Esnoga Bet Emunah 4544 Highline Dr. SE Olympia, WA 98501 United States of America © 2016 http://www.betemunah.org/ E-Mail: gkilli@aol.com

Esnoga Bet El 102 Broken Arrow Dr. Paris TN 38242 United States of America © 2016 http://torahfocus.com/ E-Mail: waltoakley@charter.net

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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	First Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
II Adar 16, 5776 – March. 25/26, 2016	First Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

Amarillo, TX, U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 7:46 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 8:42 PM	Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 7:28 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 8:22 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 5:35 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 6:27 PM
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 7:39 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 8:36 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 5:49 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 6:39 PM	Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 7:17 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 8:09 PM
Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 6:52 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 7:49 PM	Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 7:14 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 8:19 PM	Port Orange, FL, U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 7:21 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 8:15 PM
San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 7:31 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 8:25 PM	Sheboygan  & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 6:52 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 7:54 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 6:56 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 7:44 PM
St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 7:01 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 7:59 PM	Tacoma, WA, U.S. Fri. Mar 25 2016 – Candles at 7:12 PM Sat. Mar 26 2016 – Habdalah 8:18 PM

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

Roll of Honor:

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 Yoel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Rivka bat Dorit

His Honor Paqid Adon Tsuriel 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

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Leah bat Sarah & beloved mother

Her Excellency Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah & beloved family

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

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

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

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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Jacquelyn Bennett

His Excellency Adon Eliezer ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Chava bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Aviner ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Chagit bat Sarah

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

His Excellency Adon Jarod Barak Barnum and beloved wife HE Giberet Crystal Barnum

His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill

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.

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

We pray for His Excellency Adon Yehoshua ben Abraham and his beloved wife Giberet Ruth for their health problems. May our G-d, most blessed be He have mercy on them and speedily heal them physically, spiritually and mentally, and be promptly restored to good health. We also pray that His Excellency Adon Yehoshua ben Abraham might be able to find a good and secure job, that will permit him to study Torah regularly, and we all say amen ve amen!

We also pray for His Excellency Adon Scott Allen that his business venture may be successful in order to provide for his and his beloved family needs, and we all say: amen ve amen!

We also pray for His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham and his beloved wife Her Honor Giberet Karmelah bat Sarah. His Honor had a fall and has problems with his leg and arm, and Her Honor has problems with her legs. Please pray that the the Master of the universe have mercy for their Honors, and restore them to full health speedily soon, and we all say amen ve amen!

We also pray for Her Excellency Prof. Giberet Emunah bat Sarah and her College situation. We pray that G-d, most blessed be He, grant Her Excellency to prosper most copiously, and that G-d’s blessings be apparent to all; and that her college may prosper to the benefit of all concerned, and we say amen ve amen!

We want to most sincerely welcome to our family three most brave couples who wholeheartedly have embraced the yokes of the Torah and of the Kingdom of Yisrael to His Excellency Adon Aviner ben Abraham and his beloved wife Her Excellency Giberet Chagit bat Sarah; His Excellency Adon Eliezer ben Abraham and his beloved wife Her Excellency Giberet Chava bat Sarah; and His Excellency Adon Ovadya ben Abraham and his beloved wife Her Excellency Giberet Mirit bat Sarah! We also wish them long life, good health and a life devoted to the study of Torah and good deeds, and we all say amen ve amen! Mazal Tov!

Shabbat: “Shuv El-Eretz” - “Return unto the Land”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
שׁוּב אֶל-אֶרֶץ
Shuv El-Eretz	Reader 1 – B’resheet 31:3-13	Reader 1 – B’resheet 27:28-30*
“Return unto the Land”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 31:14-16	Reader 2 – B’resheet 27:31-33
“Vuelvete a la tierra”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 31:17-25	Reader 3 – B’resheet 27:28-33
B’resheet (Gen.) 31:3 – 32:3	Reader 4 – B’resheet 31:26-35
Ashlamatah: Jer. 30:10-18 + 22	Reader 5 – B’resheet 31:36-42
	Reader 6 – B’resheet 31:43-47	Reader 1 – B’resheet 27:28-30
Psalm 26:1-12	Reader 7 – B’resheet 3148 – 32:3:	Reader 2 – B’resheet 27:31-33
	Maftir – B’resheet 32:1-3	Reader 3 – B’resheet 27:28-33
N.C.: Jude 4-5, Luke 6:27-42, Acts 7:1-53	Jer. 30:10-18 + 22

* We will be changing to this new Lectionary in our regular Torah Seder commentaries starting this coming Nisan 08, 5776 (Shabbat HaGadol) – April 15/16, 2016.

Blessings Before Torah Study

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

These are the Laws for which the Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when 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!

Contents of the Torah Seder

· The Flight of Jacob – Genesis 31:3-21

· Laban’s Pursuit – Genesis 31:22-54

· Manhanaim – Genesis 32:1-3

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’resheet (Genesis) 31:3 – 32:3

