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

 

 

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

 

Roll of Honor:

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

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

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

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

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

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

His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Yaaqov ben David

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

Her Excellency Giberet Krysta Wallrauch & beloved family

 

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

 

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

 

                                                                            

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

A Prayer for Israel

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Friday Evening May 30, 2025

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 48

 

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’Olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tizivanu al sefirat ha’omer.

 

Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.

 

Today is forty-eight days, which is six weeks and six days of the Omer.

Yesod ShebeMalchut

Then read the following:

 

 

Ephesians 6:21-22 But, so that you also may know^[1] my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithfully obedient servant in the Lord (God), will reveal to you everything,^[2] who I have sent^[3] to you for the same purpose, that you might know our affairs and that he might comfort your hearts.

 

 

Shabbat: “A’ad-Anah Y’na-atsuni” – “How long will”

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·        The Divine Wrath and the Intercession of Moses – Numbers 14:11-25

·        The Punishment of the People – Numbers 14:26-39

·        Detour Back to Egypt – Numbers 14:40-45

 

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.

 

Welcome to the World of Remes Exegesis

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Reading Assignment:

 

 

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:11 – 45

 

 

 

 

Rashi Commentary for: ‎ Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:11 – 45

 

11 How long Until when. - [Onkelos]

 

provoke Me Heb. יְנַאֲצֻנִי, anger me. -[Onkelos]

 

after all the signs After all the miracles I performed for them, they should have believed that I am capable of fulfilling My promises.

 

12 and annihilate them Heb. וְאוֹרִשֶׁנּוּ. As the Targum [Onkelos] renders, a term denoting destruction [rather than inheritance]. You might ask, What will become of the oath I made to the patriarchs? “I will make you into a great nation,” for you are descended from them. - [Mid. Tanchuma Shelach 13]

 

13 But the Egyptians will hear They will hear that You killed them.

 

that You have brought up Heb. כִּי . This כִּי is used in the sense of אֲשֵׁר, “that.” And they saw that You brought them up from among them with Your great might, and when they hear that You killed them, they will not assume that they sinned against You, but they will say that against them You were able to fight, but against the inhabitants of the Land You were unable to fight; this is [the meaning of the following verse]:

 

14 They will say about the inhabitants of this Land Heb. אֶל, like עַל, concerning the inhabitants of this Land. What will they say about them? What is stated at the end of the passage (verse 16), “Since the Lord lacked the ability....” Because they heard that You, O Lord, dwell among them, and You reveal Yourself to them eye to eye in an affectionate manner, and until now they had not realized that Your love for them had been withdrawn,

 

15 and if You kill this nation like one man suddenly, consequently, the nations who have heard....

 

16 Since the Lord lacked the ability Because the inhabitants of the Land are strong and powerful. Pharaoh cannot be compared to thirty-one kings. They will say this about the inhabitants of this land, "Since [the Lord] is incapable"—Because He did not have the ability to bring them, He slaughtered them. ability Heb. יְכֽלֶת . This is a noun form.

 

17 Now, please, let the strength of the Lord be increased By implementing Your word.

 

as You spoke, saying What was the statement?

 

18 The Lord is slow to anger [both] towards the righteous and towards the wicked. When Moses ascended on high, he found the Holy One, blessed is He, sitting and writing, “The Lord is slow to anger.” He said to Him, “Towards the righteous?” The Holy One, blessed is He, answered him, “Even toward the wicked” He [Moses] said to Him, “Let the wicked perish!” He said to him, "By your life, you will have need for this [patience for the wicked]. When Israel sinned at [the incident of] the [golden] calf and at the [time of the] spies, Moses prayed before Him [making mention of] “slow to anger.” The Holy One, blessed is He, replied to Him, Did you not tell me "Toward the righteous"? He [Moses] responded, But did You not reply to me, "Even toward the wicked"? - [Sanh. 111a]

 

cleanses those who repent. - [Yoma 86a]

 

does not cleanse those who do not repent. - [Yoma 86a]

 

20 in accordance with your word Because of what you said, namely, “They might say that God lacks the ability...”

 

21 However Heb. אוּלָם like אֲבָל, but this will I to do them.

 

as surely as I live A term expressing an oath. Just as I live and My glory fills the entire earth, so will I fulfill regarding them, “that all the people who perceived...If they will see the Land.”

 

22 have tested Me This is to be understood literally.

 

these ten times Twice at the [Red] sea, twice with the manna, twice with the quails..., as is stated in Tractate Arachin (15a).

 

23 (If they will see the Land This verse is transposed. [It should be understood as follows:] As surely as I live, that all these men, if they see the Land... [i.e., they will not see the land] yet My glory shall fill the entire earth, so that My Name shall not be desecrated through this plague by [people] saying “Since God lacked the ability to bring them.” For I shall not kill them suddenly, as one man, but gradually, over a period of forty years.)

 

if they will see They will not see it.

 

will not see it They will not see the Land.

 

24 another spirit Two spirits, one [which he spoke] with the mouth, and one [he concealed] in his heart. He told the spies, “I am with you in your plot,” but in his heart he intended to say the truth. Because of this, he was able to silence them, as it says, “Caleb silenced...” (13:30), for they thought that he would concur with them. This is what is stated in the Book of Joshua (14:7), "I [Caleb] brought back word to him [Moses] as it was in my heart"—but not according to what I had said. - [Mid. Tanchuma Shelach 10]

 

and followed Me Heb. וַיְמַּלֵא אַחֲרָי, lit., he filled after Me. He followed Me wholeheartedly [lit., he filled his heart after Me]; this is an elliptical verse [since the word לִבּוֹ, “his heart,” is missing but implied].

 

to which he came Hebron shall be given to him.

 

will drive it[s inhabitants] out Heb. יוֹרִשֶׁנָּה, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders, “They will drive out.” They will expel the giants and the people who dwell in it. But it [the word יוֹרִשֶׁנָּה] is not be rendered as “will inherit it” unless the text has יִירָשֶׁנָּה.

 

25 The Amalekites If you go there [to the valley] they will kill you, since I am not with you.

 

Tomorrow, turn back Turn around and travel [back to the desert].

 

27 this evil congregation This refers to the spies; [we derive] from here that a congregation numbers [a minimum of] ten. - [Meg. 23b]

 

who are causing the Israelites... to complain against Me. The complaints of the children of Israel which they the spies...

 

caused them to complain against Me, I have heard.

 

28 As I live A term denoting an oath. “If not...so will I do” [i.e., if I do not do as you have spoken into My ears] it is as if I do not live, as it were.

 

as you have spoken that you requested from Me, “or if only we had died in this desert” (verse 2).

 

29 your entire number, all those...who were counted All those counted in any census which was numbered, for example going to or returning from war, contributing shekels; all those listed in those tallies will die. They are: All those from the age of twenty and up, excluding the tribe of Levi, who were not counted from the age of twenty [but from the age of one month].

 

32 But as for you, your corpses As the Targum renders: וּפִגְרֵיכוֹן דִילְכוֹן, and your corpses of yours. Since [in the previous verse] He spoke about bringing the children into the Land, and now He wants to say, But as for you, you shall die, it is appropriate to use the term אַתֶּם [literally “you”].

 

33 forty years Not one of them died before the age of sixty. This is why forty [years] was decreed, so that those who were twenty years old would reach the age of sixty. The first year was included although it preceded the dispatching of the spies. For from the time they made the [golden] calf, this decree had been in [God’s] mind, but He waited until their measure [of wickedness] was filled. This is what is stated, "But on the day I make an accounting"—at the time of the spies—"I shall reckon their sin" (Exod. 32:34). Here too, it says, “you will bear your iniquities” [in the plural, indicating] two iniquities: the [one of the] calf and the [one of] the complaint. In calculating their ages, Scripture considers part of a year like a whole year, and when they their sixtieth year, those who had been twenty years old [now] died. - [Midrash Tanchuma Shelach 13]

 

and bear your defection As the Targum renders, “They will endure your guilt.”

 

34 My alienation Heb. תְּנוּאָתִי, that you alienated your hearts from following Me. [The word] תְּנוּאָה denotes ‘removal,’ as in, “for her father obstructed [in the sense of removed] (הֵנִיא) her” [from her vow] (30:6).

 

36 who returned and caused... to complain against him When they returned from scouting the Land, they caused the entire congregation to complain against him by spreading slander—those men died. The expression הוֹצָאַת דִבָּה implies instructing to speak, for they ply the tongue of a man to speak about something, as in, “making the lips of the sleeping speak (דּוֹבֵב)” (Song 7:10). It may be for either good or bad, and that is why it says here (verse 37), “who spread an evil report about the Land” because a ‘report’ (דִבָּה) can [also] be good.

 

report Heb. דִבָּה , parleriz or parlediz in Old French, talk, gossip.

