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

 

 

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

 

Roll of Honor:

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

 

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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Her Excellency Giberet Krysta Wallrauch & beloved family

 

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

 

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

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

A Prayer for Israel

 

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

 

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

 

Shabbat: “Khi HaGoyim HaEleh” – “For those nations”

Shabbat Mevarchim – Proclamation of the New Moon of Tevet

Rosh Chodesh Tevet – December 20-21, 2025

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·        Prophets – Deuteronomy 18:14-22

·        Cities of Refuge – Deuteronomy 19:1-13

·        Removing a Landmark – Deuteronomy 19:14

·        Plotting Witnesses – Deuteronomy 19:15-21

·        Exemption from Service for Warfare – Deuteronomy 20:1-9

 

Reading Assignment:

 

 

 

JPS & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:14 - 20:9‎

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:14-20:9 ‎

 

14 [But...] the Lord your God has not given you. to hearken to diviners of auspicious times and soothsayers, for He caused His Divine Presence to rest upon the prophets and upon the Urim and Tummim. - [Targum Jonathan]

 

15 [A prophet] from among you, from your brothers, like me This means: Just as I am among you, from your brothers, so will He set up for you [another prophet] in my stead, and so on, from prophet to prophet.

 

20 which I did not command him to speak But which I commanded his fellow prophet [to speak].

 

or who speaks in the name of other gods Even though his words coincide with the halakhah [Jewish law], forbidding what is forbidden or permitting what is permissible. - [San. 89a]

 

[That prophet] shall die. By strangulation. Three [sinful prophets] are executed by man [i.e., by the court]: One who prophesies what he has not heard, one who prophesies what was not told to him but was told to his fellow [prophet], and one who prophesies in the name of a pagan deity. However, one who suppresses his prophecy [i.e., does not announce it], or one who transgresses the words of a prophet, or a prophet who transgresses his own words [of prophecy]—their death is by the hands of Heaven, for it is said (verse 19), “I shall exact [it] from him.”- [San. 89a]

 

21 Now if you say to yourself, ["How will we know the word the Lord did not speak?"]? [This verse alludes to a future time when Israel will want to know which prophet is speaking the word of God. It means:] You are destined to say this when Hananiah, the son of Azzur [a false prophet], came and prophesied, “Behold the vessels of the house of the Lord will be returned from Babylon now hastily” (Jer. 27:16), and Jeremiah stood and cried (Jer. 27:19- 22), “concerning the pillars, concerning the sea,... and concerning the remainder of the vessels...” which had not been exiled, ‘they shall be brought to Babylon’ "together with the exile of Zedekiah.-[Sifrei]

 

22 If the prophet speaks [in the Name of the Lord] And says, “This thing is destined to happen to you,” and you see [afterwards] that it does not come about, “that is the thing the Lord did not speak”; so, execute him. But you might say, "This applies to one who prophesies regarding the future. However, suppose one comes and says, ‘Do such and such a thing, and I am telling you this by the command of the Holy One, blessed is He,’ [how do we know whether he is speaking the truth? Regarding such a case,] they were already commanded that if someone comes to make you stray from any of the commandments, “Do not hearken to him” (Deut. 13:4), unless you are certain that he is a perfectly righteous person, e.g., Elijah on Mount Carmel, who sacrificed on a high place when high places were forbidden, [but did so] in order to control Israel [against idolatry]. Everything must be done according to the needs of the time, and the need for preventive measures to protect against breaches [in the religion]. Therefore [with respect to this authentic prophet], it is stated, “hearken to him” (verse 15). - [San. 89a]

 

you shall not be afraid of him I.e., do not restrain yourselves from advocating his guilt, and do not fear that you will be punished for this [when your advocating leads to his death]. - [Sifrei]

 

Chapter 19

 

3 Prepare for yourself the way -"Refuge! Refuge!" was inscribed at each crossroads [directing the way to the nearest refuge city]. - [Mak. 10b]

 

and divide into three parts the boundary of your land so that [the distance] from the beginning of the border to the first refuge city should be the same as the distance from this first city to the second, and so from the second to the third and from the third to the opposite border of Israel. - [Mak. 9b]

 

5 And his hand swings [the ax] when he was about to let the ax fall on the tree. The Targum renders this as וְתִתְמְרֵיג יְדֵּיּהּ  meaning, וְנִשְׁמְטָה יָדוֹ  his hand swayed while letting the stroke of the ax fall upon the tree. [Similarly,] the words הַבָָּקָר כִּי שָׁמְטוּ (II Sam. 6:6), are rendered in Targum Jonathan as: אֲרֵי מַרְגוּהִי תּוֹרַיָּא “for the oxen swayed.”

 

and the iron flies off the handle וְנָשַׁל הַבַּרְזֶל מִן־הָעֵץ Some of our Rabbis say that this means that the iron head [of the ax] slipped off its handle, while others say, the ax chipped a splinter of wood off the tree which was being chopped, and it ricocheted, killing [the victim]. - [Mak. 7b]

 

6 Lest the avenger of the blood pursue [the killer] This is why I am telling you prepare a way for yourself, and [to prepare] many refuge cities.

 

8 And when [the Lord your God] expands [your boundary] As He swore to give you the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites.

 

9 you shall add three more [cities] for yourself Thus, [altogether you will have] nine: The three on the other side of the Jordan, the three in the land of Canaan, and three more in the future [when God will expand your boundary]. - [Sifrei]

 

11 But if a man hates his fellow [and lies in wait for him...] Through this man’s hatred of his fellow, he comes to “lie in wait for him.” From here our Rabbis derived the maxim: If a man transgresses a minor commandment, he will ultimately transgress a major commandment. [Here,] since he transgressed the command: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart” (Lev. 19:17), he ultimately came to shed blood. This is why it says here, “But if a man hates his fellow,” for it should have written only: “But if a man rises up and lies in wait for his fellow and strikes him mortally.”-[Sifrei]

 

13 And you shall not pity him I.e., you should not say, “The first [person] has already been killed; why should we kill this one too and cause two Israelites to be killed?”-[Sifrei]

 

14 You shall not pull back [your neighbor’s] landmark Heb. לֹא תַסּיג , an expression similar to, “they shall turn back (נָסֽגוּ אָחוֹר) ” (Isa. 42:17). [Here therefore, it means] that he moves the boundary-mark of the land backwards into his neighbor’s field, thereby enlarging his own [property]. But has it not already been stated, “You shall not rob” (Lev. 19:13)? Why then, is it stated here: “You shall not pull back [the landmark]?” [The answer is that this verse teaches that the person who removes his neighbor’s boundary mark transgresses two negative commandments, “You shall not rob (לֹא תִגְזֽל) ” and “You shall not pull back [the landmark]?” (לֹא תַסִּיג) . Now I might think that [this applies] outside Eretz Israel as well. Therefore it says, “in your inheritance, which you will inherit [in the land]”, [indicating that] in [only] Eretz Israel, one transgresses two negative commandments, whereas outside Eretz Israel, one transgresses only the commandment of “you shall not rob.”-[Sifrei]

 

15 One witness [shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity] This verse establishes a general principle [i.e., from here it is derived] that wherever the term “witness” (עֵד) appears in the Torah, it means two [witnesses], unless the Torah specifies [that] one witness is meant. - [San. 30a]

 

for any iniquity, or for any sin where his testimony would lead to the accused being punished, either with corporal punishment or with or monetary punishment. However, one [witness] may rise up to [compel his fellow to take] an oath, as follows: If one says to his fellow, “Give me the maneh [100 zuzim] that I lent you,” and his fellow replies, “I have nothing of yours,” and one witness testifies for him [the plaintiff] that he [the defendant] owes him [the money], [the defendant] is required to swear [that he did not borrow any money].-[Shev. 40a]

 

By the mouth of two witnesses [... the matter will be established]. [The expression, “by the mouth” means here that only the direct, verbal testimony suffices,] but they should not write their testimony in a letter and send it to the court, or have an interpreter stand between the witnesses and the judges. -[Sifrei]

 

16 to bear perverted testimony against him Heb. סָרָה   [That is, he testifies about] a thing which is not so, that this witness is removed (הוּסַר) from the whole testimony [meaning that he could not possibly have been a witness,] such as if [a second set of witnesses] said [to the first set of witnesses], “But weren’t you with us on that day in such and such a place [and not with the defendant, as you claim to have been]?”-[Mak. 5a]

 

17 Then the two men... shall stand The text is referring to the witnesses, and it teaches us that there is no testimony by women. It also teaches us that witnesses must submit their testimony while standing. - [Shev. 30a]

 

between whom the controversy exists These are the litigants.

 

before the Lord It should seem to them as though they are standing before the Omnipresent, as it says: “in the midst of the judges He will judge” (Ps. 82:1). - [San. 6b]

 

who will be in those days [Now could one stand in front of those who are not in his day? Rather, it means that] Jephthah [one of the less important judges] in his generation, is [to be considered] as Samuel [the greatest judge] in his generation; you must treat him with respect.

 

18 And the judges shall inquire thoroughly By means of the testimony of [the new set of witnesses] who rebut them, that they investigate and examine those who come to prove that they [the first pair] are עֵדִים זוֹמְמִין , “plotting witnesses,” by diligent inquiry and examination.

 

and behold, the witness is a false witness Wherever עֵד , witness, is written, Scripture is speaking of two [witnesses]. - [San. 30a]

 

19 as he plotted But not as he did. From here [our Rabbis] said that if the first set of witnesses [before being proven false,] already killed the defendant [by their testimony], they are not to be put to death. - [Mak. 5b]

 

to do to his brother Why does Scripture state, “to his brother?” To teach, that in the case of witnesses who conspired against a married daughter of a kohen [by accusing her of adultery], that they are not executed with burning [the form of execution to which she would have been subjected], but rather, by strangulation, the form of execution of the adulterer. For it says [regarding such a woman] “she shall be burnt with fire” (Lev. 21:9) -"she," but not her paramour [who is dispatched by strangulation]; therefore, it says here, "to his brother"—"as he plotted to do to his brother," but not as he plotted to do to his sister. With other crimes, however, Scripture regards women equally with men, and conspiring witnesses against a woman are executed in the same way as those who conspired against a man. For instance, if they testified that a women killed a person, or that she desecrated the Sabbath [and they are revealed to be false witnesses before she is executed], then they are executed in the form that they intended for her, for Scripture does not exclude his sister [by stating “brother”] except in a case where one may carry out the punishment of the conspiring witnesses by the form of execution of the adulterer [as opposed to the adulteress].-[Sifrei and San. 90a]

 

20 shall listen and fear From here, [we derive the law] that a public announcement is required: “So-and-so and so- and-so are to be executed because they were proven by the court to be plotting witnesses.”- [San. 89a] [Note that Rashi on Mak. 5a and San. 89a writes that the proclamation is made after the perpetrators have been executed.]

 

21 Eye for eye i.e., financial compensation; and similarly, “tooth for tooth, etc.”- [Sifrei, B.K. 87a]

 

Chapter 20

 

1 When you go out to war Scripture juxtaposes the departure for war alongside this ["eye for eye etc."] to teach us that a person with a missing limb does not go out to war. - [Sifrei] Another explanation: It teaches that if you execute righteous judgment, you can be sure that when you depart for war you will be victorious. Similarly, David says, “I performed justice and righteousness; do not leave me to my oppressors” (Ps. 119:121). -[Tanchuma]

 

against your enemies Let them be in your eyes as enemies; have no pity on them, for they will have no pity upon you.

 

horse and chariot In My eyes, they are all like one horse. Similarly, it says, “and you shall strike Midian as one man." (Jud. 6:16) And similarly, it says, “When Pharaoh’s horse... came [into the sea]” (Exod. 15:19). -[Sifrei]

 

a people more numerous than you In your eyes, they are numerous, but in My eyes, they are not numerous. -[Sifrei]

 

2 when you approach the battle When you are on the point of leaving the border.

 

that the kohen shall come near This refers to the kohen anointed for this purpose, and he is called “the one anointed for war.”

 

and speak to the people in the Holy Tongue. - [Sotah 42a]

 

3 “Hear, O Israel” Even if you have no merit other than the reading of the Shema, you are worthy that He [God] save you. - [Sotah 42b]

 

against your enemies These are not your brothers, for if you fall into their hands, they will not have pity on you; this is not like the war of Judah with Israel, of which the verse states, "And the men, who were mentioned by name, rose up and took hold of the captives, and, and clothed all their nakedness from the spoils, and they dressed them and shod them, and fed them and gave them to drink, and anointed them, and led them on donkeys, every feeble one, and they brought them to Jericho, the city of the palms, beside their brothers, and they returned to Samaria" (II Chron. 28:15). You, however, are going against your enemies; therefore strengthen yourselves for battle. - [Sifrei; Sotah 42a]

 

Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified Four warnings, corresponding to four practices in which the kings of the nation’s engage [during battle]: They hold their shields close together to strike them against one another, thereby producing a loud noise to alarm those confronting them, so that they should flee; they stamp [the ground heavily] with their horses and make them neigh, sounding the beating of their horses’ hoofs, and they shout loudly and blow horns and [other] kinds of noisy instruments.

