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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
Sivan 02, 5774 – May 30/31, 2014	Sixth Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

Amarillo, TX, U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 8:37 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 9:39 PM	Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 8:09 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 9:08 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 4:44 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 5:39 PM
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 8:30 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 9:33 PM	Everett, WA. U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 8:40 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 9:59 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 6:03 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 6:56 PM
Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 7:49 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 8:45 PM	Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 7:49 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 8:53 PM	Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 8:39 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 9:56 PM
San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 8:10 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 9:08 PM	Sheboygan & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 8:06 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 9:18 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 6:50 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 7:41 PM
St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 7:59 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 9:05 PM	Tacoma, WA, U.S. Fri. May 30 2014 – Candles at 8:37 PM Sat. May 31 2014 – Habdalah 9:56 PM

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

Roll of Honor:

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Laurie Taylor

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

Her Excellency Prof. Dr. Conny Williams & beloved family

Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Yoel ben Abraham

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

His Excellency Adon Gabriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Elisheba bat Sarah

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

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

His Excellency Adon Elisha ben Abraham

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

His Excellency Adon Michael Harston

Her Excellency Giberet Whitney Mathison

Her Excellency Giberet Rivqa bat Sarah

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

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

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

Friday Evening May 30, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 46

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
46	Moreh/Parnas 1	Sivan 2	6:17-18	Humility united with Confidence

Ephesians 6:17-18 And take the head-covering^[1] of atonement,^[2] and the circumcision knife^[3] of the Oral Torah,^[4] which is the Torah of G-d,^[5] praying always the prayer (i.e. Amidah) and supplication in accordance to the Siddur,^[6] and guarding this very thing with all reverence^[7] and supplication for all Tsadiqim.^[8]

Shabbat “B’Midbar Sinai” – Sabbath: “In the wilderness of Sinai”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי
“B’Midbar Sinai”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 1:1-19	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 2:1-4
“In the wilderness of Sinai”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 1:20-25	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 2:5-7
“En el desierto de Sinaí”	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 1:26-31	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 2:7-9
B’Midbar (Numbers) 1:1-54	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 1:32-37
Ashlamatah: Hosea 2:16-25	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 1:38-43	Monday & Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 1:44-47	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 2:1-4
Psalm 90:1-17	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 1:48-54	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 2:5-7
Abot: 3:18	Maftir: B’midbar 1:52-54	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 2:7-9
N.C.: Mark 9:42-48; Lk 17:1-3a; Romans 1:1-7	- Hosea 2:16-25

Blessings Before Torah Study

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contents of the Torah Seder

1. Mustering the People – Numbers 1:1-19

2. Details of the Census – Numbers 1:20-46

3. The Levites – Numbers 1:47-54

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol XIII: First Journeys

By: Rabbi Yitschaq Magrisso, Translated by: Dr. Tzvi Faier

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1990)

Vol. 13 – “First Journeys,” pp. 1-25

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’Midbar (Numbers) 1:1-54

Rashi	Targum
1. The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, in the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month, in the second year after the exodus from the land of Egypt, saying.	1. AND the LORD spoke with Mosheh in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of ordinance, on the first of the month Iyar, which was the second month of the second year from the time of their coming forth from the land of Mizraim, saying:
2. Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by families following their fathers' houses; a head count of every male according to the number of their names.	2. Take the account of the whole congregation of the Bene Yisrael, according to the families of their fathers' house, by the number of the names of all the males by their capitations.
3. From twenty years old and upwards, all who are fit to go out to the army in Israel, you shall count them by their legions you and Aaron.	3. From each son twenty years and upwards, every one going out in the host in Israel; you and Aharon number them by their hosts.
4. With you there shall be a man from each tribe, one who is head of his father's house.	4. And let there be with you a man of each tribe, a chief of his father's house.
5. These are the names of the men who shall stand with you; for Reuben, Elitzur the son of Shedeur.	5. And these are the names of the men who will stand with you. Of Reuben, Elizur bar Shedeur:
6. For Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.	6. of Shimeon, the leader, Shelumiel bar Zuri-Shaddai:
7. For Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab.	7. the prince of Yehudah, Nachshon bar Amminadab:
8. For Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zu'ar.	8. the prince of Issakar, Nathaniel bar Zuar:
9. For Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon.	9. the prince of Zebulon, Eliab bar Chelon:
10. For the children of Joseph: for Ephraim, Elishama' the son of 'Ammihud; for Manasseh, Gamliel the son of Pedazur.	10. the prince of the Bene Yoseph, of Ephraim, Elishama bar Ammihud: the prince of Menasheh, Gamliel bar Pedazur:
11. For Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni.	11. the prince of Benjamin, Abidan bar Gideoni:
12. For Dan, Ahi'ezer the son of 'Ammishaddai.	12. the prince of Dan, Achiezer bar Ammi-shadai:
13. For Asher, Pag'iel the son of 'Ochran.	13. the prince of Asher, Pagiel bar Achran:
14. For Gad, Eliasaph the son of De'uel.	14. the prince of Gad, Eljasaph bar Dehuel:
15. For Naphtali, Ahira' the son of 'Enan.	15. the prince of Naphtali, Achira bar Enan.
16. These were the ones summoned by the congregation, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they are the heads of the thousands of Israel.	16. These (were) the notables of the congregation of the people, chiefs of their fathers' tribes, heads of thousands in Israel these.
17. Then Moses and Aaron took these men, who were indicated by [their] names,	17. And Mosheh and Aharon took these men who are expressed by their names:
18. and they assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees according to their families according to their fathers' houses; according to the number of names, a head count of every male from twenty years old and upward.	18. and they assembled all the congregation on the first day of the month Iyar, which is the second month, and re-censed them by the families of their fathers' house, by the number of their names, from twenty years old and upward by their capitations.
19. As the Lord commanded Moses, so did he count them in the Sinai desert.	19. As the LORD commanded Mosheh, they numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20. This was [the sum of] the children of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	20. And the sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel by the families of the generations of their fathers' house, in the number of their names by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all going forth in the host,
21. Those counted from the tribe of Reuben [were] forty six thousand, five hundred.	21. the sum of the tribe of Reuben, forty-six thousand Five hundred. JERUSALEM: Their sum.
22. Of the tribe of Simeon, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; his tally, according to the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	22. Of the families of the Bene Shimeon, after the generations of their fathers' house in the number of their names by their polls, every male from twenty years and upward, every one going forth in the host,
23. Those counted from the tribe of Simeon: fifty nine thousand, three hundred.	23. the sum of the tribe of Shimeon, fifty-nine thousand three hundred:
24. Of the tribe of Gad, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	24. of the family of the Bene Gad, after the generation of their fathers' house, in the number of their names by their polls, every male from twenty years and upward,
25. Those counted from the tribe of Gad: forty five thousand, six hundred and fifty.	25. forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.
26. Of the tribe of Judah, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	26. ___
27. Those counted from the tribe of Judah: seventy four thousand, six hundred.	27. The sum of the tribe of Yehudah seventy-four thousand six hundred:
28. Of the tribe of Issachar, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	28. ___
29. Those counted from the tribe of Issachar: fifty four thousand, four hundred.	29. of Issakar, fifty-four thousand four hundred.
30. Of the tribe of Zebulun, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	30. ___
31. Those counted from the tribe of Zebulun: fifty seven thousand, four hundred.	31. of Zebulon, fifty-seven thousand four hundred:
32. Of the tribe of Ephraim, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	32. ___
33. Those counted from the tribe of Ephraim: forty thousand, five hundred.	33. of Ephraim, forty thousand five hundred:
34. Of the tribe of Manasseh, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	34. ___
35. Those counted from the tribe of Manasseh: thirty two thousand, two hundred.	35. Of Menasheh, thirty-two thousand two hundred:
36. Of the tribe of Benjamin, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	36. ___
37. Those counted from the tribe of Benjamin: thirty five thousand, four hundred.	37. Benjamin, thirty five thousand four hundred:
38. Of the tribe of Dan, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	38. ___
39. Those counted from the tribe of Dan: sixty two thousand, seven hundred.	39. Dan, sixty-two thousand seven hundred:
40. Of the tribe of Asher, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	40. ___
41. Those counted from the tribe of Asher: forty one thousand, five hundred.	41. Asher, forty-one thousand five hundred:
42. Of the tribe of Naphtali, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	42. ___
43. Those counted from the tribe of Naphtali: fifty three thousand, four hundred.	43. Naphtali, fifty-three thousand four hundred.
44. These are the numbered ones, whom Moses and Aaron and the twelve princes of Israel counted each one [representing] his fathers' house.	44. These are the sums of the numbered ones which Mosheh and Aharon, and the princes of Israel, twelve men, a man for each house of their fathers, did number.
45. All the children of Israel were counted according to their fathers' houses, from twenty years and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army.	45. ___
46. The sum of all those who were counted: six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty.	46. And all the sums of the numbered of the Bene Yisrael were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.
47. But the Levites, according to their father's tribe were not numbered among them.	47. But the Levites after their father's tribe were not numbered among them.
48. The Lord spoke to Moses saying:	48. For the LORD had spoken with Mosheh, saying:
49. Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, and you shall not reckon their sum among the children of Israel.	49. Nevertheless, the tribe of Levi you will not number, nor take their sum among the children of Israel:
50. But you shall appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its vessels and over all that belong to it; they shall carry the Tabernacle and they shall minister to it, and they shall encamp around the Tabernacle.	50. but you will appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its vessels, and whatever things pertain unto it. They will carry the tabernacle and all its vessels, and do service in it; and round about the tabernacle will they dwell.
51. When the Tabernacle is set to travel, the Levites shall dismantle it; and when the Tabernacle camps, the Levites shall erect it; any outsider [non Levite] who approaches shall be put to death.	51. And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites will take it apart; and when the tabernacle is to be stationary, the Levites are to uprear it: the common person who draws near will be slain by a flaming fire from before the LORD.
52. The children of Israel shall encamp, each man by his own camp and each man by his division.	52. And the sons of Israel will encamp every one by the place of his own company, every one under his standard according to their hosts.
53. The Levites shall encamp around the Mishkan of the Testimony, so that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel and the Levites shall keep the charge of the Mishkan of the Testimony.	53. But the Levites will encamp round about the tabernacle of the testimony, that there may not be wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites will keep charge of the tabernacle of testimony.
54. And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses thus did they do.	54. And the sons of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Mosheh, so did they.

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

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

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rashi’s Commentary for: B’Midbar (Numbers) 1:1-54

1 The Lord spoke... in the Sinai Desert... on the first of the month Because they were dear to Him, He counted them often. When they left Egypt, He counted them (Exod. 12:37); when [many] fell because [of the sin] of the golden calf, He counted them to know the number of the survivors (Exod. 32:28); when He came to cause His Divine Presence to rest among them, He counted them. On the first of Nissan, the Mishkan was erected, and on the first of Iyar, He counted them.

2 by families To ascertain the number of [people in] each tribe.

following their fathers’ houses If one’s father was from one tribe and his mother from another tribe, he is counted with his father’s tribe.

a head count Heb. לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם, by means of shekels; “a bekka (half a shekel) per head (לְגֻלְגֹּלֶת.)”

3 all who are fit to go out to the army This informs [us] that no one went out to the army below the age of twenty.

4 With you When you count them, there should be with you a prince from each tribe.

16 the ones summoned of the congregation They were summoned for every important matter concerning the congregation.

17 these men These twelve princes.

who were indicated to him here by their names.

18 and they declared their pedigrees according to their families They brought the records of their pedigrees and witnesses of their birth claims, so that each one should trace his genealogy to a tribe.

49 Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number The legion of the king deserves to be counted on its own (Tanchuma). Another explanation: The Holy One, Blessed Be He, foresaw that a decree was destined to be enacted against all those counted from twenty years and upward [condemning them] to die in the desert. He said, “Let these not be included, for they are Mine, since they did not err in [the sin of] the [golden] calf.”-[B.B. 121]

50 But you shall appoint the Levites Heb. הַפְקֵד, as the Targum renders, מַנִי, appoint ; it is an expression of appointing to control the thing over which one is appointed, as it says, “Let the king appoint (וְיַפְקֵד) officers (פְקִידִים)” (Esther 2:3).

51 shall dismantle it Heb. יוֹרִידוּ, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders, “They shall take it apart.” Whenever they were about to set out on a journey in the desert from one station to another, they dismantled the structure and carried it to the place where the cloud would settle. They would encamp there and set it up.

any outsider who approaches [to participate] in this work.

shall be put to death at the hands of heaven.

52 and each man by his division As the divisions are arranged in this Book [of Numbers], three tribes for every division.

53 so that there be no wrath If you act in accordance with My command, there will be no wrath, but if not, and outsiders take part in this service, there will be wrath, as we find with the incident with Korah [that is says,] “for the wrath has gone forth from the Lord” (Num. 17:11).