Rashi’s Translation	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
3. And the Lord said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your forefathers and to your birthplace, and I will be with you."	3. And the LORD said to Ya’aqob, Return to the land of your fathers, and to your native place; and My Word will be for your help.
4. So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flocks.	4. And Ya’aqob sent Naphtali, who was a swift messenger, and he called Rachel and Leah, and they came into the field unto his flock.
5. And he said to them, "I see your father's countenance, that he is not disposed toward me [as he was] yesterday and the day before, but the God of my father was with me.	5. And he said to them, I consider the looks of your father, and, behold, they are not peaceful with me as yesterday and as before it; but the God of my father has been to my aid.
6. And you know that with all my might I served your father.	6. And you know that with all my strength I have served your father,
7. But your father mocked me and changed my wages ten times ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me.	7. but your father has deceived me, and has changed my wages ten portions; yet the LORD has not given him power to do me evil. JERUSALEM: Has commuted.
8. If he would say thus, 'Speckled ones shall be your wages,' all the animals would bear speckled ones, and if he would say thus, 'Ringed ones shall be your wages,' all the animals would bear ringed ones.	8. lf now he said, The streaked will be your wages, all the sheep bare streaked; and if now he said, The spotted-footed will be your wages, all the sheep bare those which were spotted in their feet:
9. Thus, God separated your father's livestock and gave it to me.	9. and the LORD has taken away the flock of your father, and has given (it) to me. JERUSALEM: And the Word of the LORD has taken away.
10. And it came to pass at the time the animals came into heat, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the he goats that mounted the animals were ringed, speckled, and striped.	10. And it was at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and, behold, the goats which rose upon the flock were spotted in their feet, or streaked or white in their backs.
11. And an angel of God said to me in a dream, 'Jacob!' And I said, 'Here I am.'	11. And the Angel of the LORD said to me, in a dream, Ya’aqob. And I said, Behold me. JERUSALEM: Ya’aqob answered in the holy tongue, and said, Behold me.
12. And he said, 'Now lift your eyes and see [that] all the he goats mounting the animals are ringed, speckled, and striped, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.	12. And He said, Lift up now your eyes and see: all the goats that rise upon the flock are spotted in their feet, or streaked or white in their backs: because all the injury that Laban has done you is manifest before Me.
13. I am the God of Beth el, where you anointed a monument, where you pronounced to Me a vow. Now, arise, go forth from this land and return to the land of your birth.'"	13. I am ELOHIM who did reveal Myself to you at Beth El where you did anoint the pillar, and swear the oath before Me. Arise now, go forth from this land, and return to the land of your birth.
14. And Rachel and Leah replied and said to him, "Do we still have a share or an inheritance in our father's house?	14. And Rachel answered with the consent of Leah, and said to him, Can there now be yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?
15. Are we not considered by him as strangers, for he sold us and also consumed our money?	15. Are we not considered by him as strangers? For he has sold us, and eating he has eaten our money. JERUSALEM: Are we not considered strangers to him? For he has sold us and, behold he is not willing to give us our dowry.
16. But all the wealth that God separated from our father is ours and our children's. So now, all that God said to you, do."	16. Therefore all the wealth that the LORD has taken from our father is ours and our children's. And now, all that the LORD has said to you, do.
17. So Jacob rose, and he lifted up his sons and his wives upon the camels.	17. And Ya’aqob arose, and set his children and his wives upon camels.
18. And he led all his livestock and all his possessions that he had acquired, the purchase of his acquisition, which he had acquired in Padan aram, to come to Isaac his father, to the land of Canaan.	18. And he led all his herds and his substance which he had obtained in Padan Aram to go unto Yitschaq his father in the land of Kenaan. JERUSALEM: His treasure.
19. Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and [meanwhile] Rachel stole her father's teraphim.	19. And Laban had gone to shear his flock; and Rachel stole the images. For they had slain a man, a firstborn, and had cut off his head; they salted it with salt and balsams, and wrote incantations on a plate of gold, and put it under his tongue, and set it up in the wall, and it spoke with them; and unto such their father bowed himself.
20. And Jacob concealed from Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.	20. And Ya’aqob stole the knowledge of Laban the Aramite, in that he did not show him when he went.
21. So he and all that were his fled, and he arose and crossed the river, and he directed his face toward Mount Gilead.	21. And he went, he with all that he had. And he arose and crossed the Pherat, and set his face to ascend toward the mountain of Gilead; because he saw by the Holy Spirit that from thence would be deliverance for his sons, in the days of Jephtach, who was of Gilead.
22. On the third day, Laban was informed that Jacob had fled.	22. But after Ya’aqob had gone, the shepherds went to the well, but found no water; and they waited three days, if that it might (again) overflow; but it overflowed not; and then came they to Laban on the third day, and he knew that Ya’aqob had fled; because through his righteousness/generosity it had flowed twenty years. JERUSALEM: And it was, when the shepherds were gathered together, they sought to water the flock, but were not able; and they waited two and three days, if that the well might overflow; but it overflowed not; and then came they to Laban in the third day, because Ya’aqob had fled.
23. So he took his kinsmen with him, and he pursued him seven days' journey, and he overtook him at Mount Gilead.	23. And he took his kinsmen with him, and pursued after him, going seven days, and overtook him, while sojourning in Mount Gilead offering praise and praying before his God.
24. And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night, and He said to him, "Beware lest you speak with Jacob either good or evil."	24. And there came an angel with a word from before the LORD; and he drew the sword against Laban the deceitful in a dream of the night, and said to him, Beware lest you speak with Ya’aqob from good to evil.
25. And Laban overtook Jacob, and Jacob pitched his tent on the mountain, and Laban pitched with his kinsmen on Mount Gilead.	25. And Laban came upon Ya’aqob. And Ya’aqob had spread his tent in the mountain, and Laban made his brethren abide in the mount of Gilead.
26. And Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done, that you concealed from me, and led away my daughters like prisoners of war?	26. And Laban said to Ya’aqob, What have you done? You have stolen my knowledge, and led away my daughters like captives of the sword.
27. Why have you fled secretly, and concealed from me, and not told me? I would have sent you away with joy and with songs, and with drum and with harp.	27. Why did you hide from me that you would go, and steal my knowledge, and not tell me? For if you had told me, I would have sent you away with mirth, and with hymns, and with tambourines, and with harps.
28. And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and daughters. Now, you have acted foolishly.	28. Neither have you suffered me to kiss the sons of my daughters, nor my daughters. Now have you been foolish in what you have done.
29. I have the power to inflict harm upon you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Beware of speaking with Jacob either good or bad.'	29. There is sufficiency in my hand to do evil with you; but the God of your father spoke with me in the evening, saying, “Be careful of speaking with Ya’aqob from good to evil.” JERUSALEM: There are strength and ability.
30. But now, you have gone away, for you longed for your father's house, [but]why have you stolen my gods?"	30. Now going you will go; because desiring you have desired the house of your father: (but) why have you stolen the images of my idols?
31. And Jacob replied, and he said to Laban, "Because I was afraid, because I said, 'Lest you steal your daughters from me.'	31. And Ya’aqob answered and said to Laban, Because I feared, and said, Lest you violently take away your daughters from me.
32. The one with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our brothers, recognize for yourself what is with me, and take [it] for yourself." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.	32. With whomsoever you will find the images of your idols, let him die before his time. Before all our brethren take knowledge of what with me is yours, and take it. But Ya’aqob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
33. So Laban entered Jacob's tent and Leah's tent and the tent[s] of the two handmaids, but he did not find [them]; and he had come out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent.	33. And Laban went into the tent of Ya’aqob, and into the tent of Leah, and into the tent of the two concubines, but found not. And he went out from the tent of Leah, and entered the tent of Rachel.
34. But Rachel had taken the teraphim and placed them into the camel saddle and sat upon them; so Laban felt about the entire tent but did not find [them].	34. But Rachel had taken the images, and laid them in the paniers of the camels, and sat upon them. And he searched all the tent, but found not.
35. And she said to her father, "Let my lord not be annoyed, for I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me." So he searched, but did not find the teraphim.	35. And she said, Let it not be displeasing in my lord's eyes that I am not able to arise before you, because I have the way of women. And he searched, but found not the images.
36. And Jacob was annoyed, and he quarreled with Laban, and he said to Laban, "What is my transgression? What is my sin, that you have pursued me?	36. And the anger of Ya’aqob took fire, and he contended with Laban. And Ya’aqob answered and said to Laban, What is my sin, and what is my transgression, that you have so eagerly come after me?
37. For you have felt about all my things. What have you found of all the utensils of your house? Put it here, in the presence of my kinsmen and your kinsmen, and let them decide between the two of us.	37. Having, therefore, searched all my vessels, what have you found of all the vessels of your house? Lay now the matter before my brethren and your brethren, and let them decide the truth between us two.
38. Already twenty years have I been with you, and your ewes and she goats have not aborted, neither have I eaten the rams of your flocks.	38. These twenty years have I been with you: your ewes and your goats have not failed, and the price of the rams of the flock I have not eaten.
39. I have not brought home to you anything torn [by other animals]; I would suffer its loss; from my hand you would demand it, what was stolen by day and what was stolen at night.	39. That torn by wild beasts I have not brought to you; for had I sinned, from my hand you would have required it. What was stolen in the day by men, that have I made good; and what was stolen in the night by wild beasts was made good also. JERUSALEM: The dead I have not brought to you; every one which had fled from the number, I have made that good; of my hands you have required it: and what thieves stole by day or wild beasts devoured by night I have made good.
40. I was [in the field] by day when the heat consumed me, and the frost at night, and my sleep wandered from my eyes.	40. I have been in the field; by day the heat has devoured me, and the cold by night, and sleep has been parted from me.
41. This is twenty years that I have spent in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your animals, and you changed my wages ten times ten times.	41. These twenty years have I been in your house, serving you; fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your sheep; and you have changed my wages ten times.
42. Had not the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, been for me, you would now have sent me away empty handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and He reproved [you] last night."	42. Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and He whom Yitschaq fears had been in my help, even now have you sent me away empty: but my affliction and the travail of my hands are manifest before the LORD, and therefore He admonished you in the evening.
43. And Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the animals are my animals, and all that you see is mine. Now, what would I do to these daughters of mine today, or to their children, whom they have borne?	43. And Laban answered and said to Ya’aqob, The children whom you have received of your wives are my children, and the children whom they may bear will be reputed as mine, and the sheep are my sheep and all that you see is mine. And for my daughters what can I do this day, and for the soils which they have borne?
44. So now, come, let us form a covenant, you and I, and may He be a witness between me and you."	44. And now come, let us strike a covenant, I and you, and it will be for a witness between me and you.
45. So Jacob took a stone and set it up [as] a monument.	45. And Ya’aqob took a stone and set it up for a pillar.
46. And Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather stones," and they took stones and made a pile, and they ate there by the pile.	46. And Ya’aqob said to his sons, whom he called his brethren, Collect stones. And they collected stones, and made a mound, and they ate upon the mound.
47. And Laban called it Yegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Gal ed.	47. And Laban called it Ogar Sahid but Ya’aqob called it in the holy tongue, Gal-ed.
48. And Laban said, "This pile is a witness between me and you today." Therefore, he called it Gal ed.	48. And Laban said, This mound is a witness between me and you today; therefore it was called, Gal-ed;
49. And Mizpah, because he said, "May the Lord look between me and you when we are hidden from each other.	49. And The Observatory also it was called because he said The Lord will observe between me and you when we are hidden each man from his neighbour.
50. If you afflict my daughters, or if you take wives in addition to my daughters when no one is with us, behold! God is a witness between me and you."	50. If you will afflict my daughters, doing them injury, and if you take upon my daughters, there is no man to judge us, the Word of the LORD seeing is the witness between me and you.
51. And Laban said to Jacob, "Behold this pile and behold this monument, which I have cast between me and you.	51. And Laban said to Ya’aqob, Behold this mound, and behold the pillar which you hast reared between me and you.
52. This pile is a witness, and this monument is a witness, that I will not pass this pile [to go] to you and that you shall not pass this pile and this monument to [come to] me to [do] harm.	52. This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I may not pass beyond this mound to you, and that you mayest not pass beyond this mound and this pillar to do harm.
53. May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor judge between us, the god of their father." And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.	53. The God of Abraham and the God of Nachor will judge between us, the God of their fathers. But Ya’aqob sware by the God whom his father Yitschaq feared.
54. And Jacob slaughtered a slaughtering on the mountain, and he invited his friends to eat a meal, and they ate bread and lodged on the mountain.	54. And Ya’aqob slew sacrifices in the mount, and invited his kinsmen who came with Laban to help themselves to bread, (or strengthen themselves with bread,) and they helped themselves to bread, and lodged in the mount.
1. And Laban arose early in the morning and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them, and Laban went and returned to his place.	1. And Laban arose in the morning, and kissed the sons of Ya’aqob and his daughters, and blessed them; and Laban went and returned to his place.
2. And Jacob went on his way, and angels of God met him.	2. And Ya’aqob went on his way, and the angels of the LORD met him.
3. And Jacob said when he saw them, "This is the camp of God," and he named the place Mahanaim.	3. And Ya’aqob said when he saw them, These are not the host of Esau who are coming to meet me, nor the host of Laban, who have returned from pursuing me; but they are the host of the holy angels who are sent from before the LORD. Therefore the name of that place he called, in the language of the sanctuary, Machanaim. JERUSALEM: And Ya’aqob, when he beheld them, said, Perhaps they are a host from Laban, the brother of my mother, coming to set against me the array of battle to slay me; or (rather) they are a host of the holy angels from before the LORD, who are come to save me from their hands. And he called the name of that place Machanaim.

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.

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol IIIa: The Twelve Tribes

By: Rabbi Yaaqov Culi, Translated by: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

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

Vol. 3a – “The Twelve Tribes,” pp. 89-109

Rashi’s Commentary for:  B’resheet (Gen.) 31:3 – 32:3

3 Return to the land of your forefathers And there I will be with you, but as long as you are still attached to the unclean one, it is impossible to cause My presence to rest upon you.-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 36]

4 and called Rachel and Leah First Rachel and then Leah, because she (Rachel) was the mainstay of the household, because, on her account, Jacob had joined Laban. Even Leah’s children acknowledged this matter, for Boaz and his tribunal of the tribe of Judah say, “like Rachel and like Leah, both of whom built, etc.” (Ruth 4:11). They place Rachel before Leah.-[from Tanchuma Buber, Vayetze 15]

7 ten times ten times Heb. עֲשֶׂרֶתמֽנִים . מֽנִים is not less than ten.

ten times Heb. מֽנִים , a term denoting the base number, which is ten. We learn that he (Laban) changed his stipulation a hundred times.

10 and behold, the he-goats Although Laban had separated them all, so that the animals would not conceive their likeness, the angels were bringing them from the flock that had been given over into the hands of Laban’s sons to the flock that was in Jacob’s hands.-[from Gen. Rabbah 73:10]

and striped Heb. וּבְרֻדִָּים [To be explained] as the Targum renders: וּפְצִיחִין and open, faissie in Old French, striped. A white thread encircles his body all around, and its stripes are open and penetrating from one to the other, but I have no evidence from Scripture.

13 I am the God of Beth-el Heb. הָאֵל בֵּית-אֵל , like אֵל בֵּית-אֵל . The “hey” is superfluous, and it is the way of the Scriptures to speak this way, like “For you are coming to the land of (הָאָרֶץ) Canaan” (Num. 34:2).

where you anointed This is an expression of grandeur and greatness, just as one is anointed king. So [is the meaning of] “and he poured oil on top of it” (above, 28:18), to be anointed as an altar.-[following Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel]

where you pronounced to Me a vow And you must pay it up, for you said, “it shall be the house of God” (Gen. 28:22), that you would offer up sacrifices there.-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 35]

14 Do we still have Why should we stop you from returning? Do we still hope to inherit anything of our father’s property among the males?

15 Are we not considered by him as strangers Even at a time when people usually give a dowry to their daughters, viz. at the time of marriage, he behaved toward us as [one behaves toward] strangers, for he sold us to you (for you served him fourteen years for us, and he gave us to you only) as wages for labor.

our money For he kept the wages for your labor.

16 But all the wealth Heb. כִּי . This כִּי here means “but.” That is, we have nothing of our father’s, but what the Holy One, blessed be He, separated from our father is ours.

separated Heb. הִצִיל , a term meaning that he separated, and so every expression of הַצָלָה in Scripture means separation, that one separates another from harm or from the enemy.

17 his sons and his wives He put the males before the females, but Esau put the females before the males, as it is said (below, 36:6): “And Esau took his wives and his sons, etc.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:5].

18 the purchase of his acquisition What he had purchased from [the sale of] his animals, viz. manservants, maidservants, camels, and donkeys.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:5]

19 to shear his sheep that he had given into the hands of his sons, a journey of three days between him and Jacob.

and [meanwhile] Rachel stole her father’s teraphim She intended to separate her father from idolatry.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:5]

22 On the third day For there was a three-day journey between them.

23 his kinsmen Heb. אֶחָיו , lit., his brothers, his kinsmen.

seven-days’ journey All those three days [during the time] the reporter went to tell Laban, Jacob went on his way. We find that Jacob was six days distant from Laban, and on the seventh day, Laban overtook him. We find that the entire distance that Jacob had traversed in seven days, Laban traversed in one day (as it is said: “and he pursued him seven-days’ journey,” but it does not say: “and he pursued him seven days.”) -[from Gen. Rabbah 74:6]

24 either good or evil All the good of the wicked is considered evil to the righteous/generous.-[from Yev. 103]

26 like prisoners of war lit., like captives of a sword. Every army that goes to war is called חָרֶב , sword.