 

Let your hearts not be faint Because of the neighing of the horses;

 

you shall not be afraid of the noise made by the fastening of the shields;

 

and you shall not be alarmed At the sounds of the horns;

 

and you shall not be terrified By the noise of the shouting. - [Sifrei; Sotah 42a]

 

4 For the Lord, your God... They are coming with the victory of flesh and blood, whereas you approach with the victory of the Omnipresent. The Philistines came with the victory of Goliath—What was his end? He fell, and they fell with him.

 

Who goes with you This refers to the camp of the ark. - [Sotah 42a]

 

5 [What man is there who has built a new house] and has not [yet] inaugurated it i.e., has not yet lived in it. The term חִנּוּךְ  denotes beginning.

 

[Lest he die in the war,] and another man inaugurate it This would be a source of great grief.

 

6 [And what man is there that has planted a vineyard,] and has not [yet] redeemed it Heb. וְלֹא חִלְּלוֹ . He has not redeemed the vineyard in the fourth year [of its growth], for the fruits [of the fourth year] have to be eaten in Jerusalem or redeemed [by exchanging them] for money, and to eat [food purchased with] the money in Jerusalem.

 

7 lest he die in the war He should return lest he die, for if he does not obey the kohen, he deserves to die. - [Sifrei]

 

8 And the officers shall continue Why does it say here: “shall continue” [lit. shall add]? They add this [statement] to the words of the kohen, for the kohen speaks and announces aloud to the people from “Hear, O Israel” (verse 3) until “to save you,” (end of verse 4) while “What man is there” (verse 5), and the second and third one [with the same beginning (verses 6 and 7)], the kohen speaks, and an officer announces aloud [to the people]. This verse, however, an officer speaks, and an officer announces aloud. - [Sotah 43a] According to several incunabula editions of Rashi, “a kohen announces aloud.” [See Yosef Hallel.]

 

[What man is there] who is fearful and fainthearted Rabbi Akiva says: [This verse is to be understood] according to its apparent meaning, that he cannot stand in the closed ranks of battle and look upon a drawn sword. Rabbi Jose the Galilean says that [it means] one who is afraid of his sins [that they will cause him to fall in war, as he is unworthy], and therefore, the Torah gives him the excuse of attributing his return home because of a house, a vineyard, or a wife, to cover up for those who return because of their sins, so that people should not understand that they are sinners. [Consequently,] one who sees this person returning would say, “Perhaps he has built a house, or planted a vineyard, or betrothed a woman.”- [Sotah 44a]

 

9 [They shall appoint] officers of the legions This means that they place (זַקָּפִין) guards in front of them and behind them, with iron arrows in their hands, and if anybody attempted to retreat, the guard had the authority to strike his legs. זַקָּפִין  are people who stand at the edge of the battle array to pick up (לִזְקֽף) the fallen and to encourage them with words: “Return to the battle and do not flee, for flight is the beginning of defeat.”-[Sifrei, Sotah 44a]

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 123:1-125:5

 ‎

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎123:1-125:5

 

1 Who dwell Heb. הישבי . The “yud” is superfluous.

 

4 the ridicule of the complacent [With] the ridicule of the complacent heathens we are sated.

 

the contempt that they despised the valley of doves, which is Jerusalem.

 

the complacent Heb. לגאיונים . It is written as one word and read as two.

 

Chapter 124

 

3 when their anger was kindled against us Heb. בחרות , “when their anger was kindled against us,” is the same form as בעשות , “when he made.”

 

4 illness Heb. נחלה ,  expression of illness (חלי) .

 

7 Our soul escaped like a bird [It escaped] from them like a bird that escaped from the hunter’s snare.

 

Chapter 125

 

1 Those who trust in the Lord. will not falter, like Mount Zion, which will not falter, for just as Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains, so is the Holy One, blessed be He, around His people.

 

3 For the rod of wickedness will not rest on the lot of the righteous For the Holy One, blessed be He, will not allow the rule of the wicked to rest on the righteous/generous because the righteous/generous are careful not to stretch out their hand in wrongdoing.

 

5 and those who turn their crooked ways on the people to find wicked accusations may the Lord lead them away with the workers of iniquity.

 

Meditation on Tehillim (Psalms) 121:1-125:5

By Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

 

Psalms chapter 123 concerns the dismal galut experience of the Jews, who have become a despised and degraded people. Indeed, Israel's humiliation in exile follows a specific Divine design, for when Israel displayed undesirable character traits they became an abomination to G-d, and He was compelled to expel them from the Holy Land. The suffering of the exile is imposed upon the Jews with the intent that it purge these negative traits from their characters.

 

The most repulsive abomination in the eyes of HaShem is arrogance, as Proverbs 16:5 states: The abomination of HaShem is anyone who is haughty of heart. The prosperity and tranquility that the Jews enjoyed in their homeland made them smug, proud, and defiant. The wealthy and contented nation no longer felt dependent upon HaShem.

 

Reacting to this haughty attitude, the prophet Zephaniah^[1] thundered at the Jews in the name of HaShem: Then I shall remove from your midst those who revel in your arrogance, and you shall no longer display pride on My holy mountain. And I shall leave in your midst a poor and destitute nation, and they will find refuge in the Name of HaShem.^[2]

 

Here the Psalmist vividly describes how the Jews, humbled by exile, will acknowledge their total dependence upon HaShem. They will cry out: Like the eyes of servants unto their masters' hand ... so are our eyes unto HaShem, our G-d, until He will favor us.^[3]

 

When Jews become genuinely humble, they will have elevated their spiritual stature immeasurably and they will be worthy of singing this Song of Ascents.^[4]

 

In Psalms chapter 124, the Psalmist gives thanks to HaShem for helping His children, Israel, survive the exile, despite our enemies' attempts to destroy us. In every generation, enemies arose to crush the soul of our holy nation, but none prevailed over HaShem’s chosen.

 

The nations are compared to deep waters, which can drown us, and to swift currents, which sweep by and threaten to wash us away.^[5] But we are strengthened and supported by our intense, eternal love for HaShem. We brave all hazards confidently, with the knowledge that our help is through the Name of HaShem, Maker of heaven and earth.^[6]

 

In Psalms chapter 125, the defense and security of the Jewish nation is a matter of primary concern. Historically, the invasions and onslaughts of invading nations have often found Israel vulnerable and helpless. Here the Psalmist emphasizes that the true fortifications of our nation are internal. When Israel is filled with faith in HaShem, the Almighty will not fail us.

 

Sforno explains that the Psalmist is addressing this lesson to the Jews who are destined to be saved at the time of קיבוץ גלויות, the ingathering of exiles. The Jerusalem to which they return will have been stripped of its massive protective walls, yet the people will dwell in total security, for they will enjoy Divine protection.

 

However, this utopian state is reserved exclusively for those who are good and upright in their hearts.^[7] The perverse and the workers of iniquity will be rejected from the midst of this righteous assembly. Then the Jews will achieve their long-awaited goal, that peace be upon Israel.^[8]

 

In keeping with the concerns of Psalms chapter 123, let’s take a closer, deeper look at the galut, exile, that we have been through.

 

The Jewish people have been subjected to four exiles, according to Our Sages. These are in addition to the Egyptian exile which was the prototype for all future exiles. Why did HaShem send us into exile, four times?

 

Our Sages have given us the answer in the Gemara:

 

Menachoth 53b R. Isaac said, At the time of the destruction of the Temple the Holy One, blessed be He, found Abraham standing in the Temple. Said He, ‘What hath My beloved to do in My house?’^[9] Abraham replied, ‘I have come concerning the fate of my children’ . . . Said He, ‘Thy children sinned and have gone into exile’. ‘Perhaps’, said Abraham, ‘they only sinned in error?’ And He answered, ‘She hath wrought lewdness’.^[10] ‘Perhaps only a few sinned?’ ‘With many’, came the reply. ‘Still’, he pleaded, ‘Thou shouldst have remembered unto them the covenant of circumcision’. And He replied, ‘The hallowed flesh is passed from thee.’^[11] ‘Perhaps hadst Thou waited for them they would have repented’, he pleaded. And He replied, ‘When thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest!’ Thereupon he put his hands on his head and wept bitterly, and cried, ‘Perhaps, Heaven forfend, there is no hope for them’. Then came forth a Heavenly Voice and said, The Lord called thy name a leafy olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit:^[12] as the olive-tree produces its best only at the very end,^[13] so Israel will flourish at the end of time.

 

Thus, Our Sages teach that The Bne Israel^[14] were sent, four times, into exile because of their sins. These were not petty issues, but premeditated wickedness. Thus, we can understand that exile was/is the tikkun, the correction, for premeditated wickedness. However, HaShem has big plans for His world. He is going to have the Jews do double duty. In addition to being fixed up for their sin, they will also be role models for the Gentiles. To understand this, we need to understand that Gentiles, not proselytes, are given to Israel as an inheritance:

 

Tehillim (Psalm) 2:7-9 I will declare the decree: HaShem hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen^[15] for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

 

It seems that when we are sent into exile, we provide an example that causes the Gentiles to either become proselytes, or to be condemned. Further, when we went into exile, we did not go alone.

 

When we went into Egypt, the prototype for all exiles, we did not go alone. Notice Who went with us.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 46:3-4 And he said, I am G-d, the G-d of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

 

Thus, we see that G-d^[16] accompanied us into exile. We did not go alone! However, this is not the only unusual thing about our exiles.

 

In all of human history, exiles of a nation out of their country have been very rare. It’s a highly unusual phenomenon to take a whole nation and exile them from their country. Multiple exiles are unheard of, since, after the first one, the distinctive people disappear as they become assimilated among the other peoples. As a matter of fact, in human history, multiple exiles and dispersions are unique only to the Jewish people.

 

Not only is the concept of multiple exiles and dispersion, of the Jews, unique in history, the very survival of the Jews is a singular event. No other nation has ever survived without a homeland. Yet, from the destruction of the second Temple in seventy CE until the rebirth of the modern State of Israel in the twentieth century, the Jewish people survived, in the diaspora, without a state.

 

Why? What is the purpose of the multiple exiles of the Jewish people?

 

The Talmud offers the following explanation for the phenomenon of galut:^[17]

 

Pesachim 87b R. Eleazar said: Even when the Holy One, blessed be He, is angry, He remembers compassion, for it is said, for I will no more have compassion upon the house of Israel.^[18] R. Jose son of R. Hanina said [i.e., deduced] it from this: that I would in any wise pardon them. R. Eleazar also said: The Holy One, blessed be He, did not exile Israel among the nations save in order that proselytes might join them, for it is said: And I will sow her unto Me in the land;^[19] surely a man sows a se’ah in order to harvest many kor!

 

The Children of Israel were exiled amongst the nations only so that converts might be added to them!^[20]

 

The Maharsha, Rabbi Shmuel HaLevi Eidels,^[21] explained^[22] that had HaShem merely wished to punish the Jews, He did not have to exile them from their homeland; the fact that He did exile His nation shows that He intended for another outcome, namely, the addition of proselytes into the Jewish body.

 

To build on this idea, we need to look at the word Adam. Adam is a legal term, according to Our Sages, that applies to Israel.

 

Baba Metzia 114b R. Simeon b. Yohai said: The graves of Gentiles do not defile, for it is written, And ye my flock, the flock of my pastures, are men (Adam);^[23] only ye are designated ‘men (Adam)’.^[24]

 

Thus, we see that only Israel is called Adam.

 

Adam = Israel

 

So, the question is: Who is Israel?

 

Our Sages answer this question in the Talmud Yerushalmi: “Adam includes Proselytes”.^[25] Israel is not clearly defined because Israel is in constant movement and change because proselytes are constantly being added.

 

From this we understand that Israel is sent into exile in order to make proselytes. These proselytes (converts) become a part of Israel! In exile we become complete by making proselytes. Yet, we must still ask: How did proselytes correct the premeditated wickedness that caused us to be sent into exile? To answer this question, we still need a bit more background.

 

The Gemara teaches us that exile makes an atonement:

 

Berachoth 56a For a Master has said: Exile makes atonement for iniquity.

 

Ta’anith 16a We have exiled ourselves [from the House of God] may our exile atone for us.

 

Sanhedrin 37b R. Johanan said: Exile atones for everything, for it is written, Thus saith the Lord, write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days, for no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah.^[26] Whereas after he [the king] was exiled, it is written, And the sons of Jeconiah, — the same is Assir — Shealtiel his son etc.^[27]

 

Ruth was a proselyte. Ruth, as we saw in a previous study, was a picture of the Children Israel as they stood at Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah. At Sinai we Jews were all proselytes accepting Torah for the very first time. Further, Ruth’s chessed, her kindness, had such a profound effect on the Jewish people that she became the grandmother of King David! Now lest we forget, Ruth became a convert only because Elimelech took his family into exile in Moab, during a famine. Thus because of this minor exile, we made one very, very significant proselyte who became a significant part of the Messianic line. This proselyte’s life was so important that Shmuel the Prophet wrote a book about her.