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 90:1-17

Rashi	Targum
1. A prayer of Moses, the man of God. O Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.	1. The prayer that Moses the prophet of the LORD prayed when the people, the house of Israel, sinned in the wilderness. He raised his voice and thus he said: O LORD, the dwelling of whose presence is in heaven, You have been for us a helper in every generation.
2. Before the mountains were born, and You brought forth the earth and the inhabited world, and from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.	2. When it was manifest in Your presence that Your people were going to sin, You established repentance; before ever the mountains were lifted up and the earth and the world's inhabitants created, and from this age to the age to come, You are God.
3. You bring man to the crushing point, and You say, "Return, O sons of men."	3. You will return a son of man to death because of his sin; and yet You have said, "Repent, O sons of men."
4. For a thousand years are in Your eyes like yesterday, which passed, and a watch in the night.	4. For a thousand years in Your eyes are considered in Your presence like a yesterday, for it will pass; and like a watch in the night.
5. You carry them away as a flood; they are like a sleep; in the morning, like grass it passes away.	5. And if they do not repent, death will come upon them, they will be as those who are sleeping; and in the age to come, they will disappear like crumbling grass. ANOTHER TARGUM: You made them drink the cup of cursing; they became like a drunken man in his sleep.
6. In the morning, it blossoms and passes away; in the evening, it is cut off and withers.	6. Their deeds are like grass that in the morning will spring up and multiply; in the evening it fades and dries up from the heat.
7. For we perish from Your wrath, and from Your anger we are dismayed.	7. For we have been destroyed by Your harshness, and by Your anger we have been terrified.
8. You have placed our iniquities before You, [the sins of] our youth before the light of Your countenance.	8. You have set our sins in front of You, the iniquities of our youth before the light of Your face.
9. For all our days have passed away in Your anger; we have consumed our years as a murmur.	9. For all our days have been removed from Your presence in Your anger; we have completed the days of our lives like a vapor of the mouth in winter.
10. The days of our years because of them are seventy years, and if with increase, eighty years; but their pride is toil and pain, for it passes quickly and we fly away.	10. The days of our years in this age are seventy years, quickly passing; and if one is in strength, eighty years; but most of them are toil and deceit for the guilty, for they pass in haste and fly away to the morning.
11. Who knows the might of Your wrath, and according to Your fear is Your anger.	11. Who is he who knows how to turn back the force of Your harshness? Except the righteous/generous, who fear You, appease Your anger.
12. So teach the number of our days, so that we shall acquire a heart of wisdom.	12. Who is right to teach us to number our days, except the prophet, whose heart pours forth wisdom?
13. Return, O Lord, how long? And repent about Your servants.	13. Turn, O LORD how long will You afflict us? And turn from the harm that You commanded to do to Your servants.
14. Satiate us in the morning with Your loving-kindness, and let us sing praises and rejoice with all our days.	14. Satisfy us with Your goodness in the age that is likened to a morning, and we will rejoice and be glad in all our days.
15. Cause us to rejoice according to the days that You afflicted us, the years that we saw evil.	15. Gladden us like the days that You afflicted us, like the years that we saw harm.
16. May Your works appear to Your servants, and Your beauty to their sons.	16. Let the works of Your miracles appear to Your servants, and let Your splendor be upon their sons.
17. And may the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us, and the work of our hands establish for us, and the work of our hands establish it.	17. And may the pleasantness of the Garden of Eden be upon us from the presence of the LORD our God, and the works of our hands will be established by Him.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Psalms 90:1-17

1 A prayer of Moses Moses recited all the eleven psalms from here to (ch. 101) “Of David, a song.” Corresponding to them, he [Moses] blessed eleven tribes with eleven blessings, in (Deut. 33): “And this is the blessing.”

You have been our dwelling place Heb. מעון, an abode and a refuge in which to enter. [That is what] You have been for us.

throughout all generations From time immemorial, for You preceded all.

2 Before the mountains were born [i.e., before they] were created, and before You brought forth the earth and the inhabited world, and from the first world to the last world, You are God.

3 You bring man to the crushing point You bring agonies upon man until You reduce him to a weakened state, near death, and You tell him with these agonies, “Return, O sons of men from your evil ways.”

4 For a thousand years are in Your eyes A thousand years of man are like one day of the Holy One, blessed be He, and part of the night with it; for one day of the Holy One, blessed He, and a little of the night of the Holy One, blessed be He, are a thousand years, for the text does not say that the day of the Holy One, blessed be He, is like a thousand years, but that when a little of the night elapses with it, then His day is complete, and it is a thousand years. Therefore, Adam died within a thousand [years] for had he lived a thousand [years] it would be more than the day of the Holy One, blessed be He. Perhaps the amount of that watch equals the time from the death of Adam until a thousand years, but we do not know how much that watch was, except from conjecture. I found [this]:

For a thousand years are in Your eyes, etc. And when repentance came into Your thoughts from the beginning, You judged well and created it. Now those years were appropriate for it because people’s days were many, so that a thousand years were in Your eyes like one passing day, which passed and was gone, with a little of the night with it, for You said to Adam (Gen. 2:17): “for on the day you eat of it, you will surely die,” and he lived nine hundred and thirty years. We find that a thousand years equal one whole day and a little of the night with it.

like yesterday, which passed Which already passed.

5 You carry them away as a flood; they are like a sleep Now you have seized those years and had them become a few days, which are merely like a sleep of slumber, for the years of the generations are seventy years, as is explained at the end of the chapter: “The days of our years because of them are seventy years,” and they are regarded as one sleep. As the matter that is said (below 126:1) “When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion, we shall be like dreamers.” This was stated regarding the Babylonian exile, which lasted seventy years.

You carry them away as a flood Heb. זרמתם, an expression of flooding, as (Hab. 3:10): “A stream (זרם) of water.”

in the morning, like grass it passes away If one is born at night, he dies in the morning at the end of his sleep. And if,...

6 In the morning, it blossoms it passes away immediately, and when evening comes, it is cut off and withered. Why?

7 For we perish from Your wrath, and from Your anger, etc. That is to say: And because of all this,...

8 You have placed our iniquities before You and our youth, the sins of our youth, You have placed before the light of Your countenance.

our youth Heb. עלמנו, our youth, as (I Sam. 17: 56): “whose son is this youth (העלם).”

before the light of Your countenance opposite You and to look at them.

9 have passed away in Your anger Have turned, have been cleared away, and have gone away in Your anger.

as a murmur Like speech, which hastens to disappear.

10 The days of our years because of them are seventy years The days of these years of ours, because of these iniquities of ours and because of these sins of our youth, are seventy years.

and if with increase And if his days are much increased, they are eighty years.

but their pride is toil and pain But all the greatness and the dominion that a person enjoys in these days are only toil and pain. Why? Because it passes quickly and we fly away. During its swift passing, we fly away and die.

it passes Heb. גז, an expression of passing, as (Nahum 1:12): “they have crossed (נגוזו) ”; (Num. 11:31), “and drove (ויגז) quails up from the sea.”

11 Who knows the might of Your wrath In these few days, who can acquire intelligence to know the might of Your wrath and to fear You, and as for YouYour fear is Your anger. Just as You are feared, so is Your anger harsh, and You exact retribution from the sinners.

12 So teach the number of our days And just as in the beginning, make known in the world the number of our long days, and since we enjoy longevity, we will be able to acquire intelligence, and we will acquire in them a heart of wisdom. The word נביא is an expression of bringing [rather than of a prophet. Cf. B.B. 12a, Targum ad. loc, Redak below]. (Some say: According to the number of our days כן, according to the numerical value of כן, seventy years. He says: According to the number of our years, which are few, so shall You chastise us, as [Jud. 8:16]: “and with them he chastised (ויודע) the men of Succoth.” This does not appear in all editions.)

13 Return, O Lord from Your burning wrath.

And repent Think well about Your servants.

14 Satiate us in the morning On the day of the redemption and the salvation, which is the morning of the night of the trouble, the sighing, and the darkness.

and let us sing praises and rejoice with all our days i.e., with all the troubles that passed over us in these days of ours.

15 Cause us to rejoice according to the days that You afflicted us Cause us to rejoice in the days of our Messiah according to the number of days that You afflicted us in the exiles and according to the number of years that we experienced evil.

17 And may the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us His presence and His consolations.

and the work of our hands establish for us Heb. כוננה. This is an expression of supplication. כוֹננה is like שמרה, watch, שפטה, judge.

establish it Establish it. The two times “and the work of our hands establish” [are mentioned are for the following purposes]: One is for the work of the Tabernacle, when he blessed Israel and prayed that the Shechinah should rest on the work of their hands in the Tabernacle, and one is that there should be a blessing in the work of their hands.

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms 90:1-17

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

The fourth book of Psalms commences with eleven consecutive works composed by Moses,^[9] a man of G-d.^[10] Rashi explains that these correspond to the eleven blessings which Moses bestowed upon eleven of the tribes as enumerated in Deuteronomy 33. The tribe of Simeon was excluded from Moses’ blessings because the Simeonites had led the orgy that resulted in the death of thousands of Jews.^[11]

Midrash Shocher Tov demonstrates how the theme of each of the eleven psalms relates to a specific tribe. Psalm 90 speaks of repentance, as indicated in the third verse: You reduce man to pulp and You say, “Repent, O sons of man”! In his blessings, Moses blessed Reuben^[12] first, saying, “Let Reuben live and not die”,^[13] referring to Reuben’s sin and to his subsequent repentance.^[14] With his sincere remorse and penitence, Reuben introduced the principle of complete repentance to the world.^[15] Thus, this psalm relates to Reuben, the symbol of repentance.

According to the Talmud,^[16] when David composed the Book of Psalms he drew upon the works of ten scholars, including Moses. Rashi explains that Moses’ contribution to Tehillim was these eleven psalms.

Radak explains that David found these eleven psalms in an old manuscript which had been traditionally ascribed to the authorship of Moses. David then adapted and incorporated them into his Book of Psalms. David dedicated this work to those crushed under the burden of exile. He speaks of man’s frailty and of the brevity of his existence.

Ultimately, man can find solace only in the fact that G-d has been a dwelling place ... for us in all generations^[17] and that He welcomes penitents to dwell with Him.^[18]

This psalm should be familiar to most folks as we recite it during Shacharit on Shabbat as part of Pesuke D’zimra. This suggests that it is specifically related to the intimacy, with HaShem, that we achieve on Shabbat.

In four days we will be celebrating Shavuot,^[19] on Sivan 6. The following events occurred on this day:

1. Moses went up Mt. Sinai for the first time. He was instructed to offer the Jews, and the large mixed multitude, the opportunity of accepting the Torah,^[20] and of becoming a holy people.^[21] That same day Moses descended and assembled the elders and passed on the message. The entire people responded in unison that whatever HaShem says, they will do.^[22]
2. The six day war, in 1967, ends in victory for Israel.^[23]

Tomorrow, Sivan 3, the following events occurred:

1. Moses makes his second ascent of Mt. Sinai to bring the people's response.^[24]
2. Beginning of the three days of preparation, during which the Jews, and the large mixed multitude, were to purify themselves and abstain from uncleanliness.

On Sivan 4, the following events occurred:

1. Moses descends from Mt. Sinai and sets the bounds for Sinai that will last for three days.^[25]
2. People prepare to meet God at Mt. Sinai, day 1.^[26]
3. Moses wrote the first part of the Torah, from Genesis to Sinai.^[27]

On Sivan 5, the following events occurred:

1. Moses builds an altar, makes an offering, and sprinkles the blood of the covenant.^[28]
2. People prepare to meet God at Mt. Sinai, day 2.^[29]

Finally, on Sivan 6, the following events occurred:

1. Hag Shavuot Leviticus 23:15-16, Pentecost Acts 2:1, The Day of the Firstfruits / Yom HaBikkurim Numbers 28:26, The Day of the Congregation / Yom HaKahal Deuteronomy 18:16, Feast of Harvest / Hag HaKazir Exodus 23:16, Feast of Weeks / Hag Shavuot Exodus 34:22
2. New Year for trees - Trees are judged. Megillah 31b
3. Death of Abel - Beresheet Rabbah (chap. 22) (might have been Kislev 25)
4. Enoch ascended to heaven. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 1:137
5. The Tower of Babel is built, language is confused. Genesis 11, Soncino Zohar, Beresheet, Section 1, Page 31b
6. Abraham defeats the 5 kings and gives tithes to Melchizedek. Genesis 14
7. Issachar is born. Bne Issachar
8. Yocheved hides Moses after a 6 month and one day pregnancy - day 87. ArtScroll Mesorah on Shavuot, page 61.
9. Moses is drawn out of the water (Nile) by Pharaoh's daughter. Sefer Matamim, Midrash Rabbah - Exodus I:24
10. The Torah was given at Sinai (first Shabbat in Sivan). Exodus 19:1-11, Exodus 24:1-8, Shabbath 86b
11. People prepare to meet HaShem at Mt. Sinai, day 3.
12. The Ketubah was "signed" at Sinai.^[30] Exodus 19:1-11
13. This is the day for the priests to draw near to teach the Torah. Numbers 17:12 - 18:24
14. All males to appear before HaShem in Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 16:16
15. The tribe of Benyamin gets wives. Judges 21
16. David was born on Shavuot and died on Shavuot. Bechor Shor, Shabbat 30b
17. King David dies. Jerusalem - Chagigah 2,3.
18. The wedding of King Solomon allegorically refers to Messiah and Israel. Song of Songs 3:11
19. Asa renewed the covenant. II Chronicles 15:8-15
20. John the Baptist preaches preparation, in those days, w/judgment for the trees. Matthew 3:1-12
21. Yeshua prays all night. Luke 6:12
22. The sermon on the mount is given. Matthew 5,6,7
23. Yeshua chooses his apostles ("one of those days", i.e. Omer days). Luke 6:12-17
24. Yeshua delivers the sermon on the mount ("one of those days", i.e. Omer days). Luke 6:12-49
25. Yeshua heals the centurion's servant because he has not seen such great faith in Israel. Luke 7:1-10
26. Yeshua keeps the feast. John 7:37
27. The Holy Spirit comes (Babel is reversed)! Acts 2:1
28. Paul reaffirms the law. Acts 20:16 + Acts 21:17 - 22:1
29. James reaffirms the law for gentiles. Acts 20:16 + Acts 21:17 - 22:1
30. Paul's stays in Ephesus until today because he has an open door and opposition. 1 Corinthians 16:8
31. The covenant made at Sinai will be "renewed". Jeremiah 31:31-40
32. HaShem is betrothed to Israel. Hosea 2:14-23, Jeremiah 2, Jeremiah 31:31-32

In our Torah portion, HaShem commands Moses to count the tribes. Why does HaShem count them on the first day, of the second month (Iyar), in the second year? One answer might be that He values them greatly and wants to demonstrate this as they approach the one year point since the covenant at Sinai, on Sivan 6, in the first year.

