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. Hillel ben David and beloved wife HH Giberet Batsheva bat Sarah

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

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

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

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

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

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

His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Ya’aqob ben David

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

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.

 

We pray for his Honor Adon Tzuriel ben Avraham. Mi Sheberach…He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal His Honor Paqid Tzuriel ben Avraham, May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit, swiftly and soon, and we will say amen ve amen!

 

We pray for H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham. Mi Sheberach…He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham, May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit, swiftly and soon, and we will say amen ve amen!

 

Shabbat: “כֹּה תְבָרְכוּ” – “So Shall You Bless”

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·        The Priestly Blessing – Numbers 6:22-27

·        The Freewill Spontaneous Gifts for the Service of G-d by the 12 Princes of Israel – Numbers 7:1-3

·        Moses gives the offerings to the Levites as needed and commanded by G-d – Numbers 7:4-9

·        The princes offered – Numbers 7:10-11

·        The offering of Nahshon ben Amminadab Prince of the Tribe of Judah – Numbers 7:12-17

·        The Offering of Nethanel ben Zuar Prince of the Tribe of Issachar Numbers 7:18-23

·        The offering of Eliab ben Helon Prince of the Tribe of Zebulun Numbers 7:24-29

·        The offering of Elizur ben Shede’ur Prince of the Tribe of Reuben Numbers 7:30-35

·        The offering of Shelumiel ben Zurishaddai Prince of the Tribe of Simeon – Numbers 7:36-41

·        The offering of Eliasaph ben Deu’el Prince of the Tribe of Gad – Numbers 7:42-47

 

Welcome to the World of Pshat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows:

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Welcome to the World of Remes Exegesis

 

Thirteen rules compiled by Rabbi Ishmael b. Elisha for the elucidation of the Torah and for making halakic deductions from it. They are, strictly speaking, mere amplifications of the seven Rules of Hillel, and are collected in the Baraita of R. Ishmael, forming the introduction to the Sifra and reading a follows:

 

1. Ḳal wa-ḥomer: Identical with the first rule of Hillel.
2. Gezerah shawah: Identical with the second rule of Hillel.
3. Binyan ab: Rules deduced from a single passage of Scripture and rules deduced from two passages. This rule is a combination of the third and fourth rules of Hillel.
4. Kelal u-Peraṭ: The general and the particular.
5. u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The particular and the general.
6. Kelal u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The general, the particular, and the general.
7. The general which requires elucidation by the particular, and the particular which requires elucidation by the general.
8. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it for pedagogic purposes elucidates the general as well as the particular.
9. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of the special regulation which corresponds in concept to the general, is thus isolated to decrease rather than to increase the rigidity of its application.
10. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of some other special regulation which does not correspond in concept to the general, is thus isolated either to decrease or to increase the rigidity of its application.
11. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of a new and reversed decision can be referred to the general only in case the passage under consideration makes an explicit reference to it.
12. Deduction from the context.
13. When two Biblical passages contradict each other the contradiction in question must be solved by reference to a third passage.

 

Rules seven to eleven are formed by a subdivision of the fifth rule of Hillel; rule twelve corresponds to the seventh rule of Hillel, but is amplified in certain particulars; rule thirteen does not occur in Hillel, while, on the other hand, the sixth rule of Hillel is omitted by Ishmael. With regard to the rules and their application in general. These rules are found also on the morning prayers of any Jewish Orthodox Siddur.

 

Reading Assignment:

 

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:22 - 7:47

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:22 - 7:47

 

Chapter 6

 

23 saying to them Heb. אָמוֹר. [The infinitive] as in זָכוֹר, “remembering” (Exod. 20:8), and שָׁמוֹר, “keeping” (Deut. 5:12); in French, disant.

 

saying to them So that they can all hear- [Sifrei Naso 1: 143]

 

saying The word אָמוֹר is written in its full form [i.e., with a “vav”], indicating that they should not bless them hastily or in a hurried manner, but with concentration and with wholeheartedness. - [Midrash Tanchuma Naso 10]

 

24 May [the Lord] bless you that your possessions shall be blessed. - [Midrash Tanchuma Naso 10, Sifrei Naso 1:144]

 

and watch over you that no thieves shall attack you and steal your money. For when one gives his servant a gift, he cannot protect it from all other people, so if robbers come and take it from him, what benefit has he [the servant] from this gift? As for the Holy One, blessed be He, however, He is the One who [both] gives and protects (Midrash Tanchuma Naso 10). There are many expository interpretations in the Sifrei.

 

25 May the Lord cause His countenance to shine to you May He show you a pleasant, radiant countenance. -[Midrash Tanchuma Naso 10, Sifrei Naso 1:144]

 

and favor you May He grant you favor - [Sifrei Naso 1:144]

 

26 May the Lord raise His countenance toward you by suppressing His wrath. - [Sifrei Naso 1: 144,]

 

27 They shall bestow My Name They shall bless them with the Explicit Name. - [Sifrei Naso 1: 144, Num. Rabbah 11:4, 8]

 

so that I will bless them [I.e.,] the Israelites, and endorse the [blessing of the] kohanim. Another interpretation: "I will bless them"—that is, the kohanim. - [Chul. 49a]

Chapter 7

 

1 And it was that on the day that Moses finished Heb. כַּלּוֹת. The text כַּלּוֹת on the day the Mishkan was erected, the Israelites were like a bride (כַּלּוֹת) entering the nuptial canopy. - [Tanchuma Naso 20, 26, Pesikta Rabbathi 5:5, Pesikta d’Rav Kahana p. 6a, and other sources] [According to Tanchuma, the derash is based on the spelling כַּלַּת, which differs from the spelling in all extant sifrei Torah. Some believe that the derash is based on the vowelization כַּלוֹת, instead כְּלוֹת, which would clearly mean “finishing.” Heidenheim believes that the choice of the word כַּלוֹת, the root of which is ambiguous, indicates the intention of the Torah to include both meanings: finishing and nuptials. See fn. 104, to Pesikta d’Rav Kahana.

 

Moses finished Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the wise-hearted [men] assembled the Mishkan, yet Scripture credits Moses with it, because he utterly devoted himself to it, overseeing that the design of each article conformed with what he was shown on the mount [Sinai], to instruct the craftsmen, and he did not err in any design. Similarly, we find with David, that since he devoted himself to the building of the Temple, as it says, “O Lord, remember for David all his affliction, that he swore to the Lord...” (Ps. 132:1-2), therefore, it [the Temple] was called by his name, as it says, “See your House, David” (I Kings 12: 16). - [See Midrash Tanchuma Naso 21]

 

[On the day] that Moses finished erecting It does not say: “On the day he erected.” This teaches us that throughout the seven days of investitures, Moses erected it and dismantled it, but on that day, he erected it but did not dismantle it. Therefore, it says, "Moses finished erecting"—that day marked the end of his erecting [the Mishkan]. It was the New Moon of Nisan. On the second [day], the red cow was burned; on the third [day], they sprinkled the first sprinkling (See below ch. 19); and on the seventh [day], they [the Levites] were shaved (see below 5:7). - [Sifrei 1:145]

 

2 They were the leaders of the tribes They were the officers [appointed] over them in Egypt, and they were beaten on account of them, as it says, “The officers of the children of Israel were beaten” (Exod. 5:14). [Rashi interprets הַמַּטֹּת as “the sticks.” Hence, נְשִׂיאֵי הַמַּטֹּת means “the chieftains who were beaten with sticks.”] - [Sifrei 1:145]

 

who were present during the counting They stood with Moses and Aaron when they counted the Israelites, as it says, “With you [Moses and Aaron] there shall be [a man from each tribe]” (Num. 1:4).

 

3 six covered wagons The word צָב can denote only “covered.” Similarly, “In covered wagons (בַּצַּבִּים) and on mules” (Isa. 66:20). Covered wagons are called צַבִּים. [Some expound the word צָב in the sense of הַצְבִי יִשְׂרָאֵל, “O beauty of Israel” (II Sam. 1:19), (meaning) that they were elegant.] - [Sifrei Naso 1:148, Num. Rabbah 12:17. See Maharzav.]

 

they presented them in front of the Mishkan for Moses did not accept them from their hands until he was instructed to do so by the Omnipresent. Rabbi Nathan says: Why did the chieftains see fit to be the first to contribute here, whereas concerning the work of the Mishkan, they were not the first to contribute [but the last]? However, the chieftains said as follows, “Let the people contribute what they can, and then we will complement whatever is missing.” When they saw that the people had supplied everything—as it says, “And the work was sufficient for them” (Exod. 36:7)—they said, “What is left for us to do now?” So they brought the shoham stones and the filling [stones] for the ephod and the choshen. Therefore, [in order to make amends,] here they were first to contribute. - [Sifrei Naso 1: 150]

 

7 according to their work Because the burden of the sons of Gershon was lighter than that of [the sons of] Merari, who carried the planks, the pillars, and the sockets.

 

9 for incumbent upon them was the work involving the holy [objects] [I.e.,] the burden of the holy objects [such as] the ark and the table, etc. [was incumbent upon them]. Therefore “they were to carry on their shoulders” [and not in wagons].

 

10 The chieftains brought [offerings for] the dedication of the altar After they had contributed the wagons and the oxen for carrying the Mishkan, they were inspired to contribute offerings for the altar to dedicate it.