27 and concealed from me [lit., you stole me, meaning] you concealed from me.

29 I have the power There is strength and power in my hand to inflict harm upon you. Also, every tk that refers to the Deity means that He is mighty and has much strength.

30 you longed You wished. There are many words in Scripture (Ps. 84: 3): “My soul yearns, yea, yea, it pines”; (Job:14:15) “You desire the work of Your hands.”

31 Because I was afraid, etc.-He answered him the first [question] first, that he said to him (verse 26), “and you led away my daughters, etc.”- [from Avoth d’Rabbi Nathan, 37:11-13]

32 shall not live And from that curse, Rachel died on the way (Gen. Rabbah 74:4).

what is with me of yours.-[from Targum Jonathan]

33 Jacob’s tent That is, Rachel’s tent, for Jacob was usually with her, and so Scripture states: (below, 46:19): “The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife.” In reference to all of them, however, it does not say, “Jacob’s wife.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:9]

and entered Rachel’s tent-when he came out of Leah’s tent, he went back into Rachel’s tent before he searched the tent[s] of the handmaids. Why [did he bother to do] all this? Because he was aware that she was one who touches everything.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:9]

34 into the camel saddle Heb. בְּכַר , an expression of pillows (כָּרִים) and cushions וּכְסָתוֹת , as the Targum renders: בַָּעֲבִיטָא דְגַמְלָא , which is a saddle, made like a pillow, and in Eruvin 15b, 16a) we learned: “If they encircled it with pillows (עֲבִיטִין) .” These are the pack-saddles of the camels, bastel in French, pack-saddle.

36 that you have pursued Heb. דָלַקְתָּ , you pursued, like (Lam. 4:19): “they chased us (דָּלָקֻנוּ) on the mountains,” and like (I Sam. 17: 53): “from pursuing (מִדְּלוֹק) the Philistines.”-[from Targum Onkelos]

37 and let them decide Let them clarify who is right, aprover in Old French, prove, clarify.-[from Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel]

38 have not aborted They have not aborted their fetuses, like: (Hos. 9:14): “a miscarrying (מַשְׁכִּיל) womb” (Job 21:10): “his cow bears young and does not abort (תְּשַׁכֵּל) .”

the rams of your flocks From here they deduced that even a one-day-old ram is called a ram. Otherwise, what is his boast? He did not eat rams, but he ate lambs. If so, he is a thief.-[from B.K. 65b]

39. anything torn By a lion or a wolf.-[from Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel]

I would suffer its loss Heb. אֲחַטֶּנָה , an expression similar to (Jud. 20:16): “and not miss (יַחֲטִיא) ”; (I Kings 1:21): “My son Solomon and I will be lacking (חַטָּאִים) .” I would suffer the loss; if it was missing, it was missing to me, for you would demand it from my hand.

I would suffer its loss The Targum renders: דַּהֲוַת שַׁגְיָא מִמִנְיָנָא , what was missing (נִפְקֶדֶת) and lacking from the count, like (Num. 31:49): “and no man was missing (נִפְקַד) from us,” which the Targum renders: לָא שְׁגָא.

what was stolen by day and what was stolen at night - גְנֻבְתִי יוֹם וּגְנֻבְתִי לַיְלָה , [similar to] גְנוּבַת יוֹם אוֹ גְנוּבַת לַיְלָה , what was stolen by day and what was stolen at night, I paid all.

what was stolen Heb. גְּנֻבְתִי Similar to (Lam. 1:1): “great (רַבָָּתִי) among the nations, a princess (שָָׂרָתִי) among the provinces”; (Isa. 1:21): “full (מְלֵאֲתִי) of justice”; (Hos. 10:11): “that loves (אוֹהַבְתִּי) to thresh.”

40 the heat consumed me An expression of (Deut. 4:24): “a consuming (אֽכְלָה) fire.”

and the frost Heb. וְקֶרַח , like (Ps. 147:17): “He hurls His ice (קַרְחוֹ) .” The Targum renders: גְלִידא , ice, or frost.

my sleep Heb. שְׁנָתִי . An expression of שֵׁנָה , sleep.

41 and you changed my wages You would change the stipulation between us from speckled to spotted and from ringed to striped.

42 and the Fear of Isaac He did not wish to say, “the God of Isaac,” because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not associate His name with the righteous/generous while they are alive. Although He said to him upon his departure from Beer-sheba (above, 28:13): “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac,” since his eyes had become dim and a blind man is like a dead man, Jacob was afraid to say, “the God of,” and said, “and the Fear of.”

and He reproved [you] last night Heb. וַיוֹכַח , an expression of reproof, but it is not an expression of clarification.

43 Now, what would I do there? How could I entertain the thought of harming them?

44 may He be a witness [I.e.] the Holy One, blessed be He [will be a witness].

46 to his kinsmen [lit., to his brothers.] They are his sons, who were to him like brothers, drawing near him for trouble or for war (Gen. Rabbah 74:13).

47 Yegar Sahadutha The Aramaic translation of Gal-ed.

48 Therefore, he called it Gal-ed The pile is a witness.

49 And Mizpah, because he said, etc. And Mizpah, which is on Mount Gilead, as it is written (Jud. 11:29): “and he passed over Mizpeh of Gilead.” Now, why was it named Mizpah? Because each one said to the other, “May the Lord look (יִצֶף) between me and you if you transgress the covenant.”

when we are hidden And we do not see each other.

50 ...my daughters...my daughters Twice. Bilhah and Zilpah were also his daughters from a concubine.-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 36]

If you afflict my daughters By depriving them of their conjugal rights (Yoma 77).

51 which I have cast Heb. יָרִיתִי , similar to (Exod. 15:4): “He cast (יָרָה) into the sea,” like one who shoots an arrow.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:15]

52 that I Heb. אִם . Here אִם is used as an expression of אֲשֶׁר , that, like (above 24:33): “until (אִם) I have spoken my words.”

[to [do] harm To do harm you may not pass, but you may pass to do business.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:15]

53 the God of Abraham This is holy. [I.e., it refers to the Deity.]-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:16]

and the god of Nahor Profane. [I.e., it refers to pagan deities.]-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:16]

the god of their father Profane. [I.e., it refers to pagan deities.]

54 And Jacob slaughtered a slaughtering He slaughtered animals for a feast.

his friends [Heb. לְאֶחָיו , lit., to his brothers.] To his friends who were with Laban.

to eat a meal Heb. לָחֶם . Any kind of foodstuff is called לֶחֶם [not only bread], like (Dan. 5:1): “made a great feast (לֶחֶם) ”; (Jer. 11:19): “Let us destroy his food (בְּלַחְמוֹ) with wood.”

Chapter 32

2 and angels of God met him Angels of Israel came to greet him to escort him to the land.

3 Mahanaim Two camps, [one of the angels] outside the land, who came with him up to here, and [one of the angels] of Israel, who came to greet him.-[from Tanchuma Vayishlach 3]

Ketubim: Psalms 26:1-12

Rashi’s Translation	Targum
1. Of David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked with sincerity, and I trusted in the Lord; I shall not falter.	1. Of David. Judge me, O LORD, for I have walked in my innocence; and in the LORD I have hoped [and trusted; I will not be shaken.
2. Test me, O Lord, and try me; refine my reins and my heart.	2. Try me, O LORD, and prove me; purify my inmost thoughts.
3. For Your kindness is before my eyes, and I walked in Your truth.	3. Because Your goodness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.
4. I did not sit with dishonest men, neither did I go with hypocrites.	4. I have not reclined to dine with lying men; and I will not enter with those who hide themselves to do evil.
5. I hated the congregation of the evildoers, and I did not sit with the wicked.	5. I hate the gathering of evildoers, and with the wicked I will not recline to dine.
6. I washed my hands with cleanliness, and I encompassed Your altar, O Lord.	6. I will sanctify my hands by my merit, and I have gone around your altar, O LORD.
7. To proclaim thanksgiving with a loud voice and to recite all Your wonders.	7. To make heard the sound of praise, and to tell of all Your wonders.
8. O Lord, I love the dwelling of Your house and the place of the residence of Your glory.	8. O LORD, I love the dwelling of Your sanctuary, and the place of Your glorious tabernacle.
9. Gather not my soul with sinners nor my life with men of blood,	9. My soul will not gather with the sinners, nor my life with the men who shed blood.
10. in whose hands are plots and whose right hand is full of bribery.	10. In whose hands is the purpose of sinning; their right hands are full of bribes.
11. But I walk with sincerity; redeem me and be gracious to me.	11. But I will go about in my innocence; redeem me and have mercy on me.
12. My foot stood on a straight path; I will bless the Lord in assemblies.	12. My foot stands upright; in the gathering of the righteous/generous I will bless the LORD.

Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms 26:1-12

1 Judge me And elsewhere (143:2) he says, “You shall not enter judgment [with Your servant].” Said David: When You judge the wicked, judge me, for compared to the wicked, I am a righteous man, but when You judge the righteous/generous, do not bring me into judgment.

4 and...with hypocrites who go into hidden places to do their deeds in the dark.

neither did I go I am not accustomed to come and enter their assembly.

6 with cleanliness For there is no robbery [involved] in my fulfillment of the commandments.

7 To proclaim Heb. לַשְׁמִעַ , like לְהַשְׁמִיעַ .

all Your wonders This refers to Hallel, which contains mention of the past, mention of Gog and Magog, mention of the Messianic era, and mention of the future.

10 plots Heb. זמה . Every זמה in Scripture is an expression of a plan, some for good and some for evil.

12 My foot stood on a straight path Heb. במישור , on a straight path.

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms 26:1-12

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

The essence of David's lifelong aspiration is condensed into this brief psalm. Perfect innocence, purity, clarity of vision, truth, separation from evil, cleanliness, zeal; all of these find expression in this composition. David yearned for these traits so that he would he deemed worthy of constructing the shrine of human perfection, the Beit HaMikdash. ‘HaShem, I love the House in which You dwell, and the place in which Your glory resides’.^[1]

Late in his career, after a lifetime of arduous preparation, David thought that he had attained the perfection of the patriarchs, Abraham, Yitzchak and Yaaqob. He asked G-d to let him prove his worth by testing him.

G-d acquiesced by tempting David with Bath Sheba, a test that showed that David had not yet achieved flawlessness.