Our psalm contains an interesting pasuk:

Tehillim (Psalms 90:1 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. LORD, You have been our dwelling-place in all generations.

Now contrast HaShem as our dwelling place with His dwelling place:

Shemot (Exodus) 25:8 “They will make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in them.”

The Mishkan and the Temple were not merely places of prayer and service, but were actually the dwelling place of HaShem. It was a stunning declaration of the principle that HaShem’s interest is in man alone.

The commentaries point out that the verse does not say, “I will dwell inside it”, but rather “inside them”. What is the meaning of this unusual phrasing? To answer this question will require a bit of background. Let’s start by examining the act of marriage. Of course, there will be no act of marriage without a marriage, so let’s begin with the betrothal.

In many Sephardic congregations, prior to the Torah reading on the first day of Shavuot, a Ketubah le-Shavuot (marriage certificate for Hag Shavuot) is read, as a symbolic betrothal of HaShem and His people Israel. There are various versions of such piyyutim, nearly all similar in terminology to the traditional tenaim (premarital document specifying the conditions agreed upon between the two parties) or the Ketubah (certificate the bridegroom presents to the bride at the wedding ceremony). These are hymns based on the verses:

Hoshea (Hosea) 2:14-20 “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert (at Sinai?) and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. “In that day,” declares HaShem, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge HaShem.

And:

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 31:31-34 “The time is coming,” declares HaShem, “when I will make a renewed covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband (betrothed) to them,” declares HaShem. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares HaShem. “I will put my Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know HaShem,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares HaShem. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’

The most widely used text of a Ketubah le-Shavuot is that of the prolific Safed mystic and poet Israel Majara (c.1550-c.1625). Many of his piyyutim are founded in the liturgy of oriental Jews. This hymn is included in the Sephardic prayer book for Shavuot:

The sixth day of the week (Friday), the sixth of Sivan, the day appointed by the Lord for the revelation of the Torah to His beloved people. ... The Invisible One came forth from Sinai, shone from Seir and appeared from Mount Paran unto all the kings of the earth, in the year 2448 since the creation of the world, the era by which we are accustomed to reckon in this land whose foundations were upheld by God, as it is written: “For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” (Tehillim (Psalms) 24:2).

The bridegroom (God), Ruler of Rulers, Prince of princes, Distinguished among the select, Whose mouth is pleasing and all of Whom is delightful, said unto the pious, lovely and virtuous maiden (the House of Israel) who won His favor above all women, who is as beautiful as the moon, radiant as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts: Many days wilt thou be Mine and I will be thy Redeemer. Behold, I have sent thee golden precepts through the lawgiver Jekuthiel (Moses). Be thou My mate according to the law of Moses and Israel, and I will honor, support, and maintain thee and be thy shelter and refuge in everlasting mercy. And I will set aside for thee, in lieu of thy virginal faithfulness, the life-giving Torah by which thou and thy children will live in health and tranquility. This bride (Israel) consented and became His spouse. Thus an eternal covenant, binding them forever, was established between them. The Bridegroom then agreed to add to the above all future expositions of Scripture, including Sifra, Sifre, Aggadah, and Tosefta. He established the primacy of the 248 positive commandments which are incumbent upon all...and added to them the 365 negative commandments. The dowry that this bride brought from the house of her father consists of an understanding heart that understands, ears that hearken, and eyes that see. Thus the sum total of the contract and the dowry, with the addition of the positive and negative commandments, amounts to the following: Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: “Revere God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.” (Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 12:13). The Bridegroom, desiring to confer privileges upon His people Israel and to transmit these valuable assets to them, took upon Himself the responsibility of this marriage contract, to be paid from the best portions of His property...

All these conditions are valid and established forever and ever. The Bridegroom has given His oath to carry them out in favor of His people and to enable those that love Him to inherit substance. Thus the Lord has given His oath. The Bridegroom has followed the legal formality of symbolic delivery of this document, which is bigger than the earth and broader than the seas. Everything, then, is firm, clear, and established...

I invoke heaven and earth as reliable witnesses.

May the Bridegroom rejoice with the bride whom He has taken as His lot and may the bride rejoice with the Husband of her youth while uttering words of praise.^[31]

In four days we will become betrothed, then it is full speed ahead to the act of marriage. The act of marriage causes the man and the woman to become one flesh, as we see in the Torah:

Beresheet (Genesis) 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from HaShem.

And Adam knew Eve. This means that they were united on every possible level until they became “as one flesh”.

The Torah describes the mitzva of marital intimacy as onah, “a response to her”, implying that a man must attune himself to his wife and her desire for holiness in the marriage.

Adam HaRishon, before he sinned, had skin that was translucent like our finger nails, which incidentally, we remind ourselves of at Havdalah on Motzei Shabbat when we use the light of the fire to view our fingernails. Physical food and physical digestion were unnecessary, for Adam HaRishon, on his pre-sin level, received his life-sustaining Holy Sparks directly from HaShem through creation. Just like Moshe after he came down the mountain with his “glowing”.

Furthermore, on such a level, becoming “one flesh” with one’s wife was not physically impossible, but easy to do since the skin resembled light more than it did physical and obstructing flesh. Rashi’s Peshat of such human unification taking place only through the children is a post-sin consequence, and obviously has many shortcomings.

Moreover, we see that the Jewish mystical tradition describes the union of a couple in marriage as the coming together of two half-souls. The physical union completes the expression of their total bond.

We have some peculiar wording in the following pasuk:

Beresheet (Genesis) 1:27 So G-d created man in his [own] image, in the image of G-d created he him; male and female created he them.

The wording of this verse is a bit strange. It seems that G-d created Adam with BOTH male and female attributes. The Midrash explains this anomaly:

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis VIII:1 AND G-D SAID: LET US MAKE MAN, etc. (I, 26). R. Johanan commenced [his discourse]: Thou hast formed me behind and before, etc.[32] Said R. Johanan: If a man is worthy enough, he enjoys both worlds, for it says, ‘Thou hast formed me for a later [world] and an earlier [world].’ But if not, he will have to render a full account [of his misdeeds], as it is said, And laid Thy hand upon me (ib.). R. Jeremiah b. Leazar said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, created Adam, He created him an hermaphrodite [bi-sexual], for it is said, Male and female created He them and called their name Adam.[33] R. Samuel b. Nahman said: When the Lord created Adam He created him double-faced, then He split him and made him of two backs, one back on this side and one back on the other side.

Adam HaRishon, the first Adam was composed of male and female parts. In Adam, also, were all of the seeds for the physical part of the human race[34]. According to the sod, mystical, tradition of the Sages, prior to the fall, Adam was a far greater person than he was afterwards. Prior to the fall, Adam was more of a spiritual being than a physical one. Also included within him, were all of the souls of mankind. This does not only mean that all souls would come forth from him, but rather that each and every cell of his body was an individual, conscious soul. Adam was thus the collective soul of all mankind. It is of no wonder then that the Hebrew word for mankind and the name of the father of mankind is one and the same: Adam.

In the act of marriage, this act of becoming “one flesh”, or “knowing” creates, on a small but physical scale, what will be in the end of days. One could say, crudely, that in the act of marriage, Adam was the delivery system for his seed, his memories. What we understand from this is that the essential part of Adam, of man, is that which is inside the woman. She is the house and he is the dweller in the house!

When Jews marry, the woman walks seven times around the man in order to make herself into his house.

Hakham Shimshon Raphael Hirsh states that the Hebrew word for bride - kallah - means completion as in: “beyom kallot hamishkan - the day the tabernacle was completed.” Thus we see that the Mishkan (The Tabernacle, the Sanctuary) is a representation of the body of Mashiach. It is feminine and it is, and we are, the kallah, the bride.

Additionally it is well known that the woman is the undisputed ruler over her house. She determines the colors of the fabrics and the wall coverings. She arranges the furniture, and she chooses where her family is to live. In this she proves that she IS the house.

The man dwells in the house in the same way he dwells in the woman during the act of marriage. In fact, if you ask a man where is his favorite place, he will tell you that his favorite place is inside his wife while engaged in the act of marriage. Sex gives him his place. During sex, a man is in his house.

In the same way, the sperm dwells in the egg. The egg, from the woman, is the “house” and the sperm, from the man, is the dweller in the house.

This explanation is all well and good, but what does it mean? The meaning is as profound as you can possibly imagine! Consider the following pesukim:

Beresheet (Genesis) 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow you will bring forth children; and your desire will be to your husband, and he will rule over you.

Romans 8:1-8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Mashiach Yeshua, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Mashiach Yeshua hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law (of sin and death) could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, G-d sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness/generosity of the Law (of G-d) might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against G-d: for it is not subject to the Law of G-d, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please G-d.

This leads us to the following understanding: Adam as an androgynous^[35] being had a feminine body and a masculine soul. I say that he was androgynous in both body and soul, but, the male dominated the soul and the female dominated the body. In the act of marriage, man becomes the soul and woman becomes the body. This has profound implications!

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XIV:1 Rabbi Shemuel bar Nachman said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the first man, he created him an hermaphrodite. Rabbi Levi said: When man was created, he was created with two body fronts, and He sawed him in two, so that two backs resulted, one back for the male and another for the female. An objection was raised: “And He took one of his ribs” (Beresheet 2:21). He answered: The word should be rendered “of his sides,” as it is written: “And for the second side of the tabernacle” (Shemot 26:20)

We find that many mitzvoth (commandments) are commanded solely to the man, while others are the domain of the woman: a husband and wife, our sages explain, embody the two halves of a single soul;^[36] the deeds of each contribute to their common soul’s fulfillment of both the “masculine” and “feminine” elements of its mission in life.^[37]

Consider also that the body of Mashiach is feminine and will be the bride of HaShem. Now we know that Mashiach has a bride too. This means that Mashiach ben David will become the second Adam when he mates with Israel his bride:

I Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

As the first man was androgynous, so the last Adam will be androgynous. This androgynous Adam will then become the bride of HaShem:

Yehezekel (Ezekiel) 16:3-13 And say, Thus saith the Lord HaShem unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. 4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. 5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. 6 ¶ And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. 7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. 8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord HaShem, and thou becamest mine. 9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. 10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. 11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. 12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. 13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

When HaShem marries His bride, she will be His House and He will dwell in her. He will be the soul and she will be the body, so to speak. This what is to be in the end of days. Our psalm depicts HaShem as our dwelling place now.

On Tisha B’Ab, when we mourn the destruction of the Temple, let us remember that the Temple was a physical representation of reality. It was NOT the reality! The reality is the body of Mashiach with HaShem dwelling in His people, as it says:

Shemot (Exodus) 25:8 “They shall make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in them.”

Matityahu (Matthew) 12:6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one (Mashiach) greater than the temple.

Yochanan (John) 2:19 Yeshua answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

HaShem has asked us to bring what is needed to build His dwelling place. We are not looking to create a building made of inanimate stones, but rather a Temple of living stones (the body of Mashiach).

1 Tsefet (Peter) 2:5 You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Yeshua HaMashiach.

We are commanded to form a living structure in which HaShem will dwell. How do we do this?

To answer this question we must take a look at what was required of the physical components that made up the sanctuary. Those things which were used as the building blocks for the sanctuary were required to be new stones. Stones that had not been used for altars to other gods. Additionally, these stones needed to be fashioned without using metal implements. Since metal was used for war and killing, it was not suitable for forming the building blocks used in HaShem’s house.

