Esnoga Bet Emunah - 227 Millset Chase# - San Antonio, Texas 78253

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan

Beresheet 2:4 – 3:21

These are the geneses of the heavens and earth when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and heavens. And all the trees of the field were not as yet in the earth, and all the herbs of the field had not as yet germinated, because the Lord God had not made it to rain upon the earth, and man was not to cultivate the ground. But a cloud of glory descended from the throne of glory, and was filled with waters from the ocean, and afterward went up from the earth, and gave rain to come down and water all the face of the ground.

And the Lord God created man in two formations; and took dust from the place of the house of the sanctuary, and from the four winds of the world, and mixed from all the waters of the world, and created him red, black, and white; and breathed into his nostils the inspiration of life, and there was in the body of Adam the inspiration of a speaking spirit, unto the illumination of the eyes and the hearing of the ears. [JERUSALEM. And Adam became a soul of life.]

And a garden from the Eden of the just was planted by the Word of the Lord God before the creation of the world, and He made there to dwell the man when He had created him. And the Lord God made to grow from the ground every tree that was desirable to behold and good to eat, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, whose height was a journey of five hundred years, and the tree of whose fruit they who ate would distinguish between good and evil.

[JERUSALEM. And the tree of knowledge, of which any one who ate would distinguish between good and evil.]

And a river went forth from Eden, to water the garden, and from thence was separated, and became four heads of rivers (or four chief rivers). The name of the first is Phishon; that is it which compasseth all the land of Hindiki, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is choice. There is the bedilcha, and the precious stones of byrils. And the name of the second river is Gichon; that is it which encompasseth all the land of Koosh. And the name of the third river is Diglath; that is it which goeth to the east of Athoor. And the fourth river is Pherath.

And the Lord God took the man from the mountain of worship, where he had been created, and made him dwell in the garden of Eden, to do service in the law, and to keep its commandments.

[JERUSALEM. And the Lord God took the man, and made him dwell in the garden of Eden; and set him to do service in the law, and to keep it.]

And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying, Of every tree of the garden eating thou mayest eat. But of the tree of whose fruit they who eat (become) wise to know between good and evil, thou shalt not eat: for in the day that thou eatest thou wilt be guilty of death.

And the Lord God said, It is not right that Adam should be sleeping alone: I will make unto him a wife who may be a helper before him.

[JERUSALEM. I will make for him a yoke-fellow, going forth with him.]

And the Lord God created from the earth every beast of the field, and every fowl of the heavens, and brought them to Adam, to see by what name he would call it. And whatever Adam called the living animal, that was its name. And Adam called the names of all cattle, and all fowl of the heavens, and all beasts of the field. But for Adam was not found as yet a helper before him. [JERUSALEM. And for Adam was not found a yoke-fellow going forth with him.]

And the Lord God threw a deep slumber upon Adam, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs, it was the thirteenth rib of the right side, and closed it up with flesh. And the Lord God builded the rib which he had taken from Adam into a woman; and He brought her to Adam. And Adam said, This time, and not again, is woman created from man. Thus, because she is created from me, (she is) bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh. This it is fit to call Woman, because from man she was taken. Therefore a man shall leave, and be separate from the house of the bed of his father and of his mother, and shall consociate with his wife, and both of them shall be one flesh. And both of them were wise, Adam and his wife; but they were not faithful (or truthful) in their glory. [JERUSALEM. Therefore a man shall leave the house of the bed of his father and his mother......And they knew not what is shame.]

III. And the serpent was wiser unto evil than all the beasts of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Is it truth that the Lord God hath said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, From the rest of the fruits of the trees of the garden we have power to eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden the Lord hath said, You shall not eat of it, nor approach it, lest you die. In that hour the serpent spake accusation against his Creator, and said to the woman, Dying you will not die; for every artificer hateth the son of his art: for it is manifest before the Lord, that in the day that you eat of it, you will be as the great angels, who are wise to know between good and evil.