 

Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law who, as a proselyte, had a tremendous positive impact on the Torah’s Judicial system^[28] and Judaism as a whole, while the Children of Israel were in exile. His advice to Moshe became the standard for the rest of Jewish history! Yitro became a proselyte because Moshe went into exile from Egypt to Midian.

 

Rahab was a prostitute and innkeeper, who was visited by the most important dignitaries and leaders of her generation^[29] yet after being exposed to the greatness of two Torah giants, Caleb, and Phinehas, who were on a reconnaissance mission to Canaan^[30] she converted and married Joshua.^[31] Counted among her descendants are priests and prophets including Huldah the Prophetess, Yirmeyahu, Baruch, Neryah, Sharya, Chilkiyah, and Chanamel.^[32]

 

Onkelos, a proselyte, wrote a Targum on the Torah that sheds significant light on the meaning of the Torah. Jews throughout the ages have learned from his Targum.

 

Rabbi Akiva was a famous Jewish rabbi of the second century, during the beginning of the Edomite exile. He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Oral Torah, mainly the Mishna and the Midrash Halakha. He laid the foundations of the Mishnaic dispute, by which pairs or larger groups of Sages dispute points of Halakha or Biblical interpretation.

 

When Edom sent Israel into exile, Mashiach ben Yosef commanded His Talmidim to teach them and to make them into Talmidim:

 

Matityahu (Matthew) 28:18 And Yeshua came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and talmudize all the Gentiles …

 

Hebrew is very precise because it is the language of creation. In Hebrew, “Exile” is called “Golah”. But this word contains the solution to exile with a hint to the redemption. By inserting the letter alef (א), the word “Golah” (גולה), “Exile” becomes “Geulah” (גאולה), “redemption”. This implies that the Jewish people’s service involves bringing HaShem, The Alef, into the exile, and thus, transforming the exile into redemption. Not only are the Jewish people redeemed, but as the Talmud teaches,[33] so also are the Gentiles who become proselytes, or converts. Thus, dispersion is for the purpose of gathering.

 

And so, it has been throughout Jewish history; every time we were sent into exile, HaShem sent great proselytes to help effect the needed tikkun for our sins.

 

In the beginning

 

In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth. When He created the world, He created it with a master plan. As history has unfolded, we have begun to get a clear picture of parts of His plan. Part of His plan included the exile of His people, four times (not including Egypt). These four exiles are going to form an outline that will frame the history of the Children of Israel.

 

In the Jewish view of history, there are four kingdoms which oppressed, or are oppressing, the Children of Israel. These are Bavel - בבל^[34] (Babylon), Madai^[35] - מדי^[36] (Media), Yavan - יון^[37] (Greece), and Edom - אדם^[38] (Rome). The sequence of these four nations is alluded to all over the Tanach,^[39] as we shall see.

 

Why does this list not include the descendant of Ishmael?^[40] Even though the Jews were subject to Muslim control at various points in history. In his work Ner Mitzva, the Maharal deals with this issue. He writes that the four exiles all fit one of two criteria: either they wrested power from the Jews directly, or they took over from another nation that had already done the task of overpowering and subjugating the Jews. Since the descendants of Ishmael never took power in either of these two ways, they are not included by the Sages among the list of exiles.

 

To recap, the four exiles are:

 

Bavel (Babylon),

Madai / Paras (Media / Persia),

Yavan (Greece), and

Edom (Rome),

 

Ever since the six days of creation, there is nothing new before HaShem. Before creation He looked ahead to the end of history in His world and arranged every incident that will happen on earth according to a timetable, as the Sages interpreted Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2 as alluding to the four exiles and the ruach^[41] of the Mashiach.^[42]

 

* * *

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2 And the earth was without form (tohu), and void (bohu); and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

 

With respect to this seemingly uninformative verse, Our Hakhamim have explained the words this way:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis II:4 R. Simeon b. Lakish applied the passage to the [foreign] Powers. NOW THE EARTH WAS TOHU (E.V. ‘UNFORMED’) symbolizes Babylonia: I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was tohu-E.V. ‘waste’ (Jer. IV, 23)^[43]; AND BOHU (E.V. ‘VOID’) symbolizes Media: They hastened (wa-yabhillu) to bring Haman (Est. VI, 14).^[44] AND DARKNESS symbolizes Greece, which darkened the eyes of Israel with its decrees, ordering Israel, ‘Write on the horn of an ox that ye have no portion in the God of Israel.’^[45] UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP - this wicked State^[46]:just as the great deep cannot be plumbed, so one cannot plumb [the depths of iniquity of] this wicked State. AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED: this alludes to the spirit of Messiah, as you read, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isa. XI, 2). In the merit of what will [this spirit] eventually come? [For the sake of that which] HOVERED OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS, i.e., in the merit of repentance, which is likened to water, as it is written, Pour out thy heart like water (Lam. II, 19). R. Haggai said in the name of R. Pedath: A covenant was made with water^[47] that even in the hot season a breeze stirs over it.^[48]

 

 

 

Within this single and ominous verse, there is an allusion to all four exiles that the Jewish people were destined to experience throughout their long history until the Messianic time, which has still yet to occur. And without exception, all of them have come to pass as predicted, with the final exile, the “Roman Exile” (Edom) still in progress.

 

HaShem hinted to these four exiles in the story of creation, as we saw earlier. At the beginning of creation, it is written that, “The world was tohu and bohu, and darkness covering the deep.” The four phrases:

1) “tohu”,

2) “bohu”,

3) “darkness”, and

4) “covering the deep”

 

The four phrases hint to the four exiles:

 

 

The final exile, Edom, corresponds to the phrase, “covering the deep” because just as we cannot grasp the depth of the ocean, so too we cannot grasp how terrible this exile is.

 

The Maggid of Kozhnitz seeks to understand the concept of HaShem’s tears^[49] on the basis of the Midrash that interprets the verse, “And the earth was void and chaos…”^[50] as referring to the four exiles.^[51] Here, too, the Midrash attributes historical significance to a natural phenomenon, in this case, the primal “void and chaos.” The “void,” “chaos,” “darkness,” and “deep” hint at the suffering of the four exiles that Israel will endure. In other words, the suffering has its roots in creation; it is part of a necessary periodicity which is fundamental to the existence of the world. What appears to us as a stage preceding creation (the “void and chaos…”) is interpreted here as applying to all of history. We may have thought that the chaos and void belonged to the reality that preceded the creation of the world. The Midrash comes to tell us that history itself is “void and chaos and darkness,” and the light that is described as coming afterwards, and, in a more general sense, the orderly world that the Torah presents in chapter 1 of Bereshit, belongs to the future, not the past. History is one long process of movement from “void” to “chaos,” from “chaos” to “darkness,” etc., up until the light and redemption that are promised at the end.

 

Since the Torah is the blueprint of the world, something written at the very beginning of the blueprint indicates that these exiles are a fundamental process in the history of the world.

 

The Number Four

 

According to Chazal, our Sages, the number four signifies completion, wholeness, or fullness. One can see this by looking at the fingers on your hand. We have four that move in the same direction and are regularly used together. These four fingers are a complete set of fingers. Note, however, that the thumb is similar to the other fingers, yet it is different. Thus, whenever we see four, we will always find a fifth which is similar yet materially different.

 

The four exiles, represented by the four fingers, are:

 

Bavel (Babylon),

Madai / Paras (Media / Persia),

Yavan (Greece), and

Edom (Rome).

]

The fifth exile, represented by the thumb, is the Egyptian exile. Like the other four, the Egyptian exile provided atonement. Unlike the other four, the Egyptian exile was not forced by a foreign nation, but rather by a famine. Unlike the other four exiles, the Egyptian exile was also relatively peaceful and trouble free as long as Joseph was alive.

 

The number four is a number of separation and represents dispersal in all four directions. We see scripture describing division and separation as:

 

Zechariah 2:10 ...for I have scattered you like the four directions of the heavens.

 

Four is the number representing exile, as we have already begun seeing.

 

The Four Rivers

 

We find a hint to the four exiles in the description of the Garden of Eden, from which came out a river that split into four smaller rivers: Pishon, Gichon, Chidekel, and P’ros (Euphrates). These four rivers also correspond to the four exiles of Bavel, Madai, Yavan and Edom.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.13 And the name of the second river is Gichon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Chidekel: that is, it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is P’ros (Euphrates).

 

The first use of the number four, in the Torah, is found in connection with the water that flowed out of Gan Eden.

 

The Covenant Between The Parts

 

In this next passage we see Avraham being told that his descendants would be going into exile in Egypt. Chazal see a hint, also, to the four exiles that would enslave the Children of Israel throughout time.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 15:12-21 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, behold, a fear, a great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day HaShem made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

 

The nations which kept us in exile were hinted to in verse twelve, which says that after Avraham fell asleep, “And behold, a fear, a great darkness fell upon him.” The words form a remez, according to the Midrash:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLIV:17 AND, LO, A DREAD, EVEN A GREAT DARKNESS, FELL UPON HIM (ib.). DREAD refers to Babylon, as it is written, Then was Nebuchadnezzar filled with fury (Dan. III, 19).^[52] DARKNESS refers to Media, which darkened the eyes of Israel with fasting and tribulation; GREAT refers to Greece. R. Simon said: The Kingdom of Greece set up one hundred and twenty commanders, one hundred and twenty governors, and one hundred and twenty generals. The Rabbis said: Sixty of each, for it is written, Serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions (Deut. VIII, 15)^[53]: just as the scorpion lays sixty eggs at a time, so did the Greek state set up sixty of each. FELL UPON HIM alludes to Edom [Rome], as it is written, The earth quaketh at the noise of their fall (Jer. XLIX, 21).^[54] Some reverse it: FELL UPON HIM (ib.) alludes to Babylon, as it is written, Fallen, fallen is Babylon (Isa. XXI, 9). GREAT alludes to Media, as it is written, King Ashuerus did make great, etc. (Est. III, 1). DARKNESS alludes to Greece that darkened the eyes of Israel with its decrees.’ DREAD alludes to Edom, as it is written, After this I saw... a fourth beast^[55], dreadful and terrible (Dan. VII, 7).^[56]

 

Fear: This refers to Bavel, the Babylonian exile.

Darkness: This refers to Madai, the Median exile.

Great: This refers to Yavan, the Greek exile.

Fell upon him: This refers to the Edomite exile, the last of the four exiles, in which we still suffer.

 

 

The Tzadik of Ruzhin concluded, “Even before we sinned the exile was decreed upon us. The ‘four exiles’ and ‘two destructions’ were already decreed in the time of our Patriarch Avraham at the Covenant Between The Pieces.

 

Egypt – The Prototype

 

There is a Midrashic^[57] view that maintains that the impurity of Egypt is the source of all further exiles and is too profound to be listed as one of the four. The Egyptian exile lasted two hundred and ten years,^[58] from the time Yaaqov Avinu and his sixty-nine family members crossed the borders of Egypt.

 

This prototypical exile has at least one very important lesson for us.

 

Our salvation, the salvation of all Jews, depends on us saving the Gentiles first

 

We learn this from the Egyptian exile where a Jew, Joseph ben Yaaqov, first saved the Gentiles before he saved his family – the rest of the Jews. Thus, we need to absorb a very powerful lesson:

 

Our salvation depends on the salvation of the Gentiles!

 

We save the Gentiles by scattering the seeds of the oral Torah amongst the Gentiles. The scattering of the seeds of the oral law, amongst the Gentiles, is illustrated by a simile in Mark^[59]:

 

Mark 4:13-20 And he said to them: “Do you not comprehend^[60] this simile?^[61] And how will you comprehend all similes? The sower sows the seed of the Oral Torah.^[62] And these are those along the way (path) where the seed of the Oral Torah is sown. And when they hear, the adversary (Yester HaRa) comes immediately^[63] and takes away the seed of the Oral Torah having been sown in their hearts. And likewise, these are the ones having been sown on the rocky (soil),^[64] who, when they hear the Oral Torah, they immediately receive it with joy, Yet they have no root (faithfulness) in themselves but are temporal opportunists.^[65] Then when trouble or persecution^[66] has occurred because of the Oral Torah, they immediately stumble^[67] (and fall away). These are those being sown into the thorn bushes, those hearing the Oral Torah, And the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts about other things entering in, they choke the Oral Torah, and it becomes unfruitful.^[68] And these are those being sown on the good ground, who hear and welcome the Oral Torah and bring forth fruit, one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundredfold.

 

The Egyptian exile which is, for us, the paradigm of all exiles. When HaShem freed us from Egyptian bondage, He used four terms of redemption. He said,

 

• “I will take you out (v’hotzeiti) of the land of Egypt,
• And I will save you (v’hitzalti) from serving them.
• And I will redeem you (v’gaalti) from slavery to freedom,
• And I will take you (v’lakachti) to Me as a nation”.

 

 

“v’hotzeiti” hints at Galut Bavel, for so the Prophet writes in Yeshayahu “Go out from Bavel ..., flee from the Kasdim”;^[69]

“v’hitzalti” hints at Galut Paras and Madai, since that is where they were saved from physical annihilation;

 

“v’gaalti” hints at Galut Yavan, because that is where their spiritual existence was threatened; whilst –

 

“v’lakachti eschem li le’Am” hints at Galut Edom, where HaShem will take us as His nation once and for all, when the time comes.