Psalm 26 was composed after David's failure and he uses its verses to convey a double message. On the one hand, David requests a test and explains why he feels ready for it. On the other hand, he expresses his feelings of repentance and remorse after his failure.^[2]

The superscription of this psalm ascribes it’s authorship to David. The Talmud gives us the details and the Zohar connects our psalm to the above incident:

Sanhedrin 107a Rab Judah said in Rab’s name: One should never [intentionally] bring himself to the test, since David king of Israel did so, and fell. He said unto Him, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Why do we say [in prayer] “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” but not the God of David?’ He replied, ‘They were tried by me, but thou wast not.’ Then, replied he, ‘Sovereign of the Universe, examine and try me’ — as it is written, Examine me, O Lord, and try me.^[3] He answered ‘I will test thee, and yet grant thee a special privilege;^[4] for I did not inform them [of the nature of their trial beforehand], yet, I inform thee that I will try thee in a matter of adultery.’ Straightway, And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed etc.^[5] R. Johanan said: He changed his night couch to a day couch,^[6] but he forgot the halachah: there is a small organ in man which satisfies him in his hunger but makes him hunger when satisfied.^[7] And he walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.^[8] Now Bath Sheba was cleansing her hair behind a screen,^[9] when Satan came to him, appearing in the shape of a bird. He shot an arrow at him, which broke the screen, thus she stood revealed, and he saw her. Immediately, And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath Sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her, and she came unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanliness: and she returned unto her house. Thus it is written, Thou host proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou host tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.^[10] He said thus: ‘Would that a bridle had fallen into the mouth of mine enemy [i.e., himself], that I had not spoken thus.’^[11]

Soncino Zohar, Bereshit, Section 1, Page 82a … David further said to God: “Sovereign of the Universe, wherefore do not the Israelites conclude one of their blessings with my name as they do with the name of Abraham, [Tr. note: The first blessing of the Amidah.] of whom it is written ‘I am thy shield’?”^[12] God replied: “Abraham I have already tried and tested and found to be wholly steadfast.” Said David: “If so, ‘examine me, O Lord, and prove me, try my reins and my heart’ (Psalm 26:2).”

HaShem Acquiesced by tempting David with Batsheba, a test that showed that David had not yet achieved flawlessness. This psalm was composed after David’s failure and he uses its verses to convey a double message. On the one hand, David requests a test and explains why he feels ready for it. On the other hand, he expresses his feelings of repentance and remorse after his failure.^[13]

If you think about it, when a teacher has a student who constantly thinks that he has the correct answer; the teacher at some point must ask a question that such a student cannot answer. Otherwise, the child will grow arrogant and conceited. In his eyes, all of his classmates will be diminished. So it was with David when he asked for a test. In order for him to continue to grow, HaShem had to show him that he was not yet perfect. On the other hand, none of the Patriarchs asked for a test. Therefore, the test that they were given was designed to show them how high they had climbed in their reach for a relationship with HaShem.

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz^[14] explains why it is that King David is told by HaShem that he is going to fail. Rav Shmuelevitz says that every time we are tested by our evil inclination, HaShem helps us overcome our evil desires and hence we are able to succeed in our task. However, we are only able to succeed because HaShem helps us overcome our base desires. If we were to request a test then HaShem does not help us overcome these base desires, because who are we to request tests? We should never put ourselves into a dangerous situation where we are subjecting ourselves to the evil inclination willfully.^[15]

HaShem accepted David’s demand for a test, and King David failed! So he then included in his prayer a request not to be tested with temptation.^[16] Our psalm recounts this experience.

I would like to explore the Mishkan^[17] from a different view than we have previously. I would like to look at it’s analog in the human body.

THE ANALOG OF THE IBN EZRA

The analog first boldly drawn by the Ibn Ezra^[18] in his commentary to Bereshit 1:26 now returns with unusual force:

…God forbid that the Creator should have any corporeal qualities or tangible form. Behold the text proclaims “‘to whom shall you compare Me that I might be similar?’ says the Holy One”.^[19] Rather, because the supernal soul of man is eternal, it therefore shares an affinity with God. So too the soul is incorporeal and it also fills the whole body with life. The human body is thus like a miniature world. Blessed be God who began by fashioning the great cosmos and concluded by fashioning man, the microcosm!

For Ibn Ezra, there was a parallel to be drawn between HaShem the Creator and the soul of the human being. HaShem is utterly without body or form, but His eternal spirit of “glory” fills the material cosmos and inspires it with life and meaning. Similarly, though we must regard Ibn Ezra’s words with caution as a provocative analog that can convey only part of the matter, the human soul, ethereal and eternal, grants life to the human body, filling it with potential and purpose after the manner of the Creator. And the Mishkan as well, representing the proverbial link between heaven and earth, is thus constructed according to a similar dynamic. We return once again to the laden words of the Ibn Ezra, this time in his discussion of the meaning of the Mishkan, where he advances the explanation of Rav Sa’adia Gaon:^[20]

The Gaon explained that there are in fact three worlds. This terrestrial world is the macrocosm, the Mishkan is intermediate, and the human body is the microcosm…^[21]

While the Gaon goes on to draw specific comparisons between heavenly elements, the items of the Mishkan, and the organs of the human body, who could deny the overall persuasiveness of his linkage?

The Mishkan (not the Temple) as a Body

The Mishkan (the Tabernacle in the wilderness) alludes to the human body. Rambam thus wrote the following to his son:

My son Avraham, you must realize that the Mishkan alludes to the human body.

The Holy Ark, the innermost part, alludes to the human heart, which is the innermost part of the body. The Ark was the main part of the Mishkan because it contained the Tablets of the Covenant. So, too, is the human heart the main part of the body. It is the source of his life, his knowledge and his understanding. The wings of the keruvim, which spread over the Ark, allude to the lungs. The lungs are over the heart like wings and they provide it with air. The Table in the Mishkan alludes to the human stomach. Just as food and drink are placed on the table, so the stomach is filled with food and drink that a person consumes and from there it is distributed to the other parts of the body.

The Menorah (candlestick) in the Mishkan alludes to the human mind. Just as the Menorah gives forth light, so the intellect enlightens the entire body. Three stems went out from the Menorah on each side. These allude to the three limbs that extend from each side of the human body, the eye, the ear, and the hand. The intellect directs these three parts of the body. The incense altar alludes to the sense of smell. The sacrificial altar alludes to the intestines, which digest the food that enters the body. The veil covering the Mishkan alludes to the diaphragm, which is like a barrier between the parts of the body. The washstand alludes to the moisture and other liquids in the body. The goats’ wool hangings allude to the skin that covers the human body. The beams of the Mishkan allude to the ribs.^[22]

The Bet HaMikdash is Female

The parts of the Bet HaMikdash all are in the feminine gender, in Hebrew. This suggests that the structure and it’s utensils are part of a female body. This aspect is further emphasized when we note that the Torah calls a man’s wife his “house”.^[23] A wife is a house. Thus, the Bet HaMikdash, “The House of the Holy One”, would also be female.

If one looks at the form of the Bet HaMikdash as emphasized by the courtyards, we can see that the Woman’s courtyard is the largest courtyard, and it is at the “bottom” of the structure. This mirrors the female body which has the largest part at the bottom of the structure. Please remember that the arms and legs are not part of the structure, only the head and torso.

The following analogs between the human body and the Mishkan should help to illustrate this point.

Head = Heichal

The Ohel Moed (the Tent of Meeting) was divided into two rooms. The back room was called the Kodesh HaKodashim, the Holy of Holies. Placed in this room was the Aron, Holy Ark, the most sacred of the articles in the Sanctuary. The Holy Ark consisted of three boxes, one inside the other. The innermost box contained the two tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were engraved. These Commandments were the outline of all the mitzvot in the Torah. It represented the brain of the perfect man. Just as a brain has two hemispheres, the right and the left, so too there were two tablets. Just as man contemplates only Torah ideas and ideals, so too the Ark contained the essence of Torah. Just as the brain is triply encased in a skull with two membranes, the tablets were also encased in three boxes.

We can also view the brain in a second way: The brain is enclosed in a double membrane, and the entrance to the Holy of Holies was through a double curtain.

Brain = Ark of the Covenant.

The brain has two major portions, the left and right hemispheres of the brain. These two correspond with the two Luchot, the tablets on which were inscribed the ten commandments.

The Holy of Holies houses the Ark of the Covenant topped by the two winged Keruvim,^[24] one of which represents HaShem, while the other represents Israel. The Divine voice heard by man emerges from between these two Keruvim.

When Moses arrived at the Ohel Moed, the Tent of Meeting, to speak with HaShem, he heard the voice speaking to him from atop the cover that was upon the Ark of the Testimony, from between the two Keruvim, and He spoke to him.^[25]

Additionally, as Torah is wisdom and is stored in the ark, so, too, does wisdom come from the brain of man.

Cranial Membrane = Curtain.

Chazal^[26] teach that the curtain moved rhythmically in and out as though moved by the breath of a man. Some have see the poles of the ark, which protruded into the curtain, as forming breasts. In this perspective one could see the curtain as the chest of a woman.

Eyes = Menorah + Shulchan.

The eyes are used for two purposes. One is used for intellectual pursuits, enlightenment, symbolized by the light of the Menorah. Just as the Menorah’s fuel was the purest of oil, so too should man strive for the purity of enlightenment. According to the Kabbalists, there are seven areas of spiritual wisdom and the seven branches of the Menorah represent them. The second function of the eyes is for survival: to see and avoid pitfalls, to search out food in order to live; this is symbolized by the showbread (Shulchan).

Ears = Chamber of Hewn Stone

As the ears are partly internal and partly external to the body, so, too, the Sanhedrin met in the chamber of hewn stone which was partly inside the Temple and partly outside.

The Sanhedrin “heard” cases.

Nose = Golden Altar of Incense

Just as the nose is the organ of smell and is located in the center of the face, the Golden Altar was located in the center of the room and upon it the fragrant smelling incense was offered. The incense had great mystical meaning and represented the spreading of pleasantness among men. This offering brought atonement for gossip and tale bearing.

Mouth = Door to the Heichal^[27].

The opening of the Kodesh (the Holy place), which led to the Azara (Courtyard), was at the bottom of the room. It represented the mouth of man. Here the kohanim (Priests) stood when they uttered the priestly benediction every morning.

Why did HaShem communicate to Moshe through the child-like Keruvim? Are the Keruvim the vocal chords?

Salivary glands = Laver.

As the salivary glands provide water at the entrance to the mouth, so too does the laver provide water at the “mouth” of the Heichel (the sanctuary building).

Heart = The base of the altar

The sacrificial blood was dashed against the altar and then poured out at the base of the altar. As the altar has four corners, so too does the heart have four chambers. As the heart has a higher and lower part, so too does the altar have a red line that marks the upper and lower parts (some offerings had their blood dashed above and some had the blood dashed below).

Stomach = Altar

Outside the Ohel Moed / Heichel, in the center of the courtyard, was the main Altar upon which the sacrifices were offered and consumed. This represents the stomach and internal organs of man.

The sacrifices were also called food:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 3:11 And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto HaShem.

As the stomach is slightly off-center, so, too, is the altar slightly off-center.

Notice that we speak of the stomach as having “heart-burn”, just as the altar burns, so our stomach burns.

Umbilical cord = The smoke from the altar

As the smoke originated on the altar and exited the Beit HaMikdash from the altar, so too does the umbilical cord connect to the stomach and exit from the stomach.