And the woman beheld Sammael, the angel of death, and was afraid; yet she knew that the tree was good to eat, and that it was medicine for the enlightenment of the eyes, and desirable tree by means of which to understand. And she took of its fruit, and did eat; and she gave to her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of both were enlightened, and they knew that they were naked, divested of the purple robe in which they had been created. And they saw the sight of their shame, and sewed to themselves the leaves of figs, and made to them cinctures. [JERSULAEM. And they made to them vestments.] And they heard the voice of the word of the Lord God walking in the garden in the repose of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, Is not all the world which I have made manifest before Me; the darkness as the light? and how hast thou thought in thine heart to hide from before Me? The place where thou art concealed, do I not see? Where are the commandments that I commanded thee?

[JERUSALEM. Walking in the garden in the strength of the day......And the Word of the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, Behold, the world which I have created is manifest before Me; and how thinkest thou that the place in the midst whereof thou art, is not revealed before Me? Where is the commandment which I taught thee?]

And he said, The voice of Thy Word heard I in the garden, and I was afraid, because I am naked; and the commandment which Thou didst teach me, I have transgressed; therefore I hid myself from shame. And He said, Who showed thee that thou art naked? Unless thou hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded that thou shouldst not eat. And Adam said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the woman, What hast thou done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me with his subtilty, and deceived me with his wickedness, and I ate. And the Lord God brought the three unto judgment; and He said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou of all the cattle, and of all the beasts of the field: upon thy belly thou shalt go, and thy feet shall be cut off, and thy skin thou shalt cast away once in seven years; and the poison of death shall be in thy mouth, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between the seed of thy son, and the seed of her sons; and it shall be when the sons of the woman keep the commandments of the law, they will be prepared to smite thee upon thy head; but when they forsake the commandments of the law, thou wilt be ready to wound them in their heel. Nevertheless for them there shall be a medicine, but for thee there will be no medicine; and they shall make a remedy for the heel in the days of the King Meshiha.

[JERUSALEM. And it shall be when the sons of the woman consider the law, and perform (its) instructions, they will be prepared to smite thee on thy head to kill thee; and when the sons of the woman forsake the commandment of the law, and perform not (its) instructions, thou wilt be ready to wound them in their heel, and hurt them. Nevertheless there shall be a medicine for the sons of the woman, but for thee, serpent, there shall be no medicine: but it is to be that for these there shall be a remedy for the heel in the days of the king Meshiha.]

Unto the woman He said, Multiplying, I will multiply thy affliction by the blood of thy virginity, and by thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bear children, and to thy husband shall be thy desire, and he will have rule over thee unto righteousness or unto sin.

But to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the word of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, accursed is the ground, in that it did not show thee thy guilt; in labour shalt thou eat (of) it all the days of thy life. And thorns and thistles will it put forth and increase on account of thee, and thou shalt eat the herb which is on the face of the field. And Adam answered: I pray, through mercies from before Thee, O Lord, that we may not be accounted as the cattle, to eat the herb of the face of the field. Let us stand up, and labour with the labour of the hands, and eat food of the food of the earth; and thus let there be distinction before Thee, between the children of men and the offspring of cattle.

[JERUSALEM. And thorns and dardareen shall it increase to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb which is on the face of the field. Adam answered and said, I pray, through mercies from before Thee, O Lord, that we be not accounted before Thee as the cattle, to eat the herb which is on the face of the field. Let us now stand up, and labour with the labour of the hands, and eat food of the fruits of the earth; and in these things let there be distinction before Thee between the children of men and the cattle.] By the labour of thy hands thou shalt eat food, until thou turn again to the dust from which thou wast created: for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return; for from the dust it is to be that thou art to arise, to render judgment and reckoning for all that thou hast done, in the day of the great judgment.

And Adam called the name of his wife Hava, because she is the mother of all the children of men.

Ashlamatah Special:

Malachi 3:4-24 (3:4 – 4:6)

4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years.

5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers; and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, saith the LORD of hosts.

6 For I the LORD change not; and ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

7 ¶ From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye say: ‘Wherein shall we return?’

8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye rob Me. But ye say: ‘Wherein have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and heave-offerings.

9 Ye are cursed with the curse, yet ye rob Me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall be more than sufficiency.