 

the chieftains presented their offerings in front of the altar For Moses did not accept it from their hands until instructed to do so by the Almighty. - [Sifrei Naso 1:152]

 

11 shall present his offering for the dedication of the altar But Moses still did not know how they should bring [the offerings], whether in the order of their births [namely, the order in which Jacob’s sons were born] or according to the order in which they traveled—until he was instructed by the Holy One, blessed is He, that they should bring the offerings according to the order in which they traveled, each one in his day.- [Sifrei Naso 1:152]

 

12 on the first day That day acquired ten crowns; it was the first day of Creation, the first day of the [offerings of the] chieftains, etc., as it is stated in Seder Olam.

 

of the tribe of Judah Scripture traces his kinship to his tribe, but not that he solicited [the offering] from his tribe and then offered it up. Or perhaps it says, “of the tribe of Judah” to teach that he indeed solicited [the offering] from his tribe and then brought [it]? Scripture therefore states, “This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab” (verse 17), [to teach us that] he brought from his own [resources]. - [Sifrei Naso 1:153, 157]

 

13 both filled with fine flour for a voluntary meal offering. - [Sifrei Naso 1:155]

 

14 ten gold [shekels] Heb. עֲשָָׂרָה זָהָב. As Targum [Onkelos] renders: it contained the weight of ten [shekels of] gold according to the holy shekel.

 

filled with incense We never find incense brought by an individual or on the outer [i.e., copper] altar except in this case; this was a temporary order. - [Men. 50a]

 

15 One young bull The choice of the herd. - [Sifrei Naso 1:146]

 

16 One young he-goat for a sin-offering to atone for [uncleanness caused by] a grave in the depths [i.e., an unknown grave which may lie in the earth over which people unknowingly pass, rendering them unclean], which is a [case of] uncertain contamination. - [Sifrei Naso 1:156]

 

18 Nethanel the son of Zu’ar... brought...

 

19 He brought his offering Why is the word הִקְרִב, “brought [his offering],” used in connection with the tribe of Issachar, but is not used in connection with any of the [other] tribes? Because [the tribe of] Reuben came and complained, “Is it not enough that my brother Judah has preceded me? Let me [at least] offer up after him.” Moses said to him, “I was told by the Almighty that they should offer up in the order in which they travel, according to their divisions.” This is why it says: הִקְרִב אֶת־קָרְבָּנוֹ, [in which the word הִקְרִב is] missing a “yud,” [thus] giving it the meaning of הַקְרִב, in the imperative—for he was commanded by the Almighty, “Bring the offering!” (Sifrei Naso 1: 158) What is the meaning of הִקְרִב... הִקְרִב, twice? For because of two reasons he [Issachar] merited to be the second of the tribes to offer their sacrifices: One, because they were [well] versed in the Torah, as it says, “And of the sons of Issachar, those who had understanding of the times” (I Chron. 12:32). Another, because they advised the chieftains to contribute these offerings (Sifrei). In the writings of Rabbi Moses Hadarshan ["the preacher"], I found [the following]: Rabbi Phinehas the son of Yair says [that] Nethaniel the son of Zu’ar gave them this idea.

 

one silver bowl Heb. קַעֲרַתכֶּסֶף. The numerical value of [the two words] in gematria amounts to nine hundred and thirty, corresponding to the years of Adam, the first man (Gen. 5:5). ק = 100 ע = 70 ר = 200 ת=400 כ = 20 ס = 60 פ = 80 - = 930

 

weighing one hundred and thirty shekels Alluding to the fact that when he [Adam] began to raise a family to maintain the existence of the world, he was one hundred and thirty years old, as it says, “Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and he begot...” (Gen. 5:3).

 

one silver sprinkling basin Heb. מִזְרָק אֶחָד כֶּסֶף. The gematria of these[three words] is five hundred and twenty- מ = 40 ז = 7 ר = 200 ק = 100 א = 1 ח = 8 ד = 4 כ = 20 ס = 60 פ = 80 - =520 alluding to Noah, who began raising a family at the age of five hundred, and alluding to the twenty years before his children were born in which the decree of the [Great] Flood was enacted, as I explained [to be the meaning of the verse], “His days shall be one hundred and twenty years” (Gen. 6:3). This is why it says מִזְרָק אֶחָד כֶּסֶף rather than מִזְרָק כֶּסֶף אֶחָד, as it says in the case of the [silver] bowl [i.e., קַעֲרַתכֶּסֶף אַַחַת], to tell us that even the letters of [the word] אֶחָד are included in the calculation.

 

seventy shekels Corresponding to the seventy nations who emanated from his [Noah’s] sons.

 

20 One spoon Corresponding to the Torah, which was given by the hand of the Holy One, blessed is He. [כַּף also means “hand.”]

 

ten gold [shekels] Corresponding to the Ten Commandments.

 

filled with incense - קְטֹרֶת. The gematria of קְטֹרֶת [i.e., 613] corresponds to the six hundred and thirteen commandments—provided that you convert the “chaph” into a “daleth” in accordance with the cipher known as, ק“ד ר”ג ש“ב ת” א [in which the first and last letters of the alphabet are interchangeable, the second and the second-to-last letters, etc. Thus, ד = 4 ט = 9 ר =200 ת = 400 totaling 613].

 

21 One young bull Corresponding to Abraham, of whom it says, “He took a young bull” (Gen. 18:7).

 

one ram Corresponding to Isaac [of whom it says,] “and took the ram [and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son] ...” (Gen. 22:13).

 

one lamb Corresponding to Jacob, [about whom it says,] “Jacob separated the lambs” (Gen. 30:40).

 

22 One young he-goat to atone for the sale of Joseph, about which it says, “and they slaughtered a kid” (Gen. 37:31).

 

23 And for the peace-offering: two oxen Corresponding to Moses and Aaron, who established peace between Israel and their Father in heaven.

 

Rams...he-goats...lambs Three types, corresponding to kohanim, Levites, and Israelites, and corresponding to the Torah, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. The three fives [in this verse] correspond to the five books of the Pentateuch, to the five commandments inscribed on the first tablet, and the five commandments inscribed on the second one. Until this point, [my comments were] in the name of Rabbi Moses Hadarshan [the preacher].

 

24 On the third day, the chieftain... On the third day, the chieftain who brought the offering was from the sons of Zebulun, and so with all of them. However, regarding Nethanel, about whom it states, הִקְרִיב נְתַנְאֵל, “Nethanel... brought,” it is appropriate to follow it with the phrase “the chieftain of Issachar” [unlike the other instances, where the verse refers to the chieftain as “the chieftain of the sons of so-and-so,” followed by his name], since his name and what he had offered has already been mentioned. Concerning the others, where it does not say: הִקְרִיב, “he offered,” the appropriate wording is this, "the chieftain was of the sons of so-and-so"—that day, the chieftain who brought his offering was from such-and-such a tribe. [Why the word הִקְרִיב is written only in reference to Nethanel is discussed above on verses 18 and 19.]

 

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 95:1-11

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Tehillim (Psalms) 95:1-11

 

Chapter 95

 

4 and the heights An expression of height, like a bird that flies [up high].

 

6 let us kneel Heb. נברכה, an expression of (Gen. 24:11): “He made the camels kneel (ויברך).”

 

7 today In this world.

 

9 tested Me for nothing.

 

even though they had seen My work in Egypt.

 

10 Forty years I quarreled with them and contended with them. [אקוט is] an expression of (Job 10:1): “My soul quarrels (נקטה) with my life.” I strove with them for forty years to kill them in the desert, because I said, “They are of erring heart.”

 

11 My resting place [In]to the land of Israel and Jerusalem, which I called “resting place,” as it says (below 132:14): “This is my resting place forever.”

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎95:1-11

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:22 – 7:47; I Melachim (Kings) 8:54-63

 

This is the sixth of the eleven psalms which Moshe composed. He dedicated it to the tribe of Issachar,[1] a family of scholars who were constantly immersed in the joyous song of Torah.[2]

 

This psalm is composed of two parts. The first seven verses are the Psalmist's call to his people: Come with alacrity to sing to G-d, praise Him, to thank Him, to acknowledge Him as the sole Creator and Guiding Force, of the universe in general and of Israel in particular. True, in our present state of exile and subjugation we seem to be forsaken, but this situation is only temporary, it can change today! if we but heed His call.[3]

 

The second section is in the form of a direct exhortation from G-d to Israel, in which He recalls the disastrous results of our ancestor’s sins in the Wilderness and urges us not to emulate that course.

 

Only the joyous song of Torah study can lift Israel out of present wilderness of exile. Surely Israel will be redeemed when every Jew turns to his brother and declares: "Let us strive for spiritual excellence and ecstasy and sing joyously to HaShem!"

 

On the eve of the Sabbath, the holiest of days, when Israel is granted a glimmer of the future world of spiritual bliss, it is customary to welcome the Sabbath with the welcoming service that begins with this psalm and its call:^[4] Come! Let us sing to HaShem.[5]

 

Our Psalm speaks of our ancestor’s sins in the wilderness in an interesting pasuk that I would like to examine in greater detail:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 95:8 Harden not your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness;

 

In the listing of the wilderness stops, in Bamidbar 33, Meribah and Massah are not mentioned. They are mentioned elsewhere and our Sages have taught that these were other names for Rephidim or for Kadesh.

 

In this study I would like to understand the journeys of the Bne Israel as enumerated in Parashat Masei - Bamidbar (Numbers) chapter 33, especially as they relate to Rephidim (Kadesh).