From a close examination of what went into forming the stones, we can see that the people who make up the lively stones, must also be formed properly. What does it mean to be formed?

To answer this question involves a bit of self-examination. First we must ask: What is a natural stone, a natural man? Surely we must say that the natural man is described in detail as:

I Corinthians 2:13-14 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

A natural man is a man who cannot receive the things of HaShem. It follows that a man who is properly formed, and is no longer “natural”, is a man who discerns the wisdom of HaShem. Wisdom is the word used throughout the Tanach^[38] as the epitome of Torah. Thus we would say that a properly formed man is a man of Torah study and Torah deeds.

Now a man of Torah deeds will be properly formed. To the extent that he avoids bloodshed, to that extent he is a stone formed without metal implements.

Shemot (Exodus) 25:8 “They will make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in them.”

Let us pursue Torah and it’s deeds in order that we might build the lively stones, the stones of the final sanctuary, the body of Mashiach. Let us prepare now for intimacy with HaShem

Please remember that our Sages have taught that the Temple was destroyed because Jew hated Jew without cause. This hatred pulled the lively stones apart. When the lively stones were broken this was reflected in the stones of the physical Temple being pulled apart and destroyed. The goal of the Torah is the building up of the lively stones into the body of Mashiach in order that we might be a fitting place for HaShem to dwell.

Without Torah and it’s deeds, the Sanctuary of living stones can never be built. Without this sanctuary, HaShem cannot dwell in us. In the meantime, let us thank HaShem that He has been our dwelling place!

Ashlamatah: Hosea 2:16-25

Rashi	Targum
1. ¶ And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which shall neither be measured nor counted; and it shall come to pass that, instead of saying to them, "You are not My people," it shall be said to them, "The children of the living God."	1. ¶ And the number of the people of Israel will be many as the sands of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And from the land where they were exiled among the nations, when they transgressed the Law, and it was said to them, “You are not my people”, they will return and be made great. It will be said to them, "People of the living God.”
2. And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head, and they shall go up from the land, for great is the day of Jezreel.	2. The people of Judah and the people of Israel will gather together as one, and they will appoint themselves one head from the house of David, and they will come up from the land of their exile, for great is the day of their assembling.
3. Say to your brethren, "Ammi," and to your sisters, "Ruhamah."	3. Prophets! Say to your brothers, “My people, return to My Law and I will have pity on your congregations.
4. Strive with your mother, strive, for she is not My wife, and I am not her Husband, and let her remove her harlotries from her face and her adulteries from between her breasts.	4. Reprove the congregation of Israel and say to her that, because she does not humble herself in My worship, My Memra will not hear her prayer, until she removes her evil deeds from before her face and the worship of her idols from among her towns.
5. Lest I strip her naked and leave her as [on] the day she was born; and I make her like a desert, and I set her like an arid land, and cause her to die of thirst.	5. Else I will remove My Shekinah from her, and will take away her glory. I will make her abandoned as in former days, until she drew near to My worship. My anger will fall on her as it fell on the people of the generation that transgressed My Law in the wilderness. I will make the land desolate and kill her with dearth.
6. And I will not pity her children for they are children of harlotries.	6. I will not have mercy on her children, for they are children who go astray.
7. For their mother played the harlot; she who conceived them behaved shamefully, for she said, "I will go after my lovers, those who give my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drinks."	7. For their congregation has gone astray after false prophets, their teachers are ashamed. For she said, “I will go after the nations that love me, who provide my food and my drink, clothing of fine wool and linen, oil and all my provisions.”
8. Therefore, behold I will close off your way with thorns, and I make a fence against her, and she shall not find her paths.	8. Therefore I will ruin your roads, as one fences off with thorn-bushes, and I will divide them off as one divides off with walls, and she will not find her paths.
9. And she shall pursue her lovers and not overtake them, and she shall seek them and not find them; and she shall say, "I will go and return to my first Husband, for it was better for me then than now.	9. Then she will pursue peace with the nations her lovers, but not reach it; and she will seek help but not find it. Then she will say, “I will go and return to the worship of my former Master, for it was better for me when I was worshipping before him; from now on I will not worship idols.
10. But she did not know that I gave her the corn, the wine, and the oil, and I gave her much silver and gold, but they made it for Baal.	10. But they do not know that it was I who blessed them with grain, and wine and oil; I who lavished silver on them and gold, with which they made idols.
11. Therefore, I will return and take My corn in its time and My wine in its appointed season, and I will separate My wool and My flax, to cover her nakedness.	11. Therefore My Memra will return to curse the grain at the time of its harvest, and the wine at the time of its pressing. And I will remove the clothing of fine wool and linen which I gave to her to cover her shame.
12. And now, I will bare her disgrace before the eyes of her lovers, and no man shall save her from My hand.	12. Now I will uncover her shame in the sight of the nations her lovers, and none shall rescue her from My hand.
13. And I will terminate all her rejoicing, her festival[s], her new moon[s], and her Sabbath[s], and all her appointed seasons.	13. And I will end all her rejoicing, her feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths—all her festive seasons.
14. And I will lay waste her vine[s] and her fig tree[s], [concerning] which she said, "They are my hire, which my lovers have given me," and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them.	14. I will lay waste the fruit of her vines and her fig-trees of which she said, “They are a reward for me, which the nations my lovers, gave to me”; but I will make them a forest and the wild beasts shall devour them.
15. And I will visit upon her the days of the baalim, to whom she burnt incense, and she adorned herself with her earrings and her jewelry, and went after her lovers, and she forgot Me, says the Lord. {S}	15. I will punish her for the days on which she worshipped idols when she offered incense to them, when she was like a woman who has left her husband and decked herself with her earrings and her strings of pearls and has gone astray after her lovers. So loved the congregation of Israel to worship idols; but my worship she has forsaken, says the Lord. {S}
16. Therefore, behold I will allure her and lead her into the desert, and I will speak comfortingly to her heart.	16. Therefore, behold I will make her subject to the Law, and I will work miracles and mighty deeds for her, as I did for her in the wilderness. I will speak comfort to her heart through my servants the prophets
17. And I will give her her vineyards from there and the depth of trouble for a door of hope, and she shall dwell there as in the days of her youth, and as the day of her ascent from the land of Egypt.	17. I will appoint her leaders from there, and the Valley of Achor for delights of the soul There they will follow eagerly after My Memra as in former days, and I, too, will work miracles and mighty deeds for them as in the day when they came up from the land of Egypt.
18. And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord, you shall call [Me] Ishi, and you shall no longer call Me Baali.	18. And at that time, says the LORD, you will eagerly follow My worship, and no more will you worship idols.
19. And I will remove the names of the baalim from her mouth, and they shall no longer be mentioned by their name.	19. I will remove the name of the idols of the names of the idols from their mouth, and their names will nevermore be mentioned.
20. And I will make a covenant for them on that day with the beasts of the field and with the fowl of the sky and the creeping things of the earth; and the bow, the sword, and war I will break off the earth, and I will let them lie down safely.	20. At that time, I will make a covenant for them, that they may be at peace with the wild beasts, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and warriors from the land and 1 will let them rest secure.
21. And I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me with righteousness and with justice and with loving- kindness and with mercy.	21. And I will establish you before Me for ever; I will establish you before Me in truth and justice, and in loving- kindness and mercy.
22. And I will betroth you to Me with faith, and you shall know the Lord. {P}	22. I will establish you before Me in faithfulness; then you will know to fear before the LORD. {P}
23. ¶ And it shall come to pass on that day, [that] I will answer, says the Lord; I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth.	23. ¶ At that time 1 will listen to your prayer says the LORD; I will command the heavens and they will send down rain on the earth.
24. And the earth shall answer the corn and the wine and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel.	24. And the earth will produce corn and wine and oil, and they will supply them to the exiles of My people
25. And I will sow her for Me in the land, and I will have compassion upon the unpitied one, and I will say to them that are not My people, "You are My people," and they shall say, "[You are] my God." {P}	25. 1 will establish you before Me in the land of the house of My Shekinah, and 1 will have pity on those who were not pitied because of their deeds. And I will say to those to whom I said, “Not My people”, “Now you are My people”, and they will say, “Our God”. {P}

Rashi’s Commentary on Hosea 2:16-25

16 Therefore, behold I will allure her I will persuade her to be drawn after Me (losanjier in O.F., to flatter or cajole). Other editions read: atrayray in O.F. (attirerai). I will lure, attract. And what is the allurement?

and lead her into the desert In exile, which is to her like a desert and a wasteland. And there she will lay up to her heart that it was better for her when she performed My will than when she rebelled against Me.

17 her vineyards Jonathan rendered this as an expression of managers and leaders. Comp. (Job 24:18) “he will not face the way of the vineyards,” meaning that the people of the generation of the flood had made up their mind not to follow the righteous leaders, such as Noah and Methusalah. And so, (Song 1:6) “my vineyard I did not guard.” The allusion is to the worship of idols instead of worshipping God, the Leader. Another explanation:

and lead her into the desert To the desert of Sihon and Og, and with the same expression Ezekiel prophesied (20:35, 38), “And I will bring you there to the desert of the peoples, and I will contend with you there, etc. As I continued with your forefathers etc., and I will bring them into the tradition of the covenant. And I will purge you of those who rebel...” but the righteous I will keep alive. That is the intention of “her vineyards.” [from Ruth Rabbah 5:6, Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 49b].

and the depth of trouble Heb. עֶמֶק עָכוּר. The depth of the exile where they were troubled I will give her for a door of hope (an expectation of hope), for, out of those troubles, she will take heart to return to Me.

and she shall dwell there Heb. וְעָנְתָה, an expression of dwelling. Comp. (Nahum 2:12) “a den (מְעוֹן) of lions.” [from Machbereth Menachem p. 135]

as in the days of her youth when she dwelt in Egypt a long time.

and as the day of her ascent, etc. as Israel cried out to me in Egypt because of the subjugation and I redeemed her, so also now.

18 you shall call [Me] Ishi, etc You shall worship Me out of love and not out of fear. Ishi is an expression of marriage and the love of one’s youth.

Baali An expression of mastership and fear. And our Rabbis (Pesachim 87a, Kethuboth 71b) explained: Like a bride in her father-in-law’s house, and not like a bride in her father’s house.

19 and they shall no longer be mentioned I.e. Israel shall no longer be mentioned by the name of the baalim. Or, the baalim shall no longer be mentioned by the name of Israel, saying that they are their gods. Or, the name of the baalim shall no longer be mentioned, as it is stated. (Isa. 2:18) “And the idols shall completely pass away.”

20 with the beasts of the field for I will destroy harmful creatures from the world. And so Scripture states (Isa. 11:9): “They shall neither harm nor destroy etc.”

21 with righteousness and with justice which you practice.

and with loving-kindness and with mercy which will come to you from Me because of them. Concerning our father Abraham, it is written (Gen 18:19): “For I love him since he commands etc. to perform righteousness and justice.” And, corresponding to them, He bestowed upon his children loving-kindness and mercy, as it is said (Deut. 13:18): “And He shall grant you mercy”; (ibid. 7:12) “And the Lord your God shall keep for you the covenant and the loving-kindness.” When they ceased to perform righteousness and justice, as it is said (Amos 5:7): “Those who turn justice into wormwood, and righteousness they leave on the ground,” also the Holy One, blessed be He, took away from them the loving-kindness and the mercy, as it is said (Jer. 16:5): “for I have gathered in My peace from this people, says the Lord, the loving-kindness and the mercies.” And when they will return to perform righteousness and justice, they shall be redeemed immediately, as it is said (Isa. 1: 27): “Zion shall be redeemed through justice, and her penitent through righteousness.” And the Holy One, blessed be He, will add mercy and loving-kindness to them and make a crown of all four of them and place it on their head.

22 And I will betroth you to Me with faith For the reward of the faith, for, while in exile, you believed in the promises through My prophets. [from Mechilta 14:31 with variations]

23 I will answer the heavens to pour upon the clouds from the rivulet of good that depends on My word. They will, in turn, answer to pour water upon the earth.

24 Jezreel The people of the exile who were scattered and then in gathered.

25 And I will sow her for Me in the land As one who sows a se’ah in order to gather many korim, so will many proselytes be added to them. [from Pesachim 87b]

Pirqe Abot – MeAm Lo’ez

Pereq Gimel

Mishnah 3:18

By: Rabbi Yitschaq (ben Mosheh) Magriso

He used to say, "Beloved is man for he is created with an Image. It was greater love that it was made known to him that he was created with an Image. It is thus written, "For with God s Image, He created mankind" (Genesis 9:6).

Rabbi Akiva tells of a great advantage that the Israelites have in their bodies, which the other nations of the world lack. Israelites and other people look alike in form and physical structure, and there appears to be no difference between them. But there is a great difference, giving Israel an advantage over all the other nations.