The Four Cups

 

The Talmud Yerushalmi^[70] says that the four cups of wine at the seder parallel four phrases of redemption. The Yerushalmi goes on to say that the four cups represent our freedom from the four nations who oppressed us: Bavel, Madai, Yavan, and Edom.

 

The early experiences of the Jewish people are considered to foreshadow our later experiences in history. For us, history truly repeats itself. And so, our Egyptian experience is a forerunner of all the later times we would be oppressed by the nations of the world.

 

During the seder we take four cups of wine, which correspond with these four expressions of redemption.

 

This prototypical exile confirms the words of Our Sages when they taught that the purpose of exile is to make converts:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. 38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

 

Thus, we see that the Erev Rav, the mixed multitude, also came out with the Children of Israel. These Gentiles had attached themselves to Israel and would receive a portion of the Promised Land.

 

Egypt is viewed as the prototype of all the future exiles and therefore remains in a class of its own. It was the Egyptian paradigm that enabled the sages to view Israel’s exile in such broad perspective. Just as they compared the first redeemer (Moses) to the final redeemer (Messiah of the house of David), and the first redemption to the final redemption, so they considered the first Galut to be the model for all future exiles. HaShem’s promise to Yaakov Avinu was thus interpreted by the Rabbis as applying to every Galut experience:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 46:3-4 Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will ... go down with you into Egypt and surely bring you up again.

 

The Rabbis understand this literally to mean that HaShem Himself, as it were, accompanies His people into exile. A new concept was thus born, known as Shekhinta be-Galuta, “the Divine Presence [is] in exile”,^[71] which would later become potent in the Kabbalah.

 

This exile is puzzling. Seventy righteous, holy, and undefiled Jewish souls went down to Egypt and 600,000 souls emerged mired in forty-nine levels of defilement! What purpose did this exile serve? The goal of the exile was to scour the Jewish people and prepare them for their mission as the chosen people. This is what HaShem meant when He told Avraham: “Know for sure” that if you want your descendants to be the chosen people, they must endure four hundred years of purification in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed, not because they sinned, but in order to be cleansed and prepared for the mission that awaits them.

 

When we left Egypt, we brought a large mixed multitude of Gentiles with us. This is one of the ultimate goals of exile.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 123:3 Be gracious unto us, HaShem, be gracious unto us; for we are full sated with contempt.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) Psalms 126:1-128:6

 

 

Rashi Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) Psalms 126:1-128:6

 

Chapter 126

 

1 When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion from the Babylonian exile, we were like dreamers.

 

4 like rivulets in arid land Like rivulets in arid land, which moisten it, so shall we be moistened [freshened] when You return [us from] our captivity, for those who sow in an arid land, with tears, worrying that it will not grow, reap with song through the rivulets of water, when they are directed into it [that land].

 

6 He will go along weeping, etc. So do Israel in exile sow charity in tears, and they will reap it when You pay their reward in the future.

 

Chapter 127

 

1 A song of ascents about Solomon This song David recited about his son, Solomon, for he saw through the holy spirit that he [Solomon] was destined to build the Temple, and on that very day, Solomon would marry Pharaoh’s daughter, and concerning this was said (Jer. 32: 31): “For this city has aroused My anger and My wrath since the day they built it.” Therefore, he recited this song. My son, why should you build a house and turn away from following the Omnipresent? Since He does not desire it, its workers have toiled at it in vain.

 

[its] watcher keeps his vigil in vain The watchman watches it in vain.

 

2 It is futile for you The craftsmen, who rise early and stay late at their work and sustain themselves with toil and labor, with bread of toil, [i.e.,] of the toil of work.

 

so will the Lord give The Holy One, blessed be He, [will give] sustenance to him who banishes his sleep from his eyes in order to engage in the Torah.

 

to one who banishes sleep Heb. לידידו שנא . to one who banishes (מנדד) sleep from his eyes.

 

3 Behold, the heritage of the Lord for that man [who banishes sleep from his eyes].

 

sons These are the disciples whom he sets up, who are to him like sons.

 

the reward is the fruit of the innards The reward is the fruit of the Torah that is in his heart as it is said (Prov. 22: 18): “For it is pleasant that you guard them in your innards.”

 

4 Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man with which to battle his enemies.

 

so are the sons of one’s youth The disciples that a man sets up in his youth.

 

5 Praiseworthy is the man who has filled his quiver with those arrows. אשפה is the arrow case, called cuyvre in Old French.

 

they will not be ashamed when they talk to the enemies in the gate Torah scholars who defeat one another in halakhah and appear as enemies to one another (addendum).

 

Chapter 128

 

1 A song of ascents. Praiseworthy is every man who fears the Lord All of these are admonitions and disciplines. Because it is written, “Praiseworthy is the man,” “Praiseworthy is a man,” it therefore says here “every,” to include a woman.

 

2 If...the toil of your hands He who benefits from the toil of his hands inherits two worlds. In Tractate Berachoth (8a).

 

3 as a fruitful vine Every woman whose blood is abundant will have many children.

 

in the innermost parts of your house Because it is customary to have marital relations in secret. Another explanation:

 

in the innermost parts If your wife is menstruating, put her into the innermost parts of your house so that you will not become accustomed to being with her.

 

your sons will be like olive shoots Just as olive trees cannot be grafted, so will your sons not have any disqualification.

 

5 from Zion which is the gate of heaven. Moreover, in the merit of Zion they would be fruitful and multiply, as it is written (I Kings 4:20): “Judah and Israel [were] many.”

 

the good of Jerusalem And you shall rejoice with all the good.

 

6 And may you see children [born] to your children and they shall not come to quarrel about halitzah, [since that is performed only if there are no children,] and then there will be peace upon Israel (addendum).

 

children [born] to your children They will inherit the estate, and no woman will be subject to the levir [in a levirate marriage]. Then there will be peace in the world.

 

Meditation from the Psalms 126:1 – 128:6

By H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

 

With Psalm 126 the Levitical choir moves up to the seventh step. This song describes the highest of Ascents, the ascent of the Jewish nation from the depths of exile. The final redemption will appear to be a dream because the wonders which will accompany it will exceed Israel's wildest expectations. David composed this psalm as a prophecy of events that were destined to occur long after his death. Thus, this psalm is written as if it were said by the exiles in Babylon.

 

This psalm stands out in sharp contrast to psalm 137, By the rivers of Babylon, which describes the descent of the Jews into exile. Psalm 137 is recited prior to Birkat HaMazon, the Grace after Meals, on weekdays, in order to keep the memory of the Temple's destruction fresh in our minds, even when our bodies are sated and comfortable in exile. Psalm 126, however, is recited before Birkat HaMazon on the Sabbath and the festivals. Since these holy, festive days afford downtrodden, exiled Jews a glimpse of their future elevation and glory it is appropriate that they recite this Song of Ascents, which tells that HaShem will return the captivity of Zion.^[72]

 

With Psalm 127 the Levitical choir moves up to the eighth step. This psalm touches upon many of the primary problems that occupy a person's thoughts. A man's main concerns include building a home, earning a livelihood, and raising good children. The Psalmist offers his advice on how to succeed in these important endeavors.

 

First, man must realize that all human effort is futile if it is not blessed with Divine approval and assistance. If HaShem will not build the house, its builders labor on it vainly.^[73] David's personal example vividly illustrates this point. King David spent a lifetime gathering money and precious materials for the construction of the Temple, yet his dream was not fulfilled because he had shed blood and thereby forfeited Divine approval for his project. Instead, this privilege was bestowed on his son, Solomon, who took over this sacred project and all the material that his father had painstakingly prepared.

 

When man puts all his faith in God and merits Divine favor, his efforts will surely succeed. When serene faith takes the place of doubt, anxiety and fear, the blessings of God are granted in abundance and bring blissful peace of mind, because He gives His beloved ones restful sleep.^[74]

 

Even children are the heritage of HaShem,^[75] and like arrows in the hand of a warrior^[76] they can be trained in any direction. Praiseworthy is the man who fills his quiver, i.e., the House of Study, with them, so that they become familiar with and fluent in all the laws of the Torah. Thus, they shall not be shamed, when they refute the words of heresy spoken by HaShem's enemies.^[77]

 

With Psalm 128 the Levitical choir moves up to the ninth step. This psalm is a continuation of the preceding one which taught that Divine assistance is essential if man is to succeed in any endeavor. Physical labor is of inestimable value when he who toils considers himself to be a partner of God in the work of enhancing Creation. Indeed, the Talmud teaches: How valuable is labor, for it brings genuine glory for those who toil in it.^[78]

 

Similarly, marriage and parenthood are the noblest pursuits of a person's life, but only if the participants enter into a partnership with God and invoke His assistance.

 

It is especially crucial for the Jew to appreciate the sacred character of labor and marriage while he suffers in exile, otherwise he may fall into despair and see no value and purpose in life. If the Jew succeeds in maintaining his personal spiritual level in every aspect of life he will ultimately be redeemed and returned to the Holy Land, the source of all sanctity. He will merit the Psalmist's good wish: May HaShem bless you from Zion, and may you gaze upon the goodness of Jerusalem, all the days of your life. And may you see the children of your children, and peace upon Israel. ^[79]

 

Psalms chapter 126 contains an enigmatic pasuk that I would like to dissect and expand to explore a subject that is fascinating to nearly everyone – dreams.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 126:1 A Song of Ascents. When HaShem brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream.

 

One of the uncanniest aspects of dreaming is the feeling that the dream is reality. The most bizarre things can happen in a dream, and we relate to them as normal: Fish can talk and complain; we can soar into the sky like a jet, or hover over our bedroom like a helicopter; the bank manager can become a walrus and a walrus can make a good cup of tea. And when we awake, there is that strange pivotal moment of emergence when, hanging between two worlds, we are not sure in which reality we are. Fortunately, when we wake up, we can say, “Baruch HaShem!” because we KNOW it was just a dream.

 

When we are dreaming, we believe that the world of that dream is real. That is why we can have strong emotions like fear and ecstasy during a dream. Yet, when we awaken, we realize that that world, the dream world was an illusion. How do we “know” that the dream world was an illusion? The answer is we just know! Thus, we learn that our perception of reality is a function of the daat.^[80] Further, we learn that there will come a time when we awaken, in the resurrection, from this world, this “dream” world, and realize that this world was the dream! When confronted with the reality of the Olam HaBa, we will realize that this fleeting world was just a dream. In the transition from this world to the next, we will suddenly wake up and know that this world was a dream. We will suddenly wake up and wipe the sweat off our brow. We will breathe a sigh of relief because we will know that the Olam HaBa is the real world. This is the Mashal^[81] of a dream.

 

A dream is an interesting experience in that an observer knows that we are dreaming when he sees our closed eyes moving rapidly. This stage of sleep is called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. If a person is awakened after being in REM sleep for a second or two, he will describe a dream that went on for a long time, sometimes for years! This teaches us that a moment in the Olam HaBa will be like a long time in this world. A dream teaches us that “time” in this world is fleeting compared to “time” in the Olam HaBa.

 

Not all dreams are prophetic, however. Some dreams are simply the mind processing the day’s events. Others are the cold pizza you ate during Letterman or Leno. These dreams are most often nonsensical. They do not stay with you. Yet, there are other dreams that you cannot dismiss no matter how hard you try. These dreams come from the soul.

The Ten Dreams

 

There are ten dreams (dreamed by seven “dreamers”) in Bereshit (Genesis). What makes this remarkable is that there are no other dreams in the Torah. By Divine Providence, all ten appear in the annual weekly Torah portions read during the month of Kislev. Let’s first examine the ten dreams:

 

 

The principal Torah figure connected with dreams, both as the ‘dreamer’ and as the ‘dream interpreter’, is Yosef, called “the master of dreams”^[82] by his brothers. The four dreams preceding those of Yosef, the dream of Avimelech, Jacob’s first and second dreams, and the dream of Lavan, were transparent and did not need special dream interpretation. In these dreams, HaShem, or an angel, appears to the dreamer and directly reveals information. In contrast, the final six dreams, the two of Yosef, the two of Pharaoh’s ministers, and the two of Pharaoh, require interpretation, having become “enclothed” in the imaginative faculty of the dreamer’s soul, and appearing in the form of an allegory and riddle.

The First Dream - Avimelech

 

The first dream is given to Avimelech. In this dream, Avimelech is warned against taking Sarah as his wife. In other words, HaShem is protecting Sarah and Avraham, and by extension He is protecting Yitzchak. Remember that Yitzchak is to be born within the year. This means that his parentage will be questionable if Avimelech spends any quality time with Sarah. Thus, all of the Jewish people depend on Yitzchak being the son of Avraham, HaShem gives a warning to Avimelech in a dream.

 

The creation of the concept of a ‘dream’ is found with the first occurrence of the word.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife. 4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou also slay a righteous nation? 5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. 6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore, suffered I thee not to touch her. 7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

 

It is axiomatic that there are no wasted words in the Torah. Every word is important and carries meaning. Knowing this, Chazal^[83] derive that Avimelech had two dreams. They learn this from the repetition of the Hebrew word Chalom – dream, in the above pasuk. From our study of the number two we learn that HaShem is establishing the truth of the dream by presenting the issue twice. We will look at several dreams that come in pairs.