 

As we study this fantastic section, we shall see that this journey, in Bamidbar 33, was not only the journey of that generation, but the journey of the last generation as well. These are the stages of our redemption! Rabbenu Bachya explains that during the final redemption many Jews will go out in the desert and pass through these places, and HaShem will sustain them and direct them as He did for the Israelites in the desert. The double mentioning of “their starting points”, in verses one and three, is an allusion to the two Exoduses, first from the Egyptian exile, and then the final exile.

 

Why did the Torah record this boring list of forty-two places^[6] where the Bne Israel camped in the wilderness? The Midrash tells us one of the purposes for the recording of these journeys in the Torah:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XXIII:1 The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: ‘During all those forty years that you spent in the wilderness I did not make it necessary for you to escape, but I cast your enemies down before you by merely being with you. Nay, more! There were numerous snakes, fiery serpents, and scorpions there’; as it says, The... wilderness, wherein were serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions (Deut. VIII, 15) ‘yet I did not allow them to harm you.’ For this reason, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: ‘Write down the stages by which Israel journeyed in the wilderness, in order that they shall know what miracles I wrought for them.’

 

The Midrash goes on to tell us another reason for recording these journeys in the Torah:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XXIII:3 THESE ARE THE STAGES (XXXIII, 1). It is like the case of a king whose son was ill. He took him to a certain place to cure him. On their return journey his father began to recount all the stages, saying: ‘Here we slept; here we cooled ourselves; here you had a headache.’ So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: ‘Recount to them all the places where they provoked Me.’ Consequently, it says, THESE ARE THE STAGES, etc.

 

The commentators starting from the ancient period, through medieval times, until the 19th century, have addressed this question, whereby ten reasons are given:

 

1. to remind Israel and rebuke them for the provocations;^[7]
2. to recall and praise G-d for the miracles that occurred;^[8]
3. to pay tribute to the places that hosted Israel in their travels and the miracles that sustained them;^[9]
4. to illustrate G-d’s kindness that for most of the time they were not wandering^[10] but at rest in one place;^[11]
5. to reflect the prophecy of Micah,^[12] that similar miracles will be performed in the final redemption;^[13]
6. to remove doubt that may arise in future generations about the authenticity of the miracles that occurred;^[14]
7. by Divine decree, for no reason;^[15]
8. to praise Israel for following G-d into the wilderness with love;^[16]
9. to highlight the places where events occurred, which indicate there were other destinations not recorded because no events occurred;^[17]
10.  to make a distinction between necessary travels and travels that only became necessary after the sin of the spies.^[18]

 

Rashi also provides us with the reason for recording these journeys in the Torah:

 

Why were these journeys recorded? To make the Omnipresent’s benevolence known. For, although He decreed to move them about and cause them to wander in the wilderness, do not say that they wandered and were moved about from journey to journey all forty years, and had no rest--- for there are only forty-two journeys here. Subtract fourteen, all of which took place during the first year, before the decree, from their journey from Rameses until they reached Rithmah, from where the spies were dispatched, as it is said, “after, the people journeyed from Chatzeroth, etc. Send, for yourself, men, etc.,” and here it says, “they journeyed from Chatzeroth and camped at Rismah,” you learn that it was in the desert of Paran. Exclude, further, from there, eight journeys which took place after Aharon’s death, from Mount Hor to the plains of Moab, during the fortieth year, it is found that, throughout the thirty eight years, they took only twenty journeys.^[19]

 

The fact that the Midrash records more than one reason for recording the journeys and Rashi tells us a third reason, suggests that there is more to these journeys than meets the eye. Further, we need to ask another similar question: What is the reason for these forty-two stops in the desert? There is a mystical concept that the purpose of these encampments was for the Children of Israel to release and gather the sparks of holiness which are trapped in the desert’s emptiness. Each of these stopping places correspond to a letter of HaShem’s forty-two letter Name^[20] (The first forty-two letters of the Torah), and so by gathering the sparks from each place a little more of HaShem’s Name, His recognition in the world, is revealed.^[21]

 

Let’s examine Rephidim (Kadesh) with their events and then sort out the difference between these two places which were separated by forty years, but had such a close connection that they are linked together.

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 33:14 They left the powerful city - wild place (Alush^[22]) and camped at the railing or Weakness place (lax in Torah study) (Rephidim camp #10), where there was no water for the people to drink^[23].

 

1. There was no water to drink - Shemot (Exodus) 17:1

 

2. “Why was it called Shittim?” He said, “Shittim was its actual name.” Rebi Yehoshua said, “[It was called this] because they were involved in something senseless (shtus).”^[24]

 

3. This place was called Massa and Meribah because the people quarreled and tested HaShem - Shemot (Exodus) 17:7, Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:8, Tehillim (Psalms) 81:8, Tehillim (Psalms) 95:8, Tehillim (Psalms) 106:32.

 

Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Shemot (Exod.) 17:7. And he called the name of that place Testing and Strife; because there the sons of Israel contended with Moshe, and because they tempted HaShem, saying, Does the glory of the majesty of HaShem truly dwell among us, or not?

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Devarim (Deuteronomy) ‎‎6:16 In Massa When they went out of Egypt, when they tested Him concerning water, as it is said [that they asked], “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7) [Hence “Massa” means test.]

 

4. The Amalekites attacked the Israelites here - Shemot (Exodus) 17:8. One interesting point as to why Amalek without provocation attacks the nation of Israel in their way to freedom is that given by the name where this incident took place - “Rephidim.” The name “Rephidim” indicates that the Israelites had become lax “RAFAH” in their faith (they became weak (reefu) in Torah.” - Bechorot 5b). As a result of this shortcoming Amalek was able to attack. The Israelites were RAFAH (Lax) in the Torah. That is, they did not ask for Torah just as they asked for bread and water. Since the entire point of the Exodus was that they would receive the Torah, their first complaint should have been, “Why is it taking so long before HaShem gives us His Torah?” But we see that no such complaint was ever made.

 

Targum Pseudo Jonathan Shemot (Exodus) 17:8 And Amalek came from the land of the south and leaped on that night a thousand and six hundred miles; and on account of the disagreement which had been between Esau and Jakob, he came and waged war with Israel in Rephidim, and took and killed (some of the) men of the house of Dan; for the cloud did not embrace them, because of the strange worship that was among them.

 

6. Joshua is to remember the Amalekite attack – Shemot (Exodus) 17:14

 

Targum Pseudo Jonathan Shemot (Exodus) 17:9-14 And Moshe said to Jehoshua, Choose such men as are strong in the precepts, and victorious in fight; and go, under the Cloud of glory, and set battle in array against the hosts of Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand, prepared with fasting, with the righteous fathers of the chiefs of the people, and the righteous mothers who are like the hills, with the rod with which the miracles have been wrought from before the Lord, in my hand. 10. And Jehoshua did as Moshe had bidden him, to wage war with Amalek. And Moshe, and Aharon, and Hur went up to the top of the height. 11. And it was, when Moshe lifted up his hands in prayer, that the house of Israel prevailed; and when he rested his hand from praying, that the house of Amalek prevailed. [Jerusalem. And it was that when Moshe lifted up his hands in prayer, the house of Israel prevailed; and when his hands declined from prayer, Amalek prevailed; and (Israel) fell. in the line of battle.] 12. And the hands of Moshe were heavy, because the conflict was prolonged till the morrow, and the deliverance of Israel was not prepared on that day; and he could not hold them up in prayer; on which account he would have afflicted his soul. And they took a stone, and placed it under him, and he sat upon it; and Aharon and Hur supported his hand, this the one, and that the other; and his hands were outstretched with firmness, (or, fidelity,) in prayer and fasting, until the going down of the sun. [Jerusalem. And the hands of Moshe were lifted up in prayer.] 13. And Jehoshua shattered Amalek, and cut off the heads, of the strong men of his people, by the mouth of the Word of the Lord, with the slaughter of the sword. 14. And the Lord said unto Moshe, Write this memorial in the book of the elders that were of old, and these words in the hearing, of Jehoshua, that blotting, I will blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.

 

Rashi on Shemot 17:9 Pick for us men who know how to counteract witchcraft, because the Amalekites were sorcerers.

 

Rashi on Shemot 17:12 until sunset For the Amalekites calculated the hours [i.e., the time] with their astrology [to determine] in what hour they would be victorious, but Moses caused the sun to stand still and confused the hours.-[from Tanchuma 28]

 

RASHI: on Shemot 17:16 For there is a hand on the throne of the Eternal Heb. כּיִ-יָד עַל-כֵּס יָהּ . The hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, was raised to swear by His throne, to have a war and [bear] hatred against Amalek for eternity. Now what is the meaning of כּסֵ [as opposed toִֵ אכּס and also [why is] the Divine Name divided in half? [I.e., why is the Name יהָּ used instead of יהְ והָ ?] [The answer is that] the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that His Name will not be complete and His throne will not be complete until the name of Amalek is completely obliterated. And when his name is obliterated, the Divine Name will be complete, and the throne will be complete, as it is said: “The enemy has been destroyed; swords exist forever ( נצחֶַל )” (Ps. 9:7); this [who they are referring to] is Amalek, about whom it is written: “and kept their fury forever (נצחֶַ)” (Amos 1:11).”And You have uprooted the cities-their remembrance is lost” (Ps. 9:7) [i.e., Amalek‘s obliteration]. What does it say afterwards? “And the Lord ( ויַהוהָ ) shall sit forever” (Ps. 9:8); thus [after Amalek is obliterated] the Name is complete. “He has established His throne (וֹ כּסִאְ) for judgment” (Ps. 9:8). Thus the throne is complete [i.e., thus the throne, here spelled with an “aleph,” is now complete].-[from Midrash Tanchuma, end of Ki Theitzei]

 

Rashi on Shemot 19:2 They journeyed from Rephidim Why did [Scripture] have to repeat and explain from where they had journeyed? Did it not already state (Exodus 17:1) that they were encamped in Rephidim? It is known that they journeyed from there. But [it is repeated] to compare their journey from Rephidim to their arrival in the Sinai desert. Just as their arrival in the Sinai desert was with repentance, so was their journey from Rephidim with repentance.-[from Mechilta]

 

Rashi on Shemot 19:2 They (written: he) camped opposite the mountain - k’ish echad, b’leiv echad — like a single person with a single heart.