Esophagus = Altar Ramp.

The sacrifices were carried up the ramp and laid on the altar. Even so, the food is carried by the esophagus to the stomach.

Sex organs = Fifteen steps between the men’s and women’s courtyards.

The Levitical choir would sing the fifteen Psalms / Songs of Ascent while standing on these fifteen steps, during Succoth. The Succah^[28] is, of course, the quintessential picture of the marital chamber. The words of the Levites represent the sperm and the music represents the semen. The movements of the Levitical choir represent the thrusts of the organ. The act of marriage, like the ascent of the stairs, is an act that lifts us higher and gives us a taste of the Olam HaBa where we experience a sharp sense of arrival, of being “there” with no other place that we would rather be.

Next to these semi-circular steps were two rooms used to store the musical instruments. These seem to represent the testes. They are the instruments from which the music originates. The music gives force to the lyrics.

Skin = Wall

Ashes = Waste Product.

The ashes were stored in the center of the brazen altar until carried outside the camp. Even so, the waste product of a man is connected to the stomach and exits at the center of the body. Our waste, like the ashes, are covered “outside the camp”.

Fetus = Giant lampstands in the Courtyard

Another ceremony of Succoth, the illumination of the Temple, also had it’s source in Jewish tradition. According to the Mishna, at the end of the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests and Levites went down to the court of the women. Four enormous golden candlesticks were set up in the court (fifty cubits high) with four golden bowls placed upon them and four ladders resting against each. Four youths of priestly descent stood at the top of the ladders holding ten-gallon pitchers filled with pure oil, which they poured into each bowl.^[29]

The priests and Levites used their own worn-out liturgical clothing for wicks. The light emanating from the four candelabra was so bright that the Mishna says:

Succah 5:3 There was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illuminated by the light of the Beit HaSho’eivah (libation water-well ceremony).

Mishlei (Proverbs) 20:27 A man’s soul is the lamp of HaShem.

A lamp is contrived of two parts: the oil, which corresponds to the soul, and the wick, which corresponds to the body. Together, they sustain the flame, which is the Torah. The more the oil is clean and pure, the more beautiful the flame will light. The finer the wick, the more a person’s body will readily accept purity, the more the light will continue to shine.

These “candles” are a good picture of a human baby. They have oil, wick, and flame, which is like a human being. These lamps are also an allusion to Mashiach:

Yochanan (John) 8:12 When Yeshua spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Chazal teach that the arms and legs are exterior to our bodies and are only used to “go” and to “do”. This helps us to understand why the Beit HaMikdash does not have appendages to represent legs or arms. When we are with HaShem, there are no more needs to cause us to move. We have arrived! We are “there”!

The Mishkan, unlike the Temple, was represented by Adam and Chava (Eve) before HaShem separated them. Thus there was no women’s courtyard in the Mishkan.

The Human Soul in The Temple^[30]

Tradition teaches that the human soul has five levels, of which the lower three are connected to our physical selves. And it is these three that concern us here. At the core of our being we are a neshama, which is always connected to HaShem to such a great extent that it is difficult to tell where the Divine Presence ends and the person begins. Although our neshama is the core of our being, we are not self-conscious on the level of neshama; we are only self-conscious on the bottom two levels of our souls, the Ruach and the nefesh.

The neshama is connected to our ruach, our spiritual self. We are all self aware as spiritual beings; we can all imagine ourselves as living without our bodies, and we all have a sense of morality and right and wrong that we know is above all materialistic considerations. The ruach is connected to our nefesh, the life force that burns within us and is the engine that drives us, the materialistic part of our beings.

The Temple is put together in the same way. The outermost level is called the Azara, and that is where the animal sacrifices are all brought. This level parallels the nefesh. It is connected to the Heichel, a much more spiritual place. No animal sacrifices are ever offered there. The incense is offered in the Heichel, that is where the Menorah is to be found; the Holy bread that stays warm and fresh from Shabbat to Shabbat is there. It is clearly a more spiritual part of the Temple, but we still have daily access to it just as we do to our own spirituality. This level parallels the ruach.

Finally, within the innermost recesses of the Heichel is the Holy of Holies; a separate alcove that is curtained off; the Holy Ark is kept there and this is the place that the Shechinah inhabits; we do not have daily access to this part of the Temple at all. The only person who ever enters it is the High Priest, and even he is only allowed to enter once a year. This lack of access is clearly an existential expression of our lack of access to our own neshamot.

The symbolism is clear; the High priest who enters the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur must enter it on the level of neshama.

Life is problematic only because we are not really sure about how to define ourselves. Were we able to see ourselves clearly as neshamot and were we therefore conscious of our unbreakable attachment to God, the point of our lives would be quite clear to us; we wouldn't be at all confused as to why we exist and what we are supposed to do with our lives. But God decreed that we must live with free will, and therefore the awareness of how our life depends on our attachment to God at the source of our beings is withheld from our self-consciousness.

Instead we are placed in a situation of existential conflict; our raging life force, the nefesh, and our spiritual side, the ruach, are always contending with each other pulling us in different directions. The ceaseless conflict confuses us; none of us are sure of who and what we are. No one wants to deny their real selves and live the wrong life; our confusion about who we are is the source of our sins. The eternal confusion is the dilemma that forms the backdrop against which we must exercise our free will.

Our state of oblivion regarding the existence of our neshama, the highest level of our soul that is always attached to God renders us incapable of reaching clarity about who we are and clearing up our confusion.

Stepping into the Holy of Holies means becoming self-conscious as neshamot. The fog of confusion is instantly dissipated and replaced by total clarity of vision. To enjoy such clarity runs contrary to the purpose of living in this world. To enter the Holy of Holies is to step out of life as God decreed that it must be lived here in this world of difficult choices. When Nadav and Avihu took this step, they terminated the point of their continued existence in the world of choice and therefore left it; they died.

But they sanctified the Temple in the process. They demonstrated the existence of the Temple on the level of neshama, they demonstrated the existence of their own Neshamot, the state of the attachment of the neshama to God, and how this relationship is mirrored by the Holy of Holies in the Temple. To us plain folks the cause of their death would perhaps have remained a total mystery; but to the 'generation of the wise' who stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai the lesson taught by their deaths was obvious, and revealed the power of the heretofore missing dimension of the Temple, the Holy of Holies.

Ashlamatah:  Jer. 30:10-18 + 22

Rashi	Targum
4. ¶ And these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah.	4. ¶  Now these are the words which the LORD has spoken concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
5. For so said the Lord: A sound of quaking we have heard, fear, and there is no peace.	5. For thus says the LORD, We have heard a sound of trembling, of fear; and there is no peace.
6. Ask now and see whether a male gives birth. Why have I seen every man [with] his hands on his loins like a woman in confinement, and every face has turned to pallor?	6. Ask now, and see whether a man has borne a child? Why do I see every man with his hands placed on his loins like a woman in labour, and all countenances changed, so as to be like jaundice?
7. Ho! For that day is great, with none like it, and it is a time of distress for Jacob, through which he shall be saved.	7. For that day will be a great day, and there will be none like it; and it will be a time of distress for Jacob, but he will be redeemed from it.
8. And it shall be on that day, says the Lord of Hosts, [that] I will break his yoke off your neck, and I will break your thongs, and strangers shall no longer enslave them.	8. And it will be at that time, says the LORD of Hosts, that I will break the yoke of the nations' from your necks, and I will cut off your chains; and the nations will not again enslave Israel.
9. And they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will set up for them.{S}	9. And they will worship before the LORD their God, and will obey the Anointed, the son of David, their king whom I will raise up for them. {S}
10. And you, fear not, My servant Jacob, says the Lord, and do not be dismayed, O Israel, for behold I save you from afar and your seed from the land of their captivity,and Jacob shall again be silent and at ease, and no one will frighten them.	10. But you, do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, says the LORD and do not be broken, O Israel; for behold, I will redeem you from afar, and your sons from the land of their exile, and they of the house of Jacob will return and be quiet and settle safely, and there will be none to make them afraid.
11. For I am with you, says the Lord, to save you, for I will make an end of all the nations where I dispersed you, but of you I will not make an end, but I will chasten you in measure, and I will not completely destroy you. {P}	11. Because My Memra is at your assistance, says the LORD, to redeem you; for I will make a complete end of all the nations whither I have scattered you; but with you will not make a complete end. And I will bring' sufferings upon you to teach you, but in clement judgement; and I will certainly not destroy you. {P}
12. ¶ For so said the Lord: Your injury is painful, your wound grievous.	12. ¶ For thus says the LORD, Your misfortune is mighty, your stroke is sick.
13. No one deems your wound to be healed, you have no healing medicines.	13. There is none to judge your case mercifully for you; no cure has come up for you.
14. All your lovers have forgotten you, they do not seek you, for I have smitten you with the wound of an enemy, cruel chastisement, for the greatness of your iniquity; your sins are many.	14. All your friends have forgotten you;' they make no request to ask about your welfare. For the plague of the enemy has smitten you, the suffering of cruel men; because your debts increase, your sins are mighty.
15. Why do you cry about your injury [that] your pain is severe? For the magnitude of your iniquity, [since] your sins are many, I have done these to you.	15. Why do you cry out about your misfortune? Your stroke is sick. Because your debt increase, your sins are mighty.' I have done this to you.
16. Therefore, all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your adversaries, yea all of them, shall go into captivity, and those who plunder you shall be plunder, and all who prey upon you I will give for prey.	16. Therefore all your oppressors will be oppressed, andall who hate you, all of them will go into captivity; and your spoilers will be for a spoil, and all your plunderers I will hand over to the plunder.
17. For I will bring healing to you, and of your wounds I will heal you, says the Lord, for they called you an outcast, that is Zion whom no one seeks out. {S}	17. For I will bring healing to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says the LORD; for they have called you the Exiled One, Zion, for whom no-one makes request.{S}
18. So said the Lord: Behold I am returning the captivity of the tents of Jacob, and his dwellings I will pity, and the city shall be built on its mound and the palace on its proper site shall be established.	18. Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring back the exile of the land of Jacob, and will have mercy on his cities: and the city Jerusalem will be rebuilt in her place, and the house of the sanctuary will be completed as is fitting for it.
19. And thanksgiving and the voice of those making merry shall proceed from them, and I will multiply them, and they shall not be diminished, and I will increase them, and they shall not become few in number.	19. And those who bring up thank-offerings will be many in them; and the sound of those who praise: and I will increase them, and they will not diminish; and I will strengthen them, and they will not be weak.
20. And their children shall be as of old, and their congregation shall be established before Me, and I will visit [evil] upon all their oppressors.	20. And their children will increaser as formerly, and their assemblies will be established before Me; and I will visit evil upon all those who press them.
21. And their prince shall be from them, and their ruler shall emerge from their midst, and I will bring him near, and he shall approach Me, for who is it who pledged his heart to approach Me? says the Lord.	21. And their king will be anointed from them, and their Anointed One' will be revealed from among them; and I will bring them near, and they will assemble to My worship. For who is he whose heart delights to draw near to My worship, says the LORD?
22. And you shall be My people, and I will be your God.{S}	22. And you will become a people before Me, and I will be your God. {S}
23. Behold a storm from the Lord has gone forth [with] fury, yea a settling storm; on the head[s] of the wicked it shall rest.	23. Behold, the rebuke from before the LORD goes forth in anger; the whirlwind gathers/ over the head of wicked men it will hover.
24. The kindling of the Lord's anger shall not return until He has executed it, and until He has fulfilled the plans of His heart. At the end of the days you shall consider it.	24. The power of the LORD's anger will not return until He perform and until He establish the thoughts of His good pleasure, and at the end of days you will understand it.
25. At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people. {S}	25. - - - {S}
1. So says the Lord: In the wilderness, the people who had escaped the sword found favor; He [therefore] went to give Israel their resting place.	1. At that time, says the Lord, I will be God for all the seed of Israel, and they will become a people before Me.
2. From long ago, the Lord appeared to me; With everlasting love have I loved you; therefore have I drawn you to Me with loving- kindness.	2. Thus says the LORD, who gave mercy to the people whom He brought up from Egypt, supplying their needs in the wilderness when they were there, when they werefleeing from before those who kill with the sword, leading them by His Memra to make them dwell in a place of ease, even Israel:
3. Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built, O virgin of Israel; yet again shall you be adorned with your tabrets, and you shall go out with the dances of those who make merry.	3. Jerusalem said, from of old the LORD was revealed to our fathers. O prophet, say to them, Behold, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore I have led you with good things,'
4. Yet again shall you plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria, indeed planters shall plant [them] and redeem [them].	4. Again I will set you up, and you will be established; O assembly of Israel: again you will adorn yourself with your ornaments, and will go forth with the company of those who praise.
5. For there is a day, the watchers (Heb. Notserim) shall call on the mountains of Ephraim; Rise! Let us go up to Zion, to the Lord, our God. {P}	5. Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria: plant the plants, and eat them as common produce.  {P}