 

37 in the plague before the Lord Through that death which was fitting for them—measure for measure; they had sinned with the tongue and now [in retribution] their tongues extended to their navels. Worms came out from their tongues and entered their navels. This is why Scripture says, “in the plague,” rather than “in a plague,” and this is also the meaning of "before the Lord"—in that plague which was fitting for them according to the methods of the Holy One, blessed is He, [namely] that He metes out measure for measure. - [Sotah 35a]

 

38 But Joshua...and Caleb...remained alive... What does Scripture mean by saying, "remained alive of the men"? It teaches that they took the spies’ portion in the Land, and replaced them in life, as it were. [B.B. 118b]

 

40 to the mountain top That is the route leading up to the Land of Israel.

 

We are ready to go up to the place To the Land of Israel.

 

of which the Lord spoke to give to us; let us go up there.

 

for we have sinned By saying, “Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?” (verse 3).

 

41 It will not succeed What you are doing will not succeed.

 

43 For you have turned away That is to say: This will happen to you because you have turned away etc...

 

44 They defiantly ascended Heb. וַיַעְפִּלוּ, a term connoting insolence; similarly (Hab. 2:4), “behold, it is insolent (עֻפְּלָה),” in old French, engres, a term denoting arrogant boldness. Similarly, “the tower (עֽפֶל) of the daughter of Zion” (Mic. 4: 8); “rampart (עֽפֶל) and tower” (Isa. 32:14). The Midrash Tanchuma (Buber Shelach addendum 19) interprets it as a term denoting darkness (אֽפֶל); they [the Israelites] went in darkness, without permission.

 

45 and crushed them Heb. וַיַּכְּתוּם , as in, “and I crushed (וָאֶכּוֹת) it, grinding it” (Deut. 9: 21), [implying] blow after blow.

 

until Hormah The name of the place [which means destruction] commemorates the event which took place there.

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 102:1-12‎

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) 102:1-12

 

1 A prayer for a poor man Israel, who is a poor people.

 

when he enwraps himself when their soul is enwrapped in distress.

 

4 are dried up Heb. נחרו. The “nun” serves as a prefix, as: נַעֲשׂוּ, they were made, נִקְנוּ, they were acquired; and it is an expression of dryness, as (Job 30:30): “and my bones dried out (חרה) from the heat”; (Jer. 6:29), “the bellows is heated (נחר).”

 

7 Like a bird of Heb. לקאת. It is the name of a bird.

 

Like an owl of the wasteland Heb. ככוס, the name of a bird, as (Lev. 11:17): “The owl (הכוס), the cormorant, and the night owl.”

 

wasteland deserts. I was like a bird of the desert. So do we wander from our place to go into exile.

 

8 I pondered I pondered about myself, and behold I am like a lonely bird on a roof, sitting alone without a mate. lonely Heb. בודד, sitting alone.

 

9 those who scorn me Heb. מהוללי, those who scorn me, an expression of mockery.

 

swear by me They saw my misfortune and they swear by me and say, “If it is not so, what happened to Israel should happen to me.” “So may the Lord do to me as to Israel.”

 

10 I mixed with weeping. I mixed with tears.

 

11 for You picked me up First You picked me up and now You cast me down from heaven to the earth, and if You had not picked me up first, my disgrace would not be so great.

 

12 Like a lengthening shadow At eventide, when the shadows lengthen, and when it becomes dark, they are not recognizable, but progressively disappear.

 

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎102:1-12

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

 

David composed this psalm to express the feelings of the poor man enveloped in misery. In a deeper sense these verses describe the tragic state of Israel in exile, impoverished and downtrodden. The nation is poor both financially and spiritually.^[4]

 

Another aspect of Israel’s poverty in exile is the poor response which their prayers receive from heaven. In better days HaShem responded generously and in abundance, but now the blessings are meager and few.^[5] Similarly we lament:^[6] Though I would cry out and plead, He shut out my prayer. Rav Eliezer said: From the day the Temple was destroyed the gates of prayer have been locked tight.^[7]

 

However, this psalm ends with a prophecy of hope and redemption. Prosperity will return to Israel when they return to their permanent homeland to serve HaShem eternally. Your servants’ children shall be settled, and their children will be steadfast before You.^[8]

 

Our psalm focuses intently on prayer as we can see from the introductory pesukim.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 102:1 A Prayer of the afflicted, when he fainteth, and poureth out his complaint before HaShem. 2 HaShem, hear my prayer, and let my cry come unto Thee.

 

I would like to explore prayer (tefilah) as a way of understanding this chapter of psalms.

 

The Nefesh Hachayim points out that we learn many of the aspects and details of tefilah from Chana’s prayer; when she came to the Sanctuary and prayed for a child. What the Nefesh Hachayim states briefly we can understand in more detail. We are told that Chana prayed very powerfully, even somehow going beyond the apparent limits of what should be said. The Beit Halevy explains that she went so far as to threaten extreme action in order to get her way; she told HaShem that if He refused her request for a child she would seclude herself with a man other than her husband and cause herself to be subjected to the test of a Sotah^[9] in which HaShem’s name is erased into water. When the suspected Sotah drinks the water, the result depends on the truth of her behavior: if she is guilty, she suffers a miserable end, but if she is innocent she becomes pregnant and gives birth; a promise of the Torah. Chana used this stratagem: “HaShem, I intend to do this. Since I shall be innocent, You will have to give me a child; You have promised thus in Your Torah and You will never make Your Torah untrue!” Forcing the Divine hand! A sharp prayer indeed.

 

The first time we see ‘praying’ in Tanach^[10] is found in Hannah’s tefilah^[11] when she was afflicted by being barren:

 

1 Shmuel (Samuel) 1:1-18 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name [was] Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: And he had two wives; the name of the one [was] Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto HaShem of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of HaShem, [were] there. And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but HaShem had shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because HaShem had shut up her womb. And [as] he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of HaShem, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? [am] not I better to thee than ten sons? So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of HaShem. And she [was] in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto HaShem, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, HaShem of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto HaShem all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. And it came to pass, as she continued praying before HaShem, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I [am] a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before HaShem. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. Then Eli answered and said, go in peace: and the God of Israel grant [thee] thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she said, let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more [sad].^[12]

 

If the prime meaning for the Hebrew root word (palal) for ‘praying’ is to judge, then whom are we judging? We can get a clue to the answer by understanding that the Hebrew word ‘palal’ is reflexive, that is, the speaker acts upon himself. From this we understand that ‘praying’ is judging oneself! Chazal^[13] teach that the spiritual efficacy of prayer lies in its effect on the person praying.

 

It is understood that a person can have only one ratzon, only one desire at a time. If we examine our current desire and ask, “Why do I desire this thing?” If the answer leads us to an underlying desire, then we need to repeat this question until we arrive at the answer: “I desire this thing for no other reason than I desire it”. At this point we understand what is our ratzon, what is our innermost desire. Getting to our ratzon can be a very difficult and embarrassing ordeal, but the exercise will help us to pray.

 

For example: I want to earn more money. Why do I desire more money? I desire more money because I desire a new car. Why do I desire a new car? I desire a new car in order to attract a young lady. Why do I desire to attract this young lady? I desire the young lady because I desire her. This is the true ratzon, the true desire.

 

This ratzon is what motivates us to act in the world. When we pray, we are ‘judging ourselves’ and acting on that judgment.

 

As a side note, artificial intelligence and robots can never have a desire, they have only their programming. AI and robots can never ‘want’ anything. This is for HaShem and humans (well, maybe angels too).

 

The Sages derive many of the rules for praying from Hannah’s prayer. We will therefore look at Hannah’s prayer in a careful manner to attempt to understand how to pray.

 

Let’s start by examining Hannah’s ratzon:

 

1 Shmuel (Samuel) 1:10 And she [was] in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto HaShem, and wept sore.

 

Our story opens with a bit of background information that helps us to understand why Hannah had such bitterness of soul. Peninnah had children and Hannah did not. Peninnah provoked Hannah because Hannah had no children. The only way that Peninnah could provoke Hannah, is if Hannah had a ratzon, a strong desire, for children. This ratzon is what caused Hannah to pray.

 

When we pray, we pray for the ratzon, for the desire of our heart. That is why a thief will often pray that he not be caught. The incongruity of asking HaShem to help a thief commit a crime that HaShem has forbidden, never enters the mind of such a person because his ratzon is so strong. Such a prayer, oddly enough, is often answered. Why is it answered?

 

Psalm 145:16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

 

Tehillim (Psalm) 106:15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

 

So, be exceedingly careful about what you pray for!

 

Hannah’s ratzon caused her to pray:

 

1 Shmuel (Samuel) 1:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, HaShem of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto HaShem all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

 

The first rule about praying can be derived from the above verse: Hannah SPOKE. In order to properly pray, we should speak. The mental desire should become manifest in the world by our words. As Hannah desired, so she spoke.