 

7. Moshe built an altar and called it “ HaShem is my banner: - Shemot (Exodus) 17:15

 

Targum Pseudo Jonathan Shemot (Exodus) 17:15 And Moshe built an altar, and called the name of it, The Word of the Lord is my banner; for the sign which He has wrought (in this) place was on my behalf. 16. And he said, Because the Word of the Lord hath sworn by the throne of His glory, that He by His Word will fight against those of the house of Amalek, and destroy them unto three generations; from the generation of this world, from the generation of the Mashiach, and from the generation of the world to come. [JERUSALEM. And he said, The oath has come forth from beneath the throne of the Great One, of all the world the Lord; the first king who will sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the sons of Israel, Shaul, the son of Kish, will set the battle in array against the house of Amalek, and will slay them; and those of them that remain will Mordekai and Esther destroy. The Lord has said by His Word that the memory of Amalek will perish to the age of ages.]

 

8. They arrived Iyar 23, 2448.^[25]

 

Targum Pseudo Jonathan for Bamidbar (Numbers) 33:14. Rephidim, where, because their hands were (raphin) neglectful of the words of the law, there was no water for the people to drink;

 

Ramban’s comments:^[26]

 

Shemot (Exodus) 17:1 [14.]AND THEY PITCHED IN REPHIDIM, AND THERE WAS NO WATER FOR THE PEOPLE TO DRINK. Scripture [here] does not mention the miracle [that occurred] with the water in Marah,^[27] nor the [daily] wonder of manna [which took place] in the wilderness of Sin.^[28] But [it mentioned the giving of water at Rephidim] because this episode at Rephidim was an important event, since they tried G-d [there], and that place was therefore called Massah (Trying) and Meribah (Strife),^[29] wherein He was sanctified in their presence by bringing forth water for them out of the rock,^[30] and it was there that they were attacked by the Amalekites.^[31] Therefore He [only] described it here in brief, [saying], and there was no water for the people to drink, since it was the place which was recognized and known by this [fact].

 

Shemot (Exodus) 17:1 AND ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL JOURNEYED FROM THE WILDERNESS OF SIN, BY THEIR STAGES, ACCORDING TO THE COMMANDMENT OF THE ETERNAL, AND THEY ENCAMPED IN REPHIDIM. Scripture is stating that they journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, where they were encamped after they had set out from Elim,^[32] and covered various stages of their journey in accord with G-d’s command. Afterwards, they encamped in Rephidim. Scripture thus relates briefly here that when they first journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, they pitched in Dophkah, and afterwards in Alush, and from Alush they came to Rephidim.^[33] This is the meaning of the expression here, by their stages, since there were many stages by which they came from the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim, and they did not reach it on the first journey. Scripture, however, [omits all these various stages here] because its only concern is to explain their murmuring. At the beginning of their arrival in that wilderness [of Sin], they complained for bread, and now they quarreled [with Moses] over water, [as it is said], and there was no water for the people to drink. When they came to that place and did not find fountains of water, they at once quarreled with Moses. This is the meaning of the expression, Wherefore the people did quarrel with Moses,^[34] for the murmurings mentioned in places where Scripture says, and they murmured,^[35] mean complaints, i.e., that they were declaring their grievances about their condition, saying, “What shall we do? What shall we eat, and what shall we drink?” But vayarev (and he quarreled) means that they did actually make quarrel with Moses, coming to him and saying, “Give us water, you and Aaron your brother, for you are responsible, our blood is upon you.” And Moses said to them, “Why quarrel you with me? Wherefore do you try the Eternal?^[36] This quarrel is to test G-d, that is, whether He can give you water.^[37] If you will hold your peace and let me alone and instead pray to Him, perhaps He will answer you.” And indeed, it was their intent to try [G-d], as Scripture says, And the name of the place was called Massah (Trying) and Meribah (Quarrel), because of the quarrel of the children of Israel and because they tried the Eternal, saying: Is the Eternal among us, or not?^[38] Then their anger against him relented,^[39] and for a day or two, they were supplied by the waters in their vessels. But afterwards, the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses,^[40] something like the complaints they made whenever they wanted something, saying, Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt?^[41] When Moses saw that they thirsted for water, then he prayed to G-d and recounted before Him his distress when they first quarrelled with him.^[42]

 

Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that there were two groups: one that quarreled [with Moses because they had no water to drink], and one [that had water which they brought from Alush, the place where they were encamped before coming to Rephidim,^[43] but] who tested G-d [to see if He would give them water]. The correct interpretation is as I have explained.

 

OPINION 2

 

There is an alternate opinion that Meribah was at the Kadesh camp:

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 33:36 They left the giant’s backbone - rooster’s crow or city (Ezion Geber^[44]) and camped at the Sanctuary (Kadesh camp #32), in the Desert of the crag - to prick - (Zin). The Targum calls this location Kedem.^[45]

 

1. Spring of judgment[46]

 

2. Waters of Meribah (strife)[47]

 

3. Miriam died here[48]

 

4. They arrived on Nisan 1, 2484

 

Targum Pseudo Jonathan for Bamidbar (Numbers) 33:36. thence to the wilderness of Zin; at the Iron Mount, which is Rekem;

 

Several events occurred at this stop, including:

 

5. There was no water to drink.[49]

 

6. Moshe[50] strikes the rock at Horeb and water came out.[51]

 

7. “Why was it called Shittim?” He said, “Shittim was its actual name.” Rebbi Yehoshua said, “[It was called this] because they were involved in something senseless (shtus).”^[52]

 

8. This place was called Massah and Meribah because the people quarreled[53] and tested[54] HaShem.[55]

 

9. The Amalekites attacked the Israelites here.[56] One interesting point as to why Amalek without provocation attacks the nation of Israel in their way to freedom is that given by the name where this incident took place - “Rephidim.” The name “Rephidim” indicates that the Israelites had become lax “RAFAH” in their faith (they became weak (reefu) in Torah.”).[57] As a result of this shortcoming Amalek was able to attack. The Israelites were RAFAH (Lax) in the Torah. That is, they did not ask for Torah just as they asked for bread and water. Since the entire point of the Exodus was that they would receive the Torah, their first complaint should have been, “Why is it taking so long before HaShem gives us His Torah?” But we see that no such complaint was ever made.

 

Now let’s examine some of the pesukim where these two places are mentioned.

 

Shemot (Exodus) 17:1-8 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their stages, according to the commandment of HaShem, and encamped in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Wherefore the people strove with Moshe, and said: 'Give us water that we may drink.' And Moshe said unto them: 'Why strive ye with me? wherefore do ye try HaShem?' 3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moshe, and said: 'Wherefore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?' 4 And Moshe cried unto HaShem, saying: 'What shall I do unto this people? they are almost ready to stone me.' 5 And HaShem said unto Moshe: 'Pass on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thy hand, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.' And Moshe did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And the name of the place was called Massah, and Meribah, because of the striving of the children of Israel, and because they tried HaShem, saying: 'Is HaShem among us, or not?' 8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

 

Shemot 17 gives us a rather detailed account of the lack of water and Moshe’s error in striking the rock, followed by Amalek’s attack.

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 20:1-13 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. 2 And there was no water for the congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moshe and against Aaron. 3 And the people strove with Moshe, and spoke, saying: 'Would that we had perished when our brethren perished before HaShem! 4 And why have ye brought the assembly of HaShem into this wilderness, to die there, we and our cattle? 5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.' 6 And Moshe and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces; and the glory of HaShem appeared unto them. 7 And HaShem spoke unto Moshe, saying: 8 'Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the congregation and their cattle drink.' 9 And Moshe took the rod from before HaShem, as He commanded him. 10 And Moshe and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said unto them: 'Hear now, ye rebels; are we to bring you forth water out of this rock?' 11 And Moshe lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. 12 And HaShem said unto Moshe and Aaron: 'Because ye believed not in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.' 13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with HaShem, and He was sanctified in them.

 

Bamidbar 20 adds considerable detail about the attitude of the Bne Israel as they contended with HaShem and with Moshe. Note that the name of HaShem, of the attribute of lovingkindness, is used repeatedly in this passage. The name ‘Elohim’, representing the attribute of judgment, is not used. This suggests that HaShem is showing us His kindness at the very hour that we are contending that He is not taking care of us!

 

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:8 And of Levi he said: Thy Thummim and Thy Urim be with Thy holy one, whom Thou didst prove at Massah, with whom Thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

 

Devarim 33 indicates that there was strife and contention which caused Rephidim to acquire two new names; Massah and Meribah.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 81:8 Thou didst call in trouble, and I rescued thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah 9 Hear, O My people, and I will admonish thee: O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken unto Me!