 

 

The root of the Hebrew word for dream (chalom - חולם) appears forty-eight times in Bereshit and another seven times in the other four books. These numbers correspond exactly to the statement in the Talmud that there were forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel.

 

Megillah 14a Our Rabbis taught: ‘Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied to Israel, and they neither took away from nor added aught to what is written in the Torah save only the reading of the Megillah’.

 

Yosef’s Dreams

 

When Yosef was seventeen years old, he had two dreams. The first dream he tells his brothers. The second dream he tells his brothers and his father. Note this sequence in the following pasukim:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 37:5-11 And Yosef dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. 6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. 8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. 9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

 

Note that Yosef’s brothers reacted strongly to his first dream, but they had no reaction to his second dream. His father, Yaaqov, on the other hand, reacted strongly to the second dream because he did not know about the previous dream.

 

In both dreams, HaShem presents the vivid prophecy that Yaaqov along with his mother and brothers would bow down to Yosef. His brothers realized that the repetition of the dream attested to its veracity. While they could ascribe the first dream to Yosef’s imagination, however, the repetition of the dream meant that it was not his youthful imagination, but rather it was from HaShem. We see that significant dreams often come in pairs. In fact, Radak says that the repetition of the dream shows that they are prophetic.

 

In the second dream, Yosef dreams that the moon will bow down to him. It is understood that the sun is Yaaqov, and the eleven stars are Yosef’s brothers. This means that the moon represents Rachel, Yosef’s mother. At this time, Rachel is dead. Hence Yaaqov’s concern about this dream. Clearly, this part of the dream cannot come true.

 

The Gemara^[84] derives from this very incident that no dream ever comes true completely; even if part of a dream comes true, there is always some part of it which is meaningless and will not come true. We will explore this concept in greater detail, later in this study.

 

Time would reveal the truth of both dreams. In the end we find that Yosef’s brothers came and bowed down to Yosef because they needed to buy grain. Thus, the dream represents the brothers as sheaves of grain.

 

Interestingly, Chazal derive that we may have to wait up to twenty-two years for the fulfillment of a dream because that it is how long it took for Yosef’s dreams to find fulfillment. Chazal teach that the twenty-two years differential is possible because the dreams did not take place on the same night.

 

Paro’s Dreams

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 41:7 “…and Paro awoke and behold – it had been a dream!”

 

The Torah adds the phrase “it had been a dream!” to indicate that the dream was so vivid that Paro thought he had been witnessing real events.

 

Paro dreamt two dreams. One involving sheaves and one involving cows. We will start by examining the dream with the cows in it.

 

Paro’s first dream needs to be examined carefully in order to understand why Yosef’s interpretation was accepted, while Paro’s magician’s interpretation was not accepted.

 

In the Torah we find that words are carefully conserved and that only the words that are needed are recorded. In Paro’s dream, the Torah first tells us what Paro actually dreams. After this, the Torah tells us the dream as Paro relates it to Yosef. This repetition is needed only if there are differences that are important. Since Paro made the changes intentionally, we can understand that he did it in order to test the veracity of the interpretation.

 

These changes were Paro’s secret, and he used them to see who would correctly interpret the dreams and who would be led astray by these incorrect details. It should be emphasized that Paro apparently understood that this was no regular dream but rather a Divine message, which caused “his spirit to be troubled.” The genuine interpreter of such a dream would certainly know how to distinguish between the crux of the message and an insignificant detail, between the dream itself and Pharaoh’s personal additions, between what was related and the hidden message. We, therefore, need to understand the differences between what Paro dreamt and how he related his dream. To facilitate this understanding, I have highlighted the essential differences, in red, in the following table.

 

 

When Yosef arrives to solve the riddle of the dream, Paro repeats his description, with the addition (“And their appearance was as bad as it had been at first”), and once again omits the two sets of cows standing side by side. Yosef begins interpreting the dream and it appears for a moment as though he, too, is going to fall into a trap: “And seven years of famine will follow them, and all the bounty of the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will consume the land. And the bounty shall not be known in the land because of that famine afterwards, for it shall be most severe.” Yosef, too, relates to this false detail and his interpretation is incorrect. But a second before Paro signals to his servants to haul the slave back to his prison cell, Yosef continues and, to the astonishment of all present, proposes a reorganization of the Egyptian national economy as a means of dealing with the years of famine!

 

In fact, this entire suggestion indicates that the seven years of famine will not entirely consume the bounty of the previous seven years. Or, in the terminology of the dream, even after the seven years of famine come and consume the seven years of bounty, it will indeed be known that those years of bounty preceded them. The appearance of the “seven lean cows” can indeed be changed: “And the food shall be for a surety for the land for the seven years of famine which shall come to the land of Egypt, and the land shall not be cut off for famine.” In other words, the years of bounty have the power to save Egypt from the years of famine, in complete contrast to the false detail supplied by Paro.

 

How did Yosef gather the audacity to say such a thing? From the dream itself, but from the secret, hidden detail known only to Paro and to Yosef (who admits that it is not he himself who interprets dreams but rather that “God shall put Paro’s mind at rest”). This is the significance of the two sets of cows standing side by side on the banks of the river. There will be a stage, Yosef informs Paro, where it will be possible to place the years of plenty parallel to the years of famine before the years of famine devour and consume the years of bounty. The food must be gathered during the years of bounty and kept aside for the years of famine!

 

Yosef’s audacious suggestion is not a personally motivated addition to the interpretation of the dream, as it appears at first glance, but rather a direct continuation of the interpretation itself; it is the interpretation of the detail which Paro “forgot” to mention. This suggestion, hinted at in the original dream, invalidates the false detail which Paro added of his own accord, and therefore Paro is left amazed: “And Paro said to his servants, Is there a man such as this, in whom the Divine spirit rests?”

 

Since Paro’s dreams both took place in the same night, Yosef discerned that the fulfillment would come quickly.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 41:32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

 

This is in stark contrast to Yosef’s own dreams which took twenty-two years to be fulfilled.

 

The Torah recounts the dreams of the cows and sheaves three times: The Torah’s narrative, Paro’s description to Yosef, and Yosef’s interpretation to Paro. Three times fourteen equals forty-two. Nothing in this dream went unfulfilled. It was all fulfilled in Egypt based on the Prophet’s words, Egypt will be desolate and unsettled for forty years.^[85] The famine began during this time and lasted two years until Yaakov came to Egypt. The other forty years referred to by Yehezkel completed the total of forty-two years alluded to in the value of three (recountings of the dream) times fourteen (number of lean cows and sheaves).^[86]

 

A dream is one sixtieth of prophecy

 

The Midrash^[87] tells us that prior to the erection of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle in the wilderness); prophecy existed among all the nations of the world. Once the Mishkan was built, prophecy was, with rare exception, found only among the Jews. The Talmud^[88] relates that from the time of the destruction of the Temple, prophecy was removed from the domain of prophets but was not removed from the domain of the Sages. The Talmud goes on to say that when prophecy was taken from the prophets it was given to children and fools.^[89]

 

Having said that prophecy ceased to exist in Talmudic times we can look further down the line to the time of Maimonides (12th century) and see a seeming contradiction to this. Says Maimonides:

 

“One of the basic foundations of religion is that the Almighty empowers man with the prophetic vision. However, the spirit of prophecy rests only upon the wise man who is distinguished by great wisdom and strong moral character, whose passions never overcome him in anything whatsoever, rather, he is mentally in control over his passions always, and he possesses a broad and sedate mind. When an individual, filled with these characteristics and physically sound, enters the Spiritual Paradise and is continuously immersed in these great and abstruse themes, having the right mind capable of comprehending and grasping them; making himself holy, withdrawing from the ways of the ordinary masses who walk in the obscurities of the times, constantly energizing himself to train his soul not to have any thought at all of the wasteful endeavors and vanities of the age and its intrigues, but his mind is rather always cleared of the extraneous in order to be focused on higher things as though bound beneath the Celestial Throne in order to comprehend the pure and holy forms of the spiritual beings, gazing and contemplating upon the totality of the wisdom of The Holy One Blessed Be He as displayed by His creatures, from the first form to the very center of the Earth, learning from them His greatness, upon such an individual will the Holy Spirit immediately descend.

 

And when the Holy Spirit rests upon him his soul will mingle with the exalted angels called Ishim and he will become a different person and he will realize that he is not the same as he was, rather he has been exalted above other wise men, as it is written concerning Saul:

 

I Shmuel (Samuel) 10:6 And you shall prophecy with them, and you shall be turned into another man.^[90]

 

Maimonides further states^[91]: 

 

“As you are aware, our Rabbis state that a dream is one sixtieth of prophecy; and you know, that it is inappropriate to make comparisons between two unrelated concepts or things...and they repeated this idea in Midrash Bereshit Rabbah and said, `the buds of prophecy are dreams.’  This is indeed a wonderful metaphor, for just as a bud is the actual fruit itself that has not yet developed fully; similarly, the power of the imagination at the time of sleep is exactly that which operates at the time of prophecy, in an incomplete and unperfected state.”

 

It is clear from Maimonides that man is capable of prophecy today.

 

I believe that we can resolve this difficulty. What the Talmud and Zohar meant by the fact that prophecy ceased was that it was a two-stage cessation from the general masses, but not from worthy individuals. The first stage of the cessation was a cessation of prophecy coming “out of the blue” to members of the general masses. This was accompanied by a relegation of prophecy to children and fools. Then, even this type of prophecy ceased. But prophecy never ceased from worthy individuals who could attain it (albeit, not easily) in the way described by Maimonides. That type of prophecy, I believe, did exist in the days of the second Temple with His Majesty King Yeshua and Yochanan the Baptist, and it could exist among worthy individuals today.

 

Rules of Interpretation

 

Dreams must be interpreted according to rules.^[92]

 

The following is an extract from: Dream Interpretation From Classical Jewish Sources, by Rabbi Shelomo Almoli, Translated and Annotated by Yaakov Elman.

 

Quite clearly, the periods of a person's life are not alike [in spiritual potential]. There are times when one is more prepared for Divine Service than at other times, I have found many differences related to whether the dream occurs on the first, second, or third day of the month; indeed, each day of the month is different from the others in this respect. This point was transmitted by R. Hai Gaon and the wise men who followed him, each emending it in his way. However, it is found neither in the Talmud nor in the midrashim, and I do not know its source; perhaps it was transmitted by oral tradition from the Sinaitic revelation, or perhaps it was derived from experience.

 

However, that may be, I have found a hint of this principle in the Torah, in the verse "We dreamed a dream that night, I and he."^[93] This verse is difficult: does it make any difference whether the two dreams were dreamed on the same night or over two nights? [That is not the issue; the Chief Cupbearer simply wanted to assure Pharaoh that Joseph, as an outstanding interpreter, had been able to discern the difference between his dream and the Baker's even though they both occurred on the same night.]

 

I found another proof for this principle in the word of our Sages in Genesis Rabbah on the verse, "'And his father [i.e., Joseph's father, Jacob] kept the matter [of Joseph's dreams] to himself.'^[94] [Said R. Levi:] When Jacob heard that dream, he took pen in hand and recorded the day and hour and place."^[95]

 

Note that Jacob was careful to note the day of the month on which Joseph dreamed the dream, the day of the week, and the time, for morning dreams are more likely to come to pass. Likewise, he recorded the place, for the land of Israel is more open to Divine influence than other lands.

 

I have also often heard that a dream dreamed on the Sabbath will be accurate, since the "extra" soul we are given on that day leaves us more open to Divine influence.

 

The Truth of a Dream

 

All dreams contain an element of truth and an element of falsehood.^[96]

 

The Meaning Follows the Interpretation

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 40:9 “Do not interpretations belong to God?”

 

The meaning of dreams follows the interpretation.^[97]

 

Hatavat Chalom

 

Rabbi Chisda[98] said that the purpose of a bad dream is more effective than lashes in arousing a sinner to mend his ways. The fear aroused by a dream which may foretell an unpleasant future has a longer lasting impact on the dreamer than the pain suffered in corporal punishment. According to Chazal, our Sages, a bad dream is therefore related to thunder which likewise instills a fear which will hopefully inspire us to return to the Creator.

 

Someone who had a bad dream can recite a special prayer called “Hatavat Chalom” (amelioration of a dream), which is said in the presence of three people. One who has had a disturbing dream should perform the following ritual the next morning together with three good friends. The passages in bold type are recited by the dreamer; then those in italics are recited by the three friends in unison.

 

Do not interpretations belong to God? Relate it to me if you please.’

 

Recite seven times: I have seen a good dream. You have seen a good dream. it is good and may it become good. May the Merciful One transform it to the good. May it be decreed upon it seven times from heaven that it become good and always be good. it is good and may it become good.

 

The following verses speaks of transformation of distress to relief.