 

One of the major differences between men and animals is our ability to thoughtfully speak. We can pray because we can speak.

 

Notice that when Hannah spoke, her lips moved but no sound was heard:

 

1 Shmuel (Samuel) 1:13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

 

From this, the Sages have learned that the words must be spoken, but they should be inaudible to others.

 

Berachot 31a R. Hamnuna said: How many most important laws can be learnt from these verses relating to Hannah!^[14] Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart: from this we learn that one who prays must direct his heart. Only her lips moved: from this we learn that he who prays must frame the words distinctly with his lips. But her voice could not be heard: from this, it is forbidden to raise one’s voice in the Tefilah. Therefore Eli thought she had been drunken: from this, that a drunken person is forbidden to say the Tefilah.

 

The words “I am the woman who stood here beside you”^[15] teach that Hannah prayed while standing, from which the Hakhamim concluded that she recited the Amida^[16] prayer. The laws derived from Hannah’s prayer also relate to the Amida:

 

1. It is said of Hannah: “In her wretchedness [or: bitterness of soul], she prayed to the Lord”,^[17] thus showing that one should stand up to recite the Amida only in a reverent frame of mind.^[18]

 

2. From the words “now Hannah was praying in her heart”^[19] we learn that the one reciting the Amida must have intent.

 

3. The words “only her lips moved”^[20] teach that thinking to oneself the words of the prayer is not sufficient; they must be pronounced with one’s lips.

 

4. The words “but her voice could not be heard”^[21] indicates that, even though a person must pronounce the words, he must not raise his voice during the Amida.

 

5. “So, Eli thought she was drunk”^[22] teaches that one who is intoxicated may not pray.^[23]

 

6. When Hannah meets Eli for the second time, she tells him “I am the woman who stood here beside you”,^[24] from which the Rabbis deduce that Eli also stood while Hannah prayed; consequently, it is forbidden to sit within four cubits of someone reciting the Amida and one must stand until the person finishes.^[25]

 

From this we understand that many of the rules for prayer in general also apply to the Amida. The Amida, though, has some special attributes, for example the Amida prayer is said while standing.

 

Praying will take us in to the hidden area of daat, which is normally translated as knowledge. This is a strange experience because we repeat the same prayers over and over. Prayer can be just spitting out the same old tired words over and over. This is not what prayer is supposed to be! Prayer is the highest form of meditation. Prayer is hard work!^[26]

 

Prayer is not optional. The Sages teach us that our very existence depends on what we ask for. If we don’t ask then we do not receive. And if we do ask, we receive only what we ask for.

 

There are many problems with praying. For example: What does praying have to do with the rain? We know that there is a connection, since rain is a central idea in our prayers. Geshem means rain and it also means all of our material existence.^[27] The root of geshem means the whole of physicality. Gush means a body or mass. Since Hebrew is a very sensitive language, it must mean that rain is intimately connected with all of physical existence.

 

There are other paradoxical aspects of prayer. The word tefilah, prayer, is based on a root which has two opposite meanings: pallo - pallal has the connotation of the hope of completely unpredictable, illogical consequences occurring, great kindness being expressed despite circumstances suggesting otherwise, as it says “I could not have hoped to see your face again”, the words of Yaaqob’s wonder at seeing Yosef after so many years of separation. Yet the same root means strict, deserved justice - plilli connotes justice in the narrow legal sense, exactly the opposite of unexpected bounty.

 

Tefilah, prayer, means two opposite things.

 

1. Requesting things that we do not deserve to have or have any expectation of ever receiving. We are asking for mercy, not what we deserve.

 

2. Negotiating in order to obtain exactly what we deserve. Negotiated JUSTICE! What profit do you have in my blood if I go down to the grave? Do the dead praise you?

 

When we have a single word, which means two opposite things, then we know that these two must be the same thing. Tefilah is one such word. Additionally, the Gemara says that HaShem prays and wears tefillin when He prays, just as we do. His Tefilah is very similar to ours:

 

Berachoth 7a R. Johanan says in the name of R. Jose: How do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, says prayers? Because it says: Even them will I bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. It is not said, ‘their prayer’, but ‘My prayer’; hence [you learn] that the Holy One, blessed be He, says prayers. What does He pray? — R. Zutra b. Tobi said in the name of Rab: ‘May it be My will that My mercy may suppress My anger, and that My mercy may prevail over My [other] attributes, so that I may deal with My children in the attribute of mercy and, on their behalf, stop short of the limit of strict justice’. It was taught: R. Ishmael b. Elisha says: I once entered into the innermost part [of the Sanctuary] to offer incense and saw Akathriel Jah, the Lord of Hosts, seated upon a high and exalted throne. He said to me: Ishmael, My son, bless Me! I replied: May it be Thy will that Thy mercy may suppress Thy anger and Thy mercy may prevail over Thy other attributes, so that Thou mayest deal with Thy children according to the attribute of mercy and mayest, on their behalf, stop short of the limit of strict justice! And He nodded to me with His head. Here we learn [incidentally] that the blessing of an ordinary man must not be considered lightly in your eyes.

 

Berachoth 6a R. Abin son of R. Ada in the name of R. Isaac says [further]: How do you know that the Holy One, blessed be He, puts on tefillin? For it is said: The Lord hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength. ‘By His right hand’: this is the Torah; for it is said: At His right hand was a fiery law unto them. ‘And by the arm of his strength’: this is the tefillin; as it is said: The Lord will give strength unto His people. And how do you know that the tefillin are a strength to Israel? For it is written: And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is called upon thee, and they shall be afraid of thee, and it has been taught: R. Eliezer the Great says: This refers to the tefillin of the head.

 

R. Nahman b. Isaac said to R. Hiyya b. Abin: What is written in the tefillin of the Lord of the Universe? — He replied to him: And who is like Thy people Israel, a nation one in the earth. Does, then, the Holy One, blessed be He, sing the praises of Israel? — Yes, for it is written: Thou hast avouched the Lord this day . . . and the Lord hath avouched thee this day. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: You have made me a unique entity in the world, and I shall make you a unique entity in the world. ‘You have made me a unique entity in the world’, as it is said: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ‘And I shall make you a unique entity in the world’, as it is said: And who is like Thy people Israel, a nation one in the earth. R. Aha b. Raba said to R. Ashi: This accounts for one case, what about the other cases? — He replied to him: [They contain the following verses]: For what great nation is there, etc.; And what great nation is there, etc.; Happy art thou, O Israel, etc.; Or hath God assayed, etc.; and To make thee high above all nations. If so, there would be too many cases? — Hence [you must say]: For what great nation is there, and what great nation is there, which are similar, are in one case; Happy art thou, O Israel, and Who is like Thy people, in one case; Or hath God assayed, in one case; and To make thee high, in one case.

 

No one, including women, is exempt from praying, according to most authorities. They must spend at least a couple minutes a day in prayer.

 

Praying means to request things. The middle sixteen blessings of the Amida^[28] are requests for various things. What does this have to do with meditation?

 

Meditation is not switching our mind off and becoming a zombie! Meditation means getting to the essential root of who you are, and changing it. Meditation is changing our ratzon, our desire.

 

There is a major paradox to prayer: HaShem is our Father and a father gives his child what he needs. Therefore, why do we have to ask since HaShem already knows what we need? A loving father will NOT give his child something that is bad for the child. So why do we pray? Consider what His Majesty Yeshua and His Talmidim said:

 

Matityahu (Matthew) 6:7-8 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

 

Yaakov (James) 4:1-3 From whence [come] wars and fightings among you? [come they] not hence, [even] of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.

 

Most people understand that prayer as an attempt to change HaShem’s mind. We negotiate with the expectation that we can change HaShem’s desire. The bottom line is that we cannot change HaShem or His ratzon. It is not possible to change HaShem’s mind!

 

The correct understanding of Tefilah is that we stand and try to change US. We do not try to change HaShem. We try to change ourselves! We try to change US into the person who does deserve the things that we are asking for. We attempt to change us to the point that we could handle the thing that we are requesting. We attempt to change our ratzon, our desire, to desire something different. When we desire the right things, then HaShem will give us what we desire.

 

How do we change ourselves through praying? It is easy to understand how we change ourselves though mitzvot and other similar actions, but how are we changed through prayer? And how do we change by requesting things? This is where we connect with the daat.^[29] The act of praying a request is the act that can change our ratzon, our desire, by switching on the daat.