 

Tehillim chapter 81 is the psalm we traditionally recite on Rosh HaShanah, ‘Judgment Day’. This suggests that when we test HaShem it is a sin which deserves the judgment of The King.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 106:32 They angered Him also at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moshe because of them; 33 For they embittered his spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips.

 

Tehillim chapter 106 teaches us that the people’s actions at Meribah were reflected in their leader’s judgment. Their sin was the catalyst to prevent Moshe from entering the Promised Land.

 

Meribah will also play a significant role in the future as the southern border of Israel as we can see form Ezekiel’s prophecy:

 

Yehezchel (Ezekiel) 48:28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Brook, unto the Great Sea.

 

There is a clear connection between the story of the Waters of Meribah, a saga that took place in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, and the events of Massah and Meribah recounted in Exodus 17, that transpired at Rephidim in the wilderness of Zin. In both narratives the people demand water; Moshe turns to HaShem, who instructs him to draw water for the people from a rock. The central differences between the two stories are as follows: at Massah HaShem instructed Moshe to strike the rock, whereas at the Waters of Meribah He instructed him to speak to the rock; at Massah and Meribah Moshe did what HaShem commanded, whereas at the Waters of Meribah, instead of speaking, he acted in diametrical opposition to HaShem’s command and struck the rock twice. The Yalkut Shimoni lends us the following insight:

 

It says, “Order the rock”, in Bamidbar 20:8, it does not say “strike”, rather, “order”. He said to him: When a lad is young, his Rabbi strikes him to teach him, but once he grows up, he reproves him with words. Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe: When this rock was young, you struck it, “Strike the rock”,[58] but now “order the rock”; teach it one lesson and it will give out water.

 

As we study the places listed in Bamidbar chapter 33, we shall see that this was not only the journey of that generation, but the journey of the last generation as well. These are the stages of our redemption! Rabbenu Bachya explains that during the final redemption many Jews will go out in the desert and pass through these places, and HaShem will sustain them and direct them as He did for the Israelites in the desert. The double mentioning of “their starting points”, in Shemot 33:1-2, is an allusion to the two Exoduses, first from the Egyptian exile, and then the final exile.

 

The whole trip the Bne of Israel take from Mitzrayim (Egypt) to the Promised Land is understood spiritually as a metaphor for the journey that we all take from leaving the straits of the birth canal, to the many years of our life that we spend trying to do the right thing (traveling in the desert and messing up for forty years), to the moment of our own death (The Promised Land).

 

Each Jew’s life may be analyzed in terms of these forty-two journeys of Bne Israel from Egypt to Israel. In other words, it is possible to identify each person’s journey through life with the forty-two stages of the journey described in Bamidbar chapter 33.

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 33:1-2 “These are the journeys of Bne Israel who went forth from the land of Egypt according to their legions under the hand of Moshe and Aharon. Moshe wrote motza’aihem / their goings- forth le’masai’hem / according to their journeys . . . and these are masai’hem / their journeys le’motza’aihem / according to their goings-forth.”

 

R’ Shlomo Halberstam z”l^[59] asks: What is added by “their goings-forth”? The main focus of the parasha appears to be on Bne Israel’s journeys! Also, what is added by mentioning that Bne Israel went forth from Egypt? Surely, we already know this! Finally, why is the order of the words reversed, first “their goings-forth according to their journeys” and then “their journeys according to their goings-forth”?

 

Our parasha alludes to all of the major exiles that Bne Israel were destined to undergo in their history: The initial letters of “Eleh masei Bne Israel” - “These are the journeys of Bne Israel” allude to the four exiles of the Jewish people: alef-Edom (Rome - our current exile); mem-Madai (Persia); bet-Bavel (Babylon); and yud-Yavan (Greece). But the verse also alludes to our redemption.

 

R’ Halberstam taught that the word “their goings-forth” alludes to the future “goings-forth” of Bne Israel, i.e., our future redemptions. The placement of “their journeys” before “according to their goings-forth” alludes to the fact that our constant travels in exile hasten the eventual “going-forth”. And, lest one lose faith in the redemption because of our suffering, Moshe mentioned that Bne Israel already went forth from Egypt. Surely, then, we will be redeemed again.^[60]

 

And these are their journeys according to their starting places (Num.33:2) The Hebrew word for starting places or departures (motza’eihem) comes from the same root as descendants, alluding to the future redemption and the ingathering of the exiles that will occur in the Messianic era. At that time, all forty-two journeys made by the Children of Israel in the desert will be duplicated by the Jewish people as they make their way back to the Land of Israel.^[61]

 

The forty-two journeys, therefore, relate to forty-two states of leaving Mitzrayim (personal or national restrictions and confinements), before we reach the true and ultimate freedom of Jericho, the Messianic redemption.

 

These stages are not only a record of the past, but also an allusion to the future exiles and the ultimate redemption through Mashiach.

 

Hopefully we now have some perspective of our psalm and of this place called Massah and Meribah. The lessons to be learned from Massah and Meribah is to trust HaShem completely, and to avoid even the appearance of a test. Our Torah portion speaks of the Aaronic benediction where we trust HaShem to bless[62] us through the Priestly leadership – a clear reference to Moshe’s Priestly leadership. Our Torah portion goes on to speak of the offerings given by the tribal leadership for the service of the Mishkan. This was another opportunity for Moshe to Trust HaShem in the face of an unexpected offering. In addition to reading this portion in Tammuz, we also read this portion at Chanukah, a time when the Levites were leaders in a fight against a monumental foe bent on severing our relationship to time and to holiness (kadesh). Kadesh as a place where Moshe was to sanctify HaShem before the Bne Israel. Moshe was unable to sanctify HaShem because of anger.

 

In the end, we must return to Kadesh and we avoid contention so that Moshe’s successor, the Mashiach, will be able to Sanctify HaShem before us. Have we learned the lesson? Have we absorbed the trust that HaShem expects of us? The miracle of Chanukah was the last light of the miraculous that was to sustain us through more than two millennia of the current exile. Have we used that light to see in the darkness? To see through our present circumstances and still perceive HaShem and His hand?

 

It is no coincidence that the annual Parashat Masei, Bamidbar chapter 33, coincides every year with the three weeks of mourning (for the Temple) between Tammuz 17 and Av 9, for these are the Torah portions of exile. As we have entered this time period, it is no wonder that our Psalmist wants us to keep these events in mind.

 

These are the stages of our redemption! Rabbenu Bachya explains that during the final redemption many Jews will go out in the desert and pass through these places, and HaShem will sustain them and direct them as He did for the Israelites in the desert. The double mentioning of “their starting points”, in verses one and three, is an allusion to the two Exoduses, first from the Egyptian exile, and then the final exile.

 

Rabbenu Bachya tells us that “All the predictions of our prophets concerning the redemption of the future clearly indicate that this redemption will largely reflect earlier redemptions. The more we know about the redemption from Egypt, etc., the better we can picture how the redemption of the future will develop”.

 

The journeys began with the exodus from Mitzrayim (Egypt) a hint to bain haMaitzarim (between the straits), the Hebrew term for the three weeks (between Tammuz 17 and Ab 9). The last journey brought them to the Eretz Israel, a hint to the final redemption. It also hints to the twenty-one days between Rosh HaShana and Hoshana Rabbah.

 

Ashlamatah: Melachim alef (I Kings) 8:54-63

 

Rashi	Targum
54. ¶ And it was, as Solomon finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread out toward heaven.	54. ¶ And when Solomon finished praying before the LORD all this prayer and petition, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from where he was bowed upon his knees and his hands were stretched out prayer toward the heavens.
55. And he stood, and blessed the entire congregation of Israel (with) a loud voice, saying,	55. And he arose and blessed all the assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:
56. "Blessed (be) the Lord, Who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He spoke; there has not failed one word of all his good word, that He spoke through Moses His servant.	56. “Blessed be the LORD Who has given rest to His people Israel according to everything that He spoke. There has not failed one word from all His good that He spoke by the hand of Moses His servant.
57. May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our forefathers; let Him not leave us, nor forsake us.	57. May the Memra of the LORD our God be at our aid as it was at the aid of our fathers! May it not forsake us, and may it not reject us,
58. That He may incline our hearts to Him, to go in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and His statutes, and His judgments, which He commanded our forefathers.	58. to direct our hearts to fear Him, to walk in all the ways that are good before Him and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments that He commanded our fathers.
59. And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be close to the Lord our God, day and night, that He sustain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, each day's need granted on its day.	59. And may these words of mine that I have asked from before the LORD be received before the LORD our God, day and night, to carry out the judgment of his servant and the humiliation of His people Israel, as needed day by day,
60. So that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God: there is none else.	60. in order that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other.
61. Let your heart, [therefore], be whole with the Lord our God, to follow His statutes and to keep His precepts as of this day.	61. And may your heart be peaceful in the fear of the LORD our God to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments according to this day.”
62. And the King and all Israel with him slaughtered sacrifices before the Lord.	62. And the king and all Israel with him were sacrificing the sacrifice of holy things before the LORD.
63. And Solomon slaughtered the peace- offerings that he slaughtered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand oxen, and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. [With this] the King and all the children of Israel inaugurated the Temple of the Lord.	63. And Solomon sacrificed the sacrifice of holy things that he sacrificed before the LORD — 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep, and the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the sanctuary of the LORD.
64. On that day the King consecrated the middle of the court that was before the Temple of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt-offerings (and) the meal-offerings and the fat of the peace-offerings, for the copper altar that was before the Lord was too small to contain the burnt-offerings (and) the meal- offerings and the fat of the peace-offerings.	64. On that day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the sanctuary99 of the Lord, for there he made the holocaust and the cereal offering and the fat pieces of the offering of holy things,100 for the altar of bronze that was before the Lord was too small to hold the holocaust and the cereal offering and the fat pieces of the offering of holy things.
65. Now Solomon observed the Feast at that time and all Israel with him, a great assemblage from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, [totaling] fourteen days.	65. And Solomon made in that time a festival, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days the dedication of the house and seven days the festival — fourteen days.
66. On the eighth day he dismissed the people, and they blessed the King and went to their homes, rejoicing and delighted of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had wrought for David His servant and for Israel His people.	66. On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king, and they went to their cities while rejoicing, and their heart was over all the good that the LORD had done to David His servant and to Israel His people.
1. And it was when Solomon had finished building the Temple of the Lord and the King's palace and all Solomon's desire that he wished to make. {P}	1. And when Solomon finished building the house of the sanctuary of the LORD and the house of the King and all the desire of Solomon that he wished to do, {P}

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Melachim alef (I Kings) 8:54-63

 

56 According to all that he spoke And where did he speak this? [As it is written], “And He shall give you rest from all your enemies [round about]” (Deuteronomy 12:10).