This advantage cannot be seen externally, and it cannot be detected. This is because it is something spiritual (ruchnith, תחנית). This is the Image (tzelem צּלּסּ), a very holy, angel-like shadow, which encompasses a person, protecting him from all evil. As long as a person has this Image over his head, no harm can befall him, not even death.

Therefore, thirty days before a person dies, this holy shadow leaves him. Rabbi Shimeon bar Yochai and his colleagues thus used to be able to tell when a person's last days were approaching. They were such great men, they could detect this shadow, and when they saw it depart, they knew that death was imminent.

The master thus says, "Beloved is man because he is created with an Image." This is an advantage that God gave to Israel because of His great love for them. It is an advantage that He has not given to any other nation in the world. No other people in the world were created with this holy angel-like Image.

However, the master's language is somewhat difficult. He should have said, "Beloved is Israel because they are created with an Image", just as he later said, "Beloved is Israel for they are called the children of God" (3:19). Since this is an advantage that was not given to all mankind, it appears somewhat surprising that the master said, "Beloved is man because he was created with an image."

[But the word for "man" is adam (אדם), which also denotes Adam, the first man. The saying can thus also be read, "Beloved was Adam, for he was created with an Image." This alludes to the fact that the first one to be created with this blessed, holy Image was Adam, who was created by the hands of God.

Besides God's favor in actually creating us with this Image, He manifested His love for us further by telling us that He created us with His holy Image. The Torah thus states, "For with God's Image, He made mankind" (Genesis 9:6).

Sometimes a person gives his friend a gift, but does not tell him how or why he gave it. When one does this, it is a sign that he does not hold his friend in high regard and does not have any true love for him. Rather, he is giving the gift out of pity and desire to help him.

But when a person gives a gift to his friend and tells him why he is giving it, this is a sign that he holds him in high esteem and is giving the gift as a true token of friendship.

The master tell us that the reason man was created with this Image was that he would be aware of the greatness of his soul, which is a spiritual entity originating from beneath the Throne of Glory (Kissey HaKavod,) He must also be aware of the greatness of his body, which has this holy Image as its shadow. This is something that is shared by no other nation on earth!

Correlations

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

& H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

BeMidbar (Numbers) 1:1-54

Hoshea (Hosea) 2:16-25

Tehillim (Psalms) 90

Mk 9:42-48, Lk 17:1-3a, Rm 1:1-7

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

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

Wilderness - מדבר, Strong’s number 04057.

Land - ארץ, Strong’s number 0776.

Egypt - מצרים, Styrong’s number 04714.

Saying / Say - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Moses - משה, Strong’s number 04872.

Year - שנה, Strong’s number 08141.

Land - ארץ, Strong’s number 0776.

Saying / Say - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 1:1 And the LORD <03068> spoke <01696> (8762) unto Moses <04872> in the wilderness <04057> of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year <08141> after they were come out of the land <0776> of Egypt <04714>, saying <0559> (8800),

Hoshea (Hosea) 2:14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness <04057>, and speak <01696> (8765) comfortably unto her.

Hoshea (Hosea) 2:15 And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she will sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land <0776> of Egypt <04714>.

Hoshea (Hosea) 2:16 And it will be at that day, says the LORD <03068>, that you will call Me Ishi; and will call Me no more Baali.

Hoshea (Hosea) 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth <0776>; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say <0559> (8804) to them which were not my people, You are My people; and they will say <0559> (8799), You are our God.

Tehillim (Psalms) 90:1 « A Prayer <08605> of Moses <04872> the man of God. » LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Tehillim (Psalms) 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth <0776> and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Tehillim (Psalms) 90:3 You turn man to destruction; and say <0559> (8799), Return, you children of men.

Tehillim (Psalms) 90:4 For a thousand years <08141> in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Tehillim (Psalms) 90:13 Return, O LORD <03068>, how long? And let it repent You concerning Your servants.

Hebrew:

Hebrew	English	Torah Seder Num 1:1-54	Psalms Psa 90:1-17	Ashlamatah Hos 2:16-25
vyai	each one, man, men	Num. 1:4 Num. 1:5 Num. 1:17 Num. 1:44 Num. 1:52		Hos. 2:16
~yhil{a/	GOD		Ps. 90:17	Hos. 2:23
@l,a,	divisions	Num. 1:16 Num. 1:21 Num. 1:23 Num. 1:25 Num. 1:27 Num. 1:29 Num. 1:31 Num. 1:33 Num. 1:35 Num. 1:37 Num. 1:39 Num. 1:41 Num. 1:43 Num. 1:46	Ps. 90:4
rm;a'	saying	Num. 1:1 Num. 1:48	Ps. 90:3	Hos. 2:23
#r,a,	land, earth, ground	Num. 1:1	Ps. 90:2	Hos. 2:15 Hos. 2:18 Hos. 2:21 Hos. 2:22 Hos. 2:23
!Be	sons	Num. 1:2 Num. 1:3 Num. 1:5 Num. 1:6 Num. 1:7 Num. 1:8 Num. 1:9 Num. 1:10 Num. 1:11 Num. 1:12 Num. 1:13 Num. 1:14 Num. 1:15 Num. 1:18 Num. 1:20 Num. 1:22 Num. 1:24 Num. 1:26 Num. 1:28 Num. 1:30 Num. 1:32 Num. 1:34 Num. 1:36 Num. 1:38 Num. 1:40	Psa 90:3 Psa 90:16
rb;D'	spoke	Num. 1:1 Num. 1:48		Hos. 2:14
hy"h'	have been, will come, fall		Ps. 90:1 Ps. 90:5	Hos. 2:16 Hos. 2:21
[d'y"	know undersand		Ps. 90:11 Ps. 90:12	Hos. 2:20
hwhy	LORD	Num. 1:1 Num. 1:19 Num. 1:48 Num. 1:54	Ps. 90:13	Hos. 2:16 Hos. 2:20 Hos. 2:21
~Ay	day, yesterday		Ps. 90:4 Ps. 90:9 Ps. 90:10 Ps. 90:12 Ps. 90:14 Ps. 90:15	Hos. 2:15 Hos. 2:16 Hos. 2:18 Hos. 2:21
dl;y"	registered, born	Num. 1:18	Ps. 90:2
lKo	all, whole, entire	Num. 1:2 Num. 1:3 Num. 1:18 Num. 1:20 Num. 1:22 Num. 1:24 Num. 1:26 Num. 1:28 Num. 1:30 Num. 1:32 Num. 1:34 Num. 1:36 Num. 1:38 Num. 1:40 Num. 1:42 Num. 1:45 Num. 1:46 Num. 1:50 Num. 1:54	Ps. 90:9 Ps. 90:14
!Ke	so	Num. 1:54	Ps. 90:12	Hos. 2:14
aol	nor, no	Num. 1:49 Num. 1:53		Hos. 2:16 Hos. 2:17
~yIr'c.mi	Egypt	Num. 1:1		Hos. 2:15
~l'A[	everlasting, forever		Ps. 90:2	Hos. 2:19
~y[ib.vi	seventy	Num. 1:27 Num. 1:29	Ps. 90:10
~ve	name	Num. 1:2 Num. 1:5 Num. 1:17 Num. 1:18 Num. 1:20 Num. 1:22 Num. 1:24 Num. 1:26 Num. 1:28 Num. 1:30 Num. 1:32 Num. 1:34 Num. 1:36 Num. 1:38 Num. 1:40 Num. 1:42		Hos. 2:17
hn"v'	year	Num. 1:1 Num. 1:3 Num. 1:18 Num. 1:20 Num. 1:22 Num. 1:24 Num. 1:26 Num. 1:28 Num. 1:30 Num. 1:32 Num. 1:34 Num. 1:36 Num. 1:38 Num. 1:40 Num. 1:42 Num. 1:45	Ps. 90:4 Ps. 90:9 Ps. 90:10 Ps. 90:15
ds,x,	lovingkindness		Ps. 90:14	Hos. 2:19
rB'd>mi	wilderness	Num. 1:1 Num. 1:19		Hos. 2:14

Greek:

Greek	English	Torah Seder Num 1:1-54	Psalms Ps 90:1-17	Ashlamatah Hos 2:16-25	Peshat Mk/Jude/Pet Mk 9:42-48	Remes 1 Luke Lk 17:1-3a	Remes 2 Acts/Romans Rm 1:1-7
δοῦλος	bond servant, servant		Psa 90:13 Psa 90:16				Rom. 1:1
δύναμις	power, force	Num 1:3 Num 1:20 Num 1:22 Num 1:24 Num 1:26 Num 1:28 Num 1:30 Num 1:32 Num 1:34 Num 1:36 Num 1:38 Num 1:40 Num 1:42 Num 1:45 Num 1:52			Mk. 9:43 Mk. 9:45 Mk. 9:47		Rom. 1:4
εἷς	one	Num 1:1 Num 1:18 Num 1:41 Num 1:44			Mk. 9:42	Lk. 17:2
qa,lassa	sea				Mk. 9:42	Lk. 17:2
θεός	GOD		Ps. 90:17	Hos. 2:23	Mk. 9:47		Rom. 1:1 Rom. 1:4 Rom. 1:7
κατά	according to	Num 1:2 Num 1:4 Num 1:16 Num 1:18 Num 1:20 Num 1:22 Num 1:24 Num 1:26 Num 1:28 Num 1:30 Num 1:32 Num 1:34 Num 1:36 Num 1:38 Num 1:40 Num 1:42 Num 1:44 Num 1:52 Num 1:54		Ho 2:15			Rom. 1:3 Rom. 1:4
κύριος	LORD	Num. 1:1 Num. 1:19 Num. 1:48 Num. 1:54	Ps. 90:13	Hos. 2:16 Hos. 2:20 Hos. 2:21			Rom. 1:4 Rom. 1:7
λαμβάνω	take, took	Num 1:2 Num 1:17 Num 1:49					Rom. 1:5
λέγω	saying, said	Num. 1:1 Num. 1:48		Hos. 2:23		Lk. 17:1
ὄνομα	name	Num. 1:2 Num. 1:5 Num. 1:17 Num. 1:18 Num. 1:20 Num. 1:22 Num. 1:24 Num. 1:26 Num. 1:28 Num. 1:30 Num. 1:32 Num. 1:34 Num. 1:36 Num. 1:38 Num. 1:40 Num. 1:42		Hos. 2:17			Rom. 1:5
πᾶς	every, all whole, entire	Num. 1:2 Num. 1:3 Num. 1:18 Num. 1:20 Num. 1:22 Num. 1:24 Num. 1:26 Num. 1:28 Num. 1:30 Num. 1:32 Num. 1:34 Num. 1:36 Num. 1:38 Num. 1:40 Num. 1:42 Num. 1:45 Num. 1:46 Num. 1:50 Num. 1:54	Ps. 90:9 Ps. 90:14				Rom. 1:5 Rom. 1:7
περί	on account of, concerning					Lk. 17:2	Rom. 1:3
περίκειμαι	hung				Mk. 9:42	Lk. 17:2
πίστις	belief, trust			Hos 2:20			Rom. 1:5
σκανδαλίζω	stumble				Mk. 9:42 Mk. 9:43 Mk. 9:45 Mk. 9:47	Lk. 17:2
τράχηλος	neck				Mk. 9:42	Lk. 17:2
υἱός	son	Num. 1:2 Num. 1:3 Num. 1:5 Num. 1:6 Num. 1:7 Num. 1:8 Num. 1:9 Num. 1:10 Num. 1:11 Num. 1:12 Num. 1:13 Num. 1:14 Num. 1:15 Num. 1:18 Num. 1:20 Num. 1:22 Num. 1:24 Num. 1:26 Num. 1:28 Num. 1:30 Num. 1:32 Num. 1:34 Num. 1:36 Num. 1:38 Num. 1:40	Psa 90:3 Psa 90:16				Rom. 1:3 Rom. 1:4
χείρ	hand		Psa 90:17		Mk. 9:43

Nazarean Talmud

Sidrot of B’midbar (Numbers) 1:1 – 54

“B’Midbar Sinai” “In the wilderness of Sinai”

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

H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Hakham Shaul’s School of Tosefta Luqas (Lk) Mishnah א:א

Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat Mordechai (Mk) Mishnah א:א

And he (Yeshua) said to his Talmidim, “It is impossible for causes for stumbling not to come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone is placed around his neck and he is thrown into the sea than that he causes one of these little ones to sin. “Be concerned about yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

And whoever brings an occasion before one of these faithfully obedient little ones to sin, it is more beneficial for him if he wear a heavy millstone around his neck and for him to be thrown into the sea. If your hand brings an occasion to sin, remove it, it is more beneficial to enter life crippled than to enter Gehinnom in unquenchable fire.^[39] And as it is said (Isa 66.24) they will go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against me, for their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be an abhorring for all flesh." If your foot^[40] brings an occasion to sin remove it, it is more beneficial to enter life emasculated than to be thrown into Gehinnom in unquenchable fire." And as it is said (Isa 66.24) they will go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against me, for their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be an abhorring for all flesh." If your eye brings an occasion to sin cast it out of yourself, it is more beneficial to enter the Kingdom/governance/sovereignty of God through the Bate Din and Hakhamim as opposed to human Kings with one eye than to be thrown into the fire of Gehinnom with two eyes. And as it is said (Isa 66.24) they will go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against me, for their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be an abhorring for all flesh."

Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

Romans

Mishnah א:א

Hakham Shaul,^[41] a courtier^[42] of Yeshua HaMashiach, called^[43] to be a Sh’liach,^[44] set apart^[45] by the Mesorah^[46] of God,^[47] which he promised previously through his Nebi’im^[48] in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His son who was/is a physical descendent of David.^[49] Yeshua HaMashiach our Master, appointed^[50] Ben Elohim by the virtuous power resurrecting^[51] him from the dead, according to the Ruach^[52] HaKodesh.^[53] Through him, I have received chesed^[54] and an Igeret Reshut^[55] to bring Messiah’s authority^[56] over all the Gentiles turning to God, amd bringing them into faithful obedience^[57] (Talmudizing them in the Torah), among whom you also are the called^[58] (given a vocation) of Yeshua HaMashiach.

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God,^[59] called^[60] to be Tsadiqim: Chesed to you and Shalom from God our Father and from the Master Yeshua HaMashiach.

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

*Numbers 1:1-54

Psalm 90

Hosea 2:16-25

Mark 9:42-48

1 Luqas 17:1-3a

Romans 1:1-7

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

Mordechai

One may ask how the present pericope of Mordechai (Mark) and Luqas (Luke) connects with the Torah Seder? The answer is found in the phrase “little ones” in the Mishnah of Hakham Tsefet, and “brother” on the Tosefta of Hakham Shaul. The “little ones” can be seen as those who are the numbered or the “ones counted.” The counting of things one possesses shows concern for his possessions. Such is the case with the present pericope and Torah Seder. G-d cares for his “little ones” therefore He counts them to be sure that they are all accounted for.

Analogous and Comparable Illustrations in Peshat

This particular pericope makes several analogous connections and comparable illustrations to make the point of Hakham Tsefet. Hakham Tsefet is not talking of children in the literal sense. His use is analogous for younger or weaker members of the Nazarean congregation. The “little ones” can also be recent converts. This bears a connection to the Pericope of Romans where Hakham Shaul relates the Mesorah to the Gentiles. Hakham Tsefet referred to these “little ones” as “beloved” in his letters. Yeshua takes issue with those who disparage or belittle the “little ones” issuing a stern caveat to those who “bring occasion to sin.”

The language of the first verse shifts as we read the second verse. The shift is from others who are responsible for the well-being of their talmidim to being responsible for one’s self. The teachers and mentors have a great responsibility when they have talmidim. They must never bring an obstacle before the talmid. The analogy of the millstone is that of hyperbole – exaggeration. The hyperbole is a way of showing the great responsibility teachers and mentors must take when they accept students. This pericope is simply a way of stating that a Master is responsible for making his talmidim stand for office.

“Entering life,” crippled, Emasculated, Kingdom/governance sovereignty of God

Another interesting shift takes place as we continue to read this pericope. Hakham Tsefet recites a refrain “enter life” with the subsequent result of having “cut off” members of the body. The final expression with regard to the “eyes” connects with the “Kingdom/Governance of G-d rather than saying “cut it off” or pluck it out in order to “enter life.”^[61] While the warning is repeated, the phrase “Kingdom/Governance of G-d” is substituted. As noted in the footnotes, Mann^[62] shows that the Greek word ζωή – zoe, means life in communion with G-d. Here then we see that the Kingdom/Governance of G-d through the Bate Din and Hakham as opposed to human kings is the equivalent to ζωή – zoe, life in communion with G-d. Furthermore, we also note the difference between being “thrown” or “hurled” and “entering.” Again, this reflects the judgments of the Sages as described in Aboth, “be lenient in judgment.” We can also see from this pericope that the Sages and Torah Scholars teach us how to “enter life,” i.e. communion (connection – tzav) with G-d. Furthermore, the “fences” of m. Aboth 3:17 are a means of protecting the “little ones” from stumbling. The text also calls for us to labor towards spiritual elevation and refinement. This is especially true when we will see below that our task is that of Tamudizing the Gentiles. The Jewish people must function as a Kingdom of Priests. Now we see that Hakham Tsefet teaches us to conduct ourselves as the Priesthood of the firstborn.

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

Igeret to the Romans

Introduction to Romans

Shelves and shelves of books line bookcases with scholarly works on Hakham Shaul. Every pro and con is constantly being weighed trying to make heads or tails of his writings. Interestingly, Hakham Shaul’s name does not receive as much attention in the Nazarean Codicil as that of Hakham Tsefet.^[63] This in no way diminishes the accomplished work of Hakham Shaul. However, the perspective of his message and mission are not his own. Hakham Tsefet and Hakham Peresh (Philip) were the first to reach out to the Gentiles.^[64] This is a matter of history found in 2 Luqas (Acts). Hakham Shaul was subordinate to the three Hakhamim and foundational Sh’liachim (Apostles) commissioned by Yeshua. As a collegiate Rabbi under the prevue of Hakham Tsefet, Hakham Shaul was commissioned (appointed) as the Sh'liach^[65] to the Gentiles.^[66] As such, we can now see that the theme and purpose of the Igeret to the Romans was an acceptance of the great commission by Yeshua to “Talmudize the Gentiles.”^[67] Hakham Shaul’s tool chest is nothing less than the Mesorah. Interestingly, Hakham Shaul does not make the Mesorah out to be anything less than the “Mesorah of G-d.” Here the opening statement of Hakham Shaul as “a courtier of Yeshua HaMashiach” bears great deal of importance for his Epistle. The opening pericope of Romans equips Hakham Shaul with a commission, appointment and mission. This mission is spoken of (promised) by the Prophets. He by the guidance of his mentors embarks on the greatest mission of tikun launched since the fall of Adam HaRishon. The Prophets prophesied of Yisrael’s return. Hakham Shaul has set out on his mission to find the lost souls of brethren and bring them back to the Father. Is his armory Messiah or the Mesorah? Are they not, the same? “The chief part of the Mesorah (Tradition/Oral Law) is Yeshuah the Messiah, the Son of God (i.e. Ben Elohim - the King/Judge.”^[68]

Hakham Shaul came to an awareness that the master was a living expression of the Mesorah. Hakham Shaul speaking to the Corinthians sees Yeshua’s talmidim as a personification of the Mesorah.^[69] This also bears on the “promise of the Father” in the revelation of Yechezkel – Ezekiel.

2 Cor. 3:2-3 You are our epistle (Igeret) written in our hearts, known and read by all men: Forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle (Igeret) of Messiah ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Ruach of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

Eze 36:27 "I will put My Ruach within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

Allegorical interpretation here teaches us that the Mesorah is a living organism. If the Master was a living personification of the Torah (written and Oral), his “body” must accept the same mission. As “courtier” Hakham Shaul shows us that the Hakhamim and Torah scholars, be they women or men have a greater duty in life than recycling oxygen.

In a matter of speaking the Tikun of Hakham Shaul’s mission is a return to the Garden of PaRDeS. The waters of Gan Eden flowed from a river of “Delight.”

B’resheet 2:10 Now a river flowed out of Eden (delight) to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. 15. Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to serve in it and guard (shomer) it.

Continuing our allegorical interpretation, the river that flows out of “Delight” is the Mesorah undiluted, i.e. Messiah. As it enters the Garden the river separates and becomes four Rishonim (heads). The tributaries of “Delight” are the four levels of PaRDeS Hermeneutics. The tributaries are the personifications of the Mesorah i.e. the Hakhamim. In stating that the tributaries are the Hakhamim, we are not implying that this is a specialized club for “members only.” Hakham Shaul answers this question immediately! “You also are the called!” You are “called” to become B’ne Elohim (sons of G-d, sons of the judges^[70]). The Igeret to the Romans will leave us all without excuse.

Rom. 8:9 “if indeed the Ruach Elohim (Spirit of the Judge i.e. Messiah)^[71] lives in you.” But if anyone does not have the Ruach HaMashiach, this person does not belong to him (Messiah). 11. And if the Ruach of the one who raised Yeshua from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Yeshua HaMashiach from the dead will also make you alive.

The phrase “Ruach Elohim” can also be rendered “breathings (Logos - Rhema) of the Judge.” The Breathed Judgments” deal with those things that foster personal repair and practice. The Mesorah is the tool of repair. However, this is because we must be aligned with the Mesorah if there to be a “Yom Echad.^[72] The Cosmos is the Torah. This being said the cosmos would purge itself of all that is not Torah. Actions in cosmos are invariably carried out under ordinances and laws (Toroth) woven into the universe as unalterable. G-d orders all things in the heavens and earth appropriately by equality under immovable laws and ordinances. Therefore, “Talmudizing the Gentiles” who possess a remnant of the Nefesh Yehudi, lost to the Diaspora becomes a quantum effort.

Hakham Shaul did not experience conversion to a new faith while traveling to Damascus, nor a change of religion. Hakham Shaul aligned himself with the Master and the cosmos. His call and commission to bring the Mesorah to the Gentiles produced a Jew fully faithful to the Torah throughout his life. Hakham Shaul's primary concern was the Jewish/Gentile problem, specifically the conversion of the Gentiles. This was the absolute antithesis of his life as a Shammaite talmid. Hillel thought in terms of the cosmos rather than self. All of Hillel’s scholars (Chaberim) adopted this cosmic mission. Like Hakham Shaul, as talmidim of Yeshua who was a talmid of Hillel we need to embrace this cosmic mission. We will see on the coming reading and pericopes how this mission unfolds and how Hakham Shaul addresses this issue.

Talmudizing the Gentiles

I have received chesed and an Igeret Reshut to bring Messiah’s (his) authority over all the Gentiles turning to God, bringing them into faithful obedience (Talmudizing them in the Torah).

Hakham Shaul begins by teaching us how the Gentiles will be talmudized.

• Firstly, they must be brought under the Master’s authority.
• Secondly, they must become fully (faithfully)^[73] obedient to the Agents of Messiah’s Mesorah
• Thirdly, Hakham Shaul was telling the Roman Congregations and Jewish Congregations in Diaspora that it was their duty to “Talmudize the Gentiles” as a joint effort.
• Fourthly, as we will see the Mesorah is to be taught to the Gentiles by the Jewish Hakhamim, First!, and then by the Hellenistic Jews.
• Gentile inclusion into the “Body of Messiah” means that they have fully accepted the rites, rituals and life of Yeshua’s Jewish talmidim in concert with a fully Torah obedient lifestyle.

The “Great Commission” is read out of context in almost EVERY reading of Christian exegetes.

You go therefore, and Talmudize all Gentiles, immersing on the authority of the Father, and of the son (God’s agents), and of the Ruach HaKodersh (Mesorah). Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded (verbally communicated to) you: and, behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of this age. Amen.

A hermeneutic that we must apply to this passage is “context”! Context is the Jewish Master speaking to his Jewish talmidim! This then necessitates the understanding that everything that the Master taught his talmidim is Torah related, Oral and written! If the Gentile is to be “Talmudized,” he must learn and observe all the Mitzvoth, Mesorah (halakhah) and Torah (written) by subjecting himself (or herself) to the Jewish Hakhamim.

Romans and B’midbar

The opening pericope of Romans makes a special connection with B’midbar by counting numbers. As noted above in the Peshat commentary, counting of things one possesses shows concern for his possessions. Such is the case with the present pericope of Romans and Torah Seder. Allegorically speaking we say that G-d has counted the numbers of the B’ne Yisrael and those who possess the Nefesh Yehudi and found some missing. Therefore, like the analogy of lost sheep, G-d sends his Sh’liachim (emissaries) to find them.

Luk 15:3-7 So he gave them this analogy, saying, "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

b. Ned., 72b; But we find in the whole Torah that a man's agent is as himself

When the final soul is accounted then the rejoicing will begin! The depth of meaning we find here reaches to the most sublime thoughts. Every soul is a Logos/Memra/Dabar of G-d. These “ideas” must play their part in the concert of cosmic history. Each idea (Logos) has cosmic value and, as real beings, a Logos or a pure mind, that contains within itself its thought of the intelligible world, which in its turn consists of the “ideas” of G-d. These ideas dance and encountered each other as they perform the cosmic melody of G-d’s intentional idea. Interestingly, many of these ideas have common names. Those things with a common name have similar missions, activities and qualities. Their commonality brings them into relationship with one another. Nazareans share the commonality of Messiah, his Mesorah, his Hakhamim and his mission. Again, a man’s agent is as himself.

Our souls have not entered Diaspora without intention. Here we do not mean simply those who were lost in the earlier dispersions. Those who entered the Diaspora in earlier stages had occupations that required their exile. However, what we fail to see and understand is the goal and mission of these exiles. Furthermore, we may not comprehend the intention for our own exile. Again, we opine that entry into Diaspora is for the sake of cosmic tikun. Each “idea” of G-d possesses the desire to return to G-d. Incorporated within each “idea” (soul) is the way of return. Built within them is the DNA of return. Alternatively, perhaps we should say that built within them is the DNA of tikun. However, like a worker who enters the field, he must complete his duties before he can return. The “idea” must achieve its objective before turning for home. As we will see, the Igeret to the Romans will illumine the following allegorical “ideas.”