 

Daat is the central line that connects the right and left-hand sides of the body. It runs through the central organs in the body. It runs through the Brit HaLashon (the tongue), and the Brit Mila (the organ of circumcision), the two male organs.[30] These are the two organs that make fruit in the world. The Brit HaLashon we use to make Talmidim, spiritual children, who will enter the Olam HaBa and the Brit Mila we use to make physical children. Thus, we can understand when the Torah speaks of Daat:

 

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

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 4:25 And Adam knew (daat) his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, [said she], hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

 

Daat is inner wisdom that we know because we know. It is not amenable to examination using the various tools of the scientific method. It is like a camera. A camera can take a picture of everything but itself. In the same way we can use external knowledge to examine everything except the Daat.

 

Daat is the place where we know that we exist. We do not know we exist because of external measurements. We know we exist only because we know. Proving we exist has been a major problem of philosophy for a long time. In philosophy, we have come to grips with the knowledge that we can NOT prove that we exist. We only know we exist because we know.

 

One of the ways that we can experience the daat is through a near death experience. For example: If one is drowning and at the last moment is raised above the water, that first breath is an experience of daat. At that moment there is no debate about whether you do, or don’t exist. At that moment you know that you exist.

 

The root, or the highest point, of daat is called ratzon.^[31] Ratzon comes from a Hebrew root, which means to run, because the ratzon is the source of all movement. All motion begins because we want something. On the human body this is the point where the baby’s head is open. It is the place where the tefillin are worn. This is the highest place of the daat and this place is called ratzon, desire.

 

When we pray, we can travel up to the highest point of daat and actually reach our ratzon! This is the goal of our Tefilah. We can reach the place of what we want and reform that desire to become something new. With our Tefilah we can become something new. Consider that what we want, our ratzon, is what we are. That is, the root of our desire is what makes us human; it is what makes us different from all other creatures.

 

If all we want is to eat, for example, we are no different from a monkey in the forest. This is a very poor ratzon. What we try to do in our Tefilah is to change our ratzon to want what HaShem wants and then use the needs of the body to serve HaShem.

 

(It is an important exercise to get at the “root” desire. For example: If we desire money, it is usually because we want to buy something. The thing that we buy may also be something like a car that we are using to impress a young lady. Ultimately, when we finally get to the root, what we really want is to marry the young lady, but it started with the desire for money. The root, the ratzon, was NOT the money or the car; the root was the desire to be married.)

 

What we ask for is not always what we need. In fact, there is often a fine line between what we need and what we actually ask for. HaShem will ONLY give us what we need, of those things we have requested.

 

Chazal, our Sages, teach that when the Torah says that man was created in the image of HaShem, that that means that we have free will, like HaShem. This means that what we want is who we are. Nothing stands in the way of desire.^[32] Nothing stands in the way of ratzon.

 

Therefore, when we pray we are changing, at the highest level, who we are, by asking for things. Our mediations, our Tefilah, are to change the very essence of who we are. We change ourselves to want the things that we are asking for. In so doing we make HaShem’s ratzon, our ratzon. Because we are a different person, because we have a different ratzon, we could deserve those things that we did not deserve before we changed who we are by changing our ratzon.

 

Prayer is not directed at changing HaShem at all; it is directed at changing you. The idea is that the work of tefilah^[33] is work on the self, the effort to change the personality. It has been said that if one takes three steps backwards at the end of Shemone Esrei (eighteen-fold prayer central to the prayer service) and is not a different person, one has failed in that tefilah. Work on the personality means making changes; some refinement, some elevation must occur.

 

(Although one cannot voluntarily create a new desire, there is one thing which can be felt powerfully in a natural way: the desire to change! One cannot lie and say: I want this or that more selfless level, but one can say: HaShem, I really do want to have a higher ratzon, I want to feel a higher desire! I want to want it! One should pour one’s heart out in the request to be elevated.)

 

This explains why the first of the thirteen middle blessings of the Amida is a request for daat - knowledge. The daat is the beginning point, which leads us to our ratzon, our real desire.

 

Praying is usually something we do at the extremes of our life: When something is going very well, or when something is going very badly. There is a mitzva to pray when we are in crisis:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 22:22-24 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 12:9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before HaShem your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

 

This is not the only way it should be. Whilst it is a mitzva of the Torah to pray when we are in crisis, there is another higher aspect of praying. There is actually a Halacha which demands that we pray to continue our existence! Just to stay alive we need to continually make that connection with HaShem and continually change our ratzon. In praying for our existence, we reveal Malchut, the Kingship of HaShem. To accomplish this, we need to get in the habit of praying for the little things that we need all of the time, like keeping us safe when we go to the store.

 

We can begin to understand the concept of Malchut by understanding that when we stand before HaShem to do our Tefilah; we are standing in front of The King. When we pray, we are like a slave in front of his master. This we do just to continue to exist. We are making a request of the King that He should allow us to continue to exist. What gives us the right to ask HaShem to allow us to live? The Sages teach that the merit of simply coming before The King in prayer is all we need to deserve the right to petition The King. When we stand before The King as His subjects, we make Him King. A king is only a king if he has subjects who proclaim Him to be king.

 

Midrash Rabbah - Lamentations V:19. THOU, O LORD, ART ENTHRONED FOR EVER, THY THRONE IS FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION (v, 19). Is there enthronement without a throne or a king without a consort? (The Temple is HaShem’s throne and Israel His consort; so there must be a restoration since the enthronement is forever.)

 

Now we can understand that praying is greater than just us reforming who we are. Praying is actually a revelation of the presence and Kingship of HaShem. Therefore, when we stand to do Tefilah we must be dressed like we were standing before a king. We are not allowed to be sloppy or incompletely dressed. We must be scrupulously clean. Our bodies must be completely clean because we are standing before The King! The Sages teach us that our mouth should be empty and our head should be covered. These are the requirements of Tefilah.

 

Somehow, we must stand in abject terror and at the same time we must stand in ecstasy. We must realize that we stand like a slave before a master who has the power to kill us and the power to bring us ecstasy. Both concepts are brought out by the word Tefilah. Thus, we can understand the Psalmist:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 2:11 Serve HaShem with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

 

Standing in prayer is the ultimate connection between the higher and the lower worlds. On the one hand our very existence depends on it, yet on the other hand we can also experience ecstasy because of it. Thus, we understand the connection to daat. If we stand in front of HaShem, He stands in front of us.

 

If we do not pray for rain, it will not rain. Rain is one of the three things that HaShem Himself does without an angel:

 

1. He opens the womb.
2. He opens the grave and brings resurrection.
3. He makes the rain fall.^[34]

 

Rain comes unpredictably and is always a direct result of our prayer. Our Sages teach us that when Adam awoke on that first day, he saw a world without vegetation. He realized that it was his responsibility to pray for rain. When he did, HaShem brought the rain, which allowed the sprouts just under the surface to bring forth vegetation on the earth:

 

Chullin 60b R. Assi pointed out a contradiction [between verses]. One verse says: And the earth brought forth grass, referring to the third day, whereas another verse when speaking of the sixth day says: No shrub of the field was yet in the earth. This teaches us that the plants commenced to grow but stopped just as they were about to break through the soil, until Adam came and prayed for rain for them; and when rain fell they sprouted forth. This teaches you that the Holy One, blessed be He, longs for the prayers of the righteous. R. Nahman b. Papa had a garden and he sowed in it seeds but they did not grow. He prayed; immediately rain came and they began to grow. That, he exclaimed, is what R. Assi had taught.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for HaShem God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till (avodah) the ground.

 

Avodah is the Hebrew word for the work of service to HaShem of which the primary service is Tefilah, prayer! Without Tefilah there would be no rain. Tefilah is the connection, which connects the rain to the earth.

 

Thus, we see that the world is set up in such a way that if we do not ask it will not be given. All of creation is subject to human request. If we want it, we must ask, even though HaShem wants to give it to us, He will not unless we ask. We have to bring down the mercy by asking, yet after we ask we see that that is the way HaShem wanted it from the beginning. Thus, the paradox of the two meanings of Tefilah. We must ask for the mercy, yet it was HaShem’s justice that it should be. We are the key to unlock that which has to be, but will not be unless we ask. Rain is the symbol of this, yet the entire material world is just like this. It is HaShem’s will that it should be, but only if we ask for it. This is the power and key to Tefilah.

 

The Pattern of Prayer

 

How do we know how to pray? Has HaShem given us a clear understanding as to how He wants to be worshipped? Let’s take a look at what the Tanach says about the Temple service:

 

1 Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 28:11-19 Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlors thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of HaShem, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of HaShem, and for all the[He gave] of gold by weight for [things] of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; [silver also] for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service: Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, [both] for the candlestick, and [also] for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick. And by weight [he gave] gold for the tables of Shewbread, for every table; and [likewise] silver for the tables of silver: Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basins [he gave gold] by weight for every basin; and [likewise silver] by weight for every basin of silver: And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out [their wings], and covered the ark of the covenant of HaShem. All [this, said David], HaShem made me understand in writing by [his] hand upon me, [even] all the works of this pattern.