Rashi’s Commentary for:  Jer. 30:10-18 + 22

5 A sound of quaking we have heard Some interpret this as alluding to the tidings of Babylon, from which those exiled there quaked. But the Midrash Aggadah explains it as an allusion to the war of Gog and Magog.

6 whether a male gives birth Whether it is customary for males to give birth, so that labor pains should seize them like a woman in confinement.

his loins like מָתְנָיו .

7 that day The day of the assassination of Belshazzar and the downfall of Babylon. Another explanation: the day of the downfall of Gog.

8 I will break his yoke The yoke of the heathens will be removed from Israel.

10 And you, fear not Because of all the evils that you will see befalling Babylon in whose midst you are.

and at ease like וְֽשָקֵט .

11 but I will chasten you in measure according to the law of the Torah.

and I will not completely destroy you an expression of a sweeping destruction.

12 Your injury is painful, your wound grievous (Enfers in Old French).

13 to be healed cure. No one thinks that you will have salvation.

healing a cure, an expression of availing.

14 cruel chastisement chastisements of cruelty. The chastisement is cruel.

16 Therefore This is an expression denoting an oath.

those who plunder you an expression of spoil, and so did Jonathan render it: וִיהוֹן עָדַיִךְ לַעֲדִי .

17 healing Heb. ארכה .

18 and the palace The Temple.

19 and I will increase them I will make them a numerous nation.

and they shall not become few in number like יִמְעָטוּ .

21 their prince lit., His mighty one.

pledged his heart an expression of a pledge (fermaille, aatine in French).

to approach Me to war, to stop Me.

23 settling storm camping and dwelling an expression of “the land of the sojournings of (מְגוּרֵי) ” (Gen. 37:1), and a similar case is “and a whirling (מִתְחוֹלֵל) storm ” (supra 23:19) stated in the other verse is the same as this for both of them are expressions of camping.

on the head[s] of the wicked On the heads of the heathens.

Chapter 31

1 found favor The generation of the wilderness found favor in My eyes.

who had escaped the sword of the Egyptians the Amalekites and the Canaanites.

He [therefore] went to give Israel their resting place When He led them to take possession of the land of their rest.

2 From long ago In the merit of the Patriarchs.

appeared to me I, the prophet, and told me to say to the congregation of Israel, “With everlasting love have I loved you.”

3 Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built You had two buildings made by men. Therefore, they were destroyed. Yet again will I rebuild you, I by Myself, a third building, and you shall be built forever.

shall you be adorned Heb. תַּעְדִּי .

4 and redeem [them] in the fourth year, they shall profane their produce by redeeming it with money.

5 the watchers shall call The lookouts at the tops of the lofty towers to announce with a voice heard a distance away. Another explanation: נֽצְרִים is like “He keeps (נֽצֵר) loving-kindness” (Exod. 34:7), an expression of keeping. That is to say: There is a day when they will call those who kept the Torah and say, “Rise...” And so did Jonathan render: There are many days and much goodness that is destined to come to the righteous/generous who kept My Torah from days of old.

Verbal Tallies

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

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Beresheet (Genesis) 31:3 – 32:3

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 30:10-18 + 22

                                                                     Tehillim (Psalm) 26                    

Jude 4-5, Lk 6:27-36, Lk 6:37-42, Acts 7:1-53

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Said / saith / say - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

Jacob - יעקב, Strong’s number 03290.

Return / turn - שוב, Strong’s number 07725.

Beresheet (Genesis) 31:3 And the LORD <03068> said <0559> (8799) unto Jacob <03290>, Return <07725> (8798) unto the land <0776> of thy fathers <01>, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

Tehillim (Psalm) 26:1  « A Psalm of David. » Judge me, O LORD <03068>; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.

Yeremiyahu (Jeremiah) 30:10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob <03290>, saith the LORD <03068>; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land <0776> of their captivity; and Jacob <03290> shall return <07725> (8804), and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

Yeremiyahu (Jeremiah) 30:12  For thus saith <0559> (8804) the LORD <03068>, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.

NAZAREAN TALMUD

Sidra Of B’resheet (Gen.) 31:3 – 32:3

“Shabbat Shuba” “Sabbath of Returning”

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

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta (Luke Lk 6:27-42) Mishnah א:א "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who mistreat you. If any man strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and if someone takes your coat, do not hold back from giving him your shirt as well. Give to everyone who begs you, and if anyone takes away your things, do not ask for them back. And do for others just as you would have them do for you.” And if you love those who love you, what kind of loving-kindness is that for you? For even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good to those who do good to you, what kind of loving-kindness is that to you? Even the sinners do the same! And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive back, what kind of loving-kindness is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may get back an equal amount! But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting no interest, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Highest, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate! And do not judge, and you will not be judged negatively. And do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you, a good measure pressed down, shaken, overflowing will they pour out into your bosom. For midda kneged midda (measure for measure), it will be measured out to you in return." And he gave them an analogy: "Amen v’amen a blind person cannot lead the blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? A Talmid (disciple) is not superior to his Hakham, but everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his Hakham. And why do you look for the sliver of wood that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the beam of wood that is in your own eye? How are you able to say to your brother, "Brother, allow me to remove the sliver of wood that is in your eye," while you yourself do not see the beam of wood in your own eye? You Painted ones (hypocrites)! First remove the beam of wood from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the sliver that is in your brother's eye!”	School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat (Yehudah 4-5) Mishnah א:א For certain men^[31] have subtly entered^[32] in among you secretly^[33] who were from antiquity inscribed^[34] for this judgment as evil ungodly persons, changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness^[35] and the only Lord G-d and denying our only Master Yeshua HaMashiach. But I will adjure you, to return to full knowledge (Da’at through the Mesorah – Oral Torah) Once, given to the Jewish Tsadiqim (saints), that the Lord delivered a people out of the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt), and afterwards destroyed those who were unfaithful.
School of Hakham Shaul Remes (2 Luqas -Acts 7:1-53) Pereq א:א
And the Kohen Gadol (of the Tz’dukim - Sadducees) said, "Are these things true?" And he (Stephen) said, "Hear me, men, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to Abraham Abinu (our father) when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Go out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house into a land that I will show you” (B’resheet 12:1).  "Then he departed from the land of the Chaldeans, and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, God removed him into this country in which you are now living. "And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground as it is written, “Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession (D’varim – Deut 2:1); and, even when he still had no child, He promised that He would give it to him as a possession and to his descendants after him, as it is written, And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, I will give this land to your seed. And he built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him. "But, God spoke to this effect, And He said to Abram, You must surely know that your seed shall be a stranger in a land not theirs, and shall serve them. And they will afflict them four hundred years. And also I will judge that nation whom they will serve. And afterward they will come out with great substance, And you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. (B’resheet 15:13-16) "And He gave him the covenant of the b’rit milah (circumcision); and so Abraham became the father of Yitzchak, and did his b’rit milah on the eighth day; and Yitzchak became the father of Ya’aqob (Jacob), and Ya’aqob was the father of the Twelve Patriarchs. And the Twelve Patriarchs became jealous of Yosef (Joseph) as it is written And his brothers were jealous of him. But his father observed the saying. And yet God was with him, and rescued him from all his trials, and granted him favor and Hokhmah (wisdom) in the sight of Paro (Pharaoh), king of Mitzrayim; as it is written And the thing was good in the eyes of Paro, and in the eyes of all his servants.  And Paro said to his servants, can we find any man like this, in whom the Spirit of God is? And Paro said to Yosef, Since God has shown you all this, no one is as discreet and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people will kiss the hand at your word. Only in the throne will I be greater than you. And Paro said to Yosef, See, I have set you over all the land of Mitzrayim. And Paro took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Yosef's hand. And he dressed him with fine linen robes, and put a gold chain around his neck. And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried before him, Bow the knee! And he made him ruler over all the land of Mitzrayim. And Paro said to Yosef, I am Pharaoh, and without a word from you, no man will lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. (B’resheet 41:37-41) And when Ya’aqob saw that there was grain in Mitzrayim, Ya’aqob said to his sons, Why do you look upon one another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Mitzrayim. Go down there and buy for us from there, so that we may live and not die. And Yosef's ten brothers went down to buy grain in Mitzrayim there the first time. "And on the second visit Yosef made himself known to his brothers, as it is written, And Yosef said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? And his brothers could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence. (B’resheet 45:3) and Yosef's family was disclosed to Paro. "And Yosef sent word and invited Ya’aqob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. "And Ya’aqob went down to Mitzrayim and there passed away, he and our fathers. "And from there they were removed to Shechem, and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. "But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, But the children of Yisrael were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. Now there arose a new king over Mitzrayim, who did not know Yosef. (Shemot 1:7-8) "It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race, and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive. "And it was at this time that Moshe was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God; and he was nurtured three months in his father's home. "And after he had been exposed, Paro's daughter took him away, and nurtured him as her own son. "And Moshe was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds. "But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Yisrael. "And when he saw one of them being treated cruelly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. "And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand. "And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, 'Men, you are brethren, why do you injure one another?' Then he said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" So Moshe feared and said, "Surely this thing is known!"(Shemot 2:14) "And at this remark Moshe fled, and became an alien in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. And after forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Har Sinai (Mt Sinai), in the flame of a burning thorn bush. "And when Moshe saw it, he was awed by the sight; and as he approached to examine more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: Moreover, He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Yitzchak, and the God of Ya’aqob." And Moshe hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Mitzrayim, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. "So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. "Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Paro that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Mitzrayim." "This Moshe whom they disowned, saying, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" So Moshe feared and said, "Surely this thing is known!"(Shemot 2:14) is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.  "This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Mitzrayim and in the Yam Suf (Red Sea) and in the wilderness for forty years. "This is the Moses who said to the B’ne Yisrael, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. him you will hear, "according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, `Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.' "This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Har Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you. "And our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Mitzrayim, now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." (Exodus 32:1) "And at that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. "But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, "Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O Bet Yisrael? You took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship them and the star of your god Rompha, which you made for yourselves. Therefore, I will send you into captivity beyond Babylon," Says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. "Our fathers had the Mishkan (tabernacle) of witness in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moshe directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. "And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Yehoshua upon dispossessing the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David. "And David found favor in God's sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Ya’aqob. "But it was Shlomo who built a house for Him. Thus says the Lord: "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist," Says the Lord. "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word. (Yesha’yahu - Isaiah 66:1)  "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Oral Torah (Mesorah); you are doing just as your fathers did. "Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it."