11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your good, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your land; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you happy; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

13 ¶ Your words have been all too strong against Me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say: ‘Wherein have we spoken against thee?’

14 Ye have said: ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked mournfully because of the LORD of hosts?

15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they try God, and are delivered.’

16 Then they that feared the LORD spoke one with another; and the LORD hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name.

17 And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in the day that I do make, even Mine own treasure; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 Then shall ye again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.

1 ¶ (3-19) For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall set them ablaze, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

2 (3-20) But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall.

3 (3-21) And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I do make, saith the LORD of hosts.

4 ¶ (3-22) Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.

5 (3-23) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.

6 (3-24) And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the land with utter destruction.

Ashlamatah Ordinary:

Isaiah 51:6-16

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but My salvation shall be for ever, and My favour shall not be abolished.

7 Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law; fear ye not the taunt of men, neither be ye dismayed at their revilings.

8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but My favour shall be for ever, and My salvation unto all generations.

9 ¶ Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Art thou not it that hewed Rahab in pieces, that pierced the dragon?

10 Art thou not it that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?

11 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass;

13 And hast forgotten the LORD thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and fearest continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, as he maketh ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?

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

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

16 And I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: ‘Thou art My people.’

Targum

Psalm 1

1. ¶ Fortunate is the man who has not walked in the council of the wicked, or stood in the paths of sinners, or taken a seat in the band of mockers.

2. Instead his pleasure is in the law of the Lord, and in his Torah he meditates day and night.

3. And he will be like a living tree planted by streams of water, whose fruit ripens in due course, and its leaves do not fall, and all its branches that grow ripen and flourish.

4. ¶ Not so the wicked; instead, they are like the chaff that the storm-wind will Chase.

5. Therefore the wicked will not be acquitted in the great day,] nor sinners in the band of the righteous,

6. Because the path of the righteous is manifest in the Lord’s presence, but the paths of the wicked will perish.

Midrash of Matityahu 1:1

סֵפֶר תּוֹלְדֹת יֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ בֶּן־דָּוִד בֶּן־אַבְרָהָם׃

1 ¶ The book of the generations of Yeshuah the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Pirqe Abot

“Every member of the nation of Israel has a share in the World to Come, as it is written: For your nation has all righteous people; they will inherit the land forever. They are the stick of My saplings, My handiwork to glorify Me.”

MISHNA I:2

B. Simeon the just was one of the remnants of the Great Assembly. His motto was: "The order of the world rests upon three things: on law, on worship, and on bestowal of favors."

Tosephtha--Aboth of R. Nathan.

"Upon the Torah." How so? It is written [Hosea, vi. 6]: For piety I desired, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings." Infer from this that the burnt-offering is more favored than ordinary sacrifices, because it is all burnt up in the fire, as it is written [Lev. i. 9]: "And the priest shall burn the whole on the altar," and elsewhere [I Sam. vii. 9]: "And Samuel took the sucking lamb and offered it for an entire burnt-offering unto the Lord." Yet the study of the Law is more acceptable in the sight of the Lord than burnt-offerings, because he who is studying the Torah knows the will of the Lord, as it is written [Prov. ii. 5]: "Then wilt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and the knowledge of God wilt thou find." From this it may be inferred that when a sage lectures to the public it is accounted to him in Scripture as if sacrificing fat and blood upon the altar.

Two scholars studying together, when a bride or a bier carrying a corpse passes before them, must observe the following rule: If the bride has all she needs to feel that she is such, and if the dead has all that is needed for decent burial, the students shall not interrupt themselves; but if such be not the case, let them suspend their study and go to add to the joy of the bride and to do honor to the dead. [It happened that a wedding procession passed by while R. Tarphon was studying with his disciples, and he directed that the bride be brought up to his house, and he told his mother and his wife to wash, anoint, and ornament her, and to dance for her until she should reach her groom. According to Elias Wilna.]

It also happened that, while R. Judah b. Ilai was teaching his disciples, a wedding procession, which had not sufficient followers, passed by, and he with his disciples took part in the procession until the bride passed.