 

So, HaShem gave King David the proper pattern for the service. This pattern is preserved in the synagogue service and prayers. HaShem has not left us without a clear understanding of how He wants to be worshipped.

 

The prayers in our siddur were instituted to replace the daily offerings.^[35] Thus the offerings and the avodah of our Torah portion inspired King David to pen this psalm. Our opening pasuk surely caused David to think about Hannah and her prayer as surely as it caused me to recall her prayer of affliction. The following Torah portion sums up the whole purpose of tefilah:

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 15:39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of HaShem, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray;

 

Three times daily, we say the silent, standing prayer. We should approach this with awe, as if we were performing the Temple’s daily offerings ourselves. It is my prayer that our fervent tefilah, that grows out of the afflictions in our lives, will cause us to cleave to HaShem, Amen V’Amen!

 

Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 52:5-12 + 54:7-8

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 52:5-12 + 54:7-8

 

4 My people first went down to Egypt The Egyptians had somewhat of a debt upon them, for they served for them as their hosts and sustained them, but Assyria oppressed them for nothing and without cause.

 

5 And now, what have I here Why do I stay and detain My children here?

 

boast Heb. יְהֵילִילוּ, Boast saying, “Our hand was powerful.”

 

is blasphemed Blasphemes itself, and this is an instance similar to (Num 7:89) “And he heard the voice speaking to him.”

 

6 My people shall know When I redeem them, they will recognize that My name is master, monarch, and ruler, as is its apparent meaning.

 

therefore, on that day The day of their redemption, they will understand that I am He Who speaks, and behold, I have fulfilled the prophecy.

 

8 The voice of your watchmen The watchmen who are stationed on the walls and the towers to report and to see (to see and to report [Parshandatha]) who comes to the city.

 

10 has revealed Heb. חָשַׂף, has revealed.

 

11 touch no unclean one They shall be abominable to you to touch them.

 

get out of its midst Out of the midst of the exile, for all these last consolations refer only to the last exile.

 

purify yourselves Heb. הִבָּרוּ, purify yourselves.

 

you who bear the Lord’s vessels You, the priests and the Levites, who carried the vessels of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the desert [from here is proof of the resurrection of the dead].

 

12 for...goes before you Two things at the end of this verse explain two things in its beginning, [viz.] For not with haste shall you go forth. What is the reason? For the Lord goes before you to lead you on the way, and one whose agent advances before him to lead him on the way his departure is not in haste. And not in the flurry of flight shall you go, for your rear guard is the God of Israel. He will follow you to guard you from any pursuer. Comp. (Num. 10:25) “And the division of the camp of Dan shall travel, the rear guard of all the camps.” Whoever goes after the camp is called מְאַסֵּף, the rear guard, because he waits for the stragglers and the stumblers. Similarly, Scripture states in Joshua (6:13): “And the rear guard was going after the Ark.”

 

1 Sing, you barren woman Jerusalem, who was as though she had not borne.

 

you who have not experienced birth pangs Heb. חָלָה, an expression of childbirth, for the woman in confinement gives birth with pains and writhing.

 

for the children of the desolate one The daughter of Edom.

 

2 and let them stretch forth far off.

 

lengthen your cords These are thin ropes that hang at the bottom of tents, and that are tied to stakes called ‘chevills’ in French, which are thrust into the ground.

 

3 shall you prevail Heb. תִּפְרֹצִי, shall you prevail.

 

4 your youth Heb. עֲלוּמַיִךְ, your youth.

 

6 who was rejected When she is rejected at times that her husband is a little wroth with her.

 

8 With a little wrath Heb. שֶׁצֶף. Menahem (Machbereth p. 179) interprets this as, “with kindling of wrath,” and Dunash (Teshuvoth p. 20) states, “with a little wrath,” paralleling “For a small moment have I forsaken you,” and so did Jonathan render.

 

and with everlasting kindness that will exist forever.

 

Commentary on the Ashlamatah of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 52:5-12 & 54:7-8

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

 

The beginning of our chapter, Isaiah 52, begins with the double imperative; Awake, Awake, Zion, and put on your splendor, put on your robes of majesty…. Rise up, Jerusalem, and shake off the dust and be released from the bonds of your neck.[36] (v.1-3) In Isaiah 51:9, the prophet prays for God to awaken the people. Here, HaShem is doing the awakening and calling for the people to arise. During the years of the first temple, there was intense holiness in Jerusalem; in the second temple years, it was a lesser holiness, but with the coming of the Messiah, both the holiness of the temple, city, and the daughter of Zion, along with the temporal power, will be restored.[37] This address is to the city of Jerusalem and the captive daughter of Zion. The city of Jerusalem is told that the “uncircumcised and defiled [unclean]” will not enter it anymore. This is understood as absolutely no entry of unclean Gentiles, and also the city will never be overrun and destroyed again. To the “captive daughter of Zion,” your groom is coming; arise, clean up, and show some pride in your appearance. Jerusalem is used as a metaphor for a woman disparaged, who no longer takes pride in her person or appearance.[38]

 

We are told “for naught where you sold and you will be redeemed without money”. (v.3) Rashi and Radak agreed that due to Israel’s sin that was worthless, and which brought them no benefit they were led astray by their evil inclination and sold themselves into slavery; money will not redeem you but only repentance and returning to HaShem. “Virtually all agree this prophecy refers to the final Redemption of Messianic times, as is evident by the end of verse one.” Ibn Ezra points out that never before has this happened; therefore, it must include all of history and point toward a future redemption. “When the messianic era begins, the nations will be shocked to realize that although Israel had been punished for her sins, the bond with God had never been broken…. The Torah and the Prophets, [along with] Isaiah, speak to the nation of Israel as if it were an individual, a suffering woman or servant.”[39]

In exile, God’s name is blasphemed all day long, and his people mocked at the helplessness of their God to save them. But HaShem says, My people shall know my name… in that day the feet of the messenger shall bring good tidings over the mountains of Zion…. They shall see eye to eye the LORD returning to Zion. (v.6-9). When HaShem returns to Zion and lays bare his holy arm before the nations, then all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (v.10) HaShem will soon turn this world upside down, and what mankind [humanity] has come to understand in the last two thousand years will change as it is brought in line with God’s justice and righteousness. We do not know when or how HaShem will accomplish this, but it is our faith that what HaShem has promised, he will bring it to pass.

 

HaShem asks the question Why should He remain in exile with his children? (v.5) We are taught that when the children of Israel are exiled from their land, the spirit of God, His Shekinah, goes with them into exile.[40] In our reading, the people are in Babylonia, and contrasted with the earlier exile that was in Egypt. HaShem says the people ruling over my people howl,[41] and my name is blasphemed all day. (v.5) As we see from the above footnote, this howling or wailing is the negative display of God’s display of power. However, the Rabbis discuss another way to understand this word, it can be translated as “to praise or glorify.” Rashi and Abarbanel understand this refers to the foreign rulers being able “to praise or glorify” themselves for dominating God’s people. Saying, this is what God wants, and we are only fulfilling his will by conquering the Jewish people. This same idea is found in Isaiah 53:4-5, according to R’ Schwab. R’ Hirsch understands our word for wailing, howling [יְהֵילִילוּ] as a combination of both roots: תלל ( a verb meaning to mock, deceive, deride.)^[42] and ילל (a verb, meaning bewail, wail, howling expressing deep mourning or distress.)[43] They delight in torturing the Jewish people and hypocritically sign that they are doing what God wants.[44] This passage deals with “the current exile in Babylonia and is contrasted with the people's earlier exiles in Egypt and Assyria. [God said,] My Name is reviled (v.5). God’s own reputation [name] is harmed by the Babylonian exile, and for this reason God is sure to liberate the nation.”[45] Virtually all the Rabbis, as we learned earlier, thought this passage referenced the future exile, we are currently living in.