1. We will be with Messiah
2. We will be like Messiah^[74]
3. We will experience some sort of honor^[75]
4. We will attend a great feast
5. We will be given a place and position of authority in the eternal Kingdom

Questions for Understanding and Reflection

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

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday Evening May 31, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 47

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
47	Moreh/Parnas 2	Sivan 3	6:19-20	Humility united with Sincerity

Ephesians 6:19-20 And pray for me, that words may be given to me,^[76] that I may open my mouth^[77] and speak freely^[78] to make known the mystery^[79] (So’od) of the Mesorah,^[80] for which I am an imprisoned ambassador; so that in it I may speak freely, as I ought to speak.^[81]

Sunday Evening June 01, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 48

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
48	Moreh/Parnas 3	Sivan 4	6:21-22	Humility united with Truth

Ephesians 6:21-22 But, so that you also may know^[82] of my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithfully obedient servant in the LORD (God), will reveal to you everything,^[83] who I have sent^[84] to you for the same purpose, that you might know our affairs and that he might comfort your hearts.

Monday Evening June 02, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 49

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
49	Moreh/Moreh	Sivan 5	6:23-24	House of the Presence – Teacher Virtue: Humility Ministry: Meturgeman/ Moreh /Zaqen (Interpreter/Teacher/Elder)

Ephesians 6:23-24 Shalom^[85] to the brothers, and love^[86] with faithful obedience,^[87] from G-d the Father and the master Yeshua HaMashiach. Chesed be with all those who love our master Yeshua HaMashiach^[88] in sincerity. Amen ve Amen.

Tuesday Evening June 03, 2014

Up to

Thursday Evening June 05, 2014

Shabuoth – Pentecost 5774

Next Shabbat:

Shabbat “Ish Al-Dig’lo” – Sabbath: “Every (royal) man by his own standard”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
אִישׁ עַל-דִּגְלוֹ
“Ish Al-Dig’lo”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 2:1-4	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 3:1-4
“Every (royal) man by his own standard”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 2:5-9	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 3:5-7
“Cada hombre (real) junto a su bandera”	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 2:10-13	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 3:8-10
B’Midbar (Numbers) 2:1-34	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 2:14-17
Ashlamatah: Isaiah 55:13 – 56:8	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 2:18-24	Monday & Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 2:25-31	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 3:1-4
Psalm 91:1-16	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 2:32-34	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 3:5-7
Abot: 3:19	Maftir: B’midbar 2:32-34	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 3:8-10
N.C.: Mark 9:49-50; Lk 14:34-35; Romans 1:8-17	- Isaiah 55:13 – 56:8

Coming Festival:

Shabuoth – Pentecost

Tuesday Evening 3^rd of June – Thursday Evening 5^th of June, 2014

For further information see:

http://www.betemunah.org/shavuot.html & http://www.betemunah.org/freedom.html

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

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[1] περικεφαλαία – perikephalaia head-covering, generally translated “helmet” is only used twice in the Nazarean Codicil. It is used once here in Ephesians and once in 1 Thes 5:8

[2] The head covered with a קוֹבַע, (koba) which is NOT a “helmet.” It can be referred to as a head-covering of “salvation.” 1 Thes 5:8 refers to this as a “helmet,” literally a head-covering of the “hope of salvation.” Therefore, we have translated “head-covering of atonement.” Because קוֹבַע, (koba) as used in the Tanakh is a turban (cf. TWOT 1993) or head-covering we cannot translate as a “helmet.” While the terminology is allegoric, we do not accept the image of a Roman soldier as a means of perceiving G-d! However the parallel between Ephesians and Yeshayahu 59:17 stands as a positive image of G-d as the Captain of the hosts. From this phraseology, we see that Jewish men of the first century wore a “kippah.” The kippah in the first century reflected the return of the priestly office to the “First-born.” There is no “salvation” (atonement) apart from the gift of G-d, i.e. the Torah. The English Standard Version of Ephesians 2:8-10 says that “salvation” (being made whole)^[2] is a “gift of G-d” and not of “works,” therefore, we need some clarity as to what “works” are being discussed. The proper way to understand the phrase “works” in the present context is, as we have translated the phrase “human attempts to please God.” If we accept that, no human works devoid of the Torah can please G-d we have a perfect understanding of Hakham Shaul’s intention. In other words, when we hermeneutically understand these words aright, we understand that we must join G-d’s gift of the Torah with the idea of “being made whole” (salvation). Works that men contrive or imagine apart from the Torah can NEVER produce “salvation,” bring a man to “spiritual wholeness” or bring us into connection with G-d. Strong’s G4982, “save,” “make whole,” “heal,” “be whole,” and translated miscellaneously three times. Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible: Showing every word of the text of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurrence of each word in regular order. Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship. G4982

[3] Romans 13:3-4 For the Rulers of the Synagogue are not a terror to good works (acts of righteousness/generosity), but to those who do evil. Do you want to (be) irreverent to the authority (of the Bet Din)? Do what is beneficial, and you will have praise from the same. For he, the Chazan is God's servant to you for what is beneficial. But if you do that which is unprofitable, be afraid; for he (the Chazan) does not bear the circumcision knife (μάχαιρα – Machaira) in vain; for he is God's minister (Deputy of the Bet Din), avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Here when everything is contextualized we can understand the meaning of these verses. The Jewish authorities hold in their power the ability to allow or prohibit circumcision, acceptance of gentile conversion. Interestingly enough the Greek μάχαιραν holds the idea of some sort of contention. This is not always the case with the μάχαιραν, however in our present case the μάχαιραν is the judgment for or against conversion. The servant who holds the circumcision knife is the final word on ritual circumcision and conversion.

[4] Πνεῦμα – pneuma is a reference to the “Word of G-d” i.e. the Orally Breathed Torah.

[5] We are often in the habit of saying the Oral Torah and the Written Torah. This verse reflects that same use in the first century.

[6] While there is nothing wrong with making request for personal needs, the Jewish people pray collectively. Just as the master taught his talmidim to pray collectively, so are we to pray. “Our Father.” Therefore, all prayers when being offered, even for personal needs should be prayed in the collective.

[7] TDNT 3.619

[8] As noted above we see that “supplication” is not personal or independent of the whole body of Messiah, i.e. the Jewish people.

[9] Tehillim (Psalms) 90-100

[10] Moses was one of ten people called "man of G-d". The others were: Elkanah, Samuel, David, Shmemaya, Ido, Elijah, Elisha, Micah and Amon.

[11] See Bamidbar (Numbers) 25:1-15

[12] Reuben will be the first tribe counted by Moses, in our Torah portion.

[13] Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:6

[14] See Genesis 35:22 and ArtScroll commentary

[15] Bereshit Rabbah 84:19

[16] Bava Batra 14b

[17] Verse 1

[18] These opening remarks are excerpted, and edited, from: The ArtScroll Tanach Series, Tehillim, A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources. Commentary by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, Translation by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer in collaboration with Rabbi Nosson Scherman.

[19] The Feast of Weeks AKA as Pentecost.

[20] On Shavuot.

[21] Shemot (Exodus) 19:3-6.

[22] Shemot (Exodus) 19:3-8.

[23] The Book of our Heritage, Eliyahu Kitov, volume 3 pg. 757.

[24] Shemot (Exodus) 19:8-9

[25] Shemot (Exodus) 19:10

[26] Shemot (Exodus) 19:10-11

[27] Shemot (Exodus) 24:4, Rashi

[28] Shemot (Exodus) 24:4-8 Rashi 19:11

[29] Shemot (Exodus) 19:10-11

[30] In 2448 BCE

[31] By Israel Najara; Translated by Solomon Feffer.

[32] Tehillim (Psalms) 139:5

[33] Beresheet (Genesis) 5:2

[34] c.f. Beresheet 46:26

[35] A hermaphrodite like creature.

[36] In the Olam HaBa, the woman will receive her husband’s reward. She has no independent reward because she and her husband will be a single entity for the judgment – just as Adam and Eve were created as a single entity in the beginning. This helps us to understand why the wife spends the entire marriage trying to ‘fix up’ her husband, while the wise husband never tries to fix up his wife. The wife knows, intrinsically, that she must whip her husband into shape for her own benefit.

[37] I Corinthians 7:10-14 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the LORD, Let not the wife depart from her husband: 11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. 12 But to the rest speak I, not the LORD: If any brother has a wife that is unfaithful, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. 13 And the woman which has an husband that is unfaithful, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. 14 For the unfaithful husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unfaithful wife is sanctified by the husband: else your children would be unclean; but now are they holy.

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

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

Neviim (נביאים), meaning "Prophets." The Neviim are often divided into the Earlier Prophets, which are generally historical, and the Later Prophets, which contain more exhortational prophecies.

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

[39] Isaiah 66:24

[40] penis

[41] Paulus: It is the transliteration of the Latin paulus (παῦλος) or paulles (παυλλες) meaning “little.” Wuest, K. S. (1997, c1984). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English reader (Ro 1:1). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

This name would have been very important to the Gentile converts in Rome. Likewise, they needed the Igeret (letter) in Greek. Within the Roman congregation, the Igeret of Hakham Shaul would have been in Mishnaic Hebrew and translated by the Congregational Meturgeman. We do not need to make a big ordeal out of Hakham Shaul referred to as “Paul” in Gentile, Greek-speaking congregations.

[42] Courtier: δοῦλος referring to the King’s agent or courtier. Thus, we see that δοῦλος is a coded phrase for saying that Hakham Shaul serves in the Kings (Messiah's) court as a Hakham. This causes us to know that the Mesorah is of quintessential importance. Furthermore, the language is legal, which we would expect in a discourse concerning the Mesorah. On the use of Courtier see, Cranfield, C. E. B. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. The International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004. p. 50

[43] Called: Called not converted! Hagner, Donald A. 1993. "Paul and Judaism The Jewish Matrix of Early Christianity: Issues in the Current Debate." Bulletin for Biblical Research 3. 111 - 130 p. 114. Called B'ne Elohim - our vocation is to become B'ne Elohim (Ben Elohim)

[44] Sh'liach: Sh'liach – (apostle - emissary) “plenipotentiary agent” The legal institution of the שְׁלוּחִים is old. It may be proved from the time after the Exile (2 Ch. 17:7–9), but is probably older still. Yet it is only around the 1st century that it takes distinctive shape. What characterizes the שְׁלוּחִים of all periods is their commissioning with distinctive tasks which take them greater or lesser distances away from the residence of the one who gives them. Thus the point of the designation שְׁלוּחִים is neither description of the fact of sending nor indication of the task involved but simply assertion of the form of sending, i.e., of authorization. Fundamentally, therefore, it matters little whether the task is to proclaim religious truths (2Ch. 17:7 ff.) or to conduct financial business (T. Kid., 4, 2). The “agent” is sent to conduct business on behalf of his master. In this Tosefta the master, sent his agent to betroth in “such and such a place.” However, the agent found her (the woman to be betrothed) in “another place” The halakhic ruling is that she is betrothed. (see Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Vol. 1, Page 414)

Sh'liach: The term is legal rather than religious, and if the שָׁלִיחַ has religious significance this is not because he is a שָׁלִיחַ but because as such he is entrusted with a religious task. In other words, we simply have a consistent application of the sense of שָׁלִיחַ (ἀποστέλλειν) irrespective of certain theological contexts in which it is given a particular flavor by the situation. The Rabbis traced back the institution to the Torah (b. Ned., 72b; But we find in the whole Torah that a man's agent is as himself!) The agent is often “divine” or human. The terms מַלְאָךְ and שָׁלַח are frequently conjoined in numerous instances. As such, many שָׁלִיחַ are considered מַלְאָכִים being human rather than “divine.”

Hakham Shaul’s Bat Kol and Calling: In Hakham Shaul’s case, we can see that he is “called” through a Bat Kol (Daughter of the Voice) by Yeshua Himself. However, the “calling” of Hakham Shaul would be pointless if the Three Pillars of the Nazarean Bet Did had not accepted him. Therefore, the “calling” and “commissioning” are a result of being ‘set apart” by the Nazarean Bet Din. He did not meet the “Apostolic” qualifications of 2 Luqas 1:15-26. Nevertheless, he is appointed, sent and therefor a שָׁלִיחַ

Careful attention to the three accounts of the Damascus experience reveals that Hakham Shaul did not get his commission directly from the Bat Kol i.e. the Master. 2 Luqas (Acts) 9:1-27 (6); 22:5-11 (10); 26:12-20. The altered reading of chapter 26 can be attributed to anachronistically telling what his commission was after the Hakhamim had instructed him. Furthermore, we see from this that Hakham Shau accepted the authority of the Nazarean Hakhamim and Bate Din. An interesting side note the from the TDNT tells us that the name Silas is in fact actually a “title” borne by Jews who are ἀπόστολοι – apostoloi. Silas is a Latinized form of שְׁלִיחָא. Slias from שליחא as Messias from משיחא, Krauss, JQR, 17 (1905), 370, n. 4. Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. (1:414).

