). Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. p. 259 Here we find a reference to conversion to Judaism, not conversion to “Christianity!”

[101] It is easy enough to recognize the Shema in this single short phrase. This actually debunks the Trinitarian thesis in two words.

[102] The four-fold phrase Father, in, through and above reiterates G-d’s omnipresence. However, we see in this passage the understanding that G-d’s agenda is being worked in all of creation.

[103] cf. Rom 8:32

[104] This verse relates to Moshe when he ascended the mountain and was given by G-d, not only the Torah, but also the ability to share his given gifts to men in the form of the 70 Elders of Israel and Joshua (a figure of Yeshua). Conversely, Yeshua as the second Moshe (Deut. 18:15) relives this experience again, and reinvigorates these gifts which were temporarily weakened because of the multitude of sins amongst our people. The first gift, which we must acknowledge is Matan HaTorah – the gift of the Torah. Moshe Rabbenu (Moses our Teacher) brought down from Har Sinai the most precious gift for all humanity, i.e. the Torah. Then Moshe, establishing the Messianic pattern gave of himself to the seventy. In the same way that Moshe established a hierarchal system of Theocratic Government Yeshua reinforced this same principle.

[105] Ascension “on high” here is in reference to Yeshua must be allegorical at minimum. The “ascension” of Yeshua is after his resurrection. While some theologians will suggest that these “gifts” were “poured out” at Shavuot/Pentecost with the so-called “outpouring of the Holy Spirit” we cannot agree with this line of thought. We will not argue at length the truth that the “Holy Spirit” is in fact the Breathing of the Mesorah. The anniversary date of Matan HaTorah is Shavuot/Pentecost. Therefore, if Yeshua gave “gifts to men” like Moshe Rabbenu, the first gift MUST be the Torah! Secondly, he can establish the unified community through the 10 Officers of the congregation.

[106] What has been deemed the “Five-fold Ministry” by Christian theologians is an Ecclesiology that has existed in the Jewish Esnoga (Synagogue) for millennia. This Ecclesiology is a structured order of seven men. There are three Parnasim (pastors) that occupy the office.

[107] Within Rabbinic Judaism as it developed in Talmudic and post-Talmudic times, the concept of tradition took on an added significance, reflected in the general term masoret, a word based on the biblical Hebrew root ˓SR, meaning to bind or imprison. This root yields the biblical Hebrew term masoret, found at Ezek. 20:37, which refers to the “bond of the covenant” into which God promises to return the rebellious people of Israel. This sense of the term tradition, as a bond or fetter that assures correct practice of the law, appears as well in Rabbinic sources. Aqiba in particular, calls tradition a “fence around the Torah” (M. Ab. 3:13), reflecting the frequent implementation of restrictive measures that assure compliance with the actual word of the Torah. Tradition, in this interpretation, protects people from violating the Torah. The Septuagint for this verse reads, “I will let you go in by number.” RSV here translates the Greek rather than the Hebrew. On this term, see Francis Brown, et al., A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford, reprint, 1974), p. 64, s.v., msrt. Neusner, J., Neusner, J., Avery-Peck, A. J., Green, W. S., & Museum of Jewish Heritage (New York, N. Y. (2000). The encyclopaedia of Judaism. May 2001. Vol. 3 p. 1462

[108] The standard medieval Hebrew term for this genre is derashah; the most common term for the one who delivers the sermon is darshan; the verb “to preach” is li-derosh. All three words are linked with the biblical root meaning, “to seek, demand, investigate.” The same root provides the word midrash, used in Rabbinic literature to indicate a mode of study focusing on careful interpretation of a biblical verse, the interpretation itself, and the literary work containing a collection of such interpretations. Neusner, J., Neusner, J., Avery-Peck, A. J., Green, W. S., & Museum of Jewish Heritage (New York, N. Y. (2000). The encyclopaedia of Judaism. May 2001. Vol. 3 p. 1320

[109] cf. 1 Corinthians 12:10

[110] καταρτισμός – katartismos being able to meet the demands of the ministry within the Esnoga. This also refers to order. Therefore, the “perfecting of the Saints” means to bring social order to the Congregation. The root ἄρτιος is used in mathematics as the basic principle in numbers and partly one of the ten basic principles.

[111] cf. Abot 1:1

[112] Heb. ben Elohim – the judge, i.e. Messiah

[113] τέλειος – teleios, Goal is translated in various ways. Sometimes it is translated in a way that seems to annul the Torah. cf Rom. 10:4 which is usually translated… “(Rom. 10:4) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” This verse, correctly translated… (Rom. 10:4) For Messiah is the GOAL (τέλειος – teleios) of the Torah for righteousness/generosity to everyone who is faithfully obedient. Therefore, we define maturity as the “Goal” and being like Messiah, and to possess his relationship to the Torah/Mesorah!

[114] πλήρωμα – pleroma full of Messiah. Or we might here say that we must be full of Messiah’s Mesorah.

[115] While the Greek word πνεῦμα – pneuma carries the connotations of the Hebrew word רוּח, πνεῦμα – pneuma does not perfectly match רוּח. Therefore, Hakham Shaul uses ἄνεμος – anemos. This is partly because the Remes analogy that he is positing is that of a ship being tossed by wind and wave.