 

Therefore, my people shall know My name; therefore, they shall know in that day that I, even He that spoke, behold, here I am. Or I … am now at hand, elsewhere in the Bible this word is used by human beings responding to a divine call (Gen. 22:1, 11; Exod. 3:4, Isa 6:8). Only in [second half of] Isaiah does God call “here I am” to humans (58:9; 65:1)^[46] This phrase “here I am’ is called in Hebrew “hineni.” (hee-neh-nee) is a Hebrew phrase comprised of two short words: ‘hineh’ and ‘ani,’ meaning “here” and “I.” More literally, “hineh” is translated as “behold” (certainly, surely), which is a much stronger word than simply “here.” “With reference to the past or present, it points generally to some truth either newly simply “here.” “With reference to the past or present, it points generally to some truth either newly asserted, or newly recognized (Genesis 1:29, 17:20, 27:6, 1 Samuel 14:33).[47]

 

Therefore, my people shall know my name (v.6), A variation on what scholars refer to as “the recognition formula.”[48] HaShem's deeds reveal Him as the true God. Variations on this recognition formula occur in the exodus story (Exodus 14:18), the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 49:26), and in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 12:15; 21:3ff), where God asserts that His actions will bring Israel and or some other nation or person to recognize Him. God reveals His power so that all people will recognize Him and know or respect His name. As Rashi says, my people will realize I am the only master and not in their doubt as they were while in exile, as suggested by Radak.[49] An alternate view from Yalkut Shimoni 1:176 suggests that this is referring to the ineffable name, which will be known by all people as the name used when petitioning HaShem during prayer to have our prayers answered.[50] The interesting phenomenon here is that this power display has a functioning that is both negative and positive at the same time. It is a destroyer to one person and kindles a fire of faith in another, as we saw in Jericho with the house of Raheb.

 

In Isaiah 49:26, I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. HaShem's victory will prove that He is the true God of Israel. The use of this recognition formula is likely meant to evoke the traditions of the first exodus, where it was used extensively (Exo 6:6-7; 14:17-18; 29:46). The formula is also used by Isaiah several times and becomes a central part of Ezekiel’s message (used more than 60 to 70 times including (Eze 12:15, 21:5).[51] This formula used by the prophets, referring to God’s display of power, we can see in action in the Book of Joshua, when all the people of Jericho were willing to fight against Israel(negative result, though they were marked for destruction) However, for Rahab, we see the positive result of igniting faith in her and a willingness of heart to offer “Hesed” kindness to God’s people and thereby gaining salvation for her and her house. Another clear example of this happening around the conditions of the first Exodus was with the Hivites (Josh 9:7ff) “because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, …. Come now, make a covenant with us.” Also, a much earlier account with Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Where Jethro stated, Now I know that the Lord [HaShem] is greater than all gods. (Exo 18:10ff) These three groups of people must have heard the Song of Moses sung at the sea, and they all seem to reference it.

 

Isaiah tells us the good news is that HaShem is bringing salvation, and it comes in four steps of Redemption: 1) The Announcement of Peace, i.e., Israel no longer to suffer from its enemies. 2) The heralding of good tidings, i.e., the third temple and the ascension of the Davidic dynasty. 3) The announcement of Salvation, i.e., the gathering of exiles. 4) Saying to Zion, “Your God has reigned,” i.e., the revelation of God’s reign over all the world. Can you recognize the four steps of Messiah, and which step are we living in currently? The content of the message “Herald upon the mountains” is “salvation” expressed by the pronouncement that Israel’s God is sovereign. How can an individual or the whole world have salvation if they do not recognize who the Master of the Universe is, what his name is, and where that salvation proceeds from? If a King were to send a gift to the common people, to whom would the receiver of that gift give thanks and recognition? The one bearing the gift, the messenger, or the King, the bestower of the gift? I think most people would say, the “praise and glory” goes to the King - yet we live in a world where most people are confused as to who is to receive honor for their gift of grace and the promise of salvation.

 

The watchmen in Isa 52:8 are looking for this messenger and his announcement that HaShem is returning to His holy mountain. The phrase is a common refrain in the Psalms (Psalms 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1). The watchmen are metaphorically called lookouts. They are the seers or Prophets, those who foretell the return to Zion, as seen by their inner eye of faith and the fire of prophecy that burns within them. In the Talmud, this is seen as an allusion to the revivification of the dead.[52] Abarbanel explains this is implied by the change in tenses in the verse. The voice of the seers and prophets who raised their voice (in the past tense) foretelling a future redemption that they had not seen yet. They shall rise from the grave and they themselves will sing (in future tense) glad songs in unison for with their own eyes they will see HaShem's return to Zion.[53]

 

I am he who comforts you, HaShem responds to the prophet’s summons of (v. 9). In Isaiah 40:1, God calls for someone to come and comfort His people. Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Bid Jerusalem to take heart and proclaim unto her that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off; that she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. Hark! one calleth: ‘Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord, make plain in the desert a highway for our God. Now, HaShem responds that He is the Comforter, and that comfort is again expressed in 66:13 as a man or son who is comforted by his mother and in Jerusalem you will be consoled.

The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. In this section and in (v.12), where HaShem is revealed as the one who comforts, this underlines the motif that runs throughout chapters 40–66: HaShem alone brings about salvation. The theme is present in the polemic^[54] against idolatry, which runs through chapters 40–48. It is HaShem's power to redeem, and it is in his hands. The arm of HaShem is the earthly manifestation of His power and might. His power will be seen to the “ends of the earth.” God’s manifested act of power in the saving of Israel will have a worldwide impact: All will see his awesome power by [HaShem] performing open and obvious miracles similar to the first exodus, comments R’Schwab. (Psalms 98:3). Unlike the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites are instructed to take nothing as they depart. Nothing ritually impure or unclean can pass over the path HaShem is making through the wilderness back to Zion. (Isa 35:8). It will be a pathway of holiness, leaving the false values behind and recognizing that one's true armor is their dedication [faith, faithfulness] to God and His Torah.[55] All who are returning on this “Highway of Holiness” are to cleanse themselves of all heretical ideas and strive for the highest level of spiritual purity possible. According to Jewish commentators, these verses are addressed not only to the people of Israel, but also to the non-Jewish inhabitants to leave the city and stop defiling it with ideas that oppose the Torah.[56] Malbim comments that the latter part of the verse explains why the phrase translated as “Depart” or “turn away” was repeated twice. Israel is commanded to turn away from both aspects of their exile: the impurity of its physical conduct and the impurity of its heretical ideas.[57]

 

The first exodus and this last one are contrasted. In the first exodus, the children of Israel were told to leave in haste, and somewhat in disorder. In (v.12), we see a reversal of their hasty departure from Egypt at the first exodus. (Exo 12:11,33) In the first, the angel of God moved behind Israel to guard the rear from Pharaoh’s attack during the crossing of the Red Sea (Exo 14:19ff). He also led the way ahead of them through the wilderness. When we compare (Isa 58:8) with our passage here in (v.12), “HaShem will go before you and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” And in Isa 58:8 it says, “your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’“ ^[58] This is an interesting translation, the Tanakh from the Jewish Publication Society says: “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord will answer; thou shalt cry, and He will say: ‘Here I am.’”^[59]

 

With the awakening of God’s people comes a victory and transformation. Isaiah tells us there will be an end to defilement (52:1), imprisonment (52:2), redemption from slavery (52:3-4), an end to Israel's torment (52:4-5), and mocking will cease for both HaShem and his people (52:5-6). The Lord, who left the city of Jerusalem in the days of Ezekiel, will come back. At the exodus, HaShem set up a mediator to speak for him (Exod. 6:28ff, 7:3; 19:9,20:1); on this coming day, he himself will speak and he himself will be there.^[60] HaShem admits in our last two verses that he rejected the nation for a short while, a brief moment’ during the Babylonian exile: (v. 7). The books of Jeremiah (2; 5) and Ezekiel (8–11; 16) records just how justified God was in rejecting them. Yet he will demonstrate the magnitude of his overwhelming compassion for Israel (deep compassion, ‘great compassions’) by taking the initiative to bring them back (‘I will gather you back,’ (v. 7). Verse 8 likens God’s momentary rejection as I hid my face from you) to a brief outburst of anger (‘with a flood [šeṣep, occurs only here; suggests that God’s anger was intense] of wrath’) that will be followed by everlasting kindness (ʿôlām ḥeṣed) and compassion (rāḥam) that only God can demonstrate. Graciously gathering up a chastened Israel in his arms, he reminds her that he is her redeemer (i.e., ‘the one who bought her back’).^[61]

 

Last week and this, we learned of “the faithlessness” of the Ten spies and the effects of that on Israel to wander the desert for forty years. The mission given to Israel to settle the promised land had been delayed but not forgotten or abandoned. Joshua, with Pinhas and Caleb, began the conquering process that continues till today. Numbers 14:12, the Lord said unto Moses, ‘How long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?” I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit [destroy] them, for all the signs which I have wrought among them.

 

In our Torah reading this week, Moses reasoned that if God destroyed Israel and started over with his seed, the Egyptians would view God’s destruction of Israel as His inability to keep His promise to redeem them and give them the land that had been promised 400-plus years before as a possession. Furthermore, the Egyptians would publish this to the Canaanites and other nations, with the result that the entire world would mock God’s impotence. Moses' justification that the only action HaShem could take was to manifest His great power by forgiving the people, even though they would have to suffer His punishment in some way. The basis for this forgiveness would be HaShem's steadfast love (ḥeseḏ), which not only plays a role in Israel's salvation and redemption, but also in the redemption and salvation of all the nations, as we saw last week in the ‘Hesed’ in the story of Raheb and the spies. I believe we can see that redemptive work being played out in our reality for the last 2000 years, in the work of Yeshua and his disciples, with a special emphasis on the nations, However, the core of that redemption revolves around and is dependent on the complete redemption and salvation of Israel. Isaiah wrote in 52:7-8 that when Israel’s God [Elohim] returns to Zion to reign. The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye, they see the return of the Lord to Zion, and His reign will be one of peace.