It happened again that while the same was engaged in teaching his disciples, a bridal party passed by. He asked: "What is that and they answered: "A bridal party." He then said: "My sons, arise, evince your interest in the bride." So we find that the Holy One, blessed be He, bestowed His favor upon a bride, as it is written [Gen. ii. 22]: "And the Lord God formed the rib." And in the cities by the sea a bride is called Beniatha, "the formed one." If He has done so, how much more reason is there for us so to do? Infer from this that the Lord formed Eve and ornamented her like a bride, and brought her to Adam, as it is written [ibid.]: "And brought her unto Adam." Only once has the Lord become a mediator to Adam; henceforward man must procure a mediator for himself, as it is written [ibid., ibid. 23]: "Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh." Once only was Eve formed out of Adam; henceforward man betroths the daughter of his fellowman.

"On service." How so? As long as the service of the Temple existed, the world was blessed for the sake of its inhabitants, and the rain came down in due season, as it is written [Deut. xi. 13, 14]: "I love the Lord your God, and to serve him . . . that I will send rain for your land in due season." But when the service of the Temple ceased, the inhabitants were not blessed, and the rain did not come down in due time, as it is written [ibid., ibid. 16]: "Take heed to yourselves that your heart be not deceived . . . and he will shut up the heavens that there be no rain." Also Haggai said [ii. 15, 16]: "Direct, I pray you, your heart from this day and upward, before the time that a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord: since those days were, when one came to a heap of sheaves of twenty (in number), and there were but ten; when he came to the wine-press to draw off fifty measures out of the vat, and there were but twenty." [Why was it not said of the wine-press also "twenty, and there were but ten," the same as of the wheat? Because the wine-press is a better sign than the wheat. There is a tradition that when the vine is spoiled it is a bad sign for the current year.]

Said the Israelites before the Holy One, blessed be He: "Lord of the Universe, why hast Thou done thus to us?" The Holy Spirit answered: "Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to be little ... because of my house that lieth in ruins, while ye ran every man unto his own house" [Haggai, i. 9]. "If ye will employ yourselves with the service of the Temple, I will bless ye as heretofore," as it is written [ibid. ii. 18, 19]: "Direct, I pray, your heart . . . from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid. . . . Is the seed yet in the barn? Yea, as yet the wine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree have not brought forth; (but) from this day will I bless you." Infer from this that there is no service which is favored by the Lord more than the Temple service.

"Upon bestowal of favors." How so? It is written [Hosea, vi. 6]: "For kindness I desired, and not sacrifice." Moreover, at the beginning the world was created with kindness, as it is written [Ps. lxxxix. 3]: "To eternity will kindness be built up (e.g., the world is built up with kindness), the heavens--yea, in these wilt thou establish thy faithfulness."

R. Johanan b. Zakkai once went out of Jerusalem, followed by R. Joshua, and seeing the destroyed Temple, R. Joshua said: "Woe to us, that this is destroyed, the only place where the sins of the Israelites were atoned!" R. Johanan corrected him, saying: "My son, do not grieve over it. We have other means of atonement as effective--namely, bestowal of favors, as it is written [Hosea, vi. 6]: 'For kindness I desired, and not sacrifice.' As we find with Daniel, who was occupied in doing good. And what good did he do? He certainly did not sacrifice burnt-offerings and voluntary offerings, as he was in Babylon, and with regard to the place of sacrifice, it is written [Deut. xii. 13, 14]: 'Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offering in every place which thou mayest see; but in the place which the Lord will choose in one of thy tribes, there shalt thou offer thy burnt-offerings.' What good, then, did he do? He rejoiced with people in their joy, he wept with them in their sorrow, he helped and cheered poor brides, he honored the dead by following them to the last resting-place, he gave material aid to the needy, and prayed three times every day, and his prayers were received with favor, as it is written [Dan. vi. 11]: 'And three times every day he kneeled upon his knees, and prayed, and offered thanks before his God,' etc."