 

You have changed for me my lament Into dancing; You undid my sackcloth and girded me with gladness. Then the maiden shall rejoice in a dance, and lads and elders together; and I shall change their mourning to joy, and I shall console them and gladden their sorrow. HaShem, your God, did not wish to pay heed to Balaam, and HaShem, your God, transformed for you the curse to blessing for HaShem, your God, loves you.

 

The following verses speak of rescue.

 

He redeemed my soul In peace from the battles that were upon me, for the sake of the multitudes who were with me. And the people said to Saul, ‘Shall Jonathan die, who performed this great salvation for Israel? A sacrilege! -as HaShem lives, if a hair of his head falls to the ground, for with HaShem has he acted this day!’ And the people redeemed Jonathan and he did not die. Those redeemed by God will return and arrive at Zion with glad song and eternal gladness on their heads; joy and gladness shall they attain, and sorrow and groan shall flee.’

 

The following verses speak of peace.

 

I create fruit of the lips: ‘Peace, peace, for far and near,’ says HaShem, ‘and I shall heal him. A spirit clothed Amasai, head of the officers, ‘For your sake, David, and to be with you, son of Jesse; peace, peace to you, and peace to him who helps you, for your God has helped you.’ David accepted them and appointed them heads of the band. And you shall say: ‘So may it be as long as you live; peace for you, peace for your household and peace for all that is with you.’” HaShem will give might to His people, HaShem will bless His people with peace.”

 

The following verses are recited three times each:

 

HaShem, I heard what you made me here and I was frightened. HaShem, during [these] years, give him life, HaShem during [these] years, make known: amid rage, remember to be merciful. A song to the ascents. I raise my eyes to the mountains: whence will come my help? My help Is from HaShem, Maker of heaven and earth.’ He will not allow your foot to falter; your Guardian will not slumber. Behold, He neither slumbers nor sleeps -the Guardian of Israel. HaShem is your Guardian; HaShem is your Shade at your right hand. By day the sun will not harm you, nor the moon by night. HaShem will protect you from every evil; He will guard your soul. HaShem will guard your departure and your arrival, from this time and forever.’ HaShem spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: So are you to bless the children of Israel, say to them:’ May HaShem bless you and safeguard you. May HaShem illuminate His countenance for you and be gracious to you. May HaShem turn His countenance to you and establish peace for you. Let them place My Name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.’ May You reveal to me the path of life. The fullness of joys in Your Presence; there is delight at your right hand for eternity.”

 

Recite once:

 

Go with joy, eat your bread, and drink your wine with a glad heart, for God has already approved your deeds.’6 And repentance, prayer, and charity remove the evil of the decree. And peace be upon us and upon all Israel, Amen.

 

The Talmud in Berachot talks of two actions which might be taken in the case of a disturbing dream. One of these actions is called “hatavat chalom” and the other is called “taanit chalom” or a fast over a bad dream.

 

The Gemara^[99] indicates that one who has had a bad dream should fast in order to nullify any bad decree against him; he must fast on the day on which he had the dream, even if it is Shabbat. The Rivash^[100] writes that one does not have to fast at all for a bad dream if it does not bother him, because it is not a mitzva to fast; the Rashba too^[101] writes that one has permission to fast, even on Shabbat, for a bad dream, but it is not obligatory. The Mishnah Berurah^[102] notes that the fasting is of value only if it is accompanied by sincere Teshuvah (repentance).

 

Conclusion

 

In Psalms chapter 126, that we recite on Shabbat and Holidays before the blessings after the meal, there is the following phrase, “When HaShem returns our captivity, we will be like (awakening) dreamers….”

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 126:1 A Song of degrees. When HaShem turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like dreamers. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, HaShem hath done great things for them. 3 HaShem hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 4 Turn again our captivity, HaShem, as the streams in the south. 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

 

When HaShem finally brings us out of the long night of exile, we will rub our eyes like people emerging from a darkened cinema, and we will then realize that we were only dreaming these six thousands of years.

 

Ashlamatah: Micah 5:11- 6:8

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Micah 5:11- 6:8

 

Chapter 5

 

13 and I will destroy your enemies. Heb. עָרֶיךָ. Jonathan renders: And I will destroy your enemies. Similarly, (Isa. 14:21) “And fill the surface of the earth with enemies (עָרִים) ,” and (I Sam. 28:16) “And has become your adversary (עָרֶךָ).”

 

Chapter 6

 

1 with the mountains -with the Patriarchs.

 

the hills -the Matriarchs.

 

3 what have I done for you -Put your heart to recognizing what benefit I have done for you.

 

and how have I wearied you -with My worship? 

 

4 For I brought you up -Although I bestowed all this benefit upon you, I did not weary you with much worship or with large sacrifices.

 

Moses, Aaron, and Miriam - Jonathan paraphrases: Moses to teach the transmission of the laws, Aaron to atone for the people, and Miriam to instruct the women. 

 

5 and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him -(Num. 23:8) “How shall I be angry if God is not angry?” for I did not become angry all those days. [from Berachot 4a]

 

from Shittim -where you sinned before Me. You should recognize My righteous deeds, for I did not withhold My kindness and My assistance from you until I brought you to Gilgal, and I conquered the land before you.

 

6 bow I will be humbled. 

 

7 streams of oil -for meal offerings.

 

Shall I give my firstborn? -as a sacrifice for my transgression. 

 

8 He has told -The Holy One, blessed be He, has told you what is good for you to do.

 

and to walk discreetly - Jonathan renders: Walk discreetly in the fear of your God. Another explanation:

 

And walk discreetly. The standard of flesh and blood is not like the standard of the Holy One, blessed be He. The standard of flesh and blood is: If one man embarrasses his fellow and comes to placate him, the fellow says to him, “I will not accept your apology until so and so and so and so, before whom you disgraced me, come.” But the Holy One, blessed be He, desires only that the man’s return to Him be between the two of them. [from Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 163b].

 

Commentary on the Ashlamatah of Micah 5:11 – 6:8

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

 

Micah’s prophecies are directed toward both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. Micah chastises the nation for their intolerable actions against one another and for their rebellious behavior against God. Micah predicts 150 years before the Babylonian exile, the terrible destruction that will befall the people as a result of their sin.[103] The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say: ‘Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No evil shall come upon us?  Therefore, shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.^[104]

 

The message of judgment has been delivered (chap. 5), and the prophet Micah turns his attention to foretelling that ultimately Jerusalem and its Temple will be rebuilt and the nations of the world will follow the Messianic King.  In the past, this was understood as King Hezekiah, and later others came who believed it was another. Later, Yeshua of Nazareth became the focus of the people's beliefs. Today, the Jewish community and the nations still await the Messiah's appearing. Who is he, and when is he to appear? We do not know, but our personal belief is that when Yeshua[105] shows up, it will be to his people first, and only then will he be revealed to the nations. The prophecy of (5:2) was universally regarded as applicable to the Messiah. It was quoted by the scribes in their reply to Herod (Matt. 2:6); and at a later period, when it was popularly supposed that Jesus was of Nazareth, it was used as an argument against those who believed him to be the Christ (Messiah) (John 7:42). ^[106] The Talmud explains that the name of the Messiah was among the seven things God created before creating the world.[107]

 

Micah (“Micha”) is one of twelve books of Minor Prophets (“Trei Asar)”, marked by their shortness. Micah was composed in Judea/Israel (c.750 – c.450 BCE)^[108] Micah’s message tells of the coming destruction (5:10–11). After he speaks of “in the end of days” (4:1), He then points to “In that day.” Radak[109] understands this to be speaking of the day of the ingathering of the exiles of Israel from all the nations.(4:1-6) Speaking during the First Temple period, the prophet Micah berates Israel and its leadership for insincere ritual worship, corruption, and oppression of the poor. He warns of Jerusalem’s destruction and calls for reform in the simple and sincere worship: “to do justice, to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God” (6:8).

 

As we begin our reading, we see “two things are predicted here. In the first place (5:7), Israel will come upon many nations, like a refreshing dew from HaShem, which falls plentifully in drops upon the grass, and will produce and promote new and vigorous life among them. Dew is here, as indeed everywhere else, a figurative expression for refreshing, stimulating, enlivening (Ps. 110:3; 133:3, and 72:6; Hos. 14:6; Deut. 33:2). The spiritual dew, which Jacob will bring to the nations, comes from HaShem, and falls in rich abundance without the co-operation (nor effort, or will) of men. Without the spiritual dew from above, the nations are grass (Isa. 40:6–8). אֲשֶׁר before לֹא יְקַוֶּה does not refer to עֵשֶׂב, but to the principal idea of the preceding clause, viz., to טַל, to which the explanatory כִּרְבִיבִים וגו׳ is subordinate. As the falling of the dew in raindrops upon the grass does not depend upon the waiting of men,^[110] in Midrashic literature, טַל [dew] is symbolic of blessings. In Messianic times, Israel will be a source of blessings to the world (Abarbanel). With its true teachings, Israel will be like dew and rain to the nations, transforming “the desert of humanity into a place of blossoming beauty and flourishing prosperity” (R’ Mendel Hirsch).[111]  In (v.6), it is suggested that this “remnant of Jacob” is in the “mist of many people” and will be among the forces of Gog that come against Jerusalem, and they will seek salvation only from God and will await his salvation. And in (v.7) the same wording is used with an additional word that Abarbanel notes as “among the nations in the midst of many peoples”; these are said to represent the many peoples (remnant) of the nations of Edom and Ishmael.[112]

 

In the remainder of the chapter (5:9-15), Israel is harshly censured for her sins and Idolatry and told that all the things that are in your midst that are of vanity will be removed, and those who hate you I will destroy.  “The Holy One said: I will remove the evil from your heart so that you will no longer practice sorcery. The Holy One will remove the evil inclination in the days of the Messiah.[113] With this, there will be peace for Israel from all the nations. First, there will be peace from wars with the nations. Afterwards, there will be peace over the body. When the person contains the evil inclination, there is a war over the body. The evil inclination and the good inclination fight with each other.” (5:11) [114]  The  Nations that refuse to obey HaShem will suffer God’s anger and wrath. He will rule with an iron scepter (Ps. 2:9-10; Rev. 12:5; 19:15), that is, with firmness, strength, and justice.^[115]  To this, there is appended in (v.15) a promise that the Lord will take vengeance, wrath, and fury upon the nations which have not heard or have not observed the words and acts of the LORD, i.e., have not yielded themselves up to conversion.[116] In other words, He will exterminate every ungodly power by a fierce judgment, so that nothing will ever be able to disturb the peace of His people and kingdom again.^[117]  The time of the Messiah is the era when judgment shall fall on the obdurate[118] heathen. Such as they have not heard; rather, who have not hearkened, who are disobedient. Septuagint, “Because they hearkened not” (comp. Isa. 66:15–18; Joel 3:9, Zeph. 3:8, Hag. 2:20-22;[119] 2 Thess. 1:5–10). It is implied that some of the heathen will hearken to the revelation of HaShem by the Messiah.^[120]  It’s the heathen doing the conversion. It seems a divine purge of Israel and the nations serves to emphasize the importance of obedience to the HaShem. Note the rhetorically powerful repetitions of “you/your” and “I will” that serve to stress the main point of the text, which is the relationship between the LORD and Israel in these verses. We have the destruction of the sinful elements of Judah transformed at the last moment to retribution on the nations.^[121]   The text lists several things God will destroy, wreck, demolish, tear down, or uproot. It speaks of Judah and Israel, and a work which seems apart and separate from the nations, but maybe it’s simultaneous. Or could it speak of a future and continuous operation that runs for the last 2,500 years, until we reach “in that day” …..   “When all your enemies shall be cut down!” (5:8-9)

 

Micah now calls to the mountains and hills on God’s behalf and instructs them to listen to the lawsuit between God and Israel. Israel had no reason to abandon God, for God had done no wrong. As a husband, HaShem had done many gracious acts toward Israel.   After relating the events of the past and God’s benevolence and blessings toward the children of Israel, he then admonishes them for not following the ways of the Torah.[122] The sages in Rosh Hashanah 11a say that the mighty ones, the mountains, the foundations of the earth, are a reference to our Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in whose merit the world exists. R. Mendel Hirsch adds that it is actually the ideal Israel that is described as the foundations of the earth. Because Israel's mission is to bring mankind to the recognition of God, the true calling of all human beings, they are the real foundations of the formation of human happiness.[123]

 

Malbim explains (v.2b) as it differentiates between HaShem's people and Israel. With Israel, it is a disagreement that is resolved logically, an argument of a logical nature, a discussion between two. But with the nations, it is a powerful argument resolved by strength and power; these two participants are not equal, so to speak.[124]  “HaShem has an indictment against his people,[125] and he will contend with Israel (v.2b). Indictment is the word רִיב riyḇ, [126] the first time it is used is in Gen 13:7 to describe the strife between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. Jeremiah uses the same word in (25:31) to describe the indictment (riyb) HaShem has with all the nations, including Israel. It is interesting to note that the first use is in relation to a disagreement over the land. In the beginning of (Jer. 25), we see that the disaster or judgement[127] begins at the house of HaShem. (v.29). Then, after Babylon is used to punish Israel, Babylon itself is punished for its treatment of HaShem's people. This same pattern plays out throughout all history in relation to the children of Israel, the people of HaShem. 