 

 

Verbal Tallies and Connections

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

 

The verbal tally that connects Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:11 and Isaiah 52:5, based on the JPS translation and relating to Strong's numbers in KJV, is:

 

• נאץ (na'ats) - Strong's H5006:

 

• Bamidbar 14:11: "How long will this people despise Me?" (JPS) / "How long will this people provoke me?" (KJV)

 

• Isaiah 52:5: "...all the day My name is blasphemed." (JPS) / "...my name is continually blasphemed all day long." (KJV)

 

While the JPS translates it as "despise" and "blasphemed" respectively, the underlying Hebrew root נ.א.ץ (N.A.TS) carries the sense of despising, abhorring, spurning, or showing contempt, which can manifest as provoking or blaspheming. This shared root highlights a common theme of disrespect or contempt shown towards God.

 

The thematic connections between Bamidbar 14:11-45 and Tehillim 102:1-12 revolve around:

 

1. Divine Anger and Punishment due to Human Sin/Unbelief:

 

• Bamidbar 14:11-45: God's fierce anger is repeatedly expressed due to the Israelites' lack of faith and rebellion after the spies' report. Their refusal to trust in God's power to lead them into the land results in the decree that the entire generation will die in the wilderness.

 

• Tehillim 102:1-12: The psalmist directly attributes his profound suffering, physical decay, and enemies' taunts to God's "indignation and wrath" (v. 11). He feels that God has "lifted me up and cast me away."

 

2. Lament and Supplication:

 

• Bamidbar 14:11-45: Moses intercedes on behalf of the people, lamenting their fate and appealing to God's mercy and the preservation of His reputation among the nations. Although the people rebel, Moses' prayer is a form of lament for their situation and an appeal for divine leniency.

 

• Tehillim 102:1-12: The psalm is a deeply personal lament of an afflicted individual, pouring out his cry to God, begging Him not to hide His face and to hear his prayer speedily.

 

3. Fragility of Human Life vs. God's Eternity:

 

• Bamidbar 14:11-45: The decree of dying in the wilderness emphasizes the transience of that rebellious generation. Their lives are cut short due to their actions.

 

• Tehillim 102:1-12: The psalmist vividly describes his own fleeting and withered life ("My days are consumed like smoke... My days are like a shadow that lengthens, and I wither away like grass," vv. 3, 11), sharply contrasting it with God's eternal nature ("But You, O LORD, shall endure forever," v. 12). This provides the ultimate hope amidst despair.

 

 

The connection between the Torah seder and the Ashlamata, though seemingly strictly verbal, is in addition eschatological.[62] The messianic kingdom, rather than the related contents of the Torah lesson, is the dominant theme of the Ashlamata.

 

Based solely on Jewish sources, the eschatological message of Isaiah 52:5-12 and 54:7-8 is a profound promise of Israel's ultimate redemption and restoration.

 

Key themes include:

 

• Divine Vindication: God's name, which was profaned among the nations during Israel's exile, will be sanctified and universally recognized. "My people shall know My name" (52:6) and "all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God" (52:10).

 

• Return to Zion: A joyous, secure, and divinely guided return from exile to Jerusalem (52:7-12). This is not a hasty flight but a protected journey.

 

• Restored Divine Presence: God will literally return to Zion, and His watchmen will "see eye to eye" (52:8) this direct manifestation.

 

• Everlasting Compassion: The period of God's "forsaking" or "hiding His face" from Israel (exile) is explicitly stated as "a brief moment" (54:7-8). This temporary wrath will be replaced by "everlasting lovingkindness" and compassion, signifying an unbreakable covenant and a permanent restoration of the relationship between God and His people, as a faithful husband to his wife.

 

• Purity and Holiness: The exiles are called to purify themselves as they return, preparing to be a holy people in a holy land (52:11).

 

In essence, these passages foretell a future era of complete salvation, where Israel is gathered, comforted, and established in holiness in Zion, with God's glory revealed to all the world.

 

From a Christian perspective, the eschatological message of Isaiah 52:5-12 and 54:7-8 is deeply intertwined with the person and work of Yeshua HaMashiach, His Church, and the ultimate establishment of His kingdom.

 

Isaiah 52:5-12:

 

• Mashiach's Atonement and God's Vindication (vv. 5-6): The blaspheming of God's name due to Israel's suffering is understood as the context for God's ultimate intervention. This intervention culminates in the sacrificial death of Yeshua, seen as the "Servant" who bears the shame and sin of humanity. Through Mashiach, God's holiness and power are vindicated before all nations. The knowledge of God's name refers to the revelation of God in Mashiach.

 

• The Gospel Proclaimed (vv. 7-8): The "beautiful feet of him who brings good news" is universally applied to the proclamation of the Gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach. This good news is "peace," "salvation," and the declaration that "Your God reigns!" This reign is established through Mashiach's death and resurrection and continues to expand through the Church's mission. The "watchmen seeing eye to eye" signifies the spiritual discernment and unity of believers as they witness the Lord's return, whether in personal experience or His final coming.

 

• Universal Salvation and the Church (vv. 9-10): The call for Jerusalem's ruins to "burst into songs of joy" is seen as fulfilled in the spiritual comfort and redemption offered to all who believe in Mashiach, forming the Church (the new Jerusalem). "The Lord will lay bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God" is interpreted as the worldwide spread of the Gospel and the ultimate revelation of God's saving power through Mashiach to all humanity.

 

• Purity and Separation (vv. 11-12): The command to "Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing!" is a call for believers to separate themselves from the defilements of the world and sin. This is a spiritual exodus, not just from physical Babylon but from spiritual bondage. Those who "carry the vessels of the Lord" (ministers, believers) are exhorted to live lives of holiness, assured of God's protection as they journey, with Mashiach going before them as their guide and rear guard.

 

Isaiah 54:7-8:

• God's Enduring Love for His People (vv. 7-8): These verses emphasize God's unwavering love and compassion despite perceived moments of "forsaking" or "hiding His face." Christian theology applies this to God's faithful covenant with His people (both Israel and the Church). The "brief moment" of wrath refers to periods of chastisement or the temporary consequences of sin, which are eclipsed by God's eternal "everlasting lovingkindness." This highlights God's steadfastness and grace towards His redeemed.

 

• The New Covenant: The "great compassion" and "everlasting lovingkindness" are understood as expressions of God's grace under the New Covenant, established through Mashiach's blood. This covenant provides ultimate security and assurance of God's enduring commitment to those who are in Mashiach.

 

• Spiritual Restoration: While having historical implications for Israel, these verses primarily speak to the spiritual restoration of believers who were once alienated from God but are now reconciled through Mashiach. The "gathering" is not merely physical but spiritual, as God gathers His people into His Church.

 

In summary, for Christians, Isaiah 52:5-12 and 54:7-8 are eschatological prophecies fulfilled in the atoning work of Yeshua HaMashiach, the global proclamation of the Gospel by the Church, the spiritual purification of believers, and God's everlasting, compassionate love revealed in the New Covenant, culminating in the full realization of His kingdom and the universal acknowledgment of His salvation.

 

 

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of B’midbar (Numbers) 14.11-45

“A’ad-Anah Y’na-atsuni” “How Long Will”

By: Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

 

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

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

Our job as Nazareans is to be able to explicate the Torah in the same manner that Hakham Tsefet and Hakham Shaul did. In other words, we must understand the Master is a way that allows us to see the intricate workings of his mind in his talmidim and their writings.

 

Mark (Mordechai) 10:10-12 – Covenant Fidelity and the Path of Life

 

My study of this week's Torah Seder culminates in the teachings of the Master, Yeshua, as recorded in Mark (Mordechai) 10:10-12. A crucial key I find to unlocking the depth of this passage lies in understanding that physical adultery in Judaism is often a powerful metaphor for spiritual infidelity towards G-d. This is precisely the lens through which I comprehend the catastrophic failure of the spies in their "UNFAITHFUL REPORT" (Numbers 13-14). Their disbelief and rebellion were not merely poor judgment but a profound act of spiritual adultery—a betrayal of their covenant with the Divine Bridegroom who had promised them the Land. This act, born of fear and a lack of faith, mirrors the breaking of the most sacred human vows, leading to devastating consequences. Our sacred task as Nazareans is to explicate the Torah in the same spirit as Hakham Tsefet (Peter) discerning the intricate workings of the Master's mind as reflected in His teachings and in the writings of His talmidim, who understood these profound connections.