When Vespasian came to destroy Jerusalem, he said to the inhabitants: "Fools, wherefore do ye seek to destroy this city and to burn the Temple? All I want of you is to send me a bow or an arrow--i.e., to acknowledge my dominion over you. I will leave you in peace." They, however, said: "just as we killed the two who came before thee, so will it be with thee." When R. Johanan b. Zakkai heard this, he invited the leaders of Jerusalem to a conference, and said unto them: "My sons, why should you occasion the destruction of the city and insist upon it, as it were, that the Temple be burnt? All the enemy wants is that you send to him a bow or an arrow, and is willing on that condition to depart." But they answered him in the manner they answered Vespasian. The latter had spies within the walls of Jerusalem, and whatever they heard they wrote upon an arrow and threw it outside the wall. In this manner Vespasian learned that R. Johanan b. Zakkai was friendly to Cæsar (and so he really was, and confessed it frankly to the leaders of Jerusalem). When R. Johanan b. Zakkai saw that his efforts during several days in succession to win the leaders for peace proved futile, for the leaders did not listen to him, he sent for his disciples, R. Eliezer and R. Joshua, and said: "My sons, try to take me out of here. Make me a coffin, and I will sleep in it." They did so, and R. Eliezer held the coffin by one end, and R. Joshua held it by the other, and thus carried him at sunset to the gates of Jerusalem. When the gate-keepers asked them whom they had there, they answered: "A corpse; and you know that a corpse cannot remain in Jerusalem over night." They were allowed to go, and they carried him till they came to Vespasian. There they opened the coffin, and he arose and introduced himself to Vespasian, who said: "Since thou art the Rabban Johanan b. Zakkai, I give thee the privilege to ask a favor of me." He answered: "I request nothing but that the city of Jamnia shall be free to me to instruct there my disciples. I will build there a prayer-house, and will perform all the commandments of the Lord." Hereupon Vespasian said: "It is well. Thou mayest go thither, and undisturbed carry out the object of thy desire." R. Johanan b. Zakkai then asked permission to say something to Vespasian. This having been granted, he said: "I can assure you that you will become a king." "How dost thou know it?" He answered: "We have a tradition that the Temple will not be delivered to a common man (in the name of the king), but to the king himself." As it is written [Is. x. 34]: "And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and the Lebanon shall fall by (means of) a mighty one." 1 It was said that scarcely had a few days elapsed when a messenger came from the city of Rome with the tidings that Cæsar was dead, and the resolution was adopted that Vespasian be his successor.

At the time when Jerusalem was taken, R. Johanan b. Zakkai, with a trembling heart, was sitting and watching as Eli did, as it is written [I Sam. iv, 13]: "Lo, Eli was sitting upon a chair by the wayside, watching; for his heart was anxious for the ark of God." When he heard that Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple burnt, he and his disciples tore their garments, wept, cried, lamented, and said: "Open thy doors, O Lebanon!" [Zech. xi. 1]--that is, the Temple; "and the fire shall eat on thy cedars"--that is, the priests of the Temple, who took the keys and threw them up high and said, before the Holy One, blessed be He: "Lord of the Universe, here are the keys which thou hast intrusted us with, as we were no faithful treasurers and we are no longer worthy to do the work of the King and to eat at his table."

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelve tribes all wept, cried, lamented, and said [ibid. 2, 3]: "Wail, fir-tree, for fallen is the cedar; those that were mighty are despoiled," etc. "Wail, fir-tree, for fallen is the cedar"--that is, the Temple; "those that were mighty are despoiled," applies to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons. "Wail, O ye oaks of Bashan"--that is, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; "for the impervious forest is come down"--that is, the Holy of Holies; "the noise of the wailing of the shepherds, for wasted is their glory"--that is, David and Solomon his son; "the noise of the roaring of young lions, for wasted is the pride of the Jordan"--that is, Elijah and Elisha.

In three things has the Holy One, blessed be he, made mankind differ one from the other: in voice, behavior, and features. "In voice": for what purpose?, The Holy One, blessed be He, has varied the voices of mankind one from the other, to prevent the generations from adultery; because if it would not be so, when a man would leave his house, some one else might come in (in the night time) and do violence to his wife; but as the voices are different, she could recognize that of her husband.