 

59 that He sustain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel to avenge their humiliation from their adversaries.

 

64 The same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard These words are to be taken literally. This is Rabbi Yehudah’s view. [Solomon] hallowed the pavement of the court with the sanctity of the altar, in order to offer sacrifices on the pavement.

 

For the copper altar [i.e., the stone altar] that Solomon constructed in lieu of the copper altar [of Moses].

 

was too small to contain the burnt offerings and the meal offerings for they brought very many. Rabbi Jose said to him, Is it not already written (Kings 1:3), “One thousand burnt offerings Solomon offered on that altar which Moses had made,” and when one computes the number of cubits and the number of burnt offerings, [he will find that] this one of stones was larger than Moses’, for on Moses’ altar the place of the ‘maarachah,’ the place usually used for the sacrifice, was but one cubit by one cubit, whereas on this one the place of its ‘maarachah’ was twenty-four cubits by twenty-four cubits. Hence Solomon’s was 576 times as large as that of Moses. If so, what is the meaning of “the king consecrated the middle of the court?” It means that he set the stone altar into it, fastened to the floor.

 

was too small to contain [According to Rabbi Jose] he is referring to that of Moses, like one who says to his friend, ‘So-and-so is a dwarf,’ meaning that he is disqualified to perform the sacrificial service.

 

65 from the entrance to Hamath which is in the north of Eretz Israel.

 

to the Brook of Egypt which is opposite it in the south, as is delineated in the section entitled אֵלֶה מַסְעֵי (Num. 34:5-8).

 

seven days of the inauguration

 

and seven days of Succoth. It is found that they ate and drank on Yom Kippur.

 

66 for David His servant to make known that He had forgiven him his sins, as we find in Moed Katan (9a): When Solomon wished [to bring] the Ark into the Holy of Holies, the gates clung to one another.

 

and for Israel His people that He forgave them the sin of Yom Kippur, and a Bath- Kol [heavenly voice] emanated and declared: All of you are prepared for the life of the World to Come.

 

Commentary on the Ashlamatah: I Kings 8:54-63

& Isaiah 44:3 – Yannai’s Piyyutim for Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:22 – 7:47

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

 

As we approach the season of Pesach, our reading focuses on the last part of King Solomon’s benediction at the dedication and sanctification of the temple. Moses dedicated the Tabernacle on the first of Nisan, and at the dedication of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, God manifested himself in the same way that he did here at the dedication of the temple (Exod. 40:34-35). In 2 Chronicles 6 & 7, we have a similar recounting of the dedication of Solomon's temple.

 

Moses was commended to set up the tabernacle on the first day of the first month in the second year out of Egypt. (40:1ff) When Moses had finished the work (v.33) the cloud covered the tent (v.34) the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and Moses was not able to enter the tent (v.35) the same happened when Solomon had dedicated his temple; for it is said that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.(1 Kings 8:10, 11). However, Solomon begins his dedication in Tishri, completing it on the 14/15^th after two weeks. Nisan is the month of liberation, deliverance, and redemption, and kings of Israel count their reigns from Nisan. Tishri is the month associated with Judgement and the tribe of Dan and is the time Gentile kings count their reigns from.

 

In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy. 28–30, we are given a preview of Israel's history, her sinful disobedience, dispersion into all the nations, and her restoration. The restoration from the Babylonian exile after seventy years is a foreshadowing of Israel’s final reunification and restoration as detailed by the Prophets. In Ezra’s day, they had not laid the foundation for the new temple, but on the first of Tishri, they began the festival of Tabernacles with the required offerings. Here, we note the echoes of Solomon's practices in (1Kings 5:15-32, 2 Chron.2:2-4:22).

 

It is interesting to note that as Solomon was finishing his prayer in V.52-53, he reminded Hashem of his promises. As Solomon asks God to forgive his people of their sin and transgression, he also asks that they would be granted compassion in the sight of those who held them captive. “For they are Thy people, and Thine inheritance, which Thou brought forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron; that Thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of Thy servant, and unto the supplication of Thy people Israel, to hearken unto them whensoever they cry unto Thee. For Thou did set them apart from among all the peoples of the earth, to be Thine inheritance, as Thou didst speak by the hand of Moses Thy servant, when Thou brought our fathers out of Egypt, O LORD GOD

 

⁵⁴ And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth toward heaven.[63] Solomon started his prayer standing, and then he began kneeling in prayer with his hands spread out toward heaven. As he finished praying, he stood back on his feet as he pronounced a benediction on the people.

 

⁵⁵ And he stood and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying: ⁵⁶ ‘Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that He promised; there hath not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant. Solomon reminded the people that God had kept his promises to Moses. Then he expressed his desire for three things: 1.) That the Lord would be with Solomon’s generation as He had been with his forefathers, 2.) That God would give His people the will to walk in all His ways, and 3.) That the requests Solomon had made in his prayer would remain close to the heart of God Day by day. Solomon then mentioned another desire of his heart; 4.) That all the peoples of the earth might know that Hashem is the only true God. In (v.43) we see Solomons prayer, hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to Thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee, as doth Thy people Israel, and that they may know that Thy name is called upon this house which I have built.

 

In v.56 above, we see the key word here is “rest,”^[64] which has important soteriological[65] connotations. In Deuteronomy 12:9–10, “rest” is described as Israel’s living in security in the Land of Promise. In the following verses, Israel was told to bring her sacrifices to the place (speaking of the future temple) where God would cause his name to dwell. Then the people would rejoice before the Lord (Deut. 12:12). There can be no doubt that Solomon sees the temple as the completion of the picture of rest as portrayed in Deuteronomy 12. During David’s day, Israel, for a time after the conquest of Jerusalem, was living in peace and security, enjoying the fruitfulness of the land, and God was formally dwelling in their midst. This allowed them the construction of the first Temple under Solomon. This then begs the question, can Israel as God’s people ever really obtain that rest promised them in the land without the Temple being built and Hashem's indwelling presence in their midst? According to the pattern, I would think not!

 

⁵⁷ The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; let Him not leave us, nor forsake us; ⁵⁸ that He may incline our hearts unto Him, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and His statutes, and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers. Solomon expresses a twofold prayer with a twofold purpose. The first prayer (v. 57–58) asks that the Lord will always be with his people and never forsake them so that he may turn their hearts to him. The second (v. 59–60) asks the Lord always to remember to uphold the cause of his people (Israel) so that all peoples (Nations of the earth) may know that the LORD is God. The first part speaks of a continued internal working of God to make his people conformable to his will. The second speaks of a continued external working of God to bring about a change in the Gentiles, that they too may come to a saving knowledge of God.^[66] Verse 58 recognizes that the ultimate motivation and enabling for a godly life comes from God. Verse 61 emphasizes human initiative. To keep us close, God turns our hearts to him (Ps. 119:36) to enable us to keep his covenant (Deut. 30:6; Phil. 2:13), i.e., to walk in all his ways.^[67]

 

⁵⁹ And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that He maintain the cause of His servant, and the cause of His people Israel, as every day shall require; (ʿašâ mišpāṭ, “uphold the cause”) עָשָׂה מִשְׁפָּט  is literally “do or provide justice,” which means to do right by someone, to see that a person is fairly treated, and, in some instances, to vindicate someone who has been wronged^[68] The expression דְּבַר יוֹם בְּיוֹמוֹ   (d^ebar yôm b^eyômô, “according to each day’s need”) is interpreted as “the thing of the day in its day”[69] and is reminiscent of other well-loved passages of Scripture, such as:

 

Exodus 16:16–30: God provided enough manna for each day, no more and no less. Deuteronomy 33:25: “Your strength will equal your days.” Matthew 6:11: “Give us today our daily bread.”^[70] The purpose of God’s choice of his people Israel (v. 60) is that all peoples of the earth may know that he alone is God (Deut. 4:35; Isa. 45:5). For this to happen they (All Israel) must be fully committed (in perfect loyalty’), i.e., in covenant relation (peace) with the Lord^[71]

 

 ⁶⁰ that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord, He is God; there is none else’ that he (Hashem) maintain the cause of his servant Solomon, as in (v.28- 29) Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, ²⁹ that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.^[72]

 

In (v.61), Solomon reminded the people that for all this to take place, they must be fully committed to the Lord -wholehearted and obedient to His Word. The heart  לֵבָב lēḇāḇ: a noun which means the heart, mind that inner personality of a person. It is spoken of as the seat of our emotions. It is also used to describe the place where the rational, thinking process occurs that allows a person to know God’s blessings (Josh. 23:14)^[73] Those experiences which are said to affect or are affected by the body. Fear, love, courage, anger, joy, sorrow, hatred are always ascribed to the heart— thus courage for which usually rūah is used (Ps 27:14); joy (Ps 4:7); anger (Dt 19:6), “while his heart is hot,” lēbhābh); fear (1 Sa 25:37); sorrow (Ps 13:2). The heart (lēḇāḇ) naturally came to stand for the man himself (Deut. 7:17); “say in thine heart,” (Isa 14:13). As representing the man himself, it was considered to be the seat of the emotions, passions, and appetites (Lev 19:17; Ps 104:15), and the intellectual and moral faculties.^[74] Solomon instructed the people that their heart and passion must pursue after Hashem.