 

The principle drawn from the Luqan portion and those in contiguity of our Torah Sedar is foundational: the way of Torah is unequivocally the way of life, while the path without Torah leads to spiritual death. Those devoid of Torah may appear to live, but they are, in essence, like "walking zombies," existing perhaps for the merit of the righteous, yet oblivious to their own profound alienation from the Source of all life. To deny any soul access to a life of Torah is, therefore, a grievous act, tantamount to inflicting spiritual death. The Tanakh consistently portrays those "sent away" from the camp, from the Divine Presence, as individuals who then make enormous effort to re-enter and reclaim their sanctity, their connection to life. For, as I have emphasized, to be separate from the presence of G-d, in any minute way, is death itself, a state of being far more terrifying than any conceptualization of punishment in an afterlife.

 

This understanding sharply illuminates the context preceding our specific passage in Luqas 18. The Talmidim sought to "send away" the Am HaAretz—parents bringing their children, perhaps boys from the age of infants to of bar mitzvah age—to Yeshua for a blessing. Their motives might have been mixed: a protective zeal for the Master's dignity, fearing He might be sullied by contact with the "commoner and uneducated," or perhaps even intimidation if they perceived an exceptional prodigy. The text suggests the fathers' primary hope was for Yeshua to influence their sons to achieve the spiritual heights He Himself embodied. Yet, the Talmidim, possibly misapplying concepts of holiness and separation gleaned from their studies (perhaps even from passages like Numbers 5:2-4 regarding ritual purity and exclusion from the camp), censured these families. They seemingly judged these children or their parents as unworthy, perhaps perceiving a lack of desire for rigorous Torah study akin to Yeshua's own. One can almost hear the fathers' pleading, urging the disciples to allow the Master to simply lay hands on and bless their sons. Those who most needed Yeshua’s impartation, His life-giving blessing, were thus in danger of being "sent away" by censure, pushed towards that very state of separation which is spiritual death.

 

How many of these very boys, one is forced to wonder, later became devoted talmidim of Hakham Tsefet or Hakham Shaul, their lives forever marked by either this initial rebuff or, hopefully, by Yeshua's subsequent intervention?

 

Yeshua’s reaction was one of righteous indignation (Mark 10:14). He was displeased because His talmidim chose a path of strictness and exclusion rather than the leniency and embrace that characterize both true Torah compassion and His own Divine nature, a nature echoed in Zephaniah 3:17 where G-d Himself rejoices over His people, quieting them with His love and "hovering" over them. This imagery is so beautifully reminiscent of Yeshua drawing these young ones into his arms, perhaps under the shelter of His tallit, to bestow upon them a blessing. This scene also finds resonance in the Tosefta Arakhin 2:2, which describes the youthful enthusiasm integrated into the Temple service, where even the young "popped up...so as to add spice to the music," signifying that youthful presence and eagerness are part of the sacred, not to be excluded.

 

Yeshua’s compassion and humble demeanor mirrored that of Hillel the Elder. He understood the profound importance of blessing these bar mitzvah age boys, of drawing them towards the Kingdom of G-d as expressed through the rightful governance of the Batei Din and the teachings of the Hakhamim. The citation from Bava Metzia 2:1 powerfully underscores this: the master who teaches wisdom brings one into "the life of the world to come," a gift of immeasurable worth. How could these young souls be denied the transformative influence Yeshua would have upon their lives? The later account in Acts 5:34-39, where Rabban Gamliel (a leading Pharisee from the School of Hillel) advises leniency towards Yeshua's followers, suggests that the P’rushim aligned with Hillel’s compassionate understanding of Torah were indeed supportive of Yeshua and His mission. I am certain that not only the fathers but also the boys themselves, perhaps with the hero worship common to their age, earnestly desired this blessing, this connection to the Master.

 

It is in this rich context of covenant, blessing, and the life-giving power of connection to the Divine that we now turn to Yeshua's specific teaching in Mark (Mordechai) 10:10-12: "When he was in the house again, the disciples asked him about this matter. He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her¹ husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’"

 

This stark pronouncement on the sanctity of marriage and the gravity of adultery gains immense depth when viewed through the lens of the Torah Seder and the Sages' understanding of covenantal fidelity.

 

• Echoes of Numbers 14: The spies' "unfaithful report" was a betrayal of G-d's covenant, a spiritual adultery leading to a generation being "divorced" from the Promised Land. The Sages emphasize the dire consequences of this faithlessness. Yeshua's words highlight that similar consequences of brokenness and sin follow the betrayal of the marital covenant. The sanctity of the vow, whether to G-d or to a spouse, is paramount.

 

• Resonance with Psalm 102: The lament in Psalm 102 resonates profoundly with the potential spiritual state of those young boys from the Am HaAretz, had Yeshua's talmidim succeeded in cutting them off from the Master. The Sages depict the psalmist as engulfed in desolation and perceived abandonment (Ps 102:1-11), a suffering born of profound "brokenness"—be it personal, national, or spiritual. This sense of being "consumed like smoke," with a "withered" heart, mirrors the spiritual death and alienation that I understand results from being separated from the life-giving presence of Torah and, by extension, from the Master Himself. When the talmidim sought to "send away" these children, they risked thrusting them into such a desolate state, severing their access to the blessing and wisdom that Yeshua embodied. The pain of being "cast down," as the psalmist feels (v. 10), is precisely what such exclusion from the Master’s presence would engender. However, just as the psalmist ultimately anchors their hope in G-d’s eternal faithfulness and His remembrance (v. 12), so too does Yeshua’s own indignant response and His embrace of the children demonstrate G-d's active faithfulness, ensuring that the path to blessing and Divine connection remains open, thereby upholding the ideal of inclusive spiritual relationship rather than desolating exclusion.

 

• Connection to Isaiah 52 & 54: The Sages interpret Isaiah 52:5-12 as G-d's promise to redeem His people from an exile caused by their infidelity, thereby vindicating His own Name. Isaiah 54:7-8, with its tender language of G-d as the Go'el (Redeemer) restoring His "marriage" to Zion after a "small moment" of wrath but with "everlasting kindness" (chesed olam), emphasizes G-d's ultimate faithfulness and His desire for restored intimacy. Yeshua’s teaching, by condemning adultery so strongly, calls for a similar standard of chesed and unwavering fidelity within human marriage, reflecting the divine pattern. To break this is to reject the chesed that should define covenant.

 

Therefore, Yeshua’s teaching in Mark 10:10-12 is far more than a mere social regulation. It is a profound statement about the nature of loyalty, the sanctity of vows, and the spiritual integrity that G-d requires in all foundational relationships. When the talmidim sought to "send away" the children, they risked perpetuating a cycle of separation and spiritual "death," akin to the consequences of the spies' infidelity. Yeshua’s corrective action—embracing the children and teaching on the indivisibility of marriage—both point to the restoration of life-giving connections and the unwavering faithfulness demanded by the Kingdom of G-d. This integrated understanding, seeing the Master’s words rooted in the deepest truths of Torah, Prophets, and Writings, allows us to perceive the consistent call to covenantal integrity that echoes throughout our sacred texts.

 

Some Questions to Ponder:

 

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

 

 

 

Blessing After Torah Study

 

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

Count 49 days on Saturday night, May 31, 2025

 

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’Olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tizivanu al sefirat ha’omer.

 

Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.

 

Today is forty-nine days, which is seven weeks of the Omer.

Malchut ShebeMalchut

Then read the following:

 

 

Ephesians 6:23-24 Shalom^[63] to the brothers, and love^[64] with faithful obedience,^[65] from G-d the Father and the master Yeshua HaMashiach. Chesed be with all those who love our master Yeshua HaMashiach^[66] in sincerity. Amen ve Amen.

 

 

Next Shabbat:

Shabbat: “Ki Tavou, El-Erets” – “When you enter into the land”

 

 

Contents of Next Week’s Torah Seder

 

·        Meal Offerings and Libations – Numbers 15:1-16

·        Challah – Numbers 15:17-21

·        Sin Offering for Unintentional Sins – Numbers 15:22-29

·        Blaspheming the LORD – Numbers 15:30-31

·        The Sabbath-Breaker – Numbers 15:32-36

·        Tzitzit – Numbers 15:37-41

 

Next week’s Reading Assignment:

 

 

Upcoming Festival

Sivan 6/7, 5785 / June 2-3, 2025

Sunday Evening – Tuesday Evening

 

Chag Shabuoth 5785

Festival of Weeks / Pentecost 2025

 

For more information on this festival, please read the following studies:

https://www.betemunah.org/shavuot.html; & https://www.betemunah.org/freedom.html

 

 

Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Edited by His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham

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