"In behavior": for what purpose? The Holy One, blessed be He, has varied the behavior of mankind one from another, to prevent jealousy; if not so, mankind would be jealous of each other; therefore the behavior of one is different from that of another. "In features": for what purpose? The Holy One, blessed be He, has varied the features of mankind that the women might recognize their husbands, and the men their wives, otherwise all would be mixed up.

Commentary

It is most interesting to observe that despite the many attempts of Xtianity to erase any vestige of the original Nazarean faith, yet by the hand of Providence we have it that in the Xtian bibles the Ashlamatah of Malachi 3:4-24 (3:4 – 4:6) is followed immediately by the first verse in Matityahu, as to indicate what reading goes with what. Only our Omniscient G-d, most blessed be He can arrange the foolishness of the so called “theologians” for the benefit of the wise!

The match of Matityahu 1:1 as a commentary to our second Torah seder in the book of Genesis follows the rule of verbal tally: - “These are the generations” (Genesis 2:4; Matityahu 1:1). The correlation between the Torah Seder and the ordinary Ashlamatah is of course by means of the verbal tallies “heavens and earth” in Isaiah 51:6, 13, and 16.

Of course, this Shabbat receives its name from the penultimate verse of the special Ashlamatah of Malachi 3:4-24, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Ha-Shem.” This follows the dictum of our Sages, that “on Pesach we were redeemed and on Pesach we will be redeemed.”

With regards to Psalm 1, we found that the Psalm primarily applied to Adam before the fall, and this week we discover that it now applies to as some call him “the second Adam” or as others call him “the prototype Adam.” This Psalm also applies to all those who love G-d, most blessed be He, faithfully adhere to the rule of this “second Adam” and are observant of the commandments (“Shomer Mitzvoth”)! In fact, Psalm 1 gives us a roadmap to follow and a yardstick to measure how close we are to G-d’s will.

Another interesting observation on Pirqke Abot, if you have noticed is the fact that on the Tosefta to Pirke Abot – i.e. Abboth of Rabbi Nathan, last week in Pereq 1 Mishnah 1, there is a bridge made between this Mishnah and the first Seder of the book of Genesis:

Adam the First's safeguard to his words was thus [Gen. ii. 16, 17]: "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for on the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Now on Mishnah 2 we also have a link to the second Seder of Sefer Beresheet:

It seems that this Tosefta is well aware of the Torah reading cycle of 3 and ½ years in Eretz Yisrael. A most wonderful confirmation that we are on the right track!

Those that have in their former lives come from a Xtian background will not fail to realize that Pesach in many ways answers to Xmas since families endeavor to come together to celebrate Pesach. The reality is that, when the Tabernacle/Temple was functioning we had a command to sacrifice a lamb. But since a lamb has a lot of meat, and it had to be consumed that night of Pesach, two or more families joined together to purchase, sacrifice, and eat the lamb.

There is an interesting moral to this commandments as is a matter of fact in all the commandments. That is, that they can only be observed in the presence of a community. No commandment can be properly observed alone! This teaches that when all boils down we do not belong to ourselves, for G-d has purchased us and delivered us to a community, so that each one of us belongs completely to the community that gave us birth!

Perhaps as we go into Passover no other thought would be so important and vital for us to recall, that we do not possess ourselves, neither G-d has granted us permission to do as we want or please, but rather we belong to a community of active servants of G-d, as Hakham Shaul wrote:

1 ¶ Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God’s compassion, I beseech you therefore, that you present your own selves as a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable religious service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, pleasing, and perfect, will of G-d.” Romans 12:1-2

Yitschaq no longer belonged to himself, once he was offered on the altar as a burnt offering to G-d, neither was Messiah when he was also offered on the tree. If so then we benefit greatly from their unselfish deeds of loving kindness, what else should be our response but to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to G-d and to the community and to be used by our community for the blessing of others.

If you really believe that there is benefit in following the Master of Nazareth, then it behooves one to demonstrate it ample by our deeds. As the colloquial saying has it: “either put up of keep silent.” What a great and blessed calling Hakham Shaul is calling us on this season of unleavened bread to fully and completely dedicate ourselves to.