Nazarean Codicil to be read in conjunction with the following Torah Sedarim,

Gen 31:3 – 32:3

Psalm 26

Jer 30:10-18, 22

Jude 4-5

Lk 6:27-36, 6:37-42

Acts 7:1-53

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

We have already stated that Yehudah is the amanuensis of Hakham Tsefet. Therefore, our reference to Hakham Tsefet or Yehudah should be understood as a joint effort between these two men in authoring this treatise. Yehudah is an integral part of this process. Therefore, we remind our readers that we may refer to Yehudah as the “author” of this document. However, we intend that Yehudah was the amanuensis of Hakham Tsefet. We also refer to Yehudah as Hakham Yehudah because he was a Hakham serving as a Paqid to the Bench as noted in our previous pericope.

Catechistic Questions presented by Hakham Yehudah/Hakham Tsefet

• How does changing the Chesed of G-d into licentiousness, relate to those who do not have a part in the Olam HaBa?
• Why does Hakham Yehudah find his heterodox audience not believing that Yeshua is the Messiah?
• How does the pericope of Hakham Yehudah relate to the Festival calendar?
• How does denial of the Mesorah/Oral Torah deem one as heterodox?
• How does the lie of “changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness” makes a seedbed for modern religion, which focuses on misconstrued notions of sexuality?

Adjudication

For certain men have subtly entered in among you secretly^[36] who were from antiquity inscribed for this judgment as evil ungodly persons!

Yehudah’s adjudication is about those who have committed crimes heterodoxly.

The charges brought by Yehudah are…

1. Changing G-d’s Chesed (loving-kindness) to licentiousness
2. Denial of the Master
3. Denial of the Mesorah/Oral Torah

Yehudah does not seem to suggest that there is a call of repentance for these lawbreakers. Therefore, we see no call to Teshuba, Yehuda only mentions “judgment.” As a matter of fact, his analogy leans more towards condemnation without the possibility of repentance. This is described in the terms of his proclaimed adjudication.

Pronounced Judgment by analogy…

The Lord delivered a people out of the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt), and afterwards destroyed those who were unfaithful

These heterodox were delivered to destruction. They came out of Mitzrayim only to be Inscribed for judgment.

Herein we find a halakhic principle…

The “evil” and “lawlessness” have been placed in the world by Divine decree not necessarily to harm the Tsadiqim, but to keep the Tsadiqim focused on the task before them and not become distracted by things or deeds that lead only to trouble. Evil, pain and Lawlessness are there to keep the Tsadiqim’s concentration on the goal before them and to waste no time in trivial pursuits that make no significant contribution towards this goal. These “certain men” therefore are sent by G-d to the congregations to test their vigilance and whether or not the collegiate ministry of the ten men of the Esnoga are functioning properly or not.

A defence For Nazarean Jewish Orthodoxy

Woe to those who do not desire to know or understand the words of the Torah! For in the Torah are written the words of Life. To the heterodox, the words of the Torah seem hollow and useless, since they lack intelligence.

The three indictments listed above find special place in the Tractate of Sanhedrin^[37] as mentioned.

1. Changing G-d’s Chesed (loving-kindness) to licentiousness

b. Suk 49b R. Eleazar further stated, He who executes charity and justice is regarded as though he had filled all the world with kindness, for it is said, He loves charity and justice, the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.^[38] But lest you say that whoever wishes to do good succeeds without difficulty, Scripture expressly says, How precious is Your Loving-Kindness, O God etc.^[39] As one might say that this applies also to a man who fears God, Scripture expressly says, But the loving-kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him.^[40]

The act of loving-kindness describes the Tsadiqim. These acts are difficult to master at the beginning. However, the more we train the soul to function after that manner, the greater our acts of loving-kindness will be. The heterodox have exploited these blessings in a number of ways. The mindset of sin now and repent latter is not Jewish! The contemptible lie has been the foundation of some religions. However, it is not the Jewish norm nor has it ever been. Teshuba – repentance is based on the genuine desire to return to G-d with the intent not to commit sin again.^[41]

The great exchange is Chesed for apostasy. Lest we fail to understand, we note the heterodox are apostate. We cannot accept the notion that once we have experienced the Chesed (loving-kindness/grace) of G-d that we can shed ourselves of the Torah, written Oral or otherwise. This damnable lie permeates the heterodox world. Furthermore, our common share of life in the Olam HaBa means that the whole community is responsible for the actions of that congregation. As such, when we trade the Chesed of G-d for licentiousness we bring destruction to the community.

2. Denial of the Master

As we have stated…

Therefore, we would see how those aspects such as; the denial of Yeshua’s resurrection could also be interpreted as a denial of resurrection and the final Judgment “in toto.”

b. San 91a A sectarian [min] said to Gebiha b. Pesisa, Woe to you, you wicked, who maintain that the dead will revive; if even the living die, shall the dead live! He replied, Woe to you, you wicked, who maintain that the dead will not revive: if what was not, [now] lives, surely what has lived, will live again!

The denial of the Master is equated with the exchange of the lie of Chesed for licentiousness. We can deduct from the Rambam’s statements of Orthodoxy in אני מאמין (Ani Ma’amin) from his Commentary on the Mishnah (tractate Sanhedrin 10:1), that the belief in Messiah and the Resurrection are integrally related.

6. I believe with complete faithful obedience that all the words of the Prophets are true.
7. I believe with complete faithful obedience that the prophecy of Moshe our teacher, peace unto him, was true; and that he was the father of the prophets, both of those who preceded and of those who followed him.
8. I believe with complete faithful obedience that the whole Torah, which we now possess was given to Moshe, our teacher, peace unto him.
9. I believe with complete faithful obedience that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will be no other Torah given by the Creator, blessed be His name.
10. I believe with complete faithful obedience that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds and thoughts of human beings, as it is said, "It is He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who perceives all their actions." (Psalms 33:15).
11. I believe with complete faithful obedience that the Creator, blessed be His name, rewards those who observe His commandments, and punishes those who transgress His commandments.
12. I believe with complete faithful obedience in the coming of Mashiach, and although he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait every day for him to come.
13. I believe with complete faithful obedience, that there will be resurrection of the dead at the time when it will be the will of the Creator, blessed be His name and exalted be His remembrance forever and ever.

When one looks for this list in the Mishnah or Talmud, if he is remiss, he will be unable to find it. This is because the list does not exist in this exact structure in the Oral Torah. The Rambam states these words in the positive, whereas they exist in the negative in the Mishnah, specifically Sanhedrin 10:1 and following. The discussion of those verses relates to those who have no part in the world to come. The אני מאמין (Ani Ma’amin) speaks of those who have their “common share of life in the Olam HaBa.”

These statements of orthodoxy should be studied and memorized by every Nazarean. 

3. Denial of the Mesorah/Oral Torah

The final adjudication is against those who hold the Mesorah/Oral Torah in contempt.

Abot 6:2 Every day a Heavenly voice issues forth from Mount Horeb (Sinai) to proclaiming: "Woe to humankind for their contempt of the Torah" and whoever is not occupied with the Torah is rebuked, as it is said – “As a golden rings in a swine’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who deviates from discretion” (Mishley 11:22) And it is said – And the Tablets are the work of God and the writing is God’s writing engraved upon Tablets” (Shemot 32:16) Read not engraved [charuth] but freedom [cheruth], for there is no one free save one who is occupied with Torah study. And anyone who is occupied with Torah study will become exalted, as it said – “From God’s gift [Mattana] to God’s heritage [Nachaliel] and from God’s heritage [Nachaiel] to the high places [Bamoth]” (B’midbar 21:19).

In Yehudah’s mind and in his adjudication, denial of the Mesorah/Oral Torah is tantamount to heterodoxy. Why is the Mesorah/Oral Torah so vehemently opposed by so many supposed scholars? Midrash Rabbah answers this clearly.

D’varim – Deut. 32:46 and He said to them: "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you will command your children to be careful to observe, all the words of this Torah.

Midrash Rabbah B’resheet I:14 For it (the Torah/Oral Torah) is no empty word מכם (mi-kem), for you (Deut. 32:47), and if it is empty, it is מכם (mi-kem) from you,^[42] because you are unable to interpret it correctly.

The voice of Hakham Yehudah speaks so loudly we may not understand what he is saying. As the brother of the Master and Ya’aqob, Yehudah feels no need to advertise or abuse his position. He humbles himself to Hakham Tsefet as his amanuensis and serves the bench. The wisest Talmid is the Talmid who is willing to sit at the feet of the Hakhamim and drink in their words. Because submission to authority is true order, nomos – Torah, those who refuse it are unable to interpret Torah correctly. Their babel fills empty heads with empty words.  

Mattiyahu 8:8-10 The centurion answered and said, "master, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. "For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, “Go,” and he goes; and to another, “Come,” and he comes; and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it." When Yeshua heard this, he marveled, and said to those who followed, “Amen ve amen, I say to you, I have not found such great faithful obedience, in all Yisrael!”

The truth simply stated is that those who will not submit to the Mesorah/Oral Torah as taught by the Hakhamim are that they are given over to the control of the Yester HaRa. They malign the structure of whole the universe and are unable to enter Eden. Their Torah observance is static at best contributing nothing to the reparation of the cosmos. These scoffers fail to understand that they can never diminish Torah’s glory and honor.

Peroration

Because our common share of life in the Olam HaBa is communal rather than individual, certain men have subtly entered in among you secretly. In this fashion, contempt is brought on the whole congregation. The actions of Rachel in the present Torah Seder are reminiscent of Achan as found in the Book of Yehoshua. 

Yehoshua (Joshua) 7:1 But the B’ne Yisrael committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Yehudah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the B’ne Yisrael.

Note that only Achan trespassed. Yet G-d sees the trespass of Achan as the trespass of the B’ne Yisrael.