[116] The power of the Ten (3+7) men is given for the building up of the Congregation. The individual officers each have their place and purpose. Therefore, the collegiate officers in unity protect the Congregation against deception. This unified group of officers has protected the Jewish people for millennia against many types of deception.

[117] Messiah as the “head” (chief) is both source and goal of any Congregation. As noted above… τέλειος – teleios, Goal is translated in various ways. Sometimes it is translated in a way that seems to annul the Torah. cf Rom. 10:4 which is usually translated… “(Rom. 10:4) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” This verse, correctly translated… (Rom. 10:4) For Messiah is the GOAL (τέλειος – teleios) of the Torah for righteousness/generosity to everyone who is faithfully obedient. Therefore, we define maturity as the “Goal” and being like Messiah, and to possess his relationship to the Torah/Mesorah!

[118] Hakham Shaul’s language vacillates between a physical body and its joints and an Edifice i.e. Temple of Living Stones. Here the idea of building and polishing built stones. It also has the connotation of making a mosaic. This establishes a Congregation’s relationship with each other and with Messiah.

The context (vv. 7–10, 11–16) shows that the participles συναρμολογούμενον and συμβιβαζόμενον are designed to emphasize strongly the interplay of the different ministries and tasks within the body: “from whom the whole body—as one which is fitted and held together by each link which serves to support it—corresponding to the activity appropriate to each part achieves growth of the body to the building up of itself in love.” Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 7:856

[119] Here we connect the joint meaning of the Hebrew אהבה – ahavah and the Greek word ἀγάπη – agape. The resultant translation then becomes “loving-compassion” in a charitable environment.

[120] περιπατέω – peripateo is used here twice to call the Gentile to Torah observance, meaning Hakham Shaul demands the acceptance of the Halakhah (613 mitzvot) as taught and expounded upon by the Hakhamim.

[121] ματαιότης – mataiotes mental futility or vanity. This means that the Gentile who rejects the Torah, 613 Mitzvot and the teachings of the Hakhamim are aimless conducting lifestyles of futility. This futility has captured their minds holding them ransom.

[122] Hakham Shaul now apprises us of the opposing mental disposition. Not only is it a mental disposition, it is the direct opposition to the Torah, the 613 Mitzvot and the Hakhamim.

[123] ἀπαλλοτριόω – apallotriou has the sense of being “hostile.”

[124] Morally bereft of all sensible mores. The depth of this statement is only understood from a Hebraic mindset. To be כָּרַת – karat, “cut off” means completely estranged from G-d’s presence and protection. Those who were “cut off” while traveling through the wilderness were subjected to every evil influence, without G-d’s protection or chesed/grace. Therefore, this is a crime of excommunication by Divine Decree. Here we can see the gravity of moral purposelessness. There are those people who believe that the idle mind of secular entertainment is harmless. However, this idle purposelessness is “opposition” to the Torah, which presents the “goal of Messiah” before us a s standard of life. Life in Messiah has the purpose of recapturing the mission of Adam HaRishon. Adam HaRishon shows the ability to capture the essence of each creature on the earth. Nevertheless, the goal was to apprehend the essence of G-d Himself. Herein, Hakham Shaul in this letter to the Ephesian Congregation sets this goal before them in the pattern of the ten men (3 Dinim – Judges and 7 Paqidim) of the congregation. Why did Adam HaRishon and his spouse Chava cover themselves with a fig leaf? Was this an attempt to “hide” from the Omni Presence of G-d? Their new “awareness” was the sentience of the state of being כָּרַת – karat, “cut off.” Therefore, they saw that they were without G-d’s protection in the Garden. Covering themselves with a fig leaf has many So’od connotations. The most simplistic explanation is that they wanted to camouflage themselves primarily from G-d but the other animals of the earth that would now pursue them as a food source. The human mind/soul is preprogramed with the capacity to perceive G-d. When we deviate from the Torah and the teachings of the Hakhamim, this is impossible.

[125] This is an unyielding mind devoted to opposing G-d and G-dly truth/practice. Its dealings are strict, harsh cruel and merciless. Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature.

[126] This is the result of being “cut off” from G-d. The language uses terms of sexual impropriety as an allegorical way of telling us that the person or persons are bereft of G-d or any ethical mores. Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 1:490

[127] In much of the Nazarean Codicil, demonic possession is associated with ritual impurity. While, Hakham Tsefet (Peter the wise) learned at Caesarea not to call Gentiles unclean, those who vehemently oppose the Torah are in some way subjected to unclean Shedim. This is not to say that all Gentiles are “unclean,” G-d forbid. Rather it is noteworthy to mention that direct opposition against the Torah, as a way of life is the mission of two-thirds of the shedim / fallen angels. Therefore, the darkened mind refers to those Gentiles who are either simply ignorant of the Torah as a way of life, and, those who are vehemently opposed to it because of their “unyielding obstinacy of mind.” Hakham Shaul’s view of the Gentile in Ephesians is the same as his view in his Letter to the Romans 1:18-32. Here Hakham Shaul takes the position that the lack of ability to comprehend G-d is a willful opposition against the Torah/G-d.