We obviously fail to understand that there is nothing free, and that Grace is not the same as Gratis. Yet, we have some peddlers of ignorance that obviously have no idea that there is something called a dictionary which des not say that Grace is Gratis!

If we receive the Grace of redemption then we are no longer ours but are forever indebted to the community by which Grace was ministered to us and to the author of such Grace. And if we are forever indebted then this Grace is not Gratis!

This Grace is in fact offered to as Malachi well states:

4 ¶ (3-22) Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.

5 (3-23) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.

6 (3-24) And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the land with utter destruction.

But we need to start from the first. Malachi states that a person with a redeemed mind, an a redeemed spirit has both a profound attachment and obligation to the community which gave birth to his redemption – which symbol is the faithful payment of tithes and offerings as the prophet says:

8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye rob Me. But ye say: ‘Wherein have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and heave-offerings.

9 Ye are cursed with the curse, yet ye rob Me, even this whole nation.

11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your good, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your land; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you happy; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

If Abraham is our father in “EMUNAH” (“faithful obedience”), then giving toithes and offerings should be our automatic response as sign that G-d, most blessed be He, is sovereign in our lives. No one is exempt from this great Mitsvah, rich or poor are to acknowledge G-d’s ownership of their lives by bringing their tithes and offerings to the community that gave them birth into a Torah obedient life. Else, how can we sit on the Pesach table and partake of the unleavened bread which is a symbol of the whole community of Yisrael in which all “have a share in the World to Come”?

Thus Hakham Shaul teaches:

26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye commemorate the death of our Master, until his advent.

27 He therefore, who eats of this bread and drinks of his cup, and is not worthy of it, is guilty of the blood of the Master, and of his body Yisrael.

28 For this reason, a man should examine himself, and then eat of this bread, and drink of this cup:

29 For, whoever eats and drinks of it, while he is unworthy, eats and drinks condemnation on himself, by not discerning his place in the body of the Master.

30 For this cause, many among you are diseased and sickly, and many sleep.

31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

32 But when we are judged by our Lord (G-d), we are really chastised, that we may not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:26-32)

And further:

4 For, though he (Messiah) was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of G-d. We also are weak with him; yet we are alive with him, by that power of G-d which is among you.

5 Therefore examine yourselves, whether you stand in faithful obedience: and prove yourselves. Do you not acknowledge that Yeshuah the Messiah and the Torah is in you? And if he and the Torah is not in you, you are reprobates.

6 But, I trust, that you will know that we are not reprobates. (2 Corinthians 13:4-6)

As we eat Matzah we should understand that we are eating a very special food that represents a life totally and completely dedicated to the service of G-d and His commandments, and we eat it praying that we too be forever be like this symbolic food. Can Pesach this year bring in you a radical change in your life? If you really live day by day from the bread of heaven that comes from the Torah lectionary, then the reading from the Prophet Malachi on this very special Shabbat HaGadol before Pesach should bring such a radical change to your life.

All that remains for us to say is “Ken Y’chi Ratzon” – May so be G-d’s will, amen ve amen!

May you and loved ones have a great Shabbat and a very blessed and Kosher Pesach to gether with your loved ones and all Yisrael, amen ve amen!

Shabbat:	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:

“HaGadol”	Reader 1 – Beresheet 2:4-6	Reader 1 – Beresheet 3:22-24
“the great and terrible day”	Reader 2 – Beresheet 2:7-14	Reader 2 – Beresheet 4:1-3
“el día grande y temible”	Reader 3 – Beresheet 2:15-24	Reader 3 – Beresheet 4:4-7
Gen. 2:4 – 3:21	Reader 4 – Beresheet 2:25 – 3:7
Special: Malachi 3:4-24 (3:4 – 4:6)	Reader 5 – Beresheet 3:8-12
Ordinary: Isaiah 51:6-16	Reader 6 – Beresheet 3:13-16
Psalm 1	Reader 7 – Beresheet 3:17-21
Pirqe Abot I:2	Maftir – Beresheet 3:17-21
N.C.: Matityahu 1:1	Malachi 3:4-24 (3:4 – 4:6)