[45] Set Apart: ἀφορίζω – aphorizo generally translated as “set apart.” Its Hebrew parallel is פָּרושׁ the root for the פרושים P’rushim (Pharisees). Hakham Shaul’s words can be read “Hakham Shaul, a courtier of Yeshua HaMashiach, called to be a Shaliach, a Parush (פָּרושׁ) by the Mesorah of God”

[46] Mesorah: http://www.betemunah.org/sederim/nisan872.html

[47] θεοῦ, – the point of origin of the Mesorah. Furthermore, Morris reminds us that the book of Romans is about G-d. Morris, Leon. The Epistle to the Romans. Reprint edition. Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2012. pp. 249-63

[48] Prophets: Through the Prophets, proving that the Prophets prophesied in Remes or higher levels of PRDS Hermeneutics. This is also proof that the message of Prophets is a part of the Mesorah.

We tend to think in preconceived notions rather than in the broader scope of things. Generally speaking, the prophets need not be confined to the "Biblical" prophets. Men such as the Sages of history are also thought of in terms of being prophetic. Ezra for example was very prophetic while being a simple Sofer (Scribe) and Priest. By ‘prophets’ here we should probably understand not just those whom we normally think of as OT prophets nor yet all whose combined legacy makes up the second division of the Hebrew Scriptures, but the inspired men of the OT generally, including such as Moses (cf. Acts 3:22) and David (cf. Acts 2:30f). For ‘his (i.e. God’s) prophets’ cf. Lk 1:70; Acts 3:21 (cf. also ‘thy prophets’ in Rom 11:3). Cranfield, C. E. B. (2004). A Critical and Exegetical commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. London; New York: T&T Clark International. p. 56

b. Berachoth 34b - All the prophets prophesied only for the days of the Messiah, but as for the world to come, ‘Eye hath not seen, oh God, but You.’ Augustine notes that even Gentile Prophets prophesied of the Master’s coming. See B’midbar (Numbers) 22-24. Romans. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture 6. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 2005. p. 6

[49] Physical Descendent: The Neshamah of Messiah has seen many personifications and expressions, not all of which have been Davidic. It may be that the Nazarean Hakhamim were among the vanguard who postulated Messiah as a direct descendent of David from the Scriptures that we naturally read today.

[50] Appointed: ὁρίζω – orizo “to appoint” Cf. Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Vol 5 page 452

[51] Crucifixion: Surprisingly we have no mention of Yeshua’s crucifixion and death.

Resurrection: It is also argued that this phrase should read “as from the resurrection of the dead” meaning that Yeshua was the beginning of resurrection of the dead. Fitzmyer, Joseph A. Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008. pp. 236-7

[52] Wisdom, Hokhmah and Hakhamim: See TDNT 6:370 8. πνεῦμα in Wisdom. See also ἅγιος and Virtuous Power: footnoted below.

[53] ἅγιος – hagios (usually translated as “holy”) Philo demonstrates for us that the Greek word ἅγιος – hagios (usually translated as “holy”) is a synonym for σοφία – sophia (wisdom). The obvious Hebrew parallel is Hokhmah. Philo. The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged. New updated ed. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Pub, 1993. p. 40

ἅγιος – hagios (usually translated as “holy”) is a synonym for σοφία – sophia (wisdom). We can see that πνεῦμα – pneuma and רוּחַ – ruach are synonyms to the Greek word σοφία – sophia (wisdom – חָכְמָה). From the use of these synonyms, we can see that that ἅγιος – hagios (usually translated as “holy”) is a synonym for חָכְמָה/Hokhmah. And, that רוּחַ and πνεῦμα are also synonyms for חָכְמָה/Hokhmah. Therefore, Hokhmah refers to “holiness” and “spirit.” We might word this slightly different for the sake of clarity. Hokhmah is a reference to the “holy spirit” or better stated the “spirit of holiness.” Therefore, the phrase “Ruach HaKodesh” and “Agio Pneumati” are redundant and refer to the “spirit” of Hokhmah. Hokhmah can be taken to mean a “spirit of holiness” or the “spirit of wisdom.” As such, wisdom, holiness and spirit are all synonyms referring to the same thing.

Virtuous Power: δυνάμει κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν. δυνάμει – dunamei, meaning virtuous power is in perfect unity with the Ruach HaKodesh, the Spirit of Holiness. However, as noted above the Greek word πνεῦμα – pneuma (Spirit) is a synonym for σοφία – Sophia, (wisdom). Therefore, the Master’s resurrection is facilitated by the Prophetic breathings πνεῦμα – pneuma (Spirit) of the Hakhamim, i.e. the Prophets. If πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης (spirit of holiness) speaks of the Master’s spiritual accomplishments, we are also endowed with the same spirit. Rom. 8:9 “if indeed the Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) lives in you.” But if anyone does not have the Ruach HaMashiach, this person does not belong to him (Messiah). Rom 8:11And if the Ruach of the one who raised Yeshua from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Yeshua HaMashiach from the dead will also make alive.

Allegorical Interpretation: Taken allegorically the idea of resurrection through the Ruach HaKodesh means that we who live and breathe the Torah will be resurrected by the Mesorah (Holy Breathings of the Hakhamim) because they detail the resurrection in their teachings which we read in the Orally breathed Torah.

[54] Chesed: It is G-d’s loving-kindness, to bring Gentiles into faithful obedience of the Torah and Oral Torah through the agent of Yeshua our Messiah.

[55] Igeret Reshut: “Letter of Permission.” The Bet Din of Yeshua’s three pillars, Hakham Tsefet, Hakham Ya’aqob and Hakham Yochanan, would have issued this Igeret Reshut. This would have been very important to the Jewish Synagogues of the first century. Furthermore, we can see that Hakham Shaul must have followed this practice in all of his interactions with Jewish Synagogues. In the second Igeret to Corinthians Hakham Shaul asks if he needs an Igeret Reshut. Cf. 2 Co 3:1. Hakham Shaul’s Igeret Reshut is his letter of acceptance as a Chaber among the “Apostles.” His office is subjected to the Three Pillars rather than the Bat Kol. We find b. B.M. 59b as a precedent for understanding that a Bat Kol does not usurp the authority of the Bet Din. In this case, the Bet Din are the chief Nazarean Hakhamim.

[56] Name: ὄνομα – onoma, (name) meaning authority

[57] Faithful Obedience: ὑπακοὴν πίστεως – upakonen pisteos, faithful obedience.” πίστις – pistis is paralleled to the Hebrew word אמנה אמוּנה – emunah, meaning faithfulness, faithful obedience.

§ Faithful Obedience to G-d

§ Acceptance of the Mesorah (Orally breathed and written Torah)

§ Acceptance and obedience to the authority of the Nazarean Hakhamim

[58] Called: to be B'ne Elohim – our vocation, like Messiah is to become B'ne Elohim (Ben Elohim) Sons of G-d. This also teaches us that Hakham Shaul was telling the Roman Congregations and Congregations in Diaspora that it was their duty to “Talmudize the Gentiles” as a joint effort.

[59] Those Gentiles turning to G-d can truly expect to be embraced by G-d’s loving-kindness

[60] See Called: above

[61] Mann believes that the Greek word ζωή – zoe, means life in communion with G-d. This is plausible because of the final clause which speaks of “entering the Kingdom/Governance of G-d” rather than “life” ζωή – zoe. Mann, C. S. Mark: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. 1st ed. The Anchor Bible, v. 27. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1986. p. 383

[62] Ibid.

[63] Hengel, Martin. Saint Peter: The Under-Estimated Apostle. Cambridge, U.K. ; Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 2010. pp. 10-12

[64] Cf. 2 Luqas (Acts) 8 – 11

[65] Hakham Tsefet, Hakham Ya’aqob and Hakham Yochanan

[66] Cf. Gal. 1:16

[67] Cf. Mt 28: 19-20; Mk. 16:15

[68] Mk. 1:1

[69] 2 Cor. 3:2 ^{2 a}You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; ³ being manifested that you are a letter of Messiah, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Breath (Ruach) of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Eze 36:27 "I will put My Ruach within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

[70] The phrase “Sons of the Judges,” i.e. Elohim means becoming talmidim of the Hakhamim with the intent of becoming a Sage, either male or female.

[71] See Mk 1:1 above

[72] While we refer to the “Yom Echad” of B’resheet 1:5 we can allegorically be speaking of Shavuot. We have referred to this day as “the day the earth stood still” because everything achieved its goal on that day. Now that we have tasted perfection, we must labor towards that goal.

[73] Gaston, Lloyd. Paul and the Torah. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1987. p. 117 We listed Gaston here as a orroboration to the fact that “πίστις – pistis” should be translated “faithfulness.”

[74] Many of G-d’s “ideas” have common names. Those things with a common name have similar missions, activities and qualities. Are not the Nazareans also watchmen, guardians of the soul, Guardians of their own souls and Guardians of the souls under their care.

[75] What perspective would we have on the “judgment” if we were to understand this :honoring” as some sort of Ceremonial procession of honor such as an awards banquet?

[76] Hakham Shaul now makes a personal request.

[77] פִי בְּפִתְחִי – we have an overwhelming similarity between the words of Hakham Shaul and Patach Eliyahu. These words sublimely incorporate the ideas (of Adam Kadmon) which are the key thought behind Patach Eliyahu. The Hebrew word for "opened" used is "patach", which implies a bilateral “opening:” Patach is an opening to elevate one’s self through the incredible expanses on the heavens that lie beyond the confines of this telluric sphere, to stand in the presence of the Holy One blessed be He. It is also an “Opening” to bring the heavenly light of Ein Sof down into our dark and unconscious world by revealing the exalted teachings of the Supernal Heavenly Torah. Elijah opened the "faucets" of the spiritual dimension to bring down Torah that had never been revealed before. (Rabbi Avraham Galanti, commentary on Introduction to the Zohar 1:1). Hakham Shaul would have been consciously aware of this idea. Therefore, the So’od meaning of patach Eliyahu must have been known in the first century. We are not suggesting that “Patach Eliyahu” as we read in our Siddur is exactly what was known, However, there must have been some similitude of this thought/prayer in the first century.

[78] Hakham Shaul is speaking boldly (speaking freely) is juxtaposed with being imprisoned.

[79] See Nisan 30 day 15 of the Omer

[80] The allegorical “meaning of the secret of the Mesorah is “Messiah” (Adam Kadmon) the goal of the Oral Torah. We should also note that Hakham Shaul has been in the process of systematically revealing the “Secret (So’od) of Messiah (the Mesorah) through his quasi-mystical letter of “Ephesians.” We can also say that the allegorical meaning of the “mystery of the Mesorah” refers to the Seven Men of the Congregation who are the congregation’s attachment to the higher realms. Chesed [Loving-kindness], the Masoret. Gevurah [Might, severity], the Chazzan. Tiferet [Harmony], the Darshan. Netzach [Victory] the 1^st Parnas and Hod [Glory] the 2^nd Parnas. Yesod [Foundation, bonding], the 3^rd Parnas, the sign of the Holy Covenant [the circumcision]. Malchut [Kingship], the Moreh. In Patach Eliyahu these seven characteristics are detailed as the “body” of Adam Kadmon” the archetypical man i.e. Messiah.

[81] Speaking “freely as I ought to speak” carries the connotation of finding a receptive ear. However, this is not just someone who will listen. This refers to someone who wants to learn and has the capacity for learning the deeper meanings of the Oral Torah/Mesorah.

[82] Hakham Shaul’s wants his readers to “know,” be intimately acquainted with his teachings on the Mesorah. “Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithfully obedient servant in the Lord (God),”

[83] We see from these words that “Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithfully obedient servant” is perfectly versed in the Mesorah and capable of expounding all levels to the “Ephesian” congregation. Or we might say that “Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithfully obedient servant” will systematically organize the Esnoga among the Ephesians. This is very much in line with the “ordered Mishnah.”

[84] שְׁלַחְתִּיהוּ – sent – apostle, sent as an emissary on Hakham Shaul’s behalf.

[85] Shalom has the fullest connotation of referring to wholeness. His inference is that the structured congregation is a whole/complete congregation. This can only be that case when each officer takes his position and maximizes that office.

[86] Unity and giving

[87] At this conclusory statement, we see the “manifestation” of the “Will of Messiah.” Through the Seven officers of the Congregation, the congregation can come in full contact with the “will of Messiah.” This contact elevates the Esnoga to a level of intimate knowledge of Messiah (Adam Kadmon). By coming to an intimate knowledge (Da’at) of Messiah we are drawn back to Gan Eden, the Garden of Delight.

[88] The Messiah is mentioned twice in Hakham Shaul’s closing. Herein we see that twice mentioned Messiah represents the achievement of maturity and all readiness to receive the Torah from Har Sinai.