Halakhic Implications

Communal trespass means communal punishment. Communal salvation means communal accountability!

Remes Commentary Of Hakham Shaul

Rosh Chodesh Tishrei

When the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh) lands on Shabbat, we have the following readings from the Nazarean Talmud.

Colossians 2:16-23 Therefore let no one man who is a Gentile judge you in food or drink (keeping Kashrut), or in respect of a festival, or of a new moon, or of the Sabbaths, but the body of the Messiah (the Jewish people). Which is a shadow (prophecies) of the coming things (Cf. Mordechai 1:14-15). Let no Gentile, judge you unworthy of your prize, by doing his will in voluntary worship of the messengers, (i.e. the sun, moon and astrology) not accepting his view without reason, investigating things he has not seen, being vainly puffed up by the mind of his Yetser HaRa (evil inclination). And not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and bonded together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

If, then, you died with the Messiah, from the foundations of the world at Har Sinai, why, live as if living by the principles (dogma) of (the) world (Gentile system)? Stating that You may not handle, nor taste, nor touch (unlawful asceticism), all of (these being unlawful) teachings of the Gentiles, bringing corruption and destruction, Which are, certainly considered wisdom in religion developed by the Gentiles and considered humility and self-control of the body, however, they serve as no value in the discipline of the Yetser HaRa (evil inclination) instead they serve to gratification of the Yetser HaRa (evil inclination).

The astute will notice the connection immediately. From Colossians we have learned that the phrase “certain men” is a code word for Gentile philosophers or the teachings of Gentile Philosophy of the First Century. These words are also reminiscent of the 13^th chapter of Romans, which we have sited repeatedly. 

Salvation is for the Jewish People and of the Jewish people. This is NOT and exclusion of the Gentiles. This is the path that the Gentile MUST take, if he wishes to join the community and have a share in the world to come. The phrase our common share of life in the Olam Haba, should be plain enough for the reader to perfectly understand the implications.  If the Gentile through Torah Observance and faithful obedience joins the Jewish community, he will find himself under the wings of the Shekhinah and a vital part of that community. We have discussed the matters in the Torah Seder #18^[43] where Mordechai is translated as follows…

Mk 2:21-22 And no one sews a patch of unmeasured cloth on an older favored garment, because it distracts from the garment’s original beauty, the reused, unmeasured (cloth) must support the older (garment), or distraction (ocular division) occurs (is noticed). And no one puts fresh unfermented wine into aged wineskins, or else the unfermented wine bursts the wineskins (from the fermentation process), and the wine spills, and the wineskins will be ruined. The unfermented wine must be put into reconditioned wineskins.

What Nazareans cannot accept is Gentile philosophy as a means of entrance into the Olam HaBa.

Changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness

While Nazarean Judaism cannot accept the licentiousness lifestyle of immorality, Yehudah’s analogy fits allegory perfectly. Infidelity in Jewish texts is not about the physical act of adultery. Infidelity is allegory for disloyalty to G-d. When we look at Yehuda’s adjudication from this perspective, we find the true answer for his rebuke. He further makes it clear that we know that infidelity means to turn away from G-d by saying, “you have full knowledge (Da’at through the Mesorah – Oral Torah) Once, given to the Jewish Tsadiqim (saints).” In other words, the Oral Torah teaches appropriate faithful obedience to G-d. To “changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness” is rescindment of the Torah. Because it is the Oral Torah, which teaches us about “our common share of life in the Olam Haba,” to deny its validity is to negate one’s place in the Olam HaBa.

Denial of the Master

The logic from above is readily applicable when we discuss the acceptance of the Master. However, we make these words with caution. Furthermore, they must be fully developed. As the personification of the Torah, the Master demonstrates the path for entrance into the Olam HaBa. However, when we say Torah we again reiterate the fact that the path to the Olam Haba is found in the Torah written AND Oral! Therefore, denial of the Oral Torah is denial of the Master and his Mesorah as a path to the Olam HaBa. If we deny the Master, the Mesorah and Torah what part can we have in the Olam HaBa since all are intricately interwoven. To deny one is to deny the others. To repudiate any one is equivalent to saying that the Olam HaBa does not exist.  Interestingly, many religions have taken away the notion of the Olam HaBa and substituted it with “Heaven.”  “Heaven” as is described by so-called scholars is some ethereal place where one floats on clouds and angels feed them grapes for all eternity.  As such, Judaism knows no such place, nor does such a place exist.

In when lecturing on this subject of the Olam HaBa as the ever-coming world we have faced more disdain than can be imagined.

Yeshua’s declaration as the “I am the Way, truth and Life”^[44] is so misunderstood that the lie of “changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness” becomes the placebo for Sunday morning inoculation. “Changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness is clearly a denial of the Master, the Torah, Written and Oral. The ignorance of these preachers is that they build a seedbed for modern religion which focuses on a misuse of sexuality. The wise will understand!

Peroration & Halakhic Implications

Ya’aqob’s separation from Laban is demonstrative of Yisrael’s departure from the pagan practices of the world. He followed the example of his grandfather Abraham.

Therefore, we see that the Jewish people must live separate from the antinomian culture, which surrounds it. In similar fashion, the Gentile who embraces Abraham and claims him as his path to the Olam HaBa must also separate himself from the antinomian culture by embracing the Nomos –Torah and structured faithful obedience mandated by the Torah and Oral Torah.

Amen v’amen

Coming Festivals:

First Two Days of Pesach- Passover

Nisan 15 & 16 - Friday Evening the 22^nd of April – Sunday Evening the 24^th of April, 2016

Next Shabbat: Shabbat “Parah Adumah – Red Heifer”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה
“Parah Adumah”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 19:1-3	Reader 1 – B’resheet 27:28-30*
“A red heifer”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 19:4-6	Reader 2 – B’resheet 27:31-33
“Una vaca bermeja”	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 19:7-10	Reader 3 – B’resheet 27:28-33
B’midbar (Numbers) 19:1 – 20:13	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 19:11-16
Ashlamatah: Ezekiel 36:16-38	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 19:17-22
	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 20:1-6	Reader 1 – B’resheet 27:28-30
Psalm 110:1-7	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 20:7-13	Reader 2 – B’resheet 27:31-33
	Maftir – B’Midbar 20:7-13	Reader 3 – B’resheet 27:28-33
N.C.: Bereans (Hebrews) 8:1 – 9:14	Ezekiel 36:16-38

* We will be changing to this new Lectionary in our regular Torah Seder commentaries starting this coming Nisan 08, 5776 (Shabbat HaGadol) – April 15/16, 2016.

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

Note: With the beginning of II Adar, and with the reading of Shabbat Shekalim we launch our collection for the work of HaShem, most blessed be He. The entire collection will be devoted to finance this work and resources needed, before we sit at our tables to celebrate Pesach. Your donations are much appreciated and should be sent via PayPal to: ravybh@bigpond.com . Many thanks for your generosity! 

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[1] v. 8

[2] This introduction was edited and excerpted from: The ArtScroll Tanach Series, Tehillim, a new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources. Commentary by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, Translation by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer in collaboration with Rabbi Nosson Scherman.

[3] Tehillim (Psalm) 26:1

[4] Lit., ‘I will do something for thee.’

[5] II Shmuel (Samuel) 11:2

[6] I.e., he cohabited by day instead of night, that he might be free from desire by day.

[7] With regard to human passion, ‘the appetite grows by what it feeds on’.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Or ‘beehive’ (Rashi).

[10] Tehillim (Psalm) 17:3.

[11] I.e., ‘would that I had not asked G-d to try me’. By a play on words, ‘on (E.V. ‘I am purposed’) is connected with ‘a bridle’, and the second half of the verse is explanatory of the first: ‘Would that my mouth had been bridled, so that I would not have to admit now, "Thou hast proved etc."’

[12] Bereshit (Genesis) 15:1

[13] Ibid. Error! Bookmark not defined.

[14] Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz, (1902–1979), was a member of the faculty of the Mirrer Yeshiva for more than 40 years, in Poland, Shanghai and Jerusalem, serving as Rosh yeshiva during its sojourn in Shanghai from 1941 to 1947, and again in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem from 1965 to 1979.

[15] Sichot Mussar – Ethical discourses, reprinted as Sichot Mussar: Reb Chaim's Discourses: The Shmuessen of the Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1989.

[16] There is also an opinion that David intentionally failed so that HaShem would be found to be true.

[17] Mishkan = Tabernacle in the wilderness.

[18] Rabbi Abraham Ben Meir Ibn Ezra - 12^th century, Spain. Born in 1089, Ibn Ezra was a friend of Judah HaLevi. Tradition maintains that Ibn Ezra married Judah HaLevi's daughter.

[19] Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 40:25

[20] Rabbi Sa'adiah ben Yosef Gaon ,10^th century, Babylon, was a prominent Rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.

[21] Commentary to Shemot (Exodus) 25:7

[22] The Torah Anthology (Volume 10) – Meam Loez, by Yaakov Culi.

[23] Consider that a man’s favorite place is inside his wife while making love. Their children will begin life inside the wife. Therefore, the wife is a house for her husband and a house for their children. The wife is a house.

[24] cherubim

[25] Bamidbar 7:88

[26] Chazal or Ḥazal (Hebrew: חז"ל), an acronym for the Hebrew "Ḥakhameinu Zikhronam Liv'rakha" (חכמינו זכרונם לברכה, "Our Sages, may their memory be blessed"), is a general term that refers to all Jewish sages of the Mishna, Tosefta and Talmud eras.

[27] The building containing the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

[28] The temporary dwelling we use during the Feast of Tabernacles.

[29] Succah 5:2

[30] This section was written by Rabbi Noson Weisz.

[31] “Certain Men” are juxtaposed against the 7 Men who strengthen and build the Congregation to perfection. The 7 men build and these “certain men” tear down and seek to destroy.

[32] παρεισδύω – pareisduo, infiltrated, used only here. Yehudah does not bring charges against those “outside” the Esnoga – Synagogue. His charges are against those who have infiltrated or “crept in.”

[33] Verbal and thematic connection to B’resheet 31:17-21

[34] Appointed to judgment.

[35] σέβομαι containing the idea of turning back into immorality.

[36] Verbal and thematic connection to B’resheet 31:17-21

[37] We find in Yehudah the symmetry of ideas purported in m. Sanhedrin 10:1 and following. We suggest that the infrastructure of Sanhedrin was taught catechistically among the early Nazareans as Orthodoxy.

[38] Tehillim – Psa 33:5

[39] Tehillim – Psa 36:8

[40] Mishle – Prov 31:26

[41] For a more in depth look into Teshuba see  (Rambam), M. M. (1998). Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah (Vol. 1:4). (R. E. Touger, Trans.) Moznaim Publishing Corp.

[42] The מ of מכם may be causative: if you find it empty, it is through your own fault (Mah.)

[43] Gen 24:1-41, Psa 17:1-15,  Is 51:2-11, Mk 2:21-22, Lk 5:36-39,     Acts 5:7-11

[44] Cf. Yochanan 14:6 where Yeshua speaks as the Torah meaning that the “Torah is the way, truth and life.”