 

⁶¹ Let your heart therefore be whole with the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commandments, as at this day. Let your heart therefore be perfect [שָׁלֵם עִם יְהזָֹה]—be at peace with God; in other words, consecrated, given to him. The solemn devotion was concluded by an appropriate exhortation to the people to maintain a sincere and steady obedience to the divine law. The expression שָׁלֵם (šālēm, “fully committed;” means, “to be complete, whole, entire”) means more than just an emotional attachment. It finds expression in an appropriate lifestyle, “to live by his decrees” and “to obey his commands.” The words “to live” and “[to] obey” are explanatory infinitives^[75] informing us of our part in Hashem's program. Radak agrees that when the nations see a people who prosper and whose God grants them peace and freedom and gives them their desires, the nations will also seek this God.[76]

 

⁶² And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁶³ And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So, the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. As the king finished speaking, “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple” (2 Chron. 7:1) as it had earlier filled the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34–35; Lev. 9:23–24).^[77] As Josephus tells us, “When Solomon had said this and had cast himself upon the ground, and worshipped a long time, he rose and brought sacrifices to the altar; and when he had filled it with unblemished victims, he most evidently discovered that God had with pleasure accepted of all that he had sacrificed to him, for there came a fire running out of the air, and rushed with violence upon the altar, in the sight of all, and caught hold of, and consumed the sacrifices. Now, when this divine appearance was seen, the people supposed it to be a demonstration of God’s abode in the temple, and were pleased with it, and fell upon the ground and worshipped.^[78]

 

The number of animals sacrificed (22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats) seems incredibly large. One must remember that thousands of priests sacrificed on many auxiliary altars, and the celebration lasted for two weeks. The same day Solomon dedicated the temple he also consecrated … the courtyard in front of the temple with his offerings. This dedication took place at the beginning of the festival of Tabernacles, which normally lasted one week but was extended to two weeks on this special occasion.[79] The Feast of Tabernacles commemorated Israel’s years of wandering in the wilderness (Lev. 23:33, 41–43). It was fitting that the temple should be dedicated at this feast since that permanent sanctuary now symbolized the end of Israel’s wanderings. People from as far away as Lebo Hamath in northern Israel toward the Euphrates River and the Wadi of Egypt (modern Wadi el-Arish) far to the south attended the festivities; all Israel participated. The people returned home at the end of the feast joyful and thankful to God for His goodness to them.^[80]

 

As we conclude our reading, Isaiah 44:3 speaks of: I will pour water upon the thirsty land, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring. Isaiah was repeating himself from earlier in 33:5-6. This same thought is mentioned years later when the followers of Yeshua were trying to understand the current events in their day. They sensed Hashem was doing something; they could see change coming to people’s lives and minds, forsaking their previous thought patterns, and their hearts were turning toward Hashem, the God of the Jewish people. For an answer to what the disciples witnessed in the first century, they turn to scriptures like Joel 2:28. it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. In John 7:38, John remembers what Yeshua had said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ In Acts 2: they connected the events of their day back to King David and the promises God had made him, just as Solomon had done when he dedicated the temple.

 

I have a new neighbor who, two years ago, lived in her world and paid no attention to the news of the world she lived in. Her brother, a news junkie, informed me that topic was not one she would discuss and was quick to point out to you if you tried bringing up current events. Now, two years later, she is beginning to pay attention and brings it up in conversation. I imagine it was the same in Moses's Day in Egypt. People were just going through life, and as the events in their world began to change, they began to ask questions, and their thinking slowly began to change. They could not help but look for answers. I am sure some thought Moses was trying to accomplish something good for his people, but his methods, far-out statements, and ridiculous ideals made people question if he was making life better or burning the entire system down. As the first days of Nisan approached, people were uncertain of what the future held, but by the middle of the month, some resigned themselves to accept that things were just as they had always been, and as they always will be, and others began to gather their belongings looking for a brighter future. As neighbor talked to neighbor, the Egyptians learned the Israelites were planning a one-way trip, and looking for a better future some of the Egyptians joined with the Israelites and some of the Israelites decided they would forgo this adventure, maybe they would go next time. I wonder if the second Exodus will not be just like the first or remarkably similar. May Pasach and this time of redemption bring the final Temple. Come LORD, speedily in our days.

 

Verbal Tallies

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:22 – 7:47, Melachim alef (I Kings) 8:54-63, Tehillim (Psalms) 95:1-11

 

The verbal tally between the Torah and the Ashlamata is FACE – פָּנָיו and מִלִּפְנֵי

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:25 The LORD make his face <06440> shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

26 The LORD lift up his countenance <06440> upon thee, and give thee peace.

 

Melachim alef (I Kings) 8:54   And it was [so], that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before <06440> the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

 

The thematic connection between the Torah portions and our chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) 95:1-11 is that of a people who are coming with a joyful heart to bow down To HaShem; while the Torah speaks of the dedication of the Mishkan where we go to bow down To HaShem. There is an additional thematic connection to the Ashlamata where we find Solomon dedicating the Temple where we will go to bow down to HaShem.

 

Nazarean Talmud

Sidrot Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:22 – 7:47

“כֹּה תְבָרְכוּ” – “So Shall You Bless”

By: Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta Luqas (Lk)

School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat 2 Tsefet (2 Pet)

And it happened that while traveling toward Yerushalayim, he was passing through the region between Samaria and Galilee. And as he was entering into a certain village, ten men met him—lepers, who stood at a distance. And they raised their voices, saying, “Yeshua, Master, have mercy on us!” And when he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it happened that as they were going, they were cleansed. But one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. And he fell on his face at his feet, giving thanks to him. And he was a Samaritan. So Yeshua answered and said, “Were not ten cleansed? And where are the nine? Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Get up and go your way. Your faithful obedience has made you well.”

And saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately make no mention of the fact, that the heavens existed from antiquity, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the Torah (logos) of God62F[81] by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But by His Torah (logos) the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the final day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

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

 

 

Commentary: Hakham Tsefet, Divine Memory, and the Gravity of Forgetfulness

 

In his second Igeret (letter), Hakham Tsefet (Peter) delivers a sobering message concerning the nature of Divine judgment and the human tendency to forget G-d’s interventions in history. Drawing on both the primordial creation narrative and the cataclysmic flood of Noach, Hakham Tsefet establishes a framework in which memory is not merely a passive retention of past events but a covenantal responsibility. In the verses under review (2 Tsefet 3:3–7), he outlines a critical moral and eschatological principle: Those who forget G-d’s Word (Davar)—both as Creator and Judge—become vulnerable to scoffing, delusion, and ultimate destruction.

 

Hakham Tsefet begins with a prophetic glimpse into the Acharit HaYamim—the latter days—when mockers will arise, driven by their desires, taunting the promise of the Messiah’s return and doubting the spiritual architecture that sustains the cosmos. Their mockery is not born of ignorance but of willful forgetfulness. They “deliberately overlook,” as Hakham Tsefet phrases it, that it was by G-d’s Word that the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and through water. This reference is not incidental—it deliberately echoes B’resheet (Genesis 1) and draws upon the Jewish notion of the Davar as a sustaining cosmic force, a current of Divine speech that undergirds all existence.

 

This forgetfulness is more than an intellectual lapse; it is a spiritual rupture. In the Torah, it is believed that forgetting is equivalent to severing oneself from the covenant. The Hebrew Scriptures are replete with exhortations to “remember the L-rd your G-d” and “do not forget what He has done for you.” Forgetting, in the biblical imagination, is tantamount to rebellion. It is Hester Panim—G-d hiding His Face—triggered by Divine whim and human indifference. The scoffers Hakham Tsefet describes participate in a cosmic reversal: they deny the very structure upon which the world is built, erasing the memory of judgment by water (the flood) and thereby denying the possibility of future judgment.

 

Hakham Tsefet reminds his audience of the flood as a historical catastrophe and a precedent for eschatological reckoning. Once judged by water, the earth will be refined by fire. This progression—from Mayim (water) to Esh (fire)—parallels the transition from mercy to judgment, from the soft compassion of cleansing to the consuming finality of justice. The flood was a temporary reordering; the fire to come will be definitive. Here, Hakham Tsefet echoes themes known in prophetic literature and Second Temple Jewish apocalypticism, framing the world’s destiny regarding purification and rectification (Tikkun). Therefore, the metaphor of fire also deals with the principal idea of purification rather than direct destruction.