 

For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city whereupon My name is called, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore, prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them: The LORD doth roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He doth mightily roar because of His fold; He giveth a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.  A noise has come even to the end of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy (indictment) with the nations, He doth plead with all flesh; as for the wicked, He hath given them to the sword, saith the LORD.  Thus, saith the LORD of hosts: Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great storm shall be raised from the uttermost parts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground.^[128]

 

Jeremiah gave the cup of wine to all the nations to drink, and they could not refuse.[129] At the end of the seventy years, Babylon was to be destroyed, and the nations made to drink the cup of the wine of wrath. We are now at the end of a seventy-year period,[130] Israel is heading home from the Babylon of their exile. The nations have been given a time to repent, and soon God's judgment toward those of the nations that have refused HaShem's plea and have continued in their wicked ways.[131]  If Malbim’s observation holds up, and I think it does, in the next verse, we see the shift back to “my people.”  HaShem questions his people as to what wrong he has done to them and brings as his defense, their redemption from Egypt and their release from the house of bondage as proof of his goodness to his nation. His next proof is Balak, the King of Moab, who attempted to have Israel cursed by Balaam. Again, God’s loving kindness and grace toward Israel would not allow Balaam to curse Israel, but instead, he gave them a blessing and not only once but four times.[132]

 

The people have a question, in trying to justify their past behavior: “Shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old?  Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” The text here should not be interpreted as a rejection of Temple offerings; rather, it expresses the common biblical and ancient Near Eastern concept of the primacy of morality over sacrifices (1 Sam. 15:22; Prov. 21:3).^[133]  R’ Mendel Hirsch says the question raised in these last two verses summarizes the pagan outlook toward religion, which believes that one can appease the gods with offerings and please them by sacrificing their dear ones. God does not need man's generosity, nor does he want his twisted concept of self-sacrifice. HaShem only wants man’s obedience.[134]  This same false doctrine has infected so much of modern religion, with many of the congregants thinking that if they do the prescribed rituals, they can live morally and ethically as they choose. To live a lifestyle of choice that fits their personality, and this lifestyle choices change based on the presumed happiness, the said choice brings. This immature thinking has discounted thousands of years of learned wisdom.  Their drive for instant gratification leads them to having the disposition of a child. I want what I want when I want it, and how dare anyone deny me my desires! It’s cute for the first few years, then fades into a life of despair and disillusionment.

 

In Micah 6:8, this didactic saying is one of the most influential and often quoted sayings in prophetic literature. It was considered a possible compendium of all Mitzvot. “R. Simlai when preaching said: Six hundred and thirteen precepts were communicated to Moses, three hundred and sixty-five negative precepts … Micah came and reduced them to three [principles], as it is written, He has told you, O human, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: only to do justice, and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. ‘To do justice,’ this concerns justice; ‘and to love goodness,’ these concerns “gemilut hasadim” (acts of kindness); ‘and to walk humbly with your God,’ this concerns walking in funeral and bridal processions” (Mak. 23b–24a; Sukkah 49b and Radak)[135]. To walk modestly with your God [136] is usually translated as “to walk humbly with your God,” but its original meaning is likely to be “to walk wisely with your God.” ^[137]  Humility is greatly enforced in the Scriptures. (Isa. 2:11)   To walk humbly with thy God. This precept comprises man’s duty to God, humility, and obedience. “To walk” is an expression implying “to live and act,” as the patriarchs are said to have “walked with God,” denoting that they lived as consciously under his eye and referred all their actions to him. [138]

 

Radak says “to do justice” includes all the commandments that govern man’s conduct with his fellow man and includes a life of morality. “To love kindness” is/are acts of benevolence and kindness to one's fellow human being. Being kinder to others than they might deserve. Working for the perseverance and welfare of the people and neighbors around you. Chafetz Chaim adds to this, one must learn to love, to do kindness, and do it with his entire heart (and not just out of a sense of duty).[139] “To walk modestly with your God “is to fear God in a discreet manner. Not to fulfill HaShem’s wishes for the sake of gaining honor, but in quiet reverence and in a humble spirit and tone of life. R’ Mendel Hirsch notes that these three ideals were exemplified in the life and characteristics of the three prophets mentioned in (v.4), Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

 

One should not think that merely doing justice, lovingkindness, and walking discreetly, one may come close to God. The prophet states that these social and rational ideas are necessary, for one cannot properly fulfill the divinely ordained law unless he first observes the basic rational laws of ethics [and morality]. [140]  In Deuteronomy 30, we learn the way of restoration; in 29, we learn obedience to the covenant and the seriousness of the sanctions if we do not. Why, we ask, has this all come upon us?  Because they [we] forsook the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt;… and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods that they knew not, and that had not allotted unto them; therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curse that is written in this book;  and the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day’.— The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.^[141]

 

Shabbat Mevarchim Special Ashlamata

JPS & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 20:18-42

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 20:18-42

 

18 Tomorrow is the new moon: and it is the custom of all those who eat at the king’s table to come on the festive day to the table.

 

and you will be remembered: My father will remember you, and ask where you are.

 

for your seat will be vacant: for your seat in which you sit, will be vacant, and so did Jonathan render: and you will be sought, for your seat will be vacant.

 

and you will be remembered: [ונפקדת is] an expression of remembering.

 

will be vacant: [יפקד is] an expression of lacking.

 

19 And for three days you shall hide very well: And you shall triple the days, and then you shall descend very much, i.e., when the third day arrives, you shall descend into a secret place, and hide very well, for then they will seek you. And you shall come to this secret place, wherein you are hiding today, which is a workday. And so did Jonathan render: on the weekday, for he hid on that day, as it is stated: (infra v. 24) “And David hid in the field;” immediately, “and it was the new moon” on the morrow.

 

the travelers’ stone: (Heb. ‘even-ha azel,’ lit., the going stone, i.e.) a stone which was a sign (a landmark) for travelers.

 

Ha-azel: those who go on the road. And so did Jonathan render: even atha, the stone which was a sign.

 

20 to the side, I shall shoot: This is not a ‘mappiq-heh’ (aspirate ‘heh’). צדה is to be interpreted like לצד, to a side, for every word which requires a ‘lamed’ as a prefix, the Scripture gives a ‘he’ as a suffix. (Jeb. 13b) At the side of that stone, I shall shoot arrows to a mark, so that the youth will not understand, and this sign shall be for you to divine whether you must flee.

 

21 And behold, I shall send, etc.: And it is customary for one who seeks an arrow which has been shot, to go to the place where he sees the arrow flying, but he cannot ascertain exactly. Sometimes he searches for it, and the arrow is beyond him, and sometimes he goes beyond the arrow and searches for it, and you shall have this sign.

 

If I say to the youth… take it and come: you yourself emerge from your hiding place, and take it, and come to me, for you have not to fear, for it is well with you. The Holy One Blessed be He, desires that you be here, and even if I have heard evil from Father.

 

22 But, if I say thus… Go! For the Lord has sent you away: The Holy One Blessed be He tells you to flee and escape.

 

23 And concerning the matter which we have spoken: the covenant which we made together.

 

behold, the Lord is between me and you: as Witness concerning that matter.

 

25 the seat by the wall: at the head of the couch beside the wall.

 

and Jonathan arose: He got up from his place, since it is not proper for a son to recline beside his father. Since their custom was to eat reclining on couches and David would recline between Jonathan and Saul, now that David did not come, Jonathan did not recline until Abner sat down beside Saul, and afterwards, Jonathan sat beside Abner. And if you say that he did not sit at all, the Scripture states: (infra v. 34) “And Jonathan arose from the table,” implying that he had been sitting.

 

26 It is an incident: He has experienced a seminal emission.

 

he is not clean: and he has not yet immersed himself, for had he immersed himself for the uncleanness of his emission, he would not have to wait until sunset in order to eat ordinary food.

 

for he is not clean: This clause gives the reason for the matter; i.e., since he is not clean, he, therefore, did not come, lest he contaminate the feast.

 

27 on the morrow of the new moon: on the morrow of the renewal of the moon.

 

the second: on the second day of the month.

 

29 and he, my brother, commanded me: The eldest of the house, commanded me that I be there. And he is my brother Eliab.

 

let me slip away: ‘Escamoter’ in French. I shall go away for one day and come back.

 

30 a straying woman, deserving of punishment: (בן נעות המרדות) An expression of straying and wandering, נע ונד, a gadding woman. Just as you say זעוה from זע, and the ‘tav’ is for the construct state, for it is connected to the word המרדות.

 

deserving of punishment: (Heb. המרדות), who deserves to be chastised and disciplined. Another explanation is as follows: When the men of Benjamin grabbed the girls of Shiloh, who came out to dance in the vineyards (Jud. 21:21), Saul was bashful, and did not want to grab [a girl], until she came herself, behaving insolently, and pursued him.

 

straying woman: because of the vineyards. And that is a winepress, like (the Talmudical passage): Purge the winepress (which was used for forbidden wine) (Ab. Zarah 74b); His winepresses will drip with wine (Targum Onkelos, Gen. 40:12) …. (The last three words of Rashi are incomprehensible, and are probably erroneous. The correct version is unknown to us.)

 

34 he was grieved (lit.) to David: concerning David.

 

for his father had put him to shame: concerning David.

 

35 at David’s appointed time: at the time which David had set for him.

 

36 to cause it to go beyond him.: The arrow went beyond the boy.

 

41 from a place toward the south: (lit., from by the south. Jonathan renders:) from the side of the travelers’ (or sign) stone which was toward the south.

 

until David exceeded: He cried more.

 

42 Go in peace!: And the oath which we have sworn, may the Lord be witness thereon forever.

 

Verbal Tallies

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

 

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:14 – 20:9

Tehillim (Psalms) 123:1 - 128:6

Micah 5:11 - 6:8

 

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:14 For those nations, which you are about to dispossess, heed soothsayers and diviners {H3784}; but as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.

 

Micah 5:11 And I will destroy sorcery (H3785) from your hand, and you will have no soothsayers.

 

In Deuteronomy 18:14, the noun (H3784) is a Piel participle meaning "those who practice sorcery/witchcraft" (the practitioners).

 

In Micah 5:11, the noun (H3785) is a plural noun meaning "sorceries" (the practices or spells).

 

The connection shows that the activity condemned at the beginning of Israel's national life (Deuteronomy) is the very practice that God promises to eradicate in the Messianic perfection of the future (Micah). The final redemption is linked to the removal of the idolatrous temptation that began the historical period.

 

* * *

 

What is/are the thematic connection(s) between Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:14 – 20:9, and Tehillim (Psalms) 123:1 - 128:6?

 

The thematic connections between Deuteronomy 18:14–20:9 and Psalms 123:1–128:6 are primarily centered on the twin themes of Divine Protection (Trust in God) and the Realization of the Covenantal Life. Both sections detail the conditions and experience of living securely in the Land of Israel under God's law and protection.

 

The connections can be broken down into three main thematic areas:

 

Theme 1: Reliance on God vs. External Forces

Both sections contrast reliance on God's covenant with reliance on human or forbidden means.

 

A. Condemnation of Sorcery (Deuteronomy)

Deuteronomy 18:14–22 focuses heavily on forbidding the pagan practices of the nations, such as sorcery, divination, and consulting the dead. It establishes the principle that Israel's sole source of guidance must be God and the prophets He sends (18:15). Deuteronomy's Command: Do not trust in magic or foreign gods.

 

B. Condemnation of Pride and Trust in Might (Psalms)

The Psalms mirror this by condemning reliance on self-strength or foreign support, redirecting trust solely to God.

 

Psalm 127:1 (JPS 127:1): "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor on it in vain; unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman keeps vigil in vain." This directly rejects the idea that human might (military or construction) provides true security.

 

Psalm 123:1–2: The eyes of the people are fixed solely on God, "as the eyes of servants to the hand of their masters," demonstrating absolute dependence and rejection of other sources of help.

Psalm 128:1: The focus is on the blessing received by the man who "fears the LORD" and walks in His ways, providing the positive counterpoint to the negative commands in Deuteronomy.

 

Theme 2: Covenantal Security and Domestic Peace

Deuteronomy lays out the laws required for communal security, and the Psalms describe the blessed result of upholding those laws.

 

A. Establishing Law and Order (Deuteronomy 19-20)

Deuteronomy provides laws critical for social and physical security within the Land:

 

Cities of Refuge (19:1–13): Ensuring justice and protection for the accidental killer, preventing the cycle of revenge.

 

Witnesses and Justice (19:15–21): Ensuring truth and justice are maintained in legal proceedings.

 

Laws of War (20:1–9): Providing specific instructions for maintaining moral and spiritual standards even during conflict, including exemptions for those recently married, establishing the home, or who are fearful.

 

B. The Blessings of Security and Fertility (Psalms 127-128)

The Psalms celebrate the tangible results of a society governed by divine law:

 

Psalm 128:3: "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the interior of your house; your children like olive shoots around your table." This is the image of domestic peace, fertility, and stable prosperity—the ultimate goal of the covenant.

 

Psalm 127:3: Children are seen as a blessing and heritage from the LORD, representing future security.

 

Psalm 125:2: Jerusalem is secured by mountains, symbolizing the enduring and encompassing Divine protection over the covenantal community.

 

Theme 3: Cleansing and Purification from Evil

Both sections deal with the removal of moral and physical threats to the community's holiness.

 

A. Removing Evil (Deuteronomy)

Deuteronomy repeatedly concludes legal sections with the phrase "You shall sweep out the evil from your midst" (19:19, 21; {H1197}. This command applies to both physical threats (false witnesses) and spiritual contamination (pagan practices).

 

B. Waiting for God to Act (Psalms)

The Psalms express the enduring hope that God will complete the purification, even when the nation is suffering.

 

Psalm 124:6–7: A clear celebration of being saved from the plots of enemies, where the soul is compared to a bird escaping the snare of the fowlers.

 

Psalm 126:1–3: A prayer to complete the salvation already begun: "The LORD will do great things for us." The theme is one of being freed from captivity and having the purification of the land and community completed.

In essence, Deuteronomy 18:14–20:9 provides the legal and ethical blueprint for maintaining a covenantal society, while Psalms 123:1–128:6 expresses the hope, experience, and blessing of a people striving to live by that blueprint, trusting solely in God for their security and peace

 

* * *

 

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

 

What is the eschatological message of Micah 5:11 - 6:8?

 

The eschatological message of Micah 5:11-6:8, according to Jewish sources, is a prophecy concerning the spiritual cleansing of the Jewish people and the world in the Messianic Age, leading to a return to fundamental covenantal piety.

 

The passage contrasts the impending judgment (5:11-14) with the ultimate demand of God (6:1-8).

 

1. Judgment and Purification (Micah 5:11–14)

This section describes the purification that must precede the Messianic era. The judgment is not merely punishment, but a cleansing of all things that obstruct total reliance on God.

 

Removal of Foreign Trust (5:11-13): God promises to cut off sorceries (), soothsayers, and reliance on idols and sacred pillars (). As Maimonides and other commentators explain, the Messianic Age will be marked by the eradication of all superstitions and false beliefs, leaving the people reliant only on the true God.

 

Destruction of Instruments of War (5:13-14): God will cut off cities and destroy fortifications (military strength). This speaks to the total peace and reliance on Divine protection promised by the covenant, where security is found in God, not in human might or armament.

 

2. The Eternal Demand (Micah 6:1–8)

Following the cleansing, the prophet addresses the people, summarizing the ethical demand of the covenant—the true essence of the Messianic life. This is one of the most famous summaries of Jewish ethical monotheism.

 

Rejection of Ritual Excess (6:6-7): The prophet rejects the notion that the relationship with God can be fixed through excessive or large-scale ritual sacrifice (e.g., "thousands of rams" or "ten thousands of streams of oil").

 

The Mashiach's Ethical Blueprint (6:8): The prophet gives the definitive answer: "He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the  requires of you: only to do justice (), and to love goodness/kindness (), and to walk humbly with your God." This passage, interpreted by Chazal, serves as the ultimate ethical standard that must be practiced in the fully realized Messianic world.

 

In summary, the eschatological message is: The Messianic Age will be preceded by a Divine purge of all foreign influence and self-reliance (sorcery, idols, military might), culminating in a generation whose sole devotion is to the ethical core of the Torah: justice, kindness, and humility.

 

Nazarean Talmud

By: Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

Sidra of D’varim (Deuteronomy) 18:14 – 20:9 - “Sabbath “Khi HaGoyim HaEleh”- “For those nations”

 

School of Hakham Shaul’s Tosefta Luqas (LK)

School of Hakham Tsefet’s Peshat Mordechai (Mk)

And the whole assembly of them rose up and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying he himself is Messiah, a king!” And Pilate asked him, saying, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And he answered him and said, “Those are your words.”[142] So Pilate said to the Kohen Gadol and the assembly (of Tz’dukim – Sadducees), “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.”[143] But they were urgent,[144] saying, “He incites the people,[145] teaching throughout the whole of Judah and beginning from Galilee as far as here.”  Now when Pilate heard this, he asked if the man (Yeshua) was a Galilean. And when he found out that he was from the jurisdiction of Herod, he sent him over to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Yeshua, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see some sign performed by him. So he questioned him at considerable length, but he (Yeshua) would not answer him. And the Kohen Gadol and the Soferim of the Tz’dukim were standing there, forcibly accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers also treated him with contempt, and after mocking him and dressing him in glistening clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.   Both Herod and Pilate became friends with one another on that same day, for they had previously been enemies of one another. So Pilate called together the Kohen Gadol and the head rulers of the Tz’dukim and the people and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people, and behold, when I examined him before you, I found nothing in this man as basis for the accusation which you are making against him. But neither did Herod, because he sent him back to us. And behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him. Therefore, I will punish him and release him.”

¶And first thing in the morning,[146] the Kohen Gadol held a consultation with the Zekanim and Soferim (of the Tz’dukim) and they, with determination[147] bound Yeshua, and led (him) away, and delivered[148] (him) to Pilate. Then Pilate asked him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"[149] He answered and said to him, "(It is as) you say." And the Kohen Gadol accused him of many[150] things, but he answered nothing. Then Pilate asked him again, saying, "Do you have an answer? See how many things they testify against you!" But Yeshua still said nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

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

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

They, With Determination

Here, the Greek text uses “συνέδριον” (assembly), which is also the formal title of the Sanhedrin; however, the use of συνέδριον does not always mean that there was a formal meeting of the Sanhedrin. We find that the Greek συνέδριον is a compound σύν (G4862) and ἑδραι̑ος (G1476). The word ἑδραι̑ος is used sparingly in the Nazarean Codicil. Its most common use is related to “being steadfast” or “determined in a course of action.” Hakham Shaul uses the word three times to indicate the walk of the talmidim of Yeshua. Here, the context causes us to translate the compound as “with determination.” As we stated previously, we cannot believe that the whole Sanhedrin met and accused Yeshua of any crime on the eve of the Sadducean Pesach. We can make this determination by the facts that governed the meeting times and schedules of the formal Sanhedrin.

 

m. San. 4:1 In capital cases, they come to a final decision for acquittal on the same day, but on the following day for conviction. (Therefore, they do not judge [capital cases] either on the eve of the Sabbath or on the eve of a festival.

 

Firstly, the Sanhedrin could not meet on the day of or the day before a Festival.

 

Secondly, the procedure for capital cases required a minimum of a two-day setting of a court with a minimum of 23 judges.

 

Therefore, the eve of Pesach for the Tz’dukim and or the P’rushim is disallowed as a possible date for the proper Sanhedrin. Because the Tz’dukim and P’rushim celebrated Pesach on different days, the whole scene here is that of an ad hoc court of despotic thugs.

 

Furthermore, the men who sat on the Sanhedrin must be men who possess a genuine fear of G-d.

 

Exo 18:21 Moreover thou will provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.^[151]

 

The “council” of our present pericope is not a council of G-d fearing men. These men have an agenda of their own. They did not consult G-d in an attempt to find innocence or guilt.

 

If we were to use the above-cited passage as a rule, we could dismiss this court on three accounts.

 

1. They did not fear God
2. They were not men of truth
3. They were not men hating unjust gain

 

Pilate and his “Compassion” towards Yeshua

Hakham Tsefet’s passion account has been carefully prepared in the preceding pericopes, but now begins to form its climax. However, this leaves us with the question: What exactly was the character of Pilate? Was he the timid character that Scholars have made him out to be, or was his character otherwise? Philo does not place him in a positive light.

 

…particulars of his government, in respect of his corruption, and his acts of insolence, and his rapine, and his habit of insulting people (specifically the Jewish people), and his cruelty, and his continual murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never ending, and gratuitous, and most grievous inhumanity.^[152]

 

Carefully investigating the facts, we note that the parties responsible for Yeshua’s death and crucifixion were in collaboration. Yosef bar Qypha^[153] (Caiaphas) And Pilate could not allow Yeshua to continue in the ministry and mission if either were to maintain the status quo. Pilate was the Roman prefect (governor) of Judah whose tenure lasted from 26 C.E. to 36 C.E. Yosef bar Qypha (Caiaphas) served as high Priest from 18 C.E. to 36 C.E. What is immediately evident is the fact that the offices of both individuals ended in the same year. This would lead us to believe that they were interconnected and served to perpetuate a joint agenda.

 

Why does Yosef bar Qypha convene his ad hoc court so “immediately,” i.e., in the middle of the night? Why does the conclave carry Yeshua to Pilate? We believe this demonstrates that the crime against Yeshua indicates that this could not have been a legitimate Sanhedrin, as noted above. While scholars bicker over the idea that the Sanhedrin was dislodged from the “Chamber of Hewn Stone,” We believe this demonstrates that it could not have been a genuine Sanhedrin.

 

What should also be noted from the Tosefta of Luqas is…

 

When Jesus' pronouncement in verse 62 leads to his condemnation on a charge of blasphemy, it is apparently members of the council who spit on him, cover his face, strike him and demand that he prophesy to them (v. 65) – hardly suitable behavior for responsible members of a court.^[154]

 

Our arguments are since Pilate made his claim against the Master from the accusations of the Kohen Gadol, Yosef bar Qypha. “Are you the King of the Jews?”^[155]

 

Never has anyone referred to Jesus as King, yet it is the charge against Jesus inscribed above the cross (15.26) and in chapter 15 Mark concentrates on this theme, defining in what sense Jesus really was the King of Israel.^[156]

 

Thus, the role of Messiah is related to the Monarchy of David. Consequently, Yeshua is accused of sedition, not blasphemy, which the Kohen Gadol accused him of in our previous pericope. Perhaps this is, as some scholars suggest, because the Jews had no power to sentence a man to death. Regardless, this is NOT a legitimate Sanhedrin. Therefore, the Kohen Gadol must bring charges before Pilate, since only Pilate could pronounce the death penalty in these circumstances. Furthermore, Pilate would be in Jerusalem during the Pesach festival. This would be the most opportune time to have Yeshua sentenced by the Roman governor. However, in pandering to the Remes potential of our Tosefta of Luqas, we note that Pilate, as a model of Edom-Rome, cannot correctly develop a legitimate perception of Messiah. This is especially true in the present pericope of Luqas, where Yeshua is carried before Herod.

 

Herod with his soldiers also treated him with contempt, and after mocking him and dressing him in glistening clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.

 

The day on which Yeshua is tried is the day when the P’rushim prepares for Pesach. The Tz’dukim celebrated their Passover the previous day and now proceed with their plan to eliminate Yeshua. Therefore, with the P’rushim out of the way, they want the process to be as expedient as possible. This means that they knew perfectly well they would never have the support of the P’rushim in this matter.

 

Why did Pilate and Herod suddenly “become friends” on this day? Is it not because the threat that Yeshua posed against the complete governmental structure was in jeopardy? Their necks were on the chopping block, per se. We will also opine that there had been a plot against Yeshua now for some time. A conspiracy would include Yehudah Ish Keriyoth (the man from Keriyoth of Edom), Yosef bar Qypha (Caiaphas), the Kohen Gadol, Herod, of the Edomites who were forcibly converted to Judaism, and Pilate, a despotic tyrant, who make up the circle of despotic leaders. Now, all of these are content because they have in their possession the single greatest threat to their Pax Romana.^[157]

 

Yehudah Ish Keriyoth, one of the twelve talmidim went out to the Kohen Gadol in order to give (betray) him (Yeshua) to them. And when they (the Kohen Gadol and his soferim) were delighted (greatly) and promised to give him money.^[158]

 

The coming pericopes will reveal the true character of all of these men.

 

Psalm 2:1 Why do the heathen (Gentile Kings) rage, and the people (their constituents) imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed (Messiah – Hakham), saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sits in the heavens laughs: the Lord has them in derision.

 

Further, as we have learned, Rashi commenting upon Exodus 21:1, states:

 

before them But not before gentiles. Even if you know that they [gentiles] judge a certain law similarly to the laws of Israel, do not bring it to their courts, for one who brings Jewish lawsuits before gentiles profanes the [Divine] Name and honors the name of idols to praise them (other editions: to give them importance), as it is said: “For not like our Rock [God] is their rock, but [yet] our enemies judge [us]” (Deut. 32:31). When [we let] our enemies judge [us], this is testimony to [our] esteem of their deity.-[From Tanchuma 3]

 

Here alone it becomes obvious how much Herod (the Roman-appointed king over the Jews) and Caiaphas (the Roman-appointed High-Priest over the Jewish people) erred willingly from the truth of the Torah!

 

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,

 

Upcoming Festival

Chanukah 5786 - Kislev 25, 5786

“Chag Sameach”

Evening Sunday December 14, 2025 – To Monday Evening December 22, 2025

 

Next Shabbat: Kislev 30, 5786

 

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

 

Rosh Chodesh “Tevet” evening Saturday Dec 20-21

 

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

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

·        Destruction of Trees – Deuteronomy 20:19-20

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

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

 

Reading Assignment:

 

 

 

 

Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Edited by HH Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham

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