 

Moreover, Hakham Tsefet’s focus on G-d’s Word as the medium through which judgment occurs ties his teaching directly to the Torah’s ideology of creation and speech. The Davar—as in “Let there be light”—is not mere language but performative. When G-d speaks, reality shifts. The mockers intentionally forget that the universe is not self-sustaining but held together by this ever-present Davar Elohim. In this, Hakham Tsefet stands in the stream of Jewish spiritual tradition, which holds that the world is continually recreated at every moment by Divine utterance. Denying this is to deny the ongoing miracle of existence.

 

Spiritually, this commentary evokes the tension between Zachor (remembrance) and Shekheḥah (forgetfulness). Zachor maintains spiritual alignment, drawing down Divine mercy and Shefa (spiritual revelation attained by contemplative meditation); Shekheḥah, especially when deliberate, results in a rupture—exposing the soul and the world to judgment. Hakham Tsefet is not issuing a mere eschatological warning—he calls his audience to remember G-d actively, guard against intentional spiritual amnesia, and restore the Name of G-d upon themselves. The priestly act of placing the Name upon the B’ne Yisrael (Bamidbar 6:27) is reversed by those who remove that Name through neglect and mockery.

 

Ultimately, this passage from Hakham Tsefet emphasizes that Divine memory and human fidelity are intertwined. To forget G-d’s intervention in history is to obscure His presence in the present and deny His justice in the future. The Word that once created, judged, and blessed continues to call out. The question is whether the hearers will remember or scoff, bless or forget, draw down Shefa, or face fire. In this way, Hakham Tsefet’s message is not only eschatological but deeply covenantal—a reminder that memory is sacred, and in remembering, we preserve the world.

 

Presence, Name, and Remembrance: An Interweaving of Numbers 6 and 2 Peter 3

 

The sacred act of remembrance lies at the heart of the covenantal relationship between G-d and His people. In Bamidbar 6:22–27, we encounter a powerful channel for this remembrance: the Birkat Kohanim, also known as the Priestly Blessing. Here, G-d commands His Name to be placed upon the B’ne Yisrael, signaling a deliberate act of Divine presence and protection. This act is not merely liturgical but ontological—it establishes a spiritual imprint (Reshimu) upon the nation. In contrast, 2 Tsefet 3:3–7 presents a sobering image of people who deliberately forget the foundational truths of the world’s creation and prior judgment. Though separated by time and covenantal scope, these two texts are deeply interwoven, revealing that remembrance and forgetfulness are not just intellectual postures but spiritual determinants of whether blessing or judgment will flow.

 

The language of Bamidbar 6 is intimate and transcendent. “They will place My Name upon the B’ne Yisrael, and I will bless them.” To place the Divine Name (Adonai HaShem) upon someone is to draw down a measure of Divine presence, infusing the individual or community with a fragment of the Supernal Light, Ohr Elyon. The Priestly act becomes a bridge between the Ein Sof—the Infinite—and the finite vessel of the B’ne Yisrael. This sacred placement is both a remembrance and a restoration, a spiritual branding that reminds Yisrael of their identity as bearers of the Divine mission. It preserves Zachor, the sacred memory of who G-d is and who Yisrael is in relation to Him.

 

Blessing and judgment are not contradictory forces but two expressions of Shefa from the same Source. In Bamidbar 6, the Shefa manifests compassion, illumination, and peace through Chesed and Tiferet. G-d’s face shines upon the people; His countenance lifts them up. This is the flow of love and nearness. In 2 Tsefet, the Shefa flows through Gevurah—the sefirah of restriction, discipline, and justice. The world that once was cleansed by water will again be purified, this time by fire. The same Ein Sof that blesses also judges, not because He changes, but because human posture conditions the form the Shefa takes. Those who revere the Name receive its blessing. Those who mock or forget it draw judgment upon themselves.

 

The secret layer of meaning—Sod in the PaRDeS framework—reveals the cosmic stakes of this interplay. Placing the Name upon the B’ne Yisrael is a transmission of words and a revelation of the Ohr HaGanuz, the Hidden Light reserved from the first day of creation. According to the sages, this light is preserved for the righteous and concealed from the wicked (Tehillim-Psa 97:11). When the priests speak the blessing, they open a micro-channel of that primordial light, briefly piercing the veil of the mundane to flood the people with Divine radiance.

Hakham Tsefet’s warning aligns precisely with this supernal vision. To deny the original light—the light of the Davar that formed the world—is to shut oneself off from its illuminating power. It is to stand outside the blessing, exposed to the refining fire of Din (judgment). As in the case of Nadav and Avihu, who approached the Divine with unauthorized fire and were consumed, the desecration of the Name does not extinguish the light but turns it into fire for those who are unprepared to receive it. The Name that blesses also consumes when approached in mockery or forgetfulness.

 

Thus, the interweaving of Bamidbar 6 and 2 Tsefet 3 provides a unified spiritual principle: remembrance invites blessing, and forgetfulness invites judgment. The Name is not neutral; it is a vessel of Divine presence that demands reverence. To carry the Name is to carry memory. To forget the Name is to invite fire.

 

Unified Spiritual Insight: The Name, Remembrance, and the Flow of Blessing or Judgment

 

The Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) in Bamidbar 6:22–27 is far more than a liturgical formula. It is a spiritual mechanism through which the Adonai HaShem (Name of G-d) is placed upon the people, providing a perpetual seal of peace, protection, and spiritual alignment. This act serves as a veil of remembrance—a shield that keeps the awareness of G-d’s presence alive within the nation. It ensures that the people are continually oriented toward the Source of all being. Through remembrance of the Name, the Shechinah is drawn close, hovering over the B’ne Yisrael like a mother bird over her young (cf. D’barim. 32:11). This protective layer of Divine intimacy guards the nation’s body and soul.

 

However, the spiritual consequences are severe when that remembrance fades or is actively rejected. This is precisely the concern Hakham Tsefet (Peter) articulated in 2 Tsefet 3:3–7. In the prophetic style of Jewish moral critique, he speaks of scoffers in the latter days who deliberately forget that the world was created and judged by the Davar Elohim—the Word of G-d. Such forgetfulness is not passive neglect; it is a spiritual rebellion that leads to the withdrawal of the Shechinah. When the Divine Presence retreats, what remains is not neutrality but Din (judgment), for the absence of light does not result in nothingness but in darkness and disarray.

 

The spiritual truth binding both texts is clear: to remember G-d’s Name is to receive Shefa (Divine influx), while to forget or mock it is to incur cosmic imbalance. The Adonai HaShem is not an abstract concept but a living force. It is the spiritual infrastructure of creation, a vibrational presence that sustains all things. When the Priests declare the blessing—“May G-d bless you and guard you… May He lift His face upon you and give you peace”—they are drawing the Ohr Elyon (Supernal Light) into the world. The Name becomes a conduit of Tiferet, channeling balance, harmony, and Divine compassion into the realm of Malkhut—our physical reality.

 

Conversely, as Hakham Tsefet warns, when that Name is forgotten—when people act as if the world is self-sustaining, autonomous, or devoid of moral accountability—the result is spiritual disintegration. The memory of creation is not optional; it is essential for the stability of the cosmos. The same Davar that spoke the world into being also holds it together, and when that Word is denied, the creation itself destabilizes. Fire—symbolic of Gevurah, Divine discipline—becomes the rectifying force.

 

In this way, both Bamidbar 6 and 2 Tsefet 3 affirm a singular mystical reality: the human posture toward the Divine Name determines whether Shefa will flow as a blessing or judgment. Remembrance brings peace; forgetfulness invites chaos. The sacred task of the Priests, and of all who serve as spiritual vessels, is to ensure that the Name is never lost to the collective memory of humanity.

 

 

Some Questions to Ponder:

 

1. From all the readings for this week, which particular verse or passage caught your attention and fired your heart and imagination?
In your opinion, and taking into consideration all of the above readings for this Sabbath, what is the prophetic message (the idea that encapsulates all the Scripture passages read) for this week.

 

 

Blessing After Torah Study

 

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

Coming: Ta'anit B'khorim (Fast of the First Born)

Daylight fast Nisan 12, 5785 – Thursday April 10, 2025

 

All firstborns should fast all day in remembrance of the plague of the death of the firstborns in Egypt. Also, we should remember and meditate on the implications of what it means that we are a priesthood of the firstborn.

 

Coming Festival of Pesach

Nisan 14-22, 5785 – Saturday evening thru Sunday April 12/20, 2025

 

Important associated events

 

 

Next Shabbat: “Shabbat HaGadol” “BaYom HaSh’vi’i” – “On the seventh day”

 

 

Contents of Next Week’s Torah Seder

 

·           Offering of Elishama ben Ammihud Prince of Bene Ephrayim – Numbers 7:48-53

·           Offering of Gamaliel ben Pedahzur Prince of Bene Manasseh – Numbers 7:54-59

·           Offering of Abidan ben Gideoni Prince of Bene Benjamin – Numbers 7:60-65

·           Offering of Ahiezer ben Ammishaddai Prince of Bene Dan – Numbers 7:66-71

·           Offering of Pagiel ben Ochran Prince of Bene Asher – Numbers 7:72-77

·           Offering of Ahira ben Enan Prince of Bene Naphtali – Numbers 7:78-83

·           Dedication Offering of the altar by the 12 Princes of Israel – Numbers 7:84-89

 

Next Week’s Reading Assignment:

 

 

 

Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Edited by